#otp: i hate you darling

[ellena-asg]

[tennessoui]

For the OTP questions, could I ask for 25 with the smithsonian au?? I feel like it would be funny to see what they do when they do have something in common 😭

lmao the smithsonian au !!! thank you for sending this in from this list of prompts !

25. do they have any hobbies they share?

lmao they would not be able to handle having anything in common but they probably honestly have a lot that they agree about they just....refuse to admit it.

but ok here are two things they have in common/hobbies they share: hating on the rocks (geology) team & bike riding. anakin picked up biking because he knew obi-wan liked it and he decided he was going to be Better At It than obi-wan, as if leisurely biking were a competition. but since it's not a competition they just sort of accidentally end up going on nice bike rides around the dmv area. almost like a dat---(gunshots)

and obi-wan has always hated the rock people because he's just silly and petty like that. anakin also has always hated the rock people because obviously space rocks are cooler than earth rocks. but when obi-wan finds out that anakin hates the rock people he finds a rock person to take out on a date (to their trivia team night) just because he knows anakin will hate that The Most. unfortunately, obi-wan also finds him annoying because he's a rock person. this is a new low for him:

Anakin's bouncing his leg up and down beneath the table, something he doesn't even notice until Padmé reaches out and grasps a hold of his knee.

"I'd ask if you needed a drink, but you've already had three," she mutters, squeezing once before letting go. "Come on, don't tell me you need to be drunk to spend time with Obi-Wan these days."

Anakin scowls, half at the name and half at the words. "I'm not thinking about him at all," he snaps back, which is a lie. "It's just rude to be late. Especially to trivia. Why are we even on the same team? That's not--"

"He thought it would be nice," Padmé says, taking a sip of her own cider. "He explicitly requested that we don't talk about work. Maybe he's trying to bond with you."

Anakin's scowl turns into a softer frown. Bond with him? Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn't want to bond with him. How would they even work if they weren't at each other's throats? What would they talk about? How would--

His mind flashes back to the first time they ever met, before Kenobi opened his mouth to reveal that beneath his gorgeous face, he was just a British dick.

He can feel his face heating, and he takes a sip of his beard to distract himself. Ugh. Kenobi. Kenobi.

"Apologies for the delay," Kenobi says, as if Anakin's thoughts have conjured him into existence. He drops into the chair next to Padmé and kisses her hello on the cheek.

Anakin's scowl is back. Fucking Europeans. He's not even a European. He's from an inconsequential fucking island in the middle of nowhere.

"Gregor here had to finish up a bit of work at the lab," Kenobi continues before looking across the table at Anakin. "Hello, Anakin," he says, tone noticeably cooler but there's something smug about it. About his whole face. And...everything. "Have you met Gregor? He's also a Smithsonian employee."

Anakin casts his gaze to the man still standing at the head of their table. "No," he says, then adds, lying through his teeth, "Pleasure."

"Which department?" Padmé asks sociably as Gregor sits down next to Obi-Wan, who smiles and places his hand on Gregor's arm.

"Mineral studies," Obi-Wan tells them. "I thought perhaps Gregor here would be a boon during the more technical science questions we can never get right."

"Oh, is that why you brought me along?" Gregor asks, turning to Obi-Wan with a familiar, sickening twinkle in his eyes. "And here I thought this was a date, Obi."

Obi-Wan laughs and pats his arm, but his eyes are tighter around the edges. He hates the nickname, Anakin knows. Apparently Gregor doesn't.

"Only if you win it for us, darling," he tells Gregor, and Anakin scowls.

Darling. Ugh. This is bar trivia.

"Mineral studies," he says suddenly. "What's that then?"

"Well," Gregor replies, puffing up the way anyone in DC does the moment they're given an opportunity to talk about what they do for a living. "I guess the easiest way to describe it is that I study rocks. I mean, that's really boiled down, and it's more like---"

He continues, but Anakin's stopped listening the moment Gregor said the word rocks. Rocks.

He raises his eyebrows at Obi-Wan in disbelief. He brought a rock guy to trivia. He's planning to fuck a rock guy. A rock guy. He shakes his head at the other man, who just blinks as if he doesn't understand. As if hating rock people isn't the one thing that they have in common.

This is a new low, even for Kenobi.

[magicalyaku]

Hello and welcome to my 2023 reading wrap up! A big Thank You to everyone who followed my ramblings throughout the year! <3 I will continue through 2024. Maybe I'll learn how to write proper reviews, at least I'll try to remember better what I actually want to say about the stories. In 2022, I read 93 books plus my own. Guess how many it were in 2023? 93 plus my own!! xD That was huge coincidence and I love it. Of these 94 books, 4 are rereads (which won't be included in the "Favourite" sections), 2 are non-fiction, 11 are non-queer. I only DNFed 1 book (which is not pictured) and other than that I only disliked 6 books! (And it's a pretty soft dislike in comparison. I don't hate them nearly enough to want to shit on them again. :'D).

So on the the awards!

Most Read Author: KJ Charles (8 books)

Least Favourite Book: Daresh (Katja Brandis) (the one I could not finish for dear life)

Favourite Character: Brand (The Tarot Sequence) and Will (The Will Darling Adventures) (yes, there's a trend)

Favourite Covers (of books I read, not releases):

(There were too many. D:)

Highest Emotional Investment (aka The Agony, the suffering, the why you do this to me Award): Dark Heir - The Scottish Boy - In Memoriam

Wildest Story: The Adventures of Pinocchio

Favourite Books:

The Devil's Luck (L.S. Baird)

The Scottish Boy (Alex de Campi)

In Memoriam (Alice Winn)

Just Lizzie (Karen Wilfried)

Dark Heir (C.S. Pacat)

The Will Darling Adventures (KJ Charles)

Gwen & Art are not in Love (Lex Croucher)

The Buried and the Bound (Rochelle Hassan)

More Books I enjoyed greatly:

Oracle of Senders series (Mere Joyce)

Of Feathers and Thorns (Kit Vincent)

Wren Martin Ruins it all (Amanda deWitt)

Simon Snow series (Rainbow Rowell)

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley (Shaun David Hutchinson)

The Tarot Sequence (K.D. Edwards)

The First and Last Adventure of Kit Sawyer (S.E. Harmon)

Sixteen Souls (Rosie Talbot)

By any Other Name (Erin Cotter)

The High King's Golden Tongue (Megan Derr) and more!!

Most Used Name: I counted names last year and didn't want to do it again this year because I read so much fantasy, so the names were all over. Still, there was one who stood out amongst them all with at least 4 instances, if not more. Probably more.

Will

Congratulations. I have to admit, I've always liked that name. My favourite character of all times and part of my one and only OTP is named Will as well and I kinda hope the last book of their second trilogy never comes because it will probably make me scream and ... ...

Bonus! This year, I counted pages! Because I felt that most books were much shorter than what I read before. So I wanted to know. Turns out, my feeling was wrong. My 93 books had a whole of 33011 pages which results in approximately 350 pages per book. That's pretty normal I dare say.

That's it for 2023! I had a very good year in books. I wanted to read less actually, and failed spectacularly because I had too much fun. And if anyone's wondering how I read so much, I read fast and I just didn't do anything else in my free time. Escapism to the max. I hope, the new year treats you well! I hope, you have fun with the books you read! Let's meet again soon! <3

[krakkenchaos]

Based on the trailers, I'm not convinced the Clone High reboot will be as entertaining as the original, but it's smart that it's seemingly leaning into the angle of "characters from a 2003 teen drama trying to adapt to living in a 2023 teen drama." It's a meta-humor goldmine because the fandom that emerged in 2020 when JFK clips randomly went viral on tiktok is a downright fascinating specimen of how our perception of characters in pop culture has changed over the last 20 years (I feel old.)

The clearest example of this is how Joan x JFK got warped into a wholesome OTP darling of the fandom. The actual show pretty explicitly characterizes JFK as an obnoxious playboy douchebag. That's the entire archetype of his character and it's exaggerated to extreme extents for humor. There's exactly two examples of the JoanFK "romance" in the original series and both were just the punchline of jokes that wouldn't be well-received today. The first is JFK being relieved that he's not gay when the "man" he was attracted to was Joan in disguise. The second is JFK having sex with an emotionally vulnerable Joan in the literal last minute of the show as a parody of the dramatic out-of-nowhere twists in TV shows of the time. It should be strange that this ship was warped into the definitive wholesome face of the fandom. But it's not strange when you look at Abe and the modern view of characters like him.

See, Abe is the character Joan is "supposed to" end up with. He's the awkward, dorky guy chasing the hot, popular Cleopatra while oblivious to the cute alt girl at his side pining to be more than friends. It's classic "she's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers" stuff common in the 2000s. However, that trope became hated within the last few years because it's "pitting women against each other." Even more-so, Abe's character archetype has become detested. Abe is Ross from Friends and Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Today, it's unpopular to have empathy for characters like that because their passive "nice guy" misogyny is recognized as just as, if not more harmful than the blatant misogyny of a JFK-type character. Meanwhile, fandom culture has fallen in love with himbos, hence why JFK has been shoehorned into that archetype despite still being an awful person in the show. There's so much comedic potential with this contrast and the reboot seems to be at least somewhat aware of it based on the joke from the trailer where JFK is commended for being "so sex positive."

[normalbrothers]

spn or asoiaf for the meme!

@winged-cries also asked for spn

thank you both <333

my favorite female character: at least up to the season i watched i don't think there were super permanent female characters that would let me think of them as 'favourite' characters, however i liked most of them. bela and ruby stand out to me, though, and especially with bela i wish she could have returned in some way :'( cassie robinson was a great one episode character as well. dean really loved her ;~;

my favorite male character: dean, and it's no contest

my favorite book/season/etc: the first three seasons had the best vibe, and i think i always liked the second one the most.

my favorite episode (if its a tv show): on the head of the pin! a classic!

my favorite cast member: a much debated question, i don't really think i have been invested in any of the actors outside of their roles, but j2 are hilarious at cons, i give them that

my favorite ship: well, the obvious answer is wincest. but i also have a tender spot for dean/john

a character I’d die defending: those days are past for me, it's fun to see though that the same annoying takes circulate today that where hotly discussed ten years ago as well. the circularity of fandom discourse ... thank god i'm doing this in another one and it's me talking to myself mostly

a character I just can’t sympathize with: can't say this is true for any of them, though admittedly i was never very invested in castiel's whole thing (nevertheless, the man who would be king was a good episode? that i think about sometimes?).

a character I grew to love: bobby lol

my anti otp: sastiel is like a huge reactive cope ship to me, but i also don't have any feelings about it. have fun with that i guess

asoiaf

my favorite female character: sansa ... my darling sansa ...

my favorite male character: tyrion, i think, he's a fantastic character, though i think generally speaking i like the cast of women and girls just more, i don't have that many feelings about the guys.

my favorite book/season/etc: a feast for crows (not a very unique answer to be fair)

my favorite episode (if its a tv show): well the equivalent would be the chapters; sansa's are a always a delight to read, but as above, i like reading the female povs the most.

my favorite cast member: /

my favorite ship: i don't read these books with shipping goggles i'm afraid, but i think jaimecersei will always reign supreme for me

a character I’d die defending: sansa, i guess, though i think the hate for her abated over the years, unless you go into the really weird corners of the fandom

a character I just can’t sympathize with: he's certainly more than a one note villain, but littlefinger ... idc, i think if twow ever happens it would be funny if he like, died right in the middle

a character I grew to love; jon's chapters used to bore me, but i've grown fond of his cattiness. i'm genuinely curious how the parent reveal will play out for him psychologically tbh

my anti otp: idk it's all good tbh

[harrowharkwife]

camilla or pyrrha for the character ask meme!

THANK YOU EMMA FOR GIVING ME AN EXCUSE TO TALK ABOUT CAMMMM MY GIRL.... CAMILLA DARLING

favorite thing about them: where do i even fucking start. her skill, and strength. her wit, she's so goddamn funny. her resolve. her bravery. the quiet ferocious intensity with which she loves and cares about people. as tragic and troubling and fucked up as it is in canon, i find her perennial tendency towards pair-bonded dysfunctional codependency to be. ALARMINGLY relatable. i love her flat affect. i love her observational skills- she's clever, and perceptive. i may or may not have an enormous crush on her. i love her loyalty and devotion. i love (read: hate) her tendency to deflect any and all important personal questions. i love that she doesn't let go. i love her love for spreadsheets and sharp knives and sensible shoes and sketching. i love her impeccable bedside manner. i love her and her letters and her cassette tapes and her fuckass bob and her smile that makes the earth want to marry her and i love her slate-clay eyes and her laugh. i love that she fought like her heart had already exploded.

least favorite thing about them: i mean, with camilla this question is really more of a "most concerning things about them," isn't it? her codependency, her lack of individuation and independence, her refusal to develop her own identity and exist as her own person. which, like, from one autistic bitch to another, girl i Get It. if i could get away with making myself a satellite accessory to another person instead of having to figure out how to be a person myself, if my society had groomed me to do exactly that from birth, yeah, i would probably do the same thing. being a person is fucking exhausting. but it's also so, so worth it, and it breaks my fucking heart that cam never had the chance, and that the people in her life by and large never encouraged her to really try. we do see pal pushing her on it a little here and there from time to time, and i appreciate that, but it was clearly never enough to stick, y'know? i hate how self sacrificing and selfless she is, i wish fandom at large would talk more about her depression, i want to give her wellbutrin and a hug and therapy.

favorite line: too many to choose. life is too short and love is too long. i don't let go, it's my one thing. sure, it's a nice handkerchief. i think there's another teaspoon full of blood in here somewhere. camilla hect fought like a grease fire. the cohort has taken the rest of him away and i don't know where they've put him.

brOTP: gideon, though i am a lover of the cam/gideon agenda! also nona, and palamedes.

OTP: dulcie, but i also love campyrrha, in like a mutually sorrowful toxic cathartic cav4cav grief sex sorta way.

nOTP: idk that i have one? i'm not really into cam/corona the way some people are

random headcanon: autistic like i mentioned earlier. i think she'd love cats

unpopular opinion: personally speaking I'm not a shooter for the aro/ace cam agenda, though i don't have anything against it!!! I've definitely seen it done in fascinating and lovely and compelling ways before! it's just not how i personally interpret her, but i think that's literally just a personal grudge on account of being an autistic woman with somewhat flat affect, and having seen fandoms Immediately jump to hit every serious-mannered, autistic-coded woman character that has flat affect with the aroace headcanon stick Immediately and at first blush without interrogating the potential stereotypes and assumptions behind that choice. not saying that that's what people are doing with cam at all, just that it was a general pattern i was observing across fandoms- honestly i see the logic behind it with her, and i don't think it's a "wrong" way to interpret her at all, i think it's perfectly founded! but unfortunately i am just projecting on her and she got caught in the crosshairs of me deciding i had Had Enough and that it was time to draw the "let autistic women fuck" shaped line in the sand and take a political stance 😂 you understand. aroace cam truthers are some of my most beloved comrades in arms. peace and love on planet earth

song i associate with them: EXISTENTIAL CRISIS HOUR! BY KILO KISH. see also: butterfly net by caroline polachek, true blue by boygenius, my friend by hayley williams, ***look at me now by caroline polachek,*** francis forever by mitski, the body is a blade by japanese breakfast, crude drawing of an angel by caroline polachek.

favorite picture of them: im on mobile and also stoned outta my gourd so I'll rb this with some art tomorrow!

ty emma!!!!

[brother-lipsmackariah]

Jem Carstairs!

Now, be ready for LONG post, anon. You can't just ask about Jem and expect to be brief

Sexuality headcanon

Definitely Demisexual. With Tessa, I always felt like Jem became attracted to her AFTER they were already close friends and besides that one line in After the Bridge, there's no signs of Jem being attracted to anyone. He also doesn't even think of anyone besides Tessa in that, he's too oblivious.

Also, not a sexuality but I ADORE the idea of Non-binary Jem

OTP

Jem x Himself (literally and metaphorically both). While I love Jessa and until recently, didn't ship Jem with anyone else, I don't believe Tessa loves him as much as she loves W*ll, CC wrote her that way and tid books are proof.

The only person good enough for Jem is HIMSELF.

BROTP

Jem and Church, my soulmates!!!!

And even though I hate W*ll, I love Heronstairs. Well, to be specific, I love how dedicated W*ll is to Jem.

Brother Zachariah and Brother Enoch are also cute.

NOTP

Heronstairs as a romantic ship is a big No. Just no. Let people have close platonic relationships for fuck's sake.

First headcanon that pops into my head

Jem posts violin covers + his original songs on Tiktok, Instagram, and YouTube and his comment section is filled with people trying their best (and failing) to respectfully thirst over him.

Later when Mina does the same, and posts videos with her dad, HER comment section is "can your dad fight"

Oh and he's very kinky

Favorite line from this character

So, SO many to the point he would simply say "hm" and I would cry of happiness.

But the ones that that pop into my head rn are "my apologies" *corset rip* "to antiquity"

"We are all the pieces of what we remember. We hold in ourselves the hopes and fears of those who love us. As long as there is love and memory, there is no true loss."

"She could be anything she pleased. She was everything already."

"You hurt everyone. Everyone whose life you touch." And "Alone? Whose fault is that?" (DESTROY HIM, JEM)

"Unless there were secret Silent Brother orgies I wasn't invited to. I always worried I might not have been popular"

"If you insist. W-H-O"

One way in which I relate to this character

Our love for cats, our inability to let go of things, our insecurity. While there are some similarities, Jem is the opposite of me in many ways, and that is one of the reasons why I can love him so much. Everything I am not.

The thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

Jem. My love, my darling. My Jian Ming.....LOOK IN THE DAMN MIRROR!!

Sometimes, I think someone has put a curse on him to never see his beauty because WHAT THE HELL?? He can recognise everyone's beauty but not his own? I think he might need glasses.

Oh, and sometimes he's so fucking horny, like geez

Cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

The furthest from problematic a character has EVER been

Send me a character and I'll answer these questions

[seraphtrevs]

Succession for the ask game :)

my favorite female character - my darling wife Shiv, who is the most beautiful woman in the world and has never done a thing wrong in her life

my favorite male character - Tom. The thing I love about Tom is that there has never been a character quite like him. Like usually you can put characters in a Type, but there is only one Tom, and he says the most deranged things I've ever heard - I love that in a man

my favorite book/season/etc - season 3

my favorite episode (if its a tv show) - All the Bells Say

my favorite cast member - sarah snook

my favorite ship - tomshiv. I am absolutely obsessed with their dynamic. they made zero sense to me as a couple in the beginning (which I think was the intention), but then slowly you come to understand why they are perfect(ly awful) for each other. The most hand-in-unlovable-hand ship ever

a character I’d die defending - shiv. did she make mistakes? no of course not, she's perfect. (but seriously - the things she had to put up with were very infuriating. i'm not actually excusing her worst actions, but i found her the most relatable of all the siblings, and i understand why she turned out the way she did. i find it really disappointing how she is often judged at a higher standard than the male characters, because our culture insists that women are morally superior creatures, which of course means they bear all the responsibility of men's bad behavior since those poor little boys simply can't help themselves. 🙄I appreciate her as a female character who was given an antihero arc, the same as the male characters.)

a character I just can’t sympathize with - roman. never have i hated a character more intensely than i hate roman. he's a misogynistic alt-right freak who is mean to children for fun, sexually harasses his employees, worships nazis, and is completely incompetent yet gets handed positions of power because he was born into wealth. i love my fair share of morally indefensible characters so maybe i don't have a leg to stand on, but he's too similar to the sorts of people who are currently killing my country. he's a well-written character and kieran culkin gives an amazing performance, but i can't enjoy him, even in a love-to-hate kind of way, and i certainly can't feel sorry for him

a character I grew to love - tom. it was not love at first! I had no idea what to make of him at first, but his deranged ways grew on me

my anti otp - tomgreg. not the tomgreg in the show, which is delightfully bizarre and very compelling, but fandom tomgreg. i'm sure there are fics out there that are more true to their canon dynamic, but for the most part, tomgreg seemed to suffer from what we used to call "migratory slash fandom" - aka fans who have a generic, stereotypical m/m dynamic they like, and they move from fandom to fandom, casting two male characters into that archtype, flattening whatever made those characters and their relationship in canon interesting in the first place

[lafleshlumpeater]

250 followers + birthday celebration!! (14th jan-28th jan- closed)

pls check my fandom list and character list before sending in an ask!! (pls only send in asks for characters on the list + from these fandoms only!!)

pls don’t send in any asks after the 28th!!

no limits on how many asks you can send, go wild <3

thanks sm @marvelgurl31 for helping me w this<3

nav

but i knew you’d linger like a tattoo kiss

send me this and i’ll hand- write you a short letter!! (moots only)

i wanna brainwash you into loving me forever

send me a fandom, a  gender pref and a detailed description about you and i'll ship you with a character from that fandom!!

cause he was sunshine, i was midnight rain

send in a character, the fandom they’re from, a gender pref and a trope and i’ll make a moodboard for the both of you in a relationship!!

she’ll patch up your tapestry that i shred

send me this, a character and what fandom they’re from  and i’ll make a moodboard for how i see the two of you in a relationship!!

cause darling im a nightmare dressed like a daydream

tell me what you think my aesthetic is and i’ll do the same for you!! (moots only)

bad, bad boy shiny toy with a price, you know that i bought it

tell me what you would gift me for my bday and i’ll do the same for you!!

we small talk, work and the weather

send me this to chat (about your day, about a crush, for life advice, or even just to vent)

i say, “i hate you,” we break up, you call me, “i love you”

tell me your first opinion of me compared to now and i’ll do the same for you!! (moots only)

honey without the exes, fights and flaws, we wouldn’t be standing here so tall

send me an unpopular ship/your otp and i’ll give you my opinion on them!!

all that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing

send me this with a fandom, character, gender pref  and trope and i’ll write a short blurb for it!!

you’ve got that james dean, daydream, look in your eye

send in a detailed description about you and i’ll tell you what fictional universe i think you belong in!!

and you’ve got a smile that can light up this whole town

send me this and i’ll tell you one assumption i have about you!! (moots only)

you should take it as a compliment that i’m talking to everyone here but you

tumblr games!! (kmk, cym, would you rather, etc)

tagging some moots (lmk if you don't wanna be tagged in the future): @starchasing-cryptid @starstruckwillows @dizzyntrr @diqldrunk @heyyyitsmegen @quickslvxrr @iheartmoons @iheartaris @fefifofae @kimorna @loaf-of-soup

[sneakyblinders]

19, 27, and 37 from the OTP asks for Tommy and his darling wife 🥰

Eek thank you for requesting these 🤩 OTP relationship asks link

19 - How do they deal with being away from each other for a long time?

The Mrs. is alright. She often feels safer when he is around, so his absence makes her a little more anxious than normal. (Being married to a gangster is anxiety inducing stuff I'd imagine) She doesn’t sleep quite as well without him there. She hates eating alone. However she does take advantage of the nights she has alone to get caught up on reading (Tommy often distracts her) and after they have their children, she plans little activities to do with the children, who are also missing their father. She usually comes up with sweet ways to welcome him home that involve his babies. He gets the biggest smile on his face when he sees the little projects they've made for him while he was away. (And this is super top secret, but he's never thrown a single thing away that they've made for him. He'd never admit that to anybody though. The Mrs. only found out about it one day when she was shuffling through boxes in his closet trying to find a very specific chain for his watch.) Tommy though… after a few days of being away, he gets quite irritable. His men hate when he has to be away for more than two or three days at a time with him. His temper is shorter and it doesn’t take much for him to lose it on somebody. Patience is super thin on trips when he’s away from his beloved. When he gets home he just wants to snuggle and be close to her. He tells her every time he returns home that it'll be the last time he's away for that long. (Which, inevitably never happens but he swears one day he'll never have to go away again.)

27 - What random everyday object/activity makes them think of each other?

When Tommy was in his rather serious accident the first few years of their marriage, and he had cracked some ribs, it was difficult for him to bend for a while--it caused him some pretty severe pain. And so, tying his shoes was nearly impossible for a long while. So for those months when he was healing, his wife knelt in front of him in the mornings and tied his shoes. The first few times he was embarrassed beyond belief. I can't even tie my own laces, he'd think to himself. But she'd look up at him with those eyes and he'd have to look away, overcome with emotion. And after the embarrassment faded, an overwhelming feeling comes over him and tears spring to his eyes. Whether it's because he can't believe he got this gem, or because he can't believe he was almost robbed of so many more years with her, so many more memories with her, he can't figure out. But he thinks of her every time he ties his laces now. For their first anniversary, Tommy got his beloved a locket with his initials engraved on the back, and a photo of them on their wedding day tucked safely inside. Whenever she was lost in thought, whether concentrating or finding herself nervous, she would start fumbling with the locket, anxiously running her thumb over the engraving on the back, and instantly thinking of her husband--every fear disappearing.

37 - What do they like the least about each other?

Aah jeez. The Mrs. has some serious issues with how arrogant Tommy can be--with how above death he seems at times. Most of their fights revolve around her reminding him he is not immortal and that one day his arrogance and pride will take him to the grave. Tommy has some serious issues with how trusting his bride can be with others. She, despite all the evil she has seen in this world he has brought her into, has never seemed to be able to shake the ability to see the good and the best in people, which much to his annoyance, she manages to find in everybody. It's gotten her into some pretty sticky situations before. (In her defense, Tommy is skeptical about everything and everyone... any time she tries to tell him about a new person she met at the market or the store he narrows his eyes and tries to see it from every angle. How they could be trying to take advantage of her. Sometimes its worked in her favor and others... not so much.)

[wondrouswendy]

For the fandom asks, 9, 16, and 17 for Control?

9. a ship that isn't your OTP but that you enjoy

It's about as rare as they come but I do like Northmoor/Ash for the Trench/Darling parallels. However they are by far much more enemies to lovers to ??. It's even more "read between the lines" than any other pairing I enjoy for Control, but I think it's a cool one and I've tried to include sprinklings of it in my fics. I think Northmoor would hate it but he'd be unable to resist that nepo-baby.

It's not something I'd be opposed to writing more explicitly but it's also not the first thing on the docket to work on.

16. a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

How important America Overnight is to the Bureau's functioning. It's such a cool element of the universe that I hadn't really appreciated until Zath started making America Overnight episodes. It's so important for the Bureau to have a landline for people to call in their stories, whether some of them are insane and not real whereas others are genuine AWEs spiraling out of control. It also has Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell vibes, and I've been a casual fan of that for awhile.

17. the thing in canon that everyone loves and that you also love

The lore documents and the endless potential of Altered Items and Objects of Power. It's one of the most fascinating things to think about, especially how they differ yet share similarities to SCP.

[writing-for-whoever-listens]

Valentine's OTP Prompts 8:

"There you are! I was so worried about you!" "Sorry for making you worry, but I'm fine."

"I can't talk with you." "Why? Is it because we broke up?"

"I think... I think I'm falling in love with you, and I don't know how to stop it."

"I hate this." "Hate what, darling?" "That! You can't call me that, because I'm not your darling. I'm not yours!"

"This is so wrong." "How so? I'm saving you from an arranged marriage you want no part of."

"Can I buy you a drink?" "Oh boy, you've got no idea what you just walked over to."

"How could you do this to me?! You made me love you, and now we can't even be together!"

"I've heard that distance makes the heart grow fonder, you know." "Not mine. It's a clingy bastard."

"I don't think I'd ever love anyone else if you left me. I'd just be alone with bittersweet memories to keep me company."

"You really don't want to be with me." "I'm going to have to disagree with you." "No, I'm very serious. You aren't going to like it." "Not buying it."

[dontbelasagnax]

Lasagna dear! How about D & L for the alphabet asks, please? 💗

Hello, Lttrs!!!!!! You really went hard with your choices 😂💞

Alphabet Ask Game

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

I'm very much not even remotely a multishipper so I just. Physically cannot handle the idea of Obi-Wan with anyone other than my darling Cody. I'm an otp person to my bones. So truly, I simply wish I wasn't squicked out by the sight of the most shippable character in the entirety of Star Wars with anyone other than the person my heart deemed The One for him. (Laugh at me if you must. My clown nose honks sadly.)

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

I quickly realized the reason I disliked Bo-Katan is just that Disney is set on erasing the fact that she was a literal terrorist. I'm a big fan of fucked up women in my media. They're compelling and hot. Pretty please don't erase her gruesome past in order to give her a redemption arc. Much better to acknowledge the fact she's done shit and grown from it. Or maybe! Just maybe!! Show the audience what a hypocrite she is! Show how she tries to divorce her past from who she wants to be. She can't grow from her past if she's hiding from it and can't reconcile with it due to ego mixing with guilt. I need it blatantly obvious she has Issues 🥺

Anyways, she's a great character. Lots of flavor in her complexities when you acknowledge them. I'm advocating for mean lesbian rights. She's hot and I need to see her dripping in blood while her chest heaves as she pants. For uh. Scientic reasons.

(Also I'm shaking Disney Star Wars writers by the shoulders and begging them to see that complex people make good characters. And if one is really set on their stars being "good people", challenging what exactly that means is a great way to go about it.)

[rpf-bat]

THE YEAR OF NIKOLEKSI

At the beginning of 2023, I decided to participate in The Year Of The OTP: 12 prompts. 12 months. One ship. I chose Niko/Aleksi because, well, in Niko’s own words, they’re soulmates. 🤷‍♀️

I have a very bad habit of starting a writing challenge and then giving up halfway through. (Sorry, Whumptober and Whumpuary mods. 😅) But I actually completed YOTP, and I’m very proud of myself!! So, I’ve compiled all 12 fics into one masterpost:

January: DU LÜGST

Prompt: Historical AU

Word Count: 969

Summary: Vienna, Austria. 1794 A.D.

Niko has been studying abroad for a few years now, learning the art of music from a master composer. One day, he hears about a new, handsome face in town. A fellow Finn - and a fellow musician.

Tags: Alternate Universe - Historical, 18th Century, Flirting, Pre-Relationship, Short Oneshot

🖤

February: I’M A SHIPWRECK

Prompt: Mermaid AU

Word Count: 1,378

Summary: After a lover breaks his heart, Niko decides he doesn't want to live anymore, and dives into the sea. But, a mysterious savior drags him out of the water, back to shore. Niko isn't sure what shocks him more. That someone saved his life - or that that someone isn't human.

Tags: Suicide Attempt, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Drowning, Near Death Experiences, Mouth-to-Mouth

🖤

March: TOWELS

Prompt: “Make Me.”

Word Count: 584

Summary: Aleksi is hogging all the towels in their shared hotel room, and Niko is annoyed.

Tags: Arguing, Flirting, Nudity, Implied Sexual Content

🖤

APRIL: WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW YEAR’S EVE?

Prompt: “No, I’m Not Dating Your Brother!”

Word Count: 963

Summary: It's Christmas, and Niko is in Oulu, visiting his family. Aleksi is in a different city, but he decides to give Niko a video call, and wish him a happy holiday.

Joona can see the obvious crush Aleksi has on his brother, and decides to meddle a little.

Tags: Christmas Presents, Webcams, Fluff

🖤

MAY: MY CUTE HAMSTER

Prompt: Pet/Child Acquisition

Word Count: 546

Summary: Aleksi and Niko have been dating for about a year now. They already have Rilla, but they decide they're ready to adopt a second pet together.

Tags: Established Relationship, Short & Sweet, Tooth-Rotting Fluff

🖤

JUNE: IT WAS HATE AT FIRST SIGHT FOR US, DARLING

Prompt: Soulmate AU

Word Count: 801

Summary: Everyone has the first words that their soulmate will ever speak to them, written on the inside of their wrist.

But, there's just one problem. The words on Aleksi's wrist are "fuck you."

Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmate Identifying Marks, Enemies To Lovers, Short Oneshot

🖤

July: LET’S SEE HOW FAR WE’VE COME

Prompt: Vacation Together

Word Count: 518

Summary: Two years after their performance at Eurovision, Niko and Aleksi return to Rotterdam for a romantic vacation.

Aleksi is feeling a bit nostalgic.

Tags: Established Relationship, Vacation, Short & Sweet, Fluff

🖤

August: ENGLISH SUMMER RAIN

Prompt: Storm

Word Count: 538

Summary: Niko and Aleksi share a hotel room, the night before a festival gig. Aleksi discovers that Niko has a phobia of thunder.

Tags: Thunderstorms, Astraphobia, Sharing A Bed, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Short & Sweet

🖤

September: FIFTEEN LOVE

Prompt: Meeting The Family

Word Count: 1,374

Summary: Aleksi travels to Oulu, to meet Niko’s little sister, and cheer her on at her tennis match.

Tags: Established Relationship, Meeting The Family, Tennis, Fluff, Minor Injuries

🖤

October: PLAYING COPS & ROBBERS

Prompt: Couple’s Costume

Word Count: 1,056

Summary: On the final night of the Warrior Souls Tour, Nyamjantsan - better known as “Jaya” - from The Hu invites Niko and Aleksi to a Halloween party.

Niko really wants to wear a costume that matches Aleksi - but the DJ isn’t really sure why.

Tags: Halloween, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Jealousy, Love Confessions, Fluff

🖤

November: THE WORST WISH

Prompt: “Be Careful What You Wish For”

Word Count: 1,489

Summary: Aleksi is in love with Niko. But, Niko is in a relationship with Joonas.

When he spots a shooting star in the sky, Aleksi wishes - for one, selfish second - that Joonas would disappear, so that Niko could be his. Immediately, he regrets it. But, when Joonas gets into a terrible accident the next day, Aleksi is consumed with guilt. He can’t help but think this is all his fault.

Tags: Car Accidents, Major Character Injury, Hospitals, Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Angst With A Happy Ending, Polyamory

🖤

December: ROSES ARE DEAD, VIOLETS ARE DOOMED

Prompt: Tattoo Parlor/Flower Shop AU

Word Count: 2,242

Summary: Aleksi is on the bus, headed to his part-time job at his aunt’s flower shop, when he meets a young tattoo apprentice named Niko.

Aleksi is only sixteen, and it only takes a day for Niko to become his first crush. But, Niko appears to have his eye on someone else.

Tags: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Teen Romance, First Crush, Light Angst, Not Actually Unrequited Love, First Kiss

[imminentinertia]

SHIPPER TAG GAME

@lurkingshan tagged me, thank you darling! So now I'm forced to admit that whispers I'm honestly not much of a shipper

I get into shows and films, but rarely so much that I get invested in couples (canon or otherwise). Even rarer, so much that I start taking ship war sides. Notable exception: Harmony (Harry/Hermione) because that ship came with the stupidest shit I've ever seen in any fandom.

1. What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care anymore?

What do you mean, don't care anymore. I absolutely do care about every ship I've ever shipped.

No wait - as a very young teenager I was so into Alice Hoffman's books it's not even funny. Especially Property Of. I wasn't terribly into the nameless main character, but I adored The Dolphin and thought McKay would be much better off with him. Then I grew up and realised that Property Of is pretty badly written and has a frightfully naïve plot (no wonder, she was practically a baby when she wrote it), although it really hit the spot for a 13 year old with a rabid case of bad boy syndrome, and completely stopped caring about any of the characters.

2. Which ship would you consider your first one?

The first I went insane about was Harry/Draco, so probably that.

3. Your first fanfic belonged to which couple?

Harry/Draco. I wasn't going to write fic at all! Wasn't interested in writing them myself! But I got so fed up with all the horrible purple prose in a lot of fics, wrote a pisstake, and it escalated.

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw a fanart over?

No. That was so many years ago. SO MANY.

5. Did you ever get into ship discourse?

No. When I get into discourse it's about other things than ships. When I try to start discourse it's definitely about other things.

6. Did you used to have any no-otp or have it currently?

Some pairings squick me, but I tend to forget the horrors as quickly as I discover them.

7. Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read?

Jaeyoung/Sangwoo (Semantic Error).

8. Currently, do you have any OTPs?

VEGAS/PETE. I also adore a number of other BL couples, but that's the OTP. Show versions, not book originals.

9. Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together?

Spooks WASTED A BRIILLIANT OPPORTUNITY for a ship that could have been either canon or not-canon by KILLING A GUY ten minutes after he meets THE POTENTIAL LOVE OF HIS CANON OR NOT-CANON LIFE. They barely had time to share some chips. YES I AM EXTREMELY MAD, 16 YEARS LATER.

10. Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting?

To me, any ship that's well written and where both characters are well formed and not limp 2D shit can be kind of interesting. I can't remember any of my squick pairings starting to intrigue me. Does it count that I used to dislike any KinnPorsche pairing featuring Ken, but I'm starting to quite like them?

11. Do you have any ship that, in the past, was considered normal but now you would be cancelled over?

Oh, I'm sure I do. I like age gaps. People are often very weird about them.

12. What was your favorite crack ship?

Giant Squid/anyone. Such a great setup for crack tentacle porn.

13. Who is the couple you read more fanfics of?

I've read a fuckton of Harry/Draco, but because of betaing and rec blog running it might be Even/Isak? Give it enough time and it will be Vegas/Pete.

14. What most of your ships usually have in common?

At least one, preferably both, of the parties is a criminal. Okay, that also has to do with what sorts of films and shows get made and appeal to me, but I love a good criminal so much and I just can't get interested in some goody two-shoes. I can honestly only think of Even/Isak when I try to list my ships that don't feature a delicious criminal. Preferably unhinged murderers, but I'll take minor misdemeanours too.

15. What do you absolutely hate in a ship?

Big fat traditional seme/uke or het dynamics where the seme/man blatantly doesn't give a canon shit about the uke/woman. I could write a thesis on this, I suppose.

As usual I don't dare to actually tag people, but if you've made it this far, you are so tagged.

[sigurism]

Shipper Tag Game

Tagged by my cupcake @mariamariquinha, thank you, darling.

What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care about anymore?

I still care so I'm not saying.

Which ship would you consider your first one?

Joker and Batman (comic), MSR, Bayliss and Pembleton, Bayliss and Claire, Pembleton and Scully, Audrey and Cooper

Your first fanfic was about which couple?

Jack and Claire, Ben and Shambala (Law & Order)

Do you remember the first couple you saw fanart of?

MSR

Have you ever gotten into ship discourse?

No. Don't give a fig about who likes who with what. If I like it, I like it. I didn't know I had to shit on my own likes just to appease another.

Did you use to have any NOTP or have one currently?

I will keep it to myself.

Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read?

Aziraphale and Crowley, Corintheus

I wish I could read some fanfic of my other OTP's but there is none.

Currently, do you have any OTPs?

MSR, Aziraphale and Crowley, Audrey and Cooper, Sargatanas and Eddie, Rocco and Vincent, Reardon and Batman

Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together?

Warren and Layla, Audrey and Cooper

Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting?

Truman and Cooper. Can't say I disliked but I didn't think about it when I realized it was pretty obvious.

Do you have any ship that, in the past, would've been considered normal but now you would be cancelled over?

Awww, cancelled.

What is your favorite crack ship?

Sargatanas and Eddie, Rocco and Vincent, Reardon and Batman

What is the couple you read the most fanfics about?

MSR, Aziraphale and Crowley. I would read and obsess over other fanfics but my chosen fandoms consist of two people (Myself and my darling friend -you know who you are ❤️), which I'm still grateful for, but there is no fanfic or art and this hurts. Every type of couple/love/otp deserve this type of devotion, I don't care how small or non-existent it may be.

What do most of your ships usually have in common?

Each other.

What you absolutely hate in a ship?

Cheating. Unnecesary hurt.

I tag without obligation: @conradrasputin, @hippodameia, @filmnoiress, @marlowe-zara, @sturridges, @gavotteangel, @ongreenergrasses