#or maybe I’ll tag a bunch of fandoms

[sweet-drmzzz]

man the brainrot is real

[bubblybloob]

I can't help now but imagine that when Cold finally falls prey to the hibernation scheme (as they all will, eventually 👁👁) Hunted will take the opportunity to put him in the washing machine until the mange crust is all gone.

First of all, who’s to say they fall to the hibernation? 👁️👁️

Secondly, NO DON’T WASHING MACHINE MY BOY I’VE BEEN THERE IT IS HELL HE WON’T SURVIVE-

[fairy-writes]

hallo >:]

i would like to request the prompt :

“Oh, excuse me for freaking out. I only thought you were dead!”

for narumi gen from kaiju no.8

and any gender would be fine!

A LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY

Reblogs and Comments are greatly appreciated!!

__________________________________________________________________________

Prompt: “Oh, excuse me for freaking out. I only thought you were dead!”

Fandom(s): Kaiju No. 8

Pairing(s): Narumi Gen x Reader

Word Count: 1.1k

Genre(s)/Tag(s): Gender Neutral!Reader, Angst, Hospitals, Injuries, Minor Arguments

Notes: Combining this with another request that is exactly the same :)

This is likely medically inaccurate, but pls bear with me.

__________________________________________________________________________

The beeping of hospital machines was driving you up the wall. But it also brought you solace in that it showed that the man you loved was still alive. 

It had been three days since he slipped into a coma. 

You sat beside him the entire time, holding Gen’s hand as the ventilator breathed for him. His army of machines did a variety of things. Things like the ventilator, which inflated his lungs. He had a chest tube placed to drain fluid building around his lungs. There was a catheter to drain his bladder. There were multitudes of other machines and devices, all to help Gen stay alive. 

But no one knew when he’d wake up.

If he’d even wake up.

A frantic beeping awoke you from your doze. 

When did you fall asleep?

You look up at the machines and barely have time to comprehend the sight of his heart monitor lit up in a frenzy. 

It’s flatlining. 

Gen is dying. 

You let out a cry and dive for the blue button next to his bed, slamming your thumb onto it and hearing the call for a “Code Blue in room G342. Code Blue in room G343” just outside in the hall. A flood of nurses and doctors come in, and you are pushed out.

“Please! You have to save him!” You beg, and a nurse you vaguely recognize from seeing in the hallways offers a kind smile.

“We’ll do everything we can. But you need to stand back and let us work.” She says quickly before Gen’s hospital room door slides shut behind her.

You are forced to wait in the waiting room as Gen is wheeled in for emergency surgery after they get his heartbeat back.

They didn’t say what it was for—maybe they did—but you had signed the necessary forms regardless, seeing as you were Gen’s significant other and he had no other family.

You sit with your head in your hands, your breathing quick and gasping and panicky as you wait for any sort of news from the medical staff working to save his life. As you sit there, you can’t help but wish he hadn’t been called in for the most recent kaiju attack. Because while yes, he vanquished the monster, it left him in this sort of state.

He was going to get an earful when he woke up.

If he woke up, that is…

Your name being called snaps you from your reverie. You had been zoning out, not thinking about anything but what you were going to say to Gen if he ever recovered. But as you jolted out of your thoughts, you checked the clock and realized that hours had passed. No one was in the waiting room except you and a nurse behind the receptionist's desk, who looked like he wanted to go home. 

Well… you two and the doctor you recognized as the man who had wheeled the crash cart into the room when Gen was actively coding. 

You were on your feet in seconds before you even registered standing up. 

“How is he?” You demanded when the doctor approached. He gestured for you to follow him, 

“We’ll talk on the way. But he’s asking for you.” 

He was asking for you.

So he was alive?

Your knees felt weak, and you actually caught yourself on the wall. 

“So he’s alive?” You whisper, and the doctor gives you a warm smile. 

“He’s a fighter, that’s for sure. Now, follow me, I’ll take you to him.”

Gen is already awake and sitting up in bed when you get to the hospital room. A flurry of nurses flit around him like a bunch of buzzing bees. But he isn’t watching any of them. 

No… Gen’s eyes are locked on yours the second you come into view. 

The doctor begins to speak, telling you about the surgery, but you don’t hear him. All you hear is muffled speaking, almost as if he’s talking through cotton. It’s like this for a few moments until you come back to the present and hear, 

“I’m confident he’ll make a full recovery.” The doctor says, and you feel the pricks of tears in your eyes. 

He was alive. 

He was going to be okay. 

You all but yank the door open and slip inside as the nurses and medical personnel file out of the room to give you two some privacy. But as soon as the door shuts, it’s as if all the strength in your knees has left you again, and you all but collapse on the side of his bed, reaching to grasp his hand. You’re mindful of the IV in the back of his hand as you cradle his palm in both hands. He arches an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything just yet. 

“How are you feeling?” You ask quietly, and he shrugs with one shoulder, settling back into his mountain of pillows. 

“‘m fine.” He mumbles with a yawn.

“Is there anything I can do for you?’ You press, and he shakes his head, 

“Not unless you’ll get me one of my games. The doc won’t let me have my phone just yet.” He complains, and you hang your head with a dry chuckle.

Of course, he wants one of his games. You wouldn’t expect anything different from your boyfriend. 

“If the doctor says no, I’m going to listen to him.” You say, and he immediately lets out a whine. But before he can complain, you cut him off, “Gen, you need to take it easy. Getting worked up over video games isn’t going to help.”

He rolls his eyes and tugs his hand from yours to cross his arms across his chest, huffing indignantly, and you realize this is going nowhere. But that still didn’t mean your anger rose any less. In fact, it actively pulsed within your chest, and before you could stop yourself, you scowled. 

He noticed, and his eyebrows shot up. It wasn’t often you actively showed your anger. 

“What has you freaking out? I didn’t die, did I?” He asks, and you glare, 

“You coded Gen. Your heart stopped.” 

“But they got it back! Stop freaking out, seriously, it’s gonna give me a headache.”

“Oh, excuse me for freaking out. I only thought you were dead!” You borderline shout, and he rolls his eyes. 

Gen gives you an impish, boyish grin despite your fury, the kind he gives you when he beats you at a video game or successfully kills a kaiju. He works his hand over so he can entwine his fingers with yours. You can feel your anger melting away as he speaks. 

“You can’t kill me that easily.”

[jaynovz]

Expanded Info for Black Sails Kink Meme 2024

Hi there!

Since there has been a sufficient amount of interest for this idea, let me explain a little further how I think this will work and general guidelines–

I’m encouraging as informal and low stress/pressure of an atmosphere as possible here. Back in The Day when LiveJournal Kink Memes were common, it was very typical to see a prompt put up and filled within an hour. It doesn’t have to be polished, it doesn’t have to make logistical sense, it just has to fill the prompt as best as you can, sexily! It’s supposed to be fun. A bunch of fun, raunchy kink and smut to roll around in as a fandom. 🥳 🥳

So yeah, first thing to expect, it’s basically ALL PWP (porn without plot). Not to say that someone can’t write a full plot epic if they like, do whatever you like, but in my experience, a 4am fugue state smut fill written in a sweaty haze is kind of, the spirit of the thing. We’re creating ficlets, snapshots, tasty treats of smut with as little pressure to make it in any way polished as possible. Please think of this as, hmmm, a little fun writing exercise you do before you go back to your Big Serious Work, if that helps. We are letting loose, we are having fun, we are being deliciously, joyously, unrepentantly filthy with it! The tagline for the event is: “Get High, Jerk Off Three Times, and Write Me a Warmup :DD”

A prompt might say, for example– “MaxAnne, s2, would love to see the girls get slippery wet with some period sex, bonus if one or both eats the other out while she’s menstruating.” 

Pretty standard stuff, nothing that off the wall from my perspective, however, some folks might feel shy about asking for it for whatever reasons and so the anonymous format frees ppl up to ask for anything from: “Midshipman James McGraw getting caned in pre-canon by his superiors” to, idk, “full tentacle-y type oviposition porn where someone is being forced to come over and over again while being implanted with eggs by some giant plant beast on Skeleton Island (probably Silver).”

Literally ask for whatever smut you want~~ This is your chance, toss it into the pot! It will be tagged accordingly when posted if it’s filled, so live your truth, chase your bliss, know no shame, no one can see you~~

It is helpful when submitting a prompt to give details that are important to you, and the prompt filler will do their best with it. <3 So, I suggest giving a ship specification up front, maybe a vague timeline (season 1, season 2, etc), and then the kinks you want to see with a short description. Sort of like the MaxAnne period sex I gave an example of above.

Logistics and Structure of Submissions–

I have created a sideblog called @blacksailskmeme through which, once submissions are live (it will be open to accept prompts hopefully in March 2024), you may submit ANON ASK PROMPTS. I will publish them with a number and a link to the collection. If you like one of the prompts, simply post it through the collection with its corresponding number and then that AO3 link to your fill will be reblogged underneath the original ask prompt.

Simple as that! 

Follow the Event Blog, or the tag #2024BSKMemeFills in order to keep tabs on when prompts are filled. 

This makes it very easy for me and yall both, as there is no claiming process to trouble ourselves with. As many fills as are written are allowed for each prompt, simply write whatever speaks to you and I’ll be able to track the fills by the notifs on the collection. :DD

As of now, I’m planning to open prompts in March 2024 and keep the collection and blog running for prompts and fills both up through the end of Summer 2024. To respect the spirit of the event, all fills and prompts MUST be anonymous. Edit for clarification: The entire collection is marked Anonymous, which means any work submitted to it will be posted Anon. There is no option you need to worry about checking to guarantee this. I apologize for the initial confusing language, I have been learning as I go.

It still stands that if, after the event is closed, you want to then de-anon your work, that is your prerogative. However, it will mean you must remove the work from the collection, as the collection itself will forever and always remain anonymous.

Rules–

–This is an 18 plus event, please, as all of the content will be Explicit. 

–It is also a Black Sails Only Event, please no crossover prompts or fills. However, AU of all types are encouraged with our favorite pirates.

–All ships, all kinks, are welcome for submission, and the fill will then be tagged appropriately. If you have any questions on how to tag something, or just want another pair of eyes to confirm, you can always DM me <3

–Fills must be 500 words minimum of fic. There is no maximum and the fill is allowed to be WIP if you intend to write more chapters later. I would encourage that the content of the prompt be IN the first chapter at least before submission to the collection.

–We’re Gonna Be Nice and Civil!! No ship bashing, no kink shaming, we’re all mature adults here. If you don’t like something, then don’t fill it, don’t reblog it, don’t read it, pretend you do not see it. If you don’t like it, it’s not for you! 

If I haven’t covered everything here, or if you’re unsure about something, feel free to reach out to me either through the event blog or through @jaynovz <3 Also, if you’d like to help me out with the event, hit me up as well.

Thank you!

[facewithoutheart]

Ten Questions for Writers

Thanks for the tags @shrekgogurt, @artsyunderstudy, @youarenevertooold, & @roomwithanopenfire I’m enjoying all this navel-gazing a whole bunch actually & I’ve done this before but it’s been awhile… sooo

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 169 (niiiice)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? ~950k (yikes) although some of that is Birthday Man and collabs with people from WIP fest. Don’t ask me to do the math tho; that’s mean.

3. What fandoms do you write for? I’ve written for HP, Check Please, and RWRB although right now I’m mostly a CO writer with a toe dipping into 9-1-1. I have one Captain America fic posted and some WIPs I don’t know if I’ll finish. Nobody look at that AFTG fic; it’s pure crack.

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Whoo boy do I have thoughts here. I want to be the kind of writer who replies to comments and I harbor so much guilt that I’m not; I know I miss out on opportunities to connect with readers, and I genuinely appreciate comments so much; I hoard them in my inbox like a greedy lil affirmation dragon. I write to engage and connect. So, like, I know I should but at the same time I hate forcing interactions. I like them to spawn organically. I keep my circle small because I get really emotionally overwhelmed and then I feel guilty when I can’t give people what they deserve. And I’ve also never been comfortable with compliments or gratitude, I don’t trust them. So here’s a bulk of emotional trauma no one asked for to say: I don’t reply to comments as often as I feel I should and I’m trying to release the guilt I feel about this while also recognizing that not commenting probably has a direct negative affect on my ability to meet my goal of connecting through writing and at the same time my mental health probably couldn’t withstand the pressure I would need to place on it to get to where I’m replying to comments regularly. Hi I’m a mess who’s trying to love herself and often falls short of that goal; aren’t we all?

5. Have you ever had a fic stolen? No.

6. Have you ever co-written a fic before? So many actually! I didn’t think I’d ever get to a place where I trust someone else to the level this would take but I’ve been really lucky to work with some amazing writers even if not all of those works went anywhere. I actually don’t even think I could realistically tag all the people I’ve collabed with bc I’m afraid I’ll miss someone and isn’t that amazing? Personal growth; we love to see her.

7. What’s your all-time favorite ship? Oh man. I want to just be lame and say it’s me and Mr. Face 🤣 I shipped us when no one else did. Um! Snowbaz is always going to have a special place in my heart, but I’m really leaning into Buddie right now because of age and wanting to explore people in their 30’s still figuring out their lives while battling PTSD and late-in-life sexuality realizations. For, um. Reasons.

8. What are your writing strengths? I do like my dialogue a lot; dialogue is often where I start my scenes and I develop from there. I think I’ve done a good job of honing my ability to vary action/dialogue/internality a lot. I also think I keep people engaged or maybe I just keep myself engaged which is good enough for me. Sometimes I’m funny although sadly not as much recently.

9. What are your writing weaknesses? I struggle with remembering to add in physical descriptors. (Like oh shit have I ever mentioned this character has eyes?) Logistics are a frequent source of pain. (Wait, where were their hands?) I think my plots are kind of basic and boring; I don’t come up with really vivid and detailed concepts. I use the wrong words for things. I really hate detailing out backstory. I have to reread my fics a million times to maintain character consistency. Etc.

10. First fandom you wrote for? Hey Arnold. I wish I could find those fics; I bet they suck.

Tagging 10 peeps @sillyunicorn @mostlymaudlin @martsonmars @bookish-bogwitch @cutestkilla @ivelovedhimthroughworse @thewholelemon @palimpsessed @aristocratic-otter & @you-remind-me-of-the-babe

[asirensrage]

A Bet's a Bet - Kyojuro x Reader x Tengen oneshot

Title: A Bet's a Bet Rating: Explicit Fandom: Demon Slayer Pairing: Uzui Tengen x Female!Reader x Rengoku Kyojuro (side Kyojuro x Tengen) Warnings: Smut. Threesome. A bit ooc. Oral. Swearing. Sex. (Seriously. Heed the rating.) Unbeta’d.

Summary: Modern!AU. A night at Laser Tag goes from potential disaster to something incredible.

Notes: This is based on this post with @comatosebunny09. This turned out longer than I planned because the characters kept running away from me and doing their own thing. I was just along for the ride. This is also a little more detailed than usual (but it had to be because of the logistics of this). These men will be the death of me lol. Unbeta'd so please forgive any errors. As usual, undescribed/unnamed female reader. Enjoy and please lmk what you think!

Laser tag. Fucking laser tag. 

“Come on! It’ll be fun!” Your friend pleads with you. 

“I don’t want to go play against a bunch of kids,” you say. It’s a lie. The truth is you have no desire to go on what you know is a set-up double date with her boyfriend and one of his friends. The same one you’ve already told her you’re not interested in. 

“Please! I promise I’ll never ask for anything ever again. Just come! Have some fun! I promise that there’s not even any kids there, it’s just adults. They’re running longer games now.” 

You stare at her dubiously but then she uses that same pleading look that you know has gotten her out of multiple speeding tickets. “Fine. This is the last time, got it?”

“I promise!” 

Somehow, you doubt that. 

You were right in the fact that it ended up being some fake double date that you didn’t agree to. Her boyfriend brought a friend, the same one you knew he would, and they gave you both some space to talk. Even when you didn’t want to. Thankfully, she was alright right in the fact that you weren’t surrounded by some kids. There were other adults playing. You caught a glimpse of the group that went in ahead of yours, catching sight of broad shoulders and bright hair.

Thankfully the place seems huge and it’s dark. As soon as you get in, you ditch your group. You’re not about to spend the next twenty minutes having the guy trail you while trying to convince you he’s good at this. 

You forgot how much fun laser tag is. You spend some time running and ducking for cover. You haven’t seen your friend but it’s only a matter of time. As soon as you find her, you’re taking them all out. As much as you can, at least. 

You step backwards as someone comes running and jump as you bump into someone. 

“Sorry about that!” they say. You turn and aim. 

You can barely make out his blond hair under the dark lights but he has an easy smile and isn’t aiming his gun at you. “No problem,” you say. 

“Might be fortunate,” he grins. His eyes glance down at the blue light that marks your vest. His was marked with red. “We’re unfortunately not on the same team but I won’t shoot.”

You frown slightly, confused. “Why not?” 

“Maybe I want to stay on your good side.”

You smile slightly at the flirtation. It wasn’t completely easy to tell with the way the lights changed and the noise of people yelling at each other. 

“I caught some of your movements. Are you looking for someone in particular?”

“Yeah, my friend.” You describe her quickly. “I’m going to make sure she loses. Badly.” His eyebrows raise at your tone and both of you duck as soon as you hear someone come close. “She roped me into coming and surprised me with a double date, with someone I already told her I wasn’t interested in.” 

“That’s not kind of her,” he says. 

“Nope. So she’s going down.” 

“Would you like help?” 

“You any good?”

“Allow me to show you.” 

Kyojuro, as he introduces himself, is fantastic. He moves with apparent ease through the arena, yanking you out of the way a couple of times and pulling you tight against his chest. He apologizes the first time but when you tell him it’s fine, he does not stop. The strength in the movements has you more flustered than you expected.  

You find the friend of the boyfriend and both of you shoot him before running for it. You’re still searching for your friend when someone suddenly appears before you. You shoot instantly.

“Good shot!”  

Kyojuro steps in front of you and you glance back to make sure you’re not being cornered. 

“Kyo!” The man in front of him says. “Found something interesting, have you?”

 “I might have!” Kyojuro steps to the side. “Allow me to introduce you,” he says, motioning towards you. “This is one of my friends, Tengen.” Tengen is huge. You can make out enough to tell that he’s tall and extremely built, but he doesn’t set off your instincts telling you you’re in danger. He grins at you, seemingly not upset at the fact that you shot him. 

“Think you can do it again?” 

“Maybe,” you say not giving any promises because he's not your main target but you couldn't resist.

“Of course, she can!” Kyojuro says. You smile at the confidence he has in you. 

“Then why don't we make a bet?” Tengen leans closer. “Winner take all. If I win with the top ranking, you come out for dinner with us.” He motions towards Kyojuro and himself. That would at least get you out of going to dinner with your friend. 

“And if I win?" you ask.

“You shoot me again, you can have anything you want.” 

“Alright,” you agree. You don’t know what you’d ask for but you could decide later. 

Tengen winks at both of you before he somehow disappears back into the shadows. You look around quickly, but you can’t see him anywhere. 

“How the hell did he do that?” 

“Don’t ask,” Kyojuro says. “Better not to know. Come on, let’s find your friend.” 

You both manage to find your friend and her boyfriend and stalk them, shooting them repeatedly and laughing when they’re unable to catch you. That’s thanks due to Kyojuro, but you have the feeling that Tengen is somehow helping you both. You never see him though and when the lights finally turn on, all of you are ushered out to the leaderboard. Standing at rank 1 with a new high score is Tengen. Of course, it is. 

You finally get a good look at Kyojuro. He’s tall and well-built, getting out of his vest with the ease of having done this before. He turns to help you. You try not to stare but his eyes are as vibrant as his hair and when he grins at you knowingly, your stomach flutters. You glance around to figure out which one Tengen is when you’re distracted as someone calls your name.

“There you are!” 

You turn to see your friend coming up to you, her boyfriend and your unwanted date following. 

“I thought we were supposed to do this together, but you ran off.” Your friend says, her gaze flickering to the man beside you. Kyojuro turned with you to face them but he’s quiet now, letting you choose how to respond. 

“Is the whole point of laser tag to not be seen?” You ask. “Besides, I made allies.”

“I can see that,” she says. “Are you ready to go?”

An arm settles itself over your shoulders before you can answer and you find yourself pulled slightly into a large body. You glance up, catching sight of white hair and ruby-coloured eyes that wink down at you. 

“I’m afraid we’re going to be stealing her,” the man holding you says. Tengen, you realize as you recognize the voice. 

“What?” Your friend looks alarmed, gaze going between the three of you as Kyojuro moves slightly closer. 

“My friend and yours made a bet,” Kyojuro says. “If Tengen made top rank, she would join us for dinner tonight.”

“Not only did I rank number one, but I broke a new record. Quite flashy, don’t you agree?” 

It takes a second for you to realize he’s talking to you. “Oh yeah, absolutely.” 

Your friend looks unimpressed at you but considering you didn’t want to be here in the first place and she surprised you into this faux double date, you’re not that bothered by it. 

“Sorry,” you say. “A bet’s a bet, right? Besides, we can have dinner another time.” You raise your eyebrows at her, daring her to protest. 

“We came here together,” she says slowly. “How will you get home?”

“We’ll drive her,” Tengen says. 

“We’ll make sure she gets home safely.” It sounds like a promise coming from Kyojuro. 

“I’ll be fine,” you tell her. “Don’t worry. I’ll text you, okay?”

She looks at you warily but nods. “Okay. Make sure you do.” She looks at the men on either side of you. “You better not hurt her or I swear to God…” 

“We won’t,” Kyojuro says. “Would you like to take a picture of us? Just in case.”

She looks as surprised at the offer as you are but she agrees. Kyojuro wraps an arm around your waist and smiles. You feel Tengen pose next to you but she takes what’s likely more than one picture. “Okay. If you murder her, I’ll find you.”

Tengen laughs. “Don’t worry, if she screams, it won’t be from murder.” 

You can see your friend’s boyfriend’s jaw drop at the blatant insinuation and your friend’s eyes widen before she grins at you. She moves forward and hugs you tightly before whispering, “Tell me everything tomorrow, okay?”

You laugh and wave her off, promising to contact her. You watch as they leave and Kyojuro slips away to say goodbye to their friends. Tengen doesn’t drop his arm since you haven’t shaken him off. Its weight is oddly comforting.

“You really didn’t want to go with them, did you?” Tengen asks. 

You look up at him. “No. I basically got tricked into a double date with her boyfriend's friend. It’s not the first time either and I already told her I wasn’t interested. Spending dinner with you two is a much more preferable choice, even if we did just meet.” 

He bends down slightly to get closer to you. “Well then, we’ll just have to make it worth your while, won’t we?” 

They take you to a restaurant that is within walking distance. The men walk on either side of you, drawing you into conversation and telling you about how they became friends. You can’t help but laugh as Tengen expresses the admiration he felt when he met Kyojuro, simply for how the man dealt with one of their abrasive friends Sanemi. You think you can see Kyojuro redden as Tengen teases but the conversation pauses as you reach the restaurant. It’s cute and busy. You don’t know how they manage it, but the men get you a booth. Once you agree, you find yourself encased between them again when you sit down. 

Despite the size of them and the way they seem to tower over you even sitting, you don’t feel diminished between them. They keep you engaged in conversation, asking questions about your life while sharing more about theirs. Kyojuro promises that his hair is completely natural and tells you it’s because his ancestors loved tempura. It makes you laugh. 

“You have a gorgeous laugh, angel,” Tengen says, leaning slightly so his lips are closer to your ear. 

“You think so?” You ask, turning slightly to grin at him. You’re still not entirely sure where their attraction was coming from, but you weren’t opposed to it. Especially since neither of them seemed bothered by the other. You wonder to yourself if they’ve done this before. 

“Definitely.” You see his eye glance down at your lips but before either of you can do more than look, the waitress comes back with your orders. 

“Here, try this.” 

You turn to Kyojuro who’s holding up a bite of his meal. He nods, moving it slightly closer but ultimately waiting for your response. You lean forward, meeting his eyes as you take a bite. He watches you carefully and you’re distracted from the weight of his stare by the taste of his meal. “Wow.”

“It’s delicious, right?” 

“It is!” You grin at him, gaze flicking down to his mouth before you meet his eyes again. Your breath hitches in your throat. He leans forward slowly, putting the utensil down. 

“May I kiss you?” he asks softly. 

You feel Tengen shift behind you. His chin rests slightly on your shoulder. “You should, angel,” Tengen says. “He’s a fantastic kisser.” Your mind goes blank slightly at the thought of how Tengen knows that but you nod. 

Kyojuro reaches over and touches your jaw slightly. Your eyes close as he gets close and his lips brush against yours gently. His kiss is soft at first, just testing the waters. Tengen pushes you slightly, pressing you closer to Kyojuro who opens his mouth and deepens the kiss. It’s easy to lose yourself in it, especially with the heat of Tengen at your back whose hand slides up your arm. 

When you break the kiss, you meet Kyojuro’s eyes. His pupils are blown wide and he grins at you. He darts forward, kissing you quickly again before he pulls back. “Like I said, delicious.” 

Tengen laughs behind you and you turn to face him better, wanting to make sure he wasn’t feeling left out. 

“Was I right?” he asks, nudging you slightly. 

“I might need some more convincing,” you tease, unwilling to give in that easily. 

Tengen just grins. “How about a comparison?” He bends down, capturing your lips with his. His palm is warm against the small of your back and you can feel Kyojuro’s thigh pressing against yours as Tengen takes control of the kiss. He kisses like he’s trying to get a rise out of you, as though he’s attempting to find out the exact way to make you moan against him. You break the kiss first, unwilling to forget where you are and end up embarrassing yourself. He looks at you like he knows. Tengen looks over your head at Kyojuro. “You were right, it’s delicious.”

Kyojuro laughs. 

Dinner ends with Tengen’s hand on your thigh, fingers curling on the inside, tapping out a beat in his mind that leaves you squirming slightly, wishing he went higher. You suspect that if you were in a skirt or dress, his hands would tease higher against your skin. Kyojuro keeps taking the chance to kiss you and winds his fingers between yours, holding your hand. They continue to check in, making sure that you’re comfortable with every action they take. You’re aware of some of the looks the three of you are getting, but both Tengen and Kyojuro don’t seem bothered by them and continue to distract you by asking questions and telling stories. 

“Come home with us?” Tengen asks after their refusal to let you chip in for dinner. The three of you are standing outside the restaurant. 

“You don’t have to,” Kyojuro says. “We can simply take you home, but we’ve enjoyed this and would like to continue. Only if you’re interested.” 

Tengen throws an arm over Kyojuro’s shoulders. “What do you say? Want to continue? See how flashy the night can get?” 

You look at the way they are completely at ease with each other, how there’s absolutely no pressure to say yes. Every single moment since you’ve met them, they’ve been careful to be mindful of what you want and ask if it was okay. You get the sense that if you said no, they’d stay true to their word and take you home with no hard feelings, numbers still exchanged. These men had made a shit situation a hell of a lot better and now were promising to make your night something to remember. 

You smile at them both. “Absolutely.” 

Kyojuro’s apartment is closest. 

You take Tengen’s car and Kyojuro sits in the back. Another step to make sure you feel comfortable, that you’re not just being carted off to one of their places. You text your friend on the way, telling her you’re going home with them. The encouragement your friend sends back makes you grin. You promise to check in with her later before locking your phone. 

“Everything alright?” Kyojuro asks, leaning forward between the seats. 

“Yeah,” you say, glancing between them both. “Have you two done this a lot?” You can’t help but ask. Especially with how comfortable they are with each other, with you kissing both of them. 

Tengen shrugs. “Kyo and I aren’t necessarily exclusive,” he says. “We both want more. There’s no shame in having more love to offer as long as everyone’s okay with it.”

“You are okay with it, aren’t you?” Kyojuro asks, sounding slightly hesitant. 

“I am,” you assure. “I just…I’ve never slept with two people at once. You might have to show me the ropes.”

“And here I thought we’d save the ropes for the next date,” Tengen says dryly.

You laugh. “The next date?”

“Sure,” he says. “We’ll just have to show you we’re worth it.”

“We like you,” Kyojuro grins at you. “Why wouldn’t we want to continue?”

“Maybe I’m terrible in bed?” you offer teasingly. 

Tengen glances at you. “We’re not.” 

They prove it too. 

Kyojuro’s apartment isn’t too large but it is instantly comforting with warm colours and tasteful decoration, even if it is a little sparse. Both men move through it with ease and Kyojuro offers you both a drink to help you get settled. The drink he hands you is unopened, and you sip at it before settling on the couch next to Tengen. 

Kyojuro settles in next to you and for a moment you bask in this strange sense of comfort and warmth between these two men. The two of them are talking, letting you take your time. You get the feeling that they’re just waiting until you let them know you’re ready for more. It’s so wholesome, especially considering they basically promised to fuck you senseless. You want to see if they live up to it. 

You lean forward, setting your drink down before you glance between them. Considering you’ve kissed Kyojuro the most so far, you turn towards Tengen.

He raises his eyebrows at you, smirking slightly as he waits. 

“Can I sit on you?” you ask, offering the same politeness that they’ve given you. Consent needs to be verbally enthusiastic after all. 

Tengen grins and nods, putting his drink down before he beckons you closer. His hands grip at your waist, helping lift you with ease. Your legs go to either side of his, allowing you to straddle him. You glance at Kyojuro who simply moves closer and watches. Tengen’s hand slips under your shirt, thumb stroking soft circles on the skin of the small of your back. “We’re not going to push you into anything, angel,” he says softly. “At least anything you don’t want.” 

“And if I want everything?” you ask, fiddling gently with his shirt. 

The hand not on your back tilts your face to look up at him. “Then ask.”

“I want you both,” you breathe, meeting his dark red eyes. “If you want me.”

“Of course we do,” Kyojuro says. “Since you bumped into me.”

“Since you shot me,” Tengen agrees. His hand slides to the back of your neck and he leans down to kiss you. If he kissed you with careful control in the restaurant, this was something else. It’s harder, more demanding and yet he seems to remember everything that made you hum against his lips. “Don’t hold back,” he whispers when he finally breaks the kiss, letting you breathe. 

“If it’s too much, let us know,” Kyojuro says before he leans forward and takes Tengen’s place. Kyojuro kisses hard, full of passion and desperation. He kisses you like he never wants to stop. You can’t help but whine when he pulls back. You rock forwards, feeling Tengen growing harder under you. 

“Now that’s a sight,” he says, eyes flickering between you two. “Beautiful.” 

Your breath hitches as he turns to Kyojuro and you suddenly witness them kiss. Whatever sight Tengen thought he saw with you and Kyojuro, it couldn’t come close to the sight of them. They kissed like they’ve done it a hundred times before and still couldn’t get enough of each other. You grind your hips lightly, searching for more friction and reach for Kyojuro’s hand. He grips your hand back, just as tight. 

Tengen’s hand presses harder against your back, helping to guide you in increasing your motions and he groans against Kyojuro’s mouth. 

“Fuck,” you mutter. 

Kyojuro laughs, pulling away to look at you. “Enjoying it?”

“You’re both just so pretty,” you admit. 

Tengen laughs. “Come now, you’re wearing too much.” His gaze darts to Kyojuro. “Both of you are.” 

It’s easy to give in. You grab the end of your shirt and drag it up over your head. You throw it to the side, completely unaware as both the men look at you. Their gazes are heated, Kyojuro’s tongue darting out to lick his lips. You think he does it unconsciously but your stomach flutters with pride and confidence at their expressions and you quickly take off your bra too. 

Tengen’s hand is large and warm, the calluses on his fingers and palm scrape against your skin as he drags his hand up your side. You shiver at the feeling, only to be distracted as Kyojuro kisses you again. 

It’s almost overwhelming. The strength of Tengen’s thighs under you, the feeling of his hands dancing a pattern you can’t focus on over your skin while Kyojuro sucks marks on your shoulder. Tengen kisses you again and you feel Kyojuro’s hand go from your thigh to his. 

“We need more space,” Tengen mutters. “Hold on, princess.” He lifts you, ignoring the sound you make at the loss of him until he places you in Kyojuro’s lap. Kyojuro, for his part, grins widely at you, pulling you closer before kissing you again. You dig your hands into his hair, kissing him back just as hard. 

“Bedroom,” Tengen says, offering a hand. Kyojuro hikes you closer before he stands, one arm under your ass. You wrap your legs around him but he doesn’t seem to struggle in the slightest in carrying you. Tengen leads you both down a hall. Or somewhere. You’re not entirely paying attention, too busy sucking your own mark into Kyojuro’s neck. His grip tightens against you. 

Kyojuro releases you, letting you gently fall against the bed. Tengen moves in, drawing you towards him as he kneels on the bed. You move to follow, pausing only to undo your pants once you notice he’s naked. You motion for him to wait as you lie back to shimmy out of them. He hooks a finger on the edge, helping you. Kyojuro grabs the ends, pulling them towards him. He’s already naked as well, taking the chance when you were distracted by Tengen. 

Your mouth goes dry as you take in their muscles. You knew they were strong but it’s different seeing them like this. “Wow.”

“I think we’re the ones who should be saying that,” Kyojuro says. “Don’t you agree, Tengen?”

“I’m lucky either way,” the other man admits. You turn back to him. He’s sitting back on his heels, watching you both. “Come here,” he beckons you closer like he did before. You move towards him, aware of the bed dipping behind you. Tengen pulls you into him, kissing you softly as his hands slide across your skin. They go up your thighs, following the dip of your hips and waist before cupping your breasts gently. “So pretty,” he murmurs. 

Kyojuro moves behind you, kissing the spot where your neck meets your shoulder. You lean back against him, smiling at the warmth of the men that seeps into you. You move one of your hands over your shoulder, digging back into Kyojuro’s hair. He groans as you grip it, hands tightening at your waist. You drape your other one over Tengen’s shoulder, stroking the skin softly as his mouth lowers to encase one of your nipples. 

You lose yourself in the sensations the men cause. One of Kyojuro’s hands slips between your legs, pressing in and stroking gently. 

“So wet already,” he tells Tengen. He presses in further and you shift to give him more room. He finds your clit with surprising ease and you feel yourself arch into it. It helps push you closer to Tengen who is lavishing your chest with attention, gently biting and sucking hard to leave his mark. 

You groan when Kyojuro removes his fingers, sucking them into his mouth. How are you supposed to survive this? Especially when he swipes them back between your legs before offering them to Tengen who takes them without hesitation. Kyojuro leans forward over you, kissing Tengen. The thought that they can both taste you on their lips is hotter than you ever realized it would be. Your hands move, mapping out the crevices and dips of their muscles, absent-mindedly wondering how you got this lucky. You don’t question it though, instead, once they stop kissing, you motion for them to give you some space. 

They both instantly apologize if they squished you.

“What a way to go,” you muse, smiling as they laugh. Tengen reaches over to pinch you and you jolt back, sticking out your tongue. 

“I want to taste you,” you say. You move closer, bending down slightly. You reach for Kyojuro, fingers wrapping around his cock and watching as his eyes flutter closed at the feeling. You lick at Tengen’s, using your other hand to hold him. It takes a bit to find a rhythm and neither man seems to mind as you go back and forth, taking your time to try to take in as much of each of them as you can. 

Tengen’s hand rests on the back of your neck, oddly comforting as you suck him. Kyojuro’s hand joins yours, stroking what bits you can’t reach. Tengen groans, praising you both for making him feel so good. “You take us so well, angel,” he tells you. 

Kyojuro is louder in his moans when you use your mouth, holding himself steady on Tengen as you lick and suck. These two powerful men crumble under your mouth. You’ve never felt so powerful, or so desirable with the way they look at you. 

“Please, sweet thing,” Kyojuro begs, “let me take care of you too.” 

He begs so prettily, and you think Tengen agrees with how he watches you both. You nod and Kyojuro motions for you to turn your attention back to the other man. You feel him move behind you as you go back to trying to take as much of Tengen’s cock in your mouth as you can. Kyojuro’s hands settle on your hips before he presses a warm palm to the small of your back, guiding you to rest on your hands as well as your knees. You lean back towards him automatically. 

You hum against Tengen as you feel Kyojuro’s fingers first. They press in, slowly stretching you as he adds one then two. 

“Fuck,” you hear Tengen. 

“She’s so tight,” Kyojuro says. “I don’t want to hurt her.” 

“You won’t,” Tengen replies. 

Kyojuro presses another finger in and you falter in your efforts, mouth releasing Tengen so you can gasp at the intrusion. It feels so good and yet not enough. 

“Please, please, please,” you beg. “More.”

“Well,” Tengen says. “You heard her.” 

You don’t look up at the sounds of someone’s fingers being sucked clean, already knowing what you��d find and take the chance to catch your breath. It doesn’t last long, not when you can feel Kyojuro finally press against you. It takes a second for him to angle himself properly before he’s pushing in and all you can do is moan at the feeling. 

Fingers tilt your head up and you look to see Tengen smiling down at you. “Alright?” he asks. 

“Yeah,” you agree. 

He bends down to kiss you and you can taste yourself on his lips. Kyojuro takes the chance to withdraw just enough before thrusting back. 

“Come on, princess,” Tengen says softly. “Think you can finish me off?” 

You don’t bother replying, instead taking his cock back in your mouth. You’ve never been this full. Not like this. The men easily find a rhythm, and you let yourself move with it. The room fills with the sounds and smells of sex, soft moans and groans as you all get closer. Tengen hits his release first, withdrawing and cumming across your back. That’s going to be hell to clean but the thought is lost when you feel Kyojuro’s pace quicken. Your arms collapse under you and you try to hold yourself up on your elbows. You think someone swipes at the display he left, someone else moaning with their mouth full. Then Tengen shifts, lying next to you and propping himself up on an elbow. He seems enraptured by the sight of you and Kyojuro. 

You are so close to the edge, to your release when Kyojuro stops. You nearly whine in frustration but it doesn’t last long. You’re flipped onto your back, resting next to Tengen still while Kyojuro slips back between your legs. 

Tengen kisses you as Kyojuro lifts your legs, resting them on his forearms before he thrusts forward again. Tengen’s hand slides down your chest, pausing to squeeze one of your breasts again before his fingers find their way between you and Kyojuro. He presses against your clit, moving in tandem with the man fucking you and you break. 

Tengen breaks the kiss, letting you cry out with your release as his mouth moves lower, They don’t stop though. Your orgasm extends with their movements and before you can even fully catch your breath, you tumble head-first into another. 

Someone swears. 

Kyojuro pulls out just in time to cum across your stomach and all three of you seem to pause, regaining your senses. Kyojuro collapses on the best next to you and for a moment, all you can do is laugh. 

Both men have enough energy to look at each other over you and you wave them off before they can question it.

“Sorry,” you say. “That was just…the most intense thing I’ve ever experienced.” 

“Told you it’d be flashy,” Tengen says, sounding as confident as ever. Not that it was a surprise. The man deserved it and could clearly back it up. You were going to be sore tomorrow. 

“You were right,” you agree. 

“Let’s clean you up,” he says. “I’ll run a bath.” 

“A bath?” All you wanted to do was clean up and sleep. 

“It’s big enough,” Kyojuro says. He sounds about as awake as you feel. “It’ll help so you won’t be sore later when we go again.”

“Again?” You glance between these men, wondering where they get the stamina. Tengen just laughs. 

“Of course. You didn’t think we were done, did you?”

everything taglist: @raith-way @chrissymunson @veetlegeuse  @chickensarentcheap @residentdormouse

[mcyt-trick-or-treat]

How to Trick-or-Treat in this Exchange

Sign-ups are just about here! If this is your first time signing up for an Ao3-based exchange, or you’d just like a little more information on how this exchange works behind the scenes, read on. I’ll take the opportunity to explain how sign-ups work and how we’ll be matching and sending out assignments for this year’s Trick-or-Treat.

1. Log into Ao3, access the collection, and click “sign-up.”

From here, we’re going to fill out the form to request the gifts we’d like to receive in our gift basket! Remember, we can only request the tags that were submitted during the nominations period.

I know I’m really excited to hopefully receive Empires SMP gifts this year, so I’ll start there! I select “Empires Season One” in the fandom field, and then I pick out my favorite relationships tags from the drop-down menu (I can search by name if there’s too many to scroll through).

I’m also going to have to select the medium I want to receive. For Empires, I’m happy to get both fic and art, so I’ll check both of those boxes.

Now, I just have to fill in the box to let my gifter(s) know what I do and don’t want in my gift. I’ll make two lists: my DNWs (Do-Not-Wants) and my likes. I’m going to include a few prompts for each relationship tag as well, to give them some ideas!

This is Trick-or-Treat, of course, and I’m a bit of an angst enjoyer, so I’m going to make a note of that in my sign-up. I love bittersweet and open endings, and I’m always happy to receive some whumpy hurt-comfort and sickfic. I’ll let my gifter know that I’d love to receive gifts that fall on the “trick” side or trick-or-treat — but I’d still be happy to receive some happier treats, too!

Remember, your gifters might match to you on just one tag, and they might even all pick to make you something based on the same prompt. So be sure that no matter what you request, you’d be okay receiving up to three gifts based on that thing!

After that, I just have to fill in the rest of my fandoms. Trick-or-Treat requires you to request at least three unique fandoms, but you can put it up to ten of them!

Once I’m happy with my requested fandoms and tags, I’ll move on to my offers.

2. Scroll down to the “Offers” box!

Now it’s time to let the mods know what I’m willing to create for someone else! Just like before, I’m going to type in a fandom in the correct field, select the tags I want to use from the drop-down menu, and check off the correct medium box(es).

For Fantasy SMP, I really only want to make art, because I love drawing fantasy/rpg costumes! So I’m only going to check the art box here. I’m actually also going to check the “Any” box as well instead of selecting individual relationships. That means I’m happy to match on Any of the nominated relationships for Fantasy SMP in the tagset.

And just like requests, I need to offer at least three unique fandoms for my sign-up to be valid. It’s okay if I double up fandoms, though, as long as I request at least three different ones. That’s good for me, because I have to split up my Empires offers!

I feel confident writing about a bunch of characters, but I’d only want to draw some of the other ones and not write about them. So I’m going to offer Empires Season One twice — once with the tags I want to write about, and another time for the tags I want to draw for.

There’s no boxes for me to write anything in, because I don’t have to give prompts for what I’m going to make. I get the prompts instead! That’s how this works.

So I’m all done now, and I can go ahead and click submit to send my sign-up form through to the mods. I can come back and edit it at any point before sign-ups close if I want to change what I’ve requested or offered, or if I want to add more prompts or details. Maybe I’ll even write a Dear-Gifter letter and put the link in my sign-up!

But I’m pretty much done now. So I can kick back, put my feet up, and relax… Until I remember that I’m actually also a mod in this exchange, and I have to go match everyone’s sign-ups now 😱

3. Receive Your Assignments

The mods will work behind the scenes to figure out a list of who everyone is able to create for. We’ll use those lists to figure out our best solution to the incredibly complicated question of “Who are you going to make your gifts for?”

Each participant will be given between one and three other participants that you will then create gifts for. You’ll receive one email from Ao3 telling you your initial giftee, and then you’ll receive a second one from the mod team letting you know if you have any other giftees, and how many gifts you need to make for each person. We’ll include all of the fandoms, tags, and details that your giftees requested, and your required gifts will always add up to exactly 3.

After that, it’s time to put on your creative hat and get writing and/or drawing! When each gift is all done, you’ll post it to Ao3 like usual.

4. I finished making my gift(s)! How do I post them?

Sign into Ao3 again and start posting like you usually would. You’ll need your title, tags, summary, etc. When you scroll down, check the box to gift this work and type in your giftee’s name. Or, if this is your initial giftee’s gift, you should check the box that says “fulfill gift for [giftee’s username]” and it’ll automatically gift it to them and mark your assignment as completed!

Do that two more times, and you’re all done! You did it! You are getting a good job in exchange, something that is both normal to want and possible to achieve.

5. BONUS: I Want To Make More? / I Didn’t Sign Up, But I Still Want To Make?

If someone needs to drop out of the exchange — and hey, no judgment, life happens. Just let a mod know you need to default (drop out and give up your assignment) as soon as possible — their assignment will still need to be made by someone. That’s where pinch hitters come in! Pinch hits will be shared in the discord with the fandoms and tags requested, and pinch hitters will have the opportunity to claim the hit and create a piece (or three) for it. It’ll be up to you how many gifts you want to take on for the pinch hit!

Pinch hitters are absolutely crucial to any exchange, and especially this one! We would be delighted to have you join us specifically for this role if it’s something you’re interested in.

6. Enjoy your gifts! Sit on the living room floor to dump out your candy basket and sort it into piles with childlike glee!

The collection will be on anon for one week. Creators will be revealed on November 7th! And then the exchange will truly come to an end.

Happy Trick-or-Treating!

[beautifulpersonpeach]

I’m relatively new to the fandom and have really enjoyed a lot of your posts… I have a question that I couldn’t quickly find an answer to in searching through your tags…

What’s the deal with streaming? Like, I listen to BTS. I enjoy them a lot, I listen to a pretty even mix of all their albums though I probably like MOTS:7 era the best). Some days I listen to them like all day lol (if I’m cleaning the house or something) and I listen to them a lot in the car or while working. I’ve enjoyed some solo releases more than others so I naturally streamed those more. but like the more I start following accounts on here and on army twt the more confused I get about the intense pressure to stream constantly? I’ve heard that people play certain songs (or albums I guess?) on repeat on mute and/or have dedicated streaming devices they keep going all the time.

Not to be negative or rude at all but like…what? Maybe because I’m new to KPop and have never followed it until BTS but that just sounds so weird and… idk the word, maybe disingenuous? Again I do not mean this as an attack I am just genuinely confused. Wouldn’t BTS themselves want us only to listen if we were actually enjoying it and not out of some competitive attempt to get better ratings? It feels so odd to me, like that is not how I would behave with any other artist that I love. I would only ever listen to them out of a genuine desire to hear their music. But there seems to be so much weird shaming out there for when/if songs are not streamed heavily enough? And for any other artist I would just write that off as a difference in taste among the fandom, but here it’s treated like a personal wrong against the artist…?

But as I say that I’m sure there’s more to it… I have definitely seen people talking about payola or chart manipulation so idk. If I should google this instead, just tell me to, I just have already tried and didn’t find that much clarity, just a bunch of people on quora and Reddit talking about certain songs not getting streamed enough.

Anyways this is super long, sorry if it annoys you. Just thought you seemed knowledgeable and levelheaded enough to ask? Love your posts. All the best.

*

Ask 2:

Okay wait I’m the anon that just asked about streaming and I went and re-read your post about “inorganic success” — I had read it before but somehow I didn’t put together that the 24-7 streaming is an attempt to combat payola or like go up against it I guess. Okay. That makes more sense. I still feel like there’s a weird focus on charting but I guess if it’s about getting more concert venues and more radio play it makes sense.

You can ignore my last ask then I’m sorry if I’m being dense or something lol.

***

You haven’t at all asked a stupid question. Your confusion is easily explained by you being new to k-pop, and everyone new to this madhouse asks this question eventually. I’ve talked about this before, but can’t find the post for the life of me so I’ll briefly go over it again.

First, you need to understand what k-pop is. K-pop is a system that gamifies music consumption. Competition is something you’ll see in the music industry regardless. Western stans such as Arianators, Barbz, and the Beyhive have organized around streaming goals and efforts for at least 10 years now. But there’s no other music industry that explicitly emphasizes competition among groups and fans, the way the k-pop industry does.

Competition is baked into its DNA:

From the idol training system under agencies with supposed specialities that are treated like warring houses a la Game of Thrones (a mentality created by the Big 3),

to the music shows where fans are encouraged to vote daily and weekly for the best artists and where wins are tied to streaming numbers,

to the highly publicized year-end award show criteria that outline key metrics for wins in streams, sales, and fan votes.

Basically, the k-pop industry creates a clear hierarchy of talent and acclaim for artists in their system, directly stokes fan participation in buying into that hierarchy, and the numbers are the easiest litmus test/short cut to settle the question of who is at the top.

And all of this is served with a cocktail of parasocial delusion and entitlement that has (more easily manipulated) fans thinking their perceived investment into their faves, earns them the right to micromanage their fave idols’ careers. All of this benefits the labels and industry because they’d rather have you more engaged (even if toxically), than not.

Everybody here buys into this system despite what they’ll tell you, some just manage to keep their wits and perspective to prevent getting sucked in, while others fall headfirst into it.

And so, like I said in my ‘inorganic success’ post you referenced, the focus on streaming is part of fans really just playing the game. Excess is something you’ll see on the charts in any case, whether in k-pop or in the West.

The difference with BTS and ARMYs however, is in the why of how the fandom streams. Essentially, you’re more likely to find people just as passionate about the music itself as they are about giving that music its due in hard numbers and consequently, recognition. You’re more likely to find fans like this in the ARMY fandom, than any other, in my opinion. Some people forget that the og ARMYs were k-pop fans first. They were fans who intimately understood how this system worked, they understood why the Big3 maintained dominance in k-pop for literal decades, and they saw the worth in the music BTS made, loved it enough to invest time into the playing the game better than anyone else at the time - pushing BTS from nugu status to where they are now, competing well outside the realm of the k-pop system but in a space that remains complex and highly competitive.

Another aspect that differentiates how ARMYs stream vs other k-pop fandoms, is that due to the sheer size of the fandom in absolute numbers, the average ARMY typically streams less than a typical k-pop stan. Basically, in other fandoms the typical stan has to stream more per person to have even a fraction of the gains seen in the ARMY fandom. ARMYs also aren’t doing anything other fandoms aren’t doing, it’s just that so far, they’re more efficient at it and don’t have to worry too much because BTS makes music that keeps attracting more fans, adding to the size of the fandom. They’ve also generally stayed away from more illegal methods given the intense scrutiny and animosity the fandom has faced for being part of the reason BTS upended the ordained hierarchy in this space. It sounds silly but it’s true.

But that’s only one side of the story. The other side is that in the fandom, everybody here really just does what they want. And many people genuinely enjoy listening to BTS that much and that intensely. Going by personal experience in what I observed before I became ARMY, I noticed that many ARMYs are Type A and organized - people who like and study data. The first time in my life that I saw someone create a spreadsheet for fan theories on a k-pop MV, was when an ARMY made one for I NEED U MV. I’m not sure what it is about BTS, but from the beginning they’ve attracted the sort of fans who genuinely enjoy listening to music often, people who enjoy creating and playing around with playlists, and people who track and measure applicable data. So your assumption that the people who stream like this are people who don’t actually enjoy the music, is wrong. In my opinion. For a lot of ARMYs, streaming and appreciating the music isn’t mutually exclusive.

Personally, I listen to music a lot. And I’ve always been that way, so when I became ARMY, I just sort of naturally fit into that culture. The sort of music BTS makes is a joy to listen to, I play their stuff literally everyday and it feels like the most normal thing in the world for me to sleep to Serendipity sometimes (in my sleep playlist which includes brown noise and rain sounds), or to do laundry to Let Me Know playing, or to drive to UGH and Set Me Free Pt 2 playing. I have multiple accounts because I listen to all kinds of music all the time, and it’s just convenient for me to have things set up such that I can flip on a playlist in every situation I’d want one on.

But like I said, the reality is that everyone in this fandom does what they want. It’s true there are certain people in the fandom who obsess over streaming, these are typically chartmys and akgaes, but most other people stream however they like. Fandom in general is a pressure cooker environment so I don’t blame you for noticing that pressure, but at the end of the day you really should just do what makes the most sense to you.

ARMYs generally recognize the reality of the space they are in, they recognize what it means for BTS, and most simply tweak their normal listening habits to maximize the gain and support to BTS. Plus sometimes it’s fun to play into fandom’s initiatives as a way to connect with other fans (such as in streaming parties).

I ended up rambling but let me know if this answered your question.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

To Touch Fate

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: Jason attempts to settle down in Southern Italy and live a civilian life.

Chapters: 1/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Original Character(s), Bruce Wayne, Terry McGinnis, Matt McGinnis

Relationships: Jason Todd/Original Character(s)

Additional Tags: Angst, Jason Todd-centric, Jason Todd is a Father, Terry McGinnis is Batman, Retirement, Future Fic, Major Original Character(s)

Chapter One: Springtime

Jason met the love of his life in Lecce, Italy, while he was in between missions. She'd walked out of the florist's with a small bunch of cornflowers and bluebells. She smelled of fresh flowers and citrus perfume. Jason sat in front of a fountain outside the shop, watching the sunset. She sat next to him, crossing her legs and nodding. Jason grinned as he held back his laugh. "Are you on holiday?" she asked in Italian. Jason nodded. "Then these are for you." She gave him the bouquet, and he looked over at her.

"Oh, I'm afraid I didn't get you anything," Jason joked. They shared a laugh, and he introduced himself. "Are you on holiday?"

She shook her head and threw a coin in the fountain. "I live here," she answered, "I'm Noemi. Are you an American boxer?"

Jason shook his head. "Not quite," he whispered. Noemi studied him with her dark yet welcoming eyes, and he stared back with a curiosity he hadn't felt in years. She didn't pry, and her stare felt more like an invitation than an intrusion. He reached over and dusted a loose seed of amaranth off her eyebrow with his thumb. "Sorry." She grabbed his hand and held his palm to her cheek. Before he could think, he kissed her. He pulled back and opened his mouth to apologize, but she kissed him back.

Jason hadn't entertained the thought of romance in so long, let alone the idea of a springtime romance in Italy. They pulled away and started laughing. "How long will you be in Lecce?" Noemi asked in English.

Jason found himself entranced by her gentle gaze. He started to notice the bits of grey in her hair. "Three days, maybe more," Jason whispered. His voice was far away.

"That just so happens to line up with my days off... Hopefully, you'll have time to go to dinner with me," Noemi suggested. He grinned. It'd been a while since Jason had been on a date, but she was so forward and captivating that he couldn't refuse.

He nodded, and they exchanged numbers. "What do you like to eat?" Jason asked.

"There's a small restaurant not far from here. My friend is the owner," Noemi whispered.

Jason stood up and took her hand. "Lead the way," Jason whispered. Noemi grinned, and they took a stroll down the brick-paved street. The street lights started to come on as it got darker and darker outside. "You're very straightforward, you know," Jason whispered. Noemi chuckled.

"I had a feeling that you didn't care much for small talk, and in my line of work, I find it's much easier to get straight to the point," Noemi replied. She swung Jason's hand back and forth as they walked.

Jason smiled. "What do you do?" Jason questioned.

"I'm a trauma surgeon," Noemi answered, "So, most of my relationships don't last... Mostly because surgery doesn't make for a good dinner conversation."

"Well, I'm not squeamish. I've seen everything in my line of work," Jason replied. She looked up at him.

"And what is that exactly?" Noemi questioned.

"I'm a bit of a vigilante in the states," Jason confessed. She grinned and chuckled. "What?" he laughed.

"It makes sense, but why would you tell me that?” she laughed. Jason shrugged and playfully bumped into her.

“I don’t know… I guess it doesn’t matter because you wouldn’t know who I was anyway,” Jason confessed.

She nodded and squeezed his hand as they approached the restaurant. “Before we go in, the owner will ask if you’re Tuscan. Even if you are, just say no,” Noemi warned, “If you’re salt-and-pepper now, you’ll be old and grey by the time we leave the restaurant.”

“Alright, and fair warning. I don’t drink much. I’ll probably have two glasses of whatever you’re having, but that’s as good as it gets,” Jason replied.

Noemi stopped in her tracks and made a joking expression of offense. “I would never get you drunk to make you divulge all your deepest darkest secrets,” Noemi whispered, “That’s what breakfast is for.”

Jason smirked. “We’ll see,” Jason whispered as he opened the door for her.

They were immediately greeted by a well-dressed older man. “Ahh! Principessa, how are you?” he asked as he kissed her cheek, and she returned the favor. He shook Jason’s hand. “Are you Tuscan?” the man questioned Jason, still holding onto his hand. Jason shook his head. Noemi whispered something in the man’s ear, and he nodded as he led them to a candlelit table. “Blanc sauvignon? And don’t worry about dinner. It’s on the house.”

“Yes, thank you,” Noemi whispered, and she ordered dinner for both of them. “Jason, do you have a preference for different kinds of pasta ?”

Jason shook his head and let her order while he unwrapped the breadsticks. She took one and took small bites after the man left. “So, is surgery your passion?” Jason questioned in English. Noemi chewed faster and shook her head.

“Actually, no. I wanted to be a sculptor,” Noemi answered, “I never planned on being a doctor, let alone a surgeon.”

“What changed things for you?” Jason asked.

Noemi waited for the wine to come to the table, and she poured their glasses. She took a sip of wine and a deep breath before whispering, “My parents were decapitated in front of me when I was a child.”

Jason set his wine glass down and looked at her, his expression pained as he asked, “How old were you?”

“I was seven,” Noemi whispered, “I know it sounds strange, but I-.”

“It doesn’t sound strange to me at all. I’m sorry about your parents,” Jason whispered. She took another sip of wine and closed her eyes.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up… It's weird to tell someone I just met something so morbid,” Noemi apologized, “Have you ever been married?”

“No,” Jason replied, “And you don’t have to apologize. It’s just a shock. You seem so-.”

“If you say well-adjusted, I’m going to scream,” Noemi interrupted, and Jason laughed and shook his head.

“I was going to say un-traumatized,” Jason replied weakly. Noemi laughed at him and watched as he took a sip of wine. “I think we were meant to meet.”

Noemi raised her brow and poured more wine into her glass. “How so?” she asked.

“I can’t explain it, but it feels right… Like fate,” Jason whispered.

A waiter came with their food, and they both said thank you. Jason was pleasantly surprised by the way Noemi dug into her food. She looked at him and awkwardly finished chewing. “Open your mouth and close your eyes,” Noemi commanded as Jason ate his pasta. He looked into her eyes and raised his brow. “Trust me. Open your mouth and close your eyes.” Jason obeyed, and she spoon-fed him potatoes and octopus in broth. Jason chewed the food and opened his eyes.

Jason made a soft noise and took a sip of wine. “Oh, that’s good. What is it?” Jason questioned.

“It’s a Catalonian dish. Octopus stew,” Noemi replied, “Do you want more?”

“Sure,” Jason whispered. She blew on the spoon and gave him another bite. Noemi giggled, and he returned the favor by offering her a forkful of his seafood pasta. She accepted, and they both laughed.

They ate and talked for what felt like hours, and near the close of their meal, Jason finished his second glass of wine. He took a sip of water, grabbed his bouquet, and offered to walk her home because he wasn't ready to go to the hotel alone. Noemi held his hand as they left the restaurant, and she led him to her villa. When they arrived, they lingered, still talking as if neither one wanted to say goodbye. “Would you like to stay for breakfast?”

“Is this an invitation to spend the night?” Jason questioned. She rolled her eyes and took hold of his shirt as she led him into her home, but they didn’t make love. No. They fell asleep on a sectional in her living room while the tv played softly in the background. It was the best night of sleep he'd had in years. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. To Jason, Noemi was springtime.

[deskgirl]

If I can’t find comfort in the fandom tags, I’ll make it myself.

Here’s how SteddyHands can win:

Yet another (museum) Reincarnation AU

Stede Bonnet, separated from his wife and trying to discover himself, decides to pursue his love of pirates with a museum. He proceeds to have it built to his specifications with all kinds of fascinating architecture and a main exhibit room large enough to house an entire recreation of a pirate ship that visitors can board (with secret passageways?). He hires a bunch of niche historians, people with no degrees but an absurd amount of specific knowledge on one thing or another, people with social skills looking for a good paycheck, and theater/stunt/background actors happy to put on a costume and play pirate.

He then either catches the attention of or extends an invite to leading Golden Age Piracy experts Izzy and Ed (who perhaps met while earning their doctorates and bonded over the fact that they both have names similar to the historical pirates of old. This is a small point of contention and later bonding that Stede also has a pirate name (or perhaps changed it from Thomas Edwards as part of his reinvention of himself).

Ed is enamored. Izzy thinks this is a rich man’s midlife crisis. But they’re all on this ship together now getting this museum ready for its big debut and they’re going to keep it afloat no matter what.

And maybe in the midst of all this history, they’ll find a hopeful future together.

I’ll have to draft out the beats, but this might be something I manage to write…look in the reblogs for me possibly adding more details as I think of them.

[skreebs]

Thinking about the ableism toward Jouno in the BSD fandom and it genuinely pisses me off so badly I want to hit people. I’ll be perusing the tag and looking at stuff and then I’ll see some random pop ups for AO3 and get shit like this

Now I don’t 100% know the context of this screenshot, for all I know this fic could be about him before he lost his sight, but either way it got me thinking and thinking got me angry and being angry means i need to complain. Jouno is already pretty shit blind rep, I’ll be honest. He’s the basic stereotype of “blind character has super senses because they’re blind” but can we give blind people literally ANYTHING else??? jesus christ. I’m pissed how BSD writes his blindness so as per usual I had to attempt to fix all of that myself, but attempting to fix it and removing it entirely are NOT the same and one is VERY MUCH SO WORSE. Again, not talking about this fic specifically but other ones I’ve seen that do this, or those “Jouno if he could see” edits. Spoiler alert, blind people can open their eyes.

I dont know why BSD and every other piece of media is so adamant on not giving visually impaired and blind characters white canes and just giving them "super senses" to get around it. It’s incredibly stupid and abelist to portray stuff like this. Disabilities are not super powers and thank GOD they didnt make that his ability but they still gave him that aspect and I guess it can be excused with SOME lore stuff like maybe he got really good senses from his surgeries but it just sucks that it happened that way at all? And then they don't even touch on how horrible having incredibly hightened senses to the point you can HEAR blood would be?? can you imagine hearing everyone internal organs around you 24/7 EVERYDAY? No one talks about that at all. That would be so fucking overwhelming its genuinely insane. Jouno is such a dear character to me, but genuinely when I remember him in canon without any of my headcanon explinations it’s just really sad that all I can say about him as representation is "well.. it could be worse".

I know there’s going to be at least one person saying “theres good blind rep in other shows though!!” Yes! I know! I’m super glad about that! But ignoring the bad ones doesn’t help much. You need to point out the issues to get good results. Recently, and by recently I mean about 17 hours ago, I watched/listened to the first episode of Daredevil, once with audio descriptions, and then after I watched without AD and had captions. I’m super glad that things are more commonly getting AD—it’d be a bit pathetic if the show with a blind main character was not accessible to blind people—but even with Daredevil, Matt still falls a bit into this stereotype.

Don’t get me wrong, seeing a character with a white cane has me absolutely elated, but from the single episode I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, he apparently also has some sort of super senses, and I know in the first episode he can hear heartbeats. I think super senses as a power is fine, but it’s just the fact they always give it to the blind characters. I, myself, am not blind, nor am I really visually impaired, I just wear glasses. However, as someone with a special interest in disabilities and also as someone that is disabled in other ways, seeing disabled rep fall into stereotypes over and over just really bums me out sometimes.

I think Daredevil is great so far from this one episode, I’ll probably be looking at more of it, but that is definitely just one gripe I have with it. I think Charlie Cox putting a bunch of effort into the role with the method acting and talking to people in the blind community and just all of that is amazing, I love to see that in anything, it’s just urrghh that it’s so hard to find a blind character that doesn’t have some kind of insane superpower senses with things. It reminds me of when characters with autism are so frequently portrayed as geniuses or their autism is only acceptable if it helps the neurotypical cast with “gadgets” or something. I dunno. Hard to explain, it’s 11 at night and I’m tired. Just don’t be ableist in any fandom or in real life. I shouldn’t have to even point out why this shit is disgraceful.

[wynnyfryd]

✨ Fic Writing Review 2023 ✨

tagged by @steddieas-shegoes thank you co-mod mommy

Words and Fics

231,078 words logged on my daily word count tracker (ty @sourw0lfs for this idea i genuinely can’t believe i managed to stick to it for the entire year)

128,429 words published on ao3 (that’s 108,958 more words than last year wtaf i love y’all)

27 works published, including 1 multi-chapter fic that i’m gonna finish if it kills me

7 art collabs

3 hyperspecific fic memes from my beloved @violetsteve

1,191 gentle forehead smooches given

Top 10 Fics by Kudos

No Son of Mine

relax (lay it back)

TITS! magazine

Monsoon Season

i don’t know, you figure it out

relax (that’s that)

is this your card?

your kiss is on my list

Satanic Ritual: DO NOT WATCH!!

a masterpiece of art, it’s true

My fandom fic events in 2023

started @steddiemicrofic in July and then fell in love with started co-modding with @steddieas-shegoes thank you for saving my adhd gremlin ass on a daily basis

attempted and spectacularly failed at @thefreakandthehair’s summer spicy six challenge lmao, but in my defense my spine exploded like an overstuffed bouncy castle. (a moment of silence for the abandoned 8-12k of “summer between s1/s2 lifeguard steve teaching eddie how to swim” romance floating around in my google docs)

Upcoming Events and Projects for 2024

finish the trailer park steve au. that’s it that’s literally all i’m committing to until it’s done.

(once i finish that i might try out some original fiction. i’ve had a love letter to 2005 stuffed in my back pocket for months, might be nice to flesh that idea out but we’ll see. maybe i’ll just steddiefy it and then file the serial numbers off later lol)

Rules & Tags below the cut!

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please do eat glass, I’ve heard it’s good for your gums.

Tagging a bunch of lovelies who have likely already been tagged but whatever: @messessentialist @thisapplepielife @shiftylinguini @aidaronan @steves-strapcollection @legitcookie @steddielations @cranberrymoons @just-my-latest-hyperfixation @inklessletter and as always, you, yes you 😘

[phoenixisobsessed]

About me / Blog !!

Hiiya everybody :3

The name’s Phoenix (He/him). I am a gay trans-man and also have some craaazy AuDHD chat. I’m extremely obsessed with transformers, and unsurprisingly, this blog is going to be about Transformers related stuff, plus, honestly just whatever the hell I feel like posting. This is an ask blog (if that’s the right term? Lmao). It’ll mostly be me answering asks in my inbox and such (more details on that further below).

I try to post as often as I can, but I am indeed still getting my education, so no promises that it’ll be daily.

⚠️BEFORE YOU CONTINUE !!!⚠️

This blog is a safe space. Everything here is LGBTQ+ accepting, and we don’t want any bigots/r@cists/ableists/sexist ECT!!!

Some posts may also be 18+. I’m not 100% if it will since my posts will most likely be 90% doing requests from my asks, but I’m saying it just to be safe.

About my ask inbox! (Under the cut because it’s long)

So, basically, you can ask for whatever the hell you want. But!! I do have a few categories of things that I do specifically if you feel uncertain of what to ask for ;3 (Note: Categories can overlap)

Inserts

So, this category is basically just images you want characters drawn into! Send in an image, and tell me what characters you want ;3. These can include:

Cat pictures. (Had a series with the tag #100 cat transformers)(“End credits” video here)

Blursed images. (?)

Silly group pictures.

Generally images with people!

Skits/comics

I am an enjoyer of drawing comics and skits. I probably have a bunch under #comic ngl. This category is mostly:

Requesting comics of certain interactions/situations.

Sending skits (or “tiktok audios”?) to have characters do.

Drawing trends/memes (If I can call them that? Example: That one dress, “I’m not calling you a good boy.” Ect.)

Redraws/Character redesigns

I love character design and the symbolism over it. Besides, why choose one gen when you can have them all in one?? Anyway, this category is:

Asking for a redesign of a character.

Also “X in your style.”

Redraws of comic panels. (mostly crossing generations, but any redraws are cool)

Maybe you’ll even be lucky and I’ll recreate some animated scene.

You know what? Fuck it. Ask me to draw a completely new character from an idea of yours. It’ll be great.

Ocs/Headcanons

I have some personas plus AU’s. And I love ocs. Please.

Question about my AU’s or ocs.

Drawings of my ocs in certain situations??

(May answer questions in their POV if that’s specifically requested someday.)

Headcanons!

YOUR ocs.

Your ocs with my ocs??

Ocs. Ocs and AUs and Headcanons everywhere. All of it.

General drawings

This is just other stuff I am also willing to do:

Drawings of characters.

Drawings of characters in certain situations.

Also willing to do valveplug.

Which means yes, ship art is also on board.

Ngl as long as it’s related to transformers I’m willing to do it.

Answering any questions people may have!

I will answer any and all questions people have. Other than obviously super intruding things but I think people are smart enough not to go asking for my address.

Questions about my (least) favourite anything.

Questions about interests.

Questions about my AUs or headcanons!

Questions about specific ships.

Stupid questions. There are no stupid questions.

(Also I will take fanfic recommendations. Just noting that.)

Basically everything. I love having an excuse to yap.

❌Stuff I am NOT willing to do❌

Human x transformer. I don’t have anything against it, I’m just not drawing it myself.

Answer politically related asks. I’d just like to keep my blog politic free for the most part. It isn’t relevant to my blog.

Do drawing requests from other fandoms. (unless if it somehow involves transformers, like idk a crossover.)

Answer questions about me that are very intrusive! I think the boundary here should be kinda easy to figure out.

NO pro shipping 🫶 yup.

[orangelo-sanders]

Hey!

Mostly just gonna leave ominous orange emojis on other rp blogs’ asks.

Reason I made this: I saw a whole bunch of Sanders Sides RP blogs that I’ve started following and reading the content of! I thought it was pretty interesting and wanted to do it, but didn’t wanna take any of their characters because the blogs are all so cool, thought it was the only non-taken character but not true. Also not a lot of lore yet so free range for creative liberty hehehe >:3 ! I’ve actually interacted with two or three of the accounts on my main, I think, I’m just worried I’ll seem weird 😅

Mod’s a minor, so, do what you will with that!

Timezone: EST

Tags so far:

• “ #orange juice ” for ooc posts

DNI’s pretty standard.

My take on Orange, might effect how I interact: So, I know the blog’s name is anger-sanders, but that’s mostly because it’s generally what I’ve seen the fandom place him as! I also slightly see him as impulsivity, though that might be more of a Creativitwins thing. Also mostly anger, yeah, but just, that too.

⬆️ expanding on this. So. Orange is mostly anger to me, yes. Maybe, like, 70%. Then I see impulsivity as, like, 5%, and enhancement as whatever the rest is left (I’m not a math gay). By enhancement I just mean, like, he’s strong emotion. He shows up if something boils over and increases it’s intensity (Ex.: Logan’s frustration at Remus turning into anger). I think it would work for other stuff too, anger’s just what we’ve seen so far.

Also I have dubbed him Angelo and he’ll remain like that until/unless we get a name for him! Though, if it’s weird or inconveniencing, don’t worry about it! :]

Ok thanks! Gonna edit this if I think of something important.

[aoikitty]

Hi Aoi! I'm Luna- I know it's been a bit since you first posted your art, but I wanted to say welcome to the Lu fandom! It's a great place :)) we like arson

I am curious- where is your pfp and header from-is it your art?? It is very pretty :D

Also you seem very cool and I like your name. I envy your pinned post and with your tags-I'm still trying to figure all that out XD

I think you are amazing and you matter /gen

<33

Oh my gosh hello and thank you!! Sorry for responding 2 weeks late- I totally missed this in my notifications o(-(

And yes it is my art! Pfp is a drawing of my Sona I did a while ago in my sketchbook (highlighters & ballpoint pens, my most beloved art supplies <3), the header was a mixed media piece I did for an art show with my class!

Not sure how well It shows up on photo, but it has two separate layers of canvas for a 3D effect! Unfortunately the colours aren’t nearly as vibrant in person (water colours just aren’t made for super neon colours 😔) but im still super happy with it!

I have a bunch of other misc art from my sketchbook & such that I’ve been meaning to share so maybe I’ll start posting that here if people are interested

And yeah I totally get it with the tags and such- i wanted to make sure I keep things organized here right from the start. I never made a proper art tag on Twitter so my media tab has become a fucking MESS & it drives me crazy- I can’t let that happen here too LMAOO

[picnokinesis]

DOCTOR WHO POSITIVITY DRIVE

Hello everyone! 

Alright, so I recently got the chance to go to Gallifrey One, which was absolutely incredible, but what struck me the most was just how positive the atmosphere was. I went there worrying that there would be a big, obvious divide between people who liked one era and people who liked another - but there wasn’t at all. Everyone was so friendly and nice, and it was such a celebration of the entire show, old and new. And it’s only really hit me now that I’ve come back to the online fandom after that experience that the reason I felt that way was because recently a lot of people seem to be either focusing on the parts of the show that they hate, or hating on other parts of the show to say why the part they like it good. And I’m tired of it - this is a show that tells us to see wonder in the universe and be kind to one another! - and after talking to a few people, I think a lot of folks are. And so I came up with this idea - a positivity drive! 

Here’s how it works: if you want to, make a post about any part of Doctor Who that you like! Maybe it’s a specific era, or a specific character, or maybe multiple different things or just the show as a whole. Whatever you like - and then encourage other people to do the same! It can be as short or as long as you like. There are just a couple of rules:

Rule 1: Don’t be negative about any part of the show in order to say something positive about another part. This is about celebration, remember. 

Rule 2: If someone else posts something for the positivity drive that you disagree with or that you actually really hate about the show - leave them be. Of course, if you want to make your own critical post, I’m not going to stop you, but the last thing I want is for people to start arguments on posts that are meant to be about celebrating the show. We’re all a community of people with different opinions and tastes, and so we like different things! And that’s okay! 

Rule 3: Tag your post with #dw positivity drive so people can find posts and share the love. It’ll also help me because I would like to reblog as many posts as I can! And if you feel like encouraging other folks to join in too, that would be really awesome! I want this to span across as many eras and aspects of the show as possible 

I’ll start everyone off by saying what I like about the show, but I’m going to put it under the cut because otherwise this will get too long. But if people are happy to reblog this and/or share it with folks in other ways, that would be really helpful! I just think it would be amazing if we could recreate that sense of love and joy that I felt at Gallifrey One - because isn’t this what fandom is all about? Sharing joy for the things that we love? I think it should be! 

Since I’ve been watching the show since 2005, I thought I’d say what I liked about each showrunner era, because I love the RTD, Moffat and Chibnall era for a bunch of different reasons. And to be clear, if I say something I like about one era, that doesn’t mean I think it’s bad or not done well in another era - it’s just a particular thing I like about that era! 

RTD ERA

I really love RTD’s characters - they’re always so vibrant and real, and he’s really good at establishing the characters quickly and giving us a really clear and consistent sense of who they are and what matters to them! It’s also really satisfying to watch the story arcs of these characters - I think of Donna in particularly, because I really love how she grows from a character with so little confidence in herself to someone who manages to save everything that she knows. And yes, I know she loses her memory too, but I lowkey love that - especially in the context of the recent series, with the Doctor suddenly discovering that their own memories have been erased - because the pain of it is so brutal and real, and it somehow feels even worse than if she’d died. I love angst and tragedy when it’s done well, and that’s another thing that RTD is excellent at! (Like the whole thing with the TIME WAR, guh, it’s such a good way to bring back a show that had been off the air for so long)

On that note!! He brought back the show!! And he did it with a wheelie bin burping what an ICON

RTD tends to put his themes and his message at the heart of the story he’s telling, and I really love that because it just resonates through the whole thing

Ok this is a silly thing but as a kid I always loved it when RTD would like...have a word or phrase that kept cropping up and you’d spot it in lots of episodes and it would suddenly become relevant in the climax? Like in s1 it was ‘bad wolf’, and then in s2 it was ‘torchwood’, and then less of a word/phrase but how in s4 they kept bringing up about the missing planets? It was just really cool and excellent storytelling to set up for what is coming for the end of the series 

There are so many stories that I love in this era - it’s one I’m very fond of because I grew up with it, and honestly I think it inspired me so much to like sci-fi as much as I do now

MOFFAT ERA

The episodes in this era are always so bombastic and spectacular! There’s such a cool sense of scale for the universe, and so many cool new monsters and worlds are brought in that I really enjoy (like the christmas episode with the flying sharks? HELLO? I’m absolutely obsessed with that). And yet we also get this really cool dichotomy with the home life of the characters too, and seeing how their relationship with the Doctor and how their lives at home don’t always work well together, and it’s such a cool theme to really dive into. 

Early Moffat era - especially s5 - has this really wonderful like...fairytale vibe, I guess? Just the themes of s5 are really nice, and I particularly love how we see them woven throughout the narrative and also just the style of the show and how the stories are told. It’s awesome

Moffat era has some absolutely CRACKING two-parters! I think one of my favourites are probably the crash of the Byzantium two-parter, but then the s10 finale is just absolutely BRUTAL but so, so well done. On that note, I absolutely ADORE s10 on the whole, like just Twelve, Bill and Nardole as a TARDIS team? And then everything between Twelve and Missy? I’m obsessed with it, it’s so so good. 

The Doctor speeches!! So many iconic lines!! 

Moffat has some REALLY awesome concepts that he delves into in his era - like the idea of a crack in time! The Pandorica! The confession dial! Aliens that make you forget you even saw them! Aliens from a two-dimension universe trying to invade ours! And then, of COURSE, the way he uses the black hole and time dilation in the s10 finale? Absolutely INCREDIBLE, it’s just SO cool! 

CHIBNALL ERA

I know I keep going on about themes but I absolutely LOVE the themes of Chibnall’s era, especially in s12-13 and the way it digs so much into identity. It’s something that I myself really love to write about, as well as being something that really resonates with me personally, and so it’s just been an absolute TREAT to see it get dived into in a show I love so much, and done so well! I also really love how it explore memory and trauma and how that ties to identity, which is another topic I find really fascinating. 

With Chibnall’s stories, I’ve really found that the more you dig into them and engage with them, and try and figure out how they tick, the more and more satisfying and enjoyable they become. It’s makes writing for and being in the fandom for this era in particular so wonderful, because even now, years after some episodes aired, I keep finding more connections and more things that I hadn’t realised about, and it’s AWESOME! I also really love how it’s all such a love letter to the show as a whole - the last episode in particular is a great example of that, but I really think the whole of this era is as well! There are so many references and connections back to both RTD and Moffatt’s era, but then also Classic Who as well! Like, for example, take the Timeless Child arc - the way it weaves threads that had been left hanging from previous seasons, taking inconsistencies that are natural for a show that has been airing for sixty years (!!) and make them fit in so beautifully into the tapestry of canon? It’s SO COOL!! And so satisfying! I think people sometimes say that Chibnall tore canon apart, but I actually think that’s the opposite of what he’s done - he took things like the Cartmel Masterplan and The Brains of Morbius and that one random scene in the Matrix from the Deadly Assassin...and he made them all FIT together! It’s amazing! And then in Flux too - I saw someone talk about how the Flux being created by Tecteun because of the Doctor actually makes the end of s5 make even more sense - because in the future, the universe is being destroyed because of the Doctor, and so all of Eleven’s enemies put him in the Pandorica! It’s brilliant. AND THEN bringing back Ace and Tegan for the centenary of the BBC!!! He finished off their story arcs DECADES after their last appearances, and it just the coolest thing 

On that note! So many ties back to Classic Who!! We love to see it!! I also really appreciate the fact that Flux enabled so much Lungbarrow clowning, which I think had to be intentional because why would it have been there otherwise, plus we KNOW that Chibnall knows about Lungbarrow - so yknow. It’s silly but I love it yknow

This era is just so GORGEOUS, it’s absolutely stunning? Not just the CGI but also just the lighting and the amount of detail and love that goes into the set design and the costumes! There are so many details to enjoy and I love that

I love all the characters so much, they’re absolutely wonderful! Again, a lot of the characterisation feels quite under the surface, but the more you let the episode sit with you and look at the details, the more you see, and it’s wonderful. I’m also particularly attached to Thirteen for a lot of personal reasons, because it’s the first time I’ve ever been able to see so much of myself in a character - and yet she’s still open to interpretation, so other people can see themselves in her as well. And especially when at Gally One someone asked Chibnall about Thirteen’s autistic traits, and he confirmed that they were intentional - that was just SO wonderful, because as someone who is autistic, I’ve always found a lot of the way I see the world mirrored in the Doctor’s character, but this was especially true with Thirteen (it’s one of the reasons why I really love how she was portrayed alongside Telsa in s12 ep4). So to hear it confirmed as intentional was just awesome

I also really love how there has clearly been an intent to include more diversity and be more inclusive, both in front of the camera and behind it! Whilst there have definitely been slip ups, I think the right intentions have definitely been there, and I’ve seen the tangible impact that it’s had on real people around me. For example, with Demons of the Punjab, there were so many people (myself included) who knew nothing about the Partition of India, because it’s just not taught about in schools here (which is absolutely shameful!). I actually worked on a creative project about the partition after this episode aired, and the amount of people who said they only found out about it because of Doctor Who was significant. And I think it’s really great and really important, because it’s leading Doctor Who to explore parts of history that we don’t normally see portrayed or talked about. And Chibnall has also clearly worked really hard to focus the historical episodes on important women in history, especially ones who many people might not have heard about, such as Noor Inayat Khan and Mary Seacole! (I remember my Indian friend being so cross that she’d never been taught about Noor at school after watching Spyfall Part 2 - someone just like her, and she was only finding out about it in 2020!). I also hugely appreciate the fact that he baked into the lore that the Doctor being a woman wasn’t a one-off by introducing Jo Martin’s Doctor, who was also absolutely wonderful, as well as all the Timeless Child regenerations that we see. And then at the same time! Establishing that the Doctor hasn’t always been white! Chibnall gave us our first Black Doctor, and then gave us even more with the Timeless Child - and that’s awesome. 

One of the things that has always struck me, but especially after going to Gally One, was how much love and joy there was for the show from Chibnall, Jodie, and everyone else involved in making it. They all talked about each other so positively, always praising and crediting other people for all the work that they did, and seemed to actively work towards making sure everyone on set felt welcome and included (even though Jodie claims that she was just nosy and wanted to talk to everyone haha - but regardless! The positive impact was so profound that every time people ask about how it was filming, every person mentions how wonderful Jodie is, unprompted). And Chibnall himself clearly cares so much about the show, and has so much of a passion for it - but is also just a really decent guy who just wants to encourage and enable other people, based on the interactions I had with him in person at Gally One. And I think that shows so much in his whole era 

RTD2

We haven’t had much yet but NCUTI GATWA!!! AHHHH I am SO excited! He looks amazing already and I cannot wait

DONNA NOBLE COMING BACK?? IN 2023?? I’m not ready at ALL I’m going to cry

YASMIN FINNEY!!! 

BEEP THE MEEP!! (but on that note!! How he’s bringing in obscure extended canon characters? Absolutely obsessed, I want more of it!)

The trailer just looks like so much fun and I’m hype