#realized i never had to make it linear to begin with

[toontowncreepypasta]

ive had a realization about what i could do about birdlime and ive been kind of stuck on it so if i make a lot of random birdlime content its bc im working that out in my head

[peachdues]

THE GREAT WAR — PART II TEASER

Giyuu’s Flashback • Secret Pregnancy AU

A/N: don’t think I’ve forgotten about these two!

Enjoy a small teaser featuring a key flashback for Giyuu from Part II of TGW. As I said in the notes for Part I, this is a non-linear story, and this flashback in particular is something referenced in Part I, while Reader is patching Giyuu’s wound up (a hint: Giyuu’s particular questioning about Reader’s choice of perfume oils).

Enjoy a little humor and a very, very flustered Water Pillar.

CW: accidental spying while Reader is bathing • Giyuu gets horny but doesn’t realize why • Giyuu is an idiot

READ PART I HERE

The shop vendor continued to gape after the woman long after she disappeared into the bustling crowd. Mildly, Giyuu noted that he’d polished the same dish two times over, unable to break free from his trance.

“Was that not the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen?”

“I did not notice.” He replied, chewing thickly on his mouthful of udon. The vendor raised a single, skeptical eyebrow at his dismissiveness but said nothing more, and for that Giyuu was grateful.

He hated small talk, especially when he was trying to enjoy his meal. If anything, it only took away from the experience, ensuring that half his food ended up everywhere — his lap, the counter — but his mouth.

Besides, the Merchant’s attempt to engage him on this particular subject was rather pointless. In truth, Giyuu never really found anyone beautiful — not really. Though, he supposed as he shoved down another mouthful of his soup, perhaps that was because he’d never truly bothered to pay attention to anyone to definitively say one way or another. Paying attention to something as trivial as one’s physical appearance meant he wasn’t focusing on that which truly mattered — like signs of demons, of things going bump in the night.

And Giyuu Tomioka did not tolerate distractions.

With a grimace, he drained the last of the broth from his bowl and tossed a handful of change on the counter for payment. He only nodded curtly at the cook in farewell before he set off, ready to do one final patrol through the forest leading to his home before he would return and await his next orders.

The sleepy forest absorbed the sound of his footsteps as Giyuu made his way through the unmarked path he’d established as the final length of his patrol through the small, mountainous region in which he was assigned. Judging by the faint chirps of the earliest birds beginning to sound from the canopy of trees above, he knew dawn was close, and thus, his vigil was coming to an end.

The night had been relatively quiet, and so Giyuu allowed his thoughts to roam to the Shrine at the other end of the forest. He wondered whether its grounds were already abuzz with trainee priestesses and groundskeepers, as they flurried around to take care of their morning duties before breakfast was served.

Truthfully, his mind was only interested in the activities of one particular trainee, but the Water Pillar had no reason to drop by the once-reverent shrine, and so, he decided to stick to his current route, and then he’d make his way back for a few hours’ rest. If anything were amiss at the shrine, one of the crows he’d stationed there would alert him.

As Giyuu began to make the loop that would lead him back to his barren estate, a shift in the wind brought a change in scent from that of the usual dirt-pine-molded earth odor he’d always associated with the woods, to something softer; sweeter.

The Water Pillar frowned as the early morning breeze wafted more of the peculiar scent towards him. The herbal-floral fragrance was out of place amidst the familiar, damp rot of the forest, and it made him uneasy. Giyuu had long since learned that things that were out place usually spelled trouble, and where there was trouble, there was usually demon activity afoot.

That was all it took for him to change his course of action. With a fluid deftness that came only from years of having to tread lightly to avoid being ripped apart, Giyuu moved through the forest towards the source of the scent, it’s pull growing thicker as he drew nearer.

A cursory glance toward the canopy of the forest above him revealed a lightening sky; the stars had long since winked out, and the Water Pillar knew that the sun was well on its way to breaking over the horizon. But until that time arrived, the threat of demon activity persisted, and this unknown scent was far too close to not investigate.

Besides, if there was a demon in this forest, that meant it could stumble upon the Shrine at any moment, and that was a risk Giyuu would not take.

He took off in a silent run, eyes peeled to track any movement in the dark, his ears pricked for the slightest signal of something misplaced — an odd crack of a branch, or the sudden silence of the rising, tittering birds.

As the trail of strange floral perfume grew stronger, so too, did the distinct aquatic scent of nearby water. His eyes narrowed; only a few feet ahead, the trees thinned into a line before giving way to a large gap.

A clearing. One that housed a sizeable waterfall, judging by the telltale sound of roaring water as it smashed into a cluster of rocks below. He eased into a stealthy prowl toward the opening, his body alert and poised to respond to any threat that awaited him beyond the darker of the forest.

But all was quiet; yet, years spent within the Corps had ingrained within him a deep mistrust of silence. And so, Giyuu lingered in the shadows of the trees surrounding the small waterfall as he watched, waiting.

The raven-haired slayer’s attention snapped to a small disturbance over by the bank of the waterfall. The sky had lightened enough that he could make out a figure, clad in white, knelt down in the shallow of the river basin.

Giyuu’s hand drifted to the hilt of his sword, but as his eyes further adjusted, he felt his mouth go dry.

Silhouetted against the faint glow emitting from the waterfall and the rapidly lightening sky, Y/N sharpened into focus as she waded deeper into the pool, a small bucket cradled in her arms.

She was not dressed in her usual, traditional Miko attire; rather, she was clad only in a thin white kimono that clung wetly to her hips as she moved towards the waterfall. She paused at the base of the gentle flow of river from the cliff above, and she pulled a small vial from her bucket that she uncorked with one hand.

The shrine maiden poured the contents of the glass over her head, the liquid too viscous to be water. Giyuu closed his eyes and sniffed the air, and he noted that the scent of herbs and flowers now hung in the air like a thick perfume.

The Water Pillar’s gaze snapped back down to the vexatious Miko just as she filled her bucket with water from the fall. With a grace that he hadn’t realized the young woman possessed, Y/N lifted the pail over her head and tipped its contents over, allowing the water to pour down her frame, drenching her.

A cleansing ritual, Giyuu realized as he watched her repeat the process once more. And a very old one at that; he wasn’t sure many shrine maidens still partook in the rite.

Though, Giyuu supposed, it would make sense that Y/N would not only know of the outdated ceremony, but that she would practice it, given that she’d been raised by a grandmother who insisted on abiding by tradition at all cost.

He hadn’t realized that the mere observation of a cleansing rite meant that its participant would look the way Y/N did, standing in the cool spring, clad in nothing but a thin white gown that the water had nearly turned transparent. The Water Pillar’s worked to swallow around the lump that had formed in his throat as Y/N’s water-soaked kimono clung to her skin, revealing the soft, rounded curve of her backside and the delicate length of her legs that Giyuu hadn’t realized she possessed under the loose layers of her shrine outfit.

Giyuu shifted his weight in the tree, inexplicably enraptured by the Miko’s morning ritual to realize he’d startled a small bird into flight.

Y/N whipped around at the disturbance and the ravenette shrank further back into the shadows, his cheeks feeling bizarrely warm at the sight of the young woman now facing his direction.

Giyuu chanced a glance back at the Miko just as the sun broke over the horizon, its pale golden light reflecting off the calm surface of the spring, casting Y/N in the hoary glow of the cascading waterfall.

She looked…like she did not belong in this world. Her hair hung around her shoulders and down to her waist, and the spray of the waterfall clung to the strands like thousands of glittering stars. Her eyes were sharp and bright as they scanned the tree line for the source, her soft, reddened lips twisted down into an uncharacteristic frown.

Giyuu kept his assessment of her form, so stripped back and vulnerable, confined strictly to her face. It was bad enough that the sight of Y/N, standing in the luminescent water, had sent his pulse skyrocketing; he did not trust what would happen if he allowed his gaze to drop lower, to where that diaphanous kimono covered her chest.

Perhaps there was a perfectly logical explanation for his strange reaction to the image of Y/N, standing in the pool, that had nothing to do with her at all. He wondered whether some of the herbs she’d used in her cleansing oil could impart a physical effect on those exposed to their concentrated fragrance; Giyuu made a mental note to find a casual way to ask her, the next time he saw her.

Y/N turned away from him once more as she began to wade back over to the bank of the spring. Now that the sun had risen, Giyuu could spy the familiar white and red cloth of her kosode and hakama pants, folded in a neat bundle atop a small boulder.

Before the sun could chase away the shadows of the forest and reveal his presence, Giyuu turned away and retreated, willing himself not to ponder on the fact that she’d changed clothes, in the middle of a dark forest, just prior to his arrival.

Though, his commitment to not thinking about how the shrine maiden may have looked as she discarded her usual attire in favor of the flimsy bathing kimono she’d been wearing meant that Giyuu’s traitorous thoughts wandered instead to the memory of her standing hip-deep in the spring. His mind struggled to categorize the mental image of her — she was the same Y/N he’d come to know, and yet, something about her was different, though he couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out what it was.

The word he’d been searching for came to him not long after the sun had fully risen in the early summer sky, just as the sloped roof of his manor came into view.

Beautiful, Giyuu decided. Y/N was beautiful.

dividers from @/saradika • reblogs/comments/likes always appreciated!

[lexosaurus]

Not me rambling about my fanfics again:

One thing I really like about writing Everything Was White is how in the beginning it SEEMS like it’s going to be a stereotypical linear post-GIW recovery story where “every day Danny gets a little better” and in some ways, it is that. He can walk a little farther every day, he can speak a little more clearly, he can hold more and more conversations, he stops flinching every other second, his early constant fight-or-flight mode slowly wears off, his flashbacks stop assaulting him as much.

But as he becomes more physically capable and more mentally cognizant, he also starts regressing in other ways. He stops opening up, his fuzzy memories begin to have more clarity and thus some things begin to feel worse, his nerve damage recovery remains agonizingly slow. He becomes EXHAUSTED with feeling so shit all the time as he slowly realizes just how long feeling okay again is going to take, and yeah he may never get to his ���before” again. He understands where his communication deficits are, and that it’s not all physical, but he doesn’t know how to overcome the mental blocks. He becomes aware that his parents may accept that he’s a halfa, but they also have sooooo much of their own shit they need to unpack, and because of that, some of the measures they take trying to support him actually end up harming him.

I think this is also why a lot of people who were captivated by the early chapters where it seems like a linear recovery story drop off soon after he comes home from the hospital, when they realize ohhhhh yeah that’s not what’s happening here. Danny may recover in this fic, sure, but he and his family are going to have to experience a LOT before they get there. And both Danny and his family are going to make some REALLY bad choices first, all in the name of trying-their-goddamn-best.

Cuz I’ve written a lot of angst, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a fic like this where so many people are like “Yeah I tried my best, great writing, but I had to stop reading.” And I’m totally not insulted by that, btw, but I’ve been deconstructing where exactly that switch happens for people, and I think it’s here.

I think it comes from the fact that this is a recovery story that tells the tale of a character and their loved ones making many, MANY mistakes along the way.

[prettyiwa]

🍉 Fics for Gaza — Sponsor a WIP 🍉

Hello, everybody! I'm honestly not sure how this will go, if at all, but I want to participate in the fundraising efforts of @ficsforgaza. Lately, I've been focused solely on projects that bring me joy regardless of readership and so for this, I'll be opening up all of my WIPs, including those not listed on my official WIP page but previously mentioned on this blog. For this fundraiser, I'm committing to returning to those old projects that have been unceremoniously left in the dust.

I'm committing to this undertaking with the hopes that one of my projects will encourage donations if they weren't previously inclined or were on the fence.

Raised: $91.39 Written/Sponsored: 3.443/18,278

How it works:

$1 = 200 words!

Make a donation to a vetted fundraiser of your choice (links below) and send me a screenshot of your donation excluding identifying information + the WIP you'd like me to work on. For every $1 donated, I will write 200 words for your chosen WIP. Upon receiving proof of donation, I will begin working on the WIP.

Example message template:

Hey, Ix! I've donated [this amount] to [link to vetted fundraiser]. Would you be able to work on [WIP title]? Thank you! (Included screenshot of proof of donation)

Vetted fundraiser links:

Vetted fundraiser masterpost-masterpost

List of Palestinian Evacuation & Support Fundraisers

Masterlist of links, official & vetted

how you can help palestine

Eligible WIPs:

Because the list of WIPs included is so long, they'll be listed below the cut. Fandoms included: Daiya no Ace, Haikyuu!!, Attack on Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist, & My Hero Academia.

Daiya no Ace

The Catcher's Accomplice - Miyuki Kazuya Major Leagues, Interpreter, Forced Proximity (Belated Quarantine Fic), Falling in Love, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Fluff

When Kazuya insisted he be posted for the MLB, he wasn't quite aware of all that entailed, only concerned with being able to continue playing. He didn't fully anticipate the sheer loneliness of moving to a different country, especially just before a pandemic. How lucky for him that you're there every step of the way.

word count: 4,591/20,000+

Promises We Made - Miyuki Kazuya Childhood Best Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Soulmates (if you squint), Expression of Grief, Anxiety, & Depression

He existed as a beacon for you—someone who had been there since before you can remember, someone who always found you when you got lost. All you wanted was to be able to stand on your own two feet beside him.

word count: 14,119/50,000+

His Name - Miyuki Kazuya Non-Linear Storytelling, Falling in Love, Break-up Fic, Angst, Hints of Pining & Regret

Kazuya never realized how much he loved the way his name sounded as it rolled of your tongue, a promise he didn't hear until it was too late.

word count: 1,593/6,000

not a stranger - Sawamura Eijun Younger Brother's Best Friend, Childhood Crush, Childhood Friends to Lovers

Fifteen years after he used to announce to the world, "I'm going to marry you one day!," he no longer looks like the Ei-chan you once knew.

word count: 3,548/12,000 FULLY SPONSORED!! written: 261/10,000

Play with Me - Kuramochi Youichi NPB, Bassist, One Night Stand to Lovers, Falling in Love, Shared History, Fluff, Suggestive

The story of you and Kuramochi Youichi goes further than the night he finds himself in the audience of your show, but it takes you a while before you acknowledge that.

word count: 339/7,500

Chink in My Armor - Kominato Ryousuke University!AU, FWB, Jealousy, Stubborn Ryou, Getting Together, Suggestive

For someone who "didn't have the time to focus on a relationship," Ryou spends an awful lot of time focusing on you.

word count: 273/5,500

Wanna Run with You - Yuuki Tetsuya University!AU, Friends to Lovers, Old Crush, Reunion, Falling in Love, Fluff

A favor for your new editor puts you in contact with your old friend and crush, someone you fervently wanted to avoid. Now that Tetsu has you in his life again, he isn't so ready to let you go this time.

word count: 6,513/9,500

Haikyuu!!

Mine to Keep - Iwaizumi Hajime Yakuza, Fight Club, Violence, Light Stalking & Obsession, Possessive Behavior, Smut

Iwaizumi's taken his time with you, preferring you willing and wanting, but there's only so much waiting he can do before he snaps.

*requires editing so the word count may vary.

word count: 11,717/15,000* sponsored word count: 1,000 written: 1,000/1,000

Always You - Iwaizumi Hajime Fallen Angel, Demon, Memory Loss, Reincarnation, Angst, Love Perseveres

You two were favored angels, models for how others should perform until you made the grave sin of loving more than your Creator. For your crime, you were doomed to loving one another time and again through never ending reincarnation, forever watching the other suffer and die.

word count: 2,378/6,000 sponsored word count: 1,278 written: 1,278/1,278

Coming Home - Iwaizumi Hajime Punisher!AU, Grief, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Friends to ??? to Lovers

After your mother died, you never expected to find comfort in the return of the friend you long since thought dead.

word count: 1,524/6,500

Late Nights - Iwaizumi Hajime University!AU, Pining, Getting Together

In the cover of night near the university baseball diamonds, Iwaizumi finds the courage to talk to you.

word count: 328/3,000 **FULLY SPONSORED! written: 904/3,000

Maker of Myths - Oikawa Tooru Trojan War!AU, Paris & Helen, Falling in Love, War, Infidelity, Grief, Angst

The first choice you ever made was which suitor would be your husband, the King. The second choice you made allowed for you to choose your lover, your partner. The third choice you made started a war.

word count: 4,860/13,000+

This Tree, This Bed - Kuroo Tetsurou Odyssey!AU, Odysseus & Penelope, Falling in Love, Separation, Reunion, Hurt/Comfort

Kuroo liked to fashion himself as one of the smartest men in the known world. While his cunning managed to win your hand and your heart, it was unable to save him from going into a war unrelated to him.

word count: 3,215/7,500

Anxious, Wide Awake - Kuroo Tetsurou Magic & Monsters!AU, Vampire, Sorceress, Witcher inspired, Violence, Blood, Established Relationship

The more they touch you, the more their stench sticks to you, the more violent their deaths will be when he comes for you. Because he is coming for you. You have more faith in that fact than you do that the sun will rise tomorrow morning. His promise can still be heard nearly a century later, still humming along the skin where he first whispered it. He’s coming.

word count: 4,353/10,000

Please Look at Me - Hanamaki Takahiro & Matsukawa Issei Love Triangle, Not Polyamorous, Smut, Getting Together, Angst

“Is it okay if I have a taste?” Don’t you kids do anything I wouldn’t do. Takahiro’s seen Mattsun do a lot. He’s seen Mattsun in so many compromising situations throughout the years, he’s given up on keeping count long ago. And this? This is definitely something Mattsun would do.

word count: 867/6,000

Rosebuds & Black Currant - Futakuchi Kenji Strangers to (eventual) Lovers, Falling in Love, Getting Together, Fluff

It takes you entirely too long to understand the messages Kenji's been trying to send through the arrangements he gives you if only because you don't believe he's familiar with the language of flowers.

word count: 188/3,500

Attack on Titan

Rapture for the Sinners - Erwin Smith, Levi Ackerman Canon Divergent, Violence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Grief, PTSD, Smut

Fiercely loyal to Erwin Smith, you find yourself to be one of his most trusted soldiers, ready to do what is necessary for either of you to get what you want. With no room for romantic relationships, you two easily find yourselves engaged in a sexual relationship. Why do you suddenly find your situation muddled when you're tasked with bringing three thugs from the Underground to the Survey Corps? What happens when you suddenly find yourself developing feelings for the one you were prepared to kill and who was prepared to kill you in turn?

word count: 103,168/170,000+ sponsored word count: 2,000 written: 0/2,000

For You, in the Future - Bertholdt Hoover, Levi Ackerman VOV Rewrite, Canon Divergent, Tech Advancements, Friends to Lovers, Lovers to Enemies, Political Intrigue, Grief, PTSD, Love Perseveres

An attempt at a rewrite of my first story. I've worked on it in secret over the winter and could be swayed to starting it once more.

word count: 7,601/150,000+

Fullmetal Alchemist

From the Ashes Flowers Bloom - Roy Mustang Canon Divergent, Violence, Religious Guilt, Subterfuge, Exes to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort

You've spent the last four years avoiding staying in one place for too long due to the belief in the superstitions of your mother's religion. After the murder of your adoptive brother, you begin to learn the truth of the larger conspiracy that's left a pile of bodies wherever you go. Deciding to confront the root of the problem head-on, you find yourself reforging old relationships, for better or for worse.

word count: 43,580/80,000+

My Hero Academia

Set You Free - Aizawa Shouta Pre-UA Teacher!AU, Hurt/Comfort, Falling in Love, Grief, Getting Together

An unfortunate quirk, bad timing, and grief-induced anger tied you to Aizawa years after the death of Shirakumo. He wanted to be a hero, and it takes him a bit too long to realize he may have ruined yours.

word count: 2,256/6,500

Hit Me Before I Knew It - Bakugo Katsuki Pro!AU, Fake Dating, Pining, Getting Together, Parental Grief

“I’m sorry—can you repeat that?” “I’m not saying it again.” “No, please. I didn’t quite hear you the first time,” you push, trying to repress the uptick of your lips at Bakugo’s unexpected question. He looks at you and you can tell he knows it’s not quite the truth, but he obliges you. The peculiarity of it all has you struggling to process it just as much as he’s struggling to say it. With a heavy sigh, he tries again, voice lower than before. “I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend. Just a date or two to get my buddy off my back.”

word count: 531/6,500

[leveloneandup]

Christen Press' transformative journey back from injury

Christen Press once believed she was indestructible, immune to the injuries that had sidelined teammates and ended careers. But in 2022, an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear shattered not only her knee but also the carefully constructed armor she had relied on throughout her career.

What followed wasn't just a physical struggle to return to the field but a profound journey of emotional recovery. Initially, Press saw rehabilitation as purely physical -- a means to heal her body. However, as setbacks kept her off the pitch and she explored new treatments, her perspective shifted.

The injury, the U.S. women's national team star realized, wasn't a curse but a gift, offering her an unexpected opportunity to confront long-buried grief and trauma.

"It wasn't painful," Press told ESPN in an exclusive interview. "It was more the realization that something was wrong with my body, and what that meant for my future."

In 2022, Press' future was tied to her hometown club, Angel City FC, after an 11-year professional career spanning America and Europe.

Incredibly, she had been available for every game except one, which she missed because of food poisoning. Her body had endured the physical demands of playing for both club and country. But in June of that year, during an NWSL match against Racing Louisville, she tracked back to help her team, committed to a challenge and crumpled to the ground following the contact.

Press had witnessed the ACL injury crisis in the women's game derail the careers of her peers, but she never imagined it would happen to her until it did, at the age of 33. By then, she was in the veteran stage of her career. An MRI confirmed the tear, and she underwent surgery soon after, beginning her recovery with a mix of apprehension and intrigue, expecting to return to competition within 9-12 months.

"I was sad, afraid and disappointed to miss the season," she recalled. "But part of me welcomed it because, as a professional athlete, pushing yourself is part of the process. I was confident I would gain something positive from the experience."

However, Press' body didn't respond well to rehabilitation. Significant challenges delayed her return to full fitness. Six months into her recovery, which had already included one revision surgery, Sarah Smith, Angel City's vice president of medical and performance, joined the club. With Angel City still developing its facilities, Press' rehabilitation took place off-site at the Meyer Institute of Sport, an elite rehabilitation and performance center.

Smith's team was in constant communication with the specialists, managing what became a complex injury. But soon, "career-altering problems" arose, causing the medical team "sleepless nights," Smith said.

"You think you're going to hit all the milestones and move smoothly through the continuum," she added. "But that's not always the case, and it's not reflective of the athlete's professionalism or the work they put in."

Every time Press neared a return to the field, another issue emerged. Devastatingly, this resulted in two more surgeries, making it four in total, testing her mental and physical resilience. She missed the 2023 Women's World Cup, and at times, it seemed her career was over.

"It was extremely confusing because every day I showed up with a smile on my face," Press said. "I never asked for a break, I never left early. I was very disciplined and extremely determined. I thought that would mean I'd have a linear path back, and it was challenging to accept it was out of my control."

Whenever she felt discomfort in her knee, she contacted her surgeon, desperate for some good news. But the diagnosis was always grim. "It was never just a bad day where the knee was actually fine. It was always, 'There's a cyclops lesion in your knee, and you can't play.'"

Running out of hope and options, Press started to explore alternative medicine.

"I have the best surgical team, the best physical therapy team, but that's not the only way to heal," she said. "I challenged myself to be around different types of healing."

What began as an attempt to fix her knee turned into an internal transformation, healing not just her injury but the trauma and grief she had been carrying.

"When I set out to heal my knee, I ended up healing my heart," Press reflected, referring to the pain she had harboured since the death of her mother in 2019. Her mother's death came as Press was preparing for the World Cup in France. The pursuit of ultimate glory became both an outlet and a distraction from her grief.

"Sport is so amazing in that it lets you process things differently -- getting all that adrenaline and sweat out of your body is detoxifying and balances your hormones, but it also masks a lot," she explained.

"It allows you to keep going and bury what's happened to you. When my mum passed in 2019, I missed one or two camps with the U.S. national team, then went back, and we won a World Cup.

"I was able to play for my mum, but it also left a lot of grief inside me that hadn't been addressed. That's the first thing I started to deal with in therapy.

"I did a lot of balancing my nervous system in acupuncture. I went to a homoeopathic doctor and he explained that in his opinion how the grief could have caused me to tear my ACL in the first place."

Away from her rehabilitation she remained in contact with the Angel City squad, attending game days and participating in meetings. Head coach Becki Tweed said Press requested a binder with set-piece tactics, to keep herself mentally engaged, while she was physically restricted.

The medical team remained cautious, taking a step-by-step approach to rebuild Press' capacity for movement, careful to avoid another major setback. Her rehabilitation work would often involve repeating movements 7-8 times more than a patient typically would, demonstrating the thoroughness required due to the complexity of her injury.

Throughout the monotonous rehab work and the frustration of watching her teammates train, the California native remained relentless in her quest to return to the field. Even when those closest to her wavered, she remained resolute.

"When you're told you need surgery for a fourth time, the people who love you start to ask, 'At what point is she going to wake up?'" said the two-time World Cup winner. "But it never even dawned on me to give up. That's just how I'm wired."

Her determination has left a lasting impression on the staff.

"You could see the discomfort in her knee during technical work," recalled Smith. "Watching her in pain, I wasn't sure more time or strength would help. It was hard to know that pushing through might not make it better.

"But she excelled throughout the two-year process, bringing optimism, hope, and joy to it all."

That perseverance has paid off. Although Press didn't make the 2024 Olympic squad, she is set to return for Angel City FC as the NWSL resumes this weekend. She's been training with the team for three months and made her return in early August, scoring a penalty in Angel City's shootout win over San Diego Wave in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup.

"I had a conversation with her before the game, and she said, 'I'm not afraid,'" Tweed said. "During the game, she took the contact of a tackle, got up, and smiled. She needed that moment.

"After that, she had two shots. That's what she brings -- smart movement and the ability to find dangerous spaces around the 18-yard box."

At 35, with 64 international goals ranking her ninth in USWNT history, there's not much left for Press to achieve. But she's not done yet, even if her outlook has shifted.

"There are mixed emotions about how I can have the greatest impact for my team while minimizing long-term consequences for my life," she said. "But I'm excited to continue making progress and have a bigger impact on Angel City FC."

Her injury, though devastating, became a transformative experience -- physically, mentally, and emotionally.

As she steps back onto the pitch, Press is stronger in ways she never anticipated, having learned one key lesson: "You are exactly where you're supposed to be."

And for Press, that's back on the field at BMO Stadium this Sunday, with the grass under her feet.

[girl4music]

The idea or take that romance isn’t as important as friendship when friendship can evolve into romance is an odd one for me and I think it’s because I don’t think romance can be a romance without a deep friendship.

I’m partial to the “love is friendship on fire” adage and fictional ships or couple romances or love stories that begin from friendship. I favour friends-to-lovers and slow burn platonic-to-romantic relationships in art/entertainment because the depth of the connection is not only depicted but also drawn out and developed.

You get the whole journey so there’s never any rush to get to one development to another. There’s no time-skipping. And there’s no push for something more to happen because what you see happening is part of why you want it to be something more. You appreciate all of it. Even the negatives like the fights and conflicts because that also helps to evolve the relationship into higher degrees of love and devotion than ever before if you’re able to get the whole journey of what you want.

And I think this is why I am fundamentally bored with romantic WLW ships of today in TV art/entertainment.

Because you don’t get the whole journey of the ship.

You don’t really get a love story.

You barely get a pamphlet. 😒

But shows like ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ and ‘Wynonna Earp’ give you WLW ships where you get everything in the ships because the journey is the whole point to it.

And for me - that feels significantly more romantic than something that’s explicitly made to be romantic.

I’ve come to realize that that’s probably because they both begin as friends and that that never changes. All that happens is the friendship evolves into romance. And I feel like a lot of TV show WLW ships get it very wrong when they change the friendship side of things. That’s if it even starts as a friendship first. I am often surprised by how many WLW ships I’ve seen in TV art/entertainment that do not. That immediately go into romance. That’s usually just because those shows are just too damn short and linear and they have no time to show you the journey. Thank fuck for fanfic then because in fanfic you can rewrite the beginnings and endings and also explore all the detail in the middle.

What can I say? TV show storytelling just isn’t a good medium for WLW representation not because they don’t want to give you the whole journey… but because they’re prevented from being able to do so.

And I’ve had enough now. I’ve had enough of being made a side storyline or liner notes in a straight person’s show or being killed off or cancelled or tragically broken up and separated when it’s not.

I either want to be a main narrative or not there at all.

I don’t want to have to settle for a half-way state and position of existence just because I’m not male and not straight. I don’t want to have to just make do and I think anybody that believes that they should seriously need to watch something more “dated” where the censorship might be rampant throughout, but… least you still get to see the whole damn journey of what is. Least there is development for those characters and even a conclusion and closure to their relationships…

Least you actually get to see yourself be … someone.

And none of it has absolutely anything to do with your sexuality or gender identity in the way where you have to feel like you’re apologizing for it or sacrificing for it… but rather… this is what is happening and it’s fine.

People really think it’s contradictory that why I love Xena and Gabrielle so much is because their sexuality or the nature of their relationship is never made an issue. They see that as an erasure of who they are.

When no, that’s not it at all.

It’s just not all they are.

It’s not all they do.

There’s so much more about them that’s detailed instead over that and it still never takes away from it.

And that’s what you want. That’s the kind of format to a love story you want to be watching or reading about because it’s normal, it’s natural and it’s just how it is.

They’re lead female characters with many main narratives across the span of 6 whole ass seasons.

And oh yeah, they just happen to be queer and in love.

The journey of the relationship as a friendship is always put first and made the focus with Xena and Gabrielle but it’s always up to you what else they are. It’s just for me - the friendship is what IS so romantic. I can’t really separate one from the other because to me… the reason why they’re the greatest love story that I’ve ever seen in TV of all-time is because they begin as friends and they never neglect this aspect.

[lopposting]

Hello Puppet pals + Romeo fans

would you like a fresh, fun new dose of pain tonight

On Romeo (long post)

So way back in april, in the taiwan event they showed some material from what looks like early builds of the game. this is the still i want to talk about today

It's gepetto (romanized to "zepeto" here) asking if we've "killed the beast".

In the released version, we meet him outside in rosa isabelle street after the KOP fight. It looks as though he's even beside the same lamppost. There's no other similar scene of us meeting gepetto like this, so it's likely referring to the puppet king. (When we meet him on the bridge, he's seen that the donkey has been killed, so we wouldn't need to lie.) but the thing is, this question is a YES OR NO ANSWER, meaning one or the other would be a lie.

So maybe in the early versions of the game it was actually possible align with/spare the puppet king (and by extension romeo) and then lie to Geppetto about it. (I mean, it's possible that it's simply just lying about not killing him to G, and we couldn't spare him to begin with)

I think they realized that they couldn't possibly make such a narratively important boss fight optional and that story-wise it wasn't linear enough to work. The story as a whole is not nearly as effective without his loss.

TLDR: I'm speculating that that image was from an early version of the game, and Romeo could've actually lived but the devs made the hard call against this.

[It's also possible that they just made that image for the purposes of presentation, and that it doesn't mean anything, or that it's another beast entirely.]

But still, somehow it makes it the more tragic. *stares blankly into space.*

(bonus fun notes below)

In this IGN interview before release, Director Choi dropped a big hint about romeo here.

"Yes, this is the king of puppets. And we want to call him a character and not a monster, because he will be the centre of the story. So if you play more and discover more about him, you'll find out more about what he is and who he is."

the puppet king being lampwick was also inadvertently leaked by IGN in this video:

I don't think people unfamiliar with the story would know anything, but pinoheads definitely would've and did recognize what "romeo" alluded to

They kept Romeo's ENTIRE EXISTENCE a secret up until launch. During the roughly two years of promotions before release there was never any mention of Romeo before release. Zip, Nada, so much so that the budding fanbase was starting to assume that he wouldn't even be in the game. NO ONE saw it coming when we found out who exactly we killed. Developers did consider that people who had read the book would catch on to particular things, so, bravo neowiz

And here's the other ingenious thing - they showed us the "Mad Donkey" boss early on in the demo and NOW I'm starting to wonder if this was a deliberate play. Almost everyone assumed this was already the game's iteration of Lampwick, so Romeo came as a surprise, and I think the proceeding story reveals about who the King of Puppets truly was were very effective.

also.. it's extremely cute what they did with the character. Of course, Romeo is the canonical name of Lampwick in Pinocchio, but the name "Romeo" is also probably the most heavily associated with Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet (which also takes place in Italy, as does Pinocchio!). And then we meet him in a theatre, and he puts on a play for us before we fight. Romeo supposedly had an affinity for acting, as Carlo did with the piano (I have heard this around on reddit, I don't know where this originates from, please lmk if you've seen these lore items). But most of all, Romeo and Juliet is a deeply remembered tragedy - like Lampwick in collodi's pinocchio. They are two young boys who didn't get away.

(maybe all of this was so obvious to everyone else but i love it still haha)

Fun to revisit this stuff after release with new clarity.

[To Reiterate - All of this is just my speculation]

[mapoeggplant]

skip to loafer chapter 55 general thoughts // spoilers

it's crazy to think that takamatsu-sensei would be able to condense all the points of what makes skip to loafer special in one chapter alone, but surprise: she did that, beautifully — as always.

like a hot summer night, everything about this chapter feels warm. I can also compare it to a hug. what I want to say in the end is that there's a lot of empathic points and moments on this chapters that brings out the best on sensei's writing and how she build her characters.

giving mika a chance to share her point of view right after so many chapters that focused so much on shima's struggles was a great move. the reason why I say this is because I can see mika as someone who's personality and character construction is very similar and linear to shima's. both of them have this scar of their past that keeps coming and going up to their adolescence and they are trying to find a way to surpass is — and both of their worries lie on loneliness, but a different kind for each one.

while shima fear loneliness as in disappointing everyone around him, mika feels it as in never finding a place she could really be who she wants to be. yes, she found a safe space with the girl group, but she still feels like she can't tell them everything, and I don't think she's wrong for that. even tho it's comforting and they make her happy, it's hard for her to really break this wall she took so long to build. it's not something you can change overnight.

and following this with nao connecting the dots from her past to present was amazing. that's because it was easily an introduction to nao's feelings about her hometown and all the pain she still feels in relation to it. even though she's living in tokyo with a new happy life, there will always be that teenage sitting on the beach, crying and feeling lonely in the back of her mind. by relating to mika's pain and loneliness, nao can finally find a way to put an end to what hurts her so much and make peace with her past. as i said before: she looks at mika and sees a second chance.

different from grumpy mukai, I don't think mika was in any way making that moment about herself. liking it or not, her crush on shima was the reason why her relationship with nao started, so it was the best way for her to make that bond stronger (and find a partner in crime).

now for the one!!! the one we never could imagine had thoughts: mukai! exploring a little more of mukai on this chapter elevates more the complexity of the scenes around them. and also, when he starts to think about mika's feelings and shima's complexity, we're transported to the beginning of the chapter, when mika is asking herself basically the same questions.

mukai realized how sharp and precise mika is, but something inside him still wants to deny. that's because she's "the type of girl" he thought he knew and didn't liked it, but now he's seeing a side from her that is challenging him on his own believes. it's a way for him to break a little out of his shell, to break from the stereotypes he once thought he knew.

there's a lot to come, specially because he's very curious about her — always had been. she's intriguing, beautiful and much braver than he thought she could be. for now, I'm happy that that's all that we have: a little "I notice this but I don't want to think about it" from him.

takamatsu-sensei relies herself on human connections, and here we are again, having the privilege to experience this. the whole chapter is a callback to relationships, bonds, the complexity of one another and our own. it's about connections, forgiveness, moving forward.

it might take time, but mika will find her peace sooner or later. I mean, if someone ever told teenage nao that she would be calling her boyfriend and inviting him to visit her hometown, do you think she would believe it? we're always moving on our own pace 💛

as always, thank you for reading, sorry for any mistakes (I just follow my stream of consciousness basically) and I hope we can talk more about it, together 💛

you can also find this thread on twitter

[thegaybluejay]

Okay hi I’m back with another ramble-y ATLA character analysis since this is low key my brand on here lmao-

Today I want to talk about Zuko from the lens of someone who also had to deconstruct. This will be long, but please bear with me!

I was raised in a very white conservative evangelical Christian bubble where literally EVERYONE I knew for the majority of my childhood and teenage years thought mostly the same way. There was a lot of othering and shaming of anyone who thought too differently. Even if it was sometimes said more passively than cruelly, there was always that underlying tone. “The others/the people outside of our group/the worldly ones are lost and need our help because we’re better than them!”

While I strived to not be cruel, my beliefs were still harmful. I lost a few friends when I got to my mid-late teenage years because I didn’t yet know how to challenge what I’d been taught.

I see so much of myself in Zuko.

Zuko was surrounded by propaganda his entire life. He was steeped in it - steeped in the blood of those that the system he supported/represented had hurt and killed.

Anger is a huge part of all of this. While my anger was never quite as outward as Zuko��s (I hid it fairly well and was always known as the “pretty good kid”), I can still so heavily relate to his anger. His anger at always falling just short of being good enough or perfect enough. His later anger at himself for not understanding how fucked up the system was sooner. His anger at the people that failed and hurt him. His anger at realizing how he failed and hurt other people. All of it.

I also understand his backslides in Book 2 and early Book 3. When you begin tackling the first layers of harmful shit you’ve been taught, it can quickly become so tempting to just call it quits and go back. You almost start to romanticize the simplicity of life before you began this journey. The rules and goals were so straightforward back then, and deconstructing is messy as hell. Even if you were deeply hurting in your old life, at least you weren’t so damn confused. You used to know your next steps, but now everything is in disarray and you don’t have a direction to rebuild in yet. Going back almost feels like it would be a survival tactic, a way to have a sense of control again. Zuko definitely 100% needed to atone for what he did in Ba Sing Se because it hurt others, and while I’d like to think I would’ve made a different choice in his shoes, I also get it on some level. The confusion stage sucks, and it’s not always linear either.

But then.

One day, something just clicks. You eventually deconstruct enough that you truly come to full terms with how fucked up it all is. And you realize that you don’t belong there anymore, and the version of you that DID belong was just a facade. The blinders fully come off, they’re never going back on, and a spark lights in you that prompts you to make a big change. The deeper you go, the more urgent this deconstruction becomes in your mind because holy fuck I have to do something about this. I want this shit out of my brain for good and I want to help make things better. I want to learn who I am and finally live that out.

THAT is one of the most pivotal points in the journey, and I loved seeing it within Zuko’s arc when he comes to this realization after the war meeting in Book 3 and leaves to join the Gaang. I also loved that they didn’t trust him the first time he came to them - both he as an individual and the system that he had once supported/represented had hurt these people, and it took some real apologies and some time to build up trust. It also wasn’t done with half assed centrism either - it was “I acknowledge that this system is completely broken and wrong and I will do everything in my power to help gut it from the top-down and restore it with love”.

This leads to another pivotal point in the journey - instead of being motivated by fear like you were when you were deep in the indoctrination or by the raw anger you first felt as you initially left, you start to be motivated by love. And it’s the most freeing thing.

It was so cool to see Zuko learn that, while his anger was a helpful tool (ie: the confrontation with his father and his overall anger at the corruption he saw in his nation), he couldn’t be fueled by it any longer. He had to find another motivation to keep going, and he was then taught by the Sun Warriors and the dragons how to be motivated by light and life and love and also how to use those alongside an anger that was finally righteous.

And with this, he was ready to fight. To fight for a cause he knew to be good. To fight arm in arm with his newly acquired family. To fight to fix what his nation had done to the world and to itself. To fight for love and peace instead of division and hate and destruction.

And wow is it a beautiful journey.

TL;DR - Zuko’s story is so powerful to those who are deconstructing and I love him so much! I also just enjoy doing character analysis hehe.

(I really love talking about ATLA, so if y’all want me to analyze other characters or even plotlines through a specific lens, feel free to submit an Ask and I will happily do so!!!)

(Also, quick ending note - this is just my personal experience with deconstruction! Other people’s retelling of their own deconstructions may be different from mine, and that’s totally okay!!)

[maikingsenseofit]

https://www.tumblr.com/miss-sweetea-pie/727558083762667520/listen-i-dont-like-kataang-and-maiko-because thoughts on this?

Excuse my candor but that post is kinda bullshit.

The key part to understand is OP says this:

“Zutara was just a lovely little treat and would have tied up everything in a lovely bow”

Except romance, especially romance that is reflective of real relationships, emotions, and journeys, isn’t something that can be neatly wrapped into a lovely bow. Relationships are messy, they don’t have a linear arc nor do they fit into thematic/narrative structures like The Hero’s Journey, etc. Relationships are replete with disagreements, sacrifices, and understandings that don’t magically appear or disappear the second the story ends on paper or on the TV. And that’s what makes Kataang and Maiko so powerful.

I see a lot of Zutara shippers obsess with this need for thematic and narrative cohesion, but not one can make a proper argument as to why their relationship towards the end needed to be romantic as opposed to the platonic one they had in the show. Why must two people, who started out as stark enemies on opposing sides of a war, need to fall in love? Is it not just as salient that they ended up as friends who protect each other, something that could have never been fathomed between the two of them? I actually love Bryke for not going the traditional enemies to lovers route, because it significantly reduces the impact of Zuko’s redemption and sacrifice, and Katara’s willingness to broach enemy lines due to her innate humanity. They didn’t do any of the things they did because they were head over heels in love with each other (they never once expressed romantic desire or attraction in another) but because they had a higher duty and purpose they needed to fulfill and a deeper empathy they needed to gain not only for each other, but other characters in ATLA.

The Maiko and Kataang arguments are just not in good faith. Kataang was set up from the very beginning and Aang had already reached the conclusion that she was such an integral part of his life that he wouldn’t let her go for anything (why would I want to let go of Katara)? Zuko already realized that he had to sacrifice his relationship with Mai for the greater good of the world when he writes her a letter and expresses his remorse against their portrait in the fire nation. The writers wrote Mai to turn on Azula to match Zuko’s sacrifice.

Both couples disagreements at the end werent going to make or break their relationship or their arcs because much of the ground work was already laid in the previous three seasons. The plot lines op talks about were explored throughout the series, they weren’t unearthed and festered only towards the very end. Compare that to Zuko and Katara’s relationship - where they were only on the same side and actually trusted each other in the last three episodes of the entire show. Most shippers actually agree with me when I say it would have been weird to have them magically kiss or suddenly develop feelings for each other in the finale.

Thanks for asking.

[fifia-writes]

Pillow Talk

Human Reader x Neteyam

Warnings: microscopic spice, Neteyam is aged up to 20 :P

Enjoy :)

Tip tip tip tip tip tip tip tip… We were in my room, small but cozy and despite the rain outside having ruined our camping plans we had a fine night of doing “human stuff” as Neteyam liked to call it. He didn't like the word camping because it implied that I didn't really live in tune with Pandora, that nature was to be visited and not lived in long term, and even though I agreed with him for the most part nothing could beat the feeling of stepping into the air conditioning after a long hot shower, the feeling of cool sheets on my fresh skin. Safe to say I liked my “human stuff”. We laid on my bed, that he just barely fit wholly onto, and listened to the pitter patter on my window as the storm worsened. It had been hours since eclipse had made the forest go dark and we were both slowly coming to the realization that Neteyam was not going to make it back home tonight.

“My father is going to skin me you know” He mumbled, eyes closed with a smile creeping its way up the corners of his lips.

“Mmmmm” I respond half asleep and unable to form coherent sentences with his arms around my waist, encasing me in his warmth.

“I’m serious y/n, if I don't find a way home soon you might never see me alive again” sarcasm and fake worry coat his tone.

Forcing my eyes open I take in his peaceful face, if he stopped going on about his father needing him home tonight I might’ve thought he was sleeping. “Unfortunately for your father the rain is holding you hostage here tonight”

Opening his eyes half way he lets out a light chuckle “Is it the rain or you keeping me here?”

“The rain” I retort, bringing my hand to the side of his jaw “Close your eyes again”

He obeys. Moving my hand from his jaw to trace my fingers over his lips, then up the finely built column of his nose and over his brow. I make sure to trace both sides keeping my invisible patterns symmetrical. I lift my hand for the first time since starting and make contact with a freckle just under his eye but above the apple of his cheek and softly trail my finger up over his eyelid.

“You know my mother used to do this for me when I was little, when I had trouble sleeping” I tell him.

“Mmmmm”

A soft smile pricks my lips at his sleepy response, he's always so serious around others. I mean I understand it, we're so young and while I’m traipsing around the lab with the science guys helping me with my studies he has the weight of an entire people on his shoulders. Expectations to be met. It's nice to see him soften, to be able to provide him a space to leave his tension behind.

“She called it painting my face, and would go from my head to my toe telling me how my toes were falling asleep, then my legs, and knees. And she would go on in this voice so hushed it sounded like it might have been a recording, and by the time she got back to my face I would be out cold” My brows and nose scrunch at the memory.

The rain came down harder as I continued mapping out his face with my fingers tracing the constellation of freckles that made their way up and down his face in linear patterns, making sure to pay attention to each and every one before moving on to the next, but before I can finish my rounds he tells me. “I bet our kids will love this”

I stop completely and stare up to him as his eyes snap open in realization “W-wait your* I mean-” he stutters out.

A smile that had been sprouting on my face grew big and before he got too flustered I stopped his sputtering and reassured him “I think our kids will like it too…if it's possible for humans and na’vi to have kids that is” Looking up into his wide eyes.

“I think we’ll manage just fine.” He responds, bringing a plush hand to my face. That's one thing that surprised me about Neteyam in the beginning, with all his training and hunting I expected his hands to be rough and calloused, with scars and such running across them as trophies for his hard work. But the first time I felt them, one on each of my arms, they were soft and warm. His hands were home.

“So you said I had to touch you all over to get you to fall asleep?” He questioned in a tone strikingly more playful than before.

My mouth dropped open in his change of pace and I grabbed a pillow from behind me and made quick contact with his face. “Teyam!”

A/N: 

eeehihihihiii idk If anyone will read this but I’ve had this scene playing in my head non stop for weeks and I had to write it down lmaoo. This is one of my first attempts at writing fanfic so I hope you enjoyed!! Lmk what else u wanna see and any feedback u have for me :) 

[iam93percentstardust]

Pop Star Fics

In honor of the Eras Tour movie finally being complete on streaming, here's a rec list of (mostly) Stevetony pop star and pop star-adjacent fics 💚💛💜❤️🩵🖤🩷🩶🤎💙🤍 Anyway, we don't have enough of these in this fandom so I'm hereby declaring that we should all write more of them (I'm doing my part; I'm almost done with the Fearless era for This Life Is Sweeter Than Fiction)

Written by Others

One Step Closer by scottxlogan (E) Tony Stark was pushed into popstar fame by his ambitious father early on, but over the span of more than two decades Tony has seen the highs and lows of stardom hitting rock bottom in more ways than one. Through it all there was always one person that Tony felt was his saving grace. Steve Rogers was always the one that got away and no matter how many times they tried to cross that line into love they couldn't quite get there. As Tony's once close friend and brief roommate, Steve turned Tony's world around in all the right ways until fate intervened and they were pulled in separate directions. Now fresh out of rehab on his 45th birthday and looking to keep from making the same mistakes, Tony reflects on his past and follows his heart to new beginnings hoping that it's not too late to find his way back to Steve in his hopes for a second chance. -I love that this Tony is closer to his canon age. It's a look at the pop star life from the other side once you're not the shiniest, brightest thing on the block anymore. The smut is great, the romance is lovely, and the ending is delightful ❤️

Baby, Just Say Yes by betheflame (M) In a world where Tony's life looks a lot like Taylor Swift's, Steve realizes there always more to omegas than meets the eye. -Everything flame writes is always amazing, even the things I never in a million years thought I would like, but this is just so lovely. It's soft and sweet, and I love the take on second gender dynamics that flame explores 💛

at his side by areiton (M) He meets Steve on a Sunday, wearing his old Eagles jersey and shorts so short his Mama fusses at him, and he grins, tousled curls and a devil may care grin, bare-faced and bare foot. “Hi,” he says, and then, like an introduction is necessary, like the whole world isn’t learning his name, he adds, “I’m Tony.” -I love bodyguard AUs so much, and arei absolutely delivers with this one. Top-notch pining, great use of the non-linear narrative (which arei is always fantastic at, in my opinion), and I love how the eras were changed to fit this story 💙

Written by Me

This Life is Sweeter Than Fiction (series) A series of interconnected fics, following Tony Stark from his time as a country singer to the world's biggest pop star. Loosely inspired by Taylor Swift. -I feel weird hyping up my own fics, but if you're willing to follow me as I explore multiple relationships, second gender dynamics, and reinterpret the fandom's hatred for Tony after Civil War through the lens of the Reputation era, I feel like you'd really like this series. Like I said, I'm almost done writing the Fearless era, so that'll be coming in the next few weeks 💚

False God (E) The first time Steve meets him, Gillian has all sixteen dancers sitting in a circle on the floor of the rehearsal studio, where she makes them go around the room and introduce themselves. Tony is the youngest of them at nineteen, has two cats currently in his sister’s custody, and got his start in ballet before being so inspired by the 1989 tour that he cross trained just in the hopes that one day he could dance with Sharon. Steve had made a note of it in the way that he makes a note of everyone he works with, felt a little old because he had been a dancer on the 1989 tour and now this baby is saying he was inspired by them, and then gotten distracted by the next girl. -In which neither of them is the pop star! They're backup dancers for pop star Sharon instead, which I think is very fun of me 🩷

When Emma Falls in Love (G) “Nice?” Kamala exclaims. “It’s way past nice! It’s the cutest thing ever because his bracelet had his phone number on it! He was hoping to ask you out!” Tony blinks. Steve Rogers, All-American good boy and quarterback extraordinaire, wants to throw his hat in the ring? He wouldn’t be the first person to toss his name out there, but most of them have just tried to DM him or tag him in their posts. No one’s shown the kind of thought and effort that Steve apparently put into his declaration. It’s a level of understanding and appreciation of who Tony is and everything he’s cultivated in his career that no one else has put in. It is, to use Kamala’s word, cute. -In your life, you'll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team... or maybe not? Anyway, this is just a very fluffy romance with instantly smitten Steve and Tony 💜

Glitch (T) “Ms. Potts, my name is Steve Rogers, and I’m Justin Hammer’s roommate," Steve says. “Oh, what does that asshole want now?” she asks. “I don’t think he wants anything—except to make a quick buck and ruin Mr. Stark’s reputation.” -This is a pop star AU in the loosest definition of the word. Tony is a pop star but he doesn't get to do anything pop starry things in this AU. It's mostly about Steve, but if you like throwing popcorn at the screen whenever Justin Hammer shows up, people getting their comeuppance, and Steve being the standup guy he is, then this is the fic for you 🖤

Death by a Thousand Cuts (T) “Tony?” Pepper asks, and he can tell just by the look on her face that whatever she has to tell him, it isn’t good. “What?” he asks. She looks uncharacteristically hesitant. Pepper isn’t supposed to be hesitant. She’s supposed to be barge-in, guns-blazing, unapologetically confident. “The news leaked,” she says eventually. -One of my favorite tropes, breaking up and making up! Idk I just really like writing stories where neither of them did anything wrong, they just couldn't work things out in those circumstances, but turns out being apart is even worse 🩶

Aaaaand a bonus winteriron fic for you!

Kissed by a Muse (E) Two years ago, Bucky returned home from the war, disillusioned, injured, and angry. Two months ago, he started working at Rogers Records, recording other bands when all he wants is for his band to be the one performing. Two minutes ago, he ran into a mysterious stranger at the grocery store who argued with him over the last box of Eggos, kissed him, and ran off with the waffles. And now he can't stop thinking about him. Bucky sees him everywhere: on the album cover he's recording, walking by his sound booth. And then, as he's staying late at work one night, he hears someone singing down the hall. But that can't be right - because that's his song, one that he's never performed for anyone. He isn't really surprised though to find that it's the stranger who kissed him in the grocery store that night. Only someone who can seemingly appear and disappear like this stranger can could possibly be singing a song he's never sung for anyone. The stranger offers him a chance: a chance to get his life back on track, to perform for the owner of the biggest record company in the world, a chance to get his band back and make it big. With an offer like that, how could Bucky refuse? -If you're familiar with the 1980s film Xanadu with Olivia Newton John, Gene Kelly, and that guy from The Warriors, this is that but with Bucky and Tony being, well, Bucky and Tony 🤎

[misc-obeyme]

-🐆 You know I think that's exactly why it's taking them so long to release the new season, because they have to much plot holes to cover. Is it the whole Lilith thing again? Eh, let's not get into that subject. What made sense to me, probably just my mind filling in the blanks, is that MC eventually, gradually regained some memories, a bit at a time, while the brothers remained sort of like a constant memory that is a core one (I hope I am making sense). It could be also that Solomon used some magic to help MC stabilize memory wise. Or just shown pictures on his DDD. A lot of plot things in this game (especially implied sex scenes, for obvious reasons) are left blank. Usually they aren't that important but in this case they are! So hopefully they do explain deeper in the new season. Also the term "time soup" sort of made sense to me, since I stand by the theory that time cannot be linear as we think it is. So if mc, from their present, went back to the past, mc brought all the memories and experiences with them. Meaning, the past is "changed" but not really. Just like it was changed in season 1 in og where mc was killed, but not really. So the time soup thing started wayyyyy back in the lore. Because if, they went back to the past, in a linear timeline, I think it would have left much less effect on the brothers and on the way everything unfolded. For example, the whole Cocytus journey. Mc presumably had an affect on the brothers even back in the celestial realm (I was just re-reading season 3 of og where mc ate Solomon's sandwich and was sent back in time) so Lucifer would have been locked up in Cocytus either way, but what did release him from the shackles? Did the brothers go after him even without mc? Did he still had his outburst against Diavolo? Was it that it is a time soup and mc was destined, in the this world logic, to hurtle back in time to this specific point and help the brothers, who know them but not really, who have a pact with them but not really? Also, in hard lessons, what the hell did Solomon made the brothers do to repay him for breaking them free from the curse that changed their personalities? Did he make them take a pact with him??? If that's true, I am mortified, really. See, I can ramble for more, but I don't feel bad about it lol, though you of course don't have to either! I don't only request your rambles, now I demand them, it matches my own!

I'll just go and watch dr who, my head is hazy, at least that show makes more sense with time travel If you watch it too, did you see the episode with Jinxx?? It was SO good.

I mean, they sure do have a lot of plot to resolve in the upcoming season! I don't know how far in advance they plan the story, but it feels very disjointed most of the time lol.

MC's memory issues never really registered for me, tbh. I always interpreted it as an MC who still has all those memories from OG? I was under the impression that they changed some of the story in the first lesson of NB, but I never went back and replayed it. So I told NB at the beginning that I knew the brothers and I guess that left out the part about MC having lost their memory? Or perhaps I just forgot about it???

I just always played it as MC remembered everything from the start, so I haven't really considered that part of the story too much. But I think the idea that MC's memories slowly come back makes sense. Or that Solomon filled them in, since there's plenty of time where they're living together for him to do that. It seems odd that they wouldn't at least mention either of these things, though, even if they didn't show it happening.

I don't have a problem with the "time soup" theory in a more general sense. I've read about theories where time is not linear in our actual reality. I just don't like it as a storytelling mechanic. Lesson 16 really confused me. I didn't realize what had happened until I read it again and until I had seen other people's thoughts on it. MC went back in time, but then one MC just disappears? It made no sense to me.

The issue I have with the time travel stuff is that it's a mess to figure out. I think it's good that people can kind of work it out in a way that makes sense to them, but nobody's idea of the time travel shenanigans in this game are the same. Everybody's interpretation has been different from what I've seen. They never established any rules for their time travel, so it's just confusing.

Hmm. Okay, so here's how I think about it. In this case, the time travel is part of magic. And when you have magic in a story, you have to make up the rules for it yourself. My experience has been that if you're going to use magic as a plot device, you have to set out specific rules for how it works. Otherwise, just about anything could happen. That's the part I don't like. The rules aren't clearly defined, they're just soup and that means nothing to me.

They could say time is not linear. They could say that in the original version of the past, MC wasn't there and that means anything could have happened. Maybe the events were similar to what they were when MC was there. But they could have been completely different. Maybe Lucifer didn't even end up in Cocytus at all. It's impossible to say what happened in the original version of that timeline.

Then MC goes to the past and changes things. No matter how careful MC is, their presence alters the past irrevocably. And Solomon is there, too, so potentially altering things even more.

Okay, I could accept all that. But having everybody in the past feel that there's something special about MC's guest room? Having glimpses and memories of a future they couldn't possibly have any knowledge of? This is the part that makes no sense. Does this mean that those characters all had those same memories in the original version of the past, the one where MC didn't show up? If time is a soup, does that mean that all these characters are experiencing all those timelines simultaneously and can have memories of all of them all the time whether MC is present or not?

If that's the case, how come the characters didn't have any memories of MC in OG? Season three hinted that MC may have impacted them in the Celestial Realm, but those memories never manifested before that incident. If time is a soup, shouldn't they have had those memories of MC from the very start?

My issue is that they just threw this in there because they're trying to explain away what they've already done. It doesn't feel like they went into this story with any of these intentions (and like to be fair they probably didn't).

I just feel like they could have explained the time travel in a way that meshed better with the story we already had.

And you know while I don't think Solomon made them make pacts with him, I can see him suggesting it! I suspect they'd have been like um no not on your life buddy lol. I love him so much.

OH BOY well, anyway, you demanded rambles, so here it is lol!!! This is just me getting WAY too into these details. I don't usually do this because in the end, it doesn't really matter! I'm willing to overlook this stuff because I love the characters so much. And I also very much believe that everyone should interpret the story in the way that makes the most sense for them! This is just my personal opinion, I think everybody's opinion and interpretation is valid!

I've definitely seen stories that handle time travel much better. I never did get into Dr Who, but I have heard good things!

[lurkingshan]

Young and Imperfect Character Growth

When I initially discussed Part 4 with @bengiyo, we had different takeaways about the way the story ended. I have always found the ending to be hopeful, if not happy, but it hit a little more bleak for Ben. I do think his read of it is completely legitimate--when you re-read the final passages of this book, they are deeply, devastatingly sad ("Gyu-ho. My only wish.") But our conversation got me thinking about why I found hope in the ending despite that, and @hyeoni-comb hit on part of it in their commentary:

and it's so important that, after Gyu-ho left, Young sat with that loss. was processing it and working through it. was openly affected by it and unable to bury his emotions or completely hide behind his previous tactics of hooking up and drinking. because - as much as it hurts - it signifies change.

The way Young actually mourned Gyu-ho, rather than simply moving on and pretending he didn't matter like with his previous partners, was a huge sign of growth. Young is a frustrating character, because he rarely actually says what he means or directly admits his feelings. You have to do a lot of reading between the lines with him, and look for the context around the things he does and does not say to understand the truth of how he feels. In our discussion of part 3, I noted that Young never actually says that Gyu-ho is the love of his life, but he doesn't have to because we can tell it's true by the way he thinks about him and describes their relationship.

But in part 4, Young got more explicit about how much he missed Gyu-ho, and he was actively sorting through his memories of him and working out his regrets as he attempted to move on. For Young, the master deflector, to admit someone mattered to him this much is actually a very big deal. For him to try his old coping mechanisms and have them fail and have him realize that, also huge. For him to name his deep sadness over losing Gyu-ho and actively try to work out his feelings via his writing is a very important step. It was enough to make me think Young may one day be able to understand his own self-sabotaging tendencies, figure out how to prevent the most harmful behaviors, and have a successful relationship.

And so for me, despite no romantic happily ever after, the ending didn't feel so bleak. I was happy to see Young beginning to work through his feelings and heal, though admittedly we left him in the rough, early stages of that process. Seeing his growth, as imperfect and non-linear as it may be, gave me hope for Young and his future.

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

2023 Writing Roundup

Thanks @inexplicablymine for the tag! This was a lot of fun to do

January

Satisfied (Never Have Been, Never Will Be) — RWRB, T, 833

Or, a rewrite of the lyrics of "Satisfied" from Hamilton set at the beginning of Philip and Martha's wedding, except Alex is a little flirtier and a little less repressed, told from Henry's pov.

February

Some Element of Mystery — RWRB, M, 4k

Or, five times that Alex thought Henry was a stripper, plus one time Henry corrected him. Written for the informal stripper!Henry fest.

March

Was working on finishing my master's thesis instead of fic for the most part, though I did write a few drabbles and make progress on my reincarnation au (see November)

April

Burn (They're Watching Us/I Hope That They) — RWRB, T, 295

Or, a rewrite of the lyrics of "Burn" from Hamilton, set immediately after the email leak, told from Alex's pov.

May

Graduated/finished my master's 🎉🎉 while also writing more of my reincarnation au (see November), including some major revisions

June

Got sick for part of the month, then spent the rest of it furiously working on my brownstone anniversary exchange fic (see July) doing tons of (probably unnecessary) research about Saturday Night Live and royal weddings.

July

SNL | Season 45 Episode 2 | HRH Prince Henry & FSOTUS Alex Claremont-Diaz — RWRB, M, 9k

Or, the fic in which I said bet and sent firstprince onto Saturday Night Live instead of having Alex go to London for a weekend. Written for the Brownstone Anniversary Fic Exchange.

August

Spent the month trying to make a lot of progress on reincarnation au (see November) and finally got some betas

September

Had a bad case of writer's block for most of the month, then went insane and wrote something for firstprince week (see October) despite promising myself I wasn't going to participate

October

Not a Day I Don't Miss (Those Rude Interruptions) — RWRB, T, 2k

Or, a Henry character study set during the week following Henry running from the lake house, loosely inspired by Taylor Swift's "Last Kiss". Written for firstprince week.

November

Red, White, and Royal Switcheroo — RWRB, T, 6k

Or, a body swap au set during Alex's "make nice" trip to England in which Alex and Henry have to play at being each other, and Alex discovers Henry's role is, in fact, very much not much easier to play. Written for Halloween, Huh?

Every Time My Heart Swings Back to You — RWRB, M, ~90k (ongoing)

Or, a reincarnation au set mostly in the modern era with college students Alex and Henry trying to piece together the story of their past lives as a knight and a prince through a series of non-linear flashbacks.

December

Trying my best to finish reincarnation au while also plotting out a very ambitious fic for a new fandom (mysterious lotus casebook) that I'll be trying to tackle in 2024. Also the month I got super into cdramas/c-ent.

--

Wow, compiling all this made me realize I wrote a whole lot more than I thought: posting 9 stories and writing around 50k new words! I also participated in a lot more fan events than ever before and finally begin sharing the story that's been living in my brain and docs only for almost three years. All in all, a very satisfying year for me while also looking forward to new projects in 2024~

I'm probably one of the last wants to get to this but tagging a few others who I don't think have done this (let me know though if you have) @14carrotghoul @formorewishes @affectionatelyrs @anincompletelist @celaestis1 @celeritas2997 @cricketnationrise, plus open tag because I'd love to see anyone else's writing year in review~

[mayy-bby]

Idk if it’s just me, but I find that 911 has a hard time following through with their character arcs and this leads to redundant storytelling (in some cases). We’ve seen buck go through this journey of never feeling enough/wanted/loved time and time again and somehow we always end up right at the start of it? After buck begins is seemed like they’d keep us in the loop of buck’s therapy and do check ins to see where he’s at in terms of his belonging but they sidelined that and brought it back up now in season 6. Which some people see as them not forgetting the important details, but is that what it is? Instead showing his progress from last time, we get a whole episode on buck coming to the same realization he always comes to (that he is loved and wanted and enough/family is not always blood you you build it). And this isn’t to say I didn’t like the episode but we’ve seen this exact thing before, just with a different set up. And the thing is we always see this part but we hardly see what comes after that. The part he follows through with his realizations. The part where the progress is shown. I know some people are gonna “growth is not linear”. Well yeah, but first, it’s not completely stagnant either and two, this is a tv show and you have to move the story forward at a quicker pace and show progress for storytelling. This doesn’t mean the person can’t have the same issues arise again, but let’s not take the person right back to square one to where the lessons from last time become non existent. Now we have Eddie going on another date which most people are saying is going to be some sort of failed attempt at getting back into things and what will lead eddie to the final buddie realization. Ummmmm, what was Ana’s purpose then? That breakup was so pivotal but there was zero follow through/follow up. And I can already feel some people wanting to say, “well maybe the follow up will happen now after his date with marisol.” But no. We shouldn’t have to wait like this insane amount of time to see the the after math of something major. I can’t even recall if Eddie had a proper conversation about the breakup with anyone? Or even a decent passing mention? It’s like it never happened. Maybe if he continued to talk about it after it happened here and there, then him going on this date would make more sense. Like just knowing a little more about Eddie’s mindset when breaking up with Ana/coming to the realization (beyond the whole instant family thing which was sort of vague ngl) that she isn’t the one and why - it would be soo telling. I mean, they could have at least had Eddie mention something along the lines of “I don’t know exactly why, but I knew for sure Ana wasn’t the one for me. I think maybe because Shannon and I got together and then pregnant so young, I didn’t have that much experience with love and dating. I feel like I’m still figuring that part of myself out and dating Ana helped me find my footing even though she isn’t the one.” Blah blah, etc etc. By getting some insight into his mindset after the breakup, him going on a casual date like this one would make so much more sense. It still would be annoying but at least we’d have some insight into why he’s even trying this when things with Ana ended the way they did. But they just left us with a very ambiguous and coded breakup that said a lot but also very little. But anyway. I actually don’t know if this date will be a one time thing, but either they’re going to be redundant with his love life once again or they’re going to settle with her as the final love interest. Kinda annoying either way