#so i just spiced it up for the fun of the meme/template and more fun to how he'd call people

[mastcrmarksman]

[ text: C. Barton 💜 ] Hey, if you've got any plans for the weekend, I recommend clearing your calendar. [ text: C. Barton 💜 ] Only because if things go according to *my* plans, you won't be walking until Monday. But for fun reasons this time. [ text: C. Barton 💜 ] Also, we finally have coffee again at the Sanctum. Sorry about that.

( assuming this is sent mid-week. also, i'm sorry for his dull contact name, but clint getting a heart is about as romantic as he gets as far a tech goes 🤣 )

[ Contact ; Stephen S. ⸺ Note ; Cute Stranger 💜✨]

[ sent ] ⸺ done calendar has been tossed out [ sent ] ⸺ friday counts as the weekend right? [ sent ] ⸺ do i get any more hints to your plans? [ sent ] ⸺ its just such a long two days away [ sent ] ⸺ i need something to tide me over [ sent ] ⸺ coffee my beloved :D [ sent ] ⸺ you are forgiven <3 [ sent ] ⸺ that deserves a thorough reward on your part

[wyrd-syster]

FANFIC ROUNDUP: 2023

LIST OF FANWORKS

POSTED

lend me some sugar (I am your neighbor) | Haladriel neighbors AU | E | 2/2

tell me something true (or tell me nothing at all) | Haladriel "This is How You Lose the Time War" AU | E | one-shot

it's a dangerous game | Haladriel Venetian-style "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" AU | E | one-shot | dead dove

dig up the bones (but leave the soul alone) | Haladriel canon divergence | E | 9/? (wip)

living la dolce vita (I’ve been saving all my summers for you) | Haladriel "Stepford Wives" cult AU | E | one-shot

take a chance and roll the dice (say it once, say it twice) | Haladriel Halloween-themed drabble collection | M | 8/8

there is a light (and it never goes out) | Haladriel Hanukkah-themed canon divergence | T | 1/2 (wip)

sugar and spice (and everything...) | Haladriel neighbors AU | E | sequel to lend me some sugar | one-shot

Total words: 127,458, almost triple my output from last year. I am flabbergasted.

UNPOSTED WIPS

oh boy. Not including wips noted above:

we were angels, once (don't you remember?) | Haladriel immortal soulmates au | M (probably?) | one-shot

break the lock if it don't fit (love sticks, sweat drips) | Haladriel "Ocean's Eleven" AU | E | one-shot (title subject to change)

and on the creature scratches (it doesn't know how to get out) | Haladriel mob AU | E| multi-chapter sequel to oh, can’t you hear that scratching? (there’s something at the door) 

Untitled third installment of the Haladriel like a good neighbor series

Untitled Haladriel Rumpelstiltskin AU

TOTAL # OF COMPLETED WORKS/FANDOMS WRITTEN IN

Six completed works written for the Sauron (Halbrand)/Galadriel (Haladriel) fandom, The Rings of Power

OVERALL THOUGHTS

it's like I can't consume media anymore without being like "*leonardo dicaprio meme* this could be a Haladriel AU!"

PERSONAL FAVORITE?

I'm going to say living la dolce vita (I’ve been saving all my summers for you), mostly because of the amount of work I put into it. Honestly, I never thought I'd finish it! I restarted this story six or seven times — I just could not find the voice. But I am so pleased with the outcome. I think of everything I've written this year, this story really underscored to me that, beyond "flashes of inspiration," writing is a lot of hard work that needs consistent attention and practice!

MOST UNDERAPPRECIATED?

I definitely think this one is it's a dangerous game, my Dr. Jekyll and Hyde AU. I initially started writing this for a Gothic-themed challenge, abandoned for a bit, then finished in a flurry for Haladriel Week. This fic is also a close second for my favorite of the year. I love a Gothic aesthetic and I made sure this story was chock full of it. I was also so purposeful with my writing voice for this story and, to me, it doesn't sound like anything else I've written.

MOST POPULAR?

Oh without a doubt, lend me some sugar (I am your neighbor)! 

STORY WITH THE SEXIEST MOMENT?

I mean, this is so subjective, but I think the somnophilia scene from it's a dangerous game takes the cake for me! I wrote it in one sitting during my lunch break and my god was it hard to go back to work after this...

An excerpt from the end of the scene: Instead, he adjusts her skirts and melts into the darkness, leaving her as he found her; boneless and wet, flushed with heat and ripe for the taking. 

MOST FUN STORY TO WRITE?

Fun is a strong word, but I was the story I felt was most fulfilling to write was tell me something true (or tell me nothing at all). I already had some of the template letter concepts in my notes from a twitter conversation much earlier in the year, and expanding on them, while building the scenes around them, was a really fun exercise.

HARDEST?

I'm not going to lie, most of them! I used to be the type of writer who would have one flash of inspiration, write it up at a mad sprint, then quit writing until I was struck with another mad idea. I wrote for so many prompt and themed challenges this year that I was required to be more intentional about story building and more consistent with my writing — even when it was hard, even when I hated everything I wrote down. Felt a lot like muscle training at the gym!

BIGGEST SURPRISE?

My output really surprised me!! I complain to my therapist all the time that I'm shit at finishing things, but it's hard to deny the truth when it's staring me in the face: six complete stories, two wips that I will complete! And not just the quantity of my output, but the quality too. I am proud of, and really like, everything I published!

I mean, don't ask me how my social life is going lol, but at least my writing life is going well!

DID YOU TAKE ANY RISKS IN WRITING THIS YEAR?

Dipping my toe into Dark Fics for sure, which is new for me. But beyond that, just engaging with the fandom as a whole! I firmly believe that writing/story-telling is a communal activity and I am beyond grateful to have found that community. It's the first real fan-space I've been a real part of, and it's definitely improved my writing.

MOST UNINTENTIONALLY TELLING STORY?

My life is too boring to translate to fic lol. But I did not have to dig very deep to write the depression beats in living la dolce vita (I’ve been saving all my summers for you). A lot of what Galadriel goes through — the listlessness, the anger, the selfishness — is stuff I also struggle with during depressive episodes.

FAVORITE LINES/SCENES?

I like them all lol but these are a few that I know others, including my fiancé, have really liked:

dig up the bones (but leave the soul alone): “My lady, if I had a dragon’s tooth for every time you told me not to worry while you went careening off into peril, I’d have a smiling crown for my troubles.”

lend me some sugar (I am your neighbor): And she shatters, then, like glass; a thousand glittering pieces sailing off into the light. Irreparably damaged, ground to dust — edges sharpening as they fall into a mosaic of destruction. There is no end and no beginning. A lifetime of little deaths folding in on themselves, one on top of the other.

tell me something true (or tell me nothing at all): I am drowning in this ocean of blood. And you — you are not here to pull me to the surface as you once did. How could you, when you are wave and anchor both?

there is a light (and it never goes out): She can offer him no words of comfort, no platitudes to ease his sorrows. But she can offer this. The soft touch of her lips to his, the gentle stroke of her fingers across his cheek. She cannot mend a broken heart, but she can hold it for a while, cup it in her palms and keep it safe. She can pour her light into his darkened soul, weave together a dream where they are bound and they are whole. If only just this once.

MY FAVE PART OF FANDOM IN 2023

Literally just having this fandom. Having this community of wonderful, kind, incredibly talented people I can talk to, get advice from, brainstorm with!! I have made so many wonderful friends and I will be forever grateful.

2024 WRITING AMBITIONS

I want to continue developing a consistent writing habit, preferably once a day. Ideally, I'll become to type of girlie who wakes up at 5am and writes for two hours before work, but let's be real, I'm way to sleepy for that!

I also want to focus on two specific things: writing faster and writing less. First, I am, in my eyes, a slow writer — without that "flash of inspiration," it can take me a few days to write a single scene. Mostly because I do not follow my own advice and have to get everything perfect in the first draft. Second — as you can see from this post!!! — I have always been the type of writer who goes "why use one word when you can use ten?" I want to be able to write shorter stories without feeling like I'm compromising on my vision.

2024 FICS ON THE IMMEDIATE HORIZON

chapter two of there is a light (and it never goes out) 

the immortal soulmates AU

dig up the bones (but leave the soul alone)*  (which I think will be on hiatus until I can get a few chapters ahead before posting).

Thanks to @liminal-zone for the format, @conundrumoftime and @thecoziestbean inspiration!

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

Why is SpongeBob so damn meme-able?

Evil Patrick. Blurry Mr. Krabs. Primitive Sponge. SpongeBob Squarepants's finest episodes may have long since aired, but the show, a perfect show, continues to delight in meme form.

SpongeBob memes have been an internet mainstay for the larger part of the 2010s. In fact, you've probably seen at least one Tired SpongeBob on Twitter today. Last month, the "Krusty Krab vs. Chum Bucket" meme enjoyed its moment in the sun. Before that, it was Evil Patrick, or Savage Patrick, depending who you ask. That one was so powerful that even brands got in on the fun — several weeks late, of course.

SEE ALSO: Wholesome memes aren't just cute, they're subversive as h*ck

But what's the secret formula that makes SpongeBob so meme-able?

Me leaving the pot in the sink because “it needs to soak” pic.twitter.com/8q29xu4ua2

— Andre D Thompson (@AndreDThompson) March 1, 2018

Of course, a lot of SpongeBob's meme appeal has to do with who's creating memes these days: people who grew up with the show. SpongeBob SquarePants has been on the air since 1999, but its golden years continued until The SpongeBob SquarePants movie came out in 2004. After that, it's widely considered to have jumped the shark, but there are still some good episodes in the later seasons — meaning that even younger teens likely caught one at some point.

"Everyone knows what SpongeBob is," one fan said via text. (When asked about his favorite SpongeBob meme, he replied, "tHiS oNe.") It's true: for many online communities, the early aughts are prime childhood nostalgia territory. That makes them perfect meme fodder.

SEE ALSO: Use the 'Krusty Krab vs. Chum Bucket' meme to share your strongest takes

"When someone posts a SpongeBob meme, they can be assured that their audience knows what they're talking about," meme expert Jason Wong, who runs the product lab Dank Tank, said in an interview. Because of that baseline familiarity, he explained, there's room for deep cut references — which means a deeper, more nuanced pool of material. And because the show has been on for so long — 11 seasons and over 200 episodes have aired, with more on the way — the pool is also unbelievably wide. Like an ocean, one could say.

Take, for instance, the "my leg" meme, which refers not to a specific episode of the show, but a joke that runs throughout multiple seasons. My Leg is arguably one of the more popular SpongeBob memes — it even inspired Fred MyLeg, the Twitter name attached to @foxygrandpa62, a mainstay SpongeBob meme account. People know what it means. And yet, in the show, it's not even a plot point. It's just a small motif. 

Such is the cultural power of SpongeBob.

Aside from its ubiquity, the show is just relatable. Its cast of characters is not only huge, but varied in personality, which means every human quirk imaginable (SpongeBob's disarming earnestness, Squidward's angsty cynicism) has its moment in the sun. Wong, for example, said his favorite SpongeBob meme is Mocking SpongeBob, which pairs text in alternating caps with the below image.

"It's passive aggressive, which is just like me," he explained.

Him: *leaves me on delivered last night* Him this morning: "good morning beautiful" Me: gOOd MOrIng beAuTiFul pic.twitter.com/vfx4YJI0so

— adryanna celeste Ⓥ (@adryzzle) May 7, 2017

Lillian, another fan, said her favorite SpongeBob meme is a particularly earnest image of SpongeBob popping out of his own mailbox with the caption "me replying back to people .02 seconds after they text me." (There are literally hundreds of versions of this on Twitter.)

"I reply really quickly," she said.

Image: Nickelodeon

On the other end of the meme spectrum, it's undeniable that SpongeBob, while certainly earnest, is also pretty gross sometimes. There's SpongeBob's face after Squidward tries a Krabby Patty. There's the macro image of the Nasty Patty. There's Spongebob cutting a huge pimple off his nose during the Krusty Krab training video. There's also the disturbing image below, which comes from the Season 2 episode "Squid's Day Off."

It is genuinely hard to look at. It's also begging for a screenshot.

me, on my 257th bad selfie, about to have a nervous breakdown pic.twitter.com/IKExsHQQr1

— Peter Marshall (@PeterJMarshall) April 5, 2018

It's not just the images, either. There are the show's ubiquitous time cards, which are almost too easy to customize. There are the quote templates, like SpongeBob's "I'll have you know I stubbed my toe last week while watering my spice garden, and I only cried for twenty minutes," which spawned a slew of riffs — mostly graphic ones, yes, but a few funny jokes, too.

SEE ALSO: Sparkles are all you need to make a good meme

And there are meme-able sounds, too, like Patrick's bizarre "leedle leedle leedle lee" from the Season 2 episode "Shanghaied." That clip was pretty much tailor-made for the Vine enthusiast. So is the strangely compelling moment when SpongeBob blow-dries a droplet of paint, then says, smugly, "yeah."

To be clear, we haven't even scratched the surface here. These days, a new SpongeBob meme emerges every week. There's probably one brewing in the depths of Twitter right now. Who knows? 

Wong says he wouldn't be surprised if SpongeBob memes keep popping up for three to four more years. It makes sense — even if younger memers haven't seen the best episodes, they've definitely been exposed to them through the internet. Plus, there are virtually hundreds of quotable SpongeBob SquarePants moments that remain untouched by Online's magic wand. (When will "I'm ugly and I'm proud" get the attention it deserves?) Like the fabled Patty Vault, the treats are endless.

And, of course, there are more characters to be explored than just SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward. "I wouldn't be surprised if there was a [major] Mrs. Puff or Sandy meme in the future," Wong theorized. 

There probably will be — if the "my leg" guy can make it, we'd like to believe that Sandy's iconic hibernation face has some internet juice left.

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