#i hope this was enjoyable because this is the best fucking thing i've ever been granted the chance to read

[fluffypotatey]

A Thought:

As Emrys, Merlin is a very powerful sorcerer.

However, his utter lack of any formal training means Merlin is not a very good sorcerer.

The magic he does should be theoretically impossible, but he's got enough raw fucking power to just make it work. Infant demigod smashing blocks together and creating a Lego Death Star.

Merlin: *does magic that Should Not Work*

Other sorcerers:

AND THEY ARE RIGHT TO FEEL UPSET

IMAGINE YOU'RE A SORCERER. YOU'VE BEEN PRACTICING YOUR CRAFT, SHOOTING THE SHIT, LAYING LOW, PLOTTING PLANNING.....THEN THIS FARMY BOY TWINK SHOWS UP AND NUKES THE FUCKING PRIESTESS OF THE LAKE OF AVALON

I'D FEEL PISSED TOO

like, bro, you meet him, you're apprehensive of him bc 'shit that's emrys'. the emrys. the dude that's said to be the greatest sorcerer to ever walk the earth. you meet him. you can feel his magic and like holy shit, what the fuck was that??? you ask him how the fuck he gained so much power by the age of 21????

merlin: you mean....y'all don't also just have magic doing shit when you're a toddler

you, the sorcerer who has had to spend years getting control to fucking heat up a teapot: .........no.......no our magic doesn't do that

goddamn do you wanna just chuck this adult child into the lake and be done with it. better yet, you wish for the sprites to just pick you up and use your body as a sacrifice for entrance into Avalon.

and then, and then

you see how this motherfucker fights against bandits and "WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU JUST PUSHING THEM AWAY??? WHERE'S THE SHOWMANSHIP??? THE PIZZAZZ??? HOW MANY SPELLS DO YOU KNOW???"

merlin, who forgot he can freeze time and space and can launch lightning bolts at people: uh....3???

it takes the triple goddess to restrain you from murking the prophesized warlock right then and there.

"NO, NO, FUCK THAT, FUCK THIS, FUCK ALL O' Y'ALL!" you scream as you jump on a ship and move to a place that doesn't have op young adult children who didn't study shit and yet still get an A+

#i could post this later.......but i won't so here we go #i am delirious it is......1:30 in the morning i should sleep and yet....here i sit #i hope this was enjoyable because this is the best fucking thing i've ever been granted the chance to read #headcanon fully accepted #this is canon #sorcerers hate merlin because he that's guy who always passes the class with flying colors but you know that bitch #sleeps during every lecture and never studied a day in his life #i know for a fact that gaius would have smacked merlin when they met but didn't bc this kiddo was too pure and sweet for this world #honestly a sorcerer who worked their ass off to be th best meeting s5 merlin who's tired & seen shit but only knows 7 spells #they would walk right out bc 'who tf does think think he is????' and merlin has had this interaction one too many time by then #bbc merlin #merlin #merlin emrys #headcanons #i want me screaming into the void at the witching hour to be my legacy

[elli3luvs]

GOOD GIRL READER X DEALER! ELLIE

a/n: thank you guys for the attention the first part got! seeing your reblogs and comments make me super happy haha tomorrow i will be working on all of the requests i've gotten :)))) hope you guys enjoy this part as well

cw: the slightest smidge of smut ever lol

ellie wasn't too sure how you managed to encapture her like this

studying was like a negative priority in her life, yet here she was at the library on a saturday, watching you scribble notes in your journal

since the time at the party, the two of you have been basically inseparable

she accompanied you when you wanted to go to the mall to get a pretzel

and you followed her around when she roamed around campus

she had a physics final in a couple of weeks but she didn't really care about that right now

seeing your concentrated look was far more important

she was looking at you when a guy came up behind her, tapping her shoulder

you look up from your journal at the sudden intrusion

"you selling right now?" ellie grimaced at this

"nah," she picks up a pen that she hadn't even realized was near her, "not right now." she looks down at her notebook hoping the guy got the hint

you smile at her as she looks up at you through her eyebrows

you don't know if it's because of your demeanor but since you have been hanging out ellie doesn't sell to people around you

she always rolled her eyes when the person would leave too

spouting a "fucking people, man" or "can't they see i'm with you?"

you guys were taking it slow until you decided you had enough of it

the two of you were sitting on her shitty little couch that was half broken from god knows what watching some sort of sci-fi movie from the 80s

she would laugh at the visual effects

you laughed at how nerdy she was to actually get enjoyment out of this

your heart was so full anytime you hung out with her

all you wanted to do was flaunt her around campus

that's when you decided to full send it

"do you want to be my girlfriend?"

ellie was laughing before you said that but her smile dropped almost instantly

you shifted your eyes around the room nervously awaiting her answer

it was like she malfunctioned for a split second

she looked at you with a look you couldn't quite place, "really?" she whispered

you nodded, "yeah."

"oh, thank god." she relaxed into the couch, hand grabbing your lower thigh and squeezing

she wanted to ask you that weeks ago but didn't know how you would've felt

she was actually the perfect girlfriend

you could always expect her standing outside your class to fetch you, even when it was an 8 am

she may have been wearing sweatpants and a hoodie with her hair literally sticking every which way

but she was still there

she would knock on your door randomly

when you opened it she would be leaning against the doorframe with a goofy smile, "wanna makeout in my car?"

there would be times you would show up to her room unannounced and it would be hazy with smoke

she would clamber around like you were her parents catching her, "fuck, babe. sorry!" her bong would be shifted to the side as she sprayed whatever was next to her to try and get rid of the smell

you didn't have to heart to tell her it rarely did anything

there were times you would be cuddling and someone would pound at the door

she would groan, getting up with an apologetic glance

she would grab the wooden box under her bed, taking it to the door to have a hushed conversation with whoever was on the other side

she would always come back with the money in hand and a smile gracing her face

"want mcdonalds?"

the first time you guys ever had sex she was so gentle

you noticed her hands shaking a little bit as she caressed you

obviously, you didn't say anything, but it was the cutest thing ever to you

she whispered the sweetest words to you as she continued to touch you so gently

"you are the best thing that could've happened to me," she kissed at your neck, "thank you for going to that one party."

it made your heart swell

there was one time she was knuckles deep in you, making you moan and writhe around under her

when a loud knock came at the door

she continued her ministrations, not caring until it got louder and louder

"els! you got anything?" the voice yelled from the other side

she continued fingering you, yelling a gruff, "no! fuck off!"

"you should," you let out a moan as her fingers circled your clit, "sell to him. it's important."

she scoffs, "no one is as important as you, pretty girl."

ellie was so good to you

she always put your happiness and comfort above anyone or anything else

you were so undeniably happy with her

#ellie williams x reader #ellie williams x you #ellie williams smut #ellie smut #ellie x reader

[intimidating-fettuccine]

Can I ask for more soft headcanons of Helen as a boyfriend? I need more of Helen please

Yesssss that's my boyyyy I love Helen so much, thank you for this I missed him. I hope you enjoy :)

The longer Helen is dating you, he starts to notice a habit developing inside him. In your early days of dating, you'd offer to sit near him quietly while he does his art, and he'd accept on the condition that you don't bother him too much. Oh, how the times have changed. You'd gradually start talking to him more, and he'd start gradually talking to you more too, and now Helen can't finish an art piece unless he has you by his side telling him about your day, or anything at all you want to ramble about. He's become conditioned into needing your presence while he does any art, which is crazy to him because younger Helen before he met you would be aghast at the thought, but the longer he dates you the more he wants to be around you at any chance he can get. You energize and inspire him, and he finds that he loves any art he makes beside you to be his best work.

Started doing pottery recently as a way to branch out and learn more things, and he tries to make stuff for you all the time. It all started when you pointed out a really cute mug you'd seen online that was out of stock, and with his newfound pottery hobby, he offered to try and make it for you. After it was painted and fired, you were just so extremely excited about it, so giddy and bouncy, something switched on in his brain, and now the poor guy cannot stop wanting to make you more things. The smile you gave him just fucking wrecked him inside, and he needs to see it again. Also??? Would love it if you try and do some pottery with him too. He'll teach you how to do it if you don't already know, and the prospect of making and painting different pottery together is just so relaxing and enjoyable to Helen, so please make sure to do that with him. I'm also headcanoning that one of the first pottery things he made you was a vase, and he always keeps it filled with fresh flowers for you.

Helen has been manifesting a bit of a sweet tooth lately, and that comes in the form of him constantly trying to bake new things, and often baking them for you. I've said before he loves cooking for you (especially high-quality French food as he's French in my canon), so it's only natural that when he gets into baking, he wants you to try all the things he makes and enjoy them with him. I think Helen really enjoys baking because he can also use it as an artistic endeavor, baking and decorating beautiful desserts. Whenever you praise him for them, saying they look and taste wonderful, it always excites him and makes him feel proud, because your opinion is the one he's come to value most. Like with his art, he likes when you're in the kitchen whenever he's baking or cooking for you, and you're the only person he allows in there. He'll have you sit at the kitchen island and talk with him while he whips something up, and he likes to decorate them in front of you so you can see the whole process. Doing things like this for you is just so stress relieving for him, so it's something he tends to do quite often. He's also always taking requests, so if you ever have a hankering for something don't be afraid to ask him for it.

#creepypasta #creepypasta headcanons #creepypasta headcanon #creepypasta x reader #bloody painter #bloody painter headcanons #bloody painter headcanon #bloody painter x reader

[meanbossart]

Massive ask compilation time OH LORD

YES, her journals are a fun read. I somewhat wish there was more to her and The Dark Urge's interactions, too - she's wonderfully evil and clearly very attached to you if you're playing as that character, but I had hoped there was more of a reason for her obsession besides just "you were fun to cut up", haha. I remember reading her journal over a couple of times looking for something I might have missed.

His reaction was pretty in line with the Narrator's cues, just immediate rage over what she had done to him - DU Drow may be a masochist but that's reserved for people he cares about! So, her and her posse met a swift end. Also, despite the fact that the whole tadpole thing turned out being for the best, I think he's easily overtaken by resentment over his lost glory-days whenever faced with it so directly (he misses living in obliviousness) - not to mention his profound fear of vulnerability, and of feeling... Small. The way Kressa spoke to and of him would have absolutely shook him to his core, especially by doing so in front of the others.

[MORE UNDER CUT]

THANK YOU so much for your kind words first of all! As for the question, it depends a bit on the timeline; his dislike of female drow, especially at the start of his tadpole'd journey is pretty irrational and faith status wouldn't be of too much relevance, he just thinks It's in their nature to want to put him down and be conniving, and wants nothing to do with them.

Later, and especially post-game, he might at least give them a chance to prove they aren't "like other drow", though it would take him a lot to ever let his guard down entirely - UNLESS you seem like a complete fool LOL he's actually easy to trick into dismissing you as long as you don't mind playing the role of a dumb idiot.

But if not, he'd have an extremely short patience for any attempts to exert authority over him or his actions - or jokes at his expense, or any level of smugness or secrecy. Nymea would definitely feel kept at arms length because of the gender+race combo alone and have to put up with a lot of snideness. Basically, she'd have to treat this 6'4" feet tall freak with kids gloves to ever develop a rapport LOL

But also... The vampirism may "help"? He'd consider her a "lesser drow" for it. In that regard her attitudes toward Astarion would probably come to be relevant. I'm not sure about that aspect of it to be honest!

First of all, this is a hysterical scenario because he Would just fucking put the ring on without thinking about it LOL so thank you for the laugh that mental image just provided me with.

Oh he wouldn't care though. I mean, he dislikes drow in general, but he is a drow (up for debate, but you know, generally speaking) and he thinks he's pretty great. As long as he's still huge and strong he could wake up a woman tomorrow and not give a damn. And, frankly, his dick could turn into a pussy at any point in time and it wouldn't change anything about his character save for having to add a recurring UTI problem to his character sheet - he'd probably have fun with it.

TOTALLY FAIR, I'm very sorry it went past the point of enjoyment for you, but I'm glad you knew when to put it down!!! We're in our hand-holding and elf-smooching era now with the occasional visceral description of violence LOL SO YOU'RE WELCOME IN IF YOU'D LIKE. Thank you for dropping by!

Just putting this here because - I actually haven't decided yet, so that's pretty funny you asked LOL I'm leaning eyes closed though, nothing like a smooch to calm the big weirdo down.

HAHAHAH WELCOME BACK, I've been around this whole time! But I was hanging out on twitter for the most part. HOPE YOU'RE INTO THE DND STUFF LOL

DROW DURGES RISE UP I'll be honest with you friend, DU drow's lore has been as accidental as something like that can be, so much of it has felt completely organic in the way it came up - I guess that's what good RPG does to your brain. The rest of it has just been a wonderful opportunity to develop my writing that I decided to take full advantage of this year. Thank you so much for the lovely message!

---

Aaaaand I can barely muster something to say that feels like an appropriate response, but again I wanted to acknowledge all the sweet compliments people take the time to leave in my inbox. Some of you guys' comments about the things I create blow me away, I think I'm pretty confident in my art but... Damn, makes me so happy to know the stuff I create can hold a little special place to some folks. Thank you all so, so much for taking time out of your day to spread a little kindness around, and make mine a little better.

Again, thank you all for humoring me, have a lovely day folks!

#ask #DU drow

[raayllum]

I'm torn with Claudia. The humane part of me wants her to stop walking her dark path before she destroys herself completely and find some measure of peace. The fucked-up part of me wants to watch her to lose it and go on the warpath and cause lots of chaos. Is that last one wrong to hope for?

Not at all! I do think we'll see her warpath arc next season, since as Ezran stated/foreshadowed

We all want peace and we all want love. But violence tests us. In a twisted way, it converts us to its cause. Because pain and loss feel so terrible inside, you want to hate. You want to hurt someone else.

Given that Rayla cut off her leg and the trio cost her the chance to save her father's life (since if/when Viren survives, I don't think Claudia will know for a while), I think she'll start chasing Revenge. (Which may lead to even more fracturing with Terry, as "I always believed in you because you had a reason" but we shall see...) And then maybe Soren and Viren will work together to try and bring her home, but maybe only in s7 - so who knows?

But yeah, I don't think ever wanting characters to go through "negative character development" or "fail" means we don't like them or don't understand/sympathize with them. Too often, I think, fandoms can have a tendency to moralize, well, everything, but in this case the choices writers make regarding their favourite characters, i.e. "This Bad Thing happened to Character A so therefore the writers hate them / are punishing them."

And don't get me wrong, I've definitely seen shows where a writing team just did not know what to do with a character, so they just heaped tons of pain on them and/or under utilized them, and who is shown on screen with discussed/processed trauma vs who isn't is definitely a discussion worth having, because none of that exists in an apolitical or aracial space.

However... by no means is the "punishing" angle what's happening all the time, either. What I think it comes from is like, some base assumptions and also a lack of literary understanding for some key aspects I'm gonna do my best at articulating clearly:

1) Operating under an assumption that if you like a character you should only want 'good' things for them, and for them to be a 'good' person, because you are also a 'good' person. This doesn't seem super moralized on the surface, but it explains a lot about "how could anyone like that villain" or offense to "how could anyone want that character to fail" and it's like, idk how to explain that failure and therefore conflict and tragic figures are Just Interesting, Brenda, even if they aren't your personal cup of tea. (I say, as a diehard Macbeth and literary Judas enjoyer lmao.)

2) Ignores catharsis and tragedy as elements of storytelling / as its own desirable genre. Sometimes, you want to watch a thing where you know the whole time everything is going to go horribly wrong for certain characters, or all the characters, and that's what's fun about it. The desirable outcome for every story or character is not a happy ending, nor are all characters or stories built for a happy ending, either. It can be upsetting, of course, when a character we like doesn't get the (happy) ending we hoped for, but that isn't necessarily always the same as a bad ending, y'know? Substantially bad things happening to a character doesn't always mean a narrative hates them; a focus on them is still a focus.

All of this to say: I don't think it's wrong at all to want, or be interested in, Terrible Things happening to a character. It's a thought experiment like any other, and pushing characters to their limits, revealing how they respond under intense or painful experiences - whether than pain is physical, emotional, or something else entirely - is fun and interesting. There's a reason there's are entire genres for Horror and Drama and tearjerker films after all.

Like I've been waiting and wanting for Claudia to snap and become a fully fledged villain since S2 because it was very clear to me just how much she was already Skewed in S1 and S2 made it clear to me that, unlike her brother, she would not be getting on a better path any time soon. Sometimes mess and hurt and mistakes is more interesting than healing, and sometimes it's the opposite (and those things aren't mutually exclusive either).

Like going into S6, I want everyone to Fail so badly (except, arguably, Claudia - who still isn't going to be getting what she actually Needs - and Aaravos, who's going to get exactly what he wants). Watching how characters and their relationships can fall apart, how their own consistent flaws and patterns, can lead them to make awful but understandable mistakes? That's my shit. And getting to see how they do, or don't, come back from that in the season, and in season 7? Chomping at the bit, I'm so excited.

I also don't think that hoping for another end, though, is worse than being excited for a tragic end, because while tragedies are about sadness, they are also - at their core - about Hope that maybe it won't end badly this time. If a tragedy cannot provide catharsis to a viewer, for some reason, then they are still fulfilling their purpose in nurturing hope and indignation in the face of perceived unfairness - that a character could try so hard and still be doomed; that we ourselves often take on tasks that feel insurmountable, that we can take on what looks like a losing battle and still, somehow, win. And maybe we don't - maybe they don't. But tragedies, if nothing else, teach us resilience and the merit of telling a story when you already know how it ends, and the skill of it lies therefore entirely in the execution (sometimes literally).

Basically: hope for whatever you want for whatever character you want, even, or especially, when it's 'bad'. It's what we've always done for a reason.

#thanks for asking #tdp claudia #the english major strikes again #lordjarman #tragedy enjoyer #tdp #the dragon prince

[welcometololaland]

someone pointed out i didn't actually do my own WIP game, so here you go lol. thank you to everyone who participated!!! i love knowing what's on your tasty, tasty plates.

I'd like to encourage anyone who hasn't done this to please do it! This is an open tag from me, you can say lola pressured you ;)

Rules: List your WIPs below (if you only write one fic at a time, feel free to include future WIPs/ideas!) then answer the following questions. Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs (or more). (There are also questions for artists/GIF creators below).

For Writers

1. WIP List:

(only my active WIPS):

Not Now But Soon aka 10 Things I Hate About You AU (Tarlos)

When in Rome aka Eurotrip (RWRB)

Call Me (By My Name) (co-write with @rmd-writes) (Tarlos)

Cause of Action aka Set It Up AU (TGM)

[Redacted] Christmas Fic (RWRB)

The Ring-In (Again) aka The Ring-In Sequel (Tarlos)

[Unnamed/Redacted AU] (co-write with @strandnreyes) (Tarlos)

Product Placement aka Sequel to TikTok Fic (Tarlos)

2. Which of your WIPs is currently the longest?

Hands down Eurotrip - I think it's about 45k right now.

3. Which WIP do you expect will end up the longest?

Eurotrip. By my projection, 180k.

4. Which WIP is your favourite to write/the most enjoyable to write? Why?

I love writing my co-writes. I just find them so, so fun to plot and jointly scream about.

But I also find writing The-Ring In 2.0 very easy because it's just so. damn. silly (see also [Redacted] Christmas Fic which I think might be the stupidest thing I've ever written).

5. Which WIP do you find the most intimidating to write? Why?

Eurotrip because it's SO LONG and also I keep having self-doubt.

6. Which WIP do you experience the most self-doubt about. Why?

See above. I think because I keep worrying it's not good enough. I really wanted it to be so perfect and I think that perfectionism is haunting me. Plus, I keep getting discouraged that it's boring and everyone else is doing the same thing but better lol.

7. Which of your WIPs will you seek out a beta/sensitivity reader for? Why?

All of them because frankly I can't be trusted not to give a character six hands or put them in the shower with their clothes on.

8. Have any of your WIPs been struck by the curse of writer's block?

Eurotrip, many times. Not Now But Soon. Cause of Action. Product Placement. All of them have been haunted.

9. Which WIP has your favourite OC? Tell us about them?

Definitely The Ring-In 2.0. I have Richard "Dick" Reynolds, the childhood 'nemesis' of Carlos Reyes that turns up at an inopportune moment. Also, an unnamed OC which will basically be a play on Tad Mikowski from the Aspen episode of South Park (if anyone has seen it).

OH ALSO. REDACTED RWRB CHRISTMAS FIC HAS THE MOST RIDICULOUS OC OF ALL TIME. seriously. i cannot wait to write him.

10. Which WIP is the sexiest?

Well I've barely started The Ring-In 2.0 and they've already fucked in a spin cycle shower stall so...

I think Call Me (By My Name) will also be fyyyyyre since Rae is there with me.

11. Which WIP is the angstiest?

Not Now But Soon or Eurotrip. Neither are particularly angsty, but I don't write angst (well).

12. Which WIP has the best characterisation (in your humble opinion)?

I think the [Redacted] co-write with Jen will be heartwarming and funny and Jen is amazing at characterisation so I have faith she will carry the team ;)

13. Which WIP has the best scene setting (in your humble opinion)?

Eurotrip (I HOPE). The Ring-In 2.0 could be really fucking funny if the scene setting is good. Also, [Redacted] RWRB Christmas fic if I can pull it off. 'Scene setting' but not as you know it ;)

14. Which WIP have you worked the hardest on?

Eurotrip, but it continues to evade me.

15. Which WIP do you have the highest expectations for? Why?

Eurotrip. Which is the whole damn problem with it.

16. Do you dream about any of your WIPs?

Yes. I hate it because I can dream it but not write it (WHY?)

17. Do any of your WIPs have particular complexities that your other fics don't?

Eurotrip, because the characters are covering a lot of distance (literally). It involves more research than the others. Call Me (By My Name) for [redacted] REASONS.

18. Which WIP is the funniest or has the most humour?

Oh shit. All of them? Humour is my brand people!! I mean The Ring-In 2.0 will be straight up ridiculous, of course. I have cackled over the plotting for [redacted] with Jen and Call Me (By My Name). There are some truly stupid moments in Eurotrip. The whole of Product Placement is basically crack. The REDACTED RWRB CHRISTMAS FIC. GUYS. THIS FUCKING FIC. WILL BE THE STUPIDEST THING I'VE EVER WRITTEN (also it has nothing to do with Christmas don't look at me).

19. Do any of your WIPs contain outside POVs or a deep dive on a character other than the main ship? How are you finding that process?

Not really, but I have to create some OCs for The Ring-In 2.0 and also bring back a bunch of existing OCs from the original, which makes the characterisation aspect a little more complex.

20. Tell us one thing we don't know about one or more of your WIPs.

Redacted RWRB Christmas fic is basically being co-created by my sister who offered to jump into my Google docs. A family affair!

Thanks again to everyone for playing!

#weekend wip game #911 lone star #tarlos #red white and royal blue #rwrb #firstprince #tgm #top gun maverick #hangster #fic writing #lola writes

[heretherebedork]

I'm actually quite pleasantly surprised by the turn Only Friends took this week, at least in my vision. I've been enjoying the messy from everyone, but there is something nice about the idea that this whole thing might end with everyone coming out a better person. Each of these character's has issues, but I think it would be really..heartwarming? dare I say, for this show about messy babies to end with each of them doing better than they did at the start of the show.

I have personally felt that a lot of the discourse around OF has been clouded by shipping dynamics and people wanting branded pairs to end up together. Which, I think Ray and Sand are great together, so no complaints here. But I also think it's lead to this...over villianization of characters. People in their twenties can be really messy even if they don't have malicious intentions. They're figuring themselves out, and sometimes they take the L along the way.

We've all been a little bit self conceded like Mew or desperate for love like Ray. I found that this show is 10x more enjoyable when you go in assuming that everyone is just trying their best.

There's still like 3 more episodes so who knows, but I think a really good twist in only friends would be each character coming out more like themselves at the end of the show. :)

Oh, definitely.

I would have avoided much more of that if weren't for certain anons and comments, I admit.

All of the characters are people. They're hurt and selfish and good and frustrated and happy and eager and a little manipulative and a little boring and something they drink and some have more trouble and sometimes they fuck and they struggle and everyone is just... everyone is trying.

I do think we're going to get a mostly happy, if not a bit more open, ending. Everyone will still be here and the future stretches out in front of them because they're all young and learning and figuring things out.

We're just along for the ride.

I think that the force of pair branding as well as the movement against it has created a very interesting dynamic between the show and the fans that is creating so many expectations and hopes that nothing could ever live up, frankly, because they're contradictory.

I am enjoying the show for exactly what it is and I like the balance between heartwarming and toxicity that makes up real people and real relationships that they've reached, even if it some of it doesn't quite meet my expectations of hopes (still sad Mew wasn't as manipulative as I hoped but that was just me wanting more and not so much a commentary of the actual show).

We have three more episodes and, I am certain, a lot more pain.

But I think we come out the other side hopeful. I think we come out the other side knowing that, at the very least, there's something good ahead.

That's why I want Boeing to be Top's platonic queer friend after the break up. I want him to be the older example of who they could be, someone who loved and loves but learned the differences and learned how to be the friend his friend needed.

Anyway.

Yep!

I'd love to stay out of the moral quandaries, honestly, because it's fun and I love my meta but I also love pretty much all the folks.

Oh, and I hope we get to see Yo and Plug get back together. <3 She deserves that!

#only friends the series #asked and answered

[bitty-bits]

The First and the Last of the Year

And possibly last ever... on Tumblr at least.

Where did I go?

Nowhere in particular... if you've seen my socials all year, that is. This blog/newsletter however, took an extended vacation, not just from a lack of interest (and personal real life stuff getting in the way) but also from a technical standpoint - I really wanted the email newsletter aspect of this to work, but I still couldn't. I was considering using TinyLetter ...until they announced that was shutting down. If I had a nickel for every time a newsletter service shut down out of nowhere I'd have two... you know the rest. And with Tumblr getting worse as the year went by, maintaining this wasn't exactly motivating enough.

That said, it was a less than ideal year for my productivity, inconsistent pace, money issues, the lowest amount of notable dreams to write down on my dream journal to date... you get the idea.

So I can only hope for things to be better. For me to be less lazy... and work not only on stuff I make, but on myself. And I do have a bit of optimism, since a lot has, so let's see a couple of stuff, although everything else you should expect to see in a "rebooted" version of this blog...

Also, Free Palestine!

What I've Been Playing / Watching

So while I haven't fully completed a LOT of things this year, this will be going back to the beginning of the year, essentially, so strap yourselves. (Some of it I'll be grabbing from my media thread that I've made on Twitter as well)

Lucky Star (Finished)

I have posted about Lucky Star in another issue, but I was still in the middle of watching it. Now that I've actually finished watching it (in February) I can say more about it: When it comes to this anime, it was either pretty ahead of its time, or we just have Regressed as a species since then. Maybe the latter.

And sorry folkz, Lucky Star is pro-ship/pro-fic culture and there’s nothing you can do about it. I watched the entire series including the OVA, and while I’m definitely still not sure I’m exactly the "target demographic" what I saw was still very enjoyable. it really just is whatever the fuck and I'm all for it.

At first my kin™ was Konata pretty quickly because of course. That was until Minami showed up and like, she’s basically the weeb version of Ongo Jelly Jamm™!!! I actually can say I got attached to and care about most of the characters, even if just a little.

Like I said in a previous issue, in 2015 I had watched part of an episode of it english dubbed and it didn’t click with me at all. Turns out the dub just sucks as I should’ve expected lol (And I really wasn’t used to segmented "several short stories in one" type anime and stuff to be fair - that and I was dumber too of course so I couldnt properly appreciate the ART........)

My rating is Timotei/10 - and Nichijou is next!

Pizza Tower

Easily the biggest loss for gaming this year was this game not winning "Best Debut Indie" at the Game Awards. Oh well.

I was already highly anticipating this game - having first heard of it when it had a demo at SAGE 2019 I’m glad the game turned out great and is getting the recognition it deserves. I pretty much finished the game in early March. P/10

The Owl House (Finished)

Well... it’s over... for better or worse. I do think they managed to deliver a satisfactory ending all things considered. This was definitely a great cartoon to kick off the new decade.

And of course, fuck Disney as always.

This show got me to break out of, I guess an habit, you could say, or a superstition, or whatever the hell it is, when it came to media with too much ""occultism"" in them. You know the drill. I guess it opened up the little my mind had left that was still a bit closed. Even if it’s mostly involuntary.

But this isn’t even new. As a child I’d actually have an "imaginary friend" that i made (that kinda just Existed, didn’t really "interact" much with them whatsoever cuz i was Dumb™) that their backstory was literally that they were a demon in hell "gone rogue" so they were "not an evil one". Again, I was a kid. I never thought too much about the implications of me thinking about stuff like that already at that age. But it is interesting to think about now.

Anyways, been gay, did witchcraft. ⛥/5

Invader ZIM (Series + Enter The Florpus)

Well I did it. I finally watched the funny hot topic show™ (Finished in late May)

What can I even say about it that hasn’t been already said by everyone else? ...well maybe I have one thing: for some reason I didn’t find That One Episode that people always bring up the MOST disturbing one. I thought the one with a literal character flatlining and Zim being ":)" about it got to me a bit more.

Anyways yeah it’s Cool I liked the characters especially Gaz, and GIR obviously Why Wouldn’t He Be Here. The show can be stupid and end episodes in Whatever The Fuck ways that leave you like "That's it? That's the episode???" but I think that’s one of the unique aspects of it that I Enjoy - also the movie is cool. ☮️>🐔+🍚/10

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

So I watched it first when we only had shitty cinema bootleg recordings (that aren’t even that shitty anymore at this point in terms of quality, the Shit comes in the form of godawful intrusive illegal casino ads™ placed.) even though a bit later the raw movie would sometimes be uploaded in full to YouTube with no consequence for days. And at this point I’ve rewatched it plenty of times in proper HD (though only once in English cuz I’ll be honest, the Brazilian dub really is phenomenal really and blows the original "star talent cast" out of the water in my opinion, where it falls short is the voice for Luigi, as I know the dude’s voice too well and he’s just doing his normal voice with an accent, not to mention he’s the brazilian Sonic voice already!!!)

I think Charlie Day is the superior Loogy here but I’d still say the dub is better, not only for the fact there are "real voice actors" cuz you know, that’s Their Job, but also like, Charles Martinet is still in there cuz in case you didn't know, he voiced that jumpman dude’s only line in pretty much every language possible which is absurd/admirable.

It’s a fun movie if not mostly for looking at Mario Things happening that you know and recognize, because otherwise the story is pretty ridiculously basic, though even for "Mario game story" standards it’s definitely refreshing to see Luigi as the one to be rescued... though that Also sucks because Luigi deserved more screentime. The main Toad too. Oh well. Also disappointed that the "wise Toad" in the movie isn’t Toadsworth… or maybe he is but hasn’t aged yet and maybe in a sequel we’ll see him get older and then main Toad becomes Captain Toad. Who knows 🍄/10

Honorable Mentions - Stuff I've Watched That I've Yet To Write My Thoughts About, I Don't Have The Time Now

Spy × Family (Season 1) - Not the type of anime I'd see myself watching, but I was forced roped into it by one of my partners and found it to be VERY enjoyable.

Sparkle On, Raven: The Life of Drillgirl - Charming, shitpost-y, but genuine and fun

The Amazing Digital Circus - A very promising series with unexpected popularity, and equally unexpected high quality Brazilian dub with recognizable talent.

Murder Drones (Season 1 - 6/8) - A series I've been cautiously optimistic about since its pilot - it has endearing, enjoyable characters and settings, but flawed writing and pacing - more on that at a future date.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off - An amazing take on a series that I'm not so familiar with (haven't seen the movie or read the comics, only really knew that the franchise "exists") and judging from what I've heard from others, it probably is the best take on the main storyline. Especially when it comes to the representation of who turned out to be my fave - Roxie. Watching the live action now is... probably gonna be very weird. Not sure if I want to.

Kunshikter (Күншіктер) - A new, yet very obscure cartoon from Kazakhstan. It's cute. It's for children but at this point I don't think y'all care. It's still ongoing and there are not many episodes so far. I recommend giving it a watch. Now!

Future YouTube Updates

As some of you saw in a xeet tweet from early October I was planning to do something significant on my main YouTube channel which has been stagnant for a while now, only for that to, surprise, not happen. I do have a set goal now: In very early January, a video to explain exactly what happened and what was the video I wanted to make, and... why it's hard for me to get a video like that out in the first place. The short answer (that doesn't actually account for Everything) is autism. The long answer is... stay tuned for it, lol

Song of the Issue

Although this section was supposed to be for sharing music that isn't mine, I thought I'd share snippets of music stuff I've been making since the beginning of 2023 until now, that you can look forward to!

Conclusion

I dunno. All I can say is... happy new year! It's been a tradition to make a stupid amateurish collage at the end of the year with the highlights, but this year there's been... less of them, that I took note of at least. But that won't stop me I think. Once I have that done, I may edit this to include it.

No comment on anything related to Twitter (which I'll never call "X") and the billionaire that happened this year as you all probably already know by now, and by the way you can now follow me on the social butterfly of bluesky. See you next year!

#newsletter #personal #Youtube

[hetchdrive]

SLEEPOVER SATURDAY YAYYYY I have 2.

1. Because I’m still stuck in fucking Texas, top 3 best US states

2. Top potential AU’s for The Terror

Oh noooooo wishing you a speedy departure tomorrow!

I've lived a lot of places and done a lot of road tripping and without further details on which to define "best" I'm going to go with the three states I feel the most personal connection to and say Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan. I love Lake Superior, I grew up in that area and sometimes I am very homesick for it. I've been trying to develop the same feeling of connection to the landscape in New England since transplanting and I'm not going to lie, it is rough going. I keep saying I am going to try to get into hiking and rock identification so I can see the mountains and maybe 2024 is the year I buckle down and do that.

First off: Star Trek AU obviously. I'm really bad at coming up with plots and writing long fics but I am beginning to take notes for a Star Trek AU in case the Terror SciFi Fest happens again this upcoming May.

Secondly: Ghosts/spiritualism/haunted house AU. While I do enjoy a good modern AU from time to time, to me part of the draw of The Terror is the time period it is set. I am fascinated by the Victorian era, the advances in medicine during the time period, the rise in popularity of ghosts and ghost stories, and I think I'd get a lot of enjoyment out of researching to write an AU that takes advantage of this somehow.

Also, I am obsessed with haunted houses as they are used to represent familial trauma, codependence, grief and loneliness, etc etc, and I think it would be fun to take Crozier out of The Horrors only to put him into a different flavor of The Horrors <3

Lastly: Musicians/orchestra AU. Gonna be honest, I do not have any of the requisite knowledge to write this and it does not interest me enough to do this research. I want somebody else to write this so I can read it. However, I saw a post once that was the show writer going through and saying what each character's job would be if they lived in the modern day and what he said about Fitzjames was that he'd be a surgeon or somebody else with very specialized knowledge, someone who is the best at something. And while yeah, a specialist surgeon is this, and specialist surgeons are, in my experience, divas with complexes, for reasons of personal taste (dislike of the medical field irl and preference for show contemporary AUs over modern ones) I think it would be more interesting to just skip over the medical layer and make Fitzjames a diva with a complex.

This man plays the violin and he is the best at it and he and Crozier cannot stand each other because Crozier has been playing longer, does not care about the limelight, and actively scorns Fitzjames for doing so. I just have this idea in my head of Fitzjames saying to someone else that Crozier plays a perfectly serviceable, workmanlike violin, but he obviously doesn't truly care for it, he doesn't play with any passion, and Fitzjames who has been doing this his whole life and made it his whole life, the only thing he's ever been good at that he's had to hang all his hopes on, finds that intolerable. Meanwhile Crozier cares about the violin very deeply but doesn't really show it to anybody and keeps to himself because loving music and loving your coworkers are two different things.

Additional inspiration for this idea is the fact that when Phantom of the Opera shut down on Broadway a couple months ago (last year? What is the passage of time...) I saw a news article about it which said some of the people in the orchestra had been playing the show together since it started running in 1986. The drama within that pit must have been insane and I desperately want to read about it.

#this got away from me #clandestinegardenias #asks

[mintedwitcher]

on the subject of AO3 comments actually, I didn't want to put this in the tags of that last post but like. not a fucking day goes by now that I don't think about this one particular comment somebody left on one of my merthur fics from like, two years ago.

it was for Judge Not in My Absence, and in it, I BRIEFLY mention that Gwen - in this au version of events - chose not to marry Arthur and instead became a midwife (I used the wrong term in the fic but tbh I am too lazy to go back and change it, though I probably will at some point; I referred to her as a wetnurse) for the women in the lower town. I needed her to have a childcare related job for a spin off I was planning at the same time in the same au. Nothing disparaging was said about Gwen (love her) or about midwives or anything.

this one commenter came in, and said "I really think you should look up the history of black women and wetnurses, it's not pretty."

I think about that comment every day.

yes, I am aware of the history, but I didn't pick that career for Gwen because of her ethnicity. I picked it because I needed her to be in relation to childcare for a reason. not just casual proximity to a child, but in childcare, involved in it, emotionally invested in it. could I have done a better job at explaining that? yes, definitely. could I have picked a better career for Gwen? probably, I'm not sure. I could've had her pick up work as a seamstress as she did in canon, or take over her father's forge as a blacksmith, I suppose, but neither of those would've given the same incentive to the spin off I wrote for her path. so yes, I went with midwifery. it just made the most sense to me at the time.

that comment, though, has stuck with me for two years. I didn't delete it because, well, it was a fair concern, shared without malice or insult, and there was nothing really to be angry about. I understand why the comment was left in the first place. and I still think about it daily.

the point I'm trying to make here, and doing a horrible job of, is that the stuff you leave in comments has an impact on the writers who receive those comments. it may not be the impact that you intended when you made the comment. I don't know what that particular commenter intended when they made the comment on my fic, but it has stuck with me for two years, and it has undoubtedly made me more conscious of the choices I make in my writing. because I don't want to receive that kind of comment again, but I know that I probably will. I'm not so arrogant to assume that I'll never write anything off-kilter or inconsiderate or insensitive ever again, despite my best intentions.

you can't please everyone, as a writer, and you shouldn't strive to. that's how you end up with tropey, incoherent writing projects. all you can do is write what you want, write what you would be happy to read, and hope that like-minded readers find it enjoyable too.

as a commenter, though. know that your words have an impact, for good or ill, and its up to you to decide what kind of impact you want to make. a negative or cruel comment at just the wrong time can be the thing that makes a writer quit writing. a positive, uplifting, or even constructively critical comment (like the one I've been thinking about) can be the thing that encourages a writer to keep going, because at least they know that someone has enjoyed what they've written.

tldr; don't be an ass when you leave comments, you never know what kind of impact it'll have.

#writing #ao3 #ao3 etiquette #i guess? #idk how to tag this tbh but just go with it #long post

[ot3]

hey, any tips for staying in love with a series youre making? youve been working on quantum merit for 2 years now i think? any time i get an idea i just have it in the back of my mind that in a couple weeks im going to lose interest, let alone actually go through and start working on it. finishing soemthing is a distant dream. your art is amazing and a huge inspiration for me (is creativity infectious? bc thats how i feel whenever i read qm) so i was hoping maybe you had some insight. thanks <3

over two and a half years at this point actually! crazy! lacking the ability to follow through is a problem i've long had in life. i started drawing QM to try and curtail this. the trick isn't actually to stay in love with a series you're making, the trick is to learn to make things when you don't necessarily love it.

for me, the entire point of doing something operating on this level of self indulgence and experimental technique was to enable myself to churn stuff out even when i think everything i am doing is absolute shit, which is extremely extremely frequently. for long-haul projects you have to be willing and able to work on them even when you think all of your ideas are bad and all of your work is bad and not only is this the worst thing you have ever made, it is the worst thing anyone has ever made. the way i try and get through working on stuff when this is how i feel is that i remind myself i am not special in any way shape or form. everyone else in human history has had to make a lot of bad stuff before they get the privilege of making good stuff. this is allowed to be mine.

another thing that really helps is making sure that the process can be enjoyable even without good results. sometimes even when i hate everything i'm doing in terms of Substance, the act of just getting to draw something feels satisfying enough that i can make myself do it. this goes for all art, i think, not just long projects. if the Process is something you force yourself to sit through waiting for the end reward of a finished product, you're probably never going to be a functional artist. if you don't love Making art and you only love Finishing art you'll quickly find you don't make or finish much of anything.

additionally, i think an important part with long hauls like this is to never, ever look at the finish line. if i keep drawing the amount of stuff i have planned at the rate i have been drawing it, i will be at this for several more years minimum. thats an entirely overwhelming and terrifying thing to think about, and dwelling on it makes me freeze up and want to quit while i'm ahead. so i try not to ever think about actually finishing it. i have no idea if ill finish it i dont even have the slightest fucking clue what my life would even look like in the five years this could take to finish because it already looks nothing like it looked like three years ago. so instead focus on progress. if you think about finishing something you'll never do anything, if you think about just making a little bit of progress you can look back and suddenly you have over 100 full color pages. one foot in front of the other

i would also feel completely insincere if i did not mention how much all of the kind words people have had for my comic have helped me in finding the motivation to continue! seriously, it means so much to me that people like it. external motivation is not the be-all end-all of anything, but i suggest finding at least one friend who is willing to be your hype man and make them talk you out of being insane when you hate everything youre working on. when i reach the point where i literally like can't even tell what the pages im working on look like anymore i send them to my friends and make them all tell me that these are very normal looking drawings.

best of luck with your future endeavors anon i hope any of this is helpful! its an honor to be considered inspiring in any way

#Qm

[sculptural-renaissance]

SGU Week Day 4 (Yes, 4!!): Favorite Ship

This is my new OTP. Idk exactly what it is, but buddy, I will take my serotonin from wherever I can get it these days.

Just kidding, I know exactly why I enjoy this. Most of it is that I just really, really like Amanda (don't hate me; despite what my memes may lead you to believe, I am not a Rush Enjoyer, because I know he would make me cry every day if I had to interact with him lmao), but OH MY GOD am I a sucker for The Grumpy One Is Soft for the Sunshine One. I love seeing them feel so safe and comfortable together. I love the ease of their interactions. I don't think anyone cares about spoilers at this point, but good Lord, she almost killed him and he wasn't even mad 😂

I NEVER enjoy canon ships because they feel like forced hetero nonsense. Another reason I enjoy this pairing so much is that to me, a demisexual, it feels very much like a demisexual love story. Think about it. Falling for your best friend, pining for the same guy for years... that's not unique to us, but it's definitely part of the demisexual experience (I'm not a piner, but most demis I meet seem to be). Im aware that they were originally supposed to sleep together in Sabotage, but, again as a demi, I'm glad they ended up taking a different route. I don't enjoy seeing characters who barely know each other hooking up, not because I'm prudish, but because I have no investment in the characters. This... We had to work for this. 🥰

In searching for other fan content, I've discovered that Rush and Amanda aren't a well-liked pairing (go figure, I like a canon ship and it's one no one likes lmaooooooo). I've found that I see this pairing quite differently from its critics; to me, it felt very female-focused. Yes, Amanda clearly only exists to be The Main Guy's love interest, but I found that, apart from the fridging, the ship was very much focused on her desires. She was not a thing to be pursued. She had agency and took initiative. She felt like a whole person to me, not just a pretty doll.

I also enjoyed the hell out of the awkwardness. I don't get secondhand embarrassment. I get the opposite of that. I LIVE for cringe. fr what even was this scene???

"So, you wanna make out or something?"

"Yes, obviously, I fist bumped you. That's pretty much 1st base."

God what a fucking dork

"No, 3rd base is not when a man rolls up his sleeve so you can see his forearms."

I drew them~ They're gonna hold hands bang >:] As you can see from the date, I drew this last year, very shortly after watching Seizure for the first time (I colored it yesterday, though, for this). I liked this pairing right away, and honestly, I was hoping Rush would pay Amanda a visit on earth via the stones after Sabotage. I'm not exactly thrilled that the writers chose to go for two double-fridgings, but the computer ghost thing creates a lot of possibilities for fanfic. I'd also like to have seen them interacting on earth before the Icarus mission.

As a final thought, I also love seeing someone who has been so deeply hurt learning to love again. I'm so disappointed SGU didn't get more seasons, because this would have been interesting to explore further with Rush and Amanda as a proper couple once she got off her bullshit and accepted that he did love her oh my God Mandy he killed that guy for you don't stand there and try to tell him he doesn't love you godddddddddddddd

Anyway, here are some of my favorite meme comics I've made. ^^

They were close friends for years. You cannot convince me that she didn't know exactly what he was like, nor can you convince me that she doesn't love it. 😉

"I'm not codependent! I'm obsessed with you a normal amount!"

In my experience, the key to a successful relationship is to find your person, and then you just annoy the shit out of each other for the rest of your lives (consensually, of course).

I also fully believe that there is no way on God's green earth that Rush would ever willingly watch a Syfy Channel original movie.

He does like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid... Through shitposting with friends, it has become "canon" that Bonanza is one of like, 3 TV shows Rush actually watches. The other two are Nova and House. Amanda, who watched a lot of classic sitcoms with her grandparents as a child with no social life, is unfortunately not a fan of westerns.

That's okay. He can fix her. 🤎

I have an ongoing series (up to 5 parts now) where Rush Definitely Understands the Trolley Problem. This is the first one.

I should really post those here.

She knows his secret >:]

Jim-jams

Also this takes place in the future so they're married now shut up let me have this they're cute

God what a lightweight

That's okay nothing's gonna stop her from getting white girl wasted on Brody's moonshine #YOLO

This was inspired by a fun exchange I had with a friend. It's "canon" in my comics and in progress fic that Amanda watched Wormhole X-treme to prepare for working at the SGC (she is so normal), and read whatever mission reports she had clearance for when she wasn't doing Mega Serious Spaceship Work.

If Rush can bully her into watching cowboy shows, she can bully him right back into watching space shows. This will backfire spectacularly. 😂

#sgu week #Nicholas Rush #Amanda Perry #rush x amanda #they live in my head rent free #god they are CUTE #CUTE CUTE CUTE #stargate universe #shitpost #sgu shitposting #demisexual #i don't even exert effort to make these #my brain just does this #maybe sgu was cancelled but they live on in my head doing the absolute dumbest shit #and they are happy

[rainparadefromhell]

My thoughts on season 3 of Never Have I Ever

SPOILERS AHEAD !

* author's note : it's long what can you do, i have an obsessive personality

• Things I disliked in no particular order

1. The pacing of this season.

The pacing of this season

The pacing-

I don't know what happened this season but it felt like someone pushed my head into a blender. Many things were so glossed over, I was actually baffled. People kept getting into relationships and breaking up like it was nothing and all sense of direction was lost. Everything felt like a fever dream. Ben and Aneesa break up. She cries one time, kisses Fabiola and now they are in a relationship only for that to not work out and Fabiola gets into another relationship (at this point i forgot Eve existed). No one reacts to anything, things just happen so there is no chance for the viewers to get attached to any new storylines/couples. Just borderline bad writing in terms of pacing.

2. What they've done to Aneesa's character

At the end of the show, the person I felt bad for the most was Aneesa. The writers just would not give her a chance. She wasn't a real character. She barely had any personality beyond being a plot device for multiple characters and getting into meaningless relationships every 5 minutes (the show does have a problem with doing this to all characters tbh). I wanted to know Aneesa better (I hoped for a pov episode) but all I've got was her getting left for another person in not one but TWO relationships? And they made her kinda not even care about it. It just wasn't realistic and I hated it.

3. Des.

Listen, I don't have anything against his character. Because his character doesn't exist. Des got, as well as all the new characters - Aneesa'd. His sole purpose was to give Devi an Indian boyfriend (which is fine). But he was just so.....unnecessary?? I'm sorry but while watching every scene him and Devi shared, I was begging for literally any other character to show up. Same with his two friends (extras) that had about two lines each. His and Devi's relationship, in my opinion would've been just fine as a fling not a real relationship. And it lasted SO. FUCKING. LONG. Why, just why were they wasting time (that could have been given to flesh out old characters) on something everyone and their mother KNEW wouldn't work out or have any meaningful addition to the show. Other things got sidelined, that's why I hated this storyline.

4. And save the worst for last. All of Devi's romantic relationships in s3

Oh God, here we go.

I understand that Devi is a teen girl that just wants to date boys, have fun, be in love. I really do. But as writers, it is the nhie showrunners' job to make this enjoyable for the viewers. And it worked, the past 2 seasons it really did. Team Paxton, team Ben, team Devi.... We've all had something to enjoy. So throwing in another boy - no, two actually (the guitar player she kissed isn't a big part of the show so I don't really care) made me so angry. They've disturbed a sort of a balance between silly/fun the show had with like 3 or 4 love interests all in your face at the same time so they all started to look kinda.... unimportant (except for Ben, but I am biased lol). It looked painfully unrealistic as well.

The show yet again suffered because of its format. you simply can't throw in a bunch of characters in a 30 minute, 10 episode long comedy show and just hope for the best. It felt messy, rushed and fleeting. Like there was no room to breathe, I felt so anxious watching the middle part of the show.

• Things I did like in no particular order

1. The adults' storylines

I found them much more tolerable and cohesive. I am a Nalini stan first and a human second. I just love her. I love watching Poorna be so brilliant in this role. I was thrilled they gave her a friend and quite sad that friend was taken away later on but oh well. Also, possibly my favorite moment in the show was this quote from Nalini : "You are never too much and always enough." This show was the first time I've truly seen my relationship with my own mother represented in a way that isn't black or white and just simple or complicated. For me this scene meant a lot - showing that no matter what may happen, Nalini will always love and support her daughter.

I also liked Kamala's storyline. Tbh I didn't like Prashant all that much. He felt like a more mature Paxton. I'm glad Kamala didn't rush into marriage, especially if it's something she does not want. I really liked the relationship between Kamala and Mr. Kulkarni, I just wish we saw more of them.

2. Trent and Eleanor ??

I totally predicted this!! I said they will be that odd couple that somehow works very well and I was right. They were really entertaining and I'm so glad we get to see more of them.

3. Trent and Paxton ??

I adored Paxton and Trent's friendship. You can tell they love each other in their weird ways. This totally made me like the characters more and I love love LOVE seeing healthy male friendships in media.

4. Paxton

And everybody gasped. (Hell, I gasped, too). Here it comes Paxton/Daxton stans....

I did really like Paxton this season. And he had his moments last season as well, I'll admit that. Is he my favorite character in the show? No. Do I still think he's kinda boring and overrated? Yes. But I did like him. My favorite Paxton moment this season was in the hospital with Ben (as well as his friendship with Ben as a whole). Not only was it very kind of him to stay with Ben and make him feel better, I also loved him admiting he doesn't really know who he is. How incredibly honest of him. I liked that he apologized to all the girls he hurt and that he was friends with Haley again. I also loved him telling Devi she can't love anyone until she loves herself (someone's been reading my posts 👀). He finally started to care about things (school) and even if his storyline is a simple one, it worked. I'm glad he grew as a person. For me, Paxton finally  became a full-fledged character with a unique storyline. It took only 3 seasons but we got there.

5. Benjamin Gross

I could write novels about Ben Gross. I could write about him until my hands hurt and then some more. He is easily one of my, if not my favorite fictional character of all time. He is one of the few characters that, in my opinion, isn't written in an episodic way. Jaren Lewison has this great ability to carry all of Ben's emotions in his pocket and whip out what he needs in a scene with such ease. The character doesn't forget his lessons, he remembers his past feelings and what they taught him which makes him develop and make progress so naturally within the show. Ben Gross isn't just a douche at the beginning of season 1 and a nice guy at the end of season 3. You can see all of his flaws as well as how caring and emotionally intelligent he is at the same time throughout the entire show. I'm so happy he learned to relax and not care as much about grades.

This kinda falls under Ben, but just 3x06 being the best episode (with the finale) for me. I don't know what kind of crack Mindy Kaling puts in the Ben episodes but she gets is right every damn time. Those 4 words being "I'm proud of you" from his dad made me so emotional. I wouldn't want them to be anything or for anyone else. Also I fucking loved Ben being into drawing?? We need more of that.

6. Devi Vishwakumar

My girl. I really liked Devi this season. I loved how they showed she's still grieving. Maitreyi's performance in the scene when Paxton tells her she doesn't love herself yet was so heartbreakingly beautiful. She knew he was right. Also can we talk about the best version of Devi aka post time jump Devi??? I love that girl! You can really tell she matured quite a bit. She's not as hot headed anymore. The only "bad" thing she did was throwing that book or whatever it was in the trash and honestly...? I didn't see how that was such a big deal at all. And the other team kinda cheated, too. Who cares? They're not in a courtroom. I really hope that in season 4 we see her growing even more.

7. The whole gang

One thing I also liked was that everyone was friends with everyone this season. We saw the Paxton-Trent-Eleanor group, Paxton and Ben's friendship, Paxton and Fabiola, Ben-Devi-Fabiola and so on.... I reallllly liked the different dynamics.

8. Ben & Devi

And finally - this is what (some of) you have been waiting for. As you can see the pacing and new characters really messed with how much I loved (or rather didn't) this season. But honestly, now that I had time to think about it, the character development and just the finale really saved the whole season for me. And yes, this includes Ben and Devi. This season we've seen Ben and Devi be mostly, friends. They didn't share many moments until the last few episodes which did frustrate me but that is exactly what made all of them feel so special later on. It was important for them to not spend as much time together then slowly be close friends for the finale we got. I really wasn't expecting it. For all my criticisms about the writing not being the best in some aspects of the show, the writers did such a good job with their storyline and it's safe to say that s3 is my favorite when it comes to them.

Last season we've only seen hints of them pining for each other. This season they were much more honest and comfortable with each other. I cannot stop thinking about how perfectly their little romance was sprinkled over the seasons, with season one's introduction and teasing of their feelings, season two's big conflict and hurt and finally season three's rekindling of feelings and big realizations. None of their storyline felt like sudden big explosions (like with Paxton), just a natural evolution of caring for each other. A sign that it wasn't just a crush (quick and overwhelming) but a first love kind of a situation. Realistic, messy, beautiful, simple. There isn't a doubt in my mind that these two will end up together in some way at the end of season 4. Truly one of my favorite on screen couples all thanks to the brilliant and talented Jaren and Maitreyi.

Overall, I still think the show's best season is season 1. It was almost perfectly set up. However, in terms of characters and our main couple, I have to say season 3 feels the most open, vulnerable and grown up. The last episode felt super special and teased season 4 in which we will see the gang prepare for college. I have huge expectations for season 4 and I really think it could be one of the best ones (best one?), but who knows...

Maybe I'm just a sucker for closures.

Also, I can't believe the finale??? Like they were evil evil for that one, not letting us see what happens! On the other hand I can't be mad bc as a writer that is such a me thing to do. Like, I can totally see myself be that much of an asshole and sadist so I kinda get it. Idk what I will do until s4.

#never have i ever season 3 #never have i ever #nhie #nhie spoilers #never have i ever netflix #devi vishwakumar #nalini vishwakumar #kamala nandiwadal #ben gross #fabiola torres #eleanor wong #paxton hall yoshida #trent harrison #aneesa qureshi #des nhie #benvi #can't believe i've been with this show for almost 3 years #i criticize it a lot but it really is very special to me and i do love it a lot #will be so sad when it's all over

[kachwoww]

More Jegulus Recs because i'm an addict

the shrine of your lies (is where i lay) by Kayaannii Prince!James meets Assassin!Regulus… v well written, and very fun! This is wolfstar as well! Not super long yet but from what I've read so far, there will be a lot of Black Brother Angst in the future. Slight warning, explicit like graphic, also there's very much a knife kink so if you're not into that this prob won't be for you!

l'éphémère (the ephemeral) by @anouri James hits Regulus with a motorcycle. Not the most common meet cute but they make it work. I'm 90% sure I've already recced this oh well. If you like Best Friend's Brother, you'll like this. Sirius and Regulus will make you cry in the most recent chapter. There are a couple pretty intense things in here, so make sure to thoroughly read the tags! I’ve been keeping up w this fic for a while and it one of my favs so I hope y’all read it!!

You, Me & Everyone Else by ygmoony I was grinning the entire time I read this fic. It is wolfstar and jegulus... but Remus & Regulus steal. the. show. They're just so...? I don't even have the words they're literally best friends your honour. I cannot wait for the next chapter, and for the chaos of the plot to kick in because I'm already OBSESSED. I think I’ve seen maybe one person mention this fic and it’s my personal mission to spread it, I’m in love w it

friday night lumieres by raiyag This one has blown up recently so I had to give it a read. I like it! It's very different from a lot of marauders fics, it's American high school au, centred around sports (and sports med). Very fun read. I liked the miscommunication between Regulus and Sirius. It is marked as explicit, even though from what I remember there hasn't been anything yet, remember all characters are in high school so keep that in mind!

For the Hope of it All by Bastetmoon (@alexaryebread) Yall. YALL. This is my fav fic on the list and that is saying something. It's basically a jegulus august au (the taylor swift love triangle) and I cannot (cannot) get enough. I was kicking my feet and giggling the entire time I read this. Every single character in this fic is a MESS and I love them all. Not a single one of them makes a good choice at any point ever and it is so entertaining, there is not a brain cell to be found. In other words, it's actually a pretty realistic representation of high school. It is very early 2000s teen tv show, like riverdale(season 1 anyways). It is so cute, and I cannot wait till it updates!!!

a matter of time by reggiecanswim

Ok I had to rewrite this summary because this fic has updated a lot. There will be spoilers so if you don’t want that, just know it’s an absolutely fan fucking tastic fic, and I highly recommend it. So it’s semi canon compliant. It follows the marauders (plus regulus) through most of hogwarts and that part is very much child/teen hood friendship, relationship drama and is pretty light. It gets darker in the last year (Regulus’ 6th, the marauders 7th) the prank is also featured and it’s incredibly well done, on par with choices’ handling of the prank in my opinion. Then the war. Regulus becomes a death eater and defects, is a double agent for a while gets caught and tortured has a very traumatic brain injury recovers, and has to live with the potters while he recovers. James lowkey cheats on Lily with him by the end. Ok not lowkey he does. I don’t condone this, and honestly I think it’s out of character for James but it is well written and enjoyable to read so if you aren’t into that don’t read it. After that canon… fixes itself. They find out peters the spy too late james and Lily die, Sirius goes to kill Peter and brings regulus with him, and Peter kills regulus along with the muggle (and frames Sirius for all the murders as well as his own death.) so yeah regulus does die. I was a little disappointed by this because I haven’t seen many regulus!lives fics that follow him into the canon story and see how his presence changes things but again it was well written, and I even cried so I can’t really complain. I think there’s one more chapter left so I’ll update when that comes out. Side note, I’m curious to see if they’ll add regulus to Sirius’ victims count or they’ll say he was a part of the plot to kill Peter (and the muggle) and died in the process, probably leaning toward the later because he was a death eater but the former would be very interesting.

You Missed My Heart by pinkpanther1465

Criminal minds au!!! The characters don’t line up exactly, but James is Reid, Remus is Hotch but it’s established wolfstar. Very cute but sort of sad, updates are pretty frequent and it’s different than a lot of jegulus fics I’ve read!

love is not a predicate by mordax

Yall this is the boarding school fic to end all boarding school fics. I literally read all of it (it’s over 100k rn) in like 3 hours with almost no breaks. I ate this shit up. Pandora and Reg are the bestest, and JAMES? He has my whole heart. He just wants to listen to the piano. But the real star of this fic is the absolute perfect representation of Sirius and Regulus’ relationship and their whole family being the worst. It’s just great you need to read it.

En Avant by bluerosebouquet (@sortasirius)

The best depiction of grief I've read in a fic so far. I usually don't like jegulus fics where Lily dies, because the writer is always so eager to get to the jegulus they just brush over Jily, this fic doesn't do that. Like not at all. It's also very sad, but in a happy way? That didn't make sense. You'll cry by chapter 2, but it's not soul crushing depressing. Is that better? As of now the Sirius & Regulus relationship is looking unfixable, I really hope that changes, because I love them and I'd love to see this author's take on their dynamic, and also I really want the specific backstory for their falling out. I put reading this one off for a while because it's very long but I finished it in like 4 hours, maybe less actually, you really get right through it. ANyways go read it and tell them they're amazing.

#jegulus #jegulus fanfiction #a03 fanfic #fanfic #a03 #bri’s recs #fic recs #accumulation #regulus angst #james potter #taylor swift references #august #I tagged all the authors I could find but let me know if I recced your fic and I’ll add you! #I’m always so scared to post these cos I inevitably find one I wanna add immediately after #so when I do I’m just gonna tack it on the end of this bad boy sry #marauders #sirius black #remus lupin #lily evans #lily potter #fanfic rec #fanfic reccomendation #too many tags

[starsarefire824]

This is going to be random, but I wanted to say something.

For some time shipping hasn't been fun for me, and it's even worse since I enjoy crack-ships and other uncommon couples. When I started watching Stranger Things I liked the idea of Madwheeler, and I also started reading your fanfiction The Pact before even having a Tumblr account.

Today I found out about you, and when I saw that you're a writer for more famous ships like Byler but also made an amazing Madwheeler piece, it really made me smile. It's just somehow refreshing seeing someone having fun with different character dynamics and stuff.

It made me think "Damn, that's a person I can admire.". It made me somehow believe I can have fun with this again. So thank you. I hope you keep writing and sharing your ideas out there. Be weel!

Hey there @abajurapagado!! You have no idea how much this means to me!! 🥹 That I could help you in any way have a better time in the fandom and enjoy it! That's amazing.

That, after all, is what fandom is for first and foremost: Enjoyment.

That being said, I have always been a person who has written for and been a fan of smaller ships, non-canon ships, unpopular ships even in very small fandoms. I just tend to gravitate towards what interests me. In the past I've been a part of the Turn fandom (I liked a gay pairing-townhull- that was very much non-canon), Star Wars (reylo, gingerrose), OFMD (izzy x lucius), The Morning Show (stella x cory). Most of those are all very much non-canon 😂.

And this is the first fandom where I've seen many people be so staunchly devoted to "canon". It's something I haven't come across in my other fandom travels.

But, in the end, it doesn't matter what the pairing is, if it makes you happy and you find the dynamic interesting than I say engage with it! Even if it makes others side eye you or not be happy with it. It doesn't matter. I'm very much a ship and let ship type of person. And in my Star Wars and Shadow and Bone days, have been in support of some very unliked pairings, but I've tried to never to let it stop me from having a good time. I'm here for the dynamics and drama and I tend to lean towards certain dynamics because of that!

Byler is the first pairing I've ever been a fan of, besides Reylo, that is "mainstream" or has a big following. Actually, as a past Reylo, I see a lot of the same thing happening with Byler....people saying that the followers are delusional, where if you watched the SW films...know how that all ended up 🙃

But also, my other biggest SW ship, gingerrose, is a random ship that was built around 3 pieces of dialogue and a finger bite deleted scene lmao....and they've ended up being a dynamic I actually like a lot better and read about more than I ever did Reylo. I think that you can ship multiple things in the same fandom and it's okay if one of them is a little different, unpopular, or people think it's weird. There is no reason for people to be offended by what other people ship. That is such a strange concept to me.

Madwheeler, to me, is interesting. I am VERY much aware it's a "crackship" or whatever. I do not expect anything from canon. That's not the point. It actually is freeing to have something be completely for fun, and I don't have those emotional ties like I do byler or I did with reylo, where I really wanted it to happen it canon. I think the actors have good chemistry, I think they are for sure very paralleled to one another, and I think that it's a ship that has a lot to unpack. I don't give a flying fuck if it's not canon or out of nowhere or if some people think it's "ick". Doesn't bother me. I am interested in the drama, I like to headcanon them both as bisexual which is fun, and I live for the tension of "hating" someone and having sexual tension. It's good shit, and it's SO EASY to do with their dynamic. It practically writes itself.

I love Byler for different reasons: the best friends to lovers trope, the sweetness of it, the angst, the coming of age. Will is my favorite character and I just love his story.

Both pairings offer SO MANY things, but they also are very different. And it allows me as a writer to explore different tropes, different facets of these fictional character's personalities, and as there is always a little bit of myself in my writing, explore some different emotions etc.

And I personally believe that exploring new dynamics in addition to my main one, has kept me more active in the ST fandom and byler community. It's kept me feeling creative, and keeps it fun as we're waiting for season 5 crumbs and filming to start etc! Fanfiction is very much meant for exploring things that don't happen in canon and exploring character dynamics that speak to you personally. Imo, it's the entire point of it. So anywho, I'm glad you're enjoying The Pact, and I am so happy that my tiny self has stoked the fire a little bit for your Stranger Things love. I hope you have tons of fun from here are on out!! ♡♡♡♡♡

#stranger things #madwheeler #fandom things #byler #personal #justmyname #writing things #thank you dear moot #here's wishing you lots of fun from here on out!! 🥂