#the rick one i've had for a while so it's SUPER LONG but... yeah

[pondhue]

just wanted to say I made a rick sanchez and prickcest playlist on spotify - if anyone has reccs or takes a listen let me know!

i did my best to be as deliberate as possible in my song choices for them, especially the prickcest one

🧠🧪🥼

💙🩸💜

#the rick one i've had for a while so it's SUPER LONG but... yeah #im sort of nervous to share these but i'm super excited about them aaaaa #anywaysss #rick and morty #rick sanchez #prickcest #pondposting #Spotify

[theold-ultraviolence]

Turbo Lover

Eddie Munson x fem!reader // 18 + MINORS DNI

Summary: Flicking through the pages of Heavy Metal magazine on a Friday after school, Eddie suggests you try something based on an illustration of one of the fantasy stories on the issue, featuring a woman in an iron bikini and a strap-on. // CW: anal fingering, rimming, oral (m) receiving, pegging, super soft femdom (?), light dub/sub dynamics, clothed female naked male // words: 3.5K

A/N: besties, you don't know how long I've had this idea dancing around in my head and I was finally able to get it out of my system. Title comes from the song 'Turbo Lover' by Judas Priest!

“You’d look so hot with one of those, babe.” Eddie murmurs nonchalantly against your shoulder, totally unfazed about the way your eyes bulge out in surprise. 

You snort and think he must be under some kind of spell because of the afternoon heat, but his smile is both impish and entirely genuine, and the way his big eyes twinkle is not just the product of the sunlight reflecting on his irises, as you’re sitting side by side, leaning against a tree trunk out on Lover’s Lake. 

“No way…” 

“Way!” He sits up, resting his head on your shoulder. It’s Friday and you’re unwinding after school under the perennial sunset, with a heap of snacks, an ice cold 6-pack and the latest edition of Heavy Metal magazine, which is one of Eddie’s favorite reads along with Fangoria. While both centered around music, the former featured fantasy and sci-fi erotica comics while the latter was all about horror movies. 

Eddie’s referring to the girl sprawled along the two-page spread – the protagonist of this issue’s story. It’s a steampunk erotica about this cyborg assassin, clad in an iron bikini and thigh-high leather boots; only some bits of her arms were revealing her robotic flesh while the rest of his body was voluptuous and tanned. 

But the focus of Eddie’s attention was the accessory nestled between her legs, secured by a strap with spikes all around it. The lighting composition of the illustration hid what protruded from it from easy view with the cast shadow, but there was no denying its phallic shape teasing the reader. 

“...Is this something you’d like to try with me?” You bite your lip as you look at him, unsure but simmering with excitement. 

“Hell yeah, I would! – only if you’re up for it, though.” 

While Eddie’s preferences in bed always leaned on the rougher side, he never pressured you to anything you weren’t comfortable with, and you’d never found someone so open to discuss whatever kink you’d been wanting to try without feeling embarrassed or ashamed. It helped that you’d been friends for so long and that a relationship had been the natural progression of your bond. That way, everything you’d tried, no matter how intense, was always approached with innate tenderness. 

“Where would we find a strap-on, though? Think Rick could get it for us?” 

You’d tried several things with different props and toys that Eddie had gotten his hands on thanks to this Reefer Rick character who was also his drug supplier, whom you only knew by reputation while his appearance remained an enigma. 

“Ohh yeah!  it won’t be a problem. When hasn’t he ever delivered?” 

Vibrators, dildos, plugs, different flavored lube – everything in your shared collection, Rick had gotten you, saving you the trouble of driving to Indianapolis to a real sex shop given Hawkins’s miserable lack of one. 

“In fact, why don’t I go call him right now!?  Let’s go, let’s go! we have a new mission on our hands, (Y/N)!” He’s up in a flash, grabbing you by the hand to pull you up to your feet to hop into his van in the search of the nearest payphone in the area.  

Once you’d reached one, and you’d stood by Eddie as he chatted with Reefer Rick, your belly began to thrumm with the buzzing of a thousand bees  inside when he’d turned to you with a manic grin on his face as he’d cheered, “it seems like we’re on for next week!” 

You shrieked and draped your arms around his shoulders to placate your anticipation with a kiss that was all a clash of teeth with how widely you were both smiling. 

And now that you have a time frame to look forward to, you figure you’d ask a friend of yours for your own favor, to really go all out in this new experience. 

– 

It’s a whole scene you’ve set.  

You’d put on a sheer, lilac handkerchief on Eddie’s bedside lamp so that the room could be draped in that dim yet whimsical hue amidst darker shadows, as you make your entrance. 

Eddie lies  naked— save for his black boxers — with his long, tattooed limbs sprawled on the bed, sporting the dopiest of grins as he watches you come in swaying your hips in that unique piece of lingerie you’d specifically gotten for this night. 

You’d begged your best friend – who was the head costume designer of the drama club – to make you this set. The look on her face when you handed her the reference from the Heavy Metal spread nearly made you spill your drink in her face, and when she asked what you wanted this for you lied about it being for a comic convention out of town. You’re not so sure if she bought it, but at least – regardless of her face going as red as a tomato – she agreed to be discreet and have it by the end of the week, under the condition that you’d get Eddie to give her a ride back home after school for the rest of the school year. 

The design of your bra and panties was made to emulate the one from the comic as much as possible. Obviously it couldn’t be an actual iron bikini, but the fabric your friend had chosen was metallic and rigid, meant to push up your tits out like the fantasy chicks from Heavy Metal, with silver spiked studs lining the hem and the straps; you complimented it with a garter belt and fishnet tights along with the leather boots you’d gotten off of a costume shop. 

“Woah, look at you, baby!” He whistles and giggles from pure glee upon seeing you. “You look like you’re right out of a Judas Priest video.”   

You chuckle, totally breaking out of the seductive mode you were trying to get into. It’s always like that with Eddie. Even in the most intense throes of passion you’d always find yourselves smirking and laughing from all that love that spilled from of your hearts. 

“Come here!” he playfully growls and makes grabby-hands at you as he sits up and scoots closer to the center of the bed, welcoming you on his spread thighs. 

His hands are all over you the minute you climb atop him and wrap your arms around his neck; his rings clink against the studs on the trim of your bikini while his fingers slide so smoothly over the metallic fabric when he squeezes and fondles your tits, before trailing his hands down along your curves, grasping at the straps and tights, teasingly letting them slap against your skin. 

All the while you’re kissing, humming into each other’s mouths.

You cradle the back of his head and the side of his neck on your palms to tilt his head back to really lick into his mouth and gain the upper hand, as it had been the deal from the beginning. This night was all about indulging Eddie, yet he always got a little carried away with his need to put your pleasure first. 

So you grab a handful of his curls to keep his head arched back as your kisses migrate downwards, to the corner of his mouth, his slack jaw, but specially, one of your favorite parts of Eddie’s body: that gorgeous column of his neck, thick and long, with an adam’s apple that looks good enough to devour whole. You feel his low groans resonate against your lips as you lap and nibble the pale skin. 

Meanwhile, he pressed you closer to him with one hand around your waist while the other cruised down to the valley of your stomach and underneath your panties, not willing to wait any unnecessary time to rub the line of your pussy lips and dip his fingertips inside your cunt, moaning happily at the wetness that’s already pooling there. 

“Eddie…” you sigh against the dip between his collarbones, clawing at his shoulder blades for purchase as those long, guitarist fingers of his could play you so well, knowing that slow, circular motions combined with a thumb pressing on your clit sent instant electric discharges through you.  “Eddie…” 

“Yeah?” he smirks, all too pleased to have you unwinding on top of him, with the proof of it rock hard against your lower belly. 

You regain your composure though, and pull harder on his head, detaching your lips from him so you could throw him off balance and take the chance to take his hand away from your pussy, push him to lie flat on the mattress and kiss him in order to prevent a complaint. 

“Tonight isn’t about me, Eds…” you lightly peck his lips, retracing the downward path you’d marked before, “this is all about you, baby…” you whisper, lavishing his chest with your tongue, taking your sweet, sweet time to lightly graze each of his pink nipples with your teeth before harshly sucking on them. 

His hoarse moans and the look of his head tilted back is an experience you’d like to bottle up and bathe in. Such a talkative boy rendered speechless by you, it made your nerves alight and every single hair on your body stand. 

Your heart races with endearment from how he couldn’t keep his hands off of you – one of them gently resting at the back of your head while the other lightly soothed your shoulders and cheek as you massaged his sides. 

You kiss your way down his stomach, tongue dipping into his belly button making him and contract with goosebumps, pulling your hair to beg for more. 

Which you give, and give, and give, drooling on his navel, nuzzling those coarse, light brown hairs that grew thicker as they signal an enticing path to his cock, kissing them ever so fondly while caressing his hip bones. 

“Baby…” his quiet moan dissolves into timid laughter because your touch is so sweet, yet your mouth so devious, spitting on his clothed cock and mouthing at that stiff weight nestled inside his boxers. 

“Lube and glove,” you gently order, as you scoot back a little bit on your knees to pull down and take off his boxers – cock bobbing free and happily standing up just for you. 

His lips are all puffy as he bites them, looking all doe eyed and blissed out as he hands them to you and follows your movements, sliding on a black latex glove on one of your hands while skirting a generous dollop of lube on it with the other. 

You reach down and drool all over his cock before licking a wide stripe all along it to then pepper it with light kisses up and down the ridges of his shaft, to then gather your saliva on your mouth and swallow his tip while you grab the base with your lubed hand. 

You stroke him up and down, tantalizingly slow as you hollow out your cheeks and suck on the head, press on the veins of his cock with your tongue, and suck your way down to meet your hand. 

“Fuck, baby, just like that…” he pleads, with his pretty eyes shut under a furrowed brow and his mouth all slack – his grave moans, the perfect motivation to pick up the speed of your motions.     

Lewd mewls pump out of you from how fucking good his cock stretches out your mouth, fills your throat, how he pulses on your flattened tongue and how his hands urge you to make you go faster, to have you gagging on him. 

You let him go with an obscene pop and a string of saliva connecting you to the head so that your lubed hand could fondle his balls before sneaking under to find his hole. “Ohhh there he is…” you coo at him, smiling at Eddie’s utterly debauched state before you squeeze more lube into your index and middle finger, rubbing them together to warm the liquid up and begin teasing his entrance. 

“Ohhh, that’s it, sweet boy, relax…” 

“Fuck, (Y/N)...”   

“Don’t you want this, Eddie?” 

“Fuck yeah, I do…” he hiccups out a moan the more that tingling sensation builds on his core, “I do, baby…” 

“Then let go, let me take care of you. I want to take care of you this time.”  

You raise the bottle of lube and liberally drizzle the liquid down on him so that you could easily slip one finger inside, hooking it on the rimm ever so lightly, before easing it deeper in, inch by inch. 

Time seems everlasting, with silence all around except for the wild beating of your heart that you swear Eddie could hear, from how he was undulating his hips to the rhythm of it with labored breath when you were able to slide two fingers into him now, gingerly spreading him, loosening him up for the main act. 

Soon it’s easier, and the texture of the latex helps; Eddie plants his feet on the bed, spreads his thighs wide open to grant you more space to continue sucking on his cock while you insert a third finger into him. 

“You’re doing so good for me, Eddie…so, so good…” you messily mumble against the velvety skin of his dick before swallowing him whole again, gargling on him when he greedily rutts against you. 

“Yeah?” He chokes out a moan, gazes down at you with those big doe eyes swallowed up by his dilated pupils. No matter how ruined he may look, with his locks dripping sweat and his skin all dewey, he’s still present enough to lovingly smile at you. 

“Of course, Eddie…you think you can handle more?” 

“Uh-huh…” 

You up the pace of your hand, going deeper, harder, while your sloppy mouth switches between drooling and sucking cock and then biting and nibbling on the soft flesh of his inner thighs. 

You strike a nerve within him that has him nearly jumping from the bed so you have to calm him with a hand on his tummy while you keep fingering him. 

He looked so ready to burst, but the night wasn’t over yet. Now that he’s all prepped up for you, you carefully remove your fingers, soothing his gaping hole by lapping up a broad stripe over it to his perineum, once and twice, and once again, moaning as you rim him so hungrily until he’s grabbing you by the hair. 

“Come here, please”  

You humm in response, slowly moving away by kissing his thighs, his hip bones, and that beautiful belly that rises and falls with his heaving breath. 

When you climb up your way back to him he has zero hesitations on devouring your mouth, sloppily making out with you, grunting against your mouth as he tastes himself and helps you to properly straddle him. 

“Ready?” you murmur against his spit-slick lips to which he nods. “Do the honors, then.” 

You’re both smiling like a couple of idiots, when Eddie removes the latex glove and tosses it away, then brings out the strap-on from where it rested on the bedside table. Reefer Rick had come through, finding the craziest looking dildo in an iridescent color to stay close to the reference, as requested, with the strap also lined up with spikes. 

You don’t dare ask how he finds these things, let alone on such a short notice. 

“Wait wait wait wait a sec! We’re not having sex based on something we saw on Heavy Metal without some heavy metal playing in the background, babe! I know just the thing for this.” 

He leaves the strap-on on the bed, gives you a quick peck on the lips before he’s rising from the bed and sprinting to his stereo. 

“Eddie!” You watch him swipe through his box of cassettes before he snaps his fingers and laughs excitedly when he finds Judas Priest’s Turbo album and pops it on the stereo, with the opening track’s combined synth and guitars rising in crescendo, engulfing the atmosphere as Rob Halford’s eerie vocals guide you into the mood – ‘you won't hear me, but you'll feel me…’

“Okay, that’s perfect, though.” You snort upon seeing him all giddy with the proper soundtrack. 

He hops back in the bed and you accommodate to straddle him once more; then he reverently fastens the strap-on around your waist, staring in awe at the thick dildo that protrudes from it. So in awe that he’s compelled to frame your face with his palms and give you a long, passionate kiss that only finishes because a big smile is pulling his lips up. 

“Ready, Eds?” 

“Fuck yes!” he grins, with one last quick kiss to the corner of your lips. 

“Lie back down for me, Eddie.” 

He does as told, and takes the initiative to squirt some more lube into his own palm to stroke at the dildo while you adjust on top of him, caging him in with your arms on each side of his head.  

“Sssshit, baby…” he groans when the tip of the dildo briefs his hole, arching his neck back and flashing you a sight of the veins popping from that long marble pillar that you find so enticing. 

“Shhh, relax for me, Eds. You’re doing so, so well for me, you can take this can’t you?”

He grunts in response, eyes wide shut and hands anchoring themselves on your hips, kneading at your skin, grabbing handfuls of your ass and grasping at the flimsy cords of the fishnet tights that adorn your thighs.  

Steadily you enter him, breach him through the tight grip of his ass on the dildo and reaching deeper and deeper until you bottom out, pausing for a moment to allow him to settle into the sensation, showering him with loving kisses to his forehead, cheeks and the shell of his ear, whispering all throughout, “I love you so much, Eddie…” 

“I love you too, baby… you can move now, sweetheart.” 

He fully envelopes his arms around you, bringing you closer as you tentatively raise your hips and start building up a pace, moaning into his mouth as you feel the friction of your thrusts impacting your clit where it’s being grazed on and on and on each time you plunge into him. 

“Ohhh god…”  you squeal, not expecting how good this would feel for you. Let alone for Eddie, who’s brow furrows more prominently and it looks as though the plush skin of his lips will break with how hard he’s digging his teeth into them to constrain those guttural groans from bubbling out of him. 

Normally when you’re on top of Eddie, his fingertips would lightly trail along your skin or massage your back before coming around again to fondle your tits but now – as your pace picks up, growing more and more brutal, he can only hold onto you, nails scraping long stripes down your vertebrae, sending sparks flying all over your nerves like the firework-like embers spurring from welded iron. 

He’s normally so giggly and talkative but now he’s been reduced to this great pile mush, with that handsome face of his looking both pained and elated — you can’t help but dive in and lick into that slack mouth while you card a finger through that halo of sweaty, messy curls. 

“Eddie, this feels so good…” you sigh, “so, so good, baby…” 

Finally he grins and wheezes against your mouth, “imagine how I feel, baby…I – ohh fuck, I don’t think I can hang on for much longer, sweetheart…” 

“Touch yourself for me, Eddie…” 

A long groan leaves him as he spits on his palm before wrapping a firm grip around his cock and stroking himself to the rhythm of your pistoning hips – “SHIT! (Y/N)!” 

“Eddie!” you mumble his name like a prayer against his dripping temple, tasting the salty musk of his skin and inhaling in the scent of Eddie’s hair – this mix of sensations being the very catapult that’s pulling you right back, stretching you back like an elastic band before releasing you out into the faraway void that’s spinning and spinning and spinning along to the chords of the guitar solo in the background. 

“Fuck! Cum for me, Eddie, cum for me baby, please, cum for me…” 

“Ohhh shit, FUCK!” he yells as thick ropes of cum paint his stomach, and you don’t slow down your pace until you’re sure you’ve milked him for everything he’s got, until there’s drops of cum landing on the zombie head he has tattooed on his right pectoral. 

Your ears are ringing from the intensity of it all so you barely register that in the background, the song was already fading to an end… 

‘...I'm your turbo lover

Tell me there's no other

I'm your turbo lover

Better run for cover…’

Your lips lazily join in a kiss that’s more shared breath than anything else, as you carefully slide the dildo out of him with a quiet hiss as you could feel the resistance of him clenching around the toy. 

You sit back for a moment to remove the strap, before you’re draping yourself on top of him without any care at all for the sticky mess covers his torso, encasing him in your arms as your thumbs soothe the soft skin of his cheeks, his chin and nose until he opens those beautiful eyes again. 

“Hey, there he is…” 

He smiles all toothy and dopey at you doting on him  – languid, flushed and quiet, chest painted with red splotches from how thoroughly you’d fucked him. 

He looks too cute for his own good. 

You’ve no choice but to kiss away the cuteness, lightly smooching his lips over and over again until you hear the melodious sound of his laughter which you greedily drink up. 

“That was so amazing…thank you, babe. You’re a turbo lover, alright.” 

“Oh my god, Eddie that’s so stupid!” you wheeze out before he growls and tickles your sides, wildly nuzzling the side of your neck to have you all helpless and lax to easily tackle you onto your back and lay his weight on top of you, grabbing your hands in his as he bows down for more kisses. 

“Maybe so, but you loooove me still.” 

“That I do.” You whisper, gazing at the dreamy sight he makes, with his skin glistening with sweat, his brunette curls all matted down against his temples, his eyelashes long as they frame those big, bright eyes of his – not to mention that hidden dimple that creeps up on his right cheek when he smiles as he does now. 

“How about this,” you mumble between kisses, “we order takeout and check out the latest HM issue. Now I really wanna see you fucking me in an outfit like this.” 

 He boops your nose with the fingertip of his pinky before kissing your forehead.  

“Sounds like one hell of a plan.” 

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x yn #reader insert #female reader #eddie munson smut #stranger things #fanfiction #joseph quinn #my writing #eddie munson fanfiction

[eddie-rifff]

Okay, so, I've been scrolling through your Tumblr profile for like an hour b/c I, too, am obsessed with Yes (specifically Chris as well), and like... YOU'VE MET THEM?!?! HOW?!?! What were they like?!?! I am so insanely jealous tbh and I NEED TO KNOW!!! That is all, have a good day :)

putting this under a read more because it got long

lol VIP tickets bro! before covid Yes and a lot of other bands would do meet n greets after the shows. i also went on the first cruise to the edge where i ran into chris outside of a meet n greet and we met that way initially. but yeah i just do a ton of meet n greets. its expensive but for me very very worth it. chris seemed to like me right away which is nice, but steve ive had to work on. now he smiles when he sees me but again bc of covid im not sure Yes at least will ever do meet n greets again :(

what were they like? well it was obvious to chris that i was batshit insane for him so like i said he took a liking to me right away. he was very big and gave good hugs. he was a complete sweetheart and the one time (the last time i ever saw him actually) i turned up without my dad at a meet n greet he immediately said "WHERE'S YOUR DAD???" and i was like ITS OKAY hes waiting for me. but yeah he was a perfect gentleman. he was the first person to ever kiss the back of my hand :')

jon anderson was also very nice but i only met him once. i asked if i could have a hug and he said "of course!" and i have pictures of that on my blog somewhere, but yeah he was delightful as well.

rick wakeman was nice, not a lot to say about him.

steve didnt care for me at first lol but after i brought him his solo albums to sign we got to talking about roger dean's artwork and stuff and he warmed up to me a lot.

geoff and alan are/were similar in that they seemed not to give a shit about the meet n greets but were both perfectly polite, occasionally they could be really funny together. i once brought alan a picture of himself to sign and geoff said to me as he was signing it "you should keep that by your bed at night" and alan laughed and said "yeah, keep it under your pillow!" and i was like LOL ok!!! its in a frame now but for a while i did keep it next to my bed lmao.

tony kaye was also great, just a silly ol fellow. kissed my cheek! and along with billy and jon d once stayed after the meet n greet to hang out with me and my sister, very nice funny guy

jon davison is super sweet, it might seem phony to some people but im autistic so idk LOL. that one show where he tony and billy stayed after, me and my sister were sitting on a sofa next to each other and jon pointed to the space between us and said "hey, that's my spot!" and wedged himself in between us lol

jay schellen is just a very nice genuine guy. i havent spent much time with him but he seems really delightful and very appreciative of his fans :)

billy is great too, i got to be friends with him outside of Yes shows! i think he just thinks im pretty. when he didnt have a girlfriend we would talk occasionally, and even though he does have one now he still lets me into shows for free hehe

[advnterccs-archive]

slides my url in

SEND A URL AND I WILL ANSWER THE FOLLOWING || accepting

DO I FOLLOW THEM?:  I do ! I can't remember how long tho, tbh, but it's been a while !! This new blog and the one previous !!

WHY DID I FOLLOW THEM?:  I think you were the one to follow me first and I really liked the concept. Even if I'm not really into Homestuck or ever was, Soldan is a character who fits right in to any fandom !! especially one like Rick & Morty ^.^

DO WE ROLE PLAY?:  Yes !! On and off, but that's alright !! I enjoy reading your posts and learning about Soldan

DO I WANT TO ROLE PLAY WITH THEM: Fuck yeah, I do ! I've enjoyed the few interactions we've had. Specifically with Soldan and Morty. I think they have an interesting dynamic and I see potential for a really good friendship there !!

AN AU IDEA FOR OUR MUSES: I'm not good at coming up with AUs, but if I had to -- probably an AU where Rick and Morty save Soldan from somewhere and decide to let her stay at the Smith household. Maybe they might have to hide her in the subterranean lair because I doubt Jerry or Beth would approve xD

A SONG FOR OUR MUSES: Pink Lemonade by Johnny Stimson Mostly due to their first meeting, how Morty thought of her as someone who's really chill and she's the first friend he doesn't feel anxious / nervous around !

DO I SHIP OUR MUSES?:  Platonically, yeahh !! tho i'm up for any and all dynamics !!

WHAT I THINK ABOUT THE MUN: We don't talk much but I think you're really nice and fun to talk with !! You're also a very great writer and I enjoy every single interaction we've had so far !!

OVERALL OPINION:  Super great muse and an even more great mun !! plus with so many AUs and potential for plots, it's always a fun time !!

BLOG RATE: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

#pcrplevenom #answers ; 🛸🌌 #wubba lubba dub dub. ᴏᴏᴄ ᴘᴏꜱᴛꜱ

[rynnaaurelius]

While Luke's death was a 10/10 in terms of plot(the foreshadowing,the prophecy,how it had this simple elegance about it),it only reached a 7 in terms of character (that event was a good finish for his arc,explained his motivations,but I feel like Luke dying was the thing that interrupted his redemption arc,or stopped him from having a real one. If Rick focused more on the tragedy of this, rather than using Luke's death as an atoning act on itself,I'd grade it higher. Besides,Luke still had plenty of history potential,IMO. Imagine if Luke had escaped the Underworld, getting to be one of the seven,the angst while dealing with rejection from the camp,the regret).

I have once again let an ask collect dust for a month (and a half. . .), I am so sorry about that.

Anyways. I mostly agree with you, in that I think Luke's death is a pretty perfect ending to TLO, with a giant fucking asterisk.

That giant fucking asterisk's name is Heroes of Olympus.

The original series has a very open ending, and that's very much on purpose—for the first time, Percy has his whole life ahead of him, there is hope that demigods are going to live longer lives, that the gods can change. As such, Luke's death is super fucking important. Here's a guy who's had his faith in a better world, in creating good change that isn't enforced by the most nightmarish of violence, destroyed.

And he dies for that faith in a better world, on the word of one of the two people left that could possibly convince him to do so. It's a pretty good death.

*Winces* . . .and then the sequels happened.

Luke's absence from the narrative—something that I've talked about before, how it should have haunted the plot, and Percy and Annabeth and Piper in particular, I think—is, ultimately, an absence of a larger problem.

The consequences from that war should be deafening. Like, you should not be able to swing a dead cat without hitting a consequence in TLH (And SoN. Especially SoN).

Mostly, I think it would've been fascinating, with Gaea pulling out "mythology's worst villains" from Tartarus, with Medea and Minas and so many others, to have her also pull out the most high-profile demigod villain in the last millennium.

Like, you wanna sow chaos in the ranks? You wanna make Percy Jackson, who's approaching the very same age Luke was when he first heard from Kronos, doubt his every move?

Yeah, bring Luke Castellan back from the dead and bring out the popcorn.

(I don't think Luke would stay on her side for very long, considering he likes the world's existence, thanks very much. But he'd be a helluva wild card)

The worst thing though, as awesome as that could be, is that the lack of him or the second war permeating everyone's characterization is. . .it really runs counter to TLO?

The point was that these demigods had been dismissed as not mattering. That they were inconsequential. These weren't the rare children of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, being thrown aside and refused rightful recognition.

These children of minor gods, of Olympians whose kids often didn't have much power of their own, being tossed aside and left for dead, when all they wanted was a sign that their parents loved them, thought they mattered.

And when they couldn't do that, Luke—son of Hermes! No powers in particular, one of a dozen kids of an even larger cabin, counselor of the place housing the unclaimed when no one else would—mounted a rebellion to prove them wrong and make their regret of ignoring their kids the last thing they did.

Percy's intervention gave a happy ending to that tale, considering the fact that Kronos was in the driver's seat, and left the ending of TLO with the feeling, that, yeah, Luke was right about the need for change, but he wasn't right in how, but he was able to give Percy the leverage needed to do things right.

It's the son of Hermes, the son of Nemesis, the daughter of Athena, a mortal, who all decide the day. Percy has to let go of being the hero, Nico is trapped down below in Manhattan, and Thalia is literally immobilized by a statue.

Luke and the unclaimed were important. And then HoO just. . .does away with all of that.

Kids are going unclaimed, divisions are alive and well, the gods once again don't give a fuck when the world is ending and their kids are being tossed around and manipulated for their parents' ends. Silena and Luke are barely spoken of (Ethan getting a mention? Don't make me laugh).

Which. . .says a whole awful lot. About everyone.

#i got an ask! #pjo #luke castellan #heroes of olympus #percy jackson #back on my luke castellan apologia and it feels so good #anyway heroes of olympus proves luke was right even more than the original series did #*banging the pots and pans* ~Percy should have radicalized in hoo and you're all cowards~ #/joking. Mostly #sorry this got away from me but think of it as my apology for taking so long #the doylist explanation for what happened is pretty obvious #(we need conflict and drama and the gods fucking up is pretty believable) #it's not a BAD choice #the consequences of that choice are just. . .bad. lmao #percy even acknowledges that luke's side is looking pretty good in moa #and that not being grappled with when the immediate next two books are basically the Actual Worst Week Of Percy's Life #and it's all provably the gods' fault #is. A choice #also i maintain that annabeth deserved to punch luke in the face #i just wanna throw them in a room for an hour and see what happens

[theawkwardanglophile]

TheAwkwardAnglophile's Top 25 Favorite '80s Songs

I've been wanting to do this for a while, ranking my fave songs from the '80s, which is also my fave decade. I am a child of the '80s, so I did take nostalgia into account when deciding. It took forever to narrow everything down, and quite honestly, there are a ton of songs that could easily have made this list, but this is where it stands for now, and I'm posting it before I change my mind again. Enjoy!

25. All I Need- Jack Wagner: Just a perfect '80s pop song, really.

24. The Way You Make Me Feel- Michael Jackson: The way this song makes me feel is completely happy, plus it reminds me of Center Stage.

23. Get On Your Feet- Gloria Estefan: It's such a cheery bop and a true fave from childhood. Plus it reminds me of Parks and Rec (IYKYK).

22. Take On Me- A-ha: This one probably should be higher, but it doesn't have the childhood nostalgia attached to it. Still a great song!

21. Girl Can't Help It- Journey: I didn't discover this one until I was much older, but my love for it grows and grows, mainly because the last minute or so of it is LIIIIFE.

20. Can't Fight This Feeling- REO Speedwagon: GEEZ, this song is so good. I've applied it to many of my ships before because the feels are so strong.

19. Kyrie- Mr. Mister: I mean, how can you not love this one?

18. Magic- Olivia Newton-John: Is it cheesy? Sure. But I don't care. It is pure gold. It feels like childhood, and I never skip it when it comes up on a playlist.

17. Cool Night- Paul Davis: Another one deeply entrenched in childhood. When I hear this, I feel like I'm in the town I lived in until I was 5.

16. Shattered Dreams- Johnny Hates Jazz: Another perfectly crafted pop song.

15. Human Nature- Michael Jackson: Look, I love Billie Jean, Thriller, Beat It, etc. But I've heard them SO MUCH. This one never gets old for me. It's so smooth.

14. Walk Like an Egyptian- The Bangles: Just ridiculously fun.

13. Careless Whisper- Wham!/George Michael: What an epic '80s ballad. It's incredible.

12. True- Spandau Ballet: I feel if you asked a group of people to quickly name an '80s song, this would be one of the first ones to pop up. It's so classic.

11. Kokomo- The Beach Boys: Ok, this one is really special to me. It's super nostalgic. When this came out, my brother and I instantly gravitated to it, and not long after, we stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort at Disney World, and made up our own chorus to this song using the different places represented at the resort. We were dorks.

10. Cruising For Bruising- Basia: We made it to the top 10! Basia is highly underrated. I fell in love with this song when it first came out, and it's still wonderful to listen to.

9. Time After Time- Cyndi Lauper: Confession time. I'm actually not a huge Cyndi Lauper fan in general, but THIS song is just amazing. It's unique and insanely memorable.

8. (I've Had) The Time of My Life- Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes: I mean, yeah, it makes me think of Dirty Dancing, sure. But it ALSO makes me think of New Girl, which is more important to me. But before all of that, it was a childhood staple, and I still love it, maybe even more.

7. Never Gonna Give You Up- Rick Astley: Not going to rick-roll you here. I have truly loved this song ever since it came out. All of his stuff is great. Rick Astley is a gem.

6. Heart and Soul- T'Pau: I cannot get enough of this song. I crank it up so high. It's fabulous. And the band named themselves after a Vulcan on Star Trek? Yes, please.

5. Something About You- Level 42: This one just grabs me. I love its sound.

4. Everybody Wants To Rule the World- Tears For Fears: What an absolute gem of a song. Seriously. It's so good. Quintessential '80s.

3. Don't You (Forget About Me)- Simple Minds: This song is ICONIC. It's not one I heard as much when I was a kid, but I love it so much now. It's so big and sweeping and just DEFINES the '80s.

2. Africa- Toto: Is there anyone that hates this song? It's ok if you do. It just feels beloved by all. It never gets old to me, and just has a perfect '80s sound to it.

1. The Power of Love- Huey Lewis & the News: This will forever be my fave '80s song. It's perfect. I've always loved it, and when I'd hear it as a kid, it hit differently than any other song, like it had this larger-than-life quality to it. And it's also connected to my favorite '80s movie, Back To the Future.

And there you have it! Is your favorite on here? Do you completely disagree with the list and need to tell me? What would you have put on here? Let me know!

#the 80s #80s music #music #theawkwardanglophile #personal #top 25 #nostalgia #retro #eighties #throwback

[the-ghost-king]

Schizophrenic Nico, here's why I think it's possible:

I want to start off by saying these are just my thoughts, there is no one way to be schizophrenic or to have schizophrenia. It's also important to note that many of the schizophrenic symptoms overlap with other mental illnesses/nuerodivergences like ADHD, Autism, Depression, and OCD which I know many people who head canon Nico as having. I'm not arguing schizophrenic Nico is more correct, more canon, or more right, but to explain some thoughts on why I think it's possible/very likely he does so I can use this for future reference in various thing.

I am using the term schizophrenia as a catchall for all "types" of schizophrenia, but not for schizoaffective disorder which I would say Nico probably doesn't have.

Children born in the winter/those who were "sickly" as babies are more likely to develop schizophrenia. It may also be possible if your mother was sick while pregnant with you, or having a father who was significantly older when he had you.

A stressful life, especially trauma, are more likely to develop schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. It likely has something to do with excessive dopamine production, but it may also have something to do with the same genes that control the sleep-wake cycle. Schizophrenia is more common with other mental illnesses or with other nuerodivergences or developmental delays.

Common symptoms include:

Hallucinations

Delusions

Disorganized thinking

lack of motivation

slow movement

change in sleep patterns

poor grooming or hygiene

changes in body language and emotions

less interest in social activities

Now what does this mean for Nico, and why do I think it's likely he has Schizophrenia?

Let's start with Nico's childhood, "children born in the winter/those who were "sickly" as babies are more likely to develop schizophrenia". Although Rick proposed two birthdays for Nico, the fandom generally accepted the January date more fully. We also know that Nico is described as small when he was younger, smallness is common in children who grow up sickly, but it is also common in children who's mother was ill while pregnant with them. We obviously don't know if Nico was sick as a kid, or if Maria was sick while pregnant with him, but again being born in the winter makes these things more likely, as well as consideration for the time period Nico grew up in and the larger variety of illnesses going around at the time. (He is vaccinated against some things though).

Trauma and Nico... do I really have to go into super detail on this one? He spent his childhood growing up in a fascist country that was extremely racist/anti-Semitic/homophobic/etc, his mom died when he was a child- in front of him, his father intentionally gave him amnesia, his sister died when he was a child, he then proceeded to become homeless living/spending lots of time with Minos who verbally (and possibly physically) abused him, becoming aware of his past memories, becoming aware of the fact that many people hated him because of his father and because they thought he was joining the other side (therefore, he was "bad"), he fought in many battles as a child, fought monsters alone, was often faced with life or death situations, went to Tartarus alone (where the goddess of misery told him he was "perfect"), was trapped in a hostage situation with little/no air for a long time while people debated whether or not to save him, was outed against his will, was freed only to travel again fighting monsters and then win a battle, was eventually made to quest with Apollo despite still having lots of healing to do in ToN. So stressful life? Fuck yeah, that doesn't being to cover it.

Genetic factors, obviously nothing here is confirmed so I'm speculating a little bit again, but the common idea in regards to Hades children through the series is that they are "bad". Mental illnesses have been stigmatized for hundreds, if not thousands of years, and often mentally ill people were made out to be weird/bad/etc. It's more than possible there is some sort of genetic factor taking place, also "having a father who was significantly older when he had you". Although I doubt godly genes work the same as mortal ones (trust me I have lots of thoughts on how god genetics/DNA work, but that's not the point right now), I think Hades being the oldest out of all his brothers and having a reputation for having "questionable" children says something... We have no information on Maria's family history at all.

As for schizophrenia often occurring with other mental illnesses and/or neurodivergences: Nico canonically is implied to have either ADHD and/or Autism, and is canonically stated to have PTSD. I think most people would agree that saying Nico has or has had depression isn't a stretch in the slightest.

So canonically we can all agree Nico has severe trauma and coinciding mental health issues/neurodivergences, so out of 4 possible issues I’ve first presented we guaranteeably have two. If I wanted to stretch this a little I would give myself a half point for him being born in the winter and a half point for the aspect of Hades genetics but I won’t do that.

On top of that schizophrenia usually appears during teenage and young adult years in people who receive diagnosis; most people live with mental illness for a few months or a few years in some cases before they're able to receive a diagnosis. Nico being 15 (16 by the end of ToN/shortly following the end of ToN) is about the age that schizophrenia would start to make an appearance. It's also more likely to be found in men, with men also noticing the appearance of schizophrenia appearing early in their lives, and experiencing more negative symptoms in comparison to the higher commonality of affective symptoms in women. That's a really complicated explanation to basically say there's 3 more things that would make Nico having schizophrenia make more sense.

Alright, let’s go back to the list of symptoms I provided:

Hallucinations

Delusions

Disorganized thinking

lack of motivation

slow movement

change in sleep patterns

poor grooming or hygiene

changes in body language and emotions/behavior

less interest in social activities

Once again, some of these are not solely related to schizophrenia and can be the result of other mental health issues, I’m just going to go down the list and add in some moments from the books in which Nico shows some of these traits/behaviors.

Delusions/Hallucinations (more later)

Our best chances for understanding Nico's thought process is in Blood of Olympus where he has a P.O.V... Sometimes Nico's thoughts do derail, or sometimes they get a little confusing, but not always, and when talking to others he is consistent and aware of what he's saying, as well as blunt. Anything "off" about his thought patterns to me just seems like ADHD..

Dietary changes (whether or not you think he has an eating disorder) are behavioral changes (I personally think Nico has AFRID)

Within House of Hades Nico's poor sleep patterns are constantly referenced, and I'll give him a pass on poor hygiene because he's in the middle of a quest but still..

I have extremely complicated feelings on what Will says here, it's possible Nico is an extremely unreliable narrator (unlikely, it seems many people are bothered by him and only maybe a handful aren't), I've also thought at many points this was Rick trying to backtrack some stuff with Nico because he realized he'd made his story a little too harsh for a kids book, it could also be Will's trauma kicking in and that happening... I'm not counting it as full proof about Nico disliking social interactions, but Nico does try to leave even after this conversation and isn't convinced to stay until the last chapter, so maybe there's something to be said about people's dislike of him for being a Hades kid- but I think it's fair to say Nico also dislikes people at least some because he doesn't have interest in trying to befriend anyone either, and is quick to assume all people dislike him (paranoia/low self esteem/and some other possible stuff). There's lots of discussions to be had about this quote and other similar ones, and I don't think a broad brush approach of "Nico good everyone else bad" is accurate it's more, "Nico is good but he fails to try and you have to work on your own mental health everyone won just go to you, and also people dislike Nico for silly reasons and need to get over themselves and make an effort too". (I'm extremely oversimplifying my thoughts and feelings to keep it brief.)

More on delusions and hallucinations:

Now I want to state that lots of schizophrenia symptoms share a lot of commonalities with ADHD and with depression, so although I might include some moments you think are just ADHD/depression I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with you but they could also be schizophrenia or coexisting mental health issues/divergences. I also went through the DSM-5 for schizophrenia (the DSM-5 is just this big book with lists and it’s how doctors diagnose any mental health issue/divergence), I also looked through the DSM-IV (an older book from before DSM-5 which is no longer really used) and the differences between the diagnosis was fairly minimal but they quit categorizing types of schizophrenia and instead rely more on a couple of word descriptions that seem more in line with a spectrum rather than a checkable box.

In order to receive a schizophrenia diagnosis, two (or more) of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if successfully treated), and at least one of these symptoms must be (1), (2), or (3):

Delusions

Hallucinations

Disorganized speech (frequent derailment or incoherence)

Grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior

Negative symptoms (i.e., diminished emotional expression or avolition).

It’s important to note that only one of these need to be checked off/true if the patient has voices which narrate their actions/behaviors/thoughts or if the person has more than one voice conversing with each other.

Nico deals with auditory hallucinations (2), he believes the voice belongs to Bob, his titan friend he left in Tartarus:

However this isn’t and immediate diagnosis because Bob’s voice doesn’t talk to another voice(s) in Nico’s head, and we don’t know if Nico has voices running commentary on his behaviors/thoughts.

The reason I state we are unaware if Nico has commentary isn’t because Nico hasn’t said anything, but because many people with schizophrenia before their diagnosis believe the narrative voices are just their thoughts and are a normal internal monologue- usually patients don’t realize anything is wrong until the voices start providing commentary on their actions so instead of “washing the dishes now” the voice(s) might say “wash the dishes now, you’re so lazy you can’t do anything, idiot” during a period of psychosis which may help them acknowledge that the voice(s) isn’t the way most people experience internal voice(s). It is very possible Nico is unaware he is experiencing narrative thoughts and simply assumes that his experience is something most people have, but I won’t use this to argue my point because it’s not confirmation of anything.

Returning now to Bob, Nico knows he is hearing Bob’s voice but he believes Bob is calling to him from Tartarus. Now, Nico says the voices are calling to him from Tartarus but there’s no confirmation of this anywhere… What I think is happening is Nico has a guilty conscience. He feels bad for “using” Bob to get out of Tartarus and various other things, so he feels bad that he is still down there. However, we don’t really know if Bob is calling to him or if Bob is able to do that- what I personally think is happening here is Nico’s brain is convincing Nico that Bob needs him because Nico is upset with himself for not helping Bob more, but also because Nico has never “sat still” before without a quest. Nico has also always felt the want to be needed/important...

It very well could be a delusion.

Schizophrenic patients often experience delusions which make them think they are destined for greatness, or that they have some divine/high force calling out to them for help that only they can provide. It’s an extremely common thing in individuals who experience delusions, and is in fact one of the most common delusions experienced. So although Bob could really be calling out to Nico, I don’t think he is, it doesn’t entirely make sense and there’s lots of little things which point to it being not entirely real- like the fact that nobody else knows about it? Or how absolutely sure Nico is that he need to return to Tartarus? It seems like a mixture of PTSD, delusions, and trauma response (returning to the trauma), working against him. I’ll say delusion is very likely (1).

Using these two factors alone there’s sufficient evidence for diagnosis, but let’s keep going just to see.

For disorganized speech (3) this isn’t something Nico seems to struggle with, and even if he did “derailing” could be ADHD or Autism, so I don’t think this symptom pertains to him.

Changes in behavior (4), seem to all be explainable via depression and/or PTSD- he has begun to express emotion again in Tower of Nero upon learning of Jason’s death he is said to be upset by Will and he walks off to be alone, seems like depression to me. Emotional/Behavior changes from schizophrenia tend to relate more to bipolar disorder rather than a depressive disorder, so I would say if Nico has schizophrenia he probably doesn’t have emotional or behavioral changes from it. If he did he might have some catatonic behavior, but this seems to be clearing up some in Tower of Nero so I’m not super sure on that, maybe during bad periods of psychosis behavioral changes occur, but I would lean more towards this isn’t a symptom Nico personally deals with. Negative symptoms (5) tie into this same idea, it’s possible it’s schizophrenia, but it’s more likely PTSD or depression at work.

So why do I care so much about the possibility of Nico being schizophrenic?

I feel like canonically/fanonically making Nico schizophrenic does a few things, firstly schizophrenic rep in media is extremely extremely awful- can you think off the top of your head of a schizophrenic character who isn't from a horror film/a murder/a villain in their own story? Maybe, but personally I can only think of one which is Charlie from Perks of Being a Wallflower- and even then? That's not canon, it's only implied- and it might not even be true

Schizophrenic media representation always paints schizophrenic people as bad, scary, and evil, and although the horror genre is extremely well known for being super ableist, transphobic, racist, homophobic, and misogynistic (just the final cherry on top) having one of the first- if not the first openly confirmed schizophrenic characters in children's media not only be someone who has lots of character development, and isn't a stereotype, but also be someone people have grown up with, cared for, and sympathized with- would be extremely monumental.

People with schizophrenia and other related disorders aren't something to be scared of or to think of as bad, and often times they're more bothered by whatever they're experiencing than you are.

I don't have schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder or anything like that, but I have various undiagnosed mental health issues which often lead to me questioning reality, or having to set aside time to convince myself that no there isn't a man living in my wall... Having a character have to question those things, work through those feelings, and learn to trust themselves and care for themselves even with those difficulties would be really great to see in media, not just for people with schizophrenia but also for people with similar/related disorders who might share symptoms see parts of their own struggles in a good, educative way.

I have to finish this in two parts because tumblr keeps breaking because there's too many words in my post lmao (2nd part here)

#nico di angelo #pjo #hoo #toa #percy jackson #will solace #solangelo

[spnfanficpond]

Pond Diving - Imagineteamfreewill

Welcome to today’s Pond Diving Spotlight! We hope that you enjoy this little insight to our members and perhaps even find some useful tips for your own writing. Happy reading!

Want to volunteer, send us an ask! We’re looking forward to learning more about all of you! Not sure what PD is, you can learn more here.

“Don’t Be Koi About It” - All About You

Name: Meg

Age: 20s

Location: United States

URL: @imagineteamfreewill

Why did you choose your URL: I first started out structuring my stories as imagines, and the “Team Free Will” part was pretty obvious.

What inspired you to become a writer: Reading Supernatural fanfiction inspired me to get back into writing, but I’ve always enjoyed it. My mom likes to talk about how when I was in Kindergarten, I drew a picture about how I wanted to be an author and now I write in my free time.

How long have you been writing: According to tumblr, I’ve been writing fanfiction since 2014, but I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember.

What do you do when you are not writing i.e. Job/Hobbies etc? I’m a music teacher, so I sing and play piano, and I’ve played a bit of cello and tenor saxophone as well. I love movies, baking, sleeping, and a few video games.

How long have you been in the SPN Fandom? I joined sometime around Season 8 or 9, I think. I don’t really remember!

Are you in any other fandoms and do you write for them? I really enjoy Marvel and I’ve read a lot of Marvel fics, but I don’t write for them. I like a lot of TV shows (New Girl, Parks and Rec, The Good Place, Outlander, etc), but I wouldn’t consider myself part of the fandom.

Do you do any writing outside of fanfiction? If so, tell us about it? I love to write poetry. I had a poetry blog at truenorth-ink a while ago, but I haven’t updated it recently at all. Most of my poems aren’t published or posted anywhere.

Favorite published author: I love some of the early series by Rick Riordan and I also really enjoy poetry by Nikita Gill and Atticus. Lately, I've really been getting into Leigh Bardugo's books.

Have you ever read a book that made an impact on your life? Which one and why?: I think "East" by Edith Pattou really affected me! I read it when I was in 6th-8th grade and I think about it often. I think it's something that really stuck with me and got me interested in fantasy books so much. I read it at least once a year.

Favorite genre of fanfic (smut, angst, fluff, crack, rpf, etc): I love angsty stuff, and most of the time I prefer it when it has some fluff mixed in. Straight fluff is often hard for me to read because I need something that’s more realistic for my own life and point of view. I also really like whump, but that can be a lot sometimes so it depends on my mood.

Favorite piece of your own writing: I don’t know if I have a favorite, but I loved writing Back to the Start (my mermaid series) and The Switch (a canon-divergent apocalyptic Reader x Sam series). Right now, I'm really enjoying my Consort series (a Goddess!Reader x Dean series). Creating my own rules in my own little universes is one of my favorite things to do, especially since I can’t always do whatever I want in real life.

Most underrated fic you have written: Empire. I loved getting to write Boyking!Sam because it was so different from my normal Sam stories and I did a lot of research for it. I’m pretty proud that the story never got too bloody or gory, too, so if you want some Boyking!Sam that’s not drenched in blood (for lack of a better term), I’m your girl!

Story of yours that you’d most like to see turned into a movie/tv show: Probably Back to the Start or The Switch. I think those two series would be amazing to see with J2, the rest of the cast/characters I included, and special effects! There’s so much I’d want to explore with both of them that I didn’t put into the series.

Favorite Tumblr Writer(s): @luci-in-trenchcoats, @sunlightdances, @supernaturalfreewill, @lipstickandwhiskey, @smol-and-grumpy, @percywinchester27, and @kaz2y5-imagines

Favorite fic from another writer:  I don’t think I could pick just one, but I’ve read all of @sunlightdances Dean fics multiple times. Her works got me through some pretty sucky times in my life and I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of her writing! I’ve also been reading her Bucky fics recently and it’s made me love Marvel fics even more than before!​

Favorite character to write: Sam Winchester

Favorite Pairing to write: Reader x Sam (Reader x Dean is a close second)

Least favorite character to write (and why): I don’t like to write for Crowley or Gabriel. Gadreel is hard for me even though I can do it, but I don’t understand Crowley or Gabriel’s personalities at all because they’re literally so far away from mine.

Do you have anyone you consider a mentor? No, although @lipstickandwhiskey and @kaz2y5-imagines really encouraged me in my writing!​

Do you have any aspirations involving your writing? I would love to write a non-Supernatural work of fiction to publish, but that’s a long way off.

How many work-in-progress stories do you have: Oh Lord, I have so many! I have at least four series and two one shots in the works right now. I've also got over 100 one shots/series plotlines written out in the notes on my phone and various Google Docs.

What are you currently working on? I’m currently working on a Cinderella series, my Underworld series, my Puer Rex series, my Consort series, an Author!Sam fic, and an Author!Dean fic. I also write stories for my Words series now and again.

“Pond Diving” - All About The Writing

What/who has had the biggest influence on your writing? Reading other people’s work. The intense storylines of @luci-in-trenchcoats ’s fics have gotten me to be more bold with my writing and the emotions and description in @supernaturalfreewill’s works have inspired me to let my work have more feeling.

Best writing advice you've been given: Not necessarily writing advice, but I was once told that anything worth doing is worth doing at least a little bit every day. Think about it—if you wrote even just five minutes a day, how much better will you get over the course of a month? A year?

Biggest obstacle you’ve faced in your writing: Repetition of words and commas. So many commas and so many uses of the same word over and over again. It’s a hard balance between using the word and using synonyms without sounding like I’m sitting there googling synonyms for “said”. I also tend to spend a lot of time on things that I think are super important but aren’t really important in the long run. I’m wordy as hell and my writing would be dull if I didn’t edit it as thoroughly as I do.

What aspects of writing do you find difficult when you write fanfiction? A lot of times I have these ideas that I think would make a great series but I don’t think through them, so planning out the plot of a series (or even a standalone fic) beforehand is something I struggle with.

Is there anything you want to write but are afraid to (and why): I would love to write more fics that have the characters dealing with severe mental disorders or that take place in a mental hospital, but I’m afraid that I’ll portray something wrong and solidify harmful stereotypes about what it’s like to deal with those things.

What inspires/motivates you to write: Honestly, just wanting to write things that I enjoy. Sometimes I get sick of reading other peoples’ stuff since it’s not exactly what I want, so I just write my own!

How do you deal with self doubt: Understand that sometimes it happens. You’ll doubt yourself—everybody does. If I’m doubting myself or my writing, I’ll take a break until I remember why I write. Then I’ll remember that yeah, writing for an audience is fun, but I write because I have cool ideas I want to explore, not because I need the attention or love of strangers. Lastly, I’ll reread my old fics, especially the ones I love, and then I’ll go back and edit old fics that I haven’t looked at in a while. That way I can see how I’ve improved and I don’t feel so terrible anymore! Reading my own fics is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine, and I’ll read through my masterlists every once a while just to remind myself of the things I’ve loved, where I’ve been, and where I’m going.

How do you deal with writer's block: Like I said, I reread old fics and edit old fics that I haven’t looked at in a while. Seeing the things I’ve done before always helps to focus me. I’ll also read other people’s stuff or talk about headcanons with some friends to try and find some inspiration.

Do you plan/outline your story before you start: Lately I have been, but only because my periods of intense inspiration and productivity are getting farther and farther apart because of my job. I’ve found planning it out to be more and more helpful, especially for my series. A lot of times if I get a great idea, I’ll outline the whole plot or any significant details I want to put in that one shot/series so that I can come back to it whenever I have the time or I’m inspired for it again.

Do you have any weird writing habits: I write best in places that are unfamiliar to me or in places/times where I shouldn’t be writing. Class? Writing. Airport terminal? Writing. 4am when I have to be up at 6? Writing.

Have you ever received hateful comments on your fic and how do you deal with it? Not that I remember! I feel like there’s probably been one or two over the years, but I probably just got upset about it with my friends for a while and then got over it.

Conversely: what’s been some of your favorite feedback on your fanfic? A long time ago, when I was writing Back to the Start, I had one person who sent me asks for every single series update. I screenshotted them and saved them on my laptop. There’s one particular one where they say that they’re happier because of my writing and honestly, isn’t that what we all strive for? That people’s lives are better because of our stories? I’ve also had some pretty great friends recently who’ve made it a point to reblog and send asks/messages on all my works, which has been so meaningful that I never replied to the asks. They’re sitting in my inbox and I go through and reread them sometimes when I’m feeling down.

If you could give one piece of advice to a new and/or struggling writer, what would it be?  ​Write down everything. If you come up with an amazing piece of dialogue, even if it’s just one sentence or one person talking, or if you come up with something you’d think would be a great title… WRITE IT DOWN. It doesn’t matter if it fits into whatever you’re currently writing or not, it’ll come in handy! I don’t know how many times I’ve gone through my idea list and found really obscure lines/titles/inspiration that didn’t make sense when I wrote them down, but are now exactly what I need to finish a fic. Even if you don’t end up using it, jotting down your ideas is still writing, and that’s good practice!

#pond diving #spnfanficpond

[sirro85-blog]

Dark Horses 6

So, what are the Xhost? Now, so long after they have left the stars it's a question that can be asked.

The Xhost were an idea that became a cult, if humans are more durable and Rhul are faster and Biviladi are more adaptable to environmental changes what if instead of celebrating the diversity we examined the discrepancies and found a common ground?

A noble thought, corrupted, corrupted into the Xhost where races were genetically modified to be a bit of everything, differences were no longer celebrated as part of a more fantastic whole but instead were vilified as non-conforming.

To the Xhost purity was required, variation was the enemy.

Kovac sat against the wall looking at his friends, Wolf shook his head and turned to Dorman for support.

"No," said Kovac, " you both have opinions and you're both entitled to them, but you're wrong.

It's as simple as this. Iron man is the greatest superhero, all those with superpowers built in can fuck right off, if your solution to a problem is punching harder then you're not a solution. Iron man's super power is thinking better than all of the others, he figures stuff out, after that his inventions win fights. All the other smart guys either have powers or their limited, I mean Batman isn't a one man army. Reed Richards works stuff out then relies on being Mr Fantastic to solve the problem.

Also Tony fights butt naked and the rest don't."

Kovac looked at his friends and smiled at their faces, "look it's this simple, your mind, the human mind is the greatest weapon in the galaxy. Now the second lesson I have to teach you is this simple, no matter what your taste in music one song needs special attention."

"We Will Rick You, by Queen will be remembered as a Pride song but it shouldn't be. What really matters is the solo or fade out; that piece of guitar play by May...everything else is just delivery for that.

Finally, if you're not happy, watching bad television at 0400 with you're partner then you're relationship won't last, if their presence doesn't bring you joy then move on.

Right that's about it, that's my life time knowledge, guess we should see this out then." Kovac stood.

Outside the Xhost forces had swept across the continent.

"Major, you know that the General will mobilise to defend us, even with the bones of a brigade. Major General Michaela Jones will be here," Wolf said.

"I know Wolf, the question has always been how do we drive the Xhost back? They control more sectors than the Rhul and the Flet together, they control more planet's than the Korlax."

"They've never defeated the Galactic Council forces though." Dorman countered.

"Well that's not strictly true, they've never won a war against the GCDF but they've always required mobilising core divisions and I hate to say it but that means human troops, we're the backbone of the GCDF without our presence the Xhost have seen success."

"You really don't think we can save the Towoli? Or the EDC?" Wolf asked morose.

"With a squadron of combat engineers? No." The Major was terse in his response.

Captain Becca looked out at the gathering darkness, "three days to capture the Towoli and secure the cities, so on the fourth day they turn around and hit the EDC, they're dug in now, so they last, maybe another four days and then it us. In this position we can last, maybe three days. That gives the Major-general two weeks, to raise at least a brigade and to get to us..." the question hung in the air unasked.

Kovac puffed out his cheeks, and rubbed his right forearm. "Remember in the 88th there became this belief that I'd pull it out of the fire, everytime it looked impossible odds you'd hear the men, "trust in kovac" I have that faith in Michaela Jones. Our only job right now is to keep open this beach head so she can land the troops. Now I've shared my life's wisdom with you, who has any other nuggets to share?"

Sergeant Major Panther had her own meeting with her sergeants, the needs of various troops and sections were discussed and the talk turned to how long they could hold out, "Captain says three at a push, but knowing the Major, if say closer to five."

"It'll take them a week to roll the Towoli and the EDC so by the end of the second week it'll be all over," said Sergeant Webb.

"No, you're forgetting Webb, we've got Kovac, 'keep calm and trust in Kovac' I've been saying that for over ten years now and I'll keep saying as long as he keeps earning my damn faith." Knickers glared at her fellow sergeants, "what was it he always said? It's us, it's us the 88th, well now it's us the Dark Horses but it's still us, we're still the real first in last out and we're still fighting fit and fucking ugly, Kovac will know what to do and when he asks us to do the impossible we'll deliver."

Panther grinned, "Exactly, so get out there and tell that to the men, wipe their little faces, help them blow their noses and smack the heads that need smacking, we are the Dark Horses and we will do what is needed."

"Except the Major is sitting there saying the same about the General," Webb said, "you all know I love the man, he's personally saved my life four times that I can count, if anyone can save us he can...but he isn't trying to. He's not even mentioned trying to save the Towoli and the EDC, he's said we use them as cannon fodder. Our hope is that we get rescued by the woman we walked away from to follow Kovac."

The sergeant-major stared at her sergeants, she seemed at a loss for what to say.

"I'll keep my faith thank you Webb. You're not wrong, yet, but I'll put my trust in Kovac."

Corporal Grey was growing weary of banging heads, the men were despondent and grumbling. The leader they trusted beyond all others was finally cornered and they could all see it. He watched as Captain Dorman walked away from the Major looking down-trodden, after a few steps the officer managed to organise himself and he straightened his shoulders and put his head up...keeping up appearances.

"I hear you're out of ideas and we're all fucked," said a coarse voice behind Kovac.

"Hello RQ," said Kovac without turning round, "and do you believe it?"

"Of course not, you need extra arms for all the tricks up your sleeves," scoffed the Quartemaster, "but they do, the rank, which I'm guessing is the point."

"They're good people, good people don't become monsters without falling down first, I need them to be monsters, they have to lose hope so when I throw them a cobra for a life line they grab it."

"What's the plan troop?"

"The secret to Xhost success is that the Xhost have their own supply of fuel, took us a while to realise what it was, now they use a variety of tricks but the basic component is Phosphene gas, toxic and smells like rotten fish half the time. So the finest galactic scientists looked at how they could inhibit their engines, how they could stop the Xhost fuelling their war machine, they failed. Then a human looked at it, her solution was deemed too heinous, the very suggestion caused humanity some problems, as we were suddenly seen as viscious and evil."

"What was her solution?"

"Chemistry, it's beyond me but...have you ever heard of White Phosphorus?"

The Qm blanched, "really!? That's your solution?"

"Turn their fuel into chemical weapons, I just need men desperate enough to agree to it."

"Kovac..."

Kovac turned to look at the Qm, "first time you've ever called me that, look, we can sit here and let the Xhost slaughter the Towoli and the EDC or we can act, to save innocent lives, maybe we need to be less innocent."

The Qm was quiet a moment and then sighed, "you think we have to?"

"I do."

"Alright then," she touched his arm and left him.

Kovac stared into the gathering gloom, "Clausewitz never finished and Ludendorff was a bastard who lost," he seemed to mutter to himself.

Later Kovac would say it was almost sad how quickly his men agreed to his plan, but they did. So within 6 hours his troops were prepared and moving out.

Before dawn the Dark Horses had returned to their fortifications, none of the normal a activities were on display, showing pride in a job we'll done. Instead the attitude was grim, an unpleasant job but one needing done.

Outside in the skies and on the ground, the Xhost burned, White Phosphorus burns on contact with air and it can burn even human flesh to the bone. Steel melts at half the temperature of burning white phosphorus.

I've seen artists renderings of the human construct of hell, the day the Xhost burned was brighter, hotter and there was more smoke. The issue of demons I'll leave to other scholars.

Ten days later Major General Michaela Jones landed with the 3rd army of the Galactic Defence Force to discover a smoking planet and the Towoli and EDC talking about burning skies and enemies vaporized in a wall of heat.

The Dark Horses, grim of face and closed in demeanour said nothing, they simply boarded and left with the advance ships into Xhost territory.

There is a phrase amongst those who study human kind, it's taken from their own old language, a term itself bastardised from an even older tale, "humans are space-orcs"

To humans it's funny, "the human can withstand the loss of a limb and is capable of feats of strength near impossible to other races, they fix metal into their mouths and inject their skins for aesthetic purposes...ha ha, fuck yeah we're space-orcs"

But to those of us who study, it means something different, orcs are the monsters of human fiction, rewritten and redefined they are brutal, barbarous and backwards. Their savagery and their lack of humanity is common in all their iterations. Orcs are the monsters humans see in themselves.

We space going species forget that humans may be like us in their hunt for answers but they got to this technology not through global cooperation but through war-driven advances and international tensions and competition.

They have only recently become the advanced global society we know, just under the surface lies the monster. Humans are Space Orcs.

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So I know the Chemistry is a bit hinky here according to a chemist friend of mine what I've said is possible but not easily but...hey It's sci-fi.

Anyway this one ends in a dark place but it's where it went and I can't really pretend I know what I'm doing.

As always feedback is appreciated.

#humans are space australians #humans are insane #humans are space orcs #space orcs #space australia #space faerie #earth is a deathworld #earth is weird #dark horses #this is why i call kovac daddy #kovac