#might make some changes to this before it goes on youtube

[chongoblog]

Weird Al has a new polka medley so I made this to keep with tradition

[black-and-yellow]

I wanted to do more but it ended up getting late. So naturally I also made a playlist for them too :)

Do you need me to draw some nice Micnight stuff for you x

(because it would be my honour. I put off drawing it cause I feel like I'll get called cringe but whatever, drop some ideas, give me an excuse. Ya gal's got time to kill)

oh god if you really don't mind, please yes i'd love some more micnight, can never get enough micnight never ever ever 😭

as for ideas, my brain hasn't been working so hot lately beyond rotating MICNIGHT 💖💖 over and over again, so i'll take literally anything frfr

(tho my favorite micnight flavor is ofc midnight bullying mic, and/or looking after him but being so super mean about it akdfjskfjskfj)

[mattsturnioloz]

Then I lost you.

Part 2.

Summary: Matt's career as a youtuber takes a toll on his 4 year relationship with his girlfriend, putting it on hold. Will it ever be the same again?

Pairings: Y/n x Matt Sturniolo

Warnings: angst, mentions of anxiety, unresolved angst (maybe)

A/N: (guys this is my first fic so please bear with me😭 l would love some feedback or tips though!!)

I was sitting on the couch scrolling through my phone and channel surfing, waiting for my boyfriend, Matt, to get back from filming a car video with his brothers, Chris and Nick. But over the course of the last couple of months, Matt has been distant and there was a rather uncomfortable feeling sitting in my chest. He would make up excuses as to why he couldn't hang out with me like he was filming, editing or streaming. It made me overthink. Did I do something? Does he still love- No, of course he still loves me. Right?

It was all too much and it gave me anxiety. Sure, I understand his career as a Youtuber can be a handful but I can't help but feel a bit neglected and it makes me feel guilty.. I sit there thinking for a moment, taking in the cool autumn smell that roamed through the house, listening to the patter of the soft rain drops falling onto the windows, trying to think of a way that I could get Matt to spend time with me.

I decide to cook a nice dinner for matt and I or at least attempt to, so I stand up and I head to the kitchen and decide on some ravioli which takes me about an hour but I did it.

Flashback

"What are you gonna get to eat?" | asked Matt.

"I'm not sure.. you know for a fancy restaurant, you'd think they'd have a variety of options." He says before raising his eyebrow at me, showing me the menu and we both chuckle.

"Our first date and i'm already messing up huh?" He says with a nervous chuckle.

"What?? No! you're not messing up i'm having fun." I said with a smile, reaching over the table to hold his hand and he gave me a lighthearted smile.

"Ravioli is the only decent thing they got here, think i'll go with that." He says closing the menu. "See? It's not all that bad, I just so happen to love ravioli. I think I can go for some too.” I smile.

Present

I set up the table with bowls and utensils before making my way to the bathroom and realize that look a bummy mess so l spend the rest of the time I had left before he got back to make myself look at least a little presentable. I feel an overwhelming but nice sense of excitement to spend time with him again. I change into a casual but nice outfit and decide to do a simple and natural makeup look.

I soon hear the sound of the front door opening and chattering following behind it. I make my way out of the room to greet Matt who was laughing with chris and nick.

"Hey baby! How was filming??" | say almost too enthusiastically but I was too excited to keep my cool. "It was alright." He says nonchalantly, which makes me turn my happy demeanor down a notch.

Chris goes downstairs to get ready for something and Nick goes upstairs to do the same. Leaving matt and I alone which was perfect so I take the chance.

"I made-" before I could say anything Matt interrupted me. "Hey, me nick and chris are gonna go to top golf with madi, and nate so I might be home a little late." My heart sinks and i'm flushed with dread but I don't give up so easily.

"Well I actually made dinner for us.. I was hoping we could spend a little time together since we haven't in a while." | say fiddling with my necklace getting a bit anxious.

"I'm sure it's amazing baby but I should go get ready, Save me some yeah?" He says, placing a gentle kiss on my temple before he walks towards our shared bedroom to get ready.

I sit at the table where our food is now cold and I feel a lump in my throat followed by a cold sinking feeling in my chest.

658 words.

A/N: (This is sloppy and I kind of hate it, js wanted to try this out to see what yall think. if you guys like it, i'll keep writing, if not then im never writing again and since it's my first fic I kept it short but if you guys like it, i'll make the next parts longer 🫶🏼)

Taglist: @h3arts4harry @star-yawnznn @imwetforyourmom

[clownyclaushoe]

art the clown x reader 🔞 | i taste blood and it's turned into an obsession series

part one | champagne confetti

the first time art the clown eats your pussy (and makes you squirt 😫🖤) 🔞 ofc

i didn't intend for there to be so much semi-plot before the porn but it gets just a little angsty/sad at the start. chapter title comes from the song 3d by jungkook cause i couldn't think of anything else and its a euphemism for squirting 😆💦🍾 series title is from lilith (diablo iv anthem) by halsey feat. suga.

part two | part three | part four

---

you couldn't quantify what your relationship with the miles county clown was; it wasn't really a friendship and you weren't romantically or sexually involved either, though you'd be lying if you said art didn't have a way about him that drew you in, something so inexplicably attractive about him. for his part, it seemed he tolerated you most times, others it was as if he kept you around for his own amusement.

that much was probably true enough, given the night you'd met and his over the top reaction to your homemade costume last halloween - harley quinn from the animated series. when he'd walked into the fast food joint and noticed you, he dropped his massive black trash bag to the floor, rushing up to you as if you were a celebrity. it was late enough that there were a few groups of people from the nearby bar throughout the restaurant. his display making them stare, snicker, and talk amongst themselves. it made you a little self-conscious, but the funny clown wasn't fazed at all.

you thanked him, because though a little embarrassing, it was also flattering, considering the time and effort it took to make each detail of your outfit and makeup just right.

somehow you'd let him sit at your table, you asking if he was going to purchase anything, if he was hungry; he had definitely looked like he could use a meal. he had pulled out some change, counting it out on the table. you placed your hand over his, stopping him, telling him you got it. his head jolted back as he looked up at you wide-eyed, mouth agape, as if he was scared by your touch. something in your chest clenched, wondering what made him react in such a way, what could have happened in his past.

six months later you still didn't know the details of his past, though you still were curious. what was he like as a kid, as a teenager, was he an outcast back then, too? would you two have been friends?

you stared at his back as he sat at his work bench, tinkering with some new items for his arsenal. it troubled you how you could compartmentalize that murderous, sadistic side of art from the silly, caring side, though as time goes on its lessening. you wonder, too, if those "good" parts of him were enough to keep him in your life, if it meant even monsters could one day be redeemed. though you doubt art sought redemption, his dark heart beyond healing.

you return your gaze back to your laptop, you had been binge watching youtube videos, just about to search for funny animal clips, when art's hand suddenly waved in front of the screen.

"shit, what, art--" you said all at once, as you hadn't seen or heard his approach. art's arm dropped, and he slumped a little, frowning at you curiously. "i'm sorry, i didn't mean to snap at you. i was just startled." you exhale a deep breath. "yes, art?"

art grinned, pointing at your laptop. "what is it?" art flexed his fingers in a gesture suggesting you hand your laptop to him.

"you want this?" art nodded. "for what?" art insistently did a grabby-hands gesture, while bouncing on his toes. "okay, okay." you handed it over, hoping he wasn't ordering materials or weapons to be used for his next kill using your saved card info.

after a few clicks, suddenly there's audio playing. it's a woman - and it sounds like she's shouting. for a moment you think it might be a snuff video. it takes a few seconds to realize those are shouts of pleasure, not pain.

"i'll leave you alone to enjoy that."

art grabs your arm momentarily, shaking his head, pointing at you, himself, then the screen. you stare at him, confused until he turns the laptop to show you what he was watching.

a man eating a woman's pussy. and not in the cannibal sense, but the cunnilingus sense.

he continues pointing between the three of you, animatedly. "art? you want to eat my pussy?"

art nodded excitedly while pausing the video and putting the computer aside. you didn't think he viewed you that way, wasn't even sure he had a libido.

it seemed at times even art was at the mercy of his own whims, compelled to do things without knowing why or bothering to question it. you wondered if this was one of those times.

did he even understand what he was asking?

"i didn't think-- art, i-i don't--" you trailed off, at a loss for what to say. for what you could say. the truth was for an unbearably long time you've wanted him in every way possible, how could you deny yourself the chance now.

you stood, turning to him, and pushing up on your tiptoes, wrapping your arms around his neck as he slipped his arms around your waist, pulling you closer against him. your faces so close, you can feel his breath fanning against your cheek, his intense gaze boring into yours.

the moment lingered. which of you would act first and finally release the thick tension filling the already stuffy air; the summer heat worsened in the poorly ventilated room, sorely lacking air conditioning. sweat trailed down your side, under the thin fabric of your dress. you needed out of these clothes.

art smirked at you, tilting his head, eyes widening and brows raising - he's teasing you, trying to see if he could get a rise out of you. you knew he liked to fuck around with people for his own entertainment, of course you'd be no different. luckily, the distinction between you and everyone else was he's about to fuck around with you, literally.

you couldn't wait any longer.

you leaned forward, capturing art's mouth suddenly, gripping the back of his head. after a moment, art kisses back, a little uncoordinated and off-kilter, which is to be expected with art, and the almost certainty that he's long out of practice.

you whimpered a little against his mouth, taking aback by just how much you're affected by the touch of his lips and his embrace surrounding you.

his hands move down to your thighs and you hop up, art pulling you off the ground, your legs wrapping around him. art takes steps forward and you have no idea where he's taking you and you don't fucking care. he walks you over to his work bench with all his beloved tools that he kept in a particular order and never let anyone else ever touch. he cast the tools aside with a swipe of his arm, setting you on the table.

you sit at the edge and he presses close between your legs as you kiss again, feeling his hard-on though his costume, your hips rolling to grind against him, seeking friction to drive you both wild.

"fuck, i can already feel your big, hard cock," you gasp out incredulously. "want to feel it inside me already. please, art."

art grins, but wiggles his finger at you, shaking his head with his tongue out as if to remind you of what started all this in the first place.

you wait impatiently for his next move.

he grazes his hands up your dress, starting at your thighs and up the curve of your hips, over your waist, shifting up to squeeze your tits together. he unfastened the buttons at the top of the garment before pulling it up and over your head. once again he's surprised you, you would've guessed he'd tear the thin fabric off your body. you get wetter at the thought.

he's quick to do away with your bra and underwear. you lie back on the table as much as will allow, your legs spreading further apart for art to see all of you.

he grabs the backs of your thighs, holding them up as he leans closer to your pussy. he spits on it, his cold saliva spilling over your hot and pulsating labia.

art ducks his head, wasting no time latching his mouth onto your pussy, his big nose bumping your clit repeatedly.

"ohh, oh my god," you struggle to get out, taken aback by his enthusiasm, watching his tongue jutting out to lick between your folds. your body already starting to shake with how fucking good he feels.

his grip on your legs tightens, keeping you still. there's already a familiar feeling of building pressure, like you had to pee - you knew if it were piss, art would be unbothered and perhaps even like it more than the squirt that he was about to coax from you. it was growing urgency, you were so close. your hand blindly reaching for art, for some bearing to ground you, as you felt untethered, completely unfurled by this curious creature and his perfect mouth.

that pressure became too much and you let go, releasing a guttural moan as you come, squirting on art's face, and calling his name.

once art draws back, bearing his teeth with a grin. you knew there was something otherworldly about art, something uncanny, and this seemed farther proof, how he knew how to make you come harder than you ever had, so deeply, it ached - it nearly hurt.

he stands, leaning over you for a kiss, allowing you to taste yourself. when he pulls back, he looks to the pile of tools and for a fleeting moment you think you're his next victim. the real death after the "little" one.

he grabs something from the pile, showing it off with a flourish of his hand. it'd been what he was working on earlier. it was a metal dildo with a smooth head, small ridges around the side and a ribbed shaft.

a shiver ran through you at the thought of art using it on you, that he made it for you. you got wetter imagining being pounded with it, impaled by it.

"fuck yes, please, art." he pushed it inside your soaked pussy, watching the way it stretched you. "ah, shit."

he kept thrusting the toy in and out of you, kneeling again to lick and kiss your clit.

"yes, art, ah, ahhh," you grab his head, holding him in place. "gonna make me fucking squirt again."

and moments later, you were squirting around the toy fucking you good and hard, drenching art's hand and face. the afterglow seemed to go on and on, you have no idea how long, spanning like the moments you had spend with him, time having no meaning anymore.

when you both righted yourselves, you noticed he was getting hard again, huge cock jerking in the tight confines of his pants.

"your turn?" art nods with a grin.

---

sorry to end it with a cliffhanger

i hope you enjoyed! 🖤❤🖤❤🖤

© angeljeonjkk 2024

[dj-of-the-coven]

How to Burn Your Own CDs - a guide for Windows users

Are you--yes, you!--tired of paying money to stupid shit like spotify for your music? Do you hate the way that the music industry takes almost all the profit that bands make through streaming and leaves them with pennies? Have you ever wanted to fire up that old CD-Radio in the corner of your bedroom, only to be stopped because all you have on CD is Weezer's blue album and a copy of Kidz Bop 16 that you don't remember buying? Well this guide just might be for you!

Materials you'll need:

A computer. Can't do it without this one.

A CD drive. It can be internal or external, but you'll need one either way. You can find them at Office Depot for fairly cheap and I've heard that some Walmarts carry them.

A pack of CD-Rs. CD-Rs, or CD Recordables, come in packs of 20, 50, or 100. A proper 100-pack should cost you no more than $30, so unless there's some special shortage in your area, don't buy from anywhere selling them at a markup. CD blanks are literally 50c a piece.

CD cases. Sold wherever CD-Rs are, but you can also find these at thrift stores pretty easily.

A sharpie or some kind of permanent marker

Software you'll need:

Jdownloader. You can acquire mp3s through Bandcamp if you're dedicated to righteousness, but for everyone else, install jdownloader or some other kind of open-source download program. I will be proceeding as if you have jdownloader available.

Windows media player. This should open automatically when you insert a CD-R into your CD drive.

Fre:ac audio converter. This is only for the occasion that you encounter OPUS or mp4a files that cannot be interpreted by your CD player.

Note: If you're very determined not to download software onto your computer, you can use free youtube downloaders and audio converters, but these are subject to viruses and other issues such as download speed. I will be proceeding as if you have the programs I listed.

The process:

Decide what you want to burn--anything goes, but keep in mind the time limit on your CD-Rs. Most will record 90 minutes or less.

Open jdownloader, switch to the linkgrabber tab, then paste youtube links in any order until you have all the music you want. I'd personally recommend doing it song-by-song instead of a full album stream, because a massive file will require a lot of work to separate back into searchable tracks.

De-select all files except audio on the right-hand side options menu.

Make a folder inside the music folder of your laptop and label it with the name of your mix CD.

In the properties tab of each song on jdownloader, change the destination folder to the folder you've just created.

Hit "start all downloads".

Once finished, open each folder. If everything is an .mp3 or a .wav, skip the next 2 steps.

Open Fre:ac audio converter to convert all audio files that aren't .mp3 or .wav into .mp3 or .wav.

Drop the converted files next to the unconverted files in your folder. If you wish, you can delete the originals to make the folder easier to browse.

Put your blank CD-R into the CD drive. If external, plug in your CD drive first or the tray will refuse to open.

Windows media player will open automatically. On the right-hand side, you will see the tracklist of your CD-R (which should be blank). On the left, you will see the audio that your computer is able to find in the music folder. Put your selected tracks IN ORDER onto the tracklist.

Listen to the beginning and ending of each track to make sure there isn't a significant time gap. This also prevents accidentally burning a youtuber's stupid outro if you missed it before.

When satisfied, hit "start burn".

On an external drive, the CD tray will open upon completion. You can reinsert it to ensure that the burning went smoothly.

Once satisfied, remove the CD from your drive. With your sharpie or permanent marker, write the name of the album on the front, then store safely inside a CD case.

you did it👍

Ask me if you run into any issues.

Legal disclaimer: this guide is purely for educational purposes and I do not admit to or take responsibility for any piracy committed using the instructions given.

Illegal disclaimer: cops suck my dick

[warehouse-in-la-cienaga]

Fantasy high au where over the course of four years, The Bad Kids all end up with online followers for wildly different reasons, and it makes the rest of Solace realise that this disaster group of teenagers are responsible for their continued existence (many times over).

-As in canon, Fig has all her music accounts. However, they all link to her personal accounts (not including any from before freshman year). On her personals, there are plenty of clips of her and the rest of the BK, starting halfway through Freshman year. She has a Fantasy YouTube account where she shows concert clips and music demos, but also running complications of each bad kid being cool/stupid/insane. The highest viewed video is Riz and Adaine pulling Fig into a magic debate, with the quote ‘someone get Kristin, I think they might actually kill each other’.

-Kristin actually gets involved on social media at the end of Freshman year. She starts with taking about her deity ‘yes!’ but also includes stories about unlearning toxic religious teachings, and how to deal with changing/leaving a religion. She gets a lot of ex-religious followers, although few of them actually follow ‘yes!’ When she starts talking about Cassandra at the end of Junior year, a lot of her followers get behind it. Highest viewed video is introducing her Sibling Bucky, who talks about following an older sibling who’s been denounced and escaping a religion as a pattern in families.

-Riz starts his social medias during the summer of Freshman year, when he gets his license and starts getting clients. He has a separate, personal Fantasy YouTube account that’s a mix of reviewing mystery-genre media (books, films, ect), and advice for adventurers (think Polygon Unravelled meets Monster manual guides). Highest video is rating all the enemies the BK’s have fought in their time, with the quote ‘Porter was strong, but he also relied on angry teenagers to be subtle and organised, so that’s a flaw.’

-Adaine is next, takes an idea from Riz and talked about her favourite media, as well as advice to other Wizards. Guides on memorising spell chants. Organising material components. She has Jawbone on some videos to talk about how to deal with the mental effects of adventuring. Most of her videos are very calm and easy to listen to, with a few insane clips of the BK’s thrown in, usually when demonstrating a spell. Highest viewed video is a blurry clip of a car on fire. In the background, Fig is howling laughing. We hear Riz say ‘what have we learned.’ The camera flips, and Adaine’s blank face says ‘do not punch a car to see how far it’s thrown.’ End clip.

-Fabian is terminally offline, and only joins the others online at the end of Sophmore year. His videos are a mix of dancing and fighting techniques. He goes through steps easily, from beginner to expert. His fighting videos include the rest of the bad kids as opponents. He sometimes does talk over them to give advice, but there are also complete dances and fights set to music with no talking. Highest viewed video is his first dance with Mazey. It’s not a ‘couple dance’ it’s almost like breakdancing, but you can tell the two have high chemistry together.

-The group channel is started at the beginning of Junior year. It’s mostly clip compilations, to begin with, since everyone is incredibly stressed and busy, but as the year goes on there’s videos of the snowball fight at moonar yulenear, the frostyfair. Debates between Riz and Adaine, Godess talks with Fig and Kristin. At least half of their videos are the BK’s doing something insane and documenting results, ranging from ‘fantasy jackass’ to ‘fantasy myth busters’ depending on who’s involved. Highest viewed video is Fig surfing a lava river, following Fabian who is riding the Hangman through the same river like a jetski. Adaine is standing on the other bank, holding an ice bag.

-Gorgug is surprisingly last. The audience know about him, he’s appeared in Figs music, Fabian’s fighting, Riz talked about his gadgets and the group channel includes him as much as the rest of the BKs. He just doesn’t really think there’s anything for him to have his own channel for. Until there’s a group video where Fig needs a gadget, and the audience get to see Gorgug’s workshop, where he’s currently working on a robotic, fox-like creature that jumps up on Fig when she walks in. His channel is sort of a Michael Reeves type, where he does such impressive engineering for the most insane reasons. Highest viewed video is a workshop tour that includes three fires, at least one of which is Figs fault. The thumbnail is Gorgug watching the fire on his desk with a completely straight face.

[blissfullyecho]

how to study + become a better college student

*i’m in nursing school for reference*

before classes/school:

#1. eat a good, hearty breakfast. i cannot concentrate when i’m hungry because i think about lunch or having a snack. i like to carb up for breakfast (carbs give you energy) and have things like pancakes, french toast, bagels, etc., as well as protein (because that keeps you full) like eggs, turkey bacon, yogurt, etc. i like to take a green powder or a multivitamin during this time to give my body what it needs so that i can function for the rest of the day too.

#2. i always bring water with me to class so that i can concentrate and not think about how thirsty i am. it’s super important to stay hydrated so come prepared.

#3. i know the lesson plan and what’s going to be talked about each day, and if your classes are run like that too, read the chapter or look over whatever it is you’re going to look over today in class to give you a general idea of what you’re going to learn today. this will help you feel like you’re one step ahead (which you are).

#4. wake up early enough to be relaxed in the morning. every time i didn’t perform my best in school was when i woke up and immediately rushed to get ready for class and not took the time to allow myself to ‘wake up’. your mornings should be chill, not a race against the clock.

during classes/school:

#1. actually jot down notes— do not rely on just using your phone to take pictures of the board/powerpoint. when you write your notes down, you get a chance to get that information stuck in your head. what i do if my instructor goes too fast on the powerpoints is: i take a picture of the powerpoint, then i write down what she/he says, then when i get home i rewrite what i took a picture of and the notes that i took in class (i’ll talk about this later).

#2. ask questions— who cares if you’re shy or whatever. asking questions will allow you to be more engaged and it shows your professors/instructors/teachers that you actually care (and they might even bump some grades up for you if you show you’ve taken initiative and tried). every question you ask, write your question down and their response in your notes. i’m telling you, this has helped so much and it gives you such a good look.

#3. use your lunch break for what it is— a break. 30 minutes isn’t a lot of time for an 8 hour day so actually rest and enjoy your lunch during this time. you need a chance to reset.

#4. if you can, always ask to review your tests with your professors/instructors. see what you got wrong and talk it through with them. in nursing school, we generally aren’t able to see what we got wrong on our exams and tests without our professor being there to review them with us. please do this.

#5. use a 1 subject notebook for each class and have pens/pencils that you only use for class. your notes in class should be legible but not super pretty. make your notes pretty at home, not in class.

#6. when taking a test, go over the questions and answers before turning in. there have been so many times i read a question too quickly and changed my answer and i ended up being correct when i looked it over again. don’t make those dumb mistakes.

#7. befriend the other students who do really well in the class. seriously, this will save you.

after classes/school:

#1. when you get home from school, unwind for an hour. take a shower, go to the gym, do whatever you want to do to allow yourself to relax and unwind. you need to take another break after school to regroup and to find a little bit of balance.

#2. review the notes you took in class that day and the pictures you took of the board, and rewrite your notes in a different notebook. so i suggest 2 notebooks for each class— one for your sloppy in-class notes and another for your pretty and organized notes. rewriting your notes will allow your brain to help retain that information.

#3. spend some time each day after rewriting your notes to watch a few videos on youtube about that topic. for nursing school, i like to look at 1-3 videos about what we’re learning to get a wider understanding.

#4. on the weekends, i like to spend 1-2, sometimes 3 hours each day reviewing everything i learned that week. i will watch more videos, i will read over my notes, and i will also create flashcards with my own practice questions in regards to the notes i take and quiz myself with those cards.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Distancing Character from Person of Same Name

Anonymous asked: I'm writing a fanfiction about an obscure pairing, and some time ago I met a person who has the same name as one of the characters, and now writing about this pairing makes me a little uncomfortable. It's a pretty common name, but I also see this person quite often and it's just weird for me. Do you have any advice so I can separate the character and the person in my head?

Here are some things you could try to distance this character from the person you know in real life who has the same name:

1 - Keep a Character Visual Handy - If you're writing fan-fiction about a canon character, you can search for promo pictures of the character. Or, if it's an OC or an original fiction character, you can try casting the character (see guide here: Guide: Casting Your Characters) with a real actor/model to help you visualize them. Try printing the picture out and tacking it up someplace where you can see it while you write. You could also keep it open on your phone, laptop screen, etc. This will help keep the character fresh in your mind as you write.

2 - Watch Clips or a Character Tribute - If you're writing fan-fiction and you're writing canon characters, odds are good there are clips or even fan-made character tributes of this character on YouTube. Watching some clips or a character tribute before you write is another great way to make sure the character is fresh in your head, rather than the person you know who shares their name. If you're writing an OC or original fiction and you've cast your character with a real actor or model, you could look for clips of movies or shows they're in that closely matches the vibe of your character, and watch those before you write. Or, you could put together some character aesthetics/mood boards and look at those before you write.

3 - Make a List of Differences - Try making a list of all the ways you can think of that your character and their inadvertent namesake are different. No detail is too small. When you're around the real person with that name, really try to focus on the things that make them different from your character.

4 - Change Up the Name a Bit - If you're writing a canon character, your options might be limited, but see if there's a canon nickname for this character you can lean on in your story that makes sense. For example, let's say the shared name is Madison, and the person you know in real life only ever goes by Madison. But maybe the canon character is sometimes called Madi by other characters... if you use Madi as often as it makes sense, that can help to create some distance.

If you're writing an OC or original fiction, you have more room to give your character a nickname of your choosing, and most names have a variety of possible nicknames. You could also try altering the spelling or changing the name to something that sounds very similar.

5 - Talk About It - If you're comfortable talking to this person about that fact that you're a writer, see if you can find an opportunity to share that you happen to be writing about a character with the same name. If it's a fan-fiction character, you can say something like, "Have you ever heard of the TV show ----? There's a character in it named -----, and I've been writing about her and another character, so I always think about that character when I see you." Or, something like that. Sometimes, just getting it out of your head (if possible) can sort of interrupt the connection in your head.

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[arcane-ish]

Some thoughts on love, changing the world, co-dependency and commander Caitlyn

I watched this youtube video, “Understanding Vi”. I think it makes a pretty good case for why Vi falls for Caitlyn and what the appeal, the draw of the relationship is for her.

Looking at some of the other vids on the channel, I got the impression that there is focus a bit on ships that would actually be working and healthy in a real life way, couples whose personalities and goals and stage in life are a good match.

It made me look at CaitVi a bit under that light, and also what Amanda might have been thinking when she forged them.

I’m personally a big subscriber to the whole “shipping something doesn’t mean that the characters are perfect or that the relationship is perfect just that you think there’s a good story there”. And I vibe with that a lot. I can want to see characters interacting or just what the interactions would tell me about a character I like, even if I think the relationships might end in breakup or death and murder eventually. At the same time, not everybody ships like that or ships like that all the time.

It can be a particular type of comfort ship to look at your ship and just feel like things will be alright for them. That no matter what happens they’ll support each other and they’ll still be together when they are old and gray. And for that you do have to write the characters as just being very stable with each other.

[speaking of which, maybe that’s just the Zaundads shipper in me, I have seen quite a bit of hot CaitVi art of course and quite a bit of CaitVi if they met as kids, but are there any good arts of them growing old together/spending their life together? I know League means they will forever be frozen like that, but I think for a bit them with the first traces of gray hair could be lovely, especially if as part of a chain of arts with them also being younger]

I think CaitVi can work like that, two people who genuinely like each other, who want to make it work and who overall have enough self discipline that they can make it work despite any conflicts that might rise up.

Looking at the plot, I do feel like CaitVi got shafted a little bit in season 2, for my tastes, my priorities, because if you look around, it feels like with most of the other ships they have a measurable effect on the plot. Zaundad reuniting is the reason why the AU is like that according to the writer’s statements, Ekko stops Jinx’s suicide attempt, Jayce talks Viktor down from destroying the world, timetravel Viktor is the reason that Jayce became interested in magic.

And no, I’m not saying that CaitVi has no effect on the plot. In season 1 it is very clear, Caitlyn is Vi’s “bridge” to Piltover, their connection is why Vi and Caitlyn are standing in front of the council trying to make a case for Zaun, their connection is also the reason for a lot of conflict and misunderstandings between Vi and Jinx.

And even in season 2, her love for Cait is clearly the reason why Vi joins up with the enforcers or why she lets herself be handed over to Ambessa.

But now we get to the actual meat of what I want to talk about. I know there are a lot of jokes about “Vi calls Cait cupcake and fascism leaves Cait’s body”. And here it goes: I don’t think that that’s true because Cait was pretty half-hearted about fascism anyway.

And this is not to say Caitlyn is not to blame for the things she did as Commander Caitlyn or before. Heck, especially if you knew on some level that it was wrong makes it extra questionable in its own way. But that’s just genuinely how I read Caitlyn as a character. From her point of view there two big candidates for “for love” decisions:

turning on Ambessa

letting Jinx go

But both of these to me seem like they are in general alignment with what Caitlyn is feeling in this situation anyway. Which doesn’t mean that Vi isn’t a factor in the mix of Caitlyn’s motivations. But that she isn’t the only one and that I can picture worlds where Caitlyn makes roughly the same choices even if Vi wasn’t around.

Caitlyn doesn’t fight to become commander. It gets offered to her without any pushing on her side, it basically falls into her lap. We skip forward in time and she is already doubting that it’s a great idea in her scene with Maddie. I feel like her doubts grow in the scene with Singed. IMO Caitlyn was (1) never that gung-ho for commandering from an ideological point of view, she was willing to do it and ignore her own doubts for the big goal of “catching Jinx”. And yes maybe she was curious about Ambessa. (2) she was already out with half a foot when she meets Vi again and Vi gives her the opportunity to jump ship.

Similarly, letting Jinx go, I feel like Caitlyn understands that she needs to let go of her hate. That’s what her scene with Jinx is about. Maybe in a world without Vi Caitlyn wouldn’t have been able to bring herself to the point of actively letting Jinx go/unleashing her on the world again even as she understands that she needs to let go of Jinx/her hate for Jinx. But I think she at least heavily would have thought about it.

I think from a ship point of view? You want your ship to be powerful, you want it to have a ripple effect on the plot, you want it to shape the world. But from a relationship point of view? It’s probably better and saner if the people involved are put together enough that they can fix themselves before hooking up and are not co-dependent on each other for not going evil or not offing themselves.

From a relationship point of view, it’s probably better that Caitlyn doesn’t need Vi to develop doubts about Ambessa and that Vi doesn’t need Caitlyn to pull her out of her self destructive spiral from the beginning of s2a2. Because if they have the strength to pull themselves out of their dark places it makes them more ready to have a healthy and sane relationship and choose each other because this is what they want.

There’s a romantic appeal to co-dependent characters who absolutely need each other, but from a relationship POV? It’s probably better to … not be like that. That Vi and Cait do have things in their lives and parts of their personality they want to explore before they return to each other.

(that said, I do hope CaitVi fandom is full of “Commander Cait can’t live without Vi and decides to sneak into Zaun to watch Vi fight undercover, after having seen the posters, or just having heard the reputation, or runs into her accidentally while doing a raid on the club. Because while from an intellectual point of view I totally get why it’s probably better that Vi pulls herself out of her hole, for my shipper tastes, yeah I totally want Cait to see Vi at her lowest and it gals me that in canon Jinx is sneaking into Vi’s fights to check on her and not Cait)

[poraphia]

"Morning Routines with Wilbur"

➵ PAIRING! cc!wilbur x gn!reader

➵ CREATING! 12.10.23 | 390 words

➵ CONTAINING! immense fluff, mornig spent with wilbur, making pancakes, domestic tingzz

➵ SAYING! really wanted to post something today, so heres an old draft i had in my notion yall can enjoy :)) i might make a little banner for my posts just to give it more personality hehe

My masterlist :)

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

both of you have busy schedules, so you two try to make the best of yall’s mornings

wilbur would hug you closely in bed for at least fifteen minutes. he specifically sets his alarm 15 mins before he actually does have to wake up just for those snuggles :)

“good morning, sunshine, how did you sleep?” he would ask in a grumbly voice that would always make you smile.

once you wake up, both of you head into the kitchen and decide what to have for breakfast together

wil would prepare the ingredients while you cooked on the stove. once he sets up all the plates and does any cleaning around the house, he wraps his arms around your torso as youre flipping pancakes

while eating, you and wil make small talk bringing up some past memories, talking about work, or just talking about some ideas to each other

“oh— by the way ash and I came up with this riff for this song we’re working on. I think it’s pretty cool!”

if either of you dont feel like talking, wil would take out his phone and set it against the kitchen’s flower vase so that the two of you can huddle close together and watch some youtube videos (yall try to avoid tommy’s videos in the morning. he could get loud!)

“don’t click on that tommy video.”

“but willll! it’s his survival series!”

“it’s too early for his gremlin voice.”

afterward, you would take wil’s dishes and wash them as he goes into the bathroom to shower and get changed

once done with all the cleaning, you pack up his lunch (that you prepared yesterday) and write down a little note that he could find under his food containers

by the time he’s out of the shower you’ve already packed all his bags to make sure he doesnt leave anything behind

he always makes sure to give you a kiss on the forehead before heading out the door

“ill text you during lunch, okay? i love you. drive safe!”

you would make sure to watch him until you see him get into his car to make sure he’s safe

once you know he securely made it to his car, you get yourself ready for the busy day ahead :)

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

a / n ~ really fluffy and sweet. hope yall enjoyed :D reblogs, replies, notes of all kind are super duper appreciated!

[kitthepurplepotato]

Chapter 7 - The Truth About Pro Hero Deku.

Summary: Deku introduces his girlfriend to his family. Y/N teases Inko and All Might about their “relationship”. Izuku.exe has stopped working after Inko’s answer. Also, Izuku tells Y/N his biggest secret.

Warnings: Swear words

First Chapter Master List

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

“Izuku, you need to come home more often!” Inko gives up on hiding and joins the group hug. You can’t miss All Might’s fond smile as one of Inko’s arms snake around him while she pats Izuku’s back with the other.

Izuku might not have his blood father in his life but Izuku clearly grew up in the most loving family anyway. Izuku talked a lot about his past in the interviews; about their financial struggles, his mom’s torturous work routine, about how they googled “how to shave” together on YouTube to learn how to do that stuff because neither of them had anyone in their lives who was nice enough to show Izuku how to shave without cutting himself. They lived a lonely life until Izuku joined UA; it was only him and his mother until All Might took Izuku under his wing. Everything had changed after Izuku made his first proper friends; the house got more lively when his mates came around and Inko smiled more as well, finally able to concentrate on work without feeling like he’s neglecting the only important person in her life for some spare money.

“I genuinely couldn’t. Ask Sweet Pea, if you don’t believe me!” Izuku retorts, his eyes teary from happiness as he looks back at you.

“The boy speaks the truth, madam.” You bow in front of Inko with a cheeky smile on your face.

“Talking about the truth…” Izuku walks to your side, clearly anxious. Oh god, this is it… “I would like you two to meet… the woman I’ll marry one day. Treat her well.”

You choke on your saliva just as Izuku puts his arms around your middle to pull you closer.

Marriage?! Already?! Not like you would mind to change your name to Midoriya… oh my god, Y/N Midoriya, shut the front door, that sounds gorgeous. Then after marriage, you could have a kid, a little baby with green curls and pretty freckles and your eye color… or would it be your hair and his eye color? Nah, you want the green curls to be passed on for sure. And the freckles. Oh my god, those freckles.

“Stop fangirling.” Izuku murmurs into your ear with a shit eating grin on his face; his voice is low and extremely enticing, too quiet for the others to hear but loud enough for you to get goosebumps on your arms.

“Does that mean…” Inko looks five seconds away from crying, probably less, so All Might puts his arms around the woman’s shoulders.

“I think you are meeting your future Daughter-in-law, Midoriya-san.” He murmurs happily, clearly not surprised by the revelation. You have a feeling these two talked about you quite a lot already.

“This is the best present you could have given to your mother, thank you.”

Inko cries like a baby for at least an hour before she finally calms down and goes into the kitchen to prepare some food for lunch. Toshinori-San asks her if she needs any help but he gets shushed right away.

“Enjoy yourself, Yagi. You haven’t seen the boy for ages.”

Clearly, “Yagi” isn’t used to hearing his own first name from the woman’s mouth yet; his whole face reddens as he nods shyly, rendered speechless for the next few seconds.

“Uhm, I don’t mean to be the person who asks this as I’m not technically the part of the family yet, but… you and Inko, hmm?”

Izuku almost chokes on his water while Toshinori looks really close to throwing up by the way he pales completely after you finish your sentence.

“I… I think you miss… understand the situation. We share a house, just like you two… wait, that’s a really bad example, isn’t it? Oh my, I’m making this worse.”

“Sweet Pea, you can’t seriously think All Might and mom…”

“All Might and mom what?” Inko comes out from the kitchen, scaring the living shit out of Toshinori. You swear you can see his soul leaving his body for half a second.

“I was just wondering if you and Toshinori-san are… well… in the same situation as Izuku and I? Sorry if I’m being too straightforward, but…”

“Oh, don’t be silly, Sweet Pea!” Inko waves you off with a light blush on her face. If you see disappointment on All Might’s face you don’t comment on it. “My house was finally full of laughter and happiness when he moved in, I’m more than happy to have him here as a good friend. Honestly, you are so silly. This is Yagi, the hero of the century, the man who saved millions, why would he even look at a silly old, boring lady like me?”

You can barely keep your smile hidden. Yup. This story sounds really similar.

“What are you talking about, Midoriya-san? It’s the other way around! You are the kindest, the purest, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on! You are way too good to be stuck with a silly old man who’s barely standing on his legs after being beaten to pulp way too many times!”

Suddenly, you could cut the tension in the air with a knife if you would carry one with you like Jirou does. The two stare at each other, only just realizing they were both thinking the same thing all this time. You are a little bit jealous for them for being forced to face their own feelings this way; you definitely helped them to get their shit together before they ended up being weird about it like you two did for several weeks. Or, you just ruined the fun. Oh, well.

“I think I’m going to show Y/N my room.” Izuku mutters with a pale face. Obliviousness clearly runs in the family.

~•🥦•~

“Do you want to talk about this or…” You mutter under your nose, your eyes not leaving the confused greenhead.

“Give me 5 to 7 days to get over the fact that my mother has a crush on my favorite hero, All Might, and her feelings are reciprocated and I’ve been watching them for almost ten years and I never realized it.” He mutters back, his speech followed by a big sigh. You can’t help but laugh at Izuku’s dumbstruck face. He’s absolutely adorable.

“I mean, you didn’t even realize your own feelings towards me, at least if I can trust Katsuki’s words and I’m quite sure he ain’t a liar, so…” You giggle to yourself as you snake your arms around the man’s middle with a flirty look on your face.

“Wow, so you talk shit about me with Katsuki while I’m risking my life to save the city?” Izuku moves closer, his body flush against yours as he slowly steps forward to push you towards the bed. Jesus Christ, you’ll never get used to the way he towers over you. The chill that goes down your spine makes you feel dizzy.

“Well, he gets lonely when his husband is on a mission.” You retort with a cheeky smirk. Izuku rolls his eyes fondly while he leaves tiny kisses on your cheek.

“Stop shipping my friends and my family, you weirdo.” He mutters into your neck, his breath hot on the sensitive skin.

“Look into my eyes and tell me those two have never kissed.” You take Izuku’s cheeks in your hands and pull him up to force him to look at you.

“They did. I saw it.” The shit-eating grin on Izuku’s face is downright terrifying. “It was on one of Denki’s house parties. It all started with Eijirou asking Katsuki if he thinks it’s possible to spar with their tongues. They did not remember a single thing the next day and we all decided to not tell them about it for their own modesty. What happens at Denki’s party, stays at Denki’s party. That’s the D-rule.”

Your face resembles a fish trying breathe on the surface. You can’t do anything but gawk at the hero in front of you.

“You saw them french-kissing and you still deny their attraction to each other?” You don’t need to say “I think you are an absolute idiot”, Izuku gets the message.

“Trust me, there was nothing sexy about that tongue fight. I actually couldn’t even think about kissing for years after that. It ruined me.” Izuku sighs dramatically as he turns you around and jumps on his bed with a loud thud.

“Now, can you please have your full attention on me and look around in my room? It might not be the original one but there are a lot of memories here. Mom brought over everything, my notes, my old clothes from the UA days… come on, get wild.” Izuku giggles and to be honest, you would rather concentrate on the sprawled out hottie on the bed instead of your surroundings right now, but you decide to obey anyway.

This room of Izuku’s is more plain than his bedroom now; instead of the cool adjacent wall there are only old posters littering the walls, no personal photos or anything visible on the shelves, just a few low-quality All Might figurines left on the old, wooden desk. There are a few boxes half open in the corner of the room; most of them are notes and memories Izuku wasn’t fond enough to display; his yearbook from middle school for instance is also thrown into the pile, the hard covered book’s front ruined by massive red letters written with a sharpie.

“I hoped you’ll find that last.” Izuku mumbles, his eyes melancholic as he stares at the book. “I wanted you to enjoy being here before I… before I show you that.”

Your blood freezes in your body. Somehow, the mood went from “I want to make out with you in my old bed” to “I will show you something terrible and you’ll probably cry” and you have no idea what to think about this sudden change.

“Why… who…” you mutter while you stare at the book, still too far enough to actually read what the words are.

“Do you remember how My Hero Academia has started?” Izuku asks. He pats his thigh 2 times, asking you to sit down and you do; Izuku’s arms come to the front right away, hugging you from behind, giving you a warm cuddle to soothe your troubled soul.

“With you almost failing getting into UA because you couldn’t use your quirk properly.” You answer right away, like a good fan.

“Yeah. That’s right.” He mutters, giving you a peck on your cheek for your success. “I knew how much you like that manga and everything in it is true but there are some parts Horikoshi had to change up or completely skip because I asked him to. I hated to do this to the fans but… I had to keep our secret safe.”

“You and who’s?” You move around to look at your boyfriend with questioning eyes. Izuku leans over to take the yearbook out of the box and hides it behind him for now.

“What’s the name of my quirk, Sweet Pea?” Izuku asks as he leaves tiny kisses on your neck. You are too anxious to actually enjoy them but they definitely take the edge off at least.

“One for all. After your favorite hero, All Might.”

“Yes. And that’s a lie.”

Your world crumbles. Whatever Izuku is about to say must be something extremely important and probably quite dangerous for you to know but right now, you are just grateful for being included in the small group of people who know Izuku’s apparent secret.

“What…?”

“I haven’t met All Might at UA. I met him way before that. We knew each other quite well by the time I got in. My quirk, All for one wasn’t named after All Might’s. It is… All Might’s.”

Suddenly, Izuku takes the book out from behind his back. There are a lot of rude things written on the covers with that red sharpie, but there is one that comes back over and over again…

The word “quirkless.”

“Izu, what… what do you mean? It doesn’t make any sense…” you mutter to yourself, frustrated tears falling to your cheeks. You want to understand, you want to be able to comprehend his heavy confession, but the original story was etched into your mind so much that hearing all of this is like hearing someone denying the history of heroes completely and asking you to believe they are right and the history books are wrong - to be fair, there is a high possibility that history books are indeed made up. It’s not like anyone was there from the current population to see the whole thing with their own eyes. Izuku is a part of this specific part of the history though, the main character of the decade, so you have no reason to not believe the green head but it’s still… it just doesn’t sound right. Izuku was born to be a hero yet he was born without the most crucial part of being one, but somehow he managed to snatch the number one hero’s quirk when quirks are not supposed to be transmittable?

“You are right, quirks are not usually transmittable but this one is.” Of course you muttered half of that out loud. “There are several other quirks I managed to unlock during my journey which makes the quirk look completely different from All Might’s but I ensure you, they are one and the same. I can’t tell you more than that as this story isn’t just mine, but what I can tell you is that there is a reason no one knows about the fact that my power can be given to basically anyone and I don’t think I need to tell you why is that.” Izuku sighs while he lets you free from his hug in case you need some more space. “I just wanted you to know… The truth… About me. Because I love you and you deserve to know. I was just like you. I know how painful it is to grow up without a quirk. I understand you so much more than you think, Sweet Pea and I’ll forever love you for being the way you are, if you let me.” Izuku’s first teardrops trail down his cheeks, a fond smile decorating his face. You genuinely can’t make a single word right now; there is so much you want to say; you want to tell him how proud you are of him for putting up with all of that without being able to tell a single soul about it, you want to tell him he has no reason to look so frightened because you can’t possibly be mad at him for this, you want to tell him it doesn’t matter if his quirk is “borrowed” because it’s not the quirk that makes you a hero but your will to die for the weak; but your mind it too frazzled to say all of that…

“Even if you’d be quirkless and weak, I would still love you, Izuku. There is no universe where I’m not by your side. I love you to the moon and back and your confession only made me love you more…” You mutter into his neck. “Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for going through all that pain for us, common folk. Thank you for choosing me. Thank you, Izu.” You mutter into the crook of his neck, making his skin wet with your tears. As a fan, you are certainly shook by all the lies around your favorite pro hero but as a human being who’s been living with Izuku for the past few months you can’t say you are surprised by this revelation; he’s always been way too humble for his own good, he barely showed off his quirk to anyone except you, it always felt like he doesn’t really know what to do with the whole fame that came with him being a hero and now it makes so much sense. It’s not right, but it makes sense.

“Can we… uhm… use the hot tub when get home? I want to be close to you. As close as I can get. That’s my wish for today.” Izuku says with teary eyes, his arms tight around your waist. A tiny blush appears on your face as you mutter back, your face still hidden in his neck.

“I would really love that, Izu.”

You know you probably said this at least thousand times already, but having Izuku as your boyfriend was the best decision of your life.

…next chapter!

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Potato ramble:

- Okay, here’s my opinion about how much is out for the public canonically about Izuku (s6 spoilers): While Izuku told his classmates about the fact that he got his power from All Might, the public only knows that for some reason the boy was the the one Shigaraki wanted. At one point in the future I’m quite sure there will be gossips about him but I literally don’t think anyone would ever think about Deku being quirkless. People know their quirk has the same name but its just a name and everyone knows what a big fan Izuku is so everyone just thinks he’s being a fanboy.

- Also, I love how Izuku goes from “I’ll tell you my biggest secret and we will all cry about it” to “can we have a cheeky hot tub date now?” In five seconds. Bro just want to chill 😂

- Don’t tell anyone but Izuku’s dream is to be able to give his power to his quirkless, future kid if they want it. He would never force them to take it though, he’s not an asshole.

- My Hero Academia is different in this AU; for instance, the first book is literally just about Izuku struggling to get into UA, the second about him struggling to keep up then about Izuku unlocking his powers and the backstory villains (except Dabi, his story isn’t in the books at all out of respect to the Todoroki family but there are hints to it.)

- Before you ask: yes, some of the “messages” on the front are from Katsuki indeed. Hell, he probably came up with the whole “idea”. He wanted to swap books with Izuku after they reconciled but Izuku wanted to keep it to “never forget where he came from.”

- So I will try to be on time with the next chapter but I got sick (again) so please be patient with me!

- The next chapter will probably be an NSFW one, not because of the s mut (I don’t really want that chapter to be the s mut chapter, I have different plans, but these fuckers have their mind of their own sometimes 😂), but it will involve nakedness and quite a lot of touching so… yeah. Sorry if you need to skip most of the next chapter 😭😭😭😭

- If you are waiting for the next Shenanigans chapter, I’m also done with that but it’s a double chapter, half SFW and half NSFW and it’s 5K+, that’s why is so delayed 😂

TL: @garfieldthomas @porusuniverse @stickygumchewer @sixxze @mily-moo @aei-sedai-moiraine @aymasakusa @katsuari @kenzie-deadly @shiviwrites07 @lukerycyja-reblogs @cloroxisadelectabletreat @coffeent @kisskissshutmydoor @bobcar1 @yazminetrahan @cringefan @ronimacaroni77 @thekookiecorner @dangerousluv1 @emperatris-rinaka @shotos-angelic-whore @angelsdemonsmonsters @norvacaine @rei165 @unofficialmuilover @yao-ai

[twopoppies]

I don’t even know how to begin this, neither if it’s gonna make any sense at all. But I feel like I have to get it off my chest and scrolling through your blog made me feel like this is the right place to do so.

I never had any friends in the fandom. When I joined in 2017, barely in high school, they had already gone on hiatus. There were no more OT5 concerts to look forward it was all just videos and songs and memories of others that I got to enjoy and learned to cherish for myself.

Through the years since, there have been times where One Direction and all their solo work has pulled me up when I was down. Times when loneliness was overcome by watching hours of concerts videos and compilations on youtube - and they always made me smile. And also times where other things in life had more priority and I didn’t check into the fandom for months at times.

The first time I realised that what seemed to be the best time for us as fans was the absolute worst for them as artists, was when I watched that podcast interview of Liam a few years back. It was heartbreaking hearing it, and maybe that was also one moment where I realised I was no longer a naive teenage girl but on my way to adulthood.

I haven’t kept up with Liam or the other boys this year as much, but I always believed that whenever I really needed them, the boys will just always be there - maybe my mind immortalised them some way or other.

Seeing these news now, broke me on a level I didn’t expect and can’t even really explain. Hearing the accusations towards Liam and the man he seemingly became I don’t even know how to grieve.

How DO you grieve someone that brought you joy but at the same time acted in ways you just can’t condone with your values and beliefs?

Maybe what I am grieving the most is the lost chance of accountability and change. Mental illness is no joke and I know that a persons best version and worst version of themselves can be completely different. He should have gotten the chance to at least try again, to go to rehab and get better - to heal.

Before I went to bed tonight I tried to be brave and told my dad cause I just didn’t know how to handle it. I talked about Liams addiction and alcoholism and abuse, but I also talked about the music and the fact that I just feel like someone is missing and I don’t even know if I’m allowed to feel that way.

I’ll forever be grateful that all my dad did, was take me into his arms and comfort me. He didn’t laugh or called it a teenage obsession or said that it’s not right to grieve for someone who you didn’t even know personally.

All he said was that it’s okay to grieve cause it just showed that you cared. You can grieve for lost chances and for what a person once meant to you, even if they might not be quite that same person anymore (even if it seems a little selfish, grieving is always personal).

I hope he’s better now and doesn’t feel any of the pain he’s very obviously been holding in for however many years. My heart goes out to the people who really knew him - his family, his son, his friends and girlfriend, and the boys.

Sleep easy and rest in peace Liam 🕊️

Your dad sounds like a very sweet man. I'm glad he was there for you in the way that you needed him to be.

I don't know the answer to your questions, but I feel similarly that one of the things I'm most upset about is that he died before he had a chance to heal and make amends.

Everyone deserves a redemption arc, and I'm just angry that he wasn't allowed to have his.

[braemjeorn]

spoiler alert first, but is nobody going to talk about shin cha-il's career track?

right then, i will. because what are his lucks that he can move companies consistently, with only like a month's gap in between? in this economy?

if you look closely, his position on the 2011 section is daeri, assistant manager, like moon who shares seojin and hansoo's desk. if you're a fresh graduate employee, you need 4 years to get that position. so if cha-il started working in 2006, it's pretty on track. how though!??

what are the odds that a certain company has an empty assistant manager or deputy manager spot for him to fill? what are his strategies? does he bounce around korea from gyeonggi to busan and daegu then seoul like that? or is seoul packed enough for such high chances of re-employment? did he just creep higher through the company sizes? till he reached something as conglomerate as JU? is man just so driven for that one purpose, God just lets things work out for him?

i heard that it's so hard to quit in japan but not sure what's the culture in korea - a resignation letter to the highest power and that's it? i heard an american youtuber said that when she quit she still has to stay 3 months before physically leaving the position... so honestly sir, how? wouldn't you need at least a 30-day notice before you leave?

and does he just take sabbaticals for a month after he thinks he's swept the place clean? and people just come and ask him to join their company? shin's magnet istg

i mean at some point i'm sure he might have been mentioned in the news for toppling someone powerful - even if just once in the whole news, it would have been enough marketing for his "freelancer" career - and the headcannon is sewoong heard about him and just goes here's my card, i need you for my company, do what you must?

was sewoong smugly thinking he would not get caught and all that day… huh.

also was thinking about his oersonality a lot, and that this man's perseverance is because he never got over his father's loss. i would say trauma but I don't want to use that word lightly and i'm not sure, but here's my argument:

like i don't think mental health might be attended much back in the early 2000s as it is today so him loosing his dad might have killed so much of himself - man's not just broken. add the humongous the self-blame to that and you get an intentional 180 degree change in a man.

so he grows more insistent and more ruthless about finding out the truth and in the process just just grows colder, and colder and colder in his insistence to capture the one embezzling money.

i do wonder if he was as warm as hansoo, with his father at least (did he saw himself in the boy?) because that little scene with yoon mikyung when they're younger showed that he's not a man of many emotions. very pragmatic and practical, but perhaps - no, surely - he had dreams and hopes as well? a littlr more optimistic about the world? based on this little statement of romanticism here, and that all just died with his dad.

back on his practical pragmatisim - he doesn't smile much with mikyung (well there could be other factors like him just tolerating her crush but still) makes me think he doesn't (like never) get social cues that well, overcome by his brilliance. the bombastic side eyes we get was hilarious though. shin ha kyun you genius.

or maybe his humour is just crippled after some 30 years of chosen distrust that he just...

he tried tho. don't we love him.

(also seojin and hansoo both have eye smiles i noticed cuTIESS)

[agenericplaceholdername]

Dragons Rising E6-10 Thoughts

Here’s some thoughts on each episode in the latter half of Dragons Rising, Season 1 Part 1:

Return to Imperium:

The color grading of this opening seems off – almost as if it’s a flashback (it’s not, ofc)

JORDANA SPOTTED

The conveyor belts directing people where to go is so on the nose for an authoritarian society

“It's the perfect companion for anyone that might... be lonely” :(

“Unconventional? Perhaps you can forgive her” man this is seriously dystopian but also pretty funny

Sora in her S1 outfit without headphones is kinda cursed

“Ever since the Merge it’s been you and me” I AGREE ARIN. LET’S KEEP IT THAT WAY

Kai’s Wu impression is great

The Advanced Science Lab? Isn’t it the Advanced Systems Lab?

I HATE SORA’S PARENTS I HATE SORA’S PARENTS

The sewer smash cut is perfect. Beyond the Phantasm Cave implies that Sora actually traveled through the sewers before so at least she had a reason to assume there was no security

The public shaming platform? At least it’s not a two hour YouTube video essay documenting your every misdeed (which I will then watch)

This episode sold me on Sora’s character and is essential for her arc this season

Mindless Beasts:

Like the Rapton ad

The Arin chase scene is fun

I certainly hope nothing bad happens to the new shoulder pad store

The Imperium Teenage Protection Force all have shorter legs, meaning they’re probably slightly younger than Arin (or just short)

Every Wyldfyre line is gold: “If I was your enemy, why would I let you out of your cell?” “If you don’t know, how should I?”

Sora says her family was poisoned against her by LaRow— meaning she believes that her parents would have accepted her if not for LaRow. Ofc, we know later that once they see the truth, they don’t change their mind, so her rejection of them means even more

For a scientist, LaRow isn’t very smart (or lab skills =/= street skills)

“I’ve got a master teaching me all the things I’m doing wrong” Arin no he’s trying to help you

Percival talking about him is the first time Lord Ras is identified in front of Arin — before, he was just the “tiger guy”

Rapton has the perfect combination of incredible arrogance and thin skin

Dorama just wants to show off

Ras has such a deeper voice than in S2

The Hunted soundtrack!

LaRow just can’t stop gloating lol. Not sure how a Photac can capture a source dragon 

This episode is pretty important for Arin and Sora, and introduces Wyldfyre… but also isn’t super interesting

I Will Be the Danger:

Wyldfyre opening! Not what I was expecting when I originally watched but super cool. Not sure where she came from tho

The caregiver-bot helping Wyldfyre train is sweet. I wish she came back later (I know she does in a canon(?) novel and there was a deleted scene, but I wish it had been in the show)

Wyldfyre not knowing certain words is a clever detail that isn’t used often

Percival is so not convincing as an antagonist

JORDANA NAMED??

Considering the other empty holes in the portal gate room—are they supposed to link to other monasteries? Since the one Kai goes through links to the Imperium Monastary?

You probably are famous among ghosts Kai, considering the whole Morro thing

Poor Riyu

Thank you Sora, she really is weird— oh shoot Dorama! forgot about him

“I DON’T THINK YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS ‘SHUT UP’!” and then the one take after are pure Wyldfyre gold

The “ninja think Sora betrayed them” plot line could have gone somewhere but didn’t, and honestly I hate bad miscommunication plots so all good

Weird way to end

This episode peaks with the opening scene, and is generally fine outside

The Calm Inside:

Green eyes child Lloyd voiced by Sam Vincent is off putting. I get why they do this but whatever. The lighting/texturing in this scene (maybe bc of the rain) also makes Lloyd and Wu look super plasticy

Good lesson tho, and I’m glad it keeps coming up

Arin and Sora are a great duo

Melvin, remember, always do the bare minimum that gets you paid

And so the Empress joins the main plot

Super cool protective Lloyd is great, leaping down to pull Wyldfyre back from the Photac

What’s his “big plan” Beatrix? Why does Ras want Riyu? “You can’t [drain him] yet. My plan for—” no wait he was about to say it!

Ras is so mad at Beatrix omg

Kai and Nya have interacted more now than in any season post Hands of Time right?

So how did Arin trip? Tbf he punched himself in the face so makes sense

Ok the show just made the same joke after I wrote it, I guess I forgot

This sweat thing reminds me of the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie (the blood scene)

Lloyd being surrounded by chaos is overshadowed by the very strange design of imaginary Wu, but the scene leading up to Wu is so great. The music, the action, the direction— really stellar. Someone needs to let this guy take a break

Not Rapton’s unicorn figurines!

Excellent rhetorical comeback Lloyd

Ras is so cool -- singlehandedly fighting multiple dragons

Zane! But how did he end up in that pod?

Jordana! Sora is just totally lost lol

Do you think Kai, Nya, and Zane were planning on jumping out or was it spontaneous?

Lot of questions in this episode, and it would probably be better if they saved Lloyd hitting the targets for a flashback later in the episode (that is, end the first flashback before Wu gives Lloyd the lesson)

That being said it’s the best one since E6 and a good setup for the finale

The Battle of the Second Monastery:

Jordana getting insulted by LaRow (albeit indirectly) :(

This is probably very overwhelming for Zane

Everything seems particularly saturated in this scene 

The Jordana reveal is very good. Funny, but also kinda heartbreaking since Sora was just using her technology to give herself a friend

Lord Ras is not very nice (although he’s right how do you lose to two mostly-untrained teenagers who are in handcuffs)

Arin and Sora use Jordana swinging her sword to free themselves, just like Lloyd did in E2. Shows how far they’ve come (much better than when they fight Ras, which just diminishes him as an antagonist)

Ouch Lloyd, always look before you leap

“As opposed to those really strong gnats” I’d spend some more time workshopping those comebacks Arin

The Source Dragon scene is SO cool!

Sora beats Ras mostly though luck but the real question is why was he running so slowly

And so we finish the S1P1 aspect of Sora’s arc, although her conclusion of “having a responsibility to use her powers” is very similar to the end of E5

Sad Arin :( already made a post relating this scene to what happens in S2 but it takes on a whole new meaning knowing what happens after

Beatrix imprisoning Ras actually makes a ton of sense and I might make a whole post talking about why (and her character generally)

The Ras fight isn’t great - I get why it happens and Arin and Sora don’t really beat him physically, but it does undermine him as a threat. The rest of the episode is really good tho, especially the vision

Next up, the first half of S1P2!

[hannahssimblr]

I tap a knuckle against the study door. 

“Dad?”

There’s silence. 

I knock again. “Dad? Are you busy?” 

He’s moving around in there, I can hear him. Closing browser tabs, maybe. Shuffling around and rearranging things, in a blind panic trying to look like he’s doing something important. I huff out a tiny laugh at the thought of him hurrying to close the minesweeper window before someone can come in and catch him doing something unserious. I don’t really know what he does in his pokey little study all evening, but one of Jen’s crazy theories is that he’s chatting online to his twenty two year old YouTuber girlfriend, to which I need to remind her, once again, that my dad is too boring to have an affair. Mom says he’s writing reports and even that sounds too exciting for him.

“Come in,” he says eventually, and I let myself into his lair where he is sitting stoically at his computer, a stack of paper, no doubt with exceedingly dull information on them is right by his side, and his hand hovers over it so I'll know he’s especially busy, and whatever it is, I had better make it quick. 

I close the door behind me and approach him while his eyes settle curiously on the stack of soft cover books in my hands. “What are those?”

“I spoke to the guidance counsellor at school this week. She gave me some college prospectuses, and I thought we could... um, look through them together”

He heaves out a sigh and gestures to the second chair. The guest chair, I suppose, not that there’s ever guests in here to sit on it. It’s uncomfortable like a lot of furniture in this house, all style but no substance, and I perch on its edge, my knee doing that annoying anxious jerking thing while dad takes off his glasses and swaps them with another pair. “Show me what you have.”

I pass the stack to him and he drops it onto his desk with a thud, picks up the first and immediately flips the front cover towards me with a completely uncalled for attitude. “What’s this?”

“A prospectus.”

“Rhode Island School of Design?”

“Yes.”

He tosses it aside without so much as a glance inside it and grabs the next, “School of the Art Institute, Chicago,” Then reads the blurb incredulously “‘Art and design change the world.’ Alright…” He raises his eyebrows and puffs out a breath as he chucks it into the discard pile. “CalArts, nope.”

My face gets hot. 

He snatches another and flips over to the back, “‘Studying here is different,’” He reads, “‘It is about making a better world, about becoming a creative force and learning to change the world through bold and curious thinking…’” He mumbles the rest and then scoffs at it as if it’s some political argument he disagrees with inside the Sunday Times, and he goes on and on in this manner while the rejection pile builds and builds and so does the feeling inside me. 

“What is this?” He says eventually. “These are all American schools. American art schools.”

“Yes.”

He scrutinises me like he believes I have gone mad yet says nothing because he doesn’t need to. I already know what he’s asking. 

The words come out of me in a rush. I rehearsed this in the hall for five minutes before having the nerve to knock, “Because I think I would get a chance at a really great education there. It’d be good for me to be away and independent and to learn a lot of new things, not just education and art, but also travel and culture. I’d really like to go to college somewhere that’s exciting and dynamic and… and…” Damn, I forgot the other adjective I’d chosen, “...Um, fun, I guess. It’s just that whenever I think about college I imagine myself in the US. I really think that’s where I should be.”

“That’s because that’s what you see in those movies.” He says movies like one might say hardcore pornography, because Christopher doesn’t waste his time with such things as movies. Christopher works, and studies, and reads endless, endless books about World War II. “You’re not going to college in the states.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s a waste of time and it’s a waste of money. Do you know what it costs to attend just a year of college in the US? Before your living expenses?”

“I know, but I spoke to the counsellor about it, and she explained that there are scholarships.”

He laughs, “You’re not going to get a scholarship,” and switches back to his other glasses and shakes his mouse to wake up his PC, which has some kind of thrilling spreadsheet open on it. This 2009 financial report must be rapturously exciting if he’s more interested in it than the future of his only son and firstborn child. 

I inhale sharply, “But why couldn’t I get a scholarship?”

“Because,” He types some numbers into the sheet, “You’d have to have a pristine academic record, a long list of extracurriculars and a very persuasive personal statement,” he peers briefly at me over the rim of his specs, “I’ve been through the US education system, and I know the standard that these colleges expect of their scholarship students. You’re just not up to it.”

“I could be, if I worked hard. I’m already doing pretty well in all of my classes, like, I get Bs in most things-” I stop myself before unhelpfully adding, without even trying, “And I have extracurriculars, like, I play rugby and help out Jen with her maths work…”

“You have to understand that the kinds of people who earn these scholarships do a lot more than that.”

“Well I would do more things if I had more time to myself in the mornings, or in the evenings, or after school, or at any other point in my day when I have to ferry Ivy back and forth from-”

Dad barrels on as though he hasn’t registered that I am speaking, “And you know, as well as the extracurriculars, all of these scholarship students have exemplary records. They're well mannered, well behaved, they never get into trouble, never get detention, never mind suspension. Twice.”

I snap my mouth shut. 

“Honestly, if I was the dean of one of these,” he plucks at the limp corner of one of the prospectuses, “Art college places, and I saw an application from someone with your record, I would simply toss it out. There’s not a chance, and before you ask, I am not paying for art school when you could easily do that here. For free.”

“Okay, I understand that, but I don’t really want to go to college here if I can avoid it.”

He doesn’t ask me why. He already knows but doesn't want to acknowledge it, and it’s easier, as it always is, just not to discuss feelings. Any feelings, especially mine, which are the most irritating and irrational feelings of all. “Why art school?” He hums, idly poking around with something on screen. “Couldn’t you choose a more academic course?”

I’m surprised he thinks I’m capable based on all the things he just said about me.

“You could apply for something in Trinity. Math, maybe?”

“Maths.”

“Or if you want something more artistic you could try English. Literature. That would be interesting, don't you think?”

“Or I could just… do art.”

“I would just hate to see you become one of those arty types. One of that NCAD crowd loitering around Thomas Street with their facial piercings and crazy haircuts.”

Oh no, a haircut. I sigh, “I’m not going to NCAD. I was kind of hoping you’d be more enthusiastic about my choices, but if you don’t think they’re right, I mean… what can I do.” I loathe the laugh that comes out of me, this strange, nervous titter that I didn’t even realise I was capable of.

I get up and begin to gather the stack of prospectuses laying forlornly on my father’s desk, my hopes and dreams bound for the recycling bin. “I’ll speak to the guidance counsellor again about my options, I suppose, and then I’ll try and choose something that’s more realistic for me.”

Before I let myself out I force myself to pause and turn to him one last time, “Do you… um, if I come up with more choices for colleges, do you think you’d want to sit down with me some evening and go through them? Like, I mean, really look over all of the options and help me decide what the best thing is?”

There is a lengthy pause. 

“You know, Jude, I’m really busy, and-”

“Okay.” I leave the room and shut the door with a gentle click.

Beginning // Prev // Next

[crepesuzettey]

Talkin about the current shift in Smosh main

Sooooo I'm really thinking about this now because there is some implication in the newest LWS that they were kind of trying to "manipulate" their audience to get memberships off the ground or whatever. Let me just say right now that I am still a fan of Smosh and I'll still watch their content, I'm still a member. But every time they make a major shift like this, they always handle it sooooo poorly imo.

I mean, the way they handled the pivot from unscripted to sketches was so messy. I bet if they just communicated from the beginning that those videos were too costly with not enough return and the main channel was in a really desperate place, there wouldn't have been as much of a divide in the fandom after the buyback. Instead, they implied that unscripted ended because Anthony was coming back, and that caused a whole argument. Tbh that's probably the root of the current problems in the fandom lol

And someone else pointed out that they kind of put down a previous era to hype up the current era. Yeah lol. There's probably some genuine feeling behind that -- I'm sure the cast are very excited about what they're doing, and each "era" of Smosh does have its pros and cons (for example, under Mythical they were free to do whatever they wanted compared to DEFY, but there might have been struggles with the main channel's voice and the brand wasn't as popular as it used to be). But it doesn't really help this situation.

What's happening now isn't super clear to me -- did they actually want to make the sketches or not? Either way, their communication with their audience hasn't been great. The way I see it, when you make content on YouTube, part of the career is seeming transparent to your audience and being genuine where it counts (even if you're a company). It's kind of ironic that they're highlighting unscripted content more due to the demand for a genuine approach to online media in modern years, but this is how they communicate with their audience lol

I can understand if they didn't want to blow things up by announcing that the sketches were over before Bit City came out, because that might have hurt the premiere. But I do think there's always a way to announce the news in a way that won't make people THAT upset. The way they've done it just comes across as kinda sneaky and I guess it doesn't feel like there's "closure".

One of the other fandoms I've been in was a kids' MMO fandom and when it was about to shut down, they released an article for parents called "When Your Child's Favorite Media Goes Away". Since I was reminded of that earlier, it got me thinking about how that game handled its closure really well and kind of walked the audience through that last month, whereas with other kids' MMOs I kind of got the vibe that they just announced the shutdown, put up the FAQs page, and then pretended like everything was normal for the most part.

I know this was a game for literal children, but I still think it really shows how handling the end of a service with care can actually minimize fan backlash against the company. From a practical standpoint. Smosh makes changes so abruptly that it can come across as "uncaring" to their audience and it's also just so annoying lol. Like, there HAS to be a better way to go about this!