#new post because ooops

[saniwakenji]

Opening the cage

From here with @theprincescourt [ 2 days later ]

Kenji was surprised he got the permission this fast. Either the family of the other was eager to have this solved or... didn't really care on how things finally would settle. Speaking of, he tried to find out more about them, maybe some dirty little secrets - but nothing.

They knew how to hide unwanted things.

He left Ouji a simple message the day before. "We are going to work together for some time now. I think we should meet on neutral grounds and start over. Please prepare for tomorrow, I'm taking you outside."

...But he needed to know where to go. His apartment was a bad choice - the public itself too. Maybe the weather would be nice enough to take a walk? Somehow without ordinary people hearing about swords that turned human.

Sure, the prince had no choice in the end but for Kenji it felt way less forced than being in the realm itself. Next to that, having some time in freedom maybe was something the other needed to open himself a little. Most importantly though: Ouji had no one to lash out to, command or even hurt. That left him to challenge his feelings another way.

The taller one did not plan a lot for that day, mostly getting used to each others presence and talk about rules and rough plans.

He'd just decide when they met, maybe the other had ideas too.

A few minutes later he already arrived at the Honmaru - this time dressed more casual. It felt weird not wearing his usual attire in an official visit, but it fit best for the modern world.

[kaisollisto]

“Are you here?" Ava barely breathes it, there's a tension in the air that she can't recognize, an energy that squashes her. Her throat feels scratchy and she can feel the Halo slotted between her shoulders. Ava's flat on her back head turned to look over at Beatrice. She feels wimpy like a stomped flower, her left arm dangles dangerously close to Beatrice-territory. She wants to reach out, to touch Beatrice to confirm that she's here but something stops her. She feels so silly, she could easily shift over to touch Beatrice, shake her gently and - 

Beatrice slides over, a firm sleepy sister warrior knife wielding badass with frumpy hair poofing from what remains of her low bun. She moves towards Ava, inches away from her but moves to answer her. It’s rare for Ava to see her like this. Beatrice is clearly fighting sleep, rubbing her eyes and doing her best to move in hopes that it’ll shake the sleepy spell. 

She’s dressed in one of Ava’s ugly loose white shirts, a huge bass clashing with faded big blocky lettering that just reads “FISH”. Beatrice had looked at her weirdly when Ava had dug it out of the bins at a thrift store disheveled and ecstatic. 

Ava had spent hours coaxing her into it doing her damn best to hide Beatrice’s laundry when she wasn’t looking. It fills a warm feeling in her chest and Ava wants to burrow further into it. It was a fool proof plan. 

Ava found her shortness made it exhausting to reach up towards the Beatrice-level-cabinets. The halo pulls at her pinching and knotting up the muscles in her back after a long day of training. She feels it alive within her, an uncomfortable reminder sealed inside her back. 

At the end of the day Ava settled on hinging at the waist. She had slowly started integrating Beatrice’s sleep shirts in cabinets that Beatrice had to bend down to reach. Ava always tried to situate herself at the scene of the crime doing her best to seem inconspicuous while she leaned over hungry for Beatrice’s reaction. Ava thumbed her findings down in the recess of her mind, her finger tracing over it in a hurried desperation. The time would pass and she did not want to forget. 

(It helped, the imagery of Bea’s furrow when she would find her sleepwear underneath the sink when Ava would have to tuck her spine into the halo as she placed the shirt somewhere clean.) 

Thanks to her genius planning Beatrice had finally caved and worn Ava’s huge “FISH” t-shirt after weeks of her persistence. She looked adorable, she was drowning in it and constantly tugging at it. She had found Beatrice loved to tuck it into the band of her sleep shorts creating puffy funny creases distorting the text even further to say “FSH”. It looked so ugly and old and endearing. 

She looked out of her depth and it made Ava’s heart thump funny. Beatrice with her weird posh mannerisms combined with the peaceful unguarded look when she slumbered made her feel hot all over. 

It was the prospect of the future, a glimpse into her life with Beatrice, of when they would grow old together. It shakes her, the idea that Beatrice will get wrinkles with her. She takes it seriously, a study that she isn’t well versed in but preparing for. It is a long hard internal debate flipping between what wrinkles will show first. Ava selfishly hopes it’s smile lines, that Beatrice will smile at her as much as she does in secret. She’s happy to be wrong, Beatrice’s forehead crinkles have always been cute. She hopes that Beatrice never stops looking at her, thinking of her. She wants to spend a long time being the source of her wrinkles. And just for right now she can handle the role of being just her friend. 

Beatrice blinks one eye open, the other pressed against the pillow as she stifles a yawn. Her hand blocks her mouth in a delicate way and Ava can see her nails are short and uneven in places. Ava wishes she could touch them, study them in a way no one has done before. She wants to press against Beatrice hard enough to watch her skin fold around hers. Some sort of truth that she was here, that she is here. 

Beatrice scoots over slowly, her elbow tucked under the pillow. She stops inches away from Ava, a frown set in her jaw. Ava mirrors her position albeit more awkwardly and more wiggling than Beatrice’s but she finds a place where the Halo won’t bite her back. 

“I’m here,” Beatrice murmurs it, a quiet thing between them. 

Ava closes her eyes hoping Beatrice won’t notice her shakiness. She blinks a few times before she presses closer, the arm she’s laying on moving to support her head underneath the pillow. 

There’s so much to tell her, anything and nothing at all and Ava doesn’t know where to start. It constricts her throat, the constant stream of consciousness from inside of her heart. It’s horrible and she can’t stop it as the feeling balloons inside of her lungs. Ava wants help, she so desperately wants to feel okay again, to feel anything other than the stupid fucking halo. It grates on her nerves and muscles, a burning hot metal ring poking and prodding at the entirety of her upper torso. It leaves her reeling, a sort of anger that beckons for her to hurt (hurt something, hurt someone, hurt), disregarding the aftermath of tears and shame. 

Ava is sure she’s shaking, a layer of sweat gathers between the space of her shoulder blades as the Halo lights up with her inner turmoil. It’s a faint pitiful thing that Ava would be ashamed of if not for the bone aching tiredness. 

She wants to say she’s sorry the words clawing their way up her throat and it feels wrong to feel anything but that. There’s a sort of unspoken shame that haunts her with the Halo. It’s a thing she’s known long before any of this. 

Beatrice drags her out of her turmoil with her hand hovering near Ava’s pinky. She has a gracefulness to it, like she has practiced it a hundred times over. It’s weird, to be in a bed, a soft and lumpy bed looking at Beatrice. Beatrice with such plain features and subtle cheekbones that Ava can’t stop looking. It pays off, watching Beatrice, Ava knows it when Bea smiles a grin too wide for polite acknowledgement and Ava can see her dimples pronounced. 

“Can I?” Beatrice’s finger lingers near her hand, a hovering itch that Ava needs scratched. It’s so wholeheartedly Beatrice that Ava can do nothing but nod. Something inside of Ava aches harder than the rest of the organs inside of her. It’s the unwavering crushing thumping feeling that squeezes around her heart. The sincerity of Beatrice. 

She places her hand over Ava’s and squeezes her gently. Beatrice’s hands are firm and soft. She can feel the callouses on her palms prodding at the back of her hand and wonders if Beatrice has ever had them fade away. If she’s had the pleasure of unscathed palms. Her hands are warm but not sweaty, not like Ava’s.

Ava can’t feel Beatrice’s pulse but she tries her best to match it. She imagines it would be a slow melody playing a duet with a classical track. Some sort of tune that spurs comfort or a feeling of nostalgia. She briefly wonders if Beatrice listens to music, if she seeks out music that has spoken to her. If there was a song that shook her to her core so deeply she had to sit down and digest it. There’s so much she still needs to know and so little time. 

“I admit I’m not sure what you need from me.” Beatrice whispers it quietly, she’s hunched awkwardly, hovering close in Ava’s space but too far away for her own comfort. 

Ava clamps her mouth shut, sure that “come closer” will betray her. That she will reach too far into Beatrice and take far too much. 

Beatrice pays no mind to Ava’s silence and slowly caresses her hand, it’s a small little gesture that seems to have no set course. Ava briefly wonders if it’s the start of a massage or if Beatrice is looking for her joints underneath her skin and touching her tendons in apology. 

It should be awkward, Beatrice and Ava orbiting each other in a lopsided manner. A rotational tilt that is unfamiliar to both of them and yet feels intimate. An unknown dance with their eyes closed and their breaths mingling. (It’s easy to follow Beatrice’s lead, Ava knows love.) 

There’s nothing Ava can say to her, she chokes up at the prospect and they both blink at each other. She’s not sure what she needs, only that it’s nice having someone here. 

Beatrice drowsily blinks rapidly and slowly at the same time as Ava watches swallowing the bits of her smile. Her hand has slowed its pathing, opting to curl on the inside of Ava’s fingers. It’s endearing watching one of her favorite bad ass sister warriors lose against sleep. It softens the edges of Beatrice who is always carrying some unseen obligation. (Here it is only the two of them free of their past and future burdens, just two girls sprawled thinly on hopes and dreams). 

She can feel Beatrice’s grip loosen, she’s going to fall back asleep any minute now but Ava doesn’t have the heart to keep her up. Beatrice is no doubt tired, powered by her own sleeping and eating habits unlike Ava who has the artifact to juice her up. 

She isn’t quite unwound but she feels manageable now. It’s weird to be within reach of Beatrice, someone who cares about her. To be in proximity of someone who will look for her, be in step with her, maybe it’s duty but Ava holds it close to her heart regardless. (It’s all the same to her, devotion, loyalty, love). 

She clings to Beatrice afraid to let the moment go, she had called and someone had answered, Bea had answered. Ava can feel her eyes watering, it almost feels like a distant dream. She tucks her chin closer to chest and thinks, how awful to be loved. 

She can feel her throat closing up and she squeezes Bea’s hand just a tiny bit harder. (She answers in the twitch of her hand, clearly on the cusp of sleep). The Halo still thunders in her back throbbing some fatal fate but here in the hush of night grounded by the touch of Beatrice she has some reprieve.  (Part 1)

[seaofreverie]

Today I want to share the joy that Reading A Newspaper has brought me recently (yesterday).

Because you see, it's not very often that I can read a several pages long good quality feature on a band that I'm something of a fan of, considering that until last year at best, all and any musical favourites I had were next to unheard of in the, let's call it, professional music business. And said feature also gave a few mentions to the one and only fav band of all time which I'm also still not used to being able to read about in my language (because it only happened like 5 times in total so far anyway, but still). And I can buy the newspaper in my local store in this minuscule town and find Sparks inside, like wow, it really is My Sparks, in this real life physical newspaper that I just got. This was like a belated but very epic christmas gift for me and I'm not kidding.

But well yeah getting to the point now, Franz Ferdinand are starting their tour soon promoting their upcoming new album and they're stopping in Poland too, so there was this whole 14-pages long overview of their whole career, and while I was obviously interested in the whole thing I was most hyped about the fact that there would have to be something about FFS and Sparks there and this brings me to my delighful observation that wow, all of this is so, connected in a way. Like how there are these connections in inspiration and collaborations between many of my favourites that I didn't even think about probably being a thing before, but when I think about it it just makes so much sense. Like how in this interview with Alex Kapranos, the interviewer brings up Talking Heads and specifically Fear of Music, because the new Franz Ferdinand album also has this sort of overarching theme of fear. And it's funny because that's the first Talking Heads album I've ever listened to and still my favourite from them to this day and overall one of my all-time favourite albums. And I guess it shouldn't be that shocking that it'd come up here because Talking Heads were super influential and inspired thousands, but also until now I didn't think about how both these bands share the general direction of creating dance-able type of rock with lyrics that are often on the more reflective and "intellectual" side. And also that album has been recommended to me as the most TMBG-like of theirs so. Wow I wonder why I like it.

Ok there were also all these other things that I want to mention too, so, other miscellaneous points of interest:

In the debut album review, the reviewer said that during Tell Her Tonight Alex sings a lot like Russell Mael, who likes to sing in falsetto. And well I know there's also the Sparks connection in the form of FFS to come later but still, this was such a great SPARKS MENTION!!!! moment for me anyway. But also they got one thing wrong, because it's not that Russell likes singing in falsetto, Ron forced him to sing in falsetto by writing all of his songs in this crazy uper range of notes, and that's a very important detail !!!!!!

And ok I had no idea that Piss Off already existed in some form as far back as 2004!! Or I knew about this and then I forgor. Either way, fascinating piece of information

I need to know more about how these star-based ranking systems work because why would you call FFS an "excellent album" and then rate it 4 stars. Instead of, I don't know, 4 and a half or 5 maybe?? Especially since it apparently has only 2 "weak songs". And I have some major objections when it comes to this too, because we're calling Things I Won't Get a weak track now?? It's just underrated as heck, and that's a hill that I will die on

Also I could never be a music reviewer because these people can fit their whole commentary on one song within one sentence and I feel like I would have to write at least 3 paragraphs on even the least exceptional of songs on a given album before I can feel like I did it justice. I mean, this whole post itself shows how much of a problem this is for me, lol

Also guys were we all aware that FFS turns 10 next yeah. Oh god. Well I need to remember to keep my tradition and preapre a cool piece of fanart for that occasion then. Maybe they should give us FFS 2 to celebrate, I'm pretty sure there'd be lots of interest among the fandom in something like that. Anyway

Well also this wasn't the only article in this whole thing of course and CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, there was a little bit on the Harrison & Belew Remain In Light Tour, which I will also be attending!!! Lots of great stuff is cooking for the first half of 2025 for me musically I can't lie

And also CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, that a year and a half since it was supposed to be released "worldwide" and long after I already lost hope that I'd ever see it in a cinema, they're releasing Stop Making Sense in cinemas over here too. Fucking finally!!! By gods and heavens, that rare moment when you learn about something crucial through a goddamn instagram ad of all places. And then they also reminded me about this in an actual article so well wow. Can you believe this. I can't. So stocked for next saturday when i'm seeing this movie the way it was always supposed to be seen hehehe

Ok I think that's it. Thank you for reading and maybe I should really make that personal website for my rambles in the new year. I'd definitely put that thing to use.

[icewindandboringhorror]

I can't do much productively during the heat wave/health issue flare up/etc. like work on my games or anything where I have to sit at the computer/type for long periods of time, BUT.. I did passively sculpt a few tiny foods lol. I wanted to do one of my bigger usual sculptures, but those take so much more time and concentration, I thought something small just to keep my hands busy would be better.. close up photos look kind of weird and blurry from my camera settings or something, but overall they came out okay, especially in person.. Nearly the only reason I ever wanted to buy dolls as a kid was to get my hands on the miniature foods and plates and stuff that came with them, I've always just been obsessed with small versions of things like that, so.. why not make some! lol

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

You know what would make the Lucky Charm more balanced? Make it so that there are times where other characters figure it out, not just Ladybug. That way, it doesn't make Ladybug hypercompent and makes it possible for other people to save the day.

I don't mind Ladybug being the one best suited to Lucky Charm. I don't think it makes her hyper competent because you don't need a Lucky Charm to save the day. It's just the way that she saves the day. The other characters should have their own unique talents that let them win fights. Generally speaking, that's how strong teams work.

For a random example, let's talk about the teenage mutant ninja turtles simply because I think most people know something about that franchise. The character Donatello (aka Donnie) is the team's tech guy. He makes all kinds of inventions that help them save the day. The show would not be improved if all four of the turtles were able to take on this inventor role. I'd argue that it would actually be lessened because the characters would become interchangeable. This is something that the franchise seems to agree with as each version of the show gives each turtle unique skills and personality traits that makes each of them indispensable in their own way, which is what I think Miraculous should have done with the temp heroes.

That being said, I do think that there's a way to make your idea work. I'd just go a slightly different, more lore balancing route since Lucky Charm is technically bad lore and you all know how I feel about bad lore. So let's talk about giving it a minor tweak and how I think that would actually improve things.

Tikki is supposed to be Creation, not Luck, so the Lucky Charm shouldn't have anything to do with Luck. It should just be pure Creation where the holder comes up with a thing they want and that thing then pops up. It could also have a give and take element where the holder gets what they asked for if they want something specific, but they could also just call the power as a hail Mary and Tikki would come up with something on the fly, leading to the occasional puzzle.

This leads me to my proposed changed.

I personally think it would be hilarious and honestly more fun for Marinette's character if she could summon anything she wanted, but the Lucky Charms stay exactly the same because that's just how her mind works. Even when Tikki is helping, it's still all wacky items because Tikki knows how Marinette is and just goes with it.

For example, in Copy Cat, Ladybug turns a spoon into a hook for a cobbled together fishing pole. Wouldn't it be even funnier if Marinette summoned a spoon on purpose because she was thinking of the makeshift thing she cobbled together in order to fish up something she dropped from her balcony? Then, post fight, Chat Noir praises her like always, only to then ask, "So why a spoon and not a fishing hook?" And Ladybug just stares at him because oh, right, those are things they make. She could have done that. Ooops.

And in Malediktator where she summons a sniper rifle to get a laser pointer? Well, she was thinking about this silly comic about a cat assassin! She totally spaced on the fact that you could just get a laser pointer by itself.

Eventually, her team learns to just go with it and not ask questions. Meanwhile, the general public thinks that the Lucky Charm is some random item that Ladybug has to figure out and no one bothers to correct this misunderstanding. You can even have a running gag of new team members learning the truth and going through the acceptance process of, "Hey, you try thinking up how to set a trap while a 5 meter tall lollipop is trying to crush you! Your mind goes to what it knows, not to the ideal solution, okay???"

If we go with this setup, then other people can wield the Ladybug and use Lucky Charm effectively, they'll just use it in a very different way from the way Marinette uses it. There will also be people who are just not suited to the Ladybug since that was initially how the powers were supposed to work and it made perfect sense. Kwamis should have ideal holders along with okay backups and terrible backups. I personally think Alya would be an okay backup since she's creative, but not creative in the same way Marinette is, leading her to be a lesser Ladybug. Adrien, on the other hand, should generally suck at the Ladybug as he simply doesn't have that style of creative thinking. Which is fine. Better than fine, even! You don't want your characters to be interchangeable! They should all have strengths and weaknesses!

This is one of the show's big flaws. Since everything is on Marinette's shoulders, the other characters rarely get a chance to shine and so they feel interchangeable. For example, if gift always shows the target what THEY want, then why does Rose need to be the one to wield it? Juleka could wield it just as easily. And if Ladybug is generally the one telling Marc and Nathaniel what to summon with their powers, then their creativity is not needed. Anyone could wield the rooster and the goat! The show has completely failed to understand what makes teams memorable and so we have a bloated, boring team whose presence I'm dreading because they had five seasons to set these guys up and yet here we are.

[innerempire]

a continuation of this

Sweet Peter still thinks it’s an inside joke between them; him calling Tony “daddy” and being called “baby” in return. Thing is, Tony’s not laughing.

The first time Peter had texted him “thank you, daddy” as a goddamn goof, he had used it as fodder for wanking for a solid week straight. Because hey, he does, in a way, sees himself as that older male figure in Peter’s life. And because he’s a glutton for whatever-this-is, Tony wants to see how far it’ll go. Each candid playful text from Peter addressing him as daddy has Tony in complete disarray.

And so, he finds every single excuse under the goddamn sun to purchase things for Peter. Kid complains about his squeaky thrifted computer chair? Tony buys him a $2,300 Herman Miller ergonomic chair.

He gets a call right in the middle of a meeting, and Pepper instantly recognizes the ringtone. Quick on her feet as always, she briskly calls for a short break and the meeting room is cleared out within seconds.

“Tony.” Peter doesn’t even give him a chance to slip in a “hi”. “…when I complain about something, I…it’s not because I need you to do something about it. I’m just being a typical teenager.”

“…do you like the chair?”

A pause.

“Yes. Very much.”

“That’s all I need to know. Besides, that’s what daddies do, don’t they? Fix problems.”

Peter laughs, and Tony wishes he was there to hear it.

And he thinks that’s the end to it until he gets a notification that night notifying him that Peter has uploaded a new post on his Instagram account. He had not-so-shamelessly created a throwaway account to follow Peter, despite the fact that the other wasn’t a frequent poster.

The new post was a photo of Peter in his spanking new Herman Miller chair and he had it captioned as, “whew thank you daddy!”. It takes a couple of seconds for Tony to realize that from head to toe, Peter is decked out in items that Tony had purchased for him. The shirt, the satiny black sleep shorts.

He doesn’t think it’s intentional, but fuck.

If this was a game, then Tony doesn’t think he can emerge victorious from it.

- / -

Tony hears from Peter that May hadn’t been too pleased when she came to visit. with just how much Tony was spending on Peter. Thing is, he doesn’t understand why she wouldn’t want him living far away from home in comfort.

“She says you’re over-indulging me. Which you are, by the way.”

Tony adjusts the earbud to sit more snugly in his ear, “Well, wait till she finds out I’m buying you an apartment so that you can live off campus next year.”

“…nothing I say is going to change your mind, right?”

“With each protest, I’ll add on more unnecessary furnishings.”

“Ugh, fine.” Tony hears the kid muffling a yawn on the other end.

“Go to sleep, kid. Or whatever it is that college kids do at this timing. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Peter snorts in response. “Fine, whatever you say, daddy.”

“Good boy.”

- / -

peter: lol something funny happened.

tony: funny ha-ha or funny-I-nearly-crashed-face-first-into something.

tony: because that’s more concerning than funny

peter: funny ha-ha

peter: so I was texting with Ned, and like I think I got so used to calling you daddy over texts.

peter: and like Ned was asking if we could work on some stuff over the winter break in your lab, but I know the lab’s like your sacred mancave so I told him, “okay, let me check with daddy and I’ll get back to you”.

peter: Ned was just ???????

peter: isn’t it hilarious???

peter: anyway, can I? please daddy

peter: ooops i mean pretty pls daddy

Thirteen minutes and two orgasms later, cum splattered against the metal edge of his lab table and a handful of tissues littering the floor, Tony replies: sure, baby, since you asked so prettily.

Winter break begins with a “hey, kiddo” and “missed you, mr.stark”. As promised, he allows Peter and Ned usage of the lab for a couple of hours.

“FRIDAY, you up?” Tony clicks his fingers twice.

“Always, Mr.Stark.”

“Keep an eye out for the kids. Especially Peter, he’s precious cargo.” He turns to Ned with a nonchalant shrug. “No offense, Ned.”

The color creeps up on Peter’s cheeks.

“I mean it, FRIDAY. Eyes on him.”

- / -

[monstersandmaw]

Hi, I wanted to ask if there is any other way besides patreon to read Shipmates?

I read it before with the free subscription and since that isn't possible anymore I thought I'd ask if you post it anywhere else.

I hope I don't make you uncomfortable or pressured if I do feel free to delete and ignore. (I also don't know if someone asked that before)

I just love that story a lot and I'd love to be able to read it and sadly I'm not able to afford the patreon as I am between jobs...

Anyway thank you for continuing to write and letting monsterenthusiast live vicariously through your stories. Your writing is lovely!

Sorry for taking a while to respond - I was out of the country, and now I've got Covid 😅.

(For anyone else reading this, the reason that certain chapters aren't free to access any longer is because Patreon threatened to take down the NSFW chapters that I'd posted for free because it went against their '18+ creators' terms and conditions. Ooops. To stop them being removed, I had to make NSFW chapters Patreon-only. I didn't just decide to be a dick to my readers on a whim, I promise!)

People have asked about whether I'll share the NSFW chapters of the free stories elsewhere, but at the moment, I don't plan to share anything new anywhere other than Patreon. SFW stories and chapters will still be available for free.

The ShipMates story is available from the lowest ($3) tier, so if there's a month in the future where you do find you have that spare, it will all still be up there, and you're always welcome to copy/paste it into a document for your own personal use for the future - that way you don't have to resubscribe for another month if you don't have the means. I know some people have done that with my writing in the past, and have even made a fancy book-binding of it, which is cool and totally fine by me (so long as it's not for profit/sale lol).

That's the situation at the moment. It's not ideal, I realise, but I've got a lot going on, and I don't plan to spread my writing out all over the internet in different places. It'll either be on Patreon, or what's left from before the move will remain on Tumblr. Random fanfics of mine remain on AO3, but I'm not posting my original writing there for a number of reasons.

Thank you for your support, and I'm sorry that the dark overlords who control payment and finances (it's mastercard probably) don't like people getting their alien dick stories for free.

[twiceasfrustrating]

A New Look

Rating: Teen and Up Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: M/M Fandom: Shall We Date?: Obey Me! Relationship: Diavolo x Simeon Characters: Diavolo, Simeon Additional Tags: Fluff, mentions of nudity as a part of daily life Summary: Diavolo tries on some clothing from the Celestial Realm and wants Simeon's opinion  A/N: How long has it been since I posted something to this blog? Jeez. All my fandoms lately are strictly on the nsfw side so this blog has been suffering a lot. I also haven’t written for OM in so long since I stopped playing the game. Ooops. Have to remember who these characters really are. It may be a bit rough with their characterization. Word Count: 1151

“How do I look?” Diavolo asks, purposefully posing and twirling as dynamically as he can to show off the outfit he asked Simeon to borrow from the Celestial Realm on his behalf.

The outfit, like most Celestial clothing, is white from chest to ankle. In Diavolo’s case, he is wearing a simple ensemble that consists of a top that starts at his neck and only goes down low enough to modestly cover his chest and upper back. There is a light gold streak running down his right side to act as a simple accent. The blue-white gradient pants start just below his navel and stretch down to his calves. They look tight on him, which is common for Celestial clothing, but Simeon worries about Diavolo’s mobility all the same.

The majority of the outfit’s shape doesn’t come from the top or pants, however. The sheer overcoat – similar to the grandeur of a bride’s veil on her wedding day – that hangs over Diavolo is far more bulky than anything else. It sits around his upper arms, the long sleeves stretching past his hands and flowing freely with each movement. The overcoat stretches all the way to his ankles like a skirt.

Simeon claps politely. “You look nice.”

It feels strange to say anything else. It would be dishonest to say the clothing – white and loose against his skin, flowing freely as if it was blown by an immaterial wind – did not suit him, but it would also feel blasphemous to say that the prince of the Devildom looked good in the ensemble. Still, Simeon has a brief thought that, as much as he enjoys the sight of Diavolo in his home fashion, he looks better in his usual attire.

“Nice is good.” Diavolo laughs, satisfied enough with Simeon's answer. “I didn't think Celestial clothes would fit me so well or that they would be so cool.”

“It's the magic woven into the fabric. Many angels have to deal with a variety of temperatures and environments, so it's important to make clothing suited to any given situation. The magic acts like insulation, keeping the temperature of the wearer stable. Additionally, angels that choose a human charge need extra durability and flexibility so-”

Diavolo listens intently, placing a hand over his mouth to hide the silly smile crawling across his face as Simeon speaks. He is charming as he speaks about the clothing of his home realm, listing all matter of facts and small minutiae.

“You know a lot about fashion.”

Simeon stops mid-sentence. 

His eyes dart to the side, then downward. “Not particularly.”

Diavolo's smile never falters as he continues. “But you were just talking all about what makes Celestial Realm clothing special and why it's designed that way. That seems like passion to me.”

“I’m not actually passionate about the current state of fashion. If you want someone who understands trends, it would be better to speak to Asmodeus. Celestial Realm fashion hasn’t changed in some few thousand years, so he should still know about it better than I do.”

“But you seem to know so much.”

“That’s because-” Simeon pauses, trying to find the exact words that won’t make a fool out of him. Eventually, he decides that the truth is nothing to be ashamed of, even if it is mildly embarrassing. “I knew you would have questions, so I tried to learn the basics.”

“Oh…” 

Diavolo’s reaction is outwardly reserved, but he is fighting the rising heat in his face that feels as if it will melt him from the inside out. It was one thing to ask Simeon for a favor so that he could better understand a small part of the Celestial Realm’s culture – for the clothing of a people tells you a lot about them and their way of life – but it is another to know that Simeon went out of his way for his sake. It feels far more intimate than such a small kindness should have.

And, when he glances at Simeon’s face, it is clear that he is not the only one that understands the implications in their exchange.

Diavolo has to get the discussion back on topic.

“Can I ask why Celestial fashion hasn’t changed in thousands of years?”

Humans changed fashion trends every few decades at least. Demons, though not as often, also frequently changed the clothing they wore. He found it strange that the angels did not switch out their clothing at least once every few centuries.

“That’s because most angels don’t actually care for fashion in the first place, so there is no reason to stay on top of evolving trends. Most of us would actually prefer not to wear clothing at all. We only do it for foreign relation reasons because the other realms seem to consider it unsightly to walk around without them. At best, there is a race for the functionality of the magic woven into the fabric, but that’s more akin to being the first to discover it and share your findings with others than it is to claim a new magic for your own benefit.”

Somehow, Simeon misses the implication that angels are nudists.

“I guess that explains why all of your clothing lacks fabric,” Diavolo says without any malicious intent, but Simeon furrows his brows in disapproval regardless.

“That’s an insensitive way to put it, but I suppose that is technically correct.”

“Sorry.” Even as he apologizes, Diavolo is laughing. “But I think it’s your turn now.”

“Hm?” Simeon hums in confusion.

“We’re exchanging clothing today, aren’t we?” Diavolo grabs the outer bottom of the overcoat and lifts it high so that it won’t tangle around his ankles. He begins to march toward the large clothing bag that he had placed to the side much earlier. Up until now, Simeon had assumed it was simply another outfit Diavolo would need to change into later. “I have something for you too.”

Simeon raises both of his hands and turns his face away as he refuses to see what Diavolo could possibly have brought. “It’d rather not. Devildom clothing is very hot.”

That made Diavolo pause for a moment.

He seems to think before smiling and answering Simeon’s concern. “We’ll cut off some of the fabric so you’re more comfortable.”

“That’s not-”

“I promise,” Diavolo says as he picks up the large black clothing bag and holds it toward Simeon so he can take it, “it’ll be fun.”

His smile is bright and beaming as he stares at Simeon with mischief and wonder in his eyes. Framed in white and looking so pleased, it would be easy for an onlooker to mistake Diavolo for an angel, but Simeon only sees the demon that he truly is.

Simeon signs as he resigns himself to Diavolo’s whims, already feeling heat building inside of his stomach and twisting it into knots as he takes the outfit from his hands.

[tenebraevesper]

Analyzer - Félix & Emotion, Part 1 (Miraculous Ladybug)

So, now that Season 5 of Miraculous Ladybug has finally ended (and left us with an abysmal conclusion), I’m here to deliver my thoughts on how Félix was handled this Season. I have heard all kinds of reactions and opinions, but I’m here to present you my unfiltered thoughts in regards to him and his actions.

But, before I start, I’ll preface this with saying that I’ll be splitting this analyzer into three parts: Pre-Emotion, Emotion & Post-Emotion, mainly because of the shift that happened in that very episode.

So, let’s start the party!

Last we left off, I talked about Félix in Season 4 and basically praising him for being an unapologetic gremlin who causes chaos anytime he appears. Given how I felt nothing for the heroes in the Season 4 Finale, I frankly couldn’t care less about Félix’s “betrayal”. The only thing that annoyed me were the idiots who clowned on Maribug for somehow not having the ability of mind reading and realizing Félix was cosplaying as Adrien.

We’re starting off with Episode 2: Multiplication. There isn’t much to say, aside from the fact that Maribug has figured out that Flairmidable was Félix, while Adrichat was stewing in his own jealousy over Maribug having a team of heroes to help her to figure that one out. Not to mention, even after Adrichat mentions how Félix and Monarch might be connected, he completely forgets not only that Félix was interested in sticking around at the Agreste mansion, but that he found a spy glass which should’ve hinted that Félix was investigating something or someone - namely Gabriel. Great start!

So, here’s where we learn a bit more about Félix,... and why does he have a Wikipedia page? Also, I thought his surname was Graham de Vanily, but it appears he has retained his father’s surname rather than taking his mother’s.

Anyways, we find out that Félix is the son of the American billionaire Colt Fathom, who died the previous year, and his mother, Amelie, is actually the aristocrat Lady Graham de Vanily. He’s also a triple kung fu and horse riding medalist, chess prodigy and England’s youngest graduate. He’s also the only one who has any braincells in this show.

Skipping over the boring stuff, we learn that Amelie had been covering up for Félix, pretending that her son was not at home so Maribug and Adrichat wouldn’t search for him.

Behold, the only parent in the Rich Kids Club who actually cares about her child. Gabriel, Tomoe, André and Audrey could never!

We can already tell from the scene that Félix is up to something, with Duusu wondering if he’s her new holder and Félix responding with: “I’m much more than that, Duusu.” This is what we like to call “foreshadowing”.

Skipping ahead to Episode 18: Emotion, we finally learn what Félix’s plan is. To quote Red: “It’s murder. The plan is murder.” Ooops!

The episode itself starts off with an Adrinette scene and I’m gonna skip over this, because honestly, I couldn’t care less about the Love Square since it feels more forced than 8-year-old me mashing a Barbie and Ken doll against each other while shouting “Now, kiss!’’

Anyways, we see Félix, once again cosplaying as Adrien as the Diamond Dance and spotting a ring on Kagami’s hand.

Don’t worry, I’ll get to that. First of all, how do I know this is Félix and not Adrien? Because there is no way Mr. Oblivious himself would have such reaction to a ring on Kagami’s hand. Second, where the hell is Adrien even? I sincerely doubt he agreed to Félix’s idea of pulling another switcheroo. Did Félix kidnap him or something?

Anyways, Félix has a sudden realization about Kagami that I will address a moment later, while Kagami just glares at him. The tension is then broken up when Amelie barges into the building, yelling at Gabriel about how Félix is still missing.

Amelie Graham de Vanily: (struggles to make her way in through the guards) Gabriel! My son Félix has been missing for weeks now! (storms towards them) Not only have you and your friends been no help with the search! But now I'm not even invited to the ball?! You haven't been the same since my sister Emilie disappeared! Why are you rejecting us?

Parent of the year! No, seriously, even if she’s only acting, her giving a verbal smackdown to Gabriel is always pleasing to hear. Hell, she even questions Nathalie why the hell she’s still working for Gabriel despite his obvious cruelty.

Anyways, moving on to the actual Diamond Dance, which really is just a party for snobby rich kids (as established by Chloé, who has been really done dirty this season, turning her into a caricature of herself, because Astruc apparently can’t stand the thought of people being fond of her). 

We spot Félix and Kagami talking to each other, with Kagami still believing that the person next to her is Adrien. I have to say, while probably a bit awkward, I do like the interaction between them, especially how Kagami calls Félix more assertive and braver, and being willing not to go between “Adrien” and Marinette, because Marinette is her friend. Wait, wasn’t she gunning for Adrien in Season 3 regardless of the fact that Marinette is her friend?

Eh, who cares, because the writers certainly don’t.

Félix doesn’t care either, as he’s here to just play his role as Adrien, at least until the right opportunity. Kagami continues telling him how they don’t have to play as the puppets for their parents, and Félix counters with their parents still be the ones controlling them. Kagami replies that she, being a descendant of Samurai women, obeys orders because she wants to, which makes me wonder whether any of the writers ever did research on samurai. They didn’t obey orders because they wanted to, it was because they had to, even if it caused the samurai or their family to suffer. In fact, the word “samurai” means “one who serves”. Yeah, the implications are a huge “yikes” given what is revealed in this episode.

Félix, ever the charmer, dares her to leave the party, leaving a protesting Kagami stunned when he tells her that he can do that. Once again, pure cunning and gremlin attitude coming from him. Not to mention, Kagami is visibly excited about the idea of just getting away.

So, if all that’s needed for her to fall for a guy is for the guy in question to be rebellious, I’m seriously wondering why the hell she ever fell for Adrien, who has the spine of a wet noodle? I suppose she thought he was similar to her, a lonely rich kid who dreamed of freedom and would grow a spine and escape the expectations Gabriel put on him. That, or it’s because the writers said so.

Anyways, Kagami changes her mind, with Félix being disappointed.

Félix!Adrien: See? You're not as free as you claim. Don't you think we should be able to decide our future?

Keep in mind that conversation about freedom. It’s kinda fascinating.

So, before they can open up the ball with a dance, Marinette runs towards Félix, rambling about how “Adrien” could’ve told her how he went to the dance even tho he didn’t want to go to it... and seriously, couldn’t you send him a text message or call him to tell him that? Because you know what this is? This is more unnecessary drama to make fun of Marinette being “oh, so in love with her boyfriend” because no one in this show knows how to write actual romance unless it’s accidental. Honestly, what is with the writers’ obsession to clown on her every damn episode?

It did serve a purpose to Félix’s story, though. After all, Félix only knows Marinette as that one girl who sent Adrien a love confession on the anniversary of his mother’s disappearance/death/whatever. Now, he saw a girl who was willing to break into a high society party to tell her “boyfriend” she loves him. That’s some crazy dedication. After a little nod from Kagami, he starts dancing with her.

It gets even more interesting with this piece of dialogue:

Félix!Adrien: All eyes are on you.

Marinette: They're looking at me like I'm a monster.

(Adrien's face turns sour.)

Félix!Adrien: Look closer, Marinette. (stops dancing, and whispers in her ear) They're the monsters.

Honestly, this is leading to some really interesting characterization in regards to Félix, but I’ll get to that in a moment. Marinette figures out this guy isn’t Adrien, with Félix giving her a devious smirk.

I just love this little gremlin. Félix then proceeds to transform...

...in front of everyone? Has he not learned that, if your identity is revealed, your Miraculous will be taken away? Unless you’re one of Marinette’s classmates and not named Chloé, because screw Chloé.

I gotta say, the transformation is quite short, if snappy. Furthermore, Argos outfit is miles above Flairmidable. I suppose Félix spent the previous 16 episodes coming up with an outfit for his big reveal.

Now, here’s where I have to clown on Marinette. This girl sees Félix using the Peacock Miraculous to transform into Argos, a Miraculous she knows was last held by Mayura and then Shadow Moth. She also knows that Félix was the one who either gave the other Miraculous to Monarch or had them taken away. Yet, she still doesn’t put two and two together and ask Félix about what he knows about Monarch. Admittedly, she may have more pressing matters to deal with, given how Argos reveals the solution to all of his problems.

It’s murder. The solution is murder.

Long story short, Argos creates a Sentimonster named Red Moon and then uses it to Thanos-snap everyone he doesn’t care about out of existence - including Gabriel!

Argos: Good evening, uncle! You can call me Argos now. Gabriel: How dare you! I will never allow you to— Argos: Oh, I think you will, uncle! It's time for someone to finally put an end to your endless 'trying to control people'. Adrien, my mother, me; turn us into whatever you want us to be! I'm freeing us from you! (Argos snaps his fingers and Gabriel disappears into thin air.)

Wooo, end the episode right there! That bastard Gabriel is finally dead! Félix/Argos saved the day! Let’s break out the good stuff and party!

Yeah, considering how this wasn’t the finale of Miraculous Ladybug (too bad), it’s obvious Gabriel will be brought back, but let me enjoy the moment.

Anyways, I’ll end Part 1 of the Analyzer at this moment, and discuss instead Félix’s character up to now. In Season 3, we saw him being very reserved, showing disdain for Adrien and his friends, and willing to go so far to sabotage him. Season 4 showed more of Félix’s cunning side, as he was the only one to figure out that Gabriel is Hawk Moth/Shadow Moth, being willing to confront him even though Gabriel threatened his life. Not only that, but he also achieved his goal of taking possession of the Peacock Miraculous, fooling the heroes and making a fool of Gabriel.

It is established that Félix is a very morally grey character. He’s observant and self-serving, looking out mainly for his own safety, with there only being a few people he genuinely cares about, like his mother and Adrien. As shown in Season 5, he clearly cannot stand the people around him, save for Kagami and Marinette, calling everyone else monsters and desiring to be freedom, not only for himself, but for others as well, and even resorting to make everyone vanish to achieve that.

I know people consider Félix a villain, but I don’t think he can be called one. The title of Anti-Hero actually fits his character more. He’s selfish, having put the safety of Paris in danger by giving Gabriel all of the Miraculous, but here he just snaps him out of existence, ending the reign of Monarch once and for all, and Gabriel cannot do anything about it. Technically, he saved Paris, and he did it because he had enough of Gabriel being a controlling bastard.

Félix continues being awesome in his own way, and while the rest of the episode explorers who he is as a person, I’m afraid that his is the peak of his awesomeness.

Links:

#Analyzer - Félix & Emotion, Part 2 (Miraculous Ladybug)

#Up Ladybug (Masterlist)

[therealslimshakespeare]

A smol PSA 🥰

Hello my beautiful Lu fans and Maureen fans, I see your anons and responses today. I’ve read them all and appreciate you sending them. I’ve chosen not to post any of them because I don't want to start world war 3 as there's enough simmering upset between the two groups as it is and no single opinion seems capable of being published without fifteen in response to refute.

I don’t want that for my blog.

That said: I love each of you.

And more to the immediate point: I see you, I hear you, I respect y’all’s opinions. I appreciate everyone’s massive amounts of support for me and my writing of this story. Maybe this is just a helpful reminder for me why I’m a hobby-writer and not a social director. 😜

There will be a new one shot coming soon, as yall have so kindly waited for it and I’ve labored over it for a few months now (can it have been that long??? Ooops) I hope yall enjoy.

Xoxo

[lunarsun12]

Not So Innocent San

Masterlist

Author Note: The pirates are back! Ahhh I’m so excited, my favourite is Shaboom in their new album. Happy Reading!

It all started 3 days ago, when Wooyoung gir blamed for everything including leaving the dishes out and sneaking out. Which he 100% didn’t he learnt his lesson from him and Yunho club adventure (Refer to The Club In Ateez Masterlist).

Then it lead to everyone in the family getting blamed, all claiming San told everything. The suspicious part Yeosang didn’t get blamed not even once.

What is the real intention of San action? Did Yeosang made him do it?

Back At Ateez Kids Chat

Today 1:00 am

Wooyoung🐈‍⬛: San!! We all knew you have pulling all those stupid pranks and blamed it on all us…well except Yeosang

Yunho🐶: For once, I agree with Wooyoung! I have to deep the clean the kitchen due to someone smoothie disaster!!

Mingi🦄: I feel bad for Wooyoung, he got the worst end of the stick

San🗻: I pull no pranks! It is clearly all of you did it except for my yeosangie of course

Wooyoung🐈‍⬛: Since when you and Yeosang are close!! He stealing my spot!!

San🗻: You should have thought twice, for ever letting Toby go!!

Yeosang🍗: What with all the noise? Ahem wooyoung, keep your feet glued to the ground

Jongho🍎: i couldn’t sleep! As Eomma gave me talk again and then Appa came along. Started to be cringe with Eomma. My eyes needs bleaching from that

Yeosang🍗: I understand for Wooyoung and Jongho. But why yunho and Mingi…? They don’t cause anything

Yunho🐶: Yeah!! San, I have been nothing but nice. Wait mingi what have you done?

Mingi🦄: Ermmm, I may not have posted something about San….

Jongho🍎: Spill Mingi!!

Mingi🦄: I may not have posted of video of him hugging Shiba one time…and the internet called him aegi San…

Wooyoung🐈‍⬛: My trick worked, half asleep mingi is the best!!

Yunho🐶: One day wooyoung, karma will get to you!! We were completely innocent

Wooyoung🐈‍⬛: Karma already got to me!! I have to deal with 100 million chores

Wooyoung🐈‍⬛: We digress, San stop with the prank!! We have gone through enough because of you

San🗻: Mmmmm…how about no ^_^

Jongho🍎: I hate it when he put that smiley face on! Also quick question? Why isn’t Yeosang ropped into this??

San🗻: Yeosang is never wrong in my eyes

Wooyoung🐈‍⬛: That what he used to say to me!!

Yunho🐶: This is suspicious…Yeosang was looking after Toby. Technically it is Yeosang fault

Yeosang🍗: No it wasn’t!! It is wooyoung who let it out the crucial part

Wooyoung🐈‍⬛: There’s more to it…you must have blackmailed San!! To do all this

Yeosang🍗: Why would I need him, when I can easily take you all down with Yunho + Mingi

Yunho🐶: You so sweet! You added Mingi

Yeosang🍗: You two come in a package…sadly…

Jongho🍎: Guys! Let’s sleep! San is not gonna stop, we just need to suffer until he is satisfied

The Next Morning…

Back At Ateez Chat

6:00am

Seonghwa🌸: WHO STOLE THAT EXPENSIVE CAKE! NO NO IM GONNA GET KILLED BY SOOBIN KIDS

San🗻: I pretty sure, I saw Yeosang eating it earlier!

Seonghwa🌸: YEOSANG! YOU GET YOUR BUTT HERE!!

1 hour later…

Yeosang🍗: Huh? There is cake? When? Give me cake!!

Seonghwa🌸: San said you stole it!! Yeosang you supposed to be the responsible one!

Wooyoung🐈‍⬛: Looks like San yeosangie got betrayed…

Yunho🐶: Maybe Yeosang isn’t behind this!

Yeosang🍗: It wasn’t me!! I was sleeping all day until you barged in!

Jongho🍎: It’s san! He did it!! He has been blaming everything on us!!

Seonghwa🌸: San is innocent! He always does the right thing

Mingi🦄: Eomma, have look at this!

10mins later…

Seonghwa🌸: WHAT IT WAS SAN ALL ALONG! He even tried to blame on Hongjong as well!!

Yunho🐶: Mingi, where did you get all this?

Mingi🦄: I remembered Eomma baby camera and decided to check

Jongho🍎: You said…you took it down Eomma…

Seonghwa🌸: Ooops, I forgot I will do it later later. Let me go find San!!

San🗻: You don’t need to find me! I am with Appa. You know how he feels when getting woken up..

Seonghwa🌸: When did you get so smart!! Why are you doing this?

San🗻: REVENGE!!!

Hongjong🏴‍☠️: San isn’t with me! Also stop doing these revenges or else you won’t ever get your Appa time

San🗻: I’m sorry…I just wanted to prove a point. That I am not pushover…I will behave better

Wooyoung🐈‍⬛: One word from Appa…he immediately apologised…

San🗻: Wooyoungie, I will forgive you! Being with Yeosang is really boring. All he does ignores me

Wooyoung🐈‍⬛: THANK YOU APPA!! San come one let’s plot something

Seonghwa🌸: This isn’t fair! One word from Hongjong, the kids behave! Give me you power!!

[mmazzalai]

Ooops,, forgot to update/continue the story.

So,, I added Chris to my "Celebrity crush" list,, and focused my attention on trying to get to know more about the band altogether,, while still keeping an eye out for any additional posts/pictures/stories/interviews I would find that featured more details about him (which, eventually I did find!).

And so I decided to expand the list of Phoenix songs I was currently listening to (which was: 2 songs).

I wasn't sure where to start,, so I turned to various internet forums to look up their best/most popular songs according to fans as well as the ones they played the most at concerts so that I could at least sing along to them in case I were to attend one.

And I ended up with a Playlist consisting on 12 songs. The first couple new ones I added,, actually came from their YouTube comments section.

As I mentioned before, I kept playing Lisztomania and Tonight on loop, and in one of Tonight's comments, there was one saying how the vibes of that music reminded them of "Ti amo" so I played that one next and LOVED IT. Again, I played it on loop for a bit, til I saw a comment underneath it mentioning the "Ti Amo speciale" and J-boy, so that was the next one and then the chemistry in my brain was forever altered because I fell IN LOVE with that song. Remains my favorite one til this day. The rest of my initial playlist followed soon after.

So by now it was almost the end of 2023, and it still hadn't occurred to me to look up their upcoming shows or something. I did discovered that they has come to my hometown at the end of 2022, shortly after I discovered their first song, and just assumed that they would return or come play somewhere near where I could attend. I'm not a big concert goer so traveling for a concert was not something I had considered at that point.

Around November 2023 I attended a wedding, and some of the people that were seated in the same table as mine made comments about how they were soon to attend the Corona Capital festival in CDMX and how one of their friends bailed and they had an extra ticket (reader, if you think that good news and a pleasant surprise are to come, you are about to be as disappointed as I was back then).

[contritecactite]

Ooops, the eternally wonderful @quoththemaiden blessed us with some more thoughts on the Japanese dub of Good Omens and then I got left waiting in a car for half an hour with nothing to do so uh. Quick little Tumblr fic? The discussion was just about "your stupid car is on fire" becoming "your car is burning in the manner of a fool" and I promise this thing gets around to that. After about a thousand words. But the literal translation there made me think about burning in other contexts, and so:

Ways to Burn

Rating: M; tags and fic under the cut

Tags: angst, fire imagery, choking imagery, references to fire, Crowley has a bad time throughout the years but then has a good time, also a brief instance of a very particular kind of good time (blink and you'll miss it unspecified penetrative sex act), post-s1, ignores s2, dramatic tonal shift into silly bickerflirting

Ways to Burn

First: literally. Probably. 

He’s scorched when he lands, and that's all he knows for sure.

Shame comes next. He hadn't known he could feel it, much less that it could burn as surely as a flat dark rock with too much direct sun—and hadn't that been a new sensation, too, his tender serpent's belly warming too much too quickly at the contact.

All right, so that one next, the too-warm surface, and then the shame.

He doesn't mean to get them kicked out. Right thing or wrong thing, he hadn't wanted that. Trouble’s one thing. Trouble, actually, is kind of fun. But he's never really liked endings, and this is as sure an ending as anything ever was.

But—a beginning, too.

He never felt the fire of that flaming sword, but he burned sure enough watching that angel admit to giving it away.

It's a long time before he works out what to call that particular sensation, and longer still—much longer—before he lets himself call it that.

The sun burns, and the sand, all those days in the desert, and the fires—those he starts and those he doesn't—and the shame, over and over, of being reminded that before anything in the world had even happened, he had proven to be a failure at his job.

Except.

Some days, it's his new job that brings him the most joy. There are so very many ways to cause trouble, more and more every century, and eventually—

Eventually the frostbite he used to imagine himself sustaining under that angelic gaze eases into something a bit more… well, lukewarm, at first.

And even that burns hot when applied to something chilled to the bone. He ought to know. He's spent time in the mountains. In the snow and the dreary slush of miserable winters.

Doesn't take much of being out alone in all that for come in and sit by the fire, you wretched old thing to do just as much work as a cup full of something spiced and warm. 

Heat gives way to warmth the way wildness gives over to domesticity—in the world at large and in whatever passes for the heart of one particular demon. As Crawley made room for Crowley, so too does untrustworthy fiend slip away in favor of my dear.

It's the polite warmth-almost-heat of tea set out for a guest who arrives a little too late, but it's more than enough to fend off icy fingers. And it's safe.

It rises to a slow simmer one day as anything might after nearly escaping a bombing, but he doesn't dare let it grow further. He's been in London so very long now, and he will not allow himself to burn up against his only source of warmth.

There's something perfect in the tension of keeping it there, of striking the kind of balance that leaves something just too hot to touch but cool enough to draw near.

And then the bookshop burns, and Crowley has never been colder, stood there in the centre of the flames and shouting until his throat feels as seared with prayer as the book beside him has been by the tongues of fire.

And then, again, literally: the Bentley is no more than a car-shaped wreath of flame, and Crowley himself has caught, too, but it doesn't matter. Doesn't matter because it can't matter. Doesn't matter because even if the wheel is red-hot under his hands, he doesn't feel a damned thing.

It's a good job the old man in Tadfield knows a thing or two about keeping one's thoughts to oneself; the impression of your stupid car is on fire and you're just sitting there like a fool emanating from him is almost enough to break Crowley's concentration, and if he'd said it aloud, well—

Doesn't bear thinking about.

At the air base he learns all over again that relief is wool blankets and dry socks like what in the world were you doing out in that awful cold, my dear back in 1684 and that grief is swallowing an ice cube whole and feeling it melt while still choking and fear is almost like both at once when you're so used to it that it's more companion than stranger.

The Hellfire he stands in while wearing Aziraphale's shape could never hope to burn the same way as just like that, my love, you feel wonderful when, days later, he sinks down onto Aziraphale for the first time and feels heat inside him and warmth all around.

A warm bath, after, both literally and figuratively—warmer than body temperature but not enough to scald, laughter and joy and something he suspects might be freedom.

“He insulted my car, you know,” he mumbles into Aziraphale's hair.

"Who, dear?”

“Dunno. Man with a dog back in Tadfield. Didn't say it out loud but he was thinking so hard about it being on fire. I swear he said ‘your stupid car is on fire’ and ‘your car is burning in the manner of a fool’ and a dozen other different variations on- oh, no.”

“What?” Aziraphale asks, alarmed enough to try to sit up, but Crowley tugs him back down.

“Well, did you notice the Bentley being a bit. You know. Odd.”

Aziraphale hums, considering, and then makes a small sound of recognition. “There was some new music. And it—well, I thought you must have done it, but when we got out, I thought it winked.”

“Why would I make a car wink? My car? Honestly.”

“Oh, as if you've never been cheeky.”

Crowley groans. “That’s not the point. What I'm saying is, it didn't used to do those things, yeah? And I didn't make it do them. And you, you wouldn't have made it wink at you.”

“Certainly not.”

“I think that when Adam put things back together, since I was thinking about missing it and the old man was out there giving it personality, he might have thought—well, it might actually have one now. For better or worse.”

“Ah. Well. I'm sure no harm will come of it. It's a very loyal car, and you've always taken good care of it.”

“What has that got to do with anything?”

Aziraphale burrows in more deeply against his chest. His face seems to grow a bit warmer. “Well, if you must know, Adam left quite a few new books about… well, about haunted cars.”

Crowley snorts. “And you read them? Oh, angel, how far you've—grk. Mn. Nevermind that.”

“Hm.” He's quiet for a moment or two longer, and then: “They made some of them into films, you know.”

“I am not watching anything about haunted cars.”

“I thought you liked spooky.”

“For someone who reads as much as you do, you ought to have a better grasp on spooky versus terrifying.”

“I think you like your car too much.”

“Like you better.” He pauses. Considers. “Don’t tell it I said that.”

Aziraphale only laughs at him and holds on tighter, and it's bubbles in champagne chilled to just the right temperature to be held in a warm, dear hand while the other hand holds Crowley's.

[takaraphoenix]

Family Trees of the Multiverse: Stewart-Pierce Family

So when I just posted my Quinzel family tree, I noticed that I... never actually posted my Lightning Fam tree? Ooops.

The main reason I even made this is because I was genuinely surprised to learn that Lynn Stewart and John Stewart are only siblings in the Young Justice cartoon continuity. It made me want to investigate both their families, and what they'd look like sharing one tree.

As always, color-coded for easier identification of who is exclusive to which continuity. Main colors used:

Black: Prime Earth continuity

Brown: New 52 exclusive (N52 changed Jefferson's dad's name)

Red: New Earth

Green: Arrowverse

Turquoise: Batman Beyond/Earth-12

Dark Blue: Young Justice/Earth-16

Light Blue: Dark Knights of Steel/Earth-118

Purple: Kingdom Come/Earth-22

Pink: Crime Syndicate/Earth-3

If a character's writing and frame are completely red, the character is exclusive to New Earth continuity and didn't carry over to Prime Earth; if it only says [New Earth] below black writing, the character was first introduced during the New Earth era and did carry over into Prime Earth.

I'm fascinated by the fact that Anissa and Jennifer were first introduced in Kingdom Come, as the children of Jonni Thunder and Black Lightning, but their mother was changed when they were included in the main continuity.

And though it is messy and the CW never pulled through in actually giving us his Green Lantern run, between Roy Stewart and John finding the Gren Lantern ring in the finale, it's clear that John Diggle very much was an adaptation/version of John Stewart, so I decided to include him and his family too.

[alexissara]

The Best of Me 2023

I did a ton of writing on tumblr this year, with at least one post a week but multiple weeks with 2 or 3 posts in a week. I've worked hard to make writing that is relevant to my fellow sapphics and artists. I want to talk about the stuff I wrote this year I am most proud of.

Note: This list does not include my articles for Anime Feminist because they are professionally edited therefore a cut above anything I am posting on tumblr but please do read them here and tell them you want more articles by me [I actually have more to write for them ooops].

Why Hunt Monsters?

I am so proud of this little article, for me this is one of the things I feel very strongly about. As a TTRPG player I have found myself retreating from a lot more games because I just can't get behind, we murder monsters plots and I was really happy to share my perspective on this fairly taken from granted feature of games.

How To Find Sapphic Media 

This little guide to finding Sapphic Art was really important to me because well, I was really tired of seeing people say there was not compelling art about and by sapphic women and so I wanted to make a base level resource for finding amazing sapphic shit.

Sapphic Games Goddess List

In my efforts to make Sapphic Art more known I have worked really fucking hard to research what sapphic games are coming up so people wouldn't even have to put in the effort to go hunting them down. I want people to be able to live out there sapphic dreams and so it's important to me to share what I am researching for my own play time since I at this point really only play games I can be a lesbian in or otherwise are standout in gameplay with probably no romance instead. I even did an updated version of this list since most of the games on the first list have come out and I am working on the next one as we speak with more new additions gearing up.

Why Obsession Hits Different When Gay

I love diving into queer theorizing. I am not going big brain citing a ton of people or doing a lot of academic research but I like to share my own thoughts, experiences and the stuff I have learned over years especially as a writer and general creator of sapphic art. I think it's a perfect little rebuttal for folks who may claim there is a "double standard" that lesbians have or something.

Polyamory Is Queer

This is a deeply personal little blog post I did where I talked about why polyamory is so important to me and why it is in fact queer. I have seen so many people demonize polyamory over the years and I was just tired of seeing people in my own community bullying other polyamorous folks.

Fantasy Vs Sexuality Labels

As a writer this is maybe one of the things I feel most passionate about a creative choice for my fellow queer creators. I really wanted to make my case on why we should use labels in fantasy worlds and why these labels matter for stories.

My entries for Edelgard Rarepair week and Monica Week

I from time to time to time write fan fiction and I had a blast doing it this year for two different week events going with both the Edelgard Rarepair week and the Monica fics week. I love Three Houses/Hopes so it was a blast to throw my passion into something even if in general I don't like to be a free marketing arm for companies by making creative works like those.

TTRPG Characters Need Trauma In Their Backstory

I had one person who utterly hated this post and started attacking me in basically every post I made on some social media site I abandoned because of it. That alone makes me love this post even more because it made me sit down and think about this post and feel even more assured that what I wrote is correct and that trauma is in fact needed for TTRPG characters. I think I wrote something that really dived into the idea of what is trauma, how trauma relates to us as humans and why it's basically propaganda to remove us from trauma.

Trans People Deserve More 

I feel super strongly about this article, I sat on it for a long time but I've met so many other trans people with awful relationships and mild relationships with their family. I wanted to make a shout out to all my fellow trans folks to tell them that it's okay to demand more, that we don't need to settle.

A Dive Into Heather 

I adored diving into one of my all time favorite Fire Emblem characters and it's something I've wanted to do more of. I'd love to do more dives into characters in video games I like and I did well before this post have a series of drafts that I still have up as a series that particularly is just a bit by bit break down of Edelgard's political beliefs.

[luxshine]

Clone!Verse Pairings and info.

As I am almost finishing the first say, season of the Drrragon!Verse, I started other three fics because my brain and muses won. I kept saying I was NOT going to do it, but... well, I did it. One of them is the one I teased, with Ram being raised by the Buxtons, having a lot of internalized racism inside and Bheem having to help him find himself, that is on A03, and is named The Earth, the Trees, the Tribe. The other two are sort of crossovers because see, I fell in love with RRR, and with Charan and Tarak, and then some lovely people invited me to a discord about RRR and well, next thing I know, I have watched like 10 of their movies and trying to find more.

And then... @ririsasy said in one of the discord servers that it'd be fun if all the different roles of Charan and Tarak were clones and... uhm... a new verse was born in my head.

IT DOES COUNT as an RRR Fic, see, because all of the Charan characters I'm including (7, from 5 different movies as in two of them he plays two characters) are clones of our dear Rama Raju, made by a British lab because of course the British can't leave Rama Raju alone. And while I still haven't said what the deal is with the Tarak Characters (Also 7, from 5 different movies, as in one of them, he plays three characters), they at the very least have dreams of Bheem's life, so yeah, basically, the Universe saw that in modern times there were Seven New Rama Rajus, so it went OOOPS, we need Seven New Bheems to balance. Because yes, obviously, the Rama Rajus are in love with the Bheems. Or well, they will be, as soon as they meet.

(They even have designated pairings. It's not just first come, first served. They have to find their specific Ram or Bheem. The Universe doesn't play around)

Now, I know some of us, specially in the English-speaking side of fandom, haven't watched all of Charan and Tarak's movies, so I am going to be making some posts about the pairings in question, so you guys can get a taste... and WATCH the movies in question!

So let's start with Clone one of the Rams. Chelluboina Chitti Babu, whom you might have seen in my dash before with his beloved chicken, Chicken. Now, Chicken is not that important in the movie Chitti is from, but he became a fan favorite because he's so cute, so in the fic, he's Chitti's pet.

We also have Chitti to thank for Charan now liking lungi more than pants. Just for that, Chitti should be named a national hero.

Anyway, he is from the movie Rangashtalam, which you can watch legally as far as I know in Einthusan in telugu. And it's a movie you NEED to watch. Seriously, anything I say about it (Except that Chicken is only in it for like, two seconds) is a spoiler that will make the experience of watching it for the first time less epic.

Also, Chitti here is half-deaf, and part of the plot is a lot about how he has a lot of inner ableism and the acting of Charan is amazing.

Anyway, he is paired in my fic with this Bheem clone, Anand.

Anand is an environmentalist who, after his uncle panics a bit for a fight he had with some goons, ends up joining a garage, Janatha's Garage (lit. The People's Garage) where they fix... EVERYTHING. And that includes your problems. I know it's a bad summary, but it's again a movie you seriously need to watch. I also adore the music on this one. ALL of the music, but specially the titular Janatha's Garage song.

I also found this one in Einthusan, although I believe Amazon Prime has it in some areas.

They are the very first ones that appear on the fic, so if you have watched them? You can start reading it! (hint hint, nudge nudge)