#kinda wish i could add more myself ngl

[notsodailycake]

Its all okay dont worry! whenever you want to write or find your motivation again I will be here to read it ^^ No pressure you to go back, do what you enjoy thats more important I respect it, hope you have a nice day/night *hugs*

Thank you anon, that's very sweet of you. I appreciate it

And I'm glad that, for what I DID share, you've enjoyed it uwu

[elegyofthemoon]

im posting this before i forget and also sorta leave for the night cuz i gotta sleep a little early

• Posted stuff today ☺️

• I decided to do a bit of the writing tag game on my other account and it is WILD to see just how much i wrote the past few months??? im kinda proud tbh. I may be a little discouraged from posting these days but it's honestly really nice to see myself posting as much as I do - and esp to see how much ive written during all this time. this is aside from all the logs i do bc thatd just add further to my word count, but hdhfjdjd really despite the horrors, i'll always have writing. or well, writing's just been such a huge part of my life that if i cannot write then I'm not myself anymore. njdjrjd and my friend nick has mentioned this too that i dont seem like myself if i dont have a wip and all that jfjdndd

• i hate to say the rafayel birthday event made me embarrassingly happy but it really did 🙈

• speedwriting a fic. much shorter than something i wrote earlier but like !! idk i havent felt that surge of inspiration that was fun lmao wish that happened more often

• getting another message from a job i applied to that might be interested in hiring me. the positive is this ones a little more interesting than the one i did a recent interview with but same general position. still very 👀

• my friend finished london holiday and might start second key real soon and im so fucking sorry to him about the person i'l turn into when he starts liveblogging at me about it BUT ALSO im actually really happy and excited about it .3.

• OH FOUND OUT THAT MY SISTER WILL BE HOME EVEN FOR THE LITTLE BIT WHEN I GET BACK!! i thought i'd miss n entirely when she's back which made me sad but she'll be there for at least a day when she's back so !! i will beat my jet lag to hang out with her if i have to >:(

• n sending me something that reminded them of me was really sweet 🥹 it made me very happy tbh jfnfnddjj i was kinda shocked

•also saw new artist drawing characters from anti entropy that genuinely made me very happy 🥹🥹

• ngl thinking about tomorrow after the exam has me excited. i still have one more exam to go, but for once, i feel excited by the idea of saying goodbye. i dont really care anymore how i do for either exams, but it's one more step out of this life and one more step into the new one. i think thats exciting and im excited for it. i wish i could say the same about doing the practical exam but that one i just know ill go home dreading so ✌🏼 but tomorrow! lets have fun after the exam and visit the bakery ive been wanting to go to and finally get that silly plush ive been eyeing 🤧 let's give this life a nice farewell and send off before i go

[sayakxmi]

[Magi reread] Night 13: Magician of World Creation

I should, once again, go the fuck to sleep, but, like. One more chapter.

You're a lazy, spoiled piece of shit of a person who believes that just because you're rich or whatever-the-fuck-else, then suddenly the world owes you something.

Oh my sweet summer child. (Also, trying to recognize Aladdin's silhouette).

Rest in pieces.

Ok, but can we, like, fucking talk for a second that ALIBABA FUCKING DODGED MORGIANA'S KICK. Like, how fast was that kick. Was she, like, going a bit slower, because she didn't want to kill him? Because, like, we know she doesn't, but also holy shit. What are these reflexes, Alibaba. Fr tho, she definitely wasn't going all out, but still.

Oh, drop that smile, asshole. You did literally nothing.

Also, I lowkey recall something about Ohtaka saying that Morgiana wears no underwear, and I am incapable of not thinking about it seeing this pose.

An attempt is being made.

Ok, Alibaba can pull tricks here and there, but he looks genuine here, and I actually believe that he is. Like, Balbadd was notably that one country (sans Sindria) where slavery was illegal, so for Alibaba slavery wasn't an everyday thing until he had to run from Balbadd. Like, don't get me wrong, he's absolutely trying to appeal to Morgiana, because she's dangerous, but he means it when he says that she should fight for her freedom, and we know he wouldn't use her, period. He tried to use Aladdin, and look what happened - total failure, because he just isn't the type of person that's capable of using others.

You tried, gold star.

Damn, Alibaba is just never living his best life. Also, you ever think how most Households don't like or are a literal danger to their Kings?

Also, now I'm kind of wondering, cuz I don't recall whether Morgiana's ever apologized for it. Like, don't get me wrong, I don't blame her, and I know neither would Alibaba, he's ridiculously forgiving, but, like, I wonder if she felt bad later on. Probably? To both Alibaba and Aladdin, honestly, though Aladdin, too, definitely doesn't blame her. But, like, I just wonder.

Can somebody, please, punch Jamil 2.0.

Man, I could use some Alibaba Angst rn, but, sadly, I'd have to write it myself. But oh well. But also, damn, that's a lot of blood.

Also, no, he doesn't think he can use her, because he has no intention of using her, fuck off.

Is Alibaba's blood literally splattering here

Congrats, you literally kicked a guy who was already down - no thanks to you, might I add.

I really wish Morgiana's trauma had a bit more focus, ngl.

Everybody's lives are sad as shit. But goddammit.

The boy has awoken.

Fuck the both of you, actually - Aladdin, probably.

Alibaba, after being thrown onto a stone pillar by a Fanalis, and then kicked several times by that one asshole, to the point of splattering his blood on the guy's face: I'm ok, you be careful :) (I love him)

Morgiana still processing what happened (fair). And Alibaba, that is the definition of not being ok.

Birbs.

Also, no, seriously, I legit need some fanfic of the three of them kinda processing what happened there, but, like, in hindsight. When it was happening it was all scary and very tense and all that, but once things are calmer, just kinda looking back at the shit that happened there.

More birds, and also Alibaba, you are NOT ok.

Firs of all, Jamil's about to be fucking surprsied. Second of all, damn, Alibaba, you were hit damn hard.

It's been several pages & bro still can't stand up. Which makes perfect sense, but damn.

Hell yeah, fuck his shit up.

What can I say except !!!!!!!!!!

The fuck do you mean photo limit. I had to delete two photos to fit the remaining ones.

Ok, but Aladdin looks like a badass here.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[stoneheart-paramour]

not me finding a typo in the PROLOGUE weeks later ahhhHHHH

hopefully it wasn't too noticeable... or confusing...

the downside to Elipsis' spellcheck (well, i have two complaints) is that it can't identify grammatical errors like how google docs can, so i have to really pay attention and do it myself. unfortunately, when a word is spelled correctly, it's easy to miss a mistake like that TcT if i had a nickel for every time i accidentally wrote "and" instead of "an", i'd have enough money to hire an editor lmao

my other gripe with the spellcheck in Elipsis is the lack of a personal dictionary, so i don't have to repeatedly tell it to ignore the same word that it already flagged the last time i did a spellcheck. and what's with spellcheck across a whole bunch of different places/programs not knowing the names of gemstones?? i can kinda get more obscure gemstones like sugilite or celestite, but aventurine?? oh yeah and petrification also gets flagged for some reason. kinda crazy ngl. but yeah i just wish i could add various words to a personal dictionary like you can with google docs, so that they don't get flagged while performing a spell check. the number of instances of words like "skyfarer" or "stonewound"...

sidenote, i recently discovered that "earnesty" isn't a real word, much to my confusion and disbelief. it just sounds like it should be? it sounds correct, like "honesty" or similar. turns out it's one of those classic english language moments where you're reminded that it's a chimera of loan words amalgamated into one language, and the correct word for what i'm thinking of is "earnestness". gonna be honest... that kinda sucks as a word XD the repetitive "es" sound in the word bothers me for some reason, and i just think "earnest-y" sounds better! alas...

and this is only even an issue for me because a rather important character trait for Caelus is how earnest he is when he speaks. no pretense, no innuendo, no subtext - when he says something, you gotta take it at face value or you're going to misunderstand him lmao. not that he never lies or anything like that, but when he's speaking casually/honestly it's very direct. this makes for a very fun contrast with Aventurine, who often uses sarcasm and innuendo or generally doesn't speak very straightforwardly. he's pretty used to being around people who are similarly indirect, so dealing with a person who just Says What They Mean is consistently baffling XD it takes some getting used to! and even after several months he's still taken off guard sometimes... he's also pretty sure Caelus doesn't realize what he says can be misconstrued, though fortunately he's mostly talking to people who don't assume anything but the face value interpretation so he hasn't had any problems yet... yet...

in any case... i guess i have to settle for "earnestness" regardless of how it sounds ajkfl;ajf

[wheresunandseameet]

2, 3, and 6 for your Blue Beetle S/I mayhaps?

Of course! I will see about sending you at least 2 more numbers to make it even haha 😄.

2. What is your backstory? What was your home life like?

My back story is very much same as real life so i shall be slightly vague 😅 and under the cut cause it still feels very not vague enough 😬.

Also i got rambly and used a lot of like verbal visuals (metaphors? Similies? Its been a while since i was in English class, i need to get a refresher ngl). I didn't add pictures sorry.

Second child of divorced parents. Middle child if including half siblings and step sibling. Was very smily yet shy as a kid but, because of bullying, became quieter and easier to forget/overlook. Raised evangelical Christian and often involved in church things like retreats and summer camps before becoming Agnostic and moving to kinda polytheistic.

Home life was slightly better than school as there wasn't any bullying but things definitely weren't perfect since i didn't get along great with my step father. a lot of larping with the two younger neighbor kids, a lot of computer games, writing and drawing to pass the time. A lot of jumping the elementary school fence with my siblings to play when there was no school. Not much friends outside of church until about middle or high school. A lot of expectations to be like my sister but i never could meet them.

3. What is your sense of style? Do you have any specific aesthetics when it comes to your wardrobe?

I split my sense of style into "wish" and 'capable of'.

My wish style is kinda a mix of 90s/2000s Emo and Skater (a mix of like Avril Lavigne, Hayley Williams, and Edward Elric) with a side of like nerdy/weeb. Some more larpy clothes as well which would include like period specific clothes (like pride and prejudice/bridgerton like dresses or merlin like dresses or clothes both of merlin and ya know all the knights with their armor and weapons).

My 'capable of' style is more about comfort and is somewhat nerdy. It is only like 40% about insecurities. Most of it is just lack of access to funds or actually well made clothes (as the fabrics of stuff isn't that great these days).

My aesthetic is generally probably comfortable but also definitely more on the side of skater if that makes sense (despite my ankles being a bit too wobbly to actually skate 😅😅)

6. What is your personality like? Are there any personality traits that are more evident than others?

Aside from my resting bitch face, i start of polite (possibly including a fake smile) but reserved with my guarded-ness only showing when provoked even if the provocation was only in my own perspective.

If things stay pleasant, the politeness becomes more genuine and any smiles become much less fake. If someone is able to pick a good topic that cracks my shell, i equate it to me blooming like a flower or the sun/moon (depends on perspective tbh) coming out from behind the clouds. I am a big daydreamer prone to focusing on hurt and on comfort.

I am not great at keeping myself 100% safe from people hurting me, if they know how to get me to open up in the first place, and i am not great at immediately cutting ties with toxic people. I will hold onto any "positive" relationship until a line is crossed which then has me cutting ties like someone being thrown overboard a sailing ship.

As to most evident personality traits, it depends on how closely one watches.

Generally i feel like it is my reserved-ness especially with the whole resting bitch face. I don't feel all that charismatic, Generally i feel like i am very awkward, but friends have made me occasionally second guess if my perspective is right or not. I feel like there is also a bit of go with the flow -ness to me as generally i won't rock the boat unless someone is trying to start something that would affect someone else. Like take shit about me? Sure i might cry later but i wouldn't really respond but if someone goes after my friend or even just someone near me? Oh buddy, you just fucked up.

[reddoll123]

Hey, so here’s my lil’ mini review of Onew's first full album Circle after listening to the whole thing twice:

O (Circle): This was really good! Heard it first while watching the MV and at first didn't know how to feel about it at the very start but then the beat kicked in, and reading the lyrics as he sang so heavenly--this felt just so nice. Like not overly hype but not too mellow--was just right. Oh, and I looooved when the choir vocals came in and sang with him during the chorus--added a nice anthem like feel to this. And by the end, I actually had tears in my eyes lol like it's such a nice song--I didn't want it to end. Like the choir singing out with him towards the end like that--you feel that shit bruh--like goosebumps popped up from that.

Cough: Song was okay to me, like the beat felt a bit generic while the melody felt familiar in a way. The last chorus though, I got used to it and was vibing a bit ngl. It's not a bad song by any means though, like I wouldn't skip it if it came on but after O--I almost wish it came after another song on the album.

Rain On Me: His heavenly voice in this one!! Don't like the beat as much for this though during the verses, felt like I should be marching forward and not in a fun, hype way lol. So overall, this one's another okay song imo, like so far O is my fave. Though this is also another song where it really picked up during the last chorus and I wish more of the song was like that.

Caramel: Ooh this beat almost feels off but I like it. And I like how it's upbeat too lol. Just a nice fun, jazzy pop song and though the rap was okay--it didn't deter from the cuteness <3. Love how he sings 'sweet like caramel', and how he scats like a trumpet towards the end and the piano and him riffing with the same melody. This is this album's Sunshine and I love it~

Anywhere: Oh this is a fucking vibe~ Kinda song ya wanna blast from your speakers while travelling somewhere. I think it's the 80's retro-ness in the beat that contributes to it. This song sits at the same table as Key's retro album trilogy <3. And I already see myself singing the 'I'm not going anywhere' part A LOT lol.

Paradise: A perfect song to follow after Anywhere! Another fucking vibe~! Like love the beat especially in this one! And love when he flexes his vocals bruh~

Expectations: So glad this album isn't full of ballads, like yesss give me some beats. I liked this one a lot and how the end of the pre-chorus defied my expectations--like this song goes places I wouldn't expect it to while still making sense.

No Parachute: Oh this song is sexy bruh~ Def could imagine Jonghyunnie on this one <3. Love how he sings 'Parachute' with the tone going higher at the end--it just adds a little extra flavor.

Walk With You: Ofc there has to be a cute song towards the end hehe. Song was okay, like compared to the others at least.

Always: And so the album's come full circle lol, started hopeful/melancholic, with fun, happy times in between and now it's the end. I'm not always a ballad kinda gal but his voice always lends so well to them so I can't even be mad lol.

And so my favs from this album in order are: Paradise, Anywhere, Caramel, O (Circle), No Parachute, Expectations, Rain On Me, Always, Cough.

TL;DR: Though I like/love 7 outta 10 songs, I'd say this is definitely a must listen album! Def his best one so far just 'cause the quantity of beautiful songs has increased (his last mini was great too though ofc). You'll be vibing with the beats and his beautiful voice, feeling chill, happy, nostalgic etc~

[song-tam]

do you have any good kam fics/oneshot recommendations?

hi wait im so so sorry that this took me like. two months to answer. it was stuck in my drafts and i just kept. forgetting abt it but it’s here now so !!! hopefully that makes up for it skdhsgsks

also i actually did a similar post/fic list like this a while back here (thank you for finding the link aves i owe you one), and while i haven’t really seen any new content for them in the meantime there’s still a good few!!

let’s not lose ourselves by glitter_demon (@fey-glitter) - ngl more of a tam character study than it is kam, but there are elements of them in the drabble. i’d still highly recommend it even w/o too much kam bc i rarely see tam characterization in fanon done as well as this one and i’m being soo normal about it

before the night ends by handpulledsilver (@soryasongsaa) - OKAY can i just say. ive reread this fucker more times than i can count it’s one of my favorites ever. its a sort of companion fic to ink’s other fic (scared of the sun, recced that one in the other list), an exes to lovers story, plenty of feels and emotions that have me on the floor sobbing. def worth a read !!

the lie between your teeth (the cut that always bleeds) by handpulledsilver - yes this is another ink fic and yes it makes me rot. angst galore theyre exes but they dont go back to being lovers. artist keefe sencen though so i think that makes up for it. also conan gray ref in the title?? bonus points for that

Có nhớ tôi không? by celestiials (@theogony) - this one’s like. keefe and tam are rivals in the music world then they become roommates to work on a project together (oh my god they were roommates…) and to no one’s surprise they fall in love !! i LOVE this fic also shoutout to aru’s coding skills bc they slayed the creators style thing i could never

Drama Club by kingkrakie - kam band au HELLO??? author was after my own heart fr PLUS it’s given inspired and if you haven’t seen the anime then. that doesn’t mean much but either way i LOVED this fic very wholesome very adorable i need fluff in my life i am a simple man

the string connecting us by @that-glasses-dog - okay if there’s anything i love more than band aus it’s soulmate aus. red string of fate first meetings and at fucking exillium too hello??? im being very normal over this fic i love reading it every single time i see it pop up in the keefe/tam tag akshdgdsks

and uh. that’s kinda it for now? i WISH i had more recs but unfortunately there is a finite number of kam fics in this fandom (well. on ao3 i assume wattpad has more but i don’t Go There) but i’m hoping these will be enough to hold you over for now !! worst case scenario you’re welcome to try my ao3 and see if anything catches your fancy i’ve written a few kam fics myself but as of now. i hope you enjoy these as much as i did they’re all bangers !!

(oh for the record if anyone has anything they’d like to add or any recs at all please share i’m begging i need good kam fics too ajshsgsisks)

[washymylifeaway]

Haikyuu fanfic recs for ones I liked hehe

EDIT: I made a pt 2

Anyway, as the title suggests, I am recommending some fanfics for popular(ish) ships that I personally really enjoyed! I’m only doing one or two fics per ship (which in hindsight is KILLING me so I’m just putting the first fics I find and am like I really liked that one LOL) because I wanted to do a shorter fic rec list (tho watch this become super long LOL). I also may or may not be procrastinating finishing a couple other long posts, so there’s that hehe. For the (kinda but not really) public consensus for best fics per ship (by kudo count) check out some of my other posts. Also I’m putting some ships I don’t actually read much of (OOPS LOL) so if you think that there’s a fic that fits my type (if I even have a consistent type) better, pls tell me LOL. Otherwise, pls continue heh :)

As always, pls check WARNINGS, TAGS, and SUMMARIES for fics before reading to make sure you’re taking care of yourselves (since mental health is key!) and stay healthy!

IwaOI:

The Loyalty of a Traitor by DeathBelle (E) 76.9k // ok so does me liking this fic make me basic cause I feel basic LOL. I really love mafia fics, and the way the story line developed was SO good, like IN LOVE with this story. This is a fic where you should read WARNINGS, TAGS, and SUMMARY before diving in, but if the length scares you, don’t be. It’s so easy to fall in and get lost in the writing!

the courtship ritual of the hercules beetle by kittebasu (chanyeol) (T) 66.3k // again, basic? Probably LOL but it’s good so I have no shame ;) Again, pls don’t let the word count scare you (cause it scared me LOL), you get really into it after like 2 paragraphs, so just make sure you have enough time to finish hehe.

KuroKen:

Thicker Than Blood by kylar (M) 91.4k // are you surprised that there is another mafia one? You really shouldn’t be LOL. Anyway, I’ll just be here pushing my mafia fanfic agenda while you read this monster of a fic hehe :) Definitely read WARNINGS, TAGS, and SUMMARY because there is some very sensitive topics involved! I also adore the oibokuroo friendship headcannon, so more reasons to read, right?

Liked, Commented and Subscribed by Royal Society of Pandas (Abarcelos) (T) 45.7k // this fic is SO funny omg. I read it and I had to stop so many times just to laugh because I could not stop sometimes LOL. However, there IS angst towards the end, it gets resolved, but it’s still there... But honestly, it just adds such depth and flavor to the fic, so pls read it!

BokuAka:

bang! now we're even by Authoress (M) 11.9k // so I’ll be honest, I don’t read a lot of BokuAka (...oops?) and so I wouldn’t consider myself as the best person to be recommending fics for this ship (in general too LOL).... ANyway, I love myself some good spy AUs (was gonna put that IwaOi spy AU but the LIMIT), and Akaashi in a dress? Like the tags might state, what more do you need? The characters are done beautifully, and the story development is SO good, so I give you all my humble BokuAka rec.

Crisis Converted by valiantarmor (M) 60k // man do I really love fighting in my fics LOL. This was super good and the plot itself kept me really engaged (what a twist omg). It does talk a bit about mental health issues, but it’s done so well, and they really did this AU justice!

DaiSuga:

How to Manage by SuggestiveScribe (E) 39.3k // ok so yea yea we established, I’m basic, BUT can you blame me? This might’ve been one of the first DaiSuga’s I’ve read and I have no regrets. Literally, this fic series is one of my favorites, so OF COURSE I had to add it somewhere :D Honestly, I don’t even think you need to read the first one to understand what’s going on, but I would just cause it has some funny DaiSuga moments too ;) This is explicit for PWP, so proceed with caution~~

Add New Contact by booksong (G) 8.5k // this one! It’s so cute and poor Daichi LOL. He really out here doing the most,,, Anyway, we love tech Suga, and a nice dash of snarky tsukki (LOL is he salt, yes yes he is). It’s very fluff and pine, so if you want to read Daichi having gay panic like 24/7, go right ahead LOL. 

SakuAtsu:

Burden of Blame by DeathBelle (E) 91.2k // ummmm, haha what, another mafia AU? Me, predictable? Noooo, never..... Anyway, this one was so freakin’ good like, love it so much! It’s one of my favorite mafia AU fics, and I love the story line progression. Poor Atsumu being dragged into this mess, but it’s okay because THEY are IN LOVE. Honestly, this fic is Atsumu best boy like he is the best boy. BEST BOY.

Notte Stellata by awkwardedgeworth (T) 20.9k // I ignored all of the other fics I LOVE in this ship (like the pain I’m in rn), but I love this fic with my whole heart. Like I have reread this fic multiple multiple times because I love it so much (tho I might’ve skipped the angst a couple of times cause I didn’t want the pain okay?). I keep coming back, and the second fic in this series is SO funny and cute and I love it here. Please read it, it’s so FREAKING good, angst and ALL.

KyouHaba:

Team Mom by All_My_Characters_Are_Dead (T) 2.7k // so as I was going through this tag (because that’s what I do LOL), I remembered this fic and I love it. Like yes Yahaba is the fear factor and yes Kyoutani is the DAD. I really like the team dynamics in this one, and the first years make me laugh pls.

Camellias by kiyala (T) 1.9k // IK you’re all like, you’re missing such great fics, like no I’m not I just made myself hate myself by limiting fics to two per,,, I love this fic and when I starting looking for this ship, it was the first one I thought of hehe. I really love magic and their interactions are so cute and the PLANTS ARE DOING THE MOST. Pls read both in the series, cause domestic KyouHaba is best KyouHaba ngl LOL. I love the plants, and if you read the second one, someone tell the trees to stop bullying Yahaba.

MatsuHana:

This gets annoying fast, Makki by Ink_stained_quills (G) 2.3k // IM IN LOVE WITH THIS FIC PLS I COULD NOT STOP CRYING TEARS OF LAUGHTER. This AU needs more fics PLEASE. It was SO freakin’ funny and the other teams KILLED ME. Like how they all approached the problem differently and how some of them (KUROO) asked for help LOL. Please this is so freaking funny go read it.

boiled frogs by reginagalaxia (E) 91.5k // I told myself I was gonna put my most angsty fics on another post (which I will for my other favorite MatsuHana angst fic which I love), but this fic. Omg I saw it and I was like I have to. Literally I have to. I hate angst, but read it. It, the, plot, omg, I jjfnsfknalkjdnf ljksan. Like I’m not sure you understand. This fic. asjfjfsadnldjb. I never thought I could hate a character SO MUCH,,,, like SO MUCH. READ TAGS, WARNINGS, AND SUMMARIES because some serious stuff really goes down. Bless Iwa-chan.

SunaOsa:

Accidentally in Love by pancake_surprise (T) 19.6k // JOSE CUERVO strikes. I love this fic and all the chaos in it. The way they were supposed to be the responsible couple (of friends LOL),,, sike. This one is only a slight angst and it’s mostly love and fun :) Also technically this is no longer the first fic in the series, but I’m still putting this one cause the other one is SakuAtsu orientated hehe :)

Spring Secrets by DeathBelle (T) 3.8k // Seasons might be one of my favorite (as all things also seem to be) series of all times. I don’t like rerecommending fics I’ve already said to read, which is why I’m not yelling at you to go read a certain other fic (which is my life and blood). Anyway, this fic series is all fluff barely angst (maybe that’s why I like it) but it’s so freakin good pls read it all ahhhhhh.

Komori/Suna (what is their ship name):

I wish to live in a world by hatsuna (T) 24.8k // ok ngl this fic was so sad and relatable? Like I was like wtf why are you making me cry rn even though like I shouldn’t be? My heart? Pain. (Hotel? Trivago.) Technically, this is END GAME but the main pairing is kinda SakuAtsu???? Something of the sort, but also their relationship (Komori and Sakusa) is written so well and idk guys I think you need to read this fic rn.

Ah the two fic limit hurt me, but fear not I am making ship specific rec posts (LOL I’m so dramatic), so if you wanted more of a ship,,,, its a coming hehe. And yes I did say I’m making an angsty fic rec post, but we’ll see if it gets finished before I side-track with posts like these LOL.

[amemesiella]

sudden rtgame appreciation post incoming hello

i don’t think there’s been a youtuber that i’ve consistently watched as much as rumble tumble games himself. certainly i’ve taken some breaks, but i believe that was in the earlier days when rt didn’t have a consistent upload schedule (moving back to ireland from japan, some life changes he didn’t say/i don’t remember), so i had a hard time keeping up with him. but since a little before quarantine, and every day after that, i’ve watched his videos or tuned into his streams. he’s genuinely such an entertaining person and his antics have made me laugh more times than i care to remember. his variety content videos are just a joy to watch and rewatch over and over again and i personally think it’s because you can feel his enjoyment through them, whether it’s obvious or not. honestly, they’re kinda timeless. sometimes i just find myself rewatching the older terraria videos (with the zack gimmick) just as much as the video of him playing turnip boy commits tax evasion because,,, they’re just so fun!! and the humor still sticks!! the plants vs zombies videos are some of my favorite to rewatch for more chiller content, and my god the hitman video where he kills someone for every new sub is still so fucking funny. also, he somehow got me to rewatch every single one of his hearthstone videos??? still have no idea wtf is going on but man every time he celebrates i celebrate too bc cards and effects go brrrrr + please god the drift king jokes somehow never get old

but to get back on track, every video is like a bonbon - the game shapes the humor, but the humor never loses its core. rtgame’s the reason why i adore variety content, because he proves that the right person can make any game extremely entertaining. and i really like his philosophy on making videos - that every video should seem ‘new’, that each video should stand on its own. it makes every video that much more rewatchable, and doesn’t require me to go back and watch 34 previous videos for context to the one i’m watching in the moment.

when he says that the videos are sort of like an invitation to his streams/a small taste of what it’s like on twitch i really stand with that statement because his streams bring a more rawer energy than his videos (which makes sense, because they’re not edited) but that energy comes from just the experience of being on twitch a long time. he really knows how to handle his chat (which, side note, how tf can he have 6k people watching him and have chat be readable?? that’s insane), work with their humor, and add his own bits. even when he knows he might have to up the haha funny a little bit so he can make highlights of it for youtube, it doesn’t really seem forced, and he lets the humor come naturally. chat also knows when to be supportive of him, and in those parts it’s just really nice to see chat come together to support him when he might have to deal with anything spidery, or when he’s struggling through a boss. i also appreciate that he knows when to draw a line and end bits, because having a chat go off and be uncontrollable is not fun on stream, even when you have chat off ngl. it’s a nice dynamic, and it’s what keeps me in streams from beginning to end. oh yeah, and also his fucking epic gamer skills (pointing to his celeste + hollow knight streams. this guy’s a real madlad, i tell you. when he said that 800+ deaths were a lot in celeste, i almost cried because my death count after my first playthrough was triple that)

also, another side note - the community is so nice and accepting - and legitimately so funny at times like guys please can i have your humor + there are so so many good fanartists and i really love that rt acknowledges and encourages the artists in his fanbase (rt + photoshopped lisa legs.......... truly a blursed era HAHAHHA)

but to end a very long ramble (i honestly could say more but jdbdnjdjf this is. way too long now), rtgame is one of my favorite youtubers/streamers, because his flavor of content and his handle on streaming is very funny and very inviting. he makes every game (even ones i’ve already played) a new experience simply because of the humor and commentary he brings to the table, and i wish him a very long and successful career. he deserves it.

[mariesocuniverse]

Relationships: WayV

MaeKun

if it werent for the the laws of ncity he wouldve asked her to join wayv and stay in their dorms

Since they don’t live together or are part of the same unit they don’t really spend a lot of time together but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t want to be with Mae

Large parent/protective older brother energy

not as protective as 127 hyungs but you know

Yeah she’s a menace when she teams up with other WayV members but she doesn’t clown him as much as they do it’s cause she saves that energy for doyoung lmao

mae claims she visits the wayv dorm for him but he’s 50% sure she’s just there for the animals

the other 50% is because she wants him to cook for her which he does even if she doesnt ask

hes like those parents who insist on giving you leftovers to bring home to your family

he taught her to do magic tricks bc she was insistent on wanting to learn at least one

okay but honestly she thinks he really cool despite all the clowning she does to him

like singing? dancing? cooking? visual? magic? and he can fly a plane????

one of the reasons she has high standards ngl

MaeTen

ten has unofficially adopted her whether people like it or not

he has fought with taeyong and doyoung about it she is his baby

if mark and johnny are his brothers, mae is basically his younger sister

if you look at his photo gallery he has a folder dedicated to mae and mae only

any photo or video of them together is basically ten clinging to her like a koala

he looks at her like she put all the stars in the sky but the same goes for mae

she has admitted in an interview that ten is one of her role models because of his talent and work ethic

whenever she needs help with dancing he’s one of the first people she asks

xiaojun once asked him who’s his favorite between yangyang and mae and you could see him malfunction for like six seconds before jokingly scolding him

“yah how could you ask me that type of question?”

fun fact! ten was the person she asked to go with her when she got her first tattoo!

he arranged the appointment at the place where he got his and held her hand when she was getting it

Lowkey considered getting matching tattoos but never really took the time to think of what tattoos they’d get

MaeWin

another top ship among czennies

these two are so soft for each other omg

just one glance at the two and you’re already melting

You can see Yuta screaming about MaeWin whenever the group is together and they’re interacting

And if you can’t see it you’ll probably hear it

MaeWin: casually talking

Yuta: is this what heaven looks like

MaeWinMark is just yuta’s weakness and he doesn’t even bother to hide it

Okay back to MaeWin before I get ahead of myself and make an entire post about Yuta and MaeWinMark

If they’re gathered in a large group their interactions aren’t really noticeable unless you’re actively looking for it

While the others are talking you can just see Mae playing with his hands or winwin giving her a soft smile while patting her head

They talk more when they’re either in a small group or just the two of them

MaeWin shippers were devastated when they got separated so when nct 2020 happened they went feral

Every once in a while they go out for hotpot and talk about what has been going on

LuMae

this man right here

they first met when she was visiting NCT U dance practice for BOSS with food and she heard him from the hallway

its one of the reasons why she wasn’t intimidated by him even though hes a giant

she was excited to see what kind of energy and personality he would bring to nct

and she was not disappointed at all

personal hype man

whenever they’re on a variety show together and mae is asked to do something he just yells “FIGHT HAEYADWAE”

of course the same goes for mae but less loud bc last time she kept yelling she lost her voice and couldnt talk for the rest of the show

He just has this energy where if he’s hyped up about something she feels energized to be hyped up well so you just hear the both of them cheering loudly

its always interesting to see because you just see a gentle giant cheering loudly with this smol girl next to him trying to match his energy

he always makes sure she’s comfortable when they’re at a schedule

like we know how he’s really silly on camera but he’s also very observant and caring

one time mae complained about how her feet hurt from the heels she was wearing so he just picked her up bridal style and walked to the van without a word

XiaoMae

They’ve heard abt each other from Kun and ten and greeted each other when they passed by each other in the halls but they never really had a chance to grow close until nct 2020 happened

Mae wasn’t in the Make a Wish unit so there weren’t a lot of chances to get to know each other while promoting either but it doesn’t mean they’re not friends

ten also hogs her attention when she visits the wayv dorms but we dont talk about that

these two arent as close as the others but not to the point where they actively avoid each other

whenever they’re together they just vibe

theres no awkward silence or small talk they just talk about random stuff

“no lucas, i dont hate xiaojun hyung we just dont hang out as often as we do”

“yes hendery we do have each other’s numbers we just don’t talk often”

WayV is lowkey tempted to lock the two of them in a practice room together and do a vlive to see what’ll happen

prime candidates for “It’s Awkward but It’s Okay”

their dynamic is kinda DoRen where they pretend to be awkward around each other as a joke

like they went out together once and everyone as excited bc omg they were interacting

XiaoMae shippers are starved for content and will accept any crumbs that come their way

HenMae

the duo people didnt know they needed until they met

its not like people didnt want them to become friends its just that theyre energies match well

these two are such a vibe

you know how there are ppl who don’t see for long periods of times but you still want tackle them in a hug whenever you meet? yeah its like that

kun sometimes wants to separate the two bc of how much chaos they cause together

they’re the duo where they think something is a good idea at the time but ends up as something bad at the end

kun has banned the two from the kitchen bc of a fire they started

HenMae shippers are thriving because of all the stories of the dumb shit they’ve done

lowkey considered doing a series together on nct daily but then the channel stopped uploading vids so it was never mentioned again

one time he was on call with his sister when she walked in and accidentally mistook her as his gf and now they jokingly have each other as bf and gf in their phone contacts

ten nearly had a heart attack when he saw the contact name pop up and mae picked up the call

 yangyang has the whole thing recorded on his phone and refuses to delete it

MaeYang

(A/N everytime i see this gif i need a moment to pause and try and remember my ideas cause my head goes empty when it comes to yangyang)

okay if HenMae are chaotic, MaeYang are worse

kun doesnt need to dye his hair gray bc of all the stress these two cause him

czennies thought they didnt interact much bc of different schedules and groups but once nct world happened they changed their minds

MaeYang slowly climbing up the ranks of nct ships

during one of his lives yangyang mentioned how he spoke a lot with mae and that she wanted to add him to the 00liner gc

czennies lost it that day bc 1) holy shit theres a 00liners gc and 2) why tf hasnt yangyang been added into it yet

insists that she calls him oppa/hyung even though theres only a one month difference between them

Mae and Yangyang: whispering in the corner of the room

kun: theyre either talking shit about someone or world domination and i cant tell whats worse

he tried teaching her some german once and she now knows like three sentences

“Hallo, Ich bin Mae. Was geht ab? Mir geht’s gut.” (A/N this is the outcome of my three years of german lessons everyone)

and basically all the swear words but we dont need to talk about that

haechan jokes that he’s stealing mae away from the dreamies so he wont be the maknae in wayv 

[franeridart]

Anon said: Would you draw SukuFushi? (Sukuna x Fushiguro)

maybe? *thinking face* if I ever got an idea for it, why not. I find sukuna’s obsession with fushiguro entertaining so I don’t count fanarts for it as impossible haha

Anon said: I looked and I couldn't find if you've answered this already, so apologies if you did, but how do you draw your faces? I always struggle with face shape and yours are always super good with really expressive features! Anyway, thanks so much I love your art <3

HMMMMMMMM how do I do that indeed, the basics are honestly what you’d find on any basic tutorial about drawing a face (circle, cross in the middle of it, build the face around that - I really still can’t avoid that step and probably never will). As for the expressions, to be honest with you my way of going about them is thinking them up in emoji/kaomoji form first and then go from there. Emojis and kaomojis have to simplify expressions to the max since it’s such a simple format, right? But they’re still super expressive and convey exactly what they’re trying to say with one single glance, so using them as some kind of reference sheet has helped me a lot in figuring out what’s essential to express what I’m trying to say - still working on it though! I’m rarely satisfied with my expressions, they really do make or break a drawing don’t they............ you never stop learning, I guess!

Anon said:  Ahhhhhhh I just spent like hrs scrolling thru ur oc tag and they’re all amazing I love them so much but I keep confusing the everloving SHIT out of myself cuz I too have a child who is Leo and he’s literally so different from ur Leo lol. Anyway tho ur art is amazing and it honestly just makes me so happy so ty and hope have a good day!!

OHHHHHHHHHHHH MY LEO! It’d been forever since I’ve last drawn him, I kind of miss him............... glad you like my stuff, by the way! Especially about you liking my ocs, that means the world to me!

Anon said: hi there !!! i was wondering if i had ur permission to ur ur itafushi art in one of my edits ! i wanted to be sure before using it <3 total respect if its a no !! thankyouuuu

Sorry but I’d prefer if you didn’t do that!

Anon said:THERES A OCTOPATH TRAVELER LIGHT NOVEL AND ITS SO COOL BUT ITS ONLY IN JAPANEESE ! ;^;There's four stories with centered around pairs of characters and alfion is one of them !Idk if itll be transleted but i hope itll be cuz it sound awesome

OH I KNOW!!!!!!! I saw the art for the alfion one a while back, it looks so soft!!!! ;;;;; 8path is kinda niche as a game though, so who knows.............. let’s cross our fingers!!

Anon said:  hello, i am here to recc Skeletons by New Years Day because i think it might fit a few of your ships<3

Thanks anon now I’m emo ;;;;;

Anon said: bakubro gives the best hugs. kirishima is the only one who knows this. everyone is absolutely incredulous when the question "who gives the best hugs" goes around and kirishima answers bakugo. (bakugo thinks kirishima is the best but he benefits from kirishima bodily hugging him and he's biased)

Definitely!! He’s strong and warm after all, bet hugging him would feel the best.... the only one who shall ever know is kiri though, as I bet his hugs are only that nice when he really likes the person he’s hugging hahaha

Anon said: Hi! Just wanted to say that I absolutely love your JJK art! The colors and style are absolutely stunning.

Thank you so much!!!!!!! I feel like I’m mostly drawing for myself lately ngl hahaha so knowing you like it means a lot!!

Anon said: Hi!! This isn't a request I just really like your art! I found you from Pinterest on a kiribaku thing you drew! Your art is so cool! I wish I could draw like that!!! I'll keep looking for new art you've made :D

Aw pinterest.......................... glad you could find your way back here though!! And thank you!!

Anon said: This happened a while ago, but i wanted to say it anyway. I remember when I started watching jujutsu kaisen and I was looking for content arter finishing the first 10 episodes in less than a day and I found your first jujutsu kaisen post (it was posted that dame day) and i was like ???? One of my favorite artists got into jk at the same time than me!!! I just thought it was a neat coincedence to share! I really love your art too, you're amazing!! Happy New Year!!

It’s!!!!!!!!!!!! a pretty dang neat coincidence for me too, since it’s always nice to know at least some of my followers are still into the stuff I make hahahaha

Anon said: i think a lot abt ur art and how ive been seeing u since middle school and now im graduating highschool and we're still in the same fandoms, i hope this doesnt make u feel old but rather VERY cherished qwq

No anon this makes me feel amazing you’ve been around so long!!!!!!! I can’t believe you’re still here with my thank you so much for that!!!!!! I think I’m gonna cry a little here.......... ;;;

Anon said: Hi! I love your art so much!! 🥰 Have you read a KiriBaku fic called The Pit??

Probably not, haven’t been reading krbk fics in a while by now! I’ll add it to my for-later list, thank you so much for the rec!!

Anon said: can u believe that (sans sero) the entire bakusquad can be put into some form of punk/goth fashion? the realization was a galaxy brain moment for me. also realizing that tokoyami, kirishima, and tamaki are all varying levels of goth/emo (some more concerning than others)

Sero’s the hippie friend every punk friend group needs, he balances things out and that’s why he’s very cherished and necessary!!!!

Anon said: your bakugo drawings convinced me to finally start stretching my ears and tbh i'm extremely excited (i've had off and on thoughts of stretching my ears (again) before this so it's not as impulsive as it sounds haha)

Anon that’s so cool!!!!!!! I love gauges so much.....................glad I could give you the last push for it!!

Anon said: uhhhh, i love the style of that top left goge drawing dude!!

THANK YOU I LOVE DRAWING IN THAT STYLE THIS ASK MEANS THE UNIVERSE TO ME

Anon said: i sent the dragon!kiri and bakugo tug-of-waring over a piece of meat and honestly your response is exactly what i thought

Great minds!!!!!!! hahaha

[mariaiscrafting]

ahhhh ty ty ty <3

ok, so I think that what makes Dream act this way (iykyk) is how dreamwastaken became so big so quickly. and by quick I mean fucking lightning speed.

he didn't have enough time to learn enough about cc etiquette, especially in these three aspects: influence, boundaries and fanbase/stans/whatever you call it. I'll try to explain it:

• Influence: Does he know the influence he has? Like, when he hears that he is the myct with the largest fanbase, does he really process that? I remember he talked about not being able to control all of his fanbase and there's bad apples everywhere -- which is true, and that only like 1% of his fanbase breaks his boundaries (that include sending hate for him, harassing, doxing, etc. yk, basic twitter culture lol) but, honey, with your big ass fanbase, 1% is still a lot of people. As a content creator you *have* to be aware of that.

let's take the hbomb situation. First off, as a streamer, it's you that set the mood of the stream. Even if he was only messing around with his pals, even if they did say to do not send hate to hbomb, dt dunking on him created a toxic environment, which caused his fans being toxic towards hbomb and you know what happens next. Hell, when this happened, I was watching Tapl and he was watching them and he was crying laughing over them screaming bc they were just. so loud and so aggressive that it was kinda ??? Sirs, this is literally a Minecraft Stream lmaooo

my point is, that was not the road that dreamwastaken, 21M fans, should've taken. he don't condone his fans actions but he knows his fans are diehard and will always be on his side, he should be more careful before stating negative opinions, especially if its towards another person.

• Boundaries and Fanbase: He posted a list of his boundaries a while ago, idk if you know or seen it (btw please george copy your bestie for the love of god <3) but I'm not talking about those boundaries, I'm talking about the basic boundaries between cc and viewer. boundaries that, in my opinion, should exist between cc and viewer. I get that Dream is an open person, an oversharing type of open person if I may add, but I think he should take a step back regardless. When I heard that he was taking a time from twitter, I genuinely got so glad, not because he couldn't start any drama then, but because it would do so so good for his mental health. I'm not even that fond of him, it's just that for me, any cc taking a break or outright leaving twitter is a win for me. I know how RSD is hard to deal and honestly letting shit out it's better but dream you have dt you have bbh so please don't make things worse online 😭 I know how good can be to feel validation from millions of people but. it's not a good idea, especially in the state that his fanbase is on rn (this topic is kinda sensitive to talk abt for me bc people be outright ableist and hide it as criticism like. say that shit's not helping his reputation and whatever without acting like he's fucking. manipulating his fanbase for being affected by his rsd💀 or, on the other hand, don't say that hes just being adhd🤪 when he's just being an asshole like damn that's a Him thing bro lol)

(omg it's so big I'm so sorry and theres a part two I'm so sorry tumblr user messed-up-gal ToT) - morango 1/2

pt. 2:

Dream is the proof that the people who loves you can be your downfall. istg. Have you noticed that every drama that Dream enters, people usually get more mad abt how his fanbase reacts (85% they'll react in a bad way) than Dream himself? it's not always, but its definitely more likely. I'm not saying Dream is saint, he Is petty and his ego does him dirty and made him choke multiple times before,, But! i dont think hes a bad guy. he's literally just a dude. ok, he's a 21yr old white gamer man that has a trumpie past (maybe?? idk. I think hes cured now ig lol) so he's bound to do some shitty things but he still tries to get better and hopefully he'll mature. 21 is old enough but it's still so young, yk? I kind of lost my mind during the end and my eyes are literally begging to be closed so tl;dr: Its gonna be hard for him to become a better cc bc his fans don't let him be criticized (by infantilizing his adhd symptoms or the mob mentality as soon as someone says anything abt him), the honest criticism get lost between lies from antis that don't know shit, he still has a lot of growing up to do and overall he became famous too fast and he needs to learn things even faster bc as soon as there's not a single one dream hater on sight they'll turn their back and attack him instead lmao I hate twitter i definitely have more to say but I'm tired and my memory is shit. just-- hate dream if you want, love dream if you want, nobody is obligated to have an opinion but I wanted to express mine. have a lovely day! -morango 2/2

Aight, there's a lot to unpack here, so Imma try to only go into the points I have something to add to (here's what I talk about in each paragraph, if you want to jump to a specific point):

Speed of Dream's rise to fame

The "bad apples" in the Dream fanbase

Post-MCC HBomb stream

Not condoning versus actually condemning his fans

Manipulation & RSD

Criticism of Dream, his fanbase, and his brand

The “just a dude” argument, flipped

First, I agree that one of the many factors that has resulted in the current image Dream has set up for himself, the way his fanbase functions, the ways people hate on him, and the way the Dream brand functions, is the speed of his rise to fame. It's unique, and there are probably a hundred social/psychological angles that could be used to examine the exact effects of that speed upon all of these facets of the Dream Name; did rapid fame beget the rapid rise of unrighteous hatred, did those waves of hatred then instigate the rise of a surprisingly overdefensive fanbase, did that rapid fame get to his head and/or result in an inability to appropriately handle all the after-effects of rapid fame, etc.? That point you bring up, about how the speed of his rise to fame requires him to learn even more quickly, is so interesting to me. I think that maybe Dream expected to get pretty famous pretty quickly, hence the preparedness in regards to some mechanics of influencer fame- merchandise, business-building, networking, knowing how to manage his fanbase to best benefit him. But I don't think he expected to get this famous this quickly. This is all speculation of course, as are this entire post and your ask, but I think that he just couldn't anticipate having to learn how to handle enmasse controversy, waves of antis, or every Youtuber speculating/knowing about him; and yeah, that results in him having to learn all of these things very quickly, lest he allow his whole brand and fandom to fall apart.

Second, I disagree with the frequent argument that Dream's fanbase is only marginally toxic. Personally, I think that the circumstances of Dream's fame, his personality and management of his fanbase, and his brand of content have resulted in the very specific kind of stan that Dream stans are. I don't think this is simply a case of "all fandoms have a small percentage of assholes who take it too far;" rather, the nature of the community itself breeds the kind of mentality of "an asshole who takes it too far." I only even know this because I was a Dream fan (kinda a stan, I'm ngl). At one time, I watched every single Dreamwastaken & Dream Team video multiple times; I listened to the Manhunts on repeat, as though they were podcasts; I followed mostly smiletwt and dttwt accounts on mcyttwt; I had upwards of 10 tabs for AO3 DNF fics open on my phone at a time; I watched DNF and Dream Team Being A Family-esque compilations on repeat; I watched every George and Sapnap alt stream I possibly could; I went out of my way to defend Dream against Redditors and Twitter antis regarding the cheating scandal. For the latter half of 2020, and a couple months of 2021, I lived and breathed this part of the fandom; so when I say that Dream stans are a whole other breed than any other kind of mcyttwt stan, I say that because I used to be like that, too. I usually use parasocial very loosely or ironically, but Dream stans are genuinely one of the most parasocial fanbases I have ever seen or been a part of. The level of investment Dream stans have in this man's life, the lengths they will go to to defend him, the amount of psychonalysis and digging they do on his life and character, the amount of emotion he can evoke in them- it's taken to another level, man. This isn't just characteristic of a fraction of his fanbase; this is what the fanbase is like as a whole.

Third, I partially disagree with your take on the HBomb thing, but not in the way one might think? I actually empathize with the way they reacted much more than I thought I would, simply because I suspect I have RSD (also suspect I have ADHD, have for several months now) and I can see myself getting insanely frustrated because of something like that. Like yeah, it was "just a MC stream" or "just an MC game," but that's kinda disregarding the fact that something that might seem like "just a [insert inconsequential thing]" to a rational mind might have a major emotional consequence/take a major emotional toll on someone with RSD, or really anyone who gets easily impatient/angry about video games (Sapnap reminds me of many of my friends, in that way). The issues I, personally, had with the way they handled the HBomb situation is that these are simply explanations and reasons for my empathy; they are not excuses. I have no excuse when I get irrationally angry about something inconsequential in my own life, for a couple of reasons. One, because I am an adult and I need to learn how to handle my reactions and manage my own anger. Two, because as someone with many mental problems, it is my responsibility to learn coping mechanisms to ensure my own emotional stability and livelihood; this includes learning whatever I need to handle RSD- whether that be isolating myself from others when I know I will become violently/passionately angry about something, creating and sustaining a support system that can get me through bouts of extreme emotion, finding healthy emotional outlets for my negative emotions that won't harm myself or others, or a combination thereof. I don't think what they said about HBomb post-MCC was an irreversibly horrible thing, or anything. I think there were errors committed by two men who should be fully capable of foreseeing and preventing those errors, but I don't unconditionally hate Dream or Sapnap for the post-MCC stream or comments. I just wish they had made amends quickly, publicly, and sufficiently, because the greatest consequences from the whole thing weren't even from those two criticizing HBomb themselves; they were from the waves of backlash because of their immense influence on the MCYT fandom, which could've been prevented, if they had acted maturedly and responsibly after the stream.

Fourth, you’re right, that he doesn’t seem to condone his fans’ behavior. I detest the frequent anti argument that one of the reasons Dream should be criticized is because he explicitly uses his fanbase to attack others, or something of the sort. Personally, I think he created his fanbase in a very specific way and interacts with them in such a way so as to benefit him as much as possible, yes, but he never actually tells his fanbase to go and yell at or harrass anyone. Still, there is a significant difference between not condoning something and condemning something. It might seem unfair, and it might be annoying of me to say this, but I truly think that someone with this large a fanbase, especially one as overzealous as Dream’s, needs to be condemned every single time it goes on some kind of rampage/harrassment campaign. Either that, or Dream needs to make a definitive, permanent statement against any kind of harrassment of others on his behalf. I know he’ll occassionally make the odd tweet or serious stream addressing something his fanbase did, but one of the many reasons his fanbase keeps doing the same damn thing is because he’s so lukewarm and spotty about this condemnation. A fanbase like his needs to be given explicit guidance and boundaries for the numerous things they do in his defense- harrassing/doxing antis, harrassing people who criticize him who aren’t antis (respectful criticism, other CCs, other MCYT stans, etc.), harrassing the people he critcizes (i.e., HBomb), speculating about his personal life (his relationship with his gf, his mental health/ADHD, his romantic life, his childhood, etc.), and speculating about his relationships with his friends and colleagues.  My personal ideology is that, if you have significant influence over someone or a group of people, you are at least somewhat responsible for the things those people do or don’t do, if it at all relates back to you. I’m so fucking tired of the argument that CCs aren’t responsible for what their fans do. Obviously they aren’t responsible for every single one of their fans, and obviously they can’t fully control their fans at the end of the day. But I think there are certain things that reach such a level of extremity that does make those CCs responsible. This can be measured by either scale or intensity; that is to say, if a CC’s fanbase does things on an extremely large scale, or one person from/a fraction of the fanbase does something really extreme, then the CC is made all the more responsible. Another CC I’ve always had trouble discussing with other people on this subject is Pewdiepie, in particular, about the extremists in his fanbase. Because the things a small handful of his fans have done in reference to him and/or in his name were so fucking extreme, I thought Pewdiepie had to take at least some responsibilty. Along a similar vein, because the things Dream’s general fanbase does are so widespread and on such a massive scale, Dream has to take at least some responsibility.

Fifth, okay. Hmmm. I want to tackle this point you made about the ableism he faces in some criticism of him carefully and with empathy, but not coddling. One, I do think a lot of the criticism he receives for the ways he handles criticism (post-cheating Tweets, reactions to John Swan, post-MCC HBomb stream, etc.), disregard his RSD and can be oftentimes ableist. I’ve actually encountered people irl who criticize this aspect of Dream’s character, and have had to explain to them their disregard for how ADHD/RSD affect neurodivergent people’s reactions to criticism. But - and this is a big, and very controversial but - I think mentally ill/disordered people can 100% leverage their mental illness/disorders for the sake of manipulation. This is actually something I’ve learned from a psychiatrist, regarding the ways people I know and I handle our anxiety and depression. This manipulation can be unwitting or intentional, but it is entirely possible, and the possibility shouldn’t be entirely dismissed as ableist. Living with a mental illness or disorder that others know about/that you are very public about puts you in an interesting position to receive frequent sympathy, empathy, and/or pity. I’m not saying that empathy for Dream having ADHD/RSD is entirely unjustified; on the contrary, I have frequently expressed how I can relate to his ADHD symptoms and have defended him for expressing those symptoms, both on mcytblr and in real life. I am saying that Dream fans tend to use his ADHD as a kind of shield for a lot of criticism levied against him, including the supposition that he could be manipulating his fanbase to defend him because of his public expressions of RSD. So yes, my theory is that Dream knows how to levy every aspect of his life for his personal gain and for the growth of his brand, and that includes his ADHD. I think he has courage for his openess about his ADHD, I think his openness has contributed to the rise in awareness of mental health and empathy for neurodivergent people within Gen Z, and I think at least some of his expressions of RSD publicly/online weren’t intentionally made public. All that being said, I also think he has to know just how much his fanbase cares about defending him for his ADHD, and I think he has to know that some of the things he does related to his neurodivergence endear him to his audience, in a coddling, baby-ing, mildly ableist sorta way.  Maybe this is all incredibly presumptuous of me. Of course, I can never know the real intentions behind any Dream video, Tweet, or stream. Maybe I’m just projecting, because I can see myself doing just this, if I had the maturity I had circa 2018-2019. Idfk know, man.

Sixth, I actually agree with you here, people probably do get more mad at his fanbase than him. Dream puts out content pretty seldomly, considering the frequency of content output for other Youtubers/streamers in his field/at his brand size. And yet, he has received masses of criticism. Considering that the things Dream himself does/says do not entirely correlate with the amount of criticism he receives, I think it’s a logical assumption that a lot of that criticism actually goes back to the size of his presence online, rather than the man himself. That is to say, because of the massive community he’s amassed, the exponential growth of his fanbase, their presence on every single social media site and in virtually every single Internet space/fandom, and the size of his metaphysical presence in his fields, Dream is much bigger than the man himself, so the criticism he receives will, at least in part, be a direct or indirect result of all these other aspects of the Dream brand.  Something I don’t think many Dream fans/stans, or even most MCYT fans in general, understand, is that Dream isn’t just “one guy” in the eyes of the Internet- at least, not anymore. He hasn’t been for nearly a year. Like Pewdiepie, Mr. Beast, and other CCs who have amassed similar levels of fame and wealth via Internet content creation, Dream is a brand now, and most people will treat him as such. He isn’t just some uwu soft boy playing Minecraft anymore. He is on a whole other level from any other MCYT in his friend circle or colleague interaction bubble. His words will never again live in a vaccum or private bubble, his friend circle will never again be under anything less than intense scrutiny, his past actions will never again be simple mistakes or silly errors, his words will never again be casual tweets or streams for laughs among a couple thousand followers. Dream’s name represents something much bigger than just the one man. As such, all aspects of his brand, including his fanbase, will tie back to him and, ultimately, to any general criticism of him.

I’m not saying I like any of this, and I actually think the evolution of influencers from people to a marketable brand with similar mechanisms, responsibilities, and liabilities as a corporation is some kind of late capitalism nightmare fuel; I’m just stating my own observations and theories as to why so much anti-Dream criticism seems to be directed at his fanbase, rather than him.

Seventh, he’s just a guy, you’re right, but I think a lot of the antis on Tumblr understand this more than you know. As I’ve seen it, the sentiment among much of the “DSMP stans DNI” crowd seems to be that of “Dream/other MCYTs are such ‘bad’ people, so why do their fans stick to these mediocre, racist men, when there are so many better people to watch/better content to consume?” We know this argument is flawed for many of the obvious reasons - the conflation of all MCYTs’ actions regardless of individual identity, the equating of a CC’s fanbase’s morality to that of the CC they enjoy watching, the exxageration of any error MCYT CCs have committed as bigotry/racism, the fundamental misunderstanding and misinformation that led antis to believe this exxageration of the facts, etc. But I want to focus on the general, underlying sentiment of, “why not watch someone better, when your creator is problematic?” Sometimes, I ask this of Dream stans. Yes, being mildly ignorant, getting involved in the scandals Dream has, and being a right-leaning/libertarian centrist in the recent past all seem like harmless things, all things considered. One could say Dream isn’t nearly as bad as many antis who are misinformed seem to believe, and that there are much worse CCs Dream stans could be watching and creating fan content for. But I think what Tumblr antis wonder is, aren’t there also much better MCYTs/CCs people could be watching and stanning? Because he’s just some guy, right? Is his content truly so exceptional or is he really so exceptional a person, that people have to stick by him, despite the things that spike up regarding his current or past actions? I think that’s what made me finally decide to stop watching Dream. I realized he was just Some Guy. The Dream Team was a comforting dynamic to indulge in, DNF was a cute ship to read and speculate about, and Manhunts were fun videos to watch; however, once the Reddit posts came out and I read them in-depth, the cost-benefit analysis tipped over to the “not worth it” side for me. I realized Dream’s content, while fun and comforting, was not entirely unique, and wasn’t worth sticking around for, given what I then knew about his past political leanings. If he is just Some Guy, then there are a hundred more like him out there. There a hundred more ships, a hundred more found family dynamics, a hundred more entertaining and skilled Minecraft players. So while I agree with you on the point of people being allowed to love him regardless because he is just a guy, at the end of the day, I think that, if we are to believe that sentiment or use that argument in such a manner, we should also understand the flip side- that, if he is just some guy, why is it worth sticking around? To that I say, maybe because people just enjoy the simple things they enjoy.

Anyways, I wholly agree with your tl;dr. Thanks for that insanely long ask, this was a fun thing to keep me occupied while I’ve been at work, facilitating Zoom sessions this whole morning.

[lilyclawthorne]

Keeping Up A-fear-ance's Thoughts

I finished writing this shortly after 3 am after watching the new episode like three times because I simply had too much energy about it and I have so many thoughts because I simply live for clawthornes and also I tried to break it up with more photos this time sorry not sorry if it's a lot ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

YOUNG EDA!! let me just say I am quite a fan of opening with a flashback like we've done here and the last episode

"we have never seen a curse like this before" Lilith you had shit luck picking out curses huh

"cut it out if we have to" goddamn Gwen let'a calm the fuck down a bit.

anyways we've only really seen young Eda as a wild and confident and happy little child so I appreciate seeing this side of her with the anxiety and fear she's feeling here. I love seeing what the curse stuff was like for her as a kid

Gwen: I raised a perfectly fine kid

Me: no you didn't look at her she's got anxiety

I'm guessing this is their backyard or just some woods behind their house?? wonder if the portal was placed there by another elder family member.

lmao I can't even begin to imagine what small Eda experiencing the human realm was like for the first time

Gwens giving me "I can't accept that my child is disabled/chronically ill/etc." here. y’know the kinda parent that'll put their kid through hell over something they probably will find a way to learn to live with (which Eda did do)

ok that's it I humbly request to know the story behind the fang now (also the noise she made when she put it in was freaking cute)

new dress! new boots! new dress! new boots!

..yikes that fridge is empty

"calm down the curse acts stronger when you're stressed" Eda do you know who you're talking to here

confirmation losing limbs is in fact a side effect of the curse!! (y'know since Eda originally said it just happens when you get older)

please I love these sisters they're so sweet and make me wanna go 🥺

"suddenly curious about my past" "always. always curious" Luz says exactly what we all think

witchlet?? sweet flea?? she's got pet names for them 🥺 (although idk how much I'd like to be referred to as any kind of flea sorry Lilith)

ok Gwen is very much not close to what I expected and I'm kinda grateful for that

she's more like super caring but still managed to royally fuck up which was my original head canon for clawthorne parents so uh that's cool. but literally, look at their body language, Eda's pissed, Lilith's sad and making herself small. she's clearly messed up with her parenting on both of them along the way.

"who knows what they put in those nasty concoctions?" mama clawthorne would be a fucking anti-vaxxer wouldn't she

ok I side with Eda here more than Luz and Lilith. just because Luz misses her mother, or Lilith hasn’t seen their mom in so long doesn’t mean Eda has to feel all grateful for the presence of Gwen, especially if the woman has caused her a lot of trouble over the years

I feel like the fact that its actually both Lilith and Gwendolyn have spent their whole lives dedicated to trying to find a cure could probably have held some kind of weight on Eda at some point. Even though she shouldn't feel guilty or responsible for that, I still feel like it's gotta suck knowing these people have spent so much time on something you know is likely never gonna happen, all for you.

Lilith 😞 her mother really just didn't pay attention to her all these years

hey if this guy does some next level healing magic then why isn't he more well-known, huh? why’d it take so long to come across him?? Gwen do you know what the fuck you're doing cause I think you don't

Lilith just because you're depressed about your mom doesn't mean you have to bring king down too 😠

SUPER irrelevant but is anyone else just bothered by the way Lilith is holding her spoon?? that doesn't seem like a comfortable way to hold a spoon. also is she left handed??

"knife season came early" EDA WHAT DOES THAT MEAN. is this a boiling isles things or is this a it’s common for people to throw knives at you thing

also I want to be surprised Eda fell for the apple blood signs but I am not 😔 

Luz please trust you're gut on this one and not mama clawthorne

ok now I need to know why the fridge was empty but they had 18 cartons of ice cream this is why you guys don't have food you're wasting it all on ice cream.

wow never thought I'd see the day hooty became the voice of reason

also, night market ice cream?? are they implying this ice cream is like, edibles of some sort?? Lilith does seem kinda high here ngl. idk man but at least she wants to stand up for herself so good for her.

PLEASE kings just offering her ice cream while she transforms

"first in a series" Gwen honey oh no. you've been duped. I think we can see where Lilith got her naïveté from huh.

Also, nice snatch Luz 😊

anyways love how this show is basically making fun of moms who refuse to give their kids proper medical treatment or listen to medical professionals here

EXCUSE ME why do we know Gwen's palisman's name before we know Lilith's?????

"I am a mother who'll do anything for her daughter" you're mom who's suffocating obsession with one daughter has left the other neglected and is currently causing her to turn into a full on beast ya dummy

Eda DOES have a right to be upset. it sucks that her own valid emotions that she should get to feel will cause her while body to betray her.

PLEASE I’M SO GLAD LILITH’S BEAST DESIGN LOOKS LIKE HER AND IS NOT THE THING FROM THE TRAILER THAT IS ACTUALLY IN EDA"S HEAD WHEN SHE’S TRANSFORMED

but also why is she SO massive?? also anyone concerned that this is her first transformation and the light glyph trick wouldn't even work??

Gwen look at what you've done, you've fostered feelings of inferiority in one daughter causing her to feel the need for sibling rivalry that the pure instincts of the raven beast cannot suppress no matter how much their sisterly relationship had improved.

HOW COULD YOUR OTHER DAUGHTER ALSO BEING CURSED BE A PART OF THE PROCESS GWEN??

"after Eda was cursed, I joined the beast keeping coven" woah woah WOAH. you're telling me you only joined because of trying to help Eda. that covens existed, before Eda got cursed, and you very much weren't a part of one. combine that with "some words for belos" she has and do I smell wild witch theory still plausible???

anyways at least mama clawthorne is getting some sense into her head here

Morton c'mon help a girl out, that's some dang good art too what the heck dude

ok fine mama clawthorne to the rescue

no pls not raven beast Lilith crying im crying now

Gwen: I raised a fine and self-sufficient child

Me: no you didn't look at her. she's got, SO MUCH.

GODDAMN THATS SOME POWER. ngl this only adds fuel to the fire in my head that there was some kinda reasoning these sisters were torn apart, that someone felt they'd be too powerful together (and they were probably right)

"I heard you but I couldn't stop myself, I couldn't do anything" may be just because she's not used to the curse but again part of me is concerned that because she couldn't pull herself out of it even a little bit like Eda did that there's something wrong there. but she also could've been stressed beyond reasonably calming herself down too.

ok but this is sweet

NOOO im so sad Lilith's leaving :( I literally cried ok

"you lived here?" fine OKAY king that was hilarious even if im sad about this

"reconnect with dad" excuse me where the fuck has this man been in the middle of all of this. curse shit is going DOWN and he's just chilling at home.

I am curious about people's thoughts regarding the whole Lilith regression thing and the fact that she's literally going to be living with her parents again. I feel like it could help nurture that inner child she's been reverting back to and help her out a LOT. but I could also be concerned about it feeding into the regression and making it worse?? idk and this show probably ain't getting that actually deep into psych anyways

"some day my hair is gonna be big enough to do that too" Luz I cannot wait for the day. also mood, I wish I could do that too.

alright who's holding the fucking pen for hooty we need a volunteer RIGHT NOW so we can remain in contact with Lulu

NOT THE ONLY HUMAN? my bets on the real azura rip never mind she said he

Titan’s Blood?? interesting. If the blood of the titan is around I wonder what that means regarding the titans existence, and how long its been since the titan fell.

AHH BABY LUZ PHOTO

ALSO WHO THE FUCK IS THAT?? They're really gonna spring that on us like this??? Camila's gotta notice somethings wrong right??? Unless any differences she just chalks up to the camp?? oh god :(

well, anyways lumity shippers come get yo juice next weekend

anyways im gonna need to add a NOT canon compliant tag on that one Gwendolyn fic I wrote because it definitely do not comply anymore

[versadies]

Hi Dan!! 💖 I couldn't thank you enough for dedicating the fic chapter to me 🥺😭💞 my heart melted so much, thank you too for your greetings!! <333 I'm so glad to have celebrated my birthday as your anon 😤 it was a life-changing experience ngl 🤩

Thank you for your tips as well, i find it helpful and i'm starting to work on the plans for my blog 😤💞💞💞 you outlined it in a very concise and understandable manner, i'd recommend it for those who feel lost like me when starting a writing blog !! ✨ Gotta work hard now 🏃‍♀️💨💨💨

For my alt story inspired by Speak Now, I TOTALLY LOVE THE POSSIBILITY of Ayato running away with you, ruining his own wedding with someone to heal your broken love together 😩😩😩 i'm so happy you enjoyed my take too 🙈💞 it do be good when you really felt inspired at the moment 🤩🤩🤩

About the chapter 2 update, i was writing this when the first reactions faded away already 😩😌 so i couldn't put my words with the first reactions while reading it,, Venti lowkey scammed us 👹👹👹 but without him scamming us, we wouldn't have the champagne flutes for free 🥴🤩 THE- the omg kzkzkskskkzksmsmkzks the short interaction BETWEen- hold on,, let me 😭 let me contain myself- ahem,, the short interaction between Diluc and you is GOLD😳🙈 the fact that he fully paid the champagne flutes for us IS SO- is,, aaaaaaaaa 🙈 so attractive 😤 little did you know, i malfunctioned when he said that you could put your names together as the senders of the gift on the card 🙈🙈🙈 THE FORESHADOWING 🥴😩✨ didn't knew that from this moment now on, in the future the two strangers who just happen to meet at the shop will be together just like the names on the gift's card🧐😩🤔👀 mwa chef's kiss 👌 also i realized that there's literally a track in evermore named "marjorie" so i kinda,, kinda thought of mondstadt marjorie (the shop owner) that we met in the fic... Hmm,,, im curious as to what plot will be in your chapter named that. But for sure, Marjorie served as an important character 😩😩 JUst- just *breaths* look at the events that transpired 🥴🤩 hehe. I feel sad for Thoma, i wish we could have talked with him a lil more, but the meeting is quite awkward too so i'm looking forward to a proper conversation between us and him 🤔 with us explaining what actually happened on our side- unless ayato told him the truth and he knows what's true. Reflecting on how the champagne flutes you bought is supposedly to be gifted to you and Ayato, but oh well. It's Miss Hiiragi rather than you 😇

Moreover, i have read your househusband! Ayato fic so i'll be putting my thoughts about it here too 😚🥰 he truly did the next step after your wedding 😂 and i really love how you affirmatively agreed to Thoma and Ayaka staying in 😌 You did it to escape the suspicious dish hell that your dear husband put you into 😂😩 It's such a lovely household to be in, given that each and everyone gets along well, now without the burden of the organization or threats to the organization 💞💞💞 Ayaka might have the knowledge of Ayato taking cooking classes from Thoma tho🤭 she's just silent about it and does her best to distract you away from inquiring about it, because she wants her brother's surprise to be successful 🥰🥰🥰

— sincerely yours, 🍰.

hi 🍰 anon !!! im glad you like the gift, i made sure it had a good amount of both angst and fluffiness hehe 😋😋😋 im happy that i was able to help you with my very-few tips !! i wish you good luck and i hope your blog will prosper 👊👊 ill be looking forward to know what your url is so that i can reblog your fics muahahahaha 😈😈 and YESSS YOUR SPEAK NOW STORY INSPIRED ME !!! it makes me wanna add an alt ending to the series ngl 🤤🤤🤤

ugh so true, diluc paying for the champagne flutes is so attractive 🤤🤤🤤 and tbh i didn’t actually intend the “put the names together in a card” as a foreshadowing bcuz i didn’t think much of it 😭😭😭 as for the marjorie thoughts,,,,,,,,,,, i forgot evermore has a track called marjorie at that time so i didnt think much of it as well when i decided to use marjorie and her souvenir shop for the series and now im absolutely mind-blown from your thoughts 🤯🤯🤯🤯

im so glad you feel like that towards thoma bcuz that’s what i want you as well as the others to feel after your lil interaction with him !! who knows, maybe you and thoma will get to have a real conversation soon in the next chapter or not 🤫🤫🤫 and that last sentence tho 😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔 

i made sure to put every single wholesomeness to the househusband fic as a refresh for those who’ve went through my rollercoaster series and im glad it didn’t disappoint you !! and your thoughts about ayaka is true, she’d definitely do that 😍😍😍 hence why she often takes you away from ayato to do some activities w her hehe 😋😋 stan ayaka for being a supportive sister 👊👊👊

ty for sharing your thoughts !! i appreciate how you put you’re willing to put your whole 🍰ussy (/j) into it, it makes me feel relieved that there’s people like you who like my fics <3333

[starberry-cupcake]

The Chinapuri finale and its montage aka censorship who?

I decided to do all of this in one post and read more, so that the 95% of my followers who are uninterested on this particular drama/source material can easily skip it. Here are 7 relationships showcased in the montage ranked and 2 bonus (a family relationship and an extra). 

Note: I’ll speak about the relationships as they were portrayed, whichever the form of relationship chosen to display in this version. Also, I’m glad that everyone was aged up in this version, kinda wild but very much appreciated that some of these actors are my age or somewhere around there lol 

#7 Lu Xia (Echizen Ryoma) and Qi Ying (Ryuuzaki Sakuno) 

This drama was a bit more romantically-inclined in terms of these two than the anime/manga was, but some of that may be also influenced by them giving their version of Sakuno more room (which yay!) and having them be older. 

For this to stand alone as a drama, it was a needed step, I believe. I found Lu Xia to be more vulnerable than Ryoma, he doesn’t feel quite as ~cool~ and it doesn’t take away from the character that he has moments showing internal struggle (in tennis as well as at home). These two were sweet and adorable, which gave the drama probably more of an expected appeal for a wider audience, to make it stand on its own as a drama and not only an anime adaptation. 

#6 Yan ZhiMing (Inui Sadaharu) & Liu Lian (Yanagi Renji) 

Kinda mad they didn’t do this for Fuji (Zhuo Zhi) and Saeki (Zuo Xiaohu) but they did good with these two. I didn’t know at first why they started to build up their relationship so early, but it ended up being a good emotional plot point during their match, which is, as we all know, a determining factor in Seigaku’s (Yu Qing) win against Rikkai (Hai Guang). 

I don’t remember being as invested in their match in the anime as I was here, maybe I was just too focused on the Fuji match at that time, but what they did to build that game as a decisive point in the season finale was so well developed, I was impressed. 

#5 He XingLong (Kawamura Takeshi) & Ya JiuXin (Akutsu Jin) 

This is a relationship that can get complicated and even problematic if handled incorrectly. Akutsu’s journey through the anime is pretty long and takes a while for him to be on a healthier place, but the added element of aging the characters could have gone really wrong here if they had done him exactly as in the anime or manga. I think they did pretty well with the time they were given, showing his turmoil and learning curve. 

XingLong was allowed to have a more in-depth journey being older and about to graduate, it made more sense for him here to think about his career at this stage and added the gravity of this being THE moment to decide whether to keep pursuing the sport or take over his dad’s restaurant (they even adapted the type of food they cook to match the cultural impact of the family-owned business, which was great). 

I think the two complemented each other really well and worked interestingly together, in a way I didn’t think the drama was gonna give them time to do, so I’m really pleased. 

#4 Qiao Chen (Momoshiro Takeshi) & Zhang BaiYang (Kaidoh Kaoru) 

My younger self is thriving with this one being included tbh. These two were so much fun in the anime, two rivals and opposites that represented the future of the team upon their elders leaving. 

I was surprised to see them so focused here, because it’s not a relationship most adaptations put emphasis on (their loss), but it paid off immensely by the time their game against Bunta and Jackal (Jin WenTai & Ke Jie) came around. 

Kaidoh is a tough one to adapt most times, and they did him so well in this one, I think this is my favorite live action Kaidoh in any adaptation, and I’ve watched a whole bunch of tenimyu in my day. They really captured the ambiguity of his character, how he balances a tough exterior with a sensitive core. Qiao Chen maintained his feelings for Xu Xingzi (Tachibana Ann) but that didn’t stop them from showing these two every time they could. 

#3 Mu Siyang (Tezuka Kunimitsu) & Ji Jingwu (Atobe Keigo) 

Oh, these two. Hyotei (Xing Yao) wasn’t featured as much as one would probably expect (I’m a Fudomine fan and with Yu Feng I got more than I even was expecting, but I admit Hyotei is a riot and I always live my best life when they show up). Still, they did the Tezuka/Atobe match justice and then some. 

Mu Siyang was incredibly compelling as Tezuka, and had a vulnerability to him that made me worry for his health more than I probably did for his anime counterpart. Maybe also the fact that he was older than his anime version yet looked younger than him made it sink more that his injury was something to worry about. I wish we had time to include anime!Tezuka’s issues with yips with Siyang, because I know the drama would have pulled it off, but that was further down the line in the story. Maybe for a season 2. 

Anyway, the Atobe/Tezuka game is one of the best games in tenipuri history and the drama knew it. The game felt like it earned its gravity with the development of both Siyang’s injury and Ji Jingwu’s determination to play against him. Then they sprinkled the camp on top, as the anime does, with Ji Jingwu paying for his every expense and calling him to get updates, which is 100% canon compliant imo. 

I feel like Ji Jingwu didn’t have enough room to be as much of Atobe as he could be, but then again, that’s not easy for anyone to pull off. Not even Kato Kazuki can do Junichi Suwabe as well as Junichi Suwabe.  

#2 Bai ShiYan (Yukimura Seiichi) & Tian ZiLong (Sanada Genichirou) 

So, it’s tough to feel for Rikkai (Hai Guang) at this point of the story. You learn about Yukimura’s health and it’s difficult, but you just met them and the first impressions haven’t been great. 

However, the relationship between Sanada and Yukimura has always been something pivotal for the way the team is constructed (they were named that way for a reason, two parts of a same hero and all that) and they sustain the team in a way other teams don’t have to. They are the mom and dad of the team, the coaches, the leaders and the pillars. They have a balance of severity and permissiveness, of strictness and instinct. They are like a couple who has been married for 25 years. 

How on Earth, I asked myself, will they achieve that with censorship on the way? I don’t know, but they did it, the mad bastards. 

It really does come through 100% the importance of their relationship and the way in which the captain’s health affects the team and, more than anything, their vice captain. It reaches a crescendo during the final match, before ShiYan’s operation, and they manage to pull it off with the time they have. 

Also, their scenes are like shot for a contemporary romance drama and I appreciate that vibe. 

#1 Tang JiaLe (Kikumaru Eiji) & Chi DaYong (Oishi Shuichiro) 

Oh boy. Look. I still own Golden Pair merchandise from my Days, ok? These two hold a special place in my heart. I saw actors who portrayed them grow up, succeed and pass away, sadly. I still sing Depend On Me sometimes. There is a cheerful vibe with these two, a sense of overcoming obstacles and finding balance, I don’t know. Fuji is my favorite character but these two are special in their way. 

This freakin’ drama just went full on Golden Pair. The level of content was off the charts. The moment they came on the screen, the second they talked about their doubles, it was already setting the tone of how deep their relationship was going to go. I am a bit amazed that they avoided to get closed down for this ngl. And I appreciate the risk because it paid off.

They have a body language communication that is captured in every shot. Even when they’re not the focus of the scene, they’re close, touching or holding each other, arms around each other, hands on each other’s shoulders, grabbing each other’s clothes. When they fight, that language changes drastically, and the distance they take feels intense and cold. You go through it with them and the team shows it as well. There’s an entire episode I had screencaps of and never posted when the team falls apart because they do. 

My favorite part, though, ironically, isn’t what they did with them together but what they did with them apart. They took time to develop them as individual characters with their own issues, their fears, their worries and weaknesses. They were allowed to be flawed and wrong and have to mend their ways. 

What really got me and impacted me deeply was the fact that they chose DaYong to talk about mental health. They gave room to speaking about the physical implications of anxiety disorders and about how self esteem issues can give more magnitude to ongoing issues with your mental health. Again, the age of the characters being changed helped add a depth to some issues that get developed with more intensity in a drama of this kind, and the way in which it takes TIME to get resolved, it isn’t a one episode thing, it’s an underlying issue that spans the season...*chef’s kiss* 

Even though there’s a specific tenimyu incarnation of these two that I hold dear and will always remember fondly, I think that Xu Ke and Zhu ZhiLing are the most successful and best portrayed live action Golden Pair I’ve ever seen. 

Bonus that was in the montage but it’s specifically about a family relationship: The Zhuo Bros

I have said Fuji has always been my favorite and his relationship with Yuta as an older brother (albeit he’s not the eldest sibling like me) is one I always felt close to. 

In the anime, the two have a rocky relationship that gets developed throughout, but the drama is very good at establishing not only Zhuo Yu’s (Fuji Yuta) self esteem issues, the subsequent use of that Guan Yue (Mizuki Hajime) does and Zhuo Zhi’s (Fuji Syusuke) attempts to breach the gap between the siblings, they also use it to develop Zhuo Zhi’s character and his reticence to show weakness. 

It’s tough to get Fuji towards a place of vulnerability without breaking character, but they used family and the care he provides to his brother as a point to further his story, and I appreciate that a lot. They managed to build Zhuo Zhi up with this sibling bond as one of his core elements, and that gave a lot of dimension to his games and his character. 

Bonus that wasn’t in the montage but I’m including in some capacity: Mu Siyang (Tezuka Kunimitsu) & Zhuo Zhi (Fuji Syusuke) 

I thought these two deserved a place in the list, even if they weren’t grouped much in the montage, because the drama did make them share moments together that I feel gave more depth to their characters. 

There was a very interesting moment in which they showed Mu Siyang and Zhuo Zhi establishing their differences when approaching tennis, and how serious Mu Siyang is about taking the team to victory. I think that strengthened the character as a captain to me, in a way that shows it rather than tells it, and allowed for his guidance to still be present when he wasn’t physically there. His determination ultimately influenced Zhuo Zhi to take things more seriously, and that was a pretty interesting development to see. 

All in all, I should, at some point, go and do a serious review for MyDramaList but I wanted to leave in my blog how much I appreciated this adaptation. I wasn’t expecting much and I was delivered everything.

[mackeydoodledoo]

Heart Flutter

Part 1 of the “Not So Cold After All” Series!

Pairing: Jade Thirlwall x (Fem!)Reader

Summary: You were a very caring child, no matter how many times mean kids would try and discourage you. However, there was one in particular girl that caught your eye; Jade Thirlwall, she'd always drive your bullies away, but would always act sour around you. However, years, many years go by and you practically forget about your “Barely Notices You” crush however, your paths cross again, when you realize you are Little Mixs' touring bassist, seeing Jade for the first time in years, resurfacing some unspoken love.

Warnings: Angst(?)

A/N: This is in 1st person, Bold = Thoughts, Italics = Singing

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

As I tune up my bass guitar I begin warming up with some scales; my met in my earbuds. I watch as my best friend; who's the keyboardist as well. The both of us are in a band; which we formed while we were drunk. Us two have been personally asked by Little mixs' producers, as us two have been performing gigs and getting a lot of good reviews from whomever sees us in concert. However, this is the first time we've been on tour. 

"This is a first," I chuckle, as I finish warming up 

"Now Y/N, when Little Mix comes on stage, you have to remember er to pick your jaw up off the floor-" 

I punch Laura's shoulder and walk away. Being lesbian sure sucks often.. because unlike me, I see a pretty girl or woman.. I gawk. My lesbian shows. 

"I hate you sometimes," I say 

Currently, our band is a duo. We were unsuccessful finding a drummer and a guitarist. But we're surprised that we made it work with a keyboardist and a bassist. However, we mostly did gigs for a living. We have tik tok and instagram. I mann Instagram while Laura manns the tik tok. We have posted some covers, bass line covers and keyboard covers. However most of the time, Laura is the lead whilst I back vocal or even don't vocal at all. I'm still trying to learn how to sing and play instruments at the same time. 

"Who'da thunk a duo band would end up becoming apart of a live band for Little Mix?" Laura asks 

"Not me," I laugh, blowing raspberries, "Thank god the song 'Black Magic' was on my sister's playlist. Otherwise we wouldn't be here." 

I begin playing the Black Magic Bass line by memory. It was difficult figuring this song out because there were no tabs for it until I had to listen to a cover that played the same song. For as long as I needed to I had managed to memorize it. But looking over the written tabs I did for a refresher. 

Full of Honey Just to make him sweet Crystal balling Just to help him see What he's been missing  So come and get it- 

I hear a voice that finished out the verse before the Chorus. I stop playing and look up. I feel my eyes widen slightly as I lay eyes on a familiar face. 

"J-Jade?" I call out 

"Y/N?" She calls out, "Is it really you?" 

"It’s me," I smile, gently swinging my Bass around behind me so I could give Jade a hug 

The hug is a lot more firm the last time I remember. But I felt that I did the same. 

"I'm glad you're here," she says, "We have so much to catch up on." 

My heart skipped a beat I swear... 

Wait.... She was never this enthused to see me. Why is she bringing it all back up now? 

"Y-Yeah," I smile 

She walks away to go back into rehearsal with her girls and I begin doing my own warm up. 

I pack up my bass for the evening to begin heading out to Ireland for the first part of the tour. 

"Y/N," a voice calls out 

I swing my bass case around my shoulders and smile, "Hey Jade." 

"Look," she begins, "I know where we left off all that time ago-" 

"It’s alright Jade," I interject, "I'm over it really. Besides, I think this suits you well." 

"I know it's just," she says, "I never thought about the whole thing until I saw you earlier. For the first time in years and-" 

I gently tug on Jade's arm and wrap my arms around her. Instinctively rubbing my thumb gently on the small of her back. 

"Lets leave it at this-," I suggest 

Jade pulls away to look at me, not letting me finish the rest of the sentence. 

"For now," I add, "Once the whole tour goes over, maybe.... Before Laura and I go back to the states, we could get dinner... Talk about life.... You know." 

"I'd like that love," Jade says, "I'd like that a lot." 

There goes Jade again... Calling me "love". It had always made my heart flutter. Then it would go all to my stomach and it'd ache from the giddy feeling of being in her presence. I remember when she would call me that when she finds me alone at the playground. But then when I felt better she would go back to her other friends. However, it didn't phase my little kid self as I knew she was doing it to make me feel better. 

When Laura and I haul our instruments onto the carrier for cargo, a handful of fans try to get pictures, autographs of sorts with the girls of Little mIx, giving little attention to us. However, we were fine with that. Jax, Becca, Laura and I were okay sticking into the shadows. However, we waited on the other side of the gate to wait for them. 

"Ngl I wish we could at least been asked to get in a picture," Jax pouts 

"And be in that chaos?" Becca asks, laughing 

When I look back over, Jade was the last to enter the gate to our flight and I notice in time she tripped over somebody's foot and I instinctively dove down to catch her. I catch her a few inches from her face making contact with the ground. I help her gain her bearings and through the gate. 

"You alright there?" I ask, brushing off dust from her hip line 

"Yeah," she answers, "Thanks love." 

I stop brushing her down and look up at her. I smile gently at Jade and rise back up slowly, to avoid being lightheaded. Jade and I walk back to everyone else and follow them towards the terminal gate. I notice Jade clinging onto me like a Koala clinging onto a tree branch. 

"Jade," I ask 

"Hmm?" She asks 

"You alright? You're hanging onto my arm kinda tight there. Like I'm almost going to fall if you yank even further." I say 

She smiles but reluctantly lets go of my arm. However, our fingers are coiled together. I notice Jade hunching her shoulders. I regretfully uncoil my fingers and take off my leather jacket and put it around her. I coil my fingers again and smile as she looks at me, as if I kissed her. 

"Thanks Y/N," Jade smiles 

"Always," I smile, us two catching up with the rest of the girls 

"Aren't you cold though Y/N?" She asks 

"Actually," I start, "My body temperature runs warmer than the average. So I was pretty sweaty not a minute ago." 

"Wish that could be me," Jade sighs 

We get onto the flight however, Jade and I pay ways as she seats herself next to Leigh-Anne. I sit next to Laura and immediately put in my headphones to help zone out. I look out the window as the plane takes off into the night. As I begin getting lost in my music, I didn't even feel Laura tap on my shoulder until she punches it, dragging me back into reality.

“Ow what?!” I ask

Laura points over to Jade right across the isle and she smiles and waves at me. I do the same.

“Can I sit next to you love?” she asks

Laura nods as she and Jade switch spots. I smile as Laura smirks at me. Jade leans over and looks onto my phone.

“What are you listening to?” she asks

“A band called ‘Crimson Apple’,” I say, “Want to listen with me?”

She happily nods as I give her the left earbud, “I’m currently listening to one of their songs called ‘Shower’.”

She nods as she slowly leans onto my shoulder. All the while Colby Benson’s voice is serenading the both of us. I gently lean my head on hers as I close my eyes. 

When I open my eyes again, I feel an arm wrapped around me. I straighten myself out and look up to see Jade.

“Well good morning sleepyhead,” She smiles, “We’re about to land.”

“How long was I asleep?” I ask

“Only an hour,” She answers, “You’re a real heavy sleeper.”

“Well, in this case I didn;t was anyone to slap my face to wake me up,” I say

As the plane lands I swing my backpack; that had been laying on the floor the entire time around my back and wait for Jade to grab whatever she had brought onto the flight. 

 As we exit the plane and make our way toward the exit, Jade’s fingers coil around mine. Smiling, but not having her know I was happy, I tighten the grip gently. Letting her know I’m okay with her holding my hand. As we reach the exit, there were fans already near the cab we were taking to the hotel. As much as I respect the fans, I absolutely dislike it when they crowd around us. Especially the girls. However, there were security personnel there to help all of us get to the cab easy.

“Are you dating the live band bassist Jade?” a fan asks

I turn to the direction of the sound however, Jade tugs at my arm, to which now I’m in front of her. I sigh and look back into the direction of the fan who asked.

“That’s for us to know and for all of you lot to never find out,” I answer back, smiling smuggish, then drag Jade into the cab

“Did you actually mean to begin talking in an english accent when you said that?” Jade asks

“What” I ask

“When you answered the fans you spoke in an english accent,” Jade laughs, “How did you not notice?”

Everyone began laughing and agreeing with Jade. Laura teases me at how I did even notice I began talking in an english accent.

“But I’m going to be honest that was really good though,” Perrie states

“Really?” I ask, “It’s not very perfect because I still can’t pronounce words very well when I talk like this. But, It’s there. It’s something.”

I laugh as Jesy begins cackling. Of all things I could love about Jesy, It’d be her laugh. 

 When we arrive to the hotel, we only had little time to wind down and even remotely change clothes as we had a show tomorrow night. 

“No rest for the wicked,” I smile, swinging my case around

“Not for us Explorers,” Laura smiles

We catch up to the rest of the band and Little Mix as we again head off into the city to head to the arena for rehearsal.

As we finish out rehearsal for tonight, Jesy, Jade, Perrie and Leigh-Anne turn to us. I look at Jade, as if I was going to hear the biggest spoiler of a lifetime.

“We want to hear you guys individually play a song for us,” Jesy announces, “We want to see your skills individually.”

My eyes widen… I’m not even a great bassist… How tf am I gonna impress all four of these girls? The girls were doubtful when they noticed me looking like I saw a ghost. Laura stands in front of me, “Yo this could be your chance to show Jade your bass skills!”

“Knowing people are watching?” I ask, “How am I gonna do this?!”

“Pretend they’re not there,” Laura demands, “Pretend it’s just you, the spotlight and your bass. Basically let the music take your soul and perform with that!”

I inhale and exhale and nod. Jade suggested I go last for reasons unknown however, Becca, Laura and Jax didn’t mind at all. 

Anxiety runs its course, I stretch out my wrists excessively, I play the song I’m planning to play; Planetary (GO!) By My Chemical Romance. Their bass lines are awesome to play, this bass line being my favorite. It's difficult but it's fun. 

"Hey you," Jade comes up to me, "You doing alright?"

"Y-yeah I'm alright Jade," I say, "I've only been a bassist for a couple of years and I'm in front of professionals."

"Oh love," Jade starts, "It's gonna be okay. You're gonna do great. I promise you."

I inhale and exhale and watch Jax finish up her set; hearing her play the last couple of notes. As I walk out onto the stage, Jax pats my shoulder as she passes by me. Jade goes out into the audience to sit next to her girls to watch me. I hook up my phone to record my run onto one of the amps  and then walk towards the microphone.

"So this bass line was one of the most difficult ones to learn," I start, "However, it was also really fun to play so I'm going to showcase that same one here tonight."

I motion for the sound audio people to start the song I talked over with the sound audio team and for a second, the tour manager and Little Mix were caught off guard with the siren sound in the intro. As the first verse plays I just do some eighth notes; simple however, when it gets to the pre-chorus, I begin jamming out; every note I rung out, I “overdo it” and head bang into the notes. I hear Jade cheer as I play sixteenth on the 12th fret on the A string (the second lowest string on a 4-string bass).

 As I play the chorus I begin to jump around and headbang as I play it. I make eye contact with Jade and lean down to play to her. I watch her as she begins acting like my biggest fan. I was okay with that. 

 As I play the last two notes on my part to the song. I feel sweat run down the side of my head as I look over and Jade is running over to me. With only a split second to swing my bass around, she immediately jumps into my arms.

“Bloody hell Y/N!” she yells, “You were amazing!”

As she pulls away, our faces stay inches away from each others’ and we smile at each other. She looks so beautiful Holy sh*t… 

“I knew we chose a great bass player,” Jade smiles

Perrie, Jesy and Leigh-Anne agree. I look to Jax, Becca and Laura and they give me a thumbs up. This is going to be the coolest tour ever.

Part 2