#in a small fandom it’s too personal lmfao

[rigginsstreet]

It is so sad when you find a fic of your ship with a less talked about kink but the person on the receiving end of it is not who you want it to be like damn bitch we were so close to having something here

[reginamillls]

I don't mind a major character death fic

when it's clearly just a bashing fic I'm out of it

but when it's clearly written to explore the themes of grief and what happens when you lose a loved one? the way it changes you deeply and learning to move on? beautiful

maybe they meet someone else, maybe they don't, what's important is that the love was there and that the character who died had people care for them enough that their lives changed when they died

also I like a good cry

[oceanwithouthermoon]

the realization that tumblr does not work like twitter and i cant just vague post about random discourse or arguments otherwise people will wrongfully assume its about them has flipped my whole life upside down

[lxkeee]

END GAME

PART TWO

pairing: lucifer x fallen angel! fem! reader

fandom: hazbin hotel

genre: fluff

warnings: no warnings yet.

notes: very feral for this man and this is multishot fic and would be writing a smut for this. Reader is close to his age (probably a hundred years younger but meh)

additional notes: just because there are moments where Lucifer seems to be flustered or like mesmerized by the reader, it doesn't mean he already has a crush. It just means that he's been alone for so long that anyone who's gorgeous would make him get flustered cuz it's been awhile since he socialized with others lmfao. I am planning to make their relationship slowly bloom cuz why not?

PART ONE | PART THREE

“The name's Lucifer Morningstar, welcome to hell.” the light blond haired man said with slight smile and [y/n] can feel her jaw dropped. This is the first fallen angel? The king of hell? Very pale skin, short stature, pink cheeks, attractive. [Y/n] believes that the stories from ancient heavenly scrolls didn't do him any justice.

Lucifer just gave her a small toothy grin as he watched the awe look on her face as he leans his body against the door frame, crossing his arms as he looked at her. “You're Lucifer...?” she asked softly, looking at him with slight doubt and he nodded, “Indeed I am darling.” he replied with a grin, almost a smirk.

“You're much shorter than I thought you would be.” [y/n] says looking at him and Lucifer felt like an arrow was shot into his heart, if she stood next to him it would be guaranteed that she'll be looking down on him literally, “Though, I do believe that the heavenly scrolls did not do you any justice. You are prettier than how the scrolls describe you to be.” she says with a grin, crossing her arms on her chest as Lucifer just looked at her, blinking slowly as the red of his cheeks darkened slightly.

I swear to me, why is she so bold? He asked himself mentally.

He cleared his throat before eventually looking back at her, “Are you normally this bold to strangers?” he asked with a deadpan and [y/n] snorted a little, “Usually, I'm more.” she replied and Lucifer had to take a deep breather as he mumbled “Jesus...” underneath his breath making the woman chuckle.

[y/n] haven't paid him any mind, chuckling slightly to see the ruler of hell to be easily flustered. “I assumed you healed me? How long was I out?” she asked him, deciding to stop teasing the poor man. Lucifer managed to calm himself down, adjusting the collar to his suit, “Yes, you have crashed into my front yard but don't mind about it. You've been in a coma for almost... Three weeks.” he replied before eventually walking towards her and sat on the bed. His expression softened as his hand grazed over her shoulder blades, “They really cut off your wings...” he muttered softly and she just sighed, “Indeed they did.”

Deciding not to make her uncomfortable, he removed his hand from her shoulders, “If you don't mind me asking, what happened?” he asked and she gently lied down on to the bed, avoiding his gaze.

“Heaven was suffocating. Too many rules and I began to question them.” she replied softly and Lucifer just nodded in understanding, “I would probably have been bearable if I was allowed to punch Adam occasionally but nope.” she jokes slightly, making the light blond haired fallen angel chuckle, “Indeed.” he says softly making the woman giggle. Lucifer then gave her a raised eyebrow, “I think now's the time I catch the name of the person I took care of for almost three weeks. Hmm?” he asked with a slight hum. [Y/n] smiled before returning back to her sitting position, extending her hand for a handshake, “My name is [Y/n] [l/n], it is a pleasure to meet you.” she says and Lucifer smiled and held her hand and gave her knuckle a chaste kiss, “The pleasure is all mine.”

[y/n] just chuckles as he lets go of her hand, “As expected, you really are charming.” she says making Lucifer laugh slightly, “Thank you, now.” he says before clapping his hands together, “Since you are new here, I assume that you don't have anywhere to stay. How about you work for me? You are a fallen angel so I know you are powerful. So what do you say?” he asked, extending his hand with a slight smirk. [Y/n] looked at his hand with a raised eyebrow and with a small teasing smile.

“A deal with the devil...? What's the catch?” she asked, crossing her arms making Lucifer chuckle, “This isn't the usual deal where you sell your soul to me, that kind of deal requires a contract with your signature of consent. This is just a normal deal for you to work and be my assistant while getting a place to stay in return.” he explained, despite the smirk on his face, [y/n] cannot sense deception from the man. She sighs before eventually shaking his hand.

“You got yourself a deal, Lucifer.” she says making the king of hell smirk, “You won't regret it.”

end notes: and I worked like a doggg day and night 😭

[riririnnnn]

Noa really gasted all my flabbers.

Before this chapter (278), I knew that he is the World's Best Striker, but after this chapter (278), I can see why he is the World's Best Striker. He is literally him. It's like looking at some kind of genius mastermind of some sort. The "Instead of assisting my teammates to win 1-0, it feels better to pull off a hat trick and lose 3-4" makes so, so much more sense now!

I won't lie, till now, his character did seem pretty bland to me—just some dude established as someone at the top of the game who was, in the end, going to adopt the protagonist in some way and then the sappy ending of student winning over the mentor.

Oh boy was I wrong.

The curveball he just threw at me, hurled me outta this universe. And just like in Loki's case, I feel like a fool once again since I have misunderstood Noa's whole character.

Firstly:

You know how some things just stand out for no reasons at all? Like, it's a trivial thing, but it just keeps on silently scratching the back of your head—the above panel happened to be that exact thing for me. My dumb ahh was really thinking, "Tf they talking about?" when I first saw this panel.

Before this small exchange, Noa was taking about how there are two philosophies in BM—and it depicted Kaiser and Isagi in the opposite of eachother—and this is exactly when, according to me, the whole Kaiser Vs Isagi rivalry's roots got firmly cemented. Yes, I do understand this rivalry started when Kaiser grabbed Isagi by his chin, but hear me out, okay?

You see this thing above?

Yes. Exactly.

We were told that BM's basic principle is Logic and Rationality, and considering Noa's personality, one can assume that Blue Lock-ers in this team would've been coerced into following this motto too, but Noa didn't do remotely anything like that. In fact, in all the other NEL teams, the coaches low-key molded the Blue Lock-ers to their respective mottos whereas Noa remained hands-off throughout everything—one of the main reasons why the majority of the Fandom considered him the worst coach in NEL.

But, well, I used to use this (above) reason to defend him—that he isn't tampering with Blue Lockers' originalities by letting them do things on their own accords just like Ego used to do.

Keyword: I used to.

Because I really don't know what to feel now that I've a whole different perspective in my hands—look at this:

These are Kaiser's words.

Kaiser was, in a way, already competing against Noa in BM, and now Isagi was added into the equation too which made him more hostile. I mean, instead of disregarding the rather, comparatively, un-rational philosophy of the Blue Lock-ers, Noa was accepting it and giving it room to grow! And if this philosophy won, then Kaiser (not in a literal sense) would be wiped off of the team! Further, it also seems like a small jab of, "You think you are the shit? Then prove yourself." which Kaiser was able to sense, and that's why, I think, he asked, "Are you testing me?"

Secondly:

LMFAO LAVINHO'S FACE! THIS IS MY FAV PANEL OF HIM!

I highly admired Noa for never stepping in the field until and unless the opposite team's coach had stepped in. It used to be my favourite argument for defending Noa's coaching ability. And just like my previous point, I can't look at this the same way anymore.

Of course, he isn't wrong—the coaches stepping in definitely throws off the balance in the field. But, well, if the power dynamics shift too abruptly and too much, it would tip off Kaiser and that'd ruin Noa's plan for the NEL—it would also tip off Isagi which would also ruin Noa's plan for the NEL.

So, in short and straightforward words, he always stepped in the field for the sake of himself and not for the sake of younger players in his team.

Thirdly:

This convo happened after Shidou's goal—PxG's first goal in their match with BM.

Right after these words left Loki's mouth, Noa went out to make changes in the positions of BM—he went out to suggest things and all just like an actual coach would do. And though this panel stood out to me in an odd way, I also remember finding it so damn hilarious for him, seemingly, being threatened by a mere 17 year old—I was actually going to make fun of him for this when this chapter (253) came out, but then I guess I chose to do otherwise.

I think it's because before this chapter (253) dropped, I was going to make a wholesome post about the possible relation between Noa and Loki since they are from the same national team—some kind of Father-Son relation. But then the I saw their convo and felt embarrassed, and probably decided to not talk about them till more of their story got revealed.

Now their convo makes a lot of sense in a different way.

And lastly:

I remember being caught so off guard by this. Like, till that point, Noa had never ever talked regarding Kaiser in such a way—it nearly felt as if he were rooting for him, and I found it so sweet that I even included it here.

But now that we have a bigger picture, it doesn't seem that much sweet to me anymore.

I can't understand how I dismissed his poker face in the (above) panel as simply his usual emotionless self when it clearly looks like he isn't surprised at all—like he knew what was unfolding in front of him beforehand, like he was expecting it and.. he was quite literally expecting it, didn't he?

All this time I thought that Loki was the sneakiest about his personal goals in NEL meanwhile Noa was two steps ahead from the start.

[kywaslost]

What’s up. I too have gotten hooked on Black Butler. After 3 years of not being in the fandom anymore. I have a fanfic idea for you.It’s a Ciel x reader so it’s going to be more on the angst side but still fluffy and funny if you look at it from an angle. It’s Ciel. C’mon.

So basically the reader is very similar to him. Being that she also has intense trauma and is extremely stoic and cold. On the other hand she’s also considered eerie and ominous looking. Soon Ciel after a while starts having feeling for the reader, he sees her as someone who understands him completely and fully. Ciel starts showing that he’s interested in being in a more intimate relationship with the reader other then just being partners. The reader of course rejects all these moves even though she also likes him, not only because he’s engaged but because she knows he’s a manipulator. After a long time of driving Sebastian insane with the pinning and rejecting, Lizzy finds out about Ciel’s feelings for the reader and confronts both of them. She’s lightly bitterly and is crying at first but she does want Ciel to be happy and is good friends with the reader (and she’s an Angel) so she doesn’t hold him back. Now the reader and Ciel are in a situation where they can show there feeling for each other freely but have no idea where to start.

Just so that you have a small reference to what I mean by a stoic and eerie looking reader I have a drawing of my Black Butler OC that you can take notes from (you don’t have to just here if you want lmfao)

Thank you, hopefully it’s not too long or complicated. You don’t have to write this if you don’t feel comfortable enough just tell me if you’re not going to write it or not. Have a good day!

Troubled Love - Ciel Phantomhive

A/N: I’m so sorry this took so long! This is a long one that I wanted to take time on and work on when I felt like I could write this to the best of my ability. First of all, your drawing is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! I’m literally in love with it! I hope this turned out ok! I also completely skipped over the part where the reader is an angel and didn’t see it until I finished this, so I hope it’s ok that I left that bit out. Let me know if you’d like me to rewrite this properly <3

Warning/s: mentions of night terrors, mentions of panic attacks (no descriptions)

You had met the Earl Phantomhive around the time his parents had passed. You had met the Phantomhive through the grapevine of the Queen’s ‘guard dogs’, and didn’t really get to know the young boy until he returned, demon butler by his side. It was then the two of you were paired for missions. The Queen saw similarities between the two of you, and thought it would be well for you to become friends with the Earl.

You see, due to your past, you weren’t the most sociable person out there. You preferred to keep to yourself, and refrained from interacting with others as much as you could. It played in your favor that most feared you, both due to your reputation with the queen as well as the way you presented yourself. It was almost as if no one could touch you.

Until you officially met Ciel. The two of you worked well together. What you lacked in skill and intelligence, he made up for, and vice versa. It also helped that Sebastian was there. In fact, the demon butler and his master took a liking to you, even going as far as inviting you to stay at the Estate when they learned that you didn’t have an official residence. You agreed hesitantly. While you were comfortable around the two, you couldn’t bear the thought of being vulnerable around them. You were traumatized at a young age, leaving you plagued with nightmares and flashbacks from time to time. Opening yourself up to Ciel was a huge step for you, one you were unsure how to handle.

Ciel, on the other hand, was ecstatic. He’d never admit it, partially due to his personality and partially due to his engagement to Lizzy, but the Earl had begun developing feelings for you. It was more than a petty middle school crush that other boys his age experienced. He had been feeling this way for quite some time now, and couldn’t quite name his emotions until he spoke of it with Sebastian. It was worth the endless teasing that lasted weeks, but Ciel had now finally realized how much he truly loved you. And now you’re going to be living with him.

Ciel was unsure of how to show his love for you without a) making it obvious, and b) letting Lizzy know. Don’t get him wrong, Ciel truly did like Lizzy and he didn’t want to do anything to hurt her, but he loved you more than her. The boy opted to spend time with you doing small things, such as reading together or just simply sitting in the same room as you as the two of you worked separately. You were hesitant of all this at first, because you were used to being alone so often, but over time you became more comfortable.

This time spent between the two of you went from silence to small chatter. Ciel would ask how your day has been, and you’d answer then return the question. It took months of living together and getting accustomed to each other’s emotions to begin discussing deeper topics. You were both severely traumatized children who never learned how to cope with said trauma. Sure, Ciel had Sebastian, but he was a demon and therefore was incapable of feeling human emotions. So he tried talking to you.

Ciel wouldn’t ever say much about the death of his family or the events that came afterwards, but he wanted to be vulnerable around you. The boy hoped that this would bring the two of you even closer, and then he’d be comfortable enough to confess his love for you. Except every time he tried to have a deep conversation, you would turn him down almost immediately. There was one week in particular when you were having vivid night terrors, causing you to get only a few hours of sleep a night. You would wake up screaming until you couldn’t anymore, and often suffered intense panic attacks afterwards. Usually Sebastian would try and help but you would only push him away, barely muttering about how you were alright and didn’t need any help.

These night terrors always woke Ciel, and after the third night he came bursting into your room in the place of Sebastian. He desperately tried to calm you down, to try and talk to you, but you refused his help. It broke his heart to see you this way, and to know that you were unwilling to accept his help hurt him even more. How could the two of you be together if you wouldn’t let him help you?

The next day during breakfast, Ciel offered to let you speak to him anytime about anything you needed. Whether it be to get something off of your chest, or just to rant about anything, he would be there for you. You weren’t sure how you felt about his offer, so you only nodded and took a bite of your food.

The Earl Phantomhive invited you on an afternoon walk after dinner. At first you hesitantly agreed, only because Sebastian would be following closely. Yet once you saw the extravagant clothing the boy was wearing, you quickly retreated back to your room and feigned illness. It took some convincing, but Ciel finally left you to ‘recover’. In reality, you curled up on the floor, leaning against the door as you silently cried to yourself. 

You were so torn between your emotions. It was blatantly obvious that Ciel saw you as more than just a friend, and he wanted to take your relationship to the next level. You wondered if your own emotions were just as easy to see. You wouldn’t admit it just yet, but you were beginning to fall for Ciel yourself. Although you hadn’t opened up much to the boy, it was easy to feel comfortable and see him. The two of you shared similar pasts, and you hadn’t met anyone else that made you feel as safe and comfortable as the Earl did. 

Despite your feelings for the boy, there was one major red flag following closely behind him. Ciel was a master manipulator. It was clear as day that Ciel knew just how to act to get what he wanted, knew what to say to get his way. You weren’t even sure if he had manipulated you at some point, he was that good. Oh, and he’s also engaged.

You wanted to take Ciel up on all of his romantic gestures. You wanted to go on late night walks with him, go to balls (even though neither of you particularly enjoyed them), or even just spend the evening together almost every night of the week. Yet you couldn’t bring yourself to give in to the urge.

This carried on for months. Ciel would ‘discreetly’ ask you out on small dates, and you would turn him down and most commonly retreat to your room. Once you left, Ciel’s small smile would fall and he would immediately turn to Sebastian with downcast eyes.

Sebastian was the only one Ciel could confess to at this point. He couldn’t go to Izzy, obviously, and he couldn’t go to you, so he was left with his demon butler. It was a part of their bedtime routine now. Sebastian would dress Ciel for bed, asking him about his day and his plans for the next. Ciel would grumble about paperwork before quickly changing the subject to his failed attempts of asking you out. He’d seek advice from the demon before turning in for the night. 

It wasn’t until six months after Ciel’s first attempt to ask you out that Lizzy was caught in the crossfire. It wasn’t intentional, and Ciel would have never said anything if he were aware of her presence. 

Lizzy had planned another surprise visit and stay at the Phantomhive Manor. She had arrived later than expected due to an extreme thunderstorm causing a delay in travel. Upon arriving at the manor, she let herself in and immediately ran to where she assumed Ciel would be in his study as her maid carried in her baggage. Lizzy quickly but silently ran to Ciel’s study, throwing open the door.

“Ciel!” she squealed in the highest pitch her voice could achieve. “Supri– oh.” Lizzy frowned slightly when she noticed the empty room. It looked as though Ciel hadn’t been there in a while. Shaking her head, the girl grinned widely yet again when she could hear faint voices coming from down the hall. Upon further expectation, she realized the voices were coming from the library. 

Elizabeth wasted no time in bursting into the room rather loudly, causing you and Ciel to quite literally jump out of your seats with fear. Ciel’s hand even ghosted over the firearm he had tucked into his boot. 

“Ciel!” Lizzy squeals again. She runs over to the two of you, about to tackle the poor boy in a hug before realizing what was going on between the two of you. 

You had to admit, this wasn’t the ideal position to see your fiance and your best friend in. It wasn't anything too terrible, but it could definitely raise some questions. You were practically laying in Ciel’s lap, your legs draped over his as your head rested against his shoulder. A book rested against your legs where Ciel was reading to you a mere moment ago. You both were dressed in your night clothes, and overall this was a very rare sight of Ciel. 

Lizzy’s smile immediately dropped to a deep frown, her bright green eyes welling with tears. “Y/N? Ciel? What’s going on?”

You jumped out of Ciel’s lap and to the other side of the couch. Your heart was beating out of your chest, fear coursing through your veins. This is exactly why you never wanted to act on your feelings for Ciel, for fear of ruining not only his relationship with Lizzy, but also your own. “Lizzy,” Ciel says quickly, standing and tossing the forgotten book onto the couch. He tried to reach out to the girl but she only took a step back and wiped at her eyes.

“I should have seen it coming,” she chokes through a broken cry. “I knew this day would come.” It takes a moment for Lizzy to calm herself down, but she wipes the last of her tears away as Ciel tries to comfort her.

“It’s ok,” she cuts him off from his senseless babbling, pushing his outstretched arms away. “I’ve known for a long time that this day would come.” Glossy green eyes met your e/c ones as she smiled softly. “I can see how much the two of you love each other,” she confesses. “And as much as I love the two of you, I can’t bear knowing I am what is keeping you from being together.” Lizzy’s gaze shifted to her fiance. “I love you Ciel. So much that I want you to be happy.” Her warm hands slowly reached for his own, giving them a gentle squeeze. “So I’m ending our engagement.” Pressing one last kiss against Ciel’s cheek, Lizzy let go. 

“I can only hope the best for the two of you.” Just like that, she was gone.

You and Ciel couldn’t bear to look at each other, let alone speak. You weren’t sure how to feel. You finally had the freedom to be with the man you were learning to love, yet at what cost? Did you just lose your best friend? What do you know? Ciel was asking himself the same questions. But it didn’t take long for him to drop beside you back on the couch, slowly turning to you. 

“What do we do now?” you asked, voice barely above a whisper. 

“I don’t know,” Ciel confessed. “To be honest, I think I need some time to process this.”

You nodded, then stood quickly. “Of course, I understand.” You retreated back to your bedroom as soon as possible, diving under the covers and staring at the ceiling. You were finally free to express your love for Ciel, yet unsure what the next steps were. It was going to take time to figure out your relationship status with the Earl, and what to do next, but it will be worth the wait.

[blacktofade]

ok i combed through your blog for long enough that i think this is a safe space to do a little discussion of ccs personal lives. if not, you don't have to answer this. but: i know we are all very happy for skizz to be able to go full time with youtube and twitch but i am 99% sure i know what company he worked for — i don't think it's ever been too hard to find the info so maybe most people do? but i've never seen anyone say it directly. if it wasn't common knowledge before, this is going to make it extremely easy to find out — anyway, that company is going through fucking massive layoffs and cutbacks right now, which was announced in private to employees the same day that skizz made his announcement. i don't know how well it lined up other than the day, but the major shit he would have been in either pushed him to jump into professional youtubing and streaming even though it isn't as secure for him as people on the outside might think, or at the very least made the decision feel much better in retrospect.

the graph of the company's stock crash is painful even if you are entirely disconnected from the industry, it is historically awful. like the situation for the company as a whole is not, at this point, bankruptcy bad, but it's not-entirely-unwarranted-comparisons-to-late-90s-early-00s-era-nortel bad. which is… Very Bad. they're cutting approximately 1 out of every 7 employees (15,000 people) over the next couple of months, and in just one day wiped out $30 billion-with-a-b worth of value from the market. it's an absolute nightmare for the people working there, because nobody knows if they're going to be one of the ones getting laid off yet. the company's giving early retirement packages to push out some of higher earning workers, and even if skizz made his decision to leave after knowing the layoffs were coming, the chance he was included in that is very small. but i do hope he got a good deal, if he could.

in conclusion: it's very likely this choice was even scarier than anyone in the fandom previously thought, so… idk everyone please subscribe to skizz on twitch if possible!!!!!

This is absolutely a safe space for CC real life discussions, mostly because I know I'm way more deranged than any anon could be. I know things that would make CCs sweat.

I'm also going to name and shame the company, Intel, because Skizz has mentioned it before, so I'm not considering it a secret -- plus he's no longer there. It's also real shitty what they're doing and my heart goes out to their employees. I dealt with something similar recently and can confirm that these guys will have to wait weeks/months to find out if their job is safe and it will be the most degrading, dehumanizing experience ever.

I keep hemming and hawing about my 1000 IQ assumptions (lmfao), but he 100% knew about the layoff. Whether he heard about it and bounced or whether he took a volunteer deal is up for debate, but there's no way he didn't know it was coming. These companies are not subtle and Skizz is a smart man.

I am quietly praying he was able to take a volunteer deal though, because severance packages at those kinds of companies are WILD. Like, for some actual example numbers, a coworker of mine got 23 weeks of pay (8 weeks base + 15 weeks for years of service), which they received as a lump sum. Skizz says he's been with Intel for 20+ years so he'd be looking at base + 40 weeks. Dude would most likely get a year's salary lump sum (minus taxes), which would definitely help him going the full-time route.

Intel won't be going anywhere anytime soon, but their employees are going to be overworked and underpaid for the foreseeable future and we should be glad that Skizz is free! He's his own boss and, yes, we should all go support him to show he definitely made the right choice! He's such a delight and I will continue to be unwell and horny about him!!

[ztarvokwrites]

Philip Graves - Ghosted 'til the Party

a/n: very shitty title, i know, but i couldn't really think of anything better lmfao. anywho, this is something different—something i've been wanting to write about fandom-wise for a while. i just hope it lives up the cod fanfic community's standards lol! anywho, enjoy!

synopsis: reader and philip match on tinder, but after he ghosts her on they day they were supposed to meet, she refuses to talk to him again. that is, until they meet at a friends' party.

pairing: philip graves x fem! reader

tw: none!

word count: 1,651

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

You weren’t really looking for anything serious when you mindlessly swiped through matches on Tinder. In reality, you just wanted a hookup—something to numb the empty feeling resonating in your heart, even if just for a little while. Yet, the world seemed to have other plans for you as you suddenly matched with a rather attractive man on the dating app, your phone vibrating as it came up as a Super Like—whatever that means. Your eyes lit up upon seeing the man’s face on his profile, and your heart began to skip a beat as he messaged you first with a simple: “Hey, darlin’.”

For days, you texted this man, giving him your number after two days and getting on a phone call with him. Your suspicions that he had a Southern American accent were proven right when he greeted you, the sound of his voice making your cheeks heat up. Unsurprisingly, the man was quite the charmer, complimenting your voice and your photos left and right without skipping a beat. 

Soon enough, you two agreed to meet one day at a nearby coffee shop. The day came, and you decided to dress casual for the meeting. To say you were ecstatic was an understatement—you were thrilled beyond words. Your heart was racing in your chest as you sat down at a table, texting your date that you were there waiting for him, to which he responded that he might be late due to personal reasons. Brushing it off, you sat there patiently and waited for a few minutes.

Those minutes soon turned into two hours. He was supposed to meet you at the coffee shop two hours ago, and yet he wasn’t here. It didn’t take too long for the heartache to settle in as you realised he had simply ghosted you. Slumping into your chair, you eventually ordered a coffee to go and left the establishment with a small frown on your face. As you walked to your car, you texted him.

“If you couldn’t make it, you could’ve just said so. You didn’t need to waste my time like that.”

After sending that, you hesitantly blocked him and got into your car, taking the long way home so you can keep yourself intact with some songs from your Spotify playlist. Ever since then, you stopped using Tinder altogether, deleting your profile and removing the app from your phone without hesitation.

Months fly by like a flock of birds, and your friends’ party is just around the corner. You were hesitant to go, but ultimately decided to join in on the festivities as—admittedly—you were beginning to feel quite lonely. Maybe you’d be able to find someone for a quick hook-up like you used to do. It wasn’t long until the day arrived, though, and you soon found yourself arriving at the venue for your friends’ party.

The place was packed—filled to the brim with both your friends and theirs. Once spotting your friends, you walked over and greeted them, smiling brightly and laughing as you drank your favourite beverage, the liquid running down your throat and soothing whatever nerves you had left. 

“Hey, Y/N,” One of your friends began, rather tipsy. “What happened to the Tinder date you told us about?” You looked at her, a brow raised as you cleared your throat.

“Didn’t I tell you already? He stood me up, so I left and blocked him,” Your response made her comically gasp, making your lips curl into an amused smile. “Relax! I’m used to it!”

“Well, you shouldn’t be! You’re a stunning woman! Why would any guy ghost you like that—”

“Hey, Y/N, right?” A sudden voice made you turn your head, the slight Southern drawl drawing your memories back to him. God, he was even more attractive in real life. His blue eyes looked into yours and his charming, almost apologetic smile made your heart skip a beat. Your friends awkwardly cleared their throats and left you two alone to speak. But, your mind remembered the day where you were embarrassed beyond belief—waiting in a coffee shop for hours, thinking he’d show up—and your heart swelled with pure anger. Before he got a chance to speak again, you turned away, ignoring him completely.

“Hey, look. I’m really sorry for letting you wait like that,” He began again, quickly catching up to you as you tried to walk away. You shot him a glare, but still didn’t say anything. “You were right in your text—I should’ve told you that I wasn’t able to make it,” You refused to speak, his yapping only made you angrier. “Please, just talk to me!”

“And say what, exactly?” You snapped, putting a hand on your hip. “That I forgive you for ghosting me? That I forgive you for embarrassing me? I waited hours for you, Philip! Hours! And you suddenly show up and talk to me as if nothing happened?!”

“Look, I’m sorry. Truly, I am,” Philip responded, sighing. He cautiously took a hold of your hand, his thumb rubbing against your knuckles. You surprised yourself when you didn’t pull away. “...Is there a place we can talk… Alone?”

Reluctantly, you agreed and took him by the hand to the garden outside. The two of you took a seat on a bench, in a view just below the stars that twinkle in the night. Turning to Philip, you spoke, your tone coming off more harsh now that the two of you were alone.

“So? Care to explain yourself, or are you going to smooth talk me into forgiving you?” Your tone of bitter sarcasm didn’t go unnoticed by the man, causing him to sigh and take your hands into his again.

“Y/N, I didn’t mean to ghost you that day. There’s a lot of things that you don’t know about me,” His voice held a tone of genuineness to it, the Southern drawl only emphasising that. Your brows raised slightly, a silent urge to continue as you stared at him. “...I know on my Tinder profile, it doesn’t have my occupation. That’s because I’m trying to keep women like you safe from my line of work… But now, I see that's not the right way to go about things. I should have told you this earlier, but you deserve to know. Y/N, I work in the military.” 

The man ripped it off like a bandaid, the way he said it sounded rushed and cautious, like you were going to disappear just like that. Your silence spoke for you, the surprise on your face evident by the way your eyes widened. It all made sense now—the reason why he ghosted you was because of his job.

“I’m a CEO of a military company, to be more precise. The day we were supposed to meet, my team was called into a very urgent mission,” His thumbs rubbed over your knuckles again as you listened intently, your mouth drawn into a thin line as he continued to explain everything to you. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that sooner, darlin’. I just… I didn’t want you to get hurt because of me. There are people who can be after me at any given moment. I don’t want a pretty angel like you to be caught up in that.”

A moment of silence is shared between you two, broken occasionally by the sounds of crickets and owls hooting and hollering during the night. As you look into his eyes, you can feel how sorry he is about everything. Your heart seems to thaw and beat again, a small heat rushing to your cheeks as your feelings for him return in one gut punch. Eyes flickering to your connected hands, you speak again, your voice a softer tone than you originally had before.

“...Well,” You began, clearing your throat as your hands squeezed him slightly, making him smile a little. You look up in time to see the soft expression on his face, the dimples on his cheeks making you want to melt. “It definitely would’ve been nice for you to have given me at least a heads up about that,” Philip’s head nods at this, his thumbs still rubbing over your knuckles as you scoot a little bit closer to him. Another silence. Another wave of crickets cricketing and owls hooting. A sigh leaves your lips as you look at him, your own lips curling into a smile. “...I suppose I can give you another chance, since you were so open with me about your job.”

Almost immediately, his eyes lit up like the lights on a Christmas tree upon hearing your words, his smile growing bigger as he held your hands tighter. The sight alone was enough to make your heart stop momentarily.

“Really…? ‘Cause I’d be delighted to show you my favourite date spots,” He spoke again, looking deep into your eyes as you nod. “I will do anything and everything in my power to make it up to you, doll, I can promise you that. You deserve to be treated like a damn Queen—I’ll make sure of that.” His smooth words made you blush harder, your eyes boring into his oceans of blue that made you drown in them. A small chuckle left your lips at his promises, his seriousness making him look more attractive than before.

“Well, since you’re so adamant on making things right, then why don’t you start by buying me a drink? We can get to know each other better that way, don’t you think?” Your suggestion made him smile again, his head moving in a swift nod as he stood up and helped you stand.

“I’d love to, darlin’. It’d be my pleasure.” Philip spoke, walking you back inside and smooth-talking you until your face was red. Needless to say, you did way more than just have a drink that night.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

[blkkizzat]

Do you have any tips for writing fanfics? Like I wanna make my own but I’m scared people aren’t gonna like them 😭 Also how do you usually end a story? I’ve written before for school and stuff but it’s just kinda hard when I come to the end of the story…😓

-🪼

hey 🪼 babes! sorry i wrote alot so it took a min lol. take with a grain of salt though as what works for me may not work for you!

writing tips:

so first off: write for yourself. i know it's been said a million times and a worn out cliche but to break it down a bit— i feel like if you like your fic than other people will too. that is to say, we are all in the same fandom and are dorks/nerds, and like similar things even outside the fandom. i know people have their preferences on content but if you write it for your particular tastes and preferences, i promise there's other people in the fandom that will share in that too.

also even though my adhd works against me, i at least try to be organized and i always make an outline for a fic.

its super helpful to break everything up into small pieces. because then you arent staring at a blank page expecting a story to materialize from thin air LOL.

heres some things to include in your outline.

set the scene/world. where are we? what time is it? what are we initially feeling? which all Setting these things up from jump hooks in a reader as they want to feel like like are immersing yourselves in the world. especially x reader stories. i feel like x reader is so much easier to write then for two seperate characters, because if all else fails you can always call on how you personally felt or would feel in a situation then elaborate on it.

characterization. don't be afraid to make your characters a bit unlikeable, highlight their faults as you do their good parts. ex. my plug!choso fic, reader is a bitch lmfao. she takes choso for granted even though she's the happiest with him. the thing is—she knows that and it starts to eat her up. if a character can have self awareness and grow, then they have more depth than a character written with no faults.

conflict/goal. whats the conflict or what are we working towards? like even for a short pwp for ex: the goal is cum without getting interrupted/walked-in on because we are in a public bathroom. then from there you can work backwards and think. okay so what conflicts/problems would arise? where is this bathroom? what time of day is it and how many people are around? is anyone waiting on us/did we leave others to run off/will they come looking for us? you can make a conflicts out of any of those. conflicts drive the story forward and help you reach your end as its your beacon for how you progress.

ending. your ending only needs to tie the immediate conflict up. there could be an overarching conflict but you dont need to solve everything in your story. ex, continuing from the previous, y'all could be in the bathroom fucking and although the immediate conflict concerns no one interrupting you, the overarching conflict is that you both have significant others already and have yet to break this affair off. of course a pwp so you arent going to dive deep and explain the aftermath or the breakups, etc, but you can leave the story on a cliffhanger and lead the audience to guess whats next.

other tips.

don't write linearly: that is you dont have to write your story in the order of beginning, middle and end. start from wherever you want. skip around. its easier to write out the parts you do know you want then connect it together. even if its just a random piece of dialogue thats a sentence you know you want 2 scenes later, just write it down. writing is a messy process, not neat at all. which leads into... just write: even if you arent sure if you liking the idea 100% just yet write it down! you cant get to the next idea if you are stuck on why the current idea you are thinking of isn't good enough. lol this is why i say i get to a point in the process where i hate everything because ill be stuck with these meh-ideas but i know i have to get them out to get to the good idea.

edit: i edit my fics until l its something im having fun with. if you like it on first go around then thats great but just saying that to say its better to rework it or come back later to it (move on to something else in the meantime) than to put out something you aren't happy with. if you are proud of something you did that will definitely be reflected in your fic!

meditate to tap into characters: idk if you meditate often but i like to try to visualize myself in the character's shoes. what am i feeling? physically or emotionally? are there any distractions? how would i react to this? it helps with conveying character emotion, motives and makes the scene be more immersive. but in at same note, you don't have to give everything. focus on the most important aspect or two and the audience imagination will fill in the rest. some of the best compliments ppl have given me is they felt like they were watching a movie reading my fic (ty y'all the best) and i feel like its because of the immersive aspects in my fics which i take from my own reactions/experience. this also circles back to the point of liking your writing. because if you can convey what you are feeling well enough that you personally feel it re-reading your work, others will too. I hope these tips helped! 💕

[eurydicees]

A & 18

(Also heeeeyy I’m back)

yo yo yo !!! sorry this took four months to answer and then like. iirc isn't even a fandom you like. my bad. well. here's a fic.

swim to shore (where i'll be waiting)

summary: you are growing up, and you are afraid of losing him. prompt: (A) my crowd pleaser playlist + (18) faithfully (journey) pairings: kenma kozume/tetsurou kuroo words: 2499 warnings: none notes: this is in 2nd person pov because i was feeling experimental lmfao. give it a chance. shake things up a bit.

change

You’re eleven and he’s twelve and you’re not—you’re not drifting apart, exactly, not quite, but you can feel something shifting in the air when he goes to junior high and you stay in elementary school. Junior high brings Kuroo many things: a new walk to school, one that doesn’t involve you; a new building to wander the hallways of; new classes where he figures out he actually kind of loves school, because he’s a nerd like that. 

It also brings him a new volleyball team. Volleyball brings him many things, too; things like friends who aren’t you, who like to do things that Kuroo likes to do, who don’t really understand why Kuroo stays so attached to someone a year behind in age and quite a few behind in the desire to socialize. 

You’re not drifting apart, you tell yourself. But it would be fine if you did, if that’s what Kuroo wanted, if that’s what would make Kuroo happy, you tell yourself. It would be fine. It would be fine. 

It’s summertime, and they have a brief respite from school in which you don’t have to think about things like how Kuroo is spending more and more time with his volleyball team and less and less time with you and your video games. 

You can’t really blame him—Kuroo likes your games, or at least you think he does, but he would much rather play outside than play virtually. So it makes sense then that would be spending more time with people who also like to play outside or on the court or on a soccer field or whatever it is they do when you’re not around, limiting them. 

You’re not drifting apart, exactly, not quite. But still: as things shift, as things change, as you begin to lose your grip on his friendship and he begins to tighten his hold on your heart, you cannot really blame him for any of it. 

jump

Right now: it’s summer, and it’s warm, and your parents take you and him to the beach for a weekend. You stay in a little motel near the water, close enough that your parents tell the two of you to just go out and explore. 

You’re not allowed to actually swim until the next day, when your parents are watching and there’s a lifeguard on duty. But as soon as Kuroo gets the go-ahead, he’s taking you by the hand and dragging you to the water. 

You don’t think you like swimming in the ocean very much. The sand sticks to between your toes and to the bottom of your feet and when the water dries on your skin, it feels itchy and stiff. But you follow him into the water anyway.

At some point, he spots a small pier a little ways off. He drags you there, too. 

The two of you stand at the edge, and suddenly the water feels a lot farther down than it had looked to be from shore. Kuroo stands with his toes hanging over the edge of the pier but the rest of his feet firmly on the wooden planks. He has not let go of your hand. 

“I’ll jump if you do,” he says. 

“Absolutely not,” you say.

He laughs at that, nudging your shoulder a little bit. He says, “Where’s your sense of adventure?” but he sounds just as nervous as you feel. 

You sigh. He’s not going to give up until you’re both in the water. This is how Kuroo is. Once he gets his mind set on something, he’ll push and train and try harder and harder and harder until he can get it. He’s dedicated like that. 

The word devoted comes to mind, too, but that’s not quite right. You’re not sure what he’s really devoted to other than volleyball. 

“Count of three,” you mutter, giving in. 

He squeezes your hand. Softly, almost embarrassed of his fear, of his need for comfort, for you: “Don’t let go until we’re in the water.” 

“I won’t,” you promise. “I won’t.” 

And then he counts to three. You jump. You do not let go of him. 

need

Here’s the thing: he has always needed you, and you have always needed him. The two of you have always stayed side by side, hip to hip, hand to hand. You fill in each other’s blanks, take over speaking when the other loses his words, shake off the hurt that the other cannot bear on his own. You have always needed each other. 

But Kuroo is branching out now. You’re growing up, the both of you, even if it sometimes feels that he’s growing up faster. Time is passing, time has always been passing, time has never stopped passing, and he’s going into high school while you stay back in junior high. 

You’ve felt this separation before, keenly, like a knife resting against a heartstring and threatening to cut. You’ve been through it before, where Kuroo finds a new routine and new classes and new friends, a new team. Where you stay behind in what’s become comfortable in your years at junior high. 

It’s kind of funny. He moves forward before you, charges ahead in life, while you stay back. He jumps in, and you wait for him to test the waters before you wade in ever so carefully, too. You’re always chasing after him, always a few paces behind. Never quite losing track of him or drifting away, but never catching up either. 

There was a time when it wasn’t like this. He was just as shy and reserved as you still are. He needed you to fill in blanks that he can now fill in himself. He needs you, probably, still, in some way, but you’re not sure how to give that to him. 

It used to feel almost like you could read his mind. You were on the same page about everything that mattered. But you’re growing up. Now you feel almost as if you’ve forgotten the language. 

stay

You join him at Nekoma, because you have never not followed him. You have never given up on chasing after things you don’t know how to reach. You have never given up on him.

He doesn’t give up on you, either. He says they need you. He says you’re invaluable. He says they need a strategist like you. That you see the game in a way none of the others do. Maybe it’s true. Maybe not. But there are other words under what he’s saying. There are things he’s holding back. There are things that he is maybe afraid to say, or things he doesn’t want you to hear. 

The first and second years need your mind. The team needs your skill. And I need you. 

But maybe you’ve forgotten how to read him. Maybe you’re hearing things you want to hear, instead of what he’s actually saying. Maybe there’s no subconscious messaging here. Maybe he really is only talking about the good of the team. 

Maybe. Maybe not. But you stay on the team. 

look

The night before he is made captain of the volleyball team, he stays over at your house. He sleeps in your bed with you. This is how you have always done it. Though now you no longer fit together in sleep like you used to, limbs too long and bodies too big and hearts pounding too loud, you manage to fall asleep together on your twin-size mattress. 

When you wake, he is watching you. He closes his eyes as soon as you blink your own eyes open. He pretends that he is still asleep. He is not a good actor. 

“I know you’re awake,” you tell him, voice hoarse and eyes still a little foggy. 

He hums. “No, I’m not.” 

“You were watching me,” you accuse, though there isn’t much annoyance in it, or really any accusation at all. 

“No, I wasn’t.” 

You roll your eyes, and then roll over onto your back. Yawning, you say, “Yes, you were. Creep.” 

He doesn’t say anything. You turn your head to look at him, and his eyes are squeezed shut, like he’s afraid to open them. 

“Kuroo?” 

He squeezes his eyes shut tighter. 

look, pt. 2

You think of all the times you have watched him sleep: waking up before him at a sleepover or a training camp, trying to drink in the sight of him at peace for as long as you can, trying to memorize what his face looks like without that line of tension in his forehead, trying to take him into your heart so that, when he wakes and starts looking at other people, you can hold onto this tiny, private moment. 

You think of all the times you have watched him from behind: watching him flirt with other people when he thinks you aren’t there, watching him laugh with the rest of the team when you aren’t around for him to fuss over, watching him score a point in a game and then celebrate with someone else. 

You think of all the times he has raised an eyebrow when he feels you staring at him while lost in thought, and you have turned away, caught and ashamed. You think of all the time he has looked at you looking at him, and you have dropped your gaze to anything else, anything at all, because if he were to know how much you love him, you think you would lose everything. 

You think back to Kuroo, as a child. You think about the language you used to read in his eyes. You think about the words you have lost. You think about the silent messages he has been sending you for a long time now, the ones that you thought you were maybe reading wrong now that you've both grown up.

“Kuroo?” you ask again. 

He opens his eyes. There is something weary in them, something tired of hiding. He’s embarrassed and he’s tired and he’s sad and you have not forgotten his language at all. You have just grown too afraid to say something back. 

stay, pt. 2

It’s not that you dislike volleyball. You don’t love exercising, and the conditioning is hellish for you, but it’s not that you dislike volleyball. You enjoy watching it, at least. Playing it is an entirely different matter, but even then, you don’t dislike it. It’s more that you play it for reasons other than the game itself. 

Kuroo plays volleyball because he is in love with the sport. He is in love with playing, with winning, with pushing himself to get better, with pushing other people to get better. He is in love with competition and with growing stronger. 

You play volleyball because you—even if you will not admit it to yourself—love the people who want you to do it. You play volleyball because Kuroo asked, because Fukunaga makes you laugh, because Yamamoto brings out the competitive side of you. 

It’s not that you dislike volleyball, especially after your first year at Nekoma ends. Kuroo becomes captain, and a little insufferable about making you do stretches and drills properly. Kai becomes vice captain, and remains as encouraging as ever, even if now he’s a little harder on you about practicing your receives. 

It’s not that you dislike volleyball. But the sport itself is not why you stay. 

need, pt. 2

“Kuroo?” 

He exhales, slow, and you feel his breath on your lips. You roll onto your side to fully face him, and shift a little closer. Just a little. Not enough for it to be noticeable, but you know that he notices. He always notices you. You wonder why you’ve never really realized that before—for as long as you’ve been studying him, he’s been studying you. Learning your language. 

“I was watching,” he admits. He could turn it into a joke, he could say it with a laugh, he could brush it off as inconsequential, but instead he says: “Sorry.” 

You stare. “Why?” 

He shrugs, and closes his eyes again. He looks beautiful like this. You watch him just breathe for a moment. He opens his mouth, maybe some defense prepared and ready, and then closes it. It takes another moment before he actually speaks. 

“I didn’t mean to be creepy.” 

“I was kidding,” you reassure him. You thought he would know that. “It’s fine, Kuro.” 

“It’s a little weird,” he says. 

He opens his eyes and meets your gaze. There is something so blindingly intense there that you almost want to turn away. But you refuse to turn away from him anymore. For the first time in a long time, you’re listening. You’re listening. 

“I want you a little too much for it not to be weird,” he breathes out. 

Not need, but want. 

His breath is warm. Not for the first time, you think about kissing him. 

jump, pt. 2

You jump off the pier together, holding hands, and you come crashing down into the water only a moment later. You barely have time to capture breath and close your eyes before you’re surrounded by ocean. 

He lets go of your hand when you hit the water so you can both swim without taking the other down. You squeeze your hand in a fist, and then unfurl your fingers and relax your palms. You come up for air. 

Kuroo reached the surface faster than you did. He’s always been the stronger swimmer. But he stayed there, treading water in the same place he jumped down. He is waiting for you. 

change, pt. 2

You watch him for a moment, eyes soft. He looks back, waiting for you to say something. Waiting for a rejection, maybe, or for you to push him out of the bed. You don’t. You would never. 

“I want you too,” you manage to choke out. “You know that.”

He swallows, hard and uncomfortable. “I guess.” 

“I do.” You think maybe you’re shaking, but maybe it’s just in your head. “I do.” 

“Kenma,” he says, voice rough and unsure. “Tell me to fuck off if I—cross a line.” 

“You won’t,” you whisper. 

He shakes his head. “Tell me. You have to tell me.” 

“Okay, okay. I will. I’ll tell you.” 

You won’t have to. You know you won’t have to. You have never drawn a line between you and him. Not because you are one and the same, not because you’re dependent on each other to live, but because you choose to want him. 

You love him, as he is and was and will be; as change comes and goes; as time passes and passes and passes; and the tide rolls in and out. You love him, not because you are dependent on him nor he on you, but because, just as you have helped him, he has helped you grow stronger on your own. 

You hold on. You jump. You let go. You come up for air. 

He kisses you. 

[makwandis]

Hey! So, I'm pretty sure the post isn't about drastically different takes on characters/canon divergence - it's about the fact that the Hetalia tag has a lot of posts that not only hate on the canon, but shame/mock ANYONE who enjoys the source material in any way. I'm pretty sure when OP said "silly yaoi show," it's not meant as "how dare anyone make serious content," but rather "liking canon is not that deep, so please stop berating fans" (afaik you don't do this, I am not blaming you, but there are a few prominent fan artists who do).

oh this is illuminating thank u anon... yah I think cuz of hetalias like. Reputation. A lot of ppl who remember how goofy it was just haven't even gone back to any of the updated stuff anyways.... I personally don't even know how to engage with current content like wh. I don't read comic books or nothing nor watch anime so I myself am working off a smoked out memory of canon from when I was like 14 and I don't think im the only one... I think a lot of ppl engaging w canon now see it for the silly yaoi it is and can enjoy it tho. It is really interesting how like there are such divergences in how ppl are in the fandom.

That post wasn't the only post I seen tho / but the silly yaoi comment thing stuck in my head. I do think that ur interpretation makes sense wrt that post but it didnt come off that way to me tbh when i saw it but thats just how I read it / it's only like 2 sentences so there isn't much to go off for me anyways. Like I'm just annoyed at people tryna tell people what to do lol. But I appreciate this anon and ur thoughts cuz I see that angle now too def. Ppl shouldn't be so rude online... what's the point. Let ppl enjoy the silly. I try to, that's why I'm always like IN MY OPINON cuz a lot of ppl will think if I don't say that I mean in my opinion and also the now bee mandated dictatorship of opinon that u must also follow... which I don't actually think haha. Least not for hetalia lmfao. Just be less combative it's not hard ppl .

But damn this Fandom is small I have gotten 2 anon over this more anon than I've ever gotten over anything else haha.

[archer-kacey]

Introduction/ The Illusion of Living

Introduction

To clarify, there are two pages of the actual "Introduction", followed by a section labeled "The Illusion of Living," which is ANOTHER introduction. I'm crying.

The FIRST Introduction is all fluff, Joey yaps to his cab driver (just known as "Simmons") and sees a Borzoi, and immediately typecasts it as a villain OC to go up against Bendy. That's it. Next section.

The Illusion of Living [The What]

Joey does a horrible job at giving a simple explanation of the Illusion of Living, but not for the reason you'd think. At first it seems to boil down to "the art of lying" or "joey caps for five years," if you will. He also, unsurprisingly, thinks he's a genius and that his philosophy is a gift to mankind.

"It is a life philosophy, but unlike some of our great past thinkers, I did not come to any conclusion through thought and careful meditation. Instead it was born within me. My whole existence has been shaped around this concept. It just took some time for me to learn how to articulate it to others."

"I've always believed that we can communicate to even the simplest person. Communication is everything."

"We are all dreamers at heart, and I want to make sure that all of your dreams will indeed come true thanks in no small part to my unique insights."

But then Joey says something interesting for once, and it seems to imply that the Illusion of Living is a two-way street. Joey believes that reality is also fiction, but it seems to work in reverse as well.

"So in the briefest of explanations: The Illusion of Living is the art of mimicking real life on the big screen."

Real life ---> Big Screen. So not only is fiction reality, the two are interchangeable.

Illusion of Living [Bendy]

"I am a very self-aware person."

Joey goes on to talk about Bendy, but there's...another aspect I'll be sure to bring up before we close on this section.

"I am not offended that he is first in your heart. He is, after all, first in mine. He was my very first creation- one could even call him my firstborn."

"Bendy is my muse. He is also my messenger. He tells the stories of our lives in absurd, hilarious ways that put all of it into perspective. He reminds us that what we truly need in this world is joy and laughter. Money doesn't matter, power doesn't matter, not when we acknowledge the Illusion of Living."

Nathan adds a footnote here that the Illusion of Living wasn't the only thing important to Joey. He knew the value of a dollar and was a good businessman. So apparently, the money did matter after all. Are we shocked that a Capitalist required money to achieve his goals and aspirations?

"He isnt' real others might argue. Such a ridiculous argument "isn't real." We can see him, we can touch him, kids snuggle with their stuffed Bendys at night. He has more fans than the Marx Brothers! What is real if he isnt'?"

"I tell people that Bendy is the perfect example of my philosophy. He is its manifestation. Or as I like to say, "Dreams come true."

Joey isn't entirely wrong here. We see movie franchises IRL that have a huge influence on pop culture all the time, and we see fandoms and cult followings spring up from said media. The impact is real, if not the characters themselves.

"Your dreams can come true. Because, as I've explained, illusion and reality are the same thing."

Again, the Illusion of Living is an insistence that reality and fiction are one and the same.

I'm going to swap a line from the end of the Bendy section to here, because I want to touch on something I noticed afterwards.

"Now I'm getting ahead of myself. I get excited and tell the story too fast. That's what editors are for I suppose."

Nathan adds a footnote here that IOL went through three different editors, finally landing on the desk of Sandy Pommel (another rando), who opted to put back in a lot of the remarks in order to 'truly capture Drew's charm," as Nathan puts it. (My girl wanted that edit credit so bad lmfao)

ANYWAY, let's take a look at these little slices of IOL I've been saving for last.

"I tell people that Bendy came to me in a dream."

"No, what I had to do was want the dream in the first place. To know that I needed a creation so perfect, so accessible to so many people, that it would help me change the way the world saw itself. That was my dream. I was awake, I knew what I wanted; I made it happen."

He mentions wanting to "change the way the world saw itself" through bendy. Wanting to create a character that was "accessible to so many people." Later in IOL, we see Joey discuss with Abby what he wants Bendy to be like. Not Satan, he specifically clarifies, but an imp-like character, someone mischievous. We know Joey believes reality and fiction can be swapped out for each other, so that could be the world change he was talking about, but I think he also wanted people to recognize their own impish nature- getting into trouble and laughing every once in a while. Or maybe, just maybe, I've been reading the words of Joey Drew for too many hours.

"Only then did Bendy appear to me. Only then did I start working with other artists to make him a reality. But you see, I first made my dream. And then I made my dream come true.

Working with other artists, eh? Like who, Joey?

Also, note the insistence that he created Bendy first, directly after that sentence. As if trying to convince himself that Henry had no part in creating Bendy, and trying to keep his story straight in the way he wants it portrayed to the public.

(This facade later crumbles on page 154, with Joey pretending not to miss or need him at the studio and failing horribly.)

Things get really interesting when Joey describes Bendy's creation. He sees it as his big dream being fully realized. To him, this is also the"birth" of his son, or at the very least, the creation of his muse, messenger, and avenue to tell his stories. "I tell people that Bendy came to me in a dream" is a coverup of course, some smoke and mirrors to convince people that he had an epiphany and came up with Bendy himself, but he also clearly sees it as a wonderful event.

We know Henry created Bendy, of course. We know it wasn't Joey's hand that ultimately struck paper. However, that doesn't make Joey's feelings any less real.

During Bendy's creation, there are two truths happening at the same time to make the full picture. Henry drawing, and hell, maybe Joey bouncing a couple ideas off him. The process takes just minutes, but it feels like hours. Bendy is created, and Joey is there to witness it. And to Joey, it's the most perfect creation in the world. And he's going to share this creation with Henry, this dream with Henry.

I am not being hyperbolic when I say that, to Joey, Henry created his son.

TL;DR The Illusion of Living is Joey's philosophy that reality and fiction are one and the same. Joey wants his OC to be real so bad. Joey views Bendy as his actual son and Henry created him and also Joey was there for his creation so what I'm saying is Henry created a son for his business partner and they were just gonna chill like that until Henry left and broke his heart or something

[murswrites]

Patrols 1 ⎯ Joel Miller One-Shot

Pairings: Joel Miller x Nonbinary!Reader Fandom: The Last of Us MASTERLIST Word Count: 1.4k Warnings: Cursing, gore, panic attack, description of a bloater (yuck), y/n & joel being a weirdly good team ;) SUMMARY: Patrols have been kicking your ass but luckily you're paired with Joel Miller instead of Jesse. Unlucky for you: You're on patrol period.

A/N This has been in the works for like a year now LMFAO but I finished it instead of doing my work <3 Pedro Pascal IS the only Joel Miller I know <3 This is going to be a multi-part series so I'm not rushing relationship development

Patrols were kicking your ass. A recent resurgence of infected made for more work for everyone. It was exhausting but primarily annoying. You weren’t bad at patrols, you just didn’t like going on them. You were paired with Joel some of the time and Jesse others. It wasn’t too bad with Joel, he did the job and did it well.

Jesse on the other hand liked to make small talk and you weren’t known for your friendliness. Thankfully you were paired with Joel today, you would have collapsed from exhaustion had Maria put you with Jesse for the third day in a row.

“Mornin’,” Joel nodded toward you.

“Hey,” You yawned loudly from atop your horse, “Ready?”

He chuckled, “Seems you’re less ready than I am.” You shot him a dirty look, “Woah, I didn’t mean it like that, now.” Joel held his hands up.

Your horse, Ochre, was mild-mannered and usually sassy but it seemed she sensed you were exhausted. “Where are we patrolling today?”

“West side of the pines, someone said they heard somethin’ funny yesterday.”

“I bet you what we find isn’t going to make either of us laugh.”

Joel shook his head–a smile ghosting on his face. You were never too interested in getting closely related with anyone in Jackson. Sure, the town felt like home and you would protect the others with your life–but you didn’t have any family. Not like Joel did. He had his brother and a daughter.

You didn’t even have many close friends. Dina was the only person you could really tolerate, and by extension, you tolerated Ellie–Joel’s daughter. The two girls were the funniest people you’d ever met, they were the only people who could get you to crack a smile anymore. It was weird because ever since the outbreak, you’d been completely empty.

Only 17 when things went to complete shit–you were supposed to start college before the outbreak. That never happened. Nobody in your family made it out alive. You’d been in New York when it happened on your senior trip, everyone was at home, and before you could even think to go home… you were quarantined in NYC. You were probably lucky to be alive considering how quickly things spread in big cities.

Some days you wished you’d been unlucky. With how tired you were, today was looking like one of those days.

“Don’t fall asleep atop that horse now,” You yawned once more, struggling to find the energy to glare at Joel, “Hey, don’t give me that look. You should go on back.”

“We’re almost there, I’m fine.” You gathered the reins tighter and brought Ochre into a steady gallop. Joel sighed loudly but followed you.

The pine trees in this area were massive, they loomed over you two ominously. You hated this area of the woods the most. You two stopped and tied your horses to a tree, beginning to walk deeper into the woods.

“I honestly really hate these woods.” Your shotgun was heavy in your hands as you looked around quickly. “The trees look like infected sometimes.” You mumbled, keeping your focus on watching around you two.

Joel slides his rifle onto his back and carries his pistol in hand, “Ellie used to get frightened in this area, she said stalkers like to hide under the branches.”

You scoff at his attempt to make conversation, “That doesn’t help me at all, Miller. Let’s get this over with.”

—

Half an hour of wandering aimlessly, listening for the sound of infected. The only sound came from the pine needles under your feet. You were beginning to lose your patience, wanting to scream and hope for the best.

“I swear to god if they were making this up about there being infected out her–” Joel shushes you loudly and that sets you on high alert–raising your shotgun to look down the sight.

He jerks his head to the side and you slowly turn, two clickers were facing your direction. The infected chattered to one another and you leaned down to grab a hefty pine cone. You arched the cone over the pair of clickers. The clatter of the cone smacking a tree made one of them screech and rush for it.

Joel snuck behind the one that stayed behind and you followed his lead, slinging your shotgun over your shoulder and squeezing your shiv tightly. While he took out that clicker you moved as quietly as possible.

Your attention was pulled away when you spotted a runner a few yards away. Luckily it wasn’t paying you any mind and so you stood up behind the clicker and stabbed it through the fungal growth–effectively killing it. You didn’t know how but Joel got behind the runner and choked it out.

There being a runner meant that somebody was out here recently. Runners were quite rare all the way out here.

“Check that body, Miller, it’s a new one.”

Joel kneeled down, “Already on it,” You did the same with the clicker just to be sure that there wasn’t anything useful on it.

It wasn’t unusual to be rifling through the pockets of a dead body… you were desensitized to nearly every gory part of the new world. You just couldn’t get over the smell of blood. Copper and metallic would upset your stomach so bad that sometimes you’d have to wear a mask just wandering around.

“They were a Firefly.” Joel tossed their pendant to you.

Another commonality… while runners were rare, whenever they were found… it seemed more and more of them were Fireflies who had bad luck.

“Aren’t they all Fireflies these days?”

“Yup. Come on let’s make sure we got ‘em all.”

—

There were three more infected wandering in the pines. But the cabin ahead seemed to have been recently vacated.

“I really don’t want to go in there.” You admitted, cringing at the thought of what could be inside.

Joel shrugged, “Then stay here.” He was the only person who didn’t force you to follow him inside buildings. Typically you would but the cabin was small, what could go wrong?

You sat on the ground and leaned against a tree, now that there wasn’t anything to keep your focus on–you were getting sleepy. Just as your eyes began dropping a loud bang startled you into an upright position. “Joel!?”

The door to the cabin slammed outward and Joel stumbled out, “Might wanna run,” His eyes were wide with surprise. “Move!” Joel pushes you in front of him and you bolt.

You sneak a glance behind you and see it. A huge bloater with three legs and four arms, “What the fuck is that!?” The infected disgusted you and it made your stomach churn. “That’s so fucking nasty!”

“We just gotta get some distance between us and it.” The bloater was slow-moving and seemed very unstable. “We’re gonna kill the son of a bitch.” That didn’t sound like a question to you.

“I know. Just haven’t killed too many bloaters.” You began lighting a molotov cocktail, “Guess we should get to work?” Joel gave you a single nod and you both launched a molotov cocktail toward the bloater.

It roared in pain as the fire spread across its skin. Joel brandished his rifle and began taking calculated shots. You stepped a few feet closer in order to make best use of your shotgun ammo. The bloater took any chances it could to throw poisonous sacs of spores at you too. It made firing harder but after about ten minutes it finally went down.

You dropped your gun on the ground and sighed loudly, “I think I’m gonna pass out.”

“Woah, woah, woah, what’s happening?” You shrugged, Joel watched you carefully as your head spun. “Y/N, you need to breathe.”

When he said that you noticed a lack of air in your lungs and tried to force your body to do its job. But it was no use. Exhaustion paired with disgust pushed your brain into panic mode. You just wanted to lay down and die, honestly. You could tell Joel was a bit freaked out because if your actions (or lack thereof).

“I’m–” You gasped through a breath, forcing air into your nose. “I’m okay. Just really tired.”

Joel nodded, “How about you wait here and I’ll bring the horses to you?”

That sounded really nice, “Oh god, that’d be great. Thank you.” He gave you one long look before jogging off in the opposite direction.

Tags: @musicallisto <3

[biconickyoshi]

ive already put a comment on ur fic but i couldnt let it go without saying that i *literally* cant watch the main show without thinking about your fic and i wish that i could like. watch a version of the show that was your fic xD like ive been ranting and raving to my friends the entire time id been reading it and telling them to read it and i was planning on trying to get back into art so i could make some art of the boys, i am like. a changed person. this will be living in the back of my head rent free for the rest of eternity LMAO if you ever get like, doubtful of your skills or anything or unsure if people actually like anything youve wrote, i am here to tell u to not be cus i am *living* for this fic im running around in circles rereading it and getting zoomies lmfao, it is literally one of my fave fics of all time and ive been in fandom spaces for half my life now, its THAT GOOD (also anyone who follows you, you guys need to go read it honestly, IT NEEDS MORE HITS AND KUDOS AND AAAAGFAHGAF) im sorry if this ask is dumb or anything but. i had to let u know that u have CHANGED ME lmfao keep up the good work! i wish my brain worked the way yours does xD

Aaaaa it's so flattering to hear all of this anon!!! T-T Thank you so much!! I too very much wish there was a version of my show that was my fic lmao, I would loveeee to see so many scenes animated! Also it makes me SO happy to know that you're telling your friends about The Avatar and the Fire Prince!!! If you ever draw any fan art, pleaseeee mention me in the post and feel free to use "the avatar and the fire prince" and/or "taatfp" as a tag to help me find it! :)

Thank you so much for the encouraging words as well - I try not to get too in my head with worrying about whether or not people will like what I have planned for future plotlines, or if I'm writing in a way that stays true to the spirit/plot of the OG show while still being different enough to be entertaining/engaging... AtLA is such a precious piece of media to me, so I hold myself to very high standards, which can be detrimental when I just want to get a chapter out but I keep rereading it and finding little things "wrong" that need to be fixed lol.

Anyways this is NOT a dumb ask at all anon! I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to send this to me, and I apologize for not getting to it sooner! I've been a bit swamped with asks and comments recently so I've been trying to answer them in small chunks at a time haha

Hope you have a great day, and I'm super excited for you to see what I have planned for the future of TAatFP! :) <3

[kafus]

Liko and Nemona because I couldn't pick between the two

OKAY i'm finally getting to this whoops. i'll do both and i'll just skip questions i can't really answer or don't want to

for liko:

why i like them: liko is like. everything i would have wanted in an anipoke protagonist when i was younger. that's honestly the best way to put it, it's like retroactively healing for my child self in a sense lmao. i love that she kind of just gets to be... a character? like she's a girl but not the token girl. they aren't going hardcore on #girlpower or something, she's just... a character. who is a girl. a well done character at that - i think liko's internal struggles are relatable, and i enjoy that her compassion for others is treated as a strong point, because it is. i also just think her character design goes hard LMAO ken sugimori popped off w that one

why i don't: frankly there's not a lot i don't like about liko? this is more a commentary on horizons' writing and not her but i will say the anime is a bit slow to get her off her feet - like she's REALLY lost in internal monologue in the first few episodes and it drags a bit. but she hasn't had that issue for a while so whatever

favorite episode: oh god i have a handful of favorite episodes, i can't just pick one even if we're just narrowing it down to liko centric ones!! i guess the recent episode where liko rescues a maushold family sticks out right now because recency bias but also like, it really shows off that liko, despite her anxieties, is brave in the face of danger when it concerns the safety of others (including pokemon), and also watching her try to keep her cool after experiencing a cave in was really interesting. obviously horizons wouldn't kill her off or some shit but i will admit i was on the edge of my seat a little

favorite line: there's probably a much better answer for this but my brain is only pulling up "i'm not looking!! gurumin is gurumin!! there's nobody inside her!!" when she barges into dot's room after her computer fucking explodes LMFAO

OTP: GEE I WONDER WHAT SHIP I LIKE THE MOST (it's likodot. it's likodot so bad)

BROTP: the obvious answer is roy because they are besties and it's awesome but in my heart of hearts i need amethio to have a redemption arc so her and amethio can also be besties. Right now

headcanon: even after the pendant permanently becomes terapagos, ever since episode 15 when she had the pendant stolen and got her memories wiped, liko still clutches her shirt where her pendant would be as a self soothe/grounding mechanism

unpopular opinion: the fandom for this series is still pretty small cause the dub isn't out yet in the US so i don't really know what's a popular opinion and what isn't? is it too soon to say i like liko more than ash (i still love ash though and he's obviously iconic)

a wish: can liko get an older gen pokemon on her team before bank shuts down so i can rng manipulate it in an old pokemon game and ribbon master it Please and thank you

an oh-god-please-don't-ever-happen: i'm REALLY enjoying that they aren't really baiting liko x roy aside from perhaps ONE facial expression in a really early episode and i really really hope that they never START baiting it. there's nothing wrong with shipping them if you want to, i am just personally sick of ash being shipped with every single girl companion he has ever traveled with and feeling like the girl partners exist at least in part for that purpose. it's so refreshing seeing that turned on its head and just allowing the two of them to be healthy friends. if they start pushing it as a ship i'm going to explode (negative, bad)

5 best words to describe them: compassionate, introspective, naive, timid, kind

---

for nemona (gameverse):

why i like them: GOD EVERYTHING ABOUT HER?? i love nemona she's an icon for every autistic pokemon obsessed person everywhere. i love her passion i love that she exists. i love that she's also the first rival to actually feel more powerful than the player and you have to become strong enough to see her at her full force

why i don't: I LITERALLY HAVE NO CRITICISM

favorite outfit: this is a good time to mention in my mind, despite playing violet and being very attached to my violet playthrough, nemona should be in the scarlet school uniform. like she should be wearing orange. my mental image of nemona is very much based on naranja academy and pokemon scarlet jiodsfoijfsd

OTP: UHH god i ship her with both the protagonist and penny. i think my OTP used to be nemopen but i'm more a nemona x juliana person these days? my QPP is really into juliana and nemona together and both that and the yoasobi MV where gengar marries them sold me LMAO

headcanon: nemona's arm brace is an actual assistive tool for a disability!! she has poor coordination and weakness in her arms and without the brace she wouldn't be able to do nearly the level of pokemon training she does, not to mention just daily life tasks and things. also she's autistic as fuck

unpopular opinion: jokes about nemona being a stalker or god forbid a yandere are really fucking annoying to me. like i know it's not that deep but come on. it just makes me roll my eyes. like god forbid a girl has passion and is a little neurodivergent about it. unsettling to me that people see that as stalkerish/creepy. and people look way too hard into her showing up at the gyms you're at. i'd sooner be concerned about arven calling you on the phone when you're in the middle of a fucking desert or whatever despite not physically being there to see you yet. like arven could be tracking your location constantly with your phone (he's not, it's just a vessel for gameplay to happen, i'm just making a point) but no one jokes about him being a stalker bc of course they don't

a wish: nemona showed up in horizons for an episode, but CAN SHE PLEASE SHOW UP IN ANOTHER?? she said her and roy should battle sometime I NEED THIS TO COME BACK UP SEASONS FROM NOW OR SOMETHING. THEY HAVE TO FINALLY BATTLE

[gontagokuhara]

Just went on Instagram to look at more DR art (because tumblr won't let me see a lot of DR art for some reason) and saw hinanami discourse out in the wild which made me say, out loud, "oh, are we still doing this 💀"

Like idk if I've just aged out of the fandom (on Instagram) but just seeing that hinanami rant made me realize I've been spoiled by the DR community on Tumblr bc I'll scroll on here for 2 minutes and see a text post that will literally SHIFT my entire view of a character/ship and CHANGE my LIFE in just a small analysis that was probably written by op while they were on the toilet💀

Anyway it made me think of the post about Maki and Chappel Roan that I actually recited by memory out loud to my friend last night [gooning over wlw content together after watching Muriel's Wedding], And also that one post abt Monomi and Monokuma being Junko's satire of her own rivalry with Mukuro, and Junko not liking that her friends don't appreciate her fursona doing stand-up 💀💀 and like compare that to Instagram discourse and it's like "Komahina is stupid bc hinata isn't straight" like 💀

Anyway maybe it was the same on tumblr before [it probably definitely was] but now that I'm older I'm really appreciating mature convos/takes about danganronpa because good fanfiction/fanart/fan interpretations are truly adapting the story+characters in much better ways than the creators could ever imagine circa 2010 [pointy objects] [peaches and cream] [anything w/autistic nagito] [anything w/transmasc hajime]

number one rule of modern fandom experience (at the very least with media that has a propensity to draw Certain Crowds [looking especially hard at danganronpa and p5]) is CURATE YOUR OWN SPACE AND STRAY NO FARTHER ‼️‼️‼️ i personally escaped the early era dr fandom (pre v3 localization/the 2019 Danganronpa Renaissance) but time capsule posts tell me i dodged something of a bullet there ❤️ in that vein 2019/2020/covid era discourse was still crazy insane (<- was a part of it for sure LMFAO) but it had a much different Flavor than it did way back when. and the same is true of present-day: still a little kooky if you search hard enough (insta/tiktok/twitter/tumblr all have their own demons). but at least This go around i have largely avoided that by picking my people that i trust not to be Weird and just living in my own bubble wrt the dr fandom at large. and thats served me very well the past year+ since i got back into dr <3 and i have also seen MANY of those perspective-altering posts in that little curation circle that has deepened and made better my experience THE GOOD IS OUT THERE ‼️‼️‼️

THE JUNKO FURSONA POST ALSO LIVES IN MY BRAIN its so real and just one of many takes i’ve seen fly by in a post and been like This is so real and it’s mine now. many such cases <3 i follow people like that and simply block people expending energy on discourse i DOOOOOONT care about. like simply enjoy kmha (I SURE DO ‼️‼️‼️) if you like it and ignore hnmi/kmnmi if you dont (cant relate I LOVE YOU TOO HINANAMI + KOMANAMI ‼️‼️‼️) and live your life happy not angry ❤️

like re: maki lesbianism (which was written on the toilet no lie) she is The most lesbian of all time i could write 10,000 scholarly articles on her comphet + traumatic past of being made to hurt people keeping her from fully coming to terms with herself as a lesbian and as someone who wants to Protect the people she loves (an integral pillar of butchness!!!!!!!!) and it is so important to me. and MANY people disagree! and i simply just dont worry about it <3 but i DO think about the people that agree (and the people who i Influence to agree…..that makes me so happy to hear you talking about it with people :D) and that makes fandom FUN!!!!! not arguing over word of god or whatever that isn’t going to change anyone’s opinions anyway 😭

there is a LOOOOOT of good discussion and character/scene analysis and genuinely fun unique takes on tumblr (+ im sure other places but i rly only interact with dr on her & Occasionally by liking a twt post on my main) and that’s where i’ve made my niche <3 people having fun with the media they enjoy and trying to salvage its shortcomings and missteps because they love it!!

and putting little old Me up amongst the dr goats (transmasc hajime) (autistic nagito)………..framing this ask tbh the HIGHEST honor 4 me……..thank you my beloved cider as always KISS MWAH MWAH