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incognit0slut · 1 year

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Right Kind of Wrong (1)

Reader never thought she would be involved in a murder investigation and encounter her one-night-stand again, the awkward guy who isn’t exactly that good in bed—Or is he? Offended by the sentiment, Spencer is determined to prove her wrong… But as he gets tangled with the beautiful stranger, he realizes there is more to her than what meets the eye.

Part Summary: Reader and Spencer face the aftermath of their tryst. wc: 2,8k

Series Warnings: 18+ explicit content, graphic details of murders, mentions of suicide, mentions of SA

Other parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

"YOU NEED TO LEAVE."

Since when did her life come to this?

She wasn't sure what to make of when the words softly left his lips. The words weren't exactly pronounced in a way that the urgency was prominent, but she could still sense the weight of them as she stared into the dark walls of his bedroom, sprawled out across the bed of this foreign man she had spent the past two hours with.

What was his name again? Stephen? Sean? Or was it Sebastian?

It definitely started with an S.

Her eyes slowly made their way toward him, eying his tall figure as he carefully walked over to his drawers. He awkwardly tripped over a piece of her clothing which lay on the floor before mumbling some incoherent words. He shot her a dubious look past his shoulder and turned his body away, quickly grabbing the first thing he saw on top of his pile of clothes.

His sudden modesty seemed amusing to her when it was barely minutes ago they had shared the sex-induced fantasy of sharing body heat between complete strangers. It was as if he wasn't the one thrusting above her, eyes glazed in desire and mouth open in ecstasy, reaching the peak of his high with her legs wrapped around his narrowed waist.

Surely he hadn't forgotten all of that?

She prompted herself on her elbows and found the piece of clothing he had grabbed in his haste was a pair of brown pants and a nice clean dark shirt. She watched him again and under her scrutinizing gaze, he backed away even further.

His sudden discomfort should've offended her, but it didn't. Somehow it intrigued her how much he was trying to be oblivious of everything around him—the lustful tryst that took place moments ago. The naked woman under his covers. The sudden shrill of his phone ringing on the bedside table.

The latter seemed to catch his attention as he glanced at the source of sound with an alert expression. He crossed the room and quickly answered the call.

"Yes?" There was a muffled reply from the other end before he glanced at the still-naked woman staring at him with curiosity. He cleared his throat again and gave her a look. "I need to take this."

She shrugged. "Sure."

She saw him hesitate for a split second before slipping out of his room, throwing a short reply to the receiving end of his call that didn't go unheard. "Yes, Garcia, I have company." More mumbling. "What? I'm not answering that..."

His words were cut off as he closed the door behind him, leaving her to grasp the situation she had put herself in.

Having a one-night stand wasn't something she often did. She wasn't sure it ever happened again since her freshman year of college when sleeping with a senior at a raging party would solidify her college experience. It seemed right at that time. It was what everybody was doing and her innocent mind believed it was a good idea to expand her nonexistent romantic life.

New place, new experience, new beginnings.

The experience wasn't so bad. Brandon Wallace—who was now happily married according to his recent social media post—wasn't exactly the best lover she ever had, but he also wasn't that bad. It was the awkward moment after the endeavor that made her avoid any repeated situations with somebody she barely knew.

Which was why she was questioning why she let that exact avoidance happen tonight. Why she had stepped into her favorite bar on a random Wednesday night and laid her eyes onto the awkward man sitting a few stools away from her.

Maybe it was the way he seemed out of place. Wearing a crisp blue shirt and a vest over it, he sat in a poised manner while constantly wiping down the bar counter with the napkin he seemed to keep requesting the bartender for.

She was there because she needed the kick of alcohol to calm down the stress from her current work assignment. Jamison, her strict boss who didn't take no for an answer, was starting to make her consider the act of murder. But committing such a heinous crime wasn't exactly nifty, so alcohol was the safe bet.

And thus, what was he here for? The cold beer sitting in front of him was barely touched as he looked around the room in a very uncomfortable manner.

Maybe the fact that she was sitting in an almost empty bar had loneliness wash over her, or maybe it was the alcohol finally kicking in, that she found herself making her way over to him. She was only going to greet him, introduce herself, and remark on how he stuck out like a sore thumb when he clearly was trying to keep to himself.

The hue of the bar lights reflected into a golden halo around his head. She slid beside him, tipped her drink towards his way, and gave him a simple smile.

He shifted in his seat and turned sideways, throwing her a questioning look. Up close, she could see his features clearly. The sharpness of his jaw, his hooded eyes, the unruly mess of brown hair on top of his head. She could tell he wasn't sure how to react to her sudden appearance, but he didn't seem to mind.

She sat there, her lips inching wider at the frown forming on his brows. How could someone be awkward yet adorable at the same time? Y/n was about to introduce herself when he suddenly sat forward, threw her a hesitant smile, and slowly asked, "Do you have any change?"

The random question startled her. "Excuse me?"

"I... I need to pay for my drink."

She shot him a ludicrous look, not sure she was hearing him right. Was he really trying to ask a stranger to pay for his drink? So much for spending the night with what looked like good company. But before she could counter her disappointment, he reached out his hand and in a swift motion revealed a ten-dollar bill from the back of her ear.

"Never mind.” He waved the money in front of her face and cleared his throat. “Found it.”

She blinked, once, twice, trying to comprehend the past few seconds. Then her lips twisted into a wide grin, his own lips twitching into a shy smile.

His attempt at an introduction based on a silly magic trick tugged her heart in a way that had her leaning closer, fingers tracing across his other hand that rested on the table. She didn't know what had impulsed her to be so brazen. It was very unlike her to show interest in the opposite sex, but here she was, touching the warmth of his skin.

But then his breath hitched and her stomach dropped. What the hell was she thinking? Touching a complete stranger without consent as if she was trying to maul him in public.

She shook her head and backed away, an apology already hanging at the tip of her tongue when he suddenly leaned in and wrapped a hand around her wrist. The gesture was very innocent, but somehow his fingers manage to burn her skin. She looked up and held his gaze, found the same bashful smile still playing on his lips, and relaxed at the warmth radiating from his body.

And then the rest was history, to say the least.

Yet even after the travel from the bar to his place, after the haste of removing each other's clothes, and after the post-orgasm that left them both satisfied—although to be completely honest, she would've been more satisfied if he'd let her have her second orgasm—she was starting to question her decision.

She finally threw his covers away and slipped out of his bed. She picked up all her clothing scattered around the room and slowly dressed herself as she carefully tried to listen to the conversation in the other room. But all she heard was muffled voices, and deciding that she couldn't pick out his exact words, she tuned out his voice and smoothed down her hair with her fingers.

Feeling more presentable, she stepped out of his room and finally took in the personal space he lived in. Now that she wasn't preoccupied with unbuckling his belt, she realized how dark his apartment actually was.

There were stacks of books lined up on the walls and scattered papers laying around every corner. He clearly wasn't a clean freak. Although he did seem to dislike public spaces, and honestly she couldn't argue on that when her mind considered the sticky, sugary residue that coated the floorboards and every other surface of the bar.

His hushed voice sounded aggravating and she turned to find him standing in what looked like his kitchen, his back facing her. Not wanting to interrupt him, she decided to look around her surroundings, eying the few framed certificates hanging on one side of his walls. There were a lot of certified achievements he was definitely very proud of with his name glorified on each frame.

Dr. Spencer Reid.

His name was Spencer!

She let out a chuckle. She wasn't exactly good at remembering names. Hold on—doctor Spencer Reid?

Her eyes went wide. But before she could feed her curiosity, she heard footsteps coming closer behind. She quickly turned away and found him glaring at his phone as he strode into the room.

"Bad call?"

Spencer—it was nice to finally put a name on him—abruptly looked up. His eyes studied her in bewilderment as if realizing she was still there. Then his expression slightly softened as he threw his phone away on his couch. "Not really, it was a work thing."

She raised her eyebrows. "You still work this late?"

"I don't exactly have a scheduled working hour."

There were a lot of questions she wanted to ask. What kind of work did he have to be getting calls this late? Why was he inside that bar when he clearly looked like he didn't want to be there? Was he really a doctor? And why did he look so adorable with that frown across his face?

There was something strange and hollow in his eyes that she couldn't quite put on as his hand rubbed over the back of his neck. She could sense the awkwardness stretching between them and needed to fill in the silence.

"So..."

She let out an awkward laugh. He, on the other hand, started to fumble with his words as he suddenly spoke, "Did you know that awkward silence is the result of a disconnect between people?" She peered up at him with raised eyebrows. "When there is nothing to say, or maybe one person feels uncomfortable in a situation and doesn't know how to respond."

She blinked in confusion. But he wasn't finished.

"Statistically speaking, 80% of communication is nonverbal, whereas 20% is verbal. So in a way, silence can also communicate just as much information as speaking does. It is used to express anger, sadness, excitement, and other emotion. It can also create tension in a conversation or release it..." He trailed off before letting out a sigh. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"You most definitely are," she confirmed. "Where did that suddenly come from?"

He looked away as a blush crept on his cheeks. "I have an incredibly active imagination. It—uh, it leads to a tendency for me to ramble as my thoughts are constantly flowing."

"And you just know all these random facts?"

"I have an eidetic memory."

"You don’t say?" Her sarcasm was followed by eying the framed achievements plastered on his wall before glancing back at his confused face. She sighed. "Look, I'm not better at this than you are. Let's just... I don't know, thank each other? Say goodbye? Shake our hands?"

His eyes lit up as another piece of information filled his brain. "You know, the number of pathogens shared during a handshake is staggering. It's actually safer to..." He trailed off again and suddenly gulped, mentally kicking himself when he realized the fact he was about share. "...kiss."

She couldn't help the smirk twitching on her lips. "Is that so?"

He absentmindedly nodded as his eyes glanced toward her mouth. She instinctively took a step closer, noticing the tension in his body as he quickly looked away. This man had just flirted with her using an adorable magic trick, had his head between her thighs minutes ago, and reached an earth-shattering orgasm... yet he had the audacity to act all flustered.

She should probably leave. That was what he wanted moments ago, wasn't it? The words came out of his mouth the moment he checked his phone before jumping out of bed at lightning speed to dress his naked body. He needed to be somewhere. He had this somewhat confidential work he had to do.

Yet somehow he was warm and her hands were surprisingly very cold. The heat radiating from his body called out to her and without registering what she was about to do, she softly placed the palm of her hands on his chest.

She was internally screaming when she inhaled a sharp breath, his scent suddenly engulfing her senses. He smelled slightly sweet with a hint of spice; a woody, earthy musk that was mixed with his natural scent of sweat and hormones. She peered up into his eyes, traveling down to his cheekbones before they rested on his lips.

A riot of emotion burst inside her as she saw his tongue flicking out and holy shit—she just stared at him, completely, utterly enraptured.

Her focus was on his hot breath against her mouth, his lips a mere inches away from hers. He was so close she could practically hear the fast pace of his heartbeat. She could feel him everywhere, his hard body flushed against hers, his head moving closer to her and—

Then his damn phone started to ring again and all her senses went to alert. She quickly took a step back.

Now that was her cue to leave.

And it was a pity because whether she liked it or not, a part of her wanted to stay. But that was not an option. He wanted her to leave and she needed to do just that. She needed this to be a one-time thing.

Because there was never going to be another time. The moment she walked out the front door, they were back to being strangers. She would go back to her life and he would go back to his, probably back to his seemingly not-so-normal job with the way he described his working hours. Or the lack of it, anyway.

His phone stopped its ring and he shifted his weight from one foot to another. He was back to being awkward and she was back to being rational. Although her heart was beating fast and she was as flustered as he was, she didn't him to know what, especially when it seemed like he was about to kick her out again for the second time.

She was too busy oscillating between stunned, mortified, and turned on. She refused to blush. She refused to appear even an ounce embarrassed.

His phone rang again and he looked flustered about what to do. She helped him decide by grabbing her bag that was conveniently hanging by the door. "I should probably go."

She knew she was slightly disappointed, but she'd be damned if he knew the truth. Her mother used to describe her as a spiteful person ever since she was young. But then again, was it so wrong to feel that way? She figured she was just evening the misery out. If something was making her unhappy she felt it was her right to bring at least equal measures of unhappiness.

It seemed relatively immature, but she didn't feel like caring especially how her night had turned out. She took a deep breath and worked out her pettiness.

"Thank you for tonight... Stephen."

He suddenly tensed. "It's Spencer."

She studied the frown on his face. God, she was evil. She would probably regret this childish behavior of hers, although that was something she could deal with later. The very least she could do now was to give him a proper goodbye before she turned her back towards him for good.

"Well, good night, Spencer."

She wasn't sure he even remembered her name or whether he was just as petty as she was. It was more likely the latter considering he had an eidetic memory. "Good night."

She gave him a final nod. He answered by throwing her an awkward wave, a tight-lipped smile, and an even deeper frown as she slipped into the cold air.

>> NEXT PART

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid fic #spencerreid #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x oc #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfic #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x self insert #spencer reid smut #spencer reid fluff #fanfic #fanfic series #spencer reid x fanfiction #spencer reid x female reader #Right Kind of Wrong

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iohourtime · 9 months

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Ryosuke Yamada: SIDE B - Change

anan 2347

(There is some paraphrasing of the original article. Please let me know if there are any errors.)

Note: This is part 2 of a 2 part interview. You can read “Side A - Expression” here.

Yamada Ryosuke has been involved in various forms of expression, but there is one thing that he has cherished above all. That's the job of an actor. When he participated in his first drama “Tantei Gakuen Q” at the age of 13, he discovered the enjoyment and had been passionate [about acting] since then.

“I simply like this genre of work and this feeling of love has never changed since my first drama. With respect to acting, I have to become someone I haven’t seen or know before, and to do that, I have to think hard about who this person is and why he feels this way. However, the time [thinking about these things] is fun. The feeling is like when I just made a new friend and it is really nice to spend time with that person. I’d wonder about the kind of person he is, and the more I find out, the more interested I am. I think [the process of discovering a new character] is close to that. If this character is a historical figure, I can do research into the history and background of the person; if this character is fictional, I can make it up using my imagination.”

What comes to mind is a character in the movie "Moeyo Ken" released two years ago - Okita Souji, a genius swordsman of the Shinsengumi who is said to have died at the young age of 27. While there is a strong impression of him as someone with a tragic fate, but as played by Yamada san, who smiled innocently as he committed brutal murder without hesitation, his innocence was more intense than his fragility and was realistically portrayed.

“That movie was special. I think a big factor was that I was staying in Kyoto during the filming, so I was able to immerse myself in the real thing the whole time. When I went back to Tokyo, I was only doing group activities or recording variety shows, so there was little time to return to reality, and I felt that my sensibilities were gradually sharpened. I got so caught up in the role that it became normal for me not to drink or eat anything during that time, and I got sick... It was something I have never experienced on set before.”

The reason why he was so absorbed in his acting work was because he had tasted moments that shook him just by thinking about them.

“Just like with today’s shoot and when I was on set, there were moments when the actors, the camera operators, the lighting team, the audio team… and everyone involved were completely engaged as they worked together. It was the best feeling when I encountered these [moments] and I feel like I'm desperately trying to relive these moments again."

Because he valued his acting career, I wanted to ask him about his position as an idol. Perhaps because of this title, there are times when his acting is viewed with prejudice.

“I think it's more because I'm a Johnny's rather than being an idol, but I accept that as my destiny. There are hindrances with being a Johnny's, but on the other hand, there are things I can do because I'm a Johnny's and I think that's a huge benefit. If I don't want others to complain about me, I can only silence the discourse with my abilities. In fact, some of my senpais have done exactly that. On the contrary, it is only due to my own lack of ability that I can not do it. The idea is rather simple."

In the midst of such a conversation, he casually said, "Being an idol may be your vocation."

“Since I don’t know much about the world outside of [the entertainment industry], I won't be able to use [my skills] out there (laughs). However, since I've been an idol for a long time, I'm good at presenting what is needed [of me] in an instant. Although I also have a clear idea of what to do. However, what is asked of me is not always the same, so it is important to keep track of [the requests] and that is quite difficult. If I don't study how to present myself properly, I might not be able to do it. I've been conscious of that since I was small, so I'm good at it."

For example, during a live performance, your image is projected on the large screen at the venue.

“Basically, there are about 15 to 20 cameras installed at a live venue and the “switcher” decides when to cut one camera feed and switch to another. The other day, the switcher praised me, saying, "It's amazing that no matter what situation, no matter where the camera is faced, Yamada kun can find and look at it 100% of the time." I haven't been very conscious of this up till then, but if he said so, it must be true. Nowadays, cameras have a light that turns on when it is live, so the moment it lights up, I can find it in about a second no matter how large the venue. I want everyone at the venue to enjoy the show equally, whether they are sitting in the front row in the arena section or at the stands at the back of the dome. When [the camera] happens [to face me], I can interact through it so it can be seen by a lot of people, and I think that will be fair to everyone who has come [to the concert]. So when I think about that (including the technique), I feel that [being an idol] is my vocation."

However, he has been active since his early teens and there were times when he resisted being an idol.

“But it's work. It's amazing to know that there are people who are happy because of our hard work, right? I've thought about quitting several times in the past, but I still haven't quit, so I guess that's what I want to do after all."

He is the type who obsessively pursues things that he likes from the start. Gaming is something that exemplifies this. Among the games he’s enthusiastic about is "Apex Legends" and he reached the highest rank of Predator in February this year. Only the top 750 players in the world can attain the Predator rank. [T/N: Ignoring the 14+ hours of live streaming when he got the predator rank, he also just streamed for 9+ hours in the morning I wrote this part. Obsessive sounds apt.😅]

"Simply speaking, I find gaming fun. Especially when I’m playing with the pros, my motivation shoots up and I feel like I need to get better and I want to get better. After all, I want to do well. I want to be good at acting, I want to be good at dancing, and I want to be good at singing. Once I'm hooked, I want to taste and see the same thing all the time, so I keep doing the same things and that's not a problem. In my mind, rather than hard work, I feel like this is what happens when I pursue what I want to do.”

He started a gaming channel on YouTube called “Leo’s Playground” (Leoの游び場) two years ago, which is now a popular channel with about 860,000 subscribers. [T/N: I just checked and it’s now at 924,000 subscribers.]

“Regarding this, I am just really enjoying myself. I’m not conscious of being watched, it’s like I’m revealing my private life (laughs); it is really just a hobby. There are people who enjoy watching it, new fans are also increasing, and that’s a plus for both myself and the group, so I'm really grateful for this era. For me, I’m glad I can show my kouhai’s that there are other paths like this."

Yamada san said that since last year, there has been a big change in his approach to work. He used to think more about the group than anyone else and take the lead, but he said he's become more focused on himself.

“There was a time last year when I felt a little out of sorts. I cannot say more about that but after going through that, I thought I should take better care of myself.”

And at this time, he is turning 30.

“You may look at me like this (laughs), but isn't 30 years old a proper adult? It's the age when I have to look at myself and think about how to live. Up to now, I have been thinking about how to give back to the group through my solo activities. As a result, I have chosen not to do some jobs or things. But from this point on, I don't think I’ll make it too complicated and simply go “I’ll do it because I want to do it” or “I won’t do it because I don’t want to do it”. I think I should prioritize myself more. Of course I'll continue to do activities for the group and the fans, but it has always been a 70/30 split, where 30 were things I did for myself, so I'll try to reverse the ratio. I don't know if this choice will turn out to be good or bad, but I'm going to give it a try anyway." [T/N: About damn time.]

#yamada ryosuke #translations #anan 2347 #side b #change

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vlkyriesgf · 2 years

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i have a request for valkyrie :) ☾

“i think i’m in love with you” and “hugging without a reason” prompts from prompt list 3 and prompts 13, 14, and SOOTHE from prompt list one? cuddling would also be awesome and also if you don’t want to do anything specific all i really want is fluff and mutual pining/confessing feelings. tysm have an awesome day/night :)

a love there is no cure for // valkyrie x fem!reader

a/n: “i think i love you” was played about 5 times while i was writing bc the vibe of this fic was legit that. also ty for requesting this anon! it nice to branch out on my writing w these prompts :)

summary: under all the stress of the current Thor situation, Valkyrie finally comes to terms with her feelings towards you

warnings: some angst but comfort at the end, sickly sweet queer pining, past relationship, hela lmao💀

word count: 1.1k

The two of you decided to go back to Valkyries apartment after the meeting with the grandmaster. You both needed to talk about what you want to do with the current situations. Do you help Thor or the Grandmaster?

While you wanted to help Thor, Valkyries decision wasn’t very clear, you noticed that she’s been quieter than usual after the encounter with Loki. It ended up being a rather quiet walk, along with some small talk here and there.

You’re not sure what he showed her, something from her past maybe? It has to be. After knowing her for two years, nothing gets her this quiet. She even told you some time ago that she’s somewhat mournful of her history, though she was a drunken mess. You were surprised that she confided in you, that she was emotionally open and vulnerable with you at that moment.

As soon as the door opened, you beelined to the spare room she gave you. “Let me get some things, I won’t take long” you told her, leaving Valkyrie in the main room.

Val makes her way towards the big window, staring out to the city of Sakaar. Going through your things, you put whatever weapons or tools in a satchel of yours that you felt were essential to your plan. Well, at least the basics, you had no plan yet.

During that time, Val reflects on what Loki unfortunately showed her. The battle between Hela and the Valkyrie. The massacre of her fellow warriors. Specifically, the murder of the one she truly loved and cared for. She can’t help but replay that awful memory in her head. She also can’t sort out if the feelings she had for her are similar to the ones she has towards you.

You finally exit your room, making the prized scrapper snap out of her contemplative state. You put your satchel on the table and start to look for some tools that you swiped and stashed, thinking it might be helpful to whatever you were going to do.

Finally organizing your bag on the counter, Valkyrie brings out her dragonfang sword to place it on the counter as well, still kind of in her mind. Something finally clicked in that buzzing brain of hers, making her stop in her tracks and lifting up her head to see the back of you.

After double checking if you have everything, you’re just about to close tour satchel when you freeze up to the feeling of arms around you waist and a head resting on your back. Calming down, you remember it’s only you and Val in this apartment.

“Valkyrie?” you say in a quiet tone. “Yes?” she replies the same way, staring off at the floor. You both stand there trying to process what the other was doing.

“Why are you hugging me?” you asked.

“I’m not sure..” she says, her voice giving no hints on what she’s feeling.

You both aren’t sure what’s happening at the moment, your heads and hearts racing. You’ve wanted this but why now? Can you be excited about it? Would her feelings fade after a while?

Valkyrie isn’t too sure, she knows now that she’s completely enamored with you but would it be worth it? Can she be that vulnerable with you without getting drunk? What is she so afraid of? What if she loses you? She definitely doesn’t want to go through that again.

“..Do you want me to let go?” “Not yet.” You result on just asking her, the answers she’s giving you aren’t enough for you to know what’s going on with her.

“Val are you ok-” “I think I’m in love with you” she says almost breathlessly.

Silence fills the room, good or bad you haven’t the slightest idea but she definitely got you off guard. Processing the words that just came out of Valkyrie’s mouth, you try to sort out your own feelings though it painfully mutual.

“Say something, y/n.” she pleads, giving you a small squeeze as an idea fills her head.

You feel her head rise, her breath feeling close on the back on your neck. She gives a slow kiss behind your ear, letting her lips linger for a few seconds before giving a small peck. This surprised you, making a shiver go up your spine and goosebumps appearing on your arms and shoulders.

“You’re not messing with me right? Like this isn’t some sick way of you trying to get at something?” you ask as you turn your head to the side, seeing her look at you from your periphery.

“Why’d you think that?” she asks, wondering why you’re being so cautious about this. You shrug in response, looking down and seeing how she’s clinging onto you.

Always catching yourself staring at her arms, you took the time to appreciate them this close. She has small tears in the armor’s fabric speckled around from those shes rumbled with.

You then start to play with one of them, twirling it between your thumb and index finger as your wonder how she got that specific one.

“I know I pestered you a lot but that was just banter” she chuckled out.

“Wasn’t just banter, most were tricks too” you answer back with a matter of fact tone.

“They weren’t harmful though were they?” she says teasingly, squeezing you once more.

“Guess they weren’t.” A sigh leaves your mouth as you find you’re still fidgeting with the torn fabric.

“Look how about this,” she says while turning you around to face her.

Valkyrie looks down at you endearingly, her hand lifting and tilting your head to the side. She lowers her head towards you neck, pulling you in as close as she could by your waist.

Kissing where your throat meets the underside of your chin, you closed your eyes as Valkyrie nips lightly at the piece of skin. The feeling had you in a daze, moving your hand up to gently grab her upper arm.

“I’ll give you a proper kiss if you make it back alive, that gives you time to think about it too” she says as she lifts up her head to meet your face.

“Wait, “if”?” you ask, looking up at her. Though she expected it, she couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of your flushed face.

“Okay okay, when you survive. C’mon don’t forget your bag” she tells you as she places the strap on your shoulder.

Still in a haze, you’ve forgotten about what was happening regarding the situation. You feel her grab your hand and drag you towards the door. “Wait where are we going again?”

“We’re gonna help the Asgardian prince, assuming he hasn’t left yet.” You look at her in awe as she finally stated her position on the matter.

Your feelings have always been there for her, hoping that something as cheesy as her kissing you after an out of the blue brawl. So in the end, there would be nothing to “think about”.

You do want to be with her, you just didn’t think she’d be the first one to make a move, a bold one at that. Maybe when you do survive the imminent battle with Hela, you can show her how to properly ask someone out.

#nats novels #valkyrie x reader #reader x valkyrie #valkyrie imagine #king valkyrie #valkyrie #brunnhilde #brunnhilde x reader #valkyrie mcu #valkyrie marvel #tessa thompson #tessa thompson icons #marvel x reader #marvel imagine #tessa thompson x reader

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suckuhoes · 2 months

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THE BANKS UNIVERSE.

aka, the history of the valencia-banks family & how izidora came to be. trigger warnings: m/urder, s/uicide, d/eath, t/rafficking.

izidora's paternal grandmother, tala valencia (b. march 1st 1962), immigrated to new york city from the island of cuyo, palawan in the philippines in 1975 at the age of 13 with her mother, aunt, older brother, and younger cousin due to rising political tensions. at age 15, she fell in love with a classmate by the name of jerome banks — eventually giving birth to her first son, angelo banks, in 1977. jerome & tala married in 1979 at age 18 & went on to have three more sons. tala ran a bodega with her husband & continued to work at her mother and aunt's jewelry / herbal shop heirlooms; where they regularly practiced albularyo & tended to the community via magic.

izidora's father, angelo, was a kind-hearted & courageous boy who did well socially & in school — up until the age of 13, when his father was shot & killed at gunpoint during a robbery gone wrong of the family bodega one night during closing. after this encounter, angelo became more withdrawn; speaking only to family & the few friends that stuck with him after his father's murder. following the loss, the banks family struggled to keep up with the bodega financially, leading angelo to drop out of school at age 16 in order to help supplement their family's income from the jewelry store.

at age 18, angelo begins working as a driver for the post office. he meets a woman named noelle parker during a night out with his co-workers; after a few dates leading to semi-regular sexual encounters, noelle becomes pregnant. she gives birth to their first daughter, izidora korrin banks, on october 17th 1996 when angelo was 19 & noelle was 25. angelo decides to move in with noelle following izidora's birth & tries to develop a serious romantic relationship with noelle, but they eventually break up after a lengthy on/off dynamic in may 1998 when izidora is 2 years old.

two months after this break up, noelle reveals to angelo that she is pregnant again. angelo moves back into the apartment and attempts to reconcile with noelle for the sake of izidora & their unborn baby, with mixed results. by the time their second daughter, carina sinta banks, is born on february 22nd 1999 when angelo is 22 and noelle is 28, their relationship has become volatile & toxic.

angelo resolves to leave noelle for good when izidora is 3 years old & carina is just five months old, during the summer of 1999. tala & the maternal side of angelo’s family have routinely babysat the girls since izidora was first born, so angelo decides to move back home with the girls & stay with tala until he could afford to rent a house to live in with the girls. he attempts to cut noelle out of their lives for good, but when he agrees to meet with her one night at her apartment to pick up the last of his belongings, their conversation turns into an increasingly aggressive argument with noelle refusing to allow angelo to keep her away from the girls. when she is no longer able to manipulate him into staying, noelle grabs a gun as angelo heads for the door — in a fit of rage, she shoots him beneath the chin when he turns to face her, killing him instantly.

after a moment of panic, noelle decides to hysterically report angelo’s death to the police as a suicide over the phone & during interviews. police inform tala of this, who immediately rejects the decision & demands to see his body. angelo’s death remains closed as a suicide based on noelle’s account that his death had been due to their recent break up; despite tala’s adamance that he would never do such a thing to his kids & that angelo made the decision to leave noelle first.

tala & noelle, who never got along in the first place, continue to remain at odds over this due to custody and noelle constantly fighting with the valencia-banks family over the care of izidora & carina. when noelle refuses to tell the truth in public and swears to tala that she will continue to lie about angelo in order to obtain custody of the sisters, tala & the witches of the valencia family resort to the use of a mangkukulam ritual to torment noelle through the use of black magic for her misdeeds. after months of suffering the effects of the curse strengthening over time — becoming increasingly erratic and paranoid as her mental stability & insomnia worsened, noelle turns herself in & finally confesses to angelo’s murder. she is given life in prison in january of 2001, when izidora is 5 & carina is almost 2. noelle eventually commits suicide while in prison just two years later in 2003 — but not before sending a letter to her sister sherise that her daughters were ‘stolen’ from her.

after this, izidora & carina remain in the care of their grandmother tala, who loves & raises them like her own despite the loss of angelo and teaches them how to channel & use the magic they’ve inherited as witches. their aunt, sherise, does not begin to contact the girls until izidora is 8 & carina is 5 — although tala does not like or trust noelle’s side of the family, she reluctantly agrees to let the girls live with their aunt on a 3 week schedule once izidora is 10 & carina is 7. she is not aware of their aunt’s carelessness in raising them until izidora & carina confide in her at ages 12 and 9 that they do not like staying with her.

tala is nearing her 50s by the time the girls are teenagers & nico enters the picture. the rest follows as previously written, with nico hooking sherise on drugs & controlling the household. the girls are not seen for over 3 months since izidora’s 17th birthday in october 2013; in april 2014, after 6 months of no contact or communication, tala files a missing persons report — this gets debunked by nico claiming they are actually in upstate new york & living with his mother (who is actually deceased).

sherise attempts to get clean with tala’s encouragement and tries to get answers from nico. in turn, nico placates sherise with an overwhelming amount of drugs which cause her to eventually OD. with nico’s word against tala’s, no efforts are made to locate the sisters despite being missing with no contact between the girls & their grandmother for nearly 8 months. after a year of the girls being missing, tala suffers a heart attack at age 53 due to stress/overexertion. by year 2, tala is partially paralyzed on the left side of her body after suffering a mini stroke at age 54 & is unable to continue practicing albularyo & kulam full time as she used to due to her limited mobility/use of her left side. she instead has her niece, sampaguita valencia, act in her place — also known as “shah”, who eventually locates/aids izidora in her escape at age 20 by teaching her kulam, paying for the apartment that izidora continues to reside in, and helping her to eventually locate & rescue plenty of other trafficked women — including a drugged, severely beaten, and extremely traumatized carina when she’s 19 & izidora is 22.

as of now, tala is now 61 & lives in a lavish community paid for by izidora — she is cared for when necessary by a private nurse & receives regular visits from shah, izidora, & carina when available. they spend time together, help tala around the house/with errands, and continue with their magic in albularyo & kulam. although she is not as active as a community healer, she continues to be affectionately nicknamed “lola” or “lula” by those she’s helped over the years. she is also the grandmother-in-law to keith lane & great-grandmother of his & izidora’s twins, neji & nami.

#HEADCANON.#murder tw #death tw #trafficking tw

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dweemeister · 1 year

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The complete list of films featured on this blog’s 2023 “31 Days of Oscar” marathon

Hello everyone,

Thank you once more for allowing me to present the annual marathon of Oscar-nominated films to your dashboards. This year, the films were grouped by genre or subgenre in primetime (5 PM Pacific into the night). This is the most exclusive period on this blog, as the selection of films that I can post and queue about is at its most limited. But at the same time, the blog is at its most accessible as this yearly marathon’s selection skew to more popular fare. I hope you enjoyed this year’s presentation of 31 Days of Oscar.

What follows is the exhaustive list of all 380 short- and feature-length films featured on this blog over the last thirty-one days for the 31 Days of Oscar marathon. This is down from last year’s record of 420. But that count remains only a fraction of the 5,019 films that have been nominated for Academy Awards since 1927.

Of those 380, 37 were short films (53 short films is the record, which was set last year). 343 were feature films.

BREAKDOWN BY DECADE 1927-1929: 6 1930s: 52 1940s: 53 1950s: 50 1960s: 37 1970s: 31 1980s: 25 1990s: 25 2000s: 27 2010s: 31 2020s: 50

TOTAL: 380

Year with most representation (2022 excluded): 1940 (11 films) Median year: 1967

Time for the list. 62 Best Picture winners and the one (and only) winner for Unique and Artistic Production that I featured this year are in bold. Asterisked (*) films are films I haven’t seen in their entirety as of the publishing of this post. Films primarily not in the English language are accompanied with their nation(s) of origin.

The ten Best Picture nominees for the 95th Academy Awards, including the winner, Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

The fifteen nominees in the short film categories for the 95th Academy Awards

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

The African Queen (1951)

Aftersun (2022)*

Against All Odds (1984)*

Air Force One (1997)

Aladdin (1992)

All About My Mother (1999, Spain)*

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

All the President’s Men (1976)

American Graffiti (1973)

An American in Paris (1951)

The Americanization of Emily (1964)*

Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

Anna Christie (1930)*

Apollo 13 (1995)

Argentina, 1985 (2022, Argentina)

Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

The Artist (2011, France)

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)*

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)*

Auntie Mame (1958)

Avatar (2009)

Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life (1997)*

Balance (1989 short, West Germany)*

Bao (2018 short)

Barry Lyndon (1975)

Barton Fink (1991)*

The Battle of Midway (1942)

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Becky Sharp (1935)*

Ben-Hur (1959)

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Bicycle Thieves (1948, Italy)

The Big Sick (2017)*

Black Narcissus (1947)

Blackboard Jungle (1955)

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Block-Heads (1938)*

Blue Valentine (2010)*

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Boyz n the Hood (1991)*

Breaker Morant (1980)*

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Brief Encounter (1945)

Brigadoon (1954)

The Broadway Melody (1929)

Buena Vista Social Club (1999, Germany/Cuba)*

Caged (1950)

Carol (2015)*

Casablanca (1942)

The Cat Concerto (1946 short)

Catch Me If You Can (2002)*

Chicago (2002)

Chico and Rita (2010, Spain)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

Cimarron (1931)

Cinema Paradiso (1988, Italy)

Cleopatra (1934)*

Close (2022, Belgium)*

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Coco (2017)

CODA (2021)

Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)*

Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Creed (2015)

Crimson Tide (1995)

Crip Camp (2020)*

Crossfire (1947)

The Crowd (1928)

The Dam Keeper (2014 short)

The Danish Poet (2006 short, Norway/Canada)*

Dark Victory (1939)

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Days of Heaven (1978)*

Days of Wine and Roses (1962)

Dead Poets Society (1989)

The Deer Hunter (1978)

Dersu Uzala (1975, Soviet Union)

Designing Woman (1957)*

Dillinger (1945)*

Dirty Dancing (1987)*

The Divorcee (1930)*

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

The Doorway to Hell (1930)*

Double Indemnity (1944)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse (1947 short)

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Dumbo (1941)

The Earrings of Madame de... (1953, France)*

Easter Parade (1948)

Eat Drink Man Woman (1994, Taiwan)*

Educating Rita (1983)*

Elizabeth (1998)*

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)*

Encanto (2021)

EO (2022, Poland)*

Erin Brockovich (2000)*

The Fallen Sparrow (1943)*

A Few Good Men (1991)*

Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

Fire of Love (2022)

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953)

The Flame and the Arrow (1950)*

Flashdance (1983)*

Flowers and Trees (1932 short)

The Fog of War (2003)*

For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

42nd Street (1933)

The 400 Blows (1959, France)

A Free Soul (1931)*

The French Connection (1971)

From Here to Eternity (1953)

Frozen (2013)

Fury (1936)

Gangs of New York (2002)*

Gaslight (1944)

The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950 short)*

Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)*

Get Out (2017)

Gigi (1958)

Glass Onion (2022)

The Godfather (1972)

The Godfather Part II (1974)

Going My Way (1944)

Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

Gold Diggers of 1937 (1937)*

Gone with the Wind (1939)

The Goodbye Girl (1977)*

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

A Grand Day Out (1989 short)*

Grand Hotel (1932)

Grand Illusion (1937, France)

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

The Great Dictator (1940)

Great Expectations (1946)*

The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

Gulliver’s Travels (1939)

Hamlet (1996)

Heaven Can Wait (1943)

Heaven’s Gate (1980)*

Here Comes the Navy (1934)*

High Noon (1952)

Hoop Dreams (1994)

Howl’s Moving Castle (2004, Japan)

Hud (1963)*

The Hurt Locker (2008)

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

Imitation of Life (1959)

In Cold Blood (1967)

In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Incendies (2010, Canada)*

Independence Day (1996)

Inside Out (2015)

Into the Woods (2014)

The Irishman (2019)

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)*

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Juno (2007)

The Killers (1946)

The King’s Speech (2010)

Kiss Me Kate (1953)*

Knives Out (2019)

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

La La Land (2016)

Lady Bird (2017)

The Lady Eve (1941)

Lady for a Day (1933)*

Lagaan (2001, India)*

The Last Command (1928)*

The Last Emperor (1987)

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)*

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)*

The Leopard (1963, Italy)

The Letter (1940)

Libeled Lady (1936)*

Licorice Pizza (2021)

Life with Father (1947)

Lincoln (2012)

Little Caesar (1931)

Little Johnny Jet (1953 short)*

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

A Little Romance (1979)

Little Women (1933)*

Living (2022)

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Lost in Translation (2003)*

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

Magnificent Obsession (1954)

Malcolm X (1992)

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

The Man with the Golden Arm (1956)

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2022)

Marty (1955)

Mary Poppins (1964)

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)*

The Matrix (1999)

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)*

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Mighty Joe Young (1949)

A Mighty Wind (2003)

Mildred Pierce (1945)

Minari (2020)

The Mission (1986)*

Mon Oncle (1958, France)

Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953, France)

A Morning Stroll (2011 short)

Moonraker (1979)

Moonstruck (1987)*

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)

Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)*

The Music Man (1962)

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

My Favorite Wife (1940)

My Life as a Dog (1985, Sweden)

Network (1976)

Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)*

The Night Before Christmas (1941 short)

Night Must Fall (1937)*

Nightmare Alley (1947)

Ninotchka (1939)

Now Hear This (1962 short)*

Now, Voyager (1942)

The Nun’s Story (1959)

Oliver! (1968)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

One Night in Miami... (2020)*

One Way Passage (1932)*

Our Town (1940)

The Ox-Bow Incident (1941)

The Paper Chase (1973)

Patton (1970)

Peace on Earth (1939 short)

Peyton Place (1957)*

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Pillow Talk (1959)

Pretty Woman (1990)*

The Pride of the Yankees (1942)

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)

The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)

Prisoners (2013)*

The Producers (1967)

Psycho (1960)

The Public Enemy (1931)

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

The Queen of Basketball (2021 short)

The Quiet Girl (2022, Ireland)

Quo Vadis (1951)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Raintree County (1955)*

Ran (1985, Japan)

Random Harvest (1942)

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

Rebecca (1940)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Robin Hood (1973)

Robinson Crusoe (1952)*

Rocky (1976)

Royal Wedding (1951)

RRR (2022, India)*

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Schindler’s List (1993)

The Sea Beast (2022)

The Sea Hawk (1940)

The Sea Wolf (1941)*

The Secret of Kells (2009)

The Shape of Water (2017)

Shaft (1971)

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

She Done Him Wrong (1933)*

Ship of Fools (1965)*

The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931)

Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

The Sky’s the Limit (1943)*

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

The Snowman (1982 short)*

Some Like It Hot (1959)

The Sound of Music (1965)

Spartacus (1960)

Spotlight (2015)

Stagecoach (1939)

Stand by Me (1986)

A Star is Born (1937)

Stella Dallas (1937)

The Sting (1973)

The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)*

The Story of Three Loves (1953)*

La Strada (1954, Italy)

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Strike Up the Band (1940)

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

Swing Time (1936)

The Sword in the Stone (1963)

Superman (1941 short)

The Tale of Cinderella Penguin (1981 short)*

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013, Japan)

Tango, no me dejes nunca (1998, Argentina)*

Teacher’s Pet (1958)*

Tess (1979)*

That Obscure Object of Desire (1977, Spain)*

That Uncertain Feeling (1941)*

The Thin Man (1934)

The Third Man (1949)

Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)*

Three Colors: Red (1994, Poland)

Three Little Pigs (1933 short)

The Time Machine (1960)

The Tin Drum (1979, West Germany)*

Titanic (1997)

To Catch a Thief (1955)

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Tom Jones (1963)

Top Gun (1986)

The Tortoise and the Hare (1934 short)

Travels with My Aunt (1972)*

The Triplets of Belleville (2003, France)*

True Grit (1969)

True Grit (2010)

Tsotsi (2005, South Africa)*

Twelve Angry Men (1957)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Turning Red (2022)

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964, France)

Vertigo (1958)

Victory Through Air Power (1943)*

Wait Until Dark (1967)*

War and Peace (1966, Soviet Union)*

War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

The Way We Were (1973)*

West Side Story (2021)

The Westerner (1940)

The Whale (2022)

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

What Price Hollywood? (1932)

When Worlds Collide (1951)

White Heat (1949)

White Shadows in the South Seas (1928)*

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

The Windshield Wiper (2021 short)

Wings (1927)

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968 short)

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Woman in the Dunes (1964, Japan)*

Wuthering Heights (1939)*

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)*

You Can’t Take It with You (1938)

Young Bess (1953)*

#31 Days of Oscar

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so-ir-ee · 1 year

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In the Motherhood pt. 2

After 13 years, I relook at what I wrote about being a mother, and its up and downs. Original article here: https://www.kompasiana.com/komentar/galuh/54ffb2c6a33311726350f92c/in-the-motherhood I also copied and send this to myself for a keepsake.

A few days ago, my one and only son celebrates his 18th birthday. What a long yet also short 18 years it has been. It literally felt like yesterday when he was running around the house playing scavenger hunt with me, and now we're a couple of months away from him leaving for uni. The only thing that is true to itself is time. It moves ahead, whether we like it or not. As much as I love the time, or hate it, it passed. Lately, what I found very interesting is the realization that we grew up together. I was merely a child when I have him, yet I feel so old. Unbeknown to me, I was broken in so many ways. In my teenage years, I hated everything and everyone, I ousted myself from people, and I close the door from people. I thought I was the only person who knows pain, I thought I was the only person who suffers. And I paint the world in vengeance. It took me 42 years to realize that it was anger all along. I was angry and I took my anger to the world. It was anger that fuelled me, it also was anger that drained me. As much as I tried to murder my pain, I killed myself along the way. He, was a chance encounter. Unplanned, unpredicted, but then he becomes the sum of my existence for many years to come. Together we grow: he blossoms to be his own charming self, and I bloom the wisdom I never had before. It is with him that I learned to tame myself, to be calm yet forceful, to be kind yet strong. I might have done something good in my previous life, so much so that I am given a child guru. I wanted to write something about him, to remind me of him. I am sitting here in Terminal 2 Airport in Jakarta, waiting for the plane to take me to BKK. He is still sleeping at home, and his days are filled with anxiousness since he is yet to get a guaranteed offer from his chosen college. I could be wrong but in my heart, I know that he will do alright. He has been studying hard, and I have no doubt that it will result in good things. But, life has taught me to be cautiously optimistic and be ready for the worse. So I hope he can do the same: aim for the best, get ready for the worse. This here is not my fight and as his mom, what I can do is to give him all my prayers. I admire him. If there's ever any definition of soft yet strong, it is him. When we don't have much, he went to a local Bahasa-speaking school. When we have more, he moved to an English-speaking school. I don't know how he survived: from having friends who speak his mother tongue to having friends who are barely able to speak Bahasa. Yet, he thrives. He moved to another school in his senior year, with an even higher education standard. And again, somehow he managed. The only Muslim boy at school, being a minority, yet is able to earn respect from teachers and friends. I don't know how he manages. So no, I don't worry. I know you'd survive wherever you go. Let me let you go to the world with a prayer: that you'd always have the strength to get up and dust yourself. That you'd always love yourself first. That you give yourself time to grow and time to heal. That you have the right morals and lens for seeing the world. That when you're in doubt, always believe in the universal truth. That you'd enjoy life. That you'd find your other half. Thank you for these 18 years of togetherness. Thank you for allowing me to grow with you. See the world, and see even more. Come home when you're tired. I will always be your mother.

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save-the-villainous-cat · 2 years

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Can I get uuuhhhhhhh an order of feral monster-type villain with extra fear-based intimidation and a side of tentacles, and a double-chocolate hero who is oblivious to the fact that this nightmare creature is supposed to be terrifying? Extra PG-13 ketchup only, hold the steam and the mayo.

Riveting.

There was no other word.

“How enthralling. You’re not some kind of mutant, are you?” The hero knew themselves it was impressive how fast they could speak. Countless people have told them it seemed nearly impossible how they talked without stumbling over their own words.

The villain however, stayed mute.

“Because, you know, I’ve never seen anything like this before. You’re just so tall and so…captivating. If you are a mutant, then the mutagens responsible for your mutations must have been…incredibly affective. I don’t really understand your anatomy yet, but I’m sure I’ll learn more soon!” they said. They were fidgeting with their clothes again, pulling at their sleeves nervously. They had never seen the villain before, not in this form at least.

It was something they had to capture in their mind. The villain wasn’t like anything or better, anyone the hero had ever seen. And they had seen a lot of mutants in their life. A lot of people who looked more like animals than persons.

That was the thing with working in the research department. The hero always got to discover new kinds of powers and especially, the villains who held those. The hero loved their job more than anything in the world.

“Are you always talking with a lack of cognizance of your surroundings?”

“Excuse me?” The villain glowered at them, their nonhuman eyes going over the hero, taking them apart without hesitation. One of the villain’s tentacles found a way around the hero’s waist. With a horrifying yet intriguing strength, they pulled them closer.

“I could pick you apart,” the villain said.

“Wait, do you have murderous teeth, too?”

“Little hero,” the villain’s voice was something close to soft. “I could kill you in seconds. I could split your skull open and watch your eyes drown in pure and raw death. I can watch your limbs go numb and your skin melt. Aren’t you afraid?”

“Not really, no. You don’t indicate any violence right now. You seem calm.”

“The calm before the storm?” the villain suggested. They pulled the hero closer, their tentacles not uncomfortable but not prosperous yet.

“You’re not going to attack me.”

“You’re inappropriately confident,” the villain said. Their eyes went over the hero’s face again, as if they were searching for their enemy’s soul. “I kill people daily. They don’t even have time to look at me.”

“I’m not dead yet,” the hero countered. They were fairly decent at their job. Though it was the most dangerous among all the jobs in the hero business, even more dangerous than being out there fighting, the hero liked to talk to the villains. They liked to learn how to understand them. It was their job to talk to the villains, to get them to stay still. Long enough for the other heroes to strike.

What would happen next, was a mystery to the hero. However, their superiors had mentioned something about rehabilitation a million years ago.

“Touché. I like you.” The hero didn’t expect their body to blush. Today, they had been alone as they had encountered the villain. They were on their way home and suddenly—

“I wanted to kill you for imprisoning my friends. But I think I should keep you instead.”

The hero wasn’t even half as terrified as they should’ve been.

Imprisoning was a strange expression, though.

#writing snippet #heroxvillain snippet #heroxvillain prompt #heroes and villains #hero #villain #hero x villain #heroxvillain #request #an answer for an ask #monster villain

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ladyeliot · 3 years

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Fragile [1/3]

Part Two

Based on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Who would have thought that fate would bring you face to face with your father's killer? 13 years old, an orphan girl who was taken under the protection of the United States, who was educated to serve the nation and who was now assigned by the CIA to guard what was once one of the most dangerous men in the world.

Warnings: Mentions of murder, psychological problems, violence.

Word count: 2463

A/N: Post Endgame. Sorry for my spelling and grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language, I am learning.

You are waiting for a plane, a plane that will take you far away. You know where you want to go, where you need to go, but you really have no idea where that plane will take you. But it doesn't really matter now, nothing matters because you've lost everything, you have nothing left. Whatever fate throws at you you are willing to accept it, after all you leave nothing behind. That's what you told yourself when in 2009, at the age of thirteen, you boarded that plane that took you out of Iran, when your nuclear engineer father was brutally murdered by someone you could never put a name or a face to. It was not until much later that you discovered the truth of that moment that marked your life forever.

Call it fate, call it chance, but that plane paved your future path. Your destination was the United States, specifically the city of Washington. At the age of 13, when you were a minor, you were detained by the government, assigned to a foster family, preparing you for your future, which already seemed to be written. At 18, the CIA had your position waiting for you, you had been educated and trained for the job, you never had a different opportunity in front of you, but you didn't really want it either.

Your first years within the Central Intelligence Agency you had to learn and live with all the events that that group, called the Avengers, dropped on the nation and the whole world. However, you were not a part of it until it was all over, for like the vast majority of humanity your body vanished from the face of the earth and did not return until years later. That's when it all began. When your superior assigned you a case, his case, to be the shadow of James Buchanaham Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier, who was going to rejoin society after being pardoned by the government. You didn't know what that meant, what that entailed.

Your move to New York was sudden, the neighbourhood the man had selected to live in was in Sunset Park, a New York borough of Brooklyn, one of the best known ethnic Chinese enclaves. It was really nice, but the building was far less comfortable than the neighbourhood. When you arrived with barely any hot water, you figured that assuming the building looked like it might collapse at the drop of a hat, the plumbing would be no less so. But at least your CIA team had been able to provide you with comfortable furniture and the necessary equipment to do your job.

You had a plan, the plan, you had been analysing Bucky Barnes, his exits from the building, the places he frequented, which were pretty scarce apart from the therapy sessions and the restaurant across the street, and his social relations, which were even scarcer, however he had forged a small friendship with a neighbour in the same building, Yori Nakajima originally from Japan. You didn't have to work out your first meeting, any self-respecting neighbour would help a newcomer to the building during the move.

A dozen cardboard boxes were scattered around the hall of the building, you looked at them with a thoughtful gesture while biting your nails waiting for your dear neighbour to arrive from the laundry next door. You had kept track of the time, and just as you predicted, he came in through the front door with a basket of clean clothes. You continued to look at the boxes, took a breath and exaggerated your gesture of concern, just as he focused his gaze on you.

"Do you need help?" he asked, putting down the laundry basket and approaching you.

You turned your face, still biting your nails, but pretended to be surprised to find him there.

"Oh, don't worry, I only just realised that this building is so green it barely has a lift," you said with a smile, causing Bucky to grin.

"Yes, we like to do our bit for the environment," he said, putting his hand behind his head and then offering it to you in greeting. "Bucky."

"Susan," you smiled and shook his hand, then returned your gaze to the stacked boxes. Evidently that wasn't your real name, it was the name of the person you had invented yourself.

"Come on, let me help you," abandoning his laundry basket he approached your belongings and with barely a reproach he picked up two stacked boxes.

"Oh, God, don't you think you should...?" you began worriedly as you looked at the weight he had taken into his arms.

"Don't worry," he added. "Do you think you could take my clothes?"

That was how it all began. Maybe it could have started some other way, perhaps a chance encounter at the laundromat next door, or when you came out of your government-assigned therapy, or maybe a night at the Japanese restaurant, but no, it was that way. You had no idea how things were going to develop, you had no idea why you were assigned to the case, you were so innocent that you thought it was because of your positive attitude, your willingness to do something relevant, but there was too much hidden behind it that you had hardly a clue. You and that young man were connected, a blood-soaked red thread linked you, but it wasn't until some time later that you discovered it.

Before you knew it, the boxes had gone from being stacked in the hall of the building to being in your small living room. You barely had to feign the surprise you felt as the young man had climbed all four floors in record time.

"OK, who are you? You don't work for a moving company do you?" you laughed and headed towards the small kitchen that was connected to the living room. "If so leave me your card because you'll be the one I call."

"No, not really," he put his hand behind his neck and looked away, he seemed nervous as you tried to start a conversation with him.

"A beer? It's the least I can do," you said, opening the fridge. "Well, and it's the only thing I have apparently."

"Better another time," he commented looking at the basket of clean clothes you had left in the middle of your living room and approaching it to pick it up.

It was at that moment that you noticed the black leather gloves covering his hands, you guessed the fact, surely they were to cover his left hand which complemented his vibranium arm.

"Oh, of course," you closed the fridge the same way you had opened it and leaned against the kitchen island to watch him in the middle of the room with the laundry basket offering you an awkward smile. "Then it only remains for me to thank you again."

"It's been a pleasure," he said without moving from the spot, which made you bite your lip smiling at his awkwardness. "Uh... welcome."

"Thank you," you added, watching him clumsily walk out the door and close it behind him.

The image of Bucky Barnes you had formed in your mind collapsed as soon as you met him. Everything you had seen, read, heard about the man had nothing to do with what you found that morning. Who was this person and what had he done with the Winter Soldier? As soon as you closed the door you opened the box marked 'FRAGILE' and extracted all the archival material that the CIA had compiled for you, and opening your laptop you began to generate your first report on Bucky Barnes, totally contrary to what you had expected to do.

The following days you took it upon yourself to generate spontaneous encounters in the most common places the two of you might frequent. The laundromat or the supermarket were the best selected, you discovered that his lifestyle could be that of any ordinary New Yorker, there was nothing strange, nothing out of the ordinary. You had explained to him the story you had created for Susan, a young immigrant girl who had been adopted at the age of 5 by an American family and had left her small town in the state of Ohio to come to New York looking to live the New York dream. Bucky didn't really talk much, but he was a really good listener. He tended to be quite expressive with his face and as we met, it wasn't so often that he looked away from you, only when you stared at him, which was quite common as his blue eyes tended to evade you too much.

Two months later you received the desired psychological analysis that the therapist had been working on during her sessions with Bucky. Throughout your years of life you had been trained not to engage in any kind of emotional relationship with the cases you were assigned at the CIA, you didn't realise it at first, but it was too big for you. When you opened the envelope, sat down on the couch and began to read each of the reports you felt it, a slight sigh propitiated what was happening, you had felt compassion for him. But who couldn't feel compassion reading that? Session after session, talking about the numerous nightmares that kept him awake, endless lists of his victims he had killed, the tortures HYDRA put him through... it all made your insides churn.

You dropped the papers on the table and thoughtfully paced around the room biting your nails. You had been longing for a case like this for a long time, you had practically begged for it, and now that you were inside it you didn't know if you would be able to face it with a cool head. It was a difficult two weeks, where every conversation with Bucky provoked associations with what you read in the therapist's reports and that made you think too much about what you were doing.

But something happened, one Saturday like any other, your doorbell rang while you were preparing a report to send to your superior, you closed everything running and approached the entrance. As you opened the door the figure of Bucky stood in front of you, while behind him loomed the small body of Yori Nakajima.

"Hey..."

"Come on we don't have all day!" exclaimed Yori tapping Bucky's back with his particular cane.

"I'm coming..." chided Bucky turning his face towards his friend and neighbour.

"Come on!" exclaimed Yori again.

The situation was quite peculiar even for you, who were used to encountering all sorts of situations in your work. Your eyebrows were arched as you leaned against the doorframe waiting for what Bucky was supposed to say. Your two neighbours made a comical but endearing pair. Bucky seemed hesitant to speak, being rather nervous as he fiddled with his gloves, so Yori tapped him again with the cane to push him aside.

"What he wants to tell you is to go on a date with him," Yori said bluntly, to which Bucky exasperatedly sighed and put his hand to his face.

"A date?" you asked arching your eyebrows even more and blinking rapidly.

"Well, it's not exactly that..." began Bucky but again he received another blow from Yori's cane, "Hey! Stop it," he refocused his blue eyes on yours. "I'm sorry..."

"For what, needing help asking me out on a date?" you asked smiling slightly, causing him to do so as well. "Had you come up with any concrete plans or did Yori have to find it for you?"

Your question caused Yori to laugh and leave the place alluding that his work had already been done. You continued to watch Bucky with your arms crossed as you slumped against the door frame. The whole situation was getting too out of hand without you even realising it. You lied to yourself that it could be good for your mission, but none of it was good. At that moment you were just a young girl getting carried away, being asked out on a date by a guy you found really attractive.

"Maybe... tomorrow at eight o'clock? If not..." she asked, putting her hand behind her neck, causing her white t-shirt to ride up and reveal part of her naked lower body.

"Why tomorrow? Why not tonight?" you asked showing complete confidence in your voice.

"Or... sure, tonight," she rectified, nodding.

"All right," you said, smiling, and closed the door, leaving Bucky standing there.

In the back of your mind you were trying to convince yourself that this would be helpful to the investigation, that what the CIA really wanted was for you to maintain contact with him, that he was under your control, that he wouldn't do anything that the government would regret offering a pardon for, and apparently he was. What you didn't know is that it was you who was falling under his control.

Your love life is not what you could call it, you were not someone of long realizations, someone who opened her heart easily, you had never really opened it to anyone, apparently at the age of 13 your heart was broken and of that loving and shy girl there was hardly anything left. Relationships, yes, you had had them, but they were based only on physical contact, no feelings, no emotions, only physical contact. You were stubborn, obstinate and sometimes a little presumptuous, a trump card you played with Bucky, but the innocence was still inside you even if you could hardly notice it.

But believe it or not, those months you were spending in that practically ruined building in the middle of that Brooklyn neighbourhood were changing the course of your destiny, they were connecting you with the loving girl you had once been. Something inside you prevented you from writing reports providing the information the CIA was asking for, it seemed really absurd, but for the last two weeks you had offered details of the conversations you had with Bucky, you were just giving ordinary data, useless to the government, who expected you to relay everything the former Winter Soldier said or did. You would never have thought that anything, or anyone, would have limited your ability to tackle an investigation, but there it was, Bucky had done it in just a few months. You felt so empty, it was easy to connect with someone as empty as you, him.

To be continue...

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bonjour-rainycity · 3 years

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A Friend

|masterlist|

A/n Anon, thank you for your request and for your patience!! I hope you get a break soon <3 Please do what you can to take care of yourself!

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: TW - ANXIETY // TW - ANXIETY ATTACK // TW - STRESS

Word count: 1308

Request: Jasper x Reader where the reader catches the attention of Jasper with the overwhelming emotions he feels from afar and it’s the reader in the middle of a silent anxiety attack in a remote hallway (she’s just walking back and forth with a hand over her chest, trying to breathe) and he comforts her without actually using his power. He kind of just listens? And tells her when to breathe in and out? I’ve been going through a very rough week and nothing is going the way I planned, so I wanted the reader to feel like she’s stressed from schoolwork, college decisions, and being a musician who always has to put in time to practice while also being sleep deprived af because that’s been me for the past year and a half

If Jasper had a blood pressure, it would be rising.

The forceful cacophony of hundreds of emotional climates converge upon and disorient one individual: himself.

After so many years of this existence, Jasper is relatively good at managing the excessive input. He knows how to identify the emotions of those important to him and let the others fade into the background — never completely gone, but not at the forefront, either.

But today, on this cloudy, nondescript Thursday morning, there is one emotional climate he cannot ignore.

It’s chaotic. It’s panicked. It’s frantic.

Jasper raises his hand and excuses himself from class — humans tend not to disagree with him, even if he doesn’t come up with a great excuse. I left a book in my locker. Well, he’ll have to return with a book after he’s located the person waging war on his senses.

Once free of the cramped classroom, Jasper allows himself a breath. The scent of barely-concealed human blood is tempting, but it is much more manageable due to experience and frequent hunting. There was a time when, had Jasper gone searching for a human, his body would have interpreted it as a hunt, and the human likely would not have survived the encounter. But now, Jasper feels confident in his footsteps, trusting in his ability to not commit murder, as Carlisle calls it. Besides, even if the call of the blood is tempting, Jasper has no desire to attend another of his victim’s funerals.

As Jasper turns a corner, the emotions intensify. The core emotion, the loudest, most pressing, is one he knows well — anxiety. Others — stress, exhaustion, indecision, hopelessness — swell and ebb, each fighting for dominance in this poor human host. As he enters another hallway, Jasper registers the sound of sneakers hitting the linoleum floor — the human is pacing while attempting to take deep breaths. The breaths are stilted though, jerky, and from what he knows about humans, they probably aren’t doing much to calm the human down.

A final turn and Jasper locates the source of the emotions — a human girl he had a science class with last year. She hasn’t noticed him yet and he takes the opportunity to assess the situation. An anxiety attack for sure.

Jasper clears his throat.

The girl’s wide, panicked eyes meet his and she sucks in a labored breath. “S-sorry, I—”

Jasper shrugs, doing his best to seem nonthreatening. He doesn’t want to add to the fear she’s already feeling. “Don’t worry about it. Are you okay?” Mentally, he chides himself. She’s obviously not. Hesitantly, he takes a few steps forward, shortening the distance between himself and the girl. She keeps a hand on her chest, probably trying to ground herself with the rise and fall.

“It’s—it’s nothing,” she mutters, it sounding half like a gasp. “I’ll be fine, I just need to calm down.”

Jasper nods evenly. He could use his ability to do the work for her, but he knows that would only be a temporary fix; she’d probably just have another episode the minute he and his power left. So, he elects to attempt a different strategy, one that might actually help long-term. Jasper strides forward, careful not to startle the human, and sits on the ground, resting his back against the faded blue lockers. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Her paces falter and she stares at him, clearly trying to assess if the offer is genuine. Jasper tries for a smile but then quickly lets it fall off his face, worried showing his teeth will frighten her.

The human huffs and a feeling of desperation momentarily swells forward, then is overpowered by stress.

“Okay,” she shrugs, seeming to sag under the weight of her exhaustion. Her pacing resumes. “Everything is just too much. The semester’s almost over which means I have way too much schoolwork to even think about, everyone’s expecting me to make these huge college decisions that could affect the rest of my life — I mean, what if I choose wrong? How will I know if I’m choosing wrong or right? And then throughout all of this, I somehow have to find time to practice. I already don’t have enough time to get all my homework done, so how can I get to practicing? But somehow both have to be a priority!” She whimpers, the sound shaky and defeated. “So I get it all done, sometimes, but at the cost of my sleep. I can’t remember the last time I felt well-rested. So I stay up to get all these things done, but then I don’t have the energy to do these things well, but I need to be doing these things well to get into a good college so I don’t screw future-me over.”

The human’s pacing—which had sped up in accordance with her words—stops. Her shoulders sag and she sinks to the floor next to Jasper, leaning her head against the lockers, staring at the ceiling. “It’s just a lot,” she mutters, tears pricking at the edges of her eyes.

The frantic note to her emotions has faded, but the anxiety and stress are still there. Now though, the feeling of overwhelmed comes to the forefront, as well as a general sense of being lost.

“Breathe in and out,” Jasper advises.

She gives him a dubious look. “That doesn’t help.”

“Come on, do it with me,” he encourages, showing her an exaggeratedly long inhale followed by an equally lengthy exhale. He really shouldn’t be breathing in such close proximity to a human, but he finds himself wanting to help her. No one should have to deal with so much, especially not by themselves.

She acquiesces and follows his lead, taking deep breaths.

Her heart rate begins to slow.

They sit like that for much longer than the time needed to ‘get a book from his locker,’ but Jasper doesn’t mind. He’s happy to be here helping this human feel better again. The piercing, destructive emotions are calming, slowly but surely giving way to relief and a tentative measure of peace.

The human closes her eyes. “Thank you for listening.”

Jasper furrows his eyebrows, confused by her gratitude. She did all the hard work, he only sat there. “Of course. And you know, you don’t have to have everything planned out or do it by yourself. It’s all going to work out.” An old phrase comes to mind, something his mother used to tell him back in his human life. He smiles fondly at the memory. “But you can’t pour from an empty cup. Before you can contribute to school or practice or make big decisions, you have to take care of yourself.”

She smiles softly, nodding, and a note of amusement comes forth in her feelings. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

Jasper waits a few more minutes until her anxiety is gone. Then, he turns to look at her. “Are you ready to go back to class?”

There’s a momentary spike in her stress, but a deep breath calms it once again. She nods. “Yeah, thank you again for sitting with me.”

Jasper smiles. “My pleasure. Can I walk you?” He finds himself not quite ready to leave her. He wants to make sure she’s completely okay and settled before going back to his own class.

The human accepts his offer with a smile. The two walk slowly, talking about things they’re excited for in the upcoming days. By the time they arrive at her classroom door, the human feels rejuvenated, hopeful. She pauses before entering the classroom, waving goodbye. “See you at lunch?”

Jasper nods, promising to himself that he will check on her then. “See you at lunch.”

And, as Jasper heads back to his own class, he makes himself another promise. As long as he’s around, the human girl will always have a friend.

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imjustdreamingig · 3 years

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the truth about narnia

when you think about the pevensie's, your first thoughts might be about how lucky they were to have experienced such an adventure and escape the harsh realities of our world. maybe you thought about how much you wished to swap places with them and enter a world full of magic and wonder, of nymphs and dryads, of fauns and centaurs.

unfortunately, this is only one minuscule part of the pevensie's adventure in narnia, the rest is not as pleasant.

more often than not, narnia was a world full of terror and murder, of manipulators and liars, of witches and beasts.

we've romanticized the idea of getting thrown into a world different than ours that we've completely forgotten that no matter how perfect someplace may seem, it's only that; it seems perfect.

the pevensie siblings were only children when they were forced to face a war head on. they had just left their original home to escape one war but it seems as though narnia had other plans.

lucy was 8 years old when she received a dagger and a cordial that would heal even those with the most gruesome of injuries, implying that the horrifying sight of death and violence was in the near future.

edmund was 10 years old when he was captured and manipulated by the evil, cold hearted witch. for a while he was sure that he would be responsible for the deaths of his siblings, and that their blood would be on his hands.

susan was 12 years old when she was handed a bow and a quiver full of arrows, with the expectation that she would kill in the name of this new country she and her siblings happened to stumble upon.

peter was 13 years old when he was handed a sword and a shield and was forced to lead an entire army to victory, the weight of an unfamiliar and broken country's legacy heavy on his young shoulders.

the pevensie siblings were only children when large titles and crowns far too heavy for their heads were shoved upon them, when they were forced to rule over a strange, new environment.

eventually as the years passed, their memories of england started to trickle from their minds as they slowly became accustomed to the ways and traditions of their new home. soon, england became like a fragment of a dream that you vaguely remember having, but can't for the life of you remember exactly what said dream had been about.

even though narnia became more of a home to them throughout their 15 year reign than england ever had or ever will be, their life in narnia was never easy, nor was it as peaceful as everyone deemed it to have been.

they experienced festivals, feasts, friendships, excitement and love as much as they experienced wars, battles, violence, betrayals and deaths. some argue that the latter even more.

the pevensie siblings were only 8, 10, 12, and 13 years old when they encountered their first brush with death. it continued up until the day they fell back through the wardrobe to england and into the old professor's house in the country.

while at first glance, narnia may seem like the perfect and beautiful place to live out the rest of your days, don't let its appearance fool you too much.

if you look closely enough, you'll see that the once friendly looking fauns have daggers in their eyes, and the once majestic looking field of wildflowers has blood seeping through its roots instead of water.

the once regal and wise looking monarchs have a more sinister side, revealed only underneath the cloak of darkness and shadows, and the once kind hearted looking lion has sharper teeth than you ever imagined was possible.

#narnia headcanons #tcon #peter pevensie #edmund pevensie #susan pevensie #lucy pevensie #not sure what this is #but here it is anyways #narnia isnt as peaceful as it seems #it has a pretty bloody history #during the golden age #one can only assume #not everything is as it seems #everything has a darker side #woah there #angtsy #the pevensies #the chronicles of narnia #narnia

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sophielovesbooks · 3 years

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Mid Year Book Freakout Tag!

I’m a bit late to this party… but I wrote this a few days ago when I wasn’t feeling 100% after getting my second Covid vaccine and took the entire day off. So I finally had the time to write this :)

Let me pull up my Goodreads real quick and have a look at the 33 books I have so far this year.

1. The Best Book of the Year So Far

Hmm, let’s see. I feel like it’s fair to give two answers to this one, because on the one hand, there is the book that qualifies as “the best” from a literary perspective (at least in my opinion) and that would be CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS by Sally Rooney. Definitely had its own style and felt… infused with a deeper meaning, at least to me. It was also very compelling. Personally, I couldn’t stop reading it. And I feel like it had a lot to say about modern-day relationships (romantic, platonic… all kinds really).

Then, there is the book that I personally enjoyed this most, and that was probably THE GIRLS ARE ALL SO NICE HERE by Laurie Elisabeth Flynn. It kind of felt like your standard thriller, but also not. While it was super suspenseful and fun to read, I also genuinely cared about the characters and loved the portrayal of toxic teen girls’ friendships and generally teenage cruelty in the context of wanting to be cool/to fit in. It made me reflect on a lot of things, so to me, it’s definitely more than a thriller that you forget right after reading it. And it also definitely qualifies as dark academia, and discovering a new DA book I love is always great! <3

2. Best Sequel of the Year So Far

Wow, I am NOT big on sequels. I have only read one this year, which is just further proof that I’m not very into book series and much prefer standalones. The only sequel I have read this year was also a very good one, though: MISTER IMPOSSIBLE by Maggie Stiefvater. Much anticipated by me and thankfully, I had a great time with it. :)

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

I’m going to go with MALIBU RISING by Taylor Jenkins Read! I was gifted this book by my boyfriend’s grandma for my birthday on June 29 (so sweet!) and I think I will read it next. I am very excited for this one!

4. Most Anticipated Release for Autumn/Winter

Two books I am VERY excited for are A LESSON IN VENGEANCE by Victoria Lee and IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE by Ashley Winstead. I’m not even really sure why. I don’t know that much about either of them yet. But they just call to me, just like The Girls Are All So Nice Here did. And that one didn’t disappoint, so hopefully these two won’t either.

5. Your Biggest Disappointment of the Year So Far

Maybe THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley? I mean, it wasn’t awful. But I remember that I wasn’t impressed and had been expecting more somehow. Objectively the worst book I read this year would have to be THE SHARP EDGE OF A SNOWFLAKE by Sif Sigmarsdóttir, lol. But that one doesn’t count as the biggest disappointment, because I didn’t go in expecting that much. It was just an ebook that I bought for a low price at one point.

6. Your Biggest Surprise of the Year So Far

Definitely THE GIRLS I’VE BEEN by Tess Sharpe. I did not expect a YA thriller to be as intense and emotional and fun and just plain well-written as it was! Biggest positive surprise of the year so far, I think. :) I felt similarly surprised by A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER by Holly Jackson. Another YA thriller (or mystery, I guess?) that was so much better than I had expected!

7. New Favourite Author

I’m going to have to say THE MOTHER by Tess Stimson. I was expecting it to be a semi-fun thriller without much depth to it, just easy entertainment, I suppose. I was extremely surprised by the emotional depth I encountered. The death at the heart of this story is that of an infant, but I was expecting the book to sort of gloss over how tragic that actually is. Instead, it leaned into the grief so much, I found myself absolutely shook? The book almost moved me to tears several times. The mystery was so intense, I kept guessing and guessing. At one point quite early on, I had the solution, but the author masterfully misdirected me from that again, so that the twist at the end came as the biggest shock! Yeah, I loved this so much more than I had ever expected! Well done, Tess Stimson!

8. Your Newest Favourite Character

I haven’t absolutely fallen in love with any new characters this year, but three that stand out to me (in the order I encountered them this year) are:

1) Pippa Fitz-Amobi from A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER by Holly Jackson

2) Katrina Hawkins from THE STARLESS SEA by Erin Morgenstern

3) Nora O’Malley from THE GIRLS I’VE BEEN by Tess Sharpe

9. Your Newest Fictional Crush

Umm… absolutely nothing comes to mind lmfao. Fictional crushes have become so rare for me!

10. A Book that Has Made You Cry

THE MOTHER almost made me cry, I think. Not sure if there were actual tears. CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS and NORMAL PEOPLE both (almost) moved me to tears several times. But I didn’t have any break-downs over books this year. At least not yet.

EDIT: Omg, omg, omg, I forgot A LITTLE LIFE! How the f did I forget about A LITTLE LIFE?! I broke down over this book several times. It was awful. Never before has a book made me suffer so much. I mean that. I didn’t just cry, the book also made me feel physically ill several times. Very well written, yes, but not one I can recommend in good conscience. This is not one of those instances of “You’ll cry, but you’ll love crying”, at least not for me. This is something I perhaps should have not put myself through. Because the experience overall was painful, first and foremost. Stay safe, kids. This one is… a lot.

11. A Book That Has Made You Happy

This is so sad to say, but none of the books I read this year gave me that warm, glowy feeling of pure comfort and happiness you get from books sometimes? Some passages of THE STARLESS SEA came the closest, I would say.

12. The Most Beautiful Book of the Year So Far

Again, I need to mention THE STARLESS SEA with the beautiful prose and imagery! <3 Also A LITTLE LIFE maybe? Beautifully written at times. Absolutely heart- and gut-wrenching at others.

13. Some Books You Need to Read Before 2021 Ends

Hahaha… so many. But I’ll pick out a few that I will likely finish until the year is over: MALIBU RISING, AN OCEAN OF MINUTES by Thea Lim (birthday present by a close friend! <3), THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS by Micah Nemerever (birthday present my dad gave me! <3) and THEY NEVER LEARN by Layne Fargo (bday present my godmother gave me! <3). You see, I am much more committed to reading books that were given to me rather than books I bought myself. So these have good chances of being finished in 2021. :)

14. Tag Two of Your Favourite Community Members

@books-and-cookies Have you answered these questions yet? And @augustinianseptember? Would REALLY love to read both of your answers! <3<3

#mid year freak out #mid year book freak out tag #reading #books #booklr #conversations with friends #the girls are all so nice here #mister impossible #malibu rising #the mother #a good girl's guide to murder #the starless sea #the girls i've been #a little life #and many others...

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incognit0slut · 5 months

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Right Kind of Wrong (16)

She never thought she’d be involved in a murder investigation and encounter her one-night-stand again, the awkward guy who isn’t exactly that good in bed—Or is he? Offended by the sentiment, Spencer is determined to prove her wrong… But as he gets tangled with the beautiful stranger, he realizes there is more to her than what meets the eye.

Part Summary: Spencer is faced with a dangerous confrontation. wc: 3.4k

Series Warnings: 18+ explicit content, graphic details of murders, mentions of suicide, mentions of SA

A/n: this part went through so much editing until I was satisfied with it, also, can't believe this is ending soon!!

Other parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

EVERYTHING FINALLY FELL INTO PLACE. Although it took longer than it normally did to solve a case, Spencer finally gathered every piece of information, every obscure clue, and every small detail he unfortunately missed before to make a clear profile.

Eric Adler—or Henry Wyatt as Garcia discovered through her meticulous sleuthing—was a master of disguise. He had concealed his identity under a different persona, changing his name the moment he packed his bags and left the town he grew up in. Oliver confirmed this discovery when Spencer visited the hospital the following day, once he had regained consciousness.

"Eric... he's a stranger to me," Oliver had said, his voice carrying a tinge of disbelief, a foreign look gleaming in his eyes. "Henry, on the other hand, was one of my closest friends."

"I'm assuming something happened for you to drift apart."

Oliver's gaze shifted. "We grew up in a very tight community. Religion was all we were taught," he began, his voice tinged with defiance and nostalgia. "I guess we became close from our rejection of those traditional values and practices."

Spencer acknowledged his words with a nod. "Your files showed there were a lot of crimes you committed in the past."

"I-I was very rebellious."

"I would say forcing yourself on a young, innocent girl was more than rebellious."

Oliver winced. "Listen, I'm not proud of my past," he confessed, his voice carrying a hint of regret. "But yes, my friends and I grew up doing things that were out of morals."

Spencer studied him. "What happened then?"

"A lot of pointing fingers," he admitted. "Our community leaders eventually found out and threatened us with severe punishment. From the outside, it was simply community service, but from the inside, it involved a lot of restraints and, well, whips."

Silence stretched between them. "It was how they punished the bad," Oliver explained further, his eyes searching Spencer's for comprehension. "They always say it whenever they were going to abuse us; 'The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.'"

"Proverbs 11:21," Spencer mumbled under his breath, recognizing the scriptural reference.

A hint of surprise flickered across Oliver's face. "Are you a religious person?"

He shook his head, implying a depth of knowledge that surpassed the boundaries of religious beliefs. "Was that what made you drift apart?"

"Partly, yes," Oliver answered with a sigh. "We didn't admit to it at first, but then under the pressure and the constant threat of punishment, I guess I became weak."

"Did you betray him?"

Oliver acknowledged the truth with a slow nod. "We were both punished, along with the others who were involved, but our leaders always wanted one name whom they could sacrifice, a name who held all responsibility. The initiator of all sins."

"So you put the blame on him," Spencer summarized, understanding the dynamics that had led to the fracture in their friendship.

"It was the only thing I thought of doing to save myself," he confessed. "He became a sacrifice. All the punishment turned onto him until he was cast out of the community. When his family didn't even try to interfere, he eventually left town. Never heard from him ever since."

"And then years later you saw him again."

His shoulders lifted in a nonchalant shrug.

"I didn't even recognize him at first. He had a different name, different hair, different style—he was practically a different person. When I realized who he actually was, I tried to confront him but he never acknowledged me." He then looked away, the emotion in his gaze concealed. "I just thought he didn't want to be associated with the past anymore."

It explained everything. The revelation about Eric's past and the harsh punishments he had to endure shed light on the motivations behind his actions. It explained why he felt compelled to punish people, as it was the only method deeply ingrained in his brain.

Their shared upbringing, the weight of betrayal, and the scars of their past had shaped his sense of justice, leading him down a dark path of vengeance. And with that new knowledge in mind, Spencer passed on the information he had discovered when he came to work the next day.

Everyone was gathered by the round table, an unusual thing to happen given that they were typically scattered in their assigned tasks, but all of them were present for once. Morgan leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing in contemplation after Spencer finished his thoughts. "So let me get this straight, Eric's vendetta against Oliver is personal. Goes beyond just catching a killer then."

"It's a cycle of betrayal." JJ, standing by the door with crossed arms, agreed aloud. "He attempted to shift the blame onto Oliver, something he also went through in the past."

Spencer nodded as he started to pace around the room. "Psychologically speaking, his actions seem to be rooted in a need for retribution, a manifestation of the punitive measures ingrained in his upbringing."

"So we're dealing with a man who sees himself as a guardian angel dispensing justice, even if it means resorting to extreme measures."

"A guardian angel while simultaneously executing his revenge," Emily mused from the other side, her words laced with a blend of contemplation and concern. "Very personal indeed."

Hotch crossed his arms as he stood by the table, and scrutinized his team with his usual detached and professional expression, devoid of any visible emotions. "We need to understand his patterns," he began. "If we can predict his next move, we might be able to intercept him."

"He clearly has a deep affection towards Y/n." Morgan offered, prompting Spencer to halt his pacing and turn his attention toward him at the mention of her name. "He probably has a list of people who he thinks have hurt her in the past."

Rossi studied everyone in the room, attentively listening to their thoughts. He tapped his finger against the wooden table, directing his focus on Morgan. "We should find out who might be on that list. It could give us insight into his next move."

Hotch agreed with a curt nod. "Morgan, Rossi, work on compiling a list of individuals connected to Y/n. Garcia, cross-reference it with Eric's history. Let's see if we can predict his next move based on the people he might target."

Garcia instinctively rose from her chair and nodded. "Yes, sir," and waltzed out of the room with determined steps, making her way to her office.

The others shifted from their spots, while Morgan, unlike the rest, kept his gaze on Spencer. He observed the frown stretching across his face and pondered whether to voice what he had in mind. He hesitated, acknowledging that Spencer's involvement with their witness wasn't strictly his business. Yet, considering the recent events, he felt compelled to express his thoughts.

"I don't want to be that kind of person to bear bad news, but I think—I think—there's a high chance that pretty boy here could be a target," Morgan declared. Spencer quickly met his gaze.

Everyone else, momentarily suspended in a collective pause, turned their attention toward him. He could feel their penetrating gaze, which started to make him uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by. He didn't want to entertain that possibility, but it made sense. Considering Eric had been with her right after he had hurt her, he could very well be the next target.

JJ, breaking the silence, voiced what lingered in everyone's thoughts as she took a step closer to him. "We should keep you safe then. If you're a potential target, we can't afford to overlook any possibility."

Spencer glanced over at her, noting the concern in her eyes. He sensed a silent plea in the way she looked at him as if she were urging him to agree, to step back and act on what seemed to be the logical thing to do. However, despite that, the gears in his mind were turning. If he was a potential target, it could offer an easy opportunity to get closer to their Unsub.

"No," he said, a conviction in his voice. "You can use me as bait."

The room held its breath as his unexpected proposal hung in the air. The team, still processing the revelation of his potentially being a target, turned their focus to his daring suggestion.

JJ simply stared at him, dumbfounded by the audacity of the idea. "You're crazy."

"No, think about it." He turned towards Hotch, knowing the older man would at least consider his idea. "We can get to him by luring him in."

Hotch held his gaze. The weight of leadership rested on his shoulders as he considered the risky proposition. "Reid, it's too dangerous. We can't—"

"If Eric believes he has a score to settle with me, then let's use that to our advantage. We set up a controlled scenario, anticipate his moves, and ensure we have the upper hand."

Emily looked at him with worry, taking a step forward from the other side of the room. "Reid, it's too risky. We don't know how he'll react, we can't even guarantee your safety."

"Yes, you can. You'll keep an eye on me." His eyes traveled around the room, meeting each one of their concerned gaze. "It's not something we haven't done before; we've used this method to lure an Unsub, and right now, we have no clue where he is. The only way we can draw his attention is by using me."

Hotch's gaze shifted between Spencer and the rest of the team, weighing the potential outcomes of such a high-stakes plan. It was undeniably risky, but Spencer was right. This wouldn't be their first time baiting an Unsub, and given their past success, a part of him believed the outcome would work out according to plan.

After a moment, he slowly nodded. "Alright, but if we proceed with this, we have to ensure everyone's safety." He gave Spencer a pointed look. "Especially yours, Reid."

He quickly nodded as a moment of understanding passed between them. The room suddenly filled with noise, and amidst the bustling movements, he felt a desperate grip on his arm, pulling him away from the group.

"Spence." JJ's grip tightened as she voiced her concern. "You could be putting yourself in danger. What if this goes wrong?"

That was the thing. It was the nature of their job—there would always be different outcomes. There was no certainty about what could transpire. But with nothing else to do, Spencer was growing desperate for more answers, so he held her gaze, determination etched in his eyes.

"If it means stopping him and knowing her whereabouts, I'm willing to take any risk."

It was raining when it happened. It had been pouring for the past few days as they started to plan the operation. The team decided to elevate the stakes by choosing his apartment as the bait location, aiming to create a scenario that would be emotionally charged for Eric, potentially triggering a faster and more decisive response.

They studied Eric's patterns and behaviors, gathering insights into his actions and motivations. Garcia, constantly stationed at her desk, continued to monitor social media, public records, and any other available data to gauge Eric's movements. She had identified potential triggers that might prompt Eric to act, such as media coverage or public discussions related to Y/n.

In addition to electronic surveillance, Morgan and JJ conducted physical surveillance on locations connected to Y/n's past, anticipating that Eric might revisit places with emotional significance. They strategically placed themselves in key positions, ready to observe and intercept any suspicious activity.

And then the clock ticked away, the minutes stretched into an agonizing waiting game, every second pregnant with anticipation.

Until it finally came to that night.

Everything felt strange. His apartment. The weather. Himself. The rain outside continued its steady rhythm, and Spencer watched the raindrops hit his windowpanes from his couch.

Weeks ago, he sat in the same place where he was now. The only difference was that he was alone. There was no faint smell of chocolate or the sweet melody of laughter. She wasn't here, gracing him with her smile as she nestled on his lap. Her whispers of his name were absent, and the cruel thing was, he didn't even know where she was now.

He had never felt so much pain before, the ache of not knowing where someone was, all the while having to keep his head up high. It was a facade he learned to put on. Pretending that the hidden cameras strategically placed in his apartment didn't unsettle him, or the discreetly wired microphone, or the inconspicuous headpiece nestled in his ear. He had to act as though the looming potential danger didn't faze him.

But then it finally happened, a sudden shift in the atmosphere permeated the air—like the calm before the storm. And in an instant, Garcia's voice crackled over the communication devices, urgency lacing her words. "I've got movement. Eric's online activity just spiked."

Morgan and Prentiss, stationed discreetly around the apartment complex, receiving the signal, tightened their surveillance. The external cameras around his building captured a figure approaching, shrouded in the shadows of the rainy night.

Within the confines of his home, his senses heightened. The rain outside intensified. A streak of lighting flashed through the window. A loud sound of thunder echoed in the background. Spencer waited with bated breath, his gaze fixated on the front door. Then, with a creak, it slowly swung open, revealing a silhouette of a figure in the doorway.

Water dripped from his clothes, leaving a trail of wetness as he crossed the threshold. Their eyes briefly locked, and a smile played on Eric's lips as he observed the way Spencer scrutinized him, closing the door behind him.

"Dr. Reid," his sinister tone sliced through the silence, his words dripping with a twisted sense of satisfaction. "I see you've been waiting for me."

Spencer watched him, maintaining a composed exterior despite the tension in the air, and met his gaze with a steely resolve. "And I see you've been busy."

Eric cocked an eyebrow.

"Carving your path of justice one victim at a time."

His expression remained unyielding. Stepping further into the room, Eric left a trail of dirty shoe marks on the floor as his eyes observed the dimly lit apartment. "I'm just doing what needs to be done."

Spencer slowly rose from his seat. "And what is that?"

"Punishing those who have wronged her."

"You're not her savior. You're a vigilante with a distorted sense of righteousness."

"And that's where you're wrong. You don't know the pain she's been through. I'm the only one who can protect her."

Spencer silently watched as he continued to survey his apartment. Eric's eyes swept through all the framed certificates on his wall, his finger delicately tracing the edge of each frame. When he was met with silence, Eric turned back to him, narrowing the distance between them.

"You were always the one she trusted, weren't you?" He shook his head with disdain. "Yet you're the one who hurt her the most."

Aware that each word could either defuse or escalate the situation, Spencer continued to engage him. "I haven't hurt her," he responded carefully. "I've been trying to protect her from someone like you, someone who's lost sight of justice."

Eric let out a scoff. "You think I've lost sight? No, Dr. Reid, I've found clarity. I've seen the darkness that lurks in the hearts of those who pretend to be righteous."

"Your version of justice is a perversion. You've become the monster you claim to fight against."

The room crackled with tension as they held each other's gaze. "Do you even listen to yourself?" Eric retorted, his eyes narrowing with accusation. "You claim to protect her, yet she's left alone in the darkness you couldn't save her from."

The air in the room seemed to thicken as the weight of his words hung between them. His heart quickened its pace while he tried to maintain a calm facade. "Where is she?"

Eric's laughter cut through the air. "You think I'll tell you voluntarily?"

Spencer's gaze remained steady on him. "What do you want?"

The sinister grin on Eric's face revealed a gambit. "You." He took another step closer. "Come with me and I'll take you to her..."

There was definitely a but. It was never that easy, and the way he trailed off his words prompted Spencer to ask, "On what condition?"

He smiled, eyes narrowing as he conveyed a sense of menace while he delivered his proposition.

"Cut off all communication with your team."

Tension lingered around the room like an invisible web, each word contributing to the growing stakes. Eric's laughter, a haunting sound, followed the slightly alarmed look on Spencer's face.

"You think I didn't know?" he taunted. "Two of your agents are outside this building, and come on, you could've hidden that earpiece better than that." He pointed towards the device. "Your hair might be long, but it's not that long."

Eric then picked up a framed picture sitting on his shelf. It was a photo of him and his team casually smiling to the camera. He remembered that day, it was one of the many times they visited Rossi's house for dinner, and Garcia decided it was the perfect time to capture the moment. To preserve the happy times, she had said, and true to her words, he was happy that day.

His mind suddenly raced, considering the options and potential consequences of complying with his demand. He finally responded. "What if I refuse?"

"Then you'll never find her," Eric retorted, looking back at him. "It's a simple choice. Sacrifice your precious communication or lose her forever."

He wanted him to step into his trap willingly. It was a cruel choice, and it seemed he wasn't the only one who agreed. As Eric's demand hung in the air, the team's voices crackled urgently through his earpiece. Panic and concern infused their words as they frantically implored him to reconsider.

"Spence, step back!"

"Reid, don't do it."

"Stand down, Reid. We're coming through."

The chorus of concerned voices reverberated in his earpiece, each team member contributing to their worry. Despite the chaos of emotions echoing through the line, Spencer remained outwardly composed, his mind working swiftly to navigate the dangerous situation.

"Don't—" he urged, his gaze piercing on Eric while his voice pointed towards his team. "Stay where you are."

Eric watched him with a predatory gleam in his eyes.

"Seems like your team is in quite a frenzy there. Are you really willing to risk her safety for their voices in your ear?" He continued with a sinister grin, reveling the chaos he had stirred. "Strip away your lifeline, Spencer. The battle is between you and me."

Spencer stood there, calculating his next move. He weighed the possible outcomes of his choices and realized that nothing good would come from either of them. Eric, observing his contemplation, smirked with a twisted satisfaction.

"Come on, Dr. Reid, time is ticking." He tapped the watch around his wrist. "Make up your mind."

Spencer inhaled a sharp breath. Eric was right, there was no time to waste. The more he contemplated his answer, the more danger she was in. He needed her safe. He needed to see her. He needed to know where she was. And there was only one way to find out.

At the other end of the line, Garcia, stationed at her desk, watched Spencer through the screen with a growing sense of urgency. His gaze slowly swept over the room, and she could sense the critical decision looming. Her heart raced as his eyes fell on one of the hidden cameras.

"He's onto us," she muttered to herself, her fingers flying over the keyboard. She tried to maintain the connection as he walked over to the device and unplugged it.

Garcia cursed under her breath. "No—" She pressed on her intercom, her voice tinged with frustration. "I'm losing him."

One by one, the video feeds from the hidden cameras in his apartment turned black. The loss of visual contact with each camera felt like a punch to the gut. Her frustration mounted as the screens blinked out, leaving her staring at a grid of darkness.

"No, no, no," she muttered, fingers dancing over the keyboard in a desperate attempt to reestablish connection. But there was nothing else she could do.

The earpieces crackled with an ominous quiet before a sudden crash echoed through, the sharp sound of impact reverberating. A groan. A thud. A grunt. The team exchanged alarmed glances in their respective locations as the audio crackled with static, and their heart raced at the uncertainty hanging in the air.

Then, abruptly, there was nothing else but silence.

>> NEXT PART

taglist #1

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legends-live-in-memories · 3 years

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“How Did All This Happen?”- A Memoire by one Marinette Dupain-Cheng 1

Soooooo I decided to write this. much longer than the other things i posted, also very tonally different. I will definitely continue that other fic tho. I was just brainstorming and now this exists. Yeah.

without further ado

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

People Fucked Up and Now It’s All Marinette’s Mess to Clean Up I

This was not how Marinette planned for her night to go. Granted, she also could not envision it going literally any other way. The woes of making a deal with the hell-raiser himself, John Constantine, she supposes. She truly hoped Adrien was having a much better time than her with his cousin in London. After the circus that was the past three years, he deserved some reprieve, even if it was with his bratty doppelganger. Regardless, Marinette. Was. Not. Pleased. No matter how many times she thinks over her plan, recalculates every step and decision, she could not fathom this night ending well for her, or anyone really, but mostly her. And no amount of old Ladybug or Guardian luck could help her. Now, if one were to wonder what kind of tragedy had befallen Marinette on this disgraceful night, a brief history of the last three months could enlighten such a person. Or better yet, let’s start at the beginning. The Real Beginning.

So, things existed. Obviously. First there was nothing, and then, something. And as more things began to exist, as new schools of knowledge and concepts and ideas began to, well, exist, Kwamis formed as well. Each Kwami was the physical manifestation of these ideas or abstracts. Creation was the first, coupled with Destruction. And as more things began to exist, more things began needing to be protected. Thus, the Kwami of Protection. This went on. For a while. Soon thereafter there were Kwamis of all types. Jubilation, Time, Strength, etc, etc, and etc. Now these Kwamis did not linger in one spot. They roamed across the far stretches of existence and interacted with the life they found.

Some Kwamis decided to form a magical pact which intergalactic historians would later dub the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum. Sounds familiar? The Kwamis themselves were completely blissfully unaware of this title, lest they would have explained to these beings, Maltusians they were called, that they were not in fact, electromagnetic but more so a part of the Powers that Be. Kind of. But this side-story involves the formation of a few universally known Lantern Corps, and that is a barrel of monkeys our exasperated narrator does not want to touch with a ten-foot pole. Or ever.

Other Kwamis, who stuck close to what would become known as the Milky Way, were discovered by a mage who granted them the ability to interact with humans. This mage— and Marinette was silently cursing his descendants, herself included, for if it weren’t for this absolute mad lad, none of the subsequent events of this night would have transcribed—had bound the Kwamis to magical jewelry called Miraculouses. An interesting side effect of these Kwamis being bound to the miraculouses was that the wearer could call upon the powers of the Kwamis for their own usage. The mage feared what could become of the world if this kind of power became so easily accessible, so he created the Order of the Guardians. The Order was dedicated to training young mages to protect, wield and harvest the powers of the miraculouses. The Order swore to true neutrality; wishing not to impose their will on one side or the other, to maintain balance and to not upset the natural order of the world.

This went surprisingly well for a few millennia, that is, of course, if you ignore the sinking of Atlantis, the extinction of the dinosaurs, the Black Plague, the creation of the Lazarus Pits, Pompeii, to name a few completely egregious instances—not necessarily in order of course—and well, the point stands that it could have been astronomically worse. Until it was.

One young mage and Guardian in training had caused the downfall of almost the entire Order of the Guardians. All the centuries of history, teachings, artifacts and even the people at the head temple, were lost to the calamity. Dozens of Miraculous Boxes were lost, destroyed in the fray. The Kwamis themselves were relatively unaffected, being immortal and all, but the magical jewelry binding them to the earth were broken, thus those Kwamis were lost to mankind once again. Only one singular box, and the young mage himself, survived. The new Guardian of one miraculous box was left to scour the earth in solitude. Well, about as much solitude one could have with 17 pocket gods as company. The fact that the only box that survived was missing two more miraculouses caused the already stressed guardian to grey further. But that tidbit of information would be a problem for later. And for someone else entirely too. Oh joy.

But before that sequence of events, aptly named “Marinette’s Trial by Fire,” however, the young guardian had a couple more life mistakes to make before he reached his internal quota apparently. Rather than travel to another sector of the Order on the other side of the earth, this young mage stumbled upon another organization, one similar in architecture and hierarchy but a pendulum swing in the total moral opposite. Yes, that’s right, the guardian found himself upon the League of Shadows, led by Ra’s Al Ghul in his endeavor of global cleansing; by acts of ecoterrorism, but who sweats the small stuff, right? There, the young guardian, who adopted the name of Wang Fu, met his first love Ming Hong and they had a son. The son had a daughter he named Mei. Now Mei was only a few weeks younger than Ra’s Al Ghul’s grandson, Damian. Now with an appropriate heir, and someone to procreate with said heir, Ra’s Al Ghul gained a special interest in the small Fu family that originally flew under the radar of the League.

Now this is where things continue to go downhill, but not until much, much later in this story. Ra’s Al Ghul, despite his radical ambitions, was particularly good at playing the long game and understood when he couldn’t accomplish a task directly. This being said, he recognized that, due to prolonged exposure to the Lazarus Pits, his soul could not bear the strain of being a wielder of a miraculous and so he waited. Waited until a suitable heir was sired and could copulate with an heir to the guardian of the miraculous box, desiring to create a bloodline of genetically suitable successors and wielders who were loyal to him and his cause.

Ra’s ordered for the Fu family to have a place on his court and ordered for Mei Fu to be trained in mastering the secrets of the miraculous. And master she did. By age 6 she was fluent in the coded language of the magical text, or as fluent a 6 year old can be in any language, and she had mastered 7 out the 17 miraculouses. By age 10 she was as skilled as the grandson of the Demon Head in combat and could handle simultaneous wear of 3 miraculouses. Her training, however, had to be put on hold as somebody thought usurping the Demon Head was of the utmost importance that glorious Tuesday and staged a coup. She wished Deathstroke had lost more than an eye that day, but a girl can dream she supposes. Mei and her grandfather were separated from the rest of the League and journeyed west. Somehow they ended up in Paris, France. After one too many run ins with the authorities, Mei was removed from her grandfather, who was deemed too unfit to support her. It was a miracle he wasn’t deported.

Mei was put into protective custody where she resided until she was 13. Recently adopted, and thoroughly done with the plebeians of her daily encounters, Mei Fu became Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter of the best bakers in Paris. All was well and good for the new Dupain-Cheng until the start of the new school year.

She met her grandfather again. And apparently he had a job for her and her soon to be new partner.

Hawkmoth, that bitch, had somehow acquired the two last surviving miraculouses and the only surviving grimoire and thought domestic terrorism was on the agenda for the next few years. Why? Because investing in a family therapist was too much of an inconvenience for local recluse, Gabriel McFucking Agreste, Marinette would shortly learn.

After dealing with all of that and juggling between her reignited guardian training, and ‘normal’ girl life—because her parents don’t know that she’s a magical girl in the making—, Marinette was ready to sleep for a thousand years. Or commit murder. Whichever gave her enough serotonin to complete her current passion project. But, alas, no rest for the totally-over-it or however that saying goes. Because after declaring Paris safe once again, sending off her brother-in-arms, Adrien Agreste, to family in London (marginally decent but anything beats the abusive prick of a sperm donor), in waltz one drunken John Constantine.

Ah yes. Him. That absolute bastard who doesn’t deserve nice things in life. That guy.

This unpleasantry approached Master Fu and Marinette, who has been regulated to errand-girl in lieu of training, with a job that he proclaimed that only one blessed with magic, and specifically NOT connected to the Justice League could accomplish. Apparently, a group called the Cult of the Kobra resided on Santa Prisca and was in possession of a dangerous magical artifact that had been the backbone of their organization for years. Constantine came to them asking them for assistance in retrieving it as the Justice League could not interfere in the Caribbean due to new UN legislation. It was a mission of utmost urgency for he feared the cult leader, Kobra himself, was planning on enacting a ritual that could bring calamity to Earth. Which is just what the doctor ordered. Not. In exchange, he agreed to add to her magical training as while master Fu was good, he was still young when he ran away from his problems the first time and thus was limited in his magical knowledge.

That was three months ago. Three months of planning, training, and convincing her parents that letting her go on an extended retreat for an undetermined amount of time with her mostly absent biological grandfather was totally reasonable for the seventeen year old to do. Like, come on. She’s almost old enough to drink, almost ready for university and has been praised for her independence and self-sufficiency for years. She’ll be fine is what she told her parents and she was almost able to convince herself of that too. She would be perfectly fine. Right?

Wrong.

Marinette was anything but fine. She was stressed, she was tired and she was abso-fucking-lutely pissed at anything that even breathed in her direction. Why? Well that brings us back to the beginning of the story when everything on this mission did not go according to plan. So here she was along what was once upon a time the eastern coastline of Santa Prisca. Oh and look. The Junior Justice League has arrived.

Purrrrfect.

Some one asked for a taglist. Ask and ye shall receive

@deathwishy @neakco @ virtualreading @f-rget-lt @your-resident-chicken-nugget

#maribat #marinette x damian #daminette #i was bored and left unattended #no salt in case you were wondering #yes i am looking at you antis who feel like stalking this tag #im not tagging characters cuz reasons #badass!marinette dupain cheng #idk what plot this is going to have or how heavy the romance is but this just exists so #i wrote this at 1 am #hdath #thats the fic tag im gonna use if i post more

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lunasilvermorny · 3 years

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Maria Black - Harry Potter OC

Introduction:

This is my HP OC that I created a long time ago, when I was around 12-13 y.o. (so, you know... it’s been a while!)

Over the years I’ve developed her story more and more, changed it as I got older and basically kept the headcanon alive for years - but I never wrote about her. Everything I had I kept inside my head, and all the potential stories remained as nothing but a day-dream.

Until today! (or a few days ago, when I came up with the idea.)

It’s time to document this headcanon, even if it’s not going anywhere serious other than some stories and drawings.

I can’t emphasize it enough - I made most of it during the mid/late 2000′s, waaaay before the Cursed Child. So please don’t associate any part of my HC with this terrible excuse of a canon. JKR already proved that her judgement is questionable, so for me the only thing that is canon are the books and my headcanon relates to them and nothing else!

Anyway, let’s dive in!

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Bonus drawing from baby-OP:

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General plot:

Maria is the daughter of the Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange and was born a few months before they were sent to Azkaban. Her aunt Narcissa took her in and she was raised by the Malfoy family.

When she was about 5/6 y.o., she went to Azkaban to see her mother. (in the headcanon, her father died in Azkaban). She got scared by the Dementors and when she tried to find the exit, she came upon Sirius’ cell. This encounter changed her life and made her realize that her family is one of the “bad guys”, and she’s decided to leave the first chance she gets.

The day she left to Hogwarts was the last day she spent with her family.

Since it’s a HP OC-insert kind of headcanon, she befriended Harry, Ron and Hermione and was practically the 4th member of this friend group. So most of the plot of the headcanon correlates with the plots of the books, so I’m going to focus more on the individual parts that doesn’t relate the regular plot.

Before she got to Hogwarts she asked to be referred to as Maria Black and not Maria Lestrange. In the future she’d also legally change her name.

Because she’s decided to never go back to the Malfoys ever again, she was basically homeless for the first two summers away from Hogwarts. She mostly relied on magic (around other wizards, so no one will know she’s a minor using magic) and some friends that let her stay with them every once in a while.

(The is a LOT more, so if you’re interested, keep reading ^^ )

After the 3rd year was over, one of her friends that was an exchange student from Beauxbatons, invited her to spend the summer at his house in France. The reason he wanted her to come over was because his father was a coach for the French junior-league Quidditch team and wanted him to let her into the team, so in the future she’d be able to become a professional player. He knew that she plans on filing for Emancipation of minors, that will strip all the legal rights from her family and free her from them - but for that she needed a sufficient income. Her friend’s father was glad to help and after she showed him her skills, he let her into the team. When she was 15, she got into the professional league. (I based this part of the HC on the fact that Viktor Krum was also a student, when he became a Quidditch star.)

Sirius was the most important figure in her life and became like a father figure to her. Through him, she also felt that Harry and her (although not by blood) were related.

For a long time, the ending of the headcanon was that Maria killed herself after Sirius was murdered, but in recent years I’ve reversed this decision and kept her alive for the duration of the book and beyond that.

During her 6th year, after her mother already escaped Azkaban, she was forced to hide in Hogwarts (she wasn’t allowed to keep her role in the Quidditch team anymore), because Bellatrix made it clear that she’s going to kidnap Maria and force her to join Voldemort’s side.

She was able to avoid this fate only up to the plot of the 7th book, that’s when she was finally captured and held hostage in an attempt to force Harry’s hands and save her. However, before she was kidnapped, Maria asked from the Order and Hermione that if she’s ever to fall captive, to prevent Harry from saving her at all cost, since it’s an obvious trap.

Frustrated by the fact that the trap hasn’t worked combined with Maria’s general resistance, Bellatrix tortured her daughter for the entire duration of her incarceration, mostly by using the Cruciatus curse on her over and over again. At a near-dead state, Bellatrix used the Imperius curse on her to try and make her fight on Voldemort’s side at the Battle of Hogwarts, but Maria was too weak and wasn’t much of use to her in the end.

After the fight, Maria was in a coma for a few months and even after she woke up, she had a very long recovery period. The worst expression of it manifested in her PTSD from the Cruciatus curse that caused her to scream in agony almost every time she went to sleep. At some cases she was in such bad shape that no one was able to wake her up.

After a partial recovery, she returned to her pending career as a Quiddich player.

Her relationship with Fred Weasley:

Maria was fairly popular and had dated a few people (in a non-serious way, due to her age), but her first love was Fred Weasley. They’ve started dating in secret when she was in her 5th year.

During the 6th year, she has prepared him for the possibility of the kidnapping and asked him not to come rescue her if it ever happened.

In the summer after her 6th year, to reassure her that they will both survive the war, Fred gave her a ring and told her that after it’s all over, they’ll get married. (It wasn’t a proposal per se, but an attempt to give her hope when she was sure she’s going to die.)

Maria wasn’t aware that Fred died since she almost met the same fate herself at the Battle of Hogwarts, and found out about it from George after she woke up from the coma.

Her relationship with Neville Longbottom:

At the beginning, no one knew she’s Bellatrix’s daughter. People were suspicious of her during year 3 (after all, she is Maria Black) because they thought she was assisting Sirius (and at some point there were rumors that she was his secret child), but it wasn’t until year 5 that the news about her being Bellatrix’s daughter has spread out by Malfoy.

Maria considered Neville a close friend and was afraid of his reaction once he finds out, but even though he had to get over the initial shock, he told her that he knows that she’s nothing like her mother, that she has proven she’s on their side and that he’s not going to judge her over something that is out of her control.

After the Battle of Hogwarts, during her recovery, she’s met Neville’s parents and also spent time with them while she was admitted. The fact that she was tortured by Bellatrix too was a bonding factor and made her and Neville even closer.

After a few years, Neville and Maria have started dating, but their future together in unknown.

PTSD and irreversible damage:

I mentioned that due to the torture she experienced, Maria suffered from PTSD, caused primarily by the Cruciatus curse. She would have recurrent nightmares that caused her to scream and cry in agony, as her body turned and twitched, as if she was under the curse.

In most cases people were able to wake her up, but in more severe cases, she was able to stay in that state for hours. The worst case was a day and a half without a break. She was taken to the hospital by apparition, but the snap switch in location has severely worsen the situation and she was taken to the ER (or a magical equivalent of an ER), where she was under treatment for days until the outburst finally got under control. She was in a coma for two months after that and had to go through the long recovery once more.

In addition to that, Maria also suffered an irreversible damage in her reproduction system. Bellatrix knew she doesn’t share her purist views, so to make sure she doesn’t “taint” the family legacy with a mixed-blood offspring, she completely destroyed the system, to a point that it was almost impossible to reconstruct, even with magic. Maria went through many treatments, but was eventually considered infertile.

Her relationship with the Weasley family:

Maria was accepted as one of the family back when she was still in Hogwarts.

Even though her relationship with Fred was a secret - Molly, George and Ginny knew about it. After Fred’s death, Molly has told Maria that she still views her as a daughter and said she’s always welcome at their house.

She usually spent the holidays with them and came to visit Molly and Arthur almost every weekend. She usually brought game-tickets to anyone that was interested, especially when she’s started playing for the biggest teams. (Nothing will make me do the proper research of all the Quidditch teams, so let’s just suspend our disbelief just a bit more, because I don’t have a specific name.)

Her relationship with the Malfoy family:

During the year she was Bellatrix’s prisoner, she was held captive at the Malfoys’ mansion. Even though Bellatrix showed nothing but cruelty to her, Narcissa secretly tried to help her, mostly by giving her food during starvation punishments, clean her room and at extreme circumstances - heal her wounds.

Even though she hasn’t set her free, Maria appreciated the fact that Narcissa risked herself by helping her, so after she heard about Lucius’s death, she agreed for a reconciliation.

Although there were some push-backs (especially from Ron), she accepted an invitation for dinner at the Malfoys’ mansion, where she reconnected with both Narcissa and Draco.

After that she came to visit every now and then, although not as frequently as she visited the Weasleys.

Maria and Harry:

As I mentioned before, Maria is basically an OC inserted into the main plot, so she’s best friends with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Harry and Maria always had a sort of sibling connection, that was reinforced by their connection with Sirius. After his death, they referred to each other as the only family they’ve got left. (Even though Maria technically had Tonks, but that’s a story for another time.)

Maria and Ron:

Their friendship was a bit more complicated. Although not romantic in nature, they had a mutual crush on each other at a certain point (but nothing came out of it), and they always had a certain tension afterwards.

They also have very different personalities and got into many conflicts. Ron usually accused Maria of being a fake friend, because she was very friendly in nature and had many friend-groups other than the main three characters. Maria in return accused him of being too judgemental and had a hard time taking him seriously.

However, with all the flaws, they also had many things in common - their love of Quidditch, their disregard to the rules and in general they had a lot of fun hanging out with each other.

Maria and Hermione:

Probably have the rockiest friendship out of the three main characters. They are almost opposites, aside for their academic approach. Maria is more reckless and easy going, and she usually can’t handle Hermione’s stiffness.

Maria was especially sensitive to any criticism of Sirius, and they had many fights over it during their 5th year.

But even though their friendship wasn’t ideal, when it came to real struggles, they were there to support each other, especially emotionally.

Her special connection to Sirius:

Sirius was the catalyst that made her realize that she was born to a dark wizards family. She’s met him only once (before the events of the 3rd book), but it was a strong enough impact that affected her entire world view.

She put Sirius on a high pedestal and saw him as a parental figure. He was the first in the family to openly rebel and she followed his footsteps when she left the Malfoys’ household. This is also the reason why it meant so much to her that she was sorted into Gryffindor and not Slytherin.

During the 3rd year, everyone suspected that she helped sneak Sirius into the castle and was covering for him, since she refused to accept the accusations against him. She didn’t have any proof that he’s innocent and Sirius never told her that he is, but she was determined that he’s a good guy.

After Sirius escaped, he hasn’t kept in touch with her as much as with Harry, but it didn’t discourage her. She had a feeling that he’s hesitant to accept her because she’s still Bellatrix’s daughter and never resented him for it. However, after his death, Lupin told her that Sirius was very proud of her and had greats hopes for her - he just didn’t know how to show it.

Dobby:

Since she grew up with the Malfoys, she has known Dobby her entire life. They were pretty friendly toward each other, but they were instructed not to talk with each other.

Once, she tried to give Dobby clothes to set him free, but because she wasn’t technically a Malfoy, it didn’t work. After that, Lucius forbid Dobby from ever interacting with her again.

AUs:

Did you really think I don’t have like 200 different AUs for this headcanon? Of course I have! I’ve been building this headcanon since I was a literal child!

My favorite AU is the one where Fred didn’t die in the Battle of Hogwarts, and he and Maria got to be together after all. They usually get married (although there is a variation where she broke up with him instead), and in one AU in particular, healers are able to restore her fertility and they have a child together.

Maybe in the future I will make more posts about these AUs.

HPHM

Since Luna is very close with the Weasleys too, in most AUs Maria gets to meet Luna and the two become friends. Luna is also Maria’s private healer, since Maria gets injured a lot during Quidditch games.

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There is so much more!!

But I will leave something for future posts :)

#my art #drawing #my headcanon #hp headcanon #harry potter #harry potter hc #harry potter oc #oc #original character #hp oc #maria black

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scribeofred · 3 years

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Thanks to @onereyofstarlight for the tag!

1. What fandoms have you written for?

This is embarrassing but I actually had to look at both FFnet and AO3 because I couldn’t remember all of them. TRON: Legacy, Assassin’s Creed, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, Sherlock, Final Fantasy VII and XV and Kingsglaive, Voltron: Legendary Defender, Merlin, Skyrim, and, of course, Thunderbirds. I have a couple other fandoms that crop up in various wips, including a Tom Swift/Thunderbirds crossover that I really should finish.

2. How many works do you have on AO3 &/or FFNet?

FFnet has 45, and AO3 has 41. There’s also a couple stories lurking on tumblr, notably a final chapter for Reflection.

3. What are your top 3 fics by kudos on A03 &/or Favs on FFNet?

AO3 dominates in this area, if I can use a word like “dominates” for stories that have less than 125 kudos each haha. Oh well, the numbers don’t matter!

1. 118 kudos on tell the shades apart (my world is black and white)

2. 94 kudos on Reflection

3. 91 kudos on The 43rd Hour

4. Which 3 fics have the least kudos & Favs?

Again on AO3:

1 kudos on I Am You (And You Are Me)

5 kudos on The Dragonborn Chronicles

6 kudos on cynosure

5. Which Fic has the most comments and which has the least?

Reflection has the most at 29 threads, and I Am You (And You Are Me) has the least at zero.

6. Which complete fic do you wish had gotten more attention?

Lodestar, definitely. Sure, it’s for something of a rarepair, but they aren’t that rare, and I just really really like the way the story came together. On the other hand, of course my unfinished Merlin fic has gotten probably the most attention, because that’s just the way it goes, eh?

7. Have you written any crossovers?

None that I’ve published! I have various crossovers lurking in mostly unfinished states, including the aforementioned Tom Swift/Thunderbirds crossover, and an Assassin’s Creed/Thundeerbirds crossover that is very good and I should also finish. There’s an Expanse/Thunderbirds fic lurking in my brain that I may or may not ever commit to paper, who knows. I’ve also very vaguely toyed with a Batman/Thunderbirds crossover, in the sense that “nebulous” is too strong a word for the kind of toying I’ve been doing.

8. What is the craziest fic you’ve written?

I don’t really write crazy or crack or humor in general, so probably the closest thing to “crazy” is On the Lam, which was the result of wanting to throw Scott and Penelope toward an Egyptian stud farm. It ended up being the host for a bad joke about that, courtesy of one @thebaconsandwichofregret, who consistently gives some of the best dialogue advice I’ve ever encountered.

Actually, the true answer is probably a chapter in Glimpses into a Supernova, maybe the one about blood? It seems bonkers when I think back on it now, but I admittedly haven’t read it in many years. Possibly I am misremembering. Glimpses has some weird ones, though.

9. What’s the fic you’ve written with the saddest ending?

It’s a tossup between The Painting and a place where the water touches the sky. The former deals with a prior off-screen death; the latter is (maybe??) an on-screen death. People seemed upset by it, at any rate. I said it was ambiguous!

10. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

“Happy” is probably a matter of perspective? Depends on the overall reading experience and the ending within that context. Either septet or Three Towels and a Tracy, they’re both pretty fluffy overall.

11. What is your smuttiest fic?

protoinstincts, which I completely forgot I wrote and then rediscovered like a year later and realized “hey, this is actually pretty good” and you know what, despite it not being overly spicy, it is pretty good.

12. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not hate, per se, but someone left a review on Less Than Nothing saying they “didn’t like” that I “wrote the story as a series of drabbles.” Cool, I didn’t write the story for you, random guest reader, and the back button exists, friend 😂 It didn’t bother me on a personal level because I wrote the fic for an audience of one (incidentally, not myself and rather the recipient of a secret santa event), but I was mad because the reviewer had no way of knowing where I was at as a writer, and I know from longtime observation how that kind of comment can crush less experienced or confident writers.

Don’t leave flames, kids, you don’t understand the power your words have. Don’t like, don’t read.

13. What is the nicest comment you’ve received?

The nicest? Goodness. Hmm. I’d have to go hunting to find the nicest, but in recent memory, @ayzrules sent me a couple passages from Spanish texts she’s been studying that reminded her of my writing, and I was honestly so touched by the fact that she even thought to make such comparisons, much less mention them to me. Taking the time to familiarize yourself with someone’s style until you can make comparisons between it and someone else’s work is so much more meaningful to me personally than a basic “Nice story!” or “Loved this!” type of comment ever could be. <3 Ayz <3

14. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of, but I’ve never gone looking on any sort of copycat site or whatever either.

15. How many fics do you have marked as incomplete?

Two. First is The Dragonborn Chronicles, which is a retelling of Skyrim from Lydia’s perspective via her journal, to complement the in-game journal. It’s a slog of a style to write, though, even for someone who loves writing first person and doesn’t really want to write a lot of dialogue, and the outline is huge, and the story will be many times more huge, and just. Some day. Some day.

Second is tell the shades apart (my world is black and white), which has always been unfinished because the outline itself is over seven thousand words and the fully written story would undoubtedly land between 100,000 and 200,000 words, and there’s no way I’m writing that. I’ve always meant to upload the outline, but I got kind of self-conscious about the way I formatted it, and ugh I just haven’t bothered. One day, one day, right?

Moral of the story is I’m intensely a short story writer, and I’ve really found myself settling into that role over the last couple years. Better a clipped, punchy short story than a bloated slog of an epic.

16. Which of the WIPS will most likely be finished first?

Literally no one knows that. I wrote 95% of the observable entropy of a closed system over five years ago, and then I proceeded to pull it out roughly once a year and write and rewrite various endings until last month, which was when I finally figured out how I wanted to end the story. septet, too, languished for about five years before I finally remembered it existed and managed to wrangle an ending. Endings are hard, man. So are those third plot points. Terrible creatures, those, bog me down every time.

17. Which WIP are you looking forward to finishing?

Uh... mm. See. If I were looking forward to finishing any of them, I’d be actively working on them. At this moment, writing fic isn’t exactly high on my list of priorities, but I am also coming off a four-day idle game bender, so I still feel like I haven’t quite reengaged with myself as a living person. Give me another few days and I might have an answer.

(I am always most looking forward to finishing this ridiculous Ignis-drives-the-Audi-R8 fic that’s been languishing in my wips for literal years. As mentioned above, third plot points. Killer, man.)

(oh and also the working-titled the art of murder. Scott and Penny attend a private art auction. Things don’t go to plan. It, too, is stuck at the third plot point. I know, I know I have a problem, shush.)

18. Is there a WIP that you’re considering abandoning?

Any wip has the potential to be revived—this year and the old wips I’ve unearthed, dusted off, finished, and posted have been proof of that. I don’t intentionally permanently abandon anything for that reason, some stories just probably will remain dusty old wips forever because I didn’t actually need or want to write the full story for one reason or another.

19. Which complete fic would you consider rewriting?

Now that’s an interesting question. Hmm! Honestly? None of them. Once I finish a story, I’m not inclined toward rereading it again any time soon, to the point of years in some cases, and I feel like I’ve moved on from the stories I wrote one, two, five, eight years ago in the actual writing sense. They’re finished stories, and on top of that are relics of their time, which doesn’t mean the stories don’t have any ongoing significance on a reading level—I just don’t have any interest in rewriting those particular stories. I’ve gotten them out of my head, to the point of not remembering at least a third of them on demand anymore, and I don’t have any desire to “retell” those exact stories. I do tend to tighten the wording and fix perceived errors/weaknesses whenever I do end up rereading an old story, and I usually silently update the AO3 version if I make any significant changes because AO3 makes it a breeze to update a posted fic. I might do FFnet too if I’m feeling up to it or have the time.

20. Which complete fic is your favourite?

Once upon a time I would’ve said Holding On, but I honestly find it kind of unbearably melodramatic now. the observable entropy of a closed system is equally melodramatic, as it was written in the same era, but at least it has the excuse of being told in second person and via a style that is a half step away from being poetry. Possibly I will reread it in a few years and find it equally obnoxious and overly dramatic, but it received some shockingly positive comments, which I wasn’t expecting at ALL, and I’ve been honestly blown away by the amount of praise it’s received. <3 to everyone who’s said anything about it!

21. What’s your total published word count?

141,000 on AO3, 160,000 on FFnet, but technically the light of my life SS wrote fifty thousand words of each. It’s too late for math.

I tag @velkynkarma, @lurkinglurkerwholurks, @writtenbyrain, @thebaconsandwichofregret, and anyone else who wants to play!

#tag games

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