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friendsoup · 18 days

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i love your medicine pocket characterization!! theyre so silly ^^ if you dong mind, can i ask for general relationship headcanons with medi? if not, totally fine ^^

Medicine Pocket in a Relationship!

Recipe: Medicine Pocket x Reader, GN! Reader

WC: 403

Chef's Note: AHH It's been so long since I've written Medi! Hope I did a good job and delivered what you wanted!

They 100% weren't the one to confess. They thought they were being pretty straight forward though, always teasing you and ‘flirting’. You have to be the one to initiate any serious discussion about a relationship, and only when they’re ready to listen.

They get jealous very easily, but will pretend they’re not for your sake. They don’t want to get in between you and other people, but it still hurts to see you smile at others. Lots of pouting and "I'm not jealous!"

VERY Physically affectionate. They don’t say what they mean often, but they definitely show it. Holding hands while walking, clinging onto you, sitting on your lap, anything they can do to touch you more.

Often late to your dates after being wrapped up in work. They feel really bad, and try to make it up to you by paying for the meal or getting flowers.

CUTE DOG PICTURES. Medi will send you pics of the dogs at random times, usually accompanied by a “They miss you!” or a “Thinking about you!”. Medi isn’t great at taking photos usually, but when it comes to pictures of their dogs? It’s always the cutest.

Infodump sessions. Medi will lie on your lap and simply talk forever about the new project they’re working on, and how they expect it to go. Most of it is too complicated to get, but they get really fired up when talking, and it’s cute to watch. And when it’s your turn to ramble, they’ll listen like it’s the most important thing in the world.

They’re not very good at verbalizing what they mean. Not only do they not verbally express their affection often, but they don’t verbally express their feelings. It’s incredibly obvious to see how they’re feeling though, as it seems their expressions are exaggerated. When they’re stressed, they’ll make their way over to you, and bury their head in your shoulder. When they’re excited, they’re pretty much rolling back and forth. You pick up on these things easily, and learn how to best support them for each one.

(if modern day) Medi is the type to send you 100 memes a day, during the few free moments they have. They’re not cute relationship memes either, usually being about science or people blowing things up. Rarely it’ll be a cute dog meme, but they have their own cute dogs so they’re rarely swayed by them. They’d be huge fans of the mulch memes too.

#x reader #reverse 1999 #reverse 1999 x reader #Medicine Pocket #Medicine Pocket x reader #Medicine Pocket x you #Medicine Pocket reverse 1999 #Let's Make Friend Soup!#Order Up!

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autisticempathydaemon · 5 months

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Song I'm fixated on: 1am freestyle by Joji - I like listening to his music to relax and that song is really beautiful and sad. Idk what that says about me

Enneagram: my basic understanding is a six idk this system well

Video essays: not my thing, after about an hour I'm bored even if it's an interesting topic

Imaginary friend: I don't remember any specific ones but I can tell you about my first oc from elementary school which feels basically the same - she was a ninja and a cool older sister who was always traveling for secret missions... and that's about the extent of my memory

Fall asleep: usually I can just fall asleep after imagining the scenarios in my head, but when I really struggle I put in headphones and listen to classic ASMR

Name change: I'm pretty cool with my name but if I had to pick a new name I would probably pick something with deep symbolism. Thing is, I'm terrible at coming up with names so this would take forever

Favorite redacted vid: one of my favorite playlists is Vega, I just let him talk and talk and talk and get so relaxed. If I had to pick a video, questioning a sadistic demon is nice to listen to

No appeal: sorry not sorry.... it's hush. I don't get it.

Movie: frozen, but not of my own free will

Platonic redacted boy: Asher is cool, just not really my type. He's goofy asf so I think we could be friends

Sleepy ramble: I don't think I ramble when I'm tired...? To give you something when I'm drunk I ramble about how much I love my friends though

Gas station: I want either a mango arizona, the tropical citrus vitamin water, or a liquid death and chips

Favorite playlist: I have a chill/jazz/lofi playlist I've been playing a lot at work lately, easy listening type stuff

Guilty pleasure media: am I allowed to say redacted? If not, I secretly watch those dumb reality shows about rich people to make myself laugh

Hmmm… Something about you makes me want to put you in the DAMNily. I think you’d make good friends and integrate with them really well as Damien’s partner.

Type Sixes are characterized as being responsible, trustworthy, and loyal, aiming for security and support in their lives to aid them in achieving their dreams. Damien, and the family that you’d become a part of by being with him, would more than give you that. I also like the chill vibes you and your music choices give off, which I think would be a good counterbalance to Damien’s more driven temperament.

The two of you would have such a lovely life together built on trust, cooperation, and support. I could see the two of you quietly working side by side, sharing your playlist with Damien. I can see the whole group stopping by 7/11 for snacks at Damien’s behest and you two being the only ones that got any water. (He also strikes me as a Liquid Death fan.) I can see all y’all going out for drinks and Damien pretending to be done with the way you fawn over him and your friends but actually thinking it so charming and heart-warming.

Song:

We can talk here on the floor/ On the phone, if you prefer/ I'll be here until you're okay/ Let your words release your pain/ You and I will share the weight/ Growing stronger day by day/ It's so dark outside tonight/ Build a fire warm and bright/ And the wind, it howls and bites/ Bite it back with all your might

I like this song for y’all for two reasons. One, a song about trust and vulnerability, about only having to be the truest version of oneself fits Damien and any partner of his really well. Two, the soft, melodic cadence of Cavetown might appeal to you and be good for working!

Runner-ups:

In the same vein of you fitting in with the DAMNily, I think you and Huxley could be a good pair; he’d also be a good match for a Type Six. Outside of that vein, Aaron and you would be cute, because y’all would have the same taste in fun, comfort tv.

note: thank you for waiting 💕

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

#redactedasmr #redactedverse #redacted asmr #redactedaudio #redacted audio #redacted #busybee matches

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gachagen · 7 months

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The Horror of falling in love-Heart Devourer Analysis

Spoiler Warning: I do indeed talk about everything that happens in the fic up to and including the most recent chapter, so please don't click if you haven't read the fic yourself. Heart Devourer has very heavy themes of Violence, Cannabilism, Gore, NSFW, heavy blood and much more, so please be mindful and check the tags before you read the story or read the review.

Check the original story out on AO3 by KinoWrites. It's a really good read!

This month I started reading a fic called Heart Devourer by Kino Writes on AO3 and it's my favorite genshin fic I've read this entire year. It's SUCH a good horror story that has a unique and interesting premise, while still tackling both new and old tropes flawlessly. I enjoyed the themes of the story as well as the characterization of the character's chosen for this fic.

So what is Heart Devourer even about? Well here's a quick synopsis:

"Shikanoin Heizou is the lead detective on the case of a string of cannibalistic murders committed by a terrifying killer known as the Shinzo Kuishinbo (Heart Devourer). He has to balance the endless hours he commits to the case, a crush on his roommate Kazuha, and confusing feelings for a new friend named Kuzo. Meanwhile, Kazuha is falling rapidly in love with Kuzo, despite sensing that Kuzo is hiding a dark secret. He struggles with his feelings for this mysterious man, while still harboring feelings for his roommate Heizou. All the while, Kuzo is pulling all the strings, playing them like a pair of puppets in a tragic romance." -Heart Devourer's AO3 summary

One aspect of this fic that I really enjoyed was how it took what is usually a really cute, and fluffy trope (Falling in love at first sight) and twisted it to be something downright horrifying. In books, "love at first sight" is usually played as the most romantic trope you could do, the idea that all two people needed to come together was to set eyes on one another in the first place, it's no wonder it's used so often in stories.

But in Heart Devourer, the horror doesn't just come from the way Kuzo is able to make people fall for him with a single touch or glance, it's his intentions and mind that contrast with his actions that make all of those scenes absolutely nerve wracking. Every scene with Kuzo in it where he makes someone fall for him is played not as a romantic encounter, but like a scene in a slasher film when they come across the killer for the first time. Even in the first chapter, it just feels like a classic horror film rather than the beginning of some cheesy love story:

Another thing that makes it scary is just how fast the falling in love happens for his victims. There's no slow motion view, or rose petals, and there's certainly not time to even process what's happening to the other person until it's too late. The way Kuzo's victims are described when he does this to them sounds as if they've been put under a spell in an instant, or gone crazed.

This was one of my favorite scenes in the fic, mainly because it's the one that best shows Kuzo's ability in action. Before this scene, things were peaceful and even really cute, until the horror of what Kuzo just did sinks in. The whole fic is full of this kind of tension as well, especially later on when Kuzo starts to kill and eat more people near Kazuha and Heizou's home.

Watching two people slowly fall prey to a serial killer as he hides in plain sight is such a surreal thing to read about, and every scene with Kuzo and his two loving boyfriends is super unnerving as the things he says and the things he's thinking never match at all.

His point of view is so different from Kazuha's and Heizou's that I want to break down just how narratively perfect each of their perspectives are.

Kuzo's Perspective is like reading about a monster on a sick hunt every night, he's a sad and sympathetic villain who still does absolutely terrible things to other people. His inability to actually love someone or something in a healthy way just drives him forward to commit more atrocities, and the worst part is that the people he hurts don't even realize they're being literally eaten until they're dead. The pain of having their body bitten at over time and the love they have for Kuzo always contradicts one another and shocks them out of whatever spell he's put on them.

And this is such an interesting way of doing a "love hypnosis/spell" kind of mind power, because instead of making the "love" they feel overpowering to the point where they are practically invincible, all it does is blind people to who Kuzo really is as a person. He has to not only have a constant stranglehold on someone's mind, but also their heart so they don't completely abandon him the moment he actually hurts them.

Kazuha's Perspective shifts from an adorable little meet cute between strangers, to a horror story where he's not sure what but something is wrong with his significant other, to a thriller where he has to somehow defeat a person he can't help but care about. Kazuha is a really likable hero in this story, and one that has a layer of irony to it because he like Kuzo also has a strange ability that he uses to help him understand others better. He's got a vague "connection with the wind that other's don't understand" and he's also deeply empathetic and understanding of other people. Kazuha is Kuzo's foil in this story, and he represents the kind of person Kuzo could've been if not for the tragedy that befell him when he was young. Particularly the scene where Kazuha finally realizes who Kuzo really is and what he's been doing, shows them both conversing internally but completely having separate reactions to the truth.

And in the end when Kazuha fails to beat Kuzo and practically loses everything including his own memories and heart, it's gut wrenching. You spend all of this time with him as he tries desperately to get others to catch onto the truth without directly revealing who the killer truly is, because he knows that if Kuzo is aware of anyone knowing his true intentions he'll kill them, no questions asked.

Heizou's Perspective is like reading an entirely separate book all together because he has no clue about what's really going on. Everyone is keeping him in the dark, he's not aware of what his two partners are up to, and he just wants to try and solve these murder's as fast as possible, but he's also getting too emotionally wrapped up in the perpetrator to see the truth right in front of him. Heizou's point of view is the most interesting to read about to me personally, because we get to see a "real" detective try and track down this killer, not just Kazuha who's not really trained for this. Even though Heizou doesn't have supernatural abilities like his two partners do, he's still a smart and perceptive person who knows when he's being tricked or used even under Kuzo's spell. It's Heizou's ability to deeply connect with others that puts him on par with the both of them, and lets him keep up.

Now I won't spoil what happens to Heizou just because I feel like his story is arguably the most intriguing to read about aside from Kazuha's.

The story is ongoing, but already it's managed to really tackle a lot of heavy themes about love, unhealthy relationships, and how abusers can use "love" to their advantage. The fic is, all together, a really GREAT read and I highly recommend it to everyone.

#Genshin fic #genshin impact #heikazuscara #genshin heizou #scaramouche #wanderer #kazuha kaedehara #ao3 fanfic #review

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neon-moon-beam · 8 months

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I hope you enjoy the dlc! I liked it a lot, and as someone who just likes your opinions, i'm looking forward to seeing what your thoughts are.

Spinarak is adorable!

Spoilers ahead.

Pros:

The story felt a lot stronger than the mainline game for the most part. Maybe it was because it was shorter but Arven and Nemona's storylines really felt like too little too late.

The plot twists were interesting enough, and I'm interested to see where the cliffhanger goes.

I liked that it starts off looking like Carmine is going to be a bully and a problem, but it turns out she's actually rather complex and shows her true personality really quickly. And whereas you think Kieran is going to grow in a different way (like standing up to Carmine), he instead turns out a bit worse off (which is also nicely complex characterization!) Both of them also seem to have some kind of issues going on the background, so I'm curious to see if the second DLC covers it.

It's nice to see some Pokemon that had stayed Dexit'd for a while. Yes, some were in BDSP, but BDSP is a top down game and it doesn't feel like it's happening in...let's just say a more organic space. There's also no way to interact with you Pokemon in BDSP other than just talking to them if they're walking with you.

I liked getting new clothes and hairstyles with the Teal card. I changed into one of the new hairstyles.

Poltchageist and Sinistcha are nice. They make me want to drink matcha more.

It was nice to get a new area to explore. Part of the reason I stopped really playing Violet at all post-game was Paldea felt very empty with nothing to do.

Mossui really does feel like a rural Japanese town.

Ogrepon is cute.

Cons: Not a lot of new music. The main theme plays nearly everywhere and after 20 mins or so it gets very boring.

Not happy about the PLA stuff at all. I don't want an Adaman descendant, I don't want Hisuian variants, I don't want an event similar to PLA with music remixed from it. I don't want any PLA. The game caused too much damage.

Kieran feeling betrayed seemed a bit forced? Like, the player is just honoring his grandfather's wish to not share the story with him yet due to his age and he goes from feeling betrayed to practically resenting the player when he cannot defeat them. Him comparing himself to Ogrepon when Carmine and the player left him out of the loop (again, honoring what Carmine and Kieran's grandfather asked) felt overdramatic and...not comparable at all? (But then again kids just do that kind of thing) Also he expected Ogrepon to just go with him when he hadn't bonded with it at all. Carmine even says that Ogrepon's feelings are also important but he just ignores it. He's got a lot to learn, and I hope we see him learn it.

The glitchy backgrounds are still happening. My Eelektross breaks the ground revealing the massive ocean that is responsible for a lot of glitches (the ocean is literally too big for the game), and the walls sometimes do that jiggly thing that makes some people feel queasy when they see it.

The festival stalls are disappointing. At first I was excited to see what new foods they have. I mean yeah, it's annoying that most shops in SV just open up a menu and make you feel like Paldea favors cooking over everything else, but sometimes it's nice to see the worldbuilding with the food. However there are only 8 stalls, one of which you can't even interact with, and 4 of them are the same! There's two candied fruit stalls and two shaved ice stalls! They really couldn't just make two more new stalls, or at least change the menus on two of them? I've been to carnivals and festivals IRL and yeah, there are often repeat stalls (though usually at bigger events), but there are also stalls that sell similar things but are made by different brands.

I was hoping for a bigger variety of jinbei and masks. I really don't want Pikachu and Eevee things again. I'm very much over those two. And while I liked being able to switch from the uniform to the jinbei, I still don't like that I'm forced to wear between a handful of pre-created outfits that clash horribly with most of the accessories.

The landscape feels old fast, and empty like Paldea. A lot of it is the same kind of landforms, just arranged differently. The only unique thing was the Infernal Pass.

#Pokemon Scarlet and Violet spoilers #Teal Mask DLC spoilers #Pokemon SV DLC spoilers

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clearwillow · 1 year

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✨️ Out of the comments you’ve received on your fics, what are two or three of your favorites

🎁 Have a piece of a WIP you want to share

🎬 If a movie or show were based on your fic, which fic would you choose and who would you fancast?

btw, i hope you're doing okay lately. sending you all the good vibes💕

Out of the comments you’ve received on your fics, what are two or three of your favorites

This is hard for me lol I went back and looked and people seem to like the characterization a lot? I did get a comment that said I pulled off the 69 scene in Nailed It well? And I think I've seen a few that said they laughed reading the smut scenes so... 😅

Have a piece of a WIP you want to share

I do! It's...okay well it was the fall/Halloween Nailed It oneshot I'd planned, but that...fell apart...so I'm reworking it as something to post for Sugar and Spice.

“I should’ve already begun writing,” she winced, not looking up at her fiancé. The muttered swear under his breath did nothing to make her feel better. “How do you think I feel?” she retorted. “I didn’t know that when I signed on for this project that we’re going live with the book at the start of February!”

Inuyasha gave the soup another stir and turned to look at Kagome. Her head was bowed over the laptop, the overly bright screen washing out her delicate features and making her light sensitivity glasses look less sexy and more hacker-y. He knew she was worried. He was worried, not just about the story but about her health. Kagome had been so excited when she’d gotten the invitation to join the anthology, but now he was wondering if she was regretting accepting. The stress over making sure her contribution was on par with the rest was doing a number on her.

Where she should have been typing away in a flourish and talking faster than he could follow about her ideas like she usually did, his Kagome looked like she was close to crying like she had been on that day. There had to be something he could do to help?

“What’s your plot?” he asked, knowing full well what it was. A not-so meet cute in a mountain cabin between a plucky author and a grump of a woodcutter. Add in a snowstorm and misdated scheduling forcing two people together, and it was just the kind of short story that would fit in a quicky romance collection.

“Not sunny and 75.”

If a movie or show were based on your fic, which fic would you choose and who would you fancast?

...Idk if anything I've written would even be appropriate besides Making Waves? I'm not even sure who I'd fancast for everyone, and this is horrible because I know I didn't write Koga enough but I feel like Jamie Campbell Bower would pull off the attitude. Though...he might suit Miroku better because he's more of a lean build.

Thanks @heynikkiyousofine 💕 I'm trying, but this week it's like the world wants to remind me that I'm not as ok as I want to believe. Luckily I've got a list of things that need doing so I don't think on it too much cause I'm so tired of crying lol

#fanfic asks

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oxytoxic-skeletonin · 1 month

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HI, I have a need to ramble.

So, lately, I've been working on a bunch of ideas for a Megaman Battle Network AU that I've had, kinda brushing dust off an old hyperfixation and giving it some new ideas and sometimes bitching about smol me's ideas like "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING". So without further ado, I'm gonna post this shit under a Read More.

Completely bonkers sleep deprived maybe high thought; I honestly love how starkly different I made Kittara's relationship with the World Three members compared to how 14 year old me did it? Like I did keep some things in tact, but there's more a solid grounding for those relationships. And keeping in tune with the 'otherworldly' feel for Kittara without making her LITERALLY from another world just adds to it?

She's not familiar with things not because she's not been around them all her life, but because it wasn't deemed necessary to know those things, as Evi purely made her as a part of his vengeance project.

He didn't make her to be an AI assistant, he made her to be a weapon. And I'm actually excited to work on planning how to write the growth of the both of them; Evi coming to terms with the fact that other people aren't friends with him to use him, but actually genuinely care about him. And Kittara learning that she can be more than the weapon she wields, she's allowed to be a person, and discover that throughout the course of it.

…. Also I love the dynamic between Colorman and Kittara way more now. Like… Kittara as an angsty tsundere who treats him like an idiot is… Terrible, and comes off as being pretty cruel. Though I can understand that her characterization was the product in the time I grew up in, and the environment in which I was presently living in.

Now, breathing a bit of fresh air into an old concept, keeping the old framework there, I can get a better idea of how they'd click, and I like this better? Flipping the old dynamic entirely, with the both of them just having more of an appreciation of what the other is capable of and engages in.

Colorman likes Kittara, there is still the attraction to her appearance there… He likes more of her qualities, appreciating how curious and inquisitive, and more than happy to listen to him ramble, joke, and generally be a goofball and not think he's annoying over it.

The way she puts classic theming of what people think of female navis (and later on, what people think of Recodes) and flips it on it's head. Being a perfectly capable and frankly terrifying fighter, while also having a very different take on how to act and behave that's just a complete breath of fresh air from most of the navis he knows.

He finds her cute, endearing, and enjoys that she's a person who he can tell actually values him and enjoys his company. Doesn't mean he doesn't find her unnerving or sometimes scary at times.

Kittara likes Colorman because he talks to her. He talks to her like she's a person and not a tool to obey orders, he talks to her about things she doesn't know, and doesn't judge her for not knowing these things. In fact, he's usually even eager to explain these things to her.

She finds him funny, and enjoys his sense of humor. Even surprising him when she displays she in fact has one by making playful jokes and jabs here and there. She's also well aware of the fact that he has a tendency to get in trouble. While most would be annoyed by this, Kittara finds excitement in this. Kittara is a woman who lives for combat, and finds no better enjoyment suits her than battle. So she enjoys the fact that by being around him, they're both more likely to bump into someone who doesn't like him. And should they not like him in a handsy way, that is more than enough of an invitation for her next battle. She teases him about it, ("Mayhaps I am a black cat. But 'tis thou that misfortune doth follow~.") but usually in a lighthearted way to give him peace of mind that this is something she likes.

And she is completely tonedeaf to appearances having any meaning. Regularly confused why people think it's odd for her to be around him. Either on account of her being a visibly attractive female navi, and he's a goofy looking, sometimes considered unsightly male navi. Or on account of him being a BTM (Body-type Model) v1 navi. v1 is considered basic model, like any game (especially older ones) with no customization. With no differentiation mesh-wise from skin to clothing.) And her being a BTM v4 navi. v4 is essentially the sort of models that have the most 'physical' features. With better hair physics and differentiation between what is armor and what is skin in the mesh and layering. As well as many other manner of physics, including jiggle, contact, and insertion physics. Which basically is around your average porn game model.

There's a looooot of judgement on this case, with a lot of v3-v4 Navis looking down on Kittara or even trying to pull her away because a v1 is 'incompatible'. Or v1-v2s wondering if Colorman is around her because of her being an attractive v4 navi.

And neither of them find their relationship weird. Because whether it's as friends or as anything further, they're just happy with the other's company.

What other people think doesn't really bother them as much, as Colorman's used to people thinking shitty things about him, and Kittara's just generally confused as to why someone would have judgements about it, and sees someone pressing issues as possible invitations for battle.

They're both fucking dorks, your honor.

#I will tag this later

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hylaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa · 3 months

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3/5 updates!

The weather here has been crazy so they cancelled school yesterday, meaning I was able to write for a bit (after grinding out my homework :') ). My current project sits at just over 6k words! 🥳 I finally got over that part that was messy and clogged and things are going smoothly now! Still have quite a ways to go since this fic decided to run away from me and I've had more ideas pop into my head the longer this has been sitting. I'm estimating the final fic will be around 10k? Maybe 12k? Something in that ballpark.

It's wild to think that I'm capable of writing such long one-shots! I remember the good ol' days of feeling accomplished for writing 2k word fics 😂 not to say that isn't impressive in and of itself, but watching my storytelling skills grow over the past few years has been very satisfying. That, and I just don't know when to let a fic be, lol!

I've been very inspired by the fics I've been reading and rereading lately, along with the other non-fanfic books I've read recently, and the TV shows I've been watching with my roommate. It feels unproductive to take breaks from my writing to do other things, then I remember that I can steal ideas from other places, and I treat it more like research 😂 would you believe me if I said my best ideas usually start as spin offs of other peoples' stories? (Then again, I am in the business of writing fanfic, so that's to be expected, haha.)

For example, i am yours and you are mine was partially inspired by For Hyrule's Sake? by OracleOfSecrets, which is one of my all time favorite Zelink fics. I keep coming back to it because it's so cute! And I love the characterization of Zelda and Link in the fic. Definitely worth a read! (It's rated T, fyi). I loved the build-up in the fic, but wanted to expand more on what I thought the perfect Zelink wedding would look like, and thus the fic was born!

Never underestimate the power of simply going, "This hasn't been done in the hyper-specific way I want, so I guess I gotta do it myself!" That's basically my whole motivation as a fic author: to boldly go where no fic author has gone before, haha!

For now, I'll keep chugging away on this fic, and maybe I can have it finished sometime within the next year or two 🤣 As always, have a great day!

-Hy♥️

#fanfic #writing #ao3 fanfic #hy's rambles #writing update

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oliviermiraarmstrongs · 3 years

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mid-year book freak out tag

thank you @bloody-wonder for giving me an excuse to share my book thoughts!

1. Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2021?

It’s gotta be The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood; I hear “feminist period novel about mentally ill woman unable to cope in upper-class society” and I am THERE! It’s like [Stefon voice] This book has EVERYTHING: repressed women, a decaying old house, a complex relationship of two sisters, a pulpy sci-fi story-within-a-story-within-a-story, criticism of capitalism and reactionary attitudes and politics, commentary on how conservative society shuns those it perceives to be “other” and a threat to the social order (poor people, socialists, “unconventional” women). It is EXTREMELY my shit.

2. Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2021?

The only one I've read is Siege and Storm, so Siege and Storm! Shadow and Bone was captivating, if a little simplistic, but the sequel really fleshes out the characters, setting, and themes. It’s great to see Alina take a more active role, and I love the exploration of sainthood.

3. New Release You Haven’t Read Yet, But Want To?

I’m really curious about Michelle Zauner’s memoir Crying in H Mart. Same with Axiom’s End, which I haven’t really been seeking out, but it’s been resting on my list since I like a lot of Lindsay Ellis’ stuff.

4. Most Anticipated Release For Second Half of 2021?

5. Biggest Disappointment?

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood. I’ve been getting into Atwood, and I have a soft spot for female-centric retellings of myths, so this was on my list for a long time. It’s not bad; it’s decent as a character study and offers some good perspective on the hanged slave women from The Odyssey, but overall it came off as...bitter? And not in a good way. It’s reasonable to include commentary on how bad things were for women in ancient times, but after a while I’m just like “But there had to be a time when Penelope was happy, right?” But the biggest failing has to be the treatment of Helen. Why a story focused on bringing literary justice to silenced women also characterizes Helen of Troy as a manipulative, arrogant bitch who single-handedly ignited the Trojan War because she enjoys fucking people over, I’ll never know. Ironic that in the opening chapter, Penelope bemoans being used as a yardstick with which to judge other women, and then the book proceeds to do exactly that with her and Helen. Can’t let Penelope have a positive relationship with another woman! There could be some form of unreliable narrator at play, but there’s not much indication that that’s the case here. Even Homer had a more nuanced portrayal of Helen than this!

6. Biggest Surprise?

I suppose The Red Tent. I picked it up at a Goodwill because of my aforementioned interest in female-centric retellings. It’s not amazing, but I wasn’t really expecting it to emotionally affect me like it did. You spend so much time setting up Dinah’s family and this supportive community of woman within a patriarchal society, only to have Dinah abandon it all after getting betrayed by her father and (most of) her brothers. Hearing about how her family fell apart after she left and she never got to see her mothers again really gets to me. The book has flaws for sure - neither of Dinah’s romances are developed very well, and some of its themes can come off as gender essentialist - but I think it’s a nice exploration of female labor and traditions that too often get ignored.

7. Favorite New Author?

The only relatively new author I’ve been reading is Leigh Bardugo, soooooo... honestly I don’t know what I can say that hasn’t already been said, I got into the series pretty late. Great world-building, witty dialogue, a familiar type of story with enough interesting ideas to make it feel fresh. Check out Shadow and Bone if you get the chance. Sound of the summer.

8. Newest Fictional Crush?

You would think it would be Nikolai Lantsov since I just finished reading Siege and Storm and he seems to be the fan favorite... but nah, not yet. He’s fun, but he doesn’t hit me in that way (Though very sexy of him to just casually proposition Alina and Mal for a royal polycule, a la Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot; would love an AU where they accept his offer). However, I would let Zoya murder me. Every time Zoya is not in a scene I am asking “Where’s Zoya?” Also shout out to Alina, just because I would treat her better than all the men in her life!

9. Newest Favorite Character?

Gonna try to do this without spoiling too much, but Laura Chase in The Blind Assassin really resonated with me. Her personality reminds me a lot of myself, especially as an an autistic person, like the way she has her own way of thinking that makes perfect sense to her, but makes other people see her as odd and naive. I love how she’s set up in-universe as this Sylvia Plath-esque tragic heroine, with Iris spending the rest of the book interrogating and deconstructing, and in a way, reconstructing this image of her. Atwood you’re insane for this. I forgive you for the Helen thing now.

10. Book That Made You Cry?

I never got as far as crying, but the part in The Goldfinch where [spoilers incoming] the art heist goes wrong and Theo is alone in the hotel room and he’s spiraling and considering suicide and finally dreams of his mom… all that was too much for me and I had to put the book down for the night. This guy just can’t catch a fucking break.

11. Book That Made You Happy?

fucidjdjdj I didn’t read any happy books this year. Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm because I read them really fast unlike my usual months-long reading schedule.

12. Favorite Book Adaptation You Saw?

Predictably, Shadow and Bone. I basically bought and read the book less than a week before the show came out because I thought it looked interesting and wanted in on the hype (mostly because Jessie is cute 🥰). Honestly, the show improves a lot on the first book; the multiple storylines make it more dynamic and complex, the actors really help to make the characters feel more fleshed out, and Alina and Inej interacted for like three scenes, introducing an unexpected but thematically rich ship.

13. Favorite Review You’ve Written This Year?

14. Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought So Far This Year?

I impulse-bought this book of Romantic poetry at Barnes and Noble just because it was pretty and I had a gift card

15. What Books Do You Need To Read By The End Of The Year?

Besides finishing The Grisha Trilogy/Six of Crows duology/Zoya’s duology that I forgot the name of….I don’t know. I’m not a reader that plans in advance. I acquire books, finish whatever I’m currently reading, look through my stacks deciding what to read next, spend an hour doing so because I can’t decide if I’m in the mood for any of them, and either force myself to read one or buy/borrow a new one.

I’m tagging @betweenironyandsilver, @illuminaticns, @borispavlikovskys, @chdarling, @sctine, @mightyaubs, @excuseforadrink, and @trckstergods, if you wanna! Or anyone who wants to yell about books.

#sophia says shit #tagged as me #sorry for taking so long I write slow and am on vacation #but thank you! I don’t get many excuses to talk about books!

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interestsofabookwormbitch · 5 years

Text

Review

Ok, I've had time to collect my thoughts, and now I shall review my opinions on ASOTM. This will obviously have spoilers for the fic, and also, I didn't take any notes, so this won't be professional.

First of all I want to say I don't how well the representation is, and I will never be able to say that because I myself am mentally...sound? Not quite healthy, but good enough. Anyway, I did read through the comments on AO3, and the only mentally ill people to comment that I seen had said it was really good. I also do not want to really discuss this point with anyone who is neurotypical and completely unaffected by the issues of the story. Sorry, but your opinion on the matter is likely based of off your own assumptions, and I don't want to base my own opinion off of that.

Now that that's out of the way

I fucking loved it. I also fucking hated it. It fucking destroyed me. Like I said in another post, I wrote depressed poem because of it. So I guess I'm saying it gets a 10/10 on emotional investement. Seriously, it had me fucking bawling for half an hour, and I had it on my mind all day today. I just, I still feel it in my heart. You know how your heart feels heavier for some reason when something is above the normal amount of upsetting? Maybe that's just a me thing. Anyway, that's how I felt all day when I would think about it. I think that's a sign of genius fucking writing.

Honestly the writing was so fucking amazing. I felt so many emotions just from how it was written. Some lines that should have been cheesy weren't, and the descriptions. Like, I haven't been afraid of needles for a long time now (an incident from grade 7), but that blood work scene made me squirm (of course because of the ship it was kind of from cuteness too). Or when Bert and Gerard fought. I do have a squeamishness to blood, and I don't know how or why, but how she wrote made me picture bleeding more vividly than anything else I've read.

Also, this was written in first person. That's fucking hard to do. And, being 100% honest, is usually pretty cringy in fanfiction. But it was executed fan-fucking-tastically. Like, the story would not have been nearly as good written in third person. It was just amazing.

Gerard's whole inner monologues were usually pretty good too. And I only say usually because I don't want to say the ones that made me tear up were good (they were, but I refuse to acknowledge that). Also, his illness did feel real. I sympathised so fucking much. And there were times when he was getting better. He'd stop refusing treatement, but then something would happen. Fuck, I feel like if he could have stayed at Bluestone he might have actually healed now. Might have gotten better, but I don't even know. I don't even fucking know if they were real or not. Sometimes it seemed like they really were. But he could have gotten better. He was smart, he was good. He just needed someone looking out for him. Someone to convince him.

I'm fucking crying again. Fuck me. Fuck me and this fucking story. I need to move on. Fuck.

Ok, let's go to Frank. His characterization felt so real to me. Like he was slowly being healed, slowly getting better. It took time, and that was realistic. He went to court at the end. He testifies. I'm so proud. I'm so fucking proud.

Fuck. I'm back to fucking crying. This point on will a fucking mess. My thoughts are scattering because of my pain.

Frank and Gerard. Fuck this will be the death of me. I need to get it out of the fucking way. It was amazing to watch. It grew and bloomed so beautifully. So naturally. It was bumpy at times, but it was real. It was so fucking real. Gerard fixed Frank like he set out to do, and I feel like if they were given the proper time Frank could have helped fix Gerard too. But it was too late. They didn't even get a real fucking good bye. Fuck me. That hallucination of Frank. Fuck fuck fuck. I can't. I'm literally writing my thoughts as they come now. But fuck. Why couldn't Frank have actually said it? Why didn't he get to? It kills me. It fucking kills me. And how protective Gerard was of him. Everything that was going wrong Gerard would try and fix. And he did. Despite his mental state he saved Frank. Fuck I don't even like smut that much, but even that was fucking perfect. The struggles. The care. They loved each other. And I can't fucking deal with this shit.

Let's move on to Mikey. Fucking Mikey. I'm fucking crying harder now. Poor fucking Mikey. Poor poor Mikey. He didn't deserve that, and Gerard didn't mean to. It was all a tragic fucking accident. But their both gone now. Both of them are fucking gone.

The really shitty thing is, since I don't completely know if they are real or not, I don't know if Gerard got to go to an afterlife. Usually I believe there is one. I'm not religious, but I believe that. Usually I can comfort myself and say everyone meets there eventually. Except I can't say that. This really is fucking with my head. If they are real then they wouldn t let move on. Fuck if that epilogue wasn t written how it was then I wouldn t be so unsure. But it was written that way. It fucking was, and it fucked with me real good. Real fucking good.

I did love Markman though. I first I thought I'd hate her. Thought she was bitch, but was really trying. She really fucking tried. She tried. But she couldn't save him. If only he listened and took his pills. Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. This isn't going well at all. I promise I fucking loved this story to bits. I really did. Really do. But it tore my fucking heart out and fucking carved it shreds. Fuck.

At least Ray and Bob were pure. They were the only purely happy things about the fic. Everything else makes me want to fucking cry thinking about.

But everything in it makes me want to reread. Why the fuck am I like this? Fuck. I cried harder over this than Endgame. 100%. Fuck me.

Overall I'll give it 9.5/10. Anything that makes me cry so much deserves a good rating. Only really downside is a fucking open fucking ending. Fuck are they real or not? I need to fucking know.

Also:

This is how much I cried just writing the review. I'm gonna go read something happy now. I need it. Like, I really fucking need it.

#my chemical romance #mcr #asotm #a slipping of the ming #fanfiction

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blu-b · 7 years

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Maybe it is just me, but I've been turned off by the Poldark fandom lately. It is discouraging to me to see Demelza's affair being treated like some heroic act of feminism. It isn't, it really isn't, and frankly to me it makes her look petty and small.

I have never cared enough for Demelza to actually think too much of any of her antics tbh, or where the screenwriters are going with her character. I liked her in season 1 when she was this fresh and rather blue-eyed young girl, but by the middle of season 2 all she seemed to do was making nasty or annoyed faces at either Ross or Elizabeth, and letting out spiteful comments that were apparently meant to be “funny”, “strong”, “independent” or whatever. I have a general problem with the way this show tried to stick a 21st century personality on this 18th century female character; moreover that this one particular character was singled out to act totally different from all the other female characters/from the usual 18th century woman behaviour. In regard to Demelza, it often results in rather crass breaks in the characterization and in the storyline as well; breaks that have to be mended by inventing some other plot devices that have neither place nor sense in the original story.

Anyhow, her affair with Hugh, as much as I can be bothered to follow it, was a rather petty thing indeed. I had hoped that at least it wouldn’t be about getting some revenge on Ross, but in the end it turned out to be just that. I know Ross is not a saint either, but most of the problems in their marriage actually arise not from Ross keeping anything a secret, but from Demelza never saying what her fucking problem is. The way season 3 starts, everything seems fine in the Poldark household: considering it’s Ross Poldark we’re talking about, he seems tame like a little kitten, attentive, cuddly, and in love with his wife. The Elizabeth affair seems to have been forgiven, if not forgotten, but that’s understandable. At least both Ross and Demelza are trying to come to terms with it, and trying to get their life together back on track. Ross seems truly interested in keeping his promise to be less reckless. They’re also doing well financially, their son is healthy - though not a day older - and all in all it looks like they’re finally out of the stormy times of their relationship….

…when all of a sudden Demelza decides she’s not getting enough attention from her husband. Without ever specifying what kind of attention she’s missing, of course. I mean, if it were hinted that they don’t sleep with each other anymore, or that Ross is spending more time with his business affairs again. However, both is not the case, so Demelza’s constant bitching at Ross comes quite out of the blue and for no real reason as far as I can see. Whatever he says, does, thinks, looks at, it’s always cause for suspicion.

Yes, there’s still the Elizabeth thing smouldering in the background, but why the fuck does Demelza never say what bothers her? She’s not so shy with others, so why does she never sit Ross down and actually talk to him? Instead, she rather picks up on hints and rumours and whispered secrets, constantly misinterpreting everything Ross does. Ok, so he’s not a poet, and he never wrote her a song or drew a sketch of her (did she ever make it clear she’d like him to?), but doesn’t she by now know what type of man she has married? As I said, Ross is certainly not a saint, but having Demelza roll her eyes at everything he does and adding a nasty comment to it makes me wanna go “Just throw her out, Ross, you deserve someone better!”.

This constant portrayal of Demelza as the poor, wronged one who has no faults has seriously ruined a great character for me, but that’s another topic altogether.

Back to Hugh, I think this affair is neither particularly romantic, nor a heroic act, nor anything remotely feminist both on the character’s part or the show’s part. To sleep with someone out of a combination of pity, frustration, and to take revenge on your husband is really rather petty and small.

But there’s a general problem I’m having with the way this “romance” is treated in the show as opposed to the book, as it never really comes across as being mutual, or passionate, or the kind of desperate the show wants us to believe. Hugh, although he’s really cute (and definitely doesn't deserve all of the gross character hate that is raining down on him), doesn’t strike me as being particularly sorry for flirting with the wife of his saviour. I mean, yeah, he’s constantly giving these little speeches about how it’s terrible that he fell in love with the woman who is married to man who, etc., but - you know, it’d be on him to actually stop flirting if he really thought it so terrible. Demelza is not particularly responsive, and he’s also actually putting her in danger by his behaviour, so why doesn’t he just stop. Yeah ok, he’s too much in love, but honestly to me it’s rather some sort of “Oh haha you’re married to the man I owe my life to, isn’t that terrible, LOL!” I know it’s probably not intended that way, but to me it seems like he’s trying to see how far he can get in seducing this country bumpkin.

That’s partly due to the show’s incapacity to create real depth where needed while focusing too much on unnecessary stuff (Poldark/Warleggan feud, toads). I’m having the same problem with Drake and Morwenna; their romance is so awkwardly and clumsily portrayed and only picks up some dynamic towards the end, while Hugh and Demelza have had 10 episodes to have their drama unfold, but were reduced to a roll in the dunes in the final moments of the last episode.

That said, I have been turned off by the Poldark fandom a long time ago and I don’t generally venture into the “Poldark” tag because of that. Thanks for sending in your opinion though, it’s always interesting to hear other people’s thoughts.

#Anon #answered ask #ask #poldark ask #poldark meta #poldark spoilers #demelza poldark #any stupid comments on this will be ignored just so you know ppl #LOL #reply

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confidenceatitsfinest · 7 years

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Hi! I'm a Jungkook stan I've always seen him as a top. But now I've been looking more closely and I've noticed that even though many people say he's a top, he really seems like a bottom. My friend told me about this blog and said that you're really good at explaining Jungkook "bottom-ness"? Lol I just want to be more open minded when it comes to Kookie. Do you mind explaining a bit? Like with each member? If it's not too much to ask. Thank you! Lovely account :)

Hello! I’m so sorry I delayed this response so much. I knew I would take awhile to fully discuss this and I didn’t have much time lately, so I put it off. Please forgive me.

But welcome, fellow Jungkook stan! First time here? Sorry I’m a dork haha. Anyways, thank you for taking the time to come ask me this. It’s great that you’re expanding your horizons haha. The reasons I’m about to give are solely based on opinion and preference. I’m not saying either preference is wrong, just saying my point of view because you wanted to know why some people see him as a bottom (aka me). I’m lowkey laughing at the “good at explaining Jungkook bottom-ness” because my trashiness is really obvious. This is going to be really long, so it’ll be under the read more!

I’ve said this before, but I’m not exactly sure how I became a bottom Jungkook stan. It may have been the fics I first read when I just got into BTS or the videos of fetus Kookie I’ve seen way in the beginning. Many of the top Jungkook fics I’ve seen contain tropes and characterizations that I do not personally like. I see a lot of asshole!Jungkook, badboy!Jungkook, emotionally constipated!Jungkook, etc. You probably know what I mean. Again, I personally really do not like these portrayals. Why? Jungkook is a sweetheart, a natural cutie, a shy bun in real life and I AM WEAK. Ahem, sorry. I don’t know if it’s just me, but it hurts for me to see my bias written as the bad guy, the one that the other character needs protecting from, the inhumanly strong one who doesn’t have feelings. It hurts to see pre-established tags in AO3 regarding his “assholery.” I’m not kidding, if you type “jungkook” into AO3 tags, ‘Jungkook is emotionally constipated’ ‘Jungkook is an asshole’ ‘Jungkook is a douche’ and more are already tags. This portrayal of him as an unfeeling, cold douchbag is SO widespread. And a lot of these negative traits are associated with him being on top. Now, I’m NOT saying all top kook fics are like this. That’s highly unrealistic. If you write top Kook well and balanced, that’s great! But a lot that I do see, do contain those traits I mentioned. Jungkook is actually quite emotional (said it himself) and sensitive. He’s considerate and shows his affection/support more through actions because he’s not good at putting his feelings into words.

Now, onto why I prefer bottom Jungkook. Part of this has to do with the fics, I admit. If you’ve ever read Graesun’s (bottomkook on tumblr) fics if you’re a Jikook shipper or Xiajin’s (j-ungah on tumblr) fics it you’re a Sugakookie shipper or Rix’s (crossfilth on tumblr) if you’re a taekook shipper, you know how good bottom Jungkook is written. Their relationships are balanced, and mutual, and hell, Jimin, Yoongi, and Taehyung aren’t portrayed as asshole doms okay? They’re not! Jimin is an amazing, caring top. Yoongi is a more subtle sweet, but just as caring top. Taehyung is playful, but considerate. Usually, USUALLY, they’re not written the way Jungkook is written as a top. Even if the fic has dom/sub undertones, the top isn’t some major unfeeling robot that can only hurt.

Secondly, as a Jungkook stan, I am naturally biased to like seeing Jungkook being taken care of. That normally works out pretty well for me considering his hyungs adore him and take care of him all the time. Bangtan’s baby am I right? This also translates into me loving when he’s treated well in fics. I don’t mean babied necessarily, I just mean treated like he’s worth it, like he’s precious and lovable, like he’s just as deserving of affection as his partner. In real life, he gives and gives to his hyungs and he doesn’t ask for anything back. He’s supportive but also so critical of himself. He’s been more open with showing affection now, so we can see a bit of how much he loves his members. And there’s a reason why they love him back so, so, so much. No matter how much he grows, they’ll always treat him as their beloved youngest. And you can tell that he still needs to be taken care of and guided around.

For example, you could see a lot of this in Bon Voyage. Jimin feeding him, tucking him in, and a heck of a lot more. Hoseok petting his hair and holding his hand. Yoongi and Hoseok letting him shower first. Jin holding him and playing with him. There’s a LOT of moments when they all just take care of him so well and I feel like he needed that kind of care since he debuted at such a young age. All of them let him get away with things not even other maknaes get away with. They’re really soft on him and god, do those fond smiles shine.

Fic-sise, I feel like he needs guiding as well. He’s the youngest. As much as he wants to be a sensual on stage (and well, yeah he is, good job bun), he’s most likely quite inexperienced and really not much of a sex god off stage at all. He immediately goes back to his cute, natural bun-ness and this is why so many Jungkook stans get whiplash and/or are in denial. Okay, back to fics lol. I see it as his partner taking the lead because he feels more comfortable that way. He can relinquish the control he tries so hard to maintain and just let go. He lets himself be taken care of and wow, does he love the treatment. HE LOVES BEING TAKEN CARE OF FIGHT ME. Seriously though, as much as he denies it, you can actually see how much he likes being babied and treated nicely. Hell, he likes being called baby more than oppa.

Here are a few links to other instances where I further discuss the top/bottom thing. Strangely a lot of them have to do with jikook….

HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE (lol this one is me being salty), HERE (something I reblogged from a person who really condensed this). I do recommend reading these as they’re more concise versions and I give more reasoning (and pics!).

As you can see, I’ve gotten a lot of asks about this.

You may be able to tell, but I do prefer bottom Jungkook with all my Kook ships. With Jimin, I love seeing him being a really caring, gentle top with Jungkook (playing into that lovely hyung dynamic). Jimin is an amazing hyung and he really does look out for Jungkook. With Taehyung, they’re the meme duo which means it’s a lot more playful but Tae can also be really serious and mature. And of crows we have Yoongi hyung who Jungkook toes the boundaries with (because he can that little shit) but still gives control too. Jin and Hobi, who he can play with but also rely on as a hyung. Namjoon who is his trusted leader and the one he admires to the heavens and back.

Anyways, I hope I’ve answered your ask sufficiently. If you still have questions, please feel free to leave me another message. Thank you for visiting my blog!

#what do I tag #top/bottom issues #I don't know #lol this got long

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