#that's what we're all about here in this fandom

[minalover]

alright friends and enemies, gather round, it's time to talk.

first of all, looks like we're a little fuzzy on the term gaslighting. so, to refresh your memory:

Gaslighting is a form of manipulation that often occurs in abusive relationships. It is a covert type of emotional abuse where the bully or abuser misleads the target, creating a false narrative and making them question their judgments and reality.

good. now that that's out of the way.

i got triggered by a post today, floating around the side of the fandom that doesn't cross my dash that often, that i didn't expect to hit that hard. see, that's the thing about triggers. most of the time, they're not big, scary, overall concepts. most of the time, they're very small. very specific. words, actions, tones. and i didn't expect this one to hit me. but it did. so hard that i've been trying not to cry for the past hour or so and inspired me to write this down. because it's unbelievably clear, due to the behavior over the last few days, that we need to talk.

eddie's behavior in the kitchen fight in 8x17 was not abusive. point blank. and calling it so is disingenuous. this was a painful and very realistic fight between two people who love and support each other and, due to outrageous circumstances, cannot fight clean. eddie cuts buck to the quick. buck does the same to eddie. the hand on the shoulder and pointer finger is the same behavior we've seen from eddie multiple times, ranging from goofy (bachelor party) to vulnerable (post-tsunami) to supportive (when buck comes out to eddie). this one was done in rage and grief. of course it doesn't look the same. of course it feels different. (from a cinematographical perspective, if they had wanted it to read as abusive, they would have shown it to us. but they didn't. so make your own conclusions if you're able.)

eddie does not have a history of violent or abusive behavior. if you're about to lean on the he almost killed a guy in fight club, yeah. he did. are you also talking about lena bosko, who got him into the first club, in the same way? do you want to talk about how eddie was using it as the world's worst coping mechanism to avoid grief? or how he immediately worked to save the man's life, call for help, and quit? no? okay. you know how else i know he doesn't have a history of violent behavior? because no one is afraid of him. not his son, not his aunt, not his parents, not his coworkers, not his girlfriends, not his wife. so go ahead and wrap that up.

eddie bringing chris and pepa home wasn't love bombing. again, let's go through definitions - [l]ove bombing is an attempt to influence another person with over-the-top displays of attention and affection. so just right off the bat, not the same. what eddie did was apologize to buck in the way he can hear it. we've been talking about love languages and, even though they come from a heteronormative and religious place, they're still helpful in this conversation here. eddie is always supporting buck with words and buck is always supporting eddie with actions. in this moment? eddie realizes that what buck's been struggling with is that lack of family (shown to the audience as the lack of family meals compared with pre-bobby's death). so to apologize and show his love, he brings family together to share a meal. just because it didn't sound like an apology to you doesn't mean it didn't sound like one to buck.

just because it isn't racist to you doesn't mean it doesn't come from racism. as we walk through white fragility 101 together, there is a difference between hey you're racist and hey that thing you said comes from a racist and problematic place can we break it down. holding a character of color (chimney and, in this case, eddie) to different standards than white characters (bobby and buck) is derived from racist ideology whether you intend for it to be or not. so take a step back and look at why you seem to be reacting in this specific way to this specific behavior by this specific character. i can't ask you to unravel every implicit bias you've ever been taught, but i can ask you to take a look at your actions if a bunch of people are pointing it out.

there is gaslighting happening here, but not how you think. the way some folks in this fandom have been posting and reacting to the buddie 8x17 kitchen scene have truly made me second guess everything i'd been seeing. the constant, vitriolic reaction to something i didn't find that upsetting made me go back and watch again and again. did i miss something, am i not able to see it, what's going on? and, here we go kids--what's happening here is gaslighting.

it is a covert type

of emotional abuse

where the bully or abuser misleads the target

creating a false narrative

making them question their judgments and reality.

finally, let's look at what you're specifically not saying. by saying that eddie is abusive, that it looked like he was going to come after buck with a knife, that buddies are sick for romanticizing the behavior (which i haven't seen but okay we'll go with it for now), you're implying that the people who support (or don't actively stand against) eddie's behavior in this episode are no better than abusers themselves. that's your underlying message. by spinning his non-abusive behavior as abuse, taking that narrative for truth, and putting everyone who doesn't agree with you on the opposite side of that argument, you're calling us abusers. and i, frankly, take issue with that.

i need you to understand the difference between uncomfortable and unsafe. i need you to understand that this was not inherently romantic, but emotionally vulnerable. and i need you to understand that clinging to your morally superior high horse will not save you in the real world.

if you want to come yell at me, by all means. anon is off, so you gotta do it with your whole chest. i'd much rather talk about it. i'm here to do white fragility 101 if you need it.

[inkstainsonmyfingertips]

we're all mad here.

ꨄ︎ -when it's been a long day at the bookstore where you work and a mysterious customer walks in. rohan (from the inheritance games fandom) x reader.

word count: 1.1k.

warnings: none.

The past couple of hours had been particularly busy from the summer heat outside that brought in tired customers looking for the cool salvation of air conditioning apart from the usual souls looking for comfort in the pages of books. As the sun started to set and the heat died down so did the customers.

The bell rang again, as you lead a customer to the romance section. It was a raven haired man-no, a boy-he looked around your own age-an adult but only barely.

His hair wavy and mused but only slightly, just enough to look effortless. The boy was tall, the sleeves of his white shirt pushed up-you wonder why in the world he's wearing a button up today of all days when the weather had reached up too ninety degrees.

You couldn't lie, he certainly looked handsome in the peculiar outfit, the white of his shirt contrasting with his tanned skin-almost like he was straight out of a book: tall, dark, and handsome.

You're shaken out of your thoughts by the customer next to you clearing their throat awkwardly, "Right, I'm so sorry," you realize that you've been clutching the book in your hands quite tightly.

Loosening your grip, you point with one hand to the aisle in front of you, "the book you're looking for should be down there."

The customer mumbles a small thank you, and walks down the narrow makeshift hallway. You turn around to see the boy in front of you.

He’s so close.

You’re surprised to see him again so soon, customers usually wandered around, browsing the shelves, before asking for help.

You look up at him, his dark eyes are sparkling with mischief and curiosity, they remind you of fallen autumn leaves. Your heart skips a beat or two when he smiles at you, “Hello,” he says voice low enough for you to hear.

Your throat parches,

What's happening?

Butterflies flit through your stomach as your thoughts begin to slip away, like fish swimming in and out of coral to escape predators.

You can’t remember what you were going to say or do. So you go back the well practiced words that you first learned working at the store, “Hello, what are you looking for today?”

His eyes glint with amusement, you wonder what’s going through his mind.

“Well, you tell me,” he gestures to himself, “What kind of books should a person like me read?”

You pause for a minute, hearing his accent.

British, he's British.

You wonder where he had come from, this boy was a certain mystery, but you had a liking for the unknown and making it known to yourself. That's when it clicked, why not give him a taste of his own medicine,

"Mystery seems your cup of tea, what do you say?" you give him a small, teasing smile.

He raises his eyebrows, an easy smile still on his lips. Maybe a little too easy, "Very funny, a tea joke-how original."

His eyes drift down your body, resting on the book, "What about that book?" he nods to the little book.

You look down.

Little Women.

You almost laugh out loud, but you don't, reminding yourself it's best not to make quick judgements, "Um-sure, I mean-I'm not a stereotype supporter, but I don't think you would like this book."

You hand him the book, fingers brushing slightly, but just enough to know that his hands are warm.

He looks down at the book, turning it over, "Little Women, what an interesting title."

His mouth moves with silent words as he reads the description. You watch him and his quiet contemplation, it wasn't everyday a handsome guy walked into the store intently wanting to read "Little Woman" out of all things.

He looks back up at you, his mouth quirking into a small smile, as you raise an eyebrow in questioning, "Well?"

He turns the book around again, smile growing again, his brown eyes sparkle with interest, although you're not sure if it's in the book or in you, "I'll take it."

You take the book from his hands, he looks a bit surprised, but only for a moment before he quickly hides it away, although his face is no longer as bright as before.

"Calm down," a smile creeps up on your face, he reminds you of a child when their mother takes away their favorite and well-loved blanket to wash, "I'm only ringing it up," you beckon him to the cash register.

“Alice in Wonderland?” his voice comes from behind as you walk over. You can smell his cologne from where you are. Pine and sea air.

“What do you mean?” you throw a glance back to him.

He points to a poster on the wall to your right, the only one not completely covered by bookshelves.

“We’re all mad here,” it says next to a drawing of a grinning cat.

You hum in response, as you walk behind the register, “The quote is from the Cheshire Cat to be fair.”

“Yes, but the cat is from Alice in Wonderland,” he answers fingers drumming on the wood of the counter, leaning in forward. closer to you.

You pause for a second, watching him. He didn’t know any better, yet he acted like he knew everything in the world, “The book is actually called Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

His raises his eyebrows, surprise flickering through his eyes, “Really?”

“Yes, really,” you reply trying to stay straight faced but failing miserably, as a gentle smile graces your face. You scan the book’s tag, pushing the card reader a little closer to him. He had a certain affect on you, even if you didn't realize it yet, it was hard not to give in to his charming personality.

He takes out a blue card, swiping it swiftly against the reader. He observes you as the computer dings and the receipt prints. You wrap the book with graceful practice and brown paper.

He smiles one more time, as you hand him the book and the receipt in a white bag, “Thank you for shopping with us,” it reads in golden writing.

“You’ve got a quaint, little bookshop here you know. It’s quite nice really, but it was much more exciting to meet you…”

His voice trails off, he want your name you realize.

Is he flirting?

Your heart races again, as you say it. Your name rolls off his tongue smoothly. If you didn’t know better you might have fallen in love with him from the way he said your name, if you didn’t know better.

“It was a pleasure to meet you as well….” your voice trails off, imitating him earlier.

He looks you up and down, once and then twice, you can feel your face heat up, “Rohan.”

Rohan.

"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Rohan," you say murmur, thrown off by him. By his entire being.

He winks before turning around to leave, “See you later, love.”

Love? See you later?

Rohan left you with the rest of the customers and the quiet store save for the occasional shuffle of feet and pages to contemplate his goodbye.

pictures from pinterest, dividers by me.

a/n: was superrr tired when i wrote this so- if there are any mistakes i'm sry!!

main masterlist. more of rohan.

[biancasaidstfu]

Um so has anyone thought about Luke and Nicola at all?

They want this side pieces narrative to fly, why can’t we just go along?

Are we really so desperate to be right and it be right now that we can’t stop to think about what they want??

This is their life, not ours. Leave them alone.

You all are bulling them every time you don’t get what you want and point out every minute inconsistency and or crumb.

If they want to be private for now, why is that such a big deal.

You all are like toddlers who want what they want right now.

SMDH.

They're doing what they're doing regardless of what we're talking about on this tiny ass spot on the internet.

Do you really think they're over in London fucking upset can't sleep because this blog on fucking TUMBLR of all places is having an open discussion and theorizing on certain things?

You're new to shipping fandoms, I get it, but please understand this isn't the space for you if you think anything that we might say on here has any bearing on how they live their lives.

[angelltheninth]

Snowed In Together With Oliver Aiku

Pairing: Oliver Aiku x Fem!Reader

Tags: fluff, enemies to lovers, snowed in, only one bed, cuddling, teasing, warming up, neck kissing, sexual tension

Prompt: They hate each other. Of course they do. But now they’re snowed in at the same remote cabin. One bed. No signal. Nowhere to run from each other or their feelings. - List

Ko-Fi | Rules | Fandoms and Characters | Commissions

A/N: Saw these cute romance prompts and I wanted to write one for Oliver! Enjoy, comment, reblog, all that good stuff!

"Damn, it's still storming out there, doesn't look like it's stopping any time soon either." You looked out the window of the small, yet cozy cabin you found yourself stuck in. Actually this wouldn't be so bad if you weren't stuck with the most annoying man alive, Oliver Aiku. He wasn't annoying most of the time but today, in this situation? Yes, he was annoying. "Can't you call one of your teammates and at least let them know we're here?"

Oliver was completely calm, as opposed to you, he took many things as they came, he learned to. "I would but the blizzard is getting in the way of my signal. Either way someone will come looking for us by tomorrow. And the snow storm should settle." He smirked as he discarded his fluffy jacket onto the chair.

He wasn't panicking about this at all. How? You were supposed to meet up with everyone else further up the mountain, at the resort. Instead you got caught in an untimely snow storm and were forced to park the car and take shelter together. Good thing the power was still one, and if not there was enough wood to keep you warm for the night.

That wasn't your biggest problem. The biggest problem was that there was only one bed in the cabin. Barely big enough for two, and only one blanket. No sleeping bag or extra clothes.

"Do you really hate being stuck with me that badly? You're not my favorite person either you know, Miss Manager." Oliver poked you in your lower back, causing you to flinch at his touch. "Weren't you supposed to watch for the forecast today?" You blushed from the embarrassment of his words, it was true. 'So this is actually your fault. Unless this was all part of your plan to me alone with you?"

Before you could deny that absurd claim Oliver was already getting into bed. When did he take his shirt off?!

"What? You think I'm gonna stay up all night waiting, hoping for this to pass? I'm on vacation, I'm gonna sleep through all of this. Feel free to join me or don't?" He lifted the covers and waited for a few moments. When you didn't approach, just glared at him he rolled his eyes and turned to his side. "Okay, fine."

You went over your options, of which there weren't many. You could stay up all night and leave as soon as morning breaks, you could take the somewhat comfy armchair close to the fireplace, or you could get into bed with Oliver.

The last one was something you swore you would never do.

You were his team manager, it would look bad, for both of you. But... it was bound to get colder in here. Just for tonight you could take a hit to your pride.

After taking off most of your clothes, leaving only your underwear on, being in the same state of undress as Oliver, you lifted the covers and got under them quickly.

"Changed your mind, Miss Manager?" You could hear the confidence in his voice, dripping like sweet honey. "God, you have some soft boobs."

You were blushing again but for an entirely different reason that wasn't anger. "Is that all you can think about?"

"Well no but kind of hard not to when they're pressed right against my back." That back flexed just for you. You couldn't sleep like this, so you turned your back to him, hogging some of the blanket as you did. "Fine, I'll be the big spoon."

His arm draped itself over your middle and pulled you against his body, your legs tangling together. "Your feet are cold."

"Mhm, I'll get warmed up in no time." You glanced behind briefly, his mismatched green and black eyes slightly hooded, accompanied by a lazy smirk. "If you're so worried you could give me a hand."

"Keep talking and I'll kick you out of this cabin." The perv, the nerve of him to even suggest...!

"I don't think you will." That confidence was back full force as you felt his stubble scratching the back of your neck. "You know Miss Manager... if I'm stuck here for the night I'm glad it was with you. You're good good company like this."

"Good company?" You asked, not quite sure what he meant by that.

"Yup. Nice to cuddle with an all that. I prefer a pretty woman in my bed than one of my teammates. You're much better company." A shiver bolted through your body when Oliver's lips pressed against the back of your neck, then at the side of it, then your shoulder, then the strap of your bra.

You gulped, tensing at the sensation his kisses sent through your body. "You're such a womanizer, Oliver."

"You don't seem to hate it right now. But I won't overstep, just keep you warm, deal?" He asked as he backed away slightly, his warm breath tickling the now wet patches of your skin.

"Y-Yeah." You didn't want to turn around and let him see how much you were blushing. He might be annoying sometimes but in this moment he cared about you, so you let him.

Even though you fell asleep with your back turned to him you still woke up snuggled up against him, your face close to his neck. "Well, morning." Oliver beamed, his face framed with the morning Sun shining through the window, no sign of a snow storm. "Care to give me a hand now?"

It took you a few moments to understand, or rather feel what he meant by that. "Pervert! Get your grabby hands off!" You pushed yourself away from him and fell off the bed, head down, legs dangling over the edge. Slightly spread. "Ow."

"That's quite the open invitation, very forward of you, Miss Manager." Oliver reached out and traced his finger across your thigh.

"Oh, shut up." You gathered yourself, your clothes and what was left of your dignity and stormed outside. "If you're not outside in 5 minutes I'm leaving without you!"

Oliver sighed but kept on smiling, "Gotta make this one quick then."

[faceofpoe]

On the highly contentious unraveling of Cassian Andor (and how season 2 is at its heart about his relationship with Luthen).

(This has nothing to do with justifying or not fuck-all about Rogue One Cassian beyond getting him to that beach, I'm an Andor girlie just working my head around what we've built and where it's going in the context of the show).

I had a lot of issues with arc 1, and some of those issues (like ducking around pillars at a wedding to have the hey we're gonna have to murder that guy talk or, why is Kleya even here?) are not going to go away BUT as someone whose brain wasn't exploded by season 1 until seeing the full big picture come together (Rix Road, beloved), I promised myself a full season rewatch to try to recalibrate.

I haven't rewatched yet, but let's have a 75% recalibration now that arcs 2 and 3 have led us where they have to much fandom furor, and mulling how we bring this whole thing together.

Which brings me back to: this season is at its heart about Cassian's relationship with Luthen, and his acceptance at the end of season 1 that Luthen was right, he's going to die fighting the Empire - so either kill me right now, or put me to good use fighting these bastards for real.

Season 2 came to us with a gigantic ask: engage with the negative space. We have to imagine how Cassian went from big wet bambi eyes above to Mr Earnest-Reassuring-Come-Into-The-Circle with Niya. Mr Empire's-Most-Wanted is sneaking into top secret facilities and doing it with confidence and -

Shit goes instantly sideways. This isn't even the right ship, did anybody know that?? (they didn't, obviously they didn't, they don't know what's gone wrong, and this is really important I think about the fallout of this arc). Cassian's off having a terrible time while Luthen and Kleya are spying and drinking on Chandrila and he doesn't check in and this isn't normal.

It's been a year+ since season 1. Partagaz tells Dedra she's been on the Axis hunt for "almost two years" I believe so presumably we've jumped decently down the calendar year for the 4bby arc.

I have a lot of feels on how Cassian's arc one story should have had more time to breathe, to make the losses punch harder at the end by showing him leaving home, etc, but perhaps that is also the point -

He's good at this; he's accepted his pact with Luthen, one day he'll die fighting - but they're tucked away safe. Brasso's looking out for everyone, Brasso who he tasked with looking out for Maarva if he could. We're meeting him on the high point of thinking he can have it both ways and... perhaps not fearing what happens back home, if this mission or that is the one from which he doesn't return. They'll pull through. This is perhaps his era of: the Cause comes first; we take what's left. And he's balancing it, or thinks he is anyway.

Dashing off home and having found that unraveled while he was having The Worst time on Yavin - captured by, theoretically, allies -

The balance is upended, and cue crisis of faith. Not in the Cause per se, but in Luthen. He gave his own life up to Luthen but now the situation has changed on multiple levels. He's rattled by the failure on Kleya & Luthen's end on Sienar, doesn't have Brasso, doesn't have this illusion of safety on Mina-Rau, Bix and Wilmon both get involved, but Cassian isn't handling it well. There's no "take what's left" when she's right there in the line of fire too. Bix questions his decisions in the field, Luthen... his exchange with Kleya in 2.6 is telling.

"This isn't the piece we need."

"We knew that already."

"I thought seeing it in person would make a difference."

Cassian is not the operative he was where we met him with Niya. Sending him to Ghorman is something of a confirmation of something they've clearly been realizing/discussing. Luthen going to check on Bix/put her to work/whatever was the deal there - this seems very much Not The Norm by her reaction, they don't have a lot of face-to-face contact I would guess - he's doing his own assessment of just what is the situation here. (In the most dickish way possible of course, my problematic beloved.)

Cassian's at this complicated intersection of having lost this comfortable place where he can risk and trust his family's safety. Luthen and Kleya are having their own meltdown over how chaotic their operation has become. Cassian... is probably thinking about that bad intel for Sienar and wondering when the next catastrophic fuck-up that isn't his fault is going to cost something else while Bix is over here being the far better adjusted one about just what war looks like and how unreasonable his mentality about her presence. And I'm really curious if we're meant to read in the sudden appearance of "I have friends everywhere" that this was an effort to avoid another experience like the Maya Pei Brigade.

And then Luthen asks him to see about stoking the flames on Ghorman. (I'm still trying to decide how I feel about the sort of 'having it both ways' aspect of Ghorman and provocation and 'it never mattered anyway the ending was already written.')

And Cassian says: "I'll sit this one out." He doesn't take the order, he decides he wants no part in it. And that is where the final fracture in kill me or take me in finally happens.

He doesn't trust the vision anymore. Doesn't trust that the inevitable tragedy will be worth something in the end. Is this fighting these bastards for real? And is starting, perhaps, to wonder if it was worth it at all, to walk back off that ship to Gangi Moon.

And somewhere in the next year, Cassian starts to come to terms apparently with the fact that he doesn't trust Luthen with his life anymore. But he's not quite all-in with Yavin and Draven either. He's maybe still grappling with the acceptance, or inevitability, or not, that the fight will claim his life in the end - and he's lost his faith in Luthen spending it well. Sometime in this time gap after arguing over Ghorman, the fallout with Cinta, getting shot and struggling with recovery... it unsettles him into retreating, ducking Luthen's calls, until Wilmon turns up with compelling incentive.

[insert Force-ex-machina plot here to heighten his internal struggle]

And at the root of their conversation before the Mon extraction is basically Cassian refusing the assertion from 1.4 - this end is not already written. His own decisions matter. Arcs 1 and 2 only validated his teenage understanding that rebellion is pointless and all they'll do is fight themselves one way or another and, Ghorman has validated his plea with Maarva that she can't beat them. People stand up, they die.

And he has a very similar sort of conversation with Luthen as he had with Maarva and gets much the same response. Still work to be done. Luthen doesn't ask Cassian to stay, but he gives him the "I can't go." They're done. Cassian's done.

[I have quarantined the unfolding of the Bix departure in my brain, Bix's story is now Tether, sorry, I hate it so much, and it could have very much worked without the Force healer Force-ex-machina of it and probably with different timing, anyway]

Anyway Bix pulls the "if you leave, it won't be for me."

So we the audience know of course that Cassian is going to stay. Ironically, perhaps, in a far less make-my-own-decisions friendly capacity within the military hierarchy than he ever was with Luthen. And it will be interesting to see how we meet him at the opening of arc 4. He's presumably got Wilmon and Vel and Melshi and K2SO. He's finally seen the Rebellion pull together; Bix ripped away his fantasy (and it is a fantasy, he knows it's a fantasy because it's played out already on Ferrix and Niamos and Mina-Rau) that there's somewhere safe they could get away from it all.

Will he trust Draven & co to spend his life for good again? Or perhaps he simply can't bring himself to care so much either way after all of the turmoil surrounding Ghorman and the fallout and Bix. Orders are orders and good soldiers follow orders and here he is now, slapped into a uniform with a rank on his chest (idk if he ever actually wears the uniform with rank insignia between all the amazing coats in R1 but you get me) and he'll play the part because what else is there?

But Luthen is still out there, against just about every prediction for how this season would unfold. Luthen is the one puzzling over Ghorman and Dedra, demanding the endgame. Luthen isn't finished.

And I guess the question is, since we know how this ends - what is the force the propels Cassian along to Kafrene to kick off the final mission?

Just a soldier following orders?

Or are we going to wrap this back around to that s1 claim and that pact and the extension of broken trust and give Luthen something of a chance to earn it back (possibly posthumously), in sending Cassian along to the meaningful death he promised?

[wizardofahz]

The Great Eliot-AI Bake Off

Fandom: Leverage: Redemption Compilation: Moments in the Life of Leverage Fam A/N: What can I say other than Eliot getting exasperated by siblings is a fun dynamic to write.

Eliot enters the bar one morning to find Hardison, Breanna, and Parker standing around a new contraption.

"Eyyy, Eliot, my man," Hardison says eagerly. "Come check this out."

"Behold," Breanna says dramatically and gesturing at the device with a flourish, "the Casey-Hardison sibling bonding project of 2025. You know when you watch The Great British Bake Off, and everyone's crying about math during pastry week? Well, here is the solution."

"The Hardison-Casey," Hardison corrects, "machine does all that math for you. You just put in whatever size pastries your heart desires, and bam! Pastries. It'll even do the assembly and baking for you. You know the technology in air fryers, countertop-sized, super easy to use? Well, we--"

Eliot cuts off the rest of the nerd explanation. He's heard enough. "You can't use a machine to make pastries. You know what happens when you do that? You get those crappy mass-produced squidgy things in grocery stores."

"I think the ones from the store are nice," Parker says causing Eliot to splutter indignantly.

Apparently he decides the best way to get through this already trying situation is to ignore Parker. He continues on, "You gotta feel the pastry dough"--he clenches his hands as if he can feel some at this very moment--"make a connection with it, know what it needs."

"Why are you hating on our sibling bonding project?" Hardison asks, feigning hurt and placing a hand over his heart.

"Yeah, not cool," Breanna says. "And you only gotta do all that touchy-feely stuff because humans are inconsistent. Also check it." She grabs her tablet. "Our device has an AI interface that can help you design new pastries. Look, it says that scones and turnovers both have flaky textures, and voila, a recipe for scone turnovers."

The idea alone seems to break Eliot's brain. Frustration ripples through his face like an over-pressurized balloon ready to pop. "Those are completely different kinds of flaky. Scones are crumbly. Turnovers are..." He trails off as if he can't believe he has to put this concept into words. "How does that combination even make sense? Just think about it for a second."

Hardison does not spend any time thinking about it. "Don't be jealous just because you don't have the creative genius to imagine the crumbleflakes of our masterpiece."

"Damn it, Hardison!" Eliot growls. "Fine, you make some with your stupid machine, and I'll make some, and we'll see whose is better."

He storms off.

Sophie, who had quietly walked in a few minutes earlier, smiles and says, "In the mood for turnovers?"

"He hasn't made them in a while," Hardison confirms. He turns to Breanna, bowing his head with respect. "It was a pleasure grifting with you, Ms. Casey."

Breanna tips an imaginary hat. "And you, Mr. Hardison."

"But," Hardison says, leaning against their new device and resting his arm on her head, "we're still calling it the Hardison-Casey."

Breanna tries to shove him off. "Casey-Hardison."

"Hardison-Casey."

"Casey-Hardison."

"Why don't you guys just name it after Eliot?" Parker suggests. "Like you did with me and the Parker 2000."

Her suggestion is provided innocently enough, but it has Hardison and Breanna exchanging evil grins.

"Now you're talking."

[deancasforcutie]

#spn positivity #spn was a good show actually (via @inspnity17)

#this #when it comes from people who only have secondhand knowledge of it you can understand it because plot points and all can get very warped #in fandom telephone retellings. So I do get that #but when it comes from fans? ...??!! #it surprises me because it isn't just that they think it's Bad in a 'generic' way (like: it's a CW show so it can't be good) #it's that so many people think its failings are unique or so much worse than those of similar/concurrent shows. #it's a perfect storm of not wanting to engage with media earnestly + not understanding genre + judging based on what you want and not what #they set out to do + not comparing it with other shows of its type/time... #Idk I understand and agree with some criticisms and also there's things I would've done differently etc but overall? it's Good #we're still finding stuff to talk about almost 20 years after it premiered! we're having fun! (via @ironworked)

#exactlyyyy #like this so-called 'secret good spn' that so many people claim to be hallucinating in their minds is literally just... the show #it's a good show! it's well made! i refuse to pretend those statements are not true (via @singersalvageshop)

#it's a solid show (via @fleetinginfatuation)

#brave and TRUE #like #we're all here. its 2024. its a good show! (via @chuckwontheory)

if spn was both popular enough to run for 15 seasons and compelling enough to keep us collectively deranged and enthralled for four years and counting after the fact i feel like it might be time to simply admit that it was a good show

[tackytigerfic]

mid-story line game

First can i just say that i've loved being tagged in recent posts and how much i appreciate my fandom pals and getting to read little snippets of your work? what an array of treats! Here are their posts, feast on these words: @mourningliliesmorningglories here; @the-forbidden-forest here; @garagepaperback here; @wolfpants here; @yellowfork here; @lemonlimelea here.

rule: drop a mid-story snippet from up to 10 of your fics, posted or wips

👻In the Hallway (Drarry, housemate fic)

Malfoy’s eyes are bright in the sodium streetlight and he looks blissful with his mouth stuffed full, Harry arching up to meet him, and when Harry comes he feels vaporised, like he’s sizzling off into the stars that he can now see behind his screwed-shut eyelids.

🏋️‍♂️Hand on the Key (Drarry, visiting Privet Drive)

It was Dudley, standing half-naked in a corner and looking very pale. He was still holding a set of dumbbells, foolishly, in his big hands, and he was covered in a sheen of sweat.

🐺Howl (Drarry, both werewolves)

It was almost too much, a sensory overload, Draco’s mouth suddenly wet and getting wetter, a prickle of sweat over his top lip, a greying fuzz across his vision before he blinked the colour back into the room.

🩸First Watch (Drarry, multiverse wartime fic)

Draco’s shirt was stuck to his back with the sweat of effort, his hair curling at the ends in the heat, and blood was drying in the cracks of his palms. His eyes were closed, face finally smoothed out and peaceful. “Hmmm?” Draco blinked slowly, like a pointy cat, then ruined the peaceful effect with a huge yawn. “I wasn’t asleep.”

📰The Quiver of a Heartstring (Drarry exes - unhappy ending)

You'll be in the Prophet tomorrow, you know that, and you don't even care. They'll have photos of you and Malfoy, and they'll call it a brawl, or a scuffle, and they'll have some glib headline, but they can't begin to imagine the heat of it. They can't capture the triumphant rush of having Malfoy solid and warm under your hands again.

👨‍🦰Aim For My Heart (Dronarry, jealousy in triad)

Draco presses himself tighter against Ron’s back, and Harry wriggles restlessly in Ron’s grasp. He’s breathless, and jittery with a sort of spiteful need for all of Ron’s attention. Every time he moves, Ron’s hand tightens absent-mindedly, and it’s almost, but not quite, enough.

🚗Standing in the Way (Drarry, magical apocalypse fic)

“It's just…” Potter says off-handedly. He’s concentrating. “You use them so you don’t, you know, get jizz everywhere, or if you want to come inside someone. And then afterwards you just sort of roll it off you and tie it up like a balloon.” He’s not even looking at Draco when he says it, when he’s talking about coming inside someone, as though that someone isn’t going to be Draco himself, hopefully in about the next ten minutes.

🌵Between the Power Lines (Drarry roadtrip)

It was so hot that they didn’t need much, and anyway they spent hours on end driving with the windows down, Malfoy’s curls flattened and dark with sweat behind his ears, his linen trousers crumpled and soft from the humidity, Harry overheated, wearing only his swimming trunks, his seatbelt catching against his chest hair as they drove and drove and drove.

👶The Long Fall (Drarry, Harry up the duff)

Months later, Harry—vaguely horrified at himself—remembers that feeling, and wonders if he had made it all happen. If he had somehow willed it into being, through the sheer force of wanting it so badly.

💦The Beginning and the End (WIP, Dronarry omegaverse A/A/O)

"What, Potter?" Malfoy kicked out, bare foot ineffectual against Harry's leg in Quidditch gear. "We're what?" Malfoy's teeth were showing, wet and gleaming. "You're mine," Harry said, miserably, and Malfoy's mouth was at his neck, teeth scraping over the swell of his Adam's apple.

Tagging everyone! Please do this as it's fun and tag me so I can read.

(And @toomuchplor @sweet-s0rr0w @maesterchill @beloved-child-of-the-house @twnkwlf-writes @skeptiquewrites @letteredlettered @boxboxlewis @sorrybutblog @getawayfox @oknowkiss if you fancy taking part and haven't done this yet - hope these tags work as tumblr is being a fucker this eve)

And if you want to chat reading, writing, and fics, why not join the pit drarry server on discord?

[liedownquisition]

Dickroy people hyperbolically insisting they will kill themselves if Royjay wins and I have to use all my strength to keep myself from going you promise? in response because I have some sense of decorum and basic appropriate conduct 😔

akljdkjl They're SO DRAMATIC about it. Guys it's not that fucking deep. Other statements I've seen include "If DickRoy doesn't win then I'm going to kill YOU" and so on and so forth.

(Sorry Anon, I'm going to use this ask to complain about a different argument)

And the one that's really been getting me because holy fucking shit is the argument that "DickRoy is better because Roy is an actual person in it."

You know, I considered arguing that, actually, there's a lot of great fanfiction out there that doesn't minimize Roy and that the sanitization of his character is largely due to the batfanon black hole that everyone acknowledges most of the time but for some reason with JayRoy it's like a whole separate thing and not a by-product of popular tropes that are generally Bat-centric with everyone else as their accessories.

And by the nature of typing that paragraph I have, in a way, made that argument, but I've also somewhat changed my mind on how I want to really discuss this because I think there's a larger issue at hand here:

Fictional characters aren't people, you cannot erase their personhood because they don't have any.

I'm so sorry about whoever lied to you about that.

A lot of people are mad that JayRoys are willing to engage with and discuss Roy's addiction in an interrogative and compassionate way. They're not going to phrase it like that though. Because if they did phrase it like that it would betray the fact that they would rather ignore that part of Roy's character entirely except perhaps for brief little one-off references

You know, like how Dick Grayson only brings it up every now and then to throw that fact in Roy's face as an insult every time he's feeling pissy, especially when Roy is telling him something honestly kind of fucking true that he doesn't want to hear.

Frankly... I don't actually think I care if most of the shippers did or do erase Roy's "personhood." If I don't like their content I won't engage with it. There are plenty of ships, plenty fo fandoms, where this same phenomena happens all the time. Especially because we are talking about FANfiction.

AMATEUR fiction which is often clumsy and raw and inexperienced, that doesn't know how to realistically step back and have extensive focus or reference to more than one characters' struggles at a time. Even the worst fanfiction is a learning experience for the writer. Over time they might get better, or they might not. It doesn't matter. All that matters is t hat they enjoy themselves, and that other people sometimes enjoy it too!

We're all just out here doing our best, and trying to have a good time. We're not out here to make award-winning fiction, we're here to make the blorbos kiss, because they're not people, they're imaginary dolls and we can do whatever we want with them because it's not for you, we're not appealing to a broader market.

It's just for fun, and I think when you start arguing about character personhood, you're taking it too seriously.

Would I, personally, prefer to engage with depictions that display a degree of understanding of canon and respect for the characterization that's been laid out over decades? Yeah, I won't lie. I like that more. But, what I consider that to mean and what YOU consider that to mean and what THEY consider that to mean are all very different perspectives and interpretations.

There are sooooo many comics. And it's not a fucking crime to not read all of them and remember that in Bleebus Bongo Adventures Volume 4 Issue #516 Beefgus said he doesn't like Lemon Cake when you write your bakery AU and have Beefgus pick Lemon Cake off the menu and claim it's the best one they've ever had and that because they've had so much good Lemon Cake and have a lot of opinions about it in their life it's a real compliment.

There's nothing wrong with changing around character dynamics and relationships for an AU. And, technically, by nature, most fanfiction is already an AU, because it's not canon. And, maybe if they're trying to argue it's canon compliant then maybe it's a little more like "I don't think you and I read the same canon" but I don't really see that tagged a lot on SHIPFIC unless it IS a canon ship which obviously JR isn't lol.

They're just... Look if other people are playing with dolls in ways you don't like then I'm not sorry. That's their prerogative. Stop being so dramatic, you look like a child throwing a tantrum.

And I'm getting really tired of being the bigger person about it when they're taking every chance they can get to be anything but.

[fangirlfied]

As much as I agree with wanting to see more of all of these actors, because frankly I’m a HUGE fan of almost all of them and at some point or another I did had a crush on almost all of them, I really think that most people who make these type of lists never take in account how well the project they were in did, if they have past scandals or if maybe, just maybe they’re just not interested to be worldwide known, instead they’re happy to just be able to work as an actor and pay bills with what they make; not everyone NEEDS a mansion and be known worldwide, guys. Some actors do it “for the art”, and some others are just happy with doing B listed actors as long as they’re capable of living through actings. Frankly, I’ve seen most of the men in these list on MANY things after what made them famous, they were maybe B list movies or shows, but who known, maybe that’s what they want to do, you know? We don’t really know these people, that’s what I mean. Maybe they’re happy like this and here we are demanding from studios to hire them...

Manny Jacinto, for example was indeed amazing in The Acolyte, but the issue here it’s that most of the fandom of Star Wars (which indeed it's racist and shitty, we've seen it) hated the show, maybe due to racism, maybe due to it being bad, that’s another completely different subject, but The Acolyte was a flop in general terms, I personally LOVED it and even have it as one of my favorite shows ever, but maybe people who have power on the industry don’t pick him (if he isn’t turning down scripts or taking a break) due to that, and we shouldn't just assume Manny, or any other are just seating at home, sad because they're ain't getting offers. Anthony Ramos is BOOKED as hell for what I know and the kid of 'Heartstopper' has a whole music career besides his acting career, just like the guy from Brigerton, so maybe, just maybe they care about that or try to prioritize that over acting or maybe they choose to do smaller tv shows/movies or, God I don't know, but these are grown ups and it's not like Hollywood doesn't have lots of A list PoC as actors, Michael B Jordan just came out with 'Sinners', Jordan Peele is the new God of horror, Daniel Keluuya won a freaking Oscar few years ago, the girl from Colombiana and Guardians Of The Galaxy who's latina won Golden Globes and an Oscar (I think??) for a musical IN SPANISH!

Like sure, we still have a LONG way to go to achieve equality, but we're not THAT bad, at least lately...I consider most of the actors who are PoC pretty sucessful, I have some of my favorite non PoC artists being less sucessful than them, which it might be also their choise...My point is, we don't know these men, maybe they're happy how they're handling their career and if they aren't, they can change management.

list of young actors of color who deserve to have more recognition and opportunities as actors like Glen Powell, Jacob Elordi, Timothee Chalmet etc. It would be refreshing to see more of these talented and underrated actos of color in lead roles, whether in action and sci fi blockbusters, even rom coms

*Note, the list consists of actors born within the 90s-2000s. This might not be a complete list so whoever sees this is welcome to add more actors that I missed. I might update this post from time to time

basically a sequel to this post dedicated to young actresses of woc

Manny Jacinto: It's a crime that he's not cast as a male romantic lead in rom coms. He was so talented in the acolyte and he deserved the same career Glen Powell has. It's a crime he's not in more projects as a lead

Rege Jean Page: he's born in 1988 but I had to include him as he deserved the same roles and opportunities as his co worker Jonathan Bailey. He still deserves a career outside of bridgerton

Caleb McLaughlin: It's very telling how he's not in a lot of other projects (major blockbusters) out of the rest of the young and mostly white cast in stranger things

Ncuti Gatwa (he deserves the same appreciation and opportunities David Tennant and Matt Smith got post Doctor Who)

Danny Ramirez

Anthony Ramos

Rish Shah

Charles Melton (it's a crime he didn't get an Oscar, here's to hoping he gets more major roles)

Ross Butler (Look at him, let him play an action hero)

Ryan Potter

Justice Smith

Archie Madekwe

Jacob Batalon

Dev Patel

Mena Massoud

Mason Gooding

Darren Barnet

Justin Chien

Xolo Maridueña

Justin H Min

John Boyega (still deserved better than the way lucasfilm and star wars sidelined him in favor of A*am D*iver)

Aryan Simhadri

Jose Andres Rivera

William Gao

Tyler James Williams

Ramy Youssef

RJ Cyler

Dallas Liu

Victor Alli

Archie Renaux

there's more but unfortunately, tumblr has a 30 gif limit

[ayy-ayycaptaiin]

I don’t get why DC keeps baiting with Dickkory, they’d make way more money actually creating content with them. It would also ease some of the ship wars and hate. Every time they post about Dickkory without actually giving us anything (and I’m not even talking canon anymore, I mean Elseworlds or other media), it’s inevitable that some people will start hating or trashing the other ship. Dickkory has a huge fandom, it’s not some small niche group, so of course some people are getting tired of DC constantly dragging things out and not giving them anything.

I'm with you, anon. You're right, we're not a niche group AT ALL. DickKory does have a huge fanbase, and I get why people are frustrated (me included). DC has this pattern of tossing out crumbs—a random panel, social media posts, comic book covers without really committing to any meaningful content. And you're right, it kind of stirs up ship wars because it feels like they’re baiting different sides instead of just giving something solid. It’s especially wild because DickKory isn’t even niche, they were a huge part of Titans lore for decades and still are.

I actually posted about this same comic baiting issue with Starfire that relates to DickKory here and i posted what i think about DickKory social media posts here in case you haven't read it!

Imo part of the issue is that DC likes to play it safe or ambiguous to try and “please” everyone (which usually pleases no one), but that ends up leaving long-time fans feeling strung along. You’re not wrong for being tired of it. Whether it’s main continuity or Elseworlds, people just want stories that respect the history and the fandoms that have kept these characters alive for so long. DickKory fans literally spanned from the 80s until now. There were older generations predating the current fandom who cheered for DK back then and probably still do today, just as we younger generations do all the time. We deserve more than just nostalgia-bait!

Thank you for the ask as always, i'm open for discussion anytime! 🫶🏼

[conclaveconfessions]

forgive me father, it's been over a decade since my last confession.

I do not come to confess my sins nor flaws, though they are plenty because I'm only human. I come because I feel an annoying buzz, doubt over my brothers and sisters assuming I'm something that I'm really not, a hater searching for schism within our wonderful fandom. I come because I rarely interact with one of the most popular and beloved characters (Benítez) and I do so not because I'm a Lawrellini shipper but for reasons that are not selfish. I do so, on top of my first reason which I'll mention soon, because him and I come from the same place and I've grown extremely tired of how Latinos are treated by Americans, though most times I can see it's not malice, just carelessness accompanied by what I choose to see as good intentions.

My first reason, however, comes from feeling hurt over the way my brothers and sisters treat his intersexuality, a complaint that has been mentioned here before and I couldn't agree more. Knowing intersex people, what I find the most bizarre is all the assumptions being made about his personality, tastes and views in life because of such. Knowing intersex people, I can't understand how he becomes a pinnacle of stereotypes as a consequence of being intersex. If this was done to me, and it is done to me by others because I'm queer too, I would feel awful. The idea of "best of both worlds", rightfully called out in that other ask, makes me frown. And so, my gut reaction is to be so overly cautious about his characterization that I end up not including him in jokes, disgusted at the idea that I'll be contributing to these stereotypes and exoticization of intersex people, who deserve at the very least more than carelessness, even if with good intentions originally.

Speaking of exotic...I am aware by now that escaping the reggaeton latino king ay papi dale mamacita aesthetic is nearly impossible online and of course I say "dale" and "papito" jokingly in other contexts, I ask, father, for your grace to see what I'm trying to say. What I don't like is the Latino conceptualization, much like the intersex stereotype, being used based on stereotype. I know all the assumptions made, by North-Americans mostly, about me when I say I'm Latino. Sometimes they'll be good assumptions and that are true but having the lived experience and being the leftist that I am, I can't help but question why we are jumping to so many set-in-stone conclusions regarding his orientation and views which okay for fanfiction sin problema, it's fiction and headcanons, but that worry me in the sense of these views also being taken to real life and the treatment of fellow Latinos. I haven't bought the book yet so I would like to know more about him but based on the movie, I can't understand why the intersexuality + being Latino are used as being synonymous to the most radical marxist values and deconstruction ideals. To me, at least, he seems moderate, making him a centrist choice between Tedesco and Bellini. I feel like asking, very kindly, to my brothers and sisters: Do you know what Catholicism is like in América? Not the US, I'm talking about América. Do you think that because you remember only the red wave topic from school (did you study us in school?) we live in a socialist utopia with our coconut trees and beautiful, exotic Latino kings whom are all queer, leftist radicals fighting to disrupt your North-American system? We barely have legalized abortion. Women die every day in my country from domestic violence. And in this context, you'll find Latinos with a varied combo of values and views because we are people, not tokens. You'll find Catholics who are extremely conservative and kick their queer children out of houses and you'll find Catholics who are far more tolerant than some Protestants who do that too. Again, people, not tokens. I'm sorry if reading my discomfort makes you uncomfortable when I know this is just a fandom I love very much and we're all here for fun but I wanted to vent, father, for I know my perspective can be useful regarding the stereotype carelessness, both regarding the intersexuality and being Latino. I do not wish to call out anyone in particular, in fact I wish to be cautionary on behalf of intersex people and Latinos, as a caring ally to the former and the latter being one myself.

In the end, all I wanted to say was that I really like Benítez, Carlos Diehz is incredible and I can't wait to see more of him soon. And that if I don't talk about Benítez often is not because I don't like him but because I end up focusing on others, maybe because of what I just said or maybe just because I'm drawn to other dynamics. I do like the idea of Benítez/Tedesco as well as Benítez/Sister Agnes, if he is straight. To the good hearts reading this, please do not freak out and worry about being "called out" (that's not my intention). I'm sorry if my words are delivered as anything other than me just pointing out that moving a little bit more carefully is important. I don't wish to ruin anyone's fun. This is all part of interacting with different cultures and experiences and everyday we learn something. Isn't that what makes us grow?

Thank you father for listening to my confession.

~

[bardic-tales]

PSA: Update on our blocking policy.

Hi, everyone. Just a quick heads-up about how we roll here on Written Musings (our blog):

We love you. Seriously. We boost indie authors we’ve never met, share every ship under the sun (except that one due to traumatic reasons), and cheer on all artists, writers, and OCs. You got a kink? We're going to be right there with you and supporting you.

We’re generous, to the point of giving you the shirt off our backs Metaphorically speaking. Please don’t try to take it. I (🌸🌙) get cold. 😂

We don’t block lightly. It takes a repeated pattern of negativity (with the exception of a serial harasser who gets blocked immediately) to make us hit that button. For example, harassing tags, sniping comments, or just plain bad vibes.

Written Musings is our sanctuary, a place curated by me (🌸🌙) and my soulbond, Sephiroth (🔥⚔️), to showcase what makes us feel safe and joyful. We survived enough trauma in our pasts to know the value of a peaceful corner of the internet and so we want to preserve that little peace.

No discourse. If you’re here to debate, derail, or drag someone down, this isn’t the blog for it. We are here to UPLIFT.

Stick around for fluff, fics, fandom love, and the occasional meteor post when Sephiroth’s on guard duty.

With love, 🌸🌙 & 🔥⚔️ Written Musings - A place for joy, safe havens, and strength.

[blitzofreeandwild]

HOKAY SO.

I am 99% sure that with how this show likes to do parallels and callbacks that this line?

Yeah, with him saying this right after Stolas was talking about Via, I'm willing to bet money that this is a hint that Barbie and Via are going to be parallels to one another. So I really think they're going to end up having similar growth arcs, both with a narcissistic parent who's swaying their opinion negatively and making them think Stolas/Blitzø caused all of this to happen.

I think that the show is honestly setting it up so that Blitzø is partly able to empathize as well with Stolas as he is because it's such a similar situation to when he had the falling out with his own family. I think Stella will be a parallel to Cash, Via to Barbie, and I think Vassago is going to end up playing a somewhat Fizz-ish role in Stolas' life. I don't know exactly how that's going to play out, but he has the potential with being an old friend who's kinda not really in touch with Stolas as much these days.

Anyway, back to the main point, Barbie. We're not sure exactly what happened when Blitzø went after his mom in the fire, but there was the faint sound of Barbie calling for him. And he definitely blames himself, and his mom is gone. So I think it's pretty safe to say that whatever happened, it was probably extremely traumatizing, didn't make him look good, and I think it's extremely likely that Barbie saw it. Maybe she didn't get the full story, or maybe she saw things from a bad angle and made bad assumptions, I don't know. But I think it's probably safe to say that if Blitzø thinks he's killed their mom? Yeah, I think Barbie thinks that too. That would be enough to cause bad sibling drama on its own. But an abusive parent using something like that to get in your head? OOF.

The thing is, Blitzø doesn't hold any of this against her, and this is a man who can absolutely hold a grudge. *cough* Spring Broken *cough* But Blitzø's still is trying his best to repair things with her, still is checking in and trying his damndest to take care of her as much as he can, and is hardly even reacting to all the terrible things she says about him. Blitzø doesn't just let people treat him like crap and walk all over him just because he thinks he deserves it. Which means that he's letting her get away with all of that because he understands where she's coming from. Honestly, I think that is the biggest point for us viewers to be on Barbie's side, even if she's been manipulated and used by The Dark One.

I think if we as a fandom can accept and understand that Via isn't evil or terrible and has every right to be upset with her dad, then I think we can give Barbie a chance. She was also only 18 when the fire happened, with a whole childhood of Cash's abuse shaping who she was. We have to give Blitzø some credit here, honestly--We all know he's a bit of a disaster asshole, but he's still had so much more chance to recover because he got out.

And as a little aside. A person's health and safety and their boundaries are often connected. They usually have boundaries in the first place for the sake of their health and safety. So ignoring a boundary because "Well, you're falling back into bad old habits!" is... not a great move. An understandable one, if you're genuinely that worried for someone's safety. But if you break a boundary for reasons like that, you have to also be prepared for it burning some bridges, even if it does end up saving the person. My brother and I haven't really gotten back on speaking terms ourselves after getting away from our abusive parents. I don't hold that or even the things he said while he was under their roof against him. I know what it's like to live with them, I know how they burrow under your skin, I know he was just trying to stay alive. But if he tracked me down after I was discharged from the hospital? Yeah, the trust isn't there, even if the love is. I wouldn't really trust him not to say hurtful things, which could be even more devastating than usual after being in-patient. So I would also be telling my brother to leave me the hell alone in that situation. And if he still didn't leave? And tried to justify it as "Well, I was right to go against what you want and what you say makes you feel safer, because look, you're already failing and falling back into bad habits!!" ...Yeah. I wouldn't exactly take well to that, either. She kind of had every right to snap at him.

I don't think Barbie will be won over right away. I think she'll need some time and grace. But I don't think she'll just be Cash's tool when the time comes, even if she's been doing his dirty work until then. And I think we also should remember that up until Oops, Fizz wasn't exactly nice to Blitzø himself. But we got past that and we all love the adorable little clown!!

This might not be Hazbin, but it's so easy to tell that these two shows are related, because the core of the story is the same: It's all about redemption and forgiveness.

Barbie's going to forgive Blitzø, even if it really is hard to ever go back to having a close relationship again, like OP said. And Blitzø has already forgiven her on at least some level, if he's seeking her out. And honestly? I trust Blitzø's character judgement. He's got a good sense of people.

"Them"- Cash and Barbie

I really hate it when I remember that this makes it very likely that Barbie and Cash pulled this crap together.

Blocking Blitz and Fizz from seeing eachother for 15 bloody years.

And that it's actually a real toss up weather his dad, or his sister told him that; 'Fizz says you're going to die alone Blitzo'.

[arcticclimes]

There's been an incident on Terror.

[tossawary]

Watched an online presentation today about recent book trends, both in retail sales and library borrowing. Romance gets a big section of course, being (I think) THE most popular genre, with several heavy-hitting subcategories including romantasy and supernatural and historical and contemporary and on and on.

I wasn't surprised to hear the presenters bring up the uptick in sports romance as a subcategory, particularly hockey, because yeah, I've seen that. Unavoidable lately if you have... uhhh... entered bookstores + logged onto library websites + actually follow NHL hockey on any social media platform. Still unsurprising, even if you have done none of those other things, if you have any passing awareness of the behemoth that is Sports Real Person Fiction in general and Men's Hockey RPF in particular on AO3. (As of me going to check just now: nearly 200,000 fics and nearly 40,000 fics respectively. Damn. HRPF is nearly 25% of the parent tag there. People are having fun over there.)

I WAS taken aback, however, when the presenter brought up a few titles to watch in the coming year, in regards a potential rising type of sports romance: motorracing sports romances. Now, this is not actually SURPRISING if you have any passing awareness (which I again did) of the other behemoth that is Formula 1 RPF on AO3 (nearly 49,000 fics on AO3, more than HRPF), but I simply hadn't actually thought about the industry potential before now. It did make me think to myself, "How many book industry analyst people are taking cues from AO3 now? I mean, it seems very reasonable to pay fanfic some attention for a bunch of different reasons (it does indicate a potential ready market, I presume there are simply plenty of fanfic pleasure readers in the publishing industry, etc.), but wow... time flies and culture changes. I mean, people are publishing original omegaverse stories, for example, and have been for a while now. Wild."

And also: "Huh. Can we play the game of predicting future popular book genres, specifically niche romance subcategories, 5-10 years from now based on what's popular on AO3 right now?" Now, I don't actually keep up enough with broader fandom trends to do this well or accurately, but it's still fun to look at various fandom trends and imagine their future professional publishing counterparts that I will simply Not Understand because it's Not My Thing. If they actually figure out how to file the serial numbers off of Minecraft Gamer RPF or something someday and it becomes the next big thing, no one tell me, because I want to get blindsided, just absolutely bodied by bafflement, when I walk into a bookstore. It'll be fun.