#this was soooo fun thank you so much for recommending it!!!! this is my shit right here!!!!!

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

thanks to @monocloud i have discovered a new daily thing to do alongside pokedoku hehe

here are my first results (i think i'll do one random extra country a day, to see if i can memorize their administrative divisions as well!!)

[gguk-n]

Max Unravelled

Unravelling Max's Mystery (Max Verstappen x Online Friend!Reader)

Series Masterlist

Summary- Max accidentally made an account on google plus in 2013. He came across a poetry page and enjoyed reading them. He ends up friends with the poet. He loved the normalcy she brought to his life. He didn't realise when the comfort he felt for her turned into love.

{Max's POV}

2013

I was searching for something on my gmail account when a pop up for google plus came through; without much thought I clicked on it. Some how, I'm yet to figure that out, I ended up with a google plus account. One of the few accounts I got recommended was a poetry and story account. They wrote very eloquently; I could feel the emotions in every word. I started reading all their posts in my spare time and even commenting on the ones I liked. I found my self constantly checking back to their page to see if they posted something. Their poetry was relatable and understandable. I hope they always have a good day since their words always pick me up when I'm down.

The poet I had been enjoying so much is a girl, and her name is Y/N. She's around my age; I guess that's why I related to her work so much. We spoke for the first time ever on her birthday. She made a post about it being her birthday so I wished her. She was sad about not being able to enjoy her birthday, I felt bad for her so we talked for a while until dad called me to practise. That was the start of our friendship. We ended up talking on google plus a lot. We shared the same sense of humour and best of all, she didn't know about racing. It was like a breath of fresh air to not talk about racing. She doesn't even seem interested in it; so I can live as Max for a while now.

My birthday was shit but talking to her made everything better. I can't believe I got excited about talking to someone and that someone made me feel good even on one of my shittiest days. She's one of the nicest people I've had the pleasure of talking to. I really do wanna talk to her on phone, typing everything I want to say out feels tedious.

2014

I've gotten busier since this year with Formula 3. We barely get to talk anymore. She did send me her number and we chat on Whatsapp whenever we can. But obviously it is not the same. I've suggested talking on call a few time and she finally agreed; I just need to find the perfect time to get away from everything to talk to her. I felt so nervous to talk to her for some reason, what if she thought I was weird and didn't enjoy talking to me? What if she heard me and decided I wasn't fun? What if we had nothing to talk about? I called her while sitting in my driver's room, she picked up quite quickly after 2 rings to be exact.

Max- Hi, Y/N! Y/N- Hey, Max!! How are you? Max- I'm good, what about you? Y/N- Yeah, I'm good too. haha!! This is so weird talking to you. Max- yeah, you sound pretty. Why would I say that? That sounds so fucking creepy, I face palmed myself so hard. Y/N- You sound nice too. I mean....you have a nice voice. Max- haha, thanks, this is the first time some one has said that. She thinks I have a nice voice, do I? Y/N- soooo, what have you been up too?? You've been so busy lately. I could hear people outside the driver's room. I quickly locked the door before answering her question. Max- yeah, I've been busy with stuff. I'll be done soon for a while now. Y/N- That's great I need my best friend back! Did she just call me her best friend? I've never had a best friend before.

We ended up talking on calls a lot more. I would have her contact ringer saved with a separate ringtone so that I would know to answer it. She usually called at reasonable times, where ever I travelled as if she knew my schedule.

2015

I got signed with RedBull Racing's junior team, making me the youngest driver. It was such a surreal feeling. But this also meant I couldn't talk to Y/N as much as I wished I could. Training and the races kept me very busy. But she was very understanding and would always welcome me back, no matter how long I was gone for.

2021

The first time I'm regretting not telling what I do to Y/N was today when I won my first World Championship. I was surrounded by my team, my girlfriend and my family as I got out of the car after I finished P1 at Abu Dhabi but it felt strange; like I was missing someone. I wish I could share this win, the biggest in my life yet, with the person who makes me feel so special yet so myself.

When I asked her about Formula One, she didn't know about, she didn't even know the prominent figures. So, I wasn't as worried about her finding out but I did worry now; since my win was controversial according to the media. However, she never asked. Was she really unaware or playing dumb? I wasn't sure if I should be grateful I get to be just Max or sad that I can't share a huge part of my life with my best friend.

2023

Y/N and I have been friends for the past 10 years. Time really flies. I've gotten a lot better at balancing my personal and work life. Y/N is my well kept secret; like I'm the only one who knows her. She moved out for college and we've only video called since. She is still funny and still writes. I think it's so cool of her to stay passionate about what she loves and keeping at it. She loves my cats more than I love them sometimes, she get's so excited when I send pictures of them. She says they cheer her up and that Jimmy and Sassy are her virtual pets. They loved her too honestly, they would always recognise when she was on call and jump into my lap or the phone to see or hear her. She still doesn't know what I did for a living; we've kept that a 'secret' you could say. But really I just didn't know how to tell her I was a Formula One driver and a 2 time World Champion.

Today was like any other day, I hadn't spoken to Y/N at all. Whenever I called her, I would usually close/lock the door depending on who was at home. My girlfriend didn't know about Y/N. I didn't even know how to bring it up, honestly. I sat down on my SimRacing chair after I switched the livestream off. Her phone rang for a few times and then stopped ringing but she didn't answer the call. I tried again thinking maybe she was busy or didn't hear it. I called a couple times before texting her; no reply. I was freaking out. This was the first time in 10 years that she hasn't answered my calls. She won't even reply to my messages. I found myself pacing around the house. The door to the room opened to my girlfriend's daughter standing in front of me, "Maxie, why are you walking in circles?" She asked after observing me for sometime. "It's nothing" I said, trying to calm myself down more than give a reply to her question. All these horrible thoughts swirled through my mind; what if she was in an accident and no one knows? What if she got robbed? What if she hurt herself and can't get help? What was I supposed to do? I didn't even know where she lived. I just couldn't think straight. My hair was a mess with how much I was running my fingers through it, a few stands coming along when I almost pulled them out of frustration.

After 7 hours, she replied to my text. I had almost given up hope, but she said that she was fine and that her phone was about to die. I felt relieved knowing that she was ok. But the text was so out of character for her. I texted her everyday after that in hope of talking to her. We always spoke everyday and it had been years since we didn't speak for so long. Almost every text was left on delivered. I had a race this weekend which I won and went out to celebrate with everyone because they wanted me to tag along. I didn't see the text Y/N sent me a while after the race since I was at the club. I only saw it when I got home. As soon as I saw it, I called her. She answered after a few rings.

Max- Schat, how have you been? Haven't heard a word from you in days. You could clearly hear the worry in my voice. Y/N- I've been busy, school year ending and stuff. Why didn't you sleep yet? Max- You know my sleep schedule is non existent. Y/N- Yeah, I guess I do. What did she mean by that? Her voice seemed hoarse, was she sick?Y/N- You know how I do freelance editing Max- You've told me about it Y/N- The latest author I'm working with is a sports author. I was hoping you could help me since you are a walking encycylopedia. Max- sure schat, but what's up with you? You know I'm always there for you Y/N- Yeah it nothing, just stressed. Max- Take off, you deserve it I wish she took care of herself instead of working so hard without breaks. Y/N- The summer break is here soon, I'll be fine. So about that author... Max-Yeah, what sport does she write for? Y/N- Formula One. I don't really like reading lengthy articles and I'm sure one article wouldn't do a sport any justice. I felt the ground slip from under my feet. My palms had gotten sweaty suddenly. Max- You did not go through google yet, right? (I stammered out) Y/N- Oh no, what do you take me for? I got excited to learn about something new. Do you know who the reigning champion is? I felt like I was about to lose everything. I didn't know what to say, my mouth was dry. No matter what I said, I don't think I could fix this situation. Y/N- Some dude named Max Verstappen. You guys share the same first name. He has 2 cats too; named Jimmy and Sassy, who look exactly like your bengals. I mean he even looks like you, with horrible sleep schedule just like you. He even sounds like you. There was horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach and my lungs felt like there was no air in them. Watching her tear up was the worst feeling.

Max- Schatje, I can explain. Y/N- You don't have to Max. I never asked you what you did. You don't have to explain anything. Max- I wanted to tell you, it just never came up in conversation. Y/N- I get it, it's difficult to tell your friend who has amounted to nothing that you are the World Driver's Champion, best of the best in Formula One. Max- Y/N, it's nothing like that. You're great, you're kind, you're funny. She laughed, but that stung my heart for the first time when her laugh was my favourite sound in the world. Y/N- Those are character traits I possess, they don't describe my career goals or achievements. I know I work 2 jobs to stay afloat while you make millions, I know I wish I was an author and not their editor, I know you probably thought I was too stupid to understand your rich and fancy world. Max- No, no, you're so talented. I've read your work and I'm sure the right publication will pick your work up. Y/N- I got rejected for the sixth time today. All of this is fine except that you lied to me about being single while having a girlfriend for years and having the happy family you dreamt off. You didn't have to introduce me to her; not like my boyfriends met you. But it would've been nice if I knew. Max- It just never came up. (I held my head in shame) Y/N- I...we joked about setting you up with someone all the time. Please don't. I get it, we didn't tell each other about work goals or what we did as a job but personal life; I literally told you about every guy I've ever been with. I felt bad telling you thinking you were single. I feel stupid right now. I wanted to reach out and wipe her tears but I couldn't. Max- I'm sorry,Y/N. I promise I won't hide anything anymore. Please, don't cry. Y/N- My name is Y/N Y/L/N. I majored in literature in Uni and now work as a primary school teacher and freelance editor. I'm trying to get my book published soon. I broke up with my boyfriend 2 months ago. This fucking hurt, everything she said and the way she said it. Max- Please don't do this. Y/N- I believe at least one of us should be honest. Max- Let me fix this. Y/N- Don't worry. There's nothing to fix. Max- Please don't say that. You mean a lot me. (I felt tears in my eyes.) Y/N- Me too. That's why, I need time. I'll talk to you when I'm ready. Max- Please, I can't lose you. I felt like my world was crashing. Y/N- You won't. I'll always be there for you. I just need time. Take care Max I was crying as she said it. Max- Bye, take care Y/N. I'll always be here. And the screen blacked out, I could see my reflection on the screen, tears streaming down my face.

After I was able to clear my head I texted her telling her that I would always be there for her and I would like to clear up the misunderstanding when she's ready. I spent the next few months thinking about her. It was starting to affect my relationship. I couldn't really give my girlfriend time when my mind was occupied with thoughts of Y/N. When my girlfriend brought it up how we were growing apart; I had a fight with her. I don't know what came over me, but not talking to Y/N or not knowing what was up with her was making it very difficult for me to focus on anything. The fighting became a constant after that. I didn't understand why she couldn't let me be. I missed my friend but she wouldn't get it.

I was SimRacing when Y/N's name popped up on my phone asking me to call her. I guess she was ready to talk it out. I really wished that this wasn't the end of our friendship. I really hoped that we could get over the misunderstanding and still be friends. I told the team I had some work and called her immediately. She answered like always; I waited for her to speak with baited breath. She started talking and we cleared everything up. I apologised for hiding the truth from her. I told her how much of a constant she was for me in my ever hectic life; how talking to her made everything better. She listened to me, I listened to her and then finally asked her to come to my home race. I wanted to meet her. I couldn't live knowing that I had the resources but didn't meet the one person that mattered to me the most. She was hesitant at first but I offered to get her the tickets and insisted on her joining me at the biggest race of the season for me and finally she agreed. I was over the moon. As soon as we ended the call, I sent her the tickets. I found myself counting down the days to the race for the first time.

I was waiting for her at the airport when she got here. My heart was beating very fast as I waited for her to come out. When I saw her; she was beautiful, shorter than I expected but she looked cute with her bag in one hand and a back pack on her shoulder, her hair in a low bun, a small smile graced her feature. I don't think I've noticed anyone with such detail ever before. Our conversation flowed easily. It didn't feel like it was the first time we were meeting. I dropped her at the hotel and went off to do media duty's at the paddock when I came back she was still asleep, traveling must've tired her out. She got dressed while I waited for her to get ready, even giving my 2 cents on what she should wear. She looked gorgeous, I couldn't help myself, staring at her. The black satin dress hugged her curves in all the right places. Her hair flowed down her back, the jewellery sparkling against her body. We went to have dinner at a fancy dutch restaurant. She loved the food especially the apple tart. The moan she let out as she devoured the dessert made blood rush downwards. I found my cheeks heating up, thankfully the whole place was dimly lit. We walked around for a while after the meal, she made fun of my name but I couldn't care less. I apologised and she accepted it and hugged me. Her arms were soft and the embrace warm. I found myself wrapping my arms around her, my face buried in her neck. I was scared I was gonna lose her, forever. I've never been scared to lose anything but a race until now and the thought of not having her in my life seemed scary. She consoled me and we headed back to the hotel.

The rest of the weekend was uneventful except for my girlfriend being pissed; she fought with about Y/N. I don't get what her problem is, she's just a friend I've known since forever. I'm just showing her around. I was giving interviews when I saw her talking to Lando, I saw them laughing along in the corner of my eye. It made me feel strange, there was this feeling in the pit of my stomach and I didn't like it. When I got back, Lando had left since it was his turn. She found Lando cute and it irked me, I was annoyed hearing her ask me to set her up with him. We got back to RedBull hospitality when my girlfriend asked me to talk to her, I left with her reluctantly leaving Y/N with Checo.

"Listen Max, I get it, she's your childhood friend and all, but it's so weird how she suddenly cropped up when I or for that matter any one knew nothing about her. People are saying stuff about us since she stepped on the paddock and the way you are dragging her along." my girlfriend spoke. "What are people saying? I will not stand any slander against her" I cut her off. She laughed dryly. "WOW, they are saying stuff about us, Max, us, that you are cheating on me with her. You've been so distant for months until a month ago, I didn't know what went wrong and you wouldn't talk either." she said running a hand through her hair. "It's nothing really. She just knows me as Max and not Max Verstappen and that's why I'm closer to her. Nothing more." I said. "It's pointless talking to you" she said turning around. "If we're done, I'm leaving, Y/N doesn't know anyone here except me." I said leaving for the door. She huffed before she followed me out. Y/N looked worried about what was going on between me and my girlfriend but I calmed her down and we spent the day together. She tagged along during quali too. I saw her praying before quali, it made my heart swell. I was starting pole and we spent the night watching a movie even though Y/N wanted me to rest before the race, I wanted to make the most of the little time we had.

Y/N hugged me before the race wishing me. I wanted to win so bad, I'd won here twice before but this was different. I wanted to win in front of her. I raced like a mad man and then I heard it. I crossed first and my happiness knew no bounds; knowing she was watching. I got out of the car and immediately ran to her; hugging her. It was cathartic. Y/N said my girlfriend looked annoyed, but I couldn't care less. I watched my girlfriend leave, annoyed. When I received the trophy at the top step of the podium knowing she was watching me from below made it so much more worth it. Y/N wanted to go out to celebrate my win and I wasn't one to say no. I went back to the hotel to get cleaned up and ready for the night.

I was greeted by my girlfriend in the room, it was dimly lit as she was sat at the corner of the bed with tears streaming down her face. "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT MAX?" she screamed at me. "Am I a fucking joke? I let it slide, you said you were friends but the first person you go to after winning your race was her, what do you think people were whispering when you did that?" she said in between sobs. I didn't get what she was saying. "Do you like her?" she asked. "What? We're friends" I stated. She shook her head, "No, Max, you aren't. The way she looks at you is how I look at you. The way you look at her" She cried, "You've never looked at me like that" she lamented. "It's nothing like that" I began. "You should've respected me at the very least and broken up with me if you liked someone else, I'm not gonna be some girl's place holder till you can have her." she cried out. "You're not a place holder for her" I said. "Feels exactly like that" she said wiping her tears. I felt nothing my 2 year long relationship might be ending and I didn't care. I didn't even try to correct her, did I really like her? Was Y/N really more important to me? "We're through Verstappen, if you can't even fight for us, I'm not about to fight for us" she sighed dejected. I walked towards the bathroom to wash up while she packed up to leave. When I got out she was gone. I went to pick Y/N up.

She kept asking me about my girlfriend but I never told her that we broke up. I didn't want her to feel responsible for my decision. At the club, she got close to everyone pretty quickly. She was unstoppable, downing one drink after another. I hadn't touched alcohol since I was driving. The others kept handing her drinks much to my dismay. She asked me to come dance with her but I had the others to look after too. She was busy dancing surrounded by too many guys, one of them going as far as to touch her and grind against her. All I saw was red, I bid the guys good bye and stormed the dance floor to drag a reluctant Y/N with me; I ended up carrying her out on my shoulder. She wasn't very happy, screaming and hitting me till I put her down. She puked as soon as I put her down and joked about missing my expensive car, I didn't really mind if she hadn't since she was more important than the car. I got her medicine and left them at her side after putting her to bed.

We spent the next few days after the race sight seeing. Y/N brought up my girlfriend a few time and I ended up avoiding her. When we were cuddling while watching Barbie I felt my heart beating out of my chest as she scooted closer to grab tissue. When her hand brushed against my skin, it burnt and a weird feeling erupted in my chest. She seemed completely unaware of how she was making me feel. We fell asleep on the couch that night.

I wasn't able to avoid the girlfriend question any longer and told her that we broke up without making any eye contact on the way to drop her to the airport. My eyes stung and there was a lump in my throat; I wasn't sure it was because of my girlfriend or Y/N. I bid her farewell, she would turn back towards me to wave after every few steps; my eyes were blurry after sometime trying to prevent the tears from falling. I ended up crying after she left.

All the races after, I ended up going shopping after or before every race to collect some trinkets or stuff that was special to that place and mailing it to her with small notes attached. She would graciously open them in front of me on video call; the smile she gave me the first time she received was unparalleled. It made my stomach turn over. I wanted to make her smile every chance I got. That's how I ended up sending her a package after every race from every country until I got reprimanded by her for the excessive amount of gifts. She asked me not to send one after every race and stick to one or two in total; I was forced to agree to that request.

We were planning on spending Christmas and New Year together; she wanted to leave after Christmas but I was able to convince her to stay until I had to leave for pre-season training. I couldn't wait for the season to end and to spend the year end with Y/N. We celebrated me winning the championship on video call; even though I had hoped she could be present in person but it wasn't possible with her schedule. This championship felt better than the last two since I was able to celebrate it with her. 2021 me wouldn't believe me right now.

Y/N flew in as soon as winter break started for her. I had cleaned up the house as much as possible. I had told my cats about Y/N visiting who seemed excited. I picked her up from the airport and when we got home the cats were very excited to meet her; a lot more receptive than the other guests I've had over. We spent the next few days going to places and the Monaco GP circuit. She cribbed about walking the entire time we walked the path. It made me laugh.

The night before Christmas we fell asleep on the couch cuddling; I hadn't slept this well in a very long time. When I woke up, Y/N was no where to be seen. I sat up waiting for her to return when she came back, she looked so cute in her jumper and shorts with her hair a mess. We opened up presents after some time. She had gotten me a Sid plushie, an ugly sweater and perfume. I got her a Formula One book with my face, a coffee mug and a pendant. I wanted to get her more stuff but I was sure she would make me return it if she saw every thing. I think the house would be over run with the amount of stuff I wanted to get her. Then she brought the matching sweater she got with me; I put it on immediately. I wanted to match with her all the time. We had a bit of back and forth on the dinner but agreed on Turkish kabab.

New Year came too quickly, which meant Y/N would be leaving soon. We went clubbing on New Year eve. She didn't drink like the last time we were at the club but made friends with some of the guys there. Having a social butterfly for a friend was a bad idea. We counted the time down to midnight as the clock struck 12 and I turned towards her to celebrate I saw she was kissing one of the guys she had befriended when we entered. If the club was quite you could hear my heart shatter. That's when I realised that all these weird feeling and all the times I couldn't stop thinking about her was because I liked her, no scratch that, I loved her. I felt my heart constrict when she turned towards me and hugged me later. I didn't want to talk about it, this would ruin our friendship.

All I could think about was how it felt to watch her kiss another man. I hated it, the worst feeling, worse than DNFing or not winning. I hated knowing another man could touch her and feel her. I wasn't even sure how to bring it up since what were we if not just friends. I put myself into training for the upcoming season but those feelings I felt when she kissed another man were still fresh in my head and I couldn't get rid of them even if I tried.

I was able to convince her to join me during her spring and summer break. We had fun, I loved having her waiting for me at the end of the race. I didn't really enjoy all the media questions that had cropped up about Y/N when she was seen with me, before or after the race. During my summer break, I spent it at her place. When I got there, it was a small apartment; but it had a homely feel. She would cook food for me and we would watch movies; I had a few commitments with the team and would leave for some time but then be back. It was so nice to have some one to come home to. When she was having her book launch, I went to meet her at her launch with a bouquet of flowers. "Congratulations" I said while handing her the flowers and giving her a hug. "Thank you" she replied, a smile playing on her lips. We had celebratory dinner after. Immediately after that, we were on the news. It read that I had a girlfriend, she kept apologising but it didn't matter. It made me a little warm, I'm not sure what emotions I felt hearing people speculate that she was my girlfriend.

I flew back to Netherland for the race early, she would only be joining me on the race day due to work. It dampened my mood but there wasn't much I could do about it. She flew in the morning of the race; it made my day watching her walk out of the airport. We talked all the way to the hotel where she got changed and we headed to the paddock. I had thought it through; after the qualifying, I had planned on telling her how I felt. I was gonna win this race and confess to her. Knowing that I can't hold her while someone else can was eating away at me and I wanted to take the chance before it slipped away from me.

I started the race P2 and finished it at P2. In the final laps, the only thoughts running through my head were, I really wanted to ask her out as a race winner, I can't do that now. She probably doesn't even like me like that, did I really want to ruin everything I had with her. I stumbled out of the car towards her, a big smile on her face. And suddenly I said it; "I wanted to ask you out as a race winner" emotions were running high. She insisted me to continue and when I did, she agreed to go out with me. I was over the moon, my head was reeling. This race ending was not what I hoped for but Y/N's answer was something I really was hoping for.

She waited for me in the driver's room. I couldn't help but not touch her. Her skin against mine send electric shocks through me, I couldn't help but smile at the feeling of her against me. I wanted to have this feeling for the rest of the life. I wanted to have her next to me; it took me a while to figure that out but now that I had, I didn't want to let go. I loved her and I wanted her.

We were both in the hotel room at the end of night in each other’s embrace, "Can't believe you're my boyfriend" she exclaimed. "Can't believe you're my girlfriend either." I exclaimed back. "I've liked you since I've known you" she mumbled. "What?" I asked shocked. "Yeah, I've always had a crush on you. Teenage me would lose it right now if she saw" she said. "I'm sorry it took me so long" I muttered pressing a kiss against her lips. "better late then never" she laughed wrapping her arms around my neck, flipping me to straddle my hips. She bent down to kiss me again.

I could spend the rest of my life like this, if it meant I could have her forever.

Hope you had fun. Thank you for enjoying the story!!

[wernerherzogs]

hello hello! here's some of the recs i mentioned earlier! <33

ripples all the way down by iriswests (chris decides parent trapping is good actually)

the wood marked for your fire by hattalove (i also recommend all the other 911 fics by this author i've always enjoyed them)

Leading with the Left by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (thee infamous stripper buck fic)

let's hear it for the boy by hattalove (or, eddie joins a support group for gay men and its very sweet actually)

let the world have its way with you by fleetinghearts (post lighting buck makes a bucket list. eddie helps)

Close My Eyes and Stumble (Right Into Your Love) by HMSLusitania (basically s1 but eddie takes abby's role at dispatch etc)

Mr LAFD Updates Man by hammersmiths (soooo fun..eddie gets to run the lafd twitter. chaos ensues)

Actually, Truly by MilenaDaniels (eddie's parents find out he's been shot and about the will. they do not handle it well.)

Road Trip Recovery Series by ChasetheWindTouchtheSky

don't let the tide come and wash us away by writerforlife post s5 instead of elaborating his traumas buck becomes obsessed with the sea

boys of summer by woodchoc_magnum (fun roadtrip fic and the itinerary looks soo nice i need to steal if i ever make it to the us lmao)

Leave the Light On (I'll Be Coming Home) by HMSLusitania (eddie is believed to be dead after falling into a river during a call, buck moves in to look after chris + eddie wakes up somewhere else with amnesia)

Like Any Unloved Thing by HMSLusitania (this one is a little strange but it's sooo good??? noir au set in a la, private investigator eddie diaz has gets contacted by maddie buckely to locate her brother who has disappeared)

sorry i did not realize i had this many bookmarks asljkdlaksjd

omg holy shit sara this is AMAZING. thank you so, SO much!!! so excited to dig into these 😭

[angstflavoured]

You have any fic recommendations? Any fandom really lol. You have good takes and interpretation so I feel like you’d have some fire recs

AWH WELL THANK YOU !! I dont actually know how great the ones I read are gonna be since usually the fandoms Im in are scarce on content 💀 but ill go ahead and list a bunch of the ones I really like. I definitely spend way too much of my time reading one shots. REALLY wanna get back into longer fics, but its hard to find ones I care enough to sit down and dedicate time to these days 💔

Smiling Friends

bittersuite, charlie/pim: AND THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED !!!!! THIS FIC CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER !!!!! It is hurt/no comfort, but its soooo good it hurts so good and also there is supposed to be more eventually so i'd get on this one first bc when the second one drops its gonna be a day in history

Dimples, charlie/pim: I just read this last night and was so pleasantly surprised ☹️ Its so damn cute and I love how it delves more into both of their characters.

Portal 2

interface, chell/wheatley: HANDS down, best portal 2 one shot out there. the way the characterize chell is fucking insane, altered my brain chemistry forever. also wheatley is so hehehheheheh

You Do It, adventure/fact: I have a very love/hate relationship with this author..... Im not the BIGGEST fan of how they characterize them, esp Fact, but its definitely the most decent factventure content out there. I so like this one quite a bit, though their ideas are definitely better in theory than completely in practice. That's how I feel abt a lot of their works, but this person unironically holds the title for like 90% of the factventure content. If you just want some quick cute smut of them, i'd say you should check out their acc, cus I get the factventure fandom is starving LMAOO

I've got the fuse if you've got the light, adventure core/reader: ....erm, very self indulgent for me hehe!!! i was so fucking excited when this dropped

Half-Life/HLVRAI

Autonomous Sweet Mesa Response, benrey/gordon: THIS FIC IS SOOO FUCKING FIREEEEE !!! OH MY GOD, I can't even count the times I've read this one. their dialogue is as good as it comes next to canon. If you like this one, this is the first in a huge series and litearlly all of them are just as good as the first. such a good sit down and binge author. They also have a shit ton of other good hlvrai stuff on their page and they make fire art

If You Asked Me To, benrey/gordon: the way they wrote the sex scene in this changed my brain forever, it was so fucking awesome.... frenrey dynamic makes me WILD

Whispers and Moans, barney/gordon: this whole author has a lot of super cute freehoun :'[ this one deals with them before the resonance cascade AND after and shows how things changed between them and its so precious grrraah

Promise, barney/gordon: again, deals with the timeskip stuff which just always makes my heart hurt... also shower sex smiles

It’s Only Natural, barney/gordon: I DIDNT REALIZE THIS FIC JUST GOT FINISHED THIS YEAR OH MY GODDDD I WAS OBSESSED WITH THIS need to reread this immediately

Team Fortress 2

He's a Rebel, sniper/spy: SUPER fucking cheesy and corny but oh my god its like one of my fav fics ever..... it's just so much fun, like stereotypical fanfic and that's always a good time to me. biker gang member/school teacher au are you fucking kidding me i'll vomit

It IS the Size That Matters, sniper/spy: erm.... BLOWJOBS!! always find myself coming back to this one sorry i really like it hehe

Secure, demo/solider: Not a lot of fics of these guys, which really sucks!! super underrated ship. I liked this one a lot tho, its pretty cute and a little emotional

Something to Rely On, sniper/spy: casual sex but really sniper is in love will forever be my favourite thing ever, it never gets old istg

The Silent Game, sniper/spy: can you tell I really like sniperspy, MORE BLOWJOBS!!!

Disco Elysium

The Collision in Cardiozone HQ, harry/kim: holy. fucking. shit. actually life changing i am not joking. so fucking heartbreaking, it left me hollowed out for like a WEEK after the ending. A longer one for sure, but SO worth it like oh my god

The Catacomb Killer, harry/kim: I don't think I ever fully finished this one, but I remember REALLY liking the whole case the fic was set around. there was so much thought put into it, it was genuinely interesting like a murder mystery show

Retour à nouveau, harry/kim: I did really like the whole plot and buildup in this one, but from what I remember, them getting together was super anticlimatic :P i recall being disappointed, but the whole actual case and their interactions during the fic are super cute

Mortal Kombat 1

the game of idiocy, johnny/kenshi: BY THE SAME AUTHOR AS BITTERSUITE!! this one is sooo fucking cute, the way they write them interacting is so much fun. a little troupey and on the cheesier side, but cmon who doesn't love that

Undertale

Flowey is Not a Good Life Coach: no ships but delves a lot into flowey and papyrus relationship and there's so much good sans development too. SUPER GENERIC, it IS one of the most liked fics, but I remember reading it back when I was a teenager and it blew my fucking mind. ghhghggh i love the way they write the brothers interacting so much

The Party Incident and Other Embarrassing Anecdotes, sans/reader: uhmm.... soo sorry, this fic will forever hold a special little place in my heart. I'm sure if I read it now it would be SO corny cus oh my god it was fucking 2016 like are you kidding, but I'm just a fucking sucker for fake dating. there like 5000000 troupes in this one and theyre all so cute and its just a fun and silly time. it subconsciously inspires so much of my writing in fics. will probably forever be unfinished before they get together though HAHAH so definitely do not read if you're looking for a solid ending. its just about the journey i swear

[mrghostrat]

ok gamers lets Interact

(answering asks) (bc i get self conscious abt spamming the dash)

@goblin-named-sam: oh my goddd that would be SO RAD!!! i would love to see this, you have my full permission! (and same re: reading everything out loud omg i do that too htphfpt)

also my bestie is the same with human AUs so i completely get it, and am so pleased & proud my work can be considered so in character to bypass that worry. i agree that the 6,000 years of pining, as well as their separation from the rest of humanity, is a massively integral part of what makes aziraphale and crowley. but imo their lil everyday interactions are just as important, like their flow of conversation and all the temptation vs resistance.

so as long as human AUs recreate that dynamic in some way, they can be sooo fun to read. and then you unlock a whole new range of stories for when you get tired of the same/similar End Of The World narrative. it's hard to get it right, especially when writing a completely different medium like twitch chats and discord messages, but soooo rewarding when it lands 😭🙏 thank you again.

@froggyliciouz: thank you so much holy shit!!

Anonymous: i live for this. ur sustaining me. every time i open my inbox and look at this message, more of my age lines disappear

Anonymous: thank you for telling me so! 🥹

Anonymous: dying over all the ppl rereading it even when it's just come out!!!! so freaking flattering i can't even describe <3

Anonymous: it's lil messages like these that i worry im gonna be annoying if i publish them all to my dash but they bring me SO MUCH LFIE i love every single one kiss kiss thank you for messaging me 🥺

Anonymous: oh how naive i was to think that all this positive reinforcement wouldn't make me keep writing at such a desperate speed 😂

Anonymous: I SWEAR I REPLIED TO THIS ONE... well i hope the cards turned out well! i am 100% here for dangling my fic like carrot and string to get you through chores and tasks >B) phase 2 of the plan is getting us all on a healthy sleep schedule

Anonymous: all hail the stream worm 🙇🪱🙇 and you can thank all the tasty comments people are leaving (and asks like this!!) for making me doubly feral about getting new updates out. must--please--the worms--

Anonymous: AYYY THERE YOU ARE I'M SO PROUD OF YOU 🎉 thank you so much for comin on back and sharing such lovely thoughts about my work 😭💛

Anonymous: ty for reading!! so many fics have done the students' reaction to their relationship better than i ever could 💛 but i love it when they're in total shock and maybe don't even believe it at first 😂 adam would definitely think crowley is pranking them at first (but it would also be so sweet if they all started being a little more personable with aziraphale — i imagine that after the trip, they already would, since they got to see this fun snarky side of him. but even moreso once they realise he's their favourite teacher's husband)

@quinnie28: thank you soooo muchhh for recommending it!! some of my favourite all time fics were sent to me by my bestie. very honoured to be read by someone who doesn't usually read wips <333

Anonymous: he'll always be our lil meow meow

Anonymous: I'm so happy i could bring you a lil joy 🥹 lots of love to you

[dootznbootz]

hello, sorry it's me again, you've basically become my comfort blog-

I was on reddit and out of curiosity typed in "Circe rant" because idk, I was feeling salty about the book.

I saw a post that had some legitimately good reasons and indicated that this is all just the person's opinion.

But when I checked the replies everyone was just disagreeing with them and being very rude?

Like, they complained about how the book doesn't feel feministic because Circe isn't that likable of a character? And then half the replies were "Uhh she's supposed to be morally gray" "I disagree, Madeline told her story very well." "What gave you the impression this book was supposed to be feministic??"

(Disregarding half the reviews on the cover are calling it a "great feministic piece")

I was kinda pissed so I went to post my own thought about why I really dislike Miller's take on Circe. And 80 present of the replies were just flaming me-

Some guy said people can interpret her anyway they want because she's not real. Someone said I should be more humble and that I just don't like Circe as a character (which is not true). And so on.

Something I've seen is that the Circe book fans are so sensitive good god- Whenever someone criticizes their book they go full defensive mode. Trying to reason with you when most of the time you're the one who actually knows more about the actual character-

They act like all of our concerns on the book actually have a reason and make sense? Honestly, props to us for being bold enough to voice our concerns on a book that basically has a cult following-

Again, really sorry for coming here to bother you. I'm just salty and I genuinely really like your takes

That's really sweet that you feel safe and comfy on my blog. That's what I'm trying to be. Thank you 🥹

You're not bothering me <3 I can understand being salty about the book. It makes me salty too. It's why it's honestly good to block the tags and avoid most of that stuff. Make friends and find the community that actually understand what actually went down in the Odyssey and what happened to Odysseus. There are plenty on here! :D Also quite a few who have really neat and fun stuff about Odyssey Circe while still being respectful of Odysseus!

I don't recommend trying to fight with these folks. It's frustrating but they're not gonna change their mind. As they don't want to. Inform and educate sometimes especially if people ask but don't waste so much energy on it. It's not good for you. It's okay to vent and rant but I don't recommend searching it out. <3 You'll just stress yourself out :D

I think the book is almost like, the most "basic angry feminist shlock in a bland and easy to consume can for pre-teens" book, you know? And that's why so many people cling to it. I can see SOME people taking comfort in the anger maybe?? But idk. Anyways it has so many classic "YA shit". Girlboss who has "no flaws and can do no wrong" who actually isn't a very nice person (what's with so many characters being so mean and moody???), the mean, MEAN men who are just soooo awful to her and try to push her down. The other women who are just slutty and so dumb. They don't get it. etc. etc.

I think it's a lot of younger fans who are JUST starting to see a lot of "adult shit" and it's scary so it's nice to have...idk this?? I don't understand it. As I was never really one to be into that or really even behave that way. Odysseus is much relatable and hopeful as insane as that is.

[batsplat]

first of alla I wanted to say thank you for your job, it’s super useful, you’re doing the lord’s work fr. if you feel like answering I wanted to ask you who are the riders of the current grid that you like the most? and why?

cheers!!

eh I think I'm in quite a happy place in the sport actually where... I do broadly like most of the riders. this isn't really like me, actually, I'm very capable of being a hater trust me. in my main sport, I've gotten to a fun place where with one of the genders I just. hate everyone who ever wins anything. except one guy but that's really an awful fan experience, wouldn't recommend. I don't really know why I'm more kindly disposed towards the motogp grid. maybe it's something about how dangerous the sport is, maybe how they are generally quite interesting as people (far from guaranteed in athletes), maybe it's because they're generally flops or assholes or both (nothing worse in a sport than when the goats are dull as shit). also, so many online fan spaces have been dominated by valentino fans and marc fans ceaselessly bickering - and as someone who is pretty fond of them both, does just eventually make you quite bored of all that stuff

that being said! I obviously do have a few preferences. the first one is marc, who I've gone through several different stages of being a fan of. I never really got stressed about him during his prime because I'm just not really the type of person who can get that invested when someone's winning that much. like I'm invested in the narratives but I'm not gonna pretend I care that much if someone can secure their fiftieth victory of the season lol. now he's the only one who can fuck up my heart rate during races so go figure, really. (undeniably my fan experience with him has massively been affected by the injury... I realised it most strongly with indonesia 2022, which just made me feel sick of the sport for a while.) I like him because he's kind of awful... inconsiderate, ruthless, too committed to winning for his own good. shameless. he's very narratively engaging, got a lot going on in that department, and it's not just... easy winning, like idk I'm not really the type to enjoy nice and happy athletes winning a lot and then being nice and happy about it. marc would like to be liked, but he wants to win more, y'know? he's got enough weird stuff going on in his head that he allows me to take the next step from just 'normal sports fan' to 'ride or die'. whenever he does any mind games-y stuff it's good fun, plus he's got this valentino-esque perma-smile that gives you a fun contrast/companion to the ruthlessness. also one half of one of the true all time great rivalries, what a banger entry to the canon. AND most importantly the actual riding, I think him on the honda is only really second to some of casey's ducati riding as stuff that's got that... 'this doesn't look like it should be working but it is' vibe in quite a visceral way? I'm not super into quali laps, I think they can be fun but they're not really what *get* me about the sport, but some of those signature laps like cota 2015 and brno 2019 just are soooo good to watch. and the racing itself... idk it's also fun when you've got such a distinctive style because it automatically makes you so much fun to plug into match-ups with other riders where there'll be a lot of contrast, like you really got that with valentino + jorge and then later dovi, rinsy, fabio, pecco... just makes it really easy even as someone who can't ride a bike to SEE and feel the differences. plus, sue me, I like my racing with overtaking, he actually overtakes other riders. makes races better with his presence, like there's Certain Riders who can spend a whole race in p6 but you can USUALLY trust him to do something

so the next picks are gonna make me sound like. an insane glory hunter. genuinely awful levels of glory hunting here. but I just want to say for the record that this isn't representative of how I usually approach sports and it was completely accidental that it turned out the way it did. I got really fond of the 2019 crop of rookies (minus one of them) because it was like. oh they're actually quite promising. pecco had that super promising pre-season testing (obvs also right after the moto2 title) and every race I was like This Will Be The Time when he puts it all together and he just kept. not. so at a certain point I was kinda convinced he was a loser but stuck with it for the bit? pecco #believer but as a joke. (I was also an early investor in the 'wouldn't it be funny if marc had a rivalry with an academy rider' campaign so kept a close eye on both him and franky, but in all honesty I never thought any of these guys would be a serious threat to marc.) with fabio, I hadn't really followed him closely enough to know the reasons why his lower class results were so mid? so it was very much a surprise when he started fighting marc lol, and then misano 2019 weekend just made me crazy, the whole thing was *so* good. and then sepang I just went? yeah we can build something here. we can build something special. (narrator: we did not build something special.) with joan, you know how it's kinda fun to have a midfield-y team to root for where a lot of the times they're mid and then sometimes something special occasionally happens and you can feel proud of them for fighting with the big boys? well that was suzuki for me, fond of rinsy especially when he got snippy at marc, thought the 2019 rookie they'd picked up was sweet too and he had a great start to his rookie season. and his first podium was cool!! and when he should've won styria 2020 :// (I think? this was the red-flagged one where he didn't have tyres anymore afterwards) (admittedly 'race in austria during 2020 that was red-flagged' doesn't narrow it down as much as you'd think but) also I went all in for him when everyone was extremely mean about his 2020 title, like that's MY underdog world champ. I wanted him to win the title without winning a single race, actually!! (generally quite defensive of all the champs in marc's absence, like god forbid they haven't cleared the hurdles you people have made up in your heads)

anyway as to why I stuck with them... with pecco it's how fucking whiny he gets. the start of 2022 where he was just :( I may have crashed myself and another ducati rider out of this race but why is ducati making me test stuff :( what a twat!! but crucially getting ducati to apologise to him is still as far as I'm concerned one of the funniest things anyone has done recently. ducati!! apologised to him!! DUCATI! after he publicly bitched about them! bonkers. anyway he's introverted verging on shy and then also capable of such arrogance and hubris and sheer entitlement!! that early 2022 after being the title favourite was so??? he's such good fun, the dramatic failures followed by him doing something crazy and you just go. okay but why. why did you not do this earlier. you know indonesia last year where he'd fucked up his whole weekend until the race and jorge martin should have run away with it but then he crashed and pecco won from thirteenth and he went all hammy with the celebrations? SILENCED THE DOUBTERS why were you in pee thirteen in the first place you absolute weapon. he's stuck in his own head so much, which you can get really juicy stuff out of imo. plus I like smart racers.... even though he does have these howlers, he's just so obviously clever in his approach? as a competitor he's easy for me to get invested in, because whenever he goes into a year as the favourite and clicks the bit of my brain that hates dominance, he has SUCH a horrendously messy early season that I remember why I was so fond of him and can enjoy when he's winning. also he's got a fun skill set, I love what a good defensive rider he is, just quite watchable idk... I'm not super into being a good starter as a skill generally but I've really enjoyed how he's muscled himself to the front of the field, he's so ruthless and neat how he just knows exactly where he needs to put his bike to basically suffocate the competition right at the start? plus obviously he's such a different profile of champion than what we've gotten historically, which maybe makes me rate him even more highly than I otherwise would. also academy rider, inherently narratively fun. when valentino said this???

hilarious. he's not WRONG but also just incredibly funny. valentino rossi can we have an honest conversation about your proteges I need to get your thoughts on some things

(that being said, when he says pecco has nothing to prove during the impending marc teammate stint, that pecco's already earned his three titles, he's 100% correct. one of the most based things he's ever come out with, quite frankly)

fabio... idk something about that depressed frenchie... watching that child endure successive brutal last lap losses, that's what it's all about. I was hugely endeared by the 2020 campaign (even in the absence of the rivalry I'd been promised) and the self sabotage of it all, how he got himself a psychologist during the off-season and had to adjust his approach, cut out the tantrums... I'm a sucker for an athlete who figures out how to improve themselves, y'know? his actual title campaign is... well, I'm happy for him, but it's also kinda a weird season (without being as fully bonkers as 2020) - but 2022? his first half was very 'fabio quartararo domination may bore fans' (admittedly a style of domination very low on wins) but oh yeah what happened next was awful to watch, just kind of extremely elongated hell once you realised 'oh this might actually be happening'. incredibly cruel!! handled that situation with ridiculous amounts of dignity. then he got very stroppy at various parts last year which was also deeply endearing. he's not... he's kinda missing a mean streak, but he's still prone to misery and tearing himself apart, enough that he kinda does it for me? he's also just sweet, you kind of feel like yamaha insisting on building awful bikes is a bit like kicking a puppy? yamaha's also sort of my team and he's trying to make them not flop. so. am just long-term invested in that development work, how he was the only one who could really do something special with that 2021 bike and how he's now talking about adjusting his riding style to it idk as much as I desperately wish he were actually competitive, there is something cool and engaging about how it's His Project... plus that one time when he tried to hit the golf ball but failed, almost had a stroke I was laughing so much

joan is just. well first of all people are STILL dicks about that title. and good lord has he had a rough time of it. I was so impressed with his 2021 season even though he didn't have that much to show for it... plus when he kept having all these fights with jack miller?? low-key the best drama we got that year. best minor beef of 2020-22...? it's not like we have that much to work with. he has a pitch of voice that's very suited to complaining I feel, like when he's moaning about something going wrong you feel like that's what he's supposed to be doing. 2022-23 has just been a rough watch and not really in a fun way, can't say I'm particularly thrilled he's close to signing again with honda... but ugh idk I'm just so fond of him, he's just a type of guy that's good for the ecosystem. you know that motogp unlimited clip where he's terrified marc is going to eat him and marc just doesn't care?? (I'm gonna be honest, this is my favourite marc teammate relationship... can't even tell you why him interacting with dani leaves me completely cold, but then when I'm seeing how marc's actually occasionally chatting with mir after mostly blanking him when they were actually teammates? oh yeah that's the stuff.) joan has very tragicomic vibes as a guy... he gets sympathetic laughter from the audience. y'know how lucy always pulls away the football from charlie brown... that's his vibe. but he's also a mean girl. anyway I hope he does still get a bit more from his career, he's far better than his record reflects, minus the 2020 title. also I like it when riders race better than they qualify

anyway yeah I like all the current world champs on the grid. gross. on the plus side they're all in completely different bits of the grid now so. I do also like a bunch of other guys, like rinsy (also deserves better, awful time with late suzuki/honda, his late 2022 was really emotional, fun to have someone stand up to marc), aleix (perpetual underdog, temper issues, kinda a moron but in a fun way)... the other academy riders, mainly franky (made 2020 so much better, horrendously clumsy rider at times lol) and bez (loser mindset, weird as fuck about both valentino and marc, great watch as a rider when he's not *gestures*)... uh. quite like pedro, though I still need to see a bit more in the beef department to keep pace with how talented he is? like where's the balance y'know... great to watch as a rider though for sure. martin's title bid last year was nicely compelling, especially stuff like phillip island. he's been put into a lot of Situations I feel? instant rookie success followed by that horrid injury, the stand-off with bastianini for that factory seat, all of last year and this year... all this cockiness married with so much insecurity, the need to be seen and appreciated and not to be taken for granted. the pecco rivalry is fun for them both, plus obviously also a cool riding style. oh I thought diggia as an underdog story was great to follow latter half of last year, though now he's kinda safe I realise I'm less invested. bit all over the place with vinales but at some point you've just been exposed to these guys enough you have a kind of secondhand fondness. yamaha's still my team, tend to root for ktm's downfall which is working out fantastically for me. in moto2 my number one boy is alonso lopez, who may have never made an overtake without knocking into someone in his life and has zero understanding of how to preserve a tyre, but apart from that!! also do quite like a few of the other riders, would basically like to see everyone on a boscoscuro on the motogp grid at some point... the moto3 grid I don't really feel like I know a lot of those kids as well yet, though alonso's obviously quite a watchable racer and veijer is really growing on me, seems pretty clever, curious what he can do on bigger bikes

and that's that!! my current opinions on... actually most of the premier class grid. I really do like most of them! but then also I turned off mugello before the podium because I was so pissed bastianini had gotten back past marc lol so I'm hardly a neutral. but marc's different... he's the only one I've gotten a bit superstitious over the way you sometimes do with athletes. every time before he races, I write down somewhere, either in a note or as a message I send someone, just something along the lines of 'please don't crash' or 'stay safe'. I don't care that much about his results, I just don't want to see him hurt himself any more

[pinkmoondoll9shihtzu]

WeLL here we are...i want to write s/t quick to remember the year by. cus 2023 was probly one of my most significant years of life, even tho from the surface it may appear not much changed for me, 2023 laid the foundation,,,

firstly, january 2023 i began learning to make music, which is crazy like!!!! it has absolutely given me a new reason to be lieve in myself like i nvr had b4. its like unlocking a new area of my heart, and inutuion.. its so FUN, so so fun ohhh the fun i have, provides me w a brighter outlook for the future as i will always have this melodic part of me activated,going forward. ive learned so much in just a year. idk i just love it it makes me feel wise and complete i feel like an alchemist. i cld rly say a lot on the sense of security music has made me feel in my heart :'0 but i have some other things to get to;

summer 2023 i started doing yoga which has also changed things for me dramatically i think ive released a lot of built up stagnant energy from my body & aura. since i started i feel immensely more balanced n able to work thru my emotions as they come up. ngl when ppl used to recommend me to try yoga i thout it was hippie shit but its real lol.. im finding sm contentment in day to day life than i ever thought possible, easier time being present, yet another thing i will continue for the rest of my future that 2023 has given me.

these r good things but it must b said that this year has been Soooo rough for me in certain ways, mostly due to interpersonal relationships.. some ppl had to b let go from my life this year in ways i rly wasnt expecting & for a lot of the year things were just, foggy. however as things draw to a close im feeling immensely grateful like.. every1 im close to rn are all peaceful souls & we uplift each other, i see now why the ones causing drama naturally had to fall away. even if it was painful process im feeling so supported rn, & reciprocated TwwwT <3333

idk it just felt like as i was progressing w musical understanding, yoga stuff , as well as the past few months trying to use tea and herbs to get my organs in order, i feel that.. my energetic field is rly repairing itself & so a lot of old attachments just cant keep up anymore.

i have to say, well, erm, i am really in love w slimbo and its different than anything ive ever felt in my life. we've been in love for a long long time & i dont talk about it often as i am protective of this love. but god, its just, the purest bond ive ever known and our love for each other is deeper all the time. we r both life path 27/9 & the first time we met it literally felt like.. reuniting, it felt like a celebration..i had never noticed such warmth from someone. i cld never be in such a secure place rn if it wasnt for slimbo & every day im so grateful like dude i owe you my LIFE. idk how to explain it, we are just One. slimbo is my angel i cant wait to spend 2024 & forever with <3

if u read this far....ur a true PMDhead, thanks for being oomfies w me out here on the big wide web, i hope you bloom this year, & this can be a shift in the right direction for all of us <3 i believe palestine will be free. happy new year everyone, GANBATTE VIVA 2024 <333 -PMD9LL

[worstvideogamesong-poll]

Worst Video Game Song Tournament - Round 2 Match 25

National Anthem - Double Dribble Arcade

VERSUS

Fun House - Spider-Man: The Animated Series

FIGHT!

I would recommend listening to as much as you can of each song before voting, but how you choose is up to you! Remember to be civil in the tags and replies!

Propaganda under cut:

National Anthem:

"#double dribble tho... now THAT is some good shit#the way the crowd sounds at the end #the way the vocaloid doesnt even sound in tune #so awesome. beautifu l #chefs kiss"

"#!? ? w hat fkgg #there are actual tears in my eyes #go national anthem go"

"#Laughed SO hard at national anthem #I hope it wins the whole thing"

"#look miku’s grandpa is trying his best alright #his best is uh #not very good #but he’s trying"

Fun House:

"this song is so horrible I love it. it's full of samples that are so dumb like screaming and WOOHEE hehehehehehhehehehhehehehhehe"

"...Anyway this song speaks for itself. Funhouse sweep."

"#anyways. fun house fuckin ROCKS #my friend showed it to me last weekend actually and it fuckin slaps SO hard was laughin my ass off at this shit#the way the samples are so exactly on beat the audio totally clearly cut off #someone went onto free sound dot com and got FUNNY with it and it ROCKS #thank you to whoever submitted fun house soooo fuckin good"

"#there are certainly. sounds? in fun house?"

"#[Fun House] is one of the fartiest things I've ever heard. and the screams..."

"#I love fun house but it does make me feel like I’m going insane"

"#fun house my beloved ❤️ #on one hand the song's called 'fun house' so you gotta know what you're getting into #on the other hand HAVE YOU HEARD THOSE SAMPLES DUDE #this is the second-most hilarious song in this tournament and I accept no substitute"

"#EVERYBODY VOTE FUN HOUSE IT NEEDS TO TAKE HOME THE ENTIRE TOURNAMENT"

"#shit fucking spiderman song that i love"

Feel free to add more propaganda in the tags and replies, or send it to me in the ask box and I'll try to share it as soon as I can!

[mermaidsirennikita]

Hi! I've been following your blog for a couple years since loving DiW and really enjoy your recs so I was wondering do you know any historical romances where the male lead has personality similar to Erik/the phantom from poto or is disfigured / wears a mask etc? Thank you!

Thank you so much, first off!

BOY. DO. I.

So the first one I'm going to recommend is not a strict historical romance... Like it is, and it isn't, but I'm going to strongly recommend you check it out because the entire series is amazing and if you're a POTO fan I think you may be able to get behind some BATTINESS.

It's Firelight by Kristen Callihan, the first in her fabulous Darkest London series. Which is absolutely set in the Victorian London we know and love... just with like. Supernatural creatures running around. The average people don't know about it, it really isn't Steampunk despite what people will tell you. It is a historical romance series. But with magic. It reads VERY similar to the 1999 Mummy, tonally speaking.

So, why I'm recommending it: Our heroine, Miranda, secretly has these fire powers. She's accidentally burned shit down in the past, her dad SUUUCKS and has had her pick pockets for him before, etc. But basically, hard times are hitting, and I think her dad owes the hero something... and the hero is like cool you can square up by giving me YOUR DAUGHTERRRR. But the hero, Archer, wears like, a full mask. Like a porcelain mask. And won't let her see his face at all. And is OBSESSED with her.

Features one of my favorite moments in a long time, where he gets stabbed in one of his mysterious evening excursions (TM) and refuses to let her help him medically, so she basically just follows him as he manfully bleeds out in their palatial estate until he's about to lose consciousness and is like "FINE MIRANDA YOU CAN HELP".

Ummm my favorite Grace Callaway book, Pippa and The Prince of Secrets, is a fun option. Pippa is a widow, and Cull is the guy who gave her her first kiss before they were separated. He now runs a band of CHILD THIEVES!!! and wears a mask because half of his face has been horribly scarred. The scene where he first lets her view his face without the mask is SO. EMOTIONAL. I got choked up.

Also they use a sex swing at one point. Cull FUCKS. But he also skulks and yearns.

She Tempts the Duke by Lorraine Heath has a hero who's scarred on one side of his face is very angsty about it (he doesn't wear a mask, but he does wear an eyepatch). The heroine knew him as a kid, they were falling in love (in a childish way) and he had to run away with his brothers because their uncle was trying to kill them. He comes back years later, scarred and self-loathing and very much a brooder, and she's about to get engaged to another man. Cue the angst!

The Taming of a Highlander by Elisa Braden. In this one, the hero was wrongfully detained for something he didn't do, and was very brutally treated and scarred on one half of his face as a result. (Another "no to mask, yes to eyepatch" book.) The heroine is this very sweet girl and ends up having to marry him in order to avoid testifying against him. It's very much a "he hates himself, she helps him heal" book and it's soooo good. Especially if you like a "it'll never fit" moment. Which.

To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt has a hero who's scarred, and again, eyepatch--and he's been hiding up in his big Scottish lair/castle, when the heroine comes to act as his housekeeper with her two kids in tow. What he doesn't know is that she's on the run from her kids' father, as she was his mistress and he was horrible. The hero does a lot of "I'M A MONSTER" stuff but he also bends her over his desk and fucks her soooo.

To a lesser extent, Hoyt's The Raven Prince may also give you this vibe. The hero is scarred, but this time from smallpox--he's still very dramatic about it. (In many ways, this book is Jane Eyre but with fucking and without a kid.) The heroine is his secretary, and they get into this tension-filled situation.

[maybeimamuppet]

Veronica and Cady for the character thingy plss

DID I NEVER POST THIS HOLY SHIT OOPS

eeep i just found this and don’t remember when i got it i’m sorry friend!! i’m assuming this is for the list and not the bingo but if i’m wrong i’ll do it again lol

ok i have to do cady first bc it won’t let me type beneath veronica’s picture so woo i love it here soooo much /s

CADY

favorite thing about them

she has so much depth! i love how adorable she is and how bubbly and high energy and yet soft spoken and sweet she is but she also has a dark and vindictive streak in her that’s really fun to play with. also she’s like really fun to torture sometimes lol whoops

least favorite thing about them

again i hate how many people she uses for her own gain and how power hungry she gets

favorite line

“shuck! i started to say shoot and i almost said fu-” for funnies and uhhh

“fearless is the one thing i can be now, no friends, nothing to lose” and whatnot for like more emotional. also all of i see stars i still get misty every time i listen to it

brOTP

damiaaaaan. they wear matching outfits whenever they can, damian comes over to cadnis’ house for movie nights twice a week at least, they watch bootlegs together without janis bc she doesn’t like them. just. mwah. i could go off but i’ll hold back lol

OTP

TAKE A WILD GUESS DUDE

nOTP

aaron. they only worked bc of erikyle. if i could drop kick every other aaron into the road i would.

random headcanon

she can talk backwards!

unpopular opinion

there’s a point where she is fully aware of what she’s doing and how wrong it is and she actively chooses to continue for a hot second until the burn book being released and whatnot snaps her out of it that people do not talk about enough. i know i’m guilty of it too but she is not all innocent and naive and coerced into this shit like she’s a full teenager she knows damn well what she’s doing

song i associate with them

a change in me from beauty and the beast which hath inspired many a fic in my early days. at the plaza from the violet hour loosely inspired i’ll be there for christmas. like very loosely. uhhh and i think the like vibes of true love from frozen (or basically anything anna sings lol) even if it’s not necessarily the same meaning

favorite picture of them

i picked two for both her and veronica bc iiiim greedy lol

alright well one of cady’s is with ronnie for some fuckass reason thanks tumblr!!! i tried i swear

VERONICA

favorite thing about them

honestly this isn’t as much to do with her as a character as it is to do with the people who’ve played her but she has done so much for my self esteem in a really roundabout way. as someone with dark brown eyes and frizzy kinda untamable brown hair reading fic about her helped me appreciate more things about myself.

if you struggle with self image i really cannot recommend highly enough finding a character who looks and acts like you and reading stories where someone is absolutely, irrevocably in love with them. whether that’s platonically or romantically. i know it’s weird but being able to look in the mirror or at some aspect of my personality that i don’t like and say “that’s still lovable” is WONDERFUL.

least favorite thing about them

i despise the way she treats martha and also baby girl is kind of a doormat!! she’s one of those shitty wicker doormats that scratches the hell outta your feet but like dang!!

favorite line

not a line but her face in the musical when jd and kurt and ram start fighting

but also the way barrett delivers the “oH MY GOD!” over chandler’s corpse is immaculate

and i had one of her like super iconic ones everyone knows in my head but now i can’t remember it siiiigh

brOTP

marthaaaaa buddies since babies. also like. still alive and post MUCH therapy jd has a lot of fun potential

OTP

poly heathers!! but to put them individually in order, mac, chandler (those two are almost tied), duke

nOTP

JD. i know he goes by his initials and that’s just his name but i was trying to yell that. i do not like him i think he stinky get him outta there

random headcanon

she’s not allowed to wear pants with drawstrings anymore because she’s gotten stuck in them too many times. also she’s not allowed to use superglue bc she’s glued her fingers together too many times.

yes both of these are true of me shut up

unpopular opinion

she’s a lot weaker than most people think and a lot stronger than most people think st the same time

and i’m not always a huge fan of her being autistic i think she’s just that painfully awkward and dense

song i associate with them

it is so much harder than you would think to pick songs that are not from their shows?? like the only one in my head is i’m blue dabadeedabadie like i don’t KNOW OKAY

favorite picture of them

[spice-honey]

I just discovered wicked games and it’s soooo good! You’re an incredible writer!!! I can’t wait for more. Question, do you have any Eric x OFC fanfic recs??

Thank you SO MUCH!!!! I just finished writing Chapter 71, I'll edit and post as soon as I can!!! Yes, tons of Eric x OFC recs!! But, I generally tend to only read Complete stories, so most of the list will be all done.

Fanfic.net

Destined to Him by  tiibouchina (Complete)

Ancient Feuds and New ties by MandalorianHybrid (Complete)

Lust for Life by nightflutterheart (Book 1 is complete, Book 2 hasn't been updated since 2018 😞)

Fun fact Lust of Life was the fanfic that made want to write True Blood fan fiction. I was just so heartbroken it was never finished that I wrote Blood Moon/Black Moon Lilith (it's not very good, but it was my first :) )

AO3:

Unicorns and Shit by Ahab2631 (WIP, last update 2020)

Such Stuff by Melusie10 (Complete)

Lavender in Moonlight by OopsFanfiction (WIP)

Harder The Fall by me *shameless plug* (WIP)

If anyone has any more recommendations, comment or reblog!!!

[lilyrizzy]

this is very overdue, but I think I've re-read signs of a lifetime three times since I last mentioned I was halfway thru it with you 🥹 and I'm finally here to gush about it bc I am OBSESSED. obsessed!!

I'm a bit of a sucker for a main character who's silently suffering through it all, and this is jack hughes at his core. trying his best and suffering so much more because of it. up 'til now, I don't think I've really read a jacknico fic that had such an emphasis on the language barrier between Jack and the rest of the Hischiers, which, amazingly done. The internal frustration and the bypassing of the conversation around Jack and his struggle to try and keep up (along with the gut wrenching moment where Jack admits he doesn't really know French either, and the feeling of not being good enough, just, arrrrgh! such good angst).

I love how deep we are in Jack's mind. Everything he's thinking, everything he's feeling, I'm also experiencing it tenfold. The disconnect between him and Luca, the way Luca is so defensive/protective of Nico but at the expense of Jack's comfort and inclusion was soooo good. I kept scrolling back and rereading parts to re-envision the scene again, it was so emotional for me.

(Side note the egg bit was so funny to me, I laughed way too loud in the middle of the night.)

Jumping straight into the Samuel reveal, I've never rooted harder for Jack to dropkick a guy LOL. the callousness of this dude--he's a great character! I enjoyed antagonizing Samuel in my head, I enjoyed Jack getting pissed the hell off with him, and I enjoyed the rapidly escalating tension in that scene. it was so chef's kiss. what a way for mission: win over the hischiers to crumble in that moment.

(Second side note: I also really liked the mirror of the hughes family and the hischier family as both sports families, but in a fundamentally different direction. IRL, I think it shows in Nico and Jack's approach to sports in the league too. it was perfectly set up.)

I'm rambling now, but when Jack was finally able to start making connections with Nico's family, I was all in. The talk with Rino in the living room. Nina technically always kind of having Jack's back. Katja being so gentle with Jack as he's trying to speak their language. the true heart-to-heart with Luca, them finally relating over how protective they are of Nico. It was so good. I keep saying it but it is SO GOOD.

(Third side note: the smut was incredible. this is had to take breaks for. I was yelling a little too much into a pillow over it. jack was a force of nature and the way you wrote nico was INCREDIBLE. holy shit)

this fic was such a treat to read (and re-read!) I'm so glad it was recommended to me. I can't get enough of it. thank you for writing and sharing!! 😊

oh this was the loveliest ask to wake up to <3 I almost didn't post it so I could keep it in my inbox forever. thank you so much for liking this story and my jack! he's very near and dear to me. i wanted this story to be a little of character study for him.

this story started bc i was thinking a lot about the differences of their family and upbringing, their attitudes towards hockey etc so I'm glad you enjoyed that part especially! honestly, it was so fun to write a situation where no one (apart from nico's ex lol) is the bad guy!

thank you thank you thank you <3

[kitnita]

oooh just saw your tags on the stucky post - do u have any good stucky fics to rec?? im talking like looong fics. shit that like changes ur life. i was never into stucky when the fandom was super active but now im like !!! theres a goldmine of good fics out there i just know it

yeah absolutely!!!! but okay so. a lot of the stucky fic i read, i read back in high school before i started obsessively bookmarking things on ao3. i'm almost positive there are some blind spots on this list because i'm just going off the things i do have bookmarked rn. like i also want to dive back into the tag at some point & see what stuff i've missed / forgotten.

THAT SAID pretty much all the big stucky fics i do remember were in my bookmarks so i'm working off those! also thank you so much for sending this because i queued that post & didn't actually end up going back to read any stucky fics. i want to reread everything now.

actual recs under the cut!!

sincerely, your pal by lettered (rated m, 65,620)

i will always be obsessed with an epistolary fic. 10/10

to memory now I can't recall by etharei (rated e, 102,600)

uses time travel in a really interesting way, with it almost acting as a bodyswap scenario between the past and present. really interesting device in a fic with bucky pov.

building from the ground up by emilianadarling (series, various ratings & various lengths w a total wordcount of 68,687)

soooo good. i remember the (chronologically) first & the (writing order) first in the series better than the other two, but they're all good!! spans time from during the war to after the events of the winter soldier.

you know i dreamed about you by napricot (rated e, 59,311)

dreamsharing!! underutilized fanfic trope!!!

between everything, yourself, and home by napricot (rated e, 24,396)

i reread this one more recently than a lot of the others on the list & it hit so good, definitely recommend it.

United States v. Barnes, 617 F. Supp. 2d 143 (D.D.C. 2015) by fallingvoices & radialarch (rated t, 20,605)

the formatting & framing & storytelling devices in this one go hard, like, i'm pretty sure it was one of the fics mentioned on that post. it'd be worth checking out for that alone except that the fic is just Also good.

the way to a man's heart by niitza & whatthefoucault (rated t, 43,837)

this is one of the stucky fics i think about all the time. food as a healing device hits every time and it's SO good in this one.

the size of perfection by phoenike (e, 31,193)

if you want a lot of 1940's angsting about what the supersoldier serum does to a guy's dick, this is the fic for you.

all the angels and the saints by speranza (rated e, 48,740)

in the authors note of this one it's described as "a motherfucking 95 year epic love story of socialism! science fiction! and hard core gay fucking!" so. worth a read for sure.

roll on by jaxington (rated m, 89,113)

the historical queer themes in this were so good!! the supporting characters & world built up Hit. also i forgot/never knew it was part of a three fic series that is 306,592 words long. definitely read those too.

steve rogers at 100: celebrating captain america on film by eleveninches, hellotailor, M_Leigh, neenya, saintsideways, & tigrrmilk (rated e, 10,228)

exactly what it sounds like. from what i remember this probably barely counts as a stucky fic but it's so fun.

tin soldiers by idrilka (rated t, 19,743)

another one where the formatting & framing & storytelling devices go hard!!

a line that goes all the way by napricot (rated e, 45,218)

realizing now this is the third napricot fic on the list so probably anything else you find by them will also hit!! this one's more recent than a lot of the other fics here but i remember really enjoying it.

tezeta (nostalgia) by vowelinthug (rated e, 20,140)

another more recent fic set in wakanda!! it's steve's turn to be a total maladjusted disaster <3

sparked up like a book of matches by sena (rated m, 26,734)

didn't remember a lot of this one from my bookmarks so i started reading it to jog the memory & now am going to continue reading it. the vibes are vibing.

always stay near me, for tomorrow i will have much to do by roguewrld (rated e, 39,990)

this one's framing isn't as wild as some of the others i've rec'ed but it's still a little noticeable. a great non-linear bucky centric fic.

there's nothing left of you by notallbees (rated e, 22,346)

a fic set during the war!! those are always fun!!! and by fun, i mean. you know. it's good though, very in bucky's head.

i can feel the cold changing us inside by tesselated (rated m, 24,140)

a really good post-winter soldier recovery fic.

might never be normal again (but who cares) by napricot (rated e, 51,540)

okay one last napricot rec from my bookmarks. tagged 'Steve's Slow Motion Midlife Crisis' so you know it's good.

[kacievvbbbb]

Who are your top 5 favorite ships ever (can be canon or non canon) from any media? Why love them?

I found your blog because of your One Piece posts (love them). Can I ask, is OP in your top 7 favorite media ever (until now)? What made those 7 media (can be anime/manga, books, movies, tv series, etc) special to you? Thanks if you want to answer.....🌻

Hello!

My top five ships currently, in no particular order, are;

Mishanks

Eruri

Erasermic

Akiangel

kuroken

I don't really have canon ship cause I don't really like to see full on romance in the media I consume 🫣. I actually only actively engage with the romance genre in fanfics or fandom. I like to watch people I ship interact and for them to have deep ties to each other but I have no interest in actually seeing them become canon. I mainly like ships because I think they have a really fun or interesting dynamic.

as for my favorite media across board thats a little tricky caus eI have a hard time conflating things like that and so I'm just gonna give my top 2 in the categories you listed.

Books:

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - It's just a great look into what it means to be middle-class Nigerian in a time of great country-wide and personal upheaval and it's such an interesting look at christianity in Nigeria and out a lot of things I didn't even realize I was feeling into words. It also has one of my favorite mentor characters of all time so yeah. I seriously recommend to anybody. It deals with a lot of heavy stuff so keep that in mind tho.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - This was the book that got me into reading and so therefore will always hold a special place in my heart, because reading; books and fanfiction is such a huge part of my life it's hard to imagine who I'd be without it. I recommend to anyone whos interested in learning about one of the main cultures in Nigeria, Igbo its fascinating and tragic.

Anime/Manga:

Mob Psycho 100 - My feeling on Mob Psycho are best explained in this post. But long story short I love it so much.

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood - God what's not to love? This has some of the best written female characters I have seen in any piece of media period not to talk of shonen anime. It's just so good and I'd seriously recommend.

TV Show:

Reservation dogs - I love this show so much and would stake my life on it. As someone aspiring to be a filmmaker this is the kind of stuff I pray to make. It's soooo good and it's technically a comedy but it's not held back by genre. The cast is great the show is great I recommend watching

Breaking bad - Every single good thing you've ever heard about breaking bad is true. I truly understand why this show is regarded as one of the best of all time.

Movie:

Into the Spiderverse - It makes me want to believe in something bigger than myself. You do truly leave feeling like you could be spiderman and no superhero movie has ever made me feel that way. Also, I love animation and this is about as animation as it gets.

Everything Everywhere All At Once - Hands down the best multiverse movie to ever exist and I don't care. Amazing

Bonus: Your Name - My favorite anime film. The twist literally blew my mind. Its so warm and cozy and fun, and then shit really goes down.

As for music I generally will listen to anything as long as I like it but I gravitate to Folk music and my favorite artist is Hozier.

As for One Piece it's actually not one of my favorite animes. It's definitely my favorite of the big three and classic shonen but yeah. It has and will always have a really special place in my heart cause it was my introduction to anything anime or manga. But yeah I don't keep up with it in what anyone could call a normal way. I just have a little to many problems with how the female characters are treated to really consistently keep up with it. It's kinda better now with Bonny but yeah. I appreciate the story and as anyone on my blog can tell I love the characters. but yeah, ironically, not one of my favorites. Will forever be in my heart though.

[wysteriadelights]

Hmm for Bingo; Jamil, Malleus, and for shits and giggles, Trein

THANK YOU... NOBODY EVERY SENDS ME ASKS ABT PROMPTS N STUFF

Ahem yes... Jamil first.

He permanently changed my brain chemistry. Chapter 4 had just released, and he was the one who LOCKED. ME. IN. I have SOOOO MANY THOUGHTS ABT HIM. I LOVE HIM. HE'S MY HABIBI.. IT HURTS. He's so smug and manipulative but also... that just makes me want to put him into even MORE situations (wrote him having a mental breakdown it was very fun do recommend) he needs a break he needs to be freed he needs to watch a sunrise knowing he can go wherever he wants- so that's why I abuse him. Lovingly.

And MALLEUS-

SIGH..... HE. TECHNICALLY. HAS ME IN A DEEPER DEATHGRIP THAN JAMIL. I DID TRY TO MAKE A FANGAME OFF OF HIM AND THE REST OF DIASOMNIA AFTER ALL. HE SO SO SO SO SO... SO FUCKING FUNNY. Someone give this man reddit gold, he'd probably make a volcano erupt cause you held his hand to show him something. He is so autistic coded and so in desperate of a real connection outside of his small circle that still kind of treats him a bit weirdly. I just EUGH... WHY DO HIM AND JAMIL HAVE SOOOO MUCH ANGST POTENTIAL AND IT PULLS ME IN SO BAD AND I JSUT WANT TO GIVE THEM THE MOON AND STARS BUT ALSO BEAT THEM UP EVEN MORE FOR MY ENTERTAINMENT-

And Trein!!

Tbh. I just want him to be my dad. The adoption papers are for me. Pls sign. Bats eyelashes. But also whatever crumbs of lore we can get from him... he's so loving and so sweet and cares but acts like he doesn't care... they say cats take after their owners and YEAH... HES JUST A GRUMPY OLD CAT WHO LAYS ON UR LAP ALL PRIM AND PROPER AND HE DOESNT REALLY PURR BUT AS U PET HIM HE DOES BREATHE A LITTLE IN THAT PURRING WAY... SIGHS.... though seeing young Trein edit makes me think abt an insane stubborn Mr Darcy situation so sue me