#inspired by a whole bunch of posts this is like a whole genre

[aprofessionalwithoutstandards]

What if Demo was the sexually inexperienced one and Sniper was the slutty one. What if Sniper was the polyamorous one and Spy was the monogamous one. What if Heavy fucked his entire team just as much as Medic did. What if Scout topped. I can show you a beautiful world just take my hand.

[f1cflcfic]

The Prophecy (SMAU ft. Lando Norris) Part V

pairing: lando norris x singer!reader (fem!y/n)

summary: what happens after the break-up that noone saw coming? as Y/N L/N gears up to release her next album, each song reveals a little bit of the past, present and future of her relationship with Lando Norris. Inspired by a curated playlist built around "The Prophecy".

note: this is RPF and is obviously in no way, shape, or form reflective of real persons.

genre: social media au, angst, exes to lovers, happy ending

[A/N: I can't believe we're coming to an end of this! Just one part left to go... And then if you'd like, a whole bunch of 'deleted scenes' :)]

part i part ii part iii part iv

♥･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♡･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♥

post-race November, 2026

November 25-27, 2026

[Excerpt: BBC Radio 1 Interview with Lando Norris]

“And this morning we’ve got a very special guest on the show, it’s Lando Norris!”

“Hi Greg, how are ya?”

“Good, we’re very excited to have you here in the studio, especially since you’ve only just returned from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, where you won!”

There’s a lot of celebratory noise in the studio, with confetti poppers going off around Norris.

“Woohoo! We did!”

“Ah you know, I love that you still say “we” – even when it’s just you in the car seeing that chequered flag,” Greg continues.

“It’s a team effort, though. I love my McLaren team, and if it wasn’t for all the hard work from all the engineers, the data analysts, and other staff members – I wouldn’t be able to drive to victory.”

“Are you still in the post-win haze, or are you already focused on this weekend’s race in Qatar?”

“Not gonna lie, I’m definitely still riding that victory high, but I’m flying out for the next race tomorrow – that’s when I’ll have to flip the switch. So I’m giving myself today to still lean into the euphoria.”

“All around euphoria? Vegas is a city that can easily also lead you down the path of temptation and very bad, no good decisions,” Greg asks.

Lando smirks. “I would say that all my decisions were actually very great. No regrets.”

“No? I mean, just for that, I think we should play a true classic. We will be back with Formula One driver Lando Norris after this next song, “Waking Up in Vegas” by Katy Perry”

(…)

“And that was “No More Sad Songs” by Y/N L/N, followed by Justin Bieber’s latest return to pop music. Now, Lando – you are also a music fan yourself. Once even had a go at being somewhat of a DJ yourself.”

Lando turns bashful, shaking his head. “Nah, not really. I think it’s fun to experiment, but definitely leaving that to the professionals.”

“Hm you’d think being surrounded by people who’ve made music their career would definitely have somewhat of a trickle-down effect,” Greg muses, and Lando lets out a little giggle. “I don’t think it works like that.”

“Well I think we should see how in-tune you really are with them - see what I did there? – in a game of Sit Down or Stand Up!”

Lando dutifully gets out his phone, then suddenly halts and asks, “can people see my phone like this, no right?” He then waves at the camera and turns away from it as he goes through his contact list.

“Okay so I’ll try Martin then – but he might not answer if he’s in the studio,” he cautions. “That’s alright. Do you think he’ll be standing up or sitting down?”

“Definitely sitting down,” Lando laughs. The phone rings, and rings, and rings. Then gets forwarded to voicemail.

Greg makes a shocked face, then starts grinning. “I think we know now who did party too hard,” and Lando rolls his eyes. “He might be on a flight to Ibiza, actually. Well, what do we do now? I haven’t ruined the bit now, have I?

“We just try the next one! Surely there’s someone else you can call,” Greg encourages. Lando looks at his phone again, eyes focused on the screen as he scrolls in concentration.

“Not that one, definitely can’t call this one,” he mutters out loud, then seems to catch himself and turns a little red. “Okay, I’ll just call Osc. Let me call my teammate. I know for a fact,” he points his finger, “that he will stand up to answer the call. Because he’s polite like that.”

Greg squints in contemplation, then shrugs. “I think, just to be contrarian, that I’m gonna say he’ll be sitting down.”

“What are we betting on?”

“A papaya?”

Lando snorts. “Sure, let’s do it.” This time, it doesn’t take long at all for Oscar to answer.

“Hi?”

“Hi mate, listen, you’re live on Radio 1 and I have a very important question to ask you,” Lando says happily. Oscar groans over the phone, and it’s easy to picture him running a hand through his hair.

“Oh god, alright – lay it on me.”

“Are you, standing down or sitting up,” Lando asks, then bursts out in giggles as he realises what he's done after Greg starts cracking up. “Oh no! Oh no, wait – don’t answer yet. Let me try that again, aahh I said it wrong! Are you … standing up or sitting down?”

“Oh, is Greg James there?”

“I am,” Greg replies, “Hi Oscar! Please let us know if you’re indeed sitting down, or standing up.”

“Hello! I am … standing up, actually Lando called me in the middle of my workout. I’m jogging, so sorry if I’m breathing very loudly.”

Lando pulls a face. “Are you serious right now? You’re making me look bad, mate.”

“Motivation, is what it is – alright, I guess I now owe Lando a papaya?!”

November 28, 2026

[Excerpt: Hot or Not with Y/N L/N]

“Alright Y/N, we’ve got a bunch of statements here – and we want you to tell us if you think they’re hot or not.”

“Ready! Wait, I use this green one for hot right? And red for not, like a red flag?”

“Correct! Okay, let’s start then. First, we’ve got some statements that are related to your album. Sad songs – hot or not?”

“Oh my god, I thought you meant they’d be easier! Ugh, well I guess hot? My last single is called No More Sad Songs, but I love a good sad song, if I’m honest”

"I was wondering about that! Fans are hoping for a music video. Can you confirm or deny the rumours that you've been filming one the past few days?"

Y/N raises the green card. "It's been an absolute blast putting this video together with my friends, at a local bar. I can't wait for the fans to see it."

“Ohhh neither can I! It does bring me to the next topic, because this is how the rumours got started. Juice channels – hot or not?”

“Now that is an easy one. Not. I don’t mind fans wanting to speculate about which single is coming next, or what the tour is going to look like. But I don’t like the invasiveness of some of these pages like deuxmoi.”

“Noted. Have they ever been true, though? Their prophecies?”

“Of deuxmoi or the fans?”

“Either.”

“I mean, of course! If someone sees me eating in a restaurant they could very well be right. It just ruins my experience of existing out in the real world, so I’d rather not read about it the next morning, you know?”

“Speaking of food. How about people naming their pets after food items?”

“Oh like a dog named Taco? Or Kiwi? I think it can be fun! I also like human names for dogs. And I like dog names for dogs. You know, I think I just really like dogs. They’re all *baby* in my head, anyways.”

“Hmm so you like human names for pets. Do you enjoy pet names as a human?”

“Personally I don’t really tend to use them, except love. I find others a bit cringe, but I don’t mind if my partner wants to use them to refer to me. Darling, or baby. I guess what I find hot is someone who’s really open about expressing their appreciation and love for you.”

November 30, 2026

December 1st, 2026

December 3d, 2026

December 6, 2026

[Excerpt SkyNews]

FINAL F1 RACE IN ABU DHABI WILL DECIDE THE WINNER, NORRIS “CONFIDENT”

(…)

Norris arrived at the paddock with friends and family in tow. It’s an unusual sight for the driver who usually sticks closely to a tried and tested routine. Perhaps his crash just last weekend, and the resulting difficult grand prix ahead of him changed his mind. Or perhaps it’s the fact that singer Y/N L/N seems to have travelled with him for moral support.

She did not engage with press, and hurried inside while Norris fielded questions from various interviewers. “I’m eager, and hungry to win this weekend. I feel like I’ve proven myself this past year, and I want to make my team proud. It wouldn’t just be me winning for myself, but also for everyone who’s helped me realise that dream. So I’m not necessarily always the most confident guy, but I do feel confident going into this.”

The driver has a small lead in the championship, and had hoped to capitalise on it last weekend. However, due to a collision with Lewis Hamilton – one of his main challengers – in Qatar, it will all come down to the results of this season’s final race in Abu Dhabi.

Unlike some of his fellow drivers, Norris opted to fly back and forth throughout the final triple header of the season. While it remains unconfirmed, he was reportedly seen visiting his ex in both London last week (prior to Qatar), and New York just two days ago. It’ll remain to be seen whether or not the travelling will take its toll on his performance on track.  

December 7th, 2026

♥･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♡･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♥

[a/n: we're so close to the end now!!]

You can read the previous parts by going here, part VI is available here.

♥ likes, comments, reblogs are always very much appreciated ♥

taglist (open) : @charlesgirl16, @linnygirl09, @hoeforsirius, @motorsportloverf1, @sarx164, @idkimbadwithusernamesandstuff, @formulaal, @tvdtw4ever @sadiemack9 @seonghwaexile @screamingwines

[thewertsearch]

Ask Comp 28/04

@worldweary-walker asked: Dad Egbert's genre friction with Homestuck is fun. He is about Serious Business… but he can take a joke! He has the very efficient Wallet Modus, but used a safe to store the note. A man of contrasts. A man of mystery…

Genuinely, the fact that he legitimately was a prankster despite his normie aesthetic is one of my favourite things about the man. Let's hope Dad Crocker is the same.

Anonymous asked: now that you've met her, the final Namco High character is Jane. you still can't play Namco High yet (I think the collection will automatically inform you when it's no longer spoilers) but soon. soon.

The fact that Namco High might actually include plot spoilers for Homestuck is hilarious.

In lieu of evidence to the contrary, I'm going to assume it's the only piece of Homestuck-adjacent media which actually explains the Aspects.

@honestlyvan asked: I hope whatever is going on with you is easygoing, and you don't feel too pressed about this side-project, tbh. I would also rather you take your time with it and enjoy yourself. @marineofthestars asked: 13/04? @gl1tchypyr0 asked: Are you planning anything for 4/13 because Homestuck day? Anonymous asked: so happy you're back! @ramdomartkid asked: Happy 4/13!!!!!!

Thank you - happy to be back!

Don't worry too much about the recent hiatuses - none of them have been prompted by anything serious. Sometimes, I'm just excessively busy, and need to catch my breath a little!

Anonymous asked: rereading your archive, dropping in a couple of my personal miscellaneous voice hc's while im here! John: Abed Nadir (Community) Feferi: Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls) Doc Scratch: The Narrator (The Stanley Parable)

Doc Scratch as the Narrator is inspired, and Mabel fits Feferi surprisingly well.

I've still never seen Community - and, in fact, I'm not sure I even know what it's about. I know about the pizza meme, of course, and I think they play Dungeons and Dragons at one point?

Anonymous asked: Is Sally being introduced to in-fandom memes at the point in the comic where they would have been popular, or are we just going off when they stop being spoilers?

(More the latter. If people want to spread the memes around, then as long as it isn't a spoiler, it gets a pass. And frankly, the two are usually pretty close together. - Vamp)

Yeah, what usually happens with Homestuck's major memes - Pantskat, for example - is that I'll get several asks referencing it immediately after it stops being a spoiler. My spoiler policy being what it is, I'm generally made aware of them during my next ask session after the fact!

@semaphoricwave asked: Hypothetically, if somebody wanted to write a fic about your trollsona's dancestor, would that spark joy or would you rather the hypothetical somebody didn't? The story you've laid out is fascinating and I (I mean, the hypothetical somebody) would really enjoy digging into it, but I also understand if that's not something you'd be interested in people doing with your trollsonas. Also follow-up in case it does spark joy: any other facts about Sahlee Senior that would be of interest to that hypothetical somebody? Either way hope you have a good week!

Absolutely! I'd be thrilled to read any fics involving my OCs. I've DMed you a short character profile on the Hostess that you can use for reference - and if you have any specific questions, feel free to ping me!

Anonymous asked: Just r3ad thr0ugh y0ur liv3bl0g, and I want3d t0 say h0w much I l0v3d r3ading it. Sup3r happy y0u d3cid3d t0 try 0ut th3 3pil0gu3s as well!¡! @heattth asked: I just wanted to say, I've been rereading the whole liveblog and it is a very fun experience. Thank you for having written it.

Thanks a bunch - it's always nice to get messages like this.

Seeing a post's note counter go up is a very abstract way to get feedback. Like, I'm aware that a ton of people are reading (and hopefully, enjoying) the posts, but it's still hard to conceptualize - so asks like this are a great way to make it feel real. I can see irrefutable evidence that people really are having a good time on TheWertsearch dot com, which is all I really ask for.

@mhafanlol2000 asked: Do you think about how Dave and Rose’s prophesied hero’s journeys both ended in suicide. What do you think that says about them? If I have to constantly think about this then so do you.

I think what it says the most is that Sburb loves suicide. It's the default way to achieve the God Tier, after all, and according to Terezi, the game actively wants the children who play it to wrestle with their own mortality.

This, to me, is one of the most explicitly malicious aspects of the game. It's really not necessary to achieve Skaia's stated goals, and I'm unconvinced that traumatizing these children makes them more effective custodians of a universe.

@caliquill asked: dropping in to say - jane is maybe my favourite homestuck character so it brings me great joy to see you cracking at her flaws in a genuine manner. thank you :]

Jane's great so far. She's not a carbon copy of John - and, honestly, she feels like the most unique of the B2 kids so far.

Hussie already had a framework to build on with Dirk, Roxy and Jake, but Nannasprite's main traits were 'grandma', 'ghost', and 'clown', none of which should logically transfer to Jane. She had to be mostly original.

@spiddermen asked: bowman just released a new track for the 16th anniversary! it's awesome and doesnt have any spoilies, it's called on the thirteenth day

Ooh, I'd love to give it a listen!

If anyone can link me a non-spoilery upload of the song, I'd appreciate it. YouTube and Bandcamp are both danger zones, and I'm not sure where else you might find it.

@faggoatquixote asked: “GT: Right o! If a man believes hard enough in imaginary things then i dare say that makes them slightly less fake!” Sounds a lot like talk from another Page boy I know… Rufio anyone?

Which is kind of weird, right?

I assumed Jake's 'belief' schtick was due to him being a Hope Player - but Tavros has said some similar things, and he shares Jake's class, rather than his aspect.

I suppose not every character trait has to be informed by a Player's Title. After all, Jade used to be defined by her clairvoyance, and she's no Seer.

@bellcarved asked: In defense of Jake, he lives alone on an island and has literally run out of people to talk to about this (unless he were to do something like ask Jane to hand her phone to her father and got advice from him)

Oh, for sure. Everything these kids are doing wrong is totally understandable, due to their frankly bizarre home lives - and Jake, in particular, appears to have been living completely alone on that island for some time, which is bound to stunt the guy's social development.

In retrospect, I'm kind of surprised that Jade turned out as well as she did.

@bladekindeyewear asked: And as expected, Kid Bro's hair is ALSO a bird, just a different one than Dave's.

Dirk's just trying to blend in with the local fauna, like his brother before him.

@elkian asked: A fun fandom trend is to give the ectogroups portmanteau names. "Strilondes" was pretty easy, but the Prospit quartet presents some difficulties and is usually an unholy amalgamation along the lines of "Crockerberts" "Harlenglishes" and the ambitious combination of all four like "Harlegbercrockerenglishes" and so on. (I feel like there was a particular one with a lot of staying power but can't recall it exactly.) There's still Reddit threads of the debates around here and there.

This is why I just call 'em the Prospit squad.

I tried to make something that's at least pronounceable, and came up with the Harkersherts. Not a lot of English in there, though.

Anonymous asked: "and I’d bet Boondollars to donuts that Jake and Roxy have 'em too." Come on, 'boondollars to bronuts' was right there.

Damn it! I really do need to step up my bro-punning now that our second Strider has entered the story.

@ben-guy asked: (in regards to your theory about B2 Dave having memory leaks possibly making him interested in Con Air) "something about an old friend" Emphasis on the "old" in this timeline lmao

Oh, good point. It is possible that Dave could have met Poppop Crocker at some point, especially if he was in contact with his Seer sister.

Maybe it wasn't his pre-Scratch memories. Maybe he learned about Con Air directly from the source, after all. <3

Anonymous asked: ”Kneel before Cal” Lil’ dude even if you don’t Know. That’s hella ominous yo

Dirk feels like the kind of guy who doesn't realize how foreboding some of his sentences actually are. He'd do numbers on Tumblr, and you know it.

...I guess, technically, he has done numbers on Tumblr. lmao

@elkian asked: Jane-Dirk is genuinely one of my favorite character dynamics in the entire comic so I'm delighted that they're resonating with you, too! Their conversations are so fun.

Yup! As I said, I'm really happy that Jane, in particular, is not just a remix of John. The way she relates to her friends is quite different from anything we've seen from Egbert - or anyone else, for that matter.

I really hope that this friend group doesn't collapse into some sort of nightmare love quadrangle, because I really am enjoying these dynamics, and I want to see more.

Anonymous asked: Do you think that when you are done for the day you could note that? Maybe as a tag or something? Then people would know to stop checking to see if you add another post?

I would, but the problem is that I never really know if I'm actually done for the day - not until the day is already over. See, I usually just liveblog until I get distracted, and often return later in the evening for a second round - that is, if I haven't fallen asleep before I've had the chance. Perils of ADHD, I guess.

I suppose I could add such a tag the day after a liveblogging session, but that sounds like it'd be too late to be useful for your use case. :/

Anonymous asked: Okay, so Lil' Bro gave both Jake the Brobot, and Jane Sebastian. What do you think Roxy's inevitable robo-buddy will be like?

There is absolutely no universe in which it isn't a cat.

Anonymous asked: Sorry about the spoiler! A while ago, I did some testing on YouTube and incognito mode because I was curious, and I found that, unfortunately, Google isn't fooled by it. YouTube's algorithm definitely prioritizes things you watch in normal mode, presumably to be subtle about this, but it also definitely knows what you watch in incognito. The effect becomes more obvious with an account that watches zero or very few videos in normal mode. (I tested this 3-4 years ago, so I can't say for certain that the specifics haven't changed, but I don't see why they'd have stopped doing this since then.)

Targeting algorithms are just too damn good these days. All I can really do is avoid watching Homestuck videos on my main account, employ a VPN, and hope for the best.

Anonymous asked: More like DORK strider

Fuckin' get him!

@mrjocrafter asked: I mean, you did get this three months ago

Those names were listed in order of likelihood - so yes, I expected it to be Dick. I really did.

Dick Strider seemed like exactly the kind of move Hussie would pull...

@library-seraph asked: Fun fact: when Dirk's name hit the comic, people were upset it wasn't Dick. Hussie still used tumblr back then, so they made a post saying that, as a small dagger, dirk is still a dick joke, and they're annoyed people would want them to go for the lowest hanging dick joke Anonymous asked: You're not alone. A significant majority of the fandom at the time also expected "Dick", enough that Hussie actually addressed it by saying that would have been too on-the-nose. IIRC, Hussie also described "Dirk Strider" as sounding more like a male porn star's stage name, while clearly implying that this is a major upside.

...but I suppose that's exactly why they didn't.

Low-hanging fruit is all well and good, but you can't always choose the path of least resistance, or your story will just keep getting flatter.

@shelbybunny asked: remember this post you made when you liveblogged jack: ascend, and how you wished they had a poster of that sburb shot? well good news PS: i’m pretty sure you can take a look at the full store now, but i’d have someone double-check just in case

(The store is, in fact, spoiler-free now. - V)

Oh, hell yeah!

I'm not going to pretend I'm not tempted - and not just by the poster, either. Those captchalogue boards look great, too.

In order to preserve just a little bit of hope for myself, I'm not going to look up the shipping costs to Europe until tomorrow.

@clueless-rarito asked: While Dave rambles fells a lot like a stream of consciousness that just spills out randomly in the middle of conversations, Dirk's fell extremely intentional and precisely deployed, make you fell he meticulously choose each word to be as full of complete bullshit as humanly possible.

Turns out, Rose and Dave's vibes blend together almost seamlessly. I could probably have told you they would beforehand, but it's still great to see it in action!

@sanctferum asked: Heiress Sans Parent could just refer to Jane's ectobiological origins as a true paradox rather than the beta kids who have ectobiological parents. (The alpha kids are clones of themselves, after all.) Well, either a reference to that or a hint that Dad Crocker is secretly a funny skeleton man.

It better be something like that. If Dad dies again, I'm ragequitting.

@aceotaku asked: when it comes to Jane's scepticism, while being a product of the Condesce's subliminal messaging IS a possibility, Dirk raises another one: that Jane simply only believes things if she's seen them with her own eyes directly, if she has direct proof of them. She's seen prospit in her dreams, she has no reason to think anything anyone says about it is wrong. The things she dismisses are things she hasn't seen directly and thus just thinks it's not true for reasons. or maybe I'm wrong XP

Nah, that's a good take. Jane's a bit of a cautionary tale, then, about how stubborn empiricism can severely limit your understanding of a concept or situation.

Sometimes, you really do have to take a leap of faith.

@liliflower137 asked: Hello!! I only just started reading your liveblog and I just want to say I love your commentary SO much, I read it pretty late (just between it ending and it being sold to viz media so the old website was still around) so my FAVORITE part of homestuck was always the mechanics of sburb, the alchemy stuff is just so cool!! So seeing you theorize about things and talk about how data structures work makes me so so happy, I hope you're having lots of fun!!!

Thank you! I really hope we get some post-Scratch alchemy binges - but sadly, I don't think it's guaranteed, as we're unlikely to be rehashing everything we've seen before.

Even so, there's got to be more we can learn about Homestuck's alchemy system... right?

Anonymous asked: congrats on finally reaching the end of one of Homestuck's Biggest Jokes. The Gift Of Gab.

I'm still hyped over those Dialoglogs - not least because it removes the main metabarrier which was preventing these kids from hanging out in person.

Let's fucking go! It's time!

@sashonya asked: Oh yeah, just a small aside as I'm sure you're going to realize in a bit. It's better to say the full "Act 6 Act 1" instead of "Act 6.1" since the intermissions also count as "Act 6.1"

Hmm. Well, it's pretty easy for me to edit my organizational tags retroactively, so I'll see what format works the best for me, going forward.

Generally, I prefer for these tags to be shorter, though - so if Act 6.1 Intermission needs its own tag, I might write it as Act 6.1.I, or something.

@jack-off-valentine asked: When, exactly, did AH pull an Aradiabot?

I initially asked myself the same question - but by now, I've learned to treat Hussie interludes as the breaks from canon they are.

We're probably never going to be told what's up with robo-Hussie, the same way that we'll never learn why Falkor the Luck Dragon has Lord English's cueball eyes. It's just Hussie being Hussie.

@pineapple-temporarily-moving asked: "By now, Jade should know why she arranged for herself to grab the Wall - but she's acting like she only did it because Karkat told her to. Maybe I'm just misinterpreting what she's saying." future jade told karkat to tell past jade to captchalogue the window because she remembered being told that by karkat (and karkat telling her that she told him to tell her that). it is simply one of homestuck's ubiquitous causal loops and it ultimately technically was only because karkat told her to LOL

Oh, god damn it, you're probably right.

Damn stable loops and their originless information. As much as I love time travel stories, this still has to be one of the least satisfying ways you could possibly resolve a plot thread.

@sanctferum asked: So, Jade, who just became a god tier Witch with striped leggings and ruby red shoes, levels up to Sayonara Kansas as she and John embark upon the Yellow Ruler Yard. Her god-tier self was formed from her living self and Jadesprite, a version of herself too cowardly to do anything despite her incredible power. Jadesprite used to be Dream Jade, whose physical counterpart on Earth was, thanks to Grandpa's inventions, a robotic version of Jade rather than Jade herself. A tin woman, one might say. Dream Jade herself was, prior to her death, notably absent-minded in a way no other dream self has shown themselves to be. It seems likely Hussie originally intended all dream selves to be this way while "asleep", but in the end only Jade acted like her brain was sleeping along with her body. And said dream self ended up being stuffed, of course. Do I need to elaborate on who Toto is in this analogy? No, I don't think I do. Original waking Jade is Dorothy. Jade's all of the Oz cast at once!

Even better:

The climax of Dorothy's story is her learning to teleport!

[readingoals]

Readingoals Readathon Announcement

Welcome to the readingoals readathon! 

I’m going to level with you. I wanted an excuse to read a bunch of Frankenstein/Mary Shelley themed books. Normally I try to read a few Frankenbooks in October but, honestly, the month just doesn’t really work for me. So I’m moving it up to April since it’s my birth month and also I get a couple weeks off work for the mid-semester break. And I decided why not make this an official readathon.  

But the Frankenstein of it all is not mandatory – if you wanna use this as an excuse to read a bunch of books off your TBR, get through a stack from the library, or work on some other reading goal you’ve got, then join me!  

Details 

TIME: April 1-30, beginning at midnight in your time zone, 

POST: I’d love to see what you’re reading throughout the month so tag your posts with ‘readingoals readathon’. I’ll be tracking the tag and reblogging things all month! 

PROMPTS: I’ve created a mini bingo board for anyone who would like a little direction or just enjoys that sort of thing – it comes in both a Frankenstein version and a more general style, but the prompts are the same in both! Feel free to double up on prompts or ignore them entirely! Check under the cut for more details on what each prompt means. 

Prompts 

Creature On The Cover – For those picking up Frankenbooks this could be whatever The Creature in the story is, but it could also refer to an animal, monster or mythological creature.  

Female Author – Pretty self explanatory. Frankenstein was written by a woman, so read something by a female identifying author.  

Poll Pick – Survey some other people to see what you should read next! This could be a poll on tumblr, instagram, or discord, or create a survey for your friends irl! Polls can have as many or as few options as you like.  

Borrowed – Check out something from the library, ask a friend to lend you something, or “borrow” someone else’s idea and pick a book from their tbr.  

New To You Author – A book by someone you’ve never read from before.  

Green on The Cover – The whole thing can be shades of green or it can be in a small section of the cover.  

Set in Another country – As long as the book primarily takes place in a country you currently do not live in, you’re good.  

Not Your Usual – Up to interpretation a little bit. You might decide to try a genre you don’t pick up often or a trope you usually ignore. If you typically read physical books you might give an audiobook a go, or if you tend to read adult books you might try a middlegrade or YA. It’s up to you how you choose to tackle this prompt! 

Published in 2020s – There's been some really great Frankenstein inspired books published within the last 5 years so this prompt was an excuse for me to pick up more. For those of you not reading Frankenbooks, consider this an excuse to pick up that new release you’ve been eyeing off.  

[oak-n]

Can you talk about your OCs? I loooove your art and I've been really intriegued by them for forever

Oh sure! I'm always anxious to tell about them unprompted so I love people asking, gives me a push. Usually I create OC's for specific stories, filling in the parts I need someone to "play". Characters evolve from there, but the point is, they're not created for drawing initially. The only exception would be Kośava.

If you venture into my (much) older posts, around 2019-20, I started practicing script writing and had a faux ukraine-lithuania 00s setting for that. It's about rivalry between criminal gangs and smugglers. And cars, of course. There's a "cursed" car with a lot of fuss around it, but it's considered a very valuable possession. Characters end up crazed and killed over it, so it's somewhat morbid and comedic. Think Kraftidioten for the vibe. Like yeah, the car IS otherworldly, but I think your feuds and greed are the problem here guys. No, you're not haunted by demons, just stop doing coke. I had quite an elaborate culture for them, inspired by 00s absurdism I grew up around. New age paganism-laced cults, economic shock after the 90s, private security companies evolving into organized crime. If you see a dude with chopped fingers, that's Sevir, the main character. And the woman with dark slick hair is Seda, second main character. Eventually I grew bored with the script cause the whole philosophy around it became foreign to me.

More recent story takes place in 2007 Iraq and is more of a murder mystery genre. It started as a mgr pre-canon fic but oh well, I OCified the shit out of it. A group of special forces operators deal with a gruesome murder of their commander and it splits them apart. My main theme was future and what it takes to move forward, so I really had fun with archetypes and how they act before the face of the unknown. A lot of human fear and pitying contrasted by a potential of something greater. I think this is what was lacking in previous story, the sheer swing of human experience. And imperialism, too, since it's a hot subject for me. Anyway, there are two MC's that branch the plot - teen boy Aziz and intelligence sergeant Russ. A bunch of secondary characters, too, I can't hope to draw them all soon lol.

The story has a spinoff focused on a former national police guard, Rukh (or Major, or whatever nickname people give him cause he never goes by a real name). The scale is much smaller, confined to a rural Iraq-Iran border town. Main theme is bias and superstition and I wrote it with visual novel format in mind. The whole gimmick is double meanings, riddles and etymology traps. Characters and places are named to confuse. You'd think "bone breaker" refers to those vultures all around the place, but no, it's a guy and he does break your fingers pretty soon. If you see a scarred girl with wild hair, Shamshir, safe to say it's spinoff-related!

[ghostinacardboardbox]

do you mind if i toss my hat in the ring as a jewish person rq? i feel like the whole antisemitism in cinderellas castle convo is completely dominated by goyim but i just wanted to bring up my thoughts on the situation.... i feel like in the modern age we forget how much antisemitism is completely imbedded into western folklore, european inspired fantasy coming off as antisemitic is almost inevitable if im going to be fr. doesnt make critiquing it in CC *invalid* ofc, its important to point out and critique, but it feels incredibly icky when a bunch of goys (not you specifically, your posts are quite thoughtful) act like starkid specifically made up the concept of "hook-nosed trolls" and filthy monsters sneaking into society wearing human skin rather than falling into unfortunate pitfalls that are baked into the genre....

Absolutely!! It’s a really good point. That’s also why I genuinely believe none of it was on purpose. They didn’t invent the tropes. It’s very much important to remember that it’s baked into the genre; these are tropes that have existed for centuries. They are not unique to Starkid, and if I ever implied they were, I want to make it clear that was not my intention.

I have been posting a lot but also very much do not want to be taking over the conversation, so I’m very grateful for this ask and your perspective.

[syrena-del-mar]

Dead Friend Forever Is More Than Just A 90s Slasher Film Imitation

Oh man, I went in thinking I would just get a whole lot of gore and murder, and instead I'm getting a buttload of social class distinction, parental issues, mental health crises, organized crime, and a highly-likely revenge plot line.

The thing about Dead Friend Forever is that it starts unassuming, almost like an copy of all other teen slashers from the 90s. A group of friends, up in a cabin and suspects to a potential murder, become hunted one-by-one. A cliche slasher plot if I ever heard one. Until it’s not. This show is taking up a very big corner of my brain, so I’m going to delve deeper into it.

If you haven't watched episode 6 yet, spoilers up ahead.

Pulling inspiration from 90s slasher re-inventor, Scream

The first four episodes really set up the expectation that DFF was going to be another slasher, seemingly particularly influenced by Scream (1996). Scream was a turning point for slasher movies, signaling a shift in from the movies of the 80s to that of the 90s. It was the first of many movies to allow for the characters to be self-aware of what genre they're working in, where the characters knew of the slasher-movie tropes and attempted to do everything right to survive. Scream is also the first slasher to truly humanize the killers, and I don't mean by making them empathetic, but rather the killers were human, so they made human mistakes. Prior to Scream, the antagonists in slasher films were usually this supernatural villain that was just murder-hungry. But in Scream, the killers are all just regular people and would often make mistakes on their way to kill the protagonists, like a normal human would. It's why Scream was scary, the killer could be anyone, it wasn't this supernatural being. And even when you're making the right choices to escape, you still end up dead.

In Dead Friend Forever, we're getting so many of the same tropes that Scream had subverted. The group is working understanding exactly what they're facing; Fluke warning to not pull out the stake inside Por, Top wanting to split up in the temple while Phee, Jin and Tan veto against it expressly stating it would be like the horror movies, White not wanting to be left behind in the cabin. They all know what they shouldn't be doing while there is a killer on the loose. Also, it's why there's these funny little moments of the killer in DFF (i.e. having to steal the motorcycle to get back to the cabin). I'm not completely convinced that there isn't any paranormal activity or at least some type hallucinogen-component at play, but the way the killer acts is very human-like. Not to mention the parallel of Barcode (arguably the most popular actor in the show) getting slashed in the first minute of the show, eerily similar to how in the opening scene of Scream, Drew Barrymore (the most well-known of the cast) gets killed immediately.

The Benefits of Series Format versus Movie Format

The series format is where I think Dead Friend Forever is really shining the most. @wen-kexing-apologist made an awesome post on the directorial direction this show is taking, particularly in how since the first four episodes we have very little context as to why the killings are occurring or even the state of everyone's relationship, we're freely able to form opinions on each character. Similarly, prior to getting to know what happened to Non, I also thought Tee was the better one of the group. But here we are, two episodes later and I find him to be the most detestable of the bunch (which says something, when Por and Top are competing in this category).

We're seeing and experiencing the absolute hell that this friend group had actively made (sans Jin and Fluke that suffer from the bystander effect) Non's life out to be. In a regular slasher movie, especially ones that model themselves after Scream, we find out why the Killer is doing what he's doing to the victims in the last quarter of the movie, but the emotional value is a little skewed. The little amount of time we spend learning about what the victims did to the Killer usually still leaves you feeling at least a smidge of pity for the victims and some joy that the Final Girl made it. Here, the mass consensus is that each and every one of them should die.

And it comes back to the luxury of spending several episodes in a flashback to what lead up to the killings after the game of cat-and-mouse has begun. We're introduced to Non as an outsider, where everyone, but Jin, has already formed a bad opinion of Non. They already have a brutal nickname for him (read @forkaround's awesome analysis on the term 'Greasy'). They already established that he's an outsider in the classroom, but they make an active point of only referring to him as 'Greasy' and Non just accepts it. We see the friend group frame him, causing him to spiral twice to point of suicide, proceed to prey on him into a money laundering scheme, get him caught in a criminal investigation, all while already undergoing mental health treatment. We're given that time to know and see the pain that Non is caused, the manipulation that he is put under, and ultimately the devastation that they've caused.

Dead Friends Forever is more than just another teen slasher, because it has time. And it's using its time wisely, giving us bits and pieces of information in the beginning before delving into something more sinister than the killer on the loose, the original five. Run-of-the-mill bullying has turned into framing, assault and other criminal activity, even murder. And yet, while Non is the one that has disappeared (or died), the other five have been able to make a life for themselves without suffering any of the consequences. It's showing exactly what they have done to deserve everything that is coming to them.

Final Thoughts

Man, Be on Cloud is truly blowing it out of the water with this show. I'm actually a bit sad that it's only barely starting to get the recognition that it deserves, because in my opinion, it's just that good, BUT I also understand why it's had a sleepy start. It's in an place, a BL in one sense, but not exactly a BL in any other. I've said it before, but no matter what you think of BOC as a management company, the stories that they tell are unique and they have the artists that are competent enough to deliver. Be on Cloud has, allegedly, allowed the writers take the reign on the show, even if this means messing with the couples, so even more chaos is going to occur. This is, frankly, exciting to see and experience the story as they want it to be told.

I said this when I first saw Barcode in KinnPorsche deliver that heartbreaking cry, that boy knows how to cry. He was a newbie and his stole that scene. Now this is his third show under his belt and his acting chops only continue to improve, I truly can't wait to see what more he is able to do here in Dead Friend Forever. I love that Sammon is also enjoying what Barcode has able to bring forth in Non and that all her worries have been eased. I truly think that Barcode is going to have an incredible career ahead of him, whether in music or in acting.

Ta, on the other hand, also deserves his share of accolades. I wasn't sure of how to read to Phee in the first four episodes, but with the information that episode 6 has given us? The picture has cleared significantly and now, having rewatched his scenes, everything makes sense on why he seemed to be conniving. Episode 6 had some of the strongest performances and yet the biggest gasp I made was in the last minute. The singular tear rolling down Phee's cheek after having to perform the two-finger method, to have Non throw up the pills, and holding him in his arms? Quite literally jaw-dropping.

Sammon has a strong repertoire of shows, so I have complete faith that she knows what she's doing for Dead Friend Forever. I hope this becomes as much of a cult favorite, much like Manner of Death and Triage.

Anyways if you need me, I'll probably be stuck thinking about PheeNon for the next week until episode 7 airs.

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

While Ive never read her books, I would love to read your criticism if the works of Sarah j Maas. What are your problems with her worldbuilding?

So like, disclaimer that I have DNF'd her books myself and instead of trying to finish reading them I got the rest of my info from multiple different youtubers who posted full recaps and deep dives of her books.

I can't stand the romantic relationships she writes and I think her pacing is a mess. So that's why I haven't read all her books myself, they're just so not my thing. I'm not a fan of a lot of "gateway fantasy" type books that are considered "easy reads" for people who want the hot sexy romances with a fantasy backdrop, because I personally really don't need a gateway into fantasy lol I've been into this genre since I was a small child and I prefer to read books that are deeper with their worldbuilding. I don't write epic fantasy adventures, I stick more to low stakes slice of life and romance, but I like to write a very detailed fantasy world and i do enjoy reading a good fantasy adventure.

There are a few things I dislike about the way Sarah J Maas does her worldbuilding, though she is by far not the absolute worst at it. I would call her worldbuilding mediocre and inconsistent. Also I think she relies too heavily on just tossing a bunch of real life myth and folklore into her books without really exploring it deeper, like she's just adding Easter eggs in for people who happen to know a lot of different folklore and stuff. Like why do valkyries and Koshei the Deathless suddenly get mentioned in the extremely celtic inspired fae books. They're barely plot relevant and don't get explored, they just kind of exist. Also I'm not from any celtic cultures but considering how poorly SJM handles characters of color, I can't imagine that her treatment of celtic myth and folklore is any better. I don't think she did as much research as she should have.

I don't mind a soft magic system, especially for fae who can do a lot with trickster magic and wild magic. But even soft magic needs to be consistent in what it can or cannot do, and her magic is not consistent. Example: three different instances of faries with injured wings.

In her first ACoTaR book there is a fairy who dies because their wings are absolutely mangled. Almost gets a pass because there was the whole magic restriction thing going on, but how much the magic is restricted is still left quite ambiguous and I'm still not entirely sure why no one could have healed that fairy. Why is that impossible while they're also still using magic enough to perform that sexy fertility ritual that renews the magic in the region, or whatever? Plot convenience, because we needed a dramatic death scene for a nameless nobody character to make Feyre cry, I guess.

And then in another book one of the dudes with bat wings has them basically torn off during a big magical war and they're healed no problem, no lasting consequences, just grow em right back, the healing magic is apparently just that powerful. Okay. We can say that's because the magic is no longer being restricted I guess. Kinda sucks that an actually plot relevant named character doesn't get long term effects from losing such big limbs though.

And then the kicker: the bat wing fairies are such over the top evil misogynists that they have a tradition of clipping women's wings (never mind the fact that these are bat wings??? What do you mean by "clipping", girl, this is not at all like bird feathers! Also I don't like the implication that it's like female genital mutilation because the wings are an erogenous zone) and apparently this cannot be magically healed at all ever and the important fairy dudes who could stop this tradition talk about how bad it is but don't really put effort into stopping it. Yuck.

Overall there's also just this weird internalized misogyny all over her books with just enough of a #girlboss feminist layer over top that fans will get mad if you point out the blatant sexism.

Also, SJM writes literally every single fantasy people with omegaverse werewolf dynamics but refuses to actually make werewolves the spotlight in the one series where they do exist in her worldbuilding. Please just write the bad werewolf smut you're clearly obsessed with, SJM, I am begging you. I hate that she started this trend of "fae" being so alpha male and fated mates and having this weird obsession with scents. Like why do the fae smell when people have sex or get pregnant. Why are they always using "males" and "females" instead of "men" and "women". Why do they bare their teeth at each other like wolves establishing their pack hierarchy. I hate this. Put it back in the werewolf fic where it belongs.

There are worse worldbuilders out there, to be sure. I just really can't get behind the SJM hype, it's never going to appeal to me.

Edit: totally forgot to add my complaint about her excessive use of magical macGuffins. So many magical macGuffins. Put some of those back on the shelf, you really don't need them. There are so many.

[fumiiyumiis]

☆~°•Taki as your boyfriend•°~☆

• Genre: fluff

• warnings: none :3

• not proofread, please don't copy

• inspired by @/3vergr3en's post

☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°

Takes you to practice with him

Loves to have you in the studio while he dances and have you do dances with him

Occasionally both of you film dance covers for tik tok

afterwards he likes to sit with you and look for more covers to try

"y/n baby, what about this one?" he says showing you his phone.

Skin care dates

weekly skin care dates with face masks and snacks

Sitting on the bathroom counter applying the face mask to your boyfriends face

"Takiii hold still!" You laugh

He srunches his nose at the feeling of the mask on his face

"It's feels so cold."

Always has to be holding you in some way

Taki's love language is physical touch, and he loves the feeling of having you in his arms.

In public, he has his arm around your shoulders or waist, letting everyone know you're together.

In private, though, he's much more clingy.

Following you around the house holding your hand

Sitting with his arms wrapped around you on the couch or in the bed softly stroking your hair.

"You're so cute Y/n."

Definitely kisses the top of your head or tip of your nose while he's cuddling you.

Loves kissing you

Kisses your hand when you're holding hands.

Good morning and good night kisses.

Kisses you goodbye before he leaves for anything.

Sulks when he can't kiss you when you guys are apart.

Kisses the top of your head when hugging.

Absolutely loves taking pictures of you

Takes a bunch of candid photos.

Has a new photo of you as his lock screen every week.

Looks at all the photos of you when he misses you.

Thinks you look cute doing anything.

Can't resist pulling out his phone to capture every moment of you.

Has a whole separate folder for just pictures of you.

fumii•°~☆

[boxkitkat]

Random post on some small ZSakuVA verse headcannons! <3

(Mainly for Isaac and Elias o(>ω<)o)

Isaac: Isaac probably has a habit of doing that little leg bounce whenever he’s anxious. Before he met the listener and got closer with them he probably smelled A LOT like coffee.

When he was probably 8-11 he took piano lessons for a while but simply didn’t feel like music was something he was interested in.

Isaac as a kid (like around 5-7 years old) would struggle with sleeping so his mom (maybe sometimes joined by his dad) would end up helping him go to sleep by playing with his hair, putting on a small puppet show for him while reading a bed time story with cute animal hand puppets.

His favorite bugs are blue butterflies and ladybugs because they would remind him of whenever he helped his mom in the gardens and little butterflies and ladybugs would show up near the flowers in the spring.

He finds hot chocolate or a warm tea comforting on cloudy or rainy days.

His houses garden would probably have like a miniature waterfalls here and there.

Isaac probably has a messenger for himself like Adriel did to communicate through his workers, or just emails them or calls them but never meets any of his workers in person face to face.

He would be a girl dad. Dressing up in frilly princess dresses with plastic tiaras and attending the finest tea parties with the most high quality and rich wooden biscuits and cookies all to make his daughter happy. Of course when he had the time to. He probably has a black silk robe. Wouldn’t be surprised. As well as a really high quality grey or navy blue kimono stashed away in his closet. Maybe a gift from one of his older clients who is aware of his ethnicity background.

He’s really ticklish behind his knee.

He definitely has a disappointed and judgmental Asian dad glare if you do anything stoopid in-front of him.

He would appreciate the listener helping him with taking care of orchids that he gotten, maybe hug the listener from behind with his arms around their waist while they gently watered the orchids and he gives em a small peck on the cheek :D

He’s got a whole bunch of fancy watches, some as gifts from his clients and some from a collection his grandpa probably had of watches.

Elias: He’s mixed with Mexican and Filipino background, the Hispanic side from his mom and the Filipino side from his dad. He likes Thai food a lot. Specially Pad Thai noodles.

Some of his fave desserts are Ube cookies, and concha’s (specifically the white ones).

He would like to hold a grill with his old friends from high school.

He would tackle an enemy down like a football player.

He definitely uses the word “opp” in an unironic way.

He wears compression shirts during a workout, or loose no sleeve shirts that show off his muscles.

Kinda random but he was taller than most of the other Saku verse boys during their tween years.

In middle school and high school he would get really dirty and hurt a lot (scratches, bruises, etc) due to playing sports with his friends.

(this head cannon is inspired off of another crumpets head cannon so credits to them for this idea!) His mom was religious (not crazy religious but yknow) catholic to be specific so he was raised with an upbringing of some religious faith. He isn’t super religious himself tho, not as much as him mom was. And also he probably has a cross necklace as well that he sometimes wears.

Elias wears mostly silver jewelry because it goes well with his skin complexion.

Listens to the reggaeton genre usually and rap too, he would definitely get jiggy with it to El Coco No.

Speaking of dancing, Elias is probably a pretty good dancer but insists that he’s okayish.

He’d make listener dance with him, especially if it’s a romantic song.

He likes some of Franks Sinatras music mainly because it makes him think of his listener probably or his mom due to Franks music (from what I’ve heard) being very sentimental.

He likes to make himself banana milkshakes sometimes in the mornings.

He’s got a sick belt collection and is very much proud of it and WILL show it off to anyone who asks. He’d wear them on special occasions tho or not at all cuz they are his precious babies.

His jaw can open oddly enough very widely without dislocating it somehow.

He’d probably do that thing where people lift up their eyelids inside out to mess with James because James finds it icky and recoils and cringes at it. (He’s done this ever since he was 10 when he discovered James didn’t like that.)

His go to late night snack is a PB&J sandwich or instantly noodles.

Luca: He has a high pitched scream.

He’d have a comfort pillow, he’d cuddle it incase whenever his listener isn’t home (like on a business trip or something)

He has flat hair so he tries to blow dry it to make it have more volume but it isn’t able to hold up for long after a while sometimes.

His hair is very shiny.

He brings a small lotion bottle with him wherever he goes to keep his hands and arms moisturized.

He’s sometimes tempted to eat things that aren’t edible but look edible.

Half of his twitter feed is cats and capybaras.

He might’ve been in a few clubs in high school, like chest or volunteering work.

Luca was a really energetic kid with the people he was closest with and his parents would sometimes struggle keeping up with that.

He liked sandwiches a lot as a kid, he still does and I think he would have a great appreciation for those little tea sandwiches. He’d absolutely adore those sandwiches.

Whenever he’s cooking he puts little hair clips on so his hair doesn’t get in the way of his face and distract him while cooking or getting any hair into the food he’s making. The hair clips probably have little animals on them.

Small head-cannons for the others!:

Andrew likes to wear a lot of gold jewelry, he stretches a lot from having bad seating posture making his body feel sore. Kayson definitely plays around with his brothers by picking them up and throwing them over his shoulder, he’d do this a few time with his listener as well if they are being bratty or playful. Dontis wears those Hawaiian shirts and has crazy bed head. Jonah likes to dye his hair a lot with a bunch of different bright colors, his hair is very dead, and he likes subtle vanilla scents. Rowan likes garlic bread and he gently rubs his listeners hand with his thumb whenever therye nervous or upset. Asirel owns a sick blood red sports car and sometimes sun tans next to his smancy fancy pool with a speedo on and some fancy sunglasses (gotta keep the tan up.)

Okayy thats all for now!! Hope you enjoyed reading and ty for listening to me share! And ofc pls feel free to say your own personal thoughts and feelings on my head cannons or your own personal head cannons! Ty Crumpet Nation! ☆ ～('▽^人)

[flurrys-creativity]

Monster under the bed

Pairing: Jung Wooyoung (Ateez) x Fem!Reader; Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural, SMUT, PWP; Rating: nsfw, 18+, MDNI; Warnings: Monster!Wooyoung, invisibility -> able to use it like the Cheshire cat, body morphing, glowing eyes, smut -> consensual sex, tentacles, teasing, edging, slight breast play, pinning down, praise kink, unprotected sex; Wordcount: 1.761

Summary: Late at night you decide to do release your body from some tension. Being in the middle of a session you suddenly get joined by something or someone else.

A/N: This is another collab deal thingy with @sanjoongie She'll post a similar story with reversed roles some day too! Also thanks for @daemour for helping with inspiration and big shout out to @potatomountain for keeping me motivated with a bunch of Wooyoung pics!

Every person had an assigned monster under their bed - no matter how old they were. That monster feasted on human emotions at night. While most of them used fear or joy to consume, Wooyoung had discovered another possibility: desire.

He got his cue when he heard the first moan. Wooyoung stretched his limbs, using his ability to turn invisible and silently crawled out from under the bed. He licked his lips upon seeing your form on the mattress.

Wooyoung always waited to interact until you were too deep in your pleasure filled state of mind to actually realise there was something not human inside the room with you.

You had kicked the blanket away, knowing you’d feel way too hot with it. Your back arched already as you played with your nub underneath your panties. You had your eyes closed and kneaded your breast with your free hand above your shirt. 

Wooyoung watched you for a while, getting drunk on your soft moans and whimpers. You truly didn’t have to do much to get him painfully hard. He just had to wait a little longer to ask for your consent in a whisper.

Even though he did that, he usually didn’t reveal his name. Which meant Wooyoung wouldn’t hear you moan it. Tonight he felt mischievous though and might switch it up.

With his ability to change his physical form, Wooyoung transformed his left hand into several tentacles. He let them glide over your naked ankle, creating the first shivers running through your whole body. “I can help you”, Wooyoung whispered.

You gasped, hearing the ghost of a voice or maybe a mere fraction of your own mind playing with you. The voice was melodic yet teasing, followed by a low chuckle. How could your imagination create the perfect voice for your fantasies? 

“Do you want me to help you?” The voice brushed over your skin, making you writhe in excitement already. 

“Yes, please.”

Wooyoung chuckled again, letting the tentacles slither further up your leg and past your panties to get underneath your shirt. He grinned devilishly, relishing in your soft whimpers. 

You arched your back. The feeling of dozens of little suction cubs sucking along your skin from your chest had your toes curling and mouth dropping open.

“Do you want me to do more?”

The groan that came out of your throat felt foreign but right nonetheless. “Gosh, yes! I need more!”

Wooyoung sat down on the mattress next to you. “How about you’ll get rid of that shirt of yours, my sweet little human.” He silently watched how you hurriedly grabbed the hem of your shirt and pulled it over your head.

You were about to grab your panties too, wanting to slide them off as well but something wrapped around your wrists and pinned your hands above your head. 

“Nah-ah-ah, sweet little human. I didn’t tell you to do that.” Wooyoung laughed quietly, his eyes shining with mirth. Especially when he heard your whining. Wooyoung held both your hands down on the mattress with his own hand and let the transformed one wander across your body.

He hooked the tentacles on the panties, pulling them slightly to tease you even more. He watched you squirm and wriggle your hips, desperately begging him to do more. Wooyoung let go of the panties and the elastic snapped back against your skin.

You softly yelped every time the elastic hit your skin, the pain combined with the pleasure filling your brain. The tingles spread through your body and pooled at your lower regions. You wanted to cum so badly.

Finally Wooyoung pulled the panties off, immediately rubbing along your folds as well. He bit down on his lower lip as he felt the slick covering his skin from where he touched your entrance. “You’re so needy, aren’t you? Do you want me inside of you? Do you want me to help you release the tension building inside of you?”

You moaned with every hushed word, agreeing with all of it and nodding desperately. “Please, need you! Need you inside!” You moved your legs further apart, being even more inviting.

Wooyoung pushed himself up, settling between your legs and grinning like a Cheshire cat. He eyed your form, wanting to hear his name from your lips. Without a second thought Wooyoung leaned down, his lips brushing along the shell of your ear. “If you want it that badly, beg for Wooyoung, my sweet little human.”

“Please, Wooyoung! Please, I need you! I need you inside of me!” By now you just followed what the whispers told you, not questioning a word as long as it meant you’d get to your release. Yet, you didn’t dare to open your eyes, afraid everything would vanish the moment you did.

Wooyoung groaned as he pushed inside of you, pressing his face into the crook of your neck. He inhaled deeply, feeding on the desire and pleasure you felt. 

You moaned and your fingers cramped up, unable to grab anything as they were still pinned above your head. “Wooyoung”, you whimpered, feeling a weight on top of you that moved along the thrusts into you. “Please.”

Wooyoung transformed the tentacles back into a hand, only elongating his nails like claws. He trailed them along your body, loving the way it created a pattern of red lines along your skin. He wanted you to see his work of art. “Open your eyes.”

Your breath caught inside your lungs and fear grabbed your heart.

“Be a good little human”, Wooyoung teased and stopped moving his hips all together. 

You wanted to be good, you wanted to be praised some more but your fear, it would all be gone in an instant when you opened your eyes, had you in a tight grip. Tight enough to momentarily forget the pleasure inside of you. 

“Don’t you want to cum? Open your eyes and I’ll make you cum.”

You inhaled shakily but nodded just as eager as all your responses before. At first your eyelids only fluttered a little, not opening your eyes that much. Your heartbeat sped up - even more so when you still felt something inside of you.

“Come one, little human”, Wooyoung chuckled, “I need more than that.” His grin widened even more. The fear mixed with your raging desire made him almost delirious. And he only wanted to increase all of that.

So when you opened your eyes, you only saw a glowing pair of eyes and a wide grin floating above your body. You gasped and blinked rapidly before your eyes jumped from one point to another - from the red lines on your skin to the glowing eyes to your spread legs and open folds to the grin and finally back to the eyes. “Wooyoung?”, you finally breathed out, watching how the grin got even wider than before.

“The one and only”, he chuckled before getting serious, his grin vanishing into thin air. “Do you still want to cum with my help?”

You swallowed harshly, your mouth had suddenly gone dry. All of this felt surreal and part of your mind told you to freak out but you stayed perfectly still. 

Wooyoung didn’t move either, his glowing eyes imploring yours and waiting for any kind of response from your side. He let go of your wrists and placed his hands next to your waist on the mattress.

He was about to pull out of you when you moved again. Your hand hit against his body as you simultaneously yelled out no. 

Wooyoung chuckled and shook his head, grabbing your hand and placing it on his shoulder. “That’s where you wanted to go, right my sweet little human?”

“Yes”, you breathed out. You carefully moved your hand along his shoulder and down his arm, feeling his toned muscles. “I want to cum with you.”

The cheeky grin returned. “With me, huh?”

You felt the heat spreading through your whole body and wanted to cover yourself but Wooyoung grabbed your hands and held them in place again - one pressed on the mattress next to your head and the other on his shoulder. You couldn’t see how he was doing it, only feeling it.

Wooyoung narrowed his eyes. “Never hide from me, my sweet little human. I want to see all of you.” With that Wooyoung started to move his hips again.

You moved your fingers to the nape of his neck, carding them through his hair and grabbing on to the strands when his thrusts became harder and harder. You heard him hiss and felt his face press into the crook of your shoulder.

You arched your back, moaning heavily from the pleasure. “Please, oh please. Fuck, Wooyoung!”

“I could give you more. Do you want more?”

“Uh-huh.”

Wooyoung snickered: “Great choice, my little human.” 

You gasped when you felt the shift inside of you, felt how his dick expanded and changed texture, rubbing along your walls in a whole new way. “Fuck!” A word you started to chant over and over again, while the tension built up inside of you.

“That’s it, my sweet little human, that’s it. You’re doing so good for me! You can do it. Cum for me!”

You came with a scream tearing through your throat. Your vision turned completely white for a moment, dark specks showing up on the edge of your view. 

Once your vision returned you saw complete darkness - no cheeky grin, no glowing eyes. “Wooyoung?” Your voice was barely above a whisper as you pushed yourself up, hoping to see him somewhere.

“Was it not enough?”

You heard his voice but struggled to pinpoint his location. Before you could ask though, you felt a hand cupping your cheek. 

“My sweet little human”, he purred, rubbing his thumb over your skin.

You closed your eyes and leaned into his touch, knowing farewell that his tone of voice meant goodbye. “Will you be back?”

He chuckled softly. “I’m your monster under the bed. I could be here every night for the rest of your life.” Wooyoung licked his lips, tasting the spike of your emotions. “So you like that idea, huh?” He moved his hand to the back of your neck and wrapped his fingers around there, pulling you closer until his lips brushed over yours. 

“I do”, you exhaled against his lips, unconsciously chasing the warmth.

“You’re such a good little human for me”, he grinned and closed the gap between you for the final kiss, even nipping at your lower lip in the process. “Until we meet again.”

© all rights reserved

Taglist: @xavi-in-kpopland​ @songsoomin​ 

[childotkw]

Can we hear a bit about your original stories? I just started writing one and it is So Hard just to come up with the characters and their environment so I wanted to hear how you came up with those if you didn’t mind

Very interesting question! For me, a lot of my ideas come from wisps of inspiration from tropes or other concepts.

Characters and worlds and environment go through some pretty intensive edits in my head, so the roots aren't always obvious - and often I smash together multiple ideas, carving and chopping and smoothing things out until I have something workable that gets me excited.

(Buckle up, this post might be a long one)

Coming up with a concept

I'm not sure how it might work for other people, but I am constantly on the look out for inspiration for stories - asking myself 'what if this happened?', 'how cool would it be if this person had to do this thing?', or 'how could this trope work in a different genre?'.

Keeping myself open to these kinds of outlandish and sometimes hilarious thoughts means I've trained my brain to constantly churn up interesting concepts and ideas. Some barely have life breathed into them before I'm moving on. Others cling to me and live in my head for years.

The point is, be on the hunt for interesting ideas, and let your imagination have room to run free. Don't get boxed into an idea in its infancy. Let it grow crazily, let it get wild, before you break out the pruning tools. You're human. Let your mind have fun. Let your imagination explode.

Coming up with a character/s

So when I'm thinking of a character to inhabit my crazy new concept, I tend to go for vibe before anything else. I ask myself things like:

What kind of character do I really want to play with? Good, bad, morally grey? Cool, morally grey it is.

What species do I want? A god, a human, some fantasy creature? Human.

What type of human? A fighter, or more cerebral? Both? How 'bout a strategist? Okay that works.

And I go from there. I basically build a vague construct before worrying about things like physical description, name, age, gender, sex, etc. Those come later, once I've got a vibe I find interesting for a main character. Then comes the fun part.

Bringing concept and character together

For this to work, I've gotta figure out how these two elements to interact. To do that, I ask myself a whole bunch of questions.

How does my shiny new character fit in this world? Are they a grand figure or are they a nobody? What do I want them to do? What challenge would be interesting to watch them overcome? What can only they do? Why should my audience care about this random little guy?

This is normally where plot comes to me in fits and bursts, and once I have an idea on the overarching aspects, I start hammering out the finer details. This is where I really let my imagination out to play. I go wild, spinning off in multiple different directions, chewing on ideas and concepts and finding what works best for me.

Here you can also start developing things like other characters, relationships, dynamics, worldbuilding (e.g., currency, religion, factions, hierarchy, magic, science, how the bloody postal system works, etc.).

An example (through a conversation I regularly have with myself)

So, here's an example of an idea I've been playing with the last week.

Coming up with a concept

Okay! I've been inspired by the Old Guard, so I want to explore immortality and the idea of humanity and what life actually means. But how do I make this concept even cooler? What would make being immortal hard to conceal in a modern world?

How about instead of a modern world it's a futuristic society where everything is captured on some form of phone / camera / recording - and that makes dying and coming back to life extremely difficult to get away with. Where it's getting harder and harder to be able to cover their tracks, where falling through the cracks of society is damn near impossible with instant identification and other such measures.

Nice, nice. What else? How does the immortality work?

From the moment of their first death, the person now has increased healing and cannot age; though they can physically change (i.e., gain or lose weight and muscles, grow their hair and whatnot). Injuries heal at a rate relative to the seriousness of it - even amputations.

How does amputation work though? What if they lose their head? Does a new body grow or does the body grow a new head?

I'll have to iron this out but maybe it depends on the largest body piece? So the body would regrow the head, but if the body was completely blown apart, then whatever piece was biggest would become the 'main' one that the rest of the body would regenerate from?

What causes the immortality?

(I have an idea but wanna keep it a secret for now 😉)

So how does this world work then? It's futuristic - but how futuristic?

I'm thinking we've just achieved space travel. There's a colony on the moon and one being developed on Mars. We're spacefaring but it's not quite to the level of say, Star Wars or Star Trek. No aliens yet either! We've also got rudimentary robots running around, but they're machines more than fully autonomous. Basically, it's that time just before a massive technological leap in human history. We're on the verge of realising a lot of 'sci-fi' technologies.

Coming up with characters

Who are our main characters?

I was thinking of using Helen of Troy, since she's a mythological / historical figure that I've always found really interesting! So instead of her dying way back in the day, she actually became immortal during the Trojan War and has been enduring through the last 3500ish years as best she can.

The other main character I was planning on focussing the story around was Aethiolas - Helen's (disputed) son and former Prince of Sparta. I thought it'd be cool to explore an immortal mother and son dynamic, where almost 4000 years of sorrow and bitterness have tangled their relationship into something complex and...heartbreaking.

So what are they both like?

Helen has turned towards pacifism, whereas Aethiolas is and always will be a warrior. Helen is a leader - usually calm and collected and capable of commanding respect. Aethiolas, for the longest time, acted as her second in command and is quite a confident person. While Helen might long for the past, Aethiolas looks to the future with excitement and fascination.

Helen's group have become more observers, whereas Aethiolas takes an active role in shaping history - joining causes that speak to him and seeking to bring positive change into the world.

Aethiolas is viewed as reckless and dangerous to their way of life, killing humans who threaten him without hesitation; whereas he views his mother and the others as too rigid and afraid of change, and far too morally righteous and superior. A common argument between them would include lines like -- "Just because we can't die, mother, doesn't mean we should allow ourselves to be killed."

Helen views their immortality as a punishment. Aethiolas views it as a gift. But there is still love and loyalty between them. Despite everything, Helen is Aethiolas' mother, and he cares for her. And she for him.

Bringing concept and character together

How do these characters fit in with the world now?

Well, Helen is in charge of their group of immortals; whereas Aethiolas has become more of a 'lone wolf'. While he and his mother have had a falling out, and they fundamentally disagree on the use of violence and interacting with the world, Aethiolas still acts as the group's sword and shield. He doesn't live with them but he protects them from threats and they rely on him when issues crop up that do require swift action. There's some hypocrisy there, and it is one of the major points of conflict between them.

The story would likely kick off with several new immortals being born - and in a rather public and difficult to cover up manner. This has the risk of dragging all of the immortals into the spotlight, and prompts them to have to quickly decide whether living in the shadows is even possible any more.

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

This became very long and rambling, but this is essentially how I create ideas from scratch. I'm super tired atm so it might not be super coherent! But if anything particular jumps out at you or you want me to focus in on something, please let me know!

[goodbysunball]

August 2024: Habitual socialite

Another delay-ridden post, this one gestating for about a month now, or at least mid-July's when I took the picture above.

Lucky for you there's a fix: Doug Mosurock, formerly of @still-single, is back up and running reviews at Heathen Disco. Doug's the real deal, an obvious influence on this withering Tumblr blog, and his short/sweet review digest, delivered once or twice a week, is well worth a (free, for now) subscription. The onslaught of reviews have hipped me to that CHBB reissue, and I'm sure there'll be a bunch more.

Onto the records, heavy on the punk and hardcore this round ---

Bad Breeding, Contempt LP (Iron Lung/One Little Independent)

Bad Breeding are back to crash your dinner party, armed with exhaustive pamphlets and not letting up on arguments about housing crises well past the point of decor. They have been singularly adept at cataloging the damaged, bleak, backwards, corrupt and blind state of the world, and have done so across a set of blistering LPs and their accompanying essays. Exiled is still my favorite, but I thought the band stumbled a bit on the follow-up Human Capital. The long tracks on Human Capital feel every bit their length, but listening back today, I think "Joyride," "Arc Eye" and "Straw Man" buoy the album with ease around the title track and "Rebuilding." Contempt could be considered a much sharper version of Human Capital, ripe with feedback, near-metal riffing and righteous fury as before, but still extending track lengths with mixed results. The best part of the album, and maybe of Bad Breeding's discography to date, is "Liberty" into "Discipline": the former cold-worked into a frenzied noise over two pummeling minutes, and the latter doing the most with drums, feedback and barked vocals, fighting desperately against being swallowed whole. While they don't touch that peak again on the album (and not many could), "Temple of Victory" and "Vacant Paradise" are furious pounding tracks that, when isolated from the album, pack some real heat. Over the course of the record, the band's relentless sound can wipe out distinctions between tracks, or worse, as on the second half of "Guilded Cage / Sanctuary," drag the momentum to a complete halt. Those minor quibbles shouldn't deface what is an album full of the mid-tempo, bass-heavy, feedback-laden hardcore I'd prefer to hear, and in any case "Guilded Cage" fuckin' smokes. I'd take an album full of "Survival"s or "Retribution"s if it meant more punks railing against the systems in place as Bad Breeding so fervently advocates, rather than against like-minded (or not) peers. Maybe Contempt is asking too much of the discerning public, or maybe the earnestness is a turnoff, because the record can feel easy to dismiss as too reflective of what we can read about or experience without much effort every day. But there remains a fire within the record that feels vital, even if it's not the soundworld I want to enter every day. I think it's one of the best records of the year, not because it has to be, but because the band clawed and teared their way there, producing a ferocious album/package that digs deeply into the late-stage capitalist system we all suffer from. Contempt's not the solution, but it might well inspire it.

Klonns, Heaven LP (Iron Lung/Black Hole)

The most recent Deep Voices post had an interesting dive into perfection vs. originality in music, and Heaven is swinging for perfection in a genre more often satisfied with filth and murk. Here's a rare hardcore record that sounds polished, barely smudged with experimental touches on the edges, and emerging fully formed and fun as hell. Now labeling their sound "The new wave of Japanese hardcore," Klonns are near-bulletproof across Heaven, so much so that I somehow don't mind when they pull out a "GO!" vocal command every track. Gruff, raspy but still intelligible vocals sit comfortably on top of near-metallic riffs and drums that flash just enough to make sure you keep a distance. The resulting sound is roomy and comfortable, like an old hoodie, but with the sleeves cut off and reeking of VFW hall floors. I'll point you straight to "Beherit"/"Realm," the breakdown on the former serving as a primer for the guest vocals of Sailor Kannako ripping apart the end of the latter. The bruising riff at the end of "Nemesis" or the finale to "Replica" sound like a finely honed point rather than emulation: this is a band focused on what makes hardcore vital to them and executing it nearly flawlessly. The electronic intro/outro portions are nice touches to bookend an LP's worth of evidence of what a supportive punk scene can produce when everyone's aimed in the same direction. Sick and wildly unpretentious LP, beautifully packaged and bursting at the seams with music that begs to be experienced live. Maybe someday, but for now, this'll do.

Osbo, s/t 7" (Blow Blood)

A "gritty, modern classic of a hardcore record" you say? I'm as numb to label write-ups for their own records as anyone at this point but that's still a bold gambit to throw down, along with the Cold Sweat RIYL, but Blow Blood rules so here I am. I don't really think many have come close to Blinded except for that way under-appreciated Pious Faults LP, but the sound and attitude on Osbo earn that Cold Sweat comparison. I'll leave it to the real hardcore scholars as to the rest. The band previously released a demo back in the first wave of the Covid pandemic, which I am forgiving myself for missing, but might have to cop after hearing this EP. The vocalist is what sells it here, going full ugly for the duration, the kind of hardcore that would've lit up message boards back in the mutated reign of bands like Twin Stumps or Mayyors. Still works today, especially as a companion to that Bad Breeding LP, feral and ugly hardcore sagging under its own weight, probably causing the rooms they play in to sway like a ship in rough waters. I think "Say It to My Face" is the best track here, but it's hard to deny the nearly side-long "Time," a plodding, abrasive four-plus minutes that basically serves as a perfect showcase for the band's strengths: bass up front, uncomfortably ringing guitar, and the finest "AUGHHHH" I've heard in a minute. That track's worth the price of admission alone, and the artwork/design is aces, too. One hundo copies only, so go scoop yours from Sorry State (they still have the demo tape, too) posthaste.

Shop Regulars, s/t LP (Merrie Melodies)

Another fine recommendation from Matt K.'s Yellow Green Red here, the debut LP of Shop Regulars after a handful of limited, self-released cassettes that you or I will assuredly not own. That's just as well, because the LP's got plenty to unpack. The band sounds like prime Julian Casablancas fronting Horse Lords (or whatever rigidly asymmetric rock band you'd like) covering the Fall, all disjointed rhythms and knotty guitars paving a path for the most unbothered vocals. You'd be forgiven if you're conjuring visions of bands like Dirty Projectors or other lauded indie bands that felt like homework to listen to from that ill-fitting descriptor, but it gives twice what it takes and even tiptoes into spine-tingling on the 11+ minutes of "Emerson Run Down." The two guitars calling back-and-forth in the middle of that track gets me every time, even though you know where it's going, and it sounds like the rest of the band falls into place in real time and thankfully captures it all on tape. The whole record has this loose-but-tight feel, which in the wrong hands can feel very annoying, but here it's anchored by the performances of the patient vocalist and the drummer ready to fill any available void. Doesn't mean the drummer has to work overtime: the restraint on "7 Winds," which utilizes repetition like The Double, chases the spiraling cut-short guitar riff ad nauseam. There is a bed of real feeling here, not the robotic core that bands trafficking in uncomfortable time signatures, repetition and overlapping movements often do. It all makes Shop Regulars surprisingly durable, even helping me maintain a cool head in unbearable traffic earlier this week. Somehow a portion of the 200 copies are still readily available from the link above, but I can't imagine that'll be the case for long.

Sin Tax, Abnegation 7" (Miracle Cortex)

To the point: here's a 7" record packed with hardcore played at the pace of grindcore, draped in the sneering, smoldering frenzy of first-LP Kriegshög. Sin Tax have dropped my favorite 7" since Healer's Resurgence EP a few years ago, taking the torch of Straightjacket Nation and driving straight toward Valhalla. The vocals take a page out of DX's book, which I'm guessing most don't do because of health or safety concerns, and the band cuts all fat and likely into some blood vessels in service of making this as lean and feral as possible. Only "Dog Eat Dog" lets you come up for air, but good luck getting past all the flailing arms, let alone the razor-wire riff of the title track on the first side. Flattened me the first time and now probably the twentieth time I've listened to it; shouldn't be surprised given as it's from the label that released that under-the-radar Execution 7". Still available from the label for about $20 shipped to the U.S., and I'm available to tell you how dumb it is to spend that money elsewhere. "YOU ALREADY PAY."

[oswaldsleftbicep]

Hi!

I just saw that you have 0 requests, so imma give you one:)

How do you think would the boys insta profiles look like? Like their posts oder their stories..

You can show it with pictures like you did at that other request.. if it is easier for you;) Greetings

the boys and their insta profiles!

the way i ran to pinterest as soon as i read this ask-

i decided to go with instagram since that's the social platform i use most, also i have officially decided that the brothers' last name is morningstar lol

all images found on pinterest!

genre: other

cw: mature themes in ricardo's, language

❧ he's basically a social media influencer

❧ he posts about the places he travels to and the shenanigans he gets up to with his friends

❧ on his stories he'll post his friends' content, little updates, and any memes he finds funny

❧ he'll also boost any social movements/local efforts, uses his platform for good

❧ wanted to make a dark academia aesthetic page but that was too much effort

❧ also thought about doing a book review page, but that was also too much work

❧ ended up getting a lot of attention from lucia's fans who comment on his posts thinking it'll get lucia's attention?? so levy has the word "lucia" banned from his comments lmao

❧ his stories are full of historical content, and he absolutely follows a "this day in history" type page

❧ most people think his page is some sort of arg, cryptic mystery

❧ his followers have tried to reverse image search his post, thinking it's ai or from a video game, but it's completely original and taken by mefy

❧ where is this place? why did he take it? why does the caption only say "time is running out"? why is he verified??

❧ added to the mystery is the fact that the year on the post is years before instagram was launched mefy hacked the app to do that, he just likes fucking with people

❧ had kurt help him set up his account lol

❧ all of his captions are complete sentences, it's very old man of him

❧ posts mainly about nature and his garden, and he'll show off anything that kurt makes him

❧ on his story he'll post inspirational quotes

❧ only has this account to keep an eye on lucia and kurt

❧ he also follows levy, mefy, and oswald

❧ mefy doesn't follow him back

❧ doesn't intend to post anything ever, he just doesn't see the point

❧ goes live a lot to do readings and horoscopes once a week

❧ keeps his regular posts to a minimum, but posts a lot on his story about space, nature, and astrology

❧ lowkey the only reason why he's got so many followers is because lucia beefs about him a lot on his page

❧ now there's a whole team lucia vs team mikael feud going on in their mini fandom

❧ lemme hear you say thirst traps!!

❧ the only reason he's so famous is because he's hot and an asshole

❧ every now and then he'll post his gun and if it gets taken down within a week, he'll let a random follower choose his next tattoo

❧ he's technically also a social media influencer, but for all the wrong reasons

❧ the link in his bio leads to his other socials, paypal/venmo, and an only fans

❧ ricardo lowkey talked him into getting an account so he can cyberbully him

❧ doesn't know what he's doing; looked up "profile pictures" and picked the first one he found amusing

❧ same thing with his singular post, and the caption is simply "this is funny"

❧ his followers are mikael, ricardo, oswald, and lucas, whom he follows all back as well as a cat meme page

❧ another influencer who got famous for his pretty boy aesthetic and howl pendragon vibes

❧ none of his followers know his location, and they cannot for the life of them figure it out; it's similar to mefy's page where all his posts are completely original, but nobody knows where they were taken

❧ also uses his platform for good, and the link in his bio leads to a bunch of activism resources and articles

❧ this is his main page, just a bunch of middle school shenanigans

❧ has a spam account that's really popular at his school; it's basically a school meme page with regular memes sprinkled in

❧ he also secretly runs his school's shoot your shot page

❧ complaints about his job on his story but always forgets that kaim follows him lmao

[yukidragon]

I always wonder about the time-line in mafia au with Bo and Jack

I know in aphrodesia they have cellphones but what about the mafia au?

What year do you think it is?

I think the year itself is meant to be ambiguous for Aprhodesia, as well as the other series by SnaccPop Studios. That's likely why we don't get exact ages for the male leads in their bios, and only Jack is given a birth year due to the year of his death playing an important part of the story.

I'll admit I don't know a lot about the lore of Aphrodesia yet, but I do know it definitely takes place in an alternate version of Earth. There's a lot of fantastical and sci-fi elements, including robots and angels becoming crime bosses in the city of St. Valen's. I don't think it's meant to really reflect our Earth's timeline, but instead be its own thing based off aesthetics, kind of like fantasy worlds tend to be based off of medieval aesthetics.

In that spirit, I don't bother trying to give the Mafia AU an actual year. This is an alternate Earth, with alternate events that mean the timeline as we know it on our world no longer really applies.

I mean, the clothing that Bo and Jack wear in the original piece of art Sauce made that started this AU is pretty timeless, in my opinion.

Isn't it so nifty? Full credit to Sauce as always for their stunning art and being cool with me using them in my rambles. In the spirit of supporting them and the rest of the team who makes such awesome visuals and ideas for us to play with, why not consider joining the SnaccPop Studios patreon? There's a whole bunch of artwork there that you can only see by joining.

Remember, don't share anything privately posted on the patreon. Doing that only hurts the team. Instead, just encourage others to sign up as well, or just spread word about these fun games and audio dramas they're making.

Anyway, this picture, as I recall, was inspired by this comic drawn by Rain over on twitter. As you can see, it's a different sort of crossover, but it has the same vibe of the Mafia AU.

Sauce then did something of a genre swap with their characters. Here we have Jack and Bo as a crime boss and wise guy respectively in an Aphrodesia-esque setting. This picture's sister image was Jambee wearing a kids-show appropriate thief costume, complete with a black and white striped shirt and domino mask, as if he was an antagonist character to the SunnyTime Crew.

While this AU is a crossover between Something's Wrong with Sunny Day Jack, DachaBo, and Aphrodesia, I don't worry too much about sticking close to whatever timeline any of the three actually have, or their original continuities. This crossover is about being inspired by some stylish art and letting whatever urge feels fun to me when it comes to pulpy mafia crime drama indulgence, with a nice splash of sci-fi and fantasy elements thrown on top.

As such, the timeline itself isn't all that set in stone yet. Even the original ramble's timeline of events when it comes to Alice's influence on the world isn't completely solid, as expanding the King family's lore changed some things in this follow up post. This universe, as well as its timeline, is very much a work in progress.

Also it's an excuse to have Jack be touch starved and need to have very intimate (and especially spicy) contact with his sunshine as often as possible.

In essence, the year is modern day, only modern day in this world isn't the same as our world. We have cell phones, computers, and the internet, but also some classy retro-style aesthetics for clubs and the like. Or at least that's how it is in my version of this AU. Others might take it a different way.

On that note, why don't I give a shout out to some of my fellow artists who have also played with this particular crossover?

Glassy Shards over on twitter has a really cool take on this AU, giving Bo this creepy "glitch" ability that allows him to no clip through realities. Her take on Bo is pretty creepy and intense, as you can see in this delightful art here and here.

Fun fact: it was actually Glassy's audio dramas that made me inclined to have Bo be more promiscuous, violent, and rebellious in my version of the Mafia AU. The audio dramas are really well done, which makes sense considering she was Bo's original VA. I suggest giving them a listen here, here, and here if you want to hear Bo be a very scary alpha on the hunt.

Lilith Rose on twitter made a fun comic, which really pops in her colorful and distinct art style. It's just another day in the city of St. Valens with some goons getting pummeled, and Bo falling for his puppy. Check it out here, here, here, here, here, and here. Oh, and a cute piece of art that isn't part of the comic, but Bo in suspenders and Lilith in a dancer outfit are just so cute.

CheriiHoney on twitter and here on tumblr also has an adorable comic for this crossover. Jack is lovestruck, and Bo is just dumbstruck. There's also this very delightfully spicy follow up picture of Jack being so yandere for his sunshine and Bo is still annoyed by his boss, hahaha.

I'm sure there's plenty more takes on this crossover out there. If you have any favorites I missed, feel free to tell me in a reblog. Also, consider checking out these awesome artists and leaving a kind word or two. It was Cherii's birthday yesterday, so you could also consider giving her a belated happy birthday as well.

One thing that always tickles me about this AU is how much we've inspired one another when adding to it. It's almost like a community project. Rain inspired Sauce who inspired so many others. We're paying it forward artistically, which is why I wanted to shout out so many of my fellow artists in this post who have given me so much inspiration. You're all awesome. Keep on creating. 💖

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps

[opinated-user]

transcript of the clip LO posted: "some make the argument that star was meant to be this way because it's inspired by anime, but that's a statement that need qualifying. which anime? well, sailor moon obviously. but that sentiment is found on any of the other shows. anime is a pretty wide medium with many irons and many fires, but the phrase anime inspired always narrowed it in small niche and culturally embarassing side of it that even Japan doesn't like to be reminded of it" (source_not_found) "when someone says anime inspired they never say that they were inspired by hello kitty or hamtaro or that silly one where everyone is sharply dressed and ridiculously buffer" (an image of Jojo Adventures) "no, it's always this shit that no one in their right mind would be caught with."

the last part of the clip shows this:

let me debunk this clip piece by piece. 1. you literally just said that SVTFOE is inspired by Sailor Moon, the anime that really popularized and cemented the magical girl genre for the public. although it wasn't the first one, it's the one everyone immediately associate whenever "magical girl" it's mentioned. to say that SVTOFE is inspired by Sailor Moon it's already saying that it has magical girl elements and many conventions of that genre baked into it. that's what it means. even the less knowlegeable people in anime will know what Sailor Moon is and if you tell them "this is inspired by Sailor Moon", they would know what it means. the fact that you insist that needs more "qualifying" and go on this completely incoherent rant talks more about your own ignorance than anything. "this show about a magical princess that comes from another dimension to earth in order to fight bad guys was inspired by this other show about another princess from another world that comes to earth to fight bad guys" is not a confusing statement at all, so i'm confused as to what you thought was necessary to "qualify" here? LO, when people say that your video are becoming worse because you lack structure and keep pulling words that don't end up connecting to any central idea, this clip is an example of what people mean. this whole rant was entirely unnecesary and it didn't help your point come across. any editor would have told you to either remove it entirely or worded it a lot different. by your response i can see that you think you were doing something there. i promise that you didn't.

2. LO, Japan is not embarassed by anime. i actually don't know from where you took that one. otakus were seen as embarassing because they were our equivalent of the incel stereotype that doesn't interact with people and lives indoors all day, but even that's changing. anime by itself was always part of the cultural expression of the country. they treat Evangelion like here in the west we treat Mickey Mouse, they plaster the images of those characters everywhere in the most populated areas. similar to how you have the "baby sister" you decided to romance in baldur's gate all over your tumblr, while trying to insist you don't have incestuous attraction to your younger sibling. but at least they don't do it to flaunt their incestuous attraction. you keep projecting this image of Japan being embarassed and annoyed by the existence of anime without any evidence or even an attempt to explain how that makes any sense. the anime industry is huge, it's one of the cultural products that Japan more profits with because they can export it to the rest of the world and the rest of the world wants more of it. in what planet does it make sense that they would be "embarassed" by something like that? 3. do you want to know why nobody ever says that something was inspired by hello kitty or hamtaro, LO? that's because Hello Kitty doesn't have an actual story. it's an cutesy aesthetic around a bunch of cute characters that a company made in order to sell cute merchandize. there was to my knowledge only one show made with Hello Kitty, but i believe none of that had anything to do with the official canon of the character. if you think about it, Hello Kitty is kinda like Barbie. it's a recognizable icon completely by itself. there can be stories made with it, but Hello Kitty will never go through a character development moment and will never change. she will always be just a cute kitty, just like Barbie can be whatever is the most convenient for Mattell in any given moment. as to Hamtaron, it was just a slice of life anime about cute animals. it was cute, indeed. but it didn't do anything new that thousands of other people weren't doing after or before with their own spins on it. here, a list of anime/manga that were exactly the same as Hamtaro without being directly inspired by it because nobody really invented the "slice of life story through the perspective of a pet" genre. it took me one google search to find, there's more if you want to see. if you're so desperate for more content "like Hamtaro" it was always that easy to find. ... more so, again, what does this have to do with SVTFOE or literally any other show that isn't about cute animals being cute? about Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and nobody ever was inspired by it in the west... you have to be joking with that one.

here are videogames inspired by JJBA: https://www.thegamer.com/best-jojos-bizarre-adventure-video-game-references/#bayonetta

other manga and anime it inspired: https://www.cbr.com/jojo-bizarre-adventure-anime-manga-inspirations/

shows in the west that it inspired/have direct references to JJBA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHhNUVtozKY one of the shows mentioned is Monkey Kid, which her wife watches. do you know why you don't hear that something wasn't inspired by this, LO? because nothing of the shows you watch had anything that could be inspired by JJBA or you wouldn't even understand the reference in the first place. one of the other shows that also had references was Amphibia... which LO refused to see because *checks notes* it had a plot.

4. the two things i circled in red are not even anime. they're games. the one with two girls hugging and looking up with fear is Rape Lay, a infamous game about raping underaged girls and their mother until you get them pregnant and they either kill you or you force them to have babies. the other one is Doki Doki Majo Shipan, a game whose main objective is that you have to undress and touch the bodies of different characters in order to find a "witch mark". many of those characters are underaged, but a few are adults and you play as a highscholer so it's still not better.

i just want to ask the following. why did you bring two games, two infamous games about touching or raping underaged bodies for that matter, when talking about SVTFOE at all? just why? what was the thought process here? how does this make your point any more clearer? how it does examplify better that "anime inspired" is bad when you don't even show anime and is instead games? anyone should seriously question why you brought this games up at all when talking about a show that was made by Disney. a show about a underaged magical princess of another world. why did your mind ever went to those games when talking about this? you just exposed, with no warning mind you, a bunch of your audience to these games to discover by themselves. you did that. and that was bad and you should feel bad about it.