#idk. it’s not perfect but it’s a hell of a lot better than the books

[velvetbunniie-archive]

i do find it real strange that there simply are no vampires of color in anne rice’s world. do you think that only white ppl exist in france??? do vampires only go after white ppl??????

[fuumiku]

Chilcille huh... ngl I was a little suspicious. like why would you do that, huh... hope youre not mischaracterizing anyone in your weird and wacky ship. a little weird. but then you said they both had flat asses and you know what? I salute you and your perfect characterization

The fact you seem to think you managed to not make this ask insulting is baffling. What the hell. Fuck off.

If you actually care to be open minded about the ship, I talk about marchil on my sideblog 24/7. Funnily enough I’m currently 4k words deep into an analysis of their character arc together in canon, but that’ll take some more days to get done. Some notable posts:

Of course without counting the analyses of Chilchuck on his own I’ve made, like my masterpost on his family situation. Or better yet you could also read my fics for them, see how weird and wacky they are here.

Wanna talk about mischaracterisation? They’re literally a comedic duo who interacts 24/7. Marchil is crazy bc ppl are like "did those shipper read with their eyes CLOSED?? They have no chemistry!" Meanwhile canon is like: "She’s obsessed with knowing everything she can about him and she reads him like a book." In her eyes he’s like that extra rare and hard and shiny unlockable dating sim character, that brooding mysterious character trope that’s thrilling to crack open and typically is at the center of the plot. The wife roleplay???? "Hey, did you know his type is blondes. Hey did you know he likes his women pretty and blonde. Hey did you know he likes her hair. Hey did you know that he teases her 24/7 and it’s one of the few things that consistently gets him grinning because he finds her reactions cute." Like a schoolyard bully pulling on the pigtails of the girl he likes.

It’s not like they have any thematic narratives or relevance. It’s not like she’ll live to 1000 and has existential dread about it while he’s logically gonna be her next friend to die at 50 and wether it’s romantic or platonic it’ll terrify her to lose him. It’s not like it’s fear of death x fear of rejection so they’re both obsessed with the thought of loss looming, past and ongoing. It’s not like it’s half-elf x half-foot and there’s an inherent journey that was and still is to dispel prejudices and truly come to see each other. It’s not like he’s painfully real and raw and flawed but still a good man, that he’s not the figure of prince charming that she’s always dreamed of while still being virtuous and worth fighting for. Or you know, her hair being golden and it being the epitome of beauty to him, and his hair turning silver and it being Marcille’s worst nightmare.

Just a weird wacky ship who means nothing but shallow things to people who have weirdo reasons for liking it. Like can you not. If you’re not imaginative enough to think of reasons why this ship may have an appealing dynamic that’s not my issue. But yes, yes, they’re both flat asses to me, thanks.

[vividachromatic]

Meant To Stay The Worst

Pt. 1

Alastor x Reader

(friendship, slowbuild romance)

Pt. 2 ->

Note: This is gonna be a series. Reader and Alastor will be friends and fall in love and marry and meet each other again in hell and rule there as overlords...

Sounds nice and simple. And although all that is true, there will be a lot of emotional drama still. First, because of Alastor's trust issues, but also because they don't have a 'lovey-dovey' nice relationship. There will be fluff, and they'll love each other, yes. But the concept of their relationship is basically supporting each other in making each other worse. Like, they're in hell for a reason and want to stay there... They do morally corrupt things and even when they don't agree with each other they support each other.

I don't think this is dark enough to be considered a dark fic at all, it's more canon typically dark. But just to say this isn't meant to portray a healthy relationship or morals.

Warnings: Fem!Reader, use of Y/N (kill me for it) , Alastor AND reader are on the ace spectrum but don't know , alcohol use, idk tell me if there's smth else

---

There was cake and tea, lovely flowers and lovely dresses. If you'd have been alone this may have been relaxing. But every time you tried to let your mind drift off to something nice - like a scenario of a book you read, the obnoxious voice of your cousin snapped you back to reality.

"Then he told me our offspring would be genetically superior!" She giggled.

"How romantic." You sighed in boredom and tried focusing on something else. Being forced to drink tea with your lovely cousin who tormented you ever since childhood, just so she could please her own sadistic desires was something you had to do as a representing lady of your house.

God being a woman in the 1930s was exhausting.

Your cousin Maria rolled her eyes at you. "Does it make you happy to be so negative all the time? You know you're gonna die alone if you don't fix this attitude of yours, right? You act like you're better than me, but at least men like me." She gave you a smug grin.

"Yeah, congratulations. I'm actually not really interested in the constant humiliation of being treated like a lesser human being, nor the year-long physical abuse I'd have to endure until I'd finally finish slowly poisoning my husband's tea."

Maria narrowed her eyes at your audacity to speak your opinion. Then she cleared her throat and smirked at you again - this was the look she always had as a child when she was about to torture you. "Speaking of which... I actually have someone you may be interested in meeting this time."

You just stared at her blankly without a response. You were forced to go on dates with different men all the time.

You were 21 and still not married, which was just a scandal for your family. But, you always managed to successfully scare these men away on your dates. Because you're a woman, your opinion of whether or not they'd be a good spouse obviously didn't matter, so you had to think of creative ways to make them not want to choose you.

After noticing your lack of response to her statement, Maria simply continued, "See there is this radio broadcast I've been listening to and this broadcaster... he just had such a hot voice! And he talked about some stuff... I don't know what, I didn't really listen, but he seemed proper, so I asked my dad to use his power to arrange a date for me! But, when I researched him further... I think he's a little poor actually, he wore this fake brand... also he doesn't really look like how I expected him to look, so... since you're all for this equality stuff I thought it'd be perfect. My dad is mad at me since he already paid for the date, so you're perfect!" She finished, giving you a fake smile.

"Hmm... this actually sounds like your problem, not mine." You gave her a fake smile back.

The girl just gave you an angry look and finished drinking her tea in silence.

Oh, you were so sure she was going to try to find a way to punish you for this.

And right you were. Your dad informed you the same day that you were going to go on that date. And you should definitely look out to not fuck this one up again.

Your father even acted like he cared about you for a second, explaining how this is what you must do in this world. Even if it's not perfect. You just went to your room in silence, trying not to cry in front of him.

This world was cruel. Your brother followed society's expectations and was fine. Your cousin followed society's expectations and was fine. You didn't and were unhappy. So was this truly the answer?

The next day you made yourself ready - skipping breakfast.

You'd just scare off this man like the others. Maybe you'd have to marry someone mediocre one day. Or maybe you were gonna run away someday. You weren't sure yet.

Arriving at the restaurant you recognized the cheesy interior suiting the style of your cousin and her father immediately.

The polite waiter recognized your face and showed you your table.

This supposed date of yours already sat there. When he saw you walking towards him, he immediately stood up and politely extended his hand to you. You took it and he planted a short kiss on your knuckles. The waiter handed you the menus and excused himself.

The man had a polite and big smile on his face and pulled your seat back, waiting for you to sit down until he sat down himself giving you a small bow. "My name is Alastor! It's a pleasure to be meeting you my dear, quite a pleasure."

He was definitely polite. But you did see what your cousin meant by saying he was probably not from a rich family. His moves seemed too much like he memorized them from a book only a short while ago, and not from real experience. His clothes seemed expensive for someone from a lower class but not higher. He also looked more dark-skinned than people in your family would probably find great.

"My name is Y/N. It's a pleasure to be meeting you, too." You tried giving him an honest smile back. He was probably gonna turn out to be an asshole, too, like all the guys, but for now, he hasn't done anything wrong.

The two of you exchanged light small talk before ordering your meals. You were surprised to see him ordering a heavy meal with a lot of meat and strongly seasoned. You of course didn't care what he was gonna eat and ordered your favorite meal, too, whatever his opinion may be, but you were used to everyone ordering the same boring and light stuff to seem healthy and well-mannered.

The conversation seemed superficial and boring but not too bad. He had at least not shown any extremely radical opinions or behavior yet.

His smile remained on his face throughout the whole conversation and after a while, he cleared his throat and explained kindly to you: "Look, you seem like a really beautiful and lovely woman, any man would be lucky to have you. This is why I have to be honest with you and tell you: I'm actually not interested in any romantic relationship or anything similar. But I am flattered by the letter you sent me and I do enjoy your company..." his smile didn't falter as he tried to politely let you down. It did though, when he saw your unusual reaction to his rejection.

Your always neutral-looking face until now, was slowly forming a smile and your eyes lit up. You were offended he actually thought your cousin's (probably vile) letter was written by you, but all in all you were glad, because this man didn't actually expect to sleep with you or even continue meeting.

You let out a relieved laugh. After seeing his confused face you quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I just- my father forces me to go on these dates when I'm not actually looking for a relationship. I was already prepared to try to make up some story to scare you off, too, like I always do. But it seems like I may actually be able to enjoy a dinner for once without pretensions or expectations."

Though scaring men away can be entertaining in itself, too.

Your truly relieved smile, while picking up your food made Alastor smile again, too.

"Well if that's the case, I am happy we're on the same page, then. Though I am surprised about this... letter of yours then." He smiled gently, though his eyebrows scrunched a little in irritation when he said the word letter.

You then explained the existence of your cousin with a roll of your eyes and an embarrassed smile.

From that point on your conversation was much lighter and actually enjoyable. You both shared your annoyance at everyone's expectation to have to marry to have a life worth living. You then shared your struggle specifically as a woman. Marrying a man basically meant selling yourself to another man after you belonged to your father. It's like being an object.

Surprisingly, he actually agreed and talked about feminism and how much he appreciated women, especially his mother who solely cared for him since he was little.

He then explained how he definitely didn't want to meet the person who wrote that letter and expected an awful evening, but his mother encouraged him to at least try to meet a girl for once. This then ended in you talking shit about your cousin and him laughing about it.

It's the first time you talked to someone who actually shared your opinion. Of course, you knew those people existed, there was a wave of feminist women nowadays, calling themselves 'flappers' and even some men supported it. But you were never able to meet any of them, the only people you met were the same old, sheltered relatives of yours or their acquaintances.

You did have a thirst for knowledge though, which was the reason you knew about all of this in the first place, even when you were supposed to only associate yourself with a certain circle of people.

But you loved to read books you weren't supposed to and you loved to express yourself through art, when you weren't supposed to.

You tried learning basic self-defense too, but it wasn't easy through words alone and nobody wanted to teach you, because it was 'unlady-like'.

Alastor listened to you talking with a smile and nodded. He then explained how he hung around Jazz bars pretty often and got to know many beautiful feminist women there. You listened attentively. You heard about these places and wanted to go there for some time... Alastor noticed your interest and invited you to show you around one of these bars sometime.

You agreed with a genuine happy smile. This meeting was so unexpectedly nice. And you probably even made an actual friend for once.

"I do have to ask... you said you scare men away usually?" He asked and you nodded with a grin.

"So, how do you do that exactly?" He asked with a smirk while eating his steak.

"I usually just pretend to be a witch, a cannibal or a serial killer. Always works." You shrugged. Convincing men of these things over one date was actually easier than you'd think. And it did make sure they would never want to contact you again.

"Oh? But you're not, right?" He asked, his smile not wavering.

"Hmmm..." You obviously assumed his question to be a joke or rhetorical and answered, "No, I'm sadly not that interesting." You grinned and he gave you a weird grin back.

After the date, he walked you back to your house like a proper gentleman and kissed the back of your hand again when saying goodbye. He was a proper gentleman, not condescending or expectant of anything. This was definitely nice.

When you arrived back home you seemed surprisingly happier than your father or your brother expected you to be. They asked you how it went and you just said it went well and returned to your room.

...

One week later you met Alastor again in front of a local Jazz Bar. He politely offered to intertwine his arm with yours before entering the place.

Inside you were immediately greeted with...

"Alastor!!!" A small blonde girl hugged him with huge enthusiasm. He awkwardly patted her back.

"Aww!! Who is this sweet doll you brought with you?" The girl grinned at you.

"This is Y/N. A new friend of mine." Alastor introduced you to the short, chubby girl. You gave her a shy wave with your hand.

She immediately took your hand and dragged you into the club. "Well, Alastor's friends are my friends! You're pretty! Can you do the Charleston?" You blinked at her in confusion, looking around you, trying to find Alastor. You weren't used to people touching you or dragging you around this much... was this gonna go bad?

"Mimzy! How about you leave this lovely, little fellow to me, hm? She's still quite new to the scene." Alastor grinned at the girl and took your hand to guide you to him again. You sighed in relief. This girl seemed nice, but you didn't know her.

"Hmmm..." The girl glanced between you and Alastor with a thoughtful expression. "Alright! Does the new girl at least want some alc?" She grinned.

You politely told her the drink you wanted and Alastor just said 'the usual' with a dismissive wave of his hand and a smile. Mimzy nodded and left the two of you.

Alastor now led you to a private boot. You felt awkward. You were usually not too shy, but this situation was so unfamiliar.

"Hey..." You felt a hand on top of yours. "Relax." Alastor smiled at you. You nodded with a sigh.

Later Mimzy came back with a glass of your drink and a bottle of whiskey for her and Alastor. They ended up sharing the bottle with you after.

Mimzy smoked a cigar and encouraged you to try it, too - you did and though it was nice, you had to cough a lot.

Mimzy just giggled, calling you cute. Later she and Alastor showed you how to dance the Charleston. At first, you were embarrassed to try it, but after a couple of drinks, you were convinced.

After dancing for a while you sat back in the corner of the booth, Alastor smiling at you and pouring you another drink. "I'm grateful, but I think this is gonna be the last one." You tried not to slur your words too much and smiled at him, still out of breath and blushing from the dancing and the alcohol.

He nodded. "I'll walk you back home, of course." You smiled at him in gratitude.

This was probably one of the most enjoyable night you've had in a while. Though it probably was just a regular one for Alastor and his friend. You wondered if she was his girlfriend, she was pretty and he said he wasn't interested in romancing you.

Later when Alastor walked you home he gave you a small kiss on the cheek, despite this not being labeled as an actual date.

Alastor grinned at your face flushing in embarrassment and he asked you if you'd want to repeat the night. You enthusiastically agreed.

--------------------

This fic is my offering to the Helluva/Hazbin God to finally grace us with Helluva Boss s2 ep8 🙏🙏🙏 (I know I'm pushing my luck here, but also please let Blitzo and Stolas fix their relationship- okay now I'm getting delusional)

If you want to know how girlie scared off men, I just had 'Red Flags' by Tom Cardy in mind lmao.

Anyway, I've planned way more parts for this one, including when they are both married and in hell, so stay tuned!

[fadetouchedsilk]

im not sure how to parse this exactly (probably since the thought hasn't marianted fully yet) but i wonder if the tone of veilguard's writing is less about appealing to a younger audience and more of a response to falling media literacy rates

kind of thinking out loud here but like.

i'm recalling the girl on booktok who proudly annouced that she only reads the spoken dialogue in her books, not the narration & the people in her comments laughing and agreeing (no wonder they can 'read' so many books per year, they're only reading 25% of the words). or 'starting to think some of you don't like media or characters, just fanfiction tropes.' you can hand someone like that a complex narrative, but what are they going to do with it aside from completely & happily misunderstand things that are very obvious context clues & themes? we can joke about the fandom mischaracterizing our blorbos & trying to be cool about just scrolling past but idk, personally i feel like i've seen an uptick in completely off-base takes in the last few years (probably some fandom bias there but this isn't my first time playing dragon age or narrative driven games in general so i don't think i'm entirely wrong)

it doesn't help that this group also loves to be loud online & the bioware devs (to their ongoing detriment) seem to be unable to distance themselves from fandom. we saw larian's response to this type of outcry, i wonder if bioware is just trying to get ahead of the curve. they make some questionable decisions, but they aren't stupid & i don't think people like that are especially hard to market to from their standpoint.

i don't think that older titles like dao are perfect or anything but i sincerely doubt that large swaths of current audiences would 'get' it. like, there IS a lot of narrative hand-holding in this game & i'm not talking about things like the map markers or accessibility features. 'do the companion quests!' you get told multiple times, more or less outright, & i'm still seeing people confused about getting 'bad' endings despite ignoring this incredibly obvious series of hints. there's a fair amount of information to be found in the codexes, but are people going to read them? we don't know, so we're going to repeat the relevant item name several times over on the off chance you might end up remembering it. like yes this is some people's first foray into rpgs, but you would think that progressing the story would be intuitive (especially given the structure & the journal itself).

the 'the curtains were blue!!!' crowd is unfortunately a very large audience these days, ea is a corporation who wants to make money & they do need that if they intend to keep making games. it might not even be intentional, it truly could just be the result of following market trends.

don't take this as me making excuses for bioware or anything, but there's definitely some sort of reason we ended up the way we did. i see the scaffolding of something interesting here with a lot of potential to be better than what the final product was, a lot of hooks we could have spent more time chasing & that leads to me wondering just what the hell happened.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 5/14/2024

googled "sample bon mot" in a fit of desperation, considered asking chatgpt to generate me some for 0.2 seconds before the visceral BLEUGH reaction plus remembered that every query is like pouring a 16oz water bottle out on the ground, and figured this series of events would be a better intro than anything else i could come up with

listening

miya folick's Pet Body was off last week's spotify rec playlist. i had liked some individual songs by miya folick (singer/songwriter/alt/indie/dance/electronica) but now i gotta really dive into her discography-- this particular very peppy and upbeat song with dire lyrics is really clicking with me lately as my body overreacts to texas pollen and engages in other known misbehaviors.

the chorus, my god

Proper care and feeding for my pet body

and this verse

I'm just a brain with a pet body Out for a walk until I croak I'm just an ordinary subject In an ordinary book

as my mother used to say, i'm real fuckin sick and tired of being sick and tired!!!

-

reading

ough i need to vacuum. i picked up Mrs Vargas and the Dead Naturalist by Kathleen Alcalá for a dollar last summer bc 0) killer title 1) it was a dollar 2) cool cover 3) autographed 4) endorsed by le guin.

kind of fascinating as an object: weird little lesbian (?) boutique press that's still around, idk ive ever seen a notice about steps they took to ensure the longevity of the physical book before?

i find myself bouncing off latin and south american magical realism a lot bc i am not in those authors’ intended audiences/i do not have the background to fully appreciate them. i have a bachelors of science. and that’s fine bc that’s the point! this is one of the very few times post-college where i caught myself thinking “man i gotta find a class to take about this”.

even if i do not understand the wider cultural context or the real-life figures she obliquely references in many of these short stories (i am convinced the bird-voiced singer is based on a real singer), i do appreciate alcalá’s craft: true short stories, she makes her point and then ends it. the twist in Reading the Road specifically— woof that’s gonna stick with me for a bit. a perfect little o henry twist of the knife. i wanted so badly to link this specific short story but apparently nobody has used it to teach anything and the book itself is not widely available/on the internet archive/etc. u will have to find this story of a roadside fortune teller (who is current on all her business permits) and one day's fortune telling, by yourself perhaps through your library

-

watching

the prisoner, the seventeen episode british sixties tv cult classic. let's yoink the description from wikipedia.

The Prisoner is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan, with possible contributions from George Markstein.[2] McGoohan portrays Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village after resigning from his position.[3] The allegorical plotlines of the series contain elements of science fiction, psychological drama, and spy fiction.

number six shares a lot of traits with my cat philip marlowe, as they are both hell fucking bent on escaping and all attempts to restrain them just sort of train them to be better at the next attempt? as one might expect from a heavily allegorical sixties show, kind of heavy emotional going so im watching an episode every day or two.

why am i watching this? it's free on my library streaming service (and tubi), and i don't have a lot going on. i love one-season cancelled shows, i love Dad Media, unfortunately i was a navy brat and i do love some cloak and dagger shit. i LOOOOVE a fucked up little town and bureaucracy-as-cudgel. i actually came across this when i wishlisted the game We Happy Few back in 2018, another entry in the "creepy little british towns" genre. have yet to play it

-

playing

the cosmology and general backstory of genshin is convoluted as hell (The Gods are real and live in the sky, but some lowercase-g gods are also rulers of the seven nations in-game) but they have been foreshadowing a grand showdown since the very beginning of the game. one player character cannot de- or re-stablize so many regions and engage in so many power struggles without someone taking notice.

i did NOT, however, expect one of the regional god-rulers (purple) to start planning for this divine war in a side cutscene in a seasonal event. a seasonal event around rock n roll rhythm games. absolutely devastated i missed the pink fox lady's rerun right after i had to give my work laptop back and before i got the PC fixed. this game will not run on my iphone 12 for love or money

-

making

bit of a depression hovel situation going on. we are slowly rolling that back tho. finally met my landlord during the HVAC replacement debacle, he said that he bought this apartment in 2009, lived here for ten years, and then his parents lived here for a couple years. i am the first non-family tenant, i think. all of the appliances and fixtures are from 2009. i think the fridge will be the next to go. ANYWAY. i asked him what the deal was with the lack of bathroom vents and HE said when he had an air conditioner put in in 2009 the HVAC guy then assured him he only needed the HVAC vents and closed up the actual vents. which is a load of shit. i am not really excited to live here for another year but i really super can't afford to move and finding an apartment in houston the first time was such a goddamn nightmare. i cannot do three years tho. hopefully something will have changed by august 2025.

i have also, through a special cashback bonus reward on my credit card, a sale, a gift card, and cashing in more cashback money, acquired a cat tree for philip. modeled here by mackie bc we did room swapping again as i was writing this. i cannot be bothered to install curtain tiebacks or properly fold anything, as you can see below

[dual-domination]

🔁 A fic you’ve re-read several times

🛳️ A fic that brought you aboard a new ship

Easy. HELLO ARJUN, I know I've been delaying the reply to this ask for several months, but today I'm glad to share it

A fic I reread several times - Just one??? No, I'm sharing my top 4 (They're all Guardian/Weilan, 3 of the authors below are among my ⭐favorites⭐ EVER so let me be talkative abt them):

To wild uncharted waters by @the-marron ⭐- Nothing new to see here, everyone knows I'm obsessed with this fic, but this is not the first and won't be the last time Marron's fics do THINGS to my heart. Her stories are inspiration.

The Charm Of Chastity by PaddlesPetwixtPuddles - no idea if the author is on tumblr. Sad fact: this is the ONLY Guardian fic they posted. It's perfect.

Kunlun's Godly Seed, Shen Wei's Ghostly Body by @lacommunarde ⭐- Idk how many times I reread this one tbh, but around 5-6 for sure (as some others from the same author, one day I'll comment in all of them jksjkskj HELLO I LOVE YOUR FICS)

Young Love by @thosch3i ⭐- Read all the Guardian fics this author posted too. Also sad fact, they're not active in this fandom anymore, but I hope they're having fun wherever they are now :D

A fic that brought you aboard a new ship

All the ships I actively interact with (read/write/art) were brought to my life by Marron, she put me in the Weilan Derivatives hell jksksj. As for my DMBJ ships, the adaptations did the trick, so there's no fic to mention (but Marron also mentioned Heihua and I was OH 👀?)

My favorite of all, OTP so dear to my heart 2Luo, in 3 steps: But a bitter kiss will bring him to his knees , A Kiss is Still a Kiss and That fatal kiss is all we need

Across the Stars (Qi Heng/Xun Xu - this ship is SO SWEET) - Star Wars AU, but it's Weilan Derivs (I need to finish reading the fics of this ship)

and THE FIC - it's so good I better not start to talk abt this fic I'm a gremlin abt this fic and YOU KNOW THIS FIC bc I think the whole team read it, Vince said it's better than books so yk what it means: The Thousand Flowers Manor (Hua Wuxie/Pei Wende - and we also have Qi Heng/Xun Xu there!) It's Pride and Prejudice in Wuxia times, how could that go wrong in Marron's hands? I'd recommend it a million times, watch some youtube to see the characters if you don't want to watch the shows/movies and go read this fic, you'll laugh, cry, be angry, hunt demons in Ancient China and have lots of dramatic relatives messing things up. It's a true delight. Happy Ending :D

~~About rereading, if a fic is in my ao3 bookmarks, there's a high chance that I reread that fic at least once, but I decided to share the ones that are Fav Fic + Fav Author ~~About ships and new stuff, I'm still waiting for the Godzilla AU with actual godzillas in it, ship is Godzilla/ruined cities under his feet.

[jxsterr]

bro your account is literally perfect. one of the best zelink ones i’ve ever seen and i think your interpretation of them is perfect!! what’s your opinion on t4t zelink?

YOURE SO SWEET WHAT THE HELL 😭😭😭😭 thank you omg that’s the sweetest ask ive ever gotten

as for opinions?? my opinion is yes. why wouldn’t they. it’s the most delicious hc out there and it does wonders at weeding out the weird fans

i haven’t honestly thought about it much because i enjoy it in passing but i’m definitely for ftm link with his funky new zonai post transition scars bc that’s SICK and he deserves at least one scar that isn’t the worst thing ever. zelda?? honest to god with all of the trauma she’s been through and all of the disconnect within herself i’d say like a nonbinary she/her if ygm?? an occasional she/they if she feels like it?? like the pronouns are just the equivalent of cosplaying a girl bc zelda’s been jumbled up so violently from everything that’s happened to her—from everything pre calamity with her father and her powers, her lack of self identity because she wasn’t allowed to present herself how she pleased when everything rested on her shoulders, trying to find herself Post calamity and figure out what she’s meant to do or even Be now that her one true purpose had been completed, and then the whole thing of being turned into a DRAGON and back—you cannot tell me she isn’t like scrambled egg on the inside.

link feels like the kinda guy to be like “idk i had tits and now i don’t” shrug whereas zelda has this 5 paged essay on everything that lead up to her identity LMFAO

because she’s so interesting to me right. i feel like she’d just kinda leave herself alone bc she’s been through enough without anything else on top, but i feel if she was to get anything done it’d just be top surgery so she could feel more In Control of her appearance?? and that’d be it?? bc dresses with boobs would have her a little :/ because they’re Okay she supposes but the dress Could look nicer without them, so link would sit there and help her bandage them down to see how she’d feel about it (also because he has an ungodly supply of bandages) and then watching something Click inside of her and who better to do such a task than purah???

(link stresses about it for the next 3-5 business days)

cuz i’m still big on zelda wearing a lot more neutral clothing purely bc we saw that her preferred way of dressing was her travel clothes right, and she’s always seemed more of a trousers gal than anything, so i can’t get into the idea of her purely wearing dresses post calam and totk like some people have bc every dress she’s worn. right. has had an air of Ambiguity around it. i think especially her prayer dress and zonai dress but i think that’s because of the total absence of straps or sleeves to them, so i feel like she’d wear dresses like that just for comfort but for any others?? boobs gotta go im sorry it’s just how it is

i’m also a huge fan of link being the more like. Seasoned of the two about transitioning and whatnot because obviously he would’ve had a lot more room to explore this sort of thing (esp with how little she could do w rhoam lord have mercy). so every question she’d have she’d go running to him for once instead of the books and Then him

“pardon me if i’m being intrusive, but was the surgery.. painful?”

“nah. not too bad. purah numbed me”

“you let.. purah..????”

she’d be stood in front of a mirror in their house and squinting at her own reflection, asking, “something feels wrong. i can’t tell what it is, but something feels misplaced on me.” and link peers over to have a look and he’s absolutely mystified because she’s literally gorgeous there isn’t a damn thing wrong with her—and then she starts focusing on her chest, looking at it from the side, squishing it down with scrutinising eyes to see if they’d look better flat and ah. it makes sense now. so, as i said earlier, he helps her bind, makes sure it isn’t too tight and always keeps an eye on how long she’s been wearing it (she is horribly forgetful after all), lets her comb through his ridiculously extensive wardrobe to see what pieces fit where and how to figure out how she wants her clothes to fit, then taking her down to sayge to retailor some old clothes he doesn’t mind her having once they figure it out, helping her figure out the terms and pronouns she’s comfortable with, just the most useful and best supporter you could ever ask for in the beginning of your transition.

I REALISE IVE RAMBLED OOPS but hey maybe when i get through the ridiculous backlog of fics i have i’ll do a little oneshot about this cuz it’s CUTE and so full of zelink potential

tldr. zelda’s this fuckin. she/they ass nb with a complex relationship with gender and her presentation and then link is just. a Guy. in the least straight way possible. he’s simple

i appreciate u sm for making me think about this more……: my little blorbos…

[trainwrecksys]

ok!!!!!!!! i am!!!!!!! going to just say it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! long long post ahead!!!!!!!!!

yes i look like an out of touch stan with a victim complex for one character when i draw no one but bentham in my fanart and completely ignore everyone else to feel sorry for him and yes i am aware and no i dont know if anyone else sees this in me or im just paranoid but bro i am annoyed with myself !!! i hate how stannish i am sometimes because yes bentham had every reason to be called evil but yeah i had a good few reasons to have a complete breakdown when i read that in the book !!!!!!!1 too much writing under the cut about a lot of stuff that is in my head and needs to get out for better or for worse idk

i have made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgement and i do not expect to be forgiven but genuinely the way me being a stupid shameless stan can come off to others even subconsciously is actually important because it makes me look like someone who would see a situation like the bentham siblings' in real life and side with the STRAIGHT WHITE MALE who has made more than mistakes and hurt people in moments of heightened emotion (end of library of souls)- but like not in defense of bentham for ONCE IN MY LIFE everyone feels emotions everyone gets hurt and he had a right to not be perfect after everything he went through but that doesnt mean hurting people is the course of action and bro i have completely ignored that and skirted around it for two years and IM NOT GONNA KEEP APOLOGISING FOR MAKING THIS TOO LONG BECAUSE IT BLEEDS INTO REAL LIFE AND I REALISE HOW MUCH OF A STUCK UP DICK I COULD BE NOT ONLY ABOUT THIS BUT IN GENERAL LIFE AFTER I READ THE BOOKS AND GAINED AN ATTACHMENT TO BENTHAM

the stuff im talking about is honestly mainly between me myself and i and most of the art i post is him either chilling or feeling a bit sad but the way i completely ignore miss peregrine's issues and betrayal to focus on how oh so hurt and betrayed myron was like there was no reason he was exiled

like yes years in a big mansion with three people to keep him company in the middle of devils acre with no way to resolve his trauma can do shit to someone but what about years feeling his sisters guilt, BASIL????? what about how she mustve felt after both her brothers DIED due to their own hubris???????????? what about how she felt she was a bad sister when she literally had to be like their mother with all the baggage she had then actually mother children while thinking her slightly better brother might have been getting better with him saying he was gonna give them info on caul only to see him SIDE WITH CAUL when he had just done something that COULD HAVE HELPED HIS CAUSE and then spitefully capture her and lead them into the mouth of hell OH MY GOD

and how jacob and emma had to deal with his bullshit being all "lets talk over tea!" and waiting for when it was right in the exposition to tell them who he fucking was, then telling them he BASICALLY KILLED JACOBS GRANDPA while giving excuses and them finding out later on that hE KEPT THE SUUL FOR HIMSELF?????? i made some bullshit reason up why he did that for my headcannons but lets be real the only reason they could have at least imagined was that he was planning on using it in the library. the information betrayed them either way and to alma again it was only a stab in the gut because he hurt a guy who was basically her son

overall hes not some aesthetic victimised pookie bear hes a more than flawed man who only did some things to mend his image and cant be excused for what he did and this whole post was basically me shouting at myself

[bootleg-sara]

It’s twin time, time for twins

Idk what else to say. This is the last of the main designs for the purgatory AU, so that’s pretty cool. Saved my faves for last, completely on accident but what can you do lmao

As usual, the character bios are under the read more. Read if you wish 👍

The boisterous younger brother of Esau. Heaven’s very own bounty Hunter, who specializes in work that requires going into Hell. A rather important job to deal with any potential problems from the less desirable side of the afterlife. He takes great pride in his work and his clean record of jobs well done.

The boisterous younger brother of Esau. Heaven’s very own bounty Hunter, who specializes in work that requires going into Hell. A rather important job to deal with any potential problems from the less desirable side of the afterlife. He takes great pride in his work and his clean record of jobs well done.

Jacob is a passionate individual in anything he does. His confidence makes it seem as if he always knows what he’s doing, even if that’s not so much the case. He’s an intelligent individual as well, much better built for brain work rather than physical. Though he wants to prove that he can be both. Perhaps out of jealousy, or maybe deep rooted fears or not being enough. Either way, he regularly practices sword combat to keep up with the physical demand of his bounty hunter duties.

His conscious is racked with guilt. Most of his achievements are often also prefaced with some kind of misdeed he never forgave himself for. He strives to be a perfect man, something that’s completely unachievable. Any mistake is taken as his own failings as a person and takes everything very personally. Does a great deal of work to make up for his own unanswered sins. Work that is a constant uphill battle when you have to work an eternity without a single misstep.

One of his favorite past times is cooking.

Esau: voice claim- Rock me Amadeus by Falco

The shy older brother of Jacob. A fellow bounty hunter along with Jacob. His work isn’t done as openly confidently as Jacob, but that doesn’t mean he does his job poorly. His raw strength is a great deal of help when dealing with something pure strategy can’t tackle.

Esau is quiet and reserved. Never been much of a talker, would rather listen to someone speak than contribute. He’s a pretty chill guy too. Doesn’t spend a lot of his time going out in crazy adventures or exercise 24/7. He likes to chill in bed and read a nice book, watch the sunset, or hang out with a good friend. His ideal life would be spent relaxing every day without a care in the world. But his duties as a hunter prevent him from living his leisure life. Most of his muscle was left over from his life on earth when he was considerably more active.

Esau’s an understanding man, maybe a bit to much so. He’ll give the benefit of the doubt to nearly anyone. Even if a majority of Heaven doesn’t trust him due to his past sin of a murder. He can be aloof too. Sometimes he can’t be bothered with others and would rather be alone. Esau wants to be a good man, or at least a man worth being in Heaven.

Esau doesn’t have a favorite activity, but he does like practicing his magic. Since it’s not something he’s mastered quite yet.

What’s their relationship like?

Complicated is the best word to describe it. While they do absolutely love each other, being forever forced to live side by side can bring plenty of complications.

Jacob had made a deal with the Archangel Uriel to prevent Esau from ending up in Hell after he learns of his grave sin of murder. Jacob was also very old, his mind not the big power it once was. When they both had died on the same minute, Jacob was horrified to find out that Esau had a chain wrapped around his heart that came from his own chest. To make up for his sin, Esau is to follow around Jacob and follow any orders he gives out. Jacob immediately felt like shit for this. He didn’t think he’d be getting rid of his brother’s autonomy and it eats his mind every day. Esau, while understandably doesn’t like this, also understands Jacob was sincerely trying to help him from a terrible fate in Hell. The chains can be removed, but they will slow drain Jacob’s life and lead to his death. And Esau is damn set on making sure Jacob doesn’t try anything like that. Though Jacob has tried a good few times.

They have a deep brotherly love for one another, even if they also get on each other’s nerves from time to time. There’s nothing that can take away their bound and are each other’s biggest supporters.

That’s it. Maybe an anti climatic end, but there’s not much else to speak of. Unfortunately I don’t see this series being as active as it once was before, but it might get some love now and again.

Now I just need a bit of time to greave what has been lost ✌️

[prismaticflare]

Okay, enough with the positives, lets talk flaws. I wish I could say there weren’t any, but I am not a liar. Warning, spoilers along with swearing and excessive caps lock.

Also am being pretty blunt here. I did overall enjoy the movie a lot, but if you’re reading my criticisms, I doubt you want me to sugar coat them, so I won’t. If you don’t want the negativity, that’s totally fine! A movie doesn’t have to be perfect for you to like it, and, again, I ENJOYED THIS MOVIE! So, feel free to skip this post and enjoy the rest of my autism fueled happy rants! However, if you want to hear my honest criticism, here you go.

Firstly, ending was fucking awful. I will be making a whole post alone on it just because of how much it sucked. Also wont did into the problems with the time travel, other than one major one at the end. Time travel in ANY show is a horrible idea.

Choreography was garbage. Every single song had the same dynamic. The main singer was at the center while a triangle of backup dancers flailed around in the back. If you don’t know, I’ve done dance for a large portion of my life, and have a background in ballet among many other styles, so I know for a FACT they could have done better. And its not just that it was bad. D1-D3 were no chorographical masterpieces, but DROR felt as if it was HIGHLIGHTING IT! YOU COULD NOT ESCAPE THE JOJO SIWA ASS FLAILING. WHAT THE HELL!

That one ponytail on Bridget was a hate crime. I’ve never really been a wig snob, I though Mal’s D3 wig was fine although apparently it wasn’t, but if I can tell a wig is bad, you need to burn it.

Although Uliana (aka my wife) was the best thing in this world, the rest of the Merlin-Era VKs were meh. They tried to recreate the Sea Three dynamic and did it, but it wasn’t good. I actually liked Morgie better than Gil, but that’s because I never liked Gil as I am a firm hater on comic relief characters, and Morgie is the same exact things although he gets glowey eyes so that’s better than Gil. Hook was just Harry but boring and no longer a whore (non-derogatory), and the rest of them could be erased from the show and nothing would change.

Speaking of characters, WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH MADDOX!? I didn’t finish the newest book, but unless something CRAZY happens at the end, these are two different characters. I suspect this is another crime of Disney not telling Melissa de la Cruz enough, or maybe it was bad writing on her end (wouldn’t be the first time,) but still was lame.

Also, this might just be me, but the way they handled Carlos rubbed me the wrong way, although that was a decision from the wedding animation that I always hated. They could have just pretended they never did that, but I understand why they didn’t. Still made me hella uncomfy.

As of now I think that’s about everything, although there were quite a few minor things. I won’t list them all off as I don’t want to nitpick, but just to name a few…

Flamingo CGI hurt my eyes

So This Is Love was D1 Be Our Guest coded (derogatory)

Tried too hard to recreate D1-D3 although they actually had a fine plot without it

Uliana’s “perfect revenge” was boring. Go with Hades’ idea and burn her. Much better (also will mention this in ending chapter)

IDK how a sequel (which they hinted at) would work since they literally said Mal, Ben, Jay, and Evie are just on a trip. Are they not gonna come back?

Speaking of which, such a lazy excuse. Just say they died. If you did it for Carlos, you can do it for them

Didn’t have my bbgrl Lonnie

See you soon for my final part of this chat. The one I hate the most. The End

[bizantineempire]

So I have some thoughts on RWRB

If you divorce it from it's adaptation, it's a perfectly servicable film.

IDK how to say it but it was too polished? I guess? (Maybe that's book nerd for it doesn't look like how I imagined it IDK) it feels like an adaptation of a short film that got a bigger budget but it lost some of the heart of the original you know?

I should have expected it but it was a lot simpler than the book. other people have mentioned the things, June, Nora, Pez, Leo etc.

I did enjoy the way they did the texting at the beginning and I wished they carried that through with the emails later (although maybe they did and I wasn't paying enough attention?)

In this day and age of streaming there is no excuse for book adaptations to be simplified movies. Here's my reasoning: streaming platforms don't need to have time slots, so they can literally release a 3 episode miniseries or a 2 episode miniseries, or 2 movie length mini series or whatever. Black mirror does a bit of this where the different eps are different lengths and honestly, there should be more of it.

I liked some of the references to the book like the powerpoint presentation reference but it just made me want to see that.

I missed seeing Alexs drive and enthusiasm for politics. Look, I'm Australian, I couldn't give a rat's bum about american politics, but reading Alex give a shit about it was interesting and to see him kinda do a politics thing but also not really made me miss Book!Alex more.

I feel like the King being all "this could be fake" would have been a lot better if ALEX HADN'T JUST RELEASED A STATEMENT SAYING THEY WERE IN LOVE!

Stephen (Steven? Stephen.) Fry saying Homoseksual

Stephen Fry BEING a homophobe was funny A+ casting

The lake scene being in the day was weird. So Henry just turns away and is silent. And then he swims away and what, doesn't say a word to Alex for the rest of the evening? Does Alex ask him what's wrong? Why don't they talk about it? it makes more sense being in the middle of the night because he cracks a joke, changes the subject and goes to sleep. Alex is a little offput but he figures he can talk about it later if it's still a thing and then Henry's gone. Makes so much more sense.

Also (this also happens in the books) So Henry's "The Spare" but what about Bea? I'm p sure she's older than Henry, but younger than Philip. Doesn't that make HER the spare? He's just overkill at that point.

If they were going to cut out a sister imho they should have cut out Bea since they did her dirty anyway. Like if she's not going to have character anyway. June would be far more utilised.

One of the things I love about the book is that by the end Alex has a great friend group. I missed that in the movie.

Zahra was perfect.

I miss chaotic brains Nora

I have very few thoughts on the actual romance part. It was fine.

TF is Miguel

As a bisexual myself, I missed the bi panic.

Also Liam. He was great.

This has nothing to do with the movie but my cat is kneading right next to me.

Why was it rated R? It was sanitised the hell????

If you like the movie, if you love it that's great. I'm glad for you. For me I might have to sit and think about it for a bit before I rewatch it.

[kaliemary]

Charlie M. the princess of hell

Ok I had her finished some days ago but for some reason I didn't posted them - probably because I forgot about it - she was a little difficult to make - not so difficult than alastor because no one can be as difficult as that bitch 1 eyed radio-deer - especially because I wanted to maker her a little different from the rest.

 Also I should've already made a post or put in my other redesigns but my rewrite I will be going in a different path for the story since the rewrite is not an "I will make hazbin hotel better because vivizepop made it shitty" but an "what if was me that maded hazbin hotel" is just for made it clear of the why I changed Charlie, and probably other character, so much.

In here charlie is litterally a Doll demon, made by Lucifer as a present and symbol of the love of lilith and him, the way she grew, from a child at her current form was close from I think emily from the fnaf books, where she was a robot and her dad had made each stage of a normal human growing but instead of wires and cables she is made from a resistent unamed material and MAGIC~

Since I wanted to make her have more apple theme I made her hair green and she now have a paint job that looks like guess what? exactly! an apple.

I tried to make her style a little bit more regal since I changed charlie's personality a LOT, not because her personality is not interesting or anything, is the way that they maded her a little childish sometimes and I understand that the point of her character is to be a subversion of a person would think of a princess of hell but still it bugged me sometimes, idk how to explain exactly.

So she is a more serious person (doll?) since she know that hell is not a easy child's play, but still she's worried by her people, worried just like her mother, she takes pride for understanding everything about anything, well almost because the only thing that she will never understand are fellings and because of that every time someone mentions that she don't understand everything, she will prove them wrong, after all she need is perfect.

And the reason that she re-opended the Hotel is because of this said pride, a long time ago when Lucifer was hoping that heaven would at least make a expection for second chances with their favorite creation, since he has still with the naive mentality, so he made the "Happy Hotel" but Heaven didn't give them a second chance so he just scrapped the ideia and put in his failed project gabinet, that is until millenias later Charlie found the archives of it and she bring it to her father asking about it, since she liked to know what Lucifer did or was doing in his work shop even if the failed projetcs, she was interested to know the why so she would never do this mistakes that the other projects did and sometimes she make the failed projects a sucessfull one.

so when lucifer said that the project was just a "unfixable project" she take that as a challeng and started the hotel to prove her dad wrong.

and Vaggie with razzle and dazzle is there to make sure that this come true.

some silly little fun facts about this Charlie:

+ she can change her form and she have a wardrobe full of pieces, just like G3 frankie, rangin from hands, to eyes, to whole heads and so on, she normally don't change that much only if she visiting other rings. + she and Lucifer tend to give apple/duck related pet names, Lucifer more than Charlie because she don't open up so easily but still. + she call Vaggie "Crispin" (the name of the green apple) or when she is trying to be more romantic "The light I would go wihout second trought" + she makes silly little fanfics about her and Vaggie (her gf), like what they woul be like if they're in a fairytale or a mafia romantic novel at night. + she likes to sometimes to buy some snacks on cannibal town. she have a WHOLE ROOM with plushies and all kinds of cute/comforting stuff just for her, sometimes she brings Vaggie when she's sad because Charlie dosen't know what to do.

Divider by @astralnymphh.

[theonethatyaks93]

Sketch Showcase Time!!!

Sooooooooo, these are days two and three of my "Learning How-To Draw Pinky and Brain Phase." And, y'all, I think I found my groove! This is attempt 2 of drawing Pinky:

Already, I'm very pleased with this. I mean, this was my attempt to re-create Pinky's design by @goosieboosie. I'm not a digital artist, so I couldn't capture all the majesty of this design perfectly, but I did a decent job. This style allows me to draw Pinky's face a lot easier, and I can get more creative with facial features. I was really happy when I finished this, I kinda freaked out because, he looks great!! I even drew my gender/sexuality headcanons for Pinky beside him, as well as his signature because, why not? I tried to re-draw this picture a few hours later and I made a new discovery:

Sorry for the blurry pic! But yeah, I think I invented my own unique style!! This is the first version of this; there a few changes from my first re-draw. The main changes are Pinky's eyes being rounder, and his ears a little bit larger. I think the base shape of his head is also a little different. I think he looks so derpy!! I was instantly in LOVE with this updated design, so I decided to draw it again and:

The design is a little different again! And also, my first expression!!!! (Ignore the weird as hell erased Pinky head you see; it was a massive failure and I couldn't erase it all :( ) I really think the Pinky on the left turned out better than I thought!! I love his cute little face and his extra floofy head. The second pic is another kind of model pic, but I added a little tongue because it looked cute. I also added the mind bubble and the little blurb just for added effect. I think he looks cute, what do you guys think?

On day three/attempt 3, I actually doodled a Pinky without looking at a reference in one of my books because I was in school. Here's how it turned out:

I LOVE IT!!!! I was so shocked when I finished with this because I think Pinky looks amazing!! It's not perfect, but when compared to day one, it's like night and day. This is my favorite Pinky I've done so far, and it only took my like 25 minutes; what an improvement when compared to over an hour just for one drawing lol! I've made some small changes here, and I will continue to make changes for the time being. I'm still finalizing my style.

Later on, I did something I'm very proud of:

My first full-body Pinky!! I drew the body first and then added a head in later. I also marked certain areas that I might improve upon later, and little personal touches that I added for fun. Yeah, I think his head is a little too tall, but I'll fix that. I implemented some unique elements such as his muzzle area being based on the OG show, the tufts of fur on his head being longer, the chest fur, his feet being stuffed-animal like, his short legs (which will probably be longer in the future), and his tail being from the reboot. I am currently working on hands; they're just not ready yet. I'm very excited to see my own personal style being formed. I like all the touches I added and I'm excited to maybe work on some screenshot re-draws and other things like that.

Here are some hand sketches. Hand are EXTREMELY HARD for me so I'm trying to get an idea of what I want to do. I was either thinking of the one on the left (larger fingers, rounder shapes) or the one on the right (more angular, slimmer fingers). Idk, which hand style do yo guys think would work better?

I'm very proud of the progression I made on these designs. I'm currently planning on drawing Brain very soon and I will be doing screenshot re-draws, experimenting with changes to eye shape, and more expressions. I'm also writing still (new fic currently a wip), and I'm very excited to be contributing more to the fandom!! Let me know where I can improve and some tips on how to draw their hands. Also, special thanks to @cosmicangel139 for the drawing tips for Brain!! You are amazing and I will definitely keep those tips in mind!!!!

[di-diwata]

Physical head canons for the OSEC group!

(I am working on an actual fic, however i am dead terrified of mischaracterising them to the point where I am struggling to write. So head canons instead)

Under cut:

I think Ursula has very rough hands, lots of callous on them. She works with machines so I think her hands have a couple scars on them from mishaps while repairing stuff. Also! She’s a mermaid, so she’s going to be in water a lot. More often than not if you touch her hands you’ll find them wrinkled as hell. <- your fingers wrinkle in water to help you better grip wet stuff.  Also, I think she has a scar on her nose from where she swam into a rock when first learning to swim.

Genie! She’s not been an explorer as long as Jai and Max, nor does she mess around with machines a lot, so I don’t think she has as many scars as the others. However she’s always covered in a variety of temporary injuries: hot glue gun burns and small cuts from her creating her hats. She’s got dimples i think, on both sides, and freckles. They all have freckles actually -when they’re not on expeditions they’re back at the base and that place is very sunny in my mind. She’s also got a little gap between her front two teeth.

Jai! First off: he was born missing his arm, so no traumatic accident there. However people like spreading strange rumours about how he lost his arm so depending on who you ask depends on what you get told. Also! The further into the series you get the less ‘perfect’ his appearance is (a physical manifestation of how he’s able to let his dad go, as well as the need to be always perfect). He has a few acne scars as well as just acne in general -especially on his jaw. After the book ends, I think he gets braces. He’d probably get them in the club's colours because he's a nerd <3 he’s also just got an assortment of small scars from previous expeditions. (It’s canon that he has a long straight nose btw. Putting this here for myself because I *will* forget otherwise)

Now Max! Like Ursula, Max is almost always working with machines, so his hands are quite scarred. He’s also got a bunch of random scars (like Jai) due to previous expeditions. I like to think he has a couple moles, one on his shoulder and two on his face. When he’s nervous or bored he chews his nails, so they’re constantly short. He’s broken a couple bones -a mix of doing incredibly stupid things and just getting into unfortunate situations- more than any of the others. He’s also got a lot of freckles; not so much on his face, but his shoulders and back are covered by them.

---

It's just a couple of silly head canons, but these were fun to come up with! it also helps me with visualising the characters lol. I might do more of these, i'm working on a clothing one atm.

I might also do something like this for the PBEC when i read it.

idk hope you enjoyed this post!

[talesfrombr0k3nm1nd]

Hii!!

I saw your pinned post and wanted to ask if I could request a little ship thingy for dftm.....

Since I ship Jared and Ramona I think seeing more content of them would be swag...

They're around the same age in my au, but write them however you want, if you accept this request.....

Also fluff would be awesome... Maybe in a time where they're already togetherrr...??

(Ramona helped Jared with a personality change and got him to be a better guy if ur wondering, idk)

Sorry if this req is weird to you

0f cours3!

I apol0gize at th3 st4rt for I d0 not re4lly know R4mona that w3ll, I tr1ed my b3st. H0p3 y0u l1ked it!

...

Prompt; ^^

Characters; Ramona, Jared

Fandom; Don't Feed the Muse

Relationships; Ramona/Jared

Style; Fluff (short and sweet)

TW; none.

...

It has been nearly five months, that might not sound like a long time but it sure felt like it was for the unlikely pair. Ramona was lying on the bed they shared, her boyfriends head on her lap as she was combing her hand through his hair.

She had a book in her other hand, but she wasn't reading, no, she was watching him, as he toyed with his toy. In her eyes he was perfect, as was she in his. Jared was comfortable, wrapped in a blanket and rubik cube in his hand. Sometimes he looked up at her, their eyes meeting and filling with warmth they only had for each other.

It wasn't always this calm, that's why they enjoyed this moment as much as they could. The peace, the quiet and the warm embrace of each other.

Since Mother died, a lot of things have changed. Surprisingly, the end of the word did not, in fact, occur. Much to the displeasure of some individuals.

Jared got lucky, he was still inside when the building was set off. When Ramona found him, he was unconscious. And when he woke up, it was like all of the hell broke. He panicked and hurt, and aggressive. It took time for him to get better. But Ramona didn't have much else to do anyway.

After all, it paid off. Jared, now much calmer and better than when he was under Mother's influence cuddled upon her lower stomach.

If they could have anything at all, they would have give up everything for that something to be the other.

...

//H0pe y0u l1ked it m4te! If y0u want m0re or som3thing more sp3cific, f33l free t0 ask!

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: 10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall

4/5. Releases 10/17/2023.

Vibes: Hallmark Christmas movies with a twist, boss/employee, grumpy meets snarky, uptight meets defiant

Sam can't stand his controlling, uptight boss, Jonathan. When they get into a conflict (at the workplace!) right before Christmas, enough is enough, and Jonathan fires Sam... Right before accidentally causing an accident that gives Sam a concussion. Befuddlement and confusion at the hospital leads Jonathan to believe Sam has amnesia... And why not go with it...?

Another charming, funny romcom from Alexis Hall, full of chemistry. It's a little tame, but it's also Christmasy and offers me the same feeling a sugar cookie would. If you're a fan of Alexis--or want a seasonal good time--go for this.

Quick Takes:

--One thing I loved off the bat was that Jonathan was SO. VERY. STARCHED. And he hired Sam despite his lack of managerial experience because he "saw something in him" (or maybe he envisioned Sam inside him idk idk). So of course, he's so, so mad and so, so stuffy about his would-be protegee... kinda sucking at his job (more on that later).

Sam, meanwhile, is like--I wouldn't call this grumpy/sunshine. Sam is too snarky, too snappy, and too confrontational with Jonathan to be a sunshine. They're immediately combative, and you get this great tension, and then like... boom. Jonathan is trying to keep himself from getting sued to hell and Sam is pretending to be an amnesiac in order to keep his job. MESS.

As a sidebar... This is not a true amnesia romance, but if you like amnesia romance, I think you'll enjoy it. Jonathan fully thinks his employee! is an amnesiac and spends this whole time babysitting him, and having him meet his family... You know. Boss stuff.

--One thing I expected going into this book was like, this typical scenario where the millionaire asshole Jonathan was wrong, and Sam's soft managerial approach was entirely right. To me, Sam immediately had some noticeable issues as a manager that I've seen in real life, and they're often brushed off because it's nice and kind of passive.

I should've trusted in Alexis Hall more, because he really handles this well and humanizes both Jonathan and Sam. Neither one of them is perfect. Sam has a lot of growing to do. Romance arc aside (which was obviously good), I seriously appreciated where Sam ended up in this story. It was a very evolved take, and refreshingly realistic in a way I think Alexis handles better than almost any other author.

--The Christmas isn't OVERMUCH, but it's just enough to have that charming, snowflakes in the air over kisses vibe. And it has enough wit and chemistry to really overpower the schmaltzy Hallmark movie sensibility. Although it's nothing like this movie in terms of plot, in terms of romanticism this book reminded me more of Dashing in December, than a Hallmark movie.

The Sex:

This is a closed door romance, and I won't lie, that didn't feel completely right to me. I'm biased, and if anyone is going to sell me on closed door, it's Alexis Hall. And this couple did still feel very sexy--like I said, the chemistry is great. I would recommend this book as a closed door novel that will probably work for people like me (who don't really read closed door ever).

But... they do have sex. It's just not on the page. And I couldn't help but wonder why? It's probably just an artistic choice, and I respect that. Like I said, it works. I just think it would have been a little bit better if we'd seen that sex scene. Or really, those sex scenes. I also just love the way Alexis writes sex. Peggy and Orfeo's first time in Something Spectacular is one of my favorite sex scenes ever. Something on the love of Mortal Follies, a book which was pretty tame in terms of sex but still said a lot with a little, handled this a bit better to me.

With that being said, if you want a cute and witty Christmas romcom with a wacky twist, this will absolutely work for you. It's light, it's fun, it's satisfying. Can't complain about that!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.