#so if anyone's interested; i'd be super grateful! <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[lakesbian]

twig faq to answer all of the asks i got regarding my liveblog

Q: holy shit twig turned out bad huh A: yeah

Q: should i read twig? A: no. it's bad

Q: what about the parts of twig that were good though? i noticed that there were parts of twig that seemed awesome before everything suddenly exploded A: okay let me elaborate. the first ~13 arcs of twig are really really endearing when they're focusing on the lambs. when they're being about the lambs, they range anywhere from "cute" to "extremely fun" to "genuinely super compelling" to "shit that made me cry (positive)." we have high points such as:

12yo sylvester lambsbridge fumbles 3 people with crushes on him harder than anyone's ever fumbled in their life in the span of like 7 hours maximum

sylvester lambsbridge does transhet biopunk brokeback mountain

wildbow writes rose thorburn but if she were a hardass trans girl (she's the one doing transhet biopunk brokeback mountain with sy)

gordon dies and lillian copes by taking some of sy's drug that gives him turbo-adhd

helen is there

sylvester lambsbridge experiences what i earnestly believe to be one of the cruelest things wildbow has ever done to any of his protagonists

lots of other stuff, i'm abbreviating here

but the reason i say the first ~13 arcs of twig are good when they're focusing on the lambs is that twig is prone to slogging, strikingly mediocre fight scenes--sy can't fight for Shit, but wildbow still insists on describing, like, sylvester trying & failing to hit someone with a wooden plank with the same gratuitous, lengthy detail as taylor inventing a spider-based saw trap for someone. and unlike the spider-based saw trap, it's not interesting to read about. the arcs take an episodic format, and what this means is that virtually every arc goes on way too long, contains at minimum 40% more tediously detailed fight scenes than are actually necessary, and then leaves you feeling jarred when wildbow inevitably timeskips to the next arc just as the prior one was really getting into the emotional swing of things. i also have a (quite possibly subjective?) sense that twig wasn't as well-developed and thought-out as, e.g., pact, and oftentimes the setting conceit (1900s biopunk frankenstein-y british empire) doesn't feel like it's hitting quite as hard as it should.

for all of these reasons, i wouldn't have rated the first ~13 arcs of twig any more generously than in the 3.5-4 star range while i was reading them, but that's still an overall rating of good. i wouldn't still be thinking about some of the things from the first ~13 arcs of twig if they weren't overall good. if all of twig was the same quality as the first ~13 arcs, i would recommend it to people who i feel like could tolerate the pacing issues & would feel reading about the lambs was worth it.

but. BUT. BUT-

Q: so, twig turns out really bad, huh? what went wrong? A:

it is not all the same quality as the first 13 arcs. it turns out really bad the last 7 arcs are actually atrocious

the first thing that comes to mind if you ask me "what went wrong with twig" is that wildbow tries to write a trans woman as one of the main characters, and he does it badly. miss jessie ewesmont, my new favorite girl whom we need to get the fuck out of a wildbow novel. i think she was written extremely well--and in fact one of the top 2 characters in the book--prior to wildbow trying to handle her coming out. i'd even say the foreshadowing for it was perfectly well done and enjoyable. but after she comes out, during the last 7 arcs of the book?

you know how trans women are often victims of being treated as undervalued, disposable girlfriends, who are expected to coddle & cater to their partner's every whim while receiving effectively nothing in return? and you know how trans women are often treated as if they should be grateful for receiving (what is often less than) the literal bare minimum? and you know how trans women are frequently treated as if it's completely implausible for anyone to find them genuinely attracted or desirable, let alone worth pursuing or putting effort into?

yeah, the last 7 arcs of twig contain untold tens of thousands of words of wildbow reinventing all of that from first principles. this is a subjective experience, but it genuinely felt worse to read than amy dallon. at one point, the Disposable Trans Girlfriend in question literally says "i appreciate you not killing me" after she gets stabbed in her sleep by her boyfriend, sylvester. it's beyond parody. i've never said "WE HAVE TO HIT WILDBOW WITH HAMMERS" more in my goddamned life than while reading the last 7 arcs of twig. Transmisogyny Fucking City. it's a completely unforgivable and miserable reading experience.

and speaking of unforgivable and miserable reading experiences involving bigoted handling of a main character...onto Item No. 2 on the list of writing decisions that ruin twig! the ableism.

wildbow wants all of the lambs to--due to being ill-fated human experiments--have set expiration dates. one of the Main Points hanging over the entire narrative of twig is that every single lamb is, in all likelihood, going to die of complications from the way they've been experimented on before they're even twenty. two of them do die from those complications before the story is even halfway over: jamie's entire mind & sense of being is regularly taken out of his body, and one day, the doctors can't get it back in. gordon is a ~15yo with the heart problems of an elderly man, and they kill him while he's still young enough to make one of his last acts begging to see his dog one last time. it's good. it's tragic, it's interesting.

the problem is that wildbow's decision for how to depict sylvester starting to experience end-stage complications is to...turn sy into an ableist horror movie trope villain. sy hears The Devil telling him to kill his friends, and he just fuckin' blacks out and then comes to like "oh no...what's all this blood on my hands." i'm talking "mental illness is a Demon that can Possess You and make you an Evil Serial Killer" levels of ableist writing. like wildbow straight up turns sy into the joker from the movie joker. it's like that one "insaaaaynenene....assyyylum..... cray-ay-zeee...Insaayne" tiktok, you know the one. it's why he stabs his disposable trans girlfriend.

and it's baffling because: 1. wildbow wrote worm. you'd expect better from him when it comes to writing mental illness. but his skills apparently stop short of being able to depict a character with psychosis without making it cartoonishly ableist. but also, 2., sy doesn't only start becoming mentally ill at the end of arc 13! the previous arcs do very clearly establish that he's extremely codependent with the other lambs and needs continuous support to avoid experiencing life-threatening mental health episodes. he experiences dissociation, he struggles with severe memory loss, he acts erratically, he has self-injurious tendencies, he hallucinates, he talks to himself in public. prior to the start of arc 14, all of that is written with perfectly amenable levels of nuance and empathy towards sy. i wouldn't describe it as glowing representation, or anything, but it's by no means egregious.

but after arc 13? change of plans. now he's the joker from the movie joker, and we have to watch while his friends chain him to an armchair so he doesn't go around randomly cutting peoples hands off in a murderous fugue state.

it's bad. it's extremely bad to read.

the third item regarding how/why twig becomes terrible is a lot more simple to summarize: it becomes almost entirely about the previously mentioned sloggy fight scenes as opposed to about the lambs. and when it is about the lambs, it's often terrible to read anyway, due to the aforementioned issues with the handling of protagonist sylvester lambsbridge and his disposable trans gf. the plot becomes incoherent and uninteresting to the point where it's not even worth the effort of attempting to summarize how or why. everything that made twig good more or less entirely disappears from the story, and things that make it fucking awful are added.

Q: okay but lets say i have something unfixably wrong with me and i want to read twig anyway. wheres the best stopping point? arc 13? A: yeah it's arc 13. it's not a satisfying stopping point at all though. nor is the rest of twig prior to it really worth it. just don't waste your time. go read a good book, like pact, instead

Q: what the fuck is up with helen? A: :)

[dreamerwitches]

I just got a really big dentist bill which is... um yeah it's not great...

So please if anyone is interested in anything I'm selling I'd be super grateful!! Even if you can't afford it just sharing this around would help! Kyubeys are a chibi Kyun-chara (rare!) and the Madoka uniform Nendoroid one. £7 for both, don't really wanna separate them

I also have commissions open! Both art and figures! Please check my pinned post! I can do magical girls, witches, designs from descriptions, you name it!

Postage to the UK is £3.50 and worldwide is £7.80. I can make listings on ebay too

Thank you for your continued support! <3

[studiouslatrans]

I think I've figured out what my most prominent theriotype could be??? Long ass post so cutoff for convenience but I am always interested in hearing others experiences and perspectives when it comes to this.

Since learning about therianthropy I've been questioning some kind of canine. For a while I thought it could be a coyote (which is still not entirely off the table, more on that later), but now after months of mulling it over I believe myself to be some sort of livestock guardian or herding dog; a farm dog! It makes a lot of sense to me and feels like a very comfortable label. I've been able to "see" myself more as I've been practicing meditation and focusing on finding my theriotype(s), and I feel phantom shifts for paws, fangs, even fur much stronger now since learning more about farm dogs and their traits. I'd never really been into dogs like I like cats so a lot of the information I'm learning about dog breeds is very new, BUT I am somewhat considering the possibility of specifically being an Australian Shepherd or koolie (or a mix thereof). I've been using a lot of guided meditations for focus and introspection and they've honestly really helped me learn visualization of my wants and needs when it comes to my identity.

But let me just say I have never experienced this before. I literally have no idea how to explain it.

I don't really consider myself a religious or spiritual person, and I'd have no idea where to start if I was interested in researching spiritual therianthropy. But as I continue to learn more about myself and alterhumanity, I am starting to consider the possibility of there being something more than only the psychological component to it for myself.

I don't think that I am ONLY a farm dog either, and I am still learning more about my other possible nonhuman identities. I'm super interested in learning about the experiences of spiritual therians so if anyone has anything they'd like to share (something about your journey to your identity as a spiritual therian, how your therianthropy relates to your spirituality, etc) I'd love to hear it.

For now though I am just SUPER excited about finally feeling like I've figured something out and I am super grateful to have found spaces like this and others like me :)

anyways this is probably the closest to what I see myself as :3

okay thank u for reading this long ass post <3

[systematicallycapricious]

Here at last, my observations for English P4AU manga volume 4! Same formatting as my prior ones, no holds barred for spoilers, and fair warning that I'm writing this off of notes from 5 months ago; so if I miss some details, I apologize. Hectic life shenanigans have limited my ability to reread the volume. xP

-----------------------------------

General Vibes

On the whole, I found this volume to be the best reading experience out of the 4 Udon-translated volumes. Aside from the persisting issue of conflating Sho and Minazuki via calling both “Minazuki”, as well as a few confusing absences of clarifying quotation marks, the narrative is cohesive and comprehensible.

I also think that it stands really well on its own, so, as I said before, I'd highly recommend Eng-Sho and Minazuki fans pick up Vol 4, even if you've been iffy on the Udon translations up until this point. In all honestly, I think Udon did a better translation of Vol 4 than the fan-translation that's out there on the internet, at least in terms of justice done to the characterizations of Minazuki and Sho. Their dialog, with a couple small exceptions, fit their expected lexicons much better.

(No shade to the fan-translation, of course! I'm still super-grateful that people took time out of their lives to give us some form of accessible translation long before Atlus got on printing an official translation, and the fan-translation is still pretty good with it's own wins.)

Also, Narukami's dialog was translated pretty well too, from what I recall, so fans of his might also find his inclusions in the story enjoyable. As for Adachi and Kagutsuchi... I'm not very well-versed in their characterizations, so I wouldn't be able to say. Adachi's lexicon did seem a bit out of character to me, though; like the underlying vibe is kinda the same as his typical lexicon, but the execution feels more 'censored', I guess? It's just the impression that I got, though.

-----------------------------------

Specific Things

• ...They were so close to getting it right throughout the entire translation, but they stumbled at the finish line. Literally – this was within the final few chapters, and may have even been the final mention of Plumes of Dusk in the story, lol. And it's definitely the same kanji and kana that “Plume of Dusk” is always spelled with, so how or why they suddenly fabricated “darkness” in place of “dusk” is beyond me.

Also, for Eng reading context, what gets translated as “the other me” is “もう１つの人格を” with a gikun of “ミナヅキ” in the Jap text. So whether or not that should have vocally been “the other me” or “Minazuki” is up to you to decide. ~(•_•)~ (And for anyone who wants the full Jap transcription of that text bubble: ”黄昏の羽根”ってヤツから生まれたもう１つの人格を消す手術から眠ったままだったらしい)

• I wish that translators would interpret Minazuki's use of “黙れ(damare)” as “Silence.” rather than “Shut up.” It fits his pre-established (by Ultimax-the-game) lexicon far more, in my opinion.

(Jap version of the page [here], because I forgot to take a picture of it, apparently. :P)

• Kanazuki, my beloved nickname. (Though, because pursuing lore details, I'm not sure if Udon's “the two sides of Minazuki” is an accurate translation in this case? It seems to be more like “the two Minazukis”, like how fan-Eng interpreted it, but I don't know enough Jap to tell. For those who want the transcript: ところで２人の皆月のことみんななんて呼んでる？皆月？ミナヅキ？文面ならまだしも打ち合わせの時彼らは大変混乱を招いてくれやがりましてね......)

• It's nice to have the uncropped version of the original Yu cover art... But I'm a bit sad that we don't get the original Sho/Minazuki back-cover as a poster as well.

• Interesting detail: despite reprinting and reformatting the title logos, they seem to have kept the signature color for each volume the same (Vol.1/yellow, Vol.2/red, Vol.3/pink, Vol.4/blue).

• I've already stated some of my thoughts on Ch.28 and Ch.30 here, but for a few things that I didn't cover...

1) Minazuki specifically thinking “The humans are shouting.” gives us an interesting window into his mindset at the time.

2) The doctors were shouting at him because he was climbing up into an open window more-so than just shouting at him in general, lol.

3) The Ikutsuki death report reads more as if Minazuki was narrating it rather than it just being Sho staring at information on a screen, which I think is a neat interpretation.

4) Sho might've been attempting to finish the 'Minazuki extraction procedure' that Ikutsuki began, rather than just blindly attacking Minazuki? I'm not entirely sure, but it's an interesting angle to consider nonetheless.

5) Ikutsuki spinning Minazuki as an “evil spirit” as another generally useful tidbit to employ in Sho characterizations.

6) “Murder pit”. I'm keeping this for my Minazuki characterizations going forwards, lmao.

• Generally adoring the larger page size, 'cause I can see more details in the art that also help me understand the context better in a lot of scenes. For example! After Tsukiyomi takes the full-power hit from Izanagi, I can see the clear signs of exhaustion and Minazuki pushing his limits in the continuation of the fight. His movements are more desperate, he gets pronounced bags under his eyes, he has a kind of wide-eyed look to him, etc. Which I think is a really nice detail, because it shows that Minazuki isn't invulnerable: his desperation to protect Sho is just that strong.

The dialog at the beginning of that scene also helps to demonstrate that: rather than continuing to think in fluent and complex words, his internal monologue is reduced to simple, fragmented instincts (“Can't falter... Must protect... Must...!"). Which, again, a very interesting window into how Minazuki thinks. Even when put under the physical strain of grievous injuries, his first instincts (in this situation, at least) are to hold his ground in order to protect Sho.

(...Though, the Jap text of the aforementioned dialog is a bit different than Udon's translation, lol. It's more like “If I... don't protect... I—" (俺が......守らなければ...俺が――...))

• I don't have much to say about the fight against Kagutsuchi due to not having the best focus when I read through that part of the manga. Hopefully one day I'll reread it with better success. ^^;

• Suicidal Sho? I'm not entirely sure, though, as the “思ってた” in the Japanese version of the text (死んじまうかと思ってた時...) seems like it could mean either “I believe (that this will happen)” or “I plan (on making this happen)”? I don't know what linguistic contexts lend to what definitions, unfortunately, and the visual context could support it either way. (Not to mention, I have no clue if the sentiment is being expressed in a literal or frivolous capacity, given Sho can be hyperbolic at times. >_>)

...Also, I'm not counting Sho knifing his own face as an intentionally suicidal action, because (to the best of my ability to understand) that was intended to be homicidal. It's just that it would have also had a suicidal effect on him.

• Shadow puppet-Yosuke, Shadow puppet-Narukami, and Yosuke are great, lmao.

• Translations of General Teddie's script.

• Lastly, and maybe bestly: They got!! It right!! They kept Sho's name in Minazuki's “What are you going to do to Sho, Kagutsuchi?” line!! (Context: a previous observations/musings post of mine [here].)

-----------------------------------

(If you wanna see the fan-Eng in higher quality than the screengrabs I used, you can find it on Mangadex [here].)

[robo-dino-puppy]

I hit a sort of follower milestone recently (and I'm reasonably sure most of you aren't bots) so... new pinned post time!

(to all the followers and moots I see in my notifs all the time - I love you all so much ♡)

▷ First of all:

I made horizon-armor and you should check it out if you've ever wanted a gallery of all Aloy's armor and dye options from HFW :D Here's a previous pinned post about it. This ↑ is the card I made for it in the Horizon Database, which is not mine but you should also check out if you're interested in gameplay mechanics/tips/tricks/practically any info you ever wanted to know about HFW. (the database was put together by twingeofregret on Arktix's discord, and many of the items there were put together by other server members)

▷ Second, I don't think it needs saying? But DON'T REPOST - meaning, don't reupload in your own post - any of my work and don't upload it to any other sites. Yeah this is "only" virtual photography but I still spend time on it and it's mine. Please don't, for anyone's creations. Reblog or share links!

▷ Thirdly, absolutely feel free to use my pics as drawing/art references or personal phone backgrounds! (But please don't edit my shots and repost them.) If you use things as references I'd love to be tagged so I can see what you drew/painted/whatevered <3

...the rest below a cut because I don't know how to be brief...

▷ Fourth: I would very much appreciate anyone who wants to add image descriptions to my posts - I know it's a sucky excuse but when I've tried doing it I just end up exhausted and feel like it's either too longwinded or not a good description at all. So if anyone who is good with words would like to help me out I'd be super grateful! I'll reblog your addition and (if you're cool with it) I can add it to the alt text of the image.

▷ Fifth: With the more-real-than-ever possibility of Tumblr imploding, I thought I'd also include where else you might find me! I'm not going anywhere until this place melts down because Tumblr is the only place I've ever felt comfortable, but I also have an account on Reddit (ew) that I use occasionally: I'm robo_dino_puppy there. I put Horizon videos on YouTube sometimes: I'm robo-dino-puppy over there too. I exist on Discord although it's rather... social for me and honestly I'm still not sure if I'm doing it right haha. I guess I should make an effort to join more servers to keep track of people just in case, but I've always felt like I'd be a fraud or an invader with the ship servers because I don't actually ship Aloy with anyone...

As a backup for the armor gallery I've snagged horizon-armor (and robo-dino-puppy, for that matter) on Neocities, but there's nothing there at the moment because I'm currently waaaaay too braindead to create a site from scratch. Also empty right now, but in case of future need I'm squatting on robo-dino-puppy on Dreamwidth and Pillowfort.

And now thanks to a kindly-provided invite, robo-dino-puppy on Bluesky!

aaaaand finally I'm also @robo-dino-puppies if you're interested in my non-Horizon stuff/reblogs/my sideblog 👀

[whysamwhy123]

✨Fic Writing Review 2023✨

Tagged by the wonderful dynamic duo that is @aerodaltonimperial and @perhapswhoknowsvamp and it's very fitting that those two lovely people tagged me because they're a big reason why I wrote much of anything this year! Took me a while to get this done because I wanted to get my last fic of the year out the door first. I'll put the rest below the cut, and fair warning - it's loooooong. This bitch doesn't shut up, so I rambled on. A lot.

Words and Fics

76, 222 words published on AO3 in 2023

15 fics published on AO3 (16 if you count that one kinkmeme prompt I filled and posted anonymously)

2 little tumblr ficlets

Top 3 by Kudos

Voice in the Dark - Hookhausen (not super surprising, considering it was a popular pairing at the time, and it was the fic I wrote for the anniversary event)

Kids These Days And Their Darn Phones - Hookhausen

Half Your Age Plus Seven - OrangeHook (I continue to be incredibly surprised how well this fic did, like...huh?!)

Top 3 by Hits

Voice in the Dark - Hookhausen

Voice in the Dark, Part Two - Hookhausen (how fitting, LOL)

Half Your Age Plus Seven - OrangeHook (Seriously, what was it about this fic that drew people in? More so than any of my other OrangeHook fics? Like, I'm grateful and all but also confused, like this fic is way too long?! And weird about the age difference?!)

Author's Favourite

As much as I'm loving writing OrangeHook now, I think Voice in the Dark, Part Two is probably the best thing I've written? Even though it's also overly long and gets weird at the end (very much did not expect it to go in that direction when I started writing it), I'm actually pretty proud of how that one turned out. I had a clear vision in my head for how each scene would play out and what I wanted to get across, and man, I remember how most of the Hook/Evilhausen dialogue popped into my brain late one night when I couldn't sleep, so I spat it out into a doc and then about a month later when I actually wrote the scene, I don't think I changed a single word? I just added everything else around it, all the not-dialogue parts. And it was just a lot of fun getting to carry on that story, especially as someone who hasn't managed to crank out a proper multi-chapter fic yet. Who knows, maybe I'll return to that world someday...

Fandom Events in 2023

Uh, well, I guess I did the whole Hookhausen Anniversary thing? And...that's about it. I'm pretty disconnected from the fandom at large, whoopsie daisy 😬

Upcoming Projects

Hoo boy.

I have over 5k words of a Ricky/Christian Sugar Baby AU thing written already. I haven't posted it because it kinda needs some smut and that's still not something I can really do. I might post it someday, if I can make something work, or alternatively do what I normally do and put an annoying fade to black in there. Or maybe I'll think better of it and never post it because it's very self-indulgent and I highly doubt anyone else would really be interested or want me to continue it or anything. But I have Ideas for it...so many ideas...

Also, in my ill-fated quest to try and make myself write smut, I kinda started a Ricky/Bill championship celebration fic. Maybe I'll revisit that? Try to get it done?

And then there's that one fic I really want to work on, but have barely started. I've vague-posted about it here before - it's an incredibly fucked-up Dead Dove fic about Daniel Garcia and a Very Bad, Not-Good thing that happens to him, and the subsequent complete mental breakdown that follows. I've had the idea rattling around in my brain for the better part of a year at this point, despite not making much actual progress on it. Every time I think about it though, I have new ideas for scenes or dialogue. I'd like to make it work, but I don't know if I have the writing chops to handle it, plus it would probably end up being super long and nobody would want to read it, so it'd feel like a huge waste of time on my part? And I've had the idea for so long, it's out-dated too. But still, the urge remains...

Oh, and I still have a ton of OrangeHook ideas I'd like to make happen. Some are, of course, about their age difference. Some would (ideally) involve smut. And others... *nervous laughter* Others would likely result in an ''Everyone disliked that'' situation...

Writing Reflection

I was thinking about making a sappy post about this and whoops, here's my excuse! I don't talk a lot on here about my tragic backstory because honestly, who cares? But I will say this - before January of this year, I hadn't written a word of anything in years. Fic or otherwise. I used to love writing, but Stuff Happened and it killed all enjoyment I got out of it, and I thought that's how it would be forever. Then, for reasons I can't even remember, I started reading fic again, specifically in this wild little fandom of ours, and y'all are just so talented that it made my untalented ass want to give it another shot. So...I did.

I remember when I posted my first fic in ages back in January, I thought ''Maybe about three people will read this and no one will leave a comment or anything, but whatever, I wrote a thing and that's something I haven't done in years so that's enough for me!'' And to be honest, I still think that whenever I post stuff now? It's crazy to me that anyone actually reads my stuff and gets some kind of kick out of it. But every kudos and comment floors me and brings me so much joy, I can't even express it properly. I have to say a huge thank you to anyone who's ever read one of my fics, left kudos or dropped a comment. Whoever and wherever you are, you made my day!

And look, I ain't delusional. I know that calling myself a small fish in the fandom would be too generous. But I'm fine with that - because I'm genuinely enjoying writing again and that's what matters most to me. Even though I've also rediscovered how stressful writing can be (🙂🙂🙂) when it comes down to it, there's joy and happiness in my life that wasn't there last year and that's all because I started writing again. And because some lovely folks here decided to let me know they liked what I was throwing out there. The years have not been kind to ol' Sammy Sam-Sam and this year was no exception, but getting to forget about all that shit and write my silly little wrestling fanfiction has been a great distraction and a comfort through this whole year.

So...yeah. Thanks to everyone who's ever commented on my writing, thanks to the folks who follow me on here (I don't know how you manage that though, I'm such an annoying bitch, aren't you sick of me yet?) and thanks to anyone who I've had the chance to chat with about writing and ships and whatever silly little ideas pop into my head (any of y'all feel free to message me at any time, I am always down to blab about whatever blorbos/ideas take your fancy). I'm hoping I can keep this train a-rollin' a little more next year. Still thinking back to when I started writing again, I made my new AO3 account expecting to write Dustjim only, but then I quickly decided I couldn't write those two well enough, and since then I've bounced around a bunch of different pairings, with a few rarepairs shoved in between for good measure. God only knows where my head will be at this time next year, LOL. I'd love to finally be able to attempt some of the bigger ideas I've been cooking up for a while now. Maybe I'll even write a proper multi-chapter fic? We'll see, but this bitch can dream, at least.

Rules:

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

I'm not going to tag anyone because I'm pretty sure everyone I know who writes has already been tagged? So if you're reading this and you haven't, go ahead and do it! By which I mean, eat glass. Eat all the glass that you want. Accidents happen in the dark.

[famehiddleston]

Tom Hiddleston attending the Marvel Panel at the HFRP Comic Con 2024 in San Diego.

1.) Who do you play?

I play Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard, God of Mischief.

2.) If you could be anyone else in the MCU, who would you be and why?

I originally auditioned to play Thor - I reached the final few, and even put on a lot of muscle for the call-back in hopes that I would get the part. It ultimately went to the real life Thor, or as us Midgardians call him: Chris Hemsworth. I suppose I do wonder what it would've been like playing Thor, especially with his character development throughout the years - he most certainly is not the same man who was banished to Earth in 2011, and it could be a lot of fun doing that. So that's the character that springs to mind first. But also, if Charlie Cox wasn't the perfect Daredevil, he would be very fun to play.

3.) How has being part of the MCU changed your life?

It has changed my life in every way. Things got crazy after the first Thor came out, and suddenly a lot more people knew who I am, from something other than the odd role here and there. I was getting recognised everywhere, and with every instalment I've been lucky enough to be part of, it's just elevated more and more. And with that exposure, it's led to a lot more roles falling to my lap that I otherwise very much doubt I'd have gotten. So I am so grateful for Marvel and everything they've given me and my Loki throughout the years.

4.) Is there anything about your character you wish you had more control over or would do differently from the movie?

I don't think so. I've always felt like I've been allowed a lot of creative input, especially on the TV show. Marvel knows by now how passionate I am about my character, how much I've researched, how willing I am to work with them to make good stories. Maybe a bit more of an appearance in Infinity War would've been nice, but it was very in keeping with Loki's narrative, and felt like a very natural end for that variant of Loki.

5.) Is there a certain comic book or scene you want to see your character play?

A number of my suggestions were actually partly used in the TV show, through the multiple variants. But Loki as the Agent of Asgard has always been such a fun idea to do - I don't know how it would fit into the greater MCU, so it would likely have to be more of a standalone narrative again, but the idea of Loki going around and being a spy, so his mistakes can be erased from history - that could be interesting.

6.) Who is another MCU character you wish you could have scenes with or your character would get along best with?

Daredevil. Easy. I think they'd fascinate one another, plus Charlie Cox is the sweetest man, and we'd bounce off of each other very well.

7.) What upcoming MCU project are you most excited for and why?

Of course, I am super excited to see all of the upcoming films - knowing that the TVA is featuring in Deadpool & Wolverine is exciting, and I can't wait to watch that soon. But also the new Captain America - seeing where that narrative will be taken - the Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four movies, they sound like they're going to be epic. But perhaps what I'm most curious to see is Blade - I loved the Wesley Snipes movies, and knowing that the rights are in the studio's hands now, it will be interesting to see where the story gets taken.

8.) Would you ever consider joining the DCU and if so as who?

I know there have been various fancasts of me in different DC roles, but I think Marvel is too much in my blood that I don't think I would say yes to a part in DC. But never say never.

[peachsukii]

twenty questions for fic writers

opting in for the open tag from @seiwas !

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

18! But one is full of 30+ drabbles/shorts that are under 2k in length as a collection of Bakugo x reader content.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

98,850 (woah, when did that happen???)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly my hero academia, but expanding slowly into jujutsu kaisen, demon slayer and other series!

4. Top five fics by kudos

boom! goes the dynamight // bakugo x reader shorts/drabbles collection (274)

insatiable // bakugo x reader (226)

tangled hearts // kiribaku x reader series (194)

behind closed doors // bakugo x reader x midoriya (181)

accidental damage // bakugo x reader (165)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! I respond to almost all of my comments.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm not happy with it either of them, but probably leave it all behind or deception.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I'm a sucker for happy endings, but I think the one with the sweetest ending thus far is unbreakable bonds.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've gotten a few odd comments or backhanded insults, but thankfully not many.

9. Do you write smut?

I do! It's something that I try to use to explore my own comfort. I usually keep it tame, though in terms of using any kinks or specific themes.

10. Craziest crossover?

Haven't written one yet!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

As far as I know I haven't! Hopeful to keep it that way.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

TBH none of my other friends write anymore, or participate in fandom spaces much, so I do them mostly solo. I'm super grateful whenever I get the chance to collab, though! I recently did one for Bakugo's Birthday and am writing one for the RomCom collab.

14. All time favorite ship?

Ohhhh man, this is tough. Currently, I'd say either KiriBaku or Kacchako, but all time would be InoSaku or NaLu.

15. What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I'm still hyping myself up to finish it eventually, I'm determined lol! It's a fic about pegging...and that's all I'll say.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think the way I characterize is well done, along with descriptors of emotions.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialog maybe? I think it's just okay, and maybe my scene descriptions/settings could use some improvement.

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

It's interesting to see when I happen upon it!

19. First fandom you wrote in?

Hahahahaha...Sonic the Hedgehog and Naruto.| The early 2000s were a time, alright?

20. Favorite fic you've written?

It's still ongoing, but I'm really proud of Hollow Heart! And recently this pain wouldn't be forever more.

open tagging anyone who wants to! :)

[seancamerons]

So I'm just really happily rewatching the oc. It is a magical experience! ✨️ I find myself using expressions like unbeatable combination, schmear more than I admit. As of earlier this week I have been craving bagels and need to get myself a cute little slicer cutter and some cream cheese and some lox but it is pretty funny.

And best part I got my bfs sister interested and she is converted! Seth is her favorite. We are midway through season 2. Now, she won't watch Dawson's or Tree Hill, but she did give Degrassi a chance, but lost interest after a certain point (sometime in s5, I can't really blame her.) Maybe she will be saved from season 6 new!Sean so she dodged a bit of a bullet lol.

I at least got her into the The OC which she loves (thank god!) as well as Friday night lights, stranger things, breaking bad and mad men.

We are a trio of show people, and we also like card and board games. We have so much fun. C has excellent taste in shows overall but I'm glad I got to show my faves and her, and I have common faves as well. We wish twin peaks was on streaming so we can show it to tj. She's like a sister to me.

And like my bf was a Saved by the Bell and Seventh Heaven stan before I came along, and now he loves breaking bad degrassi and the oc and one tree hill, gilmore girls and more. I'm so proud of him and he loves and is super invested in the characters, couples/ships and makes predictions and looks forward to watching with me qnd i try to remain tight-lipped on spoilers on things i know. All in all, he'd fit right in here, I swear. Sometimes we don't always finish our shows bc we take on too many and we tease each other about that. I'm so glad we are together. I'm so happy and grateful for that. People day couch potatoes like its a bad thing but we don't just sit in front of TV that's usually an evening thing. We have jobs and lives friendships and interests isolated from each other. In October, 3 past three years have flown by, and it's been an amazing three years of happiness love and just wonderful unexpected and joy. New traditions, beginnings, excitement, films, TV, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It is truly the best. I love that real and special love I'd been longing for since for friggin' ever. I can't see myself with anyone else. I don't want to. He is everything. 🥰

To close, I love shows. I love television. I love tv romance friendships dybamics. Television brings families and friends and people together. It's a beautiful thing. 😍 📺 im a firm believer in sharing shows being a love language. For example, if I gush about my favorites and you let me, you are my people. If I share my feelings and favorite shows and all just know you're so important to me.

Thanks for letting me gush on your dash about a friggin lovefest of my shows and ongoing appreciation for characters and romances spanning pretty much forever and ever bc I'm a romantic and I love it!

Even when I'm sad or it's sad I still love it. Smile through the tears. Television has been around for what? 50 years, 60 years? Whoever invented tvs and streaming too you are a damn magnificent genius and bastard at the same time. Thanks writers, thanks directors, thanks for costuming, hair, editing, and all you who make shows possible youre so appreciated. Thank you for the entertainment.😊

[brainshock-alpha]

a while ago i was tagged by @go-go-devil to answer twenty fic writers' questions... i've been preddy busy so i'm just getting around to it now lol. thanks for thinking of me velvet!

this turned out quite long so i'm gonna do my tags up here -- @boyfrillish @pastryglitch @firethekitty -- as usual participation is voluntary, tagged or not :) do these q's if u think it would be fun. that's all

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

35 (includes users-only works)

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

146,365, for an average of ~4,182 words per work. but really, it's just like four of my long multichapter works skewing the average that high.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

in a strict present-tense sense, it's just pokemon. i've written for a slightly odd variety of fandoms in the past; anyone curious enough to check will readily observe that i go through fandoms in neatly stratified phases lol. i don't tend to be actively involved in more than one at a time.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Black Box Open (st*rdew valley) - 373

Transfer Point (pokemon bw) - 279

Vital Signs (biosh*ck infinite) - 146

Tidal Lock (hylis) - 107

Moonstruck (hylis) - 93

censoring fandoms so i don't appear in searches (excepting pokemon cuz i'm pretty sure those results are basically unreadable lol). anyway i can't believe vital signs is that high up there lmaooo but everything else seems reasonable

5. Do you respond to comments?

i try to but sometimes it slips my mind and then it's too late to reply without it being weird :( whether i got around to replying or not, i'm grateful to everyone who said sth nice on my stuff 🙏

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

uhhhh honestly i don't get super angsty with my fics, especially not the endings lol. simpley not my style... i guess transfer point ended on a rather bittersweet note. born with a weak heart would have been even more so, if i'd ever finished it.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

on the other hand i also don't write fics with particularly saccharine endings either. it's kinda just, oh this is pleasant/cute/hopeful :) i wouldn't say there's a clear winner.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

so far, any haters have kept their thoughts to themselves, which is good. i suppose my writing is usually quite benign anyway lol

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

i have a few unfinished drafts lying around but i've never published anything. (unless you count that one with piers/emmet? it's nsfw for sure but i think you'd be setting the wrong expectations if u called it smut lol.) anyway i'm not terribly interested in going into detail here.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

again, i've attempted to draft some in the past but never got close to finishing any of them. i think i'm more likely to draw a weird crossover than write one :p

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i've uhhhh translated my own fic once??? i guess that counts but i wouldn't say i did a good job LOL -- i'd written a supershort 200-word thing in both english and scots, and i haven't studied scots all that extensively. but it was fun to try, and somehow the scots version got more attention than the english one lol

anyway, if anyone's ever interested in translating my works, feel free to reach out! i'd be happy to help out by answering questions/clarifying meaning/etc :)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

nop! it's not really something i've ever considered, but i suppose in theory i'd be open to trying it.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

god i can't give just one answer to an all-time favorite anything LOL. uhhh deduswayne still has a special place in my heart; the autistic jock/autistic nerd dynamic i gave them was so fresh and fun to me... i love raileon despite not ever really writing it ooooops... and then griebold is my newest interest, which is quite funny since raileon is one of the most popular pokemon ships on ao3 but griebold is so unheard of that i'm literally the only person to have posted an english-language work for it there lmfao

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

probably... the bede&hop post-canon qpr fic... i really would love to write a qpr (as well as non-romantic relationship drama in general) but it's another sprawling multichapter thing and idk if i have it in me :^(

16. What are your writing strengths?

dialogue and character dynamics hehe... that's what's most fun for me to write too. i also like to believe i'm good at writing a ship without losing sight of the individual chars involved. and i'm pretty good with spelling and grammar, contrary to what my casual fucking around on tumblr posts may imply LOL. i may not always write in the clearest or most beautiful way, but by god that syntax is solid

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

description lol. i am not a poet by any means; i think it will not surprise anyone to know i did better in linguistics classes than in english.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

do it if 1) you're able to put in the effort and 2) it makes sense to do it. on point 1, i don't think there's anything wrong with saying that chars are speaking in another language but rendering the actual written dialogue in english (or whatever ur mother tongue may be), especially if it's not a language ur fluent in. of course it's good to do research for ur writing but language learning is hard, doubly so if ur trying to write those chars speaking casually. cuz you can't really pick that up from reference texts, or maybe you can but it comes out sounding odd and unnatural. (think of how easy it is to mess up english slang/colloquialisms.) BUT you know, perfect is the enemy of good, and if ur willing to give it the ol college try then i really think it'll help ur foreign-lang-speaking chars feel more alive.

on point 2, i'm mostly thinking of the context of multilingual chars, which adds another layer of complexity. this old post will give u an idea of what i mean. if you're monolingual and mostly only interact with other monolinguals, you may find it difficult to write bilinguals believably. i suggest looking up info on code-switching and, more generally, language learning and bilingualism. (and also heritage languages, which fall under bilingualism but have their own specific features.) again, this is pretty demanding stuff and i wouldn't blame you for just sticking to english dialogue, but i do think it's worth a shot.

have i tried this myself? yes, most prominently in the day to end all days, and also a bit in my other swsh fics... oh yeah, i guess i also made siebold use quebec french swears lol. mind you, i'm under no illusion that i write it well. no one has told me yet that i'm fucking it up, but also no one's told me i'm doing a good job either lol. so idkkkkk

19. First fandom you wrote for?

st*rdew valley... i loved that game so much that it motivated me to start making fanfics and fanart haha. i started posting black box open about eight years ago, which if you'll recall is the fic i have the most kudos on. it was all downhill from there buddy!!!!!!!!!!! lol i'm just kidding, i really just tend not to write for popular fandoms is the thing (or when a fandom is at its most popular)

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

honestly it's usually just Whichever Fic I Posted Most Recently lmao. i guess that's not bad, that means i feel like i improve with every story or w/e. i'm still really attached to the day to end all days, though. it's not finished yet (and won't be for quite some time) but it has the most involved plot yet out of all my fics, and it explores some really interesting character spaces too.

[isarang-hae]

Maddies To-Do Tales: Isaralyn Versionㅡ (𖹭).

1. Conversation with 5 Maddies (Girls) that I think aren't close with

★. with madisfn

★. with eupnbi

★. with Harni

★. with RHUJ7N

★. with Rojseanne

2. Conversation with 5 Maddies (Boys) that I think aren't close with

☆. with Suxngho

☆. with maxverstappein

☆. with piastria

☆ . with _Intak

☆. with Dohoonv

3. Flirt with one of the madsters

4. Isaralyn's movie recommendation!

I don't watch movies very often, but there are two I'd like to recommend to my friends. The first one is '20th Century Girl' (2022). It's set in 1999 and has a really heartwarming story. The movie is great and the visuals are so beautiful! Because I loved that movie, my second recommendation is 'Drawing Closer' (2024). It has just as beautiful visuals as '20th Century Girl'. This one also made me cry a lot. Yeah, I really like movies like that. I love sad and touching stories that make me feel emotional and cry!

5. Isaralyn's top 5 favorite songs!

1. Wishful Winter by NCT WISH

I'm not someone who listens to music all the time. I only listen to music from my favorite artists and I don't really pay attention to the lyrics. I focus more on the melody, vocals, and instruments of a song (especially Korean songs). These are 5 songs (+2) that I've been really enjoying lately:

2. 3 Minutes (3분까진 필요 없어) by NCT WISH

3. Meant To Be by STAYC

4. Stay WITH me by STAYC

5. Whiplash by aespa

6. NASA by NCT WISH

7. When I'm With You by NCT DREAM

6. Madsters in Isaralyn's eyes.

𖹭 Kak Sasha: Kak Sasha is just the sweetest! She's always so lovely and kind, and her appearance can brighten up anyone's day (at least for me!) She's like a ray of sunshine, always positive and cheerful (tho sometimes being goofy).

𖹭 Kak Sydney: Kak Sydney is super friendly and easy to talk to. She's also really funny and amazing. What I really admire about Kak Sydney is her kind approach and genuine concern for others (love you kak).

☆ Kak Souta: Kak Souta is a total goofball! He's always cracking jokes and making us laugh. As a moderator, he loves to make us have a headache and create some friendly chaos in the game. It's all in good fun, and it just makes him even funnier.

☆ Kak Seth: Kak Seth is a kind and caring person, always willing to makes everyone comfortable. But he also has a chaotic side that keeps things interesting. He's got a great sense of humor, just like the other madsters!

7. To myself in the past . . .

Hey there, clueless me. There’s a lot going to happen in the future, but I’m not going to ask you to change it. I just want you to prepare yourself mentally and physically, because adulthood can be pretty tough and drain you of energy and tears. The good news is, you can get through it even if your mind is a mess. In fact, you’ll still be alive and kicking in five years. Good luck!

8. Massage for Madster

There were so many fun things that happened while I was in MessyTeenages, and I’ll remember them all. I want to thank Madster for taking the time, effort, and thought to build MT into a safe and comfortable place. I have no regrets at all being a member here. I also want to apologize to you guys because I haven’t been the best member and I often feel lazy and only go online when I have the time. Honestly, towards the end, a lot of things happened that made me feel drained, but because I didn't want to leave MT, I selfishly stayed here. But thank you for accepting me so well until the end. I hope you all are healthy and happy always. I will always remember the four of you as good caretakers! Love you guys (platonically) ♡.

9. Message for Maddies

Hi Maddies! You guys are such cool and kind people. I'm so grateful to have met you and had the chance to be with you all. Thank you for all the memories we've made together. I'm sorry for any mistakes or shortcomings I've had as your friend and agency mate. I wish you all happiness and good health. See you again sometime, Maddies!

10. Message for myself

Thank you for always doing your best despite everything. Only you know how valuable and awesome you are, so don't be afraid to keep growing. You'll find your own way, so hang in there! Good luck, me! <3

[itsgoingsomehow]

.any MAs/MScs/PhDs here?

i have found myself in a situation where my current friends no longer express a strong interest in academia, scholarships and all that jazz. yet i do.

hence, i'd be super happy if anyone here wanted to team up and motivate each other in our research endeavours, continuing education, and so on. i'm applying for MA/MSc programs and hoping to get funding (US, EU, Canada) :') looking forward to talking to the current/future MA/MSc/PhD squad.

will be grateful for any kind of free advice as well!

have a great day <3

xoxo

[lilpuplush]

Ooh I got tagged!! Lets do it!

1. Honestly, all the time! I feel like I'm in middle-mode more often than not these days... but sometimes its a bit hard to tell how much is full regression, and how much is age dreaming, lol. Maybe mostly a dreamer that slips into regression at times?

2. I think I'd say dreamer! As stated above I'm often in middle-mode in more of an age dreaming kind of way ^^

3. A bit of both, but mostly online! As the person who tagged me said, I like the sense of community and looking at the agere content the community makes :3

4. Nope! I have really bad social anxiety, so its hard for me to get to that point... >.<

5. While I sorta have one (my husband), I actually find that I prefer to regress (or at least dream) alone! And yet, some of the things that trigger me to fully regress the easiest come from cg interactions? (When in the store and he asks if I want to look at the toys, for example!!)

6. I think theyre really neat!! I really wish I had more regressor friends and I've seen so many interesting people around in the community over the years, but my anxiety holds me back from interacting with others directly!! >,<

7. I love kids, but have no idea how to interact with them since I havnt been around them much... so I dont!! lol! I also dont plan to have any kids of my own (its sorta a fear of mine ^^;)

8. I definitely wish agere was talked about more in a positive light. Too many people take one look at something they find strange and instantly turn away without even trying to learn about it!

9. Then-and-now comfort for sure. I'm super inconsistent with it, and have times where I regress very little as I have little need for it or interest in it... then other times I regress or dream often, especially to cope with stress.

10. I def keep to myself most of the time! I try to get out there a little sonetimes with things like this blog though, and I'm grateful for the people who follow and interact with me here!!

Tags: Anyone who reads this!

Heyo! I decided to make an age regressor tag game! Feel free to join, even if you're not tagged!

How often do you age regress?

Are you more of an age regressor or age dreamer?

Do you partake in agere offline or more online?

Have you ever met someone in the community in person?

How do you feel about having a caregiver?

What do you think of other regressors?

What do you think of children?

Do you wish agere was more talked about in the general public, and positvely?

When you age regress, is it for then-and-now comfort or long-term balance?

Are you more rambunctious or do you keep to yourself?

[heedeunggii]

svt reacts; to you wanting to do their favorite hobby with them.

s.coups - he jumps around like a cute little puppy. he'd most likely grab you by the hands and start swinging you around (while jumping). flashing that pretty gummy smile he has any chance he gets as well. he might even throw a few kisses in there to show his appreciation of you joining him.

jeonghan - would be shocked at first but afterwards he'd literally drag you out of the house to the place. imo, he'd even find a way to throw some type of teasing into it (probably the way you did whatever it was).

joshua - it'd feel like an entire celebration, especially since you don't usually do what he likes willingly. he's a very unique soul so you'd used to say "____ is the last thing i'd do" but now, it might even become your own hobby.

jun - just like s.coups, he'd be so happy that he'd even do a little dance. besides that, he'd be extremely happy. even jumping around as you both walk down the street. including the excessive talking. "jun!! calm yourself" "i can't~ i'm so excited and i can't wait to show you the best part of ___".

hoshi - as a dancer, he'd definitely be super excited. especially since dancing is something he's so very passionate about. as a boyfriend seeing his s/o starting to enjoy something he LOVES so much (literally) is so special to him.

wonwoo - depending on his feelings, he'd be happy for you to join. i mean as his s/o why wouldn't he want you being open to doing his favorite thing. but if it's a bad day he'd probably wanna do it alone.

woozi - if it's producing the most you can do is watch. producing is something obviously important to him and (not saying you'd be a distraction, i'm sure he loves you very much) he'd rather not be distracted while working. if it's anything else he'd be so happy to let you participate with him.

dk - this cutie would definitely tell all his friends. probably in the seventeen group chat being an absolute simp for you. "THEY REALLY WANT TO ____ WITH ME GUYS IM SO EXCITED". it'd probably be the most excited he is (even though dokyeom becomes the cutest little baby when he's with you or talking about you).

mingyu - he'd def BRAG. unlike dokyeom, instead of freaking out he'd be so nonchalant about it to his friends. even claiming that he knew that you'd want to do something he loves. of course the other boys don't buy it. i'm sure we all know that mingyu would be flipping his shit deep down, even if he doesn't vocalize it.

the8 - wouldn't tell ANYONE. compared to the rest of the 97z he'd want to make sure that he spends every moment with you. it's just the idea of doing something he loves with the person he loves that makes him so so sooo happy. even during the moment he'd either throw in a kiss or a small 'thank you'. and he's really grateful that he has you.

seungkwan - a little similar to mingyu, but instead of saying it he'd show it. he'd buy small little gifts from the place and have you take it everywhere with you. just in case people ask, you can say "oh me and my boyfriend did..." and make them jealous.

vernon - kind of like wonwoo, sometimes vernon just wants to be alone when doing his favorite thing. there are times when he does let you join him and DONT GET ME WRONG he loves every minute he spends with you. he usually lets you spend his personal times with him atleast 3 times a month and you're totally okay with that.

dino - he absolutely FLIPS. once you first told him you'd be interested in one of his hobbies he literally cartwheeled. to know that his lover would really like to enjoy the same thing as him makes him so excited. just you thinking about him and the things he likes lets him know you both have such a healthy relationship.

[bakuliwrites]

Aging Lucio Headcanons

I think a lot about Lucio as he gets older and what his reactions to certain things would be. I think I promised I'd post one of these like a million years ago when I had my old tumblr. So here we go. TW: aging, mentions of death and dying

Lucio is flabbergasted- no, disgusted- at the first silver hair he spots on his blonde head. He pinches it between his fingers, inspecting it carefully in the mirror, scowling. The whole of his life, he'd hoped to be immune to the fragility of human life, but alas. Here it is. His first strand of gray. The mark of an aging man. He plucks it out, casting it aside, its very existence a mockery of Lucio's vigor.

He takes to dyeing his hair (if he doesn't dye it already) and is meticulous about it. There must be no hint of gray. He doesn't want to see even gray roots.

And then the wrinkles start to set in and Lucio is beside himself. When he looks in the mirror, all he sees is some haggard old man looking back at him (so dramatic).

I think Lucio would take to doing minorly invasive cosmetic surgery, like botox, fillers, etc... Things to relax his facial muscles, prevent wrinkles, fill out his face a bit as he loses some of the facial-roundness of youth. But nothing super intense. Mainly because Lucio strikes me as a, I'm handsome enough as it is. I don't need anyone messing around with my bone structure.

Skin care is an absolute must for him. He's already very particular about it, but as he ages, he wants to make sure he's protected from the harsh rays of the sun. Sunscreen or foundation with spf are his go-to's. You thought his skincare routine was extensive before. Now it takes him practically an hour (or more), twice a day haha.

Lucio is also very interested in maintaining his figure. He continues to work out and doesn't let his age get in the way of a healthy body.

Though Lucio likes to be waited on, hand and foot, he's not about to let himself become feeble. As he gets much, much older, he grows frustrated with his stiff joints and creaky bones. He tries his best to stay in tip-top shape until the end.

I imagine aging for him on a surface level would be extremely difficult (his perceived "loss" of his good looks, etc...), but functionally it would frustrate him, too. He never wants to be seen as weak. He wants to be taken seriously and aging to him means that you just become a doddering old goat. He watches all the young soldiers flitting about on their light feet and wonders if they make fun of him in their spare time.

Aging is absolutely terrifying to him. And not just for surface level reasons. It means he's closer and closer to the end. Though he knows in his heart that he could've died in battle in his youth, aging just feel so definitive. So withering. So lonely. He already knows what that feels like, to become feeble and lonely, from when he had the plague. He never wants to experience that again.

But with a patient MC, I think he can be convinced otherwise. He can be shown that aging is simply a part of life.

Lucio, think of your crows feet and smile lines like your battle scars. They show the world the victories and accomplishments you've had, but instead of in battles, its in happiness. Your little wrinkles are a sign of the joy you've experienced, MC will whisper softly, thumb gently caressing the crinkles in the corners of Lucio's eyes. Lucio has never thought of it that way. Perhaps MC is right: his smile lines and crows feet are marks of all the love and happiness he's achieved in his later years (though he might still do some botox, just for his own sake).

MC still looks at him like he's the most handsome man in the world. Hell, he thinks to himself, I make wrinkles and silver hair look amazing. He leans into his aging a bit more and eventually learns to live with it. He and MC can grow old together, side-by-side <3 Lucio knows he's not alone and he's grateful for that.

[musette22]

I wish interviews asked Chris more about his interest in arts due to him wanting to be an animator, it seems like a wonderful conversation to have with him

I agree! I was so fascinated when he talked about it in that one super long interview he did a year or two ago... I don't remember what outlet it was with, so if anyone remembers I'd be super grateful if you could let me know! It was the one that was like an hour where he also talked in detail about his anxiety about saying yes to the Cap role, and about how he started out as an actor and stuff..?

Anyways, the bit where he talked about wanting to be an animator was so lovely and interesting, his enthusiasm for it was so nice <3 And I do believe he has a wider interest in arts too, so I'd love to hear more about that as well! Would be a great interview question, and one that I'm sure he'd appreciate too!