#if this color this then this color this IT ISN'T A FUCKING EQUATION I'M MAKING ART GTFO

[indiiglow]

coloring is so hard !!!! why !!!!

I feel like my brain is just. not wired to understand colors ever

[libraryofgage]

Addams Family Steddie Part 4

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

As always, if you see a typo, no you didn't. Enjoy reading!

After nearly a year of knowing Eddie, Steve would say he's got his fiance-to-be's personality down pat. He has a general idea of how Eddie will react to things, what he prefers for a midnight snack (chocolate-covered wasp wings), and the music he likes listening to when they're making out (KISS, but he'll put on Fall Out Boy if Steve bats his eyes just right).

He also knows Eddie is not the most patient man in the world; he's rather impulsive, in fact. He'll get an idea and run with it, not pausing to consider the potential consequences, especially if he thinks it'll make Steve smile. He's even jumped head-first into a ball pit after Dustin and Steve, despite how off-putting he found the colors, just to make Steve laugh.

Clearly, Steve knows Eddie. Very well.

So, he's having a hard time understanding why Eddie hasn't proposed yet. It's been three months since they became engaged-to-be-engaged. Not to the minute, but to the day. Steve had expected Eddie to climb through his window at exactly 12:01 AM to propose. He had even laid a carefully planned trap (it involved a net, exactly three knives, Hulyet, and impressive knotwork) if only because he knew Eddie would find that romantic and would love to propose while hanging from the ceiling.

Steve had even been thinking up snappy one-liners for when he turned on the lights to see Eddie trapped. He could say, "Finders keepers, which means you're mine," or maybe, "I guess I should find a good taxidermist now. Do you think El knows of one?" or even, "I can't wait to tell Dustin I caught breakfast." The first one is probably a bust when he really thinks about it, but those other two could work.

So, Steve isn't expecting to sleep through the night, only waking up because the sun is shining through his window. He even lays in bed for an hour, scrolling through social media on his phone in case Eddie is running behind. He wasn't, and the only thing saving Eddie from getting utterly maimed and tortured (not the fun kind) is that he sent a good morning text.

That good morning text doesn't answer any of Steve's questions, though, and he spends another hour carefully cleaning the trap he'd carefully placed. At least Hulyet is reassuringly predictable, resting on his shoulder and nuzzling his neck as he cleans.

An entire day passes without Steve even seeing Eddie's shadow. He literally watches the sun set below the horizon after dinner, his disappointment morphing into annoyance and frustration that he takes out on the dishes he's scrubbing. He's annoyed with Eddie for not even swinging by when he usually can't stay away, but he's also frustrated with himself for his annoyance and for the tiny voice in the back of his brain wondering if maybe Eddie doesn't want to be together as badly as Steve.

"Could you please stop brooding? I'm trying to balance chemical equations," Dustin says, throwing a pen at Steve's head from the kitchen island. "Besides, you're fucking murdering our plates."

Steve sighs, glancing at the pen now resting pitifully on the floor. He rinses off the plate he's holding, places it in the drying rack, and picks up the pen. "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did, but what's up?"

"Is there a non-romantic way to murder Eddie?"

Dustin is silent for a few moments before letting out a put-upon sigh. "Probably not," he says, resting his chin in his palm. "Why?"

"He was supposed to propose today."

"...It's like you lose all your brain cells when Eddie is involved. How do you know he was supposed to propose?"

"I told him to wait three months exactly three months ago," Steve explains, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms over his stomach.

"And you want him to propose? Like, you want to marry him? It's barely been a year of knowing the guy."

Steve doesn't even have to think before saying, "Yes." Because he does want to marry Eddie. He wants to feel even closer than they already are; he wants to have a wedding ring that he can show off; he wants to be able to introduce Eddie as his husband.

Well, now that he thinks about it, why does he care so much about Eddie being the one to propose? He could do it himself! Steve could go buy a fucking obsidian ring with ruby accents, passive-aggressively get down on one knee, and shove the ring onto Eddie's left ring finger. It doesn't exactly sound romantic, but Eddie lost that privilege when he didn't sneak into Steve's room at 12:01 this morning.

"If you're that desperate to get married, just kidnap him for a shotgun wedding or something and have a ceremony later. Why wait on him? It's the era of feminism, dude."

As mean as Dustin's tone is, Steve has to admit he has a point. Steve doesn't have to wait on Eddie, and he's not going to. Fuck it. He'll go propose himself. "You good on your own for a while?" Steve asks, returning his attention to Dustin.

"Yeah, I'm good. Go get hitched. Take a picture with your Elvis impersonator for me," Dustin says, waving his hand dismissively at Steve as he focuses back on his worksheet.

Steve rolls his eyes, ruffling Dustin's hair as he passes him. "I'll probably be back in a few hours," he says, waiting for Dustin to smack his hand away before heading to the front door and pulling on his sneakers.

----

Eddie's bedroom is on the second floor, and his window is on the side of the house. The first time he climbed to Eddie's window, he'd nearly impaled himself on the spikes in the flowerbeds along the house. Thankfully, Steve has discovered the ability to use both the tree by the house and the drainage pipe for the gutters to climb up.

Now, Steve can reach Eddie's window in his sleep. He pulls himself up the tree, leaning dangerously far from the trunk and using the drainage pipe to steady himself with one hand. He tugs Eddie's window with the other, getting it mostly open before launching himself through. When his waist catches on the sill, he wiggles until he falls to the floor just under the window.

Steve huffs, pushing his hair out of his eyes as he sits up and looks at the bed. Eddie is watching him with an amused smile, leaning back against the pillows with a guitar in his lap. "You're especially beautiful when you're wiggling through my window, sweetheart," he says.

"Shut up," Steve mutters, pulling himself up off the floor. He climbs onto the bed, taking Eddie's guitar and carefully setting it aside before climbing into his lap. "I'm upset."

Eddie blinks, his smile immediately replaced by a concerned frown as he places his hands on Steve's hips. "What's wrong, Stevie? Who upset you? Are we having a murder date night?" he asks.

Steve doesn't answer for a few seconds before sighing and hugging Eddie, unable to hold onto any annoyance or frustration when he's offering murder dates so sincerely. "You didn't propose today," he whispers, tugging on a lock of Eddie's hair with a frown. "It's been three months."

"Stevie, baby, sweetheart, beloved, my darkest night after a blistering day," Eddie says, his voice soft and dripping with love, and Steve snorts at the cheesy names.

"Get to the point already."

"Tomorrow is three months, sweetheart."

Steve blinks, pulling back slightly to look down at Eddie. He has a soft smile, one that's a little goofy and utterly comfortable with how much love it reveals. "Are you sure?" Steve asks.

Eddie grins and grabs his phone from the nightstand, pulls up his calendar, and shows Steve a notification that's set for exactly 12:01 AM and reads "PROPOSE TO STEVE" with several ring emojis.

"Are you sure it's right?" Steve asks, looking from the notification to Eddie.

"Stevie, do you really think I'd wait a single second longer than necessary to propose? I spent three hours making sure this was exactly three months."

Yeah, all of that is exactly what Steve had been expecting that morning. He feels relieved, actually, because Eddie is just as impatient as he is and just as unwilling to wait a second more than necessary. "Well," Steve says, drawing the word out as he takes Eddie's phone and places it on the nightstand, "I am already here."

It takes two seconds for Eddie to catch up, his eyes lighting up when he does. "Seriously?" he asks.

"I might change my mind if you take too long," Steve says, his sentence barely finished when Eddie pulls a ring box out of absolutely nowhere.

And Steve would wonder how he did that, but he's too focused on Eddie opening the box to reveal a pitch-black ring with an obsidian main stone and ruby accent stones. It looks exactly like the kind of ring Steve was ready to hunt down not an hour ago. He glances up at Eddie, unable to help an excited grin.

"So, I had a lot of different speeches prepared for this," Eddie says, carefully taking out the ring and tossing the box aside. "But now that we're here, none of it feels genuine enough. I love you so much that it literally hurts. My heart aches when you're not around, and I can't get enough air into my lungs if I can't see you. I spent this entire day preparing a dinner date and romantic gestures, and it was pure torture because I was too busy to hold your hand or kiss you. I would embrace death with you by my side, but I would truly die if we were apart. And I hope we never have to be, so please marry me, Stevie."

It takes everything in Steve to not interrupt Eddie with a kiss, but he somehow stays strong until the end. "Yes, of course, absolutely, now kiss me already," Steve says, grabbing Eddie's collar and yanking him close. He hears a surprised noise and almost apologizes when Eddie bites Steve's bottom lip and pushes a hand into his hair. Steve sighs softly, leaning fully onto Eddie and tasting the remnants of his toothpaste.

When Steve is just about to push Eddie down on the bed, he breaks the kiss and flashes a huge grin, his sharp canines in full view, and Steve has to stop himself from starting another kiss so he can drag his tongue against them. "I still have to put the ring on," Eddie says.

"Well, be quick about it. I wasn't done kissing you," Steve says, holding his left hand out and feeling inexplicably grounded when Eddie slips the ring onto his finger.

-----

Tag list (good lord, there's so many of y'all lmao)

@estrellami-1, @justforthedead89, @starman-jpg, @abstractnaturaldisaster, @sugartin, @ashwagandalf, @xjessicafaithx, @somegirlsomewhere, @imjust-that-shy, @blaqcats-fics, @littlebluejane, @xoxoladyclara, @halfadoginatank

@pjoneedstherapy, @nocturnalgayboi, @swimmingbirdrunningrock, @justforthedead89, @gothwifehotchner, @elizbaehth, @angels-dressed-in-blood, @imfinereallyy, @oile-loves-sharks, @carlprocastinator1000, @stxrcrossed186, @spider-boygirl, @epiclazershark, @7shrewsinatrenchcoat

@perfectlymellowthing, @just-a-tiny-void, @nburkhardt, @nailbatandfreak, @sunfloweringstories, @vampireinthesun, @novelnovella, @bookworm0690, @bestwifehaver, @goosesister, @phantomcat94, @martinskis-lydias, @ghostofyourvampiregf, @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring

@nerdsconquerall, @dontslayfay, @potato-of-the-lord, @suikatto, @deliriousmom, @code-switcher, @lizard-dyk3, @anonymousbandgirl,

[ravengrey2103]

“Please Don’t Leave”

Derek opens the door to the sound of screaming children. Now, I know how that sounds but, and hear me out, as far as Derek can tell, blood and death are not part of the equation. See? Significantly less alarming than it sounds. Now that that's out of the way, Derek can actually take in the situation. Stiles is standing in the middle of the room, and he is surrounded by screaming children.

"AH! See, I can scream too! How do you like it, you little shits?!?" Stiles, in a blatant act of maturity, is screaming right back. He looks to be on the brink of hysteria, his red face and messy hair highlighting the crazed look in his whiskey-colored eyes. After Stiles' outburst, one of the toddlers bursts into tears. "Oh great! We're crying now?! So, this is all my fault, huh? Typical. You should be more grateful, you know. Right now I'm the only thing standing between you and death by pedophile!" The rest of the children begin to cry, sending Stiles over the edge. "Okay! You know what? I'm done! I quit! It's every man for themselves. Good luck, bitches. I'll see your asses in hell." Stiles turns on his heels, ready to walk out of the house, leaving it at the mercy of six crying toddlers. However, he is stopped in his tracks when he sees Derek standing in the doorway.

"Having fun?" Derek raises an eyebrow, quirking his lips into a smirk. "Just so you're aware, leaving would count as child endangerment. You know, a crime punishable by imprisonment?"

Stiles levels Derek with a withering glare, his hands are fisted at his sides and his mouth is curled into a snarl. "So?! I could care less! These little monsters have been acting like- like terrorists all day. I mean, do you see this, Derek?! How in the actual hell do I deal with this? Huh? Tell me, Derek, tell me ho-"

Derek surges forward, capturing Stiles' forearms in his firm hands. "Stiles!" Derek watches as Stiles snaps his mouth shut. "Breathe." Derek takes an exaggerated breath in, prompting Stiles to follow. They stand there for a few minutes, Derek guiding Stiles' breath. There are still children screaming in the background, but it doesn't matter. Right now, Derek is solely focused on helping Stiles, his friend, his mate, even if Stiles isn't aware of that last fact just yet.

Once Derek has deemed Stiles’ breathing acceptable, he lets go of him, taking a step back and surveying the scene once more. There are three small children in the room, two boys and one girl. Derek doesn’t recognize any of them. “Stiles.” Derek tries, careful not to upset him again.

“Yes, Sourwolf?” Stiles replies innocently, his wide doe-eyes staring up at the wolf.

“Whose kids are these?”

“Well, I didn’t steal them if that’s what you’re getting at.” Stiles crosses his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes.

“Okay, that’s a step in the right direction. But you still have three crying toddlers in the middle of your living room, which means three sets of angry parents to deal with if you can’t calm them down and make them like you.”

"I know, fuck, I know." Stiles fists his hands in his disheveled hair. "I'm just, I don't know, I guess I'm just not good at this. Dealing with small children is more of your specialty, not mine. They've been here for a little over two hours and all I've managed to do is make them cry." Stiles runs his hand down his face, dropping it heavily at his side and contorting his face into a look of defeat.

Derek closes the space between him and Stiles in two steps, taking the teen's forearms in his hands once more. "Look, you're not bad with kids. It just takes practice." Derek locks eyes with Stiles, looking for any indication of his understanding of what Derek has just said. Stiles nods, breaking eye contact and looking down at his sock-clad feet.

There is a brief silence before Derek hears Stiles' whispered voice. "I know; Just... Please don't leave."

And just like that, Derek's heart melts. He gives Stiles an affectionate smile and pulls him into a hug. "I won't leave. Not now, not ever. I promise."

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

Links to AO3 and FanFiction.net in bio

[kimberlyannharts]

LAST TIME ON RANGER ACADEMY: Sage is fully committing to the high school life, even if there are some obstacles like bullies, hard classes, her friend's tragic backstory, and the discovery of the Chamber of Secrets.

But there's no time to dwell on that, because it's time for the Morphin Trial, where kids are dumped in a hostile landscape to be color-coded by some weird old alien cult. Sounds legit!

It's Ranger Academy #4!

Before we begin let's take another look at that Katie cameo. Sure she doesn't do anything but drive the bus and I still have no fucking idea how these cameos work when they're appearing in-person vs those inter dimensional tubes but it's at least nice to see her

ANYWAY. Time to drop some children off to die

= So some lore stuff established already is the Bandorian Monks reside on the planet "Chromia" specifically in the "Zeo Chamber" in "Prism Peak." It only opens for a limited amount of time once a year. From what I can remember none of this, except the Zeo Chamber I suppose, was in Eltarian War's established lore, but I guess that can be chalked up to Ranger Academy being its own thing. (And for what it's worth, the Zeo Crystal itself is not in the chamber.)

= yes yes guys we get it you want that video game/RPG adaptation

= This is so valid of Theo but unfortunately for him I know what happens to PR characters with his kind of jokey, charismatic personality

= So are they going to be the book's main romance or not. I'm calling upon protection spells against sisterzoning

= NO NONON ONONONONON NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DON'T DO THIS

= So.....okay. Here it is. Here's the line

So obviously there are colors missing from the Academy and at the very least Theo's dialogue is implying that's on purpose. Which makes me hopeful for my old "Camp Half-Blood" theory that this book will end with more color campuses being added. And obviously, Theo's source isn't telling the whole story or getting facts wrong.

But. Look.

Even if Lindy's dialogue is only saying that Green and Orange Rangers don't exist in the Academy rather than the universe as a whole, the entire concept of certain colors being forbidden or unknown is ridiculous when this is a school that fully encompasses itself in Ranger history. Sage mentioned in a previous issue learning about Jen and why their library is named after her, so their adventures must be part of the curriculum. Even if it isn't, their teachers are Ranger alumni. ONES THAT HAD GREEN RANGERS ON THEIR TEAMS. Their bus driver was KATIE! She can't talk about Trip, her best friend? Crueger never brings up how Green is the third-highest ranking ranger at SPD? I think this wouldn't even annoy me so much if they weren't equating Oranger Rangers (of which there have only been three official ones in the franchise, with others being so-so canon) to Green Rangers (of which there's only been. four seasons, I believe? where there was no Green at all). I know Power Rangers wants Green to be special but it just simply doesn't work because by definition, it isn't.

I think this would only work for me if a) we establish that the present of Ranger Academy is set either extremely far in the past or extremely far in the future, where Rangers either barely exist yet OR it's been so long that the canon we know has been shrouded in legend or b) we didn't have the alumni ranger cameos and we establish this school is completely cut off from the established canon we know. And the last one doesn't work because they clearly want the cameos to be one of the main gimmicks of the series. So idk. It's probably Ranger Academy's biggest headache for me

And just in general I don't know how "forbidden colors" work when the students' color is just chosen based on what the Monks see inside them. It should be unique to them, not based on a criteria that can pick and choose or throw out different options.

ANYWAY. The trio finds Kartyr and Maev and, unsurprisingly, these children are about to die

= what's with Green Rangers having to rescue their rivals that suffer broken ankles. Oops, spoilers

= Sage has only been part of this school for a few months and she's already indoctrinated into their religion

= Kartyr is such a hater for no reason. You should be connecting with your green-haired brethren

= Also I just realized that Kartyr is most likely a Xybrian yet he doesn't follow the naming motif that Trip and the Supersonic Rangers did. I won't hold it against the author as the Supersonic Ranger origin story is pretty obscure but still, it's funny to me.

Though wait if he's a Xybrian shouldn't he know about Trip and how he's a Green R [I am yanked offstage via a giant hook]

= Okay guys I get we're using MMPR theming but are really trying to say Pink Rangers are good pilots? Because what, Kim had flying zords? That's getting a little ridiculous. What's next, Pink Rangers are all amazing archers?

= Maev becoming Yellow was a little surprising since Mathis is already a major character who's yellow, but at the same time I'm really not sure.....what the guidelines are to what color each person becomes. It feels kind of arbitrary at this point tbh. Though maybe it's just because I don't really know Maev as a character yet compared to Theo, who fits the Black Ranger archetype like a glove

and speaking of which

= Lindy not being able to morph genuinely pissed me off like. Again. What are the guidelines here. What about Lindy isn't ranger-worthy. Can I just call the Bandorian Monks racist for denying a Black girl the chance to morph because I think I'll just do that

= SHAME SHAME SHAME SHE HAS THE MARK OF THE DEVIL (her novelty lightning bolt coin turned green, a color that has never existed before this)

[beevean]

How to create an invincible character:

1) Jack up the level of melanin in their skin

That's it. You're done, now feel free to do whatever you want with that character, so long as nothing bad happens to them they are officially perfect

*sigh*

It's true that N!Annette had a tough uphill battle before the show began, and I can guess the same happened to N!Isaac once they revealed him. It's true and undeniable that there was backlash against her simply because of the raceswap alone, because they really wanted the show to keep her "original" DXC design (which isn't even original, which makes these people look more hypocritical). I can understand why fans would then grow defensive of Annette, why they'd think it makes sense for her to be an ex-slave in the context of Nocturne, why that would be more interesting than her original character. I get it. I am absolutely not saying "black bad", although I sure would prefer original characters of color, like Morana or Mizrak, and not hands down. And I can understand that a black character in that setting would have a history of slavery: it makes much more sense than with Isaac, who really should have come from the Iberian peninsula because the Transatlantic Slave Trade wasn't a thing yet in the 1460s when he was a child. In fact, back then, there were European slaves in the Arab world. It would have been more historically accurate for Isaac to own a Romanian slave than the other way around! But for Annette? No, that's fair.

My problem is that she's exactly the stereotype that makes most people so resistant against this practice, the reason it's considered "woke" and dishonest. She's just the badass woman of color who is super badass in battle, who talks down to the stupid privileged white people because she has Trauma and her Slave Trauma is more Traumatic than White Trauma, and she gets away with it because yeah she Suffered More. We get it. And to be blunt, I don't care. It's as subtle as a sledgehammer, and I don't watch or play Castlevania to hear for the umpteenth time that SLAVERY BAD (from a show that equated colonialists with vampires without a shred of thought, to boot).

In the tag, I found someone who pointed out that damsels in distress are never allowed to be black. Black women aren't worth saving: they have to be strong and cool, but only white women are worth compassion. And I'm not American so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I remember reading that black women gets masculinized IRL. So that was a wasted opportunity.

Black Annette is neutral. Slave Annette could have worked. But personally I resent how women in NFCV are only allowed to be stronk and mean, almost passing the message that there is something wrong with you if you're weak and need help, and how any sort of criticism is brushed off with "you're just a racist and sexist kys lol".

You want an actual badass woman of color that doesn't feel like she was put there for cookie points? Casca. Y'all want to recreate Casca so bad it's ridiculous. Casca is strong yet she has weaknesses, she's a valuable warrior yet she has to learn how to stop seeing herself as a weapon, she is traumatized from her repeated experiences with attempted rape, sometimes she's saved by others and sometimes she saves herself (one time when she was insane even!), she butts heads with Guts at first yet respects him when he breaks down in front of her. Learn from Berserk, instead of just wanting to recreate the aesthetic. For fuck's sake.

[y2kbugs]

@coolfire333 replied to your post “@coolfire333 replied to your post “Posts that are...”:

Also I'm really sorry you keep stumbling across these posts, I have ocd too and I get nervous about even using ao3 sometimes because of the amount of vitriol that people throw at those who "support" the website (even though I know that using it doesn't mean I'm giving a big ol thumbs up to it and everything anyone posts on there, ocd makes it hard for me to be realistic about things)

​I'm gonna tell you and everyone here right now that using AO3 will not and never makes you a bad person. it is, at its foundation, a niche website catered towards nerdy types who want to write about their blorbos. Some of those nerds have fucked up ideas for stories. Literally who cares. Ignore them. Are they committing actual crimes for writing stories like that? No one is out there rounding up and arresting sad sweaty nerds who are a little too obsessed with naruto for writing weird naruto fanfiction. They don't have time for that shit, there's actual criminals to arrest.

The worst thing those nerds do is write some shit and post it to a dinky ass website that most people won't even register as significiant. Has the creator of Cupcakes actually gotten into real trouble for writing weird torture porn about colorful ponies? I hate that story, it's stupid and a gorefest but I loved it as an edgy teenager, but other than being a meme online there's nothing else it's really doing.

I swear, you text your coworker, your cousin whatever whoever is not a terminally online dweeb and ask them what they think of age gap destiel mpreg fanfic. They'll just say some variation of "lol you use too much internet" and move on, do their taxes, whatever. They don't give a shit. The cashier at walmart doesn't give a shit. Your grandma barely knows what the internet is.

And you cannot equate this situation of "niche nerd website opens donations" to "there's an actual genocide going on". You cannot say someone is a bad person for donating to ao3 on the principle that there's also a genocide happening. This makes zero sense, and is sheer black and white thinking because what if people donate to both?

Because those idiots' minds will explode if they figure out you can do both because they cannot grasp that very concept. They strictly believe the "evil cannot comprehend good" trope and this isn't a fucking disney cartoon.

You're fine, I promise. Whether you donate to a stupid site for silly stories is completely irrelevant to whatever the fuck else is going on.

Whoever is saying "if you donate to this insignificiant nerd website during this time you're a bad person" is without a doubt another terminally online nerd whose most pressing issue in life is finding a hobby that doesn't involve internet arguments over nothing. They have nothing to actually worry about so they make shit up for that sweet sweet moral cocaine.

[bitegore]

🍄♻️🤔

🍄Describe your wip/one of your wips in the format of “_ + =__”

okay for the sake of my fucking sanity i am NOT going to presume I get any real wiggle room here. or i will do another 400 line proof. because it is fun but oh my god it takes so long.

((Felyx + Taran)(Rex + Haven + Taran) + fake dating)^spite = fireworks

♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP(s)

not sure it qualifies as a "wip" because I haven't actually decided to pull it out of the graveyard of abandoned-works out-of-progress yet - call it a wip-aspirational or something lol - but the more I poke at Haven and Taran's actual story the more fun I have thinking about siccing Rex on the two of them. In like 2020 or 2021, so, a good while ago at this point and at a time I'd describe myself as "rusty" I started working on whatever the worst version of a meetcute is (ending in the equation above) lol. If I recall correctly my endgame then was that the three of them would fall into a stable orbit. I think that's kind of silly now. They're not that kind of people.

other scrapped idea, same story: Rex and Taran were meant to get along. That's not happening. It's a lot funnier if Rex and Haven (both deeply, deeply difficult people to get along with who hate accommodating for other people) can find a way to coexist pleasantly but Taran, resident NormalGuy who is extremely accustomed to unpleasant asshole bullshit, genuinely cannot get over Rex's various fuckeries beyond, like, the civility of "I recognize that you are living in my house now because the other person who lives here really likes you, and I don't want to have a screaming match in my own fucking kitchen." I tend to make Rex tolerable to speak to when I write him on his own because it's narratively difficult to use a protagonist who will just spit anything handed to him in someone else's face, but in this particular setup he is actively attempting to get Taran's genuine actual hatred on purpose because he's under the impression that's the goal and he's having fun with it also, so it lets me just make him a huge cunt asshole too which is more fun than having him show any scraps of humanity anyway :D

ok let me come up with something you have actual interest in lol

The Rex & Casey conversation fic I was working on ran into an unrecoverable roadblock (I decided the premise needed work) and has to be restarted in a different place with a slightly different version of Casey (tragic!), so one of the things I had to scrap to keep it rolling is Rex commenting on the color of the sky. It's really sad for me because I always think it's funny when you have a guy In a hell dimension like "damn... this place is weird.... the sky isn't bright red, it's eerie". But I can't justify The Story bringing Rex into The Real World as a Plot Element now that I know more about how it works, so I

......

Aha. Well. Actually. I can't justify Alan using The Story to bring Rex into The Real World, because I know how he works. Might have fixed my opinion on my own premise.

We'll see, I'll sleep on it. It needs to cook longer anyway. I also realized (aw2 spoilers) (for serious) (skip this paragraph now if you havent at least finished the first run of the game) if it happens in The Story In The Real World it's got to be situated between Saga's first time going through the loop with Alan and the Final Draft, but I still haven't found enough time to watch t full playthrough of Final Draft, so I'm sure when I hit Zane's part in there and then endgame I'll know a bit more about the direction I want to take.

🤔What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet

Anything like that I have, either it's so busy being a concept I cannot write it yet, or I've started it just to make sure I won't forget it XD so it's hard to come up with. And most of the concepts are less "this is the kind of story I want to write", so much as "this is the kind of effect I want it to have". You know. I want to write something ~mind-bending~ or I want to ~do talking animals but cool~ or whatever.

A lot of words to say I'm drawing a huge blank on this question.

I think - and this is something I keep approaching with different stories but not leaning into, because, frankly, I'm the first line of concept-check for myself, and i get bored - I'd really like to try a story that works as one extended record-scratch. You start at the very end, in a scene that means basically nothing to anyone, and then in the events of reading the entire rest of the story you get more and more context until the very end of the book is the exact same scene as the first part, like, down to the description, and then it just loops infinitely. Something you could read spiral-binding style so it doesn't really have a "start" or an "end", just points between chapters with cardboard so you can close it anywhere, if it's a physical book. you know, some experimental shit.

Unfortunately I find time loops boring as hell to write. This would be ONE loop, so it'd maybe be better, but I'm still kind of burnt on being willing to touch another timeloop from how badly I did not enjoy the one I wrote for an exchange like two full calendar years ago. And also I do have other things to be doing.

That's also not a story! That's a plot structure! I might as well say I want to write The Hero's Journey for all it really tells you 😂 at my heart I'm a parodist, I'm going to need to see someone do it wrong and decide to do a better job than they did to really get a fire lit for an actual narrative here. I do love me some themes of insurmountable stupid bullshit you put yourself into on purpose because you decided you could surmount it and then discovered you couldn't, and some futile attempts at some stupid shit for retroactively-really-dumb reasons that weren't worth it, so it'll have that. as seasoning. because what is a permanent stable timeloop but one person committing suicide over and over? I'm only really able to approach the properly frozen-in-sequence ones as either Hand Of God (boring) or Sunk Cost Fallacy On Steroids (fun! interesting! miserable in a slightly unusual way!) so...

....well, it's going to have to keep simmering, because I like what I've got in the broth, but there's no meat in there yet, only spices. It would make a terrible meal right now. But it answers the question, I think.

[gay-victorian-astronomer]

4! 16! 20! 39! :D

4. What do you wear when you have to dress nicely?

The most formal I need to get on a regular basis is academic conference attire, so like... business casual level of formality. My usual conference outfit is black chinos, a button up shirt whose print can only be described as space arcade carpet, and a black blazer with a pronoun pin on the lapel.

For more formal occasions, I don't actually own anything that works at the moment— in the past I would wear some type of long gown for those but subsequent Gender Realizations have made that intractable. I very badly want to get a proper suit, but I am having trouble finding an option that will have the details of men's suiting I want while still fitting nicely on my body while also not being super fucking expensive. My impending graduation might give me some motivation to figure something out though...

16. Describe your favorite hoodie. How long have you had it? What makes it unique?

Strangely I haven't been on a big hoodie kick lately— I've gone through pretty much this whole winter without really touching any of them, I've been blanket-burrito-moding instead. So I guess I'll talk about my favorite sweatshirt at the moment/one of the hoodies that's been with me the longest?

My favorite sweatshirt at the moment is one I got back in October as a free giveaway for seniors at my university. It doesn't have a hood and it's pretty plain except for a large applique of the university athletics logo on the front. I like it because I accidentally sized up more than I should have so it's pretty big and snuggly on me.

One of the hoodies that I've had the longest is a purple one from when I went to Washington, DC on a school trip in 8th grade. Most of my hoodies were purchased while traveling— for a while I had to wear a back brace for scoliosis and the brace would put holes in the backs of regular T-shirts, so whenever we'd travel I'd get hoodies as souvenirs because the thicker fabric would hold up better. That hoodie did in fact hold up— it was my favorite hoodie for most of high school because it was surprisingly thick and good quality for being an impulse purchase from a street vendor, and it was made out of pretty pill-resistant fabric, not to mention the fact that it's my favorite color.

20. What kind of math are you best at?

Going purely by my academic record, I'm generally pretty good at anything that doesn't require me to do proofs.

In terms of math I like doing, I think most parts of multivariable/vector calculus are pretty neat, and they are pretty strongly tied to physics. In a similar vein, doing boundary value problem stuff & solving partial differential equations is pretty nice as long as the problem isn't set up to be annoying as fuck (looking at you, applied boundary value problems homework sets)

Dishonorable mention goes to integrals. I am learning through taking quantum theory that I have very limited patience for dealing with integral bullshit (and there are some truly deeply bullshit integrals that have been thrown at me in that class). Evil little bastards that make my brain hurt >:(

39. What was the best part of your day today?

Not much immediately jumps out at me— I've been sick for the past couple days but I felt well enough to go to class today so it was a pretty normal Wednesday all things considered. My housemate ordered food for delivery at lunchtime and they gave me a spring roll they got as a freebie that they couldn't eat, so that was tasty. I'm debating whether to order delivery for dinner in which case that will also be a tasty treat (but we shall see).

[candyskiez]

for the toh ask game- 2, 12, 20?

2. Already put my first favorite, so let's do second! It's...honestly a tie. I know, I know, cop out. But I can't decide which I like more. The two I'm tied between are Willow and Hunter. They're just SOOO. God. I love them. Okay. I know Hunter is. Basic favorites wise, but I like him okay. He's such realistic abuse rep, realistic religious trauma rep, it's,,, man. Man. It's. God. He's just a guy who's trying so hard to be good and do the right thing that has the odds stacked against him. He's a little unhinged and not like, a perfect victim. He's mean, he drops uncomfortable details about himself not realizing he isn't supposed to, they show the messy parts of depression which is a fucking REFRESHER. Also I just. Have a thing for clones that find themselves. I have a thing for characters that grow beyond their programming. I like how they go "Actually, growing up believing you're the chosen one would, realistically, SUCK." He's also really fucking funny. He's a sad wet cat, he's an extremely complicated character, he's also a basic bitch. I love him. I want to put him in a washing machine. Fucking loser.

Tied with Willow! She's. Man. I didn't like her much at first, I just couldn't get into her. But I love her SO MUCH now. Seeing the "bullied girl gets stronger" trope except it acknowledges being bullied sticks with you for life, actually is so nice. I love how so much of her development and healing is from learning to stop repress her anger and her sadness. In her mind, people start liking her again when she's strong, so if she stops being strong NOBODY will like her. She equates half a witch Willow, being weak or sad or in anyway lacking, with losing Amity. If she isn't cool and confident, people don't want to be around her. If she slips up for a second, everyone hates her (in her mind.) She views her emotions as the remnants of "who she used to be" that ruined everything. Hell, she views Amity treating her like she's weak as treating her as who she used to be. Like half a witch Willow. Like someone who would deserve that treatment. She needs time to get used to her not being that pathetic anymore. It's INTERESTING. She's so interesting. Chews on her like a squeaky toy. She's everything to me. I love her.

12. Honestly? Difficult question. First one that pops into my mind is the "do not underestimate me" azura quoting, because god it is SUCH a Luz thing to quote her special interest as she kills the guy who wants her friends dead, love her. But what else hm. I think also Luz realizing her greatest want. It's so...man. Man. Because it explains so much about her. Why the camp hurt her so badly, why she immediately latched onto someone who seemed similar to her, why she wanted to have some set in stone path made specifically for her. It's also just such a beautiful scene. Camilia apologizing was SO FUCKING cathartic for me. Healed my inner child a little and I'm not joking. Having a parental figure apologize for trying to make their kid normal just. Healed something in me, man. It healed something in me. The egg hatching was animated so beautifully, the color scheme, Luz crying, it's so BEAUTIFUL. It's such a. Good fucking scene. Man. The neurodivergent generational trauma is so real and then breaking that....wah. Man. Hm what else. Honestly? The duet. It genuinely made me realize "oh hey if I'd die it'd probably affect people", and I know that sounds dumb but. In my defense I was really depressed when I saw that scene for the first time. It's so gorgeous visual wise, fantastic visual representation of what's going on, SO well done, the music is beautiful and always gets stuck in my head, it's just. Very memorable for me.

20. Hmmm, difficult. I think probably Willow and Amity and Hunter. Bullied kids, disabled kids, repressed rage and constant anxiety of being in an abusive household. The abandonment issues of losing a friend. It's just. A lot man. It's a lot. Yes I know this is also a cop out shh.

[trashcankitty12]

My two cents:

Part of me understands Willow still being upset with Nina.

Like Nina was awful to her before the whole Wiley stuff started. She was rude and cruel and badgering before Wiley was ever in the equation.

And then the Wiley stuff happened and everything else and it was awful. Yes, Willow and Michael have plenty of fault and Nina has her faults. Im not trying to pretend they didn't.

But from Willow's perspective, Nina's been on her ass for longer than just Wiley. It started when Willow was a teacher.

And Nina talking about how "if she had known, she never would have-" stuff just makes me shake my head. This is probably just my raising, but that isn't an excuse. That's like showing your true colors because there's no filter to sharing your thoughts.

And yes, it goes for Willow too. Willow didn't know Nina as a mom, so she went after her far harder and harsher than she did Harmony. Harmony was fucking awful for the Shiloh shit but because Willow saw/still sees her as her mom/woman who raised her, there's like a nostalgia/familiarity/love that's still there. Why she still can remember fondness in certain memories with Harmony.

But after this revelation: both women are reeling and their worlds are shaking.

I'm not hoping or thinking there will be reconciliation. Willow especially isn't into the thought because in her mind, Nina is still this woman who's harassed her for years.

Both need therapy honestly. Nina to deal with not smothering or trying to insert herself in places and to process how fucked up HER mother was, and Willow to process all this shit Harmony and Carly did and the fact the woman she hates most is her mom.

Maybe in a few years, they'll be close like Bobbie and Carly. Or maybe have a begrudging sort of relationship. Who knows?

I'm just glad they're not doing an immediate "i forgive you for everything" scene. Forgiveness for years of animosity takes time.

Also...

A quick note on the Heather/Hook thing. Please tell me Heather is ONE Hook and not the main one/original. Because Trina was supposed to be Final Girl. Not Josslyn.

[forever-fan]

Everyone in the comments are talking about how Hamilton is racist, which 1. I don't know where they got that from and 2. It's basically historical fiction and that time of history was racist af so 3. If there is anything "racist" in Hamilton, then it was probably intentionally added to be historically accurate. (if I'm wrong, then okay, whatever)

On other news, I myself am loving the PJO show. Episode 6 is my second favorite at this time. (mind you, episode 8 still isn't out) I thought Lin Manuel-Miranda's performance was great. It was honestly how I imagined Hermes' personality and style. I always thought Hermes was one of the more laid-back gods, so the sweater I saw someone complained about was totally in character in my eyes.

I understand where some book readers are coming from with their dislike of the show, but I personally take the show and books as being parallel universes. Some things can't stay the same when you make page-to-film adaptations. And yes, Uncle Rick promised us an accurate show and it isn't exactly the same in every single aspect, but it is still a million times better than the *retches* movies *gags*.

Anygays, I hope everyone has a lovely day.

Edit:

I've dug deeper into the comments to see what people are actually complaining about, and oh my gods, it gets worse. Y'all do realize that people audition for roles, right? I'm just double-checking because the main argument for Hamilton being racist is the fact that POC were cast as oppressors in a rap musical, which they auditioned for. Like. Why is this your arguement?

Here's some of the counterarguments to this that I found:

The people auditioned for their part.

Every group of people, no matter the color of their skin, has been an oppressor at some point in history.

Having an all-white cast in a rap musical would probably be seen as just as racist.

They most likely got their parts because of their voices and singing ability rather than the color of their skin.

Lin Manuel-Miranda apparently wrote songs that didn't make the cut that were about the characters addressing the issue of slavery. (I'm guessing these songs probably had something to do with the historical reality of the Northern states wanting to get rid of slavery with the Constitution. This is just my guess using my knowledge of actual history, which you should have learned in 8th grade.)

There were other counterarguments, but I can't quite remember them at this time.

I would like to point out that some of the people calling Hamilton racist are bringing the race of the defenders into the equation. Someone will defend the musical and someone else will reply with "you're white". If someone did that the opposite way around and replied to a thought out defense with "you're black" you would all be calling them racist af.

I know most people like to say that you can't be racist to a white person, but I think that is incredibly untrue. That claim is founded on the fact that white people have been oppressors to multiple peoples throughout history and the fact that white people are generally more privileged than POC. However, that doesn't subtract from the fact that by saying "you're white" as an excuse for why someone can't contribute to a conversation, you are genuinely using someones skin color against them, which is, say it with me now, racist!

I don't care if you yourself are black, brown, blue, green, or fucking gold, using someone's skin color and race as a reason for exclusion is the basis of racism. And using racism to win an argument about whether or not a rap musical is racist is counterproductive. But some people are just too immature to realize this fact.

Yes, I realize this entire post is not my usual content for my blog, but it had to be said by someone. And if I get hate for saying you can be racist to white people, then okay whatever.

I am once again wishing that you, the reader of this post, have a nice day/night.

im going to say it… lin manuel miranda is a well trained actor and is actually eating hermes up a little bit… y’all just need to let go of your thirteen year old self who was cringe about hamilton…. do not let your anger be misdirected towards an artist that lost control of his creation…

[thescrapbookingscientist]

Bimonthly Media Roundup

-Hatoful Boyfriend (Video Game) - Hatoful finale and wow what an ending it was. I really have to applaud this game on turning a silly bonkers premise into a genuinely unnerving psychological horror while actually having interesting characters and emotional moments. I wouldn't say I connected enough with any of them to buy merch or anything but they had more depth than I was expecting from dating sim characters (and birds at that) with exiting little twists. The true ending was the culmination of all the routes and somehow delivered the most impactful story line of all, with a sort of fucked up but true case of "yeah minus the birds thing this is kinda how humans react to sudden and unexpected political shifts huh?". I'd definitely recommend giving it a playthrough/watch, it may seem a little slow at first but boy is it an experience.

-Face Off (TV) - Seasons 4 and 5 are on Netflix so I've been putting this on as background noise while I work. Really fun to see the neat challenges and designs, especially as I like to think how I would approach them myself (though more from a drawing/writing standpoint than crafting obviously). Too bad the whole show isn't available, I haven't found an archived set of all the designs and challenges online so I feel like I'm missing out on some fun ones.

-Suzume (Movie) - Okay so I had typed a whole big review on this out that glitched and did not save. I don't want to type it again so short version is that I respect the animation and themes or equating grief over the loss of a person with the loss of a location and community, but didn't really vibe with the lack of character or tension in the story. Also I feel bad for the little gremlin cat and think he deserved way better, justice for that cat that twink guy should've stayed a chair.

- Campfire Cooking (Manga) - A quick reread of the whole manga when I just wanted a self-indulgent relaxing cooking series. It's still very wholesome, though I will say that I think this is one of the rare ones where the anime is better than the manga due to the visuals really enhancing the appetizing meals and cute mannerisms of the familiars. Season 2 will be coming out soon which I am now fully prepared for, bring me the tiny dragon and loser elf.

- Six of Crows (Books) - Left without internet I was forced to listen to the pre-downloaded audio books I had bought months ago. It's actually pretty interesting so far, I do love heist stories, but I don't feel like talking about it until I'm farther in.

- The Apothecary Diaries (Anime) - I'm too tired to talk about how incredible this was right now but believe me it's really really good. I love MaoMao, this setting is amazing, the characterization of everyone is grounded enough to feel like unique people while leaving room for silly comedy, and the mysteries and twists are so compelling that I could barely stop watching. Highly recommend, might even rewatch it again soon.

- Dungeon Meshi (Anime) - Y'all weren't kidding about those lesbians huh? Good for them, Good for them.

- One Piece (Anime) - Arrived in Wano, the new art style is charming and so are Otama and Okiku.

- Genshin Impact (Video Game) - Making my way through Sumeru.

Listening To: How Did You Love by Shinedown, Give Up Your Dreams from The School of Rock, Everything Goes On by Porter Robinson, All the Boys by Panic! At The Disco, Willow by Taylor Swift, Rose Colored Boy by Paramore, Her Diamonds by Rob Thomas, Stray Italian Greyhound by Vienna Teng, Hey I Don't Work Here by Tom Cardy, Pierrot by Kei, and Can't Catch Me Now cover by Annapantsu

[galacticvampire]

not the same anon, but i'm another asian star wars fan who is beyond tired of white writers who want so badly to incorporate asian aesthetics aka cool martial arts, without bothering to understand beliefs that are important to my culture. it's so disrespectful. and yeah, i agree with people calling out how this isn't only a white writer problem, but a white women problem. these white female writers with LucasFilms (including ek johnston and her ilk) pat themselves on the back for trying to make their show "female centered" and "diverse" but really it's all so shallow. some of them don't even bother doing their research, they just use cast members of color to shield them from criticism.

and btw the acolyte showrunners have no problem hiring an actor who assaulted women too. fuck the people responsible for this and fuck kathleen kennedy.

I totally get it and sorry if my points made it sound like a dismissal, it was more directed at the overall crowd I've seen on that particular post than the one anon who had every right to be upset.

Since you've mentioned E.K. Johnson, I think she's a great comparison. I openly dislike her work, her, and the attitude she has about diversity. I'm not going to read any of her future works and is embarrassing how little it's talked about it. You're very right that is a clear problem of patting herself on the back and refusing to do better because she already thinks she's achieved peak representation points.

My point is: we only know that because she has refused to listen to feedback. She does that over and over again. All we know about Lesley so far is one suspicious interview, on a issue that is known to be an underlying problem overall on Star Wars.

It's ok to criticise it (like. I have a post about how that's awful. I'm assuming it's how you found me) but it's illegitimate to compile this situation to Filoni or E.K. because we just... don't have the escope of what's really happening with Acolyte yet. Or how she'll react if/when these critiques ever get to her. I think it's way more telling of character to see how people respond to being called out, instead of equating what could possibly be a mistake to intentional ignorance or harm.

I'm not going to let it slide if it actually turns out for the worst, but I'm not going to join a mob of hatred towards someone who's going to receive a lot of it for the worst reasons over what at this point is speculation.

[mayasaura]

The "lipochrome, recessive" thing drives me NUTS because that is a real eye color! That's an eye color real people right now have. About 5% of the world's population have amber eyes, eyes that appear to be golden, yellow, or copper in color, pigmented by lipochrome.

So I guess Cytherea assumed the yellow was John's natural eye color, after she saw his daughter had inherited it. It wouldn't be weird for Wake to be a carrier for the phenotype while having darker eyes herself, since it's a recessive trait. Like John must be a carrier for red hair, for Gideon to have inherited that from Wake. Meanwhile we now know something Cytherea doesn't: the yellow isn't natural lipochromatic pigment at all, it's magical girl bullshit! So it's entirely probable the eyes came with whatever power made little baby Gideon not die when she was killed, and Cytherea used the wrong equation to get the right answer.

I would LOVE to confirm if Babs' eyes changed color too. Unlike John, Ianthe didn't put any of herself into her cavalier. She just slurped Babs' soul up and swallowed it whole. So would the eye color be a two-way swap for that kind of lyctorhood? If Harrow hadn't been able to save Gideon, would the dull clouded eyes on Gideon's corpse have been black or gold?

Swerving away from the eye color thing for a minute, there is a lot to explore in that last paragraph of your first reply!

First off, I'm not sure if we have enough information to conclude that all lyctors are sterile. It'd make sense if lyctorhood fucked with reproduction, since necromancy sure does, but we don't really know why all of Mercy's eggs died. It could be that lyctors are reproductively incompatible with John specifically; or it could be just be something to do with Mercymorn, and not her lyctorhood. Totally a good theory, and I think you may be right, but more research needed before Pyrrha and/or Paul can start counting on lyctorhood as birth control.

As to the lyctors having had tons of children before they ascended: I suppose it's possible, but I doubt it. No House other than the Ninth has been established as tracing their genetic lineage back to a founding ancestor, and I have trouble imagining that of Mercymorn or Gideon the First. Totally see where you're getting the correlation between lyctor and House, with Ninth eyes and Cytherea saying that "the Seventh House is awfully predictable for looks," but Cytherea didn't found the Seventh. She was born there, meaning she had family there. She doesn't need to have personally contributed anything to that gene pool for a passable look-alike to pop up millenia later.

I'm kind of hesitant about assuming all the Houses have distinctive phenotypes. It's been implied some other stereotypes exist in the setting, like Silas wondering if Gideon's mother had been Third because of their hair, but Silas was being a creep when he said that, and he was wrong besides. It's not the kind of world building I want to lean into. Protesilaus and Dulcinea look nothing alike, despite what Cytherea said, and the necrocav pairs that do look alike also tend to be fairly closely related and thus not a good measure for the House as a whole. Our sample size is small, our standard deviation is high, ect.

Some of the disciples having had children, tho, whose descendants they watched live and die through generations? That is a fascinating idea, and I'd love to explore it. Would their descendants know? If yes, do the other Houses have heroes they claim are descended from lyctors? Were Anastasia's children still young when she built the Tomb, or was she already the grandmother of the Ninth, ancestor of her people? John kept his disciples young and immortal for centuries, but only if they stayed close to him. Was Anastasia having a family part of the original push for an independent lyctorhood?

in the ntn epilogue, tazmuir specifically calls out that harrow is back to being black-eyed. do you think that means that alecto ate/absorbed the part of gideon that harrow tried not to eat?

Nope! The part of Gideon that Harrow tried (and succeeded!) not to eat is calling Alecto a slut from opposite shore!

Harrow's eyes were black when she left her body for the River, and they're still black now. Nothing's changed there. What makes the difference between the end of HtN and the end of NtN is that Alecto swapped herself out for Gideon months ago, so Gideon's not there to be endangered by Harrow's returning.

[bookofmirth]

I saw that one post of that one Feyre stan saying that the girls calling themselves Valkyries is a cultural appropriation (that post we all already talked about just weeks before) and there was this one person in the comments that said Feyre having Illyrian wings is nowhere near bad because she can shapeshift and can do anything she wants. They also said something like "Nesta and Feyre have Illyrian vaginas now- is that appropriation?" UHH YESS?!?!? I'm a poc and reading this comment just pissed me off. Do they not know what privilege is? Literally any white person can paint their skin darker if they want to, just like Feyre can shapeshift and fly with Illyrian wings whenever she wants to. But why is it cultural appropriation? Illyrian females, who are poc and LESSER FAE, are being controlled and get their wings clipped while Feyre can just easily shapeshift and fly around as a white women, royalty and high fae. Black and brown people were tortured by white people simply for having a darker skin tone, nowadays poc still get hated for their skin color. The wings are like a second skin to the Illyrians, the vagina is in a women's body - Illyrian females are being reduced to baby making factory.

The reason why no one, especially the bat boys and the Illyrian females aren't bothered by it? It's because these characters are written by a fricking white women. Why poc people in REAL LIFE are bothered when some white dude paints their skin darker? BECAUSE THEY ARE REAL PEOPLE- THEY EXIST. They have spoken about it many times which is why most white people are aware that changing the skin color is wrong. Sarah clearly doesn't know what cultural appropriation is. She clearly doesn't know that writing this sh*t is wrong. So of course she won't make Rhys adress this issue! Sarah herself doesn't know that this is an issue.

The problem is not Feyre or Nesta, the problem is Sarah. My problem currently is that some idiot can't get over their obsession with a fictional character, that they think everything this character does is okay.

What is so funny to me is that the person who made that post argued with a few others and literally said that Feyre flying with Illyrian wings is bad too, but then they agreed with that idiot saying Feyre shapeshifting is alright. Uhm???

Then there was another idiot who thought they ate when they said that Gwyn is wrong for not appraciating the Illyrian title "Carynthian". Why should she? The Illyrians literally kidnapped and threw her in the blood rite. They forced her to take part. She never asked for it. It's also just a goddamn title.

Usually I ignore stupid comments, but I already had the experience of a few people being very disrespectful to my culture, religion and race- saying that they're allowed to do this and that. Same thing as this person saying that Feyre's allowed to have Illyrian wings because she can shapeshift. I know it's only fictional, but topics like cultural appropriation are real.

"Nesta and Feyre have Illyrian vaginas now- is that appropriation?"

WHAT

What the fuck is an Illyrian vagina, and please tell me how the fuck that would even equate to Illyrian women literally being forcibly DISABLED.

There's a key point that went over people's heads, and it's the context of the fact that Illyrian WOMEN are treated this way! It's not just about biology and body parts, it's deeper than that. It's gendered violence, which is why no one ever wonders if Rhys or Cassian and Az get upset at the idea of Feyre having wings. Of course they wouldn't because they aren't the ones who are directly experiencing violence because of their gender, as you mentioned.

The issue like you said isn't the shapeshifting. It's what she shapeshifted into and how she did it to benefit from sexy times while other Illyrian women experienced trauma around their wings. And please. Let's all revisit Feyre's pregnancy and ask not if something can be done - because sure, it can - but if it should be done. Because no, it fucking shouldn't.

Sarah clearly doesn't know what cultural appropriation is.

This was one of the things I started getting really tired of in acowar, when she was just dropping in all these new cultural references. She treats other peoples' mythologies and cultures like a grab bag with no thought about how that use could impact the people it comes from.

And re: Gwyn, she rejected that title because she wasn't even trying to earn it in the first place. They all wanted to be Valkyries. Like you said, she got kidnapped and thrown in there?

The problem is not Feyre or Nesta, the problem is Sarah. My problem currently is that some idiot can't get over their obsession with a fictional character, that they think everything this character does is okay.

Lord fucking preserve me from stan/anti culture!

I suspect that a lot of this discourse started because people were like "well if you say this about Feyre, I'm going to say it about the Valkyries!" Can we not? Can we just have discussions based on interest and analysis, not one-upping each other? This is how people start throwing around terms that they don't understand, just to win a fight that didn't need to happen in the first place.

I hope that your experience in the fandom is mainly (like 80%?) positive. I'm sorry people have been disrespectful towards you. People ask me about these topics from time to time and if anyone has something to add, from a perspective that I don't understand, please feel free. There's a difference between talking about characters and talking about people, but there can also be ways that we talk about the characters that plays into a lot of pre-existing social problems (like you said, cultural appropriation), and it's important that people be aware when they are doing that.

[mileapokp1677]

Three Steps to Win You (CH 10)

Title: Three Steps to Win You

Rating: M

Pairing: DaddyChan/Tankhun, Kinn/Porsche, Vegas/Pete

Category: M/M, AU Nerd-Jock

Summary: Accidentally, scientist Tankhun Theerapanyakul embarrassed footballer Captain Chan "Daddy" Knight in front of his coach, teammates and fans. He had to fulfill three tasks from the captain before his apology was accepted.

Chapter 10  

(Chan POV) 

Derby Match – (3 rd Match of the Season)  

"How do you feel?" Chan asked Vegas, who was getting quieter by the minutes. The young midfielder is indeed not a talkative person, but his silence this time has nothing to do with his character. As a one-club footballer, Chan will never be able to fathom Vegas’s feeling at having to go to the stadium he once considered his home, and having to compete with people who used to be his team-mates. Not to mention, if you factor his ex-fans into the equation. Because of the decades of rivalry, United fans have never been kind to BSFC players and vice versa, but surely, they will be more hostile toward Vegas, who in their eyes considered a traitor, even though his move to BSFC was not his own wish, but the wish of Bangkok United's management who couldn't wait for him to develop to his full potential, and opted to transfer a more  senior and experienced attacking midfielder.

"I'll be fine, Cap, just a little nervous," Vegas replied.

Chan put his hand on Vegas's left shoulder, squeezing it a little to give him encouragement, before continuing his pep talk.

“I'm not going to pretend that I understand how you feel, I never played against any old team, because I only ever play for one team, but this isn't your first derby, so you more or less know how the fans will treat you."

"Like the BSFC fans treated me last season?" asked Vegas with a faint smile.

"Exactly, but they might be a bit more aggressive today, because they'll definitely call you a traitor or various variations of that word or maybe trying to throw things at you,” specified Chan bluntly.

Vegas grimaced.

“You don't need me to spell out to you the best way to silence them, do you?”  

“No, Cap.”

“Good. I'm sure you'll be just fine, Vegas, and YOU will make them very sorry for letting you go,” stated Chan confidently.  “Yes, Cap!”  

After finishing his talk with Vegas, Chan got up from the bench inside the visitor dressing room of the United Stadium, turned his body to face his teammates and shouted loudly, "Ready to take revenge for last season's draw at BOC Stadium, boys? I want a victory, you hear me? This is the last time I'm competing in this stadium, let's make them unable to forget my face. Ever !"

“YES, CAP!!!”

“LET’S GOOOO!!!”

****

(Tankhun POV)

Tankhun came back from his shopping spree in a much better mood, for there is no better medicine than retail therapy. Although to be honest, the reason why his mood was so sour lately was a bit unclear, but he was very satisfied with the items he bought.

Just as his feet stepped into the house through the main door, he was greeted by a cursing that came from the living room, where the 60-inch smart TV was placed.

"FUCK! What kind of tackle is that? Ref, are you blind!? That should be a free kick for our side!" Kim shouted, pointing at the TV with the remote control in his hand.

Kim is always emotional when watching BSFC matches, but this time he sounded even more emotional than usual. Tankhun decided to approach Kim to find out what was so special about this match.

"Yes, Cap! Tell him! Stupid referee! UGH!" he shouted again.

"Why are they wearing white? Isn't the color of the BSFC uniform black?" asked Tankhun as soon as he saw the white uniform that was worn by Chan, who was seen on the TV screen still protesting to the referee. The sweat-drenched uniform clung to Chan's body, mapping all the curves of his chest and abs muscles. The effect of the black uniform was quite severe, but the white one? Damn, there was nothing left to the imagination, it's borderline indecent. Tankhun suddenly felt his face hot and his mouth dry. 

Damn…

“Oh, hi, P’!” greeted Kim. "This is their second uniform, for the away game. I'm surprised that you even know the color of the BSFC uniform.”

Tankhun heard Kim's explanation, he really did, though only faintly, because his eyes were still glued to the TV screen, that damn uniform now clings to the captain's back muscles.

 “P’! Did you even hear what I say?” asked Kim… well yelled to be exact.  

As usual, Tankhun's instinct to always look cool in front of his youngest brother kicked in in an instant, even though his brain was still stuck on that damn white jersey, Tankhun replied casually, “Du~h, Kim. I’ve seen poster in your room so many times and I’m the one who bought you your first BSFC’s jersey.”

“Oooh, it's starting again! Come on, P', sit here and watch the game with me,” said Kim as he tapped on the sofa.   

Tankhun hesitated a bit, could he trust himself not to blurt out the truth about Chan to Kim, especially regarding Porsche and Kinn – because it was not his story to tell, but seeing how focused Kim was on this derby, Tankhun felt like it's pretty safe now. So, he decided to join Kim sitting on the big black leather sofa.

“You’re not going to regret it, P’. Derby matches are the best. Nerve-wracking for sure, but fucking awesome .” 

"No free-kicks for BSFC, even though the captain tried hard to reason with the referee. Ball for United."

“Ugh, not only stupid but blind. BOO~~~” cried Kim, jumping on his feet and once again pointing at the screen with the remote.

Looks like Kim would chime in with whatever the commentators on TV say, so Tankhun intended to just sit back and enjoy his baby antics. Well, he was the one who raised him since he was 5 years old, so Kim was and always will be his baby.

"Ten minutes before half time and it's still nil-nil here at the United Stadium. It's been a fantastic match, full of excitement! So far, we've seen two superb saves from each goal keeper; wonderful, wonderful attempts of goals and countless individual skill displays. You don't want to take your eyes off this match, not even for a second!"

“COME ON, GUYS!!!!”  

"Wonderful passing from Big to Daddy Chan who slightly moved forward from his position as a center back. Looks like this time it’s the captain who is going to orchestra the attack. Daddy is still dribbling the ball, what a beautiful skill… Vegas is on his right side and Pete is moving backward to take the defensive position. Lovely through ball from the captain to Tay, the BSFC left winger, who crossed! There’s Vegas there… ah superb control of the ball from the young player, is he going to shoot? Looks like he's going to do it…  but it's NOT!!! It’s a feign! Clever moves from the newest player of BSFC who is also the ex-player of the home team… the goalie was tricked and misstep, and of course Daddy Chan is already waiting in front of goal... GOAL FOR DADDY~~~~ 1-0 for the visitor! Woohoo~~~~

“FUCK YEAHH~~~~~ MY CAPTAIN IS THE GREATEST!!!”

Kim screamed so loud, Tankhun's eardrum actually hurt. Then, he jumped on his feet to run in front of the TV and started to chant, “CHAN! CHAN! CHAN!”

****

(Chan POV)

The booing sounds that came from the United Stadium stands were like music to Chan’s ear. He punched into the air with his right hand and shouted, "YEAAAAAH!"

“CAAAAAP!”

“OMG!”

“YEAAAAH!”

“WOOHOOOO!!!”

Vegas, Tay, Pete, Tem, and Ken, came rushing towards him. They screamed and yelled and tried to hug him at the same time, so in the end all of them fell and rolled on the grass in one big pile. The sound of their laughter that sounded like madman must have been heard all the way to the stands, because the booing sound from United fans was getting louder and louder.

“BOOOOOOOOOO~”

“BOOOOOOOO~”

The sound of the referee's whistle awakened them from their euphoria, all BSFC players rose to their feet immediately to return to their positions. As a goal scorer, Chan of course received the angriest shouts and ridicule from United fans, but Chan just put on his super annoying face and then put his right hand behind his ear, provoking the United fans to be even more emotional and livid.

Afterward, he pulled the BSFC badge that pasted on the left side of his jersey to his lips and kissed it. The booing was getting worse and Chan just smirked at them with pleasure.

Ah~ I love derby.

******

(Tankhun POV)

“Hahahaaaaa~ I love it when he’s being a bastard!” hollered Kim who’s still jumping in the living room like a maniac.

Tankhun looked at Chan's face on the huge TV screen, with the most annoying smirk on his lips… and he couldn't help himself not to smile.

Yup, he’s a bastard… a very sexy one… FUCK!

"Three minutes before halftime, the score is still 0-1 for the visitor. A quick kick off… Time, the midfielder that was acquired  by United to replace Vegas, kicks the ball to Game who passes it right back to Time… He moves forward along the left wing… Vegas tries to confront him… lovely inside hook from Time… he still got the ball… he managed to move past Daddy too, this guy has an amazing dribbling skill… Ping, the left fullback of Bangkok United, overlapping from behind… Time finally let go of the ball… Ping took it and passed it to Tawan but Pol already covered him… Tawan then kicks the ball back with his right heel… Time gets the ball again… Big who guarded Time moved a second too late, Time managed to release the ball to Tawan who was sliding on the ground… OH! AND HE SCORED! What a beauty! One-one."

“NOOOOOOO!!!” screamed Kim as he covered his face.

*******

(Chan POV)

“Boys, this is not over yet! We can still win this!” shouted Coach in the dressing room at half-time break. “I have a good feeling about this!”

“Vegas, I just want to say, good feign move there, thanks for the assist,” said Chan to Vegas before addressing his other teammates, “I think we all can see that the new midfielder is having a mad dribbling skill, and he’s their attacking general. Every single attack is starting from him, and Coach, I think you agree with me if I say we can take advantage of this fact.”

“Definitely!” affirmed Coach. “Now, who wants to help Chan to guard this Time guy? We need to disable this player’s movement.”

“Coach, I’ll do it,” replied Pete right away.

“But, Pete…” said Vegas, which Pete immediately cut off.

“No, Vegas, this is your old team, you know best about their defense. You’re the one who’s going to arrange the BSFC attack in the second half, I will take the bottom position."

Call him paranoid, but as soon as he heard the word bottom, Chan suddenly looked at Pol and Arm. If they dared to speak or smile meaningfully, Chan vowed to hit them hard on the head, this very second. Luckily, they didn't act stupid and looked very serious. Yeah, the derby match indeed made everyone extra.

“Big?”

“Yes, Cap!”

“Since my position is going to be a little more forward than usual, that means you will be the last defense before the goalie.” 

“Understood, Cap!” 

“Good, I know I can count on you,” said Chan. “Jom, Arm, Pol!” 

“Yes, Cap!”  

“Jom, you’re the goalie, talk to them three about the best arrangement. Pete and I will make sure Time can't pass as freely as the first-half, I leave the defense in the hands of the four of you.” 

“Understood!”  

“Let’s finish this with style, boys!!!” 

“BSFC!” 

****** 

(Tankhun POV)  

When Kim said this match was nerve-wracking, he wasn't kidding. Tankhun had never felt so involved in a football match before. When United attacked, he actually held his breath, and vice versa, when BSFC attacked he screamed along with Kim. This was madness.

“It's been 40 minutes since the kick-off of the second half, and the score is still tied at 1-1. There’s only 5 minutes left on the clock, and neither team is willing to give up, and accept a draw. United of course want to maintain their dignity as the home team, and BSFC want to avenge the draw result in their home ground last season. May the best team win.”

”Come on… come on…” muttered Tankhun under his breath, he couldn't explain what happened to him, but Tankhun really wanted BSFC to win this match. Was it because of Chan's determined face throughout the match, or because of Kim who miraculously didn't lose his voice, considering he’s screaming non-stop? 

"Do you understand now, P'? How beautiful is this sport? I can't believe it took you this long to realize it," Kim said, with a face full of hope. When Kim's round puppy eyes stared at him like that, Tankhun was helpless.

"Yes, Kim. I do."

 ****** 

(Chan POV) 

There wasn't much time left, and Chan was starting to feel that his desire for a victory in his last match at the United Stadium seemed very unlikely, especially now that the ball was in United possession.

“Cap, we got this!” yelled Pete. “Look, it’s Time again, and he looked as tired as us. We can do this, Cap!”  

“Hn.”  

Chan had to admit that United's newest attacking midfielder is indeed a top-class player, his dribbling almost perfect, it's almost impossible to take the ball from him without touching his legs, and Chan couldn’t afford to make another foul this moment. Not when there was only so little time left to carry out the final attack. He and Pete, both of them, have been yellow carded, but they must be able to get the ball from Time, and do it with clean tackles.

Again, Time dribbled the ball trying to get past Pete and Chan, and after many times throughout this match they fought head-to-head, Chan was starting to be able to read Time's movement, and if his guess was right, Time would do a step-over after this, and he did exactly that.

The key to winning the ball when the opposing player was doing a step-over is perfect timing, the problem was, Time's step over is very fast, so it’s very difficult to get the ball without committing a foul. But it looks like what Pete said earlier was true, Time was as tired as them and his step over wasn't as fast as usual. Chan wasn't voted as the best defender for five years in a row if he didn't have perfect timing, so in the end he managed to steal the ball from Time with a clean tackle.

Look at that, boy, this old man still got it!

The remaining time was probably less than a minute, so they only had one chance to attack. Chan quickly passed the ball to Pete, who then screamed loudly at Vegas.

"Run!"

The next sequence was like a dream, Vegas sprinted forward while maintaining his on-side position, and Pete launched a long ball forward, which fell right in the middle of the opponent's penalty box. How he did it, Chan couldn’t answer, but adrenaline always makes players do things beyond reason. Because the ball was too high, Vegas had no choice but to volley it straight into the opponent's goal with his left foot, and he did it! The ball shot straight into the top left corner of Bangkok United’s goal, silencing the whole stadium.

He did it! He fucking did it! He silenced the whole fucking stadium!

Chan fell to his knees; he had been drained. He raised both his hands into the air and shouted using his remaining energy, "AAARGHHH!!!"

Afterward he lifted his head to look at his young teammates, Vegas was standing tall in front of the stands behind United's goal. Just like Chan, he also raised his hands into the air and shouted as loudly as possible to the ex-fans who used to cheer him on but were so hostile to him throughout this match.

"FUCK YEAH~~~!!!"

Yes, boy, make them sorry to let you go!

Pete, followed by Tay, Ken, Big, Tem, even Jom, sprint towards Vegas. Pete, who was running in the front, jumped onto Vegas' back or tried , because at the last second Vegas turned his body around. So, instead of Pete climbing onto Vegas's back, he landed on his chest. Since Vegas didn't know the intentions of his teammates, he wasn't at all ready to catch Pete's body, so he ended up falling on his back with Pete falling on top of him. Seconds later Tay, Ken, Big, Tem, dan Jom, also piled on top of Vegas and Pete.  

“Kyaaaa~~~ they're hugging while lying down!” cried Pol, a scream worthy of any fanboy, which was met with a squeal from Arm with the same intensity.

“OMG! KYAAAA~~~!!!”  

Chan couldn't help but chuckle, after all this, how could he have the energy or desire to be angry at any of them? He demanded victory from them and his boys gave it to him.

TBC