#(DL used to be so loved and while there still are some fans)

[yuikomorii]

// The fact that Shu’s birthday didn’t trend in Japan and the last time a character’s birthday trended was 7 months ago, just proves that the fandom is slowly starting to become smaller…

If Ayato’s birthday doesn’t trend in 2024, then I’ll be convinced that it’s over with the franchise. I can’t blame the fans for leaving either but it makes me sad, given that DL has so much potential and I truly wish Rejet would come up with more captivating material, yet I doubt this will happen soon.

#admin #(mini rant because it’s such an unsettling feeling) #(for reference in the past most characters used to trend on their birthdays but now not anymore) #(DL used to be so loved and while there still are some fans) #(the decrease is very noticeable) #(I love getting new merch official art) #(but atp they’re repeating their own merch lines) #(and it kinda loses the charm)

[igotanidea]

Christmas market : TASM! Peter x reader

Christmas bingo day 3 : christmas market

***

Christmas market in new York was, hands down, one of the best in the world. At least that was what Peter kept on telling his girlfriend, while nearly dragging her to it. Y/n was not the greatest fan of spending time in the crowd of people, due to her shyness and a bit of social anxiety, but had to relent when he gave her that pretty begging smile. How could she possibly say no to the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman after all.

Besides, after spending an hour circling around the stalls and looking at all those Christmas decoration, she slowly started to change her mind and getting into the Christmas spirit. All to Peter's amusement, especially when she absentmindedly started humming a Christmas song coming from the speakers.

"What?" She chuckled biting on her chocolate covered strawberry "you wanted me to have fun, wish granted."

"You're so out of tune!" he grinned fixing her scarf making sure she was not cold and the simplicity and care coming from this gesture made her eyes sparkle at him. But there was no way she was going to let him win this one.

"oh, I'm out of tune now? And who are you to judge me, bugboy? Vivaldi?"

"nah, I'm just the boyfriend, who heard you singing under the shower enough times to actually get an opinion".

"hey! What happened to friendly neighbourhood spi-?"

Before she could finish the sentence he leaned forward and kissed her making it impossible to reveal his secret identity. And, knowing how sensitive Peter was with keeping it on the DL, she might have done this on purpose.

"you'll be the death of me y/n" he pulled back after a while but still keeping her in his protective embrace. It was like the world around them stopped existing for a while as they both got lost in each other's eyes.

"Don't worry, not gonna happen. You got enough villains coming at you as it is. However, while we're on the subject of risking lifes- how about we take a ride on the wheel? Id love to see the city panorama from up there" she looked up at the night sky illuminated by the stars.

"actually I got a better idea..."

***

A few minutes later they were swinging in the air on Peter's spiderweb. Y/n closed her eyes, grabbing onto him with one hand, clutching her cap with the other, barely holding back from screaming. She should have been used to this form of transportation by this time but it always made her want to throw up. Especially since he never gave her a warning, just scooping her up in his arms and taking off like a freaking fly and not a spider.

"dont worry y/n. Not letting you fall." Peter said his voice distorted by the mask. "besides, you said you wanted to see the city panorama, didn't you?" He laughed as they landed keeping hands on her waist preventing her from getting dizzy and falling down.

"And you took that as a hint to show off." She scoffed struggling to find the balance even despite his firm grip. "I wanted to have some Christmas atmosphere but it didn't mean swinging by the rooftops and - oh!"

She stopped abruptly when Peter grabbed her chin softly and turned her head to the side of the Christmas market below them.

Multicoloured lights everywhere, crowd of people walking in many different directions, Christmas music that could be heard even up high, ice rink, wheel and the huge christmas tree sparkling in the dark really did bring up a Christmas atmosphere. And Peter knew she liked the view from here much more than she would appreciate it from the carousel.

"show off..." She muttered again raising on her tiptoes and pecking his cheek causing him to grin like a teenager in love.

"hey did you get me that -?"

"i did. You couldn't be more obvious"

Of course he had an hidden agenda, when he made her walk past the same gift stall four times in fifteen minutes talking about the gift choosing and how much easier it would be to actually be told what the bestowed person wanted. So yes, it was pretty easy to take the hint.

"can I get my present now then?" Peter asked with eyes glistening with excitement

"here" she leaned forward and kissed him again.

"not that I'm complaining but--"

"not before Christmas eve"

"but y/n!!"

"with great power comes great responsibility." She laughed

"what does that have to do with -?"

"I hold power over your heart so I'm responsible for the even distribution of the gifts. Kiss for now, package for later."

"

#spider man x reader #peter parker x reader #tasm!peter x reader #tasm!peter x you #tasm!peter fluff #spiderman fluff #christmas bingo

[kuroashims]

☠ CHRONICLES OF A BRAINROT ☠

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After many years simming in my corner, I finally decided to step out of my comfort zone and share my pixel babies with the simblr/tumblr sphere!

I started playing sims with the first opus when I was pretty tiny, and couldn't stop ever since. This game allows my creativity and inner world to express like no other game would, and that's what I love so much about it.

I created many different worlds, kingdoms and stories, but the one I enjoy the most is my One Piece save I started a year ago. It is the first time I am really eager to leave CAS to actually play the game!

Back in 2015 I've been introduced to the manga/anime universe and I never went back! It truly was a revelation, and a revolution in my own stories. But when I discovered One Piece, all of a sudden I was hooked. This universe is so colorful and deep at the same time, it is the safe place I go whenever I feel down, and it never fails me. It may sound silly but I can't explain how warm it makes me feel. Especially Luffy's vibe and laugh, he's so precious.

So last year when I had to stop working because of bad health issues, my last two brain cells met and said to each other "hey, why not One Piece sims?", and that was it, I began this crazy journey of looking for the perfect OP custom content for the perfect OP babies, being disappointed of not finding many or really old ones...and that is when, after weeks and weeks of research, I decided to create my own One Piece custom content, because, why not?!

I never touched Blender (and a year later I still feel such a newbie with it) nor Photoshop before, but it didn't stop me to throw myself into it and man, despite all the crying seeing my creations in game unexpectedly float in the air or be filled with "???" in CAS and such, I can say that I don't regret anything!

I can sing on stage, write songs or dance, but can I properly draw? No, I cannot. And I've been frustrated for so long since I wanted to do fanarts for my fandoms but I tried, aaand it was bad. Like, really really bad. Fortunately simming is now one of my places of expression, and I'm SO EXCITED about my lil creations & stories.

My wish is to grow a small community of One Piece fans and/or fellow simmers with whom I could share my passions and enjoy theirs. I know you guys are out there, and I love you already!!

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➨ useful informations for navigation:

• Some of my posts may contain dark topics, blood and mature rp ships (18+)

• I'll do my best to limit spoilers but take note that there might me some here

• I am WCIF friendly but it might take a while for me to answer since I literally use thousands of cc. So please ask for 1 or 2 items at a time. I will happily share their names and creators

• I will not share any download links of my own OP custom content, because I often use other artist's meshes parts, then I mix them with my own etc ; so claiming these items as my own and share them to dl would break those artist's TOUs. Thank you for your comprehension

• That said, if I ever grow a significant sim community, I would eventually contact these artists one by one to ask their permissions to share my content with you! (with credits ofc)

• On this page I'll only reblog sims from other people that are One Piece characters, as well as One Piece fanarts or anything related

• Aside from my sims I also really enjoy editing my own gifs and manga/anime panels so you can expect to see a lot of them ♡

• Don't be surprised if some of my sims seem really different from one screenshot to another, that is because I have different saves with different timelines (children, pre timeskip, post timeskip, Wano), and various AUs like high school, dark fantasy world etc. For example, by now I already have 8 different Sanji sims in several styles and stages of his life (my biggest number for a single character, but I can't help it...I just love him so much!)

• If there are any suggestions, requests, ships (personally into Zosan/Zolu/Lusan/Lawlu/Acesan/Shuggy/Mishanks/Frobin) and more that you would like to see, feel free to ask and I will enjoy making it happen for you!

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SO HERE WE ARE ☻

THANKS FOR READING...

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY ✿❁❀

#intro post #new simblr #sims community #one piece #cc creator #maxis mix #text post

[rhoorl]

My dear Jess,

Here I am again 😁

In honor of Pedro's birthday, I can't help but wonder what is the most memorable gift that each of the DL boy has received from the rest of the squad. It can be as funny, sentimental or borderline illegal as you want it be! And Cousin Joel can be the responsible for one of them, if you wish... 😏I love learning more about your DL canon!! 😍

Pedro tax below cause.. Just cause.

Love you! G

My dearest G,

I love it when you pop into my inbox asking for some DL canon - it seriously makes my day! So sorry it took me a while to respond. You know I had to think this through (and it’s me, so it’s a lengthy and involved response). Here we go!

Benny

From Will: I’m starting off with a bit of a sentimental one. Remember how in DL, Benny and Will’s dad found all of Benny’s art supplies and threw them out? Well, for his birthday, Will got Benny a brand-new set of notebooks and colored pencils. Will was deployed, but he had it delivered to Joel’s house since it was a safe place. Dammit, I just made myself cry with this…

From Frankie: Frankie gifted Benny a pair of MMA gloves one year - it was when he realized that Benny was really starting to get serious about it. 

From Santiago: Pope gifted Benny a set of whiskey glasses, but they weren’t just any glasses, they were in the shape of butts. I actually found these on Amazon and they cracked me up. I feel like Benny would find this hilarious.

Bonus

From Joel: So we’ve established in DL that Benny really looks up to Joel and sees him as kind of a father figure/older brother type. Benny was a big fan of pro wrestling growing up, so one year Joel got him tickets to a wrestling show.

Frankie

From Santiago: Frankie loves to cook and is quite the grillmaster, so one year Pope got him a novelty chef’s apron. 

From Benny: Benny has given Frankie his fair share of sentimental gifts over the years, but it’s Benny so you know he’s given several funny gifts too. In the DL universe, Frankie is also known as the 🐱 👑 so Benny gave him this shirt.

From Will: A sentimental gift to round out Frankie’s gifts. He gifted Frankie a beautiful leather-bound notebook – I have a headcanon that Will is big on journaling. He and Frankie have some similarities in their dispositions, so I think Will knows that Frankie could really benefit from spending time writing down his thoughts.

Santiago

From Frankie: Frankie got Pope his first wine subscription because he knew Pope was really getting into wine and wanted to experiment and try a bunch of different things.

From Will: I feel like Will is sneakily really funny… a bit unassuming because he’s quiet. For Pope’s 40th birthday, Will got him 40 gift cards…but they all were for like really random amounts. Benny was in on this too – basically for a year they bought gift cards to random places and would use them until they had like less than a dollar. They collected all of those gift cards and gave them to Pope on his birthday. Here he was thinking he was getting spoiled with a ton of money to a bunch of random places but in total, it’s like 30 cents to McDonalds and 75 cents to a gas station. I hope that makes sense because this idea really makes me laugh. 

From Benny: When Pope was dating a younger lady, Benny busted his balls a bit and got him a “Millennial slang dictionary” to help Pope know what she was talking about.

Will

From Benny: Although Will isn’t that much older than Benny, Benny still likes to tease his older brother about being “old.” One year they decided to do gag gifts for their birthdays so Benny found this soap in the shape of a Viagra pill and thought it was absolutely hilarious.

From Frankie: Will is a big Star Wars fan, so one year Frankie got him a coffee table book full of Star Wars concept art and other drawings. 

From Santiago: During his travels, Pope saw a guy on the street with a bunch of different art that was really cool. He ended up buying a few pieces from the guy and one of them was a Star Wars-related one he got specifically for Will.

Sorry this was long AF but I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I had thinking through it all! If you made it to the end, here's some TF tax.

#rhoorl asks #g always has the best asks #delta landscaping headcanons #delta landscaping #triple frontier

[travissimblr]

Sunset Valley - Fixed and Renovated.  World Download

Sunset Valley Renewal

What is this?

-Sunset Valley map edited in CAW to group all of the new community lots from all the expansion into their own neighborhood.  Original road layout is still in place just a few extra lots added. -Relocated Most of the expansion community Lots that EA took absolutely no effort to place within the world.  Almost all of the EA Expansion lots were facing the wrong direction, incorrect lot sizes etc.  Now they are all in one location with the exception of the Equestrian lot as its requires a large lot so that lot has been left in its original location.  ( I might update this in the future by adding a new lot within CAW) -Multiple Residential lots have been relocated in order to accommodate the new Community lots but all of the original EA lots/families are still within the world. -Fixed many of the ugly roof lines of the original EA builds. -Every House has been "toned down" with more neutral colors inside.  No more mustard and olive green bathrooms and kitchens! -Multiple houses have been redesigned to a more functional floor plan.  For Example: Plus Plus no longer has that ugly tree house looking addition to the back of the house.  It now resembles a colonial style two story home. -Most homes have had their exterior colors either changed or toned down from their Crayola box colors.

I have to say this is to my tastes.  I admit I am a fan of blues and grays so there might be a bit of a common theme with some lots.  I did go out of my comfort zone quite a bit however and used some color.  Overall this is a drastic improvement over the vanilla game while trying to keep the same feel of the original Sunset Valley.

** I have all of the expansion packs and some stuff packs installed.  I also own some store content but I don't think any of it was used.  This isn’t necessary to use this world.  If you start the game and see some missing windows etc that just means you don't have that expansion/pack.  You can just replace whats missing.  The game world will still work fine. **

**Scroll for File and Pics **

The Pics...

This is an Example of how EA added Expansion pack lots into the game.  The building is facing the wrong direction and placed in an odd location on the map.

 New Commercial District with most of the Expansion pack lots.  Fire Station, Clubs, Laundromat, Consignment Store etc.

Before....

After...

Interior Before.....  So much Mustard and Olive green... Yuck!

After.  Neutral colors and doesn’t make your eyeballs hurt.

Before... I don’t even know what this is lol

After... Removed that weird diagonal bit, rotated the lot cleaned up the roof lines.

Before....

After.  Because everyone loves a grungy trailer.

FILE:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4bj3icoveb1l756/Sunset%20Valley%20Renewal.zip?dl=0

Installation:

Please read through these instructions carefully.  Most people should understand how to do this but I prefer not having to answer questions on what should be very simple instructions.

1.  Unzip the file to a separate folder.  You should see a file called Sunset Valley Renewal.Sims3Pack (World File) and a folder called Sunset Valley Renewal.sims3 (Game Save)

2.  Copy the Sunset Valley Renewal.Sims3Pack to you Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Downloads.  In Windows 10/11 you can just open up File Explorer and in the left bar you will see "Documents"  otherwise it will be copied to X:\Users\(Your Windows Login Name)\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Downloads.  Keep the Sims 3 Folder open as you will need this again in a few steps.

3.  Open The sims 3 launcher (S3Launcher.exe).  Click on Downloads.  If you copied the world file to the correct location you should see Sunset Valley Renewal there.  Click on the check box to the left of the name and click install.  A box will pop up.  Wait for it to finish installing.  Close the box and then close the launcher.

4.  Next you will need to install my save game in order to have the world be populated.  Otherwise if you start a new game the world will be empty.  All of the lots will be there but there will be no sims in any of the houses.

5.  Copy the folder Sunset Valley Renewal.sims3 to Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Saves.  Be sure to copy the entire folder over not just the files inside of the folder.

6.  Now you're done!  If you copied the save game correctly when you start the game you should see a new save called Sunset Valley Renewal.  Load this up and you're good to go.  Do not start a New Game with the world or the world will be unpopulated!  Of course you can always play with the world unpopulated and populate it with your own sims but if you want it populated use the save.

7.  Another note...  If you want to be able to start a new game in this world in the future after loading into the world Save As and rename it to whatever you want that way in the future you will be able to use my save to start fresh in Sunset Valley again.

Thanks and Enjoy!

**Please feel free to share this, all I ask is that you link back to this post for the file.**

#ts3 #ts3world #sims3 #sims 3 worlds #sims 3 #ts3 download

[megabuild]

for the ask game

smalletho or cledubs

Cledubs: Ship It

What made you ship it?

Fan content mainly... I like them as friends in the series but wouldn't really have considered them as a pairing had I not seen a ton of other people talking about it. Also the crastle duh because they were literally married

What are your favorite things about the ship?

I think it's funny honestly. I love any ship where bdubs can get a bit teased and flustered and especially cledubs because I don't think he really fights back as much as he would with say etho.. makes me giggle.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I don't think they approach it in the typical romantic sense... I'm not good with labelling stuff and I don't think they are either frankly. They have SOMETHING going on but it's not tied down. Bdubs is pretty committed to Etho and Cleo probably has stuff going on with Gem and Joe too, I don't think either of them really Care about what it is but they enjoy each others company and fucking ruthlessly or whatever

Smalletho: Don’t Ship It

Why don’t you ship it?

So yeah they were literally soulmates OBVIOUSLY. And I like some fanart and stuff of them but they just don't read as a relationship to me.. sorry. Joeldubs is more real to me than smalletho I'm so /srs. They probably fucked in that stupid boat but yknow. Maybe they tried but then by the time sessions four takes place or whatever they're both like yeah this just isn't for us. Still besties though. Joel still kisses his neck from behind because he thinks it's cute and funny when etho gets frightened

What would have made you like it?

Honestly.. nothing? I just don't see it that way sorry. I'm not always very good at multishipping and I'm a firm ethubs girlie so that probably doesn't help

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

I think they're a really cool duo which is fun because I didn't expect them to be when DL started! I also think it really marked a moment of etho being Forced out of his shell to interact with newer people and did wonders for the later series 💙 and it also introduced me to joel properly because while I'd seen him in empires I hadn't seen That much. Thank you boat boys for your impact

#anon #asks

[faeiapalette]

I rarely ever send asks to blogs but I noticed the absolutely shitstorm taking place in your inbox from my OC blog and I'm so confused??? Like why did it escalate to such a heated discussion?? I actually fully agree with you that Ayato's LE route is anything but bad. It was one of my favorites amongst the S boy routes and while I did feel bad for him, I don't think the 'they don't deserve it' argument is valid for any of the DL boys. They've all done horrible things to Yui/the MC so they can't complain about karma biting them in the ass at one point or another. Also this whole 'which boy is the main one/Yui's canon S/O' is so silly imo. (and mind you, I'm a big AyaYui shipper myself) After translating over half of all the games' content, I can confidently say that Rejet is not that serious about the plot of DL and will defy or contradict their previously established lore literally ALL THE TIME. So why can't we - as a fandom - also be a little more chill and laidback about it and enjoy our own interpretations of the story instead of trying to prove other people's opinions wrong? ^^;; In the end, it's just fiction and there's no real right or wrong. Also big disagree on you not being able to voice your dislike for Ayato because he's generally loved by the fandom. :/ So it's okay to bash Cordelia or Karl because most fans agree that they're shitty people, but you can't speak ill of one of the main boys? Oh boy I better go hide now because I've lost count of how many times I've called Kanato a nasty purple gremlin.

I'm a Subaru stan but if I see someone insult Subaru, I don't get upset. I realize he has his flaws too and he won't be everyone's cup of tea. That's totally fine like go and call him a sad piece of emo trash for all I care. He might be my oshi, but in the end he's also just a bunch of pixels on a screen lol.

(😳 wait can i say “senpai noticed me”? Although i’m not too fond of this kind of “notice” and i don’t think it’s something i should be proud of it either, but still 🥹🤣💀🙈💗

Also… i deeply apologize for this massive tornado of… whatever it is 😭)

And 😭💦 I have no problem with Ayato tho? It started when i start wondering why the reasons i heard didn’t came from the inside of Ayato’s route (instead, as you can see, people compare his route to the other S boys’ routes, aka the external. Oh and actually an anon told me that problems lie in bad writing and horrible ending, that’s the first one for me. 🙌) So i just started analyzing things using internal infos in his route and speak it up in the form of an opinion. 🤔 Then people misunderstand what i said and see it as “i’m attacking Ayato”, and all of this happened. So… Thank you, but i’ll pass that 1st sentence in the 2nd paragraph to any other person who couldn’t say “i hate this character” in this fandom. 🥺💗 Sigh…. I do wish people can be chill and understanding like you and some people i know as well. Realizing all of this things isn’t that hard. 😔

#Diabolik lovers #Ask #😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

[ruki--mukami]

Admin, a question for you. What are the 5 best scenes with Ruki for you?

🧩 Thank you for sending me such an interesting ask, Anon. First I’d like to disclaim that narrowing it down to just five best scenes is honestly impossible for me since I have so many favorites, but here are five that I’ve selected that all never fail to bring a smile upon my face. Keep in mind that my tastes are very versatile and I’ve selected diabetes-inflicting levels of sweet fluff to the most sadistic and bloodthirsty scenes on this list, as well as everything in between. I’ll be mostly paraphrasing what happens then explaining my reasoning for why it made it to my list, so thank you for bearing with my simpery. 

Needless to say, this list has many Ruki related spoilers, so you’ve been warned. I’ll start from 5 to 1 (least to most loved). 

5. Ruki's More Blood Drama CD - Track 10 - Latter half

Ah, yes. The very first introduction to the Mukami family across all the DL media. While I’m no veteran, I can only imagine what a strong first impression this left on long-time fans of the franchise. Essentially the reason why the end of this drama CD series for Ruki made it on my “top 5” is because he just sounds so blood drunk and ready to do whatever is necessary to heighten the arousal seeping within you, the listener, at this point. 

By now he has already threatened to drop you from a skyscraper, ripped each article of clothing off of you without a shred of remorse, and the intonation of his voice just sounds so unhinged compared to his normal self. The salacious moans and grunts he makes as he sucks your blood just sound desperate yet not too over the top, leaving the listener wanting more. It even ends in a blood drunk love confession. This man literally went from “you’re just livestock” to “I love you… this blood has begun to corrupt even me.”

Trust me, I love Ruki for his intelligence, but when he is this far gone and crazed, it definitely ignites something within me. 

4. Ruki's Bloody Bouquet Drama CD - Track 4 - Last ~2 or so minutes of the track

Alright, time for some fluff. Bloody Bouquet will always hold a special place in my heart because it is the drama CD series that allows the listener to marry their favorite DL boy. And the way Ruki proposes to you is just so sweet and traditional in an ironic sense, given his earlier mistreatment. The two of you have been warding off a curse at the cost of his well-being and finally, after it has lifted, he expresses the desire to coalesce in (un)holy marriage. From the hugging sound effects to how tender his voice sounds when he professes his love honestly fulfills my fantasy of actually marrying this crazy vampire, ahaha. 

Despite my violent and sadistic portrayal of Ruki, I honestly love it when he’s not your antagonist for once and is instead lending you a helping hand to defeat the greater evil: the curse of the bouquet. This series as a whole also does not lack in the bite department whatsoever, yet still manages to maintain a sweet storyline in which he tries his damndest to save you even if your cursed blood is his bane. 

3. Ruki's More, More Blood Drama CD - Track 5 - 11:00 ~ End of track 

Listen, I know MMB is more of a controversial selection for this list given his heightened sadism in this one, but honestly that’s the reason why I love this CD: Ruki just sounds so ready to ruin your life here, and honestly, nothing has ever been more exhilarating. And that’s not even the best part of this plot. He is just so 200 IQ here that I’m honestly shook by the end of the CD. There’s even a bonus track called “another story” where he recaps the events of the plot from his perspective and explains how the listener foolishly gave away that they’ve been using the hourglass to rewind time. 

Oh, I just adore how he uses it against you at the end!! And all the threats in this CD are far more menacing than usual which is such a thrill. There is a certain part of this track in particular based on his voice that lets the listener know Ruki has finally reached his limit in terms of how much tomfoolery he can tolerate. Honestly in one of the earlier tracks where he starts listing all the ways he could punish you, I just sat there like… how about yes to all of them? Yes, I have sick tastes. 

2. Ruki's Dark Fate Heaven 1 - Academics Forsaken Tryst

This was such a difficult decision for me to make, because literally all of the heaven scenarios from Dark Fate are just phenomenally perfect. However, eventually I settled with the scenario where Ruki is getting dressed before going to school to give a whole speech in English. He teasingly asks Yui to help him knot his tie, to which he gets a bit jealous at the mere thought that she might’ve done this for another man before him. So much so that he playfully pushes her onto the bed and even opts to fool around with her instead of going to school to deliver his speech!! How ridiculous, coming from stellar student and proper older brother Ruki, is that?! I could not believe it when I first read through this game.

The implications for what happens afterwards is just infuriatingly inviting, like you want to travel to Rejet’s headquarters just to harass them on why they left this scene on such a tortuous cliffhanger. Of course, I understand DL is not a R18 game, so they can’t show what comes after, but still. I just love how Ruki is willing to shove aside certain things if it means sharing a heated moment of intimacy with his lover. It’s unlike him but that’s what makes it even more special.

1. Ruki's Dark Fate Route - Vampire End - From Vampire to Human

It should go without saying that Dark Fate is my all-time favorite DL game and whoever wrote Ruki’s route deserves a big ol’ smooch on the cheek for this godlike execution. His route has angst, drama, spice, fluff, a joyously unexpected ending—what more could you want? Honestly it is impressive given how it is just one route of a DL game!! But what truly amazed me was how Karlheinz let Ruki off by taking away his vampirism, which thus reverted him back to a human man. The player and Ruki get married afterwards, and what really makes me grin from ear to ear is how happy and satisfied he sounds at the end. He does this cute little laugh and monologues to himself, “finally, I’ve obtained it,” and that’s just so powerful to me. 

It’s obvious by now that I love and cherish scenes where Ruki is thriving the most and that I have a strong marriage fantasy with him. As someone who roleplays as the man, it’s my goal to eventually bring all the ships to the point of marriage and their own twisted ‘happily ever after.’ Though who is to say we can’t enjoy a bit of sadism and sexy bloodsucking scenes along the way? Okay, maybe it’s more than just a bit, but still. 🧩

#ruki mukami #mukami ruki #the admin speaks

[dollwrites]

HI BABE please take all the time you need I know you're probably sooo busy right now!!! I'm so sorry about your old page you didn't deserve that, but I'm so so happy you decided to stay and make a new one I couldn't even imagine coming on here anymore if you weren't here 😭

THEY ARE TALKIING ABOUT BANNING TIKTOK! Unfortunately our government REALLY wants to ban tiktok they had a hearing with the CEO of tiktok and everything about it, and they're also trying to ban vpns so we cant get to tiktok that way either 😒 it's so annoying I would be so crushed lol I have hundreds of edits and stuff

I DID GET TO SEE DEMON SLAYER OMG IT WAS AMAZING I mostly just went to see the tengen/gyutaro fight on the big screen tbh lol. They only showed the first episode of the new season but I will say koku looked and sounded VERY cool he was super mysterious I'm very excited for you to see in like a week 👀 hate to say it but muzan looked BEAUTIFUL and of course akaza did too, but as someone who hasn't read the manga I was SHOCKED at just how HUGE Doma is like the stature on that man is insane I was expecting him to be kinda skinny and lanky but NOPE 👀 Also mitsuri I- 😳 the bi in me cannot handle it I just love her 😭 like was there a certain scene that was just brazen fan service, yes. But did she look gorgeous YES. I'm also kinda excited to see more of Genya his character design is so cool to me. I'm very excited to see what you think when the new season comes out 👀

Also PLEASE write more diabolik lovers!!! Diabolik lovers is one of the only animes I consistently rewatch I just cant help it it's like a guilty pleasure lol. It has so much potential for dark content like idk if it's just me but I love reading about blood/my blood getting drank etc lol so it fits perfectly. I also just love the trope of being forced to live with them and the whole gothic vampire vibes 🖤

I didn't want to send many tiktoks since ik you're probably so busy with the new blog so I'm just gonna include two diabolik lovers ones lol 🥰

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRceDUYr/

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRceukvJ/

I'm so excited for the new things you're going to post, I hope you're doing well 😘 -jjk anon

BABY YES HI

First of all I’m so sorry all the shit happened before I could answer your big ask I WAS SO UPSET 😭

OH NO THEY SHOULDNT DO THAT. I mean I pretty much exclusively use tiktok to watch thirst edits of anime hotties BUT STILL I wonder why the gov doesn’t like tiktok???

if they do ban it we’ll have to send each other fan art back and forth 😭😭

YES DEMON SLAYER IM SO EXCITED I’ve been getting so hype about finally seeing Koku baby animated my big big big warrior man 😵‍💫😵‍💫 BRO I SAW SOME LEAKED CLIPS AND PICS IM NOT A MUZAN GIRLIE BUT HE LOOKED V V GOOD and douma is fucking MASSIVE !!! I haven’t read the manga either but one of my besties has and I did make her ( begged 💚 ) to give me all the spoilers which is how I knew about koku in the first place SKKSKSK SO IM EXCITED

YOU LIKE DL TOO ?? YES WE SHARE ONE BRAIN I SWEAR. DL would be a guilty pleasure anime if I possessed even 1 ounce of shame but I do not so I just openly love those slutty slutty vampire men. I must know who your favorites are 🤨🤨 YOU KINDA GIVE SUBARU AND YUMA STAN VIBES but I can also see you being into ayato also THE FORCED DOMESTICATIONNNNN ONE OF MY FAVES WE REALLY DO HAVE ONE BRAIN SKSKSKKSK

THE TIKTOKKKKSSSS OMG YOU SEND ME THE TWO BABIES ??? IM GONNA SCREAM kanato is my little meow meow the urge to be his mommy ( bc his real mom is….. ya know 💀 ) and let him drink from me while I pet his hair is OVERWHELMING and AZUSA SOFT BOY I’m shaking trembling I love those TikToks thank you for the snack babe 💚💚💚

It is kinda hectic trying to transfer everything 😅 BUT I always want to make time for you when I can !!

I have some for you too 🥺🥺

listen… I’m so excited to write that upper moon reverse harem au I’ve been HOLDING ON TO FOR THE LONGEST TIME it’s finally almost time to release these fics and Douma is going to be a MENACE to our poor reader

I SAW THIS AND IMMEDIATELY SAVED IT THINKING OF YOU

I genuinely cannot believe my FAVORITE va was cast as the deadbeat dilf I am going rabid

I WISH I HAD MORE FOR YOU BUT SINCE THE MOVE IVE NOT BEEN ON TIKTOK THAT MUCH

#jjk nonnie ! #DONT THINK I MISSED THAT #‘can’t imagine coming on here anymore if you weren’t here’ WHAT IF I STARTED CRYING RN #I was very worried you wouldn’t see I moved and I’m so so glad you did 😭😭

[theloupgaroux]

Wanna hear all your HOTD thoughts on episode 3 💕

Hi hi! BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD

First of all- I was NOT a fan of the Matt Smith casting. He’s not what I picture when I think of Daemon, or the personality I read into. Now that he’s had a chance to show us his version of Daemon, I’m really loving it. It’s different, just like Rhaenyra, than the personalities I saw in the texts - but it’s wonderful in its own way. It’s a lot more vulnerable than I ever saw Daemon as being. I’m so appreciative of Matt Smith and his talents now!

Changing Laenor to make him fight in the same battles as Daemon is… weird and interesting. I think I’m really going to enjoy show!Laenor. The Velaryons in general are always BAMFs, so either version is great. Watching the Stepstone battle plan and being like “there’s husband one and two” was djdjdjdjsjsnbdbdos. Get it girl. Get the platonic powerful life partner and get the romantic inbreeding. Get it ALL.

Viserys continues to just be annoying. The changes they’ve made have really invalidated him as a king and a character… he’s floppy and weak. Instead of jovial and steadfast and loyal. That said the emo teen mood with Rhaenyra and her relationship with her dad was so on point this episode. Repeating herself en route to the hunt was hilarious.

I thought having the crab feeder team winning was a little silly… like, yeah there’s caves. Still loses against endless fire. Block the caves. Lock them in there. Land a dragon cutting them off from the entrances and burn burn burn while you kill those remaining with nowhere to scurry to. It was wonderful to watch Daemon just go batshit on the suicide run. The only other thing I didn’t like was… and it’s Vaemonds word so a grain of salt but… saying Daemon was losing the trust of his soldiers. He would NEVER. Don’t you try to play me like that. I’m hoping it wasn’t a genuine comment and was just a jealous Vaemond.

I know I’m all over the place but- Rhaenyra has no chemistry with Crispy. Ser Crisp. It’s a flop. I like them as friends but I don’t read any more into that. Unlike Breakbones who clearly wants to bang the hell out of her. And I appreciate that.

Oh I had this headcanon today…

What if the message Viserys sent to Daemon WASNT about the war. What if Rhaenyra, faced with being forced to marry a Lannister, ran off to Lys or something. Her great aunt runs a pleasure house there (Saera, if she’s still alive). What if she were to run away and Viserys was trying to keep it on the DL and begged Daemon to go after her. I see the fic and I want it.

Anyway a lot of ramblings. I’m mostly just pissed cause I can’t gifs with my VLC- it keeps stalling and cutting frames when I screenshot. I’m researching my options for my Mac for some alternative. It’s really sucked.

This is me after the scene where Daemon was a one man army btw…

#hotd for ts #asoiaf for ts #loup talks dragons #loup dragon talk #which was it? meh

[yuikomorii]

As someone who only watched the anime (and read some manga chapters afterwards) I really can’t understand how people can ship Yui with anyone else than Ayato. In the anime he is the only one who cares about her. While the others just use her for her blood, Ayato is always protective of her and tries to save her from any danger. Or he is the only one concerned when she disappears (which is honestly just wild that the other Sakamakis don’t even care that she’s gone). You can really tell by the anime that Ayato is the creators’ favourite (Because I feel like every otome game or harem/seraglios anime creator has a fave in their work)

// Right on! Perhaps they only consider HDB when judging him, but everyone was a jerk there, so I don't see a huge problem in Ayato's situation. I feel like some people are not shipping them because "he threw her in a pool" but 1) he regretted it and saved her afterwards, and 2) it's confirmed by Rejet that both Ayato and Yui have feelings for each other in the anime but I'm sure she fell for him after he snatched her first kiss. Additionally, he was the only one to confront Richter in order to save her, and in the second season, when Shu advised him that going to the Mukamis would be risky due to to the wolves, Ayato was like: “I don't care if I die, I'm not going to let them have her." That’s very similar to the DF prologue, in which Ayato uses himself as shield and sacrifices himself for Yui so as not to get her hurt and even if you make Yui choose someone else, Ayato will still be in a coma or severely wounded in their routes due to the attack.

They’re basically the most shipped in Japan because Ayato is super big and people will automatically like Yui too, since she is known as his girlfriend and they both make each other happy. Most Yui cosplayers or lovers are Ayato stans too and even if many people aren't necessarily in the DL fandom, they will still favour Ayayui because it's a "safe option" ship in the sense that they both look aesthetically pleasing together, they seem most like a typical couple, and he makes her feel like a normal teenager, which is what Yui most desires.

Other than that, the ship itself is super praised and no matter if they stan another Diaboy, DL fans will absolutely love any official Ayayui content they get. The toxic side of the western fandom might seem petty about it but Japanese fans, despite liking other ships too, actually acknowledge that Ayato is the best choice for Yui and that’s why they have no problem with Ayayui getting more love from Rejet than the other ships.

Besides, it’s cute how it’s canon that Yui secretly has feelings for Ayato even in the non-individual CD dramas/Tokutens, as seen here. xD

#admin

[yukikurosu123]

(unpopular opinion) A Defense of Diabolik Lovers: 3

determined to persevere and make the best out of nothing. The same comments that degrade and mock her are the same comments that whine or fetishise the DL boys to death. There are studies on how optimistic people are more resilient to stress and other factors that are associated with being a hazard to mental health. Yui never gave up on looking for the positive in a sea full of negatives, and I think that’s why she survived. It sounds cheesy, but it’s why her mental health didn’t deteriorate and why she was able to make decisions that ultimately helped in her favor. If you want to see Yui’s best display of her strengths and patience, I think Yuma and Kou’s More Blood routes are the best examples :)

4. Additionally, I wanted to note the anime was only a promo for the fans of the game originally. It’s not that hard to see why it received so much hatred when it first debuted in 2013 as even the company Rejet said they didn’t want to localize the game because they knew western audiences would likely hate on the series if it came to light which they were right about. Before it was an anime, Diabolik Lovers was a dummy head drama CD series by Japanese company Rejet. The intent of the series was to target a very niche demographic of masochistic girls with their first release. After the drama CD’s exploded in popularity in Japan, Rejet decided to make it into an otome game a year later. The first release into the series was a PSP otome game called Diabolik Lovers- Haunted Dark Bridal- they eventually also made it into an anime one year later. Crunchyroll unfortunately translated it for the US and that’s when it catched the curious attention of the West. As Rejet predicted with their localization of the game, it got negatively review bombed and even scoring multiple 1s on MAL. However, there are some plausible reasons why the anime is so horrible, as someone who has actually played it, I can argue why the games are so much more better than the anime adaptation. The game system the otome game series is known for is the Do-S game system, after you select which boy you wish to choose the route for, you get a status menu that displays three things: The “Blood Sucking Love Meter”, your S meter and M meter, understandably in my opinion, that means that unlike in the anime where she doesn’t have much of a backbone or much of a choice, you can actually make choices for her to talk back to them lightly, while you’d still get your blood sucked, but it’s still much different than the anime how she reacts or replies back. Not to mention by taking away the context of the game, the anime adaptation is a total mess. You have the choice to believe or not, but there is an actual solid plot line in the games. And in some twisted sense - there’s actually romance, even though it would depend on what you would consider as “romance” of course the kind of romance they depict in the games are not all roses and petals but there are still some nuance of it. For example, take the famous scene among the anime fans of Ayato drowning into a pool while eventually having flashbacks of his mother doing that to him during childhood - after a while, he “saves” her and her sucks her blood. But in the game, this happens after they have some kind of affection for each other. And he kisses her instead of sucking her blood unlike in the anime. The main difference between the scene in the game and the scene in the anime is their relationship. In the beginning of the otome, Yui knows that her blood is valuable to them so she makes an ultimatum, she tells them that she has the right to pick who gets to suck her blood. But in the anime, she doesn’t chooses this at all, it’s basically a free-for-all situation. Going back to talking about the Ayato drowning Yui into a pool scene, although they have barely started knowing each other in the anime, they’ve already established some sort of twisted dark romantic relationship in the otome game. The timeline in the otome game makes the scene much less confusing for the player. The DL game series is character-focused, when you select a route for a character, the route is split into three sections— “Dark, Manic and Ecstasy”. Dark is the chunk of the game where Yui is tormented and tortured by the LI of your choice, Maniac is when it begins to have some kind of ‘dere dere’ going on and Ecstasy is when they begin to have some mutual insanity for each other. The pool scene where Ayato drowns her into a pool is during a scenario of the ecstasy section— but in the anime, it acts as if it’s still in the Dark section. In the game, Yui is able to one step by another, become accustomed to their twisted Do-S character, and she also finds herself romantically drawn to them. The story is also different for each LI depending on the route, a

[damanbeatty]

Blackberry Enters The World Of Android App Stores

Original Post Date April 23, 2014

Not many people seem to know this, but since the release of Blackberry OS 10.2 last October, it has been possible to install and use Android apps on modern Blackberry handsets. I tried this back then with a Q10 I was testing. I managed to get Instagram and some other apps working but it was a painful process of having to connect by USB and install Android APK packages using a PC. Imagine installing apps like that with your iPhone or Android like it was 2005! The novelty wears off quickly. I was excited because I really love the physical keyboard, but when I discovered that Instagram was too big for the screen and the filters were cut off, I got rid of the phone.

Fast forward to January with the release of Blackberry 10.2.1 and the OS now allows you to install Android APK files directly on the phone itself. I tried this again with another tester Blackberry Q10 and happily discovered that Instagram has been modified to scale now, and will fully work on the Q10. The pictures are really small mind you, but it works!

There are several ways through which Android applications, software and games can be installed on a Blackberry Smartphone. Aptoide is one of the most common and widely used applications which allow Blackberry users to run Android apps. Aptoide is free to download and extremely easy to install. The reason why Aptoide is so commonly used is because it allows users to choose best apps from multiple stores. The application directory available on Aptoide is created by fans and users, therefore the apps mentioned are confirmed to work.

Another way of downloading Android apps on Blackberry 10 is through Snap. It is basically an application which allows users to search for apps on the Google Play Store. Users can search for an application by name and Snap would automatically redirect them to the Google Play Store. However the drawback of Snap is that it shows paid applications in search results but Blackberry users cannot purchase Android apps. Also, Snap has to be sideloaded onto the Blackberry.

Blackberry 10 users can also use APK-DL to download an Android application of their choice. Unlike other options, users do not need to download an application or software if they use APK-DL website. All what users need to do is search for an app on the website and download the APK file of the required Android application.

1Mobile has also proven to be a useful source when it comes to installing Android apps on Blackberry. The biggest advantage of using 1Mobile is that it scans the Blackberry to detect the currently installed APK (Android) files, and then notifies if an update is available of one (or more) Android apps.

It should be noted that since Blackberry phones are not officially approved Android devices, they are not recognized by Google and so sometimes you may see a message complaining that Google Play Services is missing, but most of the time you can just bypass this and the app will work fine.

These applications and websites make it easier for Blackberry users to partake in the Android experience, while still working within the Blackberry environment. I really love it, and I am getting so I prefer typing on my Blackberry Q10 even more than on a laptop. I support Blackberry and it’s fun to flick apps around in their OS. The messaging interface is really intuitive. As long as they keep making physical keyboard phones I’ll be a fan.

[carbonatecoffee]

Let’s bring back raw and ugly fanfiction

When did the people (or a certain group of fanfic readers) started getting so loud about demanding ‘morally correct’ stories? And even more, demanding well-made polished content?

Been thinking about this for a while and I feel like it has started to affect fanfic created in recent years (and just made a lot of stories more flat and boring instead of raw and interesting).

On a personal level, I always felt like characters are so much more interesting if they are allowed to fuck up and do the stupid shit. For that, they need to be allowed to do things some might consider as ‘wrong’. Of course I can appreciate a well written story, but I love even more than that when I can see that the author was just going wild and had the time of their love making the story. 

Reader trying to policy what authors are writing about is a problem. Remember that authors in fandom are also just fans sharing their art for free - and so often have I heard that those demands have just lead to authors stopping to write at all.

When was the shift (was there ever a shift?) from just skipping over stories that are not for you to demand that those should not exists at all. Where did all these young folks that might mean well, but sound like part of a purity cult come from?

(DL;DR - Don’t Like Don’t Read) was called a law of fandom for a good reason. Maybe we should get back to sharing those more.

(A petty part of me wants to blame the twitter/tiktok generation of fandom, but even I know that this is not the root of the problem.)

The greatness about fanfiction was always its rawness, as it is mostly written by unprofessional writers, by people powered only by their own passion for a specific thing - and due that stories can tell and talk about things that publish work could not dream of.

“But what about problematic stories?” If it is tagged correctly, you can easily just scroll past - besides, who even defines what is problematic in first place? (As a side note: I had people call my writing problematic, because a teen drank a beer in one of them, just a single beer, and people still called it ‘problematic underage drug use’)

“What about racist stories? Stories containing non-con, incest, (insert badwrong-story element here), ...?”

When we write stories, should we, according to this, really just focus on ‘the good people’ - and leave out real and raw and human stories in the process? We experience so, so much questionable and dark shit in life, and I don’t want to censor it in this writing that I always celebrated for its rawness.

Of course it is good to know what your personal preferences (and limits) for stories are, but those are personal, nothing more. 

So readers, let’s learn again to just let stories that you don’t like be, and writers let’s learn again to write stories that you really would like to see.

#sunday thoughts #fandom meta #writing fanfic #lots of this has been said a hundred times I know #bring it back anyway because it is important

[aoshihugs]

anon requested:

yukimiya kenyu simp content

⤿ ‘x reader’ hcs

⤿ warnings: swearing, use of ‘love’ as a petname

❥ if you’re comfortable with having a public relationship, the experience would be summed up in one word: clout

❥ so much fame, so many haters, so many more shippers

❥ hope you have thick skin because oh boy

❥ if you’d prefer to keep things on the DL he’s cool with that too, he prioritizes your comfort over his all day every day

❥ in fact, i think yukimiya would prefer to keep his relationships private, because he values intimacy

❥ while he may be popular, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s into dating culture

❥ he’d post cute couple’s pictures and candids of you when you’re not paying attention (with your permission) and the relationship wouldn’t necessarily be a secret, but he wouldn’t broadcast your love life, yk?

❥ your family and friends would love him

❥ he’s so charming omg

❥ annoyingly so, sometimes? like yea your bf’s hot no wonder everyone wants to get his number, get in line mfs 🙄🙄

❥ too bad so sad lmaooo

❥ he doesn’t harshly reject people, he’s more of a “gentle rejection” type of guy

❥ but if you start to get uncomfortable with how many people throw themselves at him, he can be more assertive

❥ serious yukki is so hot wtf did yall see that one panel

❥ anyways

❥ definitely the type of bf to shower you with surprise gifts and expect nothing in return

❥ very attentive and observant, he pays attention and remembers the little things you mention that you like so he can surprise you with them later

❥ very good with remembering dates!! he’ll know your birthday, anniversary, your parents’ birthdays, the day your fish died, etc etc lol

❥ is always genuinely surprised and kinda emotional whenever you surprise him with a gift

❥ he genuinely doesn’t expect you to do the same for him because he’s used to spending a little more money than other people

❥ so cute thoooo, he’s such a sweetheart with you it’s almost disgusting

❥ you could be on a casual date to your “usual spot” (wherever that is) and if you pull out a small penguin plushie/accessory he’s all:

❥ *gasp* “aww love, you didn’t need to… 🥺”

❥ like stfu yes you DID bruh. accept the damn gift.

❥ uses “love, dear, darling, honey, baby” by default unless you ask him to change them

❥ big fan of cheek and nose kisses, this guy!! both giving and receiving!!

❥ if you’re shorter, he likes to tilt your head up at random or when you’re hugging and press one to your nose or cheekbone

❥ if you’re his height and taller, he still guides you by the chin for a quick kiss

❥ fuckin sap ew

❥ his kisses are very soft and gentle, he’s a pretty patient and laidback guy (blue lock really has his blood temperatures rising lmao) and i think that reflects in his physical affection tendencies

❥ is super cool with any pda that you’re comfortable with!! personally enjoys hugging and hand holding

❥ just feels very satisfied(?) with being close to you in some regard

❥ if you’re not the pda type he’d adjust accordingly, but would still be kinda sad lol

❥ give the man some love pls

❥ he’s not a very insecure person but every now and then he’ll need some reassurance that you truly care about him and not his image

❥ WOULD BEG YOU TO READ OYASUMI PUNPUN LMAOO

❥ he wants you to be into what he’s into, and he’s into some dark shit fr (canonically likes that one scene in evangelion where homegirl gets a sky funeral?? hello?? what??)

❥ will reciprocate this tenfold tho!! super excited when you ask him to do something you like or watch a movie together or recommend a book or blah blah blah

❥ you’d be such an annoyingly cute couple jfc save some hope for the rest of us please

❥ 100% does that thing where he “tucks a loose strand of hair behind your ear” if it’s long enough

❥ you ever watch a romance k-drama? yeah that’s you and yukki… minus the forced love triangle and surprise hospitalization arc

❥ is cool with sharing his food with you

❥ would also be down to feed you his food

❥ like i said, annoyingly cute

❥ PLEASE WEAR MATCHING OUTFITS WITH HIM HE WOULD GET SO EXCITED!!!

❥ do you want to see blushing yukki? i know you do. put on the “i’m with stupid –>” shirt right now.

#<//3 ranfiction #yukimiya my love #blue lock x reader #bllk x reader #blue lock headcanons #blue lock #bllk #bllk hcs #yukimiya kenyu #kenyu yukimiya #blue lock yukimiya #yukimiya kenyu x reader

[thedrarrylibrarian]

To celebrate their new direction and get some insights into the how and why the blog is changing, I invited @sitp-recs to chat with me. We knew we'd have so much fun, and didn't want to leave any patrons out, so we recorded our conversation to share. I'll be DL, in bold, and sitp-recs is SP. I hope you enjoy getting a bit of behind the scenes of how we run our blogs, finding balance in fandom, and our friendship.

DL: First of all, Happy New Year! I’m so glad we could finally sit down and chat like we’ve been trying to do for….4 months now? 5 months? Lol

SP: Happy New Year! I’m so ready for 2022. Hopefully it will be a gentler year to us all. And I know, right? It’s been months and so much has changed between then and now, but I’m happy we’re doing this to start the year. Good omens! Thanks for the invite by the way, I’m really humbled by it.

DL: You’re so welcome! I’m ecstatic to have you, so I’m glad we made it work. And a gentler and kinder year is the best wish for 2022. Did you set any New Year’s Resolutions in relation to your blog?

SP: That’s a great starting point, actually. I posted about it recently and rather than a few bullet points, mine was a long and mildly chaotic rambling lol. Rigid resolutions and numbers scare me a bit and I’m trying to take it easy this year. Mainly, I hope to keep doing what I love but find more balance along the way. I want to read more, comment more, write more single reviews and be more present for my friends. It’s kinda generic, I know, but I want to establish a low pressure environment so I can continue enjoying the blog now that it’s entering its third year.

DL: You and I have talked before about how running a fan blog, while sometimes time consuming, should always be fun. Did you feel like you’d gotten to a point where it was no longer fun this year?

DL: This year being…last year lmao. 2021.

SP: Sadly, yes. Although, to be fair, it was way more related to what I was going through in real life and less related to fandom in general. I changed jobs at the beginning of 2021 and have been dedicating a lot of time and energy to it. The first semester was a complete nightmare and I was barely able to read anything, let alone write recs. It’s particularly frustrating to watch the fandom flourish when you can’t keep up. I got overwhelmed between the buzz surrounding new fics and the pressure I put on myself to keep the blog active by posting recs and giving something back to the community. That’s when I decided to stop making reclists, as they basically took all my free time away and were adding to the stress rather than being a fun, relaxing activity.

DL: That’s something I very much relate to. As much as I’d love to read fanfic and make rec lists all day, I have other responsibilities. Finding that balance is so important. For me, it’s doing about 1 rec list a week and a Happy Hour on Fridays when I can. I’ve also stopped trying to find lost fics. I feel like that’s in more capable hands with @lostdrarryfics Sometimes I get asks that are like “I’m not sure if you are still active…” and I'm like “...I just posted last week?” and I just have to laugh. It feels like that “I'm not dead yet!” scene from Monty Python. I love putting out content and rec lists, but it’s a hobby. Sometimes real life and responsibilities take precedence, and I’ve always tried to be very honest about that. As your friend, I’m so proud of you for putting those boundaries in place and finding your balance. So now that you’re not doing rec lists, what can we expect to see on your blog?

SP: That’s exactly it, and I think that unfortunately, Tumblr gets tainted by the social media immediacy thing, considering we have so many different demographics mixed together. Everyone is at a different point in their life, and setting up boundaries can be incredibly hard when it’s about something you genuinely love to do, but it’s necessary to keep a healthy relationship with both fandom and real life responsibilities. I don’t want to rule out all reclists because I still very much enjoy making them - but I won’t be doing them on demand as I used to, probably just some specific lists like the one I did for my 2021 favorite works. Other than that, I plan to keep on boosting artworks, microfics, rare pairs and fandom fests when I can. As for the single recs, I’d really love to include older gems, as I did in 2020. When I started the blog the whole idea behind it was to celebrate both classics and lesser known works, and some of the best fics I discovered that year were published between 2010 and 2015. So I’m hoping to highlight those again, and hopefully send more readers their way.

DL: Ooooh, I love that! I think there’s so much great content that gets overlooked because of “classics” so I love finding those hidden gems.

We’ve talked about some of the stressors of running a popular fandom blog, but I certainly don’t want that to take away from how much we both love to do it. Part of the reason you’re working to find this balance is so that you can keep blogging because it does bring so much joy! What’s your favorite part about running your blog?

SP: You’re right - creating this blog was one of my best decisions and a major highlight in these otherwise dark, uncertain times we’ve been living for the past two years. Reccing, for me, is a very special kind of therapy. I love the catharsis it brings, and the way I’m able to freely express my thoughts and feelings about a work that somehow I really can’t translate when I’m leaving a comment on AO3. I love the idea of just… putting my thoughts out there, hoping to find echo but without really considering my audience or expecting something in return, if that makes sense? It’s a very liberating process and hey, I get to practice my English while I’m at it, so that’s a nice bonus! I also love interacting with both creators and fellow readers. I love getting feedback like “Wow, thanks so much for thinking of my fic. This made my day!” just as much as I love hearing “I found this fic thanks to your rec and now I’m obsessed.” It’s so incredible to think that, despite not being a creator, my words could still move someone, even if it’s just one person, and inspire them to either read that work or go and create their own. That’s real magic!

DL: That’s such a lovely answer! I completely get what you’re saying about interacting with fellow fans. Writers often make my day when I read their amazing works, so it feels so good to give that acknowledgement back to them. I love seeing their positive reactions when I’ve included someone in a reclist or featured them in a Happy Hour. It makes me happy to make them happy. You’re absolutely right - it’s a special kind of magic.

One of my favorite things about your blog is how personable you are. You always come across so warm and friendly in all of your posts. I love that. It was one of the first things I noticed when I first followed you.

SP: That’s such a lovely compliment, and the first time I really stop to think about my approach as a blog owner, but yes! I’ve always been the communicative type. I like to think I’m a welcoming presence and I try my best to come from a place of kindness and empathy while respecting my personal boundaries. I’ve always wanted the blog to feel like a safe space that respects all reading preferences, ships and tropes, even if they’re not my own. That’s why I’m so adamant about promoting rare pairs too, as I personally love so many of them. Fandom can be a very hostile space for those communities, so I try my best to stay away from any kind of toxic discussion that doesn’t belong in a positive space.

DL: I love that. I recently read a fic that had Pansy/George as a background pair and I thought it was a really fun ship (don’t worry, it’ll be on my Late Christmas List). What’s a pair that you never would’ve thought of but really enjoy?

SP: Ohh, I’m curious to check that one out! I love fanon Pansy because she’s so shippable. That’s the beauty of being in the HP fandom as a multishipper - there are so many possibilities and so many talented authors trying their hand on rare pairs. I feel really lucky to be experiencing fandom at this point in time. As for your question, a few years ago I’d never have considered reading Golden Trio fics, as in Harry/Ron, Harry/Hermione, and Harry/Ron/Hermione. I used to perceive their dynamics strictly as sibling-like friendship and could not see them interacting romantically at all. I really can’t give you a precise answer on when that changed and I felt comfortable to explore this OT3 (probably as I got more and more interested in the “friends to lovers” trope, and found a compelling summary by an author I trust and love!) but I decided to give it a shot and now I love this triad in every possible variation. I’m still a bit picky about the kind of dynamics I enjoy with most of my favorite rare pairs, so I don’t read them as often as I read Drarry!

DL: Oooh, I actually love a good triad. I haven’t looked at the prompts for @hptriadfest yet but I think they start posting in April. Maybe they’ll have something new for you to enjoy!

SP: Won’t ever deny a good threesome!

DL: One of my favorite things to ask is what are you currently reading? Both in fanfic and in real books?

SP: I’m….so very ashamed to admit that I haven’t read real books since finishing my Master’s two years ago, but I’m hoping to change that this year! Of course, the popular Captive Prince series is high on my list. I’ve seen so many artworks on Tumblr and I just know it’s going to be right up my alley - Drarry similarities and all! As for fic, I just finished oldenuf2nb’s last advent fic called The Magic Behind the Camera with photographer Harry and magazine editor Draco. It’s a lovely read for those who enjoy the identity porn trope! I’m now debating whether to pursue a long or short fic next. Any recs?

DL: Of COURSE I have a rec! I just finished a shorter fic that I really enjoyed. It’s called both that morning equally lay by @janieohio. It’s a remix of Auror Conley on the Case by @frenchmarshmalloww that was also fun. Have you read them?

SP: I haven’t! Ohh, gotta check these out ASAP! Love that summary, and 5k is a perfect length for me. God bless short fics!

DL: Don’t get me wrong - I love a long fic - but I adore short fics. I love a quick bite sized fic that I can get into and finish while I’m waiting in a line or read quickly on my lunch break at work. Also, for books, can I recommend The Guncle by Stephen Rowley? It was one of my favorite reads of 2021. It’s a pretty quick read packed with lots of bittersweet emotions and family moments.

SP: That sounds perfect, thanks so much! And I agree 100% about short fics. They’re very practical as you said, and can be just as much, if not more, nuanced and emotionally rewarding. I’ve read so many brilliant short fics in the past few years. We have some incredibly talented authors exploring shorter forms.

DL: Absolutely!

SP: I can’t believe I got recs out of this!

DL: I can’t help myself! I’m like one of those grandmas who keep trying to feed you, even if you’re not hungry. “Here honey, have another fic rec. You can pack this one up and take it with you!”

SP: It’s in our nature! We just can’t help screaming about our favorite fics and authors!

DL: Exactly! Which, speaking of! Do you want to share any favorite Drarry fics?!

SP: I think @letteredlettered's The Boy Who Only Lived Twice will always be my top favorite. I reread it all the time (despite being 50k) and get the same incomparable thrill I got when I first read it so many years ago. Lettered is definitely a personal favorite for me, the majority of their fics hit all of my boxes. Their most recent fic By the Grace is one of the most compelling, nuanced, and emotionally satisfying masterpieces I’ve ever read. Then I have to mention Far From the Tree by aideomai who pretty much blew my mind with this brilliant and devastatingly tender time travel epic - and I’m not even that invested in the 8th year trope!

DL: I loved By the Grace! I think I put it on a rec list immediately after I read it. I remember feeling like “Oh my god! Do people know about this fic!? Everyone needs to read this RIGHT NOW!”

SP: That was my reaction too! It was so mind blowing!! And so very different from Letterd’s usual style - more focused on dialogue and character development. This excerpt will always live rent free in my head:

Harry’s heart leapt into his throat, and all thoughts of solace or freedom or courage left him. “Do you mean you …” He trailed off, then cleared his throat. His hands twitched again. “You did say you remade every cell.” “Potter, you fool,” Malfoy muttered. “My body doesn’t know how to make a cell that doesn’t love you.”

DL: Ugh. What an excellent quote. With that loveliness, shall we end it there?

SP: Yeah. It’s been so lovely to chat with you! Thank you for the invite!

DL: Thank you for your time!

#the drarry librarian with friends #the drarry librarian and friends