#idk not doing this enough to make that tag relevant but idk
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Dazai cosplay adventure btw :)
:3
#kite… cosplays?#idk not doing this enough to make that tag relevant but idk#knkd plushie posting#kite watches bsd#bsd#bungou stray dogs#dazai osamu#yipppeeee#it was fun but Went Theoigj an event x.x#*through#which u may have seen me ranting abt earlier before privating it :’0#I’m working on handling it all aaa :<#it’ll be ok -#this fit was like 90% thrifted#already had the coat pants and shirt#vest was 5$ shoes were..5$ as well iirc? bolo tie was 20#bandages I got in a biggger set for 15-#yea it was great#hehehe :3
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Was having a discussion earlier with my sibling, and we ended up talking about fursuits for whatever reason
We don't know anyone who has one, but we've heard that they get super hot and stuffy usually. My sibling also pointed out to me that some fursuits are made of more lightweight materials, and I realized that I had no idea how many furries prefer heavier fabric fursuits or lighter fabric ones instead, sooooo
#not skeleton stuff#rambles#kinda sorta?? idk man#furry#furries#fursona#fursuit#i think these tags are relevant enough?#(makes noises and gestures to convey that idk what I'm doing)#polls
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okay apologising in advance because ive read over this so many times i cant see so idk if this sucks Actual balls but cowboys here 😞
#how tf do u do the thing where u post like. a chapter and not . the whole work. im not Techy enough 4 this shit#im so tired Bruh#i feel like im just making shit happen for the hell of it. what relevance does any of this have. im going to die#blah blah!#deus in absentia#i forgot which tag i use 4 this#gatty#genuinely one day that tags gna fucking KILL ME#im so obsessed with georges squinty eyes Pls img onna :((((((((((#hes so nervous:( im gonna starr cryignjgnjrerjngnj#i think i possibly had too much caffeine but also idk#georges giggly little laugjgbjefgkjfbfs#my fic
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not posting this on artfight until i get roxanne's ref done but yippeee petra here she is
#sunblood#idk why im posting her here too but here she is. yeah ill probably be doing this with everyone </3 no i will not make individual posts for#All Of Them dw#esp sol&co bc THOSE fellas are. they are many. there are a lot of them#oc#original character#character design#character ref#artfight 2023#artfight ref#briars_ocs#my_ocs#tbh shouldve waited to finish roxannes before posting petras at all bc they come in a set do not separate etc etc buuut whateverrr#also cannot fuckin decide on petras nose idfk why i decided to include her side profile too like .#also cannot draw her consistently at all this is so sad </3#anyway enough tagsbabbling#ive also decided to do away with my queue bc it is Almost out (forgor some of the hk stuff oooops)#dw there is still much hk stuff. ok most of it is in my head .but there is a lot. for instance i have hegemol's design down. drawn properly#no. down? yes. i even got some drawings of him with l--#(cutting myself off or else this post will show up in the (ir)relevant tag </3 probably </3)#anyway if you've read this far uhh.....why? but also youre now legally obligated to pester me to finish the hk art and or post it (joking)(#(unless.......? 😳)#ok ENOUGH tagsbabbling#(keeps talki---)
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Stop leaving juicy drama in your tags and not sharing with the class.
here’s to another ask you won’t answer
CHEERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
First of all)))) ig i am answering this one so jokes on you. Im winning 🥱
SECOND OF ALL)))) i told you most stuff but the names so stop acting like your not the ONLY ONE in the class who know the 'juicy drama' (i think, i cant remember what i told you this might be a lie)
CHEERS 🥂🥂🥂
#merlin was about ready to send a swat team to my house to find the screenshots i *might* have 💀#i want to vague post about this so bad bc its kinda funny but *no* thats “inmature”#and “dramatic”#BUT ITS MORE FUNNY THAN INSULTING LIKE THIS WOULD MAKE A GREAT STORY IF I KNEW HOW TO PHRASE THE CONTEXT#one day im going to hqve enough energy to form a time line of all this bc there is ✨️layers✨️#and WHEN I DO#youll be the first to get it pal 😌#sreeder i know for a fact that you have your own personal tag and ive been looking for it for like 15 minutes#and idk what it is#so your getting a new one 🫶🫶#max thinks shes relevant#asks#sreeder tag🐊#🧓🧓🧓
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I'm not built for spn fandom
#hm i should make an original post tag#not saying I'm leaving i just. I'm not built for this place#i am much more 'successful' in my starwars and [redacted fandom] blogs#and idk if spn fandom doesn't like browsing tags or if it's just that insular or what but it's like. wow. i Do Not fit in in here.#i'm no good at following and keeping up with groups of people#i'm no good at knowing how to make a post reach more people other than by tagging it appropriately#which does not seem to work on spn. the tags seem useless. it's have popular mutuals who reblog your posts or die invisible#i'm no good at 'producing' ''content'' regularly to stay relevant in the blogs and minds of people#i'm just some quiet guy occasionally making silly posts and doodles#which is enough in other places. but not here.
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anjum's bkdk recs 20
Ten more (complete) sfw bkdk fic recs. If you read any of these and enjoy them, lmk! And, more importantly, let the authors know with a comment! Plus, send me your recs, and maybe they’ll make the next list!
Legend
hyperlinked title by author | word count
Genre warning(s): where relevant Summary/review
💚🧡 = fave
Recs are under the cut, organized by word count, low to high.
61. notebook by delicate cherry, sobashouto (snowandfire) | 2.3k
romance, general A really short and sweet fic that’s kind of the moments just before bkdk start dating. The boys aren’t quite seeing eye-to-eye, Baku isn’t communicating exactly what he’s feeling, but that’s what makes it feel really in character. They’re not great at this, but they’re just starting to try.
62. Hey, I’m Fine by majjale | 3.2k 💚🧡
angst, romance Angst with a happy ending! I didn’t trust this author, though, haha, I really thought I was about to get staked through the heart. (I don’t always read tags…) Lovely characterization, especially for Deku. It’s tender and domestic meets pro hero life. Love that intersection, as it’s basically all I want for bkdk. Pro hero canonverse action with soft domesticity. Perfect.
63. Diversion Tactic by garbage_dono | 7.5k 💚🧡
romance A cute take on UA bkdk getting together! Feels grounded in canon with good characterization. And it’s somehow fresh in its initiating event, with following gay panic from our beloved Bakugou.
64. Not All Heroes Wear Capes by vulcanhighblood | 11k
romance, fake dating, get together Fake dating fic! Bakugou has the brilliant idea to fake date Deku to get paparazzi off Deku’s back. Maybe not brilliant, lol. The fic has good doses of Baku’s brand of immaturity, it feels age appropriate, and Deku surely has a backbone against Baku’s silly scheme.
65. half drunk, happy by froggenbie | 13.2k
warning: drunk (non-explicit) (bkdk not dkbk) sex romance, get together Bkdk are roommates after graduation, and they start having drunk hookups. Then they’re not so drunk. I knew the writing would be quality right at the beginning of this fic. Sometimes you just know. Bkdk have their horrible communication skills but natural chemistry and deep need for each other and it was a great take on a familiar story.
66. Go Get Your Man, Young Bakugou! by red_sneakers | 16.6k
comedy, romance This one is pretty silly. Not quite crack, because I can kind of believe it for these losers XD They need a bit of help and extra guidance to get together, but it’s nice to see the boys being stupid together while falling in love.
67. Voicemail by raeryn | 20.7k
angst warning: MCD If you wanna cry on the train like I did, read this one. I’ll go ahead and tell you, since it’s clear from early on—Deku is dead and Baku isn’t handling it well. The story is his long journey to reaching some level of closure with some help from his friends. Unhappy ending isn’t usually my fave genre, but idk, this one ends nicely, even if the sad doesn’t fully go away.
68. Walls I Didn’t Know I Had by Elisa Jaded | 21.5k
hurt/comfort, romance Post-war, Katsuki wakes up from his injuries to find that Deku isn’t in the shelter with everyone else. Turns out he’s somewhere else, in desperate need of Baku’s support. They find happiness again together, good balance of realistic angst to romance!
69. Healing Pains by lurethegalaxy | 23.2k
romance Pining Bakugou and oblivious Deku is such a delicious flavor. Bakugou having done some level of emotional work on himself—but still being constipated to heck and gone—while Deku just avoids avoids avoids feels so correct to me. I liked living in that take with a fic recent enough that it feels really grounded in what the directly post-war aftermath would have felt like.
70. The Night We Met by majjale | 37.3k
angst, adventure, romance Another painful one. Baku is immortal and Deku keeps dying. AU. Now, you know I hate AUs, (and I had the same issues here I always do, tbh…) but the prose is magnificent. I wish I’d been highlighting as I read. Even if I imagine these as OCs, it’s worth the read because of the writing quality. The brief, cryptic author’s notes add to it. If you’re okay with a pretty heavy dose of angst, please give it a go. (I linked the series, as there are 2 very short sequels)
more recs can be found here 💚🧡
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guys do you want to hear a secret??
Not all redheads are related 😱😱
Shhhhh 🤫🤫 this his highly confidential information that those people saying Gwyn is Lucien's/Eris's daughter clearly haven't heard.
Also related to that
Not all redheads come from the Autumn court 😱😱😱
Please stop trying to make Gwyn relevant to the overarching plot of ACOTAR by saying outrageous things:
She is not going to suddenly be descended from the Autmnn Court.
She's not going to free Autumn court from Beron.
She's not going to "save" Illyria.
She is not going to wield Gwydion and charge into battle with Azriel (idk where this even came from - ig bc people saw Gwy-n and Gwy-dion and said close enough? 😭 really guys?)
She is not going to tag along as Azriel's girlfriend as Azriel and Nesta somehow with their powers of shadows & death, bring Dusk court back to life.
Stop it. Read the books. Girl won the Bloodrite and went back into the library, wasn't even sure she would be comfortable attending her best friend's mating ceremony. That's how ACOSF ended for her. I'm not trying to belittle her accomplishments, but saying she is going to have an ENTIRE BOOK dedicated to her and coming up with all sorts of insane plots in that desperate attempt is just like ... sad? You are completely overwriting her character to fit YOUR narrative....
To make her relevant enough to be the love interest for SJM's new favorite batboy, apparently. Because even YOU know Gwyn, as she is, is not important enough to be tied to the overall plot of ACOTAR going forward.
This is - again - not trying to diss Gwyn or anything. She is an amazing character, as she is. She is kind and brave and competitive. She doesn't need to change for me to like her. But this fandom has turned her into something she is not.
She is not a sculpture for you to shape as you desire to fit Azriel's plotline. Not when there is literally nothing to hint how SHE feels about that man. Like a bad version of Pygmalion ffs.
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i was scrolling your “life is in your home too” tag, which I love btw, and saw a post about how you learned to be a good dom from experienced expert doms by reading how they dom and some of their best scenes, do you think you could point me in the direction of some resources for me to study that too? thanks in advance, if not, thanks anyway!
(post referenced is here - link 1)
first of all tysm for this ask (+ your incredibly kind follow-up), it was a delight to receive + i’ve been wanting an excuse to talk about a lot of this for a while so i very much appreciate the interest!
as always please keep in mind that i am Just Some Fem, nothing is universal including when it comes to D/s & i can only speak to what works for me. i try to focus on starting points rather than specifics but ultimately my advice will always be limited by what i needed to hear & wasn’t told, which may not be what’s helpful for a different person. with that being said, here’s some suggestions!
i’ve posted a previous reading list (link 2) with relevant recs; particularly the practicality + sex writing sections have the kind of thing you’re looking for. specifically, The New Topping Book (2003) is a solid starting point; i definitely have my issues with it (haven’t read it recently enough to recall many specifics but i have the sense of general pervasive racism & ableism) but it did a good job at making me think & i appreciate the supportive tone they were going for
another book added to my tbr since then is Coming to Power (link 3), released by SAMOIS in 1983
other authors whose sex writing has been influential in my life: Sandra Cisneros, Natalie Diaz, Joan Nestle, Judy Grahn
the fic At The End of His Rope by Letterblade (link 4) is genuinely some of my favorite sex writing of all time & accomplishes the incredibly impressive feat of representing a broad array of dom styles & changes over time in the same piece
my “impurity culture” tag (link 5) houses the building blocks of my sexual ethic
i’ve found many of those foundations by poking around the incredible bodies of work original & archived @newsmutproject @woman-loving @gatheringbones
for me, studying sex is the same as studying poetry – reading for craft is a different process than for pleasure (not that there isn’t a great deal of pleasure to be found in such practice, especially for sadists – perhaps that’s why as a child i never resonated with Billy Collins’ “Introduction to Poetry,” like i love tying poems to chairs & beating them idk what to tell you). so, keeping in mind that these are suggestions not requirements, here’s how i read for + work on craft:
there is no such thing as too much journaling. this can take whatever form you prefer – voice memo, discord message to yourself, the noble notes app, your own personal sexy red string corkboard, a vast & stunning array of other approaches i can’t even begin to imagine. i personally have an elaborate web of spreadsheets & google docs lmao. what matters is developing a collection of ideas you want to play with + a practice of continually reflecting on past experiences.
pay attention to structure, not just content. find a scene you think is disjointed and pick at the seams, brainstorm better transitions. then find a scene that flows so smoothly it carries you with it and figure out what makes it work.
rewrite a scene you’re drawn to or affected by to suit your own preferences. i first did this when i couldn’t shake “Interlude 3” (link 6) from my head after reading The New Topping Book; you can read my variation on the theme here (link 7) if you’re interested.
write or think through a scene fantasy you have from negotiation to aftercare. obviously it’s very difficult if not impossible to fully script a scene in advance; the purpose isn’t planning something you’ll later do but rather getting used to coming up with ideas to get from one disparate moment / act to the next.
revisit a scene you’ve read, written, thought about, etc and list the physical & mental acts that are required / expected of the sub (eg, kneeling for 10 minutes; making eye contact; counting to 30, etc). then rework the scene for a sub who has the same interests & goals who cannot do 20% (or 50%, or any) of these acts.
revisit a previous scene and list the places where you think a sub might safeword & why. then rework it with the sub safewording somewhere that isn’t any of these places.
i also recommend keeping in mind that like… for me, reading about ethical sex can often be a very distressing process for the same reason that it’s liberating: because it proves that things i’ve experienced are not the way sex has to be. i’ll tell this story in its fullness one day but the first time i read S/HE by Minnie Bruce Pratt i literally had a flashback to events i’d repressed for years, it was devastating, i’m so grateful for it. hell, in the process of compiling resources for this post i cried twice editing this quote (link 8) because between reading that book the first time & now someone did “respond with scorn or ridicule” when i safeworded. so i would really encourage folks to approach this kind of work with as much grace & comfort for yourself as you can muster or borrow – if it’s really fucking hard, you’re not alone in that, & it’s okay to take your time + pace yourself + seek support.
your + others’ interest is definitely motivating me to actually write posts i’ve been tossing around for months so thank you again & feel free to keep an eye out for more shut-in sex tips in my new “tomorrow sexting will be good again” tag. would love to hear your thoughts on any of this post / these or other books / whatever really lol. wishing you all the best & i hope today is kind to you! 💓
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Hi you’re such an amazing writer and great smut writer!! I was wondering if u had any tips on writing smut cus I wanna start writing it too! Do u have tips on dialogue/action/pacing and being descriptive 😭 it’s harder than it looks!! Ps your suguru bumpy car ride is one of my fave fics!! And I’m excited for sadako!geto 😘😘
hey nonny, pookie tysm ur too sweet! im so glad you enjoy my perversions enough to ask me for advice kcjhdscjkhsdb 😩🩷🙏🏽✨
also sure idk if these will be helpful but these are things that help me:
smut:
i think the cardinal rule of smut writing is if it doesn't make you horny, re-write it until it does. lol.
i am a very visual person so i like to close my eyes and imagine the scene before i write it. not just going through the motions either. if this is me, reader, what am i thinking, feeling (both physically and emotionally).
5 senses (touch, taste, smell, sound, sight) should be covered. not every action needs all 5 but if you are describing something you should at least be hitting two of these. " tears falling, you cry out as he enters you slowly" is fine but "blinking away tears you hiss from the overwhelming stretch of his girth entering you, even slowly, proves to be too much" is better.
sometimes i need a boost and if you partake then a few puffs from a weed pen or a glass of wine (im partial to bubbly) will put you in the MOOD lmfao.
*note i dont think you need to have experienced something to write about it, sex included for any virgins however in lieu of that, with anything you don't have experience in, you need to do research to make it believable.
dialogue:
use dialogue to tell us/reiterate who the character is. you can tell us the character is nervous but then its highlighted by the stuttering, rambling, etc of their spoken words.
break up long dialogue with descriptions. this is also a pacing tip. also can insert memories, i will have readers have a whole dialogue and in the middle their will be a relevant memory to give context and insight to the character and their motivations.
using subtext to explain character feelings, you dont have to be so explicit with dialogue all the time. instead of a character saying "im so fucking mad at you right now," use "alright" your voice is clipped, flipping your hair over your shoulder you go back to your task at hand, not even sparing them another glance.
i rarely use explicit dialogue tags now like "said, spoke, cried, yell" i will still use them but ill weave into the description that follows. ex instead of "please stay!" you cried—i would write—"please stay!" your lip quivers as tears gathered on your lashes.
action:
the last subtext tip also helps with action too, alot of times its what we see that really enriches the dialogue so "show" dont "tell".
this is also a pacing tip but during high action/intense scenes using shorter sentences helps express the urgency. although it all depends as long sentences/paragraphs too can help build tension, slowing down descriptions/actions during the climax (lol non sexual) of a scene builds anxiety/thrill.
explaining emotional reactions of heart racing, sweaty palms, etc, is just as important as physical reactions (even tho these are physiological actions they still are emotion driven).
pacing:
besides the pacing tips above in the other sections i think the biggest pacing issue i think people have is adding in details, actions, etc that don't inform your story. everything action/thought you take time to elaborate on that your character does, should be relevant to their motivations, story or characterizations. if it doesnt apply to one of those then cut it out. (note: sometimes it does apply and needs to be cut out and moved another section if its making a scene go on to long)
edit your stories, i know some people post and go and thats fine. everyone has different goals. some just want to get out thoughts and go. however, pacing can be hard to effectively capture on the first go so you will need to reread at least once to ensure your fic is properly paced.
editing leads into eliminating redundancy. often i will write something where i expressed an emotion/feeling then did it again a paragraph or two down the line just in a different way. unless that feeling is evolving, its redundant. redundant doesnt mean the feeling isnt applicable in both places, it means ive already established this feeling/state of mind in my story and it isnt needed both places. this can be one of the hardest things to identify or even fix. however i think my fics are 100x better when i do.
descriptive:
i think people fall into one of these buckets, 1) having the inclination of being overly wordy descriptive or 2)not being descriptive enough. i am the former, so my issuing is editing is pulling back and giving emphasis on somethings but not others. if you arent descriptive enough you will have to decide where in your story its important to give emphasis.
use metaphors that make sense to the person speaking or narration style. you wouldnt use overly flowery language for example if you were writing how sukuna is feeling about something lol.
hope these tips were helpful!
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(BTW I'm very down with wanting sapnap being dead for being sapnap I just wanted to be sure I was hip qirh the kids and pissed for the Correct reason)
DLSKFLSJFSKF SORRY I WAS OUT TOUCHING GRASS WHEN YOU SENT ME YOUR FIRST ANON.
Also in hindsight I worded this answer like you have 0 clue who Shartnap is but I'm gonna keep it that way for anyone who sees this and Doesn't Go Here At All.
Here's a good overview post abt Crapnap from my friend.
This Specific Instance we're wishing death upon him more than the default amount because he's participating in Squidcraft, a Latino-made/hosted and primarily Latino-played Minecraft competition with a big cash prize. (Aka that irrelevant ass sweaty ass racist Texan is literally only playing to win more money he doesn't need. He also won last year's SC 🙄). Last year there were a few non-Latino players (like him), but this year there were a BUNCH, most likely thanks to the existence of QSMP. There were Americans, Brits, and French just to name a few!
My mutual @pixiecaps has been the most outspoken on my dash about the dumbshit being in Squidcraft, so I'll tag them here and they can add any additional context they see fit in the reblogs or replies. They might have insight or perspective that I don't bc they're Latino and I'm not. 👍🏻 And this was baby's first Squidcraft for me purely bc QSMP members were in it, so idk much abt previous ones whereas Pix might.
It's annoying enough that Crapnap is in the competition at all, but yesterday a bunch of other previous DSMP members (Philza, Tubbo, Foolish, to name a few) all died in one of the games together and were thus eliminated. Shatnap's petty nobody poopy ass was literally CHEERING when they all died, which is poor sportsmanship for one (he has none tho let's be real here), and two: No Toxicity is one of the competition rules. So by all means, he should be investigated by the Squidcraft mods and (hopefully) disqualified for his bullshit.
And some additional context bc my guess is this all plays into why he was so outwardly toxic like that: Tubbo has outspokenly hated the Dr*m Team for a while now. He also had direct beef with Shatnap bc the dumbfuck tried migrating to Kick (basically Twitch for bigots & predators, to say the least).
AND, most relevant and recent: Philza was just on Tommy and Jack Manifold's podcast Shut Up I'm Talking about a week ago, and on the Patreon version of the episode the three of them talked about how Dr*m is a piece of shit, they all hate him, and how nasty and weird he was behind the scenes during DSMP, especially to Tommy.
Dr*m Team 100% knows this was all said, bc a) some of it was clipped ofc and b) Dr*m fucking posted the DSMP world download as damage control after people started talking abt what was said on the episode bc god forbid he look bad and get negative attention for 2 seconds. He's been begged by numerous people for LITERALLY LIKE 3 YEARS to drop the world download and only JUST did it to do damage control and make himself look all good and innocent or At Least distract people (spoiler alert: didn't work, he just made himself look even more pathetic. He basically gave the people who correctly hate him a gift in addition to clowning on him).
Shartnap literally lives with Dr*m, so there's no way he doesn't know Tommy, Jack & Phil have spoken some of the truth TECHNICALLY PRIVATELY. IT WAS ON PATREON BEHIND A PAYWALL.
Soooo yeah. As usual, Dr*m Team fucking sucks ass (many such cases, no one is surprised). Crapnap is the ""last remaining"" of the Dr*m Team to not have some Extreme horrific controversy and that's what keeping him able to be in competitions like this, rather than isolated to a shitty corner with the other two dumbfucks. (CLARIFICATION: He DOES have controversies. You can assume what some of them are based off of things said in that post I linked. Plus the Kick thing. But in comparison to Dr*m [a groomer, among other things], and George [sexual predator, among other things], Shatnap is ""the least awful"" of them, which is almost definitely why he's still ""welcome"" in competitions like this one).
Additional silly context: I'm calling him variations of shit because he openly admitted sometime earlier this year that he shit himself (or at least sharted) on stream.
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Good Mornings and Model Kits
Tags: M/M, Fluff, Domestic, Established relationship, Team Fortress 2, Medic, Engineer, EngieMedic, Science Party, German Engineering
WC: 1.5k
CW: None this is the fluffiest most self indulgent garbage I have ever written. We die like mercs choking on the sugar of this fluff. You could consider a line or two hinting at suggestive buuuuut it's nothing explicit
Translations:
Mein Leibe - My love
mein bärchen - My teddy bear
A/N: Sooooooo I always promised myself that I wouldn't start writing fanfic because like idk I told myself that it would be cringey to write fanfic and that anything I wrote would suck but to be cringe is to be free and this image was too strong in my brain not to write and gods I gotta let myself be and create what I want instead of what I think is good enough.
I was super inspired by @creedei and his engiemedic art. I was low-key inspired by these posts: (I also love popitdontdropit on AO3 they're transmasc engie fanfic will make you ascend to a higher plane)
https://www.tumblr.com/creedei/727483531127914496/sketch-dump (third image)
https://www.tumblr.com/creedei/721589317420695552/cute-aggression
https://archiveofourown.org/users/popitdontdropit/
Also its not noted in the fic or relevant but my engie is transmasc I need everyone to know because its my favorite hc. I fell in love with creedei's engie. He's mad gender euphoria for me as a transmasc guy with the same body type (also because i simp hard for medic so seeing the character I project onto with the character I like is just *chefs kiss*). And pyro who is mentioned in passing uses they/she pronouns because I like when this shit is as queer as possible and I get to choose what happens in this story.
I'll probably also cross post this on AO3 at some point and link it here. Anyway, Enjoy!!! *runs and hides*
A quiet dawn begins to trickle light into the Red barracks. All is quiet on a seldom day off for the Red Team. Medic drinks in this treasured time. With a cup of tea in hand he turned towards the infirmary where the notes from his most recent experiment await review. He definitely needs to reevaluate the actual size of a gorilla liver before putting it into Demoman again. The muffled sounds of snores creates a lulling tune that echoes in the halls until...
tink tink tink clunk
tink tink tink clunk
"Hm?" Medic's ears perked up to the quiet sound
click click
tink tink tink
"Vhat is zhat?" Medic turns to follow the sound.
A tiny symphony of clicks and clacks emanates from deep in the halls past the common area and the majority of the bedrooms. Medic follows the sound through the hall.
tink tink tink clunk
tink tink tink tink clunk
tink tink clunk
Medic finds himself at the Engineer's workshop.
"He never usually vakes up zhis early on a day off at least not vithout vaking me for some.....private time" Medic smirks to himself thinking of Engie and his previous day off exploits in Engie's room, Medic's room, the infirmary operating table, the shower... Medic gets lost for a moment in a glow of those steamy memories and shakes his head bringing him back to reality. "Vonder vhat he's doing?" Medic thinks and slowly opens the door and sneaks into Dell's workshop.
Dell's back is facing the door as he sits at his desk. The small bulbed lamp on his work desk illuminates a halo of light around the man. The soft sweater he's wearing adds a comforting warmth to the glow. An etheral god tinkering with his realm. Like a moth to a flame, the medic slowly crossed the room beelining to the one place where he slots in perfectly. Once within reach, Medic wraps his arms around Engie leaning his head on Dell's shoulder placing a gentle kiss before resting his head.
"Good morning mein leibe" Ludwig cooed "What's got you up so earl-" tink "Ow! vhat vas zhat"
"Sorry darlin' sometimes the little bits go flyin' because of the nippers," Engie turned "Where did you get hit?"
"Why?"
"So I can kiss it better." Dell smiled.
Ludwig groaned at the horrible pickup line and smirked "I got hit right here" and points to his mouth.
"I'm very sorry" Dell chuckled. He grabbed the Medic's chin with his gunslinger with the lightest touch only he is capable of and gave him a gentle kiss. "What brings you by the workshop this early, dumplin'?"
"I was getting some tea and I heard the sound of..."
tink tink
"Ow!" another small piece of plastic hits Medic in the forehead. "...Zhat. I heard zhat and started following and it brought me here, mein bärchen. Vhat is zhis anyway?"
"Sorry again. The lil bits that come off the model kit pieces can go flying in unexpected places."
"Model kit? I didn't know you even were interested in these let alone where to find them."
"Pyro turned me on to these last time we went to town. They begged me to take her to this store with all these fancy plushies that are imported so they could get a new one for their collection. Real quality y'know. She ended takin' a while but ended up choosing this nice bear fox thing that I learned is called a tanuki and then there was this other one that was an armadillo and I was thinkin' about it but I realized I would never use-"
"Sveetie. You're rambling"
"Thank you" Engie laughs, "what would I do without you?" He places a hand on medics cheek and places a kiss on the other. "So Pyro showed me these model kits they have and they said I would love these and I grabbed a couple to keep 'em around. This is the first chance I've had to put one together."
"Interesting. Vhat's it going to be?" The Medic looks at the subject of their boyfriend's focus and sees....well a lot of pieces that will make something? Small red and black pieces of plastic twinkle under the work lamp. A large pile of injection mold sheets loom next to Engie's work area. Pieces are in various states of progress some starting to take shape like limbs.
"It's gonna be a robot. A lot of these kits are different robots couldn't tell you much because I can't read the Japanese on the box, but it'll look neat when it's done based of the pictures." Dell informed his boyfriend as Medic snuggles closer to listen to the Engineer tell him about his latest project. "This piece is gonna be one of the arms and it bends like this so you can pose it and change out the hands. And this is gonna be the leg."
"Can I stay and vatch vhile you vork?"
"Of course, moon pie!"
Ludwig pulls a stool over behind Dell so he can stay in his current position arms wrapped around the engineer sinking slightly into his plush yet muscular tummy and rest his head on his lover's strong shoulder.
The symphony of click and tinks resumed as Dell settled into a new rythmn of work. The sound of Engie and Medic quietly talking, giggling, or just enjoying the intoxicating calmness together.
Ludwig watches Dell's hands deftly click the plastic pieces together. He marvels at the precise and delicate movement of the gunslinger. The same robotic hand capable of crushing bone and tearing metal also able to pick up fragile things with ease truly is one of the greatest miracles the Medic has ever seen. He can't help and feel so much love when with Dell. He could just...
"Gah! Ludwig, did you just bite me?" Engineer cried out grabbing the side of his neck.
"I couldn't help it." Medic chuckled "You looked so perfect and it's so cozy. I had to bite."
"You're lucky I love you, moon pie"
"I know. Love you too leibe"
Dell refocuses as a faint set of teeth marks bloom on his skin.
tink tink tink clunk
tink tink clunk
tink tink tink clunk
click click click
click click
clunk
"Leibschen you put the thing on upside down."
"Are you sure? this looks right, dumplin'."
"Look at the picture the angular part of the kidney shaped piece should be pointing towards that half frisbee piece on the big piece"
Dell picks up the instructions and squints closely at them. Ludwig reaches his hand over and turns the upside down instructions right side up.
"Oooooooh. I see what you mean"
clunk click claclunk
"Thank you, sweetie"
tink tink clunk
tink tink tink clunk
click click
"Finally finished" Engie and Medic look at the little robot model in all its completed glory. The small figurine shined in the now brighter lit room each piece sanded perfect and each sticker placed precisely. The angular crimson robot sported a long bazooka in one hand and a clenched fist on the other arm. The sleek robot stands posed with one fist raised triumphantly.
"Let me try" Medic gently picks up the robot model and begins to fiddle with it. He pops out the gun hand and puts in a fist. He bends one leg while straightening the other completely. The arms are folded in front of it. After, carefully balancing the model on the table. Medic reveals the robot in a Katosky Kick. Dell and Ludwig chuckle looking at the cutely posed robot. They look at each other. Such a nice moment together. Engie leans forward and kisses Medic lovingly.
"Thank you for spendin' time with me, darlin'." Dell cooed warmly, "havin' company really made my mornin'." He gently places a hand on Medic's cheek and strokes it with his thumb.
Medic places a hand over Engie's. "Of course, my bärchen. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my morning."
Dell and Ludwig bask in each in this moment. Engie looks at his lover and sees the passionate and ambitious doctor he always fell for and keeps falling for every day. Medic sees the strong and beautiful inventor that fought to be here in more ways than one.
"Now vhat?"
"I don't know. Wanna go make a real robot?"
"I've got the perfect spider monkey brain I've been saving for a rainy day!" Medic squealed "You get the supplies. I'll get the brain and bring it back here" Medic planted a hard kiss on Engie's temple before running off.
#team fortress 2#engiemedic#science party#german engineering#tf2 engineer#tf2 medic#tf2#fanfic#I'm posting this on the way to work because im too scared to look after hitting post#gay
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Hi I’m hoping to get some advice with this: so on my alt blog I’ve been wanting to get back into writing like a lot of the blogs I like (yours included ☺️) but well I never know what to write cause I don’t get any interaction. I know I should learn to write for myself but idk I guess what I’m trying to ask is, if you’ve been in this situation, what do you do when you wanna write stuff but don’t know what to write?
Well, for starters I will suggest writing for what you’d like to see yourself in first. A lot of the stuff I write is purely for my own indulgence and desires, so a lot of it is actually self insert stuff disguised as x readers (that’s why so many of my fics have a sub reader lol) if you are delusional enough to imagine that you are actually in the place of the Reader, you will find the drive to write for these made up scenarios you make up for yourself 😌
I will also recommend not taking requests. I see a lot of writing blogs take requests for fics, but do remember you are not obligated to take all of them. Requests can be good for inspiration, but it can also be overwhelming to write for so many of them at a time. I don’t take requests for fics because I like to write at my own pace without the stress of hurrying for someone’s fic, and that makes writing a lot more enjoyable and easier imo
Thirdly, I will also recommend going outside. I actually take a lot of my inspiration for fics and thirsts from going outside, seeing places, and imagining unique scenarios that take place in them that inspire me to envision them with the characters I love. An example of this is my very popular pool smut fic, which was inspired from going on vacation with my family last summer.
I guess some extra advice I could give is:
- For more interactions on your blogs, use big, main tags for posts that are relevant. Even if the post is small, like a small Drabble of a Ningguang x Reader thirst, tag it with Ningguang x Reader. If it is relevant to the tag, you can tag it. Don’t be shy.
- To keep up engagement within your blogs, try to post at least 3-5 times every day and interact with your readers in your inbox. It sounds like a lot, but I’ve been doing this method for a while on at least one of my blogs at a time. I have 3 blogs in total, but I will almost always update at least once or twice a day on one of them.
I hope this advice helps you and any other writers who wish to build up momentum! I’m no expert, but this is just what I’ve been doing for the past year 😅
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How I download fics and give them covers before sending them to my Kindle.
Hi all, I've been considering making a post about this for a while and now seems as good a time as any. I'm not an expert, and there is more than one way you can do this; I'm just going to show you my process using "Call It What You Want To" by @separatist-apologist as an example. [This will only work on computers FYI.]
Part One — Getting Started
Download Calibre (it's free.) Calibre for PC. Calibre for Mac. They also have it for Linux but idk if that's still relevant.
Follow the program's setup instructions, and then those for wirelessly connecting Calibre with your Kindle account. Alternatively, you can connect your Kindle/e-reader to your computer with a cable and transfer files manually or download the file to your hard drive and share it another way. I highly recommend taking a few extra minutes to set up the wireless sharing as I think it's far more convenient.
Create a folder in which to store fanfiction downloads so that you can be an organized human.
Part Two — The Fanfiction
Find the fic you want to download on ao3 and click it so that you're on the fic's first page.
Above the box of metadata (ratings, warning, tags, etc.) on the far right click the "download" option. When prompted to select a file type, choose "MOBI."
Note: Though ao3 has an "EPUB" option I've noticed a bug that removes the chapter navigation from the fic when downloading the EPUB directly from ao3. If you enjoy the "x minutes left in this chapter/book" feature on your e-reader, you will want to download "MOBI" and we will be converting it later in Calibre.
Save the file to the folder you created.
Launch Calibre if it isn't already running.
In Calibre, click "add books" on the toolbar at the top of the screen.
Navigate to the folder you saved the fic in, select the fic, then click "open." Calibre will import the MOBI file to your library.
Now as you can see, "Call It What You Want To" already has a cover when we imported it to the library. That is because the cover image is embedded in the fic on the archive. Some fics will already have covers embedded such as this one.
Calibre is not a genius. If there are multiple images in the fic it will usually take the first one and default it to the cover. In the next section, I will go over how to add/change the cover of a fic in Calibre and how I like to create them.
Note: Even if the fic doesn't have embedded images, covers may have been made by readers and linked to the fic either in the notes or related works sections so it's worth checking if a cover already exists. If a fic is popular enough, a Google search of the fic's title + "cover" or "cover art" will show you if there have been covers already created for it.
Part Three — Making The Cover (I use Canva)
On the Canva homepage click "create a design" then select the "custom size" option. Canva does have a book cover template but I've found that it's awkwardly tall compared to the default size for Kindle books so I make my own.
I set the dimensions of the design to be 1024 pixels wide, and 1600 pixels tall, then click "create new design."
This is where you can get creative, make whatever you want. These basic steps are shown in a gif at the bottom of the section:
One: Choose a background image (you'll want to make sure it's a high enough quality that it won't be pixelated.) I used an image I had already uploaded into Canva, but you can use whatever you would like.
Two: On the sidebar, select "elements" and then "rectangle."
Three: Make sure the rectangle covers the whole design, then change the color. I like using the colors from the photo that Canva suggests and then making them a darker shade. Once you have the color that you want, reduce the transparency of the rectangle to anywhere between 40-50%. (This step ensures that the text we put on top of the image is easily legible, play around with it a bit.)
Four: On the sidebar, select "text" and then "add a text box." Then type in the author's username and change the font, the color, and the size until you like it. Repeat the same steps for the fic's title. I like to center the title on the page and put the author toward the bottom but that's just my preference.
Once your cover looks the way you want it to, click "share" at the top right and follow the steps to download the file as a PNG. I usually just save the image to my desktop so I can grab it easily once I'm in Calibre.
Part Four — Adding the Cover in Calibre
In your Calibre library, hover over the fic and right-click. Then hover over "edit metadata" and click "edit metadata individually."
On the "edit metadata" screen, find the section that says "change cover" and click "browse."
When the file upload dialog box appears, navigate to the PNG you just saved from Canva, select it, and click "open." This will add your cover to the fic. You can use these same steps to add any cover image that you've saved to your computer.
Make sure to click "ok" at the bottom of the screen to save your new cover and navigate back to the library page.
Part Five — Converting to EPUB
In your Calibre library, select the fic and then click "convert books" on the toolbar. At the top right of the converting screen, set the "output format" to "EPUB."
Now, the following steps are unnecessary little things I do to make my reading experience more seamless.
Click "Look & Feel" on the left sidebar. Under the "fonts" tab, I embed the "Georgia" font family. I do this because I prefer reading in Georgia which is not a default option on my PaperWhite*. I have my Calibre conversion settings in place to do this automatically. You can embed any font that you have on your computer.
*It might just be me, but when opening a downloaded fic (following the methods in this post) for the first time on my Kindle the font is always weird. The trick to fix it is to go and change the font from whatever is selected (Baskerville in my case) to "publisher's font" and then I've found that switching it back to "Baskerville" on the font selection screen activates the embedded Georgia... even though it will say that it's Baskerville? Idk why this is, I just wanted to let you know how I fix it.
Calibre defaults to a justified text alignment unless you change the default settings. This appears as "original" in the alignment options. The random too-large spaces between words of a justified alignment give me the ick so to make everything left aligned, I stay on the "look & feel" page but move to the "text" tab where I can change the alignment.
Staying on "look & feel," move to the "layout" tab. To ensure even paragraph spacing regardless of how it appeared on the archive, I select both the "remove spaces between paragraphs" and "insert blank line between paragraphs" options.
On this page, you can also change the indent size of the first line of every paragraph (highlighted pink,) and the size of the blank lines Calibre will insert between paragraphs upon conversion (highlighted green.) I set the indent to 0.0 and leave the line size 0.5 which is the default.
The last thing I do is go to "EPUB output" on the left sidebar and check the box labeled "insert inline table of contents." This just means that Calibre will add a table of contents to the beginning of the EPUB. (By default it puts the TOC at the end which I don't like.)
When everything is set as you'd like it, click "ok" on the bottom right and Calibre will convert the MOBI file you downloaded from ao3 to an EPUB containing the settings we just changed. Both file types will appear in your library when you click on the fic and scroll within the right-side window. I usually delete the MOBI format after I have the EPUB because I don't need it any longer.
And you've done it! Now all you have to do is either right-click and share it to your Kindle, or you can "save to disk" and download the EPUB file to transfer to your e-reader by a method of your choosing.
I hope someone finds this marginally helpful. In truth, I was just bored so I made this post but in light of the recent DDoS attacks against ao3, I think everyone should look into downloading their favorites so that you're never left out in the cold again.
Happy fanfic downloading <3
#fanfiction#acotar fanfiction#ao3#archive of our own#download fanfiction#downloading fanfic#calibre#fanfic#fanfiction cover#how to guides#fanfiction on ao3#fanfiction on kindle#read fanfiction#fandom things
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may i ask why ppl hate caleo so much? I'm reading ToA rn so idk if it's based on stuff that happens there, but in HoO I didn't really catch anything that would make it this "don't touch with a ten foot pole" ship, yk?
/gen
Hi !! Thanks for sending this in. I feel like I and others have kinda gone through some things in the anti-caleo tag, but I'm gonna go through some of the reasons with as much textual evidence and objectivity as possible. (minus my inevitable unorganized rambles, they're contextually relevant, stop looking at me--)
That being said, this is completely a matter of opinion, as all shipping is. I don't mean to say that you are "allowed" to ship or that you're "stupid" for shipping xyz, I couldn't care less what you ship--let's all just be nice to each other.
That being said, let's start with the two most common reasons why most people dislike caleo:
1.) the age gap
2.) their "bickering to lovers" dynamic is not written well/they seem to dislike each other/etc
The easier one to start with would be the age gap. Now (warnings for rent-lowering gunshots around my blog), I meant what I said when I said I don't care about ships. Most of my beloved mutuals ship the nastiest shit imaginable, and I am very anti-censorship (but that's several other posts). I generally have preferences for healthy ships when it comes to a Fluffy Endgame (dark fics with toxic ships are different to me).
That being said, I don't typically enjoy ships with a large age gap, and most other people find them unappealing as well. I could be persuaded with some (nipollo and rachel/apollo, i'm looking at you), but caleo just kinda grosses me out in this regard, probably due to other aspects of their relationship.
(Some people say she's "mentally fifteen", but I don't really buy that--if she were like a faerie or something, maybe, but I see her more as Edward in Twilight--looks young but has wisdom beyond her years. There's no definitive answer on this so it's not something I would like to debate (none of this is lol) but I thought I would mention it anyways.)
Although your question is about ToA, I'm only going to cover HoH through the first ToA book, because I'm still reading through the ToA books (though I know the big spoilers). I know caleo takes on a bigger role in the second book so i might come back and do a part two to uh...complain about their dynamic more? lol
so, without further ado--
The House of Hades
So, this is the first impression we get of Calypso from Leo's perspective--the highlights to keep this from being 1 million years long (it still will be lol)--
"She looked maybe fifteen, about Leo's age, and, sure, she was pretty; but with that angry expression on herface she reminded Leo of every popular girl in every school he'd ever attended—the ones who made fun of him, gossiped a lot, thought they were so superior, and basically did everything they could tomake his life miserable.Leo disliked her instantly.
---
The girl clenched her fists. Leo was pretty sure she was going to march down the crater and punch him in the face.
---
"Show yourself!" the girl yelled at the sky, completely ignoring Leo. "It's not bad enough I am exiled? It's not bad enough you take away the few good heroes I'm allowed to meet? You think it's funny to send me this—this charbroiled runt of a boy to ruin my tranquility? This is NOT FUNNY! Take him back!""
--pg 213 of The House of Hades pdf.
Now, keeping in mind that I read this for the first time at 13 and he was my book boyfriend (Or Whatever), I was not a fan of this, but even now that I've grown out of that, this still rings unfavorable to me.
He compares her to his bullies, the ones who made fun of him and created insecurities within him. And, making no effort to clear her name from this association, what is one of the first things she does? Screams at the gods for sending someone so conventionally unattractive. One of Leo's biggest insecurities in the books is not being as conventionally attractive or built as the other guys in the seven. One of his other insecurities is not having a girlfriend when everyone else is coupled up. So the solution is not to have him learn self-love and/or the love of friends, but to instead give him a girlfriend--the build-up time of which is short and intense. Not only that, but his love interest insults one of his biggest insecurities.
We're off to a great start.
Of course, I can't really blame Calypso for being pissed about the wreckage and about being sent another hero instead of being freed from the island. I would be pretty pissed, too, but she still treats him pretty badly, seemingly because he's not the "right" hero.
(For this next bit I am going through their time together in House of Hades and just noting anything that rings as a red flag to me--which is not a stretch as it's pretty much every other line lol. The brackets [] add context for dialogue, the parentheses () is my commentary, though most of these speak for themselves imo)
""Oh-gee-gee-ah." The girl pronounced it slowly, as if Leo were five years old.
---
She looked like she was about to answer but stopped herself. "It doesn't matter. You'll be gone soon. You're obviously a mistake."
That was harsh, Leo thought.He'd spent enough time thinking he was a mistake—as a demigod, on this quest, in life in general. He didn't need a random crazy goddess reinforcing the idea
---
"What am I supposed to do, then? Sit in the sand dunes until I die?" [Leo asked]
"That would be fine...." The girl threw down her trowel and cursed at the sky. "Except I suppose he can't die here, can he? Zeus! This is not funny!"
---
She looked the same age as him, but he wondered how old she really was. (age gap thing, delicious!)
---
"Would you be sweet," [Calypso said], "if they laughed at you by sending another hero, but a hero who looked like—like you?"
---
"Three thousand." Leo's mouth felt tingly, like he'd just eaten Pop Rocks. "Uh, you look good for three thousand."
---
"And now...the worst insult of all. The gods mock me by sending you." [Calypso said]
Anger bubbled in Leo's stomach.Yeah, typical. If Jason were here, Calypso would fall all over him. She'd beg him to stay, but he'd be all noble about returning to his duties, and he'd leave Calypso brokenhearted. That magic raft would totally arrive for him. (heartbreaking to hear about leo's insecurities but also...he is so gay for jason jdskjfs--)
But Leo? He was the annoying guest she couldn't get rid of. She'd never fall for him, because she was totally out of his league.
---
Despite the gifts, Calypso obviously didn't want to see him. One time he poked his head inside the cave and she freaked out, yelling and throwing pots at his head. (how to treat an abuse survivor 101)
Yeah, she was definitely on Team Leo. (this honestly just reminds me of the Echo scene and, honestly, I'd ship him with Echo Big Time over calypso)
He ended up pitching a more permanent camp near the footpath, where the beach met the hills.That way he was close enough to pick up his meals, but Calypso didn't have to see him and go into a pot-throwing rage.
---
"They are completely fireproof," Calypso promised. "They'll stay clean and expand to fit you,should you ever become less scrawny." (the prev part about her repairing the clothes was actually sweet in a platonic way...could have gone without the body-shaming !)
---
Then he remembered that this annoying fifteen-year-old girl was actually the immortal daughter of a Titan."
--pages 214-227 of The House of Hades pdf
Now, at this point I'll say that their relationship actually becomes quite sweet once they get past the frankly horrible section of time where they want each other to die. They're both lonely, they come to some understanding...I suppose this is a matter of opinion, but the romance aspect does feel forced. Time is different in Ogygia so it's hard to say how long Leo was there, if I were to estimate I'd say 3 weeks, but given that it's like 19 pages (and the text is larger on the pdf copy lol), it does feel rushed. Man do I wish they went for the platonic angle, but Richard could never.
The Blood of Olympus
Everyone's favorite book! lmao.
Now that our lovebirds are in Lovebird Territory (i guess), the amount of toxicity dwindles, but let's bite:
"'Sit tight, Sunshine,' he told Calypso's picture. 'I'll get back to you, just like I promised.'
Leo could imagine her response: 'I am not waiting for you, Leo Valdez. I am not in love with you.And I certainly don't believe your foolish promises!' The thought made him smile. (I guess this is supposed to be sarcastic, but way to reintroduce the concept of her really not liking him?)"
--pg 64 of The Blood of Olympus pdf
So, most of this book has mentions of Calypso from Leo's pov, and I gotta say (forgetting entirely that this doc is supposed to at least try to be subjective)...they neutered my boy. I often don't reread past MoA because of the caleo content, though what glimpses I've seen shows that his pov has experienced a massive shift. I think having so little page time and such an intense relationship buildup causes some readers to dislike how fundamentally she alters Leo's pov.
Additionally, I've seen some posts about Leo's suicide ideation. That is not something I want to go in depth about on this post, but I did want to draw attention to this excerpt I caught:
"Now the Argo II was approaching the end of its voyage. Leo's whole life – his childhood with Tía Callida; his mother's death in that warehouse fire; his years as a foster kid; his months at Camp Half-Blood with Jason and Piper – all of it would culminate tomorrow morning in one final battle.
He opened the access panel. Festus's voice creaked over the intercom.
'Yeah, buddy,' Leo agreed. 'It's time.'
More creaking.
'I know,' Leo said. 'Together till the end?'
Festus squeaked affirmatively.
Leo checked the ancient bronze astrolabe, which was now fitted with the crystal from Ogygia. Leo could only hope it would work.
'I will get back to you, Calypso,' he muttered. 'I promised on the River Styx.'
He flipped a switch and brought the navigation device online. He set the timer for twenty-four hours.
Finally he opened the engine's ventilator line and pushed inside the vial of the physician's cure. It disappeared into the veins of the ship with a decisive thunk.
'Too late to turn back now,' Leo said.
He curled on the floor and closed his eyes, determined to enjoy the familiar hum of the engine for one last night."
--pg 224 of The Blood of Olympus pdf
I'm not going to draw any definitive conclusions on the subtext of this or his plan with the physician's cure, but I will say Leo definitely needs therapy and the support of his friends over his want of a girlfriend. (And I'd say this regardless of ships--even if it were my beloved valdangelo. If Leo's mental health isn't addressed, it just makes it seem like a lazy fix-all)
I'm not going to pretend to be the best writer or understand character arcs better than our good friend Richard, but I think one of the reasons why Leo's character arc failed in this final installment is that Leo got what he wanted instead of what he needed. The best character arcs will display what a character wants, but by the end of the journey, a character will realize what they really need.
For example, in Gravity Falls (great show btw), towards the end of the series, Mabel wants to stay in a magical bubble created as a trick by Bill Cipher so she can stay in Gravity Falls forever. In the end, however, she realizes that what she really needs is to go back home to California with her brother, where they can get through high school with the support of each other.
If Leo had undergone an arc in which he really wants a girlfriend, but later realizes he needs to love himself first, that would have been really great and nice for kids to see that they don't need a significant other to make them whole.
Additionally--surprisingly--there were no glaring red flags for the rest of this book. They have a general vibe of "she doesn't really like him and he's a silly little guy" that I feel like is just rick pulling a "can I copy your homework?" with percabeth but it came out Wrong, but that's a matter of opinion.
ToA: The Hidden Oracle
""Here you go." Leo handed her a glass of lemonade. His expression seemed darker and more anxious, as if...Ah, of course. Leo had rescued Calypso from her prison island. In doing so, Calypso had lost her powers. Leo felt responsible."
--pg 239 of The Hidden Oracle pdf
This seems like something they'd have to work through, which is possible, but also a very intense thing to put on a relationship between an already traumatized 16 year old (and his over 3000 year old girlfriend, etc.) I suppose if this was written through in a thoughtful way I'd understand, but it's kind of one of those things that makes me look at them and go...realistically, at best I see them lasting 6 months to a year.
(tbh a lot of the ships outside of percabeth don't seem to have that...well, percabeth longevity--i mean just look at how jiper broke up. not that Richard would break caleo up atp, of course...unless...)
Final Thoughts (unless I return after finishing ToA but no promises)
And so, we conclude. I think I learned some stuff by revisiting canon instead of just remaining amongst online fandom & my memory of canon. Honestly, I can see why people would like this ship--I still hate it the most out of any pjo ship, but I gotta admit it had its sweet moments. Just as I pointed out red flags and had opinions stated as subjective, other people could point out what they consider green flags and why they think the ship is great.
To conclude (my English teachers quaking in their boots rn), myself and other caleo haters dislike the ship due to the age difference, the rushed nature, and the enemies to lovers dynamic being written in a way that ultimately gives the energy that our love birds do not like each other. I hope this dive into the foundation of their relationship clarifies some of these things for you, and thanks for the ask!
#anti caleo#pjo#leo valdez#i didn't send this to my editor and think a lot into it what are you talking about#rose's asks
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What are your thoughts on the Valkyries ? ( I'm a new reader and I heard that it's a contreversial topic )
Idk what about the actual Valkyries would be controversial tbh. They are genuinely well-liked all around. I personally also like their friend group. Gwyn & Emerie were good friends to Nesta and she was able to form true friendships and heal from her trauma with their help. The way Nesta treated her sisters and everyone in general also improved once she began to bond with Emerie & Gwyn. Their experience in the BR was haunting and awe-inspiring and badass as hell. They humanized Nesta, almost.
I think the "issue" so to speak more comes from people disconnecting over their role in the greater plot of ACOTAR, post ACOSF.
I, and many other readers, really admired the Valkries - but we are able to see their entire existence, training, and healing arc was created to fit into Nesta's storyline. Gwyn & Emerie have no relevance to the plot of ACOTAR outside of being Nesta's friends. They, as they have been written thus far, do not have enough to suddenly be the main character of the next ACOTAR book.
Some people - Gwynriels - believe that Azriel & Gwyn could be mates (based on 2 ambiguous, non-confirming lines in a bonus chapter of ACOSF), and as such, have theorized and theorized multiple different plot lines that would loosely tie to Gwyn, in an effort to make her relevant enough to be the main character in the next book and serve as Azriel's love interest.
These are again - general theories not supported by canon text at best, and delusions / simple confirmation bias at worst. Gwynriels have taken 1-2 mentions of eyebrow raises and glows and created a romance about two characters who barely interact on page, nor care about each other outside of the few hours they spend training with everyone.
In order to make Gwyn relevant, the Gwynriels had to make the Valkyries relevant. That is her main role in ACOTAR. These theories never seem to include Emerie for some reason, but rather center around a Nesta-continuation novel where Azriel and Gwyn basically tag along as side kicks and Az/Gwyn fall in love on the side.
Because Gwyn does not have the powers, storyline, ongoing plot questions, really anything that would warrant a whole book that picks up right where ACOSF leaves off. She is in no way, a main character tied to the plotline outside of Nesta, and I don't think that anything in ACOSF hints she would get the next book.
So long story short, the Valkyries? great. Love them. 👍
The delusion that that Valkries will take up the next Acotar book so Nesta can take over the world with Azriel/Gwyn falling in love in the background ? Nope, that's crazy. 👎
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