#sunny characters are my kryptonite

[yuuugay]

What my shoh MCs social circle looks like ajjshdhdhf (not really but this is the general headcanon i have)

Havent made anything that moved in a bit so this was fun, though it was just moving around the canvas to create a blur effect anis)jsininsnsjjj

[r1k-y9]

Myst and Sunny are on vacation!

[physalian]

Incorporating weather elements into your narrative

*Picture me in shock over 11 new followers in 6 days after a 3 week dry spell: Thanks everybody!

Short this time! Weather and climate as worldbuilding are kind of like adverbs. Adverbs, as a concept, are not book kryptonite (despite what all the people screaming about how using better verbs is always the answer want you to believe). Adverbs should just be used with intent and not be redundant, which I’ve said before.

Basically, why use an adverb that doesn’t actually tell us any helpful information about the verb that the reader can’t already presume? “She smiled happily,” well, yeah, as you do. “She smiled sorrowfully,” okay, now that’s an expression I can work with. Why is she smiling sorrowfully? Why does she think she must smile through her sadness? Clearly it’s failing, otherwise the narrator wouldn’t note that the smile is sorrowful at all.

There’s a reason “talking about the weather” is the butt of the joke. It’s generally seen as boring and inconsequential to either party and used to just fill otherwise awkward silence. A quick sentence for sensory details is great. Repeat details that don’t dig into those sensory elements are not.

Your weather is no different. Why are you describing it if it serves no purpose to the scene? Everyone’s default unobtrusive day is different, but unless stated otherwise, people are going to assume it’s either day or night with mildly clear skies and tolerable heat and humidity. Talking at length about average weather that doesn’t impact your character’s emotions or choices, or the tone of the narrative, is a waste of effort in my opinion.

As in, describing the perfect day while a charcater is stuck in an office and unable to enjoy it? Yes. A character getting groceries and it's 72 and sunny and look at all the boring shapes of the clouds and planes flying over head while I get zero input on how the character feels about any of it or why this detail matters? Fluff and filler.

If your book is chock full of poetic fluff, go ham, everybody's ideal narrative is different. I like mine lean, otherwise I get bored by all the fluff while I wait for the book to remember it has a plot.

Weather fits into one of those little buzzword bingo cards where, if the author is taking an aside to describe it, you know it’s going to be important later (or at least it should be important later if the author didn’t just forget about it). Weather tends to be used as foreshadowing and is used as metaphorical shorthand everywhere.

If I write about a character going off on a quest and I tell the reader that clouds are growing in the distance, there’s a 70/30 chance I’m not just talking about actual clouds, but the threat of the enemy, some sinister plot our plucky heroes are ignorant of. Stuff like:

A red sunrise

Black/grey stormclouds

The ambiguous “rain/storm” that’s coming

A chilly wind picks up

An oppressive heat wave settles over the land

Fictional weather is so entrenched in metaphor and allegory that no matter how cliché it gets, watching or reading a funeral scene where it’s not grey and rainy feels insincere and not somber enough for the tragedy unfolding. You can avoid this by having your characters hate that it’s not raining for their funeral, as if even God doesn’t mourn their dead friend and the rest of the world moves on uncaring.

Same vibe as Halloween decorations in broad daylight. Or Christmas decorations in the Florida 80 degree December. Fall without the changing colors of the leaves. The mood is completely wrong.

“It was a dark and stormy night” sets the reader up for something serious, perhaps mysterious and dramatic, not a cheesy Hallmark romance. Weather as tone is extremely helpful. Not describing it is better than picking the wrong weather for your scene, unless you're trying to be ironic. Weather is practically its own character, depending on how much it matters to your story.

Fantasy and abnormal weather should be treated like any other scene descriptor element. It’s not enough to just drop in a detail about how there’s a 20% chance of blood rain at noon. If this is meant to be metaphorical or foreshadowing, despite being “blood rain” maybe it’s not an ill omen. Maybe it’s a magical fertilizer and a farming boon that graces the land, you gotta clarify.

Personally I’d fixate on the blood rain and want to know much more about it, just as much as I’d want to know about the rest of the town. I don’t need you to explain why it exists, it can exist just for funsies without serving any plot purposes, but I definitely want some more detail about the blood rain, it sounds cool.

—

TLDR; Weather cannot be untethered from its metaphorical and tonal implications, it’s just too entrenched in fictional associations. With that said, if weather in your book isn’t important at all to the story, randomly describing the sunny day at length is like describing the grass of a random lawn—we all know what random grass looks like. Unless the state of the lawn matters, it’s fluff. If it doesn’t service the character’s arc, the themes of the story, the tone of the scene, or the plot in any way, it can be skipped beyond relaying to your readers on the time of day and some sensory details like if it’s hot or windy or humid.

[roosterbox]

Fic Rec Friday 2/16/2024

Title: Like It Was Made For You

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandoms: X-Men: First Class (2011) RPF, British Actor RPF, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) RPF

Relationship: Michael Fassbender/James McAvoy

Characters: Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy

Additional Tags: Domestic Fluff, Mpreg, Breakfast in Bed, Coffee, Hurt/Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Love, Established Relationship

Summary: "I’m pregnant,” James says. This excuse works, as it has for the past seven and a half months. He’s beginning to feel a bit guilty about this, but only a bit, since he’s also feeling the size of a whale and distinctly uncomfortable. Michael smiles.

Or: adventures with tabasco sauce, hot coffee, hurt/comfort, and sunny mornings.

———

A blast from fandoms past today. These were the days…

Mpreg is my kryptonite. Seriously. If there’s ever a ship you want me to check out, and you want an absolute guarantee that I’ll read it? Drop me an mpreg fic. I may or may not enjoy it, but I will NEVER be able to resist the siren call of mpreg. You’d think I’d be more drawn to ABO as a result, but eh. Anyway.

The dynamic here is so good. I love McFassy fics where James is something of a lil shit. Because let’s face it - he absolutely is, lol. His restlessness is so well conveyed; I’ve never been (and never will be) pregnant, but somehow I still know how he feels. And Michael being the softer, perhaps more caring one of the two is lovely. He’s certainly a tad bit overprotective, but luckily for him, it’s endearing. Their relationship is so affectionate and playful. It’s a genuine pleasure to read these two guys just existing in the world and loving each other, eagerly awaiting the birth of their child.

I love the changing names for their kiddo too, shifting as they try different ones out. That kid, when they’re born, will be so fucking cherished and adored. Also, if you read other fics of this ship by one of these writers, you start to recognize familiar tropes. Those tropes are like a warm blanket for me whenever I reread this. Reminds me of a time, years ago, when we were all just enjoying reading, writing, and experiencing the relationship - friendly, sexual, and all points in between - of these two actors. Fun times, my dudes.

Important note: Locked fic, so no link, sorry. You can probably still find it fairly easily if you have an account though.

———

Next Week: For the penultimate fic in this year-long batch of weekly recommendations, how about a nice, smutty little Spacedogs story? Features include Lust/Love at First Sight and then almost immediately turning that UST into RST, Nigel being a lil shit, and transmasc Adam. An excellent combo if I do say so myself.

See you soon!

[veliseraptor]

Hi....if you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top 5 fav MXTX characters from all of her works (MDZS, TGCF, and SVSSS) that at first you think would dislike or just don't think much about them but at the end you like them anyway? And why? Thanks, Lise....

oh hmmmmm. let's see, this one is a little hard because for the most part I'm so predictable, but let's see here...

1. Shi Qingxuan. This is probably the...least surprising? of the bunch in some ways because she is just genuinely delightful from her first appearance and continues to be, but also she’s very much not at all a character type I’d usually go for? Bubbly, cheerful, outgoing, friendly...not usually my thing! and yet here I am going LADY WIND MASTER <3 <3 <3 all the time and it’s not just because of her deeply fucked up story arc (though that definitely doesn’t hurt).

Just...I think it’s the combination of the way that she’s so sunny and bright it’s kind of infectious, and particularly in contrast to her dour best friend, and the fact that while she’s flighty and sort of frivolous she’s also so good - generous, kind, quick to reach out to people who are on the fringes (Xie Lian being a prime example, but also Ming Yi!), and also very concerned with justice and at least trying to do the right thing.

And of course the deeply fucked up story arc, and the way that learning her backstory also suggests that at least some of that cheerful bubbliness is...almost an exaggeration that results from this deep-seated fear. At least, that’s my read.

But also just. so fucking endearing. I think it was the “using godly powers to create horror atmosphere” that really did me in for good on Shi Qingxuan Loving Hours Forever.

2. Lan Xichen. This is one where it’s not that I ever disliked him - I didn’t! - so much as he was just a character that I had some vague sense of positive feelings toward. And over time my feelings about him have waxed large and it’s not just because I like him that I named a plant after him (it’s a jade plant, I couldn’t not), but that was a factor.

I think it has something to do with the combination of “very good person, severely damaged” that I sometimes really go for? And also “good person, doomed” which isn’t always a thing I go for, but ‘doomed’ is a major factor.

But just...the way he relates to the world, and the heartbreaking ways in which his trying so hard to do the right thing, to be fair, doesn’t work for him, in large part because of the world he lives in.

I also just want him to like...have things for himself. Have a lot of feelings about Lan Xichen and the prison of perfection and expectations and pedestalization, and the way that he doesn’t have a lot of space to be selfish, and the one place I feel like he really lets himself have something where he’s not bearing some kind of responsibility, where it’s a relationship that is (while also political, sure) for himself, it...turns out catastrophically.

Big ouch.

3. Jin Ling. I’m just not that into teenage/child characters! I’m not. They don’t interest me. and yet. I think Jin Ling’s deal for me is a mix of “god you’re a mess” and also “this kid is trying so hard” and that makes me want to give him a hug and a pat on the head and tell him he’s doing pretty good actually.

Just...kid really is a mess. and yet he is trying. and that combination is sort of kryptonite for me.

4. Yin Yu. I mean, for most of the first two thirds of TGCF Yin Yu is relatively unremarkable and a nonentity (sorry, buddy) and then all of a sudden here the backstory comes in Mount Tong’lu and I’m like. oh shit.

and then the scene in Heaven where Jun Wu offers to give Yin Yu Quan Yizhen’s power and Yin Yu refuses and I was like ohhhhh shit.

picking up another character with a massive inferiority complex and martial sibling issues!!! never enough of those

5. Jun Wu. DIDN’T SEE THAT ONE COMING AT ALL and yet there we are, in book fucking five, practically at the last moment and I’m like. oh. oh dear. I’m having feelings about the Heavenly Emperor.

I mean, to be slightly fair to me I was already having feelings about Bai Wuxiang but those were mostly “love this, love this dynamic, love everything going on here” and not, you know, “oh god my thing for disappointed idealists who crashed and burned and are now taking it out on the rest of the world” which was where that ended up, with a side of... “antagonists who have kind of sort of always been looking for someone to prove them wrong and take them down on some level because they’re very fucking tired but can’t just stop”

anyway. Didn’t see that coming.

BONUS: Pei Ming. Even more than Jun Wu this came out of left fucking field and I wouldn’t call him a favorite or anything but I do have this vague slightly inexplicable fondness for him? I think it’s because he spends so much of his on-page time being vaguely ridiculous. And he’s just so...affable, I don’t know, and I find his reactions to Hua Cheng and Xie Lian delightful, and his role as one of the Three Tumors/Mean Girl Triad even more delightful...yeah, idk. Didn’t expect to find myself looking fondly at the womanizer and going “yeah, you’re all right” and yet here I am.

[kuekyuuq]

What happened to Lena’s mother?

Here we go, me dissecting a fictional show again, to try and find meaning while its sixth season is on summer break, and because apparently everything may or may not be relevant again. So let’s cut to the chase:

What we've been told:

"We were visiting family she said. Somewhere by the water, a lake I think. It was... It was so green. It wasn't a very bright day, it was overcast, but my mom said that's where the magic was. It was the rain that made the green. So of course, she went swimming. She didn't come back. [...] I was with her on the shore, when she went in, and when she went under and I did nothing." 

[Lena Luthor - 4x07]

I don’t know about you all, but... this whole description always felt strange to me, like there was more going on than Lena’s mother just going for a swim while it was overcast and raining, the loving and devoted mother she’s described as leaving her little girl on the shore alone. In a show like Supergirl and with Lena’s mother’s fairy-tale connection, I find it hard to imagine that the woman just had a leg cramp and drowned... Not to undermine the tragic of it all. For any child a mother’s death and the sub-sequential uprooting would equal to, like, all of a sudden losing one’s whole world, only to be flown to what is essentially a whole new and entirely different world and to be put with a family of strangers...  Is it just me who sees the parallel here? ...where was I? Right. So let me dissect the wording and add my two cents:

Visiting family, huh?

Lena seems to have no other family but the Luthors, with Lionel being her ever absent bio-dad (until he died) and Lex being her half-brother.

Lena's mom said they’d visit family, went into a lake and [presumably] died.

So, was her mother suicidal? Went to 'join' her non-alive family?

If Lena's mother wasn't suicidal, but indeed referring to their family, then... who could she have been referring to?

The visiting part also may or may not imply something non-permanent.

I honestly don’t believe in the “suicidal” approach, as even Lex noted how sunny and light the woman was. She’s described as happy and carefree...

Lena (who according to Lex's journals was capable of remembering people and events from before she was 4 years old accurately) only remembers it was by the water, guesses it was a lake. Something about the location (or something at the location) stuck with Lena as "lake-like".

It was overcast and raining. (Young-)Lena concluded that was what made everything look green. I mean, we assume this happened in Ireland, so green should have been somewhat normal for her? Yet, this stood out to her... 

So... magic? 

Lena's mother was into that fairy-tale / folklore book, y'know, the one Lena used to find the Medallion of Acrata, that Andrea snagged (and which we seemingly will see a lot more of in s06). 

The medallion being real is a rather good indicator that whatever 'magic' is described in that book is at least to some degree rooted in (the show's) reality.

[Aside from “The Adventure of Acrata”, the set-designers inserted “Hans in Luck”, “The Fox's Brush” and “The Grateful Beasts” (Brothers Grimm) to the book’s pages. Oookay.]

Green, so green.

Most obvious thought would be Kryptonite. But I cannot find any reference of green Kryptonite doing something that could remotely fit the scene described. I was sorta hoping, maybe the rain tainting everything green could be a meteor shower, but this event happened in 1997. Kal's pod (and the accompanying Kryptonite shower) fell to Earth around 1979. Couldn't have been some greenK following in the wake of Kara's pod either, because that didn't arrive on Earth until 2003.

Also also, Lena's mother apparently knew where to go in advance. This leads me to believe it may have been a "natural" occurrence.

What else is green?

Well, the Arrowverse’s Temporal Vortex for one.

Or the sky (light) at the Dawn of Time.

Am I really alone in the belief, that maybe, just maybe, Lena’s mother searched and found a “magical” place that happened to be some sort of portal?  ...to “visit family”? Maybe? Possibly had intended to take Lena with her? Something went wrong (as things always do when magical stuff is involved)?

"So of course, she went swimming," she said in a sarcastic tone.

That can easily be adult-Lena's way of belittling the moment, distancing herself from her own pain by adding some sarcasm. Lena's mother clearly went into something (”lake-like”), and never came back, presumably in a good mood (at least not scared) and without hesitation. Lena thinks "lake" and her mother "going under", while she herself remained at the edge of the event. Remember: This whole narration is what her 4-yo self saw and understood, revisited through an (guilt-ridden, self-deprecating) adult’s lens.

Here's a little tidbit, that I found checks quite a lot of boxes:

In Celtic/Irish mythology there is this supernatural "Otherworld" (aka Avalon in the King Arthur Legend), a realm of the deities and possibly also of the dead / ancestors and/or heroes. Apparently it is similar to a parallel universe (or some sort of multiverse) and a happy place. This elusive place is reached by entering ancient burial mounds, caves or by going under the waters of pools, lakes or the sea (giving it one of its many other names, Tír fo Thuinn, "land under the wave") or by crossing the western sea. And/or it sorta connects (at certain times or random / aforementioned places), signaled by fog, mists, sudden changes in the weather, appearance of unusual animals or divine beings. In tales featuring this realm, sometimes the hero returns after what he believes is a short time, only to find that all his companions are dead and he has actually been away for hundreds of years.

You know where you'd learn about “Otherworld” (aside from wikipedia)? In a book of fairy-tales, folklores and myths.

Now, there’s currently this fan-theory that Nyxlygsptlnz could be ...Lena’s mother...

Alright, similar’ish hair-do. I give you that. And the way the clothing bunches at the shoulders looks similar... It’s possible, I guess. Visually, at least.

However, Nyxly shared her troubled past, and Miss “tried to cut my father's throat” seems to not have (had) nearly the care-free, loving, playful, free-spirited character Lena’s mother has been described with. Who sang an Irish lullaby to a 7 year old Lex. And worked with/for Lionel for several years... Plus, wasn’t Lena to look ‘exactly’ like her mother?  So... yeah, if the writers go there, I will have serious problems suspending my disbelief.  That’s all I have for the moment.  Thanks for reading and as always don’t feel shy to correct me or help me find more clues.

[marblenarwhal]

ok wait ok so i watched s10-s15 of Sunny and now im going back to season 1 and... i honestly think it might be might favourite season so far? excluding the transphobia, anyways. so like... the first 3 eps lmao.

is that controversial? i know they’ve said they were still finding their groove and have mixed feelings about some eps but i kinda really love the groundedness of it, and the shitty low budget look that makes it almost feel like an indie movie. plus the focus on the characters and their relationships and history?? it’s my kryptonite

i wonder if there’s an alternate timeline where instead of becoming a cartoonish absurdist comedy, Sunny got picked up by Showtime or HBO and turned into an award-winning early 2000s satirical dramedy

[bobasheebaby]

75 Criminal Minds Prompts

Some of these can easily go very, very dirty, and yes I’m talking about Morgan and Garcia conversations and honestly would it be a list without them?

1 “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you’ve really stopped to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. ― Hotch

2 “Life is a hell of a thing to happen to someone.”― David Rossi

3 “Destroying a book is like…destroying a whole world.” — Diana Reid 

4 “Trust me, kiddo. I’ve been here before.” ― David Rossi

5 “I’ve always heard every ending is also a beginning. We just don’t know it at the time. I’d like to believe that’s true.” — Emily Prentiss 

6 “He is the perfect man. He doesn’t hog the covers, and he poops in a box.” — Emily Prentiss 

7 “Went on a diet last night. Lost 185 pounds.” — Dr. Tara Lewis 

8 “Marital bliss followed by marital diss! Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?” — Penelope Garcia

9 “I don’t take kindly to being blown up. In fact, it kind of pisses me off.” — Derek Morgan 

10 “You know, I've learned that, in the short time I've had the privilege of being a dad... it heals wounds, just being there for your kid.” — David Rossi

11 “What makes you feel confident?” “Statistics.” — Derek Morgan and Dr Spencer Reid

12 “NAME , believe me when I say this, I've never known a normal day in my entire life.” — Dr Spencer Reid

13 “The number of pathogens passed during a handshake is staggering. It's actually safer to kiss.” — Dr Spencer Reid

14 “No one gets therapy these days without a healthy dose of medication.” “What are you implying, NAME?” “That everyone is medicated.” — Dr Spencer Reid and Penelope Garcia

15 “He/She doesn't give a damn about black or white. The only color that son of a bitch cares about is green.” — Dr Spencer Reid

16 “I don't know everything. I mean, despite the fact that you think that I do.” “I never said that. When have I ever said that?” “Every day since I met you!” — Dr Spencer Reid and Derek Morgan

17 “I never have any normal fans.” — Dr Spencer Reid

18 “Hey, Baby Girl, whatever you’re doing, drop it.” — Derek Morgan

19 “Talk to me, Baby Girl.” — Derek Morgan

20 “There you go, Baby Girl, that’s sweet.” — Derek Morgan

21 “Give it to me, doll face.” — Derek Morgan

22 “Hey, doll face. Ready to work some magic for me?” — Derek Morgan

23 “Hey, silly girl. I love you, you know that, right?” — Derek Morgan

24 “Hey girl, you’re on speaker. Behave.” “Or what, you’ll spank me?” — Derek Morgan and Penelope Garcia

25 “It was once said that love is giving someone the ability to destroy you, but trusting them not to.” — Derek Morgan

26 “Hey baby girl, I need you to work that magic of yours.” “Rub my lamp, release the Genie.” — Derek Morgan and Penelope Garcia

27 “You really are afraid of the dark.” “I'm working on that.” “You should work a little harder.” — Derek Morgan and Dr Spencer Reid

28 “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, pump your brakes. What is this about?” — Derek Morgan

29 “Oh, and if you hate sad stories as much as I do, you should leave the room right now, 'cause this is super sad!” — Penelope Garcia

30 “Enchantress of all things possible, use your imagination.” — Penelope Garcia

31 “My least three favorite words strung together: I don't know.” — Penelope Garcia

32 “Hello, my pretties. I have seen the wizard and he granted my wish.” — Penelope Garcia

33 “She knew where to toe the line between right and raunchy.” — Penelope Garcia

34 “OK, let me get you on a secret: Guys, we don’t do well on subtle clues, OK? You got to be direct, straight up. Just tell him exactly what you want!” — Derek Morgan

35 “It’s who you are, Baby Girl. You see the beauty in everything and everyone no matter where you go. That part of you is never gonna change, and I won’t let it.” — Derek Morgan

36 “NAME, people need to know that they're important and sometimes you forget that.” — Hotch

37 “Don't you have something better to do?” “Than to annoy you for three hours? Hell no.” — Hotch and Derek Morgan

38 “I think, deep down, we're all capable of unspeakable things. Where it starts or what you call it, I don't know.” — Hotch

39 “NAME, this is the job, and I need to know that you can be objective.” “And I need to know that I can be human.” — Hotch and Emily Prentiss

40 “Scars show us where we have been, they do not dictate where we are going.” — Rossi

41 “You don't need to do anything you don't want to. Understand?” — Rossi

42 “Just be careful. That ego of yours is going to get you in trouble." — Rossi

43 “Somewhere along the line, I put myself first. I admit it, but I can't go back and change it." — Rossi

44 “It could be that, after all of these years, I rewrote history." — Rossi

45 “Time will pass and slowly you will find how much it hurts. And, maybe, you'll find something else to fill that empty space." — Rossi

46 “Where you headed?” “Nowhere in particular.” “How will you know when you get there?” — Rose and Gideon

47 “Only a man would waste $50 trying to win back that $3 stuffed animal.” — JJ

48 “This is my favorite part. This is where you hang yourself with your own tongue. So, please keep talking.” — JJ

49 “My father/mother believes that children shouldn't be shielded from the realities of the world. I do! Isn't that why we read them fairy tales in the first place?” — JJ

50 “Oh god, please tell me you don't have a crush on a fictional character.” — JJ

51 “You are the best ever.” “Aw, and you're the most perceptive.” — JJ and Garcia

52 “I once dated a guy/girl who washed his/her car more than he/she washed his/her hair.” — JJ

53 “Don't tell me what I want and don't want.” — JJ

54 “You do what it takes to protect your family.” — JJ

55 “Look, I don't speak smartass.” — Michael Russo

56 “How's it having NAME around?” “You can have him/her back whenever you would like.” Hotch and Garcia

57 “So, NAME, when are you and NAME walking down the aisle?” “Hey, whoa, whoa. Baby steps. Baby steps.” “When NAME says "I do", it'll be a national day of mourning for single men/women everywhere.” — Rossi, Morgan and Reid

58 “Ugh! This heat is brutal!” “You know, it isn't so much the heat as it is the humidity.” “At some point, it doesn't matter how you look at it. It all sucks.” — Derek Morgan and Dr Spencer Reid

59 “Need a minute?” “So, so badly.” — Matt Simmons and Penelope Garcia

60 “Hey. I came as soon as I could. What's wrong?” — Matt Simmons

61 “We ask questions, and we come home.” “No creepy weirdness?” “No weirdness.” “Good, 'cause I'm about full up in the creepy weirdness department for one night.” — Matt Simmons and Penelope Garcia

62 “Ooh, what about this one? Sunny, two-bedroom. It's close to work. And it's in your price range.” “NAME, you're moving? You don't like change.” “That's true. Change is my kryptonite. But the apartment is no longer a sanctuary. I have a new neighbor. Window's right here. He enjoys doing naked kung fu. Some things you cannot unsee.” — JJ, Simmons and Garcia

63 “Thank you.” “For what?” “For being you.” “Aw, thanks. I don't know how to be anyone else.” — Emily Prentiss and Dr Spencer Reid

64 “When a woman tells a man about her feelings, she doesn't want him to fix her. She wants him to shut up and listen.” — Emily Prentiss

65 “I just feel I can't understand others' emotions if I don't deal with my own, you know?” “The best way out is always through.” “Too bad it's not always the easiest one.” “You're not kidding.” — Dr Tara Lewis and Rossi

66 “It helps if they think you're crazy. They don't argue.” — Diana Reid

67 “I don’t hate you ... I’m just not necessarily excited about your existence.” — Dr Spencer Reid

68 “There are many paths to the same place. Trust me.” “Just so you know, you sound like a fortune cookie.” — Hotch

69 “I’m always right. Also, you’re secretly in love with me.” — Penelope Garcia

70 “I just gave the bartender my number in Roman numerals. If he/she figures it out, he’s/she’s worth a shot.” — Dr Spencer Reid

71 “Shh, the adults are talking. When it’s your turn to speak, I’ll give you permission. Okay?” — JJ

72 “Hey, mama, tell me something I don’t know.” — Derek Morgan

73 “Talk dirty to me.” — Penelope Garcia

75 “Hey, don’t make me spank you when I get back.” “Don’t listen time him/her, NAME, he’s/she’s all talk.” — Derek Morgan and Dr Spencer Reid

[luckycloud808]

weird asks that say a lot from @julietgiulia​

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans? Coffee mugs

2. chocolate bars or lollipops? Chocolate 

3. bubblegum or cotton candy? Neither

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you? Shy, conscientious, perfectionist

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups? Glasses

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear? All contributors

7. earbuds or headphones? Earbuddies :)

8. movies or tv shows? Movies

9. favourite smell in the summer? Hot soil, flowering plants, fruit and needle trees, post rain, towel after ocean swim, wind through car window driving through forest(ed highway)

10. game you were best at in p.e.? Hockey, soccer, california kickball, high jump and arm hang? 

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day? Usually oatmeal or millet with omegas, fruit and oat milk or avocado bagel with black pepper and nutritional yeast

12. name of your favourite playlist? A nice mix for ness

13. lanyard or key ring? Key ring

14. favourite non-chocolate candy? Licorice, candied fennel or anise seeds

15. favourite book you read as a school assignment? Les miserables, The thief lord, The cellist of Sarajevo - off the top

16. most comfortable position to sit in? Slumpy posture, one leg over or under the other, knee tuck or apple sauce

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes? Hiking boots or black sambas

18. ideal weather? Sunny after rain a little windy

19. sleeping position? No pillow usually on my left or on my back or front with one leg bent 

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)? Notebook or notes app

21. obsession from childhood? Fairies and making homes

22. role model? Opa

23. strange habits? Not sure what qualifies as strange

24. favourite crystal? Not really into them but maybe jade or quartz 

25. first song you remember hearing? I turned out a punk or something by Joe Strummer

26. favourite activity to do in warm weather? Backpacking

27. favourite activity to do in cold weather? Cuddling, snowy adventuring, dancing

28. five songs to describe you? Hazel (bob dylan), Planted a thought (arthur russell), Junie (solange), Corridor of dreams (the cleaners from venus), Even cowgirls get the blues (emmylou harris)

29. best way to bond with you? Quality time, presence, care, spontaneity / silly curiousity

30. places that you find sacred? Oma and Opa’s yard and greenhouse, forest, Veluwe, ocean

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names? Floral dress, nice earrings with sambas and sweatshirt or hiking boots, wool socks and over shirt, with shorts and tank top

32. top five favourite vines? Fresh avocado is the only one that comes to mind

33. most used phrase in your phone? Yay sweet and or That’s funny

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head? Can’t think of any

35. average time you fall asleep? 2am

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing? Probably one of those justgirlythings ones here or Fb I have no idea

37. suitcase or duffel bag? Suitcase

38. lemonade or tea? Tea

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie? Lemon tart

40. weirdest thing to ever happen to you at your school? High school - Maybe bear spray yoe evac? authority figure telling me what I was wearing was inappropriate? psych teacher crying in class? Post sec - Tiktok famous boy makes a tiktok of me knitting in psych class? boy crushing steals my textbook just to get me to go to his car so he can return it to me? 

41. last person you texted? Daisy 🌼

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets? BOTH

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket? Hoodie

44. favourite scent for soap? Rose, patchouli, rosemary, lavendar, mint, etc.

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero? Fantasy

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in? Naked 

47. favourite type of cheese? Cashew cheese or if I could brie

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be? White nectarine but there are so many to try!

49. what saying or quote do you live by? “She walked with her entire body as if to gain momentum for an event in which her entire body would participate.” - Anaïs Nin (A spy in the house of love)

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have? Probably my kid best friend

51. current stresses? Health issues, unstable income

52. favorite font? Freight rn

53. what is the current state of your hands? Coffee shakes

54. what did you learn from your first job? Hundreds of PLU’s, how to pack groceries, how messy and wasteful people are, that everyone should have to do a customer service job in their lifetime, how really great and awful people are, that I shouldn’t let other people’s stresses make me feel like I should be stressed, that quitting is good sometimes

55. favourite fairy tale? The six swans, Vasalisa the wise, Baba yaga, Bluebeard, Rumpelstiltskin, The red shoes, The velvet ribbon, Goldilocks and the three bears, and many many more

56. favourite tradition? Writing letters and cards, dressing up for halloween, celebrating birthdays

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome? Eating disorder, depression and heartbreak (although these are things I still need to keep being overcome)

58. four talents you’re proud of having? Writing, taking notes, learning about my body, feeling for what resonates

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be? Heyo, how bout that!

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be? Nausicaä of the valley of the wind (hayao miyazaki)

61. favourite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.? Recently found on my Tumblr feed from a book waiting on my shelf: “I want to believe, walking those aimless nights, that I was praying. For what I’m still not sure. But I always felt it was just ahead of me. That if I walked far enough, long enough, I would find it–perhaps even hold it up, like a tongue at the end of its word.” - Ocean Vuong (On earth we’re briefly gorgeous)

62. seven characters you relate to? In no particular order, not long thought out: 1) Sabina (A spy in the house of love), 2) Elio (Call me by your name), 3) Patti (Just kids), 4) Sally (The ruby in the smoke), 5) Camille (Un amour de jeunesse), 6) Dani (Midsommar), 7) Orla (Derry Girls)

63. five songs that would play in your club? I follow rivers - the magician remix (lykke li), JA! (bizzey), Gasolina (daddy yankee), Nice for what (drake), This must be the place - naive melody (talking heads) / love my way (psychedelic furs)

64. favourite website from your childhood? Myscene, Club penguin - those free gaming websites 

65. any permanent scars? A few on my face from tables and my dog, one on my knee from flip flops on a boat launch, a few burns here and there that probably aren’t permanent

66. favourite flower(s)? Always changing, echinacea and yellow roses rn

67. good luck charms? Change on the ground, nice earrings, well worn shoes, spotting flowers or animals

68. worst flavour of any food or drink you’ve ever tried? Cream of mushroom

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned? Popped in my head, maybe not the most fun - the flower bud in the centres of apple tree fruiting spurs make the king fruit (the biggest and best apple from each spur) and if you pick the king blossom then all the surrounding blossoms will be bigger and better 

70. left or right handed? Right

71. least favourite pattern? Galaxy?

72. worst subject? Economics

73. favourite weird flavour combo? Miso and apple, blueberries and coconut curry, orange juice and beer (I don't know if its really possible to find a “weird” combo maybe it’s more like “not found in my culture”)

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen? 5 if 0 is no pain (I don't think I’ve been above 8.5)

75. when did you lose your first tooth? No idea

76. what’s your favourite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)? Gnocchi or boerenkool

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill? Flowering plants

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store? Station coffee

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo? School id

80. earth tones or jewel tones? Earth

81. fireflies or lightning bugs? I don't think I have much experience with either

82. pc or console? I cannot either way

83. writing or drawing? This is my kryptonite question

84. podcasts or talk radio? Podcasts if I had to choose

84. barbie or polly pocket? Polly pocket

85. fairy tales or mythology? Mythology (stories are linked more)

86. cookies or cupcakes? Cookies

87. your greatest fear? My health issues keep accumulating and getting worse forever

88. your greatest wish? My health issues resolve

89. who would you put before everyone else? Myself, Suzmom or Marleymoon

90. luckiest mistake? Choosing mini school, don't regret it but maybe not the best decision

91. boxes or bags? Bags

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights? Sunlight and rocksalt lamps

93. nicknames? Ness, nessie, nessa, bean, bear, benjamin, kindje, sweet pea

94. favourite season? Late spring or late summer

95. favourite app on your phone? Flo, Spotify, Google maps, notes, weather, find my

96. desktop background? Santa Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized? 7+

98. favourite historical era? I love revolutions and renaissances but all of em have hard times and good times

[rubiakxma]

@psychokineticsunshine​​​ asked: ((slam dunks my url in here :D Opinion Meme//ACCEPTING

My Opinion on:

The Character(s) in general: Silver the hedgehog is a cinnamon roll who should be loved and protected forever. How they play them: Sunny is a cinnamon roll who should be loved and protected forever as well. Sunny is an angel baby who should be adopted by the shadows and protected at all costs because he is too fucking pure for this world. The Mun: Hedgieeeee. I love me some Hedgieeee. I’ve known hedgie since i started on tumblr and they are just a positive influence in everyone’s life. She is so sweet and is always there to provide hugs when comfort is needed. Adopt yourself a hedgie. Its good for you.

Do I:

RP with them: I will always roleplay with Sunny. Want to RP with them: Yes. Angst and mush is my kryptonite and she provideee<3

What is my:

Overall Opinion: Stop reading this and go follow hedgie’s angel baby and protect them. 

[teacupwriter]

11/11/11 tag game

Thanks so much for the tag and awesome questions, @jaydewritesfiction! It’s been an Age since I’ve done any tag games (moment of silence for all the ones I straight up forgot about... sorry) but anyway. Let’s do this.

Rules: Answer the 11 questions of the person who tagged you, make up 11 questions, then tag 11 people to answer them.

What is your ideal writing environment? - Quiet! I like listening to my own music, but any other background sound is kryptonite for me. My ideal writing position is probably sitting on my bed with a sleeping cat tucked up next to me. (Until said cat wakes up and decides to flick his tail across my screen...)

Do you have any writing rituals? - I don’t know if this counts as a ritual, but I do listen to music a lot while writing, and making wip playlists and pinterest boards feels very ritualistic and inherent to my writing process.

What’s your favourite aspect of drafting? - I don’t really ‘draft’ in the classic sense? My first draft tends to incorporate a lot of editing and such as I go along. But I do love reading back through what I’ve written and just ripping into it on that first edit, cutting lines and shifting focus and being really brutal. Might sound weird but that’s always fun for me, because that’s when I nail down what the story wants to feel like.

How do you go about brainstorming and developing ideas? - Hm. I kind of... get a story in my head and then think about it? Constantly? I walk around and I may be doing other things but all the while I’m perseverating on the characters and certain scenes, and I’ll just pick up new ideas and add them into the stew. I love watching movies or tv for inspiration, too.

What was the most recent thing you’ve been inspired by? - Haha uhh this is gonna sound really horrible, but recently a woman was found floating down the river super close to where I live (she was rescued and it turned out totally fine) but she was found by a group of teens and was refusing to answer questions about who she was or where she came from and my brain was like !!! story?¿

Rainy day writing inside or sunny day writing outside? - Rainy day writing inside!!!!! 100%!!!

Which themes/topics are you most drawn to? - Uhhh romance, for sure. Specifically queer romance. Also friendship, coming of age, self-discovery, trust/betrayal, found family, and uncovering corruption/deceit.

Do you read a lot in the genre(s) you write? - All my projects are YA, and while I do read a lot there is just SO MUCH good YA out there that I feel like I could never read enough! And if fanfic is a genre... then yes, lol. I read a lot of fanfic.

How would you describe your writing voice? - Character-centric and character-driven. Very... physiological? As in, lots of description of physical/internal responses. Head-scratching metaphors.

Which project gave you the most challenges? How did you overcome them? - Probably the most challenging project I’ve finished was my first full-length story, a 140k Tintin fanfic I started when I was 14, and finished when I was 18. I guess I triumphed by just pushing through and forcing myself to work things out, though it wasn’t much fun by the end. I’m still glad I finished, though, because that’s such a satisfying feeling.

Which project gave you the most enjoyment to write? - Not to talk about fanfic again, but since all the projects I’ve finished are fanfic... I really really loved writing my weird genderbent That ‘70s Show fic. It was very close to my heart and it just poured out of me. You know those stories that hit you like a bolt of lightning and you’re just the hapless conduit? It was like that.

Here go my questions!

What’s one thing/detail you always find yourself writing into every story?

What is your number one writing ‘crutch’ or filler phrase? (Examples: saying ‘just’ too much in dialogue, characters raising their eyebrows, etc.)

What is your opinion on the oxford comma?

What’s a genre you’ve never written but would love to try?

If you could live in any of your stories, which would it be and why?

Do you remember the first thing you wrote? If so, what was it?

What character type are you a sucker for?

What‘s your least favorite writing advice and why do you hate it?

What’s your favorite writing advice, or advice that’s helped you a lot?

Which of your characters are you most different from? Do you find it hard to write them, or not?

What do you want to be known for as a writer?

Tagging: @scribble-dee-vee, @katiehahnbooks, @cabaretofwords, @kittensartswriting, @thelittlestspider, @mythwords, @wrotethestars, @anzwrites, @dczwrites, @arwallace and @juls-writes if you’d like!!

[yuuugay]

My favorite trio of sunshines +ft my edgy mc Ner ☀️

[r1k-y9]

art block is hitting so hard rn it sucks ass but here are some drawings that I made while fighting it off LMAO

[heroes-never-discourse]

i'm not op of that 'if you read yaoi' post but i'll take some cute bl recs anyway. i literally only just started reading manga this week and i'd love to add some more titles to my to read list

!!!!

absolutely anon, let me tell you I spent three weeks reading nothing but bl and it was Great and now I have Many recs for you

warning! this is Gonna Be Very Long so my recs’ll be under the cut (bolded ones are my favorites!)

1K Apartment no Koi

24 Jikan Eigyouchuu

After Morning Love and its spin-off Before Daylight Love

Ai ga Love Shite You nanosa(this one is as ridiculous as it is adorable, so fucking funny)

Amayadori wa Basu-tei de

Ameiro no Toge

Ameiro Paradox(this one is still ongoing; i usually hate when love interests do nothing but bicker? but the journalist boyfriends just do something right for me. and Natsume Isaku is just one of my favorite mangakas! love most of her work)

Ano Koi no Tsuzuki

Arashi no Ato

Bikkuri suru hodo Doji na Koi

Body Talk Paradox(the second and third stories are the best ones, really love the art style, it’s very crisp, and one of the side characters/one half of the secondary couple has one of the most unique designs I’ve seen in a BL)

Boku no Ano Ko

Boku to Neko to Hatsukoi Kousa

Bokura wa Sore wo Hitei Dekinai

Chiisana Koi no Melody

Chikatetsu no Inu

Colorful Line

Konbini-kun.(I love Junko’s art style it’s very very cute)

Count 0(boy can see a counter above everyone’s heads that counts the number of lies that person has told in their life and is jaded because of it, until he meets another boy whose counter reads 0, very cute)

Doukyuusei and its sequels Sotsugyousei and O.B.

Doushitemo Furetakunai and its spin-off Soredemo, Yasashii Koi o Suru(Doushitemo is top tier okay, it’s one of my absolute favorites, the romance is lowkey and sweet and they’re just so good ;~;)

Doushiyoumo Nai Keredo

Endou-kun no Kansatsu Nikki

Faraway

Gentei Kareshi

Gosan no Heart and its spin-off Owaranai Fukou ni Tsuite no Hanashi

Gunjou no Subete

Hachimitsu Darling

Hana no Mizo Shiru(very very sweet, I’m pretty sure I teared up at one point)

Hanagaya Eigyousho no Kare

Hand Which

Harapeko Usagi to Koisuru Ookami

Hare no Hi

Hatsukoi (Kakine)(very silly, there’s like four different love stories happening in this one boarding house, it’s great)

Hatsukoi (Kazuki)(so this mangaka has a huge list of Haikyuu doujins they’ve done, and I hadn’t watched Haikyuu before I read this but now that I have I can’t unsee the fact that the main characters look like Kageyama and Hinata lmfao)

Hatsukoi no Atosaki

Heart no Kakurega(the secondary couple are hit or miss but the main couple Izumi and Haru are so pure?? they’re so sweet I love them a lot)

Hibi Koikoi

Himegoto Asobi(I’m a goddamn sucker for single dad falls in love stories and this one is one of the best)

The Iberiko Buta series(this manga is so fucking funny?? the initial couple are cute and hilarious idiots, while the second couple are a bit more lowkey and bittersweet, and overall it’s such a funny cute read)

Illumination(this manga is melancholy in book form, I really love this mangakas writing style, the stories are all bittersweet and its some beautiful, beautiful angst)

Kaeru no Prince-sama

Kakugo wo Kimete

Kanemochi-kun to Binbou-kun (“I fell in love when I was sixteen”. great. thanks manga. now i’m crying.)

Kasa no Shita, Futari

Katappashi Kara Zenbu Koi

Kigurumi Planet (the premise for this one??? is so off the wall and ridiculous lmao this manga has no right to be as good as it is, the couple is very sweet and the story is actually pretty good if you can get past how fucking bonkers the premise is)

Kimi to Aruku

Kimi to Date (short and sweet! I love the art style)

Konya mo Nemurenai and its spin-off Kimi to Kore kara(college boy accidentally summons a demon who decides to stick around so he doesn’t have to go home and marry his childhood friend - I fucking love Konya so much, and the love interest Endo is legit one of my favorite characters, I usually hate assholeish semes but he just pulls it off so well; the spin-off features the secondary couple of Konya)

Kimi wa Natsu no Naka

Kiraboshi Dial

Kirakira no Hibi

Kodomo ga Neta Ato de

Koi made Hyakurin and its spin-off Akunin o Nakaseru Houhou (young heir to his grandfather’s yakuza group starts hero-worshiping an ex-yakuza florist (who now hates yakuza) and eventually they fall for each other - listen this manga was made for me, I love yakuza with a heart of gold and ex-yakuza archetypes so fucking much, i love this manga a lot and the main couple is so sweet; the spin-off features ex-yakuza’s older brother)

Koi ni mo Naranai.

Koi no Hanashi ga Shitai

Koko ni Aru, Kimi no Oto

Konya, Mister de

Kuchizuke wa Niji no Ue de (the premise for this is so cute and unique! a man who’s followed by sunny weather and a man who’s followed by stormy weather meet and decide to go mountain climbing! very cute)

Kurayami ni Strobe

Life, Love (okay listen this one! i did enjoy this one How. Ever. it’s a story where a seemingly not so smart man is made to guard the man that he and his boss kidnapped, and then they maybe??? fall in love over the course of the kidnapping and that’s the first half of the story, and the relationships are very weird and complex and the characters are also weird and complex? and it’s very unsatisfying as a romance but still somehow satisfying? except the ending which left me just shocked laughing like ‘that’s it?????’ and i’m still not sure how i feel about it but i’m pretty sure i liked it and yeah disclaimer over)

Link: Boku to Kimi no Aida

Lotus Eater

Lucky Number 13(okay no this one is so sweet and cute, a huge baseball otaku falls for a boy who is plagued with bad luck unless he’s dating someone, in which case his bad luck transfers to his partner, they’re such a pure couple and it’s a very sweet and funny story and I love it)

Mad Cinderella(this one isn’t totally scanlated :( but there’s still a lot of it scanned and it’s all very cute and worth)

Mahoutsukai no Koi

The Mainichi Seiten Series; Mainichi Seiten, Kodomo wa Tomaranai, Children’s Time, Kodomo no Iibun, Aki-chan no Iibun, Isoganaide, Hanaya no Nikai de(very very slice of life, three couples in all, the first volume is kind of slow and the art is kinda rough and the couple is very chaste but still cute and the art gets better through the series, and the other two relationships are top tier and overall this series is one of my absolute favorites)

Mayoke no Darling

Mazu wa, Hitokuchi.(okay but the premise is a farm that secretly raises flying pigs how amazing is that)

Me wo Tojite 3-Byou

Merry Checker

Motto Aishiaimasho

Nakanai Hotaru

Nee Senpai, Oshiete yo

Negative-kun to Positive-kun

Neko no Koi (I really love young masters who are in love with their less well-off childhood friend/keeper that’s some good shit)

Nennen Saisai

Nichijousahan Bi - Beautiful Life

No Color

Number Call

Okujou no Bye-Bye

Omamori Shimasu, Dokomademo

Ringo ni Hachimitsu and its sequel Kare no Barairo no Jinsei (i really love this mangakas art style and way of writing, very good)

Rutta to Kodama (listen these boys will be the death of me, I love delinquents especially delinquents with hearts of gold, and Rutta is the epitome of that, he and Kodama are so fucking sweet and I just love them so so much, one of my absolute favorites)

Saiyaku wa Boku wo Suki Sugiru(this one is still ongoing! it’s basically a soul mate au where if one half gets injured the other is the one who sustains the injury, turned into a family curse that lasts a year upon the younger one’s 17th birthday, so very very good)

Sannin Gurashi (i love this one it’s so sweet ;~;)

Sawattemo Ii kana (also not completely scanlated and I cry every day because of it)

Sayonara, Heron

Sayonara, Itoshi no My Friend

Seinen wa Ai o Kou

Sense of Love

Seven Days

Shitteru yo.

Shuuden Elegy

Signal

Soko ni Suwaru na

Sonna Me de Mitekure (this one??? is fUCKing ridiculous, I laughed through the entire thing it’s fucking ridiculous omg)

Sono Koi ni wa Wake ga Aru(love!!!! i love this one! so much! stoic but gentle semes are my fucking kryptonite okay and Azuma is that in spades, he and Aoi are just so fucking cute)

Sono Mama de

Sore wa Isshun no Hikari, dewa Naku

Sore o Koigokoro to Yobu no Nara

Sorenari ni Shinken Nan desu.(this is basically a sick fic featuring an overworked single dad and his playboy regular who’s in love with him, literally one of my absolute favorites and I think the first yaoi I ever read? Oosawa and Yoshioka are top tier and it’s just so sweet and feel-good, ugh I love)

Spotlight Lover

Star-like Words

Sugar Code(mix competent yakuza with useless gay and you get Oodoi, it’s beautiful; I love Oodoi and Akira a lot)

Suteneko no Karte

Te o Tsunai de Koi o(”oh you guys don’t get along? okay now you have to hold hands the entire walk home until you do” lmao archery club president knows what’s up)

Tear Drop

The Killer

Tight Rope(i’ve already exposed my love for yakuza and ‘young master in love with his childhood friend’ archetypes which means me loving Tight Rope was written in the fucking stars because Ryuu is b o t h, and I just really love Naoki as well)

Toki no Maigo o Sagashite!(amnesia plot!)

Tsukiatte Agete mo Ii n Dakara ne (this one is f u c k i n g ridiculous, the love interest is a giant fucking ham, it’s r i d i c u l o u s lmfao)

Twinkle (Kanda)

Wakabaryou de, Kimi to

Wakadanna ni Goyoujin

Work In

Yachin Hanbun no Ibasho desu

Yakozen

Yamada to Shounen

Yamete Kudasai,(this one gave me cavities)

Yozora no Sumikko de,

Yuki no Shita no Qualia

Yuugure no Machi

Zantei, Koibito

[officialthiamlibrary]

Welcome to another profile on Behind the Screens, giving you personal insight on who your favorite creators are and what they do when they aren’t wowing you with their creative ability.

On this profile, we’ll learn more about Tagan, also known in our pack as ThiamFresh or CaptainMintyFresh. The author of Airplanes, Sweet Talking, and a plethora of other Thiam prompts and stories, Tagan shares bits about her life, her writing process, her ideal road trip buddy, and her tips for creating tension-filled relationships.

Hi, Tagan! Let’s start off simple. Using a sentence, where the word count is either equal to or less than the number of letters in your two favorite Teen Wolf characters’ name, tell us about yourself. 

Theo Raeken + Derek Hale = 19: I’m Tagan. Love to write and act. I have a terrible sense of humour. Generally an accident prone mess. 

Talking about Teen Wolf characters, which five characters would be on your Ultimate Paintball/Laser Tag team and why? 

Theo, Malia, Allison, Liam, Stiles. Right, so I want Theo because like boy’s a master tactician/manipulator and he’s ruthless. Boy would 100% shoot 10 year olds to win and that’s the kind of person I want on my paintball team. Malia, again, she would have no qualms about just decimating the other team. Allison because she is an amazing shot; her role would be stealthing her way through the field to take people out/sniping everyone else while the ‘ground team’ does the closer stuff. Liam because he’s athletic and competitive. Stiles because he’s good at coming up with plans, plus...you know..he’d be really good bait for the other team.

Omg he would be! Now, before those characters blessed us with their existence, we found love and OTPs in other ones. What would you say were your first ships, way back in the day?

I’m not sure if this counts but Ant and Dec? I thought they were married but if not, then Monica and Chandler or Spike and Buffy. The first fanfiction I read was for Dramione.

And, how did you land in the Thiam Family? What about Theo x Liam drew you in?

I really liked their scenes in 6A (And some of the scenes in 5 but honestly, I hated five as a whole and watched it out of duty more than anything so I just didn’t have the enthusiasm to get into a ship.) Theo was the first bit of 6A that i actually really liked and a lot of that was just down to his sass and a lot of it was directed at Liam. And then the car key scene had me cackling with laughter. There scenes were just..fun in a way the rest of the season lacked, at least to me. So I was pretty invested in their whole dynamic and then there was ‘Being the bait’ and ‘do you know how to ride a horse’ and I was pretty sold. I went to search for Thiam content then but didn’t find any so just went back to writing the fics for other fandoms I was doing then and didn’t really mind.

But then 6B came out and the second I saw Theo on screen I was thinking “wow i can’t wait for him to see Liam and realised I was a bit more sold on them than I had planned to be and so I searched the tag again and went onto AO3 and read the few fics there but there really weren’t many. 

I’d gotten stuck on all the fics I was doing for other fandoms and so put up a request for prompts and Thiamkey gave me a bunch of headcanons and prompts and then people seemed to like them and started sending them in and then I just...talked to people and they were all lovely and we had all this amazing content coming out every week from the show and more people climbed aboard the ship. More fics being written, more prompts being sent.

Honestly, i just wanted to dip my toe in the water, write a fic or two while I waited for other people to write their own but then i suddenly found myself up to my neck in Thiam and not regretting a second of it.

Let’s jump into writing. Before we dive into the Thiam pool, if your writing process was a person, describe him or her. What does he or she do? Wear? Listen to?

My writing process as a person would probably be a toddler in a room full of toys but instead of playing with them, she just hiding under furniture and has five different conversations with five different imaginary friends at one time. She’s messy, with chocolate ice cream smeared over her face and her hair tangled into nots. She has no real idea about what’s happening but is excited none-the-less. Will have constant tantrums and cry then be excitedly squealing in the next second. ACDC would be playing in the background.

And your writing Kryptonite? How do you fight it?

Procrastination. I’m really bad at focusing on any one thing. Like, if i’m watching a new episode of a show, I’ll play solitaire in the corner of the screen because otherwise, I’m too unfocused to be focused. If that makes any sense. So when I’m writing I have to have a conversation open with someone or have just done a puzzle or something that’s fried my brain a bit so I can focus on writing, but I often end up getting too focused on the other thing and not getting any writing done.

As for how to fight it, I honestly have no idea? I just kinda flit around and hope for the best.

Well, clearly it works for you, so cheers! Do you write novels or short stories about original characters, as well? If so, can you share one you’re particularly passionate about?

Yes i dooo :) I write books. So I’ve written three so far and have like 12 in the works. (There’s a YA series in there which is why there’s so many) um..I’m not sure what i’m particularly proud of so i’m just pasting the first scene I found in my emails which is a scene from a zombie book I wrote called Autumn

Autumn Excerpt:

Sometimes I could forget, for a moment. When the sun was high in the sky and we were strolling through an open field. Weapons held loose in hand, rucksacks tossed over single shoulders. When we were throwing a bottle of water between us, talking about now pointless things, sharing stories and silly jokes. Laughs etched onto our faces as we'd forget all about it. About the past months and the horror we've seen, the people we've lost.

But then a stray would stumble into the field or we’d hear a distant scream and it would come rushing back. Hands quickly going back to locked tightly arrowed our weapons, smiles slipping from our faces.There were also times I couldn't forget, not even for a second. When we lay on rough roof tops, looking up at the dark sky willing to sleep, to get lost in a dream but I could hear it, the scratching of nails against brick, the snap of teeth hitting together and the low, guttural moans. At these times I’d think, this will be the last sound I ever hear. The huffing of the dead, the wet slapping and slurping as they tore and chewed on flesh.

On these nights I’d try to comfort myself, Say that that nightmare sound wouldn't be what I heard, I prayed for a gunshot, dreamed of that rather than the sounds bellow me. Because, these days, you go out one of two ways and a gunshot was everyone's silver lining.

When you mentioned YA series, my back straightened haha. What’s the title of your series? A synopsis for what it’d be about?

Oh god, so the longest one I have to find a new title to because it’s called Gifted and is about people with superpowers and now there’s that The Gifted show out about people with powers so that’s a bit awkward.

Me and my friend wrote a webseries when we were like 14/15 and although we only filmed a tiny bit of it, we actually had the whole thing planned out. Three seasons, 40 episodes and when we stopped working on it I was like “dude can i turn this into a book series?” and he was like “Yeah go ahead.” So I started writing a bit of it.

Gifted follows the story of three childhood friends as they get powers and deal with all the usual coming of age stuff while getting caught up with other people with powers. The first book will be done in alternating POV between the three friends, but that will slowly expand to incorporate the more important characters met along the way.

There’s lots of whump, teenagers dealing with depression and PTSD.  Basically i tried to write a new fairly light hearted story about kids coming of age and dealing with typical super power problems, but then accidentally put them through the ringer and turned it into a mass of character study and angst.

Final question before the barrage of Thiam questions lol. Characters often find themselves in situations they aren’t sure they can get themselves out of. When was the last time you were in a place like that and what did you do? 

The last time I found myself in a situation I couldn’t get out of was this summer and I cried a lot and then made scathing jokes to the reasons I couldn’t get out of the situation with a sunny smile that left the situations unaware that I was trying to figure out how to word a letter that told the situations they need never situate themselves anywhere near me ever again. (I have yet to send those letters.)

Wow, yeah, I’ve been there before. I hope you find the strength/courage to send those letters one day. Since we’re talking about personal experiences, would you say that any of your life has poured over into your Thiam writing?

The only one I can currently think of is the scene in Sweet Talking where Theo’s tired and listening to Liam, Mason and Corey hang out and thinking about how he’ll never really fit in.

My brother had a bunch of friends round before I wrote that chapter, or at least that part of that chapter. I moved away from my home town/all my friends (there’s literally 1 friend but whatever) 3 years ago and haven’t made any friends since. My brother keeps telling me his friends can be my friends but I‘m always the odd man out and it’s just really lonely so I was definitely channeling some inner loneliness into that.

Let’s say you could escape it all and venture on a major Airplanes-esque road trip. Who would you take (real or fictional)? Where would you go? And what is one shenanigan the two of you would run into?

The Queen. I just think it’d be really funny, not to mention you could get in like everywhere for free.

Honestly I think if the queen wasn’t available, I’d want to go with @thiamfanartlove. We’ve only been talking a little while, but we get on really well and I feel like we’d be equally ready to do a bunch of dumb stuff on our journey. I’d want to go around Europe. Hit up @thiamkey on the way and a few other people. 

We would 100% get into a fight at some point because neither of us have any chill. Like, someone would insult one of us and the other would just be down to fight and then it would turn into an all out brawl with us against the world. (We would lose, but it’d be a good story, at least.)

Truth. And one story we’d demand all the details on. You’ve talked a lot about some trivia, inspirations and spoilers for Airplanes in your livestream, which are linked here. So, my questions to you are more about the technique side of your writing, since it’s always amazing to learn from you all.  

You incorporate great character studies into your stories. What would you say are some tricks you use to portray what your characters are thinking?

I think, just finding a way to resonate with the character you’re writing. Even if it’s a character you think you have nothing in common with, I promise you somewhere there’s a memory you have that fits something they’ve felt. 

Liam’s POV was really weird to me at the start of airplanes so I chose to focus on something I could personally understand. Which was the need for freedom but anxiety at what it might cost the other people if you take it and that..kind of self hatred for the anger issues and wishing everything could change. You find a common thread and write that and soon enough you find yourself understanding the character, even in situations or with feelings you’ve never personally been affected by.

I don’t know if that makes any sense? But basically yeah, find common ground and that one scene you can write and then work from there.

And, the tension between your characters. How do you build that tension when it comes to relationships to avoid the instalove phenomenon?

ANGST! I dunno, the easiest way for me to slow down the instalove is the characters being more preoccupied with other stuff than their love lives. I think just..keeping it as real as possible. In my personal experience, love at first sight is rare. You can’t fall in love with someone until you know them so a lot of it is just..giving the characters these little moments that bring them closer together, making them have those conversations that you’d have with your best friend and just slowly drawing closer and closer together as you get more comfortable. Especially in Airplanes when it first starts Liam’s in a pretty bad place mentally. He’s really drained and feeling the weight of everything he’s been through so his mind was just so far away from romance that it seemed wrong to have him noticing any feelings for Theo until he was a bit happier and had healed a bit. Not to mention all the baggage the two have.

Having a character go through that process of questioning their sexuality is fun as well. I mean, Liam so far in canon has been written as straight and that’s a lot of fun to play with because you have that whole realisation process where he has to figure out that what he feels for Theo isn’t entirely platonic and that it’s different from how he feels about Mason or any of the other guys in the show and that can be a really challenging thing to do. Not even in the ‘Oh coming out is scary’ way just in the heteronormative straight until proven otherwise sort of way.

I mean i’m Bi and that took me like...21 years to realise? And it wasn’t that I didn’t have little crushes on girls before it was just I’d never noticed them for what they were. For me the only reason it clicked was because I realised I was Asexual and that my ‘well I don’t want to bone a girl so I’m not gay’ was kinda pointless thing when I realised that I didn’t even want to bone guys. It was just what was expected. Once I took that away and sat down and thought about it, it was suddenly very clear to me. But most characters won’t have that specific nudge so it can be a fairly long road.

Just, to stop instalove think about what they’re going through, think about how you fall in love because the realisation may be instant but the build up is usually gradual. You notice it in one dumb moment but to actually get there, you have a long list of bits where you get to know the other person and you deal with your own personal issues and stuff.

For building tension, it’s again just building up that relationship. You start off small with touches that make the heart speed up before they’re more comfortable and grow closer. Honestly, the best way is just to focus on the friendship first and the romantic relationship second because then you get the familiarity and that’s when you can start having your characters realise there’s something else there and that suddenly makes all these little touches a lot more terrifying and confusing as they try to figure out what it means. 

That’s perfect though. And the gritty realization that most people have about those they’ve fallen in love with since they’ve usually gotten close to that person by that point is terrifying and emotional, so I can now see where that tension comes from! Anything else you’d like to say, in general. The floor is all yours.

Umm okay. I am always accepting prompts but it willlllll take me a while to get to them because i have quite a few and don’t really go chronologically but more where the inspiration hits and sometimes, like with airplanes, that’s my own story rather than a prompt but my ask box is always always open for more prompts.

Upcoming works, I have no idea. Right now, I just want to finish airplanes and then see where I go after that. I do want to play around in the airplanes universe a little bit more after the fic is done with, delving into Theo’s POV for some of the missing scenes and I also might do a short pack scene where you have everyone realise Theo and Liam are gone in the morning in Idaho.

The reason I like sharing my work is because I like the idea that maybe I can help someone and maybe that sounds dumb--but to me--reading is a major escapism technique. I used it a lot when I was younger and this fic and the comments I’ve gotten have just made me so insanely happy because it seems like, maybe for a few people, I’ve reached my goal in helping someone through a bad day or to relax and just forget their worries for a while. And that’s the whole reason I like writing and that’s the first time I’ve ever really felt that and I literally cried when someone told me my updates helped their shitty week before because...that’s the whole reason I want to get into writing or acting as a career and to see I’d achieved that goal was just awesome.

If you’ve sent me a nice message on tumblr and I haven’t replied, it’s not because I didn’t read it or I don’t like it or whatever you might think. It’s because i’m a hoarder and now have a folder wth screen shots of all the nice messages in it, so that I can look at them when I’m having a nice day.

Really, I just want to say that I see everything you guys send or make or comment and I appreciate every single one and just thank you. Life’s been tough for me lately but getting to write for a fandom as accepting and kind as this one is really really amazing and your messages have picked me up when I’ve felt worthless so many times. Just keep being awesome Thiam fandom! And thank you for being so welcoming and supportive of everyone that joins.

Aww thank you! We’re so happy to have you in our fandom and to have Airplanes, your prompts, and other stories. I, and others have shared the same sentiment, agree with you that this fandom is amazing and so supportive of one another that it almost seems surreal! So, go us, lovely pack! 

To finish us off, what’s next for you? Both in life and in the writing world?

For life, I’m hoping to get some acting roles for student films and stuff. Get myself a laptop so I can write more and a camera (eventually) so I can film the scripts I’ve wrote. I also want to send some of my books to publishers and generally try to make a life for myself out of the two things I love doing.

I have a bunch of books I’m working on and I really want to finish writing my YA series because it seems like it could be quite fun once I get a bit more into it.

With that, BTS presents ThiamFresh to you! As always, you can keep the conversation going; respond to any of her thoughts, ask more questions, send a prompt, or simply swing by for a chat with Tagan anytime. To dive into her works, check out both her AO3 and Tumblr. 

Tumblr: thiamfresh

AO3: captainmintyfresh

Ask Box: thiamfresh ask

A huge thank you to Tagan for being so open to answering our questions and sharing her tips on character stories and building tension. 

Some great news, for everyone who enjoys this series, we’ve decided to run Behind the Screens every Thursday. And, we’d love your help in doing it! 

Have a Thiam Creator you fan over, from any platform (AO3, Tumblr, Wattpad, Instagram, FFN, etc). Please send us their names. Bonus points if you include any questions you’re dying to ask them. Likewise, if you as the creator, would like to be a part of the Behind the Screens series, give us a shout too! We’d love to get to know you, as well.

Hasta Luego!

[templeofgeek]

Not even rain could keep the con goers away from this year’s Long Beach Comic Expo (LBCE). As everyone knows, California is known for its constant sunny days. Well, that was not the case in the days leading up to Long Beach Comic Expo. It rained and stormed like nobodies busy down here. Rain…. I would say that is not something we are used too. However, that didn’t stop people from dressing in their favorite cosplays and grabbing their wallets.

The 2017 Long Beach Comic Expo was a hit despite the rain and the con crowded weekend. Folks from all over showed up with umbrella’s in hand and money at the ready to purchase that Jason Momoa photo-op.

That’s right folks, Khal Drogo himself was there and it was glorious. Honestly, this man has a presence beyond words. I am still kicking myself that I did not meet him.

Jason Momoa | LBCE17 | Photo by: Tiffany

However, Jason Momoa is not the only reason we were not so casually lurking around the autograph area. This year’s con was also the first time that all of Supernatural’s Ghostfacers were in the same place at the same time. Some of you might recall that I met Travis Wester at Long Beach Comic Con, he graciously (for a small fee) signed my photo-op that I have with my sister & AJ Buckley.

So this happened today. Travis Wester's reaction to the photo-op from VegasCon was glorious. I'm so glad I got to meet him again! Thanks to Tiffany I have these photos. #LBCC16 #LongBeachComicCon #GhostfacersForever #Supernatural #SPNFamily @longbeach_cc

A post shared by Katharine (@ladykatharinep) on Sep 17, 2016 at 10:01pm PDT

So obviously I had to meet AJ Buckley and have him sign on his half of the photo-op, which he did!

https://twitter.com/LadyKatharineP/status/833157736833519616

He signed it with “WWBD”….. *squee*

Ghostfacers via Tumblr

Ghostfacers Panel – LBCE 2017

Along with the ability to meet and greet ALL of the Ghostfacers, which WE TOTALLY DID! I was NOT going to miss my chance to meet Spruce & Corbett.

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Spruce via Supernatural

Alan Corbett via Tumblr

Supernatural

Too precious for this world indeed. The panel was incredible. The Ghostfacers talked about their time on the show and the web series.

Actually, we found out from AJ Buckley & Travis Wester that the final episode they were in #Thinman was the worst experience they ever had on the show. Apparently, the director made it incredibly difficult for them. He didn’t understand the characters. That’s why if you watch the episode it just doesn’t feel like a Ghostfacers episode. HOWEVER, I did ask them if they would come back if asked and that is actually IN THE WORKS.

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Ghostfacers via Tumblr

Fan Fiction via Tumblr

Travis & AJ said that they have been talking with Supernatural about possibly coming back! I mean that would be amazing! ALL of the Ghostfacers should return to the show. Could you imagine how fantastic that would be?!? Anyways…. the panel was amazing. I might have shown just how much of a Supernatural nerd I am. Look, I’m sorry I happened to know all of the titles to the episodes they were talking about and I might have said so OUT LOUD. I’m fan okay…. I was also at SPN Vegas con the weekend before so that is all I had on the brain.

Moving right along….. I would like to thank all of the actors/actresses for coming to this panel. It was an absolute pleasure to see Travis Wester, AJ Buckley, Brittany Ishibashi, Dustin Milligan, Austin Basis, and Mircea Monroe again.

Photo Credit: Chelsea Pommerening

Now on to my favorite part of conventions…. COSPLAYERS!

LBCE 2017 Cosplayers

Like I said earlier, it had been raining the week leading up to the convention, it even rained the first day of the con. SO you can imagine that Cosplayers may not have been too willing to show up. Honestly, who would want to possibly ruin that amazing Doctor Strange or Khaleesi cosplay costume. BUT, the rain did not stop them. We saw some of the most amazing cosplayers roaming around inside & outside the con over the 2 days. I am still blown away by how amazing these people are.

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Supergirl

Superman & @slcgreenarrow

Kim Possible & Ron Stoppable

@con.snow & Lyanna Mormont

I don’t know what is happening here

@korupp

Creepy Norman Bates dressed as Norma

*All photos were taken by Chelsea Pommerening & Katie Penix. Please email info@templeofgeek.com regarding photos. Please do not take without permission. 

Last week I went to Long Beach Comic Expo with @ladykatharinep, @michellepenix, @chelsearay1121, and @beatlechum. I got my first press pass! I saw the real Khal Drogo and an amazing Khaleesi cosplayer. There were some other fantastic cosplayers including the Kim Possible and Ron, the Rugrats, and a little predator. #lbce

A post shared by Tiffany Nicole Morgan (@simplemelody613) on Feb 25, 2017 at 8:39pm PST

Also, on a side note I would like to talk about the Batman holding Wonder Woman’s cloak with the kryptonite spear. That Batman was amazing in every possible way. Tiffany and I were in the parking structure helping out Jake Korupp (Doctor Strange cosplayer) with his photo shoot and this Batman came up to us & insisted we take a selfie. WHAT?!? WHY? He kept insisting we do so and put #batbomb. We did and I am so happy we did.

Trying to take a selfie at Long Beach Comic Expo and this happens. #batbomb #lbce

A post shared by Tiffany Nicole Morgan (@simplemelody613) on Feb 19, 2017 at 1:26pm PST

Seriously, LOOK AT HIS FACE! This is everything.

On last thing…..

Before I go, I would just like to say that I met the incredible women behind the NerdOut App while at this convention. The NerdOut App is a fantastic creation. This app will keep you informed on what kind of nerd stuff is happening in your area, from Magic the Gathering to Anime Conventions to cool comic stuff. You can read about the app & watch my interview here.

That’s all folks…

Looney Tunes via GIPHY

Well, this convention was super successful and amazing even with the terrible weather the week leading up to it. We would like to thank all the folks behind LBCE 2017 for getting this all put together and for having a Ghostfacers Reunion Panel! BLESS! Don’t forget that Long Beach Comic Con will be coming our way again this September!

LBCE 2017 - The Con After the Storm #LBCE2017 #LongBeachComicExpo #JasonMomoa #Ghostfacers Not even rain could keep the con goers away from this year's Long Beach Comic Expo (LBCE)