#i'm having fun and getting to show things i like off while telling tiny stories from time to time!!

[zahnffxiv]

hrothtober day 31: dawn!! thank you for accompanying me all this way!! it really means a lot to me!! here, let's take in the view together!! …have you enjoyed all the sights i've been able to show?? i hope you'll be able to join me for many more!!

[kayhi808]

First Crush - 3

*Abby's sticker to Bucky*

After work, the Avengers are relaxing in the common room or playing pool like Clint & Bucky. Hitting Bucky on the shoulder, "I heard lunch was entertaining", Sam enters the room with Nat.

Bucky glares a Nat. "What? I couldn't help it. It was so cute."

"Cute? Are we talking about Miss Abigail Rose?" Steve smirks at Bucky leaning up against the wall by the pool table.

"Who is Abigail Rose?" Clint cocks an eyebrow at Bucky.

Natasha leans in excited to tell the story, "Fury's new assistant got called in today and she had to bring her daughter to work with her. Just cute as can be. Sweet and precocious. She had stickers all over her shirt. How old was she?"

"Two? Three maybe?"

"Adorable! Made a beeline straight to Bucky." Bucky tries to concentrate on his shot while shaking his head but the tips of his ears are turning red.

Incredulously, "Wouldn't give me the time of day," Steve acts disgruntled & shocked.

Sam teases,"You weren't her type. She's into Cyborgs."

Steve laughs, "You're right because she loved the arm! The arm was so pretty. 'I loves it!' "

"Poor mom was so embarrassed. Abby didn't want to leave Buck's side. Finally before she left she peels off a sticker from her shirt and sticks it to his arm."

Sam nods, "It was the 2yr old version of giving someone your insta." They laughs at Bucky's expense and Buck rolls his eyes.

Most people are afraid of him. He doesn't need to threaten or say anything for people to stay away. He did not have that affect on Abby. She didn't fear him at all. She seeked him out. Her tiny body leaning against him. She didn't cringe at the feel of cold metal. Her little fingers traced the gold detail on his arm.

Nat grabs Buck's arm, "Aw, where's the sticker?" Turning it, this way and that. "You lost it," Nat frowns.

Bucky pulls out his ID card and shows them the back where he stashed Abby's sticker, joining in with their laughter. "They were cute."

Clint catches him, "They??"

"She."

"Uh uh, man. You said they."

Natasha smiles slyly, ready to play matchmaker. "Y/N is gorgeous!" Bucky shrugs yet nods staring at the sticker before shoving the card back in his pocket.

*****

Some days are such a struggle. You never would have thought you'd be a widow with a baby to raise by yourself. Abby's father was a pilot in the Air Force. That's what attracted you to begin with. The image of a sexy daring fighter pilot. Things Jason did or talked about were so exciting. He was an adrenaline junkie for sure. Which is fun for a boyfriend, but not the best for a husband & father.

Now, its just you and Abby fending for yourselves. This job with the Avengers was heaven sent. It was so hard to make ends meet but now that you're with the Avengers, a huge weight has been lifted from your shoulders. You'll be able to give Abby a better life. Yet, sometimes just the day-to-day chores overwhelm you.

You finished getting yourself ready for work and started tackling the task of getting Abby ready for daycare. You brush Abby's hair trying to get it into a ponytail. Don't know why you go through the effort, because it's just going to fall out by midday after playing and naptime. "Mama?"

"Yes?"

"Today is school day?"

"Yes. You get to go to daycare and see Ms. Grace and all your friends."

"Mama?"

"Yes?"

"Remember the man with the pretty arm?" She tries to turn around to face you and you have to face her forward so you can get the ponytail up.

"Yes, I do."

"Me, too." You nod, knowing where this is heading already. "Mama?"

"Yes?"

"Mr S'gent don't go daycare."

"No, he doesn't. He's a grown-up. He goes to work." Finishing her hair, you carry her back to the room to put on her shoes.

"Mama?"

Rolling your eyes, "Yes?"

"I'm not a grows up."

Sitting her on the bed you kneel before her to put on her socks & shoes, "Grown-up. No. You are my baby."

"Mama?"

"Abby Rose!" Making wide eyes at her, "You are making Mama crazy." Abby laughs and pats your head.

"Mama?"

"Yesssss, Abby. What?"

She places her little hands on each of your cheeks, "Cans I go to work with yous?" She gives you the most angelic smile. You growl, picking her up & throwing her over your shoulder. She screams and giggles. "Mama!!!"

Bringing her down, to prop her on your hip, grabbing her backpack & your bag to make the trek to her daycare which luckily is only a couple blocks away. "You need to go to daycare."

"But...but...I wants to be with yous," she pouts.

"But...but...NO. You don't want to be with me. You want to see Sargent Barnes." She throws her head back and laughs with a cackle. You shake your head at her. Excuse me, Lil Miss! Who's child is this??

"Mamaaa."

"Abbyyyy." You laugh but sober up, "I'm sorry, baby, but no. You need to go to school."

"But...but...what if he forgets me."

"He will never forget you. He has your sticker. He has your drawing."

She puts her thumb in her mouth & nods her head, but she looks sad. She rests her head on your shoulder for the rest of the walk to daycare.

Next Chapter

@waywardhunter95 @rebeccapineapple @ordelixx @onceithough @crazyunsexycool @thezombieprostitute

[mrsnancywheeler]

let me down easy // finnick odair x f. reader

based off this blurb

summary: finnick pushed himself away, isolated himself, and you're slipping through his fingers like sand.

masterlist

3.8k words

warnings: angst, a tiny bit of fluff at the end, a little smutty but also very brief, mental illness, insecurity, paranoia, allusions to cheating (no one is actually cheating), slightly mean!finnick, self destructive behavior on all sides, more insecurities, arguments, feeling isolated, slight blood and injury, female rage things, male masturbation, unedited, no use of y/n, brief mentions of vomiting, girls girls all around, annie cresta my beloved being a girl girl, people pleaser reader

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

Once every day had felt like it was full of sunlight, even if there were ups and downs you always had each other by the end of it. Now you weren't even sure if you had yourself, let alone Finnick. Worst of all you had no idea what you'd done wrong, at first you chalked it up to how he'd just returned from the Capitol. But usually his isolation was a day at the most before he'd succumb to your comfort. Instead it had been nearly a month of radio silence.

He stopped the way he'd pepper your face with kisses to wake you up and bring you to the kitchen where he'd have made breakfast, telling you mindless stories about his morning swim. Now if he did anything for you it felt robotic, out of necessity, there was no helping you with your hair, having fun picking out your outfits, he was barely around. Never would you have thought you could be such an outcast in your own home, your own relationship.

At first you'd thought you just weren't doing enough, that he needed some extra love to help him open up. Reluctantly you'd fully wake yourself up when you felt him rise for his swim, take up the position of making him breakfast instead. Busying yourself with his favorites until he returned and you put on your best smile when he did, hopeful it would be somewhat successful.

“Good morning!” You greeted and were met with a confused look, a nod. You'd always hated getting up this early yet here you were and he did nothing.

“I have to take a shower." He muttered and was up the stairs. It was a disappointing resolution, but then your hopes had still been high. So you kept making his favorites throughout the next few days, scattering gifts for him throughout the house, writing notes to hide where he might find them, desperate to show him how much you loved him.

“Where are you going?" Your voice startled him and he slowly turned his head towards you.

Finnick's voice was so dry, rigid, “Fishing."

“Oh, let me get my shoes on, I'll come with!" Bright smiles, you reminded yourself when it felt like wavering.

“I'd rather go alone."

“Right." It wanted to falter so bad, “How long are you gonna be gone? I could make you lunch to go or something."

“I'm okay."

You fidgeted with your fingers, “Yeah, okay, well, um, have fun." Then he was gone, without a kiss, even a hug goodbye. Come to think of it there hadn't been any at all for a while, not even in the morning which is something he'd always do. So after a few days failing with those attempts you'd convinced yourself of a different reason.

“Annie, be honest with me, do you think I'm pretty?" The two of you had been out in the garden of Victors Village and she seemed taken aback.

“Honey, of course you're pretty. You're beautiful, what brought this on?" She dropped what she was doing to look at you.

You darted around the specifics, “What about the way I dress, is it too frumpy?"

“No! There's nothing wrong with anything about you." Her voice was so soft and she felt like the only person you could talk to now that Finnick had pushed himself away from you. “What's going on?"

You felt yourself finally crying all the held back tears you'd hid for the moments alone, “What if he's found someone prettier and more exciting?” You sobbed out and Annie hugged you.

"Finnick worships the ground you walk on, he'd never do that.”

"He barely even talks to me anymore, Annie. It's like I don't exist.”

“He's just going through a rough patch, it's not your fault."

Regardless of what Annie said, you disagreed. He must have had someone else, but you couldn't confront him about it. No, if you did then it would become real and he'd leave you for them. There had to be someone else taking on his hardships and loving him the way he'd once let you. So you bought new makeup, new lingerie, new clothes, tried to feel more attractive, more desirable. Yet it didn't seem like he even noticed.

You'd waited for his return all day, he'd left so early you hadn't even seen him. You made dinner praying that he'd see the effort you made, and find you irresistible once again. Of course, this effort seemed to be in vain.

“Welcome home, Finn!" You greeted when he walked through the front door, pained by the sound of your own faux bubbly voice. You put a plate down in front of his usual seat.

“Thanks." He mumbled and you smiled cheerfully. Perhaps you'd been too solemn and he'd prefer someone who exuded more sunshine-like behavior. “How was your day?" His voice was sharp, curt, but it was a conversation nonetheless. Always better than nothing.

“It was good!" You lied through your teeth, there hadn't been a single moment where your brain hadn't been infested with the thought of him pushing you away, him with someone else. It was something you desiped, you preferred to be in the moment. When you had been confident in yours and Finnick's relationship you could immerse yourself in the company of others, enjoy menial tasks with humming and daydreams, but now the isolation haunted your mind. “Annie and I planted some new flowers and cut some that recently finished blooming. I finally changed our vases out." He didn't even glance around, just kept eating. Your Finnick had always made an effort to look around, praise you for anything you did, he took pride in you, now the only thing he took pride in was being able to avoid you.

He curtly nodded his head in response and you felt like you might snap. Especially as the silence persisted, nothing except the sounds of the house and his fork clinking on the plate. You chewed at your bottom lip, leg bouncing up and down waiting for the smallest bit of conversation, but nothing came. Eventually you shot out of your seat, grabbed your plate, which you were sure you wouldn't be able to stomach, and began cleaning up dinner. Hands gripping each dish so hard as if to contain all the rage you'd been repressing.

“I can clean up." Finnick murmured as he rose.

Being lazy was another thing you thought could be a reason. He did so much for you and whatever you had to offer must not have been enough. Yes, he'd always insisted that you should just be his pretty girl that he could look at when he did the tasks, but in secret he must have just wanted you to resist and do more. So you vehemently shook your head, “No, I've got it!" Your voice was strained and several pitches too high to sound natural.

“It's fine, I can do it.” How dare he have the gall to sound annoyed with you.

“I've got it Finnick, just go to bed!" Or whatever the fuck else is he does to be away from you. You regretted how snappy you were, he wanted someone easy going, not how uptight you were being. But god, hate that man for how he looked like a wounded puppy dog. “Sorry." You muttered, only partially genuine. Harshly grabbing a glass to clean, hands gripping around it, so harshly it seemed that when you went to put it to dry, it shattered in your hand. Your reaction was delayed as you stood there in disbelief, you hated your life, “Fuck.”

Then his hand was on your back and you involuntarily jerked at the contact you hadn't felt for so long. “You're bleeding." How the hell was his voice still so stony, a mystery you'd never know the answer too. It sent tingles up your spine the way his hand was on your back, you missed his touch. He led you to the bathroom where he carefully tended to the cuts in your hand. Carefully taking out the pieces of glass and although you occasionally winced, it was like your brain couldn't comprehend the pain over the buzzing about his hand touching yours. But once he bandaged it up the touch was gone and so was he with a, “I'll clean up."

Fuck him, fuck him, fuck him, fuck him. But you hated being angry with him when he was probably going through something, he'd struggled so much and just needed help. Was it really excusable though when it was tearing you apart to be in all of this. You got up and without a second thought walked straight out the front door. Feet guiding you to the comfort of the beach. Of course it invoked memories of all the better times spent with Finnick, but out here at least you had the ocean. It has started to rain and you didn't care. Walking out into the sea, as far as you could touch, and letting the freedom of the waves surround you. And you screamed, at the sky, at the waters, into the night. Trying so desperately to let go of the aggression, so you could keep trying. Inhaling the salt air before you walked back inside, you could do this. Every relationship had trials and tribulations, but you could be stronger, stick together.

As you were walking back, Finnick was jogging towards you, “Are you okay?" There was actual emotion in his voice, you longed to be privileged to it more often.

“Yeah."

“I thought I… " He trailed off, hand running through his hair. The way he looked like he might cry sparked guilt in you, but also a sick pleasure that he actually cared. “You're gonna get sick." Just as quickly his tone returned to being straight-laced.

You didn't care, if you were sick maybe he would take care of you. So you walked inside and he said nothing. You showered and changed, you'd gotten a new nightgown that left little to the imagination. Maybe you could get a rise out of him, get him to touch you more. But he seemed to be fast asleep by the time you left the bathroom, so you slipped into bed beside him. In the past he'd always sleep with his arms around you, but now you slept beside each other rather than with one another. It left you cold, despite the blankets, which were barely there as he'd always been a blanket hog, which you used to tease him for, but was fine because you were attached to him. Now you laid there and felt yourself crying. You cursed yourself for it, not right now, but you couldn't stop. So you covered your mouth with a hand as you sobbed into it.

The next morning you felt him wake, but there was no energy to make breakfast. You were exhausted and it hadn't made him love you again anyways. So you drifted back off until the sound of floorboards creaking when he returned woke you up. You sat up in bed as he entered the bedroom. “Morning, Finn." The smile you worked hard to maintain was back.

“Morning." He mumbled and then his eyes faltered on you. That's when you remembered the nightgown, it was a relief for something to keep his eyes on you. ‘Love me, even if it's just for my body, love me in some way.’ Your brain begged to no avail. “Shower." He slowly said even though he'd very obviously grown hard.

You felt humiliated, completely embarrassed to be dressed the way you were and him to still not want you. It made you want to cry again, but you had to persist. Rising to get dressed until you heard your name. It took you a second to process that he was moaning it, you were right there and he was getting himself off to the thought of you when he could've just had the actual you. That had to be a new type of low. You hadn't even dared to touch yourself no matter how badly you wanted him because you knew nothing you did could match the things he'd made you feel. Yet here he was, so easily jerking off. There was nothing you could do except seethe as you got ready for your day. At least it was your name and not some other girls.

You were in the kitchen when he walked downstairs, “Going to the market." He announced and you got up from your chair.

“I'm coming too." It wasn't a question.

"No, it's okay. I've just got a couple things to grab.”

"So do I, so I'll just come along to grab them. You don't even have to stick by me, I'm just going.” You were exasperated. Honestly you hadn't left the confines of Victors Village for a while, besides when you tried to recall your look, and this would be a good opportunity to see if he was being honest. There was nothing you really had to get, but at least you'd somewhat had his company.

He said nothing but waited as you put on your sandals and then the two of you set off. The silence was deafening as you two walked, your Finnick would always hold your hand, would've taken you from booth to booth and ramble on endlessly, buy anything you glanced at with interest, but now he stood too far away for your hands to even brush by each other. The bustling of the market was a relief and for the first time in a long time you naturally smiled. Although it was jarring how quickly Finnick put on a smile, made conversation with all these people when he hadn't blessed you with the same thing. In fact, it instantly dampened your mood.

“Haven't seen you in so long, missed seeing that pretty smile!" All your favorite vendors gushed and you'd smile, make small talk. Even if everything made you think of Finnick. When was the last time he'd called you pretty? When was the last time he kissed you?

“You look a little sad, are you alright?" And you'd insist you were just feeling a little under the weather. You'd somewhat kept your distance from Finnick until you saw him laughing with a girl in the market. When was the last time he'd laughed with you? Is this what he did, found pretty girls in the market, charmed them, and went back home with them?

You'd slowly approached and showed fake interest in one of her necklaces. “They're real pearls." She said. She was so pretty, stunning. What did she have that you didn't? You hummed, smiling and without a word, Finnick was handing you money.

‘I don't want your money, I want you to pay attention to me.’ You thought and shook your head, “I don't need your money, Finn." The only thing you'd want from him was something he'd pick out because he wanted to give it to you, something he'd always done if you hadn't been there with him. Showing up at home with little treasures to show off to you. He looked at you quizzically, it wasn't like you had any money of your own on you.

“Is this your girlfriend?" The woman asked, her voice was sweet like sugar, you were too gruff, that's what you were missing.

Right now though, your voice was breathy, anxious. “Yeah." The woman must have been able to sense something off because she looked at you with pity. Finnick left the money on the counter by you regardless of what you said and walked off. You sighed.

“I'm sorry, I didn't know."

You gave a sad smile, “It's okay, not your fault." You picked the money up, ready to go find him.

“He's just a guy, even if he's Finnick Odair, don't let him dim your spark." It should've been encouraging, except you knew you loved him too much to ever leave him.

You found him, chatting and smiling as he bought produce. You missed his smile. “Here." You said quietly, handing him his money.

“Where's the necklace?"

“Didn't need it." You didn't care about needing it, you care that he would rather have you buy things for yourself then make you feel valued.

He huffed, like you were frustrating him, annoying him. “Okay, use it to find something else then. You said you weren't going to stick around me." You couldn't stop yourself from physically recoiling from his venom.

“I just came to tell you I was going home." You said weakly, staring at the ground. “Have fun." Your voice cracked slightly and you didn't even bother looking up as you walked home. Immediately settling yourself into bed where you refused to move. Eventually he came home, something clicked onto the dresser table, the sun went down and you stayed put. When he crawled into bed the most movement you made was flipping onto your side to have the protection of your back facing him.

For days it was a cycle of laying in bed, only rising once he left, usually to stand under the burning hot water in the shower until your skin felt raw. Then immediately returning back to bed. He'd return, put something on the dresser, and you'd stay still. Eventually one night he'd come home and sat at your feet, mattress dipping. “We need to talk."

Your hands clamped over your ears, this was it, he was done with you, all that effort for nothing. The anxiety knotted in your stomach, “I'm gonna be sick." You forced yourself up and found yourself throwing up in the toilet, Finnick holding your hair back.

“Hey, it's okay. It's okay, sweet girl." When you were done you said nothing as you brushed your teeth, praying he would leave and forget whatever bad news he was surely bearing. But he didn't, he waited and sat on the bed, waiting for you. Who exited, arms crossed, trying not to cry.

“Please don't break up with me." It was pathetic to beg for but he stood up, looking bewildered.

“No, no, no, I'm not gonna break up with you, sweet girl. I wouldn't even think of it." His hands cradled your face and you melted into them.

Finally you let the tears fall, "Then what are we talking about?”

"I've been so terrible to you, a terrible partner, a terrible person. I…” He took a deep breath in, "I had a rough time in the Capitol, I always do, especially last time though. And I knew you would be able to tell and try to help, but it was easier for me to just block you out so I didn't have to deal with it. Because it hurts to think about." He was crying and it made your heart ache. "And I took you for granted. I didn't try to be there for you, I was selfish and I can't make up for it enough. I will spend the rest of my life making up for it.”

You were both sobbing and he pressed his forehead to yours. His hands were so warm, his touch was so perfect. "I want to help you.”

"I know.” He pulled his forehead away, putting his hands on your shoulders. "I need you to tell me how you felt. Not the sweet way you usually explain things, be honest, so honest.

You shook your head, “No, it's okay. It was just miscommunication."

“No, I think I nearly broke you and everybody else noticed before I did. I need to know your raw feelings, so I can attempt to make it up to you.” He let go of your shoulders and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I thought you were cheating on me.” You said quietly, anxiously playing with your fingers. He already looked hurt, "Like you found someone else because I wasn't, I don't know, fun enough, pretty enough, hardworking enough. And you didn't want me to do anything with you ever or notice anything I did for you." You took a deep breath, you could feel yourself getting angrily worked up and he could tell.

“If you're angry, be angry." He said and you obeyed.

“And I bought new clothes for you, changed my makeup routine, smiled more, made all your favorites, woke up earlier, tried to take on burdens and you said nothing. Do you know how lonely I was? How bad that made me feel about myself? One day you weren't letting me lift a finger, telling me you loved me, now pretty I was, and the next I thought I'd never hear any of that again, let alone have you touch me. No kisses, or hugs, you didn't even hold me when we slept! And you were so closed off and sometimes mean on top of that and all I wanted was your attention. Until finally I gave up because at least even if you weren't really with me, I still had you, and I didn't want you to leave me just because I found out there was someone else, which is so fucked. And then I thought, maybe at the very least, he’ll have me for my body, I had new lingerie, I tried and you didn't give a fuck. No, you got yourself off in the goddamn bathroom and I was right here!” Your voice had risen and your inhales were sharp between the ranting, "And everytime I hated what you were doing to me, I'd feel bad because what you've been through is so much worse and I should still try to be there for you. So I tried and then you'd be annoyed with me and it was like torture. And I swear to god, if you ever do that again, I'll leave.” A weight lifted off of your chest and he hugged you.

“I'm so sorry, I won't ever do it again, I love you so much, you're so pretty and kind and I need you in my life." You held onto him like he would slip away, kissing away your tears that were falling even though he was also crying. He held you until the sobbing had mostly subsided, “You know I bought you all these stupid gifts when you were laying there, thinking it would make you feel better, but I don't even think you noticed." He chuckled and you turned your head, not wanting to tear away from him. All you could see was the necklace from where you were standing. “Not that it would've done anything after all the time I spent letting the castle crumble around us.

"Thank you.” It was muttered and then he tried to pull out of the hug which made you whine. Trying to cling on forever.

His hand tilted your chin towards him, “You wanna put one of those sets on that you got for me so I can show you how pretty you are and how sorry I am for neglecting my sweet girl?"

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

sorry y'all angst is my default settings. thank you for reading, comments, likes, reblogs, feedbacks is all super appreciated. asks and requests are open, love you all, sorry again 💋

taglist: @wowzabowza69

[wings-of-ink]

Mc saying “Shut up and kiss me.” to either Duri or ???.

I want some angsty-ish 😅

Oooh, that is fun. ??? may be the more angsty here, depending on when this happens. It is soooo tempting to show you some of the secret bits to ???, but I think I'll save that for the story. (teeny-tiny pov-kinda thing for him below)

Duri:

-before a serious relationship but feelings are doing their thing: *licks MC's face* *pouts like a brat because they don't like being ordered around, but also wanted a kiss, but they're not going to give MC full satisfaction...also these feelings are really...feely.* They may buzz off for a while.

-after a serious relationship starts: Fine by them, kisses MC all over - and then licks their face.

???:

"Oh, I don't have to shut up to kiss you - you know that." He brings his lips to your throat and simply breathes. "Since when do you get to order me around, hm? You're lucky I'm not in a mood today." You feel his long wet tongue tasting the vulnerable column of your neck. "Do your remember...when we first met?"

You whimper as his hand slides to the back of your head.

"You wouldn't have dared to tell me to 'shut-up.'"

Your mouth automatically opens for him as he dips in for the kiss you wanted so badly. It's everything you needed, and the best part is -he's finally quiet.

[ofmdrecaps]

10/12-14/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi/Robbie Magasiva; Con O'Neill; Samba Schutte; Vico Ortiz; Nathan Foad; Madeleine Sami; Gypsy Taylor; Alex Sherman; Minnie Driver; New Zealand Award Nominations; Auxiliary Wardrobe Zine; Tiny Boats Update; Fan Spotlight: AndyCWhite; OurFlagMeansFanfiction; More Twitter Fandom Weeks; Love Notes: Featuring Illustory Art;

Hey Crew, things are finally starting to slow down over here (not that you can tell since I'm several days late, lol) but my dad is finally in town again! He's at a rehab facility nearby so I don't have to drive 2 hrs every day to see him! So now things should slow down a bit more and hopefully I can keep up with the recaps again. Thank you to all the kind folks who have sent well wishes and love while all this is going on-- and thanks for all your patience Crew <3

== Cast & Crew Sightings ==

= David Jenkins =

Chaos Dad is back again-- first confirming billionaire's suck.

Source: David Jenkins Twitter

Buuuuut then he did this lovely little confirmation of Gentlebeard / BlackBonnet being each other's first loves <3

Source: David Jenkins Twitter

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys an adorable plushie of his character Monster's at Work! Roger Roger!

He's also feeling a bit nostalgic this Murray Monday!

Source: Rhys Darby's Instagram

And Rhys wishing Team AoNZ good luck with a bunch of other folks!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Peter Burling (@peteburling)

And he's continuing his Daily Doodle stories!

Source: Rhys Darby's Substack

Rhys also posted a fun video of him visiting Halloween Horror Nights on his Substack! It's only for Substack folks-- so if you're signed up, head on over! If you're not-- you can sign up here!

Source: Rhys Darby's Substack

= Taika Waititi =

Themoviedweeb has another episode, this time with Robbie Magasiva talking about growing up with Taika!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Movie Dweeb (@themoviedweeb)

Source: TheMovieDweeb's Instagram

= Con O'Neill =

Con is going to be out at The Alnwick Playhouse on October 25 in Alnwick, England! You can help support local film makers and check out a Q&A with Con and other film makers after the event! You can get tickets here!

Source: Con O'Neill's Instagram

= Samba Schutte =

Alright, it's that time again for me to really push Samba's new movie Advanced Chemistry! Samba's the lead in this film-- and after all he's done for us, what better way to say thank you than to help him out with spreading the word/love!

If you haven't seen it yet, and want to check it out, it's available digitally on these platforms! Amazon Fandango At Home Apple TV Samba and team are asking for folks to review/rate the movie to help boost it, and show off Samba's awesome skills. Once you've watched, please take a few minutes to review about Samba and the film itself on these platforms? (Amazon and Rotten Tomatoes are the two big ones according to the Advanced Chemistry team!)

Amazon Rotten Tomatoes IMDB Letterboxd

In other news - Samba was also on the "You Don't Even Like This Show" Podcast!

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A post shared by Adam Tod Brown (@adamtodbrown)

Source: Samba's instagram

== Vico Ortiz ==

Just Vico being a bit of a Plant Daddy.

Source: Vico's Instagram Also-- if you haven't been on Vico's Patreon lately, there is more OFMD BTS! First, a happy Coming Out Day from Vico and Mads back during the S2 filming! You can check it out on Vico's Patreon.

Next up was some cool BTS re: Jim's s2 outfit featuring our darling Gypsy Taylor! Patreon Video.

And finally - the Izzy leg scene in Season 2! Featuring: Mads, Vico, Con, Joel, and more! Source: Patreon

Source: Vico's Patreon

= Nathan Foad =

Nathan once again posting some Saturday selfies <3

Source: Nathan's IG Stories

= Madeleine Sami =

More Double Parked BTS! Season 2 has come to an end!

Source: Antonia Prebble's Instagram

= Gypsy Taylor =

Gypsy out and serving some HotPink Country action <3

Source: taylahmillerdesign's Instagram

= Minnie Driver =

Our Anne Bonny out looking adorable!

Source: Minnie Driver's Instagram

= Alex Sherman =

One of our crewmate NDKiwi got Ass Forever signed in permanent Ink! Alex loved it! #AssTonight and #AssForever!

Source: Alex Sherman's Twitter

== Nominations ==

= New Zealand Television Awards =

Thank you so our dear friends over at @adoptourcrew for catching this Nomination for the New Zealand Television Awards 2024 for the Pinnacle Post Sound Team!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Twitter

== Auxiliary Wardrobe Zine ==

The Auxiliary Wardrobe Zine is almost here! You can order it starting 10/16! Keep an eye on the @stedebonnetzine tumblr or Twitter for more info!

Source: Aux Wardrobe Twitter

== Tiny Boats Update! ==

Another update from the Tiny Crew Big Raffle-- @ofmd-buys-boats!

Source: TinyCrewBigRaffle Twitter

== Fan Spotlight ==

== Andy C White ==

Our dearest @mistysblueboxstuff has her latest calendars up for 2025! This year there's a Gentlebeard, OFMD Revenge Crew, Good Omens, and Alan Wake 2 option! All preorders are available on her Ko-Fi! To learn more check out her Linktr.ee and Ko-Fi!

Source: AndyCWhite's Linktr.ee

= Our Flag Means Fanfiction =

New epitizer of Our Flag Means Fanfiction! This time "Big Feels Cnaonverse Fics! Read by Baby Kraken! Listen in on your favorite platforms here! https://linktr.ee/ofmff

Source: Our Flag Means Death Instagram

= More Twitter Fandom Weeks =

Part of the Rhys/Taika Verse-- but there's a new Vianton Week coming up November 5-12! You can follow them on Twitter!

Source: ViantonWeek Twitter

In November we've got a another fantastic OFMD Week-- this time Our Flag Means Lesbians! November 24 - 30! You can follow the event/find out more about participating on their Twitter!

Source: OFMLesbians Twitter

== Love Notes ==

Today's Love Note comes straight from our darling crewmate @illustoryart who continues to create such wonderful affirmation cards of our favorite characters. Remember your potential is limitless lovelies-- I hope the beginning of this week is treating you well! Take care of yourself!

Source: Illustory Art's Instagram

[lanitalay]

Before I Say Goodnight

Introduction

Reader insert ACOTAR fanfic, pairing tbd

Premise: 21st century fem!reader gets transported to the world of ACOTAR after a freak incident.

warnings: none, maybe a lil angsty

A/n: Hello! This is my first fic and an idea I have been wanting to see portrayed for a while. As of now the pairing could literally be anyone but personally I am partial to Eris or Cassian. Let me know if there are any tropes you'd like to see. I wanna make this a fun space so enjoy!!

Other chapters

It was colder than you had expected it to be. The Highlands were known for being cold and rainy but since summer began you had half hoped half prayed for a warm sunny day. The skies were obstructed by heavy looking clouds. It would rain soon and the end of the hike was nowhere in sight. Maybe this is why people shouldn't travel alone, you thought as thunder roared from above. If I was with someone I'm sure they would have checked the weather. But this was why you'd flown half way across the world by yourself. "I want to get lost in new cities" you had said to your parents who never thought this was a good idea to begin with. "I want to explore the world" how hopeful you were when it was just an idea. Now though, now you had to find shelter unless you wanted to get soaked. "This is so not worth it" you grumbled to yourself while looking around for some type of cover. There hadn't been a trace of civilization for a few hours now and according to the map the lodge was still a few miles away. Groaning, you go off the path and into the thick forest hoping to find a tree, a cave, a cabin, anything that could protect you from the weather. You walk in a straight line, careful not to get lost. Lightning strikes and thunder rattles you as you start to increase your pace a bit. The forest is dark and the wind sounds like a voice telling you to run. Run. Run. You start to jog a little, constantly looking back to make sure the path is still visible. To your horror, thick fog has rolled in from the mountains making it impossible to see more that twenty feet in front of you. Shit. Shit. Shit. You hadn't prepared for this. Hiking was always something you enjoyed, but you had no real survival skills. Other than a bit of information gleaned from your grandparents' stories or survival reality shows. I should stay here. That was the logical thing to do, avoid getting even more lost, once the fog clears make your way back. But another gust of wind urged you. Run. Run. Run. You looked around but there was nothing, absolutely nothing there except the trees, the wind and the ever encroaching rain. Nothing, not even an animal, not even an insect. Fuck. With a jump you start running in the opposite direction of the path. Something is wrong. Something feels off and wrong and you need to get away. There's a clearing coming up and a bit of sun is slipping through the break in the forest canopy. You stop dead in your tracks as you take in what's in front of you. Boulders the size of refrigerators are lined up in what seemed to be a perfectly symmetrical circle. Chills climb up your back. You walk slowly towards it, careful not to touch anything. The space feels sacred here. As you get closer you see that there are smaller and smaller boulders until they become tiny little rocks lined up exactly the same. Sweat runs cold. They seem to circle around nothing. In the center is a small round patch of grass lined with small mushrooms. Run. Run. Run. You don't know where to go, being here feels wrong but there seems to be an invisible wall that won't let you run back to the forest. The only way out was through. You walked slowly, as if someone was surveilling you, waiting, hoping for you to mess up. Avoiding any branches or roots that might make you trip, you get to the patch of grass. Thunder roared all around you. It shook the whole forest and left a ringing in your ears. Stepping over the mushrooms you place you right foot first and then the left. Only the floor is gone and you're falling. Falling. Falling. There's an immense pressure all around you, it feels like you're being pushed by the darkness itself and you're falling.

Just as it started it's over.

Shaking, you try to take a breath. What the fuck just happened? It's the only thing you can think. You take another breath and look up from the ground you just fell on. It's the forest. You realize you are lying in the middle of the same clearing. Well, it looks like the forest except the boulders and rocks are gone, the space barren. I'm gonna throw up. Run. Run. Run. You try to get up and manage to stand on wobbly legs as you feel for any injuries from the fall. There's no blood anywhere and the only pain seems to be the growing headache from trying to grasp what's happening. Then you hear them. Steps. Someone or something is close. You take off running back to where the path should be not willing to risk getting attacked by an animal. You're panting as you run and you look back for a second to make sure no one is chasing you when you run straight into a tree and blackness takes over.

You wince as you open your eyes and feel the thumping pain coming from your forehead, you touch it and feel a lump forming. Great. The fire crackles beside you and you freeze. Looking to the side you are terrified in place as you see an ethereal looking man with long red hair and a scar down his face looking back at you. "Hello", his tone is bored. "Who are you and what are you doing in this court?" You open your mouth to answer but close it again as you look closer. His ears are pointed and his eye seems to be mechanical. I've got to be hallucinating. Uncertain, you answer "I'm y/n and I have no idea where I am or how I got here." Did I eat one of those mushrooms? This has to be the worst trip ever. You swallow and more quietly say "Am I in danger?" He pokes at the fire and says "I'm not going to hurt you, but this isn't a safe place for a human". "What's your name?" he sighs, like he's tired of answering that question.

"Lucien".

[pruneunfair]

My feelings on: part 8, Tears on a withered flower: the most annoying fandom to date so far.

I ask if this one was really that great since I've been seeing it all over the place on tiktok and Instagram and reading it myself, I can see why it would garner an audience because it's another "working woman finds a better man after her loser ex cheats on her with a stupid damsel girl" type story. It's kinda good but in my opinion: it's not THAT good but there is only 23 chapters I read so far so I'll let it marinate before I actually start going after it for the plot.

What I really wanna talk about is the fanbase of tears on a withered flower because while the manhwa community does have a problem with internalized misogyny this specific fanbase takes the cake.

I don't like saying the term "glazing" but it's the only way to accurately describe the way they treat the FL Na Haesoo because they are absolutely feral. First off, I've seen them lose their shit over other fans simply saying "I think that this female character has a prettier design then Hae soo." And these stans reply with the most immature and even down right laughable comebacks. I took some screenshot of a tears of the wither flower slide show to give you an idea.

"Hae soon is the main character for a reason."

Who's gonna tell them that protagonists can be written poorly?

Trust me, I'm sure no one's jealous of a fictional character.

Okay the context basically was that Hae soos coworker was just being real with her based on what she knows about Hae soos life and apparently fans took that as her being jealous and when people who actually read the god damn plot and use their critical thinking to point this out, the stans basically go "nuh uh" and continue to scream even louder. Personally when I read that chapter i took it as brutal honesty, from her perspective Tae Ha was hitting on a married woman and the two barely knew eachother. A little harsh but she's not jealous of Hae soo 😭 like we barely know this girl!

I think the most complained about aspect of tears on a withered flower is the anatomy, specifically the anatomy of all the characters your supposed to really like/care about.

I don't mind that Hae Soo is built like that cause while her anatomy definitely is unrealistic it's also a cartoon comic and cartoons have lots of bizarre forms of anatomy that don't always need to be accurate. With that said I don't find it a coincidence that the FL who is the most fleshed out and only grown woman who isn't meant to be disliked or made fun of is a tsunade cup sized babe with big thighs, a tiny waist, a nice butt, and a baby face.

Yeah I'll say it: Hae soo is another example of authors wanting to make a non conventionally attractive woman since she's supposed to be older (like 33) who is also overworked so she doesn't take care of herself but in the end they didn't have the balls to actually go through with it so they not only gave Hae soo an amazing figure and hair but they also gave her a clear face, tiny lips and barely noticeable eye bags which I still can't tell if they're even eye bags or just her eyelashes.

When anyone even dares to point out that Hae Soo's design is weirdly propionate compared to the other female characters you get hid with the "Your just jealous that you can't have a man like Tae Ha!!"

look i don't mind disproportionate anatomy in cartoon comics but if you give me character designs with more accurate proportions, I'm going to choose the latter for prettier looking designs.

Another thing about this manhwa was the dialog. I like it at times because it can be so poetic.. and then they just throw in some comically evil sentences for the villains that most sane people would not make the public aware of in a modern day setting. It's not something that really annoys me I just thought it was fun to laugh at every now and again while reading.

conclusion: I think the best way to describe tears on a withered flowers fanbase is kinda like how Netflix treats Bigmouth. No, TOTWF is definitely no where near levels of uncomfortable as Bigmouth but it's in the way that it really isn't as good as everyone claims, it's okay at first and then it got old and some people started opening up that the thought Bigmouth was garbage only for a bunch of stans to barge in with "You just don't get it!!" People won't let it go, they keep insisting it's the best piece of work to exist and anyone who doesn't like it is a jealous loser.

[overtake]

Not to be weird but I feel like I got zapped when I read your hockey snippet, how didn't I know that this existed? It's literally been living my brain for hours and I've not been able to stop re-reading it since 🙃 clearly you can take the girl out of toronto but you can't take toronto out the girl because im a changed person now. No pressure ofc I mean this in non-prodding way but praying and willing you to put your snippets together. If you never come around to it then I'm glad (and changed) for what you've shared with world regardless 🙏🏻🙏🏻

This is SO sweet 🥹 I love you so much. Just for this, please have a bit more hockey au. There's a tiny snippet after a media bit (Surprise, this fic is multi-media! Writing the social media parts has been my fave part of the entire process)

@.MapleLeafs on TikTok: | December 12, 2023

[Players walk by a whiteboard on their way into the practice rink. They're stopped to answer the question written on it as they enter. The caption written over their heads reads: "Who don’t your Leafs want to sit next to on a flight?"]

ALEX ALBON: Easy one. Esteban Ocon. He’ll bite your head off if you make a single noise. I think he’d get mad if the plane was going down and you tried to warn him. LOGAN SARGEANT: Gasly or Ocon. I don’t know if it’s a French thing, but they both get really annoyed if you talk to them on a plane. PIERRE GASLY: Danny Ric. He is the loudest person I’ve ever met in my life. ESTEBAN OCON: Daniel Ricciardo. Sorry, Daniel. DANIEL RICCIARDO: Gasly. Max and I were just having a conversation and he rose up behind us and nearly bit our heads off for laughing. I don’t know why he keeps sitting near us. MAX VERSTAPPEN: I don’t really mind sitting next to anyone. I usually sit next to Daniel, and we have a good time. He keeps movies downloaded for us. They're often not very good, but that's sometimes more fun, you know? YUKI TSUNODA: Daniel. VALTERRI BOTTAS: Daniel Ricciardo. ZHOU GUANYU: Daniel. He is very nice and fun, but sometimes you just want to relax on a flight. MARCUS ERICCSON: Surely everyone except Max picked Daniel, right? FERNANDO ALONSO: I don’t want to sit next to anyone.

Mara (DR’s Reputation Era) @.mv33fan: Fernando Alonso: I hate this entire team The entire team: We hate Daniel and the French Max and Daniel: Ask again later. Our mouths are occupied with each other’s dicks.

________

Theoretically, Daniel knew that his and Max's pre-game ritual could end up on the broadcast. Butt taps and silly handshakes in the tunnel inevitably end up on team Instagram stories even if they don't air on TV. It was to be expected, particularly on a Saturday night game against Ottawa.

Still, he didn’t exactly expect a whole montage. It's a nice little package, to be fair. It shows him and Max laughing next to each other in the tunnels and locker rooms before games, followed by their fingers interlocking in their usual drawn-out high five. Daniel prefers to fist bump the whole team and exit only before the goalies, but his routine with Max is always a bit of a production that holds up the line. It's only a surprise it hasn't been uploaded sooner.

After a game where Max scored two goals and Daniel threw his body in front of a rogue deflection and stopped the Sens from a late-third tie, the media naturally focuses on the montage. God forbid they talk about actual fucking hockey in the hockey interview.

“We call it tangled love,” he tells reporters in the press scrum after the game. “In honour of our artistic collision last game.”

It wasn’t a real collision. They’d just got tangled up together when things got chippy by the net. Their skates had collided and they'd taken each other out while trying to defend Esteban from some Habs players. It was all over social media, though, and Daniel knew they’d end up in some embarrassing NHL moments compilation.

They’d both laid on the ice, a little stunned and a lot stupid, before Daniel let out a giant laugh and broke the tension. Max had risen to his feet and tried to pull up Daniel, only for them both to fall right back down as if this was the first time they'd ever skated.

They’d actually been doing this little handshake all season, but reporters were always happy for a soundbite to latch onto and a joke they’d never let go. There's not much to work with in this league in the way of on-camera personality, so it’d probably be a story for the next week. The go-karting clips of the two of them were so popular than even Max mentioned he’d seen them on Reels, and he’d carefully curated his feed to show him anything but Leafs content.

Daniel can’t explain it, this warmth that makes him feel like he’s glowing from inside out all the time since the season started, but he knows he feels it most when he sees people write his name alongside Max’s like their togetherness is a given.

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.102 Negotiations

I thought about the whole money tree argument all night, and while I understood Sophia's concerns, it still didn't sit well with me. Dub's words from his note echoed in my head. "Financial freedom to pursue your dreams," he said. I knew she preferred to live a simple life, but didn't she have bigger dreams than just being married to me and raising our children? I heard the TV on, so I got up to address the topic again. My goal wasn't to change her mind—though I hoped she would—but to present my case coherently. I was blinded by the simoleons I didn't even have yet and failed to put a counteroffer on the table. If she could hear my thoughts, maybe she could see it in a different light.

"Good morning," I said.

"Have you ever seen this show? It's so fun!"

"Uhh...no. Can we talk?"

"Of course," she said, turning off the TV. "What's on your mind so early?"

"I want to revisit the money tree situation."

"Okay. Sure."

"You presented your reasons for limiting its use, but I don't think I did a good job explaining why I think we shouldn't, and I'd like you to hear what I think."

"Okay," she said slowly. "So, what's up?"

"You said it would be an insult to return the gift, but I think it would be an insult to ignore Dub's wishes."

Her eyebrow went up a little bit, but she was still tracking with me, so I went on.

"I understand your hesitation, but we don't have to let the money change anything about us. We can be ourselves, but with peace of mind and more opportunities. I think maybe your childhood is influencing how you're seeing this, but so is mine. I'm gonna tell you a different part of my story so you can see where I'm coming from."

"Sure."

"Okay..."

I took a deep breath and hoped my story would work some magic.

"You've been around my parents enough to know my mom is the one with the money."

"Yeah. That's obvious."

"Right. She spoiled us...she still does, heh. But we weren't spoiled brats. We had everything we needed, and a few things we wanted, but we didn't live extravagantly. We went to public school, wore regular clothes, and lived in a middle class neighborhood. For a long time, my mom had an office job. And even now, she still works her candle business. We weren't rich by any means. We were comfortable. I know this because when we went to my dad's house, it was not comfortable. He came home tired every day and didn't have the energy to spend time with us. He never took us anywhere, and there was nothing to do at his house-"

"But that's not what-"

"Wait. Let me finish. I haven't made my point yet."

"Okay. Sorry."

"My grandparents bought my mom a little house and gave her a chunk of money when she moved out so she could have peace of mind and time to explore the world and figure out what she wanted to do without the pressure of bills and working a job she hated."

Sophia nodded and smiled, giving me hope that my story already inspired her to change her mind.

"When we moved out, she did the same thing for us…except for the house, of course. It wasn't a ton of money, but I could have gotten a cheap apartment if I wanted to."

"Or a tiny house," she said, gesturing vaguely.

"Ha! Yeah, I could have afforded this. She's still taking care of us. I keep telling her she doesn't need to keep doing things for us, but all she says is when I have a child, I'll understand."

Sophia nodded.

"Yeah...I remember hearing her say that in Tartosa."

"Yeah... I may not have a child yet, but I do want to give it every opportunity I had and then some. I don't want it to worry and feel how we felt at my dad's house."

"I get that. I don't want that either."

"And what you said about your parents. They were older when they adopted you because it took forever to save the money. If we want to send off our children with a little something, we have to start saving now. We can't wait until a week before they're gone to start harvesting the tree. Maybe we don't take from it every day. Maybe just once or twice a week, or whenever we think about it. But just leaving the tree alone until we need it? That's not gonna give our children the kind of future I want them to have. I want to continue what my grandparents started. I don't think we should waste this opportunity."

She sat there, nodding and staring at me like she didn't realize I was done. But then she turned away, stared at the floor, and sighed.

"Wow... Your family history is filled with so much love and support."

I grabbed her hands, hoping to seal the deal and provide a little comfort.

"Yes. And you're part of that family now. I just want to continue the cycle. That's all. I don't want to start wearing labels and buy a big house in Del Sol. I just want to spend time with my family without consequence."

"I can't argue with that. I'm still not letting you give up on yoga, though."

I laughed. "I didn't expect you would."

"And to be clear," I continued, "I'm not gonna give up. I just don't want to be in a position where I'm still hustling and missing everything going on at home. You'll be here, so I know everything will be fine, but I want to be here too. I want our children to have all the benefits of living in a two-parent house."

"That's beautiful, Luca. I see the whole picture now. I've just decided I'm definitely not to going back to work."

I beamed at her.

"Really?? That's awesome! I love that for you."

"So, what do you think you'll do?"

"I don't know yet. I don't want to give up on teaching just yet, but I'll probably spend more time on SimTube. I have time to figure it out, though. Speaking of the hustle...I gotta go. I love you, Sophia. I love our life, and I can't wait to see how it turns out."

"I love you more!"

[antimonyandthyme]

hellooo athy i love your words. could you maybe share with us how you got started writing fic and three things that you've learned along the way? thanking u

Anon you are very very sweet and very very kind! Thank you for this lovely ask. Kekekeke I'll let you in on a secret! I discovered fic because I found my sister's OC writing printed out and hidden in a drawer once and I was like woah what is this?? And she went oh NOOOOooOOOO and then she was like fine since you've already seen it lemme introduce you to the wonderful world of fic! It all started from there. The first thing I ever wrote was for Guilty Gear. Imagine that! Guilty Gear. It never got anywhere, just in my silly little notebook that I've long lost. And it was a little while before I dared put anything up. But I'm glad I did! It's been such a great time!

It isn't fancy by any means, but three things that I've learned:

Writing's a lot more fun when done with people! Prior to F1 I've never really interacted with fandom much, I just wrote my Naruto and Haikyuu!! stories and hoped people would read them. I lurked a little (a lot) before creating this tumblr when I got into F1. And then I started talking! With other writers! And readers! I got to chatficcing! And I got to improving. I had people around me who would suggest ideas for what I could add to my stories. Give me tips when I was stuck. Tell me what was good and what I could do better. Lend their expertise! Like when writing Shutter Speed and I had no idea what gallery shows were like and @sebrrari held my hand and gave me advice and was basically one of the greatest reasons I finished the fic. I'm so much more motivated to finish writing projects because I know I have a tiny group of people who will light me on fire (affectionately) after I publish something unhinged.

I struggled with writing length and to be honest I still do! I get distracted by new ideas constantly. If I can't finish something in <5k words I sometimes lose interest and the next shiniest thing takes over. There have been several things that have helped. One, forcing my sections in my writing to be a certain word count. It seems a little contrived, but it's made me linger where other times I would have just hopped off to the next bit. Two, forcing myself to split my writing over several days. Once again, lingering and adding meat because I've had time in the day to mull over details. Three, joining exchanges like the F1 Big Bang. Nothing like a word requirement to nudge you towards a longer journey.

I'll end with something a little silly heehee. I started off really going for synonyms when it came to expressing characters speaking. I mean really going for it. "I hate you," he intoned. "I like this," she gasped. "You're wrong," they yelled. This might be a preference thing, but "said" or "says" has evolved to be my favourite and most effective way of reading/writing a conversation. It feels a ton more natural, and it reads a lot smoother too. Mind you, this all goes out the window when I'm writing sex. Kekekeke. Because now he whined/he moaned/he sobbed sounds a lot hotter.

[bobbinrobins]

Is Stephanie going to show up grounded bird's nest? And we'll she be a human or borrower? If she a human can we get some head cannons on her, Cass, and Tim's friendship? :D

I'm going to start answering this question by explaining my general plans for Ground-Bird's Nest! (Putting under the cut in case people don't want to look for minor spoiler reasons)

I have fully outlined the rest of it, and at this time I do not plan for Stephanie to show up. I love Stephanie dearly (and Barbara, and other associated Batfamily members), but this is my first time writing a long-form fic like this and I'm already struggling a little bit with scope as it is. For this particular story, I've decided to focus most directly on the current cast as it stands, as they are characters who have a direct parent-child relationship with Bruce in the comics!

However, I have several ideas for stories within that universe that involve characters who probably won't make an appearance in the main story, and it's likely that Stephanie will appear :] I haven't honestly decided if she'll be a human or borrower but now that I'm thinking about human Stephanie with a bunch of borrower bats I kind of love it. So have some headcanons:

Tim is already kind of a minor agent of chaos in this universe. Stephanie absolutely enables and encourages this, and more often than not their antics drive Bruce up a wall. Cass is more or less happy to be along for the ride.

She definitely gets a toy remote-control Batmobile and takes them for a joyride. Tim is absolutely thrilled by this. Bruce is not so pleased, but he can't help but melt a little bit at seeing how eager Tim is to ride in an imitation Batmobile. (Still, he puts his foot down after one too many close calls.)

Considering Stephanie handmade her first Spoiler costumes, no one can convince me that she's not great at sewing, and she absolutely uses this skill to make gifts for her tiny pals. It's a challenge making outfits that are comfortable and durable while also being very tiny, but after some trial-and-error (and some advice from a pleased Alfred) she ends up making some fabulous ensembles for them. (She also occasionally makes them sillier outfits, like fluffy onesies, as jokes. Cass, however, adores hers and wears it frequently, much to Stephanie's delight.)

Stephanie loves to rope Tim and Cass into regular movie/TV nights. Neither of them have gotten the opportunity to watch many movies or series thus far, so Stephanie delights in getting to show them some of her favorites, and eventually, they rotate who picks what they watch.

Stephanie also gets both Tim and Cass into both board and video games. Tim latches onto chess, and he and Steph engage in many fierce matches from that point on. Cass enjoys card games, particularly poker (they bet things like Goldfish and candies), which might be because she can always tell when Steph and Tim are bluffing and nearly always cleans them out. (They came up with some sort of system for the borrowers to handle the playing cards, which are probably about as tall as them. :D) Stephanie's favorite to play with them, however, is probably traditional board games, because she thinks it's extra fun when Tim and Cass get to stand in as their own pieces. (Tim and Cass don't fully get it, but Stephanie always gets remarkably excited at the prospect, so they roll with it.)

And, building off of that, I can't help but think about all of them playing D&D together. (Tim was canonically a TTRPG player in his Robin run, so I imagine he catches wind of it from Stephanie and ropes everyone else into it). Stephanie volunteers to DM and takes great joy in painting and customizing minis for their combat encounters. If one of the borrowers get the final blow on one of the enemies, they get the honor of physically pushing the mini over to mark it as deceased. 😌

[sparkles-and-trash]

Pro Hero Touya AU ~

note: this is an old au, I'm just re-writing it into a drabble in stead of the list format!

pt 1, The UA Years

I imagine things were pretty similar to canon up until around Shouto's birth, around then Endeavor has a big work accident that makes it so he can't be a pro in the same capacity anymore.

It forces him into therapy, and the family as a whole actually works on stuff and slowly starts to heal.

But even after all that, Touya still keeps gets injured from his quirk, but he manages to hide it pretty well from his parents and siblings, because he still wants to go to UA and be a pro so badly.

When he does get in, he loves it so much, it's everything he dreamed it would be, he's making some friends, and his parents and siblings are so proud of him!

But then the first sports festival rolls around, and it awakens that old feeling of needing to prove himself as worthy of everything he has, and it starts to eat at him in that old, familiar way.

He gets to the semi finals when he ends up pushing himself too far and he ends up getting really, really hurt.

This naturally leads to his family and teachers realizing how much pain he's been hiding for so long, and they all try their very best to get trough to him.

But in the end, it takes tiny Shouto, only seven years old, clutching Touya's hand while Touya is still half asleep due to the drugs and injury, telling his big brother how much he loves him, and that he please has to stop hurting himself because they need to keep watching cartoons together, and someone has to tell Shouto stories before he goes to bed, and quite frankly that needs to be Touya because nobody does the voices as good as him, and nobody else in their house makes the cereal as good as him, and Shouto hasn't told anyone this, but he thinks math is hard, and he needs Touya to help him so that he too can get into UA and they can be heroes together.

When Touya starts healing properly, he gets sent to Power Loader to get some special support items to help him out, as gets assigned a mandatory meeting with Recovery Girl every week so she can make sure he's staying healthy and doesn't hurt himself again.

It takes a lot of him to go, but every time he feels the idea of skipping the meeting start to form, he hears Shouto's little voice in his head, and he always, without a fail, attends the meetings.

pt 2, The Early Pro Years

Touya debutes right out of UA, and during his first year as a Pro, he already breaks top 20, which is pretty damn rare. Not unlike his father, much of his success is due to his outstanding numbers, but unlike his father, he is also quite popular with the public. It's definitely in a "he's a little bit of a shit, but in a fun and likable way" - way. However, he's always very nice to civilians and fans etc. Buuuut he loves to fuck around and find out, lol He is the paparazzis biggest nightmare, always doing the most to confuse them. Kids absolutely love him, partly because he's genuinely good with them, and partly because he is a fun and dynamic and looks really cool while fighting. He uses special boots and gloves that helps him control the fire from his body without hurting him to fly around, like rocket shoes and little hand jetpacks lol. When Touya has been around the Pro scene for about a year, this new guy shows up out of nowhere, and it turns Touya's work on its head a little bit. His hero name is Hawks, and nobody seems to know where he came from or who he really is, and Touya is intrigued right away, especially when the guy skyrockets up the charts like nothing he's ever seen before. Touya himself didn't really care about the hero ranks or popularity polls, he just wanted to be a good hero, and he feels plenty appreciated by the public as it is, but it does intrigue him to see someone come out of nowhere and take off like that. He decides to try to get to know the guy a little, as they seem to have a similar personalities. Touya is very surprised however, when he runs into the winged man at a hero gala and realizes he's actually quite awkward and shy, proving that he's not as trained in personal relationships as he is in public relations. While Touya started out hanging around the other young hero out of curiosity, he quickly finds himself more interested in Keigo, the person, than Hawks the hero. The way he can go from confidently saving hundreds of civilians with a charming smile and give interviews to the whole country like it's nothing, to turn into an awkwardly funny, blushing mess of a 19 year old guy in a matter of minutes truly makes Touya's heart turn into mush.

masterlist - wip list - ao3 - ko-fi - wishlist

[pyroreadscomics]

What are your thoughts about Howard's Catwoman run?

The run being really gay doesn't save the writing from being really mediocre.

(More nuance below the cut)

Well that was snappy, unfortunately my thoughts are many and complicated and probably won't be entirely ironed out until a few months after she leaves the book or I reread the run again, or both. That phrase was something I said while reading through the series for the first time a some months ago that I still mostly stand by, but now feel the need to caveat and add nuance.

(Also, it feels weird that, because I put off answering this for months, the end of Howard’s run is just a few months away now, but I’m just going to assume the ending is neither so good it retroactively makes everything better or so bad it tanks the run with guilt by association)

When I say mediocre, I very specifically don't mean bad. I'm using mediocre to mean it's average, ordinary, of moderate quality. Not bad enough to hate, or even particularly dislike, but not good enough for me to shed a tear if it was suddenly canceled (which… seeing as it’s end is now on the horizon… I’m actually filled with anticipation as to what comes next.)

And like many multi-year runs, Howard's Catwoman has had it's ups and downs while it's low points are i think widely known: Her dialogue tends towards what i can only describe as AO3 generic, the plotting itself is sub-par, Gotham War disappointing even though there was no way to go into it with high expectations (joint effort i know, but even taking only half blame for it Tini Howard doesn't come out of that event looking remotely well), and I have an entire rant ready for how I dislike how Black Mask is used in that series.

1. The reintroduction of Eiko

But, that said, at this moment I do feel like calling out some highlights of Howard's run (or at least, the bits of it I really liked.)

Also yes, alot of this could be considered fanservice, but I’m at least acknowledging that things that make me happy don’t inherently make a run good. (but at least more enjoyable to slog through than Tom King’s batman or most of her New 52 stuff)

Okay, let me be clear, Eiko in this run is a shadow of her debut in Valentine's run but Selina's supporting cast has a worrying tendency to disappear without a trace after one, max two runs, so damn if it wasn't nice to see Eiko suddenly reappear in a major role in the Catwoman run after a 6 year absence and not have her confined to the dustbin of comic history alongside other Catwoman supporting cast members such as Gwen, Alice, Zee, Clutterbuck, Wilder, Arizona, and Cassandra Cartland (If you knew every single person i mentioned without having to check, I like you, and you like me also know too much about Catwoman)

If nothing else, if Eiko's appearances in this comic, and her guest appearances in other current Gotham stories (like Punchline: Gotham Game or Ram V's excellent Gotham Nocturne) manage to cement her as a persistent part of Catwoman's cast, this run will have done enough for me to earn a passing grade.

Also I like Eiko's new catsuit and not just because it makes it easier to tell her apart from Selina

2. Catwoman #43 & #44 (The Harley Quinn two parter)

Judging by the mood in the room, If anything gets me an angry response it's going to be this.

It's fun, it was a fun two parter, and honestly there are times when I wish more writers would stop trying to do the high drama stories they're kinda bad and instead write fun inconsequential side stories.

Also yes I do ship it. What of it?

Actually speaking of

3. The queerness.

It’s not a lot, but for a character who’s been out as bi since 2015 Selina is never written that way (at least in the main comics, I understand the HQ show and the recent movies have either explicitly or implicitly had bi Selina). Like it’s so bad Selina doesn’t even get pride tie in stuff, no appearances in the pride anthologies or even pride variant cover. JFC Nightwing gets one every year and last time i checked he was still canonical cishet. And… a bit like Eiko, but less important, it’s nice to have another run where Catwoman is canonically queer. Selina acknowledging Eiko as an ex, flirting with other women, that Selina and Harley sharing a bed scene. It’s just nice to have that part of Selina’s character acknowledged.

Also it’s so minor but the gay bar called Conroy’s got me just a bit.

4. Knight Terrors

On balance, despite me having criticisms of it, I did like it as a version of “What does Selina’s worst nightmares look like”. It’s not quite as good as Devin Grayson’s take on the matter (and ain’t that a sentence) but I’m a big fan of Selina’s mind dark fears conjuring force a lot of catholic imagery and doing something actually interesting with the Sister Zero concept. (It’s really just a shame that this story is clearly setting something up for Gotham War that never actually gets paid off, which is wild considering that was literally the month after Knight Terrors)

Lastly:

5. Valmont

Look, I really liked Valmont for two reasons, one of which is superficial, one of which actually had thought put into it.

Superficially: Selina deserves a whipped subby bisexual twink, as treat. Sure he's a cocky asshole, sure he looks like pirate au ghostmaker, sure he's ready to murder anyone who looks like a threat to his dom love (and honestly anyone in general), but honestly that's all part of the charm.

Because Bruce, as the whole wedding thing shows, is big on these concrete declarations of affection, even as he’s really bad at actually expressing his affection in more casual ways. And Eiko, as she says, is “comfortable with these declarations, names. Things like titles and vows.” So in dating either of them Selina would be consenting being put into a box and labeled, even if it's a box as unconstrained as “dating” and a label as loose as “girlfriend”.

But, putting a bit of thought into things, Valmont has this really interesting role in the story. He's the obviously incorrect choice in a love triangle, but also the one who Selina would pick anyway.

Like, the issue before he dies the story teases a bit of romance with Bruce and Selina, and earlier there were some teases (or.. maybe acknowledgement is the right word?) between Selina and Eiko. There's two existing love interests for Selina, Bruce, who's the moral and safe choice, the wedding bells and gaggle of step kids choice. And there's Eiko, who's a major crime lord, one who's conducting business with some of the worst in Gotham. If it was just the two of them (especially if Eiko was closer to her Valentine personality), it'd be a pretty classic "the good boy and the bad boy girl" love triangle but Valmont is here, and he adds an interesting angle onto that love triangle(?) (is it still a triangle when there's three potential lover interests?).

(A reversal on Eiko and Selina’s very undefined relationship in Valentine’s run, which could be seen as divergence for the character but also kinda makes sense. With Eiko ending that run by shedding Catwoman (and identity that embodied personal freedom and also rebellion against her father) to become the head of the Hagisawa family (an identity marked by responsibility to the family and her place as her father’s heir) that going forward she’d be a lot less likely to engage in a nebulous undefined relationship when her life is now, by choice, very defined. It’s still however one of those things that assumes a non-zero amount of character development happened off screen.)

But Valmont? Valmont doesn’t ask anything *of* Selina.

Sure he does initially, “hey here’s this cat, I know where you live, join my thieves guild”. But this tactic gets him shot down by Selina and at best relegated to “untrusted ally” status (and more likely “useful but dangerous”). But after this, and after a brief break during the CatQuinn two-parter, Valmont’s back with a new tactic called “I’ll do literally anything you ask of me, including stopping killing people, and ask for nothing in return.” Which… with Selina being somewhat adverse to long term commitment (or commitment in general depending on the writer) this works.

Valmont’s hardly a healthier romantic option (he might not be the worst person Selina’s ever dated, but he’s still at the end of the day an arrogant invasive assassin) but he puts a spin on himself that makes Selina let her guard down around him and they do eventually become some vaguely undefined item.

And then in his final issue, Bruce accuses him of still being loyal to the league of assassins and of manipulating Selina. Then he kills again in the process of undoing a problem he caused, and gets in a big fight with Bruce about it. And when Valmont goes to kill Bruce, she kills Valmont which… It’s a weird moment for Selina, she’s normally very reserved about killing people and while yes needing to save Bruce could theoretically push her far enough. But also, it’s the best thing this run could do with Valmont.

Because Bruce’s accusations (along with Valmont’s general sketchiness) lead to this question with Valmont: does he genuinely love Selina, or is he using her for some unknown end? Because he know what he’s naturally like (down with murder) and we know he’s changed his behavior, but we don’t know whether it was because he wanted to be with Selina enough to change himself for that chance (which… understandable) or, if he was on some deep cover mission to manipulate Selina towards and he changed behavior in order to further his own covert ends. And… imo the possibility of it being one or the other is more interesting than any story you could get out of committing one way or the other.

And by killing Valmont, the run gets out of having to answer this question, which, again imo, is the most intelligent narrative decision this run made aside from bringing back Eiko.

That said, If in the last two issues Howard answers the question of “what really was up with Valmont” I’m retroactively taking back all of this praise and will be downgrading this run to "of poor quality but at least Eiko's here"

[armpirate]

UNDER HIS SKIN || JJK || Ch. 2

Pairings: tattoist!jk x fem!reader

Genre: smut, angst, friends to lovers, tattoo au, virgin reader.

Summary: They say there are two versions for every story, and it's important to hear both of them. Everybody is hearing your side of the story, but it's just fair to get to know his.

After breaking up with his girlfriend, the only thing he wanted was to have fun with no attachment. You wanted to get rid of your virginity, and he wanted to tick you off his list. What he didn't expect was getting so emotionally attached to you that he would regret the deal.

Previous || Next

MASTERLIST

I see her long hair moving in waves when she shakes her head, before she whispers in the softest and sweetest tone she doesn't. 

—But thank you so much —she adds, turning on her feet. 

One of her hands moves her hair out of her face, so she can look at me. It doesn't seem like she was expecting me to be here, because her eyes are wide open and she freezes on the spot, making her moves more carefully now.

Fuck. She's even hotter up close.

—Don't worry —she shakes her hands in the air—. I called a cab, it's all fine.

She keeps looking at both sides of the road, as if she were trying to invoke the taxi right in front of her right now. I take a look at her body, realizing she hasn't brought a jacket, although it's pretty cold out here.

—A cab this late on the busiest day of the week? —I raise my eyebrows, genuinely surprised—. Sorry to be the one telling you, but I doubt that cab will ever come. Or —I pause— it might come, but the driver will have to pick your frozen body up from there.

One of the main reasons why I chose to get the motorcycle license is because traffic in New York is crazy, whether you drive a car or you're the one being driven somewhere. Well, that and that I look cool on it.

—I could go back and wait inside —she points to the pub on my back.

And I'd love to get back in there and tell Taehyung to treat her to a drink while she waits and I try to get to know her better... If it weren't for Tania, and how she thinks I was too busy to give her any type of contact with me.

—It's up to you —I shrug—. I made my offer. A quite tempting one, I dare to say.

And I know she'll agree with me when we're done tonight.

Her eyes go from me to the pub and the road. She has three options and she's battling over the three. Although I see her keeping her gaze longer inside the club, which means I might've lost tonight. 

But she goes back to me. Her big eyes show she's still unsure of what she's going to do, but her body walks slowly to me.

—I don't want to be a bother.

I hide the proud smirk that's about to form on my face, by pressing my lips together and rushing to speak.

—You aren't one. But even if you end up being one, I was the one who came up with the idea. So don't worry.

We both know she won't be a bother.

—I live in Washington Heights —she warns me.

It's not that far from here, and it's like fifteen minutes away from the studio. It shouldn't be a hard ride. But I still joke, showing shock and acting like it's too far for me. Her eyebrows slightly frown, and her mouth grimaces a little, almost taking back what she was going to do.

—Just kidding —I smile.

She looks relieved when she sees my reaction, and smiles along. She looks cute, letting a tiny smile escape and hiding her face by looking away.

—It's not that far, so I can give you a ride there if you need it. But I need to do a stop first.

I wait and look at her, hoping for her to be okay with it. Showing me that tiny smile again, she finally nods and says she's fine with me stopping first. 

Oh, she's definitely in for it.

While looking at her again, I'm aware she's not wearing a coat because she doesn't have one with her. If she's already freezing here, she'll probably have hypothermia once we get to the tattoo studio after the ride. 

I take my leather jacket off. And, as if it were the most normal thing to do to a girl you just met, I cover her exposed body with my jacket. 

The way she's looking at me right now... She seems so cute and delicate. Definitely my type. 

—You don't have to. Really.

Before she attempts to take the jacket off, I start walking to my motorbike. 

—You'll need it.

I guess she'll understand why I gave her the jacket when she sees it. She holds onto the flaps jacket, keeping it in place, while she heads unsure to where I am standing. Her eyes keep going over the motorbike, intimidated by it, while her eyes scan over it, up and down, trying to make sure there isn't anything dangerous about it. 

Moving my hands close to hers, I lift the jacket for her shoulder by the flaps and raise it up for her. Unless she wants the jacket to fly away, she should put it on properly. 

—It'll get even colder when you get on.

She nods, while her eyes stare intensely into my eyes. She's trying hard to keep eye contact. 

The jacket falls over her body when she finally puts it on, the ends of it stopping a bit above the middle of her thigh, while the sleeves hang on her hands that are now totally covered by the fabric.

Once it all seems settled, I hop on the motorbike easily and wait for her to join me on it. I see her trying not to find support on my body, but her hands end up grabbing my shoulders as her leg moves to the other side. I'm confused when I don't feel her body against mine, and as I look down my arm, I see her leg trying to move away. 

If she keeps doing that, she'll fall off the motorbike before I get the chance to even start the engine. 

I feel so tempted to ask if she thinks I'll bite. Not that I don't, but not now.

—You should get closer —I catch her glance over my shoulder.

I feel her moving over the seat, until her thighs are resting against mine and her torso presses on my back. And it's not until I make the engine roar under us, that she hugs me tight, wrapping her arms around my torso as if her life depended on it. I can feel her heart pumping hard against my back, as her face is hiding on my nape. Her reaction is so endearing. I didn't expect her to be this way when I first saw her in the pub.

—Where are the helmets?

—What about them? —I question back.

After she hears that, her embrace is tighter -if that was even possible. It makes it a bit hard to move the motorbike away from the pavement to join the traffic. It doesn't last much though. Her heartbeat isn't as fast and hard as I keep driving my way to the studio, and her arms don't squeeze me as if she tried to take my lungs out of my mouth anymore.

And although I'd love to enjoy this a little longer, we arrive to the studio fast. She doesn't move an inch until I stop the engine, and move my body before her. While placing the stand, the stranger seems to get the hint and gets off me, finally setting me free to hop off the motorbike. 

Her body doesn't move though, she still straddles the motorbike, both of her hands resting on her thighs while she's looking at the studio signboard.

—You look good on it.

I can imagine, just a little glimpse, how good she'll look when she's straddling me instead later tonight. Cute girls are always the best kind for that.

—You work here? —she doesn't move her eyes away from the entrance, as she hops off the motorbike as well. 

—Yup —I nod—. I promise it'll be fast.

She doesn't know my name, she didn't even bother to ask before she got on my motorbike and let me drive her wherever I wanted. Not only that, but she's also stepping inside the studio with me. She's driven by that attraction we had in the pub, I could tell by the way her eyes were burning me half an hour ago. 

This is how it goes, usually. If we aren't already all over each other in the place we met, I tend to take them here. Ever since I found out girls get crazy over the idea of me being a tattoo artist, I couldn't stop taking the chance and using it on my favor. Them coming here, feeling special that I share this side of me with them, somehow makes them eager for more. The make out session here is just a starter, and it's up to her if we do it in here or move to her place. 

Anywhere but mine.

When I come back, I see her body resting on the crystal counter, looking at each one of the designs. 

—You like them?

She jumps when she hears my voice breaking the silence, but soon I see her smiling just to turn back to the designs hanging on the wall.

—They're cool. Which ones are yours?

I point to the ones that have my name on it. She already knows who I am, but she doesn't bother to tell me hers. On one hand, I don't care, I'm sure I won't remember -nor will try to- once we are done. But on the other hand, it feels like a punch straight to my stomach the way she's playing with advantage right now. 

Time to change that.

Both of my hands cage her on the counter, making her turn to me. Her eyebrows are slightly frowned as she stares deep into me. I try my best to keep the cool act, but I'm sure I'd be making a mess of her on the counter if she asked me to. 

I try to pull the old coin trick with a condom, hiding it in between my fingers just to magically show it as if I just made it appear.

Her reaction though...

—Seriously? —she raises her eyebrow.

—Oh c'mon, what are you here for then?

—A ride back home? 

—So you eye me for almost an hour, playing that interesting and mysterious game, agree on me taking you home, although you don't even know my name... And all you wanted is a ride back home?

In what universe that makes sense?

—Yes —she pushes me away—. When did I ever imply I'd fuck with you? And here? —she looks around, as if she were offended by what my take on things is.

Was she only expecting me to give her a good night kiss after dropping her off at home? What in the fucking kdrama is this?

And now I remember how I ignored Tania for her. I could've been getting my cock sucked by now, and instead I'm being called out for this. 

—Do you realize I ignored a possible good fuck for you?

—And what the fuck do I have to do with it? You were the one who followed me outside.

—Because you kept checking me out and thought you were interested —I let out a scoff—. But you were only being a cocktease.

That comment makes the confusion on her face turn to anger by the way her lips pucker. I see her taking the jacket off, throwing it at me before she stalks walking toward the door.

—Fuck you.

I don't even look at her. I don't care. At least not until I hear the cracking sound of my motorbike falling to the ground. 

That crazy bitch. 

I see it on the floor, when I get out, and I see her walking away fast. I don't even bother to call her or run after her to call her out. I rather move on from her, even if she just fucking scratched my motorbike when I've worked hard to keep it on perfect state.

Fuck her. 

When I'm back inside, I think it's time for a plan B. I don't like doing this. I don't like giving those girls hope by meeting them again. But by the way my mood switched because of her, I know I won't be able to pull someone new. 

A few reply, although Esther is the only one that invites me to her house straight away. How could I ever think of declining that offer?

[nettlestingsoup]

hi morgan! i hope you're well. i've got a Lot of asks for the end-of-year ask game, but hey, it's the end of the year, we may as well go out with a bang! how about 1, 3, 9, 10, 15, 16 (I know you like to match your songs to your wips), 18, 19, 20, 21 and 30? <3

honey! thank you for this! i've answered 10 and 19 here for spook, but let's tackle the rest of them! i can't really do short answers, so this is going to be monstrous.

1: this year i've definitely tried to write things that are a tiny bit more adult! i still won't do explicit sex scenes, but i've definitely pushed my boundaries in songs from within birdcages, lichtenberg, and the minchan vampire au, and it's been pretty fun to push myself out of my comfort zone with that and figure out how to incorporate those scenes into a story.

3: i think i've learned that i genuinely enjoy writing things closer to horror! with lichtenberg, the vampire au, and my nanowrimo original project (currently on hiatus while i recover from the health issues and nano burnout) i've had the opportunity to write things that are kind of weird and awful and uncanny, and i've found that i absolutely love doing it. here's to getting spookier in 2024!

9: the red thread au has meant so much to me to write; as a queer person, and someone autistic, and someone who frequently experiences the very weird sensation of not being quite as real as everyone around me, it's been a joy to write the story of seungmin slowly being drawn into humanity and all its joys by his soulmate. it's gentle and soft and i've loved exploring things like new sensory experiences and seungmin learning to understand his perception of his gender and sexuality and the idea of feeling like he belongs. it'll be a while before it's finished to a degree i think is satisfactory, but i'm excited to share it eventually.

15: i only posted two fics this year, so i'll rec the one i'm not currently posting! songs from within birdcages is a science fiction adventure romance between a freighter pilot and the high-end prostitute he falls in love with and plans to set free; it's a story of hope, and home, and love enduring despite darkness, and a determined belief in fairytales; it gets dark at times, but there's always a light at the end. i'm genuinely very proud of it, and i'm planning a sort of spin-off next year covering my favourite side ship and how a romance could develop between a man and a machine who's only just learning how to feel.

16: writing songs!!!! hell yes!!! you know i love a writing song!!!! i'll include five, one for each fic i've worked on this year.

songs from within birdcages: constellations, jade lemac

lichtenberg: let this remain, alana henderson

the beekeeper au: true as true can get, kaiyko

the red thread au: you're so fucking pretty, the regrettes

the vampire au: iodine and iron, the veils

18: the red thread au still has no title. i'm 41k into it and i just have no ideas at all! i'm waiting for inspiration to strike as i work on it.

20: my favourite ending line of the year is definitely the last line of songs from within birdcages:

The lights of the Rinan Cluster fade away behind them, electric lilac and artificial green; and by the time Chan and Hyunjin remember to try to watch them go - to witness their past blur into nothing but pinpricks in the far distance, indistinguishable from the stars - they’ve disappeared entirely.

it's a good end to hyunjin and chan's journey, i think, to be so absorbed in one another that they forget to watch the old life that hurt them so badly fade away. they deserve that.

21: my favourite piece of dialogue is this little snippet from the beekeeper au; i think it just really shows off chan's warmth and his enthusiasm for his bees!

“You don’t have to get right up close,” he tells Jisung. “But it’s worth it if you feel comfortable with it. They’re beautiful little creatures, and amazing builders.” He smiles, looking almost giddy with joy. “Every time I look in the hives I fall in love with them a bit, you know? Seeing what they can do.” “I don’t really know a lot about bees,” Jisung admits, and Chan shakes his head animatedly. “That’s ok! I can tell you a few things. Just, uh- let me know if I go on about it too much, yeah? I tend to get carried away.”

30: i have so much i want to write in 2024 on top of finishing current projects! i'd love to finally sit down and write the minchan hanahaki au (hanahaki is next after vampires on the list of 'tropes i've been desperate to write but only once i think i have something unique to bring to it'), as well as the 2min songs from within birdcages spinoff. i think i'd also love to write something for another fandom; i have a small store of wangxian ideas i'd love to write, but i keep getting drawn back into skz.

thank you so much for these asks! i'm sorry my answers were so very long! <3

[greenticklerdreams]

Question delivery 📦

What's your favour shade of green?

If you could experience one piece of media - so a certain TV show, album, video game, etc - for the first time again, which would you choose and why?

What's your favourite TTRPG-related memory?

Top o' the mornin'! Sorry I got to this days later, hope it's still mildly interesting.

I think it always has been that dark, coniferous shade that they call forest or hunter green. Love a nice lime, too, I just can't wear it. Wait, does teal count? I say teal is its own thing.

I thought about this for too long (part of the reason why I haven't answered yet, lol)... the trouble is, if I pick something too foundational to my tastes, I can't imagine the kind of person I'd be right now. So I'm going to pick something more recent, probably the last media to affect me so strongly... I wish I could play Breath of the Wild for the first time again. That summer was magical.

I need to pick one! (oh hey, the other reason why I took too long to answer) Okay, well, first off, here's one I've already written about:

But I want to tell another story, a sillier one from when I was playing. One of the most fun one-shots (oops it was more like 3 or 4 sessions) I got to play in was when we were all hillbilly halflings. Let me explain: a black dragon razed our tiny village, got killed by adventurers, and while they started carving up the dragon, our characters got the harebrained scheme to raid the dragon's lair before those pesky adventurers made off with the loot. We played a farmer with his prize pig as an animal companion (Ranger), his sister who went off to Artificer college, his other sister that lived in the woods and talked to the plants and dirt (Druid), and their weird cousin the woodcutter with a violent streak (Barbarian).

We all just got really into character and developed our relationships, drawing on all of our experiences with growing up in small-town America while talking in the most countrified hillbilly cracker accents you can imagine. The banter was amazing. The moment that broke the table - the moment I've been getting to - was when my pig farmer eldest brother was talking to Weird Cousin after one of our first bloody battles, in which he used his Barbarian Rage to great affect. He said something like, "Ah dunno, cuz... sometimes ah just get these URGES..." I saw where he was going with this and I followed it up with something like, "well, it ain't a sin t' have urges, cuz! As long as y'don't ACT on 'em!" I can still hear my one friend choking out "OH MY GOD!!!" on that exchange. So we carried on talking about what the Halfling Harvest Goddess expects of us and the rest of the table couldn't handle it. ... I miss that player. He was awesome for roleplay moments like that.

Thanks for the custom-tailored questions!