#it's just the meme of it all between me and my friends plus honestly the music isn't bad it's just... soft jazz jgfdkg

[shabby-alonso]

but do i spend nearly 20$ in shipping for an LP from the local artist whose kid i went to high school with, much to consider

[harrowharkwife]

for the character meme: dulcie or cam or pal or a character of ur choosing!!! hehe

!!!!! ty lem!! im gonna do my girl dulcie...

favorite thing about them: honestly just the way she's written- it never fails to make me emotional that she *is* explicitly written as being brave and strong, but tamsyn neatly sidesteps the "inspiration porn" ableist stereotype of writing a character as being brave/strong *because* they are sick. dulcie isn't brave or strong because of her illness. her strength and bravery are explicitly positioned, IMO, as being in response to surviving *ableism* and other people's condescension towards her and mistreatment of her, rather than surviving her illness itself, if that makes sense. her health is just a fact of her life, it's not moralized. which i really, really appreciate. it's a small shift, but it's very meaningful to me.

ALSO deeply special to me: her intentional and careful commitment to boundaries re: The Palamedes Of It All. a refreshing change of pace, as far as these books go vgjtjxdjt

least favorite thing about them: i mean. houser. :/

favorite line: three way tie between "truly, wonderful news for my haters," "i am sick of roses and horny for revenge," and "oops, there i go again, never doing what i'm told"

brOTP: gideon!!!!! i think it's a crying shame they've never met. i think they'd get along tremendously. the whole cytherea gideon thing was Horrid and Awful in so many ways, but it always Extra stings (in an adding-insult-to-injury sort of way) when i think about what it would have been like if gideon had REALLY met dulcinea, and not cyth. dulcie would've been a great friend for her, i think. they'd have been so good at making each other laugh

OTP: honestly these days it's cam? @ palamedes ily but get outta here gayboy it's yuri time now. plus i just love chewing on the concept of cam + comphet, and cam + subconscious internalized misogyny, and cam + gender, and cam + her relationships and interactions with other women. i think there's lots to explore there. camdulcie has a certain "when i was eight i didn't realize i had a crush on the new girl in my grade so i just wrote her a note that said 'get out of my school'" energy about it, To Me

nOTP: idk if i really have one for her, specifically? idk. ianthe or something, fuck it.

random headcanon: stoner. on all levels except physical she is taking fuckall huge bong rips. on the physical level though her lungs suck so i think she'd be a tincture girlie. she's got chronic pain she deserves it. am i projecting? you tell me

unpopular opinion: idk if this is an unpopular opinion exactly, but i always see people referring to thee rejected proposal as being something born primarily out of love/out of romantic intent? and i don't know if that's necessarily how i see it. it was CERTAINLY, and obviously, a factor. but at least from my interpretation of pal's monologue to cytherea at the end there, i get the sense that he had already accepted her boundaries in that regard, because he says he "understood that he was a child." and we also get camilla saying that his motivations in proposing were primarily a means-to-an-end way of getting her off the seventh and letting her die with dignity. iirc her exact words were like "so she could spend what time she had left with people who cared about her." like, don't get me wrong, i think pal is lying to himself if he says that being in love with dulcie wasn't PART of the motivation there. but i find it a lot more interesting in a worldbuilding and social commentary way to interpret the circumstances there as him offering, essentially, to be a hospice doctor at age 19, and marriage being the 'easiest' way to get her off the seventh/planet medical malpractice. there's an imperial misogyny ownership-through-marriage throughline there that's nauseating, as well as the implications re: disability and agency and autonomy, and i think that's all very interesting to explore. i think this view is supported in part by the paldulcie interaction in TUG, where she alludes to the idea that she was cognizant about the impact that bearing witness to death and loss up-close and personal like that changes a person, and that she didn't want to do that to pal and cam, especially given their age. i think it informa dulcie's character and grants her additional narrative agency to look at things from that angle, of her "no" being in reference to *both* the age gap AND her intentional choice to continue suffering on the seventh, rather than put two kids through being hospice caregivers and/or widowers at nineteen– no matter how many times and how sincerely they kept offering, no matter that she would've absolutely had a more peaceful and comfortable end-of-life HAD she accepted his proposal and gone to the sixth to die. i think it says a lot about her as a person, that choice. there's a quiet and meaningful responsibility to her as a person that i find fascinating. and her character is just sooooo firmly rooted in and informed by disability politics, on every level, and i feel like people don't engage with that aspect of her characterization enough!

song i associate with them: ooooh SO many, i have a whole playlist. but i think the biggest ones are

-the drama by kesha ("friday night, get too high, keep checking my pulse, am i dead yet?" / "in the next life i wanna come back, as a housecat as a housecat! i'd sleep and play in the sun, i'd be a fuckin' cute son of a gun!")

-avant gardener by courtney barnett (the whole song really, but especially the lines "the paramedic thinks i'm clever cause i play guitar, i think she's clever cause she stops people dyin'," and "i take a hit off an asthma puffer, i do it wrong, i was never good at smokin' bongs." i just think she'd love this song.)

-honorable mentions include stoned at the nail salon by lorde, life according to raechel by madison cunningham, rose-colored boy by paramore (@ palamedes, lmfao), picture me better by weyes blood, extraordinary machine by fiona apple, rubberband girl by kate bush, last words of a shooting star by mitski.

favorite picture of them: oh man well it obviously has to be my icon... art made for me by the lovely @franzias-cave !!!! based on the concept of "the woman is dying, please do her the decency of allowing her to look the part in fanart." my girl... she's a malign fairy, she's a hot-eyed wraith <3

ty lem this was so fun! i love my gworl :')

[azumasoroshi]

minidura chapter 9 react

COLOR PAGE????

COLOR PAGE!!!!

since when did shinra have blue eyes though

actually i just looked up images of him but what fucking color are those?? blue?? gray?? brown??

shinra is benedict cumberbatch i guess

also shinra beating izaya at cards (and especially poker) is hilarious i need more of that

shinra please tell shizaya to kiss. do it for me

THIS IS SO CUTE AHHHHHHHHH

shizuo and izaya agreeing with each other when it comes to preventing shinra from straight up killing them lets go!!!! plus shizuo asking if shinra cheated because izaya lost ashdkgjsdkjghdssd

izaya totally cheated and still lost he's so pathetic <33333

the way he says "then" after that though like. he was actually considering dissection and money laundering PFFF

yes eat lunch together i promise it wont go horribly wrong

they've really never done this in canon though?? maybe i just read too much fanfiction about it

oh i guess they definitely havent done it before 😭

maybe this is a start. maybe they do it every day after this

izaya's cat face is so cute rhfhrgjhhjgh

only shizuo and izaya would be so baffled at the idea of eating lunch together help

like if these were ANY other people they'd be like oh sure why not! not these losers

watch the entire chapter just be them stalling help

THEY FINISH EACH OTHERS SENTENCES!! married couple behavior fr fr (<-delusional)

they havent argued once in this chapter yet so im taking everything i can get ok

the only things that will get shizaya to be on the same wavelength are eating simon's food and being afraid of shinra

THEY'RE SO CUTE!! the holy trio of malewives

i choose to believe that was both of them saying 'shinra shut up'

meals for the family man because they're going to start a family together (<-delusional but like. more than usual)

i sense a food fight incoming

oh yeah this is going on my twitter banner

cant believe we have two whole chapters of shizaya cooking together in the minidura manga. out of ten chapters. probably representative of how the mangaka was cooking fr

SOMEONE REPLACE THIS WITH THE GAY GAY HOMOSEXUAL GAY MEME RIGHT NOW

izaya would be the one out of the two of them to make moe anime girl noises (my entire friend group)

honestly how has shinra not gone insane from dealing with these two for the entirety of high school

scratch that he is insane my bad

it's like herding cats, not because they keep going in opposite directions, but because they keep fighting

of course they disagree on food tastes too. someone's leaving this kitchen with a broken spine

ive just stopped screenshotting and started posting entire pages because everything is gold

"are you that confident in your tongue" i bet you ten bucks that i could find that line in a shizaya smut fanfiction in less than 20 minutes

at least shinra's having fun

married couple behavior for sure. who doesnt bicker while cooking together

oops

shizuo would be good at cooking if izaya wasn't provoking him 😭maybe. idk the milk drinker genes might hinder him actually

for a moment there i thought they were going to have no food at all bgkjgsjsgdk

izaya and shizuo look so cute in the back thoughhhh look at themmm

shinra. shinra why would you say that they're going to kill each other. shinra. SHINRA

oh nvm i guess they were too tired to argue 😭being in forced proximity for this long is literally harder than chasing each other

wait whats that psychology term for it again. group. something. group goal SUBORDINATE GOAL thats it. a goal given to two opposing groups that forces them to cooperate and will usually eventually make them like each other more (it has never worked for shizaya. see the simon chapter) (also excuse the psychology terminology i have my final test in a month or so and this is the only way i can force myself to study)

so cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeee

shinra sitting between them pfft

izaya's cat face actually kills me every time

either the food is amazing or the food is dogshit and i dont know which one would be funnier

LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOO

ok thats better than either of those options

this chapter has literally just been shizuo and izaya Going Through It

"everyone should get along like me and celty" is he saying shizaya should date. yes he is because i said so

also izaya moving even further away from shinra LMFAO he'd rather be in hitting range of shizuo than have to deal with shinra's celty shpeal

there's so many good reaction pictures with shizaya this chapter ill definitely be cutting them out to make into a banner at some point

im convinced this serves as a precious memory for both of them even if they dont realize it >:)

99999/10 chapter i enjoyed every second of it

[monigeko]

What Cellbit wrote/read at the end of stream 5/25 English translations

Court is on Wednesday, 5/24. Cucurucho has no interest in creative blocks and revealed this when he didn't even think twice about Bobby's negotiation.

He won't accept giving the blocks for the armor, and any information we try to extract in exchange for the blocks will be processed and mitigated in a way that means nothing to us.

But if we have a new surprise, which even our side expects, maybe things will change. Cucurucho made a mistake in the midst of chaos and bullshit. Maybe that's the secret.

The plan is to try to use Forever's rule breaking as a bargaining chip to create a direct conflict between FOREVER and EU, surprising both Forever and Cucurucho in the negotiation, and asking for Richarlyson's paternity as a form of "betrayal", showing that I'm willing to join the Federation and I have no problem antagonizing my friends to protect Richariyson enca from sé para mico

But if we have a new surprise, which even our side expects, maybe things will change. Cucurucho made a mistake in the midst of chaos and bullshit. Maybe that's the secret.

The plan is to try to use Forever's rule breaking as a bargaining chip to create a direct conflict between FOREVER and EU, surprising both Forever and Cucurucho in the negotiation, and asking for Richarlyson's paternity as a form of "betrayal", showing that I'm willing to join the Federation and have no problem antagonizing my friends to protect Richarlyson and have him all to myself

Then the idea is to purposefully get away from everyone for a day, create something like a dark castle of evil away from everyone just to see the reaction of Cucurucho/Federation, the codes and any possible imposter among us.

If anyone decides to ally with me they can

be a possible suspect or someone who would not be trusted in the Order.

TUPDATE - DIA DO COURTS

Things went a little differently than planned, but the master plan worked out. Instead of being surprised by the betrayal during the court, I used as an excuse the fact that they lied to me and tried to blackmail me with the Vivo meme to make a scene.

I took the opportunity to change the defense attorney skin to the prosecutor skin to add to the drama

It's a plus point because it makes it seem like I genuinely have a motive/grudge towards my friends and lessens the Federation/Cucurucho's suspicion of mine

intentions, it didn't look like I betrayed them "out of the blue"

Considering that maybe the Federation watches the streams canonically to get the information, I think it was the best scam to do a whole narrative arc to have a big twist later.

As proof that the plan was not a lie, I left only a signed book for Richarlyson revealing the plan. and I didn't risk showing it on the stream.

It's still risky considering the Federation might have access to the egg items but it honestly broke my heart to see him so sad and disappointed. I hope I don't regret it.

I also blocked access to Sofia for others to see how Max reacts. I don't want to suspect him, but everything about her is very strange.

I will avoid mentioning its existence* to the Federation, and if they raise this matter, I will try to circumvent it.

IMPORTS

CODES

THE CODES attacked me shortly after I "joined the Federation.

A code made exclusively to kill me? He practically ignored Richarlyson. Strengthens the theory that codes kill teles that seek to keep others on the island.

WHEN THEY ATTACK

FINAL PLAN

With luck, the Federation will also wake me up in the hospital that Max woke up.

I will try to persuade as much as I can to acquire new information.

Continuing the conflict with the Qrdem' members and trying to please the other members of the island with explanations how I realized that the island's life and people are better than what I had before, and I don't want to lose that. They don't need to get involved in this.)

Using Richarlyson's courtroom event, where everyone will likely be present and watching, to reveal all the information I can get from the Federation in front of everyone.

So if they kill/arrest me I will become a martyr and everyone present will realize the truth about the Federation.

[darwinquark]

I just finished reading your fic 'those kind of friends' on AO3 and as someone who hasn't watched a single episode of Riverdale and literally only knows about these characters through memes, I just wanted to come here and say what the fuck. I am obsessed with the positively electric chemistry and complexity you've somehow injected into these two Riverdale characters?? I honestly don't remember the last time I got this consumed by a fic [let alone a het ship]. I literally only read it because my friend was nagging me about reading it for like a week straight and I wanted him to shut the fuck up, and now I too will be raving about it for a week straight. I have no idea what Jughead and Veronica are like in canon but I have a hard time believing a CW show captured even a tenth of the messy rawness and tension you gave them [not to mention the dialogue], so bravo on your talent. Super psyched there's a sequel because I'm nowhere near done getting my fix of these two.

the way I've been kind of moody all week and then see this? 😩

honestly, thank you so much for taking the time out to write this. genuinely made my day (week? month) - I feel like it's so easy to feel like a fic is kind of dead once you've finished it (or maybe that's me because I've never finished one before lololol) so seeing this just lit my writer brain tf up.

in terms of Jughead and Veronica, I don't know them that well in canon either lol but I do think the show gave them a super notable and weird distance (probably accidentally) that laid the groundwork for a lot of the tension jeronica writers build on, so I do think the CW show gets some credit! they had so many reasons to interact and develop a bond of their own in the main timeline but just never did, which is such a meaty dynamic to dive into because why, you know? what's the inanimate barrier between them? the show played it off like an absence of something, but all their parallels and shared interests made it feel more like a possible abundance of something that they were avoiding, and that's where it gets fun. plus, the poor boy/rich girl with rival families is an archetype that will always have built-in serve potential, so there's that.

in any case, this was a lovely message to come home to, thank you so much!

[ryttu3k]

The big writing year in review, plus AO3 Wrapped! Last year's is here.

January: 9,527 (Sweet Things: 6,777, An Interview: 2,750)

February: 4,383 (Sweet Things: 2,018, An Interview: 522, Karlach meets a bat: 1,843)

March: 4,111 (Sweet Things: 3,775, An Interview: 336)

April: 6,465 (Sweet Things: 6,465)

May: 11,293 (Sweet Things: 11,293)

June: 6,392 (Sweet Things: 6,392)

July: 11,812 (Sweet Things: 11,812)

August: 4,471 (Sweet Things: 3,753, The Librarian: 718)

September: 2,635 (The Librarian: 692, Many Meetings: 1,943)

October: 3,106 (Many Meetings: 2,164, Eyebite: 942)

November: 701 lol (Eyebite: 701)

December: 4,049 (Eyebite: 165, The Reason: 1,395, The Librarian: 2,489)

Total: 68,945

(Sweet Things: 17,465 written in 2023, 51,938 written this year; The Librarian: 21,707 written in 2023, 3,899 written this year.)

Current WIP lengths: The Librarian (25,606)

Fic/Writing Meme

1. Favourite fic you wrote this year

Sweet Things. So glad I finished it and it came out well!

2. Least favourite fic you wrote this year

*gives hard look at Eyebite*

3. Favourite line/scene you wrote this year

Honestly? All of chapter 11 of Sweet Things. It was dark as hell and had some stylistic screw (because it was both mid-ritual and also Astarion was both dissociating and also getting hit with A Lot of psychic damage) but I really enjoyed just… messing with the formatting.

…Also, Lae'zel's, "I would have been inevitable. You will have to try harder to avoid me" in Many Meetings.

4. Total number of words you wrote this year

Just shy of 69k lmao

5. Most popular fic this year

Going solely by kudos because it's hard judging oneshots versus multiparts by either hits or comments: An Interview, interestingly. In fairness, it was posted long before Sweet Things was done, but it has 309 kudos to Sweet Things' 244.

6. Least popular fic this year

Eyebite. *gives it another hard look*

7. Longest completed fic you wrote this year

Sweet Things by far, with 69,403 words. The next-longest was like, 4k XD

8. Shortest completed fic you wrote this year

The Reason was itty bitty, 1,395.

9. Longest WIP of the year 10. Shortest WIP of the year

The Librarian, which remains the only WIP by the end of the year.

11. Fandom you enjoyed writing for the most this year

I mean. Clearly it's BG3 XD

12. Favourite character to write about this year

*holds up Astarion by the scruff of the neck like a soggy cat*

13. Favourite writing song/artist/album of this year

GY!BE remains my favourite and most effective writing music.

14. A fic you didn't expect to write

I wasn't expecting to write something for Mononoke??? Given that I watched the series fourteen years ago and was not expecting the movie???

15. Something you learned this year

Even if you hate a fic, you still can get nice comments on it :)

16. Fic(s) you completed this year

See the monthly breakdown above! The completed ones are all linked.

17. Fics you'll continue next year

I will finish The Librarian it is happening it's just not happening. Like. This afternoon.

18. Current number of WIPs

One :o

19. Any new fics to start next year

The deities fic (five deities that never answered Astarion, and one who does). It got started off in that 'Karlach meets a bat' part, which is going to end up being one part of it.

20. Number of comments you haven't read

I read all of them :D

21. Most memorable comment/review

Friend went through and commented on every. chapter of my old Zelda fics. I'm kind of torn between "ancient sins!!" and rolling around having emotions that people are still reading and enjoying them.

22. Events you participated in this year

None this year!

23. Fics you wanted to write but didn't

*waves hand helplessly at The List*

24. Favourite fic you read this year 25. A fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read 26. Number of favourites/bookmarks you made this year 27. Favourite fanfic author of the year

*dumps the rec list at your feet*

28. Longest fic you read this year

Complete or incomplete? I think The Season is still longest, not actually sure for complete.

29. Shortest fic you read this year

Like. Some drabbles. Hard to get shorter!

30. Favourite fandom to read fic from this year

Astonishingly, BG3!

-

AO3 wrapped

Striking through for repeat questions.

1. How many words have you written this year?

2. How many works did you publish this year?

Five! All linked above.

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

4. What work of yours has the most hits?

Sweet Things, on 4,803. Which is fair because it's, you know, eighteen chapters long.

5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

An Interview. Apparently it was pretty popular!

6. Favourite title you used

I dislike the fic itself but 'Eyebite' is kind of a funky title, yeah?

7. If you use song lyrics, which artist's songs did you pull from the most?

Astonishingly, none this year!

8. Pairing you wrote the most for this year?

Wyllachstarion by virtue of Sweet Things being the longest thing I wrote.

9. Favourite pairing you wrote for this year?

Many Meetings threw in a bunch of new ones, so I got to try different ones like… Shadowlach and Lae'zel/Gale and stuff. Was fun!

10. What work was the quickest to write?

The Reason just happened.

11. What work took you the longest to write?

I started Sweet Things in October 2023 and finished in August 2024 lmao

12. How many WIPs do you have in your docs for next year?

The Librarian is getting finished!

What's your longest work of the year?

What's your shortest work of the year?

What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

16. What's your most common 'Additional Tags' tag?

'Traumatised Astarion' and 'Astarion's past abuse' both came up in Sweet Things and The Interview, and 'friendship' in Eyebite and Many Meetings.

17. Your favourite character to write this year?

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Gale. Eyebite took a Lot to get out XD;;

19. What's one pairing you want to explore next year?

The deities fic is Halstarion :D I wrote their friendship a bit in Sweet Things, looking forward to writing the actual ship!

20. Which work of yours have you reread the most?

Uh, I went over Sweet Things a lot in the editing process, I guess?

21. How many kudos in total did you get this year?

633!

22. Which work has the most comments?

Sweet Things has 84 comment threads (and 176 comments total). Again, in fairness, eighteen chapters.

23. Did you do any collaborative works this year? 24. Did you write any gifts this year?

Nope to both!

25. Did you receive any gifts this year?

Yes! Someone wrote a 'missing scene' fic for Memory of Younger Days! :D

26. What's your most common category?

Astonishingly, Gen!

What do you listen to while writing?

Favourite work you wrote this year?

Favourite line/passage you wrote this year?

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

It is entirely possible for November to be one's least productive month. lol. lmao even.

[checkoutmybookshelf]

How is Faerie Smut Not Its Own Genre at This Point???

Ok, I've been on a faerie kick again lately, and I have just finished reading ACOTAR with a friend because he had started it and noped out, but agreed to try it again with me because he's the best. Like Fourth Wing, this book is a white girl BookTok darling, which means that the hype around this books peaks at "THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN AAAAAAAAAAAAAA" and "THIS BOOK IS THE WORST THING EVER WRITTEN AAAAAAAAAAAAA."

Y'all...this book is fine. It's aggressively fine. I think it has pacing and plotting issues, and it is absolutely oversold in terms of spice, but I didn't hate it, and there were bits that were fun. I would not kick this book out of bed. (I might kick it out of my classroom if I was teaching, but that's a separate issue.) Let's talk A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Spoiler warning here, because this book and series has been memed to hell and back, and I do not feel like avoiding spoilers is necessary. So SPPOILERS BELOW THE BREAK. Consider yourself warned.

Ok, so first thing's first: I like a good faerie story. I like a good scary faerie. And I am a wee bit of a sucker for a sappy love story once in a while. ACOTAR has all three of those, so objectively this book was fun. It hit some good beats for me, and I was not objectively opposed to faerie smut. Faeries are very flexible, they work in a surprising number of contexts--not to mention that the jump from "my boyfriend is a monster" to "my boyfriend is a high fae lord" is less of a jump and more of a sideways step. So just on paper, ACOTAR wasn't a hard sell for me.

For those of you who have been following my reviews--specifically the Artemis Fowl ones--you'll be happy to hear that Amarantha has been added to the Hall of Unnecessarily Extra Lady Villains with Opal Koboi and Semihrage. I am HERE for Amarantha girlbossing her way to absolute power while wearing the eye and finger bone of the dude she brutally murdered on the way up. I'm also a fan of her TRULY EPIC tantrum once Feyre has murdered two faeries, attempted murdered Tamlin and solved the goddamn riddle at the LAST POSSIBLE SECOND.

(And no, I'm still not over my John Oliver pitching a fit over the solution to the Da Vinci Code being apple levels of fury about THAT...but I digress.)

Amarantha fully leans into toxic girlbossing and just has FUN with it, and I'm never not here for that.

I also appreciated the little tweak of the Aos Si tradition of fairy hills and fairy mounds and fairy barrows into being under the mountain. Like, yes, that mountain is fae as HELL and I'm here for it. That was a nice little addition to the lore, and there's something about having an entire mountain above their heads that made Amarantha's court feel even more oppressive. I'm not sure how it managed not to feel like Khazad Dum, but it didn't, which was excellent.

The other thing I really liked was that the faeries in this series had a very clear sense of danger to them. No candy floss Disney Fairies here, the high fae are DANGEROUS and you can really and truly be fucked if you aren't fully on your game and know all the rules PLUS have a doctorate in rules-lawyering immortal beings. And even then, you could miss something and end up horribly murdered. Between Amarantha, the Night Court in general, the Attor, the Suriel, and the bogge, there was plenty of ambient danger around for our little human protagonist out of her depth.

The problems with this book for me were the aforementioned pacing and plotting problems, and also the romance. Let's take these one by one.

I think it's pretty well known that the last hundred-odd pages of Sarah J Maas books are where the action is, and while that can work for books (it worked beautifully for To Shape a Dragon's Breath), I wasn't buying it for ACOTAR. Feyre's time at the Spring Court draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagged for me, and honestly I would have been happy with about a third of that timeframe. There was also some dragginess in the pacing under the mountain between the trials. A month between trials was just too long, and the time was not well-filled. A week. Just give it a week, you get the same bits between, and I'm not over here going "Why is this taking SO LONG??"

The pacing issues are at least a little exacerbated by the plotting issues. The first like...two-thirds of this book is a weird speedrun of a slow-burn Beauty and the Beast, except that Feyre isn't actually genre-savvy enough to KNOW that's what's happening, and the curse deadline actually passes (with everyone somehow blaming Feyre for this????) before anyone fills Feyre in on the fact that there was a curse in play at all. Then the last third of the book speedruns cursebreaking. Which was actually more interesting than "Feyre just kinda hangs out in a faerie castle for a few months," but very much felt like a completely different book.

Finally, we have the romance issues. And please, as y'all go into this, remember that I have a PhD in English and Film, and I have more life experience than your average 15-year-old who is inhaling this book. I am not the target demographic. Disclaimer out of the way...WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT???? Feyre spends more time with Lucien than Tamlin at the Spring Court, Lucien is the one who checks on her in her cell in under the mountain (yes, I know they explained it in the text, but it was a weak explanation and frankly, Tamlin could have TRIED), and then she spends a weird amount of time with Rhysand under the mountain, even if she doesn't remember most of it. She didn't have TIME to fall in love with Tamlin. I kind of hate to say this, but there was a huge sense of "You love the IDEA of him, sweetie" while I was reading. Not to mention that she kept flip-flopping on Tamlin while she was under the mountain. While he was physically in her line of sight she was all "I love this fae" but the second she's not looking at him, it's like he barely exists. Was this just an object permanence problem??? Like...Feyre, sweetie. I'm happy if you're happy, but you have not spent enough time with this man. You're just horny for the idea of him.

I also want to just...morally object to everyone BLAMING FEYRE for not knowing there was a curse? Like, even Belle knew that there was a curse in play, she was not expected to just...intuit that the Beast and castle were cursed. Like ten people told her about the curse. And I don't care that part of the curse was that nobody could tell Feyre, that did NOT serve the story.

The last weird thing I want to morally object to is everyone shaming Feyre for her illiteracy. Kids not having the opportunity to pursue education is a tragedy, but WE DO NOT SHAME THEM FOR IT. Feyre gets shit from EVERYONE about this, and the second trial hinging on an assumption that she can read just really hammered the "you are bad for not being able to read" home in the weirdest way. Just...What the hell???

All of that said, I want to reiterate that I would not kick this book out of bed. It has its problems, but I was indeed entertained--at least enough to finish the book. And full disclosure, my reading buddy and I are going to start ACOMAF next, so we're apparently hooked. And yes, you will eventually get a review of that one too!

[anistarrose]

📙

(ask meme: send me a 📙 and i'll explain the plot of a fic i haven't written but still daydream about!)

okay, so. a very particular TAZ Balance AU idea, which is near and dear to me, is also one that I may never write, because it would just be such an undertaking — due, in part, to it kind of being told in non-chronological fashion.

it starts with Lucretia's pov, immediately post-Phandalin, welcoming a group of new recruits to the Bureau. however, two very important things are different from canon: Julia is alive and with the boys, and Magnus has a very energetic, very clearly magical dog familiar.

and like. Lucretia's thrilled to finally meet Julia, even if she can't show it; that's not the problem. the dog (I'm thinking like, a biiig reddish-brown St. Bernard) is a surprise, for sure (Lucretia can't believe she missed the years Magnus finally started learning magic!), and the situation totally going to warrant some new fencing around the edge of the moon, but the dog itself, technically, is still not the biggest problem.

the problem is that when Lucretia tells them about the Grand Relics and Red Robes, Magnus is like "but... surely not everyone who wears a red robe is a Red Robe, right?" and then, only then, does everything click together for Lucretia.

because long story short, this is a "Magnus and Barry made a warlock pact as during the Stolen Century as a joke, and (ironically) both forgot about it until Magnus accidentally summoned a familiar decades later in Raven's Roost" AU!

after the initial reveal, we get a series of flashbacks jumping back and forward in time, slowly fleshing out details of how much Magnus knows, how much Julia knows, and just the general vibes of their relationship with Barry, plus, eventually, their relationship with a Lucretia who needs their help to gather the Relics, but is paranoid about Barry's influence at basically all times to great comical effect lmao. highlights include:

Magnus manifesting magical powers and getting visited in a dream by a scary ghost, except the ghost's voice sounds like Literally Just Some Guy and he explains, seemingly honestly and kind of sheepishly, that he doesn't know how to undo the warlock pact because they made it For The Bit when they were slightly drunk

Magnus trusts the Red Robe because he doesn't want to lose his new puppy friend; Julia trusts the Red Robe because once they meet in person, she decides he's too anxious to be an effectual evil mastermind

Barry helps out the Raven's Roost rebellion, scaring Kalen so shitless that he doesn't even try to bomb the support pillars and that's why Julia lives

Magnus knows his patron sometimes goes unresponsive for months at a time, but doesn't know why, just that he always warns him in advace and it's never forever

when Phandalin comes along, Magnus knows Alive-Barry is familiar but he absolutely cannot place it, and Alive-Barry is equally as confused, and as unhelpful as humanly possible

the main focus of this AU is on Magnus and Barry as found family, and Julia and Barry as found family by proxy, with of course Magnulia running in parallel — but my absolute favorite underutilized dynamic (Lucretia and Barry oscillating between being serious archnemeses versus just being siblings with a hilarious petty rivalry) is baked into the core of the whole premise, too

idk about the details but I like the idea of Magnus getting in big trouble with Kravitz and, much like Merle, losing a hand or a limb or something — which Barry angsts about a little bit, convinced that it was all his fault for dragging Magnus into this, but it turns out Julia is a super competent artificer and Magnus winds up really loving the prosthesis she rigs up for him

Barry does not change the "show up and monologue ominously to the Reclaimers" strategy at all but there's a lot more goofy banter with Magnus sprinkled in now

Lucretia is constantly paranoid that Barry is spying on her through the eyes of a dog (except she's correct, he absolutely is)

OH and Magnus was asked by his patron to keep an eye out for the Umbra Staff, so he recognizes it when Taako finds it in the vault (he asks if Barry wants him to steal it, but Barry is weirdly insistent that no, it should stay with Taako)...

and I want to say that it's still not an immediate realization, but he does therefore give Barry a head start on figuring out that mystery, and once he tells Barry what Angus told him about that time it burnt "LUP" in the wall, it also becomes a Lup freed early AU :')

I guess lastly, and based off the "Undead Patron" warlock subclass, there's like a spectral red robe that appears around Magnus's shoulders whenever he's kicking ass

[atopearth]

White Album 2 Part 10 - Mini After Stories

The Way Towards Happiness

Ohhh they're married now! It's nice to see Haruki try to tell Setsuna to get up on a Sunday and not spend the whole morning sleeping haha. They're so cute. It was so funny to watch the banter between Setsuna and her mother. A definite plus being with Setsuna is having the Ogiso family, they're all very kind and sweet in their own way. It's so cute and relatable how Setsuna's mother coming over to help them pack for moving was so unproductive because her and Setsuna just chatted about everything they found lol. It's also unsurprising that Setsuna's mother was able to get through to Haruki's mother and even hang with her. Honestly, Setsuna always felt like the epitome of "the correct path" in life where you have the "perfect" girl, great family that heals everything and helps Haruki strive upwards in his career but as the famous meme goes, just because it's correct doesn't mean it's right and that's why we have Kazusa's route imo😆 There's something quite funny about how on Christmas Eve this time, both Setsuna and Haruki were so busy that they both couldn't make it for their plans lol. I guess it's because just like Setsuna said, she doesn't feel the need to and won't lie anymore like all those times where she said she wasn't waiting for Haruki when she in fact did. Having hotpot on Christmas is a very interesting choice though haha! Maybe that's how it is in real life, but honestly considering the angst and everything with Takeya and Io, I always find it underwhelming how they got together. I feel like it was only shown like once and it was so forgettable for such important side characters lol. I guess it's good that they're happy now and thinking about kids lol.

I really enjoyed Haruki and Setsuna's walk down memory lane right before they moved. It reminded me of when I graduated from university the first time and I took a nice long walk around campus to all the places that held memories for me. Overall, I think Setsuna's after story was very nice and sweet. I think the best thing about being with Setsuna will always be the friends she comes along with haha. I'm honestly not the biggest fan of Io and Tomo but having Takeya is always great for Haruki. Anyway, their peaceful married life is exactly how you would picture it and they're definitely the "perfect couple" after enduring all the years of pain they had to go through because of each other's actions. The ending was fulfilling in that it made me smile and happy that they were finally able to be openly honest with each other about everything and truly treat the other as a life partner without anything hindering them anymore. It was great to see and I loved their cute little banter.

The Way Back to Happiness

Just seeing Youko alive and healthy enough to see Haruki and Kazusa come back to Japan is good enough for me tbh. I always feel sorry for Miyo-chan having to deal with Youko and Kazusa though hahaha, poor lady has it rough. As for Kazusa and Haruki arguing the moment they appear, it just feels so natural hahaha. Lmao, I love how when it comes to arguments, Kazusa is the one who comes to whine first because she's lonely and Haruki is ignoring her, she's such a cute baby haha. I really felt for Miyo-chan when she said maybe she really should quit her job after hearing Kazusa through the phone pouncing on Haruki lmaooo. Lady needs a break. Although I love the Ogiso family too with their warmth, I don't think anything beats my love for Youko. It was so funny when she said she thinks she'll be able to live to see her grandchild grow up and even attend the funeral, she's such a riot, I love her🤣 Haruki teasing Kazusa with the phone booth story when she lost all her stuff and could only remember Haruki's number was so cute, especially since she was embarrassed haha. I love how Kazusa got her revenge by taking Haruki to the concert hall and asking him if he knew this place since he never appeared for her concerts, so savage but true🤣 Seeing them go back to the place where they revealed their true feelings for each other really made me feel nostalgic, because not only was it an iconic scene in the novel, but I still remember it from watching the anime many years ago.

I think there's something sweet about Youko now living in the house Kazusa used to live in alone as a teenager. I'm glad Miyo-chan lives with her. I wanted to cry when Youko told Kazusa that her and Haruki had been forgiven for a long time and that she visited the Ogiso household many times to try and talk to them and apologise for her. It was so heartwarming to see Youko help Kazusa retrieve a place for her here in Japan so that she could come back without feeling guilty anymore. Honestly, Haruki and Kazusa's memories are definitely the best and my favourite. I don't think any of Setsuna's can really compare. Anyway, I loved how they went back to their high school and talked about how Haruki used to love watching Kazusa's sleeping and would always wake her up because he wanted to see her face. I can't find a more fitting place for them to have their wedding ceremony, and honestly Kazusa looks beautiful all the time but she was really gorgeous in her wedding dress. And there's just something about seeing Kazusa in white when that's usually Setsuna's colour. The only thing I'm sad about is that we never really got to see Kazusa and Setsuna talk again even though it's basically shown that everyone is friends again. But I guess when it comes to Kazusa and Haruki, their story was always focused very much on the relationship of the two of them rather than anyone else so I guess it is a fitting end. Overall, I definitely loved this after story more but I'm biased because I always enjoy Haruki and Kazusa's banter more, and when it comes to Youko, all their interactions become so entertaining to watch and yet so heartwarming as well. It's really beautiful to see how far Kazusa and her mother have come to mending and communicating in their relationship, if anything, I loved watching over their relationship progress and show each other how much they loved and cared for the other. Walking back on all those memories is definitely something I very much enjoyed and it makes me so happy to see everything culminate into the beautiful Kazusa wedding dress CG. To be honest, I could probably listen to Haruki and Kazusa talk for an entire game and I'd still love it because they're just so fun.

Extra episode - To My Sworn Enemy

Sometimes, I don't know how I should describe Setsuna when she always goes back to Haruki no matter how many times he cheats on her, and the thing is, he emotionally and physically cheats on her to the point that is unforgivable because you know how seriously he loves Kazusa. So yeah, I don't know if I should call her resilient? Obsessed? Silly? Disrespectful to herself? I really don't know but as someone who thinks that you should always put yourself first, I can never really understand how she basically tortures herself to be with Haruki alot of the time. Of course I can understand taking him to the psychiatrist and stuff considering Haruki's condition but I'm sure Takeya could do that. Especially since Setsuna supporting him is a form of torture to Haruki himself too. He's already been abandoned by Kazusa and now he's forced to face the guilt of betraying Setsuna again and be smothered in her kindness and care when he's wallowing in guilt and negative emotions. I really can't see how this is beneficial to either of them no matter how much she loves him. Honestly though, alot of the time Haruki is with Setsuna, I feel like just as it's probably love, a part of it is also guilt that he "should" be with her and maybe that's why I'm never really on board with their relationship. I won't deny that he likes her, but I'm sure over the years with Io and Takeya constantly pressuring him to get back with her properly blah blah blah, I'm sure being with Setsuna is naturally considered to be the "right path" and the only path rather than a choice he truly made for himself. I guess this toxic relationship is what they both "want" though. Haruki doesn't want to be alone and abandoned and needs her, and she wants Haruki to completely depend on her so she can have him in that way even if he's not completely him.

Considering how big of a deal it always was for Youko to want to spend her last remaining days in Japan, seeing her go to Vienna for Kazusa to protect her in her last moments instead is just so sweet. It's difficult to watch Haruki stressed about missing work and thinking of himself as weak and useless, and that everyone will forget he ever existed at the rate he's going, because it's too relatable to me. However, unlike Haruki, I was stressed from work itself and life which in the end led me to quitting altogether. I didn't mind being forgotten but that guilt of not going to work (it was volunteering but still work) coupled with feelings of inadequacy really can drive you very down. I think Setsuna's mother was a bit too much to tell Setsuna that she's young and can start over with another guy but from Setsuna's father's perspective, I can understand why he wants to bring Haruki's mother into this and I agree with his methods because Setsuna is obviously breaking herself down. Seeing Youko's condition deteriorate breaks my heart though and now I can't help but wish she stayed in Japan, because even though she's here in Vienna supporting Kazusa, no one is really supporting her. Kazusa will always be her child and she will always worry about her. It's hard to watch Setsuna crack because she hurts everyone around her in her desperation to protect her and Haruki's relationship. Sigh. And now we experience Setsuna breaking down and being unable to move to go to Haruki's place because of the stress it's put on her. Honestly, it's so hard to read because I've experienced this as well. Back in the day, I made it all the way to the city to go to work but I couldn't go the rest of the way. I stood in one spot, unable to move forward, unable to go back until I just started crying uncontrollably and had to go home in the end. It was terrifying that I could "want" to go to work but be physically unable to go. However, unlike Setsuna, I never had the strength to go back once I left that day. So, honestly, despite my grievances with Setsuna, I really do admire her for always moving forward no matter what, I'm definitely much more like Kazusa. I'm glad Haruki told her to never come back and to help and protect herself before she becomes like him, because at this moment, they are definitely both bringing each other down. I always love Setsuna and Kazusa fighting it out with their emotions and true thoughts so that is always welcome. It's nice that it led to a breakthrough for Setsuna to rejuvenate herself. What I really enjoyed was knowing that Haruki left a note everyday he went out to tell Setsuna where he was, hoping that one day she would come back after everything and still choosing to be with him. It was also really great to see Youko pick herself up after Kazusa's concerto, it's always wonderful to see Kazusa and her mother so full of life.

Overall, the mini after stories were nice and short, true to their name, and I enjoyed them as a happy end to everything. It really feels endearing to watch over them look back on the past as they move forward together in life, it was really sweet. I do have to say though, My Sworn Enemy was better than I expected and probably my favourite read here. It was really nice to see everyone falling apart in their own ways but picking themselves up for their various reasons. It was as dramatic as the main story and I guess that's what we're all here for haha. As for my impressions of the whole game itself, I would rate it an 8/10 for me but it was definitely a very long journey. I can't tell you how many breaks I needed because each and every character frustrated me in some way and I would need a break haha. But just as they frustrated me, it also made understand this story truly is a drama through and through and just as it's terrible because of how frustrating it is, the story is great because this is its main focus. I will always love Kazusa the most and despite everything, the Introductory Chapter will always be the most nostalgic favourite because that's when everyone got to be together, but going through the Closing Chapter just made seeing Kazusa again in Coda so exciting. Anyway, it's hard for me to put in words but it was a nice ride because the emotions displayed in each and every character was something you really felt. Even if it was ridiculous, even if it was annoying, you could really feel the weight of everyone's decisions and thoughts and I guess that's what makes this game so great.

[varietales]

Talk about your favorite ship! | Favorite character to rp?

mun meme // accepting

This turned into a massive ramble oops...

Favourite ship (i'm letting myself do 3 RP ones from across my blogs)!

Lisanna x Sting with @aitheros. It lives in my head and heart rent free, I’m so soft for them. We have had so many good and precious interactions with them and plotted much more too! They are such a lovely pair and bring out the best in each other, I adore their softness and the way they can relax around each other so beautifully and understand each other. They’ve both been through a lot, and the plot we’ve done for them has added to that and I’m forever excited about the things we can do within the plot and outside of it too. They’re also AU gold honestly. And I can’t even think about Lisanna without Sting coming to mind now. I can’t express how much I adore them, and Mandy is an incredible writer (im forever in awe of the description and imagery and use of metaphors, absolutely stunning every time, not to mention the dialogue and everything else too) so I’m always feeling super lucky to get to write with her! Her Sting is just CHEFS KISS (its also his bday today and I remember this bc I love him so much, he is the sunshine in my life). So yes 10/10 I adore them.

Rogue x Mary with @killrate. We started writing these babes together way back in like 2016, so it has been A Long Journey and it’s been so good. Beautiful example of awkward friends to secret lovers. With Mary being an ex-cultist and criminal and all, and Rogue being a famous mage, we get this Delicious plot of them keeping their relationship secret. The Yearning and Drama and all that goodness. And we also have an angsty breakup era planned which is gonna kill me but I also love it. In their happy era, they are so beautiful, so cute and adoring and flirty and fun but deep too and the feelings are so real and get me every time. He just adores her so much and is the absolute softness for her. I’m weak, send help. Plus as well as being one of the coolest people ever, Fae has such wonderful writing, its always so fun, so well done and full of personality, and a delight to read!!!

Gray x Evergreen with @lucentaire. At first glance, one might think Huh that’s a weird pair, but the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. They have a lot in common in terms of hobbies/interests, the way they think and even act sometimes, and a lot more. I love these two (and Jana’s specific portrayal) for the way they have this beautiful…idk exactly, like understanding or acceptance of each other, that’s growing with each interaction. They’re really starting to Get each other and it brings a certain peace and its lovely. I love seeing them begin to open up to each other, and I love the hints of feelings creeping in, and I love the teasing that happens from time to time between them as well as from their friends, its just all So Good. When I think about them, I just get this really warm sense of peace and I love it. I also have to say Jana is an amazing writer, her words always flow so well, and she has this gift of sneaking in little references to other characters/muses or little anecdotes from a muse’s past or family that just really Add a little something and make her muses feel so real and rounded. An absolute inspiration every time. And anytime i'm writing anything about Evergreen in general, I have to actively stop myself from writing 'Rena' instead, she's just so deep in my brain.

Favourite character to RP!

I have so many muses and have written so many more in the past, so it’s tricky to pin down a favourite! They all have their differences, and my fave can change based on mood as well. That being said, the first one that came to mind was Lisia (Pokemon)! She was my most active (basically Only) muse for about 8 or 9 months (which is sadly impressive for me) back in 2018. I’m not sure if its nostalgia that I’m holding onto, but I had a lot of fun with her. The RPC was fun and active and I had some really cool things going (and then things went Bad). I put in a Lot of work with Lisia, writing heeeaps of hcs and so she’s a muse that I really adore. She’s just a gorgeous gal with a gorgeous heart. I haven’t been able to get her going again since then but I’ve been thinking about her lately and might give her blog a clean up. I say that every so often tho and never do it, plus I can never manage to get her active again. But anyway, outside of her, I think I would say Lisanna is one of my faves to write! Coincidentally (or not), Lisanna and Lisia are very similar personalities. I enjoy their bubbly, cute personalities, and the way they can become teasing menaces when they want to be, particularly when they get close to someone. They also have this great potential for depth and deep and meaningful convos and angst. They’ve been through a lot and are still So Kind and I think I just find that sort of character comforting. On the complete other hand, I also really get a kick out of writing Macbeth, and my other old fave that’s just come to mind is an og muse of mine, Siegrain, which again, was once upon a time a Most Active muse of mine that I somehow can never get going again. But I did love that sassy blue haired bastard...

I suppose I could have said which muse on This blog is a fave to rp, but i haven't really gotten things going for each muse yet so we'll have to wait and see!

[comingyourlugubriousness]

⭐ For Yume! ⭐

1- 4- and 20!

🌙🌙🌙🌙

Do you have a song that represents your OC, if so why?

I have SEVERAL songs that represent Yume. Last time I answered a song in this post, that made me think of Yume's overall time in Twisted Wonderland. (It's a sorta long post with analysis.) And @bunnwich has said that "Waiting on a Miracle" from Encanto reminds them of Yume. Most recently the song that represents Yume for me is. Camera's by Matt and Kim.

"No time for cameras We'll use our eyes instead No time for cameras We'll be gone when we're dead No time for cameras We'll use our eyes instead I see flashes of gold."

I love the idea of Yume slowly coming out of their shell and learning that they need to be more than just a spectator in life if they wanna be happy not only in the future but now as well! 0v0

Honestly, I should just drop and Yume Ume Playlist. (And my cheez whiz Yume x Idia playlist too)

Who is your OC’s closest platonic friend?

I know I KNOW I DONT TALK ABOUT IT MUCH!

But Ruggie and Yume are besties y'all! They don't really know how it happened either considering Yume disliked his smug aura and hates when people steal from them specifically. And Ruggie can smell a goodie too shoes a mile away. Of course, that's just the surface-level projection of both of them.

Once they get to know each other in and after chapter 2 they both see past that and realize they have things in common and of course a dumb similar taste in humor.

Add that to the fact that Yuuta and Leona "hang out" and also Jack and Yuuhi "hang out", and it leaves Yume and Ruggie as the platonic 3rd wheels. So they kinda just gravitate toward each other during those times too. Don't get them wrong, Grim, Deuce, and Ace were their first friends and hold a special place in their heart. But I think they get along with Ruggie on a very visceral level that they didn't expect lol. Reminds me of this OLD but still good meme:

Tell us about a complicated relationship your OC has with another character?

Last time with this question I talked about Yume's relationship with Jamil! So this time let me talk about Yume's relationship with KALIM!

Oh boy where to start. Yume didn't officially meet Kalim until chapter 4 and was very skeptical meet a genuinely kind person at NRC, especially after getting betrayed by Azul. So when Kalim is just genuinely nice and kind it kinda threw them for a loop. And then he started talking and saying nice things ABOUT Yume. Compliments they've never heard from anyone before! Plus the fact that he was so touchy (in a good way! Yume enjoys casual affection)

And the whole flying carpet under the stars didn't help (even with their brothers with them the whole time.)

So yeah it kinda developed into a big time crush, unfortunately. Though after going through the events of chapter 4 they realize that Jamil and Kalim have their own things to work through and that maybe trying to get into a relationship with Kalim...isn't right at the moment. (Plus all their fear of rejection/vulnerability/ and inexperience when it comes to dating in general. Oh, and not to mention the feelings they're definitely not catching from some shut-in gamer boy too.) Still they don't really shake their crush completely until I'd say the near end of my fic The Diamond in the Rough and the Boy without a Fairy. (Which takes place between chapters 4 and 5 in game)

Though they still find things awkward around Kalim so that leads to them just kind of...avoiding him for a while. It's a lil shitty on their part but eventually Kalim notices and they both officially have a talk of sorts that clears the air in Chapter 5 (during the VDC training camp.) I do plan on writing it one day but right now I'm in the middle of writing other lore!

What are your OC’s minor fears?

SPIDERS, TALKING TO STRANGERS, TALKING ON THE PHONE. HEIGHTS, ADVANCED DARKNESS! FLOYD LURKING IN THE CORNER WITH THAT LOOK ON HIS FACE! (the usual) 20. What chapter does your OC get the most personal character development? @cyn-write asked this question too!

Definitely Chapter 3! I feel like in me and @bunnwich timeline so many things happen around that time.

The Ramshackle gang getting to know their respective love interests, Yuuta/Yuuhi getting their respective weapons, Yume snapping and going a little insane on how to plan and get back at Azul and showing that they're not just a shy goody goody. It just is a time when the brothers are starting to really feel like they understand and belong in Twisted Wonderland to a degree y'know?

ANYWAY SORRY THIS GOT SONG LONG! The muses possessed me.

[lookismaddict]

KIN LIST?????????????????????????????????????

AHHHHHH SON!!! THANK YOU FOR THE ASK!! 😩❤️ I’LL GIVE YOU EVERY TYPE OF RAMEN DISH THAT YOU WANT. Also, KIN LIST??? MINE??? 😳

Hmmm… Well, I do have a few in mind, so here’s my Kin List:

Mary Kim: I resonate w/ her HEAVILY because her attitude, her behavior, and even the way she interacts with people (esp with Vin Jin) is literally me irl. If I’m close to ANYONE (guy/girl) irl, I’d usually be the type to tease a lot and be the “big sister” in the friend group who usually supports. And I’d be the type to throw hands if necessary, but would never initiate for no reason. Also, her FASION SENSE TOO??? I KIN. DEF KIN. Omg you guys have no idea how similar I dress like her sometimes. It’s insane. 😭

Zack Lee: I feel like his humor and mine, are similar. I just… have a feeing. Imagine, Zack reacting to a bunch of memes (probably dank, dark, and offensive memes) on his phone and he pulls out some Vine references out of nowhere. And I STG, our taste in music would be similar. Zack would definitely listen to rap music like Kanye, Travis Scott, Kid Cudi, Kendrick Lamar, etc. Even the way he dresses (usually in streetwear) is one of the clothing styles I mainly go with whenever I dress up to go outside.

Johan Seong: Typically, the way he dresses is my MAIN go-to. Mostly, BLACK CLOTHING. Like bro… Majority of my clothes consists of 95% black clothes and 5% any other color. I’m not kidding. Plus, I can imagine me and Johan just chilling and walking out in the street, and some old ladies would ask us if someone died because we’re both wearing black clothing, which is just… our usual outfit. 🧍🏽‍♀️ Also, the way he deals with people who piss him off or is annoyed by them like he doesn’t give a fuck, is such a big personality trait that I kin with. When he doesn’t like someone, then he’d REALLY show that he doesn’t like them. Same goes for me irl too. I like how he doesn’t fake his attitude towards people as well, and he’d come for them like no one’s going to stop him. I fuck with that. 🤝🏽🖤

Lua Im: Lua got a bit of fight in her too, but I like how she isn’t really the type of person to fight in the first place. Similar to Mary’s explanation, she wouldn’t resort to fighting unless she has a good reason to. I also like her personality, and how she involuntarily handles things funny and does some “dorky” things when stressed (because honestly, me too girl). I’d panic and I’d say or do the dumbest shit ever and I’d just embarrass myself even more to the point that I want to die. 💀 In addition to how I kin with Lua through her actions and personality, I really mess with her sense of fashion too. Yeah, I know she rocking the Stüssy top and that one simple style with the hoodie and the jacket over it, because I’d wear those irl. Not joking. She’d def vibe w/ streetwear too, as if she’s the female version of Zack Lee.

Vasco/Euntae Lee: Vasco’s cheerful goofiness from the older chapters is something that I can relate to. Especially when I’m out with friends, I usually act like a fool whenever I’m with them. And tbh, before I even started to simp for Gun, Vasco was my comfort character LMAO. Because he was such a cute Cinnamon Roll back then, and now? What happened…? 😭 I even see Vasco as the “fun older brother” too. Man, if he was my older brother, I’d def want to ask if I can hang out with the Burn Knuckles Crew until it’s time to go home because they’re all so fun and lively!!

Daniel Park: Even though Daniel is attractive (even in those recent chapters 👀) I view him to be the “brotherly type” who'd protect anyone. That’s the type of vibe I get from Daniel. (To be honest, between Daniel and Vasco, I think they'd be the best "big brothers" ever.) Or, just a male/guy best-friend who you can always depend on and talk to whenever you want to rant/vent about something. I kin with him because I always have the urge to help out people who are having a hard time, and I usually offer to listen to friends’ issues irl because I’m aware that we all need someone to talk. If no one’s there for them, then I don’t mind being someone’s shoulder to lean on. In addition to his kind-heartedness, I relate to Daniel because of the whole “bullying” thing. Back then when I was in elementary school, there was a girl that used to bully me by poking me, flicking me, etc. And she’d even turn people against me so I wouldn’t be able to hang out with certain people (but eventually I became friends with her and we settled our differences ig). I even asked her what was the reason why she bullied me back then and she said it was because of the way that I used to look and the clothes that I wore, which made me look “dorky”. 😀 Sooooo, that’s why I kin with Daniel strongly too LMFAAAOOOO 😌✨

[torturedblue]

In honor of 5 years of ROTTMNT, I present: Things I would love to see in Rise season 3+ *inserts Fairly Odd Parents 'If I had one' meme*

Part one of a list of ideas the previous shows have done that I’d love to see their version of if we get any more seasons 🤞🏽 (Part 2)

The Pulverizer. Dude was hilarious in 2012 and to take it even further, the idea of Rise Donnie also having to be the one to deal with the guy honestly seems so funny. Hopefully their version would have a happier ending tho...

TigerClaw. Do I even need to explain? He's my favorite 2012 villain and honestly the coolest one and clearly the Rise guys would think so too with all their tiger quips lol. And it would be nice to have a really serious villain that’s also not Shredder/Kraang level dangerous but still more of a challenge for the turtles. Since Draxum joined the light side Big Mama’s really the only one left

Bebop and Rocksteady of course. 2012 and 2016 Bop & Rock are so funny I think they'd be even funnier in Rise considering it’s the funniest TMNT show

Spike. Rise Raph deserves a pet.

Usagi. Genuinely wondering how Rise would portray him—and with this Leo being so different than the 2003 and 2012 characters, if and how they might still become close friends. I’m now too much of a leosagi shipper fr, probably mainly because I just love their friendship in 2003, also I think bc he's always an adult in the 03 and 12 versions, plus they barley got to know each other in 12, so overall it’s just an idea that doesn’t really click with me. Not to mention l'm so damn asexual I think I just love to see such a good friendship satay that way. But considering how serious Usagi's character always is I'd like to see if they'd change that in Rise to match their style or keep him the same way. If he is more serious it’d be an interesting contrast to Rise Leo’s constant joking and silliness

A musical episode bc honestly come on they would've killed it. And they're all just too musical theatre to not indulge in it at least once. Especially the Broadway baby disaster twins

Dropping the "Rise of the" in the title since after the season 2 finale and movie they have officially… arisen. Since the whole point starting off was these turtles aren't as trained or shaped etc, now that they are it would be cool for them to officially become the TMNT again. Not to mention they finally said the name in the movie so it would really top it off

A cure for the ooze. Draxum presumably could make his own 'retromutagen' like in 2012 and it'd be interesting to see a plot where all these mutants around New York could actually get back to their normal lives if they wanted to. Especially since Draxum had his reformation arc he really should be undoing his mess lol.

A Raph and Donnie episode

A Raph and Mikey episode

Huh despite being leader and the oldest Raph really got the least amount of solo/duo episodes

How they met April bc we need the story around that. Gd we're just missing so much background context from the show getting cut short

How they found the lair. 2012's Lone Rat and Cubs was such an amazing episode and it was awesome seeing what it was like for them before finding a home. In 2003's first episode we also see them find their new permanent home, and having the same backstory for Rise Splinter and the boys could be so touching. Especially being on the run from Big Mama and Draxum. We caught that glimpse of him still in a Liu Jitsu costume as a rat and living in a box. I’d love to see between that point and whenever they moved in to their home. I also think it would be a good reminder of how much Splinter was really struggling both during childhood, while he was starring in those movie yet Sho was still trying to get him back into Hamato business, and then his time in captivity after

An explanation behind why Yoshi is called Splinter, we never got our explanation in Rise… or 2012 either now that I think about it. Even 2003's reason kind of felt like a stretch, even though it was a cute story behind Splinter's owner Yoshi losing his girlfriend. I can’t remember if Bayverse explained it and I haven’t seen the original show, but I think each version has had a different reason they give

Fungus Humongous. One of my favorite 2012 episodes that would be awesome translated to the Rise boys. We know Donnie's hallucinated fear could be beach balls and Mikey's would prob be the Gumbus or some kind of ghost. Raph's could be Mrs. Cuddles, although he did conquer that fear. I wonder what Leo's would be… I always found it interesting he didn't have any special fears like his bros. But there is something about Leo strikes me as the kind of guy who doesn't have those irrational fears or gets scared easily, so seeing an episode where they could give him an advantage could be cool. Although, since this would be after the movie he could see Kraang, or him losing his family, and his insecurities with leadership would definitely be a realistic factor. It'd probably work well as another Halloween episode

Bishop; I think in the movie the fact that female Kraang stayed back was going to introduce him. I think a lot of people know him more famously from 2012 show ofc, but my favorite use of him was definitely 2003. Dude was unhinged and a whole ass machine and seeing the Rise boys face off against him would be so cool. Not to mention he gave us the 2003 Rat King episode, another one of my favorites

Spirit Quest type episode. They have such cool mystic powers and ninpo abilities and seeing them meditate and experimenting with them would be so cool. Not to mention the costumesssss I mean how bad ass would they look in some of the 2012 get ups

Turtles in space and the Triceratons. I've recently seen by other Rise fans that the triceratons might be been hinted to from a shot in the movie with a triceratops skull in the Kraang’s ship and apparently were being worked on by the creators. 2003 and 2012 each did these plots in different ways so I wonder if Rise would approach it as a season long thing or maybe just a fun arc. Either way these guys were made to go to space and seeing them freak out over actually getting to be like Jupiter Jim would be awesome. And again, getting to see their space outfits!

What kinda stuff do y’all wanna see from future seasons from rottmnt?

[marley-manson]

TrapHawk and/or HawkMarg for the shippy ask meme :3

Thank you 💖

Hawkeye/Trapper

Ship It

What made you ship it?

lol SO. Back in uni I started watching MASH after seeing an old website with an extensive (but, I now realize, nowhere near exhaustive) list of slashy quotes from the show. I enjoyed the homeroticism between Hawk and Trap but only casually, I was into it as a sitcom rather than in a fandomy way. The moment I started actually shipping it and went to find some fic was Trapper's proxy kiss in Welcome to Korea and Hawkeye's race to the airport lol, which is probably the worst time to start shipping them because after that there was no more Trapper and the homoeroticism decreased significantly. I only made it to the end of season 6 before losing steam, so when I watched in 2021 I started from season 7 and wrapped back around.

The second time around I shipped Hawkeye/Trap from the start, and they came as a welcome relief after being underwhelmed by Hawkeye/BJ.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

Their chemistry! They always feel like they're genuinely having fun together, and really adore each other, like they're both just charmed by each other. I also like that they could've easily met pre-war (and did briefly in the book/movie) and they feel like they would've been friends no matter when or where they met. The fwb vibe is also great, I'm incapable of watching the show without wholeheartedly believing they're fucking between scenes. They're a perfect established relationship kinda ship.

And since Hawkeye is my fave a big reason I like them is because I think Trapper is a good, supportive and caring partner to him - they're both great to each other, but in Hawkeye's other friendships on the show he's mainly stuck in the supportive and caring role without receiving much support back, whereas with HawkTrap it's more even imo.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

idk if it's the most popular take on them but I've seen this take floating around tumblr a lot and I disagree with it: I don't think Trapper is more supportive of Hawkeye than vice versa, or that Trapper supported Hawkeye and then Hawkeye is inspired by or grows from that in order to support BJ, like a baton passing. I think they're both just supportive people and they equally support each other, or would if Trapper got as many emotional plots as Hawkeye does. But on the occasions when he does need emotional support, Hawkeye is right there beside him as a shoulder to lean on.

Hawkeye/Margaret

Don’t Ship It

Why don’t you ship it?

I've never shipped male sitcom protag/token female cast member in my life, and I can't imagine starting here lol. I absolutely love their platonic friendship and adding romance would kill everything that makes their relationship unique and enjoyable to me.

I also would never ever ship Hawkeye of all characters in het. I'm watching the gay Hawkeye show, it'd just be a waste of 300 gay jokes.

And finally, they're not compatible people at all to me. They barely ever even have fun together as friends, Hawkeye needs a double act and Margaret could never keep up comedy wise, and they have very opposing ideological values and there's no indication that ever changes (a lot of people seem to think that Margaret gets disillusioned with the army as the show goes on, but I don't see that at all and I'm not sure where it comes from honestly? And in the finale she doesn't quit the army, she just takes an assignment in the US rather than abroad.)

Plus there's an episode all about them being incompatible romantically and deciding to be friends, which made complete sense to me character-wise, and I adore that that's the direction the show went, thank you Mash <3

What would have made you like it?

If Margaret was a man I could definitely see myself being into it in a frenemies hooking up kinda way, assuming Hawkeye hit on him just as much as he does in canon, which seems like a safe assumption lol.

But otherwise nothing's gonna make me interested in rote sitcom het, and genderbending Hawkeye into a woman wouldn't work for me because like 90% of what I like about his character is his subversion of masculinity.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

Like I said, I love their friendship a lot, love when they support each other, love the occasions that Margaret is the tough guy to Hawkeye's damsel, and I do often enjoy their flirting on the show despite not shipping it, because a lot of it leans into the aforementioned subversion of masculinity, which is fun. Carry on Hawkeye is one of my favourite episodes. I don't want them to fuck, definitely don't want them to get together romantically, but I do really enjoy the d/s and pegging jokes.

ask meme

[forthedancingandthethriving]

So I thought about your headcanon for Tulip being into fashion, then decided to make the SMG version of Ash also have some fashion knowledge, partly learned via osmosis since a lot of his friends are into Contests and Contest Equivalents (and in a few cases like Cilan just generally Have Style) and because Team Rocket is Like That, but also partly because becoming the Avatar caused his actually extremely rare crossdressing gag to exaggerate into an actual habit Because Memes.

Then I realized that with how much smaller Lahar's new Girl Form is than their canon Girl Form, none of her alternate costumes actually fit anymore, either literally or in terms of style, so all she's got is her default outfit which is literally just her original form's default outfit with an added bikini top.

And she can't exactly go to her friends back home for help since the SMGs have the exact same (lack of) fashion sense as her, Etna barely wears clothes, Flonne has extremely different tastes, Sicily is Literally A Child and also has similar tastes to Flonne since they're both Angels, they're still working on getting Barbara used to making decisions for herself let alone other people, and she's not really close with anyone else.

So, Tulip and Ash happen to be nearby while she's complaining about this little problem and...well...

Tulip and Ash: *immediately drop what they were doing and give each other a Look before slowly turning towards Laharl with identical big, unsettling grins*

Laharl: Uhhh... *shrinks back slightly from their Gaze* Hi?

Pikachu, realizing what's about to happen: Nope! I'm out. *hops off Ash's shoulder and walks away* Good luck shorty!

Laharl: Good luck with wha- *is suddenly picked up by the arms, Tulip on her left side and Ash on the right* HEY! What's the meaning of this!? As Overlord, I command you to release me!

Tulip, in an exaggeratedly Proper tone: Now now, don't you worry your pretty little head my delightfully devilish friend. We only want to help you, isn't that right Dear Brother?

Ash, adopting the same tone: Oh, absolutely Dear Sister!

Laharl: You do remember you're not actually twins, right?

*they ignore her and continue to wherever it is their going, and through the Power of Scene Transitions they're suddenly in what seems to be one of the many workshops in Tulip's manor, though this one seems to be a cross between a barber shop and a walk-in closet instead of the usual garage or mad science lab*

Laharl, standing on a round, slightly elevated platform near the center of the room: Seriously, what are you doing!?

Tulip, back in her normal voice: *hold up the measuring tape she just had wrapped around her* Uh, checking your waistline? We gotta make sure they actually fit, you know?

Laharl: No, that's-you just-wait, that what fits?

Ash, rummaging through all the clothes: Your new outfits, duh. You were just complaining about not having any options on Girl Days.

Tulip: Like I said, we wanna help.

Laharl: And you couldn't have just offered instead of jumping straight to kidnapping?

Tulip: *levels a flat stare at her* Laharl, you are the single most prideful person I know, including my birth family. Can you honestly tell me that you would've accepted our help willingly instead of being stubborn and telling us off?

Laharl: I...okay, fair. But since when does Ash know anything about fashion? He's worn pretty much the same thing every day since he was ten!

Ash: Hey, you try living out of a backpack in the woods for months on end. Just because I don't have that many opportunities to dress up doesn't mean I don't know how. Plus I know for a fact you've seen some of "Ashley's" outfits.

Laharl, finally realizing she doesn't have any convenient excuse to get out of this: ...Oh, alright. Just don't make me look stupid, got it?

Tulip: Oh don't worry honey, by the time we're through?

You.

Will.

Be.

Fabulous!

THIS IS FUNNY BUT ALSO SO SWEET?

Tulip and Ash both having a fashion sense is great, and them both immediately agreeing that "Yeah let's kidnap Laharl and make her fabulous" because it's so in character?? And Laharl admitting that yeah, her pride would've made it so she wouldn't ask for any help is also sweet? She trusts them enough to not only admit that, but trusts them to make her outfit decisions.

And also the Dear Brother and Dear Sister bit is hilarious. You just know Ash and Tulip have done it on more than one occasion.

[maryotism]

mario KNOWS how they feel about him but he of course stashes those emotions deep down. he has to play the big dumb happy guy whose willing to take a bullet for someone hahahaaaaaaa

This builds until eventually an arguement breaks out and he unlocks his avatar powers then idk runs away to go live w/ sanic th hoghedge or somethin

THSI IS SO FUNNY HELLO sanic and maryo ... Helle yea

HONESTLY i think maryo would start to think a little Too hard about things . like he would watch all his friends get along and think like Wow why cant that be me ...

of course he has meggy and luigi but even they have their moments (plus luigi is his brother so their bond is already established .... maryo wants friends)

and the meme guardians .... he was never really close with 3 ... but 4 ....... Hoo boy . 4 has been getting real tired of maryo lately .

maryo probably feels a little isolated from everyone since hes so . Different ? maybe he wonders why people dont like him that much . maybe he wonders why someone like bob can get a ride or die friend (boopkins) and he cant

IS THIS MAKJNG SENSE idk anymore . i feel like if it ever did build up and explode it would be through maryo talking to meggy about it and meggy severely fucking up

i wrote a little scenario on it and i posted a snippet of it i think . initial idea is that maryo is gazing at everyone having fun in their own little groups and wonders aloud 'i wish they liked me more' then meggys like ? 'they do like you ...!! its just that youre .... yknow ...' 'what ? Too Much ?'

i think about that one interaction between 4 and luigi in My Roommate Mario a lot .

'your brothers just too hard to live with' 'haha yeah... hes a handful'

?!?!?!?!?! Fucked up !!!!!!!!!!! maryo the true autism creature end post