#And that is. Bonkers. It's strange to me but it's so. so. fulfilling as a creator

[lacefuneral]

ok so. this isn't going to be as articulate as i'd like but i'm also very sleep deprived. i will do my best.

i've made the observation previously that fandoms in general tend to be Weird about gender non-conforming men. things like only seeing us through the lens of sexual fetish, failing to reconcile that a GNC man is still a Man, viewing us as being sinful/deviant/promiscuous/bad queer rep, etc.

but! there's something as of late that i've seen the OFMD fandom do. and it is new. i have never in my life seen something like this.

people are now talking about the GNC men in the show... as if they are women. and criticizing OFMD by bringing up misogynistic tropes... and applying them to the men.

which is... not how any of this works. full stop.

i've seen people insist that stede "became the love interest this season who has no arc or depth aside from being a boytoy to ed. and has given up his career for his man."

which, first of all, bonkers take. this entire season is about stede and ed independently going through their own developmental arcs and trying to figure out who they are + what they want. second of all............ stede isn't a woman!

seeing "ugh, he prioritized his love for a man over his career" framed as a negative instead of an active inversion. and it comes across to me as more homophobic than anything. "ugh... he did this for a MAN." well, yes. because stede is gay. and he is in love for the first time in his life. and he is allowed to want a soft, quiet life with his boyfriend. stede has always struggled in his comphet marriage and has wanted nothing more than to have agency to live the way he wants to and to be in a relationship that is fulfilling to him, with a partner that appreciates his quirks and interests. why are you treating this like a form of misogyny when it is about TWO MEN.

next, seeing people describe izzy hand's death as "fridging." i know that this is part of a wider problem of fans who feel the need to lash out because their favorite character is gone, and find a way to justify their anger (you're allowed to just be Mad btw. you don't need a reason.)

the problem is.... fridging is very specifically the critique of a WOMAN being killed off to further a MAN'S journey. and it also typically occurs at the BEGINNING of a narrative, because it is usually the CATALYST. a man is overcome by grief and wants revenge for what happened to his wife, or his girlfriend, or whatever. this does not work for a MAN being killed off at the END of a narrative, whose death does NOT inspire a wider revenge plot by the person grieving him. like, yeah, zheng wants revenge for her fleet being destroyed and auntie being put in danger, but ed isn't interested in fighting.

it's. well. it's very strange to me. and people are talking about these things as if it's a widespread issue. i'd much rather people talk about the actual issues GNC men face rather than inventing ones on the spot. are you going to insist that stede suffers from the "dumb blonde" trope too and how ruinous this is to Men Everywhere? or that ed's mental health arc is proof that women men are too emotional and should never be in a leadership position, lest a boy break their heart and they have feelings over it? please... some fresh air is needed. some sun. some grass.

(sidebar: i personally do not view izzy as GNC. doing drag one time does not a femme make, and he goes back to being femmephobic by the finalé. but this not change wider fandom perception of the character, which is why i've included him here. apparently, one instance of drag is enough to have people talking about him the same way people talk about the other characters. such is the curse of male effeminacy 😔)

#ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd

[wakeupfreanz]

i’m genuinely curious but would ateez members date a fan, more specifically hongjoong since he can communicate well. i’m not delusional and obviously know i don’t have a chance just to be veryyyy clear 😭 i’m just curious since i’ve heard from ppl living in korea on tiktok say that some idols actually date/casually see fans and stuff which caught me off guard lmao. i’m lowkey curious after hearing about the jyp idol recently lmaoo 😭😭

HongJoong: KnoC, likely yes. However the relationship might encounter problems because of HIS end. Mingi: Fool 2X, maybe. Seems like he would only do so if it just worked out that way. He would not go seek them out, but if the pieces align, he would entertain it. Jongho: AoS, likely yes. Being honest, this one fucking surprised me. It seems like he would allow dating a foreigner open up his worldview. Wooyoung: Justice rev, likely not, leaning VERY LIGHTLY to a maybe. Smells like a strangely removed case where he would be worried about the collectivism and patriotic side of himself/his culture which would cause him to initially reject such advances. San: PoC, likely yes. It seems like he would be more than willing to explore and fulfill his curiosity to see what it would be like. He would not have any expectations entering the situation. Yeosang: 9oC, likely yes. It seems like his heavy hopeless romantic/simp tendencies would line him up that as long as he's in love? He's going to entertain it. Seonghwa: 9oC, likely yes. He seems to be in the same position as Yeosang, but a bit more dramatic/bonkers. If he's simping for you, it could very well lead into fatal attraction shit. Yunho: 9oC, likely yes. Fuckin 3rd times the charm I guess. It was an immediate flip. It seems like he also has this curiosity with trying to see what would happen, so he would entertain it, despite the idea of not wanting to be in a deep commitment or not.

[stunads]

can you ever delete memories and feelings from your brain hard drive?

bryan is so interesting

i literally can’t help falling in love with him? scientifically speaking of course

it’s just so interesting

interacting with him from this much more mature place, as someone who understands herself a lot more, and understands life a lot more, and probably him a lot more even though there’s actually so much i don’t know about him now

it’s almost like i can see the past in the present

gosh i wish i could put this in to words

hopefully this is enough for my chronicles

i wonder if we’ll ever get to unlock the mystery of who we are to each other

memories flash in my mind, i can’t see them or conceptualize them but it’s like a feeling

i’ll just randomly smile during the day

and somehow i’ll know it’s because i remembered something about bryan

i mean, i haven’t changed all that much in my core, if anything .. i have become more myself

and that girl is the same girl that fell in love with him

i’m her, heyyyy it’s me

and he’s still so him

so it’s just interesting that after all this time, it feels like no time has passed

and my brain just snaps back to heart eyes, heart boom, smiling at my phone, thinking about .. that thing we used to do

gosh i literally haven’t thought about sex in a minute

that primordial blood oath am i right

let me stop typing

this was supposed to be scientific note taking

i truly need to stress to myself in the future and any potential stalkers or future invited readers that i absolutely do not care about romance at this time in my life

i have absolutely no desire to be in a relationship

i have no relationship gas in my relationship tank

all men are insane

bryan included

i don’t even know if that’s the guy i would even want to be my husband when it’s all said and done

he has on numerous occasions demolished my heart, annihilated my confidence, warped my body image, scrambled my brain to the point where only God knows the extent of how clinically insane that relationship made me, used me for my body? , lied ?, cheated and got away with it ??? , humiliated me, many many more nightmarish things the last of which i will mention here is straight up tell me he doesn’t want to be in a relationship with me lmfao

woof. a lot to unpack still lol

so

when i say scientific i mean scientific

i’m like the most normal genius girl on earth, i know future me will know if she ever needs to go back and review her field notes

that this girl is not tripping over bryan cromwell

just so curious to unravel all of these strange feelings

dreams that feel so real

the unstoppable feeling of wanting to catch up with him if it’s been too long

the undeniable truth that seeing his name pop up on my phone is still in my top favorite feelings

and let’s just say it our fucking sex was bonkers what are we going to do about that

i never want to have sex before marriage ever again stupidest fucking dumb ass idea of my retarded life thanks a lot dumb ass bryan for ruining my fucking life idiot ass

not with the sex that was awesome

by breaking up with me and ruining my life long vow of celibacy until marriage you dumb fucking piece of shit

and then i went insane and had a few accidents because being a girl is very very hard and guys don’t understand this at all and guys are very pressurey and i was raised to perform whatever tasks and fulfill whatever requests were asked of me and there are many other things that contributed to my dumb assfuckign idiot ass being perpetually retarded for a few years

not that you asked or cared piece of idiot shit

sometimes guys threaten you and throw things at you or start screaming or threaten to hurt themselves or start failing out of college if you don’t agree to hang out with them

or get you way more drunk than they got and sometimes even put things in your drink!

or fucking kiss you when you fall asleep in your own house like a fucking freak of nature

so yeah once SOMEONE you ONLY had sex with because he also believed in God and Jesus and also was planning to wait until marriage and then one day he said okay let’s go for it because obviously we are gonna get married we just can’t yet because we’re 16

when that guy dumps you forever right before college starts and he’s going to the same college as you even though he was going to penn state his whole life and said he would never go to tcnj probably just to make sure you don’t fall in love with kevin ramos

because he didn’t see or hear all of the many times you tried to tell him kevin ramos was a dare i say abusive, incredibly manipulative, scary freak that you only fell into the clutches of because aforementioned virginity taker couldn’t decide which of his fan girls he wanted to claim

when that guy dumps you before college, the guy that made you feel guilty about having premarital sex and the imminent afterlife in hell even though he pulled the trigger and you only did it because Jesus personally told you it was totally kosher because we were the most cutest couple ever, married in our hearts and in the eyes of the Lord who knew our hearts

when that guy DUMPS YOU right before you embark on another 4 years of being trapped in the same habitat, and says it’s because he doesn’t like your personality at all he is just using you for your body and that is wrong

when that happens to you, and your sacred seal is broken along with your mind body and soul

and you don’t have the protection of purity any longer

or the will to live lol

welp you get into some precarious situations and girls are taught to fuck their way out of them lest we be stabbed or strangled or punched or something

so anyways woof a lot to unpack there LOL

what was i talking about

oh right

i also only had *** with dumbass mother fucker even bigger idiot evil piece of dumb ass h**** because i thought i was gonna marry his stupid ASS because i’m so fucking RETARDED and i was legally brain dead after my last dumping and as the laws of the realm decree if i get shattered by bryan i have to fall into the hands of a diabolical lying manipulating violent psychopath

but i finally stopped being retarded

so by the power of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the grace of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit i really really really really don’t want to have sex again with anyone on planet earth unless that man is my husband actually ring on, church saw, God saw, locked in

okay but here’s the crux of the issue - what if he’s trash and got a small dick and no stroke and doesn’t have beautiful eyelashes or crooked pinkies or the voice of an angel or makes those cute little faces and noises or grab me and the right way

okay some of those things i can verify pre maritally

i’ve honestly lost track of things a bit got myself a little flustered

it’s so funny how just thinking about how cute bryan is just wipes away any bad feelings i could have lmfaooo now im like girl chill out why did you pop off for 7 paragraphs he can use us for our body that’s fine

LOL i need Jesus to come pick me up fr like i need to hang up my human body in the rafters of this mortal coil like a jersey, i’m at the retarded mall of life and i need a ride home,

anyways i think i made my points for tonight’s field report

to recap

1. i love being friends with bryan

2. i hope one day the nature of our true meaning to each other will become more evident

3. i hope we both find the perfect partner and will be able to each have a beautiful wedding to exact person God made for us and that we can both be at each other’s wedding and God willing that process could happen at the same time so it’s just perfect and we can be truly happy for each other and friends with each others partners and friends together forever

4. life is so beautiful but also so scary and it makes me happy that even though many things change, i can still talk to bryan cromwell and things don’t feel scary anymore

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #531

Top Ten Multiverse Movies They Should Make

Okay, so here’s a confession. This wasn’t supposed to be the list this week. I had one totally planned, and it was still going to tie into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It was all about random Marvel characters who could make a cameo in the film. There was gonna be, like, Death’s Head (obviously), but mostly me trying to cherry-pick from previous non-MCU films who I’d like to see: Emma Stone as Spider-Woman, Ioan Gruffudd as Mr. Fantastic, anyone from Agents of SHIELD, that sort of thing. It would have been a bit funny and a bit silly and I was really looking forward to it.

Then I realised I’d kinda cocked up the schedule and that by the time my list was up, not only would Strange be out, but I’d have already seen it. So no longer speculative wish-fulfilment, more post-hoc fan-fic. It just felt a bit daft, although I’ve almost sorta managed to scratch the itch by listing a couple of candidates above (and yes, I’ve seen the film at this point, and no, that has no bearing on that list of names, any or none of whom may turn up in the movie).

So instead what we’re looking at today are other, alternative multiverses. Coz Hollywood bloody loves a multiverse right now, yeah? After Into the Spider-Verse came the live-action reboot, a.k.a. No Way Home; and after Strange we’ve got Everything Everywhere All at Once, a terrifically bonkers look at alternate realities. Then, delayed until next year, possibly for karaoke-related reasons, is The Flash, which looks like maybe-sorta smushing a bunch of DC alternate realities into one, giving us Michael Keaton’s Batman again.

It's only going to get sillier, because if there’s one thing Hollywood loves, it’s taking an idea someone executed really well that one time, and running it into the ground. I have every belief that the desire to make more multiverse movies will go down just as well as the varied attempts to set up shared universes. But – hey – if Hollywood needs some pointers, well, here I am. Because that’s what we’ve got this week: a list of ten popular franchises, IP, whatever, ready for the multiversal mashup treatment.

It's not quite as funny as Lou Ferrigno painted green to play an aging Professor Hulk, but what do you want from me, I do this for free.

Star Trek: this one writes itself, probably because – I’ve not checked – this must have happened in a comic book. Trek regularly crosses the timelines, but what about a movie that mashed up the “Prime” timeline with its “Kelvin” variants? Chris Pine’s Kirk meeting, I dunno, Riker and Troi, or even Ansel Mount’s Pike? But beyond that, we could see other alternate realities – they’re ten a penny in Trek canon – and an older, still alive Shatner-Kirk could chat to his young variant; we could get Mirror Universe cameos; Discovery could pop up; the version of Q from the My Little Pony universe could gatecrash proceedings looking for a glass of water. They could even incorporate elements from the many spin-off books, games, and comics. The possibilities are endless!

Transformers: one of the longest-running franchises with the most permutations, in Transformers there is no generally-recognised sacred continuity or – snigger – “Prime timeline”, allowing for all kinds of parallel universe shenanigans. I think this could be a great animated movie, bringing in the original G1 cartoon universe, plus subsequent iterations – the live-action movies, the “Unicron Trilogy”, the “Aligned Continuity”, and – most excitingly of all – animated interpretations of the most beloved comics continuities. Imagine how many times Optimus Prime could die and come back to life!

Disney Princess: fans love trying to generate links between the movies where there clearly are none, but in the last decade most of the films have at the very least shared a visual style which makes mashups more enticing. Ralph Breaks the Internet was not a particularly good film, but the Disney Princess scenes were by some considerable margin the most exciting and funniest bits. In worlds filled with literal magic, inventing some catastrophe that crosses time and space and brings these women together isn’t too outrageous, and could offer all manner of humour and drama. You could even blow it wider and bring in all Disney animations; the Rescuers riding Dumbo into battle with Mad Madam Mim? Bring it on.

Batman: I’ve tried to steer away from alternative comic book universes here, because it feels too obvious, but I had to include Batman. I’m actually amazed that Spider-Man beat Batman to the multiversal punch, because, well, we’ve had about nineteen Batmans in popular culture in the last thirty years. Whilst I would kill for a live-action movie that saw Keaton, Kilmer, Clooney, Bale, Affleck, and Pattinson all united on-screen, I have to concede that doesn’t make sense for the realities established in several of those films. But an animated movie that not only featured Kevin Conroy, Rino Romano (The Batman animated series), Diedrich Bader (The Brave and the Bold), and – yes – animated versions of some live-action characters (I definitely think Keaton and Affleck would fit perfectly) would be terrific. You could really dig deep into comic history to pull alternative versions of these characters out; Clint Eastwood as a Frank Miller-esque Batman? Hugh Jackman as the globetrotting Dark Knight of the Adams/O’Neal era? Or – get this – Chris O’Donnell voicing the “Batman Reborn” version of Dick Grayson. Don’t stop there! It never ends! Seriously, this makes even more sense than a “Spider-Verse” and the only thing to stand against it is that Spider-Man kinda got there first now.

Star Wars: this is weird, because whilst it’s a sci-fi/fantasy universe, I’m not too keen on time travel or reality-hopping here. But let’s run with it for a sec – what could they do? Well, there’s always a “what if” element, with maybe a version of Anakin Skywalker who didn’t fall to the Dark Side and instead fought the Empire; there’s all the various no-longer-canon “Expanded Universe” fiction to draw upon, like Han and Leia’s children, or characters such as Mara Jade and Kyle Katarn; then there’s the possibility of exploring Lucas’ original vision for the sequels or even – this is where it gets wild – the unrealised, original ideas for Star Wars: hello, “Luke Starkiller”.

Doctor Who: this universe, on the other hand, totally lends itself to trippy shenanigans. Yes, of course, we can mess with time and have multi-Doctor mashups; but what about other universes too? After all, Ten and Rose were on a different Earth; they could come back, along with characters from other, unknown realities, the Doctors that never where (Paterson Joseph, maybe?) – or even a version of Peter Cushing’s Doctor from the movies!

Terminator: hot take alert: I think the general idea of Terminator: Genisys is actually pretty good; go back in time and re-do the timeline a bit like Star Trek ’09. But what if we go further? What if various attacks on the timeline from Skynet (or, urgh, “Legion”) have damaged the time-space continuum, and all alternate realities are merging into one? You could have Edward Furlong’s John Connor meeting Nick Stahl’s John Connor meeting Christian Bale’s John Connor meeting Jason Clarke’s John Connor. At the end of the film, everything is totally undone and all the various terrible sequels are erased from continuity, giving us – canonically – only the two entirely good Terminator films. Hooray!

Bond: look, this is stupid, but is reality-hopping really much more ridiculous than an invisible car? It’s certainly more realistic than Bond surfing. So this film is about different Bonds of different eras meeting up for one wild case. Obviously it’s complicated now by the sad deaths of Connery and Moore, but you could still have no-nonsense Dalton rubbing shoulders with suave Brosnan and butting heads with gruff Craig. And Lazenby I suppose. I’ve not seen that film. But can you imagine the headlines? Yes, it’d anger the purists to such a degree that they’d burn a hole through the centre of the Earth. But it might just be worth it.

Kevin Smith Movies: Kevin Smith’s “View Askewniverse” is already a shared universe, really. So why not go one step further? You could bring in characters from the films he’s made that don’t really have Jay and Silent Bob in them – I’m sure he’d love to revisit Cop Out, for instance. Or, like with Star Wars, there’s the whole “roads not taken” element; Smith was supposed to play Dante in the original Clerks, for instance. Or what if his unmade films cropped up – some copyright-dodging versions of Superman or Fletch? Whilst this sounds phenomenally daft, I actually think Smith could make some good gags about it.

Dark Universe: think about it! After years of scorn and ridicule, Universal come out swinging! They’re not ignoring their stillborn shared universe idea, they’re doubling down and making it a multiverse! Instead of shoehorning celebrity-stacked films together, we have a dozen Draculas! Hugh Jackman recruiting a team of reality-straddling Van Helsings to combat an army lead by Gary Oldman, Luke Evans, Claes Bang, Gerard Butler, Nicolas Cage, maybe even Adam Sandler. Aaron Eckhart and Robert DeNiro as battling Frankensteins! Kevin Bacon’s Invisible Man terrorises Elisabeth Moss! And at the end Tom Cruise flies in to save them all!

#top ten #multiverse #movies #shared universe #doctor strange #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness

[wolves-in-the-world]

who asked for an Anton and Quinn leverage crackfic crossover? nobody? too bad. thanking @darkfinch for introducing me to the character and if anyone is utterly confused by this, start here. I haven't posted a proper summary of the law and order episode, but this might be close enough.

[2.3k, also on Ao3]

~

In the team’s defence, they had no reason to believe the mark was telling the truth about having magic spells up their sleeve. People really do get that rich off corruption and exploitation alone. Rich people really can be bonkers enough to make the kinds of threats they can’t possibly carry out. It was Quinn who’d loudly, joyfully, and with much breaking of noses messed up their operation the first night of the job, so it’s Quinn the spell targets.

The switch takes place overnight, and without fanfare. You can't just vanish a person without something balancing the scales.

So. Quinn first. He wakes up alone, which is probably best for everyone, and with no fogginess, hypodermic marks, or new bruises suggesting anyone got the better of him. Five minutes into searching the loft he’s found a wardrobe of perplexing clothes all in his size and a driving licence with his face on it; ten minutes out in the wider world and he’s running into people who seem to know him, but not any him he’s played on a job before. That puts things squarely in Weird territory. Trying to get in contact with the team or anyone else via their emergency numbers, and getting only silence, solidifies it: he’s on his own for this one. That’s okay. He can deal.

The boyfriend’s getting under his skin, though. He’s had employers who acted like they owned him before, and as a rule he liked to make it clear they didn’t before jumping ship. But infiltrating the life of a stranger without yet holding all the cards makes it important not to act rashly, so he puts up with the words and light touches - at least, until he does some digging into boyfriend’s affairs and figures out what happened the previous night. This guy’s a creep, but he’s not a professional, and Quinn’s already traced the murdered college student back to him.

The boyfriend's dead by afternoon. Quinn hides the body well, in case he needs it later.

That’s one problem sorted. Another one: people keep approaching him and being friendly in really strange ways. He knows flirting! He does! This flirting is just so obvious and people keep making really kinky requests like they already know he’s gonna be happy to fulfil them, and it’s just awkward for everyone when he isn’t. It’s almost worse when they’re not asking for a sex thing at all - at least as far as he can tell. One dude makes an attempt to steer him out the door, saying something about about a ‘regular client’ and already being late, and Quinn has to break the guy’s pinky finger to get him to stop. He rather doubts it’s his kind of client, after all.

So he’s kept on his toes, and he’s got a mental list of people he’s pretty sure aren’t threats, and a list of people he’s scoping out to be safe, and yes, there’s overlap. Easy enough for him to get started on. He’s packing some basics to set up a base somewhere more private, except-

-the police want to talk to him. About the murder he didn’t even do. They come sniffing around while he’s still trying to escape yet more of Anton’s acquaintances - he’s almost tempted to bite them just to shut them up at this point, except that usually leads to screaming - and that’s a problem too.

He does have a plan to get out of here. It involves only minimal risk of injury or discovery. But when he skids out the back door with a rifle case slung over his shoulders, he narrowly avoids colliding with someone who greets him with apparent relief - and his counterpart’s name. He assesses quickly: forty or so, artfully curly hair, expensive jewellery, eyes bright with alarm but no fear. She’s extended her hand, but she’s unarmed and careful not to touch him. Interesting. She picks up on his urgency and offers him a ride, and he’s in need of one so he takes it, hoping against all hope that she doesn’t make things weird.

She doesn’t. She’s a bit puzzled by him, for sure, but maybe she’s been expecting something like this because she’s more than happy to let him set up in her fancy apartment - one her husband doesn’t know about - even if she keeps casting him worried glances. Worried questions, too, when he’s checking the apartment’s security and getting his rifle set up. He’s a little too busy calculating the best way to deal with this mess to properly pick up on all the hints his host (a Ms Amanda Leven, according to the ID he sneaked a look at on the way here) has been dropping - about how much she really appreciates his company, how he never seemed to be entirely happy with Virgil, how he’ll always be welcome here if he needs a place to stay.

Meanwhile, the Leverage team haven’t actually figured out what’s up yet. They’re busy with the job. Sophie isn’t staying with them for long (something about an art exhibition and an old friend and a limited window of opportunity; Parker asked her to bring something back for them, and it didn’t sound like she meant from the gift shop) but she’s apparently thrilled that 'Quinn’ is practising his grifting. She keeps throwing him Proud Team Mum looks about it.

Anton, after the first thirty minutes or so of sheer confusion and picking up on the general weirdness that is the Leverage crew when they’re around people they trust, figured switching on the charm was a good way to stay Not Murdered while he figures out what the fuck is going on. He’s spent some time in criminal circles, but that was nothing like this. And every now and then someone will make some quip or ask a question about his teeth and then immediately (because they’re full steam ahead on the con) be called elsewhere for lockpicking or punching or doing a character voice over the phone. It’s sheer luck they haven’t needed him yet. Anton is sweating.

But the team reckon it’s Quinn, right, no matter how weird he’s being, so they aren’t too worried when he’s left to fend off some hired muscle alone; they’re a bit perplexed when he lets them take him captive, but hey, it’s not like it’s the first time he’s waited to get into a better position before striking. It’s not like it’s the first time he’s taken his comms out on the job, either. Is he still sulking about the alias Hardison picked for him last week?

It takes them seeing Anton through the security footage, tied to a chair and scared, to realise something has gone very wrong.

Hardison says, “Shit.” Parker frowns at the screen, trying to piece this together. There’s a sharp intake of breath behind them, and by the time they both look up, Eliot’s gone. Hardison swears again.

Anton is having a terrible day while also having to deal with the fact that these people - not the ones who tied him up to ask questions he doesn’t know the answer to, but the bizarrely competent criminals who seem to think he’s someone else and made him heart-shaped waffles for breakfast - are treating him so… nicely. It’s disconcerting. It might almost be welcome. And he’s going to die here, and he can’t even flirt his way out of it (he absolutely tried), and then the terrifying guy with the long hair is right here too. By the time Anton remembers his name Eliot’s knocked out all his captors and is disarming the last gun and Anton’s having a not-so-small oh shit moment that has almost nothing to do with fear.

Eliot sizes him up while he crouches and sees to the ropes. “You’re not Quinn,” he says, and Anton stiffens in the chair. Eliot’s eyes flick back up. “We’re not gonna hurt you, kid. Just need to get you out of here, then we’ll figure this out. I’ve got him,” he adds, sounding suddenly irritated, and Anton realises with a surge of sheepishness that the thing he was handed earlier was probably for communication. He fishes it out of his pocket as soon as he’s got a hand free. When they’ve reached the hallway - Eliot gesturing for Anton to stay behind him - his words unstop, and he feels a smile settling easily into place.

“When we get out,” he says, warm and honey-sweet like he’s approaching someone in a club just for the joy of it, and Eliot flicks a glance back at him, expression incredulous, “maybe we don’t need to figure things out just yet.” Eliot makes a disbelieving noise while, over the comms, Hardison matches it with a strangled cough and Parker thumps him audibly on the back. Anton’s just pleased he’s finally having an effect on someone. Then some more armed trouble rounds the corner, and Eliot refocuses on the task at hand.

So they learn a valuable lesson about not believing marks’ threats. They hadn’t taken it seriously - they were justified in not taking it seriously. But just this once there’s a spell to track down and figure out before they can finish the job, and in the time it takes for Hardison’s algorithm to find the relevant bits in the relevant texts, they get to know Anton a little better.

At least, Hardison gets to know Anton a little better, becoming more and more diplomatic with everything he finds out. Eliot mostly makes unimpressed noises about Anton’s boyfriend and confessed criminal history. (Anton never expected to be this embarrassed that selling party drugs is his biggest offence.) Parker seems unsure whether to watch him from a distance or sneak closer in an attempt to examine his teeth, with her fingers, again. It’s all… deeply weird. It’s not awful. At least, aside from the moment he gets halfway to hitting on Parker and both the other two go alert and he suddenly feels like a lamb before the wolves - Anton misread her curiosity, alright, he’s not at his best right now - it’s not awful.

Quinn doesn’t figure out what’s going on. He has a great time once he’s free of his admirers, thrown in the deep end with the police on his tail (thrown off his scent, now, with a few tricks and a quick relocation of the boyfriend’s body and Amanda calling in some sort of rich person favour to speed the investigation along.) And he got to kill someone who was rude to him without having to feel bad about it. He’s pretty sure that garden-variety murderous creeps are fair game even by his team’s standards. So it’s cool. It’s hitter enrichment. It’s a long, absurdly realistic fever dream and he is decidedly not dwelling on the possibility of never getting to see his friends again. It’s fine.

Amanda orders fancy takeout with fancier cocktails, and gives him space like she thinks he needs it, and he nicks a book from her collection to keep himself distracted while the murder investigation plays itself out. It’s probably not going to be to his taste. Then between one paragraph and the next he’s back at the Leverage base, quite abruptly, bringing with him one plate of Pad Thai and one copy of Dark Delights: The Vampyr’s Kiss, and he’s not sure why the others are laughing at the sight of him - or struggling not to, in Hardison’s case - but he’s pretty sure he ought to be more annoyed about it. It’s good to see them again, alright. It’s… a relief to know they were working on getting him back.

And Anton goes back to his life. Specifically, he goes back with: a few tips on how to avoid getting caught for minor crimes (after he promised to avoid certain types); a recipe jotted down by Eliot at Parker’s urging (they were really good waffles); and the dawning realisation that he can maybe expect to be treated better by people who claim to like him. Apparently even if they’re criminals.

He comes back to: the horribly dawning realisation that he’s partly responsible for at least one murder and sort of knew it was headed that way; one dead creep of a now-ex-boyfriend, which he has mixed feelings about; and an ex-client who was always sweet to him, who he was always sweet on though he didn’t feel safe admitting it, and who seems convinced they’re already navigating the new terrain of I’m Not Paying You To Bite And/Or Fuck Me Anymore as equals. Who already seems to think he’s staying here. Who seems to assume he’ll be staying here alone until he feels an odd tug of tenderness and invites her to stay the night with him.

…also, y'know, the rifle. He’s going to have fun figuring out what the hell to do with that without getting in touch with his shadier friends. Sadly, they’re not the type to make him breakfast or rescue him from dangerous situations.

He wakes the next morning with a familiar knot of dread inside his ribcage, a heavy grey thing as inevitable as weather, until he smells a familiar perfume and opens his eyes to Amanda’s curls spilling across a silk pillowcase. The dread loosens inside him like a sigh. He spends a few minutes watching her sleep before getting up and finding the recipe to make them both waffles.

He burns them a little, but it's worth the effort to hear her laugh.

Quinn never lives down the doppelganger incident. It shouldn’t really surprise him to find out that the team took pictures. When he realises that one of them made its way to Hardison’s Nana (accidentally, Hardison swears), and she now has a framed picture of the team including Not-Quinn with his smile turned up to eleven and his kittyfangs on display, Quinn briefly considers murder. Possibly of his counterpart.

He doesn’t follow through. More satisfying to take a few lessons from Hardison, do a little photoshopping, then break into Nana’s house in the middle of the night instead.

#how do you say ''this contains references to sex work but dealt with v lightly.'' that. and the same for emotional abuse. #it's kinder than the non-leverage canon material. #quinn leverage #quinn here is vaguely acearo because I'm lazy & because it's a fun contrast with anton #lost children of the blood #(is my anton tag) #anton lebrun #is from S9E11 of law and order: criminal intent #and his canon dialogue is far more outrageous than I could manage to write without imploding #which is to say that canon anton is far more entertaining/excruciating than he is here #I wrote this while sleep deprived and am posting it while ditto #what am I even doing

[trashboi413]

the story of "the wonderbread guy" (because tumblr pc wont let me reblog the post i made for some reason)

alright so buckle up kids, this is a long one that im mostly copiying from know your meme.

About Murrlogic1's Wonder Bread Fetish DeviantArt Commissions also referred to as DeviantArt Wonder Bread guy, is an internet personality who has commissioned animations of rich women shopping for many loaves of Wonder Bread. He has also commissioned artists to create pictures of women destroying forests and filling up their Hummers with gasoline. Murrlogic has been in conversation with artists and commentators on KiwiFarms and Reddit since 2016. Report ad

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📷 Origin On March 18th, 2016, Murrlogic1[11] uploaded one of their first images to DeviantArt[1] titled "A gated White Bread community" (show below). He describes the image in a post saying,Asami and Winter decide to create gender roles for themselves. Winter stays at home and does all the cooking and cleaning HOWEVER since that is a huge job she also has the authority to intimidate, abuse, and berate all the other slaves who do that anyway. Winter just wants extra brownie points. Meanwhile, Asami begins to treat Winter not as a person but as property as she frequently demands her to work around the clock nonstop to fulfill her every first world problem For instance, Asami has the food palette of a 5 year old. She refuses to eat anything that isn't spongy and soft like Bleached factory sliced Wonder bread. She also wants her white bread drenched in mayonnaise to help fulfill that stereotype of being a white supremicist who wishes to exterminate all the subhuman water benders (Korra being on that list.) Winter obediently begins production of hundreds of Wonder Bread Sandwich factories tirelessly pumping the air around them with copious amounts of Co2. Report ad

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He absolutely was not just a normal guy with a weird kink. This shit was his life pretty much. He had lots of talk about consumerism, slavery, and capitalism and why there were all good things. Almost to the point of a religion to him. He tried talking to me about his commission of a comic of, I believe, Asami cutting down a rainforest and industrializing it, and like weird undertone of loving sandwhiches. Everything he talked about in this aspect came down to sandwhiches with him. Spread In 2016 and 2017, murrlogic1 continued to commission thousands of dollars worth of art pieces involving Wonder Bread. For example, on September 30th, 2017, Murrlogic1 posted a commissioned work to DeviantArt[2] which featured two blonde-haired white women at a "$andwich Land" theme park and a "deforestation roller-coaster" (shown below).📷On March 3rd, 2018, Tumblr[3] user joyfulattic claimed to know and have spoken to murrlogic1 and wrote in a a post that: Report ad

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He has spent thousands of dollars if not more on commissions for Asami abusing Korra Asami owning a sandwich factory and slave labor Blonde women own sandwhich factories and cutting down large expanses of forests And the list goes on to other really strange stuff, but none of it inherently sexual The only time I’ve known something sexual was his commission for shadman, which was, to the best of my memory, him asking Shadman to draw Korra and Asami abuse porn with like focus on Korra having a limp dick, that’s the most I remember from the screenshots he showed of his conversation with shadman, which he did show off and talk about how unprofessional shadman was for refusing to draw his commission. The way he fucking talks is just something mind blowing to see a man this far stuck in his own little hole. On a more dark and serious subject, he has been fired from his job and possibly disowned from his family for this kinda stuff. He talked about assaulting, sexually assaulting, and insulting the race or sexuality of his coworkers. People caught on he was kinda fucked up, and emailed his boss over that stuff and got him fired. I got to watch as he complained about it and the entire forum that he was on talking about it blew up for a good solid 2 hours over how fucked up this guy is for thinking he did nothing wrong, and him insulting everyone. It was absolutely bonkers. Please do not give Murrlogic commissions, his money isn’t worth being associated with this man. Over all he is a very disgusting person and while it’s fun to point and laugh, he is really not someone who should be given the time of day.

Over the next few years, Murrlogic1 conducted AMAs both on Reddit[6] and DeviantArt[4] in which he discussed his attraction to the themes vaguely."My 1st job I had was at a job called Bounty Farm which was funded and supervised by an organization referred to as "Petaluma People Services Center."I met my now Ex-GF at this place. When I was finally ready to go to her old apartment in Rohnert Park and she let me touch her tits while we watched Howl's Moving Castle they reminded me of Wonder Bread since I was trying to pinpoint what the texture of breasts reminded me of the most and Wonder Bread came the closest."On March 8th, 2018, Scared Sheep revealed the Wonder Bread Guy to be Michael McKay of Santa Rosa California in a KiwiFarms[5] forum. Murrlogic1 then responded to the thread using the name Damien6.[10]

i should mention that shadman (known for drawing loli porn, and generally being a huge dick) refused his commision

[bluecatstory]

The fortunate one - Chapter 2

The continuation & end to this. Thank you for reading! 

Boy met a tea kettle genie. Unfortunately, this wish-granting genie did not get to grant a single wish. This is an AU 100% based on Neil Gaiman’s The October Tale. Also, the main pairing here is GoYuu (Gojo Satoru/Itadori Yuuji), so please click back if you don’t like it. 

---

It was a lovely day for a stroll through the town. The weather was cool but fair, and green leaves flurried on the trees as the gentle breeze blew by.  

People were out and about, scurrying with their life. But if you pay attention to the crowd, you would see a strange pair. A pink-haired boy was walking together with a tall, lanky man. The handsome man was still young, maybe in his 20s, but his hair was white from the roots. His outfit even made it stick out more, all black with sunglasses. 

They were having a somewhat lively conversation. 

“So tell me more about yourself, Yuuji. I want to get to know you more.” 

“What do you want to know?”

“Your likes, dislikes, dreams, family, just anything!” Gojo grinned playfully. His current master of the tea kettle, by far, was the most intriguing. He wanted to know what kind of person was Yuuji Itadori, who claimed to be perfectly content with his life. 

And Yuuji, like the honest boy he was, told Gojo of his family: his parents passed away in a car accident when he was just a toddler, how his gramps raised him by himself, and he also passed away recently, having left him the house. Yuuji told him about his job: how he was a kindergarten teacher who had gained his reputation among the school for cat drawings. He told him he also taught basic drawing at the local community once a week. 

“Ah, but have you ever wished to be more than that? With your physique, you would make a great athlete. Or model! I mean, look at those legs.”

Red crept up his face. Yuuji smiled sheepishly. 

“Thanks… I guess. But you know, I admit there were tough times. Imagine one accidentally smuggled candies in the class, and the whole 20 would go bonkers. And the parents would just scream at you for everything. But I’m making a difference in the kids’ life. Witnessing them discovering things and eagerly telling you about them. It’s rewarding, and I feel happy every day going to work. “

Yuuji’s smile was so beaming that Gojo felt blinded by it. Ok, so scratch work. He might need to dig into other areas. 

“Now it’s your turn, Mr. Cryptic genie. Tell me more about yourself.” 

“Hmm, you only need to know that I’m the strongest genie that can make your wish come true. Hey, we’re here! Can we buy some cheesecake? I’ll carry the groceries for you.” Gojo pointed to the cakes on the shelves and dashed away, leaving Yuuji standing confused at the door. 

Yuuji snickered at the childlike man. 

--- 

“How about friends? Lovers? You have one?”

“Sometimes, I feel like I’m talking to a police officer who’s doing a yearly census, not a 1000-year-old genie with a desperate need to please people.” Yuuji sighed as he unpacked his grocers in the fridge. 

“Excuse me, I’m only 966. And I ask because it’s my job. Kids these days…” The genie wiped the invisible tears from his eyes. 

“Ok, ok. Don’t cry.” Yuuji lightly patted his head. Being with the genie for a while, he realized Gojo had a dramatic side to him that sought attention. 

He told Gojo that no, he was not dating anyone now. His best friends were Megumi and Nobara. That they had stood with him since high school, through good and bad times. That Megumi was a grumpy yet caring dog whisperer with 2 adorable, fluffy, smart dogs. That Nobara was a strong-willed woman working her way through the modeling world. And they always made time to catch up on the weekend despite a hectic schedule. 

“Hmm, I see.” Gojo said thoughtfully. There were really no holes in Yuuji’s life to be fulfilled by wishes. Except one. 

“You know, I can see that your life is good. But you are missing someone to share that life with you. Wish, and you’ll get the perfect woman. Or man.“

“No need. I’m good.”

“Are you?” 

“Yes. I’ve got everything I need.” Yuuji patted the genie’s head lightly as an assurance. 

“So what do I do now?” 

Yuuji thought for a moment. Then he pointed to the garden. 

“Can you help me tend the plants?”

“Sure! Is it your wish?” Gojo said excitedly. 

“Nah. Something you can help while I make dinner.”

So Gojo tended the plants. Then, after dinner, he helped Yuuji wash the dishes. The list of things Gojo helped Yuuji gradually grew. He ran errands for him, picking up sweets and office supplies for the school. He helped Yuuji planned surprises for his class, joining his local art class as an assistant. And sometimes, when Yuuji was tired, he gave him an excellent massage with his big, strong hands. 

It was not that Yuuji wanted help. But he let Gojo help. 

As time passed, Gojo moved out of the spare bedroom and ended up in Yuuji’s bed. 

---

They were lying on the bed, hands holding each other. Gojo silently watched Yuuji as the sunlight crept on his youthful face, aligning his parted lips. As Gojo was gently brushing a strain of hair away, his lover opened his eyes, and he smiled at him. 

“Mhh…morning.”

“Morning to you, too.” The genie smiled back, lovingly. 

Yuuji stared at him just as he was in a trance. 

“Your eyes… so pretty.” His bright smile struck Gojo, time and time again. Yes, this was the sight he wanted to see every day. His beloved Yuuji wrapped up in his arms, smiling and looking at him and him only. 

“Is this why you always wear blindfolds or sunglasses?”

“Well, a genie would say that because his magical eyes can see everything, so covering them up is a way for him to not know too much. But I would say that those baby blues are only reserved for you.” 

The pink-haired boy’s laugh got muffled by Gojo’s sudden kiss. 

“Hey, I’m wondering… What if it was you who were granted 3 wishes? What would you wish for?” 

Gojo thought for a moment.

“Nah, I’m good.” He told Yuuji. “I’ve got everything I need.” 

---

Gojo was perplexed when he met Yuuji. The boy was weird in every aspect, genetically pink haired with tiger markings, refusing his granted 3 wishes, and insisting his life was enough. For almost 1000 years as a genie, he knew people would always want something. 

Gojo was not a benevolent being. As he appeared before the boy, the genie thought he would just grant him 3 wishes and take his life in return, just like his predecessors. Those greedy, low-life scums would just scream and beg him to spare them. But what was done was done. Oh, how he reveled in their blood and shrieking soul. That was why he got sealed in the fucking tea kettle. Killing too much, the gods said. 

The genie chuckled. 

But Yuuji, his beloved, his eternal sunshine, was different from them. From wanting to know more about him, he started to fall for the boy. His fluffy hair that never seemed to be tamed, his bright, bright smile that made Gojo’s chest hurt, his well-built body that he could not stop planting more kisses on every inch of it, and how he did everything with much passion. 

Gojo loved everything about Yuuji. And now, with him in his arms, he would not let him go. No matter what.

End.

#bluecatstory #fanfic #jjk #goyuu #goyu #longfic

[titaniasfics]

if your prompts are still open, for wanda and vision: "my love for you is set in stone" (bc tell me that 'Heart of Stone' from SIX isn't the perfect song to encapsulate the devastation that was the finale of WandaVision?! gahhh I just want Wanda, Vision and the kids to be together and happy!)

In which Vision needs to defeat Wanda before he can save her.  

Inspired by a mashup of two prompts:

1)    One shot of Vision and Wanda making up after a fight. Would love to see your take on it.

2)    If your prompts are still open, for Wanda and Vision: "my love for you is set in stone" (bc tell me that 'Heart of Stone' from SIX isn't the perfect song to encapsulate the devastation that was the finale of WandaVision?! gahhh I just want Wanda, Vision and the kids to be together and happy!)

Bonkers drabble speculation on how Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness movie might end. I make a ton of assumptions on this so please be aware that this all made up. Like, more made up than usual. Leans heavily into comic book lore, especially the Giant-Size Avengers Comic Book, Issue #4.

Oh, and I’m a noob when it comes to fight scenes, so I’ve contrived every way to avoid writing one.

Thanks, anons! The song “Heart of Stone” is now on my WandaVision playlist.

Heart of Stone 

Vision’s vibranium arc reactor, which Dr. Cho installed to replace the Mind Stone and the flimsy solar absorption unit courtesy of SWORD, strains against Wanda’s sustained energy blast. Her beautiful blue eyes which normally turn a color of magma when she invokes her power, are now pitch black from Dormammu’s possession. Under his influence, she is doing her best to fulfill his diabolical directive.

Kill The Vision.

Even after Dr. Strange’s attempts to weaken her, she is as incandescent as the black energy that pulses at the center of the Dark Dimension. The Supreme Sorcerer tried to warn Vision when he first appeared in this hellish dimension of evil in search of Wanda.

She won’t recognize you. She will kill you and when she returns to herself and realizes what she has done, nothing in the universe – not me, not Agatha Harkness, not even Dormammu himself – will be able to withstand the force of her rage.

If he cannot reach her, she will not only destroy him, but in her grief, she will tear apart the multiverse and everything within it. Wanda’s grief is a cosmic force all its own.

He knows. He became well-acquainted with it in Westview when, like a puppet himself, he was sent to neutralize her.

Now, suspended between a host of conquered planets at the mercy of the god of the Dark Dimension, Wanda is draining him, even as he dredges up every last store of energy that the reactor can generate to resist her. Around him, the dimension roars with the collective fear of an infinite number of trapped beings.

I’ll hold off Dormammu, but if she doesn’t snap out of his spell, neither of us will be able to stop her and Dormammu will take Earth’s dimension.

As Dr. Strange warned, Vision needs to thwart Dormammu’s endless designs to absorb Earth into the Dark Dimension, but Vision also needs Wanda and he must find a way to get her back.

He sends another pulse of energy, forcing her to pull back, but she recovers quickly, his blast nothing more than an annoying insect bite. If he could just get to her. Look into her eyes. He knows like he knows who he is, who they are together, that he can reach her.

“Wanda, you are killing me. Darling, please,” he begs, knowing his words are a poor substitute for what he needs to do to free her.

“The Vision must die,” Wanda repeats, sending a last, decisive blast towards him. The impact sends fire through his body, heat like nothing he’s ever experienced. He falls, hurtling like a chunk of meteor to the hellish rock below. The impact is nothing compared to the pain. Vision is burning in his skin. His senses are compromised, his systems failing, despite the nanobots unfurling in his bloodstream, scurrying to stem the hemorrhages of a body struggling to remain intact.

When Wanda lands before him, he senses her more than he feels her. He reaches out to her, lifting his eyes to gaze into hers. Even though his vision is fading, he sees that they are as bottomless as the dark matter of the cosmos. As dark as the evil that holds her.

“Wanda, you must remember…who you are…”

“Wanda Maximoff is no more,” she drones and his heart fractures at the realization that her words might hold an unwanted truth. Perhaps Dormammu has buried Wanda…his Wanda… so far inside herself that she may never emerge again.

“Who said…Wanda is no more? Dormammu? You once said…you needed no one…to tell you who you are. Do you really take him at his word?”

She blinks, shaking her head as if to clear it. “Dormammu,” she murmurs and the emptiness in her voice is rich with confusion. On the strength of this, Vision staggers to his feet.

“You are not a puppet.” He reaches for her, her flinch half-hearted because she allows him to grasp her by her upper arms. “You are Wanda Maximoff. You are the Scarlet Witch –“

“The Scarlet Witch,” she repeats.

“—and you are my love,” he finishes before his strength gives out and he falls to one knee before her. “I am weak. I am not sure if I will recover, but you must remember who you are.”

The struggle is clear on her face. “Remember who I am. Who I am...”

“Yes. And remember that my love for you is set in stone, no matter what happens here.”

“Vision?” she asks, her question as plaintive as a child’s. He looks up again at the brittle tone of her voice. The darkness in her eyes floods with a blue as bright as the summer sky over the mountains, a blue that is out of place in this terrible hellscape.

“Wanda,” he says, reaching for her, but his strength is failing him as energy is diverted to repairing his damaged systems. “Remember us.”

She stiffens as if a distended rubber band has snapped into place. “Vision!” she shouts, kneeling before him. “Did I do this?”

He wants to say give her an affirmative answer but speech has escaped him and staying conscious consumes his every last effort.

“No-no-no-no,” she moans, tears distorting her words. “You can’t…you can’t die again.” Her hands glow and she places them over him. “I’m here. I’ll fix you.”

Vision takes a deep breath as her energy courses through him – familiar, like the smell of her hair or the softness of her skin. The fire that threatened to consume him earlier cools to a gentle pulse as the nanobots in his body feed on her energy, accelerating repairs, putting his body back together again at a rate even they had not been designed for. But they hold onto their structural integrity and Vision is able to see clearly again. His thoughts untangle and his strength returns.

She withdraws her powers, her palms warm as she cradles his head in her hands. “How? How did you get here?”

Vision puts his hand over hers, reveling in the feel of her skin against his. “It is a rather long story that I will share with you when we leave this place.”

“First things first,” she says, crushing her lips to his and at that moment, he realizes how much he has missed this as well, the sheer physicality of her love for him. A mad god howls in rage just beyond, the Dark Dimension threatens to swallow them both, but he is lost to the taste of her mouth and the warmth of her arms wrapped around him.

“Hey, guys?” comes a voice that pulls them from their bubble of bliss. “I could use some help over here.”

They pull apart to see Dr. Strange, locked in some magical struggle for dominance against the god of the Dark Dimension, straining against his power.

“I’ve got this,” Wanda says, rising into the air. “Don’t go anywhere.”

In awe of her power, he takes off beside her, ready to offer her the backup she really does not need. “You will never get rid of me again.”

***

One-shot masterlist on tumblr

ScarletVision Collection on AO3

#scarletvision fanfic #wandavision fanfic #scarletvision #wandavision #wanda maximoff #vision #wanda x vision #marvel mcu #marvel fanfiction #marvel comics #avengers giant size super comics #wanda and vision omnibus #speculative fanfiction #tita writes #anon request #prompt request #prompt response #fic request #one-shot #dr. strange and the multiverse of madness #dr. strange 2 #fanfiction

[fandom-space-princess]

fic writer interview

tagged by @sinaesthete - thanks boo 💕

How many works do you have on AO3?

18. Somehow. I only started posting them in January, which means I've been averaging more than 2 per month?! Granted, most of them are one-shots, but still. Bonkers.

What’s your total AO3 word count?

79,889. I have contributed one novel's worth of questionable fandom content to the greater ecosystem. Joy unbounded.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

The only fics I've published where anyone else could see them (or finished, for that matter) are for Supernatural. Others exist. I may even dredge them out into the light one day. Especially the Dragon Age ones, when DA4 comes out and inflicts some inevitable violence upon my poor little heart.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In descending order:

- Wayward Family: (T, 31589 words/26 chapters) Sitcomnatural, aka Seven Fools In A Bunker AU. Stream-of-consciousness first drafts from the beginning of the year, when I was starting to catch up on the show again after having dipped out sometime around season 6-7ish originally. I honestly expected zero readership for this, and was pleasantly surprised that so many people responded so well to it. Because I was definitely still knocking the dust off my writing skills at that point, lol. Maybe one day I'll go back to it and make it better - there's definitely stuff I'd do differently next time around.

- Some Live Like Orpheus: (T, 6193 words/1 chapter) Adam rescues Michael from the Empty, featuring Adam as Orpheus and Michael as Eurydice, with special appearances from Jack and the Shadow. The first thing I wrote that I was really, genuinely pleased with myself over.

- Vox Celeste: (E, 1909 words/1 chapter) Midam smut. PWP, in fact. Lyrical, pretty smut (or at least, that's what I was going for), but all the same.

- The First Day of the Rest of Your Afterlife: (T, 4558 words/1 chapter) Sequel to 'Orpheus'. Michael and Adam having their happily-ever-after together. This might be the most utterly self-indulgent fluff I have written. I love it.

- Two Weddings and an Engagement: (T, 7812 words/1 chapter) Written for the tumblr Midam wedding day. The Love Is Requited, They're Just Idiots - truly the most trope of all time. Featuring background sabrileena, because I am a joyful polyamorous disaster bisexual and I think they should all get to be, too.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Uh. To my great shame, I mostly don't. I always want to - the fact that people take time to comment on my writing is not lost on me as an act of love involving effort, and I can't express how much it means to me. I read and cherish every single comment I get. But interacting on AO3 takes a lot of spoons for me for some reason - and usually I just. Don't have it in me.

I'm working on it.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don't write much angst, because I am first and foremost a cinnamon roll in need of fluff and comfort. But it does happen occasionally. I think the angstiest fic is Reliquary - more of a ficlet, really, since it's only about 600 words. But they're 600 words of Major Character Death, and I made myself cry writing it, so probably that one.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Nah. Not really my jam.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No direct hate! The closest I've gotten was someone getting rude about characterization, which was more funny than anything else. What a strange thing to pick a fight over.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Quite happily, yes. I find physical intimacy to be very fulfilling, personally, and writing about my characters having those experiences themselves is fun.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge...?

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also not that I'm aware of.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have not. I kind of suspect I'd be a nightmare to co-write anything with. My writing brain works when it wants to work, not when I want it to work necessarily. And I have no way of predicting when that will be.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

I have a terrible time choosing favorites of anything, so I aggressively multiship. That said, in spn? Michael/Adam. Very closely followed by (exclusively S5 & earlier) Lucifer/Sam.

Outside of Supernatural, it's kind of a tossup. Probably the DA2 OT5 polycule (Hawke/Anders/Fenris/Isabela/Merrill). I'm aware this is a ship for insane people; I will not be accepting criticism at this time 💀

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

As of now, I actually plan to finish all my current WIPs! Pyrphoros was in very real danger of ending up in WIP purgatory for a while, but fortunately or unfortunately for everyone involved, Sin read the first chapter and gave me a pile of compliments. So now I am honor-bound to finish it (<creature brain> Friend liked fic must write more fic must please the Friend </creature brain>). It's getting worked on, bit by bit around my other projects, but still. It's happening.

What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm decent at getting emotions across? I'm also good at vivid visualization - in my head, I can usually see very clearly what I'm trying to describe, and I feel like that's helpful in getting it down effectively. Beyond that, I'm honestly not sure what you'd call my strengths.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I have close to zero control over when I'll have both time and motivation to write. Some of that is just the reality of balancing a more-than-full-time job with my hobby. Some of it is the executive dysfunction. But it does mean that when I'll finish anything can be... unpredictable.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I can't do it, and I don't love reading it. If I have to go looking for a translation somewhere in the notes, it wrecks my immersion in the story. No shade to people who do enjoy it; languages are gorgeous, and translations are imperfect at the best of times. Often the language something is written in is inseparable from the tone and cultural context it is meant to convey. But if given the choice, I don't seek it out.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Like I said, Supernatural is the only fandom with anything published. I think the first fandom I ever actually created anything for was Buffy. (Is that cringe? Yes. But consider: I live free of the shackles of shame. I am cringe, and I am happy).

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Probably one of the mini Midam week ones from earlier this year. Tie between Radio Silence and Every Day's Most Quiet Need, both of which turned out much better than I expected.

Not tagging anybody this time because my brain is currently scrambled eggs, although if anyone wants to do this please consider yourself tagged and feel free!

#long post #thanks for the tag this was fun! #tag game #fsp speaks

[fireinmywoods]

the heart of the matter (is Leonard McCoy)

Followers...friends. I come to you today, hat in hand, to ask for your support in a certain fandom matter, a trifling concern of little real consequence which nevertheless has been driving me absolutely cross-eyed bonkers for some years now.

Simply put: can we please all agree that Bones is the heart of the Enterprise???

In AOS, I mean. I’m not aware of any debate over this when it comes to TOS, where the roles of the triumvirate have always been explicit, though there are a few different ways to identify them:

Spock = logos = superego = head

Bones = pathos = id = heart

Kirk = ethos = ego = soul

So clear! So clean! So universally accepted by Trek fandom at large!

Oh, but things get murkier in AOS, and there are plenty of posts floating around which suggest that it’s Kirk, not McCoy, who serves as the heart in the Kelvin timeline. Even the writers of the first two AOS films have outright stated that their interpretation of the triumvirate had the original roles switched, with Kirk as the highly emotional one and McCoy as the arbiter between Kirk’s passion and Spock’s logic. It’s true that this technically counts as a Word of God pronouncement by the actual creators of 2/3 of the series thus far, which some would argue renders it canon. However, it’s equally true that those same creators also felt that Kirk was a fuckboi and that Benedict Cumberbatch wonderfully embodied their vision for Khan Noonien Singh, so honestly, who gives a hot hollerin’ fuck what those dingdongs think. This seems as justified a time as any to invoke Death of the Author, and in fact, it’s my firm belief that despite the writers’ intentions, Star Trek and Into Darkness both support the original triumvirate breakdown.

Under the cut you’ll find a long-winded and self-indulgent ~*~character analysis~*~ of the Kelvin-timeline incarnations of Jim Kirk and Leonard “Bones” McCoy, reviewing why Leonard is still unmistakably the heart, unpacking what the hell Jim’s deal is, and finally taking a look at some key examples from canon, because ya girl believes in showing her work.

Let’s get down to business.

[A quick warning, as this is starting to spread beyond my own followers: if you don’t like McKirk as a romantic pairing, you ain’t gonna like part IV, so I’d bow out before then or just take your leave now.]

i. Leonard

Independent of Jim’s characterization, it should be blindingly obvious that Leonard is the heart. He’s by far the most nakedly emotional of our seven core crew members, a trait we see writ large and small throughout the films. He’s reactive; he’s passionate; he’s humane. He cares, first and foremost.

Not about Starfleet, of course. Leonard doesn’t give a damn about playing the game or advancing his career, or even really about the Enterprise’s mission - he has no desire to explore strange new worlds, he’ll pass on seeking out new life and new civilizations, and he spends half his time trying to convince everyone else that boldly going where no man has gone before is a great way to die horribly. Fuck exploration, fuck space, and fuck the Federation while we’re at it. Leonard is perhaps the most improbable of the Enterprise’s senior officers for the simple reason that he seems to resent everything about the job.

Well. Almost everything.

See, what Leonard cares about is people. He cares about their lives, about their stories, about their hopes and dreams, about their suffering. That’s why he entered and has stayed in an extremely taxing caring profession, and it’s why he’s still on the Enterprise despite his incessant bitching about everything they do. He wouldn’t trust anyone else to take care of the crew he’s become so attached to, and he finds fulfillment in helping the people they encounter out there in the nightmare of space.

In every timeline, Leonard McCoy defines himself by what he can do for others: the pain he can ameliorate, the wounds he can heal, the diseases he can cure, the small amounts of good he can bring to a galaxy filled with so much absolute horseshit. Unlike most of his colleagues, he’s not motivated by curiosity or an adventurer’s spirit or a burning desire to make sense of the universe. (Fuck the universe, too, as a matter of fact.) Instead, he’s driven by the incredible depths of his compassion and empathy and concern for the people he serves alongside and those they meet along the way.

Sure sounds like the heart to me.

ii. Jim

I actually totally get why some people characterize Kelvin-timeline Jim as the heart. He’s quite literally a different man than the original timeline’s Kirk, and he definitely has more of the pathos qualities to him. Early on, he’s a total spitfire, fierce and hot-blooded, quick to anger and other sharp-edged emotions we’re not used to associating with James T. Kirk. Even as he grows into himself and leaves some of those traits behind, he remains spontaneous, passionate, protective, and self-sacrificing - easy enough to mistake for the heart if you squint.

But let’s not confuse having a heart for being the heart. Sure, Jim is more openly emotional and reactive than his TOS counterpart, but there’s still a marked difference between the way he and Leonard express and act on their emotions.

AOS Jim definitely has a lot of feelings - big ones - but at the end of the day, he’s not driven by his heart. He’s driven by his gut.

Whenever there’s trouble, Jim makes a beeline right for the center of it. He’s impulsive as hell, rarely pausing to think past his first instinct, because he just wants to be doing something, no matter the odds, no matter what it costs him. He explicitly calls himself out on this in ST:ID when arguing with Spock: “I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. I only know what I can do.” He doesn’t have the patience or the constitution to sit and debate all the options, either internally or with his crew. If there’s a path forward from where he is, even a bad one, Jim’s gonna take it.

[Sidebar: One could make the case that the roots of Jim’s instinct to act reach back to his childhood traumas - canonically ignored abuse and neglect on the one hand, and the Tarsus IV famine and massacre on the other - but that’s a whole post on its own and we ain’t got all day here.]

Jim can’t not act, and while that gets him into a lot of trouble, it also saves lives. Sulu probably appreciated that Jim’s gut drove him to leap off Nero’s drilling platform without a moment’s hesitation after a man he’d only just met. He may have been a real shithead about it, but Jim’s impassioned insistence on going after the Narada and not wasting time on the possibility of a better option was key to saving Pike and Earth itself. And I don’t know why Spock was so surprised that Jim intervened to save him on Nibiru, considering that the reason they were there in the first place was because Jim couldn’t sit back and watch the Nibirans die when there was something his crew could do to help them, even if it meant risking a violation of the Prime Directive.

Jim is a good man with a big heart, and he cares about people, absolutely. But he cares most of all about Doing The Right Thing - which in the heat of the moment often translates to Doing Something, Anything, Hold My Beer.

iii. heart vs. gut (i.e., time for some receipts)

I think one of the main reasons Leonard and Jim’s characterizations get confused is because they both tend to act on instinct, only lightly informed by higher reasoning. However, I’d argue that their motivations and the nature of those actions are super distinct, and those distinctions remain relatively consistent throughout all three films. (And y’all know I really mean this shit if I’m out here calling ST:ID consistent.)

Jim is a big picture guy, figuratively and often literally heaving himself full-body into the mix of whatever problem the crew has encountered for lack of any better alternative. That energy propels the plots of all three films: the chaotic path he carves through the events of Star Trek and ST:ID, and the slightly calmer but still undeniably bananas course he charts for himself and his crew in the second half of Beyond.

As the heart, Leonard operates on a more micro level. His concern invariably lies with the individual people caught up in those grand events Captain Chaos is busy dragging them all through. While Jim’s zooming around flipping plot switches, Leonard can always be counted on to bring it back to the personal.

We frequently see this juxtaposed right there on film. Think of that slow pan through medbay in the first movie after the Narada’s ambush and the destruction of Vulcan: while Jim is stewing over what to do about the Big Bad, Leonard has stepped into the CMO role without fuss or fanfare to care for the wounded crew and traumatized survivors.

Or jump ahead to Beyond: during Krall’s attack on the Enterprise, there’s a gorgeous cinematic shot of Jim sprinting down the corridor with two crew members to take on the invaders - and then we cut to Leonard moving slowly through those same ghastly red-lit corridors, searching for casualties in need of help, visibly affected by what his scanner is telling him about the downed crewman he tries to save.

Actually, Beyond as a whole does terrific justice to each of their roles. (Perhaps because it was not written by dingdongs.) The first act finds Jim flailing around for a sense of purpose and forward momentum - an understandable consequence of a gut-driven character having stalled out for too long - and he ultimately gets his mojo back by spending the rest of the film careening through one insane seat-of-his-pants ploy after another. Meanwhile, in the quieter moments between all the mayhem, Leonard serves as the empathetic sounding board for both Jim and Spock as they struggle with deep emotionally charged secrets and Big Life Questions, helping them untangle their feelings and reminding them of the emotional attachments which are ultimately key to their respective decisions to stay on the Enterprise.

More examples, you say? Don’t mind if I do!

Star Trek

GUT: Jim hurtles around the Narada, improvising almost every step of the way and paying the price for his and Spock’s scheme in bodily harm, and ultimately succeeds in rescuing Pike. HEART: Leonard calls out for Jim as he runs into the transporter room, overwhelmed with relief that he’s made it back, and takes Chris Pike’s weight literally and figuratively onto his own shoulders to begin healing him while Jim runs back off to the center of the action.

Star Trek: Into Darkness

GUT: Jim argues with Leonard, Spock, and Scotty in quick succession as he’s preparing to drag them all off to Qo’noS, immune to their attempts to reason with him because, unraveled as he is by grief and pain, he can only focus on his visceral drive to Do Something. HEART: Unlike the others, Leonard is upset not about the larger moral questions of whether it’s right to go after John Harrison or bring torpedoes aboard the ship, but about the fact that Jim himself is hurt and hurting and won’t accept help.

GUT: Jim makes a snap decision to sacrifice himself by hurling his body against the warp core to realign it and save his crew. HEART: Shellshocked by the emotional grenade of his best friend’s death, Leonard suddenly realizes, through the haze of his own numbness and upswelling grief, that he might still be able to do something for this lonely radiation-ravaged body he’s been brought and the life it represents.

Star Trek Beyond

GUT: At the tail end of an improvised plan to out-maneuver Kalara, Jim quite literally shoots first and asks questions later, igniting a fuel tank and setting off an explosive series of events which he and Chekov just barely escape. HEART: The next time we see Leonard, Spock is opening up to him about Ambassador Spock’s death and his own plan to leave Starfleet for New Vulcan - and while he’s empathetic toward Spock (I can’t imagine what that must feel like), Leonard’s thoughts go immediately to the emotional impact of Spock’s plan on the other people he’s closest with. (I can see how that would upset [Nyota]. / I can tell you, [Jim]’s not gonna like that.)

GUT: Jim frantically strains to reach the final switch in the life support hub, believing that he’s going to die either way since the vent has already opened, but spurred on by the knowledge that his ability to move that switch is the only thing standing between Yorktown and annihilation. HEART: Knowing exactly what’s at stake, with the fate of the station and millions of lives hanging in the balance, Leonard’s greatest concern is that Jim won’t make it out in time.

iv. never bet against the heart

Let’s wrap this up with a deep dive on one of the absolute best examples of Leonard as the heart: his decision to sneak Jim onto the Enterprise in the first movie.

As relentlessly as I drag him for the, you know, poisoning and kidnapping aspects of that whole deal, there’s no denying that it is a god-tier heart move. Is it logical? Absolutely not. Is it really the right thing to do for either himself or Jim, as far as he knows at the time? Nope. It’s 100% the wrong choice for his own job security, reputation, and relationships with his fellow crew, and it’s almost guaranteed to get Jim into even worse trouble. Leonard is a smart dude who must understand that this course of action will likely end up coming back on them both in a real bad way. For someone who argues loudly and often in defense of self-preservation, this is a shockingly bad idea.

But none of that matters, because Jim shakes his hand and tells him to be safe with that horrible empty-eyed smile, and it gets him right in the heart, one-two-three.

One: sympathy, worry, and affection for Jim - his best friend, his wild and troublesome stray, his only family.

Two: guilt over adding onto Jim’s pain, and the instinctive urge to fix whatever‘s hurting him.

Three: fear of heading out into the unknown by himself, the agonizing uncertainty of not knowing what’s coming, craving for the security and reassurance Jim’s presence would give him.

“Dammit,” Leonard says, as his heart wins out over his brain. He knows this is a garbage plan, and he doesn’t care. His heart chooses Jim. That’s all that matters.

So he goes back for Jim, and to his own surprise it turns out that this Very Bad Idea was actually a Very Good Idea because Jim’s impulsive instincts end up saving Earth, and Leonard’s not in the habit of fixing what ain’t broke so he figures he may as well keep on chasing Jim’s crazy ass around the galaxy for a while, through jungles and off cliffs and into the goddamn afterlife when need be, until finally one day Jim’s gut drives him right into Leonard’s arms and he suddenly realizes that this is what his heart was choosing all those years ago: Jim’s wide terrified eyes, Jim’s voice breaking over his name, Jim’s hand pressing hard against his chest, reaching out for what’s his.

But that’s another story.

#mckirk #otp: bedside manner #fic related #palimpsest verse #@animetrashmuffin is a gift #several people messaged me when i vague-tagged about this a while back #but you're the one who had to listen to me rant at great length about this while i was sick so CONGRATS PAL THIS MESS IS FOR YOU #mccoy #kirk #star trek #aos #long post

[lady-divine-writes]

Good Omens - “Angel’s Christmas Wish” (Rated NC17)

Summary: Crowley doesn't know what to get his angel for Christmas. It becomes such an issue, it creates a time-loop, forcing Crowley to re-live the day until he gets it right. (2263 words)

Notes: Written for @theantichristmaszine  2020 :)

Read on AO3.

“Oh, Aziraphale … darling …” A soft pause. A hard swallow. “Look at me, angel … please …”

Aziraphale’s eyelids flutter open - nerves and self-doubt fighting to keep them shut. And they almost win. It’s hard to be seen this way - vulnerable, open, full of this beautiful demon who’s doing his level best to please him, to fulfill his every desire.

And he’s succeeding.

Which is why opening his eyes is so hard.

Opening his eyes would mean letting Crowley see into him, expose the fact that he wants this, everything about it - the sacred connection between hearts and souls.

The carnal connection between skin and skin.

But Crowley’s pleas to him are so sweet, Aziraphale can’t deny him.

He stares up at his demon, eyes glistening with tears.

“There you are,” Crowley whispers. “I thought you might have disappeared on me.”

“Never, my dear. I’m right here. I’m with you. And I always will be.”

Crowley sweeps a thumb underneath Aziraphale’s eye and collects a single tear. He brings it to his lips and kisses it away. Then he leans in and kisses his angel again.

Aziraphale didn’t know he’d started crying but he can’t help himself. It’s not a habit of his. He’s not a ninny. But this moment, this one right here, with Crowley hovering over him, arms wrapped around him, moving with him in a slow rhythm, is the most magical moment of his entire existence.

From where this night began to where it ended up, this is nothing short of a miracle in Aziraphale’s eyes …

***

“Dearest? Why do you look so glum?” Aziraphale asks, handing Crowley a glass of champagne. “It’s Christmas!”

“Of course, it’s Christmas!” Crowley grumps, grabbing the glass from Aziraphale’s hands and knocking the alcohol back in one go. “It’s always Christmas!”

Aziraphale stutters a laugh, staring at Crowley as if his demon has suddenly gone bonkers. “What on earth do you mean it’s always Christmas? It isn’t always Christmas. Christmas only comes around once a year!”

“Not for us, it doesn’t,” Crowley mutters. “For some strange reason, we’ve been through this over a hundred times!”

“We as in the world? Or we as in you and me?”

“The world! And no matter what, I still get it wrong!”

Aziraphale watches Crowley rearrange his legs underneath him on the sofa. He gets up and paces, then sits down again. Aziraphale waits a moment longer before he comes up with a response. It’s not Crowley’s words that give him pause. It’s the tone of his voice, his body language. What he’s saying may sound ridiculous, but from the way he’s behaving - taking an anxious lap around the room with his shoulders tensed and his hands shoved into his pockets, as if waiting for a bomb to drop - Aziraphale can’t do much of anything other than believe him.

“You’re going to have to forgive me but I don’t understand,” he says, fishing for clarity. “This is the first Christmas we’ve spent together. Well, spent together as a couple. There was that one year …”

“No! No, it isn’t!” Crowley interrupts before Aziraphale can derail the conversation. “I don’t know what’s going on, Aziraphale, or how! I honestly don’t! But this is the 132nd Christmas we’ve spent together! We exchange gifts, have dinner, go to bed, wake up, and it’s Christmas all over again! And I can’t figure out why!” Crowley drops onto the sofa and buries his head in his hands.

“Oh,” Aziraphale says, topping off his demon’s glass, then taking the seat beside him. “Well, that … that is a puzzler … isn’t it?”

***

“I love you, Aziraphale,” Crowley utters. “I love you, I love you, I love you, I …” He doesn’t necessarily have Aziraphale’s attention, but it’s like the words aren’t for him to hear. Just for Crowley to say. But in the quiet of the room, Aziraphale does hear them.

“You know, my dear,” he says into the crook of Crowley’s neck, “if you had told me a year ago that we would finally get to this point, I would have thought you’d gone mad.”

“I was going mad,” Crowley admits. “Every time I saw you, I dropped hints like they were breadcrumbs and you … well, you never seemed to notice.”

‘Hints?’ Aziraphale’s brow wrinkles, thinking back on their every interaction, every conversation, trying to discern when Crowley had dropped any hints of any kind. Aside from saving those books from that church bombing (which may have made up for any hints Aziraphale missed) he is pressed to remember a single one.

“They must have been subtle,” Aziraphale deduces out loud.

“I was trying not to be too forward. Demon, you know.”

“Yes, my dear,” Aziraphale says with a fond sigh for his ridiculous lover.

Crowley chuckles. Then his brow wrinkles as well. “Wait … did you say finally?”

“Yes. I did.”

“But that would mean you thought we would get to this point eventually.”

“You did, too. What with all your hint dropping.”

“No, I didn’t know,” Crowley argues. “I hoped.”

Aziraphale pushes lightly on Crowley’s shoulders, tilting his head to look into his eyes. “I knew,” he says softly. “Deep down inside, I have always known.”

***

“Do you have any leads?” Aziraphale asks, getting caught up in the excitement of this mystery, even as his poor demon wallows in the angst.

“I think …” Crowley begins, tapping his heel on the floor as he thinks “… it’s the present.”

“What about the past? And the future? If we’re repeating time …”

“No no no!” Crowley interrupts. “Not the present present! The present present!”

Aziraphale frowns. “What?”

“Present as in gift. My gift to you.”

“But I love my present!” Aziraphale gushes, putting a hand to his waistcoat pocket and retrieving the gift Crowley gave him. “This is a perfectly beautiful pocket watch! No little screens or beeping buttons. Just a simple, elegant piece of machinery.”

“That’s just it! It is a perfectly beautiful pocket watch! And it’s just the kind of thing you’d appreciate. But it’s obviously not the thing! Not the right thing! Yesterday, I gave you a perfectly beautiful book of poetry …”

“Oh! Who wrote it?” Aziraphale asks, eyes gleaming.

“Wat? Uh … Byron, I think.”

“Oh,” Aziraphale replies, slightly disappointed.

“Wat? Wat’s wrong with Byron?” Crowley asks, curious if this could be the reason why they’re here today. If he can find out what’s wrong with his presents, then he can get Aziraphale the right one and the two of them the Heaven out of this mess!

“Nothing’s wrong with Byron. It’s simply that … well, I like your writing better.”

Crowley scoffs in frustration.

Nope. That didn’t help him at all.

“And the day before that, it was a perfectly beautiful bottle of 1947 Cheval-Blanc. Every gift I’ve given you has been perfectly beautiful in your own words. But it’s not, because I wake up every morning and here we are again, celebrating Christmas! And I want to move on from here, Aziraphale! I want to go forward with you! How do I do that? How do I break the loop?”

***

Crowley’s body is exceptional.

Simply exquisite.

If Azirapahle didn’t know for a fact that Crowley had refined his corporation himself, he would say that Crowley’s body is the Almighty’s best work.

Aziraphale knows things like physical beauty aren’t supposed to be important, but the fact of the matter is Crowley has created a facade that is not only pleasing to the eye, but which fits his personality to a T.

If one wanted an accurate first impression of the demon Crowley, they would not want to look to his true form, but into the eyes and winning smile of this glorious creature.

Unlike Hastur. That rotting, maggot-ridden, gray-skinned ghoul with the soulless black eyes?

That’s who Duke Hastur truly is.

Aziraphale can’t stop looking at his demon’s body.

Not to mention the things he can do with it.

Aziraphale supposes that’s part and parcel with being a demon - knowing how to inspire lust.

But the things Crowley is doing to him, the way he makes him feel …

… Aziraphale, with his vast knowledge of human linguistics, can’t seem to find the words for.

There are no words powerful enough to describe the sensation of Crowley’s lips on his skin, or his hands feeling out erogenous zones Aziraphale never realized existed. These corporations they use to fit in on earth, they are so frail. So delicate from the standpoint of a supernatural entity. When he first got his, he had to take great care always not to harm the thing.

But that became easier the more he grew to love it.

Apparently God made up for the frailty of the human body by giving them this incredible gift of physical intimacy. And for humans especially, an intimacy with no purpose other than for two beings to simply enjoy one another.

And Aziraphale is grateful that he gets this opportunity to sample it.

***

“If you ask me, I would say that we’re stuck in a loop you’ve created, since you’re the only one who seems to know it exists,” Aziraphale says, sounding utterly nonplussed by the whole sticky affair. “Therefore, only you can break it.”

“But how!? What am I missing? What is the right thing? What do I need to give you that I haven’t given you already?”

Aziraphale looks down into his flute of bubbling alcohol and smiles a wistful little smile. “Oh, my dear, that’s just the thing.”

“Wat do you mean?” Crowley asks, poised on the brink of desperation. He may have created this loop, but he very much believes that angel holds the key to shattering it. “Wat’s the thing?”

“You don’t need to give me anything. Nothing you would purchase in a store, at least.”

“Wat … wat else is there?” Crowley asks, perplexed.

Aziraphale turns his body towards him, leans in a hair closer, and looks deep into his eyes. “Think,” he says. “A little harder.”

***

“I’m yours, you know …” Crowley whispers through a veil that sounds like tears..

“What’s that, dear?”

“I’m yours.” He sniffs. “Have been. For as long as we’ve known one another. No …” Crowley wipes his left cheekbone with the back of his hand. “No, since the moment I saw you standing on that blasted wall. It’s the most ludicrous, most inconceivable thing in the world for me to say. There were so many times I thought I was lying to myself. But it’s true. Ever since then, Aziraphale …” Crowley stops, looks at Aziraphale to make sure he hasn’t lost him in his confession.

The smile on his angel’s face tells him that’s not likely.

“I’m yours,” he repeats.

“How come you never told me?”

Crowley shrugs. “Would it have made any difference? You’re an angel. I’m a demon. We aren’t exactly a perfect match.”

“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong, my love,” Aziraphale says, putting a hand to his demon’s cheek. “We are a perfect match. And I know this because I’ve been yours as well … you foul fiend.”

***

Crowley shakes his head. “I don’t understand.”

“Well, my dear …” Aziraphale clears his throat but tightens his jaw, what he’s about to say making him a bit uncomfortable “… at the end of any of these loops, have you made love to me?” He clears his throat again, his cheeks warming, glowing pink.

“Oh …” Crowley hadn’t expected that. He sits up, which moves him away from his angel - which wasn’t his intention “… uh … n---no. No, I haven’t.”

“Then you’re right.” Aziraphale dares to shimmy closer with his cheeks burning now. “You haven’t found the thing yet. Because, to be quite honest … that’s what I wanted. Th---that’s what I was hoping for.”

“You want me … to make love to you? For Christmas?”

“O---only if you want to. I would never assume … or imply … which is to say, I wouldn’t want to force you to …”

***

“Oh Gahhh …!”

“Don’t say it!” Aziraphale hushes, giggling. “The consequences of that could be disastrous!”

“I know, I know. It’s just … I think I understand.”

“Understand what?”

“Why humans call out her name … during sex, I mean. Making love … it’s kind of like praying, isn’t it?”

Aziraphale swallows hard, fear pooling in his stomach with the thought that now that Crowley has come to that realization, he’ll never want to do this again. “Do you hate it?”

“No. Not at all. Not so long as I’m with you.”

***

Aziraphale doesn’t finish his sentence.

Not because he falters.

But because Crowley’s mouth on his takes his breath away.

“I am … so stupid,” Crowley says against his angel’s lips, unwilling to leave his mouth. “I never realized. I should have told you,” he confesses between kisses - to Aziraphale’s mouth, to his cheeks, to the soft curls surrounding his face, “so many times. I should have told you how I felt. How much I loved you. And I tried. I tried so hard to think of something I could give you that would let you know …”

Aziraphale puts a hand to his demon's cheek, stares into amber eyes he has seen - and admired - hundreds of times. But now, he feels like he’s looking into them for the very first time. “You don’t need to give me anything. All I want for Christmas ... is you.”

#good omens #good omens fanfiction #ineffable husbands #ineffable lovers #aziraphale x crowley #crowley x aziraphale #aziraphale #Crowley

[shiny-procrastinates]

(re)Watching Magia Record S1 - part 7

part 6 here

Hello everyone and welcome back to this quasi-watchalong of Magia Record season 1! Last time, Iroha met a magical girl mercenary called Felicia, and the two ended up caught in the Rumor of the Lucky Owl Water. When our girls went to erase it, a cult group of weirdos called The Wings of the Magius stood in their way and got Felicia to join them promising the extinction of all witches.

Who are these weirdos? What are they up to protecting the Rumors? Is what they promised Felicia true? Et cetera, et cetera. Let's just go to the episode to find out already.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record S1 episode 7

O-oh... what a way to start an episode, huh.

We get a look into what led to Felicia becoming a magical girl and, like most magical girl backstories, it's tragic. This is the reason why Felicia's obsessed with destroying all witches.

Continuing from the previous episode, Felicia was taken to a subterranean waterway, that might be their hideout. Wait, didn't Kaede say something about a rumor of a giant underground empire some time back? She might've been right after all hahaha

After walking a while, Felicia is met by Tsukasa and Tsukuyo Amane, two of the, uh, generals I guess I could say, of The Wings of the Magius.

The weirdo twins explain that their organization's objective is fulfilling the wishes of the Magius, whose objective is the salvation of all magical girls. See, so they are the ones behind the salvation propaganda.

The twins say their objective cannot be completed without the eradication of witches, which... well, is not a lie. Without the witchfication, there would be no witches. It's all fine until there, but then they're also protecting Rumors, who kidnap people, so... yeah.

...uh, hey, Kyoko? What are you doing here?

Back to Iroha's group, Iroha is worried about just letting Felicia go like that, to which Yachiyo answers it's fine because she planted a GPS on her... sasuga, Yachiyo. Why in the heck did you have that?

"Am I being tracked too...?”

Yachiyo says this much is normal (no it's not), since she didn't trust Felicia to begin with, but Iroha just feels bad knowing Felicia's circumstances.

The trio heads towards Felicia's position and find the entrance to the waterway. Waiting for them there was...

Chibi Kyuubei. For as adorable as he is, he manages to look even more suspicious than the original. And he only shows up when there's a rumor around, too! I don't trust him.

Back at the underground waterway, Kyoko and Felicia are having a little chat. According to her, Kyoko only just ran into them too. She says that as long as she has Grief Seeds, food and a place to sleep, the rest doesn't matter, but she also seems to be aware that the WoM are fishy. Felicia agrees uneasily, but hearing that they might be behind the witches gathering in Kamihama seems to already have put doubts in her mind.

The two have a meeting with the Amane twins inside the Rumor's barrier.

The twins explain the logic behind the Lucky Owl Water once again, and Kyoko says this

There it is! This series' core. Funny hearing that from Kyoko, since I think she doesn't even know how right she is yet.

Kyoko rejects the Water and lays out her terms: as long as she can keep gathering Grief Seeds, she's fine with anything. However, the twins affirm that those are not necessary in Kamihama. Normally, I'd say these two are bonkers, but... well, we saw what happened to Iroha and Kaede. These two must know about that too. At this moment, a black feather comes in and interrupts their little show.

Iroha's group was making their way through the waterway when the Amane twins block their way and, together with them, Kyoko and Felicia.

The Amane twins tell Iroha to do what they say if she doesn't want to be swallowed by bad luck and Iroha asks them why would they create that Rumor, to which the twins once more say it's for the sake of the Magius and their salvation. See, cult.

Yachiyo cuts to the chase and confirms they're here to battle, and the twins pull out something strange on them.

So, yeah. There's pocket monsters, and now we have pocket witches too, apparently.

The twins called a witch upon our girls, which, according to them, they are controlling with magic. As the girls begin fighting against their familiars, Yachiyo asks the twins if they have any idea of what exactly they're doing. Tsukasa apologizes, but affirms that witches will be gone if they can realize their plans. The twins (literally) pull the rug on Yachiyo and Tsuruno and chase after them, leaving the (weak) Iroha to Kyoko and Felicia.

Iroha gets whacked by the familiars and Felicia comes in to help. Iroha then once again dashes in her direction and they do a connect. Upon further thought, I think Iroha's assist is a booster in a more literal sense, since it turned Felicia's hammer into a rocket-hammer. My theory is that it's the same propulsion magic that makes her crossbow work.

Felicia's hammer causes a quake and one of the twins asks what's going on. Well, what did you think would happen if you released a witch in front of someone who notoriously goes berserk when they see witches? The twins might not be very smart.

Damn, I missed a number.

Kyoko bounces too. She wasn't very convinced with the twins' vague talk of "salvation".

After transforming, Kyoko does her good act of the day, busting a hole in the barrier and telling Iroha to go on ahead. Iroha hesitates to leave her friends behind but obeys when Yachiyo tells her to go.

With Kyoko guarding her back Iroha manages to make it out of the witch's p*kéball and into the Rumor's barrier. Like it's said, out of the frying pan into the fire. Oh and there's 7-6. I'm really missing numbers left and right today.

No Iroha, don't go chase the Kyuubei towards the light...! Just kidding. Iroha gets out of the tunnel and finds the Rumor's main body. She confirms with her tutorial mascot if she only has to break that, readies her crossbow and... gets swarmed by owls. C'mon Iroha, did you really think it'd be that easy?

While Iroha's busy sucking at battles, Felicia's not having a better time with her reckless style either. Kyoko saves her ass and tells her she's not winning like that.

This whole sequence is just great in terms of animation, shame I can't really screenshot that T-T

As someone on a similar spot, Kyoko gives Felicia some advice, telling her she's a magical girl for her own sake; that's how it should be when she's betting her own life.

The two cooperate on destroying the witches, with Felicia bonking the whole barrier to smithereens. Nice job, rocket-hammer!

The girls go back to the waterway and the twins' Soul Gem is quite drained. Tsuruno tells them to stop already, but these two weirdos say that's just what they wanted.

Saying that they'll be able to show that Kamihama is a place of salvation, the two do the same thing Iroha and Kaede had done.

Uhhh... if the salvation that the Magius is preaching is spewing out a witch from your body, that's already super fishy. There's no way there's no downside to this. This is Madoka we are talking about... right...?

While Yachiyo's group learns a shocking and disturbing truth, Iroha's busy getting her ass kicked. Poor Iroha

and oh god, I don't think anyone would ever catch this number if they weren't pausing as much as I am to write this.

Iroha keeps getting wrecked by the owls, miraculously escaping unscathed thanks to the Lucky Owl Water. As the numbers keep counting down, Iroha starts questioning what happened to her back in the Seance Shrine. Uh, Iroha, is this really the best time to be introspecting?

No matter how many times I see it, this scene still creeps me out.

While Iroha gets another round of spawning a witch, Yachiyo's group fight the twins', to no avail. Back to Iroha...

Oh no the witch talks now? Eek... oh, wait wait is this still Iroha's voice?

Not that the first thing it said is wrong, but Yachiyo's words really remained in a negative manner, huh? First in the Seance Shrine and now this. Iroha, don't go getting yourself killed trying to become stronger, ok?

A-at least it's a bit cuter now... if you can call a witch that... rather, why did it change?

Iroha's thing makes short work of the Rumor and the Chibi Kyuubei peaces out. As if it wasn't suspicous enough, it turns into freaking water. Goddammit Chibi Kyuubei.

Iroha just lies there tired.

Uhh... yeah, sure, if you count an eldritch abomination coming out of you as part of yourself, then yeah you did.

Like last time, Iroha's Soul Gem is pristine clean now.

Back to the twins, thanks to the floating water falling they realize that the Rumor's been defeated , then start panicking.

"Someone", whose voice we're already familiar with, comes in to check on the situation and the twins apologize for their failure.

Whelp, this is awkward. Hello there, Mifuyu. So you joined a cult.

Tsuruno gets really emotional. She runs up and hugs Mifuyu. who stops the Black Feathers from attacking her. Tsuruno's really glad that she's back and says they'll have to make a "Welcome Back Party" at her family's restaurant, but Mifuyu says she's not going back, because she's part of the cult The Wings of the Magius now. (couldn't they choose a shorter name for their group? Geez)

Mifuyu shifts her attention to Yachiyo and says she's happy that they went even to Seance Shrine to search for her; Yachiyo says it's thanks to the Kamihama Rumor Files (the notebook Yachiyo carries around) that she left behind.

Yachiyo asks but Mifuyu implies she's the one that was left behind.

Mifuyu invites Yachiyo to join the cult but Yachiyo, obviously, can't agree with their methods. She questions if Mifuyu hadn't resolved herself as a magical girl but Mifuyu, like we saw in the flashback, really wants to be saved. Yachiyo's the only one who's strong like that.

Yachiyo says she'll stop her by force if she has to and they prepare to battle again, but Mifuyu uses her magic and has her group leave.

Iroha's group leave the underground waterway (seems Kyoko has gone her way already too). Felicia tries to leave too and says she has nowhere to go back to when Iroha stops her and asks, so Iroha tells her to come over to her place.

Felicia says she doesn't have to do that for her, but Iroha says she's doing this for herself, that she needs Felicia's strenght. Felicia argues that Iroha will get in trouble again if she's around and all the girls chip in saying they'll help her learn to hold herself back. (I'm not sure what this far framing is doing but I do like how it lets us see the body expression of all the girls at once.)

Huh, weird, why is the screen so blurry? I can't type like this...

Iroha apologizes for what they said and insists on having Felicia over, even if just for the day. Yachiyo comes in and tells them to stay over at her place instead.

*sobs* so beautiful ;-; I wish I knew the name of the ost track here it's really pretty too.

It really is Kyoko, it really is.

At Yachiyo's place, Iroha's on the phone with her parents while the others wait for her to eat. It seems like her parents finally decided on where she's going to be moving to, and whatever they said was a surprise.

There goes the last number! The Rumor's gone so this has to be purely for the sake of finishing the countdown, but I have long given up on trying to find the ones I'm missing in this episode.

And there's the title card. Don't leave the episode yet, though, as there's still an after credits scene.

To absolutely no one's surprise besides Iroha's, the place her parents decided on is Mikadzuki Villa, Yachiyo's place. Now, I did say that last number must be purely illustrative, but I'm inclined to agree with Iroha here on it being thanks to the Lucky Owl Water since there is no other way I can rationalize Iroha's parents, from overseas, managing to find the phone number of Mikadzuki Villa, that's not even doing boarding anymore, calling while Yachiyo's around to respond, making an agreement to let Iroha live there, and Yachiyo not even telling Iroha her parents called. So yeah, I say it was the Lucky Owl Water.

Felicia comes with Tsuruno and reveals she's also been living in Yachiyo's place. She's happy she'll be freed from living alone with Yachiyo and her "nagging" and Yachiyo tells her to clean up; Iroha says she's glad to see them getting along.

“When did I turn into a mom?“

That's a new type of bishie sparkles alright. Can all models do this? Is it like some special ability like Gabs' censor light rays? We'll never know.

After the various types of ad, now we have spam too. Magia Record is actually warning us about the dangers of the internet.

...In all seriousness though, that's some mysterious text. How do they, whoever "they" are, know that Iroha's a magical girl? And most of all, how do they have her number? Guess this is going to be the mystery for the next episode. (Also, I never noticed this before but you can hear a veeeery quiet chime when the messages come in. Nice detail!).

- x -

Aaaand with that, we have concluded episode 7! This one also ran on longer than I expected and, surprisingly, managed to surpass the number of screenshots of all others at about 43 images. sugoi

I couldn't catch all the numbers this time, but the ones I did were: 13-12 with Iroha on the bridge; 10-9 when Kyoko "betrays" the WoM; 7-6 when Iroha finds the Rumor; 6 through 1 happen while Iroha's fighting the Rumor and the last 1-0 was in Yachiyo's magazine. With that, I'm missing 12-11; 11-10; 9-8 and 8-7, which I have no idea where they are. Oh well.

I realized partway through that it kinda seems like I'm dissing Iroha every chance I get, but I assure you I don't hate her. In fact, she's my favorite character! This is coming purely from a place of affection, and a bit of frustration at what the anime did to her character, so don't mind me, it's aaall good.

With that out of the way, this was episode 7! We are now over halfway through, with a buckload of mysteries and barely any progress being made towards finding Iroha's younger sister. Poor Ui, if you even existed. Tomorrow, we'll be watching episode 8, so I hope you'll read me again then. Have a great morning/afternoon/evening and see you later!

#Magia Record #Puella Magi Madoka Magica #pmmm magia record #magireco

[jinxofthedesert]

Hi there! Annoying anon that loves rambling about the Valeska twins is here again 🤣 Let the discussion continue! 😂 Yeah, I totally get your point of writing such stories as a means of fulfilling wishes. I guess it makes sense from the writer's pov that they want to give these characters a different (better) treatment. Valid point, but still, they don't feel real to me.

(Below this is the rest of the messages, put together. Farther down, below the line, are my responses)

It's like I'm reading a story with a character that's called Jerome/Jeremiah Valeska and looks exactly like him, but it's not truly him (just like you said, at their cores they are bad guys). But it's perfectly understandable and all right that people want to give them a rest from their chaotic lives haha 😊 everybody’s got their cup of tea ☕

Damn, yes, these stories are so hard to find! I imagine that writing something of the sort and investing so much in such complex characters can be draining and daunting, so yeah I get the reason why there are not so many fics out there... and OCs are so difficult to write haha you are right. They take too much time and effort 🤣

Yeah, I guess Ecco was not the best example. It's very true what you say about Jeremiah's and Ecco's relationship. In the show it was portrayed as a professional one. So we don't really know if there's anything else beyond that, save for some level of concern. So I guess I should have gone with Bruce instead because, just like you said, Jeremiah went totally bonkers when he realized that Bruce was the only one who saw past his resemblance to Jerome.

Basically, what I was trying to say is that in these fics there's not really that same vibe of evil obsession and lunacy from the twin's side. Maybe just some sort of heightened jealousy when their partner is addressed by other characters, but not in a really "Valeska" way. In fact, it is also strange when Bruce is completely absent in these stories when the twins' obsession revolves around him.

Yeah, there is sooo much to explore, so that is why I am very curious to see how people construe their backgrounds, but usually it's just the repetition of the show with some added scenes and dialogues here and there 😅 I would love to see something a bit different, but well, I guess I am being very demanding 🤣 Don't worry about it and thanks so much for replying! 😘 I am now doing some research in different sites 🤣

It's a bit weird because even though I enjoyed the show, I have to say I merely watched it to see ma broski boys in action 🤣 so If I wasn't so lazy (and didn't have other unfinished projects) I would try to write something (my mind is already full of vague ideas OMGGG 😏🤔😂), but I don't really know much about other characters or subplots, so I would not be sure how to tackle it 🤔 Thanks again for the lovely discussion! 😊

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Hi anon! Don’t you worry about your rambles, they’re not at all annoying! I find it rather fun to discuss the twins. 

I’m sorry you’ve not been able to find the content you’re looking for; usually, I always run into comments on Tumblr or Pinterest about how you look for certain fics and when you can’t find them, then it’s time to try a hand at writing it yourself. I’ve done that and, even though I enjoy writing, it’s still pretty hard, especially to find a drive to do it when I really am not feeling it.  With the twins not feeling real, I understand, ‘course I now think I’m at the point where I might read anything if I’m gifted with more content lol (though there are some tags that, if I see them, I don’t touch if I can help it). 

I think, usually, with most writers, it’s easier to take a character like Jerome/Jeremiah and, instead of doing the tremendous work that comes with trying (emphasis trying) to change them, they do a few things and that’s enough for a road to recovery. Because, most of the time, they’re not writing to change the character, or even to make it realistic; sometimes they’re just writing, or they wanted to try a different aspect. There can be so many reasons and sometimes digging deep and getting a character 100% correct isn’t at the top of the list of what you want in that story. Personally, I’ve learned to broaden my sense of disbelief with characters and just enjoy what I manage to find, especially since the Gotham fic-oriented content is sooooo small 😢

After reading your last message, I actually went onto Ao3 and searched ‘character studies’ under the characters and yeah, there’s not much, I read a few and I honestly wasn’t sure what to think (not to call anyone out). It reminded me a lot of my years reading batjokes on fanfiction or, again, Ao3 where, if you search long enough, there’s a fic for almost all your needs. There have been some good gems in there that delve into character studies and helping these characters try and become better. Comparing that to Gotham’s arrangement of fics is sad, to say the least, but batjokes in all media have a lottttt of years to have such a collection of wonderful content. (Even if you’re only a Gotham fan, stretching out into the actual Batman fandom can be very rewarding, even if your next step is into the Nolan movies or even Batman in general cause you can replace the characters in your head if you really want too)  I think one big problem with Oc’s is that, in a way, they’re easy to make, but in the worst way. You can create a character to put in the place you want, a blank space and they’re just nothing. This comes up a lot in anime type works, where the main character is so blah for the purpose of the audience (reader in our other case) to put themselves in the place of the main character. This also happens in a lot of movies as well, instead of fleshing the character out and allowing them to move and breathe the way THEY would and not how the audience thinks they themselves would. Because of this, oc’s can be very flat. There are the exception, of course although I have no examples since I don’t remember the last Oc story I read . . .  *wracks brain* yeah no idea. Though I’m sure it’s somewhere in my saves.

Even if one doesn’t ship Jeremiah with Bruce, it’s very difficult to ignore/brush under the rug that there was definitely an obsession and that originally, during their weeks of spending time together, building the generator, there started a friendship. The first is very obvious, show-wise (and friendship kinda came with the territory) and the gay subtext can be there if you look at it that way. As much as an interesting character Ecco is, she’s both not important enough in the show (sorry Ecco lovers) or to Jeremiah or to anyone for that matter. While with Bruce and Jeremiah, with how their first meeting go’s and all the meetings that follow after (very willingly on Jeremiah’s part even though I’m sure before this NO ONE was allowed in the inner parts of his bunker for long periods. Probably not even Ecco) the relationship is much more pronounced than anything we’re given prior.  I like to think that even though Bruce was manipulating Jeremiah when they first met, he actually did see him as his own person. Even though he, like Jim and Harvey, have personally bore witness to Jerome’s tyranny. (And that only twists the knife harder when Jeremiah eventually loses his mind because both him and Jeremiah saw him as his own person and in a way Jeremiah doesn’t become like Jerome, he becomes worse)

One could argue that since we didn’t see a ‘true’ way the Valeska’s love that any type of them showing affection might never seem very Valeska. Unless one looks at their reactions and interactions with Bruce as something more than just ‘wanting to kill him’ or ‘obsession’. This would be another reason I’m don’t read much in the oc-area or out of the romantic’s lol mainly because the moment they take Bruce out of the picture, everything seems off. Jerome, while willing to divide his attention, only does it with specific people, who are: Jim, Bruce, Jeremiah, and, on occasion, Oswald (though he’s much less in comparison to the ‘big three’). Other then them, we don’t see him hyper-focus on anyone else in the show, and if he does, it’s for a second and to simply kill them after. If these three aren’t integral to his behavior and actions then things feel flat and out-right ignoring his obsession with Bruce and his inner darkness can be unrealistic. With Jeremiah, this is much worse because in canon, once No Man’s Land starts, all he can think about is Bruce. Everything he does in that setting and before this even started was for Bruce. This type of obsession is . . . well, something that can’t simply be ignored, it’s a big part of his character and also very integral to just who he is after the spray. It may not be as bad at the start of the spray (because he’s too busy rebuilding Gotham in his image) but literally second to that desire is his connection with Bruce. If there were a summary of Jeremiah as a character it would be IMPOSSIBLE to write it without Bruce (same with Jerome though his might be a footnote, depending). So him suddenly focusing on someone else is . . . odd (even with Jim he doesn’t give his full attention too and, in the finale, Jeremiah only starts moving around and doing shit when he realizes that Bruce has come home early and that it’s time to finally come back to the spotlight). Especially since he’s supposed to be the ‘Joker’ in the Gotham world, which, technically speaking, means this obsession with the Bat (a.k.a Bruce) will only ever get worse from here (not to mention the fact he knows Batman is Bruce because he remembers the prophecy Ra’s told him, which we’re shown in the finale when he first sees the Bat and comment’s ‘you’ in a knowing way; this can be argued he’s just recognizing that this is what the prophecy was talking about or that it’s Bruce but personally I think both cause the prophecy was about both of them.).

It’s hard not to repeat things in canon though, believe me, I know and if you ever try writing a time travel story, it’s much worse cause then you have to change literally everything if you’re doing it that way.  Nah, you know what you like; the only problem with that is it’ll be hard to find it most of the time. I wish you luck in searching! Hopefully, you’ll find something.

Same. My older brother introduced me to the show and his way of doing so was first telling me it was a batman show, that I would LOVE Oswald’s aesthetic and that there was a Joker-type character just introduced. I was sold lol. There’s been a lot of drama with the show though, concerning the twins and I honestly wish they’d just stuck with Jerome or if they did still use Jeremiah that he wasn't just . . . a backup plan for killing Jerome off. And, if they’d been allowed to go on for a few more seasons, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they would have also killed Jeremiah and a third (never heard of) Valeska twin (triplet) would show up, playing into the overall Joker lore about there having been three. 😒🤨😑 Which I find humorous because they did so well with Jerome, he was a well-rounded, fleshed out character and, as much as I love Jeremiah, it’s hard not to consider what we could have gotten if Jerome had lived *wistful sigh* I won’t lie that the drama hasn’t affected how I watch it too these days, or at least left me with a lasting impression.  I was very invested in the first few seasons, it was a good show, minus the plot-holes and annoying characters (yes, some annoy me and there are some I can’t stand) but when the twins were on screen, it was probably the show at its best. If they had implicated them more so into the main story I probably would have watched all the way to the end (I can admit, I’ve never seen season five, but I saw many clips, have been completely spoiled and DID watch the finale lol and . . . I think I saw some of season four? Maybe, not sure anymore.) because when they’re also interacting with Bruce, perfection. I could watch that shit for days. 

Also, if you did write it, it wouldn’t have to be about other characters if you don’t want it to be. You’re talking to me, who has never seen the last few seasons and when I wrote my first fic ‘Blindly Evident’ literally all my scenes I had to LOOK UP because I only knew the base of what the scene was even about lol. So sometimes, you can totally bullshit your way lol and somehow it turns out to be really good and you like it. Or it’s just snippets of small scenes with your characters (I’ve been writing a fic like that for awhile because it’s fun and easy and yet you can make it so thought provoking because these snippets are so smallll.) I would implore you to give it a go. Even if you have no idea what the other characters are doing or even what their names are. 

I feel like this has just become me rambling about Gotham and writing tips at this point lol but you’re welcome~ I am here to try and help and always willing to listen about Gotham and talk (or rant, I’m not picky lol). Thanks again for your ask, anon! Hope you find that content you’re looking for 🥰🧡💛

#anon ask #asks #Jinx rambles #again lol #Gotham #Jerome Valeska #Jeremiah Valeska #Valeska twins #Bruce Wayne #writers #fics #fanfiction #Archive of our own #Ao3 #Jinx goes on tangents and makes comparisons and tries to dig deeper lol #Wayleska #Valeyne #oc's and stuff #Oc's #write what you want guys #make it happen #like i am still trying to do and failing lolol

[adventuresloane]

oh god i can't stop thinking about a TAZ Amnesty Moana AU ok please consider:

-Aubrey’s raised to be the chief of her village one day but feels Called to magic and the strange world outside of what she’s always known and even shows an affinity for it

-Aubrey for sure talks to magic and fire the same way Moana talks to the ocean

-But there’s the approaching darkness of the Quell that’s threatening to destroy her home and so it’s Hero’s Journey Time

-Ned takes Grandma Tala’s place as the elder that everyone thinks is crazy and eccentric and who also just so happens to know a shitton about the old legends, although he considers himself to be past the point of believing them

-But it’s all Aubrey has to go on, so she convinces Ned to join her and they go on a quest to awaken an entity called Sylvain and get her to defeat the Quell, since that’s the only way according to the stories

-(There’s also just a small part of that legend that mentions needing an orange pendant to restore the heart of Sylvain in order to awaken her, but Ned just chooses not to tell Aubrey about that one. All these stories are poppycock anyway.)

-But anyway he tells her that in order to get this shit done, they have to find a demigod that no one’s heard from in years

-Turns out that’s because he fucked off to a corner of the deep deep forest and has just been vibing for like decades because he was tired of everyone wanting him to fulfill quests just because he’s buff and godly and shit

-But Aubrey does convince demigod!Duck (who does in fact still resemble Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson) to come with them anyway and they have some battles together and he realizes that he has to face up to his responsibilities, especially because the more the darkness of the Quell spreads, the more vulnerable he becomes

-(Ned is both encouraged and increasingly nervous about how much these old legends are turning out to be prophecies)

-Also Beacon is a giant fish hook in this but otherwise he talks and acts in exactly the same way he does in Amnesty

-Anyway shenanigans ensue, the trio grows closer through all the danger, Aubrey’s skills in magic increase, and it seems like they’re getting closer and closer to finding Sylvain

-But then Ned just disappears as they come to the ritual place or whatever where they’re supposed to awaken Sylvain, and Duck and Aubrey can’t figure out how to do it with just the two of them

-What Ned can’t figure out is how he’s going to tell Aubrey that this whole time, he’s been hiding the magic pendant that’s kept him in good health for all his many years. The one he snatched when she was still a toddler, knowing its powers of eternal life but not just what it was. They’ve had the heart of Sylvain this whole time, among their group.

-He doesn’t have to tell her, though. Aubrey finds him as he’s looking at the thing, as he’s going back and forth. It’s too late for him to explain.

-She tells him to leave.

-She and Duck restore the heart of Sylvain at the ritual place and...nothing. She’s not awakened. Maybe there was never anything to awaken. Maybe she’s dead.

-Meanwhile, Duck’s powers are gone. They’re in the heart of the Quell’s darkness and he’s just a regular human now. He’s sorry. He can’t face this without his abilities.

-And then? Then Aubrey finds that Ned is dead. 

-She’s failed at all of this. She doesn’t want any of it. She’s alone now and she just wants to go home while there’s still a home to go to.

-And then, from the pendant, there’s a light, and an outpouring of the strongest flaming magic she’s ever felt, and in front of her stands someone who could be her sister.

-She meets, for the first time, the goddess who’s been inside her this whole time. Sylvain embraces her. The spirit of Ned is there, too, forgiving and forgiven at last.

-And it’s obvs still a musical so as Aubrey finds herself surrounded by swells of warm bright magic in the dark and feels wholly enveloped in divine love she comes to the climax of her song and sings, “and the call isn’t out there at all, it’s inside me! It’s like the fire, always falling and rising. I will carry you here in my heart. You remind me that come what may, I know the waaaaay!”

-”I AM MOANA SYLVAIN!”

-I cry.

-She meets back up with Duck, who’s had a change of heart and doesn’t care that he doesn’t have his same powers. He’ll do what he can.

-And finally after it’s clear that fighting won’t do it, we see Aubrey walking calmly through a wall of fire as the huge black form and giant red eye of the Quell barrels toward her, destroying everything in its path. She just proceeds, sure in her own magic and relationship with Sylvain.

-And you know what even though I liked the fight against the Quell in Amnesty what we really deserved was Aubrey approaching it in peace and chanting, “They have stolen the heart from inside you, but this does not define you. This is not who you are. You know who you are.”

-I cry, again.

-Also Dr. Bonkers is the cute pig

#aubrey #duck #ned #dr bonkers #beacon #moana #taz fanfic #taz #the adventure zone #the zone cast #taz amnesty #taz aubrey #aubrey little #taz ned #ned chicane #taz duck #duck newton #taz beacon #moine

[sunquail]

part of the reason why I’m not drawing as quickly lately (as if it’s noticeable) is I’m working as a supply TA at assorted high schools around my home area, which is really great!! I love it! right now I’m halfway through a month long placement at a school with like a goose as its logo and it’s great, I’m having a nice time, the staff are friendly, the kids are fun and cool. sometimes I’m at mainstream schools, sometimes I’m at SEN schools, I’m often working with kids who have learning needs or behavioural difficulties and I really enjoy just...talking to them and helping them out? I’m teaching kids math? I’m helping them cook in food tech? I get to help teach them real-ass high school art? like it’s genuinely fulfilling and something I’m good at (AND it pays a way more reliable wage than freelancing, lmao)

so like. it’s not My Calling, but it’s something I have fun with and get paid doing and I’m thrilled about that. I didn’t know I was good at or enjoyed working with teenagers until I realised I’d been doing it for months and months and was having a fun time doing it. I at no point want to be a full teacher. no way. TAs get the freedom of being able to drop stresses at the threshold when they go home. I don’t have to do extracurricular work or plan lessons or have to deal with observers or anything so there’s just no lasting stress. my back aches from walking around a lot, and I get frustrated with some kids, sure, but it’s relatively stress free and that’s bonkers. I’m having FUN at WORK. I’m being PAID to HAVE FUN. sometimes I’m paid to watch attenborough documentaries in geography classes!!! it’s wild! I get paid for sitting there watching shit! for having fun helping kids draw or cook! I get PAID for HAVING FUN. I cannot comprehend it. I’ve been doing this work since October and I still cannot comprehend it. the other part of it of course is I can’t believe I’m willingly placing myself back in high school. me, in maths class, in chemistry class which actively terrified me as a child, unable to process that I’m willingly putting myself back in those classrooms fifteen years later. I’ve grown! it feels strange to be sitting in classes this time as an adult and be like wow, I’M that grown up who I saw as a kid and was like ah, grown up. knows everything. and boy I do not know everything.

so yes it’s tiring, and yes I have less time for my personal projects, but I don’t have NO time for them. I tweet about my experiences and funny shit kids say so if you wanna keep up with stuff more I recommend scoping me over there. the kids are great, they’re really fond of me and I’m really fond of them (it’s because I know the memes and like BNHA if I’m honest. being up to date on the kids’ interests makes you an instant hit.)

#this has been a post #the textpostening #TA adventures #just in case I post about it again #I feel good! I'm feelin good. it's not an art career or an animal career which my dream would be but It's Payin #love having an income. LOVE IT.

[fallen029]

Thinking of You

When he was a little boy, Bickslow suffered a horrible loss. His family all passed away and all he ever wanted, the only thing he could ever imagine spending the rest of his life doing, was finding them. Some people told him they were gone, no more, that when death came for you, that was it. Other people told him there was one of two places they'd gone, and he'd better just hope for the one up top and not down below. But finally, eventually, Bickslow discovered the one magic that proved both of those wrong.

Souls, lost souls, roam the earth for all of eternity. And with his newfound magic, he could see them. Unfortunately, he found that it was impossible to find what had happened to his family's and, rather quickly into learning this magic, he found that it was useless.

Well, useless wasn't the right word. It did bring him some happiness. When he found five lost souls looking for someone to care for them, well, the young boy found that they were exactly who he was looking for. Because he was lost too. He needed someone too. Someone to protect him and love him. The same as them. So, the way he saw it, they could love one another!

And they did. All through his life they did. The problem, however, was that a soul, once separated from it's being, didn't grow or change with the times. Rather it was trapped in the same state it always had been, forevermore. So while he changed and became a man, the lost souls remained rather childlike and he became more of a protector and provider than an equally lost individual.

The problem was, though, that Bickslow did know that he wanted something different, but wasn't quite sure what it was. It was a new search than he went on.

He thought that maybe friends were what he wanted. So he went out and got the very best. Honest, they were. Almost like siblings, they were. Freed was more of a brother to Bickslow than anyone ever had been. Laxus was a guidance for sure. Thought the man could be cold at times, he knew that the feeling was returned. And Evergreen, well, she cared so much about him. Bickslow knew it. Even if sometimes she didn't seem to.

But that whole was still there. He felt good when he was around them, but never completely right or perfect. Something else was missing.

So he tried women.

He tried a lot of women.

The problem was, most women didn't like him much.

He was weird. Odd. Kept strange hours. Said psychotic things. Played with fucking dolls, they thought.

So no, women didn't fill the void.

Jobs helped some, if only because it kept his mind off things. Kept him busy. He liked the thrill of it. Kept him on edge.

Still, nothing felt just right.

Then, one day, he thought he finally had it.

"You cannot," Laxus griped at him quite angrily, "date Mirajane's little sister!"

Oh, but he could. Hehehe, of course he could.

See, Lisanna was fucking bonkers as well. How could she not be? Killed by her brother, survived death even, oh, what an amazing soul she must have to do all that. How interesting. How intriguing.

How dark.

And Bickslow loved all things dark.

There was more to it though. A lot more.

Lisanna kept strange hours as well. Stayed up all night and slept all day. Could hold her own on jobs. Was interested, like him, in the more morbid sides of things. Didn't think his smoking stank or that his drinking was excessive. Found his babies endearing. Didn't mind the inappropriate side of his humor and found his work ethic (which was either really on or really off, depending on how he woke up) to be quite similar to hers.

They were the perfect pair!

No matter how many times boss insisted he was only going to fuck up the man's own relationship with Mirajane or Ever insisted the same about hers with Elfman.

It was destiny, the two of them ending up together. It had to be.

And yet…

No matter how many times he tried to fit the peg into the hole, it just wasn't the void filler he'd been looking for.

So he had to keep looking.

It was so aggravating. So frustrating. He started to wonder if the void was even real. If he was really feeling empty at all. Had he ever felt full? Would he ever feel it again? Or had he just made himself believe in this oddity? This emptiness? Was it not really there at all? Did everyone just feel this way and, in mourning over the loss of his family, he'd convinced himself that there was something more?

He hated the idea of being plagued by this for the rest of ever.

Bickslow didn't have a lot of fears. Not death, not pain, not the dark. Honestly, his biggest one was, once he died, what would happen to his poor babies. He hoped he'd become lost like them and they could all six be together for all of eternity, but at the same time wasn't too sure what that would even mean.

The other fear was the idea of never quite understanding what was causing that emptiness. Well, he knew that though. He thought. It'd been there since his family was taken from him. Not understanding how to make it go away though…

He had babies he cared for, a woman that he cared about, friends that meant the world to him, were practically siblings, a fulfilling job.

What?

What more did he need? What else was there in the world that could be offered to him, that could make him feel more whole?

One night, he arrived back at his apartment to find Lisanna already there, waiting him. It wasn't too odd, as she did have a key (not that he ever really remembered to lock up anyways) and he was always just dropping in on her. Still, she'd never done that before and it shocked him a bit to just find her there, on his couch. He'd thought that something was going on.

"What's up?" he asked with a frown as his babies flew straight to the woman, to greet her. The woman, who'd been flipping through a magazine, dropped it without thought as she greeted the wooden babies. "Lisanna?"

"What do you mean?" she asked through her giggles as the dolls fell to land in her lap. "Bicks?"

"Why'd you come over? So late?"

"I dunno." She even shrugged some as she glanced over at him, where he still stood by the door. "I was sitting at home and just hanging around and just thought about you."

"Thought about me?" he repeated to which she gave him a weird look.

"Yeah. Thought about you."

"Just randomly?"

"Uh-huh."

"For no other reason?"

"Not that I know of, no."

For a moment, Bickslow thought that something was wrong with him. He wasn't angry or upset or sad or mad or happy, even, really, by what she'd just said. It was a new emotion. One that he didn't quite know how to describe.

"Is something wrong with that?" Lisanna asked after a few awkward moments. "I didn't think you'd mind if I-"

"No. No!" He even took to rushing right over to her, like his babies had. "There's nothing wrong with that at all."

As she pressed a kiss to his cheek, Bickslow grinned some, tongue falling from his mouth, but his mind was actually elsewhere.

Why did what she say stick with him so much?

It wasn't like it was too weird, was it? The idea of someone...someone...thinking of him? People did. Of course they did. Freed, Ever, and Laxus did often. And others in the guild. Lisanna, of course she did. How could she not? He was probably one of the only things that she thought about those days.

But…

But no one had ever told him that. Expressed it. He was meant to just take it as a given. And yet…

There was something to it. Something...filling. About telling someone that. Letting someone know that. That you were thinking of them. Without reasoning. Just because. They were in your mind for no reason in particular, but you were glad that they were.

When you're a little kid, it's a given. You know? That your parents feel this way. That your family feels this way. That they're constantly thinking of you. You have no idea that someone possibly couldn't be. Not before you develop awareness and true empathy. Once you're orphaned though, out on the street, you come to realize pretty face, even at a young age, that no one gives a shit about you. No one cares.

At all.

You have to care about yourself. Think about yourself. And even when you find friends, find a family again, that never really leaves you. Sticks with you all your life. Changes things. The idea that someone doesn't want something out of you, even if it's just friendship or something of the like, is bizarre. That Lisanna just wanted to be around him, for no reason other than she was only wondering threw him for a loop.

But a good kind.

"Was there something that you wanted to do?" he finally found himself asking the woman who only shook her head a bit.

"Not really," Lisanna said simply. "Just hanging out's good enough for me."

"Yeah," Bickslow agreed as he sank into the couch more comfortably and relaxed in a way he hadn't in far too long. "Me too."

Finished that Miraxus one-shot and thought about how it'd been about a month since Bickslow and Lisanna got one of their own. Too unjust for my liking. It's been so long since I've written such short, little one-shots that I feel a bit odd even posting them. Hope you guys appreciate them though.

#Bixanna #Miraxus #Bickslow #Lisanna #Lisanna Strauss #Fairy Tail #fanfiction