#to the point where there are not only romcoms but vampire shows

[ignatius-pennyfeather-ix]

🗯

[dancermk]

I’m a little disappointed to see so much discourse, fandom competitiveness, and plain arguing going around at the moment in regards to queer film/TV. People complaining about too much sex, not enough sex, too cheesy, made for the hets, too happy, too sad, too realistic, too unrealistic, and a million other petty issues. I, for one, am a queer person in my 50s and I grew up with practically zero representation! Yes, we want to continue onwards and upwards with quality and varied shows BUT let’s be HAPPY we now have representation! Like, actual shows where the central characters are queer, not just a side character who gets f*cking murdered! There is room for all different types of representation - so enjoy the types you like, and let others enjoy what they like.

And on a side note: progress is progress and film/tv is a business that has to turn a profit! If some queer content is made to appeal to the straight community, and will also act as a means of reducing homophobia and increasing understanding, then that’s a good thing. That means in the future more and more content will include queer stories and representation. If only 10% (ish) of the population is the maximum target audience then shows won’t keep getting made!

There is a huge backlash all over the world right now - a “push back” by conservatives and religious groups that want to wind back the clock, and specifically the last decade of advances.

So stick together queers and LGBTQIA+ allies.

I’m super happy knowing I don’t have to wait years between content anymore. And I’ve loved all different types of shows over the last 5 years, for lots of different reasons!

Interview with the Vampire - is giving me the toxic, passionate gothic love affair I’ve always wanted. And addressing interracial relationships.

Heartstopper - is filling me up with pure joy and hopefulness for the future.

Shameless - gave me Ian and Mickey - unique, anti stereotypical gays with a tragic yet ultimately beautiful love story spanning 11 years

Lone Star 911 - is giving me TK and Carlos whose sexuality barely factors into the storyline! Yay!

Looking - gave me an authentic queer experience and an intoxicating love triangle.

Red, white and Royal Blue - gave me a sweet, cute romcom that allowed reality to be sidelined. Fun escapism!

Young Royals - had me captivated by first love and intense angst.

Fire Island - an underrated romcom that made me laugh so hard I cried.

Sex education - shoved the realities of sex in our faces and provided me with laughter and drama and a range of queer identities.

Gentlemen Jack -gave me historical lesbians with spectacular wit, and feminine power.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg- because there’s SO SO SO many more shows I could mention! Don’t at me because I didn’t mention YOUR favourite. This is my point! There is SO much great content it would take all day for me to include everything. This is just a sample - and that’s f*cking brilliant!!

So maybe we could all start posting/tweeting etc about what WE DO LIKE / LOVE / MAKES US FEEL LOVED AND SEEN and put down the device if we’ve got nothing nice to say.

Sending everyone a love filled week! 💜

[enriquemzn262]

It’s turboweeb shit time, so be advised.

Anyway, with the new anime season finally settled, let me share with you what I’m watching, or what I at least tried, so in case any of this is of your interest, you may check out:

Mayonaka Punch

A v-blogger has a falling out with her old friends, leaves her channel and accidentally gets involved with lesbian vampires, who now join her in her quest to reach one million subscribers in order to take revenge on her former partners, with the promise that once she does, she will let the main horny lesbian vampire suck her dry (of blood).

Great animation, weirdly deep character developments, an underlying plot of anxiety and denial, and even an exploration of what happens when an immortal vampire gets too close to the spotlight, all the while keeping an overall comedic energy.

8/10, its an original anime so the story will probably warp up by the time the season ends, hopefully they don’t fuck up the landing.

Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction

Aka DDDD

What I originally wrote off because I’m sick and tired of high school anime, it turned out to be quite the fascinating show about life after an alien invasion, with tons of Roadside Picnic vibes, a great cast of screwball characters who are actually as relatable as they are realistic, and for once its a show set in high school that doesn’t give a single shit about glorifying that era of education, you will not see any mention of any school council, festival or any of that tired nonsense.

Plus, there’s always an inherent darkness brewing around the story, with episodes 0 basically setting up how everything will go to shit at some point, and the story slowly moving towards that endgame, it’s great!

Oh, and if you’re a fan of Doraemon, you’ll be pleasantly surprised too.

10/10, I’m absolutely glued!

No Longer Allowed in Another World

In an era where there’s 10 million isekais about the most boring male main characters who go into your standard fantasy world to get harems and be overpowered, here we have a story in which the MC actually wanted to die (by double suicide with his lover), and accidentally got summoned into said standard world, only to say fuck it, I want to die, you fuckers deal with this shit on your own.

No overpowers, no useless harems, no boring MCs, it’s so far a hilarious story about the one guy completely incapable of playing along with the world, and how said world, which keeps getting standard boring guys who do fuckall and just end up indulging in their newfound powers, deals with him, including the love interest, which the guy barely acknowledges, and the standard cute cat girl that’s now the jobber of the group.

7/10, could have tried to make a more unique world, oh well.

Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan

Not gonna lie, I too fell for the earworm of a theme song that dominated memes for a good month before release, and while it does have its moments, it hasn’t really lived up to the potential of it’s wacky premise, mainly because it tries too hard to go for the “cute girls doing cute things” angle, instead of completely embracing the batshit insanity that pops up in every episode.

I’ll still watch it, if anything, I want to see what else they come up with in between the boring school life shit.

6/10, needs more nuclear deer antlers.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian

There’s a good number of romcoms this season, and while all are set in high schools, since DDDD showed me there was a chance I could watch a show set in one and not deal with the usual bullshit, I gave it a watch.

It deals with the usual bullshit of school councils, school festivals, clubs and the like.

Honestly, the russian part is what made it somewhat interesting, but that hasn’t led nowhere, so now I have a female love interest that’s nothing more than your standard tsundere, and your standard male lead who at least doesn’t lack a backbone, but that overall remains boring.

5/10, the weird sister is the only interesting thing, but in a car crash sort of way, may end up dropping it if they actually try to be serious with her.

Too Many Losing Heroines

It’s garbage, had an interesting setting of following girls who are basically third wheels in their own love stories, and it could have worked, have they not chosen to tell the story from the point of view of the most boring, spineless, stuttering betamale in existence, the usual curse of the romcom, somehow turned up to 11.

It’s a pity really, overall the animation is really good, and while it gets too horny for its own good many times, it’s still cute to see those girls dealing with their unanswered feelings, a pity we can’t just follow them and instead have to stick with mister whatshisface.

3/10, dropped it after not being able to finish the latest episode (4? 5? I can’t be arsed to check), seriously, just write off the dude and the show will at least be 6/10.

I tried a couple more shows, and iseaki I didn’t know was one that I dropped after the first episode (oh no, I’m actually trapped in a VR game!!1exclamation point), and another about a drunk V-tuber who reinvents herself around alcoholism (good premise, extremely boring execution).

Not gonna lie, I only really like the first two, the other two may drop the ball really soon, and I’m another school council episode away from dropping the russian girl one, so overall it’s been a pretty underwhelming season.

Do watch DDDD though, that one truly is the absolute gem of this season!

[watchingblsnowandforever]

My updated GMMTV 2024 lineup in order of my preference: (these are only the QLs. Most of the het shows fall under my Indifferent category. If I feel like it, I'll watch them.)

The Heart Killers. Pretty sure this is #1 on most of y'alls lists and for good reason too. My reasons? Pretty simple. I love action, mafia and romcom and this is all in one. And also FirstKhao and JoongDunk so-

Peaceful Property. After TayNew outdid themselves in the beautiful soft little thing that was Cherry Magic Thailand (anyone wanna join my Cherry Magic Th propaganda?), I can't wait for this series. Also: if they give me besties, it'll be a hard pill to swallow but I'll be fine, but if they give me bromance, I'll commit homicide.

Pluto the series. A GL? With NamtanFilm? I'm in.

Revamp. Previously: The Vampire Project. Love me some vampires <3. Also, BounPrem.

Sweeth Tooth, Good Dentist. The plot sounds super fluffy and cheesy, so of course I'm in. And no way I'm missing Mark Pakin first lead. (Also, as a dessert-loving person who had many teeth-related problems as a kid, the premise just sounds too relatable. Except the falling in love part with your dentist obviously.) But... JittiRain. I have complicated feelings for her works.

ThamePo/My Heart Skips A Beat. It seems soft and sweet, though it does have the secret/forbidden relationship overtones.

Ossan's Love. I found the trailer hilarious, but trailers, especially pilot trailers lie. Also, I'm not hearing the greatest things about the original, but I haven't watched it so I will reserve judgement. If I like it I'll like it I guess.

Us the series. You might ask how a GL ended up so low in my list. Personally, it's a bit jarring to see BLs have this safe space/bubble for their gay bois, but GLs are proclaiming love between women as "taboo" off the bat. I also saw this in 23.5, and yeah okay I get it, wlw is seen in a much harsher eye sometimes, but in 23.5 all Ongsa did was go on repeating "But we're both girls..." without explaining the why and resolving it properly. For now, I will not think too much into it, and worry about it when the time comes.

Perfect 10 liners. What put me off in the trailer itself is the clear discrimination based on looks/physical appearances. It also seems like at this point they're just trying to give each pairing some screen time this year but have run out of plots, and are thus shoving pairings into series like it's the metro/tube/subway/whatever you call it in your country during rush hour. Will I like it? We'll see. After New Siwaj gave me the masterpiece that is We Are, and crushed my doubts like mosquitoes, I'm willing to give Perfect 10 Liners a good strong chance. The premise still bothers me a bit, but I'm keeping an open mind.

Finished Airing:

We Are. It's absolutely great for my tastes and I get to detox once every week. Love it. Has absolutely no plot but has loads of fluff, and it's something I didn't know I needed in my life until I had it. It's one of my favourite BLs ever, and it's definitely going on my comfort shows and re-watch list. It will forever live on in my memory. I definitely keep coming back to this. Very high on my list and my #1 comfort show.

Only Boo. I kinda like it, but I have zero idea where they plan to go with the current storyline. Fluffy and cute, I'll keep watching, but it probably won't end up high on my favourites list. I'm behind on a couple of episodes (I'll catch up before ep. 12, no worries) and I was right. I do like it. It's something new, and I'd like GMM to explore this more, but it's not ending up very high on my favourites list.

Wandee Goodday. My favourite fake boyfriends with benefits! I'm behind a couple episodes with this too (sorry, my brain has been a little too obsessed with We Are T~T) but overall, I really like it. It's P'Golf, so I never had any doubts, but I do worry a little about the angst. It's bearable till now, so fingers crossed. I really like it! College has reopened, so I'm behind on the last two episodes, but I'm hoping I'll be able to complete it by this week. Final update: I've finished Wandee Goodday! All around, it's a very good BL. It dared to explore, and I'm impressed. Top 20 BLs.

Currently Airing:

My Love Mix Up! Thailand. I'm still skeptical, not gonna lie. But it's GemFourth. And I didn't feel much about the first few eps of MSP either, and look what happened with that. I still don't know how hard the original will clash with Thai BL's specific style, but I'm willing to take the chance. Please don't disappoint me. I like where this is going. They are so cute and lovely, and that high school vibe is evident. All I need now is for ep 11 curse to not happen. (From what happened in MSP, I think there will be some sort of conflict in the last ep, but as long as I don't have to wait one whole week for it to get resolved, I'm okay with it.)

The Trainee. Well, it's OffGun's usual tsundere seme/innocent uke. Office romance though- that's new. I guess they finally graduated from university 😭😂 I don't feel anything about it right now, but let's see what happens when it starts airing. Rating changed. It's only been four episodes (and I missed today, that is ep 4, because I have college early tomorrow) but I like where this is going. I think it's going to be the typical 5-7 romance ep pattern, but as long as they don't bring back the ep 11 curse, it's all good.

[koreandragon]

Kdramas are in such a sorry state lately it's so sad. We're getting all these sequels for shows that mostly weren't supposed to have multiple seasons so they're a mess bc they have no story to tell. They're all dazzle razzle and no actual decent writing (taxi driver, nine tailed fox, romantic doctor etc) and then we have the 500 crime/thriller shows which are mostly deeply mediocre or downright awful. At least with romcoms if the chemistry is good and the character work is decent enough you can have a really fun show. With these dramas most of it hinges on a well written plot at which the majority fail spectacularly. News came out a few weeks ago that there are 80 dramas made that might never air bc they have no platform bc all the big ones cut the wen-thurs slot except jtbc so there are 80 dramas that will most likely rot after so much hard work and these could be great dramas, because their criteria is it will air if it has big names in it, so this is not a quality issue. Netflix really f*cked us, not only did it start the collapse of the us industry( writers are striking, actors are about to strike, shows are getting cancelled after 1/2 seasons and 8 episodes, shows getting purged for a buck, everyone is only looking for IP with big names and no one cares about good ideas or creativity) it also insidiously burrowed into the kdrama industry and changed the genres of dramas we get, the number of episodes we get, even the sequels bc it used to be no matter how huge a shows ratings were, the worst they could do was an extension, sequels weren't a thing that happened except very rarely in prodecurals like ten or vampire prosecutor. The entire thing is a sad state of affairs, another case of tech bros devastating an industry (I'm referring to the US tv/movie industry) they don't understand to line their pockets and moving on to the next one while the wreckage left in their wake will never be salvaged.

anon i absolutely agree. this is such a depressing topic for me especially because i just love cinema so much. my parents raised me to love movies then i eventually fell in love with tv shows and kdramas and it literally kills me to see the downfall of these amazing comforts in my life. i think the main reason why i haven't been here is because i just wasn't feeling like dragging through another kdrama with a medicore plot. y'all know what i was doing instead? watching old movies i've been meaning to watch for a long time or rewatching classics. you hear this every day and you could jump me for it but...they don't make them like they used to anymore. and idc how corny it sounds cause it's fucking true. exluding some very good recent movies where people making it still care about making an enjoyable piece of media (i don't give a fuck what anyone thinks of tom cruise or top gun, maverick was the only new movie in a long time that made me feel like i used to while watching movies and i literally cannot wait for the new mission impossible film). i'm a 100% with the writers strike, i really hope that they can get what they want and we will finally get back at least a fraction of something that was lost along the way. netflix was supposed to make things accessible, not turn the industry upside down and inside out then light it on fire and piss on the flames. every time i read a season 2 announcement of a kdrama i just go UGHHHHHHH. why are we adding seasons to a show that doesn't need it and why are we cancelling seasons for shows that needed to go longer to tell a story? what's the fucking rationale? oh oh OH mONEy???? netflix don't have enough MONEYYYY??? can't pay residuals to writers or renew a show that has moved people and has more story to tell but has money to make a squid game IN REAL LIFE (which is in itself like....the point flew over everyone's heads) and renewing shows NO ONE ASKED FOR?? oh what? what? more and more people are unsubscribing from your service? how could that be.....only if there was a solution to keep your subscribers by offering them quality content instead of mindless cash grabs....

i'll close this with probably one of my favorite posts on this site

[demyxdancer]

Anime Summer 2023

Overall I thought this was an enjoyable season with quite a few high quality shows in it and a few surprises.

Here's my thoughts on Summer 2023 anime, from most favorite to least.

Bungou Stray Dogs Season 5

How could anything else be at the top? While I think overall this was a little weaker than S4 for me -- I really like some of the character work in S4, particularly Ranpo and Yosano's pasts -- this was an absolute roller coaster ride from start to finish. I can't help but admire BSD's ability to throw absolutely ridiculous and over the top plot points one after another and still make it all work. It came to a reasonably satisfying conclusion as well. BSD in general has shot up to become one of my favorite anime of all time and this season didn't disappoint at all.

Highlights: Ranpo saving everyone's asses. Sigma just wants a home. Bram just wants tunes. Aya is the MVP. Chuuya and his Spirit Halloween vampire fangs. You can't kill Dazai in a way that matters.

Complaints: I can only hope we're getting some light novel movies or else we're going to be waiting a long time for more BSD.

My Happy Marriage

Romance in anime tends to be hit or miss, but this one was incredibly refreshing. Far too many romance stories just don't do a good job of showing how the leads are meant for each other, but this show was delightful whenever the leads were on screen. I loved how they were able to talk to each other sensibly and how gently Kiyouka treated Miyo's trauma. Plus, it was beautifully animated.

Highlights: Kiyouka burning the Saimori house the fuck down. Any time Miyo wore a new kimono. The exchange of the hair cord and the comb. Miyo finally getting to protect Kiyouko.

Complaints: The first arc was stronger than the second. The abrupt turnaround by the Usuba family was a little strained.

Jujutsu Kaisen

The art change has made JJK more beautiful than ever. The production values and the OP/EDs of this show don't miss. The Hidden Inventory arc was so intense and featured some stunning fights. While I think the last few eps have been a bit rocky, I'm looking forward to seeing what's going to be cooked up.

Highlights: Pulling on our heartstrings with the girl's sudden death. Gojo's revenge rampage. Geto tormented by the clapping of hands. Yuuji's friends teasing him about a girl.

Complaints: JJK's commitment to never slowing down means we never get to spend as much time in the character moments as I'd like. I think this hurts arcs like Hidden Inventory where Geto's turn to the dark side would be better done if they slowed down a bit.

Undead Murder Farce

This season's big surprise for me. This show was incredibly entertaining and had everything you could want. Vampires! Werewolves! A phantom thief! Sherlock Holmes! Lesbians! The supernatural creatures in an alternate history late 1800s Europe thing did a little bit to fill the Vanitas-shaped hole in my heart. I really appreciated how solid production values and creative visuals spiced up episodes that were really mostly just talking. There had better be another season of this. The story's just getting started!

Highlights: Phantom Thief Lupin and his dramatics. Literary characters showing up one after the other. Vampire murder mystery.

Complaints: The second arc was definitely the best one, and the following werewolf arc dragged a bit and couldn't quite compare.

Saint Cecilia and Paster Lawrence

This show just doesn't work as a romcom, which it ostensibly is trying to be. Lawrence is just too dense and the development is excruciatingly slow even by anime romcom standards. Thankfully, this show does work nicely as a charming slice of life. It's consistently cozy and heartwarming even if nothing ever actually happens. The village full of supportive townsfolk looking after these two reminds me almost of Stardew Valley.

Highlights: The trip to the city where we actually inched along the plot a bit. Cecilia's outfits -- she really does look cute in anything. The scene with Cecilia and Lawrence in the attic.

Complaints: Nothing ever happens. Ending on Lawrence confused about whether or not he thinks of Cecilia as family was kind of a downer.

Sunshine in the Mirror

I haven't watched Love Live! Sunshine (which this show is a spinoff of) but I did watch Superstar and it's not like it's difficult to follow a Love Live show. This one started out promising with a cute enough premise, but kind of fell apart halfway through. The cute slice of life content wasn't bad, but the plot itself was poorly done with unclear stakes. The magic badness engulfing the town was primarily shown as fog with a few angry deer in it. That's just New Hampshire, I'm not scared of that.

Highlights: While all idol music sounds a little samey to me, this one was on the higher end of enjoyability. Cute outfits and consistently colorful and fun to look at. Lailaps plot was cute enough.

Complaints: The overarching plot was really badly written, and that killed a lot of the momentum of the series.

Bang Dream! It's MyGo!

This show has one thing going for it compared to Love Live, and that is willingness to show actual teenage drama and teens being petty and selfish. I loved the lead singer character and her awkwardness and her bandaid collection and wished the show were more about her, but I guess not all shows can be Bocchi the Rock. While the writing had its good points, I ended up dropping this due to pointless drama overload and the fact that I couldn't tell the girls apart.

Highlights: Lead singer character was endearing when she got to be on screen.

Complaints: CGI animation was stiff and poor. Characters impossible to tell apart. Teen drama maybe a little too realistic and hard to watch as a result.

Zom 100

This had an outstanding first episode but quickly went down the tubes for me. I'm not a big fan of zombies in the first place, so bouncing off the show is probably on me. I dropped it after the first handful of episodes.

Highlights: First episode is well worth watching on its own. Colorful animation.

Complaints: Unfunny humor. Production quality drops significantly after the first episode. Treatment of female characters made me uncomfortable. Guilt over watching an anime about exploitative companies knowing how many production delays this has had and that the people making this are also being exploited.

Fall 2023

Fall 2023 is looking absolutely slammed! Dr. Stone and Spy x Family are back. Frieren, Apothecary Diaries, I'm in Love with the Villainess and Tearmoon Empire are high on my list of shows to try. And we'll have the second cour of Jujutsu Kaisen.

[synthapostate]

Back At The WIP List

Because I had some wild ideas but I forgot to write them down. One of these days I must get organizized.

Resist Psychic Death - Possessed Newt. :(

Like Cats and Dogs - Was supposed to be about getting a post-precursor possession emotional support pet. Inexplicably became non-Uprising-compliant lazy Sunday married couple sex fest, only it is becoming increasingly apparent that I'm never going to get to the sex. Scrapped.

The Tropes Nobody Asked For - A bodyswap AU. Comedy. Hurt/comfort.

I could be writing sweaty nerd sex like a normal person but no - Mostly a story about self-image. Angst. Fluff. There is no plot. Some kind of stream of consciousness BS. (Complete in the sense that anything can be complete given continuity of identity within linear flow of time.) It wasn't complete. Turns out I'm writing sweaty nerd sex but not like a normal person. Scrapped.

Decontamination Shower - A lab accident makes things weird. (Still not sure where I was going with this but now everybody's naked cute, so.)

Fear of Flying - A deep dive into my aerospace engineering special interest, technically includes a lot of hand-holding. (This one's really taking off.) (Oh no, it's stalled.) (These jokes are just plane bad.) Scrapped this one too.

Heating Pad - A cat adopts Hermann.

Thriller - The Shatterdome is kind of spooky at night.

Pillow Talk - There was only one bed, mistaken for dating, fake relationship. I almost had it, but I think the final chapter is going off the rails.

Miserable, Lonely and Depressed (Pathetic) - The return of Cool Uncle Newt. (He's not cool, he's possessed.)

Vampire AU - I mean obviously I had to write a vampire AU at some point. (Comedy.)

Whump - Was supposed to be about a car accident, but it turned into emotional hurt/comfort. With pie.

Some Days You Just Can't Get Rid of a Bomb - Newt tries to solve capitalism.

Retail Horror Stories - Newt and Hermann commiserate over the shitty jobs they worked when they were younger. (Maybe scrapped because honestly no one needs my nonfiction about MegaKaren.) Scrapped because people are gross.

The Graves Stood Tenantless - Comedy, it was SUPPOSED TO BE A COMEDY Death of a major character. 50k word novella about grief APPARENTLY. (Newt mistakes Crimson Peak for a romcom.)

Nightmares - Ghost drift bleeds into their dreams.

Cold as Ice - Hurt/Comfort? Something. Contains no hurt/comfort and has nothing to do with cold or ice, but...it's...something.

Newt's Passion - A sex pollen fic. (No, it isn't.) (Zom com.)

Other, Funnier Ghost Story - Will it be a comedy this time? Let's find out. It is a comedy but it's about vampires now. OH GOD. Not a ghost story, not remotely funny. Vampires, full horror. I'm tempted to resurrect my old pen name for this one. (Y.A. Gorefest, Jr.)

Fever All Through the Night - Sick fic. All comfort.

Consent is Sexy - A team-building exercise leads to certain confessions that would not be made while sober.

Some Sign to Pursue a Promise - Hermann overthinks everything. A story of missed connections. (Complete.)

The Moon Turned to Gold - Newt is desperate to impress his old classmates. Good thing he has this amazing new husband to show off. (A comedy.) (Zine fic!)

Cold as Ice 2: Alaskan Boogaloo - Does have something to do with cold and ice.

The Worst Thing I Can Possibly Imagine - My genuine attempt to work through something, but then I thought of a punchline so now it's a funny little shitpost.

Splash - A...feelings thing. The first tentative steps toward getting along.

Caffeine Blues - I swore I would never write a coffee shop au, but...

Fields of Azure - Newt and Hermann are sent on an outdoorsy team-building retreat with some rangers (possibly by mistake) and both turn out to be full of surprises. Pure fluff.

Stop You Have Enough WIPs - Some silly fluff for these stressful times.

Shoes - Newt's past catches up with him. Hermann is intrigued.

Groundhog Day - Hey man, these sci fi tropes exist for a reason.

Turning Cursive Letters Into Knives - I swore I would never write a soulmate au, but...

Newt and Hermann Go On Six Dates - I write fluff now 😊💖

Hermann Gets Shot - It is so dangerous to start a fight in an elevator when one of the people you're fighting has a gun.

Return to Sender - Newt leaves Hong Kong to work for Shao. Angst.

Find Me in the Drift - Some very disorganized ramblings that might be a sequel to Dinner With a Friend.

The Curse of Gottlieb Manor - In which I actually try to write horror on purpose, and give myself the most intense nightmares I've had in years. I'm toning it down for the actual story.

Dead Letter Office - Hermann's last letter comes back to haunt him.

Painting the Kitchen - About finding a future after the apocalypse is averted.

Total Eclipse of the Heart - Jake Pentecost doesn't trust Newt, decides to keep a close eye on him to guard Hermann's back, and accidentally ends up with two new dads.

Black and White Cookies - Birthday fluff.

A Kidnapping - Um...it's a kidnapping.

Wake Up, Dr. Jones! - More trauma.

Secret Santa - Christmas fluff.

Space Opera - When the first kaiju comes through the breach, Newt fires off a plea for help into deep space. There can't be just one alien race out there, right? Maybe some of them will be on our side.

[jupitermelichios]

ive never seen riverdale but im here from ur post and listening... can u explain how the characters use "old-timey tech" or what that means

short answer: imagine if people in 300 years time threw a '20th century' themed party, and you've got 20s flappers standing next to 70s punks next to someone cosplaying paris hilton. that's riverdale.

long answer: despite appearing to be pretty much just another vampire diaries, or pretty little liars, or even smallville (seriously, this show wants to be smallville so bad), riverdale is made with a kind of aesthetic verve usually only found in Wes Anderson movies. Whole sets are perpetually bathed in neon light, camera work is suprisingly inventive, characters are very carefully colour coded, its a visually pretty interesting show

and a part of that is the tech. the show-runners were going for a kind of timeless americana vibe, and one of the main ways that mannifests itself is that (after season 1, which is fairly normal) technologies from 1901 to 2021 all exist simultaneously in the town, and the general rule seems to be to only ever go as modern as you absolutely have to.

telephones are a good example of that. if a character recieves a phone call while in a physical building, it will come through on a chorded landline. (the only chordless phone exists in betty's bedroom, because they like to have her lie on her bed and talk, ala early 90s teen romcoms.) people will phone the diner and ask to speak to a patron rather than just calling that patron directly. the phones used are often rotary dial ones, rather than push button, and in the case of the high school, a candlestick phone (the ones where the speaker and microphone are two sepperate parts)

but characters have modern cell/mobile phones. if someone needs to make/recieve a phone call when they're in their car or outside, they'll use a mobile phone. (I have a feeling there is one instance of an 80s car phone, but don't quote me on that)

jughead has a laptop, because that was introduced in season 1, but he basically stops using it and starts writing on a typewriter from season 3 onward, and the laptop only comes back when it's needed for a plot point.

the fbi uses paper files and microfiche, and when they tap someone's phone it records onto a cassette tape. the highschool computers are from 1995, people are surprised that a video rental store is still in business but not that it only rents VHS tapes, tvs are almost all 1960s wood pannelled ones except when they're early 80s countertop ones, betty's dad is about 40 but his childhood home movies are reels of film that have to be played on an vintage projector rather than vhs tapes.

for season 3 and 4, all the tech works on this same logic. occaisionally it's a nod to the comics (archie drives a 1915 ford model T tourer, which is a comics reference, but everyone else drives cars from between about 1950 and 1975, which isn't. any modern cars are ones introduced in the first season), mostly it's just the designers having fun.

season 5 does something slightly weirder, where specific sets and characters seem to exist in different timezones, like jughead's flat exists in the 1970s and archie's military service exists in the 1910s. (hospitals have always only existed in the 1950s and the nurses wear those weird white pointy hats that make them look like the flying nun.)

i don't think it works for what they were going for; the diner definitely has a timeless feel, but the rest of it just feels weird, honestly. but that actually works in the show's favour, because the plots get so insane that combined with time not working properly you just have to conclude that this either takes place on an alien planet where everyone is trying and failing to cosplay 20th century humans, or in some kind of time sinkhole where a century of time is all happening simulataneously and also mothman is here. (that's not a joke. mothman is here)

[travllingbunny]

Thank you for the tag, @ryder616!

This tag game has unexpectedly led to an interesting discussion about what exactly an “Endgame Ship” means... which seems to be largely open to interpretation. I’m still not sure how I see that term, but for the purposes of this post, but to narrow it down and not mention way too many ships, I’ll take Endgame in two different meanings: for “Favorite Ship(s) That’s Endgame”, I’ll take it to mean pairings that were together and in a happy relationship at the end of the story. But for “Ship(s) You Wish Had Been Endgame”, I will take “Not Endgame” to mean that the ship was not treated as these characters’ main romance at the end of the show, or at least there was a lot of ambiguity and/or a rival ship for one or both characters was instead the current one at the end of the story. (A lot of my favorite ships have the tendency to end up unhappily in spite of being portrayed as the main romance of the story..)

Warning: this post contains spoilers for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Agents of SHIELD, The Hunger Games, The Leftovers, The Americans and The 100 (though if you’ve spent any time on my blog, you’ve certainly already been spoiled for the ending of The 100) and .

1. First Ship - When I was about 4 or 5, I was obsessed with Lady and the Tramp (I had a book version with a few pictures and it fell apart from how much I was reading it - it may have been my first book that wasn’t mostly a picture book), so I guess my first ship was two dogs (which is really appropriate, since I love dogs). If we’re talking TV, again going back to my childhood, before puberty and before I even knew what “shipping” was, I remember being pleasantly surprised when Raquel first appeared on Only Fools and Horses as a love interest for Del Boy - the show was an episodic comedy where the two brothers, in the early years, usually didn’t have a serious love interest. I thought “oh, he really is in love with her! And she feels the same, and they are so cute together.” I hoped she’d come back and wouldn’t just be a one episode character but a long-term LI. And then I was so happy when that very much did happen. I guess this can be considered the start of my TV shipping (and also an early sign of my love for contuinity and longer arcs on TV).

2. First OTP - Ignoring pre-puberty: at the age of 12, I was really obsessed with Wuthering Heights and Heathcliff and Cathy and read the book who knows how mny times. Regarding TV, I’ve shipped over the years, but I guess the first TV ship I would really call my OTP was in This Life, a 1990s UK drama about a bunch of 20-somethings in London, which I watched on TV in 2001. which now sadly seems almost forgotten. Anna and Miles had an on-off, love-hate relationship throughout - they were sexy, snarky, and it was painfully obvious that they were in love, but these idiots had trouble admitting it to themselves and even more to each other. If it had been a romcom, they would’ve been certain to end up together, but it was a realistic drama.

3. Current Favorite Ship - Bellarke - oh, what an OTP of all OTPs that was before it was stupidly destroyed out of spite. Over the last couple of years, Dark (season 3 mostly) made me really love Jonas and Martha (the first pairing I’ve made gifsets about), and most recently (last month!), I binged Halt and Catch Fire and fell in love with the show and with Joe and Cameron’s relationship (which, I just realized now, shows that my taste in OTPs hasn’t changed in 20 years).

If we’re talking current as in, in current shows rather than finished ones, then  Kanej (Shadow and Bone), Harlivy (Harley Quinn), Gereon and Charlotte (Babylon Berlin) and  Roy and Keeley (Ted Lasso).

4. Your ship since the first minute - I really rarely ship anything from the first minute (unless we’re talking Morticia and Gomez, who are of course already a perfect couple and nothing ever changes there). It usually takes time for me to fall for a ship. A rare exception is Roy and Keeley - their first one-on-one scene in S1 already had huge OTP vibes. 

5. Ship(s) You Wish Had Been Endgame - Do I even have to say it? BELLARKE. A hundred times Bellarke, who were portrayed as endgame before the showrunner decided to retcon and ruin them together with the show overall.

Others: Jessica and Luke in Netfix Narvel shows, May and Andrew on AoS, Willow and Oz; or, depending on how you interpret Endgame, Willow/Tara (some argue that it is Endgame as Tara is definitely portrayed as the love of Willow’s life regardless of everything else). Spuffy (again, there are different opinions as to its status as both the show and the comics ended ambiguously and tried not to have a clear Endgame pairing for Buffy’s character), Xander/Anya (if you take comics into account).

6. Ship You Wish Was Canon - Some would say Bellarke, again, but I tend to consider it canon. It’s debatable, for sure (if you only consider making out/sex and/or “I love you” as markers of canon, it is not canon; if it is enough for the show to make it so blatant in the first 6 seasons that you have to actively search for ways to deny it to make it sound platonic, and for actors to confirm it was portrayed as romantic- than it is.)

So my answer would be: Kastle (Netflix Marvel shows), QuakeRider (AoS), and Octavia and Diyoza (The 100) and maybe Faith and Buffy (mostly in the sense that canon could have explored the nature of Faith’s feelings for Buffy a bit more and a bit more openly).

7. Ship that Most of the Fandom Hates, but You Love - Angel and Darla, May and Andrew, Coulson and Rosalind (hated how it ended though). Miller and Bryan (because they were more interesting than Mackson, and Bryan had a personality), Though “ships that most of the fandom ignores” would be a more apt term. The one that most of the fandom does hate and I like it is Octavia/Ilian - I liked it for what it was, two damaged people finding comfort together in what could have grown into something more - instead of the “we’re ve just met and talked to each other once and we’re already IN LOVE!” trope that the writers of The 100 were so fond of.

8. You Don’t Even Watch the Show, but You Ship It - Why would I ship something from a show I don’t watch?

9. Ship That You Wish Had A Different Storyline -  BELLARKE (duh - the ending). Veronica and Logan (the ending, again). Coulson/Rosalind - they had such an interesting and fun dynamic that could have been explored much more; instead, the writers opted for one of the worst tropes there are, and I hated that entire plotline for so many reasons. Tyrol and Boomer on Battlestar Galactica - what they did with Boomer was crap. Baltar and Caprica - all the bad writing in season 4. This is a weird example of a ship that I shipped so hard for 3 seasons and that was given Endgame in every sense of the word, but, by that point, I barely cared anymore, because the writers forgot about their relationship throughout the final season and made it seem like they didn’t even remember each other, and then slapped a last minute happy ending. Plus they retconed/explained their connection in such a stupid and anticlimactic way that ruined it retroactively.

10. Favorite Ship(s) That’s Endgame - Everlark, Nora and Kevin (The Leftovers), Philip and Elizabeth (The Americans), and Josh and Della on Night and Day (a really obscure early 2000s UK show that was watched by maybe 100 people.) Some others worth mentioning: FitzSimmons, Niles and Daphne, Tim and Dawn (original UK The Office), Jake and Amy, Memori (the only bright spot in a rubbish ending). And of course, there’s Morticia and Gomez, though they are less Endgame and more AlwaysGame.

Tagging: @jeanie205 @kizo2703 @poppykru @sheigarche @weareagentsofnothing @sometimesrosy @misskittyspuffy @otp-armada @carrieeve @sexy-zeitreise-detektiv @jonaskanwalds @immortalpramheda @ladyofthefrostfangs @tennyo-elf @fandomkru @natassakar @hadrianvonpaulus @sillier-things @angearia @thekawaiislartibartfast @foolishnymeria @erikiara80 @heartbellamy and anyone else who sees this - sorry I didn’t tag you and please consider yourself tagged. :)

[ashenpages]

Current Projects & Emoji Voting Key

Quick disclaimer: I’m a romance writer in all aspects of the term, so most of my works will contain mature content. Engage at your own risk, you know the rules, you’re responsible for curating your own experience of the internet, blah blah blah.

This post serves as a current mock up of fic ideas I’m either actively working on or considering working on next. You can drop me an ask about any of them, or just vote via the emoji combo I’ve assigned them.

Voting lets me know you’re excited about an idea and makes it more likely I’ll actually work on it. You can vote anytime, there’re no deadlines or winner announcements, just me gauging your interest by what I see in my ask box most often.

You can also ask me about the original stuff I’m working on currently. The current WIPs are Medusa centric and the emoji for them is: 🐍

Support my original work on Ko-fi and Patreon.

- Lupin: 🤑🤠💍  These are all oneshot ideas, between 5-15K each. If you want to vote for a specific idea, send me the emojis and the number of the idea.

Born from the idea that Goemon and Zenigata probably couldn’t be an item, my brain decided to come up with how I could write for them. Goemon’s teaching an ikebana class as part of his training, and Zenigata shows up as a student on forced recreational leave for his health from the ICPO. Zenigata wins the samurai’s heart through flowers. But what happens when Lupin and Jigen find out? (Only good sexy things, I promise. These beans are in a healthy polycule--be gay, do crimes) (WIP)

Jigen/Lupin, but it's Jigen deciding to seduce Lupin while wearing his own Lupin disguise. The thief is waaaaay too into it, and some artistry is taken with the sex so that they don't mess up the disguise too much during their encoutner.

Jigen/Zenigata/Lupin where Jigen has some fantasices about Zenigata, but is pretty sure they'll never happen. Tells Lupin about them. Suddenly the fantasies are coming true, in the middle of a heist, and Jigen doesn't what to do except get swept up in the moment and enjoy. Plot twist, it's Lupin dressed up as Zenigata granting all his gunman's dreams. Plot twist again, Zenigata catches them at it.

Zenigata/Lupin, where Lupin keeps doing good things in illegal ways and Pops has to find a way to punish him for it. Good thing for Pops Lupin's a masochist?

Trans!Lupin and Trans!Jigen premise: Jigen cares for Lupin after the master thief has top surgery, since Jigen has Been There and Done That. Caring, sweet, and a little sexy. Lupin is a much better patient than Jigen.

The one time Zenigata caught Lupin in an alley and kissed him and it was Jigen in disguise. Things get sexy anyway, and Zenigata has crushes on two thieves now. Lupin and Jigen "kidnap" him later for an evening of taking care of their inspector.

The background plot of Jigen's Gravestone where we see Jigen think he's done for and try to leave Lupin. Our thief has none of it, and we get to relish in the inherent eroticism of Lupin sitting in sniper fire, knowing Jigen's got his back. This is the moment I think Jigen finally believes he can be with Lupin forever.

I love the idea of something longer and more plot driven like a Lupin special where Lupin ends up in hot water and Jigen and Fujiko have to work together to save him. Jigen and Fujiko have such an interesting relationship. They're both partners of Lupin, they don't really like each other, they constantly screw the other over, but when it really matters they take care of each other. I'd like to see that highlighted a little more and also give them space to call each other out and bicker. Nothing sexy between them, but maybe a really interesting threesome with Lupin and Fujiko in a strap on once they save their boy.

- Sonic Vampire Novelist Coffee Shop AU: 📚☕💐

Shadow is an immortal vampire who has seen the world change for the worse too many times. These days it feels like he only lives for his coffee dates with Rouge, another immortal who loves each new era they encounter, warts and all. He has to admit that the book series she got him into speaks to him, at least. If someone in this era can understand him without meeting him, it can’t all be bad. But he hardly expected the goofy blue barista at the new coffee place to understand him the way those books do.

This is a novel length romcom romp with some big feelings about what it means to watch as things change, grow, and die. Expect lots of Big gothic feelings from this one, emotionally charged kissing, and overly-adoring sex. But also expect shenanigans from everyone in the coffee shop, which include Rouge, Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and more.

- Sonic Blazamy, "Like the Sun": 💖🌸💎

Amy Rose has been in love with Sonic for a while.

Or has she?

When the Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and Silver are trapped as the fuel sources for Doctor Eggman’s newest evil scheme, Amy teams up with Blaze, Rouge, and Cream to save them. With Sonic out of the picture and Amy fulfilling his role, was she ever really in love with him? Or did she just want to be like him?

This is a novel length epic romance with lots of competent women and lots of romantic Blazamy content. Expect flowery hopes and dreams, badass self-actualization, and glancing hand touches that give way to cuddly and sweet sex.

- Persona 5: 🗡🍛☕

After bringing down the Metaverse twice, Ryuji didn’t think graduating high school and figuring out what to do with his life would be so hard. Akira’s back in town, and the gang’s more-or-less all in Tokyo, but everyone else seems to have a plan while Ryuji just floats. How’s he supposed to change the world when he’s not a phantom thief anymore?

This is a novel length fic that addresses how powerless one can feel being just one person in the face of all the corrupted systems and bigotry the world has to offer. It’s about holding on to what you believe in, working through the doubt, and fighting your way to a better tomorrow with the power you do have. The whole gang is queer, featured relationships being Mako x Ann, Ryuji x Akira, Futaba & Yusuke as platonic life partners. Akira is polyamorous and omnisexual, Futaba’s asexual and aromantic while Yusuke is demisexual and very romantic, Makoto’s a lesbian, Ann and Ryuji are bi, and Haru’s pansexual, demisexual, and aromantic. They’re one giant band of queer Phantom Thieves, and even if they’re not really doing the Metaverse thing anymore, they’re still gonna save the world!

Also, I’m gonna make Makoto not a cop. That super didn’t age well. Zenkichi and his boss can work on making them better/abolishing them for other better organizations.

- Hades Game: ❤️‍🔥💀

Oneshot. I just really need to elaborate on the threesome you can have with them in-game, okay? Healthy and canon poly relationships are so few and far between, so often I have to do a ton of groundwork to explain why it’s working in the fic, but NOT WITH THESE KIDS!

Get ready for Meg helping Zag and Than be better at expressing their feelings, lots of kissing, and probably pegging.

- Castlevania Animation Trevor/Sypha/Alucard: 🧛🏰🛌

Castlevania gave Alucard a threesome last season, and I just really need S4 to give me him being taken care of by his partners. They’re probably not going to give it to me, so I’ll need to do it myself. This is just an everybody loves Alucard oneshot, with the gang’s signature banter (to an extent), Sypha being sexy, and Trever being remarkably sincere. This fic is gonna feel like that Ann Hathaway picture with Trevor kissing Alucard and Sypha holding the end of Trevor’s whip while she leans her head on Alucard’s shoulder adoringly.

- Devil May Cry Nico/Lady/Trish: 💋✨😈

Nico’s gay, okay? Like really, really gay. And Lady’s bi and not into men who make her pay bills, but very into women who make amazing guns for her and demonesses with hearts who fight by her side. Trish is ace, but loves people and is pretty attached to Lady at this point. Plus it’s cute when Lady blushes and says nice things like they’re insults. I don’t have super solid ideas for them yet, and I envision these more like a polycule where Lady’s with Nico and with Trish but they’re not with each other more than seeing it as a threesome, but who knows what might happen. This is probably 1-2 oneshots depending on ideas, but might turn into a series of oneshots if people are interested (or I can’t control myself and inspiration strikes).

- Post FMA:B Blind Roy & No Alchemy Ed: 👀👑🙏

This is actually an old novel-length fic I wrote ages ago and didn’t post that didn’t turn out well because I was new to writing sex when I first wrote it. The plot is good, and is all about Roy learning to work with his blindness to reclaim his ambition of being Fuhrer and changing the system to something that actually cares for its people. He and Ed reconnect, fall into bed, and both set about working through their respective traumas about being “useless” having lost their sight/alchemy. They go to Xing as an ambassadorial party to offer Amestris’s collaboration on Al and May’s Alkahestry experiments--and uncover a plot that might threaten both kingdoms.

- Age of Calamity continuity Mipha x Revali: 🦚🐟💘

The first time Revali noticed Mipha, it was in the heat of battle. She stole his mark, taking them down with a flurry of quick blows from her spear. Violence rained from her like water--and then she healed him on her way to her next battle. No questions, no conditions, just pure kindness. The usual need to measure himself against those around him was quiet in her wake. And Revali couldn’t understand it. But how to get to know more about her? A fish and bird may fall in love, but where would they live?

This fic could be a oneshot or novel length depending on how far down the hole I fall. I need it to cover time, but it could be done in linked vignettes or with actually covering events in detail. I may elect to do a oneshot just to get it done and out of my system faster. So much fic to write, so little time.

Expect trans!Revali, polyamorous Zoras, scary competent Mipha, songbird Revali, love confessions that are made up entirely of berating Link for not loving Mipha the way she wants him to, and breaking these characters a little outside of their assigned roles in BotW and Age of Calamity. Background Link x Zelda, and Urbosa x Zelda’s Mom.

- Epic desert romance about Urbosa and Zelda’s mom: 🏜🏝⚡

I just think Urbosa should kiss women and Zelda’s mom should get more development and maybe a name or something. Also, lightning imagery/metaphors/play.

It also went way over my head that Riju wasn’t Urbosa’s daughter the first time I played BotW, so now I want to write about the Gerudo queen who refused to produce an heir. The Gerudo are fascinating and have a very interesting cutlure, but I think it could be examined from a nonbinary perspective that rejected pregnancy and wanting to find a husband. Not in like a hateful way, but in a way that examines if that’s really right for everyone. There’s that shop in town that sells Voe armor, after all. Maybe finding a husband and having children isn’t something you have to do if you don’t want to. And Urbosa really doesn’t want to.

[omgbubbletea]

Dating Stefan Salvatore Would Include

When you found out he was a vampire you were shocked, but you knew something suspicious was going on with him from the beginning...you just didn’t think being a vampire was the answer 

He is so scared you will see him as a monster and never want to see or speak to him again

Oh boy is he wrong 

You stayed silent for a bit before saying “ok” 

Stefan was perplexed by your reaction. How were you not screaming right now?

You explained how you knew something weird was going on with him and he realised how not so slick he is with keeping such a big secret 

You told him you needed some space right now to think all of this over 

And so he did as you asked

He was so sure you went home packing that night to leave Mystic Falls 

But soon enough, 3 hours later, there you are on his doorstep confessing your love for him and how nothing is going to change that 

Que Stefan’s heart swelling with the fact that you had said you loved him? 

He is speechless for a few moments and you’re scared you had just made the worst confession in history, when all of a sudden you see a giant grin plaster his face

He cuts the space between the two of you with a few steps and pulls you closer to him by placing his hands on your waist. All of a sudden his mouth is on your lips, kissing you so lovingly and passionately that the air is knocked from your lungs and your legs almost give out from under you

Before the two of you can pass out from lack of air, he removes his lip from yours and whispers in your ear “I love you too”

The rest of that night is history...if ya know what I mean (;

Stefan is terrified of hurting you(especially when you first start dating) 

You reassure him that he could never hurt you and that you trust him with your life

A small part of him is relieved that you said this

He is suppppper protective over you 

You notice it when you guys first started hanging around Damon

And when Klaus shows up in Mystic Falls...let’s just say you would be seeing a lot of Stefan 

He teaches you how to defend yourself in case you were to ever need it 

And gifts you a vervain necklace to keep you safe from compulsion 

He knows that you can protect yourself though 

Always makes sure you got home safe by calling you 

Sometimes this can get a bit annoying with him calling you EVERY SINGLE TIME you get home but you understand he just wants to make sure you're ok and not dead in a ditch somewhere 

You bring this up and he soon results into just texting you after a couple hours of you getting home 

Stefan would say he isn't the jealous type...but he is

It may not be that noticeable but when he sees another guy making you laugh or smile he feels a small twinge in his heart  

He knows that you would never do anything to hurt him and that you love him and only him(and you make sure to tell him this when you see him getting a bit jealous)  

Sometimes a guy won’t register that you are taken and just keep flirting with you. Stefan will then take matters into his own hands

This includes cupping your face lovingly and passionately kissing you in front of this poor guy who is so dumbfounded and embarrassed because he thought you were single...and you are not complaining about Stefan’s strategy

You are totally the jealous type

Stefan is one gorgeous man, so naturally, he will attract a lot of women 

This does not make you happy

Stefan knows this and will make it clear to these women(who are practically drooling)that he is already taken 

You should hear the sad groans that come out of these women!

Once they leave, he kisses you hard to seal the statement he had made 

Now let’s just get one thing straight, he is SUCH a gentleman!

Giving you his jacket when you’re cold

Opening doors for you 

Pushing out your chair 

Buying you your favourite flowers(sometimes just spontaneously or when you are not having the best day)

ALWAYS complimenting you on your beauty 

Candlelit dinners 

Picnics 

Slow dancing in the living room

You guys have definitely kissed in the rain on your account to recreate those cliche rom-com scenes

Watching romcoms every Sunday night(he says he hates it, but secretly he can’t wait till Sunday night...Princess Bride is his favourite)

He makes you breakfast in bed 

Baking together(which usually ends in you both covered in flour and making out on the kitchen counter) 

You both cook dinner but you prefer his meals over yours any day 

He doesn't mind PDA

Hand holding

Bear hugs 

Hugs from behind where the other nuzzles their neck into the others shoulder 

Forehead kisses 

Temple kisses 

Kisses on the cheek 

Jawline kisses 

Kisses on the collarbone 

Sweet goodbye kisses 

Sloppy morning kisses

Passionate long kisses when you know you are going to be apart for a while 

Small loving kisses when the other is upset 

Hot and steamy kisses when the other is hungry (;

Him pinning you to the ground with your hands above your head and kissing you deeply 

Desperate kisses in which no one wants to let go(usually when the other gets hurt or almost dies) 

Stefan is the big spoon but on one of his bad days, you will be the big spoon and hold him close in your arms 

You guys sleep with Stefan lying on his back and you nuzzled into the crook of his neck. 

One of your arms is to your side while the other is laid across his torso

His arm is lightly stroking your back while the other is to his side

He can hear your heartbeat and feel the rise and fall of your chest 

He loves having you close to him when he sleeps so he knows you are always there and so he can protect you 

Wearing his clothes 

Mainly his shirts

You love that they smell like him(fresh laundry with hints of the woods jasmine) 

He loves seeing you in his shirts...but also loves seeing you without them (; 

He tells you everything

His past 

His secrets 

His regrets 

His flaws 

His fears

All the terrible things he has done in his life 

And you listen without judgment 

You can see the pain in his eyes, feel it in his body as he spills his heart out

He tries to stay strong but you can hear his voice cracking 

All you can do is hold him in your arms and whisper how much you love him in his ear 

Nothing and I mean NOTHING will stop you from loving this man! And he needs to know that too

Writing about you in his diaries 

Letting you read all his diaries 

When you first meet Damon you didn’t like him

You thought he was a jerk and treated Stefan horribly 

(you wouldn’t admit it but you where a bit intimidated by Damon)

Stefan definitely told Damon to stay away from you(and was a little bit worried that you might fall for Damon’s good looks and charm but you didn’t)

Over time you started to warm up to him 

His sarcasm and sass started to wear off on you 

Then BANG. You guys are BFFs 

Teasing Stefan together 

Having playful banter 

He sees you as a sister and is so proud and happy for Stefan for finding someone as amazing as you 

You can’t tell me Stefan doesn't use pick up lines on you 

Definitely cracks a few dad jokes(they're so bad that they're so good)

Gives you nicknames(sweetheart, darling, beautiful) 

Deep conversation when the two of you can’t sleep 

Conversations about your feature 

Stefan feels guilty that he will never be able to give you children 

You reassure him that it’s perfectly ok and as long as you are with him your life will be full

You have a habit of singing in the shower(because your voice just sounds so good in there!) and Stefan loves it. Whether you're good or bad, it always brings a smile to his face when he hears your voice

He never fails to make you laugh 

When you smile at him it still gives him butterflies 

You are always a target to the enemy

Enemies have found that the only real way to break Stefan is to break you 

This means that you have endured many forms 

Being kidnapped 

Tortured 

Used as bait 

Used as leverage 

Being held hostage 

And it never gets any better for you or less scary for the Salvatore brothers 

You always know that Stefan will find you but sometimes your head will have you believe another story 

When he does find you, he will show no mercy to your kidnapers 

Katherine has tried to kill you on many occasions(you know she be jealous)

When you're with Stefan you feel safe 

He loves how you make him feel loved

The Mystic Fall gang sees the two of you as the parents of the group 

Going out to party with Elena and Caroline only for Stefan to come and have to get you because you’re drunk and don’t know where you are 

If you're not out with Elena and or Caroline then you're drinking with Alaric and Damon at the Grill(Stefan doesn't approve but at least you’ll be safe with Damon...he hopes)

Caroline shipping you and Stefan to the moon

Him carrying you to bed when you fall asleep on the couch reading or watching something 

Sleepovers!

You guys definitely sleepover at his house more than yours 

Damon has walked in on you guys and...it was awkward 

It’s like you have moved into the Salvatore’s home except for the fact you have your own apartment 

Staying in bed all day if it’s rainy 

Tickle fights 

Road trips 

When he goes Ripper you are devastated

You feel like your whole world has just crumbled in front of your eyes 

“He can’t really be gone can he?”

But he was 

You would do everything in your power to bring your Stefan back even if it meant risking your life(which it did)

Damon had locked Stefan in the cellar. The plan was to starve him of blood until he slowly but eventually maintained back his bunny diet 

All you could do with your days was sit outside Stefan’s cell and try talking to him, ignoring his pleads for you to leave before he hurt you 

You didn’t want to hear it but he was right 

If it wasn’t for Damon being in the right place at the right time, you would have been dinner 

Stefan couldn’t live with himself at that point. He had nearly hurt you. Nearly drained you of your blood. The thoughts of what could have been brought tears to his eyes

What broke his heart even more was that he could hear you sobbing upstairs. All because of him 

You guys eventually brought Stefan back to his former self and from that point onwards, he wouldn’t stop apologising for hurting you 

In fact, since the “incident” you hadn’t gone back down to see Stefan. So when you saw him again he was “better” and not all “rippa”

At the first sight of you, he broke down, falling on his knees. His breath was raggedy, voice shaking

“I’m so sorry (y/n). I am so sorry that I nearly hurt you” 

His voice cracked at the last part and it broke your heart 

Slowly, you lifted his chin so his red and tear-stained eyes met yours 

“It’s ok Stefan. I know you would never hurt me, it’s ok”

You kneeled down to where he was on the floor and held him for what seemed like hours until he had calmed down and stopped crying

I feel like he is a slow, passionate lover 

But if he is a bit jealous that day he is a bit rougher 

He is top but loves it when you take control

You guys have done it in his car 

(and in Damon’s but he doesn't have to know)

You have done it in the woods while on a romantic date 

Everywhere(and I mean everywhere) in the boarding house 

But your guys' favourite place is the bed(classic and basic)

Rides on his motorcycle 

Late night walks around Mystic Falls with you guys holding hands 

Him admiring your beauty 

You being speechless every time he is shirtless(cause damn he looks good)

In conclusion, this boy would literally die for you and you have no doubt you would do the same for him

[nona-gay-simus-main]

Top 10 Worst LGBTQ+ Tropes

It’s pride month so I’m talking about my least favorite LGBTQ+ tropes in media.

Disclaimer 1: Once again: my post my opinion. If you feel differently, do you. But I will assume you’re probably an asshole.

Disclaimer 2: In this post, I use the word Queer Interchangeably with LGBTQ+. If you’re uncomfortable with that, feel free to move along. If you tag my post with ‘q slur’, I will block you.

1. Bi/ Pan Character That ‘Doesn’t Use Labels.’

Why is it that gay/lesbian/straight people often just get to say what they are, but when it comes to bi/pan characters it becomes some type of extreme wordplay. “Ex lesbian”, “lower on the Kinsey scale”, “oh, I just like people, not gender.” (Yes, those are all real examples.)

Of course, there are people who don’t use specific labels, and of course, you can include that in your writing, but there seems to be a big disparity between multi-gender attracted characters who don’t use labels and everyone else, who weirdly enough, usually gets a specific label. 

Just... say the word, pal. Bisexual. Pansexual. It’s not that hard. It’s not offensive. And I’ve never met any bi/pan person who thought that erasure was all the jazz.

2. Coming Out Stories

I’m not saying that’s there’s no value in coming stories, especially ones that are in tune with the changing times, and especially coming out stories of anyone who isn’t a cis WASPy gay man (or occasionally a cis WASPy lesbian), but also, can we please get... something else. 

Like, literally anything else. Queer romcoms, lesbian mafia, bisexual vampires, gay pirates, asexual/aromantic monster-fighters, trans superheroes, nonbinary thrillers. Anything where we are allowed to just exist past our coming out and the focus isn’t how hard it is to be LGBTQ+.

It just seems like for the longest time Coming Out stories (about cis white gay people) were pretty much the only media we can exist in, and while that’s slowly starting to change in recent years, we are nowhere close to where we could be.

3. Bury Your Gays

If you have twenty characters and ten of them are queer; and if straight characters also die, then sure. I’ll let you kill a couple gays. 

But if you only have one or two queers (that also happen to be a couple) and you kill them (or you kill one half of the couple), we’re gonna have a problem.

Especially if the queer character ends up sacrificing their life to save the Straights. Just represent us in media, where we don’t die or suffer, how hard is that?

4. “Blink and You’ll Miss it” Representation

Oh, so you’re a major franchise, or maybe you’re writing a popular long-running book series and you have FINALLY added a queer character to your gigantic cast?

That’s cool. I mean it sucks it took you this long, but we all have to make progress eventually. So are they a main character? How much does their sexual orientation or gender identity affect their experiences? Who’s their love interest?

Or did you just mean they only show up for one scene and have a single line that confirms their identity, and then they disappear into the nether? 

Yeah, fuck you. That’s not representation. That’s you jerking yourself off for brownie points. Well, I’m not giving them to you.

5. Lesbians With Men

Sure, outlier cases exist, but... why do we gotta keep making stories about them?

If this is your lived experience and you want to explore it in a fictional medium, absolutely, by all means. But most of the time this story is made not by queer women, but... pretty much anyone else and it’s just. Exhausting. 

There’s a reason it’s called a “lesbian.” And if she falls in love with a man, at the very least have the decency to make it clear that she’s exploring her sexuality, and it’s cut and dry case of “turning a lesbian.” Or better yet, don’t write it at all.

6. The Trans “Twist”

Can we stop fetishizing and discriminating against (binary) trans people in this way? Trans people are just people. There’s nothing scandalous about someone being trans, and nobody is trying to trick anyone into anything. 

Stop treating being trans as this huge, insurmountable thing. Especially if your story is set in the last ten years or in an SFF context, and just portray trans folks like normal people. Please.

7. The Token Queer

There’s this group of cis allo straight friends and the one gay guy, who is also usually white, cis, middle class, etc. You know - for diversity. 

Sure, maybe if they were childhood friends, or a superhero team or something (although there’s literally nothing stopping you from making at least one more person in the group queer), but I have never in my life wanted to do anything less than constantly hang out with a group of straight people. 

The vast majority of straight people don’t make me feel safe, and I rarely have more in common with them than I do with other queer people. Also, if one person in a friend group comes out, at least two more will - this has happened to pretty much all my queer friends.

It’s far more likely to see a group of queer friends with one adopted Straight, who is a good ally, then the other way around.

8. The Awkward AroAce

There’s nothing wrong with being aromantic asexual. There’s also nothing wrong with being autistic and struggling in social situations. There’s even nothing wrong with being both of those things at the same time. And some people are indeed like that.

But why does this seem to be the only way to write aroace characters? It’s such a stereotype. 

Being aroace just don’t experience romantic and sexual attraction, it doesn’t mean you can’t make friends, or that you don’t know how to behave socially. Aside from their (lack of) sexual and romantic attractions, aroace people are just people and they come in a variety of personalities.

9. Queer Villains

I actually love queer villains. 

In a lot of stories the villain is the most fun and interesting character them being queer is a way of reclaiming things that have been used to hurt us in the past (and still are, in some cases).

But it’s still pretty problematic when this is the only queer character in the work - whether explicitly or just in coding. 

You can have a queer villain, but make at least one of your heroes queer too.

10. The Non-Human Non-Binary

I think it makes sense that some aliens, robots and otherwise non-human entities are nonbinary. Why would a robot have a human gender? Why would an alien race have the same exact gender and sex divisions as humans do?

But can we also get nonbinary representation in humans? Please? Because I don’t think that an alien is doing much to help us be more accepted, and might, in fact, be even more alienating. (ha-ha, alienating. Get it?)

To end this, because of the time we live in:

A list of organizations dedicated to helping Black people you can support.

[youranemicvampire]

Best movies and series I’ve watched in 2019

This time, I won’t rank it anymore because it’s hard to compare different works, but all of these are for sure worth the watch! 

What we do in the shadows (2014)

Genre: Mockumentary

A mockumentary about vampires living in the Wellington suburb. This is the type of comedy people should hype. It’s non-problematic, natural, witty and conceptual. A masterpiece from start to finish. New Zealand comedy is so underrated. 

Partners for justice (2018-)

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Comedy

A mad forensic doctor and a rookie prosecutor joined forces to solve crimes. The best and most complete Korean crime drama I’ve watched so far. They brought the cases to another level and made the whole thing interesting. Crime dramas in Korea are really commendable when it comes to details and effort to educate the viewers. 

Orange is the new black (2013-2019)

Genre: Comedy, Drama

It tells the system and the life of female inmates inside the Litchfield penitentiary. It was confusing at the start that I almost dropped in the first few episodes, but it gets interesting. It has the best characters and character developments. You wouldn’t know who to love and hate from inmates, guards, and officials. Binge-worthy!

Hintayan ng langit  (2018)

Genre: Romcom, Drama

A Filipino film translated as “Heaven’s waiting” where ex-lovers met at the purgatory, reminiscing and resolving their past issues. Simple yet substantial and gives a warm feeling. They pulled the concept off with a great production and film score.

American pop (1981)

Genre: Animated, Musical

Story of generations of musicians in the family trying to fulfill their dreams. The plot might be simple, but It’s one of the best animated movies and even better than live-action ones I’ve seen as the creativity in story-telling is ahead of its time. The art styles and music are well-integrated.

Euphoria (2019-)

Genre: Teen Drama

Centered on the life of college students dealing with drugs, mental illness, love, sex, violence and etc. I’m not into teen drama because most are really cringy, but this one is compelling and natural. It excels in aesthetics yet it doesn’t sacrifice the story itself as some movies today just focus on the cinematography. 

The guest (2018)

Genre: Horror, Crime

The psychic, priest and detective worked together to fight the demon possessing and killing people. I don’t usually get scared of horror shows if it’s not from Japan, but this is too intense to the point that I was dreaming about it for nights and refused to watch it alone. 

Chewing gum (2015-2017)

Genre: Comedy

Revolves around Tracey who’s from a religious family that wants to explore life and sexual fantasies. The most hilarious thing I’ve watched! I’ve seen a lot of comedy, made me laugh of course, but not this way. Michaela Coel is both the lead star and the writer of this show. Don’t sleep on her genius. 

Die beautiful (2016) 

Genre: Comedy, Drama

The life of a transwoman is being reminisced at her wake. Effortlessly funny, authentic and no sugar-coating. It really reflects how trans and gays are in the Philippines. 

Trigger warning: R**e scene

Wellington Paranormal (2018-)

Genre: Mockumentary

TV spin-off of “What we do in the shadows” focused on solving paranormal crimes in Wellington. Don’t make your life complicated, If you see it’s created by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clemente, watch it!

Designated survivor: 60 days (2019)

Genre: Political thriller

A chemist professor became the successor after the president and the government officials were killed at the bombing. I haven’t seen the American version so I can’t compare, but I think you need to watch both because it has different political ideologies. This not only focuses on politics but also on the philosophy of morals. It has the best ending, realistic yet hopeful.  

Lucifer (2016-)

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

Lucifer takes a vacation on earth (Y’all already know it). It’s quirky and the script is at its best. This is unexpectedly on the top of romantic shows I’ve watched. Some say its boring, but they probably only watched the 1st episodes. Make sure to watch with subtitles to understand the British accent. 

Click the link if you want more recommendations: https://pinkvillain.tumblr.com/tagged/shows

[firelxdykatara]

This is for the ask meme, but how about top 5 underrated characters or movies? (also your blog has easily become one of my favs, thank you for existing and for your excellent commentary/takes!!!

kjfdgkdjfg well thank you! i’m glad you enjoy my ramblings

TOP 5 UNDERRATED CHARACTERS: UHMMM this is hard, cause some characters are underrated by the show but loved by the fandom, and sometimes the opposite, but these are the ones that come to mind:

1. Tyler Lockwood, from The Vampire Diaries. In the first two seasons of the show, he had a pretty fantastic ‘jerkass jock to decent human being’ character arc, and his relationship with Caroline was beautiful to watch. In season 3 Forwood lost all of the emotional depth it’d had and became almost entirely about sex, and then Tyler got put through the absolute ringer and then... kind of vanished? He came back every once in a while to get shit on by everyone (I will never not be pissed that Stefan punched him in the face for daring to be upset that the woman he loved had slept with the man who murdered his mother and slaughtered his pack--he had every right not to want to be around her after that, and to get upset when she refused to back off), and then got unceremoniously killed at some point, I think over on The Originals. I don’t know, cause I stopped watching TVD after season 6. Anyway, Tyler Lockwood deserved better, and that is that on that.

2. Wells Jaha from The 100. It’s been, what, five years since season 1 of that show? And I’m still fucking pissed about the way Wells was unceremoniously killed off in the third episode, and barely referenced again. After having been Clarke’s best friend for most of her life. Meanwhile, the ghost of Lexa, Clarke’s two-week fuck buddy (god, ok, before anyone comes to yell at me, I’m sure they were in love and it was longer than two weeks, whatever, I never cared for the relationship and I didn’t buy it in the slightest) has been haunting the show ever since she died, turning up every season like a bad fucking penny. But Wells who????

3. Alistair Theirin from Dragon Age. Now, don’t get me wrong, a lot of the fandom loves him, but I see a lot of that love centering on like... cheese jokes and ‘lol he’d be a terrible king he’s a fuckin dork’ and like, I get it, but also??? This man has been through some shit. He was abandoned by his mother, his father dumped him on Arl Eamon’s doorstep where he grew up feeling lonely and unwanted because Eamon’s wife thought he was Eamon’s illegitimate son and treated him like trash because that’s the kid’s fault of course, then he was shipped off to the Chantry because said wife was sick of having to look at him--and he didn’t even fit in there, it wasn’t until he joined the Grey Wardens that he finally felt like he had a place in the world, and he had a family he loved, and he lost literally all of them. Including the man he’d grown to care for as the father figure he’d desperately wanted all his life. And it of course depends on the choices made, but Alistair can be a damn good king if given the chance, and sometimes I get tired of people acting like he’s some helpless fop who exists to be the butt of jokes.

4. Clint Barton from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’m sure I don’t have to go into detail regarding how he was criminally underutilized from the very beginning--he was taken out of half the action of The Avengers via brainwashing, and it only got worse from there. A family was dropped on him out of nowhere, effectively cutting off any potential development and growth he had via any other relationships. And all of that aside, there is a wealth of potential characterization and personality in the comics that MCU!Clint just... doesn’t get. There are glimpses of it, and Jeremy Renner absolutely could’ve pulled it off.... but nope. And I don’t even want to get into what Endgame did to him. But basically, he was written off as the ‘boring human’ (where even Nat got to be The Gorgeous Superspy) from the start, and just... never got to grow beyond that. And it was incredibly frustrating to watch.

5. Luther Hargreeves from The Umbrella Acadmy. I’m still mad about the way the fandom treated Luther and his trauma vs how they treated Vanya’s (and there are exceptions on both sides but you still can’t throw a stone in the general tags without seeing some anti luther crap), and how it’s totally ok and understandable that Vanya slit her own sister’s throat because she couldn’t control her emotions or her powers, but Luther was evil incarnate for believing she was dangerous and trying to keep her contained until they could figure out how to help her without risking her destroying the planet (remembering that he had no way of knowing what a trigger that room would be for her). Anyway, Luther deserves better and I hope season 2 treats him well.

TOP FIVE UNDERRATED MOVIES: Probably won’t get as detailed here but!

1. Aquamarine. I actually wrote a post a while back about this movie cause it’s??? So good??? And such an amazing take on how love is important in all forms, not just romantic, which is pretty rare for a romcom, and I just really love it.

2. George of the Jungle. There’s a post floating around out there about why this is such a great movie, and how it flipped the ‘sexy/objectified female love interest’ trope on its head, but I don’t see this movie talked about enough and it should be. (The first time I saw this movie, I was six years old, it had just come out on VHS, and my father laughed so hard he fell off the fucking couch. It was the kind of thing that can only happen once, the first time, because after that you know it’s coming, but it’s still great on rewatch and I just. It’s such a good fucking movie ok.)

3. Sky High. Why isn’t there more of a fandom for this movie. It was great, and I’m still mad it didn’t get a sequel yes I still ship layla/warren don’t judge me, but it had so many great comedic beats and had a great take on superhero school and breaking down the superhero/sidekick dichotomy and they’re still teenagers with teenage problems but that won’t stop them from saving the day. And also Ron Wilson, Bus Driver, was absolutely fucking priceless.

4. Cinderella (2015). In fact, Cinderella herself routinely gets a lot of flak just in general, I guess because people can’t understand why someone in her position wouldn’t just stand up to their abusers and leave (and where the fuck would she even go?? it’s not like she had anyone she could trust to take her in, and being treated like a servant in her own home was better than starving in the cold), but I just... love so much that the live action remake focuses on her kindness and her courage and just... Have courage, and be kind, and she offers forgiveness to the Lady Tremaine, even if she didn’t deserve it and wouldn’t take it, because that’s who Ella always was. There was no room in her heart for anger and bitterness, and that’s not to say that anyone who is angry at their abusers is wrong for it, but that’s not the only way to cope. And Ella got her happy ending because she never stopped being true to herself, and it’s just. So very beautiful.

5. Enchanted. It was a really cute movie but also a great look at the typical Disney Princess formula and turning it on its head while still showing such a deep love for the source of that formula and I just love it so much. Plus Patrick Dempsey. A+++

[watchingblsnowandforever]

GMMTV lineup (part 2, mostly, with some unreleased part 1) in order of my preference: (these are only the QLs. Most of the het shows fall under my Indifferent category. If I feel like it, I'll watch them.)

The Heart Killers. Pretty sure this is #1 on most of y'alls lists and for good reason too. My reasons? Pretty simple. I love action, mafia and romcom and this is all in one. And also FirstKhao and JoongDunk so-

Peaceful Property (part 1). After TayNew outdid themselves in the beautiful soft little thing that was Cherry Magic Thailand (anyone wanna join my Cherry Magic Th propaganda?), I can't wait for this series. Also: if they give me besties, it'll be a hard pill to swallow but I'll be fine, but if they give me bromance, I'll commit homicide.

Wandee Goodday (part 1). Releasing tomorrow. I am interested to see how GMMTV will handle this trope.

My Love Mix Up! Thailand. I loved the original Kieta Hatsukoi, and I'm just a bit skeptical if they'll be able to recreate the magic of the original, but I have faith in GemFourth and after Cherry Magic I've decided to trust them.

Pluto the series. A GL? With NamtanFilm? I'm in.

Revamp. Previously: The Vampire Project. Love me some vampires <3. Also, BounPrem.

Sweeth Tooth, Good Dentist. The plot sounds super fluffy and cheesy, so of course I'm in. And no way I'm missing Mark Pakin first lead. (Also, as a dessert-loving person who had many teeth-related problems as a kid, the premise just sounds too relatable. Except the falling in love part with your dentist obviously.) But... JittiRain. I have complicated feelings for her works.

ThamePo/ My Heart Skips A Beat. It seems soft and sweet, though it does have the secret/forbidden relationship overtones.

Ossan's Love. I found the trailer hilarious, but trailers, especially pilot trailers lie. Also, I'm not hearing the greatest things about the original, but I haven't watched it so I will reserve judgement. If I like it I'll like it I guess.

Us the series. You might ask how a GL ended up so low in my list. Personally, it's a bit jarring to see BLs have this safe space/bubble for their gay bois, but GLs are proclaiming love between women as "taboo" off the bat. I also saw this in 23.5, and yeah okay I get it, wlw is seen in a much harsher eye sometimes, but in 23.5 all Ongsa did was go on repeating "But we're both girls..." without explaining the why and resolving it properly. For now, I will not think too much into it, and worry about it when the time comes.

Perfect 10 liners. What put me off in the trailer itself is the clear discrimination based on looks/physical appearances. It also seems like at this point they're just trying to give each pairing some screen time this year but have run out of plots, and are thus shoving pairings into series like it's the metro/tube/subway/whatever you call it in your country during rush hour. Will I like it? We'll see. But after We Are, I have some hope left.

Currently Airing:

We Are. It's absolutely great for my tastes and I get to detox once every week. Love it. Has absolutely no plot but has loads of fluff, and it's something I didn't know I needed in my life until I had it.

Only Boo. I kinda like it, but I have zero idea where they plan to go with the current storyline. Fluffy and cute, I'll keep watching, but it probably won't end up high on my favourites list.

[themagiciansreccenter]

Author Spotlight: @ceeainthereforthat​

Every week we interview a writer from The Magicians fandom. If you would like to be interviewed or you want to nominate a writer, get in touch via our ask box.

First things first, tell us a little about yourself.

THE DREADED QUESTION! I'm a novelist, in my public persona, and so I literally write all day long.

How long have you been writing for?

For years, but it was off and on until 2014, when I suddenly just started writing all the time. I started with fanfiction, I wrote original stuff, and I've recently come back to fanfic after being on hiatus for a couple years.

What inspired you to start writing for The Magicians?

I got into the fandom late--my first live episode was 4.11--and I never saw a season finale that so desperately needed to be erased by as much transformative fiction as possible. I was so upset. I went into reading fanfiction to help me move away from the heartbreak of 4.13.

And fic is infectious. Once I started reading stories, I started getting an idea for one. And one day I just dashed off a really short scene of queliot thirst, thinking, I'll just get this out of my system. But it didn't work that way, and now I have a universe alteration timeline 41 story set in an alternate first year at Brakebills that's pushing 70k and it's not done yet.

Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? What it is about them that makes them your favourite?

I am really torn. Do I love writing Quentin, who resonates so deeply with the part of me that doesn't realize that getting out of bed every day is an act of bravery? I love writing Quentin, because I feel like his headspace is so familiar--but since I'm in control of writing it, I can write these moments where Quentin comes up against his monsters and persistent feelings of self-doubt and show how he resists them by having faith in the people around him.

...Or do I love writing Eliot, who resonates so deeply with the part of me who went through growing up with people who were hostile to who you were, who you loved, how you were different, and how he walked away from all that bullshit and never looked back, and made himself what he wanted to be? I want to clutch Eliot to my chest because he seems like the typical queen bee meanie at first, and he's good at saying, "I don't care" while at the same time doing things that show that no, he cares a hell of a lot, but he's not going to get hurt again if he can help it--but since I'm in control of writing it, I can write these moments where Eliot walks up to what he fears most, and instead of slaying the monster, he embraces vulnerability and the risk of hurt in hope of something incredible.

WHICH DO I PICK? HELP

Do you have a preference for a particular season/point in time to write about?

So far I have been writing about the very beginning. First year. Season One. Where it all started, but different. Writing for The Magicians is a surprise for me because I'm usually writing Alternate Universe RomCom fics, but all my ideas are much more closely related to the Magicians TV universe than I usually ever write.

Are you working on anything right now? Care to give us an idea about it?

Oh boy. Two things! The first one is Enfleurage, the story that was supposed to just be a little flash/slice of (horny!) life between Quentin and Eliot,  but wound up exploding into this plotty epic fantasy. I didn't know what it was going to be when I started it, and so it starts out feeling like a flirty romance fic, and then I found the plot and went, "oh well, I guess I'm writing a longfic."

The other is a series of incredibly porny short stories. The series is called Hedonism for Beginners, and like Enfleurage, it was just supposed to be this simple one-shot. And then I wrote a sequel. And now i have a short list of stories that happen next in the series. I started working on a new story really recently, and ... it seems to want to have a plot. But I think it can progress gradually with each story I write.

How long is your “to do list”?

That's it. I don't have any more ideas for Magicians fic. *knocks on wood*

What is your favourite fic that you’ve written for The Magicians? Why?

Enfleurage and Hedonism for Beginners are the only fics I've written for the Magicians. I think I'm always going to be fond of Enfleurage, because it came in a time in my life where I needed to prove to myself that I know how to write a story, and I can trust my characters and my own sense of story to tell something that will keep people entertained.

Many writers have a fic that they are passionate about that doesn’t get the reception from the fandom that they hoped for. Do you have a fic you would like more people to read and appreciate?

There aren't as many hits on Hedonism for Beginners when you compare it to the audience for Enfleurage. I know that's partially because I locked the series away so it can only be seen by logged in members of the archive, and that a lot of people who enjoy the fic on Ao3 don't actually have accounts there. I think it might also have a narrower audience because the sex is explicit and the story really revolves around writing the smuttiest smut I can manage, ha! and so that probably limits the audience too.

What is your writing process like? Do you have any traditions or superstitions that you like to stick to when you’re writing?

My writing process is all over the place, and it depends on what i'm doing. Usually I outline but for the Magicians fics I've worked on so far, I've been working without much of an outline at all, just seeing where the characters and my understanding of stories takes me.

For tools I use a combination of scrivener and google docs. I'm really nuts about scrivener and I have an elaborate project setup complete with color coding and other bells and whistles. I write the first draft of a scene in Scrivener, and then I copy/paste it to google docs for alpha/beta reader feedback and do editing on it there.

I also track wordcount - I don't try to make a wordcount goal every day; I'm just tracking the work I actually did that day so when I feel like I've been wasting time doing nothing I have proof that's not true.

Do you write while the seasons are airing or do you prefer to wait for hiatus? How does the ongoing development of the canon influence and inspire your writing process?

I didn't start writing these stories until hiatus (and i don't know if I'm going to keep watching for season 5, I'm still really angry) but I think If I was still in progress on a long fic and the season started again, that's cool, but I'm writing for what inspired me at the moment of that first spark of an idea. Maybe something in the new season will be pertinent and maybe it won't. I guess I'll know when I get there.

What has been the most challenging fic for you to write?

The stories in Hedonism for Beginners are the more challenging stories to write. I don't precisely shy away from writing sex scenes, but I did kind of gloss over them a little, and I really felt like I wasn't bringing everything to the page that I could. I'm talking about the more frank descriptions of the action going beyond metaphor and feeling cues into exactly what they did with the envelope (and getting more adventurous with the kind of sex i'm portraying,) but I'm also talking about getting more intimate with the person whose point of view we're experiencing while reading--trying to get into the skin and mind and heart of the character, so we can see how that sex scene changes things for them.

It's been beneficial already. I can see that they've improved me as a writer in general--that working on writing better sex made me use skills that apply to everything I write.

Are there any themes or tropes that you like particularly like to explore in your writing?

I think I'm not good at seeing the recurring themes and tropes in the things I write. But I haven't ever written a story where nobody in the story falls in love. There's always a romance in everything that I write, even if it's not the main point of the story.

Are there any writers that inspire your work? Fanfiction or otherwise?

I think I gain inspriation from everything I read lately. Fiction, fanfiction, essays, non-fiction--it all helps to fill the well and inspire me.

What are you currently reading? Fanfiction or otherwise?

I'm not reading much fiction right now - I'm currently reading a book about city planning and how states try to make living spaces according to the ways in which they have attempted to make their citizens legible, through census data and other records, and how it doesn't always work. After that I'm going to read a book authored by a member of the Black Panthers during the Black Power movement (it's for a book I'm writing)

I'm having decision paralysis on my next novel to read. I'm really behind on novels, it's really quite sad.

What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

Don't hoard your best ideas. Use them right away, and clear up your brainspace to make room for another mind-blowing awesome idea. Another one will come - and the more you use your best ideas, the more excellent ideas you will get.

Are there any words or phrases you worry about over using in your work?

I'm overly fond of the word fingertips. I don't know why.

What was the first fanfic that you wrote? Do you still have access to it?

um. I think it was for the vampire lestat? and I don't have access to it any more.

Rapidfire Round!

Self-edit or Beta?

Both. Betas are really, really important.

Comments or Kudos/Reblogs or Likes?

I love getting comments on Ao3, and I love getting reblogs with tag comments on tumblr. Likes/Kudos are nice.

Smut, Fluff or Angst?

Can't we just have it all?

Quick & Dirty or Slow Burn?

Both. Yes, both. both is good.

Favourite Season?

Season Three

Favourite Episode?

the same as everyone. 3.05!

Favourite Book?

Haven’t read them.

Three favourite words?

petrichor, somnolent, euphoria

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