#that is only on my main btw. this is not counting the 5 stars on my two alt accs.

[themyscirah]

People need to stop putting Batman in everything this is painful

[drifloonz]

reader is in a otome game and it has like a gacha system in there and glitchy just pulls for reader every time their banner comes up IMAGINE THE ANGER THAT GLITCHY RED FELT WHEN HE DIDNT GET READER IN A LIMITED TIME EVENT IN THEIR GAME💀 (sorry my english is shit🙂)

no your english was actually perfectly fine thumbz up! also LMAO

i feel like glitchy would have the WORST luck at gachas ( opposite to me, whos sorta stupidly lucky in gacha games ) he'd like.. eventually hate gacha games bc he never gets what he wants. i also think he'd tryhard them a lot. he's the type of dude to make optimal / competitive heavy builds in games that have that sorta system to the point where it like lessens his enjoyment of the game bc hes so hyperfocused on being optimal or whatever.

alternatively, he's just playing like the rhythm gacha games. i dont know if he'd suck ass at rhythm games or be surprisingly good at them. not like it matters, his hands touching the phone prob make it lag or glitch tf out. im so sorry glitchy <3 one day they will make a phone that you do not fuck with simply by existing <3

i hope he gets a 5-star limited-time event reader one day... keep your chin up, king. you'll get that 5 star drop someday...

[jealousmartini]

3RD MHA DR INTRODUCTION

**this is more season 1-3 hanabi btw**

∘₊ ✧───────────────────✧₊∘

Category is: Hanabi K. Banks

Age: 17 ½

Height: 5"6

Backstory: Hanabi doesn't have a dramatic life. She was born and raised in a nice area in London by a food loving family. Her mother owns a very well-known bakery, which she and her family live upstairs from, and the father is a 4.5 star chef who owns his restaurant. And even though food basically runs in their blood, her parents are very open-minded about what her future could turn out to be if it isn't something food based (although that doesn't mean they won't teach her how to cook). Ever since Hanabi manifested her quirk at the ripe age of 2 with her eyes closed, her parents were both aware of how her quirk's potential could easily steer her into the direction of training to become a hero.

Quirk: Holy restoration

Mutant type. Hanabi has a halo around her head as well as around the wrists of her hands, the ankles of her feet and one above her head at all times. She also had a small pair of head wings made of nothing but fluffy feathers.

Her main ability is healing herself or a person from physical and mental pain by pressing my hands over theirs together in a prayer "🙏🏾". This will form a halo over the persons head as a sign they are healing;

A couple others...

○ during this process, procedures in the oddly pretty appearance of glowing yellow outlines will start to take place over the injury like a needle and thread stitching up a wound for example but the procedures are harmless, maybe ticklish but harmless. Once most of the healing is done, a small glowing yellow outline of a bandage or a plaster will remain over the injury and will disappear once it is fully healed.

○ She can heaten up her body temperature using the halos healing energy. Anyone who is in contact with her will warm up too.

○ She can control how bright or dim the halo is (kinda lame but it's wtv)

○ She can reposition her head halo at any angle

《 BONUS! 》 She can also detach the hoops from her body to use in for combat! She can control them like frisbees or bomberangs, hitting people or things like targets.

Sibling quirk: Feather weight

Mutant type. Hanabi's head wings are made of nothing but light fluffy feathers that sometimes have a mind of their own. The weightlessness of the wings can be activated (triggered) to affect the entirety of her body, when her brain goes into fight or flight mode.

Way past your bedtime!: Is the name of Hanabi's podcast/live stream; it started as a small YouTube channel that she made with the soul purpose of using it as a safe place to rant her mind out, past the average sleepers bedtime (around after 9:30pm). She didn't really care for getting views, she just wanted to have a place to store her thoughts when she couldnt sleep or had a long day. Turns out her videos would appear on random people's algorithm over time and because they really liked the authenticity and rawness of her personality as well as the conversations she would have with her camera, her following would grow from 10 followers to 40, then 40 to 88, then 98 to 223 and then would grow up to 92K followers and counting. Her viewer ship would extend globally, reaching Japan and America the most

As months and years passed, Hanabi would start to refine her content. She'd start to vlog what the day in a life of a highschool teen is like, her videos would sometimes feature her close friends and family every now and then, she would include her three bunnies and the family dog as guests, she'd decorated her set up (her bedroom) more, she would also make delicious meals while yapping about broader subjects that her audience would like to see her talk about like a mukbang but without the ASMR; and her highest recommended topic this week, was what she thought about becoming a hero.

∘₊ ✧───────────────────✧₊∘

quick note💌! : the hero education systems are set in colleges. Only students from ages 16 and up can get in to hero schools such as UA and etc. — 🍊💭

More art n stuff coming guys

@cocozydiaries @livingmydreamlife5555 @4ellieluv

[spider-jaysart]

What was the last comic you read & your least favorite?

@pin-crusher2000

Last comic:

Supersons haha, because I love rereading it

Least favorite:

Ooooh sooooo many!!!😤

(Incoming spoilers about some of them btw, in case you plan on reading some of these)

1. The comic that Bendis wrote, which caused Jon's whole age up and then changed everything for him in his life in main comics after that

2. The Supersons comic that starred the older, current version of the boys, because even though it was supposed to be like "Oh look fans! The boys are back!!", It just wasn't the same since DC already messed things up. And there were also some ooc moments inside the book too in a way where it felt like they swapped a bit of personalities🤨, which was pretty odd and didnt help so much for the enjoyment either

3. Don't know if you know this video game series or not, but it's called Telltales the walking dead games, and after the series ended, a comic series called Clementine was released a while after that and it's all so horrible, because it ruins everything about Clementine (the main character) and the good ending she had in the last game, making all the struggles she went through in her survival journey over the years to keep living and hopefully find peace one day seem like it was all actually for nothing. The writer doesn't understand her at all and mischaracterizes her so much that it's super annoying!! I HATE that book so much!!!😤😤 That is not my Clementine, just Tangerine

4. The Legion of heroes comic where they met Damian, because the way they treated and spoke about him, especially right in front of him and also Jon who they know is his friend, was just so disgusting to see and I was disappointed in the way Jon handled it and how he still joined their team after that AND the fact that he still dated Saturn girl too. His written reaction during that moment just wasn't enough, because I believe he should've been way more mad about it all, lost some respected interest in their group, and have his feelings on Saturn girl really changed up afterwards, which he would've been right for and it fits his character better because he's protective of his loved ones like that

5. Marvel zombies. I've never read it before, so I can't say if anythings wrong with it, since I don't know how most of it's story throughout the series goes to actually say if it has good or bad writing, but I just hate whenever I see it, because it's all just really gross and too messed up for me. Don't get me wrong though, because I love apocalypse stories, they're my faves, it's just that looking at this series and the stuff that happens on page feels a bit too much for me

6. Beast Boy by Kami Garcia.

Idk if this counts enough to be added into the list, cause the book was good, it was fine, it's just an annoying thing that stuck with me that changes my view on the book whenever I reread it now, because Beast boy seemed like he was genuinely really into the popular girl in the story, but then at the end it turned out he was actually just using her to get the feel of being popular and that just didn't sit so well with me when I read that part, because that just only makes it look like that's all he ever really wanted from her now and wasn't actually interested fr, even when he did look like it. Then he just runs off onto an adventure in the end after admitting to his friends that he didn't actually care that much about her anymore, just when he had finally gotten her invested in him and it's like, dude, what the heck??? That's how you handle it????

7. "Beast boy loves Raven" and "Robin" both by Kami Garcia

These are both also fine stories, it's just another thing about one of the romances, which doesn't let me really get through the books so well the way I want to. Damian falls for Raven's sister in "Beast boy loves Raven", a little too quickly tbh, and soon starts dating her, which is continued in "Robin" (because ofc he does, he can never just be a single kid that's not being set up everytime with whatever same age girl they can throw at him or just can't be left not crushing on some mature woman who's way too old for him, which is just icky whenever that happens). It feels weird because he's instantly into her the second they meet without him getting to know her, he's flirting right away back with her when he doesn't actually get like that in canon and mostly keeps his feelings to himself when it comes to crushes since he's reserved, and then he begins dating her after not too long and then they're pretty close and so cutesy playful as a couple, which should be fine, but it's just the way it's done that feels off to me loll, and I'm not so sure how to exactly explain the vibe, like it's too overly sweet in a way that's just not fitting because it was kind of quick and Damian seemed way too expressive with it a lot??? Probably not the right way to say it, idk lmaooo, but a friend of mines also understands and feels the same on the whole topic here. Like, it all just feels ooc on Damian's part the way his character there handles the whole thing. And this is not because I'm a Damijon fan loll, cause even if it was Jon in the love interest role instead of Raven's sister in the two books, I wouldn't want it to be rushed either. I would want Damian to have to get to know him better too before actually developing any romantic feelings and showing any signs of interest in him, and after a good while of getting to do that, then he grows more comfortable around him and they start dating later, cause that would fit his character better and would make the cute, playfulness feel more fitting in the relationship and seem more natural since they've already gotten close enough to be that way. It's one of the reasons why I like Damijon lol, because they're both already so close in their friendship, that dating could work between them so well. Once again though, this is all just my opinion that I'm expressing

8. I am not Starfire

That book is just so dumb lmaooo, only the art is good. Mandy, the daughter of Starfire, is an annoying, spoiled child who only envies and disrespects her Mother, makes everything about herself, gets too mad about everything for no good reason, and she doesn't even share any Tamaranean features with Starfire in looks either, except for the green eyes and very normal looking ginger hair, like seriously??? Dick is obviously the Dad, but he won't step up to get involved at all and pretends this isn't his problem, and I hate that this a trope that keeps happening whenever Dick and Starfire have kids with eachother, one of them gets taken away or either just leaves the other on their own to deal with everything, which sucks, because they should be able to be a happy family all together already where the kids grow up with them both in their lives, not more of this. Anyways, besides those mentioned things, everything else in this book is also very annoying and makes no sense too and it's not worth the read at all because of it

9. The Injustice crossover with Jon

Most of that book was annoying, like for example when Injustice!Clark broke Jay's arm and then Jon threateningly went into Ultra power mode just to....give Clark a hug for it. Like wtf lmaoooo???? He was overly playing pacifist and it was so, so stupidly silly. And I don't even know what's going on in that universe now after he left it, like that's how much of nothing he did in there, except get sassy with everyone and try befriending Injustice!Damian lolll, which made things feel like a literal waste of time in the crossover when it seemed like he would actually try changing things up in there somehow

Okay, so I think that's it for now, cause I can't think of anymore books at the moment lol, so thanks for the ask, crusher! I like that I got to express about some of these! :)

(I apologize if these rants were a bit much btw, I just get like that sometimes because I don't get to do it enough😅, so, sorry about that, unless you're fine with it though and actually like reading that, which is awesome then, cause then I've got a good listener loll)

[solarsavoy]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤

That's so hard, I've so many! But I think I've figured it out, my top 5.

Assassin Skills Required

By far my favorite fic I've written, even now. It was based off a dream and includes characters from Krystar while focusing on the AC characters. I didn't know where I was going with it until I was halfway done, so it was written and posted live, consistently. It went from Saturdays only to Saturdays and Wednesdays and somehow I kept up the whole time thru 3 works of it. As a debut for fanfiction, it's simply the best, and I haven't been able to recreate my experience with it since. Writing live was just so... I can't believe I did it. Not once did I miss an update and it wasn't even prewritten. In fact, I outpaced my posting schedule, even after starting to post a second day each week. I'd never been so inspired than when writing ASR. Picking the top 5 is hard, but picking number 1 is easy. Link to ASR teaser.

Kristmas Karma

This one wasn't quite written live, but it wasn't written that far ahead either, and it includes a ridiculous amount of art all drawn the week before it was posted. I can't believe it was more or less posted on time. It was also partially an experiment. While ASR included all the AC characters, I still didn't know them that well individually outside of Karmagisa. Kristmas Karma changed that. I was able to write and understand nearly every single student's POV convincingly, and still reference the fic to this day when trying to feel them out. It still makes me cry and Christmas Day, despite being the single most longest chapter I've ever written, so long it was split into 2 chapters (23k words btw), still flies right by every time I reread it. Link to KK prelude.

Magic Shuu

Speaking of getting to learn about the other characters in AC, this one focuses on Shuu and the five virtuosos. What I love most about this one is how fluidly I've crossed these boys into the Sailor Moon universe. I love how I turn this very minor character and his even more invisible friends into the main stars and make them relatable. In fact, my friend who has a similarly overbearing father relates to Shuu deeply. This story just has so much heart in it. Currently unfinished, but I'll finish it someday, even if it takes me years. Link to first chapter.

Ubisoft

A Karushuu one-shot. It's playful and fun and both of them are such loveable dorks in this. XD I've reread it so many times I've lost count. My favorite part for Karma is when he stumbles out the door in the morning, tripping and nearly breaking his phone on the way. My favorite part for Shuu is how awkward his attempt to be a better kisser is. I love them so much in this. Link to Ubisoft.

Cuddles and Kisses

A Karmagisa one-shot that I'd planned to write for the longest time. It was based on an idea that someone else had, but it's surprisingly sweet and wholesome despite it being about Karma summoning an incubus. XD My favorite part for Nagisa is when he attempts to "seduce" Karma. My favorite part for Karma is when he rushes home because he's worried about Nagisa disappearing, frantically searching the house until he calls out Nagisa's name, and then hugging him in relief when he appears before him. It's just so sweet for a one-shot, and I'm strongly considering writing more for this AU. Link to Cuddles and Kisses.

Honorable mention:

Gerit

An original story set in the Krystar universe but separate from the main story. It's actually my favorite of anything on AO3, but it's technically not a fanfiction. It centers around a neurodivergent named Gerit who was abused in many ways as a child while training to be an assassin. I wrote this in the midst of writing ASR as Gerit was in the story and I hadn't fleshed him out as a Krystar character yet. It's finished, but not all posted on AO3 as I've decided the tiny Krystar spoilers at the end aren't something I should spoil until at least after book 1 or 2 of the Fragment series is out. Still, feel free to check it out. Not for the faint of heart, rated MA. Link to Gerit.

Thank you Anon, for sending me this ask. I hope my favorite reads can get some views from this. 💙

[barrencelenny]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! Get to know your mutuals and followers 💗 (No pressure, only if you want to.)

Oooh okay let’s see what I can think of off the top of my head

1. The monthly special flavoured donuts from my favourite donut shop (they have Anzac biscuit flavoured ones this month!)

2. Having a variety of tea flavours (on my last count I had over 30 flavours of tea, of which five were just different senchas/green teas grown in different regions of Japan lmao)

3. Star Trek. Finally catching up with the new shows because I paid for a month of paramount plus lol

4. Making friendship bracelets! I made a ton for the eras tour and it was fun because my friends and I would make them together

5. The weather rn!! It’s autumn and it’s finally in the low 10s so I can finally wear jumpers all the time :)

I’ll be sending my asks from my main @kaorijasmine btw!

[jayz4dayz]

Can you rate Kakegurui ships??

[For the sake of keeping this as short as I possibly can, I am not going to be including Kakegurui Twin or Kakegurui Midari characters.]

Sure thing! I will go over as many as I can think of including some rare pairs too! There are even a couple straight ships I can think of as well. I know, scandalous~ 

Yumary: 4/10

As many of you probably know, I’m not the biggest fan of this ship. If you really want an in depth explanation as to why, I’d be happy to do so, but I’m keeping these short. 

Fanfic wise, it’s really a hit or miss with me, but usually I will skip a Kakegurui fic with a Yumary tag on it (if it’s the main ship/focus). I will admit though, I have seen some pretty dang cute Yumary fanfics that did catch my attention and left me happy after I read it. 

Meariri: 10/10 

Yes, yes, everyone knows I am the #1 supporter of this ship and again like I said with Yumary, if you want an in depth explanation for this I will, but this will forever be my favorite Kakegurui ship. My OTP. 

It’s just so damn cute and most fanfics I read with their tag gives me serotonin. I mean, what’s not to love? Shy, reserved Ririka x protective tsundere Mary is my jam. 

Kirasaya: 8/10 

Ah yes, the biggest ship in the fandom with a whopping 708 fic count on AO3 compared to the second biggest ship on AO3 (Meariri btw) with a 389 fic count.  I think it’s a tad overhyped and because it has so much attention, I kinda get bored of seeing strictly Kirasaya things everywhere.

Don’t get me wrong! I actually do like this ship a lot! Overall, it’s difficult to imagine Kirari without Sayaka by her side. I always enjoy seeing either fan art or fanfics depicting a flustered Sayaka and smug Kirari. Though bottom!Kirari is close to my heart <3

Yuridari: 9/10

Hell yeah, this is like my second favorite ship. Periodt. I am the captain of this ship and will never stop reading content produced for them. Honestly, this ship is the epitome of opposites attract. 

We have Yuriko who is calm, collected, and quiet, then we have Midari who is loud, vulgar, and chaotic almost at all times. The two have a very interesting balance and dynamic, that’s for sure!

Ryomeko: 6.5/10 

Ryota and Yumeko don’t have a ship name anywhere, so I just made one for them. Say what you will about Ryota, but I unlike most of the fandom, actually grew to like Ryota. At first I wasn’t too fond of him and didn’t ship him with anyone, but now I know he shows genuine care and concern towards Yumeko and to an extent Yumeko shows the same for him. Arguably, I have to say Ryota is really the only person I can see being with Yumeko where their relationship would be healthy and prosper which the past me would never admit to. Would I ever write them in a fic? Probably not since I don’t really write for straight ships, but I would for sure mention them as a pairing if it came to it!

Itsukaede: 1/10

This may be one of my least favorite ships, actually. I really dislike Itsuki’s relationship/friendship with Kaede and I have from the start. Even during Itsuki’s arc where she gains control over Kaede’s life, their dynamic as a whole seems toxic and I can’t understand why Itsuki has feelings for him. Maybe because she thinks he’s cute? I think he looks musty tbh

Ririsaya: 7/10

So I have not seen many fics, art, or people really talk about this ship, but I am genuinely intrigued by it. I myself plan on writing for this pairing eventually. My opinion on it is that both Sayaka and Ririka deserve good things and being with each other would not only be very good for the two of them, but would be adorable af. I look forward to exploring more their ship.

Miraitsu: 6.5/10

I like it a lot, however points are docked because they only have one real scene/arc together and it’s difficult to produce content of them since they have such little screen/manga appearances together or in general. I will say I like pairing Itsuki with Miroslava a whole lot more than shipping Itsuki with Kaede though. (I also love how the fandom has collectively declared Itsuki as bisexual and I am here for it and also accept that as canon)

Yumedari: 5/10

Not gonna lie, I’m pretty neutral about this ship. I don’t really ship it myself, but I’m not completely turned off by the idea of it either. I know it’s canon that Midari feels something for Yumeko, but I guess the reason why it’s hard for me to climb aboard this ship is because of Yumeko’s disgust towards Midari. Canon wise, this ship sunk long ago. Fandom wise, I know some Yumedari shippers are still kicking which I can respect as a rare pair shipper myself. 

Yumesaya: 5.5/10

Same as Yumedari basically. I don’t particularly ship this myself, but it has crossed my mind once again. This is basically Yumedari but with more tension, less masochism, and a shit ton of homoeroticism. The only difference is I could and might possibly give writing this pairing a try, hence why the plus half a point for the rating. 

Maryota: ??/10

People ship this?? With Mary’s gay ass and harem??? I don’t even have an opinion of this. It’s like shipping a straight man with a lesbian... oh wait-

Maryitsu: 3.5/10

Okay look. I can’t see them being anything more than friends, at most friends with benefits. The two of them have the romantic compatibility of a teaspoon in all honesty. Still better than Itsukaede though.

Yumemisaori: 8/10

SEVERLY UNDERATTED?! LIKE?? Hear me out. Cute shy assistant x bubbly pop star is so freaking sweet. Also, it makes Yumemi’s character much more likable in my eyes. Imagine being fawned over by thousands of men but you’re secretly a lesbian who’s in love with the girl who’s only supposed to have a professional relationship with you. I live for that ironic shit. In other words, it’s Kirasaya with more steps and more obstacles. 

Sayadari: 6/10

This is childhood friends to lovers and you cannot convince me otherwise. Canonly, I think it would be fair to say if Kirari wasn’t in the picture, Midari would be Sayaka’s love interest (if the creators focused on romantic relationships and the side characters and such). 

Kiramary: 4/10

This takes hot x cold to a whole new level. There could be sexual tension between these two for sure, but as for romantic... I stick with shipping Mary with the better other Momobami twin. Kiramary just isn’t for me. I am open to hearing any other opinions on this since I don’t think many people ship them anyway and it is a really rare pairing, but still exists. 

Welp, that’s all I can really think of at the moment! Let me know if you agree or if there are any ships missed! :)

[george-fabian-weasley]

Fred Weasley — Helplessly Part 1

Summary: After the Battle Of Hogwarts, Fred was rushed to the muggle hospital for better treatment of his injuries. While on a coma, his soul stayed with you for a couple of months. He watches as you went through the stages. And he watches when you start to write a song, just for him.

Words: 1,459 words

Warnings ⚠ : Angst, Constant Pain™, PTSD, Genuine Heartbreak, Author Bawled so You Will Bawl Too, Happy Ending

Disclaimer: I'm just...... IN PAIN.

TAGLIST FOR HELPLESSLY: HERE

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5(COMING SOON!)

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

CHAPTER 1: When It Went Down

The Weasleys were running.

“Move out of the way!” Arthur Weasley’s shrill shout echoed through the hospital, beside him was a hospital cart, with his unconscious son on board. Around the cart were the Weasleys, all looking ragged and dusty, but themselves were the last thing on their minds. 

The first thing was this one, on the cart. You were right next to it, holding the cold freezing hand of Fred Weasley, who had been crushed by the shattered walls during the Battle of Hogwarts. While being thankfully alive, Fred was critical, one more second and he could be… no, you don’t want to go there. Squeezing the hand back and forth, begging with tears in your eyes that the hand squeeze back, rather than remaining stoic and… cold.

Shouts of doctors and nurses were tense as they took in Fred to the emergency unit, some of them stayed back to hold Arthur, Molly, George, and you from going in. “You cannot go in there, sir! Leave this to the experts, please!” You heard the doctor who’s holding Arthur back firmly said, while the red-haired man begged the doctor to let him in. 

As soon as Voldemort had been killed by Harry, the Weasleys took no more risks and Apparated straight to a Muggle hospital, for their severely injured boy, Freddie. Ron and Ginny stayed back at Hogwarts to make sure everything was alright. But Bill, Charlie, Percy, George, Molly, and Arthur couldn’t stay and wait. They have to come with you to send Fred's help.

Molly hugged you, relying on you for comfort, while simultaneously giving you comfort as well. Both of you needed it. Fred was your lover, and he was her son. “He’ll be alright, Molly. He’ll be alright.” You whispered sweet nothings to Molly, as the loving woman cried in your embrace. 

The embrace felt like hours, your tears mixed with hers ever so frequently, praying to whoever up there who listens to save your Fred.

The adrenaline slowly wore down from each of you, and you realized you were also severely injured. Every single one of you. Thankfully, there was a branch in the Hospital for Magical Healers, and so you received treatment. 

George’s ear injury had been re-opened, and he kept hearing high pitches and experiencing dizziness. Percy had bluish bruises in his arms, he was the one who dug Fred out of the shattered stones, most likely received cuts and bruises along the way. Bill had several injuries from the spells he was attacked with, yet overall, he was fine. 

Charlie had gotten a pretty deep cut along his abdomen, yet the dragon tamer had said he’s had worse. Molly and Arthur, while being relatively not injured physically, were emotionally traumatized by the sight of Fred earlier. Molly kept whispering under her breath, with a few stray tears in her eyes, “They’re just children…”

You… You had some injuries as well, but nothing could come over the fear of going back to the Great Hall and see the boy you’ve loved with all your soul, lying there almost lifelessly. 

“Y/N,” Harry called you, you were leaning against the wall catching your breath after combating with countless of Death Eaters. “What is it, H?” You replied with a wide grin, seemingly proud of your work today. Harry’s expression was grim, and he was avoiding your eyes by looking down, “It’s Fred.”

With that sentence only, you find yourself running to the Great Hall, several emotions swarming you at once. As if in slow-motion, your memories with Fred started to replay at the back of your mind. From the moment you first met him at the 9 3/4 platform, until the moment just yesterday, where he was hugging you from behind, trailing kisses on your neck while mumbling ‘I love yous’.

You can’t lose him. No, he was the light of your life.

Your breath hitched as soon as you arrived, you saw the Weasleys swarming someone, they were crying tremendously. Hermione saw you, and with teary eyes, she hugged you, and with a shaky voice she said, “I’m sorry, Y/N.”

You were frozen. No, no. It… It can’t be. You walked slowly to where they were, George was sobbing while hugging Ron. You had to drag your feet; they were suddenly very heavy to move. 

“… Freddie?”

The quiver in your voice. The pitching fear at the tip. The breathless gasp. Everything was overwhelming.

Fred Gideon Weasley there, lying on the ground, with his eyes closed, and his lips etched a soft smile.

Your legs gave in. You dropped to the ground with a silent thud. You couldn’t tear your eyes away from that face. That face that would make funny expressions to cheer you up. That face that would cry with you, so you won’t cry alone. That face that you would caress every night, counting every single freckle as if they were stars. That face, with a soft smile on the lips.

You scrambled to him, your hands were shaking, “No. No no no, Freddie. Freddie, wake up. Freddie, my love, wake up.” Trembling hands made their way to cup his cold face, the coldness made you let out a desperate, shaky cry. “Ahh, Fred... This- This isn’t funny, you git. W-wake up. Wake up, sweetheart.” 

One, two, three. And soon more tears follow. You almost couldn’t see him through all the tears clouding your vision. Some of them dropped onto him as you cradled his head, your trembling hands dusted away the dirt on his face, caressing the skin shakily. “Freddie please! Wake up! Wake up please, I’m begging you!” You were a wailing mess. You hug his head, kissing his forehead so many times, whimpering, “No... No, please. Fred, please don’t go. You’re- you’re fine, Freddie. You’re fine. I’m-I’m here. I’m here, sweetheart, you can’t leave me. You-you can’t leave me. Not like this, no Freddie, not-not like this…”

You didn’t realize somebody was sitting down across from you and Fred, you were too immersed with the emotions drowning you.

Too immersed that you didn’t hear the echoing voices around you. Until George shook you suddenly, “Y/N!!!” You faced him, still terribly crying, he cupped your face, wiping your tears. 

With teary, swollen eyes and a runny nose, he painted a giant, relieved smile on his lips, “He’s alive, Y/N. Madam Pomfrey said he’s alive!”

“W...What?” You couldn’t even let out a noise. And then you saw it. That somebody sitting across you was Madam Pomfrey, she had her hand on Fred’s left upper chest. She was smiling in relief to you, “He still has a heartbeat, dear. He’s alive.”

Your eyes opened.

A few hours ago. You didn’t realize you’ve been reliving the memories for several hours. you were now in a hospital bed, with long wires inside you, connecting you to several machines. The fluorescent lights made you squint your eyes, unfamiliar with the brightness.  

“Y/N?” A voice. There was a voice. You couldn’t move your head, it seems like your body was paralyzed as if you’ve been Stupefied. And then someone came into your vision, it was Hermione.

She let out the breath she held earlier in relief, she looked away from you and said, “Y/N’s awake!”

Your throat feels sandy, you couldn’t let out any voice. Hermione was attentive to you, she had reached a water bottle with a straw, “Here, Y/N. You’ve passed out for almost two days now. We’ve been worried sick for you.”

As you sat up, you groaned from the pain of not moving for several hours, and then you see the Weasleys, and Harry, and also Fleur. Molly was right beside Hermione, “Are you alright, dear?” You wordlessly nodded, scanning the people staring at you. Strange, everyone was in bandages. And why does it feel like someone’s missing-

And then it clicked. The main reason why you’re here in the first place. 

Your head had never turned so suddenly, your eyes widening in anticipation, dry lips moving to form coherent words, “How is he? How’s Fred?”

“Is… Is he alive?” Your voice was hoarse. The quiver in your voice was hard not to notice, and Molly quickly said, “Y/N, dear, have a drink first.”

“No, Molly. Where is he? Why is he not here?” You said loudly, you’ve grown anxious, at the back of your head you’re starting to feel the same as when how you felt at the Great Hall.

The fear was coming back, for sure, and rather fast.

“Y/N, calm down.” George reached out, putting a comforting hand on your leg. “Fred’s alright. But,” He trailed off, unsure of how to tell you.

“But what?” 

George’s eyes darted to Molly, who just reluctantly nodded before reverted his eyes to you. “He’s in a coma, Y/N.”

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

PART 2: READ 

A/N: Just know that I sobbed terribly at this chapter, this is honestly how I think it would go if Fred has a lover in the Deathly Hallows pt 2, without the Madam Pomfrey scene. Damn, if that scene was there, I would be traumatized :D

This fic is a full fanfic btw. That means it’s going to have more chapter than 3, so I hope you love this one as much as I do! Until then! p/s: check out my other works in my masterlist, it’s in my bio!

[rosencrantzsguildenstern]

1 & 2 for book asks?

okay yes thank you!!!

book you’ve reread the most times?

this is a little interesting because thinking back there's tv shows and especially podcasts that i've relistened and relistened to but with books i tend to reread them less....that said it’s definitely either the homeward bounders (by diana wynne jones) or the marvelous land of oz (sequel to baum’s ‘the wonderful wizard of oz’ of cinematographic fame).

the homeward bounders is just?? really good?? it’s got a crazy premise and is so good at like... showing this unique pov of this 100-year old immortal preteen and taking all this stuff he goes through and how it effects him but still letting him and the other main characters have very clear personalities. it’s really good at showing effects of trauma subtly and it’s also very funny in some points! it’s also got THEMES- the way it like adapts mythology is so so good.

anyway marvelous land of oz. i still really enjoy it but the amount of times i’ve reread it is because it was a childhood favorite;- i got a kindle paperwhite for christmas at about six or seven with a bunch of public domain classics predownloaded for me and that explains so much about why i am the way i am. anyway this includes all 24 oz books but the marvelous land of oz jumped out to me the most because i really loved ozma, and it’s her introduction/solo book, which she stars in. but then when i read further i felt like she had become this perfect paragon leader (bc of. like. gender roles idk) and all the depth and complexity and comedy of her character had kind of been lost. i think i liked it for slightly different reasons as a kid- i liked the oz books in general because after the first few, oz became this perfect world it was fun to imagine. even now i get hit by the urge to reread the marvelous land of oz! and i do and i enjoy it. i want to buy this fancy illustrated edition so much... it’s always on my mind

2. top 5 books of all time?

okay so obviously there’s gonna be overlap with the above but i’ll give a straight list. this is SO subjective btw

1. the homeward bounders- i mean see above but also know that everything i was talking about? yeah its an 80s book and the plot feels SO based on that 80s thing when everyone was obsessed with d&d and thought it would make demons and monsters. fun fact 

2. the war of the worlds- it’s a classic! it’s good! it’s well written! it’s got themes! but mostly something about it just hits the things i like weirdly well? i love sci fi and i also LOVE when characters go through the worst experiences of their life

3. frankenstein- i like being pretentious (this also applies to above) but no uhh legitimately it’s a really good book. BEAUTIFUL prose and the points it makes are brilliantly thought out and executed... like when we start off by walton being like i wish i had a friend!! and then we read through the whole thing and it’s got PAYOFF because a companion is the only thing the creature wants.... people could (and DO!!) analyze this book forever

4. in other lands- it’s a very clever, completely irreverent comic satire of a fantasy world that manages to end up very heartfelt and real! it’s fundamentally a coming of age story, where we watch the main characters go from 13 to... 18 i believe? somewhere around there anyway their arcs are VERY good, and the satire also has very interesting things to say about the real world

5. the marvelous land of oz- unlike the homeward bounders i can’t say much more about this.... charming kid’s book. movies do NOT do it justice and never did (and wicked does even worse. i could TALK about wicked)

bonuses i didn’t mention because they’re plays: ‘rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead’ (by tom stoppard) and ‘chitra’ (by tagore). i NAMED myself chitra so you can better bet the latter had an impact on me. that’s for personal reasons, whereas ragad is just really good and would probably be #1 on this list if i was counting it

[nekoprankster218]

Finally binging Marvel’s What If…? Here’s my thoughts so far.

Episode 1:

Continuation is a must have.

I realize that like the tall Resident Evil vampire lady, the reason I didn’t know I needed a woman like Captain Carter is because media doesn’t usually give us women built like her. This should change.

Episode 2:

I must know what happened to Rocket and Groot in this universe. I was so sure they’d appear in the Collector’s collection. Gamora being MIA is sus too.

Star-Lord T’challa Thanos is the only valid Thanos. Also seeing him getting his shit kicked in by his own former employees was hilarious.

Honestly gonna be sad when I see this batch of characters again and get reminded this was just an AU.

Also continuation is a must have.

Episode 3:

You know, I kinda thought Loki was gonna join the new version of the Avengers. And then his address to his new subjects happened. Damn.

Wait actually, why didn’t Fury contact Captain Marvel for the original Avengers? Was that something covered in her movie?

Also haven’t gotten to the Ant Man movies yet, so idk what specifically happened here that made Hank Pym go evil.

Speaking of…eh, wasn’t feeling the “it was evil Hank Pym all along” explanation. For the exploration of the Avengers systemically getting murdered before they can form, I guess I expected something else. Actually for awhile I thought the twist was that Loki was doing it; either ‘cause he knew what was gonna happen or he spied on Earth first an got intel or something else.

Episode 4:

Man I really hoped sane!Strange was gonna win.

Also Dr. Strange is another Marvel movie I skipped at first so I have no idea who Christine is or what happened to her in the main timeline.

Also I know from trending that episode 8 is gonna have another Watcher “fourth wall break” so is this gonna be a reoccurring thing every four episodes?

Episode 5:

The number of universes Hank Pym has personally ruined in the name of family is now two. I expect this number to raise.

Also number of universes Tony Stark has died in…four since he wouldn’t gone out with Episode 4’s universe, too.

Honestly having a hard time with the super zombies here. Guess it just feels off that they retain their skills.

Also that cape did a number on five super zombies. Why the hell has cape just been sitting on the rack when cape could’ve just ended the whole apocalypse with that kind of power?

WHY CAN ZOMBIE FALCON FLY.

Oh wait I forgot to add this earlier but what even actually happened. What change in the universe caused the quantum virus? What does it even do? Idk I was kinda expecting every change in the timeline to get highlighted in the same obvious fashion as the Captain Carter one. And there could’ve been many different routes they could’ve taken to reach “zombie apocalypse”.

WAIT WAS THE BABA YAGA CALLBACK FORESHADOWING WANDA?!?! BECAUSE WITCH. OH MY GOD-

I fucking knew it. I knew it. Giant zombie lady. Should’ve put a bullet in her head first, why did everyone eat dumb-dumb crackers simultaneously, even horror movie expert Peter?!

You seriously going to just end it on a zombie Thanos cliffhanger…God fucking dammit. What does it mean?! What does it mean?!

Episode 6:

My mind was all over the place with this one; I was so engrossed. Damn. What a savage evil plan. Where did Killmonger even get the idea?

Also of course Shuri figured out the truth. Wish they explained how and why a bit more, if only as her flexing.

Oh btw, Tony Stark total death count is now at five.

Episode 7:

FINALLY! ROCKET MAKES AN APPEARANCE! Please tell me it’s not just a silent cameo…

Oh my god I love the chemistry between this Thor and Loki. “I couldn’t tell you. It’ll ruin the magic.” with that tone and pose…fantastic.

Love the idea of the whole galaxy being so terrified of Frigga they’ll clean up a whole planet for her.

Just as I was thinking of how I hoped this Thor and Jane’s relationship would work out better than the main verse…ULTRON?!

Also I am dying to know how Rocket ended up in Jane’s apartment. Please give me fanfics of that. And of Rocket and Groot in the Star Lord T’Challa universe, actually. And in the zombie verse. And on every verse.

Episode 8:

The Tony Stark death counts goes up. Also how did the Avengers not get the cradle? Bet it was Hank Pym’s fault again.

Also love the “Ultron is actually the true major threat of the MCU he just got cut off early enough” thing. Hate that it came at the cost of Rocket and Groot and Mantis. Didn’t even get to see them on screen…

Also love that juxtaposition of the Watcher narrating as Ultron realizes there’s a fourth wall. Reminds me of SAO Abridged Episode 2. And looks like not even the Watcher knows what he’s about to narrate until he’s reading it. Nice.

Natasha’s got a shield. Clint’s got a robo arm. They’re Captain Apocalypse and End of the World Soldier.

CLIFFHANGER?! REALLY?! Also what happened to Party Thor universe, I must know. And does that mean we’re reaching a season finale? What’re the rest of the episodes gonna look like from here on out?

[alecxaheart]

Wish I Were | Kim Seungmin Oneshot

✎ Genre : High School Student AU, Angst, Fluff

✎ Pairings : Kim Seungmin X Reader (?)

✎ Word Count : 1.1k words

✎ Synopsis : Winter has already passed, yet Seungmin is getting colder and colder as time flies by.

✎ Warnings : Explicit Language

✎. . . Another angsty oneshot but a song inspired one. It's been a while since I wrote a very short oneshot. Btw, the whole oneshot is in Seungmin's Point of View. Enjoy my loves, mwah. <3

Kim Seungmin.

Save the date, 3rd of December. Where in the middle of a snowfall, sunshine appeared out of the blue. The time I was saved from the inner demons haunting me, from the bothering cold of winter. The time I never thought would come to the point that I lost care for myself.

With a small yet simple gesture, I was saved. She came just in time and the best part of her rescue was probably her giving me her soft light-tinted blue sweater. " It looks better on you than it did on me, Seungminnie, " She giggled as we sat in front of her fireplace, my cup of coffee laid unfinished on the table. Her arms around my waist while I lay my head down on her shoulder. All the warmth I received on that day was completely comfortable. From the fireplace, the hot coffee she offered, her sweater and her care and love. I couldn't ask for more than that to feel enough.

With a small yet simple gesture, I couldn't help but fall.

Fall.. In Love?

Just another new start allotted for this school year happened on this very day. Months had already passed ever since me and Yuri met. Right now, it's just me and her having a wonderful conversation. Her beautiful smile appeared once in a while with a small chuckle as we continued to just pass some time before class started.

" No way, this happened when you hit the baseball with your bat? You're that strong? " Her eyes twinkled as I showed her the picture my friend, Bang Chan, posted on Instagram. I responded with a nod and a hum, smiling.

" It looks like teeth marks at first glance, " Both of us giggled in unison while I tucked my phone back in my pockets. " But hey, that's really an impressive strength. You'll be in my speed dial in case I want you to kick some asses for me. "

Then there was a short silent pause in the area as the main doors opened. I took a glance towards it to figure out what caused such distraction from multiple individuals. And I must say or rather I could tell it already, he's definitely gonna be the elephant in the room.

His face defines ethereal, perfectly sculpted by the Gods to the point that they placed a star beneath his eye. He was indeed shining, everyone blinded by his beauty.

What broke my heart was when I took a glance back at you, you were one of them. I saw your eyes sparkling, filled with adoration towards the newcomer. You couldn't look away, trapped into his spell as he walked towards us. He caught your attention and you couldn't help but fawn over him more. What a sight for sore eyes.

I slowly distanced myself away when he was now onto you, both of you sharing smiles brighter than the blue sky and exchanging a few words. You're too lost in his eyes to notice my presence vanishing from your area, too lost in love while I'm starting to lose love itself. You never looked at me the same way as you did to him.

With one last glance, I witnessed how you got him so mesmerized before I die.

Or Fall.. Apart?

Back in place, like it was the start of winter once again. The time I was emotionally and mentally going downhill. But the difference is that it's far from almost winter, the sun shines too bright these days and I hate it.

Messages

💟 : Hey, can't meet you up today

💟 : I promised Hyunjin I would go with him, sorry

It's okay. : KSM

Go and have fun with your man. :) : KSM

Read – 5:03PM

Closing the door, I leaned my head back on it before silently letting my body fall onto the ground with the phone in hand, the picture of the two of us showing in the lock screen. I knew that behind me, behind this door stood Hyunjin and you having the greatest time of your lives. Exchanging words, smiles, and laughter with one another.

The scene I saw a few moments ago played. I walked into the rooftop, supposedly to be looking for you – which I did but never thought of it to be something like this. I watched you two there standing before the golden sun setting in the horizon then he held your hand. You, too, gave one of your sweaters to him. Putting his arms around your shoulder afterwards when you two took a seat on the ground, your head resting on his chest as you both took in the scenery.

I wanted to hate him so much, for he took away my chances of even having the confidence to confront you and confess my feelings towards you, ruining all of my plans to have the greatest life I've ever had in my grasp. Although as much as I wanted to, I just couldn't bring myself to do so. Hyunjin-hyung never treated you or anyone else badly, being the angel that he is. He's also true to his feelings, I overheard it from a conversation he had with Minho that he likes you, the same way you like him. However, I did prefer him not existing at all – thinking that maybe it would go the way I wanted it to be if he was never there.

In the end, I'll only get colder and colder to the point that my heart will freeze, slowly distancing myself away from you. While you're looking beyond exquisite than ever with a smile brighter than the sun, twinkling stars adorning your eyes and the pinkness of your cheeks – all of it was because of Hwang Hyunjin. Just for the sake of your eternal happiness, I have to disenthrall you.

Laying down alone on the bed, in the middle of my gloomy bedroom, drowning in my own pool of thoughts. Wearing the light-tinted blue sweater to feel the warmth back in the 3rd of December that I always loved, but I knew it would never be the same as before. Today, she wouldn't be able to save me. This would've been the aftermath back then.

Eyes red plus the visible dark bags underneath it came all from excessive crying and insomnia. Body tired like hell. Lost my appetite. Pale skin and dry lips. Too many emotions mixed up in my heavy chest. My mind screaming and yelling in agony yet none of it was heard since I lost my own voice as well. All in all, I feel like shit.

Beside me laid my journal, the messed up pages filled with black ink shown. The words " Wish I Were Hyunjin " were mindlessly written on the pages, repeatedly scattered.

Why would you ever kiss me?

I'm not even half as pretty

You gave him your sweater

It's just polyester

But you like him better

Wish I were...

Breaking the silence, a knock on the wooden door was heard out of the blue.

End.

[thecagedsong]

Cool, so one of my fandoms is having a really bad day, and since I care about Fablehaven until this monster of a fanfic gets finished, how about some wholesome meta? I don’t really care what the drama was about, so don’t tell me. We’re all a little high strung, and I tend to take disagreements personally in a way that I’m working on, and don’t need to be involved in. 

Now that that disclaimer is out of the way, who wants to talk about the Five crowns? Because I had a 14 hour car ride yesterday, listening to the second half of Evening Star and Shadow Plague, and I am so ready to let you all in on the code I cracked. I found the unifying magic diagram of the Fablehaven verse. The key to ultimate satisfaction, and if there was a magic research journal in universe, I would post this in and win the Top Magic Nerd of this Century award.  My goal is to make this as accepted canon as possible, because I am ridiculously right. No characters involved, so no drama except of the scolastic kind, relying on heavy references to canon. 

Ready? 

SO, I made a pretty big claim. But I’ve been toying with this theory since before Dragonwatch three came out. I need some reviews before I inform Brand Mull that I’ve cracked his secret and won the game. If this symbol isn’t on the spine of the Journal of Secrets, what is even the point. 

A good symbol does three things: identifies the pieces you are dealing with, helps the viewer reach a new understanding about the pieces, and map onto the cultural understandings of the audience. aka a cross with four quadrants of airplane, mitochondria, love, and toe nails is a terrible symbol. See common memes for usually pretty good symbols and graphs. 

So you got five crowns right? That means you have a pentagon and a five pointed star, and the biggest trick was figuring out where each crown went, and how they related to each other. 

Examine five-part belief systems, see where the crowns match, unifying symbol explains everything, move on. Easy.

NO.

You wanna know why?

BECAUSE FIVE POINTED STARS AS SYMBOLS ARE MORE WORTHLESS THAN AAA BATTERIES FOR WATCHING TELEVISION

Okay, a bit of an exaggeration, obviously they are very useful for things like organizing systems within a single body. Who functions as the head, the shield arm, the pivot foot, etc. But the point of that diagram is that they are equally important and dependent to every other part. Which doesn’t work when the different groups keep trying to break each other’s kneecaps (see b5: fairies v demons).

It also falls apart on the five-piece cultural scale. The most well-known 5-piece cultural scale is obviously the chinese elements: Fire Wood Water Metal Earth.

Now, I don’t pretend to be an expert on those at all. But it all broke down on fire, TBH. Were dragons fire? But a large point was that their breath weapons weren’t always fire. Were demons fire? Even the ones covered in sludge. Were demons earth? Was the underking earth? All I got were fairies as water, in the end. If someone wants to give that a go, be my guest. 

I drew so many pentagrams trying to figure it out, and it never worked. No matter the arrangement, it never told me more about the crowns except that there were five of them. I was about to despair. 

But then the muses sang: The Forgotten Crown. 

(That’s the title of my thesis, btw)

Like I said, five pointed stars were trash for this system, but what if I added another crown, one that no one bothers to count, because by their nature, they can’t do anything. That’s right:

The Forgotten Crown of the Fair Folk. 

The symbol slipped into place like sharp pointy things into Warren. And now I can get to the real meta after sharing this image:

Isn’t it beautiful? After I cracked this code, I showed it to my little sister. She smiled contentedly, calling it satisfying. It is so satisfying. It speaks to so many levels of understanding. 

First, I depicted for you, we have the morality and the terrain triangles. 

Morality triangle is the easiest, if you feel uncomfortable labeling drown-happy naiads as good and all demons as evil, congrats, thinking about the nature of good and evil is precisely what Mull was going for. Since I am suddenly one of those people, I’m going to be using the creation/destruction dichotomy, but acknowledge that both of those work. 

Fairies can be most easily understood when Kendra asked the Fairy Queen what she should do with her life. She’s an unlimited fount of the Fairy Queen’s own power, allowed to do whatever she wants, and the Fairy Queen tells her to nurture life. Be fruitful, put good things in the world, help people grow. Their goal is to create, their magic is defensive, beauty is wonderful for its own sake. The better you are at respecting and nurturing life, the stronger your magic is. Dryads are responsible for the whole forest, and throughout the series they are seen as more powerful and serious than fairies, which can make the plants they interact with grow and hamadryads, who are connected only to their tree. Certainly more powerful than the petty, waterbound naiads. 

Ganalus’s speech to Seth about his own nature is where you can understand demons in this world. They like to destroy and torture, they find amusement in things like plague and clipping live beings to their belts and dragging them around. They are driven by the need for more power and control. Their nature is to harm and break apart, and that has its place in this world, but we care about the stuff and people here, so mortals and fairies have got to keep these punks in check.

And of course, the Fair Folk. Here’s where this triangle gets fun. The worst of the worst gets to be Demon King, the best of the best get stronger fairy powers. That means the most neutral of the neutral get to be the leader of the Fair Folk. We’ve heard references to the main city of the Fair Folk: Selona, somewhere in Europe, and a mysterious exert that I’ve seen images of with Lord Dagrel that I’m trying to pin down. I’m posing that their powers come from being neutral. They talk about the terrible consequences of the last time they went to war, what if it the equivalent of their fallen state, when they break their neutrality, and changes them fundamentally. 

This breaks down the most, but they are the Forgotten Crown for a reason. They hold themselves apart from issues of the other crowns. No one even remembers that they have a crown, because as Seth and Celebrant have shown, who cares? They aren’t going to do anything about it. Everyone collectively forgot/don’t care about them. But their abilities are equal in strength to the others, but different in use, and less valued by those who have battles to fight. Their neutrality puts them exactly between good and evil, creation and destruction. They take the choice not to act, and there is power there too. 

Next is the Terrain Creatures. 

Sky giants control the sky, obviously. Thronis and his ability to control the weather, their height, while their feet are on the ground, far as we know, everything important happens in the sky. 

Underking gets under the ground, again, obvious. Different from the other two points of the terrain triangle in that there is a lot of creature classifactions in their domain, but think of how big the surface of the earth is, underneath it, all theirs. 

Dragons, they dwell in the sky and below the surface, putting them in both. Water dragons and Dromadus both primarily function beneath the surface, and their wings let them be in the sky. while not stronger necessarily than the other terrain crowns in their own domains, they are top of the food chain for the creatures living on the ground, and could probably take out the undead that venture near the surface, and I have high hopes for seeing a Sky Giant v Dragon in the next book. 

Cool, we got our organization of information. We learn something about them based on their placements within the triangles. But is that our symbol? No! Symbols are different than graphs, we should be able to squeeze ridiculous amounts of meaning from them, and we aren’t done yet. The two triangles map really, really well together.

What does the placement of the two triangles together tell us about the individual components?

a WHOLE TON. This is what makes this symbol the most satisfying, the triangles create two separate categorizations of their powers and abilities, but they inform each other. The morality of the terrain beings, and the domains of morality beings. 

Dragons run the whole spectrum from creation to destruction. We see a lot more of the destruction dragons, because our kids are in a war, but Raxtus hits really close to the Fairies and can heal and grow with his breath weapon. We also have wizards, who chose mortality for the ability to use magic to create. All the way to effing Navarog, honorary demon. They run every shade of the creation/destruction spectrum. We also see dragons that don’t depend on destruction because we know that there are some that agreed to behave if it meant they weren’t shoved into sanctuaries. 

Sky giants, the group we know the least about, are good enough that their queen was deemed able to be the caretaker of a dragon sanctuary, so no inherent thirst for destruction and chaos. But they run the neutral side of creation, they weren’t going to step in to stop the demons, they like magic and creating from what we know of thronis, but they fit right here. 

Underking - fall between neutral destruction. The underking wasn’t orchestrating the opening of the demon prison. They crave life, its a food source, but more than that, they want to endure. They might fall closer to demons in their taste for extinguishing life, but they need their wanting of life to continue existing. They might have individual prizes and desires for life, but because they depend on wanting life for their own continued existence, they will never organize themselves into taking over the world. Congrats, you’re only half as destructive as demons.

The morality on the terrain is much easier to see blatantly. Fairies have wings, but in no way do they control the sky, and they live on the ground. Demons...I’m sure some of them fly, but they tend to prefer caves like Granulas and pits like Jubaya and Kurisok. Prefer the night, though the light doesn’t harm them. Fittingly, the Fair Folk do not have the ability to fly on their own, and they live on the ground, not under it. 

sO SATISFying how those fit together. Are you weeping yet? This is harmony on the organizational level. 

But I claimed this was the perfect symbol, the ultimate. There is one more layer describing how every piece relates to every other piece, per the best symbols. 

Opposites

This is the least defined level of interaction, and each line is unique, while still being opposite its counterpart. We’ll start with the ones we have the least information about and go from there. 

Demon/sky giant: We know nothing, at the moment. They have never commented on each other, and have never interacted. Why didn’t sky giants show up to the Zzyzx party? Who knows! So I’m going to speculate here, and propose that they just really can’t stand each other’s presence. Demons stay away from sky giants, because giants are way bigger than them, and it is hard to feel powerful when you only come up to their knee, and sky giants don’t like demons because...eww, demons. 

Fair Folk/Dragon: We know that there are Fair Folk at all seven dragon sanctuaries. We know that the Fair Folk were there long before the sanctuaries were created. Fair Folk neutrality let both parties trust the dragons to part of their watch. It also seems that Dragons have a very difficult time staying neutral. We’ve seen a lot of flavors of dragon, but the one flavor we haven’t seen, possibly by its nature, is a neutral dragon. The closest we came was Dromadus, who was an abstaining pacifist for two books, but kept lending help to the innocent and those aligned with the innocent. His neutrality broke literally the week someone asked him to break it.

 Fascinatingly, the talents of the Fair Folk are actually the closest analog to the breath weapons of the dragons. One unique ability, can be augmented by training, can do something unique to the characteristics of the user. This is enough to make their uses of magic foils for each other in ways that they can’t be with the other races. In fact, they take human shape, their wizards act a lot like the talents of the Fair Folk.

Their final opposite string: physical appearance. Fair Folk are attractive (symetrical) humans. Dragons are hulking reptiles of scale and claw meant to let everyone who can see them know who is the top predator around. Fair folk are disarmingly beautiful. 

Fairy/Underking: The dichotomy that we know the most about because it’s the one the protagonists find themselves on opposite side of. I could double the length of this post talking about these opposite foils, but this is already ridiculously long, so I’ll keep it brief. Consult upcoming thesis for full analysis.

Most obvious aspect of this line? They literally cannot co-exist, one must overpower the other. Nova Songs are consumed by darkness, while crown-fueled Kendra literally turns the undead into bones and dust. The darkness and light can’t balance like the demon cursed area + Fairy shrine stone did in Shadow Plague, there is no middle ground.

While fairies and demons make the creation-destruction spectrum, Fairy and Underking make the Life-death line. Unicorns, who have so much life and youth that lectoblixes overdose to death on them, and the undead that give up the joys light and live to continue. Because Death lasts as long as life. 

And finally my favorite line of opposites, their crowns functions in exactly the opposite ways. The under-crown does not share power. It accumulates, you become one of consciousness of the crown. They swallow you up, and you will never take power from them. They will continue. Meanwhile the Fairy crown has had several owners, as identified by Risenmay in dw2. And the Fairy Crown shares magic in a way that the other crowns don’t. The fairy Queen shared her magic with Kendra, yes, but she also shared it with her husband. All the male fairies fell with the Fairy King, turning permanently into imps. Unless the Fairy Queen isn’t being honest about how that happened, that meant that the male half of the kingdom was under the authority of her husband when he fell. Which makes sense for this crown. One person can’t make a new person on their own, they have to have a male and a female genetic coding. For the crown that is all about creating and preserving life, that power isn’t meant to be wielded alone. The Fairy crown can share, can give, while the Undercrown can consume and take. They are complete opposites in this.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading through this preliminary thesis. Counterpoints, additions, and commentary are welcome. I want to flesh this out a little more before sending my transcendent, beautiful, unifying symbol to Mull and have him announce that I have officially cracked the code. Really tho, the fact that I can pull this together into a unifying symbol is pretty cool in terms of Mull’s worldbuilding. 

Well...only works if he acknowledges the forgotten crown. Dragonwatch 5: the Crown of Selona. I can’t wait. 

[venomous-five]

Who are the Five Venoms?

this is the most extreme special interest I’ve had in a while so I will. try to be as succint as possible lol

Anyway! The Venom Mob! Who are they? They were a group of five individuals who starred in kung fu movies from 1978-1982 together. In that span of five years, they made 19 movies that count as official Venom Mob movies (i.e. 3 or more of the venom mob are in starring roles)

So! Once again! WHO ARE THEY?? 

Well, since their first official movie all together was The Five Venoms (or Five Deadly Venoms for its western release), where they played six students of the Venom Clan and were given designated numbers, I will go down that number list to introduce them!

#1: Lu Feng 

Lu Feng is part of what I call the 146 combo (Lu Feng, Phillip Kwok, Chiang Sheng), the three of whom are arguably the core of the venom mob. He starred in all but *one* of the 19 venoms movies, thirteen of which he was a bad guy.

Almost always played the villain (like, 70% of the time)

Fantastic with weapons (especially staffs!!! spears!! tridents!! variations thereof!)

imo the best actor among the Venom Mob (like, I’m talking abt his micro expressions and emotional range?)

in context ^this expression KILLS me... that’s the face of “I can’t kill my friend but I’m going to die by his hands” ;; !!! like!!! I need to lie down

also the more I think abt it the more I think it has to be seen in motion because he like. does this shaking thing with his hands and face that tears my heart out

#2: Wei Pai 

This guy... doesn't really count as a venom tbh, because he later pursued dramas instead of kung fu. But I still consider him to hold the place of #2 in the venom lineup, even though I only think of the venoms as the five other guys. Just wanted to make sure you knew who #2 is even though I won't talk abt him lmfao

not actually a venom

#3: Sun Chien

Sun Chien had been making a name for himself in taekwondo way before he got into the movie business, and his skill in taekwondo really shines through in these movies (speaking as someone who does taekwondo). His characters are usually noble in nature (like... all gentle and brotherly n stuff) BUT that’s not to say he never plays villains.

his kicks are to die for

he’s like the tallest venom

Thick Eyebrows

like omg I can’t say this enough HIS KICKS!!

That’s his foot!! Behind Lu Feng’s head!!!!! im gonna eat a lemon

#4: Kuo Chui (Philip Kwok)

ok this guy is a straight up cutie imo... also!! He’s part of that 146 combo I mentioned earlier! I should probably mention now that #1, #4, and #6 all met at the Fu Sheng Opera House when they were kids/teens, so! That means all three of them have their roots in acrobatics (WHICH IS CLEAR IN THE AMAZING WORK THEY DO IN THESE MOVIES) and they have a shared history of working together! anyway anyway, Kuo Chui played the hero like... the entire time. In all of the venoms movies, including official and unofficial, he only played a villain once. (His villain role was in Chinatown Kid btw)

just like Lu Feng, is amazing with weapons

always played the hero in the movie

like the exact same height as Lu Feng (which helps them pull off some super nice looking stunts)

acrobatics!!! hot damn dude!

#5: Lo Mang

ok um first of all. muscles. like I don’t think I can stress that enough. He has the most defined muscles I’ve ever seen, and I’m pretty darn sure they’re just... like that. As a genuine martial artist (his main style was Mantis if ur wondering), I don’t think he’d be so careless as to dehydrate himself just to make his muscles visible. Like, I’m 99% sure he was just such a hard worker in his field that his muscles just.. looked like that...

muscles

is shirtless in almost every single movie. and. tbh I am not complaining lol

dies in practically every movie (I’m sorry, that’s not really spoilers that’s just fact.. he’s renowned as the venom that always dies lmao)

#6 Chiang Sheng

where do I even start. Chiang Sheng is by far my favorite venom (Kuo Chui is a close second). Among the venoms, he was definitely the best acrobat. I’d even argue that he may be the best acrobat in kung fu film (KEEP IN MIND THOUGH THAT I HAVE ONLY REALLY WATCHED VENOMS FILMS none of the others have enraptured me quite as much..) Chiang Sheng is generally the fan favorite (he has the nickname “Cutie Pie” which. is so fitting because he is SO cute), both for his looks and for his skill. He might not be the best fighter among the venoms (he’s certainly not lacking tho), but he is, in my opinion, the best performer. Every time he’s on screen my eyes are glued to him. Oh! And he’s the final piece of the 146 combo. The three of them when choreographed together are monsters.

cutest and youngest looking of the venoms (and fairly androgynous imo)

actually the oldest venom! second oldest is Kuo Chui, who is a few months younger than Chiang Sheng

best acrobat, best dodger, best at backflips etc

on that note, he’s renowned for his light style skill, which means he can move around as though he weighs nothing. sometimes he just looks like a paper plate that’s being blown around in the wind, yet he’s going exactly where he wants to go lol

he’s also. so tiny. look at this brief series of pictures (he’s on the right in each one)

..s-small.........

(anyway, I think if I go on any longer this will go from an introduction to an essay. I will have so much more to say about them in future posts; like the different movies, their different characters, the many relationships between the actors’ characters, stuff like that. Let me know if there’s anything specific you want to know more about! I can gush about these guys for a long time, and I am promising right now that I will be gushing about them. For a long time.)

[radramblog]

Top 5 Games, ever...?

This was sort of on my mind, considering the recent GOTY post I made. Come explore the hyperfixations that managed to stick around long enough to be my top 5 list. 

5. Uhhhhhh

So turns out I haven’t figured out what number 5 is yet. I suppose instead I’ve got to split it among the honourable mentions, huh.

Kirby Super Star Ultra is probably the best game from the GBA/DS era of the series and is just a blast to play. It introduced Masked Dedede, and all the banging music and memes that come with it, and probably deserves a spot here just for that.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth removes all the awkward Flash Stuff from the excellent original, and adds so, so much more content- the game’s final expansion still isn’t out yet as of writing but even now there’s just so much to unlock. While some aspects of the game can be pretty unforgiving, you probably aren’t going to be exposed to the worst of it unless you get into it pretty hardcore, and if you do, you’ll get used to it. It’s a roguelike, after all.

Speaking of roguelikes, FTL: Faster than Light is chaotic yet serene, brutal but fair, and a bunch of other pretentious dichotomies wrapped into a neat little bow. It takes some getting used to the mechanics, but once you get the hang of it, building your little ship up and up in the face of all odds is extremely satisfying. Have fun dying hopefully not too many times.

SPEAKING of permadeath, Realm of the Mad God gets a spot here just out of sheer hours I’ve spent with it. After a messy few years with a not-so-great owner lead me to dropping the game, it seems finally to have recovered and has devs and community that actually freaking care about it, which is nice. Also, it’s free, and the recent transition to unity has the game looking better and playing smoother than 12-year-old me could ever have dreamed of.

Terraria isn’t just 2D Minecraft btw, its actually more of an RPG/Metroidvania thing, you probably know at this point, but its pretty good hey. Still haven’t fully dove into 1.4 but considering I thought Red was done at 1.1 I’m not complaining with what I have played.

 4. Fallout: New Vegas

(...ish??)

I’d argue that between the primitiveness of the original Fallout games (I’ve tried to get into them, but I just can’t) and how…meh… the other Bethesda ones are, New Vegas is the only one in the series to stand up strong. Obsidian’s excellent writing and tweaks to the gameplay of 3 make New Vegas feel like an actual world, rich and characterised, which was something I found lacking in previous open-world RPGs I’d played up until that point (which admittedly might just have been Skyrim). It’s a game that challenges you to make choices that actually matter for more than the mere moments of an altered dialogue tree, both in dialogue and character building, which helps make the game actually replayable. It is also the first game in a long time that really sold the idea of DLC on me, seeing as each of the game’s 4 expansions adds an entire new region of world with its own stories and unique gameplay, tying together with the main plot but standing on their own. I am excluding Gun Runner’s Arsenal from this for obvious reasons, though it isn’t like GRA is a bad DLC or anything- on the contrary, the sheer scope of modifications and munitions makes playing a repair/science-based character incredibly fulfilling- but it just isn’t at the same scope as the other 4 (Courier’s stash barely counts seeing as its just oops! All preorder bonuses).

New Vegas is one of the few games I have actually 100% completed, achievements and all, but I’m still pretty sure there are bits I’ve missed, paths I haven’t taken, characters I haven’t talked to. Despite its inhospitability, the Mojave is always a comfortable place to return to.

 3. VA-11 Hall-A

(Hey look, my phone background)

Vallhalla is a masterclass in storytelling, atmosphere, and aesthetic. Like all good cyberpunk dystopias, you get themes of class and transhumanism and artificial intelligence, but they aren’t the point of Vallhalla. Through the window and lens of cyberpunk and PC98 nostalgia is focussed a surprisingly human story centred around the protagonist, Jill, which through multiple replays still hits me in the feels just so. Of course, Jill’s story is not the only one being discussed, as every single patron of the bar has their own life going on, and the glimpses we get imply a rich, often interconnected, world. Glitch City is, frankly, a shithole, and it’s not like you don’t get some assholes coming into the bar while you’re working it. The first patron you serve, in fact, is a great example of this- Donovan D. Dawson, essentially a parody of J. Jonah Jameson, is a colossal prick and knows it- but its clear he has his own system of morals and it is mentioned that he’s excellent at his job, much as he gripes about it. He’s rude and more than a little sexist, but frustratingly charismatic and authoritative, and he’s just one of many people who show up throughout the game. Vallhalla is the perfect game to sit down, grab your preferred beverage, and just relax with.

 2. Total Annihilation

(This image is on the steam page for this one, despite blatantly not being from vanilla TA)

I think I actually need to explain this one. Total Annihilation was a game released in 1997 made largely by Chuck Taylor, who would later go on to produce spiritual successor Supreme Commander. It’s an RTS game featuring exclusively robotic units with a fairly chunky aesthetic, allowing the visuals to age better than some, and a fully orchestrated soundtrack by Jeremy Soule, who would later go on to do work on a whole bunch of stuff, most notably Skyrim.

Total Annihilation is an intensely nostalgic game for me, being one of the first games I ever got to play as a kid outside of edutainment stuff, and I’d argue still holds up today (especially with the excellent Escalation mod). What it lacks in story (it’s pretty basic, but functional) it makes up for being miles ahead of its time mechanically, being the first (?) RTS to function in 3 dimensions- heights of things actually matter, hills exist and certain units climb them better than others, shooting down airplanes is difficult without anti-air but possible if you aim *just* right. While appearing pretty similar and having largely analogous units, the two factions of Arm and Core are well fleshed-out in terms of aesthetic and playstyle- Arm preferring fast and cheap equivalents to Core’s slow but powerful- and the unit variety is sufficient that strategies can vary wildly based on the map. Both campaigns as well as those from the game’s expansions are challenging, but satisfying, limiting the units you can produce to force exploration of different playstyles.

Total Annihilation isn’t something I tend to binge play for hours anymore, but I’ll pick it up for a bit every so often, and I don’t see that stopping for a long time (especially due to the recent steam release).

 1. Pokémon Emerald

(At the top, where it belongs)

Yeah, this was inevitable. Pokémon is my favourite series ever; Emerald is my favourite in the series. Go figure.

Emerald, being the final game for the franchise’s days on the Game Boy, reflects everything Game Freak had learned in the first 3 generations of the series’ history. The game’s balance is challenging but fair, never spiking so tough that it is insurmountable but never holding your hand either. The AI opponents are throwing odd combinations of mons and moves at you from every corner, double battles are everywhere but rarely mandatory, and the variety of available mon both before and during the postgame is excellent. The added features on top of Ruby and Sapphire are great- Battle Tents serve to replace 3 of the contest halls (they should have all been under one roof to begin with) and provide a taste of what would later be available in the Battle Frontier. The Frontier is probably the single most expansive and challenging postgame in any Pokémon game, providing the game with a longevity that is sorely needed due to the inaccessibility of Pre-DS multiplayer. The game also manages to tie together the plot of both Ruby and Sapphire into something that feels natural, and provides the series’ first ever actual cutscene, which felt a lot cooler at the time than it sounds now. The return of animated sprites gives the Pokémon a level of life far beyond the static sprites of RSFRLG, and in my eyes wouldn’t feel the same until Black and White several years later. The return of the Pokégear phone in the form of Match Call, as irritating as it is to some, makes the world feel alive in a way that Sinnoh and Kanto probably never will, in addition to making grinding a fair bit less tedious and more beneficial. It is, altogether, probably the perfect Pokémon experience, and in my opinion only one other game comes close (its Platinum).

Oh also, they got rid of the font from Ruby and Sapphire, thank fuck, that shit is atrocious.

[scarletwelly-boots]

Books Read 2020

I started off really good this year, what with quarantine and all. And then I got sidetracked by reading one hundred and forty-nine fanfics (and counting) (mostly Destiel; CW can kiss my ass). 

I read 30 books this year, which I thought was bad, but apparently I only read 24 last year, so not awful. I did the Popsugar reading challenge for the fifth year. There were 50 categories this year, so 60% isn’t too bad. So without further ado, let’s get started under the cut.

1. The Mermaid, The Witch, and the Sea, Maggie Tokuda-Hall (a book that’s published in 2020). This book, y’all. My god. It has it all: pirates, queer relationships, genderfluid characters, an intense plot. This book was so good. I definitely recommend this book. Pirates!!! And gay!

2. Somebody Told Me, by Mia Siegert (a book by a trans or nonbinary author). I don’t know how Siegert identifies, but I know they use they/them pronouns. This book was... okay but frustrating. A bigender teen, Aleks/Alexis, has a traumatic experience and moves in with their aunt and uncle, who is a newly converted Catholic priest. I liked the queer rep, but sometimes it felt like the author had these assumptions or prejudices about the Catholic church. Some of them were right, granted, and I’m not a practicing Catholic anymore so I don’t know why it pissed me off, but it bugged me anyway. So I guess if you don’t mind it seeming like the author did little to no research on Catholicism, then it’s a good book.

3. All the King’s Men, by Nora Sakavic (a bildungsroman). Who, me? Rereading my gay comfort trilogies during quarantine? It’s more likely than you think. Love the All for the Game trilogy. This is the third book in the series. It’s the best book in the trilogy. It is a series about a college sports team who play a made up sport called Exy, which is basically a more violent version of lacrosse. I’m not a huge sports fan, but the way she writes Exy matches had me on the edge of my seat. The team is made up of all “at-risk” students, the main character being a kid on the run from his mob boss dad. Trigger warning for the series for violence, sexual assault/rape, abuse, drug use, I may be missing some things. It was so good though.

4. Captive Prince, by C.S.Pacat (a book with a map). Back again with the gay comfort trilogies. This is the first book in the Captive Prince trilogy, and whoops, did I say love All For the Game? Love this series more. It’s awesome. It’s fantasy and gay and romantic. But the romance isn’t even the central part. Laurent is my favorite asshole. Damen is so sweet and sassy as fuck. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Seriously. I can’t do this series justice.

5. The Foxhole Court, by Nora Sakavic (a book recommended by your favorite blog, vlog, podcast, or online book club). First book in the All for the Game series. What are you still doing here? Go start this trilogy!

6. Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine (a book that passes the bechdel test). This is such a good book. It was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. It’s basically a retelling of Cinderella, and if you’ve seen the movie version with Anne Hathaway, the book is way, way better. 

7. Loki: The God Who Fell to Earth, by Oscar Basaldua (a book with the same title as a movie or TV show but is unrelated to it). God, I cannot WAIT for the Loki show. Anyway, this is a new comic about Loki (obviously). I love anything with my disaster wife in it, so 100% I recommend it. 

8. As Drowning Men Clutch at Straws, by EA Roisin (a book by an author with flora or fauna in their name). Okay, so. Roisin is an Irish name that means rose, and EA Roisin is my (unpublished) pen name. In my defense, the manuscript is 186 pages long and it felt like an accomplishment when I finally finished rereading it for the first time since I finished it in 2015. Do I recommend it? I’ll let you know if it ever gets published.

9. Red White and Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston (a book that won an award in 2019). I’m still rereading this book. I got interrupted because my sister wanted to read it and then I got a new book for my birthday. But this is, far and away, my FAVORITE BOOK. It’s so beautiful. It was very romantic (once they stopped “hating” each other), and gay. The premise sounds far-fetched: First Son of the United States falls for the Crown Prince of England. But, guys, it’s soooo gooooood. Highly, highly, highly recommend. 

10. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, by Hank Green (a book with only words on the cover, no images or graphics). This is the sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. This was just as great as the first, but I spent a good chunk of the book vibrating with anxiety. The stakes were way higher, and I don’t think I’ve been scared while reading a book since reading Jade Green (Phyllis Reynolds Naylor) in junior high (which was fucking terrifying, btw). But I definitely recommend it!

11. Crush, by Richard Siken (a book with a pun in the title). Guys. I read this book almost every year, because it’s quick and gorgeous and the title is accurate because it absolutely crushes me. This is a collection of LGBT (more specifically, gay) poetry, and OH MY GOD. This is in my top five favorite books. I read it all the time. This is the book that made me fall in love with poetry, back in high school.

12. The Raven King, by Nora Sakavic (a book with a bird on the cover). The second book in the All for the Game series. Trigger warnings for All the King’s Men apply to this one, too. 

13. 1014: Brian Boru, by Morgan Llewelyn (a fiction or nonfiction book about a world leader). If you know me, you know I’m a complete Irish history nerd. This book is about a very important battle that took place in Ireland, and the last great High King of Ireland, Brian Boru. High Kings are mostly just an elected title, who get paid via taxes from provincial kings and chieftains, but Brian was the only one who saw as close to a united, free Ireland as it got until 1921 (although since the island is split between the North and the Republic, it’s still not totally unified). I recommend if you like history.

14. The Magnolia Sword, by Sherry Thomas (a book by a WOC). Oh. My. God. So this is a retelling of the ballad of Mulan. Mulan is a very important story to me anyway (tomboy as a child, genderfluid, bisexual as fuck), and this retelling was so good and interesting. It also features one of my favorite tropes, Surprise Gays. I highly, highly recommend.

15. My Own Ways Through This Life, by Chris Viau (a book with at least a four-star rating on Goodreads). Okay, so it miiiight have a four-star rating because of me and my camp family all rating it, but it counts. This is a mixed media autobiography by one of my camp friends. He has written at least three books, and all are available on Amazon. This is the only one I’ve read so far, and it was really interesting. I definitely recommend it. 

16. Insomniac City, by Bill Hayes (a book you meant to read in 2019). This book was beautiful and heartbreaking. It was a Christmas gift from my brother. It’s a memoir about Bill’s time in a relationship with Oliver Sacks, a famous neurologist. It’s sweet and melancholic and funny. Huge recommendation.

17. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens’ Agenda, by Becky Albertalli (a book about or involving social media). Still such a wonderful book. Better than the movie, I’m telling you. It was really good, and I definitely cried. If you liked the movie, read the book. It’s different in several ways. I think if you’re thinking in terms of trueness to the book, the movie was maybe not as good, but they’re both good as their own standalone things. But I highly recommend both.

18. Loki: Agent of Asgard, by Jason Ewing (a book that has a book on the cover). This is such a good series. It’s a great characterization of my disaster wife.  I love this graphic novel series. I love how they depict Loki, how he finally gets a goddamn redemption arc. It’s a really fun read. Check it out.

19. Kings Rising, by CS Pacat (a book with a made up language). This is pushing it, since they never actually speak in the made up languages on paper. But UGH. Third book in the Captive Prince trilogy, and hands down the best. Laurent and Damen finally let go of the goddamn longing and actually do something about it.

20. The Deep, by Rivers Solomon (a book set in a country beginning with C). This is pushing it, because it’s about mermaids (basically), but I think they’re in the Caribbean. I loved this book. It was so interesting. It’s based on a song by clipping., Daveed Diggs’s group. The premise is the wajinru (the mermaid people) originated as the infants from pregnant Africans that died and were thrown overboard during the slave trade. So like, it’s a pretty heavy book. But it’s heartfelt and sweet, too. Also more Surprise Gays, which came at an excellent time (November, post-Supernatual finale) for me. I highly recommend.

21. Written in the Stars, by Alexandria Bellefleur (a book you picked because the title caught your attention). I just finished this book tonight and it was so. good. It’s basically a modern, lesbian, fake dating rendering of Pride and Prejudice. And let me tell you, if there’s one thing I love more than Pride and Prejudice, it’s lesbians. It’s really really great. I highly, highly recommend. 

22. Running with Lions, by Julian Winters (a book with a three-word title). Thanks to All for the Game and movies like Handsome Devil and Boys, I have discovered that I have a huge thing for queer sport stories. So this book was really, really good. It’s got friends to enemies to friends to lovers, which is great. It’s got soccer, which is way more homoerotic now. And it’s got gays, which is really why I picked this book up. But it’s well written and the story is interesting, too. I definitely recommend.

23. The Prince and the Dressmaker, by Jen Wang (a book with a pink cover). Oh my god. AHHHHH!!! This book is amazing. It’s a graphic novel, so it’s a quick read. It’s fantasy and feels a little Cinderella-y, but that’s not the best part. The queer relationship is amazing, but that’s not the best part. The prince is genderfluid! Like me! And his mask name is Sebastian! Like me! (Okay, so my name is Bastien, but close enough) This was so so so good. I got it at a convention in February, and I was practically vibrating with excitement as I read it. I highly highly highly recommend. 

24. Girl Crushed, by Katie Heaney (a book by or about a journalist). I think I’d have liked this book better if it wasn’t so...similar to my life. The main premise is the main character is getting over a sudden and painful break up, after being dumped by her long-term (maybe first? I can’t remember) girlfriend. The ex has the same initials as my ex and acted very similarly, so maybe I ended up picturing her when the character came up in the book. The ending pissed me off. It was very gay and that wasn’t the entirety of the book, so maybe you’ll like it more than me. It was just too true to life for me and opened up some old wounds I didn’t want to open up. The author is an editor at Buzzfeed, so that’s how it fits into this category. 

25. Date Me, Bryson Keller, by Kevin van Whye (your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge--a book published this year). This might be my second or third favorite book, goddamn it’s that good. It’s queer, obviously, and sort of fake dating? Bryson is dared to date someone new each week. He’s assumed to be straight, so all the people he dates are girls until Kai asks him. It’s really sweet, and there’s some issues with coming out to your family that don’t always sit well with me, but overall it was really good and it ends well. I definitely recommend.

26. Loki: Where Mischief Lies, by Mackenzi Lee (a book written by an author in their 20s). AAAHHHH!!!! Fuckin.... Okay, y’all know I have feelings about Loki. He’s my spouse and I love him to death. This book was so, so good. Loki gets sent to Victorian London to solve a mystery and meets a group of humans who know about Asgard and basically keep Midgard in order for Odin. Loki is canonically pan and genderfluid (as he should be), and Theo is a sweetheart. I wrote a 10k fic coming out of reading this book (Phantom Limb by Irishavalon on AO3, check it out.). I seriously recommend!

27. Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo (a book by an author who has written more than 20 books). I read this with my third graders at the beginning of this year. Such a good book. I read it as a kid too. The movie is great but as always, book is better. Recommend.

28. Adventures of Charls, the Veretian Cloth Merchant, by CS Pacat (a book with more than 20 letters in its title). This was a reread of a short story that comes after the Captive Prince trilogy. Charls, the cloth merchant, was such a great side character in the CP trilogy, and telling the story from his perspective was great. It doesn’t have to be read after the other CP short stories, but at least the trilogy should be read first.

29. Fence vol.1, by CS Pacat (a book from a series with more than 20 books). I’m pushing it with this category. I read the first volume, but this is a comic book series, so the 20 books is more issues. This is very good too. It’s another gay sports story, and is probably going to be enemies to lovers, but they’re still enemies by the end of volume 1. Still recommend. 

30. Prince’s Gambit, by CS Pacat (a book with a main character in their 20s). Book 2 of the Captive Prince trilogy. Very very good. 

[puckngrind]

Skating Lessons part 7

Summary: Reader has a coffee date with Amy Jones and the bestie asks all the Josh questions.  

Warnings: swearing, mentions of sex...

Word Count: 1992

Series Masterlist

“CBJ...CBJ...CBJ...”  Mason is yelling at the tv while in his Anderson jersey and pajama pants.  “Momma, look, Josh just did our special signal!” Mason was bouncing around while the commentators talked over the pre-game video.  Sure enough, Josh was standing there laughing with Seth and hitting pucks.  He then stops, does a spin and touches his head.  You laugh as Mason does the same thing.

“That’s awesome Sweetie!”  You laugh and take a video of Mason doing the move again to send to Josh.

Bethany plops on the couch next to you with coffee in hand and a look on her face.  “When did you and JOSH come up with this move, Maze?”  Your best friend had called Mason this since he was a baby.

Mason jumps on the couch between the two of you and announces that they came up with it a few skates ago.  You had witnessed this move before but didn’t realize your boys would do it every time you were at the ice.  NOW you realized Josh was connecting with Mason even on road trips.  Bethany shot you another look you could read without words.  She was annoyed that you hadn’t told her about any of this Josh stuff.  You bring your legs up causing your shorts to ride up.

“Momma, you are hurt.  What happened?”  Mason stops bouncing and hugs you.

“Uh, I ran into something at work.  I’m fine, Baby.  First score and you are headed to bed okay?  You can watch the game tomorrow.”  

Your face turns bright red as you here Beth say under breathe, “yeah, you fell on Josh’s face, huh?”  

“What Auntie Beth?”  Mason turned his attention to Bethany and you gave her a death look.

“Did you see Josh’s face?”  Beth recovers from her comment and you are sure she can feel your thoughts as she continues.  “I bet he scores first!”  She survived that slip up and Mason’s full attention is on the game.  Sure enough Josh has the puck and sails it to Seth who shoots it into the net.  

“GOOOOAAAALLLL” Mason shouts.  And with that you put Mason to bed and crashed on the couch to hear all the questions Bethany had about your relationship with Josh.  You answered the basics while watching the game.  The main question she asked was why she hadn’t heard about it and you avoided all her questions about how good the sex was.  

“That’s fine.  I can only imagine how mind blowing it is.”  Bethany pats your leg where Josh had marked you up.  You tuck your knees under your Anderson sweatshirt and you sit your coffee cup on your knees.  “So, what’s it like dating a professional athlete?”  Beth continues her questions as you stare at the game.  Thankfully the Blue Jackets were up by 3 and Josh had 2 assists so far.

“Beth, I’m going to be honest.”  You took a deep breath but kept looking at the game.  “When we are together I don’t even think about the fact that he plays hockey for a living.  Like he’s just Josh.  Obviously I KNOW he’s a professional athlete but he’s so much more than that.  And the other guys are so down to earth and they all love Mason so much.  He was star struck for a second but he’s so comfortable with them.  It’s weird and amazing.  YES!  BABY!”  Your confession is stopped by Josh landing one in the back of the net with 5 minutes left of the 3rd. 

Bethany brings you right back to the conversation as she takes in your celebration, “So you are really watching the game huh?”  You just shake your head as the minutes tick down.  “And you’ve hung out with the team?” “Well, we went down to the family room after the game...you know the one that someone took our pictures...” Your words catch in your throat but you continue,  “and a few of the guys came to the zoo with us Sunday.” “Wait, you got his teammates to go to the zoo with you three?”  Beth’s face was squished up trying process all of this.  She was not use to you dating at all and now this.

“Well, Josh invited a few of the boys so it didn’t look like a date after the social media stuff.  I’m meeting Amy Thursday because I have questions and Seth suggested we talk.” “I know I’ll get use to it but the fact that you just talked about the queen of hockey moms and her All-Star son like they are Sally and Jay next door is pretty crazy.”  You laugh because you hadn’t noticed it yourself how you weren’t starstruck by any of them.  Your phone vibrates and you see a text. 

Josh: I’m glad he saw it.  He looks adorable.  Is Bethany still there?  I want to Facetime when I get back to my hotel room. 😉

You: I’m not sure what you are planning but yes, she’s here but leaving.

“Ew, are you two...sexting?”  Bethany laughs but her eyebrows are furrowed.

“Um...no...”  You answer and she’s not convinced.  Beth leaves and you plop on your bed waiting for Josh to facetime you.

“There’s my girl!  Say hi to PL, (y/n).”  Josh gives you the look and pulls his phone back to see PL sitting behind him on the couch.  

“Hey Luc!  Mason asked when you were going to race him on the ice today.  I told him you might lose after all that ice cream.”  You giggle and PL just shakes his head.  

“So...the hotel messed up our block.  We are have roommates regardless...and PL called me.  I think he knew I’d call you.”  You see Josh look over at him and then his eyebrows moved to tell you more.  “Beth okay with everything?” “Yeah, I mean I was questioned the whole game.  I did see your three assists and goal Babe.  Nice job.”  Josh’s face turned red.  While you started watching more hockey on purpose you really never talked hockey with Josh much. He talked to Mason but not you which may be why you never thought about the fact that he was who he was when you were together.

The two of you talked a little more before PL started whining he couldn’t hear the movie he put on so you hung up with Josh.

“You must be (y/n)!” you here from behind you as you sit at a high top table in the corner of the little cafe down the street from the arena.  Amy Jones had her hands up coming in for a hug.  “The boys have told me so much about you already!  I was so excited to meet the girl who has stolen Josh’s heart.  He’s been waiting for you for so long you know.”  Amy was exactly what Bethany described her.  The queen of hockey moms and she was easy to talk to.  You talked all about her boys and how she was thankful social media really wasn’t a thing when they were growing up.  Being in the spotlight with kids and the lifestyle Josh, Seth, and the other boys have.  She was exactly what you needed.  

“Sweetie, I know you are worried but you just have to follow your heart and trust your gut.”  Amy puts you hand on yours as you swirl your spoon around your coffee.  “From everything Seth has told me, you are the most amazing mother and clearly you’ve done an amazing job.  Now am I saying Mason won’t find his way to some craze fans rant?  No.  It may happen but let Josh and his people deal with the crazy people.  Just love both of your boys and constantly make sure you are there for each other.”  Your eyes started to fill with tears at the thought Amy was putting in your brain.  “Plus, I’m always here for you too.  And Shelly will love you too.  She told me she cannot wait to meet you this weekend.”  You gulp at the thought of meeting Josh’s parents and Amy laughs.

“Are you sure?  I haven’t exactly met parents in awhile.”  You look down at your drink then up at Amy.  Her head was tilted to the side and she smiles.  

“Um, duh!  I’m just mad Seth didn’t see you first.”  She laughs and you feel yourself lighten up.  “Do you like pedis?  Maybe we can before I head out next weekend?  I usually drag Seth and Josh but I’d love a girls trip.”   She pops up and hugs you tight before dropping her hands to yours.  “Josh loves you and so will his family and all the other stuff with fall into place.  Just take it all in stride.”  

With that you leave with less questions about being with Josh and more dates with his world.

Josh: How did coffee with Amy go?

You: Amazing.  I cannot wait to see you tonight.

Josh: Tell Mace I added an extra move for you to our secret signal

You: Oh really?!?  Thankful the game starts at 5pm btw.  Mace will be able to catch most of it.

Josh: And I’ll be home sooner.  I gotta go.  ILY.

Just like Tuesday, You and Mason watching the game.  You mentioned to Mason that Josh put a new move on their signal that was meant to you.  Mason was intently watching and then Josh did it.  He spun around put his hand on his head and then drops it down to his heart and pumps it.  You are thankful it’s just Mason watching the game with you because your face immediately flush with Josh’s public declaration and you were turned on because while it was public no one really would knew what he’s doing.  The boys did funny things like sweep or pretend to fish so Josh’s spin move would be seen as nothing more than him being silly.  The signal would be special to just you and Mason.

The game started and it wasn’t going well.  While the boys were playing as hard as they were but calls were missed and shots were just not going in.  You put Mason to bed after the loss and waited for Josh’s text.  He didn’t so before you slid into bed you put a key under the mat and sent him a message about it.

You have no idea what time it is but you the covers move and Josh’s warm body slides in behind you.  He wraps his arm around you and pulls you in.  You moan is groggy as you rub your eyes to wake up.

“Go back to sleep, Babe.”  Josh whispers into your hair followed by kisses along your neck.  “I just want to lay like this with you.”  You turn slightly and reach your hand to his face.  He kisses your lips slightly.

“I’m glad you are back.  I missed you.”  You kiss him again and he groans.

“So my parents want to have dinner tomorrow.  With us and Mason.  I said it was fine but needed to check with you” Josh rubs your arm and goosebumps run right along with his fingers.

“Yeah, I guess.  And you can stay here tomorrow if you want?”  You say with ease.  Josh’s arms flex around you.

“Are you sure (y/n)?  What about...”  You place your lips on his to stop Josh from finishing his sentence.  

“I think I’m okay with it.  I’m pretty sure Mason is.  Plus I want to spend every moment I can with you.”  He kisses you again and you feel his lips curl up into a smile.

“That’s exactly what I was hoping for.”  Josh caresses your face.  “Now let’s get some sleep, okay?”  You nod in agreement and flip your body so your back is pressed against Josh’s naked chest.  “Maybe we can get up early and...”  With that you gave Josh an elbow into his abs and he chuckles.  “That wasn’t a no was it?”

It wasn’t...