#but also i am kinda genuinely delighted by the idea of the two of them being like ... 'wtf are we even doing here lmao'

[eff-plays]

"Durge and Astarion have so many parallels and are meant for each other! 😍"

Um actually Tav and Astarion have the one single most important parallel in that they're both randos who are completely irrelevant to the main plot and have nothing to do with anything <3

#bg3 #bg3 critical #bg3 fandom critical #everything critical tbh in that i am salty on mutliple levels actually #but also i am kinda genuinely delighted by the idea of the two of them being like ... 'wtf are we even doing here lmao' #'guess we'll help out cuz we gotta but as soon as this is over we're gone' #esp when paired with the spawn romanced ending cuz then ur just ... bye lol

[underdark-dreams]

*please* give me Dammon-Rolan-Tav Poly HCs, I am begging you

Turns out I have a LOT of thoughts about this omg. Thank you so much for sending this ask, I might need to write something longer for these three 💘

Rolan/Dammon/Tav: Poly Headcanons

(Tav is gender-neutral)

SFW:

Without fail Dammon would be the one to wake up early and make you two breakfast. Hums a happy tune as he balances plates of scrambled eggs into the bedroom

Gives you both a sweet kiss good morning, the same way he does every day

Meanwhile Rolan grumbles something into the soft flesh of your thigh. Very much not a morning wizard

They are both very proud of their respective skills and love getting to share them with you in different ways

Dammon is used to hammering away for hours alone in his forge, but he’d be lying if he said it didn’t get a bit lonely

Would be delighted to find you and Rolan lingering to spend time with him and watch his work

The clang of tools and the roaring fire aren't always conducive to conversation, but it just makes him happy to look up now and then and see you reading or relaxing nearby

If you asked for any kind of lesson, he would be excited almost to the point of giddy. Info dumping a little as he settles you comfortably against his front facing the anvil

Strong arms wrapping around you from behind, his hands gripping over yours to guide the strike of the hammer

When he's between commissions, Dammon likes to tinker and experiment with novel ideas. He's got an inventor's mind. Often shows new things to you and Rolan first to get your opinions

Makes those little metal puzzles where you have to figure out how to untangle the rings and distributes them among the Tieflings kids

Rolan is the same way with his arcane studies, loves if you ever want to be part of them. He genuinely enjoys answering any questions you might have about magic or the Weave

He can come across overly self-assured (read: arrogant), but something about nerding out over magic makes his face softer and more youthful as he gets lost in his own enthusiasm. It’s adorable

Rolan loves when you play helpless damsel with little things even when he knows you're exaggerating. Enjoys seeing you struggle and give him puppy eyes and ask for the big powerful wizard to help you out with his spells. Honestly it gives him a semi

Watches you with a loving smirk. "Let me take care of it, dearest"

When it comes to physical affection: Dammon gives you the open devotion and adoration of a golden retriever. Doesn't matter who is around, he will hold your waist and plant a kiss on your lips natural as anything. Husband behavior

Rolan is much more subdued with PDA (his siblings still tease him mercilessly and they always will) but also kinda gets off on the chance to be sneaky about it. Not above cornering you to make out when no one is around

Likes to play the game of riling you up when he knows you have somewhere to be. It goes both ways of course, he’s embarrassingly affected by your kisses and caresses

NSFW:

Dammon tends to be a very generous and giving top to both of you

Rolan much more of a switch, depends a lot on his mood any given day. Rolan topping Dammon is a rare but absolutely glorious experience to be part of

Rolan is always the one to get impatient and jealous during sex, especially when Dammon is taking up too much of you for too long

"Hurry up," he mumbles while sucking at the skin of your neck, but Dammon ignores him, his mouth steadfastly doing the Lord's work between your legs. He’s fond of the brat but not about to rush your pleasure over it. Besides, he can think of a few better ways to shut Rolan up

They don't always agree on much until the first time they sandwich you between them. It’s a revelation for both men to find they enjoy your body even more together

Dammon whispers into your ear what a good boy/girl you are as you lean back against his chest, while Rolan enjoys kissing down your body with zero urgency

Rolan hides his pointed ears behind his hair because he's embarrassed by how sensitive they are

Dammon catches on instantly (it's a Tief thing) and pays extra attention to them during foreplay, licking and sucking on the tips until Rolan is groaning and squirming under him

Dammon's build might look more slender at first glance, but he's got a wiry strength that Rolan lacks. Can easily throw either of you around in bed, though he's sometimes too much of a gentleman. Could be talked into it once you’ve got him worked up though. He’s strong enough to hold you both exactly where he wants to for as long as he needs

Dammon's arms are solid as the steel he forges. Cords of muscle under his shoulders and forearms, prominent veins that run down through his hands

And his hands are firm and wonderfully calloused, so anything he does with his fingers, you're going to feel super clearly 

Rolan's hands are surprisingly strong as well, but it's like the strength of a pianist or artist. Soft to the touch but wielding a lot of dexterity and precision. It makes his teasing deadly effective, because he has perfect control over the pressure and the pace, and he knows it

Rolan is 1000% the dirtier talker

He’s definitely the type to take full advantage of the situation while you’re giving him head and you can’t respond. Teasing and running a commentary about how lovely your mouth looks taking his cock

It’s also partly to distract himself and prolong the experience because watching your mouth on him really, REALLY does it for Rolan

If Dammon gets chatty it’s going to be showering sweet compliments on either or both of you; he definitely has a kink for giving praise, it heightens the sensations in his own mind

You can watch it turn Rolan from cocky to moaning and submissive in under a minute

#rolan x tav #dammon x tav #rolan x dammon #dammon bg3 #rolan bg3 #bg3 dammon #bg3 rolan #bg3 headcanons

[shuttershocky]

Do you have a dislike for media universes that "rewards" people for watching/reading all of it in general?

Or do you think there is one that executes that idea well?

I'm answering this 5 months late, but I'm pretty sure I still remember this ask being prompted by a post making fun of the MCU.

Do I dislike story universes that reward people for reading all of it? Not at all. I mean, I'm a fan of both Middle Earth and Star Wars, I fucking love big, big universes with plenty of stories in them. When they intersect in some small way it's a delight to me, I love those little personal winks from the author for having read their other works or recognizing the most obscure names only a nerd would know.

However, there's a difference between a little reference in a story meant for people who can connect the dots, and making something almost required reading for your enjoyment. It's the difference between an acknowledgement from the creators that you liked the setting enough to come back for a new yet familiar ride, and a company realizing they've found their cash cow and can't wait to milk it for all its got until it's dead.

And dead the cash cow will be, eventually. It's been said before that the reason why the Big Two of western comics have ceded more and more ground to manga over the years is that Spider-Man has 10 different starting points while Naruto starts with Volume#1. That's not just a funny joke. Onboarding new readers has genuinely been Marvel and DC's problem for decades, which is why it was both incredibly predictable yet shocking all the same that this is what the MCU turned itself into.

Sure, early on you could ask the audience to watch a couple movies before the big Avengers crossover, but now they've got all these TV shows on top of the movies that you have to watch in order to "catch up", and it's not even about the cool characters anymore. More and more of their fanbase is going to stop caring once the barrier of entry gets too high, and it's ridiculous to me that Marvel went this road with their movies when they know this is what happened to their comics first.

I mean, are you serious, their next big bad is Kang? I am not watching several TV shows and an Ant-Man movie that's somehow worse than the second one all to see how the currently left Avengers meet goddamn Kang the Conqueror. He's in both the TV shows and the movies, which means they're somehow giving Kang more buildup screentime than Thanos. Why? Either I've been extremely out of touch with Marvel comics or the MCU picked a wild choice to headline their next billion dollar franchise when Doctor Doom is actually available to them now and barely needs an introduction.

Sorry, got lost for a bit. Back on topic, yeah I know I know, all art right now exists under capitalism which means every setting that becomes a wider story universe is an author trying to milk their existing fanbase. Whenever a creator makes a thing that I like, and then announces they have a new thing set in the same setting as their first thing but isn't a direct sequel so they can keep gaining a new audience while keeping their existing one, I know I'm being suckered in.

Just, don't make it so blatant. And don't make it so hard. I am the exact target audience for these shenanigans and even I'm starting to feel like it's homework because it's all fucking required now.

If I, a lifelong Star Wars fan, want to watch the newest Star Wars thing, I have to see a hundred hours of other Star Wars media first. If I want to watch The Mandalorian Season 3, I can't just have seen Season 1 and 2, oh no, I have to also see The Book of Boba Fett too, because halfway through that show became The Mandalorian Season 2.5. Well I did see Boba Fett, and the combination of my dislike for turning it into required homework AND the show itself just being kinda dogshit meant I never touched season 3 of the Mandalorian. That show used to be so great because it wasn't tied down to any existing story arcs or characters, so it stood on its own and made for an amazing watch no matter how much Star Wars you've actually seen. And then it succeeded and so had to become the new spine for the entirety of Disney Star Wars afterward. Fuck. Now if I want to watch their latest show Ahsoka, I have to have seen the Clone Wars animated series AND Rebels, because the Rebels cast are in it too! I mean I did see Clone Wars and Rebels, but that still sucks!

That makes me worried now! Andor was also really fucking good and it stood on its own so hard you didn't even need to see Rogue One, the movie that introduced Cassian Andor in the first place. But now that season 1 was a success and everyone sang its praises, it certainly means season 2 is suddenly going to get real cramped with Ahsoka and Luke Skywalker and whatever guys are currently alive in its timeframe. Shit, they're probably gonna add Cal Kestis in season 2 of Andor. The Respawn Star Wars games are still doing their own thing which means it's time to connect to something else.

I hate what all this has become. It was fun to read the Silmarillion and see what kind of fuckery one family of elves got up to that eventually turned Sauron from minion to big evil eye parked next to evil mountain, but you didn't need to read all that before The Lord of the Rings. LOTR didn't assume you knew anything at all (and oh boy did Tolkien never miss an opportunity to explain shit).

Let me repeat. I am the target audience. I live for the ridiculously nerdy habit of reading things set in the same universe as other things and connecting all the dots. If /I/ feel like it's become homework, I can't imagine what the average person thinks of all this. Make it stop. Stop running everything I once loved into the ground in the name of endless profit. Star Wars was already doing this to itself before the Disney acquisition and yet it didn't feel this bad.

#I would take hundreds of disconnected and mediocre Star Wars comics and books made in the Legends era #Over what's happening to it now

[thoughtsformtheuniverse]

tagged by @booksandchainmail to shuffle my general listening music and post the first 10 songs. I chose my 'music' playlist rather just my full library to avoid the two (2) podcast episodes and random audiobook chapters in there.

1. Songs for Lonely Giants by The Mountain Goats ⁃ I mean. it’s The Mountain Goats. it’s slow, it’s sad, it’s pretty weird. I found this one on a character playlist for Jack from E. Jade Lomax’s Beanstalk series (read it for free here!) it’s very good!

2. Moving On by Oysterband ⁃ not blue oyster cult, but a much weirder band that mostly sings songs about working man’s politics in England in during the last century. this song has both the lines "we asked the man for justice, well he handed us a stone" and "the way to hell is straight and sure/the way to heaven is long/the way to your heart is never-ending/so I just keep moving on" and I adore it

3. Four Hours by The Longest Johns ⁃ I found The Longest Johns late in college (and felt deeply smug when their Wellerman was a hit a year later. I found them first), but I do just listen to a lot of sea shanties. This one is a big ass mood for getting off a ship again and trying to adjust to Land and Not a Watch Schedule. Also, like most sea shanties, great to do chores and lab work too

4. Theseus by The Oh Hellos ⁃ god but I always love The Oh Hellos; this is a song about the importance of maintenance and I treasure it. all of the Zephyrus album is good

5. Loves Me Like a Rock by The Wailin’ Jennys ⁃ turns out The Wailin’ Jennys, usually a folk band, did a cover of Paul Simon’s Love Me a Rock. it’s pretty good. (I actually downloaded this earlier today; I have no sophisticated thoughts yet)

6. I Don’t Want You Now by KT Tunstall ⁃ If Only is probably my actual favorite song off this album, but KT Tunstall is always a good time

7. Angels of the River by Oysterband ⁃ aaand the other stuff Oysterband does is odd, folky, kinda wifty stuff like this. Genuinely no idea what this one is about, any more than I know what Milford Haven is about. I like it though

8. Now I am an Arsonist by Jonathon Colton (ft Suzanne Vega) ⁃ to me, this is a very unlikely combination of artists; Colton usually does deeply nerdy fare, while Suzanne Vega soft and strange. this song is on my thieves playlist, and I could not really describe why

9. Heavy Horses by Jethro Tull ⁃ most of the Jethro Tull songs I like best are songs about industrialization with some of the weirdest flute solos I have ever heard, and Heavy Horses is no exception. This song is nearly 9 minutes long and about the arrival of tractors. it’s great. (Stormwatch is actually my favorite Jethro Tull album, and Weathercock or Acres Wild are more favorite songs from this one, but do I really like Heavy Horses)

10. Falling For The First Time by The Barenaked Ladies ⁃ This is the kind of overlapping wordplay I’m here for, the whole chorus delights me; "Anyone perfect must be lying, anything easy has its cost/Anyone plain can be lovely, anyone loved can be lost/What if I lost my direction? What if I lost sense of time?". And the way it comes back in the final chorus, but tweaked a little. it’s just a good time.

I’m deeply surprised that there’s no They Might Be Giants, Great Big Sea, or songs from my highschool acapella group, but other than that, this is pretty representative.

@epsilon-delta do you play tag games?

#honestly the categories we're really missing are a) songs from people I followed on the internet for other reasons b) songs i found first #as AMVs on youtube back in the day and imprinted on and c) the two full albums of hurdy gurdy songs. this could have been much weirder #me myself and i #ah glorious music #tag games

[thesinglesjukebox]

OLIVIA RODRIGO - "GET HIM BACK!"

[7.29]

But mostly we hate the way we don't hate this, not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.

Ian Mathers: Wait a minute... there are two kinda contradictory meanings of "get him back"! I'm on to your tricks, Olivia Rodrigo. [10]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: "Drivers License" and "Vampire," the two definitive Olivia Rodrigo tracks, are arresting because of their emotional directness. When Olivia sings "You didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me" or "You made me look so naive," it unleashes so much power and vulnerability because it feels like we, the audience, are eavesdropping upon a real, intimate, two-person conversation. "Get Him Back" flips this formula. The song plays like a drunken gossip session with a friend, or better yet, an inner monologue of confessions too embarrassing and honest to be said out loud. The guy that Olivia wants to get retribution against and reconciliation with is never addressed directly and almost irrelevant to the story, because this is all about Olivia unleashing every oddball thought she's ever had about him. Olivia gets pigeonholed as a humdrum Disney Channel ballad princess, but this song is so deeply funny from the opening bars ("Wait, is this the song with the drums?") to the way her therapist dad and his mom become tertiary characters in the plot. [8]

Michelle Myers: It would be difficult to argue that Olivia Rodrigo's music is sonically innovative or even especially interesting. Once you get past the initial delight of "teen pop Breeders," you're left with a few sticky tunes and a trove of snappy one-liners you can append to an Instagram story you hope your crush and/or ex will like. Of her 2023 singles, "Get Him Back!" has the cleverest, most caption-worthy lyrics, which means it's her strongest release yet. [9]

Katherine St Asaph: One of the weaker songs on Guts, "Get Him Back" is largely indistinguishable from various lightly sassy artists of pop past--midcareer Taylor, mostly--with bigger riffs but less punchy punchlines. And on the subject of pop past, given the widespread press salivation over Olivia's influences it feels underremarked-upon that Fiona Apple already did a track with this conceit, and it was better. [4]

Oliver Maier: Olivia can be quippy to a fault, particularly in storytelling mode, but I find her sense of humour refreshing and pretty genuine -- I can't imagine this song working from someone like Taylor, even if this sounds like "We Are Never Getting Back Together" by way of Reputation. There are plenty of popstars who will tell you that they still fancy someone who was bad for them without daring to reach for a line as pathetic and self-exposing as "I want to make him lunch". Hook's good, too. [7]

Josh Love: As much as I love Taylor, she's a huge dork who laughs at her own jokes (actually not a point against her in my book, but still). Olivia is so much naturally cooler and more withering, so she can sell a line like "He said he's 6'2" / I'm like 'dude, nice try'" while hardly lifting an eyebrow. I also love how "I am my father's daughter / So maybe I can fix him" subtly subverts the expectation that you'd hear "mother" there instead. [8]

Alex Ostroff: All of the attitude and humour and '90s guitars of "Bad Idea Right?" filtered through Taylor's "We Are Never Getting Back Together" and mid-career Avril. The chorus is the biggest and hookiest and poppiest on the album, so naturally it's the one I like the least. Still, points for "I pour my little heart out / but as I'm hitting send / I picture all the faces of my disappointed friends" and "I wanna meet his mom, just to tell her her son sucks." [7]

Nortey Dowuona: More piss-take Beastie Boys raps, bright excited chant chorus, the same disappointment from her friends, the excellent whisper "so maybe I can fix him." But this one has the line "I want to meet his mom, just to tell her son sucks," so it's obviously better. And there's a great guitar riff in the back, so it's really better. And yes you got him good -- his mom is typing an angry comment on a 2-years-dead blog to refute this. [10]

Michael Hong: "But I am my father's daughter, so maybe I could fix him" is the kind of out-of-pocket thing your friend says to you, which you smile and laugh off because you're not interested in starting a fight. Kind of bad, kind of fun, but Rodrigo's final attempt to anthemize its final chorus with a lighter-up sing-along is an awkward conclusion to her giggled banter. [5]

Alfred Soto: Her commitment to writing like teens talk and thinking like teens write separates her from those who poeticize these states. "Get Him Back!" says what it needs in declarative sentences, which, if you think about it, are not how teens express themselves either. She seems immune to bad faith. [7]

Jonathan Bradley: With a chorus that romps rambunctiously enough to set off the crowd at a late '90s Warped Tour show, you might almost miss how well Rodrigo's rapping captures the overthinker's cursed inner-monologue. (Rodrigo is the kind of over-thinker quick with a witty quip and a self-aware observation.) "Brutal," took the same tack, but that song was a doom spiral; this is anthemic enough to have an acoustic guitar break out strumming the bridge. [8]

Andrew Karpan: A thrillingly monster pop-punk riff dedicated to the subject of dating the kind of faceless rich people that Drake writes songs about wanting to be. Of course, being mid can be as contagious as anything else. [5]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: My enjoyment of this perfectly good song has been significantly diminished ever since I figured out that she's 100% doing the "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah" flow. [6]

Aaron Bergstrom: Sometimes I just stop and reflect on how lucky I am to be living at a time when I can write the words "prominent Butthole Surfers influence" about one of the five biggest pop stars in the world, then come to find out that two major publications beat me to it. Long live our slacker-rock princess. [9]

Brad Shoup: Speaking of "Pepper," "I can taste you on my lips/And smell you in my clothes" was a pop couplet about 20 years ahead of its time. That song was blanketed in a psychedelically surreal menace. That cloud isn't here (only the ramshackle rap), but Rodrigo's casual note about her ex's temper makes the menace uncomfotably clear. The conceit is dichotomy, but not like the crazy/beautiful regurgitation of "Bad Things". Doubling her vocal on the verses just makes thematic sense, but on the chorus, she multiplies: manufacturing consensus. [6]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: The weakest of the Guts singles, if only because the verses' talk-singing is of narrative importance more than anything else. Rodrigo's most awkward phrasing and strained attempts at cleverness are all over this, surely in the name of relatability. What ultimately sticks is the double meaning of the titular line; all this humdrum storytelling feels perfunctory when the dizziness and spontaneity of the chorus comes crashing through. The bombast is so polite that it could be a campfire chant, and the faux straight-laced presentation reflects the sophistication of her songwriting, leaving the rest of the track feeling comparatively shallow. [5]

Will Adams: Frustratingly anonymous by Rodrigo's standards, "Get Him Back!" puts all its points on a massive shout-along chorus at the expense of having anything else to say. [5]

Frank Falisi: To attribute a maybe apocryphal sentiment to the piano man: the keyboard is a percussive instrument. You pound it and it creates its own space, space which, in turn, is filled by collapsing mallets. And what about percussion? Is this the song with the drums? The drums dictate melody! They're meant to be sung to, like guitars. On "Get Him Back!", all lower-case and exclamation bang, the drum set drags Olivia's voice around that most familiar narrative: sour love, curdled absence, and the slip-rap hem-hawing of getting a half-beloved back. Her voice hits skin, halts, snaps and turns on a beat. What does it sound like? Who does it sound like? And then, the greatest trick a pop song can pull off: it reminds you of everything you can't recall because you don't have a name or word for it yet. [9]

Taylor Alatorre: Not since Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" has a tentpole pop single been constructed entirely out of the intention to cause as much visceral annoyance in one's critics as possible. (Taylor made a few worthy attempts, but she couldn't dethrone the Motherfucking Princess.) Going by the reviews, of course, Rodrigo doesn't seem to have many capital-C Critics these days, but what can a song like this be other than a big-budget reaction to the idea that, somewhere out there, someone hates us? And the idea that, you know what would be really funny? If we made them hate us even more. Rodrigo takes this hyper-awareness of self and runs with it, making a virtue out of bratty petulance in a way that was thought to be extinct outside of bands with names like State Champs and FRND CRCL. Getting an acoustic breakdown with gang vocals onto pop radio in 2023 is an achievement in itself, and apart from the inexplicably Pinkerton-aping "All-American Bitch," it's the moment where Rodrigo's simulacrum of a simulacrum of punk most approaches the real-fake thing. "Get Him Back!" is the aural equivalent of those Dark Brandon memes with the glowing red eyes, though distinctly different in that it requires less pretending and will likely age better in ten years. [7]

Hannah Jocelyn: I have no idea how "hits" work in 2023. I've been following this YouTuber named Spectrum Pulse for several years now, who's spent the past decade meticulously tracking the Billboard charts. Those charts are something of a no-man's-land right now, with years-old songs making dramatic comebacks, new records disappearing immediately after debuting at #1, and the entire fucking spectrum of country crowding out any pop or even rap (!). It reminds me a bit of the shift in 2016, when once-surefire hits like "Into You" underperformed in favor of moodier music. I don't know where the shift is going now, if it's even shifting to anything. What I do know is that a chorus like the one on "Get Him Back!" belongs to a smash, and it would have been one even a year ago. The double entendre of the title is wonderfully mischievous, Rodrigo sounds phenomenal, and Dan Nigro's Passion Pit-aping production is as good as his work's sounded since "Deja Vu." It's not a revelation like that song, one of the greatest pop songs of the 2020s so far, but it doesn't have to be. Clearly, it wouldn't matter if it was. [9]

Leah Isobel: Does "Get Him Back!" have the emotional weight of "Vampire" or the joyfully nihilistic invention of "Bad Idea Right?" No. Instead, it has something simpler: an absolute fucking 15-story kaiju monster of a hook. Sometimes that's all it takes. [9]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

#olivia rodrigo #music #pop music #music writing #music reviews #the singles jukebox #Youtube

[iztopher]

listen. i know this is a cop out. but i genuinely want to know the answer to all of those ask meme questions, so let's just say please answer any of those questions you want to

OMG no if this is a cop out it is an incredibly flattering and sweet one, and i am delighted to do it

...under the cut because this is going to get a little longer because i am in fact doing all of them! (that i haven't already done, anyways)

1. what's the fic youre most proud of?

i keep calling don't you dare go down the best thing i've ever written, and i'm standing by that for the foreseeable future. i put together a lot of stuff i'd been thinking about for years in that fic and i'm really satisfied with how it all came together

2. what's a fic that took you to an emotional/dark/hard place?

this is a really fun question for me because it's kind of embarrassing, because my answer is... i don't have one that i've posted! the fics that take me to a hard place are the ones i have trouble writing the most, so a lot of times they don't get finished. and when they do, i tend to not post them (see question 4).

3. what fic are you emotionally attached to?

nearly all of them! but if i had to pick one, lovely things (but you're the loveliest). it took me a couple years to write, and the last two chapters were written when moonie was visiting me for a week and with a lot of encouragement from her, so i have a lot of good-sad associations with it.

i'm also currently writing a te'ijal character study that is no where near finished yet but has been my quiet close to my heart passion project for a couple years. i'm so scared to work on/finish/share it because i want it to be Perfect and i'm trying to suck it up and do it anyways because the most important thing is that i get it out there!

4. what fic of your own do you read for comfort?

another embarrassing answer which is... none of the ones i've posted publicly, because i have a tiny treasure trove of fic i've written just for this purpose HAHA. they tend to be much rougher around the edges and not up to my standards for characterization (i often joke they're part of "Communication AU", which is an AU where everything is the same but characters who would never openly communicate are willing to do so) because they tend to get into topics that I genuinely do not know how to write when everyone is being cagey/secretive/repressed.

5. what fic of your own won't you read?

the ones i deleted from my computer/external drive </3 but nah otherwise i'll read any of them.

6. what's the hardest part of the writing process for you?

FINISHING THE DAMN THING.

i'm constantly writing like 5-10 fics at a time and flitting between whichever one strikes my fancy the most, which is really fun for the experience of writing and really hard for actually... getting any of them ready to share...

not to mention endings are hard. my little mermaid au outline is currently on the third or fourth version of its ending.

7. how does receiving or not receiving feedback/support impact you?

i cut my teeth on the aveyond fandom, so i tend to go into a fic expecting 2-4 people i know personally to read it and not much anyone else. receiving feedback/support makes me happy & receiving any response beyond what i expect makes me ECSTATIC, but i tend to fair pretty well with not getting it, either.

9. what's your writing process like?

get idea! immediately write as much of the idea as i have, in rough chronological order, but skipping over any sections i don't have in mind yet. then I fill in the rest of it with an outline... unless i don't. (sometimes, if i don't have specific ideas for a fic beyond the initial concept, i kinda just trail off and then pick it back up and keep making stuff up.) since i write mostly oneshots, if i don't have to skip anything in this stage (and i actually made it through to the end), my rough draft is finished at this point! i often still outline for oneshots, though, if i do get stuck/skip sections.

so if i haven't finished my rough draft, then i slowly chip away at that outline every time i pick the fic up again. or just keep going from where i left off in the trailing method lol. i edit a lot as i write at this point in the process, which i'm trying really hard to curb, because i think it's one of the things that makes it hard for me to finish.

once i have the rough draft done, i edit it through a few times. for each edit i make a new copy of the document and just make the changes in there. i tend to tackle each draft fixing a different aspect - one will be cleaning up any plot/logic errors, one will be tightening up characterization and dialogue, etc. when I write te'ijalahad, I tend to have a draft specifically for adjusting nicknames/name usage because otherwise I'll default to "wife" and "husband" for everything and half the fun of these two is the variety.

then, when I'm like, okay, this is pretty good, I give it one more read through where I look at everything all together and edit it. if I'm feeling pretty confident or trying to keep the fic a relative secret, I do this stage alone; if not, this is the point where I enlist a friend to beta for me!

also the one unhinged process of this is every time i get stuck / pick the fic up for the first time in a long while / get to the final read through i write it directly in AO3. I have been told this is chaotic and dangerous

10. how has writing positively impacted your mental health or overall mood?

writing is one of my relatively many creative hobbies & like any of them it makes me really happy to do! i love the feeling when the pieces all click together. it's just fun! writing is also special and particularly satisfying because sometimes when i'm doing game dev or drawing or whatever and i can't figure it out i get pissed off lol but i never get like... upset when i can't figure out a writing thing. i just let it simmer and come back to it.

i'm also trying to work on writing more vent/heavy/comforting stuff as a way of handling my emotions instead of getting stuck in them & spiraling but i'm kind of bad at reminding myself to do that

11. Has a fic you’ve written ever caused issues/controversy?

no and for that i say thank god (although sometimes i get worried about that. i don't think i need to be though)

12. What’s your perfect environment to create/write?

my own desk <3 i love when it's dark outside or raining but i'm not picky haha

13. Do you take pride in your writing, or does it embarrass you? Why?

hell YEAH i take pride in it. that doesn't mean it doesn't embarrass me sometimes, though i'm honestly just proud of myself for finishing a project, so looking back at a fic that i got through enough to post always makes me feel really good. also, i (usually) write characters the exact way i headcanon them, so i'm always like wow... i'm so proud of this characterization... like wow i wonder why it's almost like i wrote it exactly to my tastes. also sometimes the way i use language makes me feel like "oh yeah i did good".

14. Do you compare yourself to other writers? In a positive or negative way?

not really! when i read by other writers i try to take note of aspects of what i like about it and if any of that is my present in my writing/i could make it be present, but other than that i try to mostly take a "wow! two cakes!" approach even when my own writing is concerned.

15. How do you think your writing has improved over time?

relatively recent past: i have a tendency to overexplain myself, and i think my improvement is clearest when i've stopped doing that and have trusted my words to speak for themselves more. or: i feel like i've gotten more direct in what i'm trying to get at?

longer: what i just said on a larger, way more visible scale, and also i feel like i've done a good job at figuring out what i actually want to write and sticking to that. i've gotten more confident and firm in my characterization, stopped trying to write romance because i thought that was the best way to write characters interacting, let myself stop trying to write non-aveyond fic when for me fic writing is for fun and that's what's most fun for me, etc. also i feel like i've gotten more comfortable with using language in a less than 100% literal way.

16. Do you re-read old fics? Is there a time in your writing you won’t go back to?

i would theoretically read any of my old fics that i haven't outright deleted from existence, but i tend not to read anything i wrote before college. i gotta dig out the external drives for those and it's very rare that feels... worth it...

everything on my ao3 I reread fairly often though dghksdl at the end of the day i am a huge part of my intended audience and it only makes sense i read the fics i wrote partly for myself!

17. What’s the best engagement/interaction/feedback you’ve received from someone who’s read your work?

oh man I cannot pick because I'm genuinely so grateful for everyone who reads my stuff and gives engagement <3 my favorite type of engagement is anything where someone says a favorite part, though, whether that's as general as a scene or as specific as a line of dialogue/writing (also shoutout to xzoni who has written multiple play-by-play comments on my fics)

...actually the best engagement i've ever gotten is that on don't you dare go down, literally like 10 different people responded to it by pointing out one or both of two specific lines and being like "this part was so good/my fave!" the like, unanimous agreement that some of that writing was really good? was such a good feeling and is probably part of why that's the fic i'm proudest of.

18. Do you only write when you’re inspired, or do you try and sit down at specific times and write no matter what?

(grimacing) inspired ... i'm trying to work on that. i've found that when i try to write every day, i do, but my other hobbies fall by the wayside, so i'm trying to make sure i write/draw/game dev at least one day a week and then fill in the rest of the week with whatever i'm inspired to do. good compromise.

20. What’s the greatest gift you’ve gotten from your writing?

oh man not gonna lie this is a little metaphorical for me. on a very literal level, a lot of my fics are essentially gifts for myself - i wanted them to exist & knew i was the only person i could be Certain would make them. and that's really nice! to have content to go back to and appreciate.

and on a broader meaning level, i feel like it's given me a sort of confidence that feels really nice, and has let me engage with some really cool people over the common interest of writing, even across fandoms or original content. it feels really cool to talk to people (such as yourself) about Writing TM and be like, wow, I have this thing in common with really cool people whose work i admire!

...not to say this is a little metaphorical for me and then Keep Talking but actually one more thing on this answer is that i remember being like, 9 years old and reading aveyond fic by these authors in their 20s, who i thought had such detailed and thoughtful characterization, and being like, man! i hope i'm like that when i grow up! ...and now I literally am? I'm 23 years old and writing about those exact same characters and I'm proud of that writing & satisfied in my characterization and headcanons, and honestly i feel like one of the greatest gifts writing has given me is the gift of an incredibly achievable goal that i still had to spend 10+ years getting to and feel really proud of myself for doing so.

#dear mel #this got SO LONG. thank you SO SO MUCH for it #it was a lot of fun to write up and answer!!!! #i love you too <333

[theluckyr]

So! As Isaid I am OBSESSED with your idea, and I was wondering. What if the reader was taking care of them? Like yk, really good a cooking, checking up on them, etc. Like how would they react? If its not too much, which it probably is, it would be nice with everyone :) but if it is, which it probably is, just Yoru, Sage, Fade, Jett and Sova.

(Also please dont make it too romantic, just kinda like nice siblings :))

Sorry if its too long lol 💀

My very first request?! What a joy!

Comfort

Yoru

When y/n found out that his diet consisted of instant spicy ramen and energy drinks, they immediately hopped on the net searching for some recipe ideas.

So right when he enjoyed his usual meal, they quickly swapped his meal with their home cooked meal.

He was about to get angry until he noticed some piles of pots and pans on the kitchen sink (so you did make this yourself) , he decide to calmed down and grabbed the spoon to take a few bites.

His stoic expression doesn’t tell much but (y/n) was anxious for a feedback.

“So, how is it?”

“It’s good. You can have my ramen”

As you took a bite of the ramen that he made, you immediately went on a coughing fit. Turns out he put more chillies in his ramen. He had a good laugh for a few minutes before handing (y/n) some water.

Jett

Found herself bored all day, no work. Just stay in HQ all day. As she laying on the couch, y/n while take their apron off asks.

“What’s up with you, Jett?”

“Just bored, nothing else to do y’know. Ugh…..”

“I know something that could cheer you up”

“What?”

(y/n) head back to the kitchen and bring a plate of fresh hand rolled kimbap for her. Jett was surprised, she didn’t know that (y/n) could make some Korean food.

"It's not much, but i hope you like it" then (y/n) handed her a pair of chopsticks. When she tasted the kimbap, she quickly pulled (y/n) for a hug.

"It's fucking good, i want more!"

"I put the rest of them on a fridge and there’s kimchi as well"

“THERE’S KIMCHI TOO?!?!!??”

She thanked the universe for letting her not to work on that day.

Fade

Prowler is a manifestation from her own mind and not a lot of people greeted her other than to talk about work. It was no brainer that she needs a company.

So game night it is!

Or manicure

Or watching some movies while bundled up in a blankets

Or making a henna designs for (y/n)'s hands.

Basically every night is a fun night for these two

At first, she was very skeptical with (y/n)’s sudden attention and only to find out that one of their nightmares was seeing fade as a mere tool. To witness it first hand really made her realize that (y/n) genuinely cares about her.

So there are times that Fade would give her own ideas as well. It would be no surprise to see (y/n) and her playing a lot of card games or teaching (y/n) how to make people lose their composure in poker games.

On the good side, you have a coffee buddy every morning.

Sova

Sometimes he really missed having dinner with his family and some light conversations instead of having his casual dinner in solitude.

But right after he got back from practice, he heard some noise in the kitchen. He saw everyone were hand in hand helping (y/n) with dinner.

“Can somebody pass the salt?”

“Got you, Y/n”

“Brim, We need more bowls”

“Do we have enough utensils for this?”

“Is it too much seasoning?”

“It’s pretty balanced to me”

“Where’s the bread? You said it’s in the oven”

“Um…..I'm scraping the burnt parts on the bread?”

“What’s the perfect wine to pair with the food? Red or white?”

“Red and Get out of the kitchen, Chamber!”

When Sova asked what’s going, Sage while untying her apron she explained when (y/n) was trying some recipe but turns out the recipe is for 20 people. So Brim decided to hold a dinner party. Forced everyone to help (y/n) or no bonus pay. Sova was delighted and chimed in to help out as well.

After a few minutes of chaos, all of them finally sat down including (y/n). Brim thanked everyoe for making this happen and enjoyed the feast. Everyone really enjoyed the food that (y/n) made including Sova. To enjoy this warm atmosphere once again, was something he held dear to his heart and he really thanked (y/n) for this to happen.

Even someone warned (y/n) to be more careful next time which they replied "At least there's enough for everyone right?" Which made everyone laugh in glee. That night was beautiful.

#self aware au #valorant #valorant fanfiction #valorant protocol

[thornescratch]

But Don't Give Yourself Away for the title meme? (Is that related to the sign stealing fic?)

It is! ...I also just wrote out my full answer to this ask, and then tumblr blipped on me and I lost it so I'm incredibly annoyed and don't really want to write it up again. Eat shit, tumblr.

So, yeah, much more briefly this time around: sequel to Whatever happened to all this season's losers of the year, and since the title is from lyrics from the same song, I figured it made sense. I talked about why it's named what it is a while ago here. I kinda wanted to go back to Burky's thirst for Holtby, and thought it would be funny if multiple teammates were thirsting for Holtby, and how Ovi and Nicky would handle that. Especially if Ovi and Nicky actually were in opposition to each other on how to handle it.

Anyway, yeah: Holtby is in the middle of some kind of bonkers love quadrangle and isn't aware of it; Ovi is far TOO aware of it and drags in Nicky and Brooks Orpik in accordingly out of self-preservation and also spite. Also more signs are stolen. You can read a previously posted excerpt from it here. And here's another bit from further in.

"Guess who's in love?" Alex says, as soon as he has Nicky alone, or as close to alone as they can get on the charter plane.

"Did he talk to you?" Nicky says, eyes narrowed. "I told him that was a bad idea. I told him you would just sabotage it."

Alex blinks. "I'm not gonna sabotage Burky. I'm gonna sit back and watch because it's hilarious."

Nicky's face does something unusual, in that it shows roughly two seconds worth of genuine surprise before it settles down. It's all fractional eyebrow bunching, and a very quick clench of the jaw, subtle and barely noticeable. On anyone else, it would be unremarkable; since it's Nicky and since Alex has been making a habit of watching him as closely as possible for the last decade, it's as good as klaxons blaring and red flags waving. Alex is immediately suspicious.

"You talk about Burky, right," he says to Nicky, watching him closely.

Nicky's face is back to its usual inscrutable setting. "Andre's always in love," he replies, which is a definite dodge.

"But you mean Burky when you say you tell him I'm gonna sabotage love or something?" Alex persists.

"I know you're helping him," Nicky says, and then wrinkles his nose and looks annoyed. "Trying to help him. Probably getting him into more trouble."

Mild insults and slightly more words than necessary, which means Nicky is absolutely hiding something. Alex plays back what Nicky had said, mentally prods it a few times for any hidden English translation meanings, and then applies his Nicky translation filter, and comes up with the answer.

"You don't mean Burky," he says. "You mean someone else on team's in love."

Nicky looks down at his iPad and grunts noncommittally. Alex gasps in delight.

"Who?" he asks.

"I can't say," Nicky says primly. "Anyway, it's not your business."

"I'm captain!" Alex protests. "All team romance and love and hookup is totally my business."

"I'm gonna nap," Nicky says. He puts his iPad down and folds his hands over his stomach, closing his eyes. "I can't talk right now."

"Backy," Alex whines. "Backy, no, Nicky, come on, tell me, come on. You my A, you supposed to share stuff like this."

Nicky glares at Alex without opening his eyes, a uniquely Nicky skill that he produces as effortlessly as he does saucer passes, and which Alex secretly envies more than a little. "I am asleep." 

"Backy, come on, if you won't say who in love, at least tell me who's in love with."

"It's nice to be asleep," Nicky says.

"It's me, of course," Alex says, and Nicky takes the bait; he opens his eyes just to narrow them at Alex. "Okay, yeah, not me, because I know you kill them because you love me. So it's not me. Not you, because if it's you, you don't say anything at all and you just pretend it's not there."

Nicky sighs and closes his eyes again.

"Not me, not you, you tell them not to talk to me, you say I sabotage, why I sabotage…" Alex thinks it over. "I only sabotage probably if they love you. Except." He pokes Nicky's arm several times in excitement, and Nicky swats him with unerring accuracy, still with his eyes closed. Alex doesn't even care. "It's Holts! Someone else loves Holts!"

"Everyone loves Holts," Nicky says, but he presses his lips together and wrinkles his nose. Alex is triumphant.

"Who is it?" Alex asks. "I'm not gonna sabotage. Probably I'm not gonna sabotage. Maybe. Unless it's you."

"You'd sabotage me?" Nicky asks, opening one eye. His face is already back to blank tranquility.

"Well, I'm gonna try," Alex says. "Like, if you love Holts, that's not good for me. Unless you let me watch. Or if you wanna watch me and Holts. In both case, cool, okay."

"Hmm," Nicky says, which Alex immediately files away as 'not a definite no' in case such an opportunity ever does come up. He's not made of stone, after all. Though then they'll have to deal with a heartbroken and/or sulking Burky for stealing the goalie sex god of his dreams.

"Anyway, is it Jojo? It's Jojo, isn't it," Alex asks. If someone is asking Nicky for advice on seduction, it's probably one of the younger players, and it's probably one of his countrymen, and Alex already knows about Burky. "Oh my God, Nicky, you playing favorites with the kids?"

He twists around in his seat to see where Marcus is, and Nicky shoots his hand out to yank him back down.

"It's not Mackan," Nicky says. "Christ, you're making a scene. The point is not to tell everyone."

"Ha, when I make scene, you gonna know it," Alex says, and twists his neck to test the strength of Nicky's grip on his shirt collar and the way it's cutting into his throat a bit. It's an interesting sensation. He'll have to remember to have Nicky do it again in a more private setting. "Hmm."

Nicky grimaces. "I'll tell you at the hotel," he says. "Just. Not now."

"Okay, okay. At the hotel," Alex says. He manages to wait thirty seconds. "Is it Vee?"

#meme #writing #hockey RPF #Washington Capitals #Alexander Ovechkin #Nicklas Backstrom #Andre Burakovsky #Anonymous

[adversityfought-a]

-`ˏ    @darckcarnival​   ˎ´-

→   ✨ -pokes fingers together-

(  🐝  *  ―  send ✨ or ( ‘SPARKLE’ ) and i’ll tell you at least one thing i like most about you , your blog , your portrayal , your muse.  🪴  ) 

This has been a long time coming, let's be real. I know I took forever to reply, but I do want you to know that I will be gushing about everything, not just a single thing overall, because you, my friend, are such a delight all around.

When we first met, I was surprised by how open  &  friendly  &  genuinely chill you were as a person. Before we even started to interact, I'd see you on dash fluctuating with fluidity between long plot heavy threads  &  crack responses more light-hearted in nature, all the while, you still retained a strong hold on your muse's voice. That adaptability with a muses portrayal while also keeping it so... IC is incredibly hard to achieve, but already from what I have seen  &  know of her, she’s got such a memorable personality, she’s hard to forget. Right from the get go, I already knew you held a strong love for Darck,  &  a passion to make each interaction with whomever one that's fun  &  enjoyable for everyone involved.

Now actually getting to talk to you? It was a pleasant surprise to see how well we got along! You're an absolute treasure  &  I adore being able to shoot my headcanons  &  unhinged rambles off your way,  &  I adore being influenced  &  nudged with your own ideas  &  weigh ins on whatever thing I toss your way. You toss back just as feelsy stuff, heavy with angst,  &  even though I have yet to properly write with you with Chris, I already adore their dynamic.

I learned so much about your muse through our chattering, spitballing ideas  &  lore  -  &  I am already down a hundred percent for the sibling / found family like bond we have kinda planned for them,  &  I love how much these two can relate to one another, how it can be both a source of comfort, relief  &  also tension because sometimes ( wink wonk )  goals might not align. But that’s the beauty of it! The clashing because of a shared understanding is also a super interesting concept I'm down to explore with Darck because goddd  -  they're too alike at times.

In any case, I've told you before but I want to make it well known here too, that I love seeing you on dash, love seeing messages from you on Disco,   &  I love your muse  &  all the lore behind her. I also love the late night gaming sessions we do  -  I really can't tell you enough how fun it is to play DBD with you  &  the others! 

Please know you're doing amazing in my opinion,  &  that I'm very glad I got to meet  &  get to know both you  &  Darck. I hope we can stay friends for a long time,  &  that we write together a ton! <3

.

#-`ˏ ★ ˎ´- ─ ANSWERED OOC. #-`ˏ ★ ˎ´- ─ POSITIVITY. #darckcarnival #❝ Old friend - don't you see me. With my soul on my sleeve & my heart left to beat. ❞ . ( DARCKCARNIVAL ) #/ HENLO AM LOV DEW

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 317: My Boy Was Just Like Me

Previously on BnHA: AFO randomly blew up Lady Nagant as a good reminder of why you should never make a deal with this fucking guy, smdh. Hawks was all “well if it isn’t my two best friends, Deku and Lady Nagant, both of whom I respect and love tremendously.” Everyone was all “??” and Horikoshi was all “shh... just pretend” because it was too embarrassing for him to admit that he forgot to write a couple of set-up flashbacks I guess. Anyway so Hawks got Lady to tell them where AFO was hiding out, and everyone said goodbye to her and Overhaul, who never did get to see his boss (sorry buddy, I’ll send you a vial of my tears in the mail), and headed out to a house in the woods. AFO was all “hello Deku :) :) it sure is fun making you suffer :) :) :) anyways this is a trap”, and blew up the house. Yeah, we all here are getting reaaaaaaaal tired of your shit, AFO.

Today on BnHA: The Hawksquad and Edgeplatoon meet in a warehouse and are all “what should we do about the fact that everything sucks?” Mt. Lady is all “here’s a thought, what if we tried battling AFO with more than six people.” Hawks and Endeavor are all “great initiative, but just a friendly reminder that our friends also suck and would probably betray Deku which would suck further still.” Shouto is all “ANSWER THE PHONE DAD” and Endeavor is all “[IRONICALLY DOESN’T ANSWER THE PHONE].” Meanwhile over in Sadtown, capital of Sadland Prefecture, Japan, Deku is all “All Might, as you can clearly see I am completely fine and good, never been better in fact, definitely not caught up in the throes of an epic mental breakdown which is shutting me down emotionally, anyway so on that note I would like to leave you now goodbye!!” All Might is all “[can’t actually form any words because he’s too distraught].” Fandom is all “o(╥﹏╥)o.” Horikoshi is all “(*＾-’) 乃 [pew pew finger guns and barrel rolls into the darkness].”

sweet jesus lord

this literally doesn’t even look like Deku anymore?? this looks like Dark!Deku who shows up to fight you in that one room in the Water Temple. he looks like he’s about to crawl out of my television set and murder me with his psychic powers good lord

holy shit lmao Horikoshi is really just shrugging his shoulders and resolving last week’s cliffhanger with a single line of dialogue

fire is no one’s weakness. idk what other options you’ve got, AFO, but you’re gonna have to go back to the drawing board. maybe try bees or something. I’m just saying. we’re all expecting fire at this point but nobody is expecting bees

anyway so now they’re all sitting in some warehouse somewhere chatting about it I guess. shoutout to Horikoshi for finally giving my man Edgeshot some more dialogue at long last

well, Edgeshot, to answer your question, she exploded. so naturally she’s fine

nah just kidding, Hawks says she won’t be able to help them out much because she’s recovering from being exploded. this is the part where we all ignore the fact that Hawks got set on fire for like a full ten minutes back during the War arc and was only in the hospital for a day. anyways enjoy your temporary plot hiatus Nagant

man there’s a lot of dialogue here and I’m trying to figure out where to insert commentary but it’s kinda difficult lol. basically, Edge and the others are saying that they should gather up the other remaining heroes and get them all caught up on the whole OFA situation. which, hmmmm

like on the one hand, these guys definitely aren’t going to cut it on their own, so it’s a reasonable suggestion on the face of it. but on the other hand, do we really want to entrust the OFA secret to a bunch of other people, most of whom shat the bed during the War arc to be quite frank? is it really worth the additional risk? especially given that any one of them might go spilling the beans to the public -- or worse, betray them to AFO??

also just a quick side note here, Mt. Lady’s character development never ceases to delight me. she’s become so committed to her responsibility as a hero these days, and it fucking suits her. I genuinely consider to be one of the elites now. I mean it doesn’t hurt that all the other elites are fucking dead lol but still

wait what? Death Arms retired??

Death Arms as in the guy who was too afraid of a little fire to try and save a terrified 14-year-old kid who was slowly suffocating right before his eyes?? that Death Arms???? color me surprised. shocked, I tell you

...okay but holy fuck

Death Arms. bro. my expectations for you were low but holy shit. like I’m sorry, but I don’t even have it in me to try and pretend like I feel the slightest bit of sympathy for him or Old Man Samurai or any of those other guys today. thanks for a whole lot of nothing my dude. good riddance

(ETA: so I’m rereading this the next day and realize this comes off as kind of harsh, so let me just try to clarify. it’s not the fact that he’s quitting that bothers me, to be honest. it’s the fact that he’s quitting specifically because he feels like the public is being mean to him. that’s it.

seriously. it would be one thing if he was quitting because he was scared, because now that is human. nobody wants to die, and I doubt any amount of training can ever fully prepare someone to go up against that fear. but the thing is, he never once mentions that, or talks about the danger aspect. instead, I got the distinct vibe from this speech that Death Arms is one of those people who only became a hero because of the limelight. and I just don’t have any patience for that. if all you care about are likes and subscribes then go become a fucking youtuber or some shit. nothing wrong with that! but you didn’t; you signed up to be a hero and protect these people. they gave you their respect and admiration because they trusted you to protect them. and now that they’re no longer in the mood to worship and applaud your every move on account of them being scared shitless because they’re living in the literal end times, you decide to dip. so like okay, fine then. don’t let the door hit you on the way out. anyways lol sorry for the rant.)

anyway so yeah. perfect example of why I don’t exactly have a ton of faith in most of the remaining heroes out there lol. also let me just once again give a shoutout to my best girl Mt. Lady whom I suddenly find myself appreciating all the more

“please calm down makeste. drink some water and enjoy this fresh new jeans pun” listen Horikoshi don’t tell me what to do dammit

fine. it is a nice pun, I guess

-- damn so now Endeavor’s saying that the media is already being fed info by the retired heroes. so for some of these guys it wasn’t enough for them to abandon all the people they swore to protect and to leave their fellow heroes out in the cold; they decided they might as well actively make things worse for them while they were at it, huh. like I get wanting to spill all the dirty secrets from your old job that you just quit, but this isn’t Jeff Bezos you’re screwing over, this is a sixteen-year-old kid

-- like, yes!! this, right here!!

exactly!! let’s not forget that there are already two prior instances of this happening. Endeavor arguably deserved it, but Katsuki not so much

huh. Endeavor seems to have a more optimistic outlook regarding this than I do lol

I mean, this is the same public that didn’t hesitant to blame a kidnapped child for his own kidnapping, and then later on for being the downfall of the Symbol of Peace. but okay then

anyway so blah blah blah, more talk about how they need to use Deku as bait, which basically puts them back at square one, and then they’re all just trailing off into silence and sitting around in the dark lmao this is getting very depressing

SKDJFLSDKJ:LFKJ

SHOUTO?????

NOOOOOOOO ARE YOU KIDDING ME

OH HOW THE TURNTABLES OMG. THE GHOSTER HAS BECOME THE GHOSTEE. Endeavor you petty son of a bitch. and what a brutal cut to that flashback too. “let’s stop Touya together” nah Shouto I’ve got a better idea why don’t I abandon you in U.A. and sally off with Hawks and Jeanist to found the “let’s pretend like we’re doing something to help Deku” club, which basically consists of us sitting around making terrible decisions all day long

Shouto, honey. you deserve better my little Coca Cola can. .........but if you really do have something important you need to tell your dad you could just text it to him. all the love and support, hugs and kisses, you’re doing amazing sweetie. but if you need to pass on any vital information you can just write it down and hit send honey that’s all I’m saying love

now he’s getting another call?? -- or, no, Hawks is getting a call from All Might

ARE YOU FOR REAL HAWKS OMFG

so while you all were sitting around talking about how useless you are, the kid you’re supposed to be protecting was battling another hired gun. I see. please pardon me for one second, I have a phone call to make. the phone call is to RockLockRock and Manual. the reason for the call is to apologize for calling them the worst bodyguards ever back during the War arc. the reason for the apology is because it turns out I WAS SEVERELY MISTAKEN OMFG

JESUS CHRIST DEKU DID YOU JUST KILL THIS MAN LMAO

shoutout to Horikoshi for offscreening this fight. we get it, lol. Deku strong and scary, villains ineffectual and feeble, and AFO... [checks notes] yep, still a dick. the angst arc continues

-- the angst arc continues, SIR

jesus christ I may have to rethink all of my opinions about Deku being framed for murder in movie 3 lmao. never mind. he did it, your honor

holy fucking shit Deku. “he might blow up, so please be careful” fdlskjflk jlskdjflk lwkejflk anyway so I’ve decided the explosion running gag can stay, actually

DEKU WAIT YOU FORGOT YOUR LUNCH!!

lol why do I get the feeling some serious shit is about to go down. ALL MIGHT NEVER MIND BACK OFF I THINK HE NEEDS HIS SPACE

OH MY FUCK I GASPED OUT LOUD

NO NO NO. I KNEW THIS WAS COMING GODDAMMIT BUT NO. NEVER MIND, I CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT IT, I’M NOT READY TO CRY TODAY

shit. shit shit shit shit and OF COURSE all I can fucking think about is that stupid fucking prophecy and gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Deku please. please please please if you really are going to leave All Might here, please be so very careful in choosing your farewell words to him now because have this sudden horrible fear that this might be the last time you ever see him alive and oh god. oh god oh god

DEKU NO, YOU’RE REALLY NOT!?!?

I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYONE LESS FINE IN MY LIFE, ACTUALLY????

holy shit. and the fucking callback to the prophecy now. just in case we forgot. WHICH FYI, WE DIDN’T. but that’s basically confirming that this is all still very much on the table and HORIKOSHI NEVER FORGETS oh my god someone please hold me

and the fact that Deku’s flashing back to it now too, though?? because he never forgot either, because of course he didn’t, and now all this stuff is happening, and AFO’s words are getting to him, and this is literally his worst fear come to life and so of course he’s distancing himself from everyone, and now it’s finally come to even this. even the person he admires most

-- OKAY NO, FUCKING COME ON ALREADY I CAN’T TAKE THIS

I GET IT OH MY GOD, I ALREADY UNDERSTAND THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT OF THIS MOMENT WITHOUT ALL OF THE DEVASTATING FLASHBACKS THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!! YOU ACTUALLY DO WANT ME TO CRY, HUH, IS THAT IT. THIS MAN THAT HE THINKS OF AS A FATHER, THIS MAN WHO HAS BEEN EVERYTHING TO HIM SINCE HE WAS A VERY YOUNG CHILD. EVERYTHING THEY’VE BEEN THROUGH, JUXTAPOSED AGAINST EVERYTHING DEKU IS UP AGAINST, EVERYTHING THAT’S AT RISK. LET’S JUST PUT IT ALL SIDE BY SIDE. LET’S JUST PILE ON ALL OF THE FEELS

(ETA: just a quick note that even though some of the posts I’ve read have described these as All Might’s flashbacks, I’m pretty sure they are Deku’s. most of these are scenes that only he was there for, so yeah. even though All Might is the one thinking the thoughts on the next page, the flashbacks are what’s running through Deku’s mind right now, and so we’re getting that emotion from both of them, which makes it extra devastating lol.)

wait, what???

WHAT??? do you really think that’s why he’s been so determined to protect you this entire time?? simply because you’re his successor?

-- oh no wait lol I think I got that mixed up, this is All Might saying that Deku feels the need to protect him. well that makes more sense lol

oh my god I cannot

his last words. his last words to him. and we can’t even see if he is smiling, like All Might always encouraged him to do. but what are the odds he can’t actually bring himself to do it. what are the odds he’s actually crying. oh god this scene is going to rip my heart out and STOMP on it in the anime isn’t it. Deku’s VA is going to full on murder me with emotion. not that there’ll be much of me left to murder after the thorough job that Horikoshi has already done here

YOU’RE CRYING. DEKU IS LEAVING ALL MIGHT AND IGNORING HIS OUTSTRETCHED HAND AND YOU’RE CRYING. AND BY “YOU” I MEAN “ME”, FUCK

nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope no words just feels just a big ol’ pile of feels. I do not have the strength. future me... [broadly gestures] good luck with all that

(ETA: LOL, WELL THEN.

what breaks my heart here is All Might. All Might, and everything he’s been through, and history repeating itself, and forcing him to live this moment from both sides because he wasn’t strong enough to fix things.

Toshinori had only just turned eighteen when Nana died. like, I feel like we don’t mention this enough. the All Might we know is a sixty-something-year-old man, and so everyone always talks about him like he’s basically been an adult forever. but he was a child when he met Nana. and he was still just a child when she died. barely a year older than Deku is now. younger than Mirio was when we first met him.

and we don’t talk about that. we don’t talk about how devastating that was for him. and we don’t talk about how the reason he grew up to become so reserved and withdrawn -- for all that he always tried so hard to outwardly project the image of a bold, confident, smiling hero -- was specifically because of what AFO did to him. because AFO targeted him in the exact way that he is now targeting Deku. because that’s what he does. he goes after every new user of OFA, and he finds out what’s most important to them, and then he destroys it. and for Toshinori, that was Nana. if you’ve read All Might Rising, you know that AFO basically killed her in front of him (and only killed her, while letting Toshinori and Gran get away). Toshinori (while crying) later says she was like a mother to him. and interestingly enough, during this same conversation, Gran tells Toshinori that he can see “that madness in [his] eyes” when Toshi talks about becoming strong enough to defeat AFO. madness in his eyes. sound familiar??

what’s happening to Deku now is the exact same thing that happened to Toshinori when he was a boy. AFO tried every bit as hard to break him as he’s trying with Deku now. “the path you’ve chosen is a thorny one. every battle grinds away at your soul with no end in sight.” we don’t talk about how Toshinori experienced this same thing for forty fucking years. and all the while isolating himself, exactly like Deku is doing now. pushing people away, exactly like Deku. because he never had anyone who was able to reach out and pull him back. and those words that he now finds himself frozen and unable to speak -- “don’t push yourself”; “you can rest” -- are the same words that no one ever said to him until decades later, when it was already far too late to make any difference.

everything that Deku is experiencing now is what Toshinori also went through. and it’s only now, as he watches it happen to his student, the boy he loves like a son, that he’s finally starting to realize the full extent of how wrong it was. you shouldn’t have to fight alone. you shouldn’t have to bear that kind of enormous burden alone. you shouldn’t have to push yourself, and you can rest. you can rest.

but it’s too late. just as he’s finally coming to understand it all, it’s all too fucking late. and he can’t say the words, he doesn’t know how to say the words, and then just like that, Deku is gone.

and he’s alone. again.)

I can’t. this can’t be their goodbye. I’m not ready. for this to be how they finally part, and then they never see each other again except in OFA. how is that fair. how is that fair. how is that fair

fuck me. lol. how many pages are left in this thing. let’s just wrap this up lol. so now of all the times for this fucking guy to finally show up

I can’t believe Stain has been here literally this entire time hiding behind this random wall and cutting onions. that was you who was cutting the onions, right. no need to answer that we’ll just say it was

HORIKOSHI JUST END THE CHAPTER PLEASE I’M OUT OF SPOONS. YOU HURT ME SO GOOD AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT BUT YOU NEED TO LET ME GO NOW SO I CAN BEGIN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO PUT MY LIFE BACK IN ORDER HERE. SO WHERE ARE WE CUTTING TO NOW WHAT IS HAPPENING

Stain did you also let AFO give you a new quirk. what’s with you guys. do you like blowing up

oh nvm lol because they were talking about THIS GUY ohhhhhh my fucking god

THAT’S BECAUSE HE’S SAD, LINDA!! jesus

omfg. and so yes, good, the chapter is ending here now on page 15. for once I am FULLY on board with that lmao

anyway so tune in next week for more adventures of Werewolf Deku!! that is, assuming we don’t finally cut back to U.A. at long last, which is actually a strong possibility considering that this chapter will likely mark the end of volume 31. it sure wouldn’t kill Horikoshi to start giving us some hope after everything he’s just put us through lol. KACCHAN COME GET YA BOY

#bnha 317 #all might #midoriya izuku #and endeavor and hawks and mt. lady and all the rest of them I guess #literally forgot all about them by the end lol #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha meta #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #this wound up so long lmao I'm so sorry

[pumpkinpaix]

Want a *really* unpopular opinion? I not only *liked* the Incense Burner extras but found them sexy, as a portrayal of two dorks using potentially dangerous magical R&D as a tool for exploring their past feelings and history and negotiating consent by trial and error and error and error.

ANON YOU FUCKING GET IT | STRONGLY AGREE | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

slams hands on table  C O R R E C T

you know what, i’ll do you one better, not only did i like them and find them sexy, i ALSO found them extremely meaningful and important!! i will defend the incense burners unto death, you can pry them from my cold dead hands!!!!

not to get super emo and personal about like, kinda silly smut, but you know what, it’s that kind of night so let’s GO oversharing time, and maybe it will help someone along the way!!! isn’t that what vulnerability is for!!!!

i don’t know if it’s common knowledge that i have ocd -- i haven’t made a secret of it or anything -- but: i suffer from pretty terrible intrusive thoughts and when you add that together with intense moral scrupulosity issues + a complicated relationship to shame and sex, you get some pretty rough thoughtcrime, self-hatred, and sex-related neuroses. i was so completely horrified by the idea of wanting sex that I thought i was ace for like, the better part of my teen years. i’m really grateful to the ace spaces i was lucky enough to find in that time because they gave me a place to feel safe while I was still figuring shit out, and I still feel a lot of kinship with them because even if i’m not ace, sex is still Difficult for me as a concept and aspec people Get It.

together with just my generally really fucked up thoughts, plus the rise of purity culture etc, i have A Lot of fear about my inner self being perceived because there’s a part of me that is convinced that if anyone really knew me, they’d find me disgusting, that they’d think i was a genuinely bad and dirty person beyond redemption. that no matter how hard i tried to be good, i was doomed to fail because there was something wrong with me internally and inherently. that like, no matter how kind or helpful or dutiful or accomplished or smart or thoughtful i tried to be, it wouldn’t make a difference!!!

im getting over it lol don’t worry

but the point is: the incense burners, especially the one in the library, really embody the ultimate fantasy of a person you love seeing your most shameful thoughts and desires and not only NOT abandoning you, but saying “oh shit, that’s hot”. can you understand the palpable relief of that!!!! ;A; and!! to take it one step further, it’s not even a big deal! wei wuxian laughs and is like ohohoho?? hanguang-jun? like this secret that lan wangji was carrying and fearing was just like. kinda cute and funny. that there was nothing to fear at all.

screams into my hands

i joke about being shuangbi kin all the time, except like, it isn’t a joke. the moment when wei wuxian notices that lan wangji is tense, when lan wangji says, “stop looking,” and tries to leave -- idk i just. i felt for him so hard there. stop looking at me. what if you don’t like what you see?

but wei wuxian does like it! and wei wuxian doesn’t think any worse of lan wangji, doesn’t think he’s fallen or disgraceful. lan wangji is still lan wangji, still hanguang-jun, still upright, still 雅正. and the narrative does the same: it never implies that lan wangji is any less of a good person because of this. it’s just an inside joke for the other extras: that lan wangji looks like the sort of person who’s a perpetual virgin because that’s what people expect from someone of his character and demeanor, but he isn’t.

i can’t like. begin to explain how much i treasure this dumb smut. it’s not the best smut i’ve ever read, not by a long shot, but it’s not anywhere near as terrible as a lot of people make it out to be. just. i got to read this thing. where a character i already identified with had his fucked up thoughts about sex perceived and accepted and loved, and it was a character who looked and sounded and thought like me!! down to the obsession with rules and fairness. a chinese character!!! and someone the narrative pretty consistently positions as a sympathetic and lovable person!! mdzs was my first danmei, so it’s entirely possible this isn’t revolutionary whatsoever. maybe this is a super common trope! idk! but it was really revelatory to me. that these really intensely complicated characters we’ve just spent like 500k learning about and falling in love with are also weird kinky dumbasses who don’t know shit. and that both can be true! and that’s presented as a fun, delightful thing! god!!!! i care them! i am so grateful to mxtx for it, regardless of anything else, i am grateful that she gave me this.

anyways, thanks for giving me this outlet anon and also like, letting me experience a version of that relief: oh i’m not alone!

(ko-fi)

🍵 ((un)popular) opinions meme

#Anonymous #asks and replies #mdzs #LET'S GO #mental illness #ocd #incense burners #mdzs incense burners #mine #mymeta #cyan dlc #this is really personal guys pls be gentle with me #it's probably embarrassingly earnest #ok to reblog #ask meme #opinions meme #mdzs meta #purity culture #in some way

[etherealluminescence]

The Now Dateables + Bros and MC who wears a face veil because they were cursed with an appearance everyone would immediately fall in love with. The face veil is so they know that their relationships are genuine and not because of their curse.

Asmo without the horny was my very first thought, but thank you for the ask! Here you go!!

I’m assuming it’s a regular face veil and not completely covered?? Like one of those lower face veils and for the sake of this, not transparent.

Also meant to post this awhile back but I guess I can’t do schedule releases correctly?? Man am I dumb.

Everyone reacting to GN!MC with a beauty curse

Before you were born, your parents had saved a witch who was struggling and in a lot of physical pain, after nursing her, she repaid their kindness by cursing (blessing?) all of their children to be extraordinarily beautiful, which sounded great at first, but you have come to learn that it wasn’t as great as it seemed.

Lucifer

When Lucifer chose you as the exchange student, it was noted you had a peculiar habit of wearing a veil, but he didn’t think much of it.

When you two become closer though, he’s kind of curious. Do you ever take it off? What’s it for? Are you self conscious, if so, that’s really stupid because he will still love you no matter what.

He’s blunt and asks you, so if you choose to tell him about the curse, he nods in acknowledgement, and asks if you want it removed.

You’re so shocked and he’s completely serious, he’s stronger than some witch, so he would be willing to help you out because he likes you.

If you say yes and show him your face he’s stunned for a second, but that’s only because of the curse, he understands now what you mean.

Is super prideful when you say you trust him to remove it, and how you think highly enough of him to even show him your face in the first place.

If you choose to keep it and still show your face to him, his ego is huge now, like even bigger than before. :))

Mammon

He thought you looked really stupid, not going to lie. Like why the hell are you wearing a face veil? Whatever. Probably tried to take it off or catch you without it on.

When you two makes a pact and become closer to him, he’s pretty curious about your face because he’s a model and has seen some pretty people, and you have gorgeous eyes.

Personal hype man because he gets the wrong idea at first, thinking you’re self conscious and he wants to see his human’s face.

At this point if you don’t believe he loves you for you, you’re kinda an oblivious monster, because he’s followed you like a lost puppy, protected you, and even genuinely wants to raise your self confidence.

So when you explain to him what’s up, and feel comfortable to show him your face he’s like !!! My human is literally the most gorgeous thing he’s seen. And then it strikes him he’s probably the first to see this outside of your family, too, and he’s so smug.

Won’t tell anyone about it if you tell him, he’s sad about it but will respect that you want a genuine friend. And then he’s super happy again because you think so highly of him.

Leviathan

Thinks you’re some cool person with a trouble past and now wears a veil to cover your scars from battle at first.

Wait? That’s not it? Lame. Will probably find it weird how you wear a face veil at first, and is curious to what you look like. Your eyes are really pretty, so why hide your face?

When he finds out it’s a curse he’s super interested again! My human wears a face veil to hide their curse from the world, sounds like some sort of anime plot. Will really want to see your face and will have puppy dog eyes, but ultimately it’s your choice.

If you choose to show him your face, he’s a blushing and stuttering mess, as if you didn’t just warn him? And he’s also just so surprised you agreed!!! Like you really trust him that much?! He is overwhelmed.

When you laugh and put your veil back on, he’s just standing there so confused? Like what just happened? He swears blood isn’t rushing out of his nose as he tells you that the curse worked okay.

Will definitely be jealous if you let other people see you without your veil on, he thinks he is special to you and that’s why you let him see it, so please don’t break his heart!

Satan

Satan really didn’t care at first, he may be a little curious, but it’s whatever, he’s met weirder people.

When you two are closer, he’s quite curious and asks, so if you tell him about the curse, he definitely wants to see.

He won’t pry to respect your privacy, but he totally understands now why your eyes are so pretty, and why you’re wearing the veil. But you can tell from his body language he wants to see your face.

Has a large amount of acquaintances and probably knows the witch as well, so when he finally sees your face, it was because of her. He invited you to meet an acquaintance of his, who just happened to be the witch your parents saved.

She’s gushing over you because she hadn’t seen you since you were a toddler, and asks to see your face if her curse worked, and how thankful she was to your parents.

When you take it off, telling Satan you trust him enough to let him see, Satan is a little surprised and bewildered by your beauty, he already liked you, but you were amazingly pretty.

The witch is clapping and so proud of her work, she asked how it’s been and if you say you want it removed, both she and Satan wouldn’t hesitate to help break it for you, because even if your curse make you look stunning, he’s attracted to you because you’re you.

Also he likes it when your face veil dangles and the cats coming to you try to smack at it with their little paws and play with you.

Asmodeous

Originally was a little uninterested in you because you didn’t show your face, and rejected his advances.

Also when you laughed at him when he said “Everyone is beautiful, so if you’re hiding scars, you can show me!” He thought you were mocking him, as he didn’t know of your curse.

It doesn’t matter at all though, because he eventually likes you with time, and is attracted to you even if he hasn’t seen your face properly, other than your pretty eyes.

When he gets close to you and finally finds out why, he’s just like oh!! I totally get it!! I’m so gorgeous I could cause a war over my beauty, so you’re the same, right?

Apologises for trying to make you take off your face veil before, but is obviously curious as to just how gorgeous you are. Probably won’t drag you to parties anymore if it makes you feel uncomfortable.

Also loves you a little bit more because he’s the same! He’s extremely gorgeous, sure, but he wants a genuine friend too who isn’t after his beauty, so you two can bond over that.

Beelzebub

This baby honestly didn’t notice at first, and if he did he just thought of it as a human thing maybe? Well whatever! You give him food and cuddles so he just loves you.

He will never pressure you to take it off and probably is the least curious out of everyone. He probably doesn’t even notice your eyes until one of his brothers points it out and he’s like “oh, yeah they are really pretty.”

If anyone tries to take your veil off of you or bullies you for it, Beel only needs to grab their wrist and they know to run away, Beel would protect you.

When you tell Beel about the curse, he’s concerned for you and asks how he can help you feel better, like the previous baby he is!

When you show him your unveiled face, his eyes widen for a second and his hunger dissipates a little, but he’s not going to make a big deal out of it since you said you wore one for that reason.

He munches on his food and acknowledged it, and says you look nice, but if you want it gone he could ask Lucifer for you. If you decline, he respects your wishes, and just treats you like his favourite regular human.

Belphegor

Tied between gives no shit and also you’re weird asf. He says he doesn’t care why you wear a face veil and it doesn’t matter, but also looks at you like you’re weird for always wearing one, even to naps.

Tried to take it off when the two of you were sleeping ones because the frantic was against his face and it annoyed him. He found another face veil underneath, and two more and just gave up.

Will be super blunt. “I don’t think you’re ugly, even if you wear a veil.” He thinks that you’re probably self-conscious, and this is his way of cheering you up.

You can only laugh and say it’s a curse that makes you really beautiful. Huh, that explains why you have nice eyelashes, he thought.

Now he just doesn’t care, he’s used to it. If you choose to show him your face, man will he flaunt it to Lucifer, like has Lucifer seen your face? No? What a fucking loser.

Is charmed by your face for a minute before regaining his senses and telling you that you’re a 6

Actually really appreciates you showing your face to him even after he kinda murdered you. Appreciates all the trust in him you have.

Will probably punch anyone who disrespects you for wearing a veil in the face, he always wakes up and chooses violence.

Diavolo

Not phased by it and finds it kinda cool, perhaps they chose an interesting human! How fun.

Though he is very curious about what you look like, he stares at your veil and you can feel it but he won’t admit it because he respects you.

You grow close to him quickly and he’s delighted!! And you can tell he’s a genuinely good person, so when you tell him about the curse he just laughs!

No wonder you’re such a great and respectable person, you take after your parents! Not many would pick up a stray and dying witch.

He asks you if it’s really that inconvenient, and offers to just break the curse for you! No problem.

If you choose to keep it, he respects that too, but hopes he can see more of your face, he wants to love each part of you, if you allow him too.

If anyone makes fun of you for making a veil he would punish them or probably start wearing a veil too, either one works.

Barbatos

The least bothered by it number two, if you want to wear a face veil be his guest, he already knew the other exchange student would be weird when he saw Solomon.

He doesn’t pressure you to take it off and sometimes you just genuinely feel like you’re not wearing a face veil with him because he never comments on it, he just treats you like a normal person.

If you choose to tell him about the curse he will listen while maintaining perfect eye contact, his eyes never once even drifting to the lower half of your face, how respectful.

He will offer to help remove the curse for you, or ask Master Diavolo to help you remove it, but it really is up to you.

When you show him your face he’s in awe for the slightest second and then is back to normal. You are extraordinarily stunning, yes, but he respects the fact that you hate it when people stare too long or fall in love by your looks.

Honestly you could stop wearing the face veil around him altogether and he’d still treat you like normal, he has drunk the whole can of respect MC juice.

Solomon

He wasn’t fazed in the slightest when he sees you walking around with a face veil. Maybe it’s just your thing? He’s been alive long enough to see many different human things.

It doesn’t take long for him to want to see your face though, he’s curious and may drop subtle hints, but it’s up to you to pick up on them and decide if he can see.

If you tell him it’s a curse, it would pique his curiosity more, but he won’t use force to get you to remove it. If you choose to remove it for him though, he’s going to tease you but secretly be ecstatic.

He’s in awe of just how beautiful and stunning you are, may forget to breathe for a second before commenting on what an effective curse it was! But tries to be polite and not make you uncomfortable by staring too long.

Will try to help you remove the curse if you don’t want it anymore! You have a gorgeous personality and that’s all that really matters at the end of the day!

If you choose to keep it he will also respect it, and if anyone harasses you for wearing a veil he can put an ugly curse on them to make them as ugly as their personalities.

Simeon

Wondered why you wore a veil, but respected you and your privacy, so didn’t ask about it in case it was a sensitive topic.

When you two grow closer you can just genuinely tell he’s a good person, he’s an angel after all! So when you confide to him about your curse, and tell him you want him to see your face he’s super honoured!

Acknowledges that you put a lot of trust into him, and won’t tell anyone without your permission, but you truly are a work of art. He quickly gets over it though and smiles, giving you a small compliment, before asking if you want some tea.

He steers the conversation away from your curse and tries to be really respectful and not try to stare in case you don’t like it, and it only makes you laugh.

Is happy to know he can make eye contact with you like always, you don’t mind, and appreciate his thoughtfulness.

Just overall very sweet and thoughtful of you! If anyone makes you uncomfortable about wearing a veil, or make comments will defend you!

#obey me #obey me swd #obey me shall we date #obey me hc #obey me headcanon #obey me headcanons #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me beel #obey me belphie #obey me diavolo #obey me barbatos #obey me solomon #obey me simeon

[stovetuna]

How much does Steve melt, the first time he sees how good Tony is with kids?

anon I am so busy with work but there are so many good li’l prompts in my inbox OH NO WHATEVER SHALL I DO anyways—

obvs there’s the scenario in which steve and tony are already together/in a deeply committed relationship (see also: MARRIED) and are discussing kids and whether or not they want to adopt or use a surrogate or if they should even do it given who they are and what their lives are like (and ofc Tony would have at least one “oh god what if I’m a horrible father like Howard was??” meltdown for some extra ~drama~)

but it’s me, and you know I *live* for pining!Steve, so imagine: Steve (who has been nursing a crush on Tony for ages but doesn’t want to ruin their friendship/doesn’t think he’s good enough/doesn’t think Tony wants him that way/take your pick of Steve angst) volunteers to join Tony at a very Tony-specific event, say, an MIT job fair. lots of smart kids doing smart things way above even Steve’s pay grade all clamoring to work for Stark Industries or intern for the Avengers tech squad or NASA, etc. (Steve would also like to talk to the folks at NASA because let’s not forget our man is an absolute nerd in his own right and would like to volunteer for their next, extra-dangerous space mission...)

Steve basically acts as body-man-slash-Tony’s-time-manager the whole time, because he knows Tony is liable to get tunnel vision if someone comes to him with a particularly good idea. The MIT kids are more interested in the science of Steve than Steve himself, so once he makes it clear that Tony’s the one to talk to about anything super-serum related, they all pretty much leave him alone. 

which is fine, because that leaves Steve with extra time to just observe Tony in one of his many elements: talking “cool science stuff” with the next generation of the world’s brightest minds, hands waving around, suit jacket and tie discarded, his hair a mess after running his excited fingers through it one too many times—happy. He gets to watch Tony be happy and excited and genuinely engaged with people who understand him, which makes Steve pine that much harder because Tony can never be that around Steve, of course!! Steve’s not smart or quick enough to even come close :((( 

(steve, darling, your low sense of self-worth is showing.)

AND THEN! an older student—I like to imagine a mom who fought tooth and nail to get back into school after having to leave for a number of years to deal with Life Stuff and eventually managed to nab a spot in one of MIT’s grad programs beyond all hope, all on her own—approaches the Stark Industries table with a very fussy, very noisy, very literal baby strapped to her chest. 

Steve turns around to tell Tony his 3 o’ clock is here, but oh look, Tony is already there, telling Steve as he passes “oh my god Steve look it’s a baby!” and then stumbling around the table in his excitement, eyes big and round and shining. he the woman’s resume before she can even try to hand it to him (Steve usually is fast enough to intercede) and folds it up and places it in his wallet before he’s asking her—Shantelle, her name is Shantelle—if he can hold the baby while they talk. 

so Steve’s helplessly watching as Shantelle unhooks the contraption while Tony holds the baby—Faith, who’s maybe six or seven months old and already has her mother’s eyes—under her arms and then moves her around to cradle her against his chest. Steve watches the two adults move around to the other side of the table out of the throes of traffic to talk, and they do, intensely and excitedly and animatedly, but all the while Tony holds baby Faith in his arms, running a knuckle down the middle of her back and humming under his breath whenever he stops talking. he looks—he looks blissed out, Steve thinks, and Faith is passed out completely, drooling on Tony’s very expensive shirt and gripping his designer sunglasses hanging from his collar in one sticky, chubby fist.

by the end of their half hour meeting, Shantelle has a job at SI and Faith has an ample education fund (K-12 AND college) waiting for her, personal courtesy of Tony Stark. and Steve literally just stares at them the whole time, at the drooling, sleeping baby on Tony’s chest, at the shine in the man’s eyes when he passes her back to her mother, at the smiling way Tony tells Shantelle not to worry about the drool or the crushed glasses, at the wave he sends her off with. 

Steve is ready to propose on the spot. he doesn’t, but he imagines it, because he would literally put down his life, his shield, if it meant giving Tony a life in which they could have a family and he’d get to see Tony’s face light up like that every day. it’s such a perfect, beautiful fantasy Steve almost tears up on the spot. 

all he manages, after the fair is over and Steve’s talked to the NASA folks and their arms are full of resumes, is “I didn’t know you liked kids so much.” it comes out kinda gruff because he’s still lowkey on the verge of tears just imagining carrying around a baby while Tony makes cooing noises at her or letting her sleep on his chest after he’s passed out on the workshop couch. 

meanwhile Tony’s off and babbling about how babies and young kids are purely innocent with zero ulterior motives or cynicism and they just make him look forward to the future that much more because “babies are the purest expression of hope I can imagine” and Steve’s heart CLENCHES, but he says nothing.

later on, he draws Tony like that: fast asleep on the ratty workshop sofa, a baby passed out on his chest, his arm around her to keep her from rolling off, instinctual protectiveness amplified by his being Tony Stark, who would rather die than see someone he loves get hurt. 

as Steve shuts the notebook and turns out the light, he imagines the baby opening bright eyes the same color blue as Steve’s and grinning toothlessly when she sees him standing in the workshop doorway. he falls asleep thinking about that. he spends every day of the next week thinking about that. every time he looks at Tony, his subconscious adds a baby, and that shining look in Tony’s eyes. and he wants it. all of it.

finally, after a tough mission and an even tougher de-brief, in the middle of Tony ranting—halfway out of his seat—at Steve about him holding the reins too tight and not letting the team improvise enough, Steve just stares straight into Tony’s eyes and says, “I’ll make it up to you if you let me take you to dinner tonight.” 

he doesn’t know where it came from, but it’s worth it given how Tony all but swallows his tongue and just dumbly nods, still halfway out of his seat, hand hanging in the air mid-jabbing finger motion. 

that evening, Steve takes him to a Burger King that still has a play area kids can use and delights in watching Tony try to focus on his date with Steve and the gaggle of toddlers in the ball pit on the other side of the glass. it’s the best first date Steve’s ever had (and his last first date, period. naturally). 

#wow whoops here's a word vomit fic #stevetony #I JUST HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS #maybe Scenario One would come after Scenario Two #like #years down the line Steve and Tony are fully Married and Steve really wants to have at least A kid so he can fulfill this longstanding fant #the domestic life Steve didn't think he wanted or deserved after the ice but which Tony is MORE than willing to provide #but Tony ofc freaks out about Bad Dad what-ifs and Steve has to reassure him that he is not Howard and it's entirely his decision what kind #and also Steve wouldn't let it happen #so they adopt a baby and she and Faith have lots of playdates happily ever after THE END #rachel writes fic #stony fic #kinda

[grimseywrites]

Obey Me Preferences #15 - Surprisingly Strong MC

Lucifer He never thought you would be this strong, not looking at you. And yet here he is, in your arms, completely confused and frozen. It’s not until you put him down that he gets mad about it, going into his demon form to threaten your life should you ever dare to pick him up again. He puffs up his feathers to make himself seem bigger and more intimidating, meanwhile Belphie and Satan are laughing their asses off in the other side of the house at the picture they took. Lucifer wouldn’t kill you, and would begin to appreciate your help with physically managing his brothers, but he would hate even the idea that you can pick him up. The only time you can get away with this is when he’s so sleep-deprived he barely knows what is going on beyond the stacks of paper on his desk, and only then can you gently pick him up in a princess carry and take him to bed.

Mammon No, don’t start this with him. I’m telling you, do not. He will constantly ask for piggybacks, and I mean constantly. He’ll ask for a piggyback from the common room to the front door, from the table in the coffee shop to the counter, from one chair to another. Any excuse he can find he uses because he loves holding on tight to you, burying his head in your neck, knowing every second you carry him is another second his scent is transferring to you and vice versa. Also, he is just lazy, but he does genuinely love it for the other reasons first, and he definitely uses it to show off to his brothers. He will try and make comments, sometimes dirty, mostly just being superior, but it’s easily taken care of if you tell him you’ll refuse to give him piggybacks.

Leviathan Do you want to kill him? Like do you actually want him to have a heart attack when you pick him up? Once you try, he’s just frozen, but not like Lucifer, more like a dead rabbit. His entire body is locked in place, you could probably balance him on one hand. Inside his mind is a rambling mess of thoughts about how you’re amazing and strong and he’s a worthless otaku. It takes hours to calm him down, but after that he kinda gets used to you picking him up when you feel like it (of course his jealousy over Mammon and Asmo has nothing to do with it). He does ask for a warning though, and you mostly oblige. One time you forget to warn him and pick him up from behind, and the surprise means his Grand Admiral skills come back. He quickly subdued you, thankfully realising it was you and not a demon naval officer, but it was a side of Levi you’d never seen before.

Satan He's nonchalant about it. If you really want to, you can pick him up, but why bother? He’s capable of walking, and has no particular fondness or distaste for it so his reaction is just mild surprise and that’s it. However he does appreciate your strength because to him, it means you can help him carry large stacks of books home from the bookshop, or he can foist his stacks onto yours when he sees a cat and not worry that it’s too heavy. Yes, you become a packhorse for this man. But he always thanks you with some quality time reading together.

Asmodeus Are you kidding? Asmo is LIVING for this. Likes to go to the gym with you and watch as you lift weights, and much like Mammon will try anything for you to carry him. Constantly flirts, obvs, look who we’re talking about, and he likes to wear long gowns to convince you to carry him so the hem doesn’t get dirty. When he’s not in your arms, he’s ogling them, but if you ask him to stop then he will (reluctantly ofc, but he’s a demon who respects consent). He is very dramatic about asking you to carry him, mostly so you know the ‘reason’ is just an excuse. “Oh MC! I’ve hurt my ankle! How am I supposed to go to RAD and bless everyone with my beauty? If only there was a strong human around who could carry me the rest of the way!” Meanwhile his ankle is completely fine as he skips over to drape himself on you. After you show him Dirty Dancing he is constantly launching himself at you to recreate that lift. Good luck.

Beelzebub Much like Satan, isn’t bothered by it. Being carried just isn’t necessary, but if it makes you happy, he’ll let you. You cannot do a fireman carry, Beel is WAY too tall for it, but a princess carry is just fine. Once he sees you carrying a bunch of books for Satan, he asks if you’ll help him carry his snacks, and who can say no to him? He realises that you can carry Belphie too, and often asks you to carry Belphie back to their room if you see him sleeping somewhere he shouldn’t.

Belphegor Another one who loves it. The second you pick him up he falls asleep against your chest, a vice-like grip stopping you from separating the two of you. Will ask you to carry him everywhere also, but unlike Mammon and Asmo, it’s just so he can sleep longer. Belphie is impervious to your grumbles, but now you have to mediate between three demon brothers about who you carry to/from RAD. Belphie nearly always loses, just because he’s always half asleep, until he found out that if you pick him up to get him out of bed, he can simply refuse to let go and you end up taking him to RAD. Mammon got so jealous of this, he then latched onto your back, so good luck figuring that out.

Diavolo He delights in it. Dia thinks it is the most wonderful thing in the world. Doesn’t want to abuse it, but seriously, pick him up. He giggles and grins and it’s like when a big dog is cuddling in your lap like a puppy. He may occasionally ask for piggybacks, which probably make him look like he’s on a step-stool (I don’t care how tall you are, this is a GIANT) and Lucifer is always appalled at the sight. It’s common when you greet each other to hug, and then you lift him up just to remind him you can. Seriously, Diavolo adores it very time.

#obey me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me beel #obey me belphie #obey me diavolo #request #wow i did this in like 30 mins #obey me preferences

[arcadejohn127-9]

Can you do a headcannon with the undateables now dateables please?? 😁 with an mc that wears a ton of make up and one day she doesn't cuz she forgot and they are like astounded by mcs looks and compliment them and tell them they don't need to wear so much cuz they are beautiful! Thank you!!!

I'm sure you didn't mean it for it to be like this, but this ask has a "I got stuff that's internalised" vibes and so I'm going to make this a teaching moment.

To Everyone who follows, wearing makeup or not is up to you - how much you wear is your bussiness. Besides, what is considered 'alot' could be a natural look depending on how many products you use.

I personally don't use foundation or concealer, my face is spotless and smooth and I incorporate my eyebags into my eye looks. But there's still the amount of eyeshadow I use as contour, actual eyeshadow, eyeliner guide and even to add more vibrance or odd colours to my lips. I also use eyeliner. Which doesn't seem like alot but its full face look.

Your makeup is your business and you shouldn't shame those who do wear it or those who don't nor should you rely on a man or woman to tell you when you look good. Your always look good, period. The trope of girls who stops wearing loads of makeup turns out to be naturally pretty just links to a mindset that people who do wear makeup only wear it because their ugly or trying to hide their true appearance.

Which is stupid because unless you're going out your way to do face morph looks, makeup is used to enhance features you already have. It just helps to bring attention to how pretty your features are.

"they don't need to wear so much because they're beautiful!" You don't stop being beautiful when you put makeup on. Again how much you wear and what you do with your appearance is your bussiness.

But I think that's enough of me going on, let's actually get into this.

Diavolo:

"ah, what a surprise, you're not wearing your makeup today, did something happen?"

He looked at your curiously

You dissmivley waved your hand, smiling

"Oh-! Yeah- I forgot to do it this morning and didn't want to run late for class, that's all."

"you look stunning might I add without it, it's a refreshing change - that sounded rude...I didn't mean for it come out like that."

He immediately looked guilty

Hand over his mouth realizing his words, he his lips pursed

It looked like he was internally beating himself up about it

You decided to be nice, patting his shoulder, seeing he didn't mean for it come out like that

"You're right, I am stunning but yeah, I get what you mean, it's new and I look good without it but I also good in it! It makes me feel good and lets me show off my favourite features."

You used your hands to shape and point out said features

Diavolo intently watched your hands but still had a guilty and apologetic expression

"I see, forgive my rudeness I never intended to imply anything, I'm glad you have something that makes you feel confident and happy."

"it's okay, Dia, perhaps I can do a look on you aswell? Show you the appeal."

Diavolo could be a child at heart and he almost squealed

He has been interested by your makeup ever since you've arrived

But instead of letting himself show his full excitement he nodded, grinning

He was aware of his butler's eyes on him aswell as Lucifer's

"I'd be delighted to."

Barbatos:

"I had a feeling I'd see a surprise today, it appears it was you, is there a reason you've decided to not do your usual look?"

"it sounds silly but just forgot, I was so tired this morning I'm pretty sure I dreamed doing my routine and couldn't tell the difference."

You laughed at yourself, gently scratching your cheek

You were embarassed by how easily tricked you were by your tired mind but you couldn't really blame yourself

You haven't been sleeping much so after finally getting the best sleep in your life you were bound to get groggy

He smiled, tilting his head to the side

His eyes looked as if he was scolding you

"thats abit alarming, get your needed sleep though the change isn't uninvited, you're very pretty."

You could tell he meant no harm by his words

But you've dealt with situations similar to this where the person was being very passive aggressive

It made you feel bitter and have a need to explain yourself

"I'll be sure to sleep, thanks but this isn't going to be a permanent thing, I'm very much happy with my usual look! Makes me feel more pretty~ I don't think there's such a thing as being too pretty."

You both chuckled at your end statement

"Fair, I do not control what you do but I advise you stop spending so much with asmodeus, you're starting to sound like him - I have actually done makeup myself, perhaps you'd like to see some examples? I'm intrigued if you have any feedback or tips I could use."

"asmo is just truthful! But on a serious note, I'd actually love to see that and feel honoured you'd want my feedback! You better not back out on this."

Solomon:

"I almost didn't recognize you, what a stray from your usual look, it's very off brand - I'm afraid viewers might be displeased."

You couldn't help but smile

He was using an inside joke you two made

After refering to one of the years as a season you two started making a few jokes about it

But it became a habit and now you two just had a thing were you pretended you were self aware TV characters

"Oh no! We can't have the ratings go down! Haha- I don't look that different, don't be ridiculous, I think it's just your eyes old man."

You poked the side of his face, near his eye

He frowned, he let you have passes on calling him old due to favouritism

But still got grumpy when you joked and brought him his age

You did only say it to tease and if he got genuinely upset or mad about it you'd immediately stop

"I'm not old, just wise - just for that your fanbase has shrunk but sadly, your good looks will bring them back."

You had a light blush on your cheeks, waving your hand

Acting as if you've swooned for him you leaned against his shoulder

"you're so kind yet so mean~ but I'm sure they'll prefer my normal form than this one, I kinda feel naked without my makeup - it's almost shameful."

"don't say that so loud, who knows who'll turn up naked, I'd rather not experience that today."

You bursted out laughing

Meanwhile he looked like he was experiencing Flashback'

Simeon:

"I like the new look, it's very natural! but is that makeup or your actual-"

"My face is bare, I forgot to put it on, not really bothered today."

His slender finger was pointed to your face, squinting to see if he could see

You almost wanted to laugh but you just lazily shrugged your shoulders

"oh! You're still look just as beautiful, I can't believe I couldn't tell, ever since I saw your more extra looks I've been looking into makeup and I saw people could make it look like they weren't wearing any."

"Thanks but don't worry, I'm not Insecure without it or anything, just really enjoy it! - oh? You're looking into it? Is there any looks you like specially, some people are really amazing at looking extremely natural or being really artistic - it's amazing."

He nodded

"pardon me then, I didn't mean to imply anything I just saw how much bad press was around it all and wanted to say incase but yes, I'm extremely intrigued by high light! It's so sparkly!"

He looked apologetic before his expression turned into one of awe and inspiration

You smiled, happy to see he was interested in something you were already passionate about

It was good to see him wanting to learn and gain interest

"You're sweet Simeon but this human is very happy! I see~ let me do your makeup later or a day you're free, I can give you my extra shimmery high light to really make those cheekbones of yours pop!"

His eyes were sparkling so brightly

Grinning from ear to ear with excitement

"I'd love to! Please, I want you to show me all your amazing ideas."

Luke:

"Your face is different, you're not wearing makeup!"

"And your face is still childlike, you're correct though, I forgot to do it."

You both pouted at each other, glaring

The moment quickly ended as soon as he started to speak

"oh, I thought this was going to be a thing now....you're pretty, why do you wear it? You don't need to especially the amount you normally wear."

You frowned

Annoyed no one has taught him about this kind of thing and how what he was saying was rude

Mentally noting to speak to Solomon and Simeon about this

But you couldn't be too mad, he was a child

You decided to make this a reaching moment for the young angel

"Well you see Luke, anyone can wear makeup even if they're super confident with their features or super Insecure, it makes people feel good and extra attractive or it can make you look dead and gross - really up to the person - and I'm just someone who really likes wearing makeup and alot of it, what may seem like alot to others could be basic to others, it's all about your personal touch and wants."

"I see....I'm sorry I didn't really understand-"

He looked absolutely devastated

Ashamed and guilty and extremely apologetic

"It's okay, I know you're still learning about these things - hey, how about I do your makeup and we can see what you like?"

You lifted his puffy hat, ruffling the messy hair beneath it

He didn't even swat your hand away

He was too excited and relieved by what you were saying, he jumped up and down as his hands turned into fists

"Really?! I'd- I'd like that, I'll go ask Simeon if you can come over and do it for me! Maybe we can try out your kind of style?"

"Sounds perfect, now go ask~"

He hastily rushed off to find the older demon

You watched from slight afar him asking permission but gave simeon a 'we need to talk' look

#obey me #obey me shall we date #gamingclubpresident #aracadejohn217 9 #obey me mc #obey me simeon #obey me solomon #obey me luke #obey me barbatos #obey me diavolo #obey me imagine #obey me headcanon #i do what you ask but also not

[dangermousie]

2020 End of Year Post - cdrama edition

This is only going to cover cdramas that aired in 2020; if I had to make a post about all the cdramas I watched this year, I would still be doing it in three months...

Overall it’s been a fairly decent cdrama year (certainly better than the very lacklustre kdrama year.) It’s no miracle that 2019 was (so many excellent dramas!) but overall pretty solid.

DRAMAS WATCHED

(In order of liking from least to most as opposed to pure quality; I am including if I’ve seen enough to make up my mind; yes I realize that’s inaccurate, but that’s my list)

44 The Legend of Jing Yan - the worst cdrama I have seen this year, and possibly the worst drama of 2020, period. The hero and heroine were both uncharismatic, incapable of acting and saddled with such shrilly moronic characters, the only suspense was how they haven’t both perished long since from forgetting to breathe. Nor was anyone in the rest of the cast much better; the screenplay was written by a lower mammal and the cinematography was the best a third-rate wedding cinematographer could offer. Stay the HELL away from this one.

43 Unicorn Girl - the only unicorn about this bland yet irritating piece of pap was the fact that I was supposed to believe the leads are hockey players.

42 Autumn Cicada - I like spy stories, Allen Ren, and Republican Era settings. I can tune out Communist propaganda with the best of them. Yet, the propaganda ate the story to such a degree that there was nothing left; pre magic change Pinocchio was less wooden then this narrative.

41 You Complete Me - no you do not.

40 Skate into Love - the only positive thing I can say about this is that at least it’s better than Unicorn Girl, if for no other reason that only one of them is supposed to be a hockey player.

39 Irreplaceable Love - how do you make a story about fake siblings with a mad mother falling for each other boring? I don’t know, ask the makers of this.

38 Eternal Love Rain - I hate to rain on their parade, but these two actors cannot act, have about as much chemistry as a piece of bread, and are trapped in a story perfect for entertaining the mental abilities of the leads of Jin Yan.

37 For Married Doctoress - ummmm, you could do worse I guess. It only made me break out in mild hives. The sadistic ending did make me laugh though.

36 Dance of the Sky Empire - why you get Xu Kai and waste him in this insipid mess of a story is beyond me.

35 Love Designer - it’s inoffensive except to my sense of entertainment. There is nothing wrong with it but oh God is it bland.

34 Love a Lifetime - It felt like a lifetime watching this, but I didn’t love it. The story is incoherent, the actors have no chemistry and it’s all an epic waste of time.

33 Love is Sweet - so sweet it gave me diabetes. I like Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu, but there is literally no plot. I don’t need to sink into a plotless morass to watch pretty people engage in PG-rated make-outs. I am an adult with access to stronger stuff if I am thus inclined, though to be fair they could get x-rated and I still wouldn’t be able to sit through so many episodes of plotlessness for that.

32 Fake Princess - I love Zhao Yi Qin, but the guy needs to pick better projects. The female lead in this one has the voice and personality that can strip paint but the story is also doing nobody any favors.

31 The Changan Youth - I lost my brain checking this out. I had to go and read a dense treatise on medieval coinage or Mayan farming to try to recover it.

30 My Dear Destiny - kinda cheesy fun. It honestly shouldn’t be as low except it really feels like community theater.

29 Handsome Siblings - why is the Nic Tse version so good and this one so bad? True mystery for the ages. Chen Zhe Yuan is the sole reason this isn’t lower, because that kid tries SO HARD to make this drama bearable and almost succeeds. I can’t wait to see him in Sha Po Lang which actually will give him something to do.

28 In a Class of Her Own - see my comment on The Changan Youth. But at least Song Weilong is gorgeous to look at.

27 General’s Lady - inoffensive, pretty and so utterly pointless.

26 The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion - those two leading actors are a no go to me but at least they considerately acted with each other instead of ruining two dramas for me. It’s very pretty though.

25 Jiu Liu Overlord - it’s a mess and I bailed, but I placed it this high merely due to the fact that Lai Yi finally gets a leading role and he’s sexy as fuck and I am shallow. Whoever styled Bai Lu should never work again except at a circus, however.

24 Cross Fire - not my genre and Luhan will always look too much like my cousin for comfort, but it’s a surprisingly gripping and dark drama. I liked it!

23 God of Lost Fantasy - if you want to watch a mediocre wuxia/xianxia, this is not a bad choice. Probably better than Legend of Fei actually, because at least it doesn’t have an A-list cast to waste and gives us Sheng Yilun himbo and shirtless.

22 Renascence - the insane cuts (it went from 70 eps to 36!!!) made a fairly cheesy story into a total mess. But I had a good time until I finally bailed mainly because of the male lead (Chen Zhe Yuan yet again carrying a not-good 2020 drama on his shoulders; the guy should be nicknamed Atlas) and the insane but in a fun way story. The female lead (both the character and the actress) were not up to par but oh well.

21 Legend of Fei - only this high because objectively there is nothing I disliked it. But there is nothing I liked either. The most uninspired drama on the list. If you could eat cardboard, this is what it would taste like.

20 Ever Night 2 - compared to EN1, it’s a waste of film. On its own merits, it’s not very good (the cast replacements are uniformly inferior and Dylan Wang is so wrong for Ning Que I cannot even put it into words; the script is useless.) But it had some parts I loved so very VERY much (all the shippy stuff was perfection) so I don’t feel too bitter.

19 Castle in the Sky 2 - a lovely if not too complex fairy tale. It is inferior to its prequel because it doesn’t have Zhang Ruo Yun who elevated it, but it’s still a solid bit of fun.

18 The Great Ruler - it’s very high fantasy, very pretty, and surprisingly involving.

17 (tie) Legend of Two Sisters in the Chaos - the secondary couple steals the show but the rest is not too bad if not too involving.

17 Legend of Awakening - a solid bit of fun with a seriously BDSM streak (theme this year apparently - but come on, the lead’s powers only activate when he’s in extreme pain!) It’s a bit generic and the costuming is done by a blind person, not to mention the OTP is a NOTP, but the rest of relationships (romantic and platonic) are wonderful (I live for the found siblings story in this one) and I like most of the characters.

16 Consummation - a rare modern cdrama I liked; a sweet coming of age story (and love story) even if wrapped in a pretty weird virtual reality concept.

15 Oops the King is in Love - this is how you do a low budget, sweet, silly piece of fluff. Our heroine pretends to be a eunuch and crosses paths with a powerless young king and they are adorable, even more so than the drama.

14 Song of Glory - pretty solid, though draggy and I didn’t love the toothpaste filter. But A+ cast, excellent leading couple chemistry, Li Qin being a BAMF and a leading man (Qin Hao) who is actually an adult.

13 And the Winner is love - objectively kind of a mess (and the heroine has the brainpower of a gnat), but the OTP chemistry is excellent and Luo Yunxi fighting and flirting with a fan as finally a leading man is worth the price of admission.

12 Miss S - snazzy and snappy and stylish and whatever else starts with S.

11 Eternal Love of Dream - I don’t know if it would work for you as well if you weren’t a hardcore shipper for this OTP in Three Lives but I was and this was such a darling, wonderful, shippy delight; plus I love this type of high fantasy.

10 (tie) Maiden Holmes - solid and sweet and a wonderful OTP. Proves that functional doesn’t have to mean boring. If you watch one cross-dressing drama this year make it this one.

10 Qin Dynasty Epic - srs bsns history epic. I am not far into it but it’s so good and smart and visually stunning (if you love battles, this one is for you.)

9 Love Lasts Two Minds - I adored this so much more than I should objectively have, but it’s so beautiful (and no I am not just referring to Alan Yu’s face) and the OTP has wonderful chemistry and the story is solid, and the whole trope of her memory being wiped but falling for him all over again while he’s constantly and utterly devoted is a fave; plus he’s in pain and semi-dyng for most of it so sluuuurp (happy ending, don’t worry)

8 To Love - yes, a modern drama is this high! But it involves intensity, tragedy, genuine adults and sexiness that is Lin Gengxin. And there is an actual plot and darkness OMG!

7 Legend of Xiao Chuo - so beautiful, so fun, so full of gorgeousness of Shawn Dou. Plus, Liao is a rare setting for a cdrama and there are a lot of characters and stories I liked a LOT. Less ship content than I wanted but more than I expected.

6 The Romance of Tiger and Rose - so so delightful. I was literally laughing out loud. I have no idea if it will work as well if one isn’t a seasoned watcher of period cdrama/reader of web novels, with bonus for watching/reading Goodbye My Princess, but it was a complete delight for me (and yes, I shipped for real, as well. Best of both worlds.)

5 Twisted Fate of Love - Jin Han gets a leading period drama role! And he’s enjoying it to the hilt, excellent as a smart, twisty bastard who is also charming and so madly in love with heroine. Sun Yi is beautiful and tough and her chemistry with JH is on fire, the story never drags, and it’s so twisty and fun and just awesome.

4 Love In Between - the most underrated drama on this list. It has no big names or big budget, but it’s wuxia that’s clever, driven, tragic, hopeful and so beautifully shot. Three separate (amazing) OTPs, a leading man who is so not typical (a doctor who cannot fight and who never acquires this ability) and who is intense and smart and damaged, a heroine who puts her quest ahead of her emotions, an unhealthy degree of involvement by yours truly. This is a drama Fei should have been.

3 Love and Redemption - such a lovely, addictive, utterly romantic fairy tale. I was obsessed with it for a reason. All the tropes you love and some you didn’t know you did, a star-crossed OTP to the nth power (and a secondary OTP I hardcore love), a twisty yet coherent plot, some insane chemistry and so much whump and hurt/comfort they must have bought blood packets in bulk.

2 Go Ahead - yes, I can’t believe it either. A contemporary slice of life cdrama made it this high on my list. But the way it feels so real, the found family perfection, the characters I love and loathe, the perfect cherry of a wonderful OTP that hits my narrative kinks on top, and just a perfect storm of loveliness all around with this one.

1 The Wolf - is that any surprise to anyone who’s checked out this tumblr for the last couple of months? Tragic, intense and gorgeous; so romantic and angsty and passionate it made me lose my mind (though some of it was gone the moment the camera panned to Darren Wang) - all my favorite tropes and then some; this is a drama that may not be perfect but it is 100% and then beyond perfect for ME.

FAVORITE DRAMA

The Wolf - I have seen objectively better cdramas; even this year. But it has been literal years since I have been this hardcore obsessed, this utterly pleased, this emotionally catered to and devastated at once. A beautiful dark fairy tale that manages to own me despite the storytelling gaps due to censorship, it took me for one of the biggest emotional roller coaster rides of my drama watching career. Visually gorgeous, poetic, intense, and so romantic it took my breath away, this is not just my favorite cdrama of 2020, it’s my favorite drama this year period, and the one cdrama this year to make it into my permanent Top 10 cdramas list.

WORST DRAMA

Legend of Jin Yan - see my write up for it for why as I refuse to waste more time on this stupid mess.

FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER

Wolfie, The Wolf - he is such a haunted, tormented, complex, dark mess; loving and violent, severely damaged and with a hidden yearning softness, longing and aloof. And the amount of charisma and sheer masculine sex appeal Darren Wang brings to the role is insane and not something I see much of in a cdrama. Plus, that character arc with its rapid fall and slow painful redemption is A++++

Runner Up:  Sifeng, Love and Redemption - has a male lead ever loved more utterly and selflessly, suffered more thoroughly and beautifully, and managed to have such chemistry with both his leading lady and his leading man (that his leading lady temporarily turned into) at once? The answer is no.

Almost made the cut - Feng Xi, Twisted Fate of Love, Han Shuo, The Romance of Tiger and Rose, Qing Ci, Love in Between.

FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER

Xiao Qian, The Romance of Tiger and Rose - so funny, so much the reason this drama was such a delight. I adore her beyond words.

NEEDS TO BE MURDERED

Murder Daddy, The Wolf - I am sad the censors robbed us of seeing him die on screen. He was fully human but nonetheless managed to be the worst monster in a drama full of literal ones.

Ling Xiao’s Mom, Go Ahead - I hate her so much I don’t want to look up her name. She abused the kid, the disappeared and came back to abuse him some more. I mean she literally gave her child mental health issues. She is the WORST.

FAVORITE SHIP

Xing’er x Wolfie, The Wolf - are you kidding me? Who else could it ever be for me? They destroyed each other and saved each other, sworn enemies and childhood lovers, soulmates and epic messes, they couldn’t live with or without each other. The longing, the passion, the intensity, the angst, the epicness. LIKE THERE ARE NO WORDS!!!!

FAVORITE SECONDARY OTP

Si Yuan, Shen Manqing, Love in Between - I loved them as much and often more than the main OTP. So much angst and passion and a happy ending! She is a seeming sect darling (except the sect is horrible and also sexist so her only worth is as a marriage candidate) and he’s an information broker who is actually one of the members of a destroyed sect that’s blamed for the massacre of her family. That chemistry and yearning is insane. The scene where she touches his face when he’s unconscious was in serious running for my favorite scene of 2020.

NOTP

Legend of Awakening - I have never seen a couple that didn’t just have no chemistry but exhibited actual revulsion towards each other before watching Chen Feiyu and Cheng Xiao try to act as lovers in this one. It was almost entertaining to be honest.

FAVORITE SCENE

It’s a tie and both are from The Wolf. One is a sequence where Wolfie marches to the walls alone, seeking death at Xing’er’s hands and the whole sequence with the battle and rescue follows. The other is the intercut between Xing’er going to her wedding and Wolfie going to his execution, and the auto-da-fe being intercut with her wedding.

BIGGEST CRUSH

Wolfie, The Wolf - Ummm have you seen this tumblr lately, it’s basically a drool shrine to the man.

BEST SCENE STEALER CHARACTER

Yelü Yansage, The Legend of Xiao Chuo - I have loved this actor since The Myth and he continued to competently steal every scene he was in.

NEEDS A SEQUEL

To Love - come out of the coma, dammit!!!!!!!

NEEDS A DIRECTOR’S CUT

The Wolf - duh. It started out as 59 eps and got cut to 49. I reaiize some stuff is never gonna get put in due to censorship, but some of the stuff that got cut got for time reasons because they were deluded and hoping to get a TV broadcast so ep count had to be under 50. I mean I doubt the censors would care if they kept scenes of Wolfie building her a swing or whatever. I really really want a director’s cut the way Goodbye My Princess did even if like with GMP it’s only three extra eps. Hell, I will take extra three minutes, as long as those three minutes are Darren Wang shirtless or with a sword. Ahem.

NEEDS SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

The Song of Glory - it’s a fairly solid drama but honestly it didn’t need to be as long as it was and kind of got draggy and I got lost interest. (I could have gotten snarky and said all the dramas I didn’t like needed scissors taken to them in their entirety but decided to play nice.)

TOO MANY SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

There are a number of dramas I could complain about with regard to this (hi there, darling The Wolf!) but this award goes to Renascence - poor Renascence was never going to be a masterpiece, but it had the potential to be a bit of good cheesy fun until it had its run time cut by more than half and became an incoherent piece of insanity.

TROPE THAT NEEDS TO DIE

Dumb shrill innocent heroine who can’t tie her shoes - see basically all the cdramas I didn’t like this year.

FAVORITE TROPE WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF

Male lead torture - I mean it’s always open season on that in cdramas, but between Love and Redemption, The Wolf, Love Lasts Two Minds, Love in Between and so on, it was a banner year!

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Legend of Fei - what a waste of that cast; what a waste of our finite time on this Earth. What a waste of my intelligence to hope for something better and stick with it for a dozen eps. I have had stale wonderbread that had more personality than this drama.There is absolutely nothing that stands out about this drama in any way,  from half-dimensional characters, to actors who are sleepwalking, to a plot that moves at the speed of an arthritic snail, to uninspired cinematography and direction, to lack of any chemistry between anyone in the cast. If paint-by-numbers was done by a group of particularly linear robots, it might come across the same way as this drama.

BIGGEST GOOD SURPRISE

The Wolf - honestly, I did not expect it to come out AT ALL EVER let alone to become my favorite drama of 2020. I was not familiar with the leading man (hahah), I liked Li Qin but wasn’t yet obsessed with her, and Xiao Zhan was excellent in The Untamed but I was hardly going to follow him from drama to drama (and I don’t do SLS any way.) And the trailer was enjoyable but unlike seemingly everyone, I didn’t think it was going to be some epic masterpiece. And then it came out and while it wasn’t objectively an epic masterpiece, it pulled out all the favorite tropes, shippy and narrative kinks from the deepest darkest recesses of my id. And I fell harder than I have in years. 

2020 DRAMAS I HAVEN’T SEEN THAT I MOST WANT TO WATCH

None. Covid Year gave me PLENTY of time

BEST NON-2020 DRAMA I’VE WATCHED IN 2020

Novoland Eagle Flag and Joy of Life - they are in my Top 10 dramas from anywhere now. They are quite different except being smart and giving me protagonists to obsess over.

ETA: Also The Untamed because @idlewilds3 pointed out I actually watched it in 2020 even though I didn’t think so because this hellyear has lasted about three decades.

MOST ANTICIPATED IN 2021

I am gonna limit it to dozen and leaving out ones that aren’t necesarily supposed to air next year (Joy of Life 2, Love in Flames of War, Novoland Princess from Plateau.)

Monarch Industry, Novoland Pearl Eclipse, Silk Washing Stream, Dream of Changan, Sword Snow Stride, Wu Xing Shi Jia, Ancient Love Poetry, Immortality, The Long Ballad, Mirror Twin Cities, The Imperial Age, Fall In Love

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