#those movies were super popular generally

[melancholiea-mainblog]

i once was talking to a friend of mine who's a big star wars fan and she told me that, while she didn't enjoy the new trilogy, she like that by making kylo ren sexy they introduced women to the franchise.

[ozlices]

another super insulting part of the watcher situation i haven't rly seen ppl addressing much

ryan deadass saying smth like "nobody else on youtube has made tv quality content"

like... i really feel like it's important to highlight that bc not only do they obviously have no respect for their audience, but that statement shows they have no respect for their peers in the industry, either.

not to mention it is a shining example of bleeding arrogance to such a high degree, you will straight up fucking lie bc you're truly convinced you're that special when you're anything but.

there's been NUMEROUS online creators who were recognized by entertainment industry workers BECAUSE they made tv quality content & even full stop blockbuster quality content.

bo burnham started on youtube & is now one of the most wellknown & loved standup comedians of our generation, with numerous netflix specials & even a movie he wrote & directed under his belt.

the try guys, fellow ex-buzzfeed employees, had their own tv specials on food network (based off their youtube shows, btw) & a documentary made about them as well

rosanna pansino has also been on numerous food network shows both as a host & a judge

quinta brunsun, another fellow ex-buzzfeed employee, went on to create her own whole ass sitcom that has been highly praised

matpat cameo'd in the fnaf movie because of his theories & multiple other fnaf creators had small cameos through the employee of the month board easter egg

markiplier made multiple high-quality shows on youtube & is now working on a highly anticipated movie (he was also planned to cameo in the fnaf movie but couldn't due to conflicting schedules with his own movie)

hot ones got their own tv gameshow due to their popularity & they are still one of the most wellknown, beloved & respected internet shows

many short films made on youtube went on to premiere at film festivals & even in theaters

the hit horror film "talk to me" was created by youtubers rackaracka

webseries of actual fucking tv shows have also existed for literal decades

the list goes on.

to seriously think that overproduced bullshit is all you need to make "tv quality content" is not only tone-deaf, but shows they do not even know what they're talking about. many tv shows & huge blockbuster movies are made with absolutely microscopic budgets & small teams, & they still get praised & awarded for the passion, dedication, & creativity that shined brightly under those restrictions.

the blair witch project is probably the most wellknown & highly praised example of this, but it is far from the Only example

it is a whole other slap in the face, again ESPECIALLY when puppet history is one of their most popular shows, to spit in the face of internet history. to see the success of their predecessors, even ppl they fucking worked with at buzzfeed, & deny them of all their success & efforts to get where they ended up.

no, y'all are not the first people to make "tv quality content" on the internet. FAR from it. because your crap isn't even genuine "tv quality".

but you are the first ones to ever disrespect not only your audience, but your own fucking industry & your peers on this level.

& you are the first & i sorely hope the only fuckwads dumb enough to pull a stunt this fucking stupid, out of touch & utterly tone deaf.

[alvivaarts]

AO3 is Removing 'All Media Types' without Public Input or Announcement. What Can We Do?

What's Happening?

For those who don't yet know: AO3 and the Tag Wranglers have begun to slowly remove the 'All Media Types' tag for older fandoms. Aka, removing the 'umbrella' tag for many franchises, and forcing franchises to be split by media, or to be shoved under one umbrella that does not accurately reflect the types of fics or source medias they come from. This has been slowly occurring with no official announcement, under the pretense that things will be 'easier' to manage, or that some users claimed that the 'All Media Types' tag was confusing. This has begun in secrecy, without genuine input from the userbase, and without any public announcement. (As of 9/5/2024 9:30 AM PST) Many of us are pretty confident in AO3 staff's decisions, but the fact that this decision is not only incredibly impactful, but made without public input, has deeply violated the condition of the site as an archive... an archive of OUR own.

Current seen issues and active risks:

Removal of 'All Media Types' automatically makes fics from different sources in the same franchise a 'crossover', forcing users to consider non-crossover fics 'crossovers'. So, any fanfic that spans or implements elements from multiple pieces of media in a franchise are now considered a 'crossover', despite being from the same franchise and not a crossover.

Removal of 'All Media Types' forces users to manually search for the fics and ships they want one by one through each fandom tag in a related franchise. (Imagine looking through all the separate DC or MARVEL movies one by one).

The 'include crossovers' and 'exclude crossovers' filters are now useless, and removing genuine crossovers (crossovers between franchises) must be done manually through the filter system, which can take upwards of half an hour, if not longer, with the amount of one-off genuine crossovers that exist.

Slightly smaller franchises are being shoved under the umbrella of a single, super popular fandom. (See, Sherlock Holmes. All Sherlock Holmes media has been relegated to the tag 'Sherlock TV', which confuses users, as the tag now includes not only BBC Sherlock, which is the umbrella tag, but any works based off of Arthur Conan Doyle's original works, the 2009 Sherlock Holmes films, and the 16+ Sherlock Holmes adaptations and international TV shows... none of which are BBC Sherlock.)

Anime and manga fandoms (especially smaller ones) are being automatically split by media type, without regard to the fact that many anime and manga adaptations are very similar, and/or authors tend to often implement elements from both anime and manga.

As far as we are aware, no one is going to be correcting any improper sorting resulting from this.

Accounts that are no longer active/accessible, memorial accounts, and orphaned fics and no longer be corrected by their original authors and are at risk of being misplaced into incorrect fandom tags. Unfortunately, no one can fix this but the tag wranglers, who were supposedly removing 'All Media Types' in the first place to prevent MORE work. Counter intuitive, isn't it?

Already, fandoms are being improperly split, others being improperly merged, and still more being far more confusingly sorted. This deeply damages AO3's integrity as an ARCHIVE.

What Can I Do?

As soon as it's back up again, make sure to stop by the Contact Support page! There, you're able to let them know exactly how you feel about this, and what fandoms your fear will be impacted by these changes. Many already have been.

In the meantime, make sure to contact AO3 on Twitter (or X): ao3org (AO3's general twitter page), ao3_wranglers (AO3's tag wrangler page), and OTW_news (the parent host of AO3).

There is also tumblr: ao3org (AO3's tumblr page) and transformativeworks (OTW's tumblr page).

And finally, the Organization for Transformative Works contact page.

If you are aware of any additional medias, please add them below to ensure that AO3 thoroughly understands the negative impact of this decision, especially the violation of trust resulting from making such a massive choice without impact. Be sure to share this information elsewhere, repost, share the links, and make a stink. Furthermore, if you are able, letting AO3 know that you are no longer comfortable financially supporting them in the future.

Be sure to also repost and list any fandoms you have personally noticed have been impacted by this change!

Already Impacted Fandoms:

MARVEL, MCU, Marvel Comics, Avengers, and related tags

Any Sherlock Holmes based Media

A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon)

World of Warcraft

Assassin's Creed

Monogatari

BanG Dream!

Jujutsu Kaisen

Disney (all media, now: Disney Theatrical Animated Universe)

DC and DC Comics

AND MANY, MANY MORE!

[astrobydalia]

🍂Cozy observations 🎃

Itssss fall you guys!!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰 It’s actually super hot still where I live but that won’t stop me from living my cozy era. Anyways, I want to avoid collecting posts on my drafts for centuries so here’s more general observations!

work by astrobydalia

🍂Aquarius placements are simultaneously the most understanding and empathetic people ever and the biggest assholes out there. I don't know how they pull that contradiction off but it's true (I mean this in the best way possible btw)

Moreover, I’ve noticed Aquarius placements are way more appreciative of kindness and social harmony than Libra tbh. Libra's desire for harmony can be just for the sake of keeping appearances but they are actually very judgmental. Aquarius on the other hand tend to appreciate authenticity and have a “live and let live” philosophy where they accept people unconditionally that’s why they attract popularity. Underdeveloped Aquarius tho do have a tendency to break social harmony due to pick-me behavior

🍂 Cardinal moons are serial daters. I swear every person I’ve met who had a rather active love life or were always crushing on someone was more often than on Cardinal moon

Also, Cardinal moons are always very dominant people even when don’t intend to be. They have a very summoning aura/personality that just demands engagement. They also tend to be social butterflies, even when they’re introverted they always end up surrounded by people somehow

🍂 I like to think Pisces is the final movie while Virgo is all the behind the scenes and editing

🍂I've seen this endless times where people with Mars in Libra or 7th house always end up either in law or business (mostly creating their own business, freelancers, entrepreneurs, etc)

🍂Any Venusian influence on the MC/10th house/6th house indicates a career or job where you’re required to dress up and appear very put together, having a certain aesthetic can be important in your career

🍂Saturn square or opposite MC/10th house ruler indicates the native was forced into a career they never chose/wanted in the first place or they had to wait a long time to finally have the opportunity to pursue their ideal career OR the path towards the career they chose could have been harder/more unfulfilling than they expected

🍂 I also like to think Taurus stops to smell the flowers and creates a flower bed for herself. Virgo studies the flowers and learns all about photosynthesis and shit. Capricorn creates a flower business and monopolizes the flower market

🍂 Those with Mars influence on their moon (Moon-Mars aspects, Aries/Scorpio moon) are really good at throwing shade but they’re unable to take it themselves. They don’t like to feel called out.

🍂 Mars in the 12th house people will 👏🏼hold 👏🏼 grudges 👏🏼

🍂 To be quite honest with you, every single Virgo sun I’ve met had a very standoffish personality.

🍂 Saturn retrograde individuals raised themselves. That’s why this placement is known to have issues with authority and discipline because their parents didn’t really parent them at all, so they had to set their own boundaries, rules and systems to navigate life. Getting their life together and materializing their ambitions could take extra effort for them

🍂 I usually like Capricorn Moons cause I always find that they are very loyal to everyone (friends, family, partner, etc) but honestly they are not as emotionally mature as you might think. They have a really hard time moving on from the past to the point where they can stay stuck in their wounded child self and spend a big chunk of their lives trying to overcompensate this with work, productivity and success. Tendency to depression, low emotional intelligence and being emotionally stunted. Deep down they feel like the victim of their own story

🍂 Aquarius sun+Scorpio moon: I’ve met quite a few people with this combo and with all of them I’ve noticed they always have a cult leader kinda mentality towards their friendships and connections (might apply to Aquarius+Scorpio combos in general). You’re either with them or against them. If you're not a follower they’ll hit you with the "cool kids table" attitude

🍂 My mom has Mercury in the 4th house and she once said "I don't mind moving abroad but I can't live in a place where people don't speak my native language. I need to hear my native language"

🍂 When it’s said that Venus in the 1st house people know how to make themselves look good it doesn’t mean just physically. The know how to present themselves as a more virtuous person than they actually are...

🍂Mutable risings, Mars in a mutable sign/house: their motto is “work smarter not harder”. Their first instinct will always be to find a way around challenges and difficulties. They usually aren’t the most action oriented people, but they are cunning. Their way to success is basically beating the system to make things easier for themselves.

🍂I can easily recognize Taurus Sun because they always ooze BDE. Also they always tend to have very rugged and bold physique/features

🍂From what I've seen Gemini Venus is a placement that easily makes someone stereotypically extroverted. Golden retriever energy

🍂Has anyone else noticed that succedent houses (aka fixed houses) are all related to money and wealth in some way?

2nd house: your resources, what spend your money on 5th house: gamble 8th house: shared resources, investments and debt 11th house: production of wealth

🍂All Gemini and Cancer risings I’ve met had some sort of hypersensitivity to stimuli. Gemini rising is more mental; anxiety, overthinking, information overload, etc they easily get triggered by immediate stimuli, specially noise around them. For Cancer risings this manifests more in the senses (photosensitivity, very sensitive to smells, flavors, etc) and heightened intuition just like Spiderman with spider-sense

🍂I’m sorry but why are Cancer Mercuries so elusive in their communication??? Everything they say has this "well, maybe. I don't know" or "I guess" undertone to it, they never openly say what they really mean. They are good listeners tho

🍂Underdeveloped Taurus placements feel entitled to use and dispose of people to benefit themselves. Tend to be very selfish and stingy. They do something for you they'll hang it over your head forever and act like they have ownership over you. You do something for them, they owe you nothing.

🍂Pisces Moons grew up in their own little bubble. It's very likely they missed out on 'normal' mundane experiences and this makes them feel very separated from the rest of the world and the rest of the people which is why they often come off as clueless and disconnected. They often give off the impression they've been living under a rock or a parallel universe. A perfect example of this is when Kim Kardashian said she's never been to a grocery store💀

Every single Pisces moon I’ve met never ever wanted to have kids and if they do have them they tend to not be too present in their kids’ lives. The harsh truth is pisces moons are not reliable, generally they are the ones who want to be saved and cared for

🍂I've noticed earth Venus and Venus-Saturn aspects are a little bit too good at showing contempt. To some degree they always remind me of Disgust from the Inside Out movie 😂

🍂 When I see Moon-Saturn conjunction in a chart I flinch a little tbh cause idk what’s worse the fact that their mothers couldn’t be bothered to give the native any sort of emotional comfort or the fact that these natives have normalized conditional love as the only kind of love possible. I've also noticed they grew up with strong authoritarian values and were never allowed to question hierarchies or status

Also, natives with Moon-Saturn conjunction are extremely shady people if you ask me. It's true they are insanely observant but what people don't seem to notice is that they are observant in a Joe Goldberg or Light Yagami kind of way without the murder They do be having inner monologues like that. They come across as calm, intelligent, respectful and trusted. Can use emotional expression (theirs and others') in strategic ways to influence others. Big tendency towards materialistic, utilitarian and/or elitist mindset too. I can't quite put my finger on it but I've met a lot of people with this aspect and the deeper I dig the more I keep feeling something very dark and/or disingenuous about them

🍂Venus square Neptune people and their lack of self-respect… 🙁

🍂Aquarius Moons always give off the impression of having a rather lazy or passive personality. I'm not talking about their productivity but the fact that they seem to always have a "meh" attitude towards everything to the point where they can feel a bit disconnected similar to pisces moon

🍂Virgo risings often have freelance jobs due to Aquarius ruling their 6th house

🍂People with Industria rx (389) may actually dislike their work environment even if they like their job. I’ve noticed they often find the industry they work in to be toxic, depleting or too demanding

🍂Enterprise rx (9777) might always feel unsatisfied with their position, they might be the type to always want more and more

🍂 Aries Moon women and always attracting very immature and selfish men omg I've seen this time and time again

🍂 Scorpio moon/Moon 8th house is an underrated wealth indicator imo. I've noticed they always have a "from rags to riches" kinda life story. They however often face issues with fraud or debt along the way cause they have a tendency to take huge financial risks

🍂 you ever heard about the crabs in a bucket phenomenon? Well Ive actually observed underdeveloped 4th house placements do tend to have this kind of clingy and envious behavior particularly towards people that are really close to them. You can also experience this with people you have 4th house Synastry with; you get too attached to the comfort zone they provide to the point where they stifle your growth

🍂Pisces placements 🤝 falling for people who are bluntly abusive, controlling and narcissistic. They want to believe they’re living a beauty and the beast love story when in reality they’re trauma bonding

🍂Libra/Taurus Mars people ARE problematic and petty as fuck, they’re just good at the social game and making it look like they didn't do anything. Underdeveloped Venus energy is the opposite of peaceful, it gives major mean girl vibes and Mars being debilitated in these signs easily brings out this hostile side of Venus. The type to passively instigate drama just to make themselves look better. Very hypocritical

🍂What natives with Saturn in Taurus will consider first when choosing a career is make sure that it is well payed and gives them financial status. Other factors come second

🍂Fixed+cardinal combo in the luminaries is hands down the best sun-moon combo I've seen tbh (specially fixed sun+cardinal moon), they're a force to be reckoned with. Very charismatic, outspoken and confident people with healthy ego if developed. Most people I've met with this combo were very extroverted and/or excellent leaders

🍂Sagittarius placements 🤝 this pose 😜✌🏼

🍂Libra/7th house Lilith have a tendency to judge a book by its cover all the time

🍂I've noticed Pisces MC/10th house natives aren't very ambitious. They seem to not really care about things like self-development or being on top. From what I've seen they mostly aspire to have a pleasant and glamurous life that frees them form real life mundane worries and could desire to retire as early as possible. In some cases I've seen they could want a "princess" kinda lifestyle where they literally have no responsibilities. They want a career that liberates them from any pressure of achieving material expectations and allows them to just go brain dead all the time following a higher power/inspiration/knowledge. That's why many artists have this placements and I've also seen cases of Pisces MC people who wanted to be nuns and nurses. I've noticed that when they genuinely don't care about recieving recognition or achievements but rather do things bc it aligns with their soul that's when they become successful

🍂Scorpio placements have a tendency to be very cynical I've noticed, specially mercury and mars

🍂Gemini/3rd house Lilith can spot lies from miles away and will not be sacred to call it out

🍂As per my observation the water sign that gets idolized the most is not Pisces but Cancer 100%. Yes Pisces does get idolized but I’ve noticed that’s actually very short-lived, people tend to switch up on them SO fast cause they project a deeply unrealistic image on them and eventually fall off the pedestal. Cancer placements on the other hand are not infantized like Pisces, they are consistently very sought after people I’ve observed. They always come across as emotionally reliable even when they’re not, people always go soft for them while simultaneously respecting them so they’re always seen as perfect,kind,charming,etc. Their personality naturally portrays an energy of unconditional love and understanding so people easily get obsessed and addicted to them

🍂I always find that Pisces Venus natives have a very whimsical and juvenile personality. They also have a very extravagant taste they may like anything with bright colors, glittery shiny stuff, squishy toys, etc. they have a tendency to be a bit tacky and corny I’ve noticed

🍂Every fixed moon I've seen avoided any sort of emotional rehabilitation like the plague unless it’s strictly necessary. They believe no one can begin to understand them better than themselves and they got it all figured out already. Now this is more my opinion but I feel like they low-key underestimate the amount of healing they actually need to do cause they really struggle taking emotional accountability. They have a tendency to act like their needs and feelings justify everything so there's not much to "fix" or heal

🍂People who have at least 2 out of their big 3 in cardinal signs are often seen as the golden girl/boy

🍂Capricorn/Virgo moons will be literally the best at what they do and make it seem so effortless. If you ask them how they got so successful they'll be like "idk I guess I just practiced a lot"

🍂I’ve noticed your 8th house sign(s) represent themes that people are consistently using against you as the fastest way to tear you down, so you always end up feeling powerless here at some point. That’s why you tend to resent this energy and have toxic dynamics with people who have their planets here. This house is literally the death of you (8th from 1st), but it can also be the source of your empowerment once you claim this energy so it's best that you keep this house to yourself as much as possible. Some examples:

Gemini 8th house: using what you say against you. you could have a hard time with people believing your words, what you say is always scandalous and/or rubs people the wrong way. Gossip or information that makes you look bad. People always think you’re lying or deceiving or have ulterior motives Cancer 8th house: you could struggle with getting sympathy and emotional support from people. Others think you’re just being vulnerable and complaining for clout. Any display of emotion or care will be seen as manipulative. People trying to break or ruin your relationship with your family or closed ones Capricorn 8th house: you struggle with people respecting you, others don't take you seriously and don't see you as a valid authority. Any attempt to make yourself respected will be seen as dictatorial or elitist behavior, any desire to succeed will be seen as you being power hungry. People try to dismiss or belittle your achievements

work by astrobydalia

[feyhunter78]

Semiformal Kisses and Cat Fights

Art Cred: Kimmy_art0912 on Insta! Description: Among pulsating music, colorful lights, and a few girls who can't keep their eyes to themselves tensions rise, and your patience has finally run out. Happy Valentine's Day my loves!

The music is loud, blaring through the speakers, vibrating through the floor, multicolored lights spin, casting circles of neon colors across the walls of the bar. The smell of spilled drinks and perfume fills the air as you enter, your hand gripping Miguel’s bicep as you scan the room for Janey.

It’s been…a bit weird since your encounter in Miguel’s room a few weeks ago. At first, you were afraid you’d fucked up, that you had overstepped and ruined your friendship, but then it all kinda went back to normal. As normal as the tentative relationship between two people who almost kissed could be.

When you invited him to be your date for your sorority’s semiformal, on Valentine’s Day no less, you were so very afraid. What if he said no, what if everything you thought you saw, that you felt back in his room was all in your head? Which is why you said as friends right as he said yes. No going back then, so you—like a coward—played up the platonicness of it all, and tried to pretend like you weren’t avoiding eye contact.

Then everything got even weirder with the whole Ava thing. You swore up and down to everyone—except Mina—that you and Miguel are purely platonic, even when you gave him the cold shoulder and cried over him talking with his ex. Super embarrassing, no one but Miguel potentially believed you, and now you’re in a prison of your own making. You should’ve just grabbed him when he came to your door to apologize, should’ve kissed him when he stood in your room admiring his costume. Why didn’t you?

One of your sisters drifts by, bumping into Miguel, fluttering her eyelashes at him as she apologizes.

Right, that’s why, because you’re jealous and insecure and can’t stand to see other people flirt with him. So it’s better to just keep your distance so you don’t end up crying again.

Miguel’s bicep is solid under your grasp, so large your hand can’t even grip all of it.

The theme of the night was Great Lovers of History, which was a fancy way of saying dress like your favorite couple. It wasn’t hard to pick a costume, you, and Miguel both love the novel Dracula, even if it wasn’t as popular as the movie was. You had to bite the inside of your cheek to keep from making some undignified noise when you saw how good Miguel looked. Those stupid huge muscles bulging, his broad chest, his toned back, he somehow made the ridiculous costume look impressive, and he even wore red contacts to get that perfect vampiric look.

You of course looked hot as hell, dressed in a flowy, but scandalously low cut white dress, hair curled and bouncy. Bram Stoker had never named Dracula’s Brides, but there was one, seemingly the eldest, that he favored over the other, so you decided to claim her role for the night.

“I don’t see Janey yet, she said she was already here.” You yell over the music, throwing a smile to one of your sisters as she passes by with her date. They’re dressed like Jim and Pam from The Office, it’s cute, a bit basic, but cute.

“Maybe she’s at the bar?” Miguel suggests leaning down to hear you better as he guides you through the crowd.

You can see people’s eyes on him, drinking him in, and feel another stab of jealousy. You know he looks hot, but he’s your date, not theirs. They can keep their eyes to themselves.

Janey and her date Eddie are dressed like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcey. You spot them immediately, right at the bar where Miguel suggested they might be.

You gush over Janey’s outfit, and she gushes over yours, and for a while that’s it. It’s a nice night, you drink, have fun with your friends, dance with Miguel, try not to feel insane over the number of times you have to remind someone that Miguel is here with you, and generally have a good time.

Then someone starts crying. It’s a new member, one whose Big is currently more interested in making out with her boyfriend in one of the bar’s booths than paying attention to her Little.

The new member, Addy, has tears in her eyes and mascara running down her cheeks as you usher her towards the bathroom, promising Miguel you’ll be back as soon as someone is able to break Danika away from her boyfriend.

You dry Addy’s tears while she tells you that she’s just so overwhelmed. That she brought the guy she has a crush on with her, but he seems more interested in one of the other girls in her new member class than her.

“And then Kaley said, ‘oh we have a class together, I was just saying hi,’ but like why don’t you just say hi then leave, why is she trying to dance with him?” Addy sobs, taking the paper towels from your hands and burying her face in them.

“I don’t know, sweetheart, but I’m sure he’s just trying to be nice and that’s why he’s dancing with her.” You coo, smoothing down her hair.

“And her boobs look so much better than mine.” Addy continues, flinging herself into your arms, and hiding her face in the crook of your neck.

“What? No, no way, you look amazing! And hey, if that’s why he’s dancing with her than he’s an ass, and you deserve better.”

“She literally brought her own date, and she’s been ignoring him! Spencer is a nice guy, we had Intro to Philosophy together last semester, and he took really good notes, so he would let me borrow them when I missed something or got sick. And, and he’s like super cute, I don’t know why she wouldn’t just stay with him.”

You bite your tongue to keep from laughing. “Maybe you should go talk with Spencer then, if your date is going to be an asshole, then there’s nothing wrong with talking to someone who isn’t. You don’t even have to dance with him, just go say hi. I bet he’s feeling the same way you are.”

Addy sniffles and nods, wiping away the last of her tears. “Yeah, Spencer has a really big heart, I’m sure he’s upset.”

You give her an encouraging smile and keep your hand on her upper back, supporting her as she walks past her date, who is very clearly staring at Kaley’s boobs.

Spencer pops his head up when he sees Addy, a smile spreading across his lips. “Hey Addy, you doing okay? I um…I saw you crying, I wanted to go over, but…”

“I’m okay, how about you? We’re kinda in the same boat, aren’t we?” She says, taking the seat next to him.

He scoots over so she has more room, his head dipping down to hear her better, his body language screaming I like you; I feel safe with you. It’s adorable, you feel like Cupid, as you watch the two immediately fall into a deep discussion about emotions and the philosophy behind them.

Now that Addy was taken care of, you roll your shoulders out and stop at the bar before heading back towards the dance floor. You don’t really know how it happened but two shots later and everything you’ve been drinking the whole night is finally catching up with you.

The only thing on your mind is Miguel, how much you adore him, how handsome he looks, how every fake bitch in this room has been eyeing him like a hyena eyes a wounded gazelle. You have to find him; you can’t leave your wounded gazelle all alone in this pack of jackals.

You find him, but he’s not alone. Your sister, though not one you particularly care for, is talking to him, well, trying to at least.

Dana is dressed pretty basic, red dress, and heels. You’re not sure who she’s supposed to be, and she doesn’t look bad, but the dress is too small, it doesn’t fit her right, and the color makes her skin look washed out.

“So, who are you with?” Dana shouts over the music, clearly unable to see you as you approach from the side, basically hidden by the other dancers.

“Y/N.” Miguel answers, eyes darting back to the bathroom entrance, your drink still in his hand, his discarded somewhere.

Poor thing, he didn’t see you leave.

“She left you all alone? That’s so mean.” Dana says, giving him an overexaggerated pout.

“She went to take care of a new member.” He says, always so quick to defend you.

She trails a finger down his chest, batting her eyelashes up at him. “Still, she shouldn’t leave a handsome thing like you alone.”

Miguel goes red, taking a step back, sputtering. “I—um, thank you, but I’m here with y/n, and—”

“Yeah, but y/n’s not here now, come on, live a little.” She takes your drink from Miguel’s hand. “This yours?”

Before he can say anything, she drains it, and smiles at him.

“That uh…that wasn’t mine.” Miguel says, taking another step back as she loops her arms around his neck and tries to pull him down to her level.

“Oh, too bad, and it looks like y/n still isn’t back, obviously you’re not that important to her, so why don’t you follow me upstairs?”

“Upstairs is blocked off.” Miguel says, so sweet, so oblivious. “And I’m waiting for y/n.”

He tries to gently push Dana away, but she hangs on. “Ugh, come on, y/n is so lame, don’t you want to have fun? You can have fun with me.”

You’ve had enough, blood boiling, you tap her on the shoulder, making both her and Miguel jump.

“Dana, your date is looking for you.” You say, saccharine sweet smile on your lips, your voice dripping with honey coated venom.

She untangles herself from Miguel, who looks like you caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. “Ugh, he’s so needy. Anyways, come find me if you need me, Miguel.”

The moment she leaves, Miguel turns to you, apologies spilling from his lips like water. “Y/N, I swear nothing happened, she just came up to me, and I told her I was here with you, but she kept going, and then she wanted me to go upstairs with her, and I told her upstairs is closed, and I was waiting for you and—”

You grab him by the neck of his costume and drag him off the dance floor, past the pitiful sign that asks people to stay away from the second floor, and up the stairs. Usually, the upper floor is open to the public. It’s a more secluded seating area with its own smaller bar and thick glass walls that block out some of the sound from below, bisected by cement pillars offering a modicum of privacy.

You’re tired of this, of watching everyone else get to grab him, touch him, flirt with him, he’s yours.

It’s darker on the second level, only a few safety lights, and the multicolored strobe lights flashing up from the first floor. It’s quieter as well, you can finally hear yourself think.

You keep walking until you find the corner booth and shove Miguel into it. Not for the first time you’re glad these damn booths are so big, Miguel can sit properly, facing you, without having to scrunch up. The alcohol in your system is making you brave, and a little horny, but mostly brave. You can see its effects on Miguel as well, the flush of his cheeks, the slight glaze in his eyes.

“Dulzura, please, don’t be upset, I promise, nothing happened, I wouldn’t—I’m here with you, and I know that we’re here as—as friends, but still, I wouldn’t…I didn’t—still don’t want to dance or spend time with anyone else.”

He looks so pretty, stumbling over his words, his hair all ruffled, his tone so sweet and pleading. You want him, bad. You know you shouldn’t. You were the one who said it was platonic, just friends, but when he’s here, looking the way he does, and everyone is circling around him like vultures, you just…

Fuck it.

You straddle him, grab his face, and kiss him.

Miguel short circuits, hands frozen in midair, body tense, and then it’s like a dam opens. His hands on your hips, pulling you closer, his lips moving in synchronicity with yours, warm, plush, the taste of tequila on his tongue, or maybe it’s yours, you can’t tell anymore. You’re practically devouring him with how desperate you are to finally, finally kiss him.

“Fuck, Miguel, I—I can’t be just friends with you, I can’t do it anymore.” You admit, breath catching in your throat when Miguel grabs your ass, his big warm hands hauling you even closer. “I need more, we have to be more.”

“We can be anything, anything you want.” Miguel says breathlessly, his glasses fogging up from the heat between you.

You tug his head back by his hair and attach your lips to his neck, biting down hard, intent on leaving your mark. “Don’t want other girls thinking you’re up for grabs, you’re mine, been mine since the first day of class.”

“Yes, yes, I’m yours y/n.” He whimpers, his hands caressing your body nonsensically, as if he can’t decide where to put them.

“Such a good boy for me, Miguel, looking so handsome, always so sweet, always saying just the right thing.” You continue your onslaught until his neck looks like a crime scene.

“Kiss me, please y/n, I need—please, please, I’ve wanted this for so long, please kiss me again.” Miguel begs breathlessly, looking absolutely wrecked.

So, you do, gladly, over, and over, and over again, until he builds the courage to tangle his hands in your hair, to venture under your skirt and grip your bare thighs, as he moans and squirms beneath you.

You can’t fuck him here, it’s too public, too rushed, especially knowing what you know, there’s no way in hell you’ll let Miguel’s first time be a drunken quickie at a bar. So, you pull back, cupping his cheeks, smiling softly when he whines and tries to chase after your lips.

You press your thumb to his lips, shaking your head. “We can’t, not here.”

“Why not?” He whines, pupils blown wide with lust, chest rising and falling rapidly, his grip brushing on your thigh and hip.

“Because I like you, and I respect you, so I won’t fuck you in a bar.” You tell him, pressing a chaste kiss to his kiss swollen lips before sliding from his lap.

Miguel pouts, actually pouts at you, and you nearly give in, but you steel yourself.

“Come on sweet boy, let’s go back to the party.”

He blinks at you as if he’s coming up from underwater, slow, liquid, then he bites his lip. “I um…I’m going to need a minute.”

You glance down and heat rushes to your face.

He’s hard, and huge, like massive, and your resolve starts to waver.

“What if I just?” You sit astride his lap and ghost your fingers over his covered cock. “Give you a hand?”

Nerd!Miguel Masterlist and the "part two" here

TL: @bat-bae, @nyctophilic0vitnir, @smokeywhalee, @obi-mom-kenobi, @prowlingforfood, @penggion, @crystal-crax, @oharasfilipinawife, @generalkenobitrash, @melsimps, @chrishy973, @farrowroyale, @palesatan, @scaryplanetdestroyer, @denzmallows, @36namey, @scoobysnakz, @ihateuguys, @idkbros-world @smartyren, @deputy-videogamer, @blackrose8425

[casscainmainly]

This is a copy/paste of a reply I did to this post. I'm putting it in its own post because I genuinely need people to understand that saying Duke is unpopular because he's 'new' or unknown only furthers the racism Black characters face in fandom. This extends to the sexism Babs and Steph face, and the double racism/sexism that Cass faces.

For everyone in [this post's] notes saying [Duke's unpopularity in fanfiction] is because Duke is new, that's part of it, but absolving fandom of responsibility is misguided and sweeping both racism and sexism under the rug. The newness argument doesn't explain why Damian has more fics than Cass, Stephanie, and Babs, who all predate him.

More importantly: Jon Kent, who was introduced one year after Duke in 2015, has a total of 3,144 works under 'Jonathan Samuel Kent' and 9,280 works under 'Jon Kent'. That is 12,424 fics - around 5,000 more than Duke, despite debuting at roughly the same time.

The adaptation argument (that the ones who are more adapted are more likely to be written about) is also flawed - Tim has 3 major TV show appearances (The New Batman Adventures, Young Justice, and Titans). He cameos in Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, and an episode of Justice League. For films, he appears in two DCAU movies, Batman Unlimited, Gotham by Gaslight, Batman Ninja, and Death in the Family. That's 12 total appearances in film and TV.

By comparison, Barbara has an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to adaptations of her. She appears in 8 animated films, 6 animated Lego films, and has 5 animated film cameos. This is already more adaptations than Tim. Add to that 60s Batman, the Birds of Prey show, Titans, Gotham, DC Super Hero Girls, BTAS, Batman Beyond, Gotham Girls, The Batman, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Young Justice, Beware the Batman, Teen Titans Go!, Harley Quinn, Batman: Caped Crusader, and the live action Batman & Robin, that's 35 total appearances across film and TV.

Barbara Gordon as Batgirl is undeniably more popular to the general public than Tim Drake as Robin, and her film and TV adaptations also outnumber Jason's (13, with 90% of those being pictures of him because he's dead) and Damian's (15). So if she should be more popular than Tim in every supposed metric (longevity, adaptations, even name recognition), you have to ask yourself: why is she less popular in fandom?

To return to Duke Thomas, if you're even a casual Batman fanfic reader you would know that most of his tagged fics are not about him. Duke has 7,042 tagged fics, and of those, 242 works are tagged as Duke Thomas-centric. By contrast, Tim Drake has 62,704 total works, with 3,809 tagged Tim Drake-centric. That means 3.4% of Duke fics are tagged as Duke-centric, whereas 6% of Tim fics - almost twice as much - are Tim-centric. This is not a perfect metric by any means (for example, Dick actually has less than Duke with 2%, though this is due to him having a bonkers amount of fics), but it is illustrative of the trend that literally anyone who's skimmed AO3 could tell you.

More comparisons: Jason Todd (2,990/76,427 = 3.9%), Damian Wayne (1,870/45,635 = 4%), Cassandra Cain (200/17,060 = 1.1%), Barbara Gordon (54/16,729 = 0.3%). Keep in mind not everyone uses the -centric tag, but this is generally useful to see broad trends.

If debut date, adaptations, popularity among the public, amount of canon content, or presence in major Batman events were truly the deciding factor, Barbara would be the second most popular character in fandom (behind Dick). However, she isn't. Even Dick isn't the most popular - Tim, despite his lack of adaptations, is clearly the Batboy centred most in fanfiction and fandom. Therefore, the treatment of Babs, Steph, Cass, and Duke in fandom cannot be attributed purely to lack of knowledge.

Blaming fandom's focus on the White- or White-passing boys on canon is ignoring the signs of racial and gendered biases in the way we latch onto characters. Fandom barely cares about canon - most Titans Tower AUs or family fluff blatantly ignore huge chunks of comics. If we can ignore Gotham War, make up lies about Red Robin (2009), and pretend Tim's allergic to shrimp, why can't we extend that imagination to the POC and female characters? Why are they less worthy of our efforts to make stories about them, whether they have canon/adaptational histories or not?

All this to say, trying to explain away the lack of works for Duke and the girls will not solve anything. Making excuses for the fandom is only perpetuating the racist and sexist erasure of these characters. Instead, read their comics! Here is a list of reading guides for POC characters.

Not interested in comics? Read these Duke fics (compiled by @himejoshiangels)! Also take the time to go through the Barbara Gordon-centric tag and support those creators. Feel free to post any recs of your own as well :).

[allyricas]

I love gay Eddie and bisexual awakening Steve. It's solid and popular for a reason. It works, makes a lot of sense.

But...I also love flirty-cluelessly-queer Eddie and comfortable-with-his sexuality Steve.

Eddie does flirt. With everyone. It was pretty clear he was flirting with Chrissy. He was flirting with Steve. Calling him big boy and getting up in his personal space, being all cutesy.

So, imagine Eddie just casually flirting with Steve and it doesn't mean anything to him. He's just being Eddie. He isn't even aware that it's flirting. He really considers it teasing. The man is dramatic and silly. He loves to make a scene. So "teasing" people is fun for him.

Eddie who is a super senior running a DnD club for outcasts, loves Lord of the Rings, plays in a metal band. I think Eddie is always into some sort of hyperfixation to be trying to bang chicks or dudes.

There was totally a phase were he was obsessed with folk and old country music (Woody Guthrie much). There was the Jane Austen phase (It fits, c'mon). The time he tried to learn to crochet. His lasting phase with fantasy novels. His intense love of metal music. He knows a lot about music in general. Obscure shit. Oh, those handcuffs-definitely from his magic phase. Tell me, 12 year old Eddie didn't want to be a magician. He probably did card tricks, the whole deal.

Eddie would be the kind of guy who'd spout all sorts of random knowledge. He probably has one specific time period in history he could rant about for hours.

The man has raging ADHD (takes one to know one). He's a self-professed nerd and outcast. The only thing that might be considered "cool" is that he plays in his band. But even then, he's a total nerd about it.

Eddie is hot as hell. That is undeniable. But Eddie has been too damn busy being a fucking nerd to date or hook up. I think he's so focused on his interests, it could easily not have been on his radar. Same way he's failed senior year twice in a row despite being smart as hell. The shit they are trying to teach doesn't interest him and that makes Eddie fucking struggle.

He's bouncy and hyperactive. He probably has terrible tunnel vision when he gets into a book or movie or campaign. Dating has thus far not been interesting enough especially combined with how he's treated by the people in Hawkins.

So, yeah- he flirts and teases. He thinks it's harmless fun. With Chrissy, it was a way to make her feel safe and lighten the mood. With Steve, it's a way to disarm him. It's King Steve afterall. Why not play up the metalhead freak persona. Let him think he's weird.

It isn't until Steve starts flirting back and gives Eddie butterflies that Eddie realizes this is not heterosexual behavior. And he knows a lot about that because he was accidentally flagging for a whole goddamn year. Because he wanted to look metal as fuck and thought the bandana was badass.

Steve calls Eddie princess. Calls him pretty boy. Throws in a babe. Everytime Eddie refers to him as big boy or Stevie, Steve just smirks and comes up with a new pet name that wrecks Eddie (who has no idea what is fucking going on). Throw in the boys getting high together with no inhibitions and Steve actively trying to romance him and Eddie's in a full blown sexuality crisis.

best part: Steve thinks Eddie is gay because of the bandana that he wore all year. Add in all the flirting and then Steve's really putting the moves on totally clueless Eddie. And say what you want about Steve, but he has game. I can just imagine Eddie trying to frantically figure out why all of the sudden he wants to make out with Steve "the hair" Harrington and Steve's like...aren't you gay?

(if anyone knows of steddie fics anything like this, please rec them!)

[only-lonely-star]

hiii! Could you do some sodapop headcanons?

Sodapop Curtis Headcanons!! 🥤⁠♡

Warnings - Mentions of death, some are a bit sad but these are general headcanons! These are mostly just little details, fun facts, and little scenarios I think would be accurate when diving into his character.

Author’s Note - Ask and you shall receive 🤲🏻. I have an entire list of headcanons for each character (each character means each character) that is at least a mile long in my notes app 😭. So ask away! Thank you so so much for the request, I hope you enjoy!! 😽😽

⋆˚｡ ⋆ ⋆ ˚｡ ⋆ ⋆ ˚｡ ⋆ ⋆ ˚｡ ⋆ ⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆ ⋆ ˚｡ ⋆ ⋆ ˚｡ ⋆ ⋆ ˚｡ ⋆ ⋆ ˚｡⋆

It’s a popular headcanon that he has ADHD (which I totally agree with), and I personally think that’s exactly why he believes he’s ‘dumb��. It’s hard for him to focus due to his ADHD, and his grades were never really the best because of that. He’s a straight C student. (Me too, Soda, me too 🙁💔)

He got his Southern drawl from his dad and has the most noticeable one out of the entire Curtis family.

He gets along with literally everyone. He can make friends wherever he goes. He’s the type of person to create ‘small talk’ at the grocery stores and continue to blab for ten minutes straight.

Ponyboy is his little pride and joy. He sees the way Pony looks up to him and finds himself feeling worthwhile having an influence on someone so important to him.

Soda was one of those people who couldn’t tie his shoes up until about fourth grade.

Soda is a natural empath, but when Johnny and Dallas pass, he can’t empathize for Ponyboy like he usually does. He can’t do it solely because he couldn’t fathom losing Steve. He has no clue what losing your best friend would feel like, so he can’t necessarily help Pony except for sharing a few reassuring words that they’re okay now. Obviously he grieves over them too, but he was never as close to them the way Pony was. Especially Johnny. He just doesn’t understand the pain of losing both your parents AND your best friends so he feels horrible he can’t be much help for Pony.

He’s a very ‘go with the flow’ type of guy and doesn’t have a set plan for his life yet. 16-17 is still young to have your entire life planned out, but even then he just takes it one day at a time.

He’s so skilled when it comes to fighting, but he stays out of them unless absolutely necessary (like at a rumble) or when he’s fighting one of the members of the Curtis gang.

Kinda piggybacking off of the last one, he’s just not a very angry person. He only really gets mad when things get serious. Situations like when the socs pulled a blade on Ponyboy. Best believe he was PISSED.

Soda was such a momma’s boy ☹️

I honestly think the countless compliments he receives make him feel like his good looks could get him somewhere in life. Like Ponyboy said - he’s ‘movie star handsome’. He totally believes he could be some heartthrob.

He’s so patriotic. On the 4th of July this man will have a sparkler in hand at all times decked out in his red, white, and blue. He’ll try to fuck up some fireworks with Two-Bit and become so disappointed when the ‘big explosion’ is some rip off. (Honestly, I think all of the boys in the Curtis gang would be super festive on the 4th.)

Soda tries to hide the fact he uses chapstick religiously because he’s scared he’ll get teased. (This makes me think of how Ponyboy said in the novel that Johnny would be the only one to think of bringing soap 😭.) I just feel like Soda would assume someone like Dally or Steve would say “That’s so feminine 😒” or something similar, so he just hides it.

Soda is a blanket thief in bed. It aggravates the shit out of Ponyboy, but Soda can’t help it because he’s such a heavy sleeper and doesn’t even realize he’s hogging it.

Soda has always looked up to Darry because he’s the ‘cool older brother’. He wanted everything Darry had growing up (toys and clothing wise), and would try to be his little shadow. Darry ended up giving him a lot of his hand-me-downs and whatnot as the years went by, which Soda still owns/uses. He looks back and realizes that now and thinks “Oh that’s so cool how Ponyboy looks up to me the way I did with Darry.” SIGH 🥲

Whenever the Curtis brothers save up enough to go eat out, Soda settles for his typical chicken tenders meal. It gets on Darry’s nerves so bad because he did NOT work his ass off for Soda to order something he eats every other day. “Don’t you eat anything else? Try some pasta or something, I could easily make some damn chicken tenders at home.” *big, dramatic sigh with the death grip on the fork*.

He can tickle Ponyboy all he wants but he can’t handle being tickled back. The giggling turns to yelling within seconds as a look of discomfort takes over his entire face.

He’s so used to his own scent that he doesn’t realize he reeks of pure gasoline. People can smell him a mile away, but he’s literally immune to being able to smell it.

People liked him in high school solely because he was handsome. I just know he was such a troublemaker and couldn’t go ten minutes without trying to talk to someone near his desk. He was told he caused too many distractions and was deemed ‘annoying’ by most.

Corny ass. I know he practices his smile in the mirror before seeing Sandy.

His hands are super strong because he’s constantly handling cars and whatnot at work. They’re also never clean. He constantly has all kinds of oils or lube (for cars…) on his hands from working on them so often.

His laugh is this really cute giggle, and his cheeks turn bright red when he smiles the tiniest bit. He’s just so 🤏🏻

I HAVE A MILLION MORE BUT I THINK THIS IS A GOOD STOPPING POINT. THANK YOU ALL FOR READING, I HOPE YOU ENJOYED! 🤗🤗

[wander-wren]

sometimes i wonder about what fandom is going to look like in 5 or 10 years. i think we might have already started to see a shift.

because, look, most of the oldest, biggest fandoms are from tv shows and movies, in particular ones that go on for years and scores of episodes. star trek, star wars, stargate (is everything star?), doctor who, supernatural…even sherlock really got its biggest popularity boosts in the modern day from tv adaptations. marvel and dc were comics first, too, but movies made them more accessible; their “cinematic universe” tags are the biggest on ao3 by far.

but what tv shows are we getting now? short, 8-episode things that get canceled two or three seasons in, that are usually less-than-faithful adaptations of other media anyway.

what movies are we getting? well, marvel turns more to slop every day, and everything else is remakes and sequels no one asked for. the general populace will still go see them and find some good movies that they like, but there’s not much really for fandom to grasp onto.

the best shows for fandom that we’ve had recently, that i can think of, are stranger things, game of thrones, and maybe our flag means death. stranger things is dying off, especially since they’re looking at a 3-4 YEAR gap between s4 and s5. game of thrones’s popularity plummeted after its final season, we all know that. our flag means death is still chugging fairly okay, but after that second season a lot of the fandom dropped it, and with it now being cancelled, i don’t see it sticking around.

yes, we can chalk part of this up to a new generation to of fans having this growing idea that fandom is super temporary, to be abandoned as soon as its not on trend. but media used to be on trend for a whole lot longer than it is now. seasons were longer, we had filler episodes, things were lower quality sometimes but at least they came out on a consistent schedule. i don’t mind if supernatural isn’t an artistic masterpiece, but if i was a stranger things fan waiting until 2026 for the final season, i would be annoyed if it wasn’t damn near perfect. that’s assuming i watched it at all—we’re all so used to not getting endings and moving on, so why would i bother?

i think there are two types of shows doing sort of okay about this. one is procedurals—9-1-1 is a popular one i’ve run into, and it started in 2018, around the beginning of the decline, but it’s managed 7 seasons in those six years, most of them with 18 episodes. the other is, honestly, anime—though we can and SHOULD talk about the terrible working conditions that make the fast turnarounds there possible. look at how big some anime fandoms are.

judging by the relative fandom popularity of other procedural dramas (grey’s anatomy, law & order, criminal minds), i think that’s going to remain sort of niche. fandom likes fantasy and scifi best, and they just don’t tend to have as strong of an overarching arc to dig into. at least, that’s why i wouldn’t watch them. i think there’s also a good chance these will start to die out in the coming years as well.

anime could also die out a little bit. better working conditions would necessitate less/slower content, and it’s true that most of the popular anime fandoms have been around for years, even decades.

so, what, no new, lasting tv show or movie fandoms anymore?

what will the biggest fandoms be in 5-10 years?

podcast fandoms have a shot. the magnus archives is still going strong, and i’ve been seeing a lot about dungeons and daddies. i think we’re kind of almost past the golden age for podcasts, but i am an outsider, so maybe that will change.

book fandoms seem like a kind of obvious choice, but they just don’t get as big without, you guessed it, a movie or show adaptation. and the downsizing has hit them, too—can you think of anything from the last 5 or 10 years that rivals harry potter, percy jackson, warriors, lord of the rings, hunger games, acotar…even game of thrones (asoiaf) again? i can’t. the collapse of the publishing industry is another post entirely.

2020 is really what cemented these changes, though they were starting in the late 2010s, at least. with actual industries shutting down, there was room for indie creators making things alone in their houses to pop up, and people had more time on their hands to try new things out and get into them.

the two things that have really been on the rise since 2020 is rpf and video game fic—often both combined. we’ve got genshin impact, call of duty, minecraft of course being huge, rpf of various youtubers, and k-pop rpf. now, i think rpf is contentious enough that it won’t really become the main fandom, but video game fic…might be it.

even video blogging rpf can often be a blurred enough line that people are more comfortable with it. and the thing is…youtube creators are actually more reliable than mainstream television these days. they need to be, to maintain their platforms. they need to not cancel series and to live up to their own hype as best they can and to not abandon the channel for 3 or 4 years at a time. and again, you can talk about burnout and unrealistic expectations and all of those things, but it’s still true.

maybe i’m completely wrong. maybe in 10 years the film and publishing industries will all sort themselves out and we’ll go back to the status quo. but i think this position fandom is finding itself in is interesting, and i wouldn’t necessarily be surprised if what’s most popular (both in the specific source material sense and the medium/genre sense) is different some time down the road.

[tibbythetiger]

Hello friendsssss! We have an official tag on AO3, we’ve all grown so much in just a few days. Amazing work all around! 

I’m just dishing out some general HCs today! Hopefully, I can actually get the time to turn my main DreamTheory meeting as coworkers at Sparky’s into a real fic soon! 

Both of them enjoy their height difference greatly. Mike usually hates feeling smaller or shorter than people, but he’s never met someone as genuine and nice as Ness so it doesn’t bother him, and makes him feel kinda safe. Ness just loves his pocket-sized boyfriend. 

I know someone else has already said this, but Ness with freckles!!!! Ness with freckles is so very important to me. I think they’re super light during most of the winter, but once it gets warmer and the sun comes out they’re fairly noticeable. Mike likes to kiss each one he can find, it always makes Ness laugh. 

I know we all agree that Ness is Conspiracy Boyfriend, and I agree! I think he particularly loves those paranormal ghost-hunting shows that were super popular back in 00’s, and he’s a HUGE Unsolved Mysteries fan. When he’s looking to get the same thrill but looking for more fictional media, he loves the Twilight Zone. 

Mike makes a mean grilled cheese and tomato soup, this is in part because it’s Abby’s favorite food and he decided if he had to make anything really well it would be this. Ness actually doesn’t like grilled cheese, but Abby talked it up so much he gave it a try and he ended up really liking it. It is one of Mike’s proudest moments. 

I think Ness is really good with kids, he seems to me the type that was the oldest cousin at parties. (This is just projection), so he’s used to having younger kids following him around and having to keep them entertained. While he’s used to it, he’s really genuine and loves doing it. He’s always overjoyed to hang out with Abby, and she adores him because of it. 

Ness and Mike cannot draw to save their lives! They are horrible at it, Abby likes to hold “drawing classes” where she tries to show them how she makes her masterpieces. Ness always tries hard, but it’s just not his strong suit. 

They are the couple that slow dances in the kitchen or living room. Mike is always reluctant about it, he’s fairly paranoid at romantic gestures, and he’s always scared someone will see them, but he always enjoys it when Ness convinces him it’s okay. Abby thinks it’s the most magical thing, so she draws the two of them as princes when they dance during a Disney movie night.  

Ness absolutely tells Mike and Abby stories to help them sleep. They both think he has the most soothing voice, Ness just loves being able to help them, sometimes he’ll even sing to them, but he’s still really shy about it. 

I think Ness really loves listening to musical soundtracks, but he’s also a pop girly through and through, like, he loves Kelly Clarkson, Paris Hilton, and Brittany Spears. Meanwhile, Mike doesn’t listen to music super often, he usually lets Abby or Ness pick. Otherwise, I feel like he’s really into grunge or early rock. He listens to Nirvana sure, but also Radio Head. (I also think he’s a very big Weezer fan) 

I think Mike is a big writer, he started journaling to help him take note of his dreams/memories of Garrett, then really leaned into it once his parents were out of the picture since he didn’t really have anyone else to turn to to vent. Sometimes he can be a little poetic, and he’ll write lil notes to Ness and leave them in his apron or pockets for him to find later. 

Ness thinks this is simply the cutest thing he’s ever seen actually, and attempts to do the same thing. He’s a little cheesier, and are usually filled with lil hearts and things doodled around them, but he sticks them on the mirror or on Mike’s alarm clock. Mike saves everyone he finds and slowly they start to cover the walls in his bedroom. 

The three of them cannot have board game nights. They are all waaaay too competitive, and the last time they played Uno and Ness won, Mike pouted so much and Abby locked herself in her room. They settle for movie nights or puzzles when they’re doing things the three of them. 

When Abby first starts dabbling in painting her nails, she practices on Ness and Mike. Eventually Ness and Abby usually just have matching nails, Ness doesn’t let the looks he gets bother him any. 

Abby absolutely knows they’re dating, Mike tries not to keep secrets from her, especially after the debacle of Freddy’s, and what happened with the Aunt. She’s too young, so she doesn’t get why people are weird about it, but she understands enough that she can’t tell anyone that Mike and Ness are dating. When she does talk about them, most people assume Ness is a girl, just because of his name. Abby just stops correcting people, the only person outside of them who knows is Abby’s therapist(?), but she supports Mike so it’s not really an issue. 

Ness loves stealing Mike’s sweaters and coats, they’re so much bulkier than the ones that Ness buys himself, so they’re so comfortable. In the winter, he’ll steal them and wear them to work or around the house. Mike grumbles and pretends he cares, but he thinks Ness looks cute in them. 

Ness has the worst road rage, Mike is both horribly amused and terrified of this when it occurs. Ness always apologizes afterward usually followed up by an “If people could just learn how to drive, I swear to GOD”  

Mike and Abby will go into Sparky’s when Ness is working just to get desert and to see him. Most of the employees at Sparky’s know there’s something going on between Ness and Mike, but they all let it remain unspoken. It seems like everyone is taking good care of each other, so no one decides to interfere.  

Well, that’s all I have for now! I’m really loving seeing everything everyone is putting out, and getting to read everyone’s work and see their art is amazing!

[physalian]

A Guide to Productive Filler

I was going to write this post about the wonders of fanfic and how it does not do the “forced miscommunication for cheap drama” trope, and it did not stay that post for long.

I’m sure it’s out there, but it’s not saturated in the most popular fics and I think I know why: Fanfic exists in contrast to the established canon, and the canon has forced miscommunication, thus fanfic looks at the perpetual failure of those plotlines and ignores it.

Nobody likes this trope, yet it keeps happening. In TV, at least in the old days when we had full seasons with appropriate and satisfying filler episodes and actual good stories and such (you know, before Disney +) TV shows were contracted to fill a minimum number of episodes and didn’t always have enough content to fill it, especially CW shows.

Enter filler episodes, which, when productive, still entertained the audience with off-beat side quests or gave more screen time to beloved side characters or explored more of the world and the lore. Filler plots meant that you could casually check in on your favorite show once a week, or miss an episode, and not feel completely lost because the plot wasn’t super tight and lean. Some of my favorite episodes of all my favorite TV shows are filler plots and just because they’re “filler,” as in, not a plot-heavy element to advance the narrative, doesn’t mean they were lacking in story.

That was good writing.

Bad filler elements were sh*t like forced miscommunication for cheap drama and it still exists even in the “mini series” that are really just long movies extended to keep people from canceling their subscriptions. TV shows may have one or two head writers, but they’re still written by committee and producers and production companies trying to milk as much from a profitable product as possible, which means they couldn’t write an efficient, epic romance that ended too quickly. They had to faff about for a few seasons before delivering to keep butts on couches tuning in to generate sweet, sweet ad revenue.

Forced miscommunication in TV shows have always made sense in that light. Yeah it’s a product of bad writing, but I can’t point at the head writer or even the staff writer alone and criticize their writing ability because it likely wasn’t their decision.

Forced miscommunication in books, however—that I have no excuse for. Books aren’t written by committee. In this case, I really can just blame the author for their bad choices, which, in turn, maybe came from their favorite TV shows and how they executed similar plot lines.

Fanfic does not do this, usually. It’s not written by committee and has no quota to fulfill to beef up the narrative with extra chapters.

—

So. You want your story to be longer, fanfic or otherwise, but you’re struggling because your plot is too thin and you don’t know where to go from here.

First, a disclaimer: Novellas exist and can be as short as they need to be.

“If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter,” means that  just because it’s long doesn’t mean every word serves a purpose. With enough time, the writer can trim down their thoughts for conciseness and clarity, and say the same thing with better impact with less beating around the bush.

So just because it’s short doesn’t make it bad, just because it’s long doesn’t make it good. It’s about what you do with the words you’ve written.

However, if it really is a thin story lacking substance and oomph, here’s some suggestions that are not sh*t like “forced miscommunication”. These are not meant for generalized application and should be considered heavily before implementing, because any one of them can change your book for the worse by adding in unnecessary detail that distracts from the main story.

1. Consider multiple narrators

Now. I just read a rather bad book that could have lost about ⅔ of its story for a variety of reasons and told the same story in a fraction of the page count. One of those issues was giving the villain several POVs that ruined the suspense and the tension because the reader became privy to their grand plan long before the protagonist and instead of having all our questions dying to be answered with the protagonist, we were waiting around for them to stop fooling around and figure it out already.

With that said, if you have a character of second importance to the protagonist whose perspective would benefit and enrich the story, consider giving them POVs to explore either when the protagonist couldn’t be present, or in contrast to the main narrator’s thoughts on the story and conflict.

I’ve never written anything without multiple POVs and still get carried away sometimes just trying to fill in all the missing time that didn’t add enough to the story to make it worth it. I have deleted POVs from ENNS that were better left up to audience interpretation then all laid out on the table.

This technique very much necessitates restraint, but giving your foil character, your deuteragonist, even your villain some narration “screen time” might help you beef up your word count and tell more than just one biased side of the same story. Fanfic tends to be very efficient with this because, again, one writer working for free tends to want to be efficient and not give pages upon pages of useless prose.

2. Side-quests and character studies

My all time favorite filler episode of any TV show is LOST’s “The Constant”. It focuses entirely on the side character Desmond. He’s an unwilling time-traveler and throughout season 4, struggles to control his temporal displacement and risks dying if he can’t find a “constant” to anchor him to the correct timeline.

This episode is often praised as one of, if not the show’s finest hour. Desmond spends most of the runtime flipping erratically between the past and the present as his romantic relationship spirals for other plot reasons. He ends up making his “constant” his fraught relationship and is able to revert to the past with knowledge of the future to get his then-ex girlfriend’s new phone number so he can call her at an exact date in the future to prove he won’t have given up on them. When Des finally makes that call 8 years later, it’s so emotional, so full of catharsis, so exciting to see him finally reach her after struggling since we met him.

And it has absolutely nothing to do with the plot at large, only Desmond’s arc. It explores some of the world’s lore but doesn’t answer any of the main plot questions or progress any other major character, and Des is the only time traveler so all the risk surrounding time travel is only for him. Critically, it still adheres to the themes of the show and fulfills much of the promises of this character’s role in it.

The show’s worst episode, “Stranger in a Strange Land,” is also filler about protagonist Jack’s tattoos. He makes a relationship with a woman nobody cares about and spends the entirety of the episode’s flashbacks, which is most of the episode’s runtime, dicking around in Thailand. With this quasi-wise woman’s tattoo techniques. Nobody cares what they mean, they didn’t connect with the themes of the show, didn’t tell us anything substantial about Jack or the world, lore, or story, and just felt like a massive waste of time.

If you’re going to write side quests, be more like “The Constant” and less like “Stranger in a Strange Land”. 

3. “Slice of Life” moments

A repeat of referencing this scene and this movie but I don’t care: “Doc Racing” from Cars is just one example. Adding in scenes like these won’t give you tens of thousands of words, but maybe you only need a couple hundred to feel satisfied.

Slice of life moments slow the pacing down, so place them wisely, and just let your characters be people in their world. Small things, human things. In Cars, it’s an old man letting himself enjoy life again when he thinks nobody’s watching. I have a scene in my sci-fi WIP series where two brothers, plagued by their family’s social status, take a drive and pick up greasy drive-thru food to park on a mountain overlook and just watch the city while licking salt off their fingers. I think Across the Spiderverse is about 20 minutes too long, but that scene of Miles and Gwen upside down on the roof before the plot ramps up is another quiet, human moment.

It could be a character who needs a break from the breakneck speed of the plot and the stress to listen to music, walk away from the project and enjoy the sun, anything. Do try to not get overly pretentious trying to make it super metaphorical and poetic, let the audience do it for you. These quiet scenes could end up being the audience’s favorite.

—

If you’re trying to make your book longer, don’t be like Bilbo Baggins, okay? Don’t let your characters be spread thin, like butter scraped over too much bread. Add, don’t stretch. If the romance is on track to come together sooner, let it, or figure out a more meaningful way to delay it than throwing in a dumb argument that won’t mean anything in 20 pages anyway.

This wasn’t an exhaustive list, just what I think could be the most effective with the widest applications across genres.

[theamityelf]

If you had to put a twist on Makoto's parents what would it be? Honestly the fandom doesn't do them any justice, I barely see any headcanons with them and that makes me a bit bummed. I saw someone make a post on how maybe they were ultimates in the past with Makoto and Komaru vaguely inherting their talents (Ultimate Lawyer for the mom and Ultimate Sniper for the dad). What really caught my interest though was when someone pointed out that the reason Komaru might be so cool with Toko/Syo is because one or both of her parents were kinda yanderes. Mr. Naegi definitely has that look that something is off about him so it kinda works but Mrs. Naegi could be to but manages to behave in a way that doesn't draw attention to her.

Honestly I could see how Makoto's strong belief may have come from them as well but that might be a bit far fetched. I just enjoy the idea of everyone thinking Makoto and Komaru are normal only for them to turn around and do some crazy sh*t.

The funny thing is, before I clicked to check this ask, when I only saw the first sentence, I was already thinking in somewhat yandere terms.

(Also, all of this is just me brainstorming, lol.)

I don't think I want them to be Ultimates, because I really value when characters aren't Ultimates, but I definitely lean in the direction of them being lowkey super abnormal in ways that resulted in both their kids' guise of normalcy and their kids' unusual tolerance for ridiculosity.

The first thing I imagined (again, before I read the full ask) was that Mr. or Mrs. Naegi killed the teacher who snuck into Komaru's room that one time. Like, they caught him sneaking in and now he's buried in their yard, and when Komaru brought up seeing a ghost in her room, they were just like "That's right, honey, it was a ghost." I don't know if I more enjoy the idea of them being hypocrites about this (like, teaching the kids that murder is Just Wrong no matter what, without a hint of irony) or super honest (like, "Murder is wrong, but if someone messes with my kids, I'll kill 'em. I'll do it." "Daaaad..." "We're not saying we want to, honey, we're just saying we will." "Moooom!")

(Or maybe we could take that same intensity, and instead of murder, make it more psychological warfare, to kind of mirror Makoto and Komaru's people skills.)

Just generally, I find it fun to imagine the Naegi parents as almost bizarre caricatures of normalcy. Almost like they're putting on an act of what humans are like, except they genuinely think they're being normal. They're deliberately availing their kids of the most basic, popular media enjoyed by the masses, because that's what people do; those are the things people enjoy. (They'll go to the movies, not having seen any trailers or feeling any anticipation for a particular film, and they just pick whatever movie the most other people in the ticket line went for.) They know the exact average time most people have dinner and that's dinnertime for the house. (It doesn't end in :00, :15, :30, or :45; it is a very irregular and specific time.)

It sounds like it would be strict and meticulous, but in execution, they're so casual about it that it wouldn't seem weird until you heard them explain it.

When Makoto says he's extremely average, he's not just being self-deprecating; he is giving an accurate description of his family's lifestyle.

[bdudette]

I saw the hcs of hort falling for someone from the good school, but what about not just hcs of them being a princess from that school, but they are different from the others. They don’t like pastel colors like the rest and prefers darker colors (Let’s say they somehow found a black dress or took one colorful dress and just modified it. Plus don’t really care what the rest think), not afraid to stand up for others no matter what school they are from, kind, and empathetic (You could add Tedros too if you’d like)

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL GUYS FALLING FOR A NEVER LIKE EVER !

• Characters Included: Hort and Tedros

• a|n: tbh, i didn’t know how to do this one super well. I was mostly thinking of like — typical Disney ‘ I’m not like the other girls ‘ kinda gal. don’t beat me up for saying that 😂. idk if this fits with the tittle but I remember when the ‘ever’ girls called Agatha a ‘never’ because of how she first looked and I kinda wanna work with that ? Uh — yeah

• ps. sorry for taking months to do this, y’all know that at this point I generate fics at the pace of a slug in a 5 yard run. rewatched the movie for y’all. i’ve also been trying to write for some different fandoms im into as well, the amount of drafts I have — cough … this was from 2022 btw 💀

• warnings: based on movie, obsessive Hort ( bro needs to chill a lil ), kinda wack Tedros, rusty writing, short.

✫ Hort

Obsessed Immediately

It’s not everyday when Hort gets to see such a … different kind of princess.

Typically, they are all like — sheep in fancy clothes and makeup, always following what the most popular shepherd’s words were as if it were like their last drop of water in a dry and hot desert.

So when you were thrown in and showed up in such dark ‘never’ colors in the entrance ceremony of those lame-o ‘ever’s he just — he stared way too hard at you from afar.

What were you trying to accomplish when you chose that outfit? What were you thinking when choosing such darkness of colors that almost had you thrown to the side of the ‘never’s by the humanized wolf guards the very first day?

He was honestly just confused as soon as he first saw you, you were so much different than what he was used to seeing or hearing. So when he continuously saw you wear such clothings for more than a day, he decided to well — stalk you to learn more about your intentions.

And he wasn’t gonna lie and say he didn’t start liking you as soon as you started to show up the next few days after the second one still wearing dark clothing — further pushing the continuations of his stalking towards you in where he’d just stare at you with his arm perched on the cafeteria table with his head leaned against his closed fist.

All while he sighed so dreamily towards you.

Wow that was long.

But it’s true, he so rarely got to see you though because of your different ‘statuses’— so when he did see you again, he always used that time to stare at You.

It wasn’t far after the first few days that You were able to catch on that an never was staring and soon felt kind of uncomfortable.

And it wasn’t because the guy was an never, no — it was just — that weird guy seemed to have a staring problem since the first time You came in.

Well — everyone here had a staring problem when it came to Your clothing style — the difference was that while the others stared in disgust, envy or pity … he stared with something akin to a Dreamy Look.

And that always seemed to put you on a fluttering edge of — confusion, and extreme flattery —

Not you’d outrightly say it, not to this pretty stranger of a never, after all — what’s the fun in making things easy.

After gathering all your courage one day, you had decided that it was time to finally speak to this staring guy.

A smile grazed your colored lips, eyes squinting under the light of the sun rays as you were lightly caressed by the sun itself all while you stared down at the sitting wolf who looked like he was seeing an ethereal being right in front of him.

So this is how it started, the little romantic advances of a wolf man and dark clothing wearing riding hood.

✫ Tedros

Confused Yet Enamored

He was honestly so — confused as to what you were wearing when he first saw you walking on the grounds of the ever school.

Wondering why a Never was walking in the same grounds of the Evers, but after seeing you on the second to third day, it was solidified that you were an Ever … dressed in darkened items.

At first, he had been confused — extremely confused and not understanding as to why an Ever would ever wear such darkened clothings to the point of being confused to a Never.

Why an Ever would ever be kind to a Never when they were the enemies, the villains, of their future life long stories — even standing up for them from time and time again.

He was unsure, but he could not deny the rapid palpations of his golden heart at the sight of your beautiful figure.

Be it from Far, Far Away or Close By.

As a popular guy, he can’t deny that he was somewhat — arrogant when it came to a romantic advance with pretty ladies, but you had been indifferent to the sight of him.

This was one of the many reasons why he has been so enamored with you, why his eyes could not leave you for more than a second.

And sure, it might sound like a typical ‘this is the first time a lady has ever rejected me’ sort of romance, but this was different for Tedros.

This was way too different.

Especially when he started speaking with You, his eyes not leaving You as he had a spark of interest by the time he first spoke to You.

Your empathy, Your kindness, Your wit, Your intelligence — everything about You was different than the ordinary one minded ladies he has met before … not to be insulting.

But You were just different to everyone, to himself, You were — Yourself.

And by the stars above, you were one of a kind to him, You were the beautiful moon that shined the path of salvation to him, the setting sky that held the most beautiful of darkening colors — You ARE his One.

He knew it, he felt it.

From the sole of his feet, to the edge of his fingers and to the top of his hairs — You lit his heart ablaze like the flames on Hades head.

You are the One who held the key within his own Heart and Soul.

Which is why, as soon as he knew, he gently grasped at your darkened nail tainted hands, looking directly at your eyes as his heart trembled within himself while throat dried out for a moment

You looked at him with a light fever within your own, wonder cascading with yourself at this beautiful man that held a tender look within his own eyes.

Was this to be your happily Ever After?

Despite who you were, despite how you dressed — Tedros would not have you any different than right now.

After all, You are the One, truly the One he fell deeply — into the depths of the underworld and above — in love with you.

[d3lly1000]

AU: TEAM SONIC HUMANIZED!

Hello! I don't post much here… But I want to change that! And to start, I finished the concepts for my take on "What if Sonic characters were human?" and voila. There it is!

I have HC'S and extra costumes for each one that I would like to share, so if you are interested, you can read this entire post to learn about my alternative :) (I will be giving credit for some versions that inspired me to create these babies too! X3) ~~~~~~ >>> SONIC, THE BLUE HERO

He is an athletic, supportive guy, loves running and likes to always keep moving. Contrary to what many people think, the "Blue Blur" cares a lot about his appearance and maintains his "SportLife" and "RacingLife" style;

He hates wearing pants. He always prefers baggy shorts!

His hair is originally wavy, but as time goes by it has lengthened with the help of the wind that always messes up his strands;

He is very popular with girls, but he is not that interested in it;

Fear of water in large quantities, specifically deep oceans and rivers;

The Bracelet with the greenish sphere on his right arm was a gift from his old friend Chip, but known as Light Gaia;

He has always grown up with his considered brother, Miles, being one of his greatest inspirations;

Secretly tries to impress people, more specifically Amy;

He always arm wrestles with Knuckles, but he always loses; • After he grows up, he tends to reduce his playfulness. Although this is a characteristic trait of his personality, it is a way for him to convey confidence to those he loves;

>>> AMY ROSE, THE FEARLESS HEROINE

She is a kind, sweet, loving and very generous girl. Amy always helps people and tries to do her best to welcome anyone in need;

But don't let her loves fool you, she can also be quite aggressive and fearsome when necessary;

Boys are afraid of seeing her angry;

Her style is focused on delicate blouses, dresses and lots of bows;

Her high-heeled boots make her look a little taller, but she is actually short;

She really likes cooking and giving Sonic surprise Chilidogs;

Knuckles is like an older brother to her. He is super protective, although he doesn't doubt that she can defend herself;

Tails and her spend a lot of time together while Sonic is away, making her a great friend and advisor;

Amy "secretly" has a crush on Sonic, although she never confesses it directly, she finds the Blue Boy's unstoppable and righteous nature very attractive;

• She has a great appreciation for romance and hero movies. She is inspired to protect everyone and lead the Resistance, even though she is often under pressure, she is a good-hearted girl;

>>> MILES "TAILS" PROWER, THE PRODIGY GENIUS

Tails is a young prodigy, he loves technology and creating new technological devices never seen before. He is the great creator of several prototypes used during the Resistance War against Dr. Eggman's Domino World.

Despite being a young genius, he is still a child. He likes to read science fiction and watch movies related to Heroes, and Amy usually accompanies him;

He sees Sonic as his older brother and dreams of one day becoming as great as him;

He is very afraid of thunder, which makes him very distressed during storms;

Knuckles and he developed a great friendship, he venerates him a lot and also aims to be a great protector like him;

He has already created a little robot fox to help him on missions. In addition to being a faithful partner, it also contains several upgrades for attack, defense and even espionage;

Tails wears his sweatshirt tied around his waist the wrong way around, making a parallel from the sleeves to his 2 tails…

>>> KNUCKLES, THE LAST MASTER GUARDIAN

He is extremely strong, has great control over his strength and resistance. Even though he is considered a "hot-headed" guy, Knuckles does recurring meditations to be able to control his inner forces;

He and Sonic have a very competitive friendship, both like to tease and make fun of each other whenever they have the opportunity;

Knuckles tends to be quite protective of Amy, so much so that it is one of the reasons he tends to be hard on Sonic sometimes;

He and Rouge also live a great "cops and robbers", and even though the Bat clearly shows an interest in him, Knuckles does not understand this yet;

He is the Guardian of the Master Emerald, so he is quite committed to his responsibilities, being very strict about it;

He usually wears very baggy pants, tank tops, leather vests and his trusty "cowboy" hat; ~~~~~~~~ ALTERNATIVE COSTUME:

EASTER EGG COSTUME:

My Inspirations: - @/Hallsth_eien - @/Angie Nekoblue - @/Lauren Ilustrated Thanks for read this!! And sorry for my bad English <3

[thesweetnessofspring]

What blows my mind on rereading the books is how attracted to Peeta Katniss is. I hadn’t read them for years so I did think of them as a typical wholesome relationship with a nice guy that never dives into the attraction parts. But now I see the constant flirting that happens, the hunger and need to be close, the description of his body and face, the whole beach scene. And Peeta is super respectful for all of the books but Suzanne didn’t make it seem like a lot of nice guys are written where they wouldn’t dare show any attraction. Peeta in the cave is sneaking in kisses and post games he mentions them being alone together. They’re RIDICULOUSLY into each other . And I appreciate that they found the balance of a nice couple being horny for each other, it always feels like most media at the time portrayed sexual need as something that can only happen with bad boys.

They are into each other at EVERY SINGLE LEVEL it is ridiculous. As a fandom grandma, I remember when people were fancasting Peeta back in the day and one of the more popular choices (though he was 🤢 for many reasons) was Alex Pettyfer. I think a lot of people pictured Peeta super hot (as opposed to what he really is, which is boy-next-door-cute) in part because Katniss's details and descriptions of him are soooo layered with her attraction. Like yes, Katniss, please go on more about his big strong arms and the sunlight in his hair and his blue eyes. 😂 We don't get Peeta's POV but it's obvious he's smitten by her physically as well, saying the flames suit her and that to him she's "perfect."

And Peeta!! That boy could be such a heartbreaker if he wanted to! He flirts with Katniss so effortlessly and in general is really good around people, but he never gives her cause to be jealous (by my reading of the book he doesn't with Johanna in the elevator, even though the movie interpreted that part differently). And oh my, does Katniss crave his touches! Even from book one she's giving him genuine gestures of affection and delighted in what he gives to her. I think because kissing is more intimate she has a harder time feeling the "hunger" when they only ever kiss in front of the camera. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if Katniss ever had a chance to really kiss Peeta without cameras around she would have made up her mind about the boys a lot sooner.

Non, it is so, so, SO important to me that Katniss and Peeta have that real sexual chemistry you talk about and why the movies are so disappointing in this aspect. I think that relationships between adults in shows and movies have offered more that are "healthy, in love, and hot for each other" recently, but we hardly ever see it for teenagers! The "nice guy" is usually kinda awkward or there isn't a lot of chemistry, and all of the sexual tension comes from the "bad boy." There isn't really a bad boy equivalent in THG, but Peeta still fills in a sort of "good guy" role in the love triangle and the fact that Gale can get jealous and pushy but Katniss is still like 😑 with him, but 🥰 around Peeta is sooooooooooooo important. Like yes, teach those young people that healthy conflict resolution is hot!! Teach them that safety and gentleness is a turn-on!! YES YES YES!!!

[hoffmansnightmare]

Alright, now that I've had some sleep and time to process I can tell about how I met Costas Mandylor! Pics included!

Things went smoothly for the most part! The con is in my hometown and only a short drive. I was very excited but also super anxious! I'd had the art I'd drawn printed out and planned to buy another print for Costas to sign. Every scenario was running through my head, that'd he'd hug me and I'd make it weird, that he wouldn't hug me and just sign my things and then I'd feel bad I hadn't gotten a hug. Or maybe he'd ask me about the art, which I didn't really want to explain that it was from the fanfic I'm writing.

I tried to run through any responses that didn't make me sound like a total FREAK, or what'd I'd say to him in general. We got there at 2:30 and early entry wasn't until 4:30, but I knew from past experiences that it was best to try to line up as early as possible, so my husband, who was there mostly for moral support, and I went inside and for sure there was a line for registration started. At 3 they started checking us in and giving us our badges. We were pretty close to the front so I was feeling pretty good.

I didn't know how popular Costas was going to be. The last person I waited for was Robert Englund, and I waited 6 and a half hours just for him, and with the new movies bringing in more fans I wasn't sure how long of a wait I was in for and I wanted to be as close to the front as possible. Brad Dourif was also there so I was hoping he would be drawing most of the attention, and he was, but I was still nervous. We waited in another line for the celebs and we were right outside the door so I was feeling pretty confident at this point. C.J. Graham came out a few times to tease some of those waiting in line and to wonder the convention floor. I get the feeling that man has a hard time sitting still.

Then the doors open and half of the celebs weren't there. Now I do not blame them. I get the feeling that the staff of the con had some poor communication. I also met Dina Meyer, and her the staffer that was meant to sit with her wasn't there yet and she had to take money herself. I got her signature while I waited for Costas and she was very nice! Now the wait for Costas really started. I wasn't interested in many of the other celebrities. I did stop by Michael Ironside's booth because I'm a big V fan and Ham Tyler was one of my favorite's. He was behind as well, even when he got there we had to wait for them to get properly set up. Apparently they hadn't even been given his banner to put up. When he asked if I wanted it with my name him and my staffer looked up at with curiously and the staffer said "suspiciousssss"

"N-no! I just don't like my name on these things!" 😅 He probably thought I was going to sell it. I'm not Michael Ironside I swear!

With both Dina's and Michael's signatures a line had started at Costas's booth, so we mozied back over there to wait for him. Occasionally I'd look back at the massive line for Brad Dourif (who also wasn't there yet) and be glad I wasn't in that line. I'd done it for Robert Englund and could now rest in peace.

Around 5:30 someone shouted, "there he is!" And there he was! Just like that! I was suddenly looking at Costas Mandylor in person and he looked so excited to be there. I was third in line and I was really feeling the anxiety now. My fingertips were tingly and I was shaky on my feet. I have trouble asking for help at the grocery store, let alone face one of my favorite actors from some of my favorite movies. He was all smiles and high energy. I watched the woman right in front of me get a hug and he kissed her on both cheeks. Now not only was I worried about a hug, but would he kiss me too? I turned to my husband and said "if he does that you will be carrying my out of here."

My husband replies "nah if you faint he can carry you out of here"

He was kidding, but I wasn't. Hugs are a lot for me and a kiss on the cheek probably would have done me in. (I also had the horrible thought later that would have tried to kiss him on the lips out of instinct. I wouldn't have survived the embarrassment)

It was my turn and I was trying to keep it together, but I was shaking and trying to keep breathing. I'd handed my money to my husband to pay, as I didn't think I could sort through the bills, and then I was facing Costas, setting my art down in front of him.

He smiled up at me. "You drew this?"

"Yes!" I said, excited that he seemed impressed and also dreading any questions about it.

He complimented the art. I can't remember exactly what he said. I was like, in outer space in that moment.

"Do you want me to write anything? Personalize it with your name?" He asked next.

His voice his CRAZY nothing would have prepared me for hearing it in person and directed at me.

"Could you write "Congratulations"? It's a weird thing but that's what I'd like." I never get my name put on these things. I don't like my name that much and no one spells it right. It's not that hard of one but my spelling is apparently unpopular. He looked up at me and I think he was curious. Or maybe he knew I was a freak, but he smirked and wrote it for me anyway.

"Do you want my character name too?"

"Yes please!"

Once he was done he slid the second copy of the art I'd set down in front of him and asked "who do I make this one out to?"

"Oh no, that one is for you."

He looked confused, so I put it closer to him. "I printed this one out to give you."

He said "Oh!" Then looked at it. "You didn't sign it! If you're going to give me art sign it! And say something nice about me too!" And he set the sharpie in front of me.

I could have evaporated right there. I took the sharpie and wrote my signature as well as my full name and tried frantically to think of something quick I could write.

I landed on "You're my favorite Jigsaw" and when I handed it back to him for him to read he looked up at me with the sweetest expression. And I was absolutely honest. He is my favorite Jigsaw. He set it down behind him with a thank you and I set down the print I'd bought from his table.

Again I asked for just his signature. He pulled out a gold sharpie that was a little dry. "I hate dry markers" and he whipped it behind him dramatically as he watched me giggle at his antics. His staffer whipped out an entire case of markers and he picked up a fresh one "they ruin the signatures! Now I'm going to write a line I say in the next movie, I'm not even supposed to tell anyone, but I'll write it for you."

I was giddy and giggling the entire time at this point as I watched him write. I'm sure he's written for others, he's signed so many things for people at this point, but I still felt a little special. And I'm going to edit the pic to keep it to myself still just in case, but the fact that he still wanted to write something a little extra for me was so sweet.

Now it was time for the picture. I was shaking. A staffer volunteered but my husband insisted on taking the pictures. He's protective and wanted to make sure I got good ones. Costas put his arm around me and I put my around around his back and just focused on the camera. Then for the second picture Costas wrapped both arms around me and I was weak in the knees.

After the second picture he squeezed me tight. He said some things. Again I can't remember. Mercifully he didn't kiss me. On one hand of course that would have been amazing, on the other I really don't know if I could have handled it with any grace (or I might have fumbled it and wanted to die). I do remember him saying "you take care of yourself." In the most sincere way I'd ever heard those words spoken. And "I hope you see the new movie."

I said "of course and I can't wait to see you." And stepped back as my husband approached, and because I'm a total awkward weirdo I gestured at him and told Costas "this is my husband."

My husband is a big guy, 6'3" and visibly strong. Costas looks up at him with a big smile and holds his hand out for a shake, which my husband returns. Costas looks at me, still grinning and said "you have a strong husband."

I laughed. "I know"

Our time with him had to come to an end and I had to ESCAPE. The hyperventilating had started and I needed to get out of the crowd. We escaped the celeb room. I put my precious prints in the car and we shifted our focus to food.

The rest of the day was exploring the rest of the con! My time meeting Costas was amazing and I definitely want to see him again in the future. I'm staying home the rest of the con. I could go see him again but honestly I don't like being perceived that much and I don't want him thinking anything weird about me (he probably wouldn't but I'd feel so self conscious.) I'll see him again at a later con, but for now I'm content with meeting him this time.

Below are my signed pictures! I had Dina sign a third copy of my art that I'll probably fill up with other Saw actors. The Michael print has "Hey Gooder" on it teehee!