#I also have no idea about the timeline of this? and why he's so mushy but EH enjoy it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

belltrigger · 1 year

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Not really an question but I just wanted to drop in and say that it's very impressive and admirable that you're still making blankshipping content after all these months! I'm a casual reader of your works (admittedly stopped reading for a while) and your determinism and general vibes are quite inspirational!

Have a good day!

Aw, thanks for the kind words! (੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭ It means a lot to me to hear you enjoy my works! Thank you for reading! ♪(´▽｀)

To be quite honest, I wouldn't be able to write so much, and think and build and create with such energy if it weren't for my friends I've made in the community, as well as the positive feedback from anons.

Obviously, @glassesblu is my partner in crime, and makes the mass majority of content with me. With Riso's help, I've grown my ideas in ways I never thought possible. ddIngo, for example, evolved and expanded thanks to his help, and I honestly would have never thought that story could get so deep and detailed. Whenever I get nervous about my writing, they'll read my WIPs and give me encouragement! Riso came up with the idea for our Submastober, and kept me going strong the whole month!

@eyreyereye was probably the first person I approached in the Blankship community and he was soooo kind and patient with my overenthusiastic approach! I have him to thank for talking with me and helping me cement my fondness for the Twins in the very early days of my interest in Blankshipping. He's so cool to talk to, and honestly I need to gather more spoons to talk with him more often!

@allaboardtheblankship going through RS Submastober with me and Riso was really exciting! I looked forward to every entry and was blown away each time! They kept me and Riso so very hyped up despite how busy the month was! Thank you for the care and interest in our prompts (❁´◡`❁)

@feroluce writes SO much good stuff. Fero also has a very important skill - they are merciless with the whump and tragedy >:) And that is great, because I am too mushy to write it haha! But also, their tags are the sweetest and funny and interesting and insightful. I wish I could convince them to write that in the body of their posts so I could reblog it, eheh!

@dingo-on-a-farm is a beast (ha ha ˋ( ° ▽、° ) , and it's honestly really fun to try and come up with things that inspire him to draw. Also, his art has inspired me more than once to write!!

I do miss @tsumisan6v9 but I know they're verrrrry busy, and peek back every once in a while when they can.

@megadraws makes SO much cool fanart and I get such inspiration whenever I see their art. I've already doodled one of the outfits Mega made for Emmet, and I wanna draw more. (Also, like, have you seen their art for Dear!Emmet and Courier!Emmet and a little cameo by ddIngo??)

@unovanhunny and @tombstone-pisa too! Their stories and idea brainstorming are so exciting to listen to and read. Ehehe, they're both really creative, and inspire me to keep trying new ideas for Blankshipping, both in AU form and in the little one shot stories I like to write that don't exist in any particular timeline.

@alphagodith also!!! was so!!! friendly!! 🥺All the help and encouragement given to me was greatly appreciated. Coloring my art to encourage me, talking to be about making a ko-fi, and helping me with discord really means so much to me.

@feldkommandant has helped me with my more spicy stories on more than one occasion and it means a lot! UwU clearly, I need to write more to show my appreciation.

Man, there are a lot more people out there who inspire me and keep me going. Some of them are on twitter, some are on the discord, and some I don't know if I should tag because of their inactivity here. But I hope they know I appreciate their continued enthusiasm in the fandom!

Honestly, when it comes down to it, people reading and enjoying my stories, no matter how infrequently, is why I keep writing! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ I want there to be lots of stories for people to read, and when I can help do that, I feel happy!

Riso actually commissioned me! So, anyone who enjoys Mermmet (Riso's mermaid Emmet AU) will be verrrrry excited! It might not happen until the new year because I've been driving a lot and also got reaaaaaally sick over the Christmas weekend while out of state. o(￣┰￣*)ゞ

But!!! Thank you again for reading my fics!! I'll keep writing as long as people want to keep reading (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

EDIT: So!! I haven't really talked to @rotting-lilies as much as I would like to, so I was kind of hesitant about being too forward. But I have to say it! Rot's art is so cool and stylish! I'm in awe of the colors and design sense in every picture! It's such an eye catching style. The best artists are blankshippers, it's true!

#anon ask #me dousing all of my friends with love

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jayeray-twst · 3 years

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How He Shows You Affection: Cater Diamond

Warnings: None all fluff!

He Takes Pictures of You

“Say strawberry!” Cater ordered with a toothy grin, as he snagged you around the waist and pulled you close, pressing your cheeks together with his arm extended out, holding his phone.

Several months of dating meant you were now quick enough on the draw to smile at the camera for the first snap of the shutter and were even quicker to turn your face to the side, pressing an affectionate kiss to your boyfriend’s cheek before he managed to hit the button again.

“Babe!” he whined a playful lilt to his voice that probably would’ve fooled most, but you saw right through it to the faint blush on his cheeks and the warm look in his eyes.

Cater always got a little flustered when you did little things like that to catch him off guard, which was only fair in your opinion considering how much he did it to you. Your boyfriend had enjoyed flustering you, and gone out of his way to tease, and flirt just to see if he could.

“Let me see?” you asked, making grabby hands at his phone. He immediately passed it over without complaint, pulling you into his arms and resting his chin on your shoulder so he could see the screen too as you looked at the photos he’d taken.

The first was pretty cute, with wide beaming smiles on both your faces, but the second one definitely stole the show. As per usual, even when caught off guard Cater managed to take the picture at the perfect moment, just as your lips brushed his cheek. His eyes were wide with surprise and there was the beginnings of a blush on his cheeks.

“Cute,” you cooed, pleased with the way it had come out, “You going to post that on MagiCam?”

“You know me so well,” he teased, giving you an affectionate squeeze around the middle before accepting his phone back, “We really take the best pictures together babe!”

“If you say so,” you told him lightly.

“I do say so!” he informed you, one hand still holding you to him as his clever fingers tapped away at the screen of his phone one handed, “You’re so photogenic it should be against the rules!”

You huffed in affectionate amusement. Honestly you were pretty sure the only reason you came out looking half so good in all the photos Cater took of the two of you was because he had an eye for it. Cater’s ability with a camera was exemplary, enough to put professionals to shame in your own opinion and frankly you were more than a little flattered that his favorite subject seemed to be you.

His timeline on MagiCam was full to the bursting of pictures of you, doing everything and anything under the sun, almost all of them candid or taken with only a split second’s notice and yet somehow you looked good in all of them. Not only that, but all the pictures were tagged with flattering words about how amazing you looked and how blessed he was to have you and to be your boyfriend.

Looking at it never failed to make you feel warm inside. MagiCam was a huge part of Cater’s life, and when it came to his content you were front and center. It was like his entire timeline was a testament, his own unspoken way of showing his devotion to you more eloquent than any words could ever be. After all if a picture was worth a thousand words than Cater had written entire epochs on how much he adored you.

“Alright all uploaded!” he cheered, pulling you from your fond thoughts and twirling you around in his arms with a bright laugh, “Now that, that’s done we should probably go check up on the A-Deuce combo. They’re supposed to be painting the roses, but knowing the two of them…”

You laughed in agreement and let him drag you off to go check on Heartslabyul’s two most troublesome first years, feeling immensely fond of your boyfriend.

Later when you were scrolling through your own social media you weren’t surprised to find the picture of the two of you from earlier beaming smiles at the camera, tagged with mushy cute things like #loveofmylife, #smilebabe, #aren’twecute?. However the picture of you kissing his cheek was missing.

You fully intended to ask him about it the next day, right up until you caught sight of his phone again. The picture was there both in his background and as his lock screen staring you in the face. You honestly couldn’t do anything in the face of that besides melt and give your sweet boyfriend an affectionate kiss, feeling completely and utterly adored.

He Tells You (And Only You)

Cater was the kind of guy who flirted with everyone, so at times it could be hard to take his words seriously. Compliments like beautiful, wonderful, and precious were a dime a dozen, and not limited to just you either. His whole personality seemed to be exuberant, extroverted and friendly, the kind of guy who had friends everywhere because he had no trouble making friends. He felt almost unreal with how perfect he was.

There were times, especially at the beginning of your relationship that it had made you incredibly insecure. Cater was popular, both through MagiCam and just in general, and you had no idea why he’d want to be with you of all people when it seemed like he could have anyone he wanted. In the face of your worries his words almost felt insincere, shallow and hollow, as if he didn’t really mean them because he said them to everyone he met.

However, the longer you were with him the more you realized something incredibly important. Despite the compliments that fell from his lips at the drop of a hat Cater never, ever used the word love. Sure there was an implication of love, as he said things like “I adore this’ or ‘I’m wild about that’. He said ‘I’m captivated’ or ‘I’m infatuated’ or ‘I’m enthralled’ but never ever ‘I’m in love.’

It was like the words were anathema to him, almost as if he couldn’t bring himself to say it at all. It was then you realized, slowly but surely that a lot of the face he showed to the world was a carefully crafted mask. Just as you’d suspected no one could be quite that perfect, happy and friendly all the time.

Cater got frustrated, anxious and annoyed just as anyone else did, he was just much better at hiding it. There was also a pretty vicious side to him, one that could hurl lethal insults wrapped in so many honeyed words that only those who were looking for it or really paying attention to him noticed.

Funnily enough this actually made you relax. It humanized him, and made him seem more relatable rather than the near perfect being he’d seemed before. Once you realized how much he was hiding you carefully did your best be worthy of his trust, so he could have a safe place to rest. After all keeping up a cheerful mask at all times sounded utterly exhausting to you no matter how good he was at it.

Slowly but surely, he’d begun to let his walls down, coming to you when he had a rough day, sitting in silence with you, cuddling with you, enjoying quiet little moments that you once would’ve thought he’d hate. Instead Cater seemed to relish these stolen moments with you, and as you began to truly see each other for who you were rather than the face you both showed the world you finally got to hear it.

Love. A word he admitted he hadn’t quite believed in and so had never bothered to say. A word he felt was trite and meaningless because of how often it was said over every little thing. A word you’d managed to change his mind about, one that was special and intimate and meant only for the two of you.

“I love you,” you murmured to your boyfriend as the two of you lay cuddled together on his bed, curled up and quietly watching movies together on his laptop. It was something you didn’t say nearly as often these days, as you’d slowly adapted to Cater’s way of thinking that saying it about too many things cheapened the meaning in a lot of ways.

“I love you too,” he assured you, equally quiet, his normal exuberance set aside in placed of utmost sincerity, the words so real and rare on his tongue that you had no choice but to believe them.

He’d only ever said them to you, only ever planned to say them to you, a word that was meant for you and you alone, a little piece of his heart with your name stamped clearly in ownership. It was a privilege you savored and treated with the utmost care, it was the very least you could do to prove your own affections for your boyfriend who cared so very much.

He Makes Things For You

“How do I look?” you asked your boyfriend shyly as you emerged from the dressing room.

Normally trying on clothes with Cater was a lot of fun. Even if you didn’t enjoy shopping all that much Cater made it into an experience. He had an extremely good eye for what would look good on someone and what wouldn’t. and put a lot of interesting things together. He was also perceptive enough to know what would make you uncomfortable and what wouldn’t, and work within your comfort zone.

It made him the idea shopping partner, and lots of fun, especially since he was more than happy to try on anything you asked for him as well. Honestly it was a bit unfair just how good Cater looked in pretty much everything. There were a few times you’d purposefully tried to pick silly things and yet, whether it was sheer force of personality or because he was simply that handsome he always seemed to look good. Still it was fun to try, and the two of you always had a good time together, laughing and teasing joyfully, and you almost never left empty handed.

This however was different. Cater had always had an eye for fashion, and had occasionally dabbled in making his own clothing. However, he’d never really taken it all too seriously before, despite the fact that perfectionist Riddle recognized his talent and had let him design the outfits for when they had to dress up for unbirthday parties.

Despite that, it had never occurred to you that Cater might want to try designing something for you. However he’d apparently wanted to do just that, as he’d shyly approached you with the suggestion when you’d complimented some of his work. That in itself had let you know how very important this was to him. Cater was never shy, so the fact that he’d been so hesitant to ask said a lot.

Which was of course why you’d agreed without a moment’s hesitation. Honestly even if he hadn’t been so shy about it you would’ve said yes. Cater knew your style inside and out and you trusted him more than words could say.

Your trust turned out to be well founded, and the outfit he’d made for you was utter perfection. It was done in colors that flattered your skin, eyes and hair, and had a cut that flattered your figure. You weren’t sure you’d ever felt so simultaneously beautiful and comfortable before. You absolutely loved it, you just hoped Cater loved it too.

“You look beautiful,” Cater told you, quick on the mark as ever with a compliment as he hopped up from the couch he’d been waiting on, “But then again you always do.”

You huffed at that, but didn’t protest as he circled around you, holding still so he could view you from all angles.

“Do you like it?” he asked, once he reached your front again, uncharacteristically shy again.

“Cater are you kidding I love it!” you told him fiercely, not willing to let any sort of insecurity stand.

“Pretty sure you’d have to say that even if it was ugly babe,” Cater told you a little wryly.

“I wouldn’t want to hurt your feelings,” you conceded, unwilling to lie, especially when you knew how much Cater valued honesty, but also unwilling to back down, ��But in this case I’m definitely not exaggerating! Have you seen me?!”

You twirled in front of him arms spread for emphasis, “I look amazing! I feel amazing which, as you’ve told me, is just as if not more important! If you don’t believe me we can march right over to Pomefiore and get Vil. I’m sure you’d believe him!”

“No need for that,” Cater told you with a huff of amusement, his eyes warm and full of affection as he gently tugged you to him, his warm hands clasping your elbows as he peered into your eyes, “You really do like it babe?”

“I really, really do,” you answered him, with all the sincerity you could muster, “So much so I might just have to wear it every day. I’m not sure my other clothes could ever compare.”

“No need to go that far,” he insisted, though the bright look in his eyes belied the words, “I can always make you more.”

“So long as it doesn’t put you out,” you replied, “I’d love to wear your clothes Cater, anywhere anytime.”

Your boyfriend gave you one of his rare soft smiles, tugging you into his arms and just holding you, clearly grateful for what you’d said. You hugged back, quietly scheming to yourself determined to help Cater realize how talented he was. He deserved it, but in the mean time you would simply savor how much he clearly loved and trusted you, letting you be his first real model. You really couldn’t have asked for a better boyfriend than Cater Diamond and you were now even more determined to make sure he knew just how much you adored him in return.

Like this or my writing in general? Feel free to drop by my ask box to make requests! Just make sure to read the rules first! Want to support me or make a commission? Please see my Ko-fi!

#twst cater #cater diamond x reader #cater #cater diamond #cater x reader #cater twst #cater diamond x you #cater diamond fluff #disney twst #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #fluff #twst wonderland #twst imagines #twst fluff

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inevitably-johnlocked · 3 years

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Hey Steph!🌟Do u have any fics with smut that is feelingy, ie more focused on the emotional aspect & how they're feeling while doing it than the phy sensations & descriptions? Hope u get wt I'm saying. Thx in Advance!💖

OOOOO Nonny!

I’ve got just the list for you! and it will give me an excuse to do a part two to another list of mine!! <3

I do have a Sensuality list in the works, so look out for that in a while, but I think for now this list and the “see also” is perfect for you!

Feel free, friends, to add your own!

EMOTIONAL LOVE MAKING Pt. 2

See also: Emotional Love Making Pt 1 || [MOBILE POST]

Just Like That by sussexbound (E, 8,442 w., Ch. 1 || First Time/Kiss, Frottage, Virgin Sherlock, French Kissing, Anal, Emotional Lovemaking, Enthusiastic Consent, Tenderness, Crying John, Bathing/Washing, Insecure John, Toplock) – John doesn’t want to talk anymore. He wants. Oh dear god, how he wants. For the first time in what feels like years he WANTS.

My First, My Only, and My Forever by vintagelilacs (E, 6,220 w., 1 Ch. || Post-ASiB, Virgin Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock’s Bum, John’s Scar, Sherlock POV, Body Worship, Fingering, Bottomlock, Promise of Forever / Proposals, Misunderstanding, First Kiss/Time, Loss of Virginity, Virginity Kink, Seduction) – Sherlock narrowed his eyes. He was missing a vital piece of data, he was sure. John had been looking at him oddly ever since they left Buckingham Palace, and the ensuing incident with Irene Adler had only exacerbated his erratic behaviour. What was it? Why would he care that Sherlock was a virgin? There was nothing reminiscent of mockery or pity in his gaze. And then it hit him. John Watson was aroused.

The Haunting of 221B Baker Street by earlgreytea68 (M, 10,388 w., 2 Ch. || Post TRF, Halloween / Ghosts, Pining Sherlock, Ghost Sherlock, Stroppy Sherlock, Sherlock POV, First Kiss/Time, Angry Sex, Ghost Sex, Love Confessions, Open / Ambiguous Ending) – In which Sherlock Holmes is a ghost.

To be loved by Strange_johnlock (E, 12,436 w., 8 Ch. || Post S3, Established Relationship, First Person POV Sherlock, Pet Names, Soft Sherlock, Mild ADHD, Protective John, Captain Watson, Body Appreciation, Bottomlock, Rough Sex, Travelling for Holidays, Introspection, Sherlock Loves John So Much It Hurts) – John is so deeply integrated into the work, both as my conductor of light, and as a great shot with a vicious right hook who tackles men -and women- no matter their size all in my defense. He protects me with all he can without question, and this loyalty is surely more than I deserve. Or: Sherlock is counting his blessings.

The Invocation of Saint Margaret by Ewebie (E, 15,831 w., 1 Ch. || POV John, Crossing Timelines, Light Angst, Fluff, Series 3 John / Series 1 Sherlock, The Matchbox, Mushy Romance, First Time, Bisexual John, Pining John, Bottomlock, Love Confessions, Sensuality, Emotional Love Making, Snippets of Time) – When Sherlock Holmes opens the matchbox from The Sign of Three and John finds himself years in the past, back to that first dinner at Angelo's with a much younger Sherlock Holmes. Is he dreaming?

The Palmyra Atoll by elwinglyre (E, 16,609 w., 3 Ch. || TSo3 Divergence / Episode Fix-It, Stockholm Syndrome, Kidnapped John Watson, John Whump, Evil Mary, Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, Toplock, Limited 3rd John POV) – As John's preparing for the wedding, Sherlock is preparing to have his heart broken, and Mary is prepared to do the unthinkable. Intervention required. Enter Sherlock. Set before Sign of Three with a far different outcome. John is drugged, kidnapped, and left on an island, but not just any old island.

Permanent Fixture by vitruvianwatson (E, 18,836 w., 9 Ch || Post-S4, Parentlock, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, They’re Good Parents, Blushing Sherlock, First Kiss/Time, Explicit Consent, Sexual Content, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Big Feelings, Crying, First Kiss, Fluff, Anxious Sherlock, Inexperienced Sherlock, Emotional Communication, Love Confessions) – Now, as Rosie sat curled up against Sherlock’s side, John watched and wondered exactly how he had ended up here. Domesticity had never suited him before, not at any point in his life. His disastrous marriage had been proof of that. But somehow, here in the warmth and safety of 221B Baker Street, here with Sherlock Holmes reading medical jargon to his daughter, Sherlock’s bony feet nudging against his leg, John couldn’t imagine anyplace that would make him happier.

Division by MrsNoggin (E, 19,542 w., 11 Ch. || Coffee Shop AU || First Kiss/Time, Fluff, Barista Sherlock, Clingy Sherlock, POV John, John’s Limp, Bed Sharing, Fluff, Sleepy Cuddles, Sensuality, Touching, Virgin Sherlock, Insecure John) – John likes mysteries. And every morning he dips into the local independent coffee bar with his newspaper and ponders another... one Sherlock Holmes.

The Wisteria Tree by SilentAuror (E, 29,773 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S3, Emotional Love Making, Amnesia/Memory Loss, Sherlock Loves John So Much, Sherlock POV, Romance, Angst with Happy Ending, First Times, Hurt/Comfort, Est. Rel., Retirement) – Sherlock wakes up from a month-long coma only to discover that he has no memory of the previous six years to his own shock as well as John's...

Only To Be With You by SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John (M, 40,768 w., 4 Ch. || Black Mirror / Future AU || Character Death, Future Technology, Sickness/Cancer/Illness, Heavy Angst with Happy Ending, First Person POV John, Pining John, Heart-Wrenching Angst) – I tell myself that next time I’ll come near this same place again. Wait around for the mysterious stranger in his coat to dash past me, hot on the heels of a new criminal in black. I think this all the way back to my Exit, planning where I’ll wait and what I’ll say when I see him. Scheming on how to get his name. It’s only once I reach the Exit Point door that I realize two hours and forty-five minutes have passed, and I realize that this won’t be the last time I Visit. It won’t be the last time at all.

Guidelines by WithLoweredVoices (M, 43,018 w., 15 Ch. || Winglock || Angels, Fantasy, Angst, BAMF! John, War, Jealous Sherlock, Possessive Sherlock, Jealous John, Falling in Various Ways, Needy Sherlock) – The Good Soldier, one of the oldest and strongest of the fallen, is offered a bargain: to live as John Watson and to Guide a fledgling archangel so that he will stay on the path of good. Of course, Sherlock Holmes has different ideas about his destiny. Fantasy AU. Warnings for violence, occasional gore, and a whole load of hurt and angst.

Anchor Point by trickybonmot (E, 49,856 w., 80 Ch. || Truman Show AU || Psychological Drama, Suspense, Slow Burn, Dark Characters / Fic, Alternating First/Third Person, Protective John, Anxious/Worried Sherlock, Tender Moments, Love Confessions, Hand/Blow Jobs, Cuddling, Jealous John, First Kiss/Time) – The world tunes in nightly for Sherlock, the ultimate in reality TV: Sherlock Holmes, a real person with a legendary name, unknowingly lives out his life in a staged setting contrived by his brother. Things get complicated when a retired army doctor joins the show to play the part of Sherlock's closest friend. This fic borrows its concept from the 1998 film, the Truman Show. However, you don't need to have any knowledge of the movie to enjoy this story.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by SilentAuror (E, 50,635 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S4/S4 Divergence, Case Fic, For a Case / Reverse Fake-Relationship, Conferences, Marriage Equality, Travelling / New York, Pride, Homophobia, Bottomlock, Marriage Proposal, John POV, Sexuality, Love Confessions, Emotional Love Making, Public Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Passionate Kissing, Needy/Clingy Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Touching / Hand Holding, Bed Sharing, Little Spoon Sherlock, Intense Orgasms) – John and Sherlock go to New York to attend a conference run by the National Defence of Traditional Marriage Coalition in order to investigate the potential bombing of the annual Manhattan Pride parade. As the conference unfolds, John finds himself repulsed by the toxic ideology being presented, which becomes relevent to his own unacknowledged issues and his friendship with Sherlock...

Points by lifeonmars (E, 53,791 w., 42 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || HLV Rewrite / Canon Divergence, Married Life, Pregnancy / Baby Watson, Drinking to Cope, Boxing / Fisticuffs, Clueless John, Angst, Minor Medical Drama, Tattoos, Christmas, First Kiss/Time, Eventual Happy Ending, Love Confessions, Doctor John, Sexuality Crisis, Slow Burn, Case Fic, Drugging, Blow/Hand Job, Emotional Love Making, Parenthood, Passage of Time) – What if His Last Vow never happened? This fic picks up a few months after John and Mary's wedding, in an alternate universe where Magnussen doesn't exist, but Mary is still pregnant. Life continues -- just in a different direction. And slowly, Sherlock and John find their way to each other.

Isosceles by SilentAuror (E, 56,609 w., 7 Ch. || Post-S4, POV John, Original Male Character / Sherlock Dates Another Man, Love Triangle, Jealous John, Virgin Sherlock, Sexual Coaching, Angst, Romance, Domesticity, Unrequited Feelings, Miscommunication, First Kiss/Time, For a Case, Friends With Benefits, Bottomlock, Love Confessions, Spooning) – After solving a case for a major celebrity, Sherlock gets himself asked out. When John asks, he discovers that Sherlock has no intention of going, at least not until John agrees to coach him through whatever he might need to know for his date...

The Thing Is by TSylvestris (E, 56,743 w., 21 Ch. || Case Fic, Dev. Rel., Anal/Oral, Blow Jobs, Meddling Mycroft, Drama, Romance, Humour, Casual Encounters, Pining Idiots, Possessive Sherlock, Orgasm Delay, Rough / Alley Sex, Public Sex, John Whump, Drugged John, Emotional Love Making, Awkward Relationship, Marriage of Convenience, Switchlock) – The problem with living with Sherlock, John thought, was that you never, never, ever knew the significance of anything. Like your flatmate's nose buried in your hair. Whilst you're in bed. Part 1 of Nitroglycerine

White Knight by DiscordantWords (M, 69,840 w., 13 Ch. || S4 Compliant/Post S4, Marriage For a Case, Jealous John, Pining John, Janine / Sherlock Fake Relationship, Serial Killers, Case Fic, Undercover as a Couple, Weddings, John is a Mess, Misunderstandings, Wedding Planning, Jealousy, Drunkenness, Love Confessions, Angst with Happy Ending) – Green. The word green was used to convey a great many things. Illness. Envy. Inexperience. Standing there amidst Janine's chattering bridesmaids, watching Sherlock furrow his brow and study fabric swatches, watching him smile and simper and flirt, John thought it a remarkably apt colour choice. Because he felt quite sick to his stomach, he feared the source of said sickness might very well be jealousy, and he had absolutely no idea at all what to do about it. Or: Sherlock needs to fake a relationship for a case. He doesn't ask John.

Being John Watson-ish by elwinglyre (E, 69,902 w., 17 Ch. || Bodysnatcher AU || Author John, Cranky Sherlock, Angst, Sexual Tension, First Kiss / Time, Falling in Love, BAMF John, Past Soldier John, Feelings, Inside Someone’s Brain, Shy Sherlock, Sherlock Loves John, POV Sherlock, Switchlock, Slow Burn, Internal Dialogue, Mental Turmoil) – When consulting detective Sherlock Holmes steps on one toe too many at a crime scene, he's consigned to a desk job in an archaic office on the seventh-and-a-half floor of the New Scotland Yard. It’s in this bleak office that Sherlock discovers a portal into the mind of renowned author John Watson. Grander than his mind palace, this new wonderland affords Sherlock new vistas of experimentation. To learn more about the mystery behind the portal, Sherlock seeks out and befriends Watson. But then it all goes wrong when others find the secret portal door—including the man whose brain he visits.

Gold Rush by ShirleyCarlton (E, 71,783 w., 17 Ch. || Post S3 / No Mary, Friends to Lovers, Mentions of Past Sexual Abuse, First Kiss, Case Fic, Slow Burn, Alternating POV, Switchlock, Angst with Happy Ending, Marriage Proposal, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Abduction, Anxious/Insecure Sherlock, Miscommunication, Emotional Lovemaking) – John has divorced Mary and pops round to 221B one evening to find Sherlock in the middle of a case. As Sherlock tries to find the identity of a young woman’s stalker, John realises he can no longer deny his feelings for Sherlock – which then, to their befuddlement, turn out to be mutual. Shy kisses and tentative embraces ensue. But will Sherlock be able to cast off a shadow from his past that he thinks might prevent John from wanting to stay?

Two Two One Bravo Baker by abundantlyqueer (E, 114,574 w., 27 Ch. || Military AU || Afghanistan, War Story, Thriller) – Captain John Watson of 40 Commando, the Royal Marines, is assigned to protect and assist Sherlock Holmes as he investigates what appears to be a simple war atrocity in Afghanistan. An intense attraction ignites between the two men as they uncover a conspiracy that threatens everything they’ve ever known, but Sherlock is as much hunted as hunter, and everyone close to him is in deadly danger. Can he solve the case in time to save himself and John? Part 1 of Two Two One Bravo Baker Universe

Not Broken, Just Bent by Schmiezi (E, 87,585 w., 43 Ch. || Pining, Love Confessions, Rape/Sexual Assault, Torture, Hurt/Comfort, Heavy Angst, Villain!Mary, Suicidal Ideations, Main Character Death, Sherlock First Person POV, Parentlock, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Grief/Mourning, Emotional Love Making, Possessiveness, Depression, PTSD, Kidnapping, Virgin Sherlock, Eventual Happy Ending) – "For a second, I allow myself to remember teaching John how to waltz. There is a special room in my mind palace for it. A big one, with a proper parquet dance floor. For a second, I go there. I remember holding him, closer than the World Dance Council asks for, excusing it with the fact that we are training for a wedding, not for a competition. For a second, I feel his hand on mine again, smell his sweat, hear the song we used. For a second, I allow myself to love him deeply. For a second, only a second, that love reflects on my face." Fix-it for S3, starting at the end of TSoT. Evil Mary.

Kintsukuroi by sussexbound (E, 91,823 w., 20 Ch. || S4 Compliant / Post-TLD, Grief / Mourning, PTSD, Internalized Homophobia, Therapy, Past Abuse, Alcohol Abuse, Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Depression, Anxiety, Bed Sharing, Love Confessions, Cuddling, Suicidal Ideation, Masturbation, Minor Character Death, Sexting, Frottage, Inexperienced Sherlock, Rimming / Anal / BJ’s, Emotional Turmoil, Finding Each Other) – “I love you.” Sherlock sees the words hit John with almost physical force. He reels back a little, jaw twitching and eyes filling. “I love you,” he repeats, a little softer, a little more gentle, as earnest as he possibly can. Because they’ve been teetering on the brink of this thing for years, and it had become painfully obvious over the last few months that they were at a tipping point. This had to happen. Now it has. Now they can see where they end up. The tears in John’s eyes spill over, and he wipes at them angrily. “Do you even know what that means?”

Northwest Passage by Kryptaria (E, 95,157 w., 27 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Canadian AU || BAMF!John, Canadian John, PTSD, Anal / Oral Sex, Rimming, Emotional Hurt / Comfort, Drug Rehab, Falling in Love, Pining Sherlock, Love Confessions, Sherlock’s Violin, Panic Attacks, Switching, Anxious / Protective Sherlock, Hugs for Comfort, Suicide Mentions, Healing Each Other) – Seven years ago, Captain John Watson of the Canadian Forces Medical Service withdrew from society, seeking a simple, isolated life in the distant northern wilderness of Canada. Though he survives from one day to the next, he doesn't truly live until someone from his dark past calls in a favor and turns his world upside-down with the introduction of Sherlock Holmes." Part 1 of Tales from the Northwest

Against the Rest of the World by SilentAuror (E, 151,714 w., 20 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-TRF, Hiatus Fic, POV First Person Sherlock, Present Tense, First Kiss/Time, Big Brother Mycroft, Escaping from Capture, Soft Sherlock, Toplock, Insecurity, Infidelity, Travelling, Introspection, Pining Sherlock, Depression, Fantasies, Yearning for the Past, PTSD Sherlock, Suicidal Ideation) – Sherlock has been away from London for nine hundred and twelve days and counting, and has no idea what sort of reception to expect when he finally returns.

Proving A Point by elldotsee & J_Baillier (E, 186,270 w., 28 Ch. || Me Before You Fusion || Medical Realism, Insecure John, Depression, Romance, Angst, POV John, Sherlock Whump, Serious Illness, Doctor John, Injury Recovery, Assisted Suicide, Sherlock’s Violin, Awkward Sexual Situations, Alcoholism, Drugs, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn, Body Image, Friends to Lovers, Hurt / Comfort, Pain, Big Brother Mycroft, Intimacy, Anxiety, PTSD, Family Issues, Psychological Trauma, John Whump, Case Fics, Loneliness, Pain) – Invalided home from Afghanistan, running out of funds and convinced that his surgical career is over, John Watson accepts a mysterious job offer to provide care and companionship for a disabled person. Little does he know how much hangs in the balance of his performance as he settles into his new life at Musgrave Court.

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #emotional love making #my fic recs #e-rated fics #Anonymous #long post

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hecallsmehischild · 3 years

Text

Recent Media Consumed

Books

The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell. First, I actually appreciated the foreward to the “Left Book Club” copy, even though it says that anyone who is not a member should disregard it. It gave an interesting rebuttal to parts of the book. That aside, I’m not totally sure what to make of the book. On the level of descriptive writing, I rarely find something this richly penned. But it’s loaded with concepts and lingo and even a monetary system I’m unfamiliar with, and that hampers my understanding of the points. I get the general gist, but all the finer points are very lost on me, simply because I’m an American millennial.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson. I’ve seen the “F*ck” series titles floating around here and there, and I’m intrigued by a couple of them. The idea of this one is that people give way too many f*cks about everything, and that you really need to pick where you give your f*cks in life and never give a f*ck about anything that doesn’t line up with your values (in a nutshell). It’s an easy and interesting read. It’s interesting to me that, in the wake of what I hear was many years of positive-mood and high self-esteem type self help books (most of which I’ve only heard of and never read, were they before my time?), we’re getting a backlash of “Yes, life sucks. Yes, life has pain. Dealing with pain and failure appropriately is a part of life. Accept that, or lose yourself to complete entitlement” type self-help books. I’m curious what this trend produces in people over time. I’d also like to highlight that this book has the best discussion of dividing “fault” and “responsibility” that I’ve ever read.

Shows

Loki. WHAT EVEN. WHAT EVEN. WHAT. WHAT THE. WHAT THE. FRESH… THE FRICK FRACK PADDYWHACK???!!!

Mushi-shi. So, turns out the first time I watched this I somehow started on Season 2, and my source cut out before the season end… no wonder I was pretty confused. So I started re-watching this and… I remember how incredibly unsettling this anime is. It’s equal parts gentle wonder and soft horror, a blend that is very difficult to describe unless you’ve seen it. Much like Mushi themselves, eh? I think I’ll balance this out by ending each watch session with an episode of Log Horizon rewatch. That’ll keep the emotional balance intact.

Claymore. I ended up dropping this one halfway through. It has an interesting concept, but the “things that bug me” points mounted pretty fast. In the early episodes, everything is so dark that it’s hard to see what’s going on. There’s a huge amount of monologuing and info-dumping IN monologue, and this goes on even mid-fight, and even CALMLY mid-fight. Yes, this isn’t the only anime that does this, but it decreases my enjoyment. It’s difficult to take the story seriously when the big bad yells, “Why can’t I defeat you?” to the weakest-but-somehow-also-the-strongest member of a team, and then have a colleague of the team member calmly explain to the big bad exactly why he’s unable to land a blow, then they take off his head together. This show has a lot of that sort of thing. I’ll read up on how the series ended, not interested in slogging through the other half.

Elfen Lied. This is a re-re-rewatch for me. I stumbled on this anime when I was newly inducted into anime-watching and, well... given that Princess Tutu was my very first anime, this one was a real shock to my system at first. By all accounts I should have dropped it and run screaming at the time, but I couldn’t. There was something about the sheer tragedy of the story that called to me. Plus it was VERY short. So I returned to it from time to time. Now that I’ve developed more of a feel for what I do and don’t like in a story, how does this hold up? The relationships are terrible, imo, and the whole thing about diclonius is never explained enough (and I still don't understand the ending) but it's STILL hard not to be pulled in by the sheer tragedy of the series.

Movies

300. I haven’t seen this movie since college. Is it weird how much I enjoyed it as a romp? Yes, there’s death and tragedy, but the dry humor and utter gung-ho-edness of it is infectious. It’s a good flick, I’m really glad I went back to see it. And I also finally understand Leonidas telling the traitor, “May you live forever.” Damn, man. No wonder he flinched.

Weathering With You. GORGEOUS. I need to see more by this animator… LIGHT. WATER. FOOD. I hear they’re calling this person the new Miyazaki? I CONCUR. And the story is sweet and beautiful and just yes. Yes. Oh, look, he made something else before this movie…

Your Name. Okay so I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, fantastic story and, once again, gorgeous animation that all makes me want to track with this creator in the future. And the twist definitely socked me in the gut, I didn’t see it coming. On the other hand, I feel like this movie hits an extreme of “show, don’t tell” in a way that comes awfully close to a negative. I didn’t think that was possible, but this movie switches timelines, POV, points in time, etc, so rapidly that it becomes difficult to keep track of what’s going on, properly. I could not imagine watching this movie in theaters, it has to be watched with a remote in hand to pause, rewind, rewatch, discuss what the heck just happened. It’s like watching Mystery Skulls videos, with that level of rapid fire little details that are incredibly important to the plot, but for a feature length film. Also, after some discussion, I came to see (and agree) that there’s a foundational issue in the main relationship that doesn’t bode well for the future, as much as I rooted for them to be together. Still, it’s an incredible movie and I can see why it was the highest grossing movie for Japan a few years back.

Games

Diablo II. I’m really happy. I live in a house with my husband and his best friend, and in the past year or so we’ve begun playing games together. This is the sort of game I would never have gone to on my own because I actually need someone in the room who I can ask, “Hey, how do you assign attacks again?” or “Hey, is this piece of gear better than the piece I’m wearing?” I don’t like playing the number game on gear so much, but I let the two of them dress my character up and then I back them up in a fight and enjoy myself. Looting and exploring for treasure is probably my favorite aspect (says the person who plays Breath of the Wild just to forage for mushroom and herbs), although as a level 20 Amazon I’m now shooting out waves of 8 arrows at a time, and that’s pretty epic too. It’s a special kind of joy to find out you actually like a type of gaming as long as there’s people there who can explain things along the way and who don’t get annoyed at re-asked questions. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m having a blast playing Diablo II in a group. And as for the other game we play together as a group…

WoW Classic. I covered this before, but back then I was a lowly level 17 Dwarf Hunter. Now I’m a lowly level 36 Dwarf Hunter. With a mount! I have epic skills like explosion traps, poisonous shots, and multi-shot. My wolf has gained a ton more skills, too, and is (or so I’m told) a pretty effective off-tank. I have been told I am an effective DPS person, which makes me very happy. I really enjoy this kind of gaming, but specifically when I’m in the same room as the people I’m gaming with. Communication is a lot easier and we work really well as a team that way.

#recent media consumed #child loves books #child loves movies #child loves shows #n00b gamer child

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fieryphrazes · 3 years

Note

What song would bj and hawk dance to at their wedding?

Okay there are a lot of factors here! When are they getting married? How long have they been together? Here are some Thoughts.

I think Hawkeye would suggest something SO mushy that BJ would think he was making fun of the process and get a little bit mad. BUT BJ himself was going to suggest something extremely mushy, so he is conflicted about it because he likes Hawkeye’s idea but he also suspects Hawkeye might be poking fun at him. Ultimately he figures out Hawkeye is sincere and takes the suggestion seriously. If we’re on a 60s timeline, my pick for this is Baby I’m Yours.

I would look for a song from the 50s but nothing immediately comes to mind and I don’t think they would get married that soon! I think they might have a long long long relationship and it almost doesn’t occur to them to get married. Maybe Erin asks about it when she’s a teenager and it’s honestly the first time it occurs to them, but why not? In this scenario they don’t take themselves quite as seriously which is why I’m choosing one of my all-time favorite songs, a bop, a song I would want to dance to if I ever get married: Got To Get You Into My Life (Beatles or Earth Wind & Fire, depending on the timeline. Both are excellent)

#anon #this is just off the top of my head I’m sure the PERFECT song will occur to me later and I’ll kick myself

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echoeternally · 3 years

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4, 13 (the second half of course,) and 19!

Bah, I’m late for this. But ok! Here we go.

4.) Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

...Why pick the hard one first? Why do this? (I’m always afraid of feeling pride for my work, lol.)

Ok, ok, let’s see...god, I can’t even decide...

Well, one that I like is the opening of Bowser’s letter for Eternally Never Yours, because that is one of the most impactful moments for the story to establish its tone and entice readers in. I’m sure you know the part:

“Mario,

Let's get this cleared up:

You're a moron.

I don't get how you've been missing it for so long. I'm not going to make it easy and spell it out for you. It's not your style and that's not how I want it. But I'm losing my patience, which has never been that high to begin with.

...

How could you not see that I'm doing this…all of it…for you?”

Like, that’s such a winning opener, and I have had so many readers go, “Omg, this perfect, and it drew me in.” I can’t deny it’s one that I was delighted to write immediately for what became my longest fanfic.

I have more scenes that I like, but I figured this one was optimal to share, lol.

... ... ... ... ... ... ...

13.) Do you share your writing online? (Drop a link!) Do you have projects you’ve kept just for yourself?

Heck to only the second part! Shameless self-promo, gooooo!

My AO3 is here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternallyEcho/pseuds/EternallyEcho/works

Annnd my FFN is over here: https://www.fanfiction.net/~echoeternal

I write lots of fluffy romances that belie the darker themes and periling adventures that I send my favorite characters through. But sometimes, just soft mushy stuff too. Enjoy!

Second half...goes below the cut! Along with the rest of the answers.

...

Ok, so, yes and no about the projects that I’ve kept to myself. Like, I do have things, fanfics and original works, that I’ve written or made plans on. But, some of it emphasizes the “made plans” and basically is skeleton work that I’ve never followed up on.

For the fanfic portion, there are things that I’ve started that I might eventually post, like an Among Us one-shot, and scenes for the Pokémon fanfics.

There’s other stuff that I’ve abandoned, including a small heaping of Star Fox fanfic content from Nexus of Lylat.

And then I’ve got ideas that I just...I dunno, never got around to bringing forward. There’s some X-Men stuff I wanted to bring forward, but that came out as a jumbled mess, so I think I’m going to just not do that, lol.

And I wanted to write a Zelda story set in a time where Link isn’t around as the hero, like either during the Downfall timeline or during his BotW 100 year slumber. But, I haven’t the time to develop it nicely, so, away it’ll stay.

...

Original fanfic stuff, I make ideas very frequently, but I’ve written out almost none of it. I don’t think it’s very appealing overall, because it basically amounts to my personal Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

No, I don’t play DnD, so no, it’s not really meant to be inspired by that. In fact, I’d credit Fire Emblem faster because of the war themes.

Plus, I’ve noticed that interest for writing isn’t exactly high when it’s not about fanfics, at least not with me, so, I have little to no motivation.

(Furthermore, I lack a lot of personal support regarding some themes and topics that I want to put into it, because LGBTQ+ stuff and the people that know me irl totally not being into such, but nobody needs to hear about that, lol.)

Kind of a shame, because I had like a 4 story idea that would’ve eventually led to a crossover between them, but that wouldn’t be feasible for me at any rate. Maybe when I’m old and (hopefully) retired.

... ... ... ... ... ... ...

19.) Is there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favourite verb, something you describe ‘too often’, trope you can’t get enough of?)

Do you really need me to call myself out? I don’t want to do this.

Ok, well...I was told once about how I write “clasping hands” too much. Like, there were a number of scenes in my stories where the characters do that so often, and someone mentioned that and I was like, “NO, MY CRUTCH!”

I pulled back on it lately, but it’s definitely something you can probably see from my earlier works, and I probably haven’t eliminated that entirely.

Also, I focus on eyes a lot for romance stuff, and I want to stop myself, but colors are pretty and I love partners gazing longingly into one another’s eyes because I find that romantic, ok?! Uuuuugh.

...

Oh, and I probably make people “chuckle” way too much. Possibly “giggle” too. But I’m not going to swap those with “guffaw” because that sounds dumb or snobbish as hell, and I absolutely refuse.

“Mario smirked as he tenderly tickled Bowser’s stomach, eliciting a hearty guffaw from his lover.”

Like, get the hell out, no one wants to read that.

... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Anyway, thank you for sending in the ask! It was fun to look over my writing stuff and consider things.

Actually, now I’m curious: which lines of writing resonate with my audience?

I’ll be left to wonder, I suppose...

Ah well! Thanks again!

#askecho #writing asks #writing #fanfics #stories #anon ask #liked writing #crutch words #shameless plugging #personal stuff #idk

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sharinluna · 5 years

Text

Love and Producer(MLCQ) Kiro Kiss Date Translation

Copy pasting my translation from Reddit.

Kiro's Kiss Date is a future karma but the timeline of the date is assumed to be during chapter 12 before Kiro announces his retirement. So I'm posting my translation based on KR text. I translated about 80% and tried to keep to the original Korean text as possible, but took liberty to paraphrase some sentences to make it sound more natural in English.

Also, MC’s name is Yōurán because that is the unofficial default CN name.

Star Cluster Date

I underestimated Savin’s work as Kiro’s agent. It was just as, no, harder than my job as a producer. I went over the schedule again, checking each item with my finger one by one.

Yōurán: 9:30 is rehearsal, then we have to try on the stage costumes, then to the concert… oh no! I screwed up!

Kiro: Screwed up what?

Just then Kiro slided next to me and glanced at my notepad, then he sighed in an exaggerated manner.

Kiro: How cruel, Yōurán! You didn’t even give me time to eat!

Yōurán: That’s why I yelled “I screwed up…” But we still have time to order some takeout…

Kiro: But I was looking forward to a lunch you cooked out of love!

He pursed his lips and began to torture my conscience with puppy eyes. In the yellow light, his eyes looked even more pitiful. He must have practiced making that face!

Yōurán: All right, all right… Today is late, but how about tomorrow?

Kiro: That’s a promise. I knew you would care for me! I hope you become my one and only agent from now on.

Yōurán: Savin will be upset when he hears that…

Although I said that, my heart was fluttering. If I could continue being Kiro’s agent… My thoughts went back to the day Kiro barged into my house in the middle of the night to ask me about this.

Kiro: For real! Just for a week!

I wanted to help him of course, but I couldn’t readily accept this kind of offer right away!

Yōurán: But… I have never worked as an agent before, do you really want me to? You must know other people who are more experienced in this job.

Kiro: But there’s no point if it’s not you.

I couldn’t say no to his insisting. Truth was, I was also eager to accept this offer.

Yōurán: Okay, I’ll do it.

As soon as I answered I heard a yell through the receiver. I began to feel excited as well.

Kiro: Great! Get ready because I’m going to your house in 30 minutes!

Yōurán: What, now?! What’s all the hurry?

Kiro: There was a change of plan, my friend wants to start practicing tomorrow. Why else would I bother you like this in the middle of the night?

Yōurán: But like you said, your schedule is tomorrow… why do I have to start tonight?

Kiro: To get to know each other more intimately, of course. For an entire week we have to be the best of partners sharing our daily schedule from meals to transportations.

Wait, was this also part of an agent’s job? So, I have to stick to Kiro every moment of the week?

And he really took me along everywhere he went for the following week. But I did little to manage his schedules as a celebrity. It felt more like I was getting to see his world that I have never seen before.

Even without my clumsy help he was already the perfectly radiant sun. Whether it was rehearsals or social relations, he managed his affairs meticulously. I doubted whether he needed me as his agent in the first place.

Yōurán: You can manage yourself just fine without my help, right?

Kiro: Don’t lower your worth like that.

His answer was serious. I could faintly smell his sweat that still remained from his rehearsal as he came closer. His voice lower than usual surrounded me. I could feel heat emanating between us.

Kiro: I wouldn’t know what to do without you.

Yōurán: But I didn’t do anything…

Kiro: You’re next to me, that’s all I need.

Kiro: Do you think it’s childish, wanting to show only your best side to someone you like?

He looked softly at me. Underneath the light his eyes were like honey, sweet and profound.

My head was filled with his words “someone you love”. I couldn’t find my voice, so I shook my head to tell him that no, I did not think it was childish. Which he must have found funny because he laughed out loud. His hair tickled my neck as he shook with laughter but I couldn’t push him away.

Kiro: Haha, look at you all worked up.

Yōurán: It’s because you’re suddenly being all mushy…

Kiro: Then, get used to it from now on…

He pulled me into his arms and his continued confessions conquered my ear, defeating all coherent thoughts left.

Kiro: I love you… I love you, Yōurán… I love you the most in the world…

(like 好きだ in Japanese, 좋아하다 in Korean means “like”, but it can also mean “love”. So Kiro and MC are repeating the same word but the meaning slowly changes from “like” to “love”.)

His hand was supporting the back of my neck, preventing me from escaping the sweet whirlpool that I was slowly drowning in. My hands landed on his shirt after not knowing where to go, and his palm covered them warmly.

Kiro: If I ever leave…

He was whispering next to my ear, but I felt like I could hear him from a thousand miles away. I hugged this sensitive, lonely soul without knowing what would happen in the future.

I knew that his “leaving” meant something serious, but I felt like I should inquire like everything was normal.

Yōurán: Are you leaving the country again? How long are you going to be gone this time?

A short pause passed, then he resumed his playful way of talking.

Kiro: Yes. I’m going somewhere very, very far, and will be gone for a very, very long time. You’d better not sob your heart out for me because you miss me. (He is saying “sob/sniffle” but in the sense of “crying like a little kid.” I don’t know which is the most appropriate, sob? wail? bawl? sniffle? whine?)

Yōurán: I’m not going to! I’m not a child!

Kiro: But I’m going to.

Kiro: So, will you promise me? That you won’t forget me if I’m gone.

I had so many things I wanted to say to him, but I had to accept that there must be a reason he was like this. So I nodded firmly, then he laughed lightly and our foreheads touched. It somehow felt like a farewell.

Since that day, he never once brought up anything about “leaving.” It felt like I was worrying for no good reason. I didn’t know where the “somewhere very far” was, nor did I know how long was “a very long time”.

Two days later, I heard him talking to someone on the phone in the dressing room. The voice was him, but I’ve never heard him sounding so cold like that.

Kiro: …………more time……... ………after I leave…………

The way he spoke reminded me of what he said earlier, and I couldn’t ignore it. My head told me to walk past, to not concern myself with this. Everyone has a side they don’t want others to know, and Kiro was no exception. But concern that was growing bigger in the silence made me go toward the door.

While I was hesitating, the door – which turned out to be unlocked – pushed open by itself. Kiro hurriedly ended his call when he heard me. His face was calm just as always.

Kiro: What’s up? Are they looking for me?

Yōurán: Umm… no, I was just…

My eyes landed on his phone before I could come up with an excuse. His eyes followed suit and glanced at his phone, then he gave a sigh full of meaning and approached me. The sharp way he held himself made me take a few steps back, but I couldn’t escape the flick on the forehead.

Yōurán: Oww!!

Kiro: It’s bad habit to eavesdrop on people.

Yōurán: I wasn’t… I was just passing by and happened to…

Kiro: That’s not good either. I can tell by your face. You heard everything right?

Yōurán: But I really didn’t….

Kiro: That was classified information. What should I do with you now?

Yōurán: I will never tell anyone!

Kiro: You’d better, or else…

His always bright and cheerful eyes narrowed to emit a threatening atmosphere. I was suddenly reminded of the “You know too much, I’ll have to kill you.” scenes in movies. I felt a shiver in my back.

What was he hiding? What did this have to do with his “leaving”? Was he in this willingly? Or did he get caught into this without a choice? If the latter was the case, he must be facing a really difficult predicament. What should I do to help him then?

Having reached this thought, my desire to help him get over this drove away my fear. Making my decision, I spoke from my heart.

Yōurán: Your phone call… does that have to do with your “leaving”? If you could let me help…

…then could you stay? Instead of going someplace far away from here?

But my words were interrupted by his sudden burst of laughter.

Kiro: Hahaha! You got it very wrong!

Yōurán: But you said something about leaving on the phone…

He laughed even more harder when he heard my words. He laughed so hard that tears were hanging on his long lashes.

Kiro: That was my line from the new movie I’m going to shoot. I was acting as an emotionless killer. I was practicing on my own, but I had no idea that you were listening.

Yōurán: And the classified information thing…?

He motioned exaggeratedly to be quiet. The icy atmosphere was long since gone, everything was warm and bubbly again.

Kiro: Shh… Of course it’s classified. It’s not even announced to the public yet! Savin won’t let me hear the end of it if he knows. So you have to keep it a secret!

So everything was concluded as his impromptu prank.

Yōurán: You should have told me earlier.

Kiro: Sorry, sorry! But you should have seen your face! I just had to tease you a bit.

Yōurán: Thanks to you, I’ll probably get “The Best Reaction Award”.

Kiro: Then I, Kiro, will award Miss Chips “The Best Reaction of the Year”!

He went along with my bad joke in a witty way.

Before I could say anything further, he removed the pendant from his neck. One could immediately tell how much it meant to him. His lips held the silver pendent, giving it a kiss, then he continued his speech.

Kiro: Will Miss Chips kindly come up to the stage to receive her award?

Then he placed his pendant on my neck like it was a medal. His fingers brushed the sensitive skin on my neck and I held my breath. I thought he would take the necklace back after he was done joking, but he clasped the chain and stepped back.

Kiro: Keep it safe for me while I’m not around.

Yōurán: Wait! This necklace means so much to you! I can’t have something like this!

Kiro: That’s why I’m putting it in your care.

He stroked the pendant with utmost care, a forlorn look appeared on his face for the shortest moment.

Kiro: I’ll have you again when I come back.

I didn’t know whether he was talking to the pendant, or to me whose hand was still caught by his.

And did my heart feel like it was being teared apart because I knew he was leaving? Or was it something else?

My one-week experience as Kiro’s agent was about to end. And the show was about to start. Kiro did his best to ensure that this show was perfect. The show started at night, but he'd begun preparations since morning. He was always ready to help the staff with a welcoming smile.

Under the spotlight, with the stage and music, he will always be a star. But seeing him like this only made me fear more about his leaving.

If Kiro the sun leaves, what should they do – the crowds cheering for him under the stage?

What should I do?

My thoughts were thrashing and turning as I listened to his music. I clutched the bouquet for him tighter.

What stance should I take when I give this bouquet to him? As his one-week agent? As his ardent fan? Or….. as Yōurán, who doesn’t wish to see him go.

Before I could find the right answer, the show ended with thunder-like applause. The audience kept shouting for an encore.

Kiro: Do you have anything to give me?

I held the bouquet out to him, my hands still shaking from all the excitement. He was smiling tenderly like always, but his eyes held so intense an emotion.

Kiro: The flowers are really cute. But that’s not what I want.

Yōurán: Oh, don’t you like them…?

Kiro: I like them. But what I want right now is…. you.

He reached his hand out and pulled backed the clothes hanging above me, and trapped me inside the narrow space.

His bangs brushed my nose as the abrupt kiss landed on my lips. His tongue pushed inside roughly and hastily. I put my hands against his chest but couldn’t find it in me to push him away.

I could hear the fans shouting for an encore not far away, but their din faded out in my ears. All I could hear were us breathing heavily. Our breaths entangled drinking in each other, and I was out of oxygen. I felt dizziness and couldn’t think anything. I could only open my mouth wider and thirst for more like a fish out of water. He held himself while checking my response, then moved in deeper to meet my craving. It felt like my every cell was getting infected by him. I couldn’t keep myself from getting closer to his body, wanting, asking for more.

We forgot that we were at the backstage with the crowds waiting behind, until we heard his friend looking out for him.

Friend: What about Kiro? Where is he? He was right next to me just a moment ago.

Yōurán: They’re looking for you!

He released me reluctantly, then he leaned down to kiss the pendant on my neck.

Kiro: Next time, it might be you who have to find me. No matter how far and long I’m gone, it’s up to you to find me.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Yōurán(MC) already knows that something's going on, but she chooses to go along with Kiro and pretends that nothing wrong is happening. But they both know that their time together is about to end soon.

#mlqc #mlqc spoiler #mlqc kiro #love and producer #mlqc translation

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evien-stark · 4 years

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✧I Need You✧ Chapter 118

Returning to “normal” life was hard, as always. And, as the end of March crept up and you moved into April, you suspected part of the reason Tony may have been laying it on so thick (aside, of course, his deep love for you) was because he knew once he came home he’d throw himself into work. Almost literally. Where you’d spent two weeks basking in each other’s affections and attentions, once you hit the ground in New York, you barely saw him. It wasn’t just him, you were busy, too, but…

This thing he was working on… as always, when he threw himself into something this hard you got just a little worried. You hoped understandably so. This project was supposed to help your team. Help your life. Help you find some sense of… well… a different normal than you were used to, right then. Where superhero stuff would slowly get phased out of the equation. Which would be a nice thought, but…

Part of you wondered, as you’d told him, if that was entirely possible. He seemed to think it was just possible enough, even perhaps one-percent possible, for him to look into it. He had some crazy idea- or maybe just a Tony idea that he saw. Some grand vision. You assumed he’d see it through, no matter what it took. You just hoped that wasn’t too much.

You also hoped you weren’t selfish. Growing lonely in his absence, even when he was just a few floors away at any given time. Just in the labs. Same that you were just in your offices. But. Work kept you divided. Sometimes that was just how it had to be. Much as you regretted it. Even if he was working on something meant to help.

Your own days became the same exciting, packed monotony. Three meetings before breakfast, too many in the afternoon, piles of emails, conferences, papers to read through, proposals to pass or go forward on, then a few meetings pushed in at the end of the day. Some you let run long because you knew Tony was still busy anyway, so what was the point? Who were you coming “home” to?

But… sometimes, when he could, when he remembered, he did try to make an effort. Surprising you with dinner. Sometimes it went the other way around, and you’d bring food down to the lab. He had a ton of exoskeletons on his work tables at any given moment. About a thousand screens surrounding him with work scattered across all of them. Working. Sincerely. Trying his hardest.

All the time busy and apart made it that much nicer when May came and the two of you did exactly as he’d asked. Spent the entire day of his birthday- ...and maybe a few after (fair was fair) with only each other. Moments like those making you realize just how much you missed him. But they didn’t last forever. Couldn’t. Not with the crush of business invading your lives again soon after.

And- true to his word and his timeline- near the beginning of June, when you brought dinner down, you caught both him and Bruce working on something in tandem. On the biggest board in the room in big block letters you read aloud, “Project Ultron?” So. Tony had probably gone through an entire proof of concept meeting and gotten Bruce on the team. “Does it stand for something, or…?”

Both of them looked up and spoke at the same time.

“Unique Latency-” “Ultimate Automaton.”

The two looking at each other once they realized they were speaking over one another. You couldn’t help the little giggle that escaped, as you sat atop one of the only partially clean tables in the lab. “There are two kinds of people in the world…” Tony clearly was trying to do his little acronym thing, while Bruce was just fusing two concepts together. “...but Ul-tron has an r in there.” Looking at Bruce. “Aren’t you missing a word?”

Tony crossed his arms with a little shrug. “Which is why if we’d just go with my version-”

Bruce raised a hand. “We’re still workshopping it. Honestly, I think the name is the least important part.”

“Speak for yourself.” A little scoff as Tony turned back to one of the boards to seemingly correct some math on it.

Dumping some dressing on one of the salads you’d brought, you cast a long look around the room. It really didn’t look like much to you. A bunch of figures and numbers and science and terms and… all things you were sure made sense to them. But still, “So… what’s this shaping up to be?” You and Tony had talked sparsely about it a handful of times. Now that he really seemed to be moving forward, it seemed like the ideal time to ask.

Tony half turned back to cast a glance your way. “We’re looking at a ringleader for the newly resurrected Iron Team.” Because you couldn’t help the slight dry look you sent his way, he went into defense mode. “Not- not quite as sizable as before. I promise.”

You crunched on a forkful of lettuce. “Hmn. I thought we were going with Iron Force? ...or was it Squad?”

“Too aggressive and too Power Rangers. But. As Banner said… what’s in a name.” Grinning, turning back to his math.

Bruce shook his head. “I don’t think that’s quite what I was getting at.”

“So…” Thinking still as you looked at some of the metal frameworks on the table. “We’re still looking at the defensive angle, right?” There were dual murmurs of agreement as they slowly became absorbed in their work again, despite your presence in the room. “Can’t we just- so if you’re looking at someone to direct this Team while our team is busy… can’t we use JARVIS?”

You thought you understood. From the small bit you and Tony had talked prior, it seemed like they wanted a larger, louder voice to direct the rest of the smaller Iron Suits, while your team would be otherwise busy with stuff. It made sense.

“JARVIS isn’t equipped enough for this.”

And, right on cue, JARVIS spoke up. “I’d like to disagree, sir.”

Not equipped enough… what did that mean? Not smart enough? That was impossible, right? JARVIS was the smartest program that had ever been built, no doubt. But if even he wasn’t what they were looking for… “You’re… looking at building a better artificial intelligence?” A smarter program that could think on its own. Be able to act on its own.

JARVIS was a smart program, that was true. No doubt. But he needed direction. If your team had their hands full and needed to utilize something on this scale… you’d need a program capable of making the right calls. Capable of calling the shots.

...this felt… very dangerous… although you were sure if anyone could handle this, it was Tony- and having Tony and Bruce working on it? Should have been a slam dunk.

Though that thought was shelved, momentarily, when a warm thrum of pride rippled over from Tony to you, and you caught the sight of his fond smile. Proud that you’d worked it out, it seemed. “Something like that. Also. If all parties are interested, I’d like to keep JARVIS for myself.” JARVIS spoke up, still with that dry wit. “I suppose I should take that as a compliment, sir.”

So. An artificial intelligence that would have command of not only its own powerful suit, but would in essence be in charge of commanding a smaller squad. For clean up. For protection. Crowd control. ...yes, dangerous. “That seems… not that I don’t trust you two- I do. But. You know. A little dicey?” Being honest because this project deserved that, as did Tony. “What if something goes wrong?”

“I’m glad you asked, honey.” Turning around, arms still half crossed as he waved his finger around. “As it turns out, we decided to hire for a security protocol and contingency coder. And, well, I’ve seen your resume. Very impressive stuff. So I think you’re hired. What do you think, doctor?” Turning to Bruce.

He smiled. “I like the sound of that.”

Coming over to you, Tony then stuck out his hand. “How about that. You’re hired.”

You tried your absolute best to stow your own smile at their antics. “I barely know how to code a website, much less a giant super-AI-bot.” Not sure this was the best idea. No matter how much you liked being included.

“You’ll link up with JARVIS-”

“And here I thought you’d said I wasn’t smart enough.” JARVIS’ somehow wry tone cutting Tony off. “That’s not what I said. Don’t interrupt me.” Trying to re-catch his train of thought. “Besides, it’s less about programming and more about… foresight. And a human touch, which, no offense-” Shooting Bruce a little look before turning his attention back to you, “-we may be sorely lacking around here.”

“Some offense taken.” Bruce slipped his glasses off the bridge of his nose, hanging them in his pocket. He settled a hand on his hip as he turned back to the board. You heard the smile reappear in his voice. “Although not much…”

“Come on, honey, don’t leave me hanging.” Tony reclaiming your attention easily, waggling his hand, still holding it out for you.

Putting on a grand show of thinking about it, you lingered with a hum before lifting your hand and slowly putting it in his. Once there, the two of you gave a weak shake, far more preoccupied with grinning at one another. “Fine. But. I reserve the right to make my own hours. I’m busy enough as it is. And also to tell you when you’re wrong.”

“Why else would I hire you?”

The warmth in his eyes rebounded right back into you, striking at your core, turning you just slightly mushy. He lifted your hand, still in his, just a little further up, pulling you closer. You tilted up as he ducked down, enjoying a sweet and perhaps overly sappy kiss, settling your hand at the side of his neck, fingers brushing over the line of his jaw. It didn’t last long. In fact, you’d have liked it to go on far longer. Or maybe steal him to go upstairs… but he pulled back-

And an uncomfortable half laugh from Bruce drew both your gazes his way. “That’s not uh… the initiation for work on Project Ultron is it? Because I gotta say, I have some reservations about it…”

Letting go of Tony, you raised a hand to cover your mouth as your own little laugh escaped. Trying to play apologetic. “Sorry, Bruce.” Well. ...it was rude.

Tony turned away finally, waving a hand that he then dropped on Bruce’s shoulder when he was close enough. “I’m not. If it makes you feel better, you can always kiss me instead.”

“That’s not-” Bruce getting annoyed and flustered too easily. “No. That’s not what I meant.”

---

You made a concerted effort in your already busy life to visit the lab at the end of the workday at least twice a week. In between calls and meetings you tried to run with JARVIS about how to even set up what Tony was asking you to do. It started as a small list of… basically Plan-B’s. Just-in-cases. That list then grew several pages long. And then it ended up looking like a short story.

There was no telling if any of it was good or would even be implemented. But it sort of made you feel better about the whole thing (though you promised yourself you were not going to stress about this yet. It was in good hands with Tony and Bruce), to think that maybe even one-percent of what you were thinking about would make it in.

...but who would have even guessed there were so many of these contingencies that would be needed? So many ways for things to go wrong. So many things to look after. It started to drive you crazy, after a while. Really, you were trying uselessly to fight against the saying that you couldn’t prepare for everything. But couldn’t you? Or maybe more accurately, shouldn’t you? You should at least try.

So that’s what you did.

There was no rush, though, as the project had only just started. It could take years to even come out of the initial stages. So while you tried to put in a proper amount of work into it- interested and diligent- the fact was that Project Ultron was a long ways off from being an actual thing. Even more so than you may have first thought, as the months drew on and every night you visited Tony and Bruce seemed to get more frustrated each time.

You weren’t sure what kind of problems they were running into, although you imagined there had to be a plethora of them. This sort of thing wasn’t going to be easy, for sure. But perhaps even they had bitten off more than they could chew. It resulted in Tony spending, somehow, even more time in the lab. ...an alarming amount. To the point where he wouldn’t come upstairs for bed. Or. If he did… he’d sneak out after you’d fallen asleep.

It felt like a cycle was replaying. A certain pattern. One that spoke of nothing good. But you just… didn’t know how to break him of it. Even still, it just felt a little impossible. Maybe it was something the both of you needed to work on. Because while you weren’t so busy you weren’t making sure you ate and slept- you know, basic human things- you were terribly busy. Which made it all the harder to check in on him.

It also made it harder to keep track of anything else. As autumn swept away and a new calendar month started in November, you barely remembered you had an anniversary coming up. Five years together, no less. And- hadn’t he said something about a… house?

The thought was barely there. You weren’t sure if he remembered, either. Because he certainly hadn’t said anything. He hadn’t asked you to clear your schedule or make plans. He had seldom left the Tower, too, so you had a hard time thinking about a plot of land being squared away “somewhere upstate” as he’d put it.

Maybe it was all going to be a fun surprise, you lied to yourself.

Instead, the surprise came a few days before the actual date, when just nearing midnight, JARVIS startled you out of reading what someone had falsely labeled as a very important email (they rarely were). His voice cutting in through the thick silence got you to jump so hard you ended up banging your knee on the bottom of your desk, jarring it enough to send a stack of papers you needed to go over flying to the floor.

“Ma’am, your assistance is required in the lab. There’s an emergency.”

A soft pained curse escaped you, trying very hard not to get loud- because you didn’t want him thinking you were yelling at him. “What- what happened? Did they blow something up?” You weren’t sure they were at that stage yet, where they’d be in the middle of tinkering with things that could. But you were still on your feet in an instant, charging towards the door and then out to the elevator.

JARVIS’ voice followed you. “Mr. Stark is in dire need of your help.”

Inside the elevator you soured a little, crossing your arms. “Is he using you to trick me downstairs?” This sounded like a game.

“I’ve clocked his temperature at 102.8. He’s having trouble standing.”

This smacked an immediate silence into you. “He’s sick? Why didn’t he-” Why hadn’t he said anything?

The doors opened on the lab level and you raced out, down into the private back area. Already through the glass you could see Bruce struggling with Tony, one arm around his shoulders. When you keyed yourself in, his head jerked up. “Oh- good. I don’t know what- he’s sweating bullets.”

“He’s sick.” Said firmly as you reached out to put a hand on his chest, angling him back.

“I’m fine.” Flush and sweating. He was foggy, too. Far away from you, when you reached out the other way. “I just- stood up too quick-”

“And fell over?” So, dizzy, too.

“Thank god I caught him, or he might have had a much worse accident on the corner of that table.” Bruce sounded extremely vexed. But all too soon you caught the guilt there. His lab partner was sick. And he hadn’t noticed until it was literally just a few seconds from being too late. “Can you take him upstairs?”

Tony shook his head. “We’ve got- we’re working-”

“You’re going to bed.” Firm. Putting your foot down. But… taking him upstairs? That seemed like a task for someone a little stronger than you- maybe you could call Thor or… oh. “Wait a second.” The light bulb went off. You let go of him to retrieve the Heart Reactor in your pocket. Safe keeping, as always. Pressing it to your chest, you double tapped to activate it, and left the helmet off.

Bending down in a single clean sweep, one arm under the bend of his knees and the other around his back, you lifted him off his feet. It was a true testament to how sick he was, that he just melted once the weight was off, going a little slack. Although he did aim a groggy half-lidded smile up your way. “My hero.”

“Bruce, too. Wanna aim those goo-goo eyes up his way?” Holding back your sigh.

Bruce put both hands palm up. “I’m fine without it.”

Even with his eyes closed, his brow popped that signature arch. “That’s an abuse of power, by the way.”

“Well at least you’re well enough to sass.” That had to count for something, right?

Bruce shook his head in dismay. “Just… take care of him, alright?”

“Yeah. Thanks. You should probably take a break, too.” If this was what you thought it was. And, since you were usually right about all things Tony, you had a pretty good idea. When he just nodded meekly at you, you turned to leave.

It was a strange feeling, carrying Tony up to bed. Seeing him in this state was nothing short of awful. But being able to care for him like this… it was a weird sense of…

“We were supposed to break ground-” He was mumbling incoherently about something, as you got him upstairs and laid him in bed.

Without the need for it any longer, you disengaged the suit, leaving the Reactor on the night table. “Just- relax, honey. You’re alright…” Disappearing after a soothing touch at his forehead, going to the kitchen to get an ice pack.

Tony was still talking when you came back, sitting at his side, wiping the sweat from his brow before settling the wrapped pack on his forehead. His eyes were closed but he shakily reached over, reaching until he found your leg. Grasping there. Lightly. “We were- I had a plot picked out-”

Oh. “For the house? Don’t worry about that right now. You stressed yourself sick, Tony. Just relax.” He’d really been that worried about this Ultron stuff? About the house- too- possibly?

...and you’d missed it. Bruce wasn’t the only one feeling terrible.

“It’s not stress.” Arguing. Even now. “A lab intern sneezed on me earlier-”

This time the sigh finally escaped you. “Sure, Tony. Somebody sneezed on you.”

“I’m sure there’s footage-”

“Okay. Alright. Relax.” Asking a third time, then, putting on your gentlest voice. “Just sleep, okay? You’re alright, I’ve got you.”

“Contrary to two seconds ago- when you said I was sick-” Sassing you. Even now. He shook his head, hand gripping your leg a little tighter. “Did Banner call you? I don’t remember- things are a little hazy-”

“JARVIS did.”

“I didn’t ask him to do that.” His voice was fading. Lulled by the reassurance of your presence- also probably the strain of his own ill consciousness. The sizzle of his fever.

“Yeah, well. I’m glad he did.” Bruce probably would have called you, after a few more minutes of struggling with a half-dead-to-the-world Tony. Surely. But… JARVIS reaching out to you within a moment’s notice… it was nice to be able to trust him like that. “Just sleep.”

“Don’t go.”

It was inexplicable. Perhaps even unfathomable. Those two little words, in that quiet drifting voice… it practically threw you close to crying. Heart aching so suddenly. “I’m right here, Tony…” Hushing him again, reaching up with your other hand to run the backs of your fingers over his red-hot cheek. “I’m not going anywhere.”

The last thing he seemed to be able to muster before slipping away were a few disjointed words of love. You returned the feeling, cradling him in a blanket of warmth and reassurance as best you could.

This wasn’t exactly a nightmare scenario like the one before- no one had bombed the Tower or anything- but… you couldn’t help but feel guilty. As usual. There in time to clean up after him. But not catch it in time.

The two of you still really needed to work on this.

#Tony Stark #Tony Stark x Reader #INY Chapter One Hundred Eighteen

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amberls123 · 4 years

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Fanfiction Ramblings

I haven’t been posting here to Tumblr for very long, so I’m not sure who here knows me from deviantart or fanfiction.net. If you don’t know either and haven’t read my fanfics, this post might sound pretty confusing, so sorry ahead of time. If you do want to check out my fics, click here https://www.deviantart.com/als123 for deviantart and here https://www.fanfiction.net/~amberls123 for fanfiction.net!

Now on to the ramble...

I've been thinking about rewriting the entire Echoes series over the last couple of years. I've particularly been thinking about Amber's origin story for the last few days. I've only shared the first chapter of that fic, Echoes of Beginning I think it was called. But I stopped because I've been completely stumped as to how to get from that story to the beginning of Echoes in the Night. I've also been stuck on just what exactly Amber's origin story is. Originally she was going to have an American mother (deceased) and British father (a doctor named Arthur), and that she grew up in America and for whatever reason decided to set out on her own and returned to London where her father is from. Of course, she becomes a new tenant at Baker Street, thus meeting Basil. But I feel like this is just too obvious or too cliche. Nearly every GMD self-insert fic has the main character moving into Baker Street and falling in love with Basil right off the bat. Now, I'm not knocking authors who do this, I swear! Some of my favorite fanfictions have that storyline, and I always love reading GMD fanfiction no matter the content. Please don't think I'm putting down authors who go this route. I was so young when I first wrote Echoes in the Night, like early 20s. I'm nearly 30 now and my way of thinking and interests has changed over the years. For some reason, I just really want to go a different route now with Amber and Basil. I originally had them falling in love and married within like a year or slightly longer of meeting. Maybe it's due to my own experiences I've had with dating since then and thinking about marriage. I don't know. I just kind of want to spread that timeline out a little further. I also feel like that's much too quick for Basil to fall that hard for someone so quickly. I want to write him to be more in character. Anyway. I thought to begin fleshing out Amber's story, I need to start with her parents. I've never had any plans in mind for a mother figure for her. I don't know why, I just have always imaged her and her father on their own. I haven't totally made up my mind yet if her mother will have died when she was too young to remember her, or if she and Arthur are divorced. I'm sort of leaning toward the second, but I don't know. I still want them to have lived in America for a bit since that is where the mother is from. But I think if they divorce, Amber and Arthur move back to London. She's probably 16 or so around that time. So that leaves me with Arthur to work with. I've always imagined him as a doctor due to some convos me and NightMagican had years ago (I don't remember what exactly, I think he was a doctor in an RP maybe? ) I think I've decided that he will have a private practice in London where there are offices for his work, but also living quarters for them to reside. My problem is I needed someway for Amber and Basil to eventually meet. The only solution I can come up with for that is that either Amber or Arthur brings Basil a case. Thanks to convos with techieninja18 on Tumblr, I think I actually finally have an idea for what can happen to set that in motion. Basically something happens that brings Amber to seek Basil's help. There's just one thing that makes me hesitate to start writing all this. Echoes in the Night is probably my most popular fanfic besides maybe Blood and Gold. And I think most people like it best for the drama and romance. If I go this new route with Basil and Amber only just meeting and not knowing anything about each other, I will have to get rid of basically ALL the romance in Echoes in the Night... which also takes away a LOT of the drama and rivalry stuff between Basil and Ratigan. It also completely changes all the mysterious parts in the beginning with Basil and Amber being lost in the woods with Ratigan chasing them. I'll have to change most of the story. I'm just so torn because part of me wants to keep the mushy predictable love story parts, and yet another side of me is going "Ew this is so corny." I don't really know what to do. I've always wanted to rewrite the series, but this is such a huge thing that would drastically change the outcome of the Echoes in the Night rewrite. (This origin story might actually be so short that I might even be able to turn it into a first chapter or prologue of Echoes in the Night.) I'm also not sure how much a rewrite will change the sequels, Echoes in My Mind and Echoes of Fear. Probably not as much since I think there will be enough time in between those stories that Basil and Amber will have gotten involved romantically by that point. I'm pretty sure it won't change much about Fane's involvement. It depends on how Ratigan fares by the end of this Echoes in the Night rewrite. I'm just so torn on what to do. What do you guys think? You're the readers. What would you rather see? I could still throw in some little romantic things possibly... it's too soon to tell yet. But would you guys still be interested in the Echoes series if I completely rewrite it? I won't delete the original, so if you prefer that one, I'll always leave it up.

#fanfic #fanfic help #writer's block #the great mouse detective #basil of baker street #originalcharacters

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the-fickle-muse · 4 years

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The future has fangs

Colleseum AU timeline. Set post SUF 3k words.

Chapter 2 : A tiger in the woods.

The dining room was surprisingly quite empty as Steven and Connie began their breakfast. The manager, a nice lady with short hair, had chalked it up to Beach City incidents driving people away lately. He likely would have found that funny if it weren't for… well. You know.

"So, let's start again-" Connie chirped from behind a mouthful of buttered toast. Her back a little stiff after sleeping on the brick-like mattresses of the B&B. "You'd heard weird noises all night but didn't go check it out?"

"It's been keeping me awake, yeah. I thought maybe it was just a wild animal but…" He trailed off, picking with little appetite at the chunky breakfast sausage sitting on his plate, eventually giving up and tossing it to lion with a sigh. "I guess I thought once I left Beach city all the gem stuff would start going away."

A soft ache at Connie's chest forced her mouth to twist into a sad smile. Of course Steven wanted to get away from it all. It was just an awfully timed coincidence that a corrupted gem of all things would appear now. "Well, since we're only a day or so away, we could poof it and I can deliver it to the gems to cleanse the corruption. You don't have to come back if you don't want to."

The awkward expression he gave her quickly shut that idea down, remembering that Steven would need to be present to actually fix the gem. As much as taking a bottle of his spit back would work, in theory, it wasn't a particularly pleasant plan.

"No." He resigned, pushing the mostly empty plate away in defeat. "It's no big deal, just one more gem, right?" The concern in Connie's eyes was almost convincing, but he soon stood up and nodded firmly to confirm his thoughts. "Don't worry, Connie. If I wanted to say no I'd say no. Or I'd make some kind of joke about it..."

Her little chortling sounded like music to his ears. So goofy and sweet. The good kind of pink flush rushed to his rounded cheeks as she rose from her seat and shook her head. "I couldn't convince you not to if I tried, Steven Universe, but it was worth a shot." Her eyes sparkle with an idea, Lion nosing his head onto her plate to grab at the leftovers. "You know, there is one thing you could do to make this better for the both of us."

"And-" Steven is caught during the reply as Connie hopped forward to plant a peck on his cheek. "-uh, wuh, what would that be?" He stammered, blinking away the kiss with a giddy smile.

"I want you to sit this one out." It was clear and concise. Confidently worded as she let her hand linger on his shoulder, watching for the predictable 'wait what?' expression before continuing. "I can handle this, Steven." Her smile lowered, eyes drifting to lion who had finished clearing their plates and was grooming one of the many spots of missing fur from yesterday. "I really don't think-"

"Thank you."

That one little phrase stopped Connie in her tracks, eyes flicking back to him in surprise. "I… guess it was obvious I really don't want to fight, huh." He chuckled running a hand up the back of his neck. "I get it, too, that I'm not really ok to be… I don't feel comfortable after…" Oh Steven. She understood perfectly well, that's why she even brought it up. But to accept that, and understand, was already such a big leap. She didn't know whether to feel proud or pity him.

She pulled him into a soft, warm, one armed hug. Patting his back a few times before they both cleaned up their table and bid farewell to the cheerful manager. Connie pullined the heavy Pink sword from Lion's mane as they approached the main road, hoisting it up onto her shoulder with one arm while her free hand lay interlocked with Stevens.

The distant rolling thunder of cars surfing over the well kept roads almost gave the outdoors some form of white noise. The brushing of leaves and twittering of small sparrows overtaking the city symphony as they hurried across the asphalt and into the treeline. Her knees and hands, all the way up to the wrist, had been wrapped in clean, sturdy, bandages. The many little scrapes from yesterday were a learning experience, already healed with Steven's help.

The woodlands were just as they had been yesterday. Yet the sky was much different. Swirling wisps of cloud danced around like silk, taken easily in the cool breeze. The sun, not yet having risen enough to beam brightly, cast the horizon in deep golds and oranges. It reminded Steven of his early mornings back home. Rushing to the big doughnut to meet Sadie and Lars. Getting early access to last night's fry-bits from Peedee. It was a warm, Cozy feeling to be thinking of those kinds of mornings.

The minutes flew by, as did yesterday's landmarks. Passing the monolith, then the arrow-trail, and finally coming to the clearing from before. Steven took a long sigh-like breath as he finally let go of Connie and the both of them warily explored the battlezone.

He remembered the direction the gem had taken off in, but felt at a loss when he tried to imagine how far it may have gone by now. After all, gems don't need sleep like they did. And for all he knows it could have been running since their encounter. Broken twigs, a vaguely large break in the opposing bushes...

"Steven, come look at this." Connie squatted into a spry crouch, interested in the dirt, which as he got closer revealed a little glimmer of a clue. "Pawprints." She mumbled. A hand wandering idly down to touch the deep indentation in the dust. It was wide, and only had three toes, making a perfect match got the gem they had seen before. A little further forward was another, and around the same area slightly less defined triangular prints also started to show. Marks of the two-toed back feet by the looks of it.

"They look like the right size. What do you think, lion?” He asked cheerily, ruffling Lion's airy mane as the big cat stooped down to sniff at the trail. Dust and specks of grit flew away from his muzzle on every loud exhale. Taking slow meandering steps over the indentations, his ears pricking up every so often like two twitchy antennae. Finally satisfied, he turned around to look eagerly back at Steven and Connie.

Hesitation was gripping tediously at Steven's bones as he watched Connie stand up and dust off her knees, wanting to reach out and call the whole thing off so what happened yesterday wouldn't repeat itself. But he knew that wasn't an option anymore. He had faith in her but that faith alone couldn't fight away the gnawing unease of the task ahead.

Lion stayed just a pace behind the troublesome duo, eyes wandering idly of their own accord. The bushes they passed had lingering traces of the beast and with every step closer his tail twitched just a little harder.

It had hurt him, but not out of anger or savagery. No. It was scared. Lost. Abandoned? His first instinct might have been to observe it with curiosity had it not so suddenly attacked Connie. After all, that's exactly what he'd been doing for a week now. Watching it. Following it. The ambush was unexpected. If he'd known it would have behaved so destructively toward his little human companion he never would have brought her.

The slow crawl of changing scenery eventually escaped the dense trees, out into open air. Large walls of stone jutted out of the ground like steep pedestals hosting unknown treasures on top. The tracks they had been following vanished as dirt gave way to gravel and Lion suddenly halted. The scent trail gems left behind would generally grow stronger the closer they got, and right now it was pretty strong.

"Do you think it's here?" Connie whispered gingerly while letting her blade droop in her grasp.

Steven's stomach was in knots. It twisted and wrenched around itself and yet he managed to keep the feeling subdued by watching Connie's face. Her eyes were narrowed and intense. He didn't need to ask to know what was going on in that head of hers. Such blazing determination; it was infectious. "Yeah. It's got to be here." He took a breath, reaching into Lion's mane with an awkward rummage before pulling something small out. "Stand still."

"What?" She made no moves, expecting danger, but instead was greeted by his hands moving softly through her hair. "-Oh." Trying not to catch any stray tangles as he guided it all into a messy ponytail and twisted on a hairband. Earning a sweet smile as a result. "Thank you, Steven!"

The mushy moment didn't last long as without delay Connie took lead of the walk forward. Everyone's eyes scanned the available horizon until not even a minute into the search they found their prize. Snuffling over the cold stone floor, its muzzle pressing to the dust, with its tail dragging along behind it.

The gem’s ragged pelt rippled golden under the tinted dawn light. Heavy shadows from surrounding pillars casting darkness over large strips of the open area. It didn't seem to notice the approaching trio until Connie slid down a noisy bank of loose pebbles and tumbling rocks. Despite not being able to see any eyes beyond the mounds of fur, she could feel its pinpoint glare lock onto her the moment it looked her way. It’s fur prickled uncomfortably before laying flat again on noticing Lion and Steven still stashed away at the top of the sheer slide.

An eerie silence alerted Connie to the slow drumming of her pulse in her ears. Guarded and tense as her eyes bore into the creatures bottomless hair. She could feel her palms clam up with sweat underneath the bandage straps, frowning as it stayed statuesque in a frozen crouch.

Yesterday's fight had by no means been one sided. Even after Lion received one too many injuries Connie had held her ground with impressive technique. The creature fought with an air of predictability. A savage instinct that worked to make it stronger yet easier to anticipate. Many of its moves had been so heavily telegraphed she began to wonder if it was being intentionally slow.

The creature took cautious lumbering steps forward, smooth muzzle creasing, low grinding snarls serving as a warning to the determined human still menacingly standing there. The pink blade reflected soft sparkles of light across the floor with a rosy tint. Time fell to a sluggish crawl, neither making a move without the other instigating it. Connie’s patience was stretched further and further, like a boiling tea kettle. Her sweaty palms readjusted on the sword’s thorn-patterned hilt. Teeth began to grind. “Come on….” She hissed under a delayed breath, shuddering at the feeling of their onlooker’s eyes on the back of her neck. “Stop waiting, come at me!”

A thunderous screech echoed off of the surrounding stones. The gem, finally giving way to the human’s harsh demands, charged forward. It was only a few leaps until the colossal figure collided with Connie’s sword. A clash of razor claws on pearly metal threw sparks as its onslaught of blows bounced harmlessly, but not effortlessly, away from the blade. Connie’s feet danced across the dirt in quick, calm, movements. She was ready for a fight today.

The gem’s Sharp fangs glimmered, reflecting Connie’s face in their smooth polished edges, almost glowing the further into the fight they went. It was hard not to imagine them closing around her arms and shattering the bones inside. A gritty taste invaded Connie’s mouth as their brawl began to throw up clouds of dust.

The beast lowered, a sign Connie recognised immediately from yesterday. A pounce was coming. If it landed on her the amount of force would knock her over. Thinking quickly, she rolled to the left, making sure to stay away from the direction of the glaring sun so it couldn’t get in her eyes. As predicted the gem lunged forward at the moment she dodged, heavy legs swatting onto the sooty stone. Her sword sailed in a wide arc, whistling as she aimed for the Beast’s head…

The sudden drop in momentum was jarring. A reverberating rattle of metal on hard light. The gem’s mouth had caught the blade mid-swing. Connie’s wide eyes tried to process the sight as it too stood silent for a moment before it tugged at the sword, almost pulling it from her grip. Connie, wincing, shoulder still ringing from the sudden impact, dug her shoes into the pebble-ridden ground. She attempted to keep hold of the weapon while dark rumbles roll out of the creature’s mouth.

Finally it let go, though she wasn’t ready for it, and a hard pull sent her stumbling backwards onto the floor. Steven, who had been keeping a hand in Lion's mane for security, stiffened at the sight. The Gem leaned over her, a paw on either side of her legs, while she stared up at it, frozen.

“...Grrfff.” It huffed, almost disappointed. The beast blew hot air across Connie’s face before it turned around and walked away, leaving her lying propped up on padded elbows with a confused look cemented onto her face. She stared up at where its muzzle had just been before blinking repeatedly and groaning, hauling herself back onto her feet.

Steven’s head felt like it was going to implode, finally breathing out a long weighty breath he didn’t realise was being held. That was lucky. Hold on. No it wasn’t. That was intentional. His brow creased as he walked to the steep gravelly drop, watching the Gem circle away from Connie and then back again. Re-aligning itself in front of her and shaking off the dust that had settled in its mane. “It’s fighting because she asked it to.” The realisation hit like a puzzle piece being put in place. Sucking in air with surprise, he cupped both hands up in front of his mouth. “Connie, it’s sparring with you!”

Connie’s sword hand wobbled uncomfortably as she aimed the blade back at the monster. Conflicted feelings clouded her senses as it once again lurched forward into an attack. Early training days with Pearl echoed in her head. The choreographed movements, the less frantic fighting, stopping on someone’s defeat instead of following through… and then the corrupted gems she had faced before with Steven. Savage and desperate. Life threatening and high-stakes with no hesitation on either side of the field to finish the fight.

A surge of adrenaline brought a thunderous cry of effort out of her throat, slamming the flat side of the sword across the beast’s face instead of rolling away. The charge redirected as it stumbled over its own feet from the impact and crumpled to the ground, enough momentum in its run to have it roll aimlessly across the stone for a moment. It lay dizzy and dazed from the unexpected strike.

This time the creature was the one on the ground and it was Connie’s turn to blot out the sun. Planting a foot on its large forearm, she lifted the blade to its head, looking down at the creature with an impossible to read expression. In the background, Lion and Steven slid over the steep ledge and made their way to the pair. Connie sighed, lowering the sword again, and took a step away. She couldn’t poof it. It wasn’t like fighting any other corrupted gem they’d encountered before. It wasn’t just some mindless force of destruction. And neither was she.

“Connie, that was amazing!” Steven’s cheers brought her thoughts crashing back to the present as he grabbed her in a big, tight hug. “Not really what we came here to do but… I mean, I think you won, right?” He chuckled, looking from her embarrassed face to the gem beast still lying comfortably on the floor with what almost looked like a smile.

She patted the back of his jacket, looking uneasily from him to Lion and finally the creature. “I guess?” The patient looking expression on its face made her brows raise in curiosity, confirming a few lingering thoughts as the beast dipped its head in a single nod as a response. “But what about yesterday? Why would it be so aggressive then but not now? I don’t know, Steven, this one is… strange.”

“Huh, you’re right.” He mused, pulling a hand up to his mouth in thought, side-eyeing their potentially dangerous ‘acquaintance’ with a squint. “I can’t say about when you first ran into it, but when I got there it seemed pretty afraid, right? Maybe something else has been fighting it?”

Connie sighed heavily, a smile creeping back onto her face as she watched Lion approach the creature with caution. They stretched out to sniff at each others’ muzzles, despite the beast having no visible nose, and then Lion inevitably recoiled with a passive aggressive growl. They were very clearly not fond of each other, but neither made any attempt to bother the other outside of a few wayward chuffs and grumbles.

“So… what do we do? If we can’t poof it-”

“We should give it a name.” He cut her off, carrying on as Connie stared at him as if his hair had just turned into feathers. “We can’t just call them ‘it’ all the time, right? You fought it, so why don’t you name it?”

She blinked, taking a second to process the request before shaking her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Okay. Alright.” She brushed his goofy smile away with feigned irritability, trying to keep a straight face and only failing on turning back to the two large balls of fur. Lion seemed to be batting curiously at the creature’s large tail. Which it was obviously trying to ignore, flicking the tail’s clubbed end back and forth in an effort to keep it out of his puffy pink paws.

“How about…” Connie’s eyes wandered over the beast's body, settling time and time again on the large burnt orange stripes lining their arms and legs. “Weeee have Lion… so why not Tiger?”

At once the creature’s uninterested posture stiffened and it stood up. Eyeing Connie with an intensity that made her feel like a target. But, by the looks of it, Steven didn’t seem to be affected as much as she was, clapping his hands together as he beamed. “Tiger! What do you think, do you like that name?” he chirped, grabbing the gem’s attention with the word.

Connie pouted for a moment and placed both hands firmly at her hips. “If all gems are named after real gemstones… amethyst, garnet, pearl. Do you think it’s possible this is a tiger’s eye?”

“Maybe. I can’t remember meeting a tiger’s eye before. Do you think they all look like this?”

“I don’t think we’ve seen any gem that chooses to look like it's corrupted. We really need to ask the Gems about this. They’ll know.”

#su #suf #suf au #steven universe #steven universe future au #connie maheswaran #Tiger's eye #steven universe oc #su oc #gem oc #lion #keep in mind it's an AU not a direct follow on to the original show #there are changes #some might not make sense right away

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talix18 · 4 years

Text

November 22

Today I learned what a Japanese tuxedo is (in terms of tattoos) and that David Lee Roth at 65 has more energy in one hour than I’ve had in my entire life put together. I started listening to his appearance on Marc Maron’s WTF? and spent most of that time laughing or with my jaw hanging open. I lost track of Diamond Dave after his stint as an EMT. Now he’s an entrepreneur with a line of skin products formulated for tattooed skin. Gods bless.

Listening to Dave describe his formal music education made me wonder if that’s not what I ought to go back to school for. Music is the thing I love the most but have little actual education in. I took a beginning theory class in college and some sort of classical music appreciation course in grad school; I even played viola for two years in junior high. I guess by the time I got to college I’d ruled music out as a thing one could start studying. One of my high school friends had been playing cello for her entire life and I remember her missing various activities because she was practicing. She’s now making a living with her cello and I guess her example made me assume it was already too late.

Katelyn and I were talking about going back to school the other night. She’s learning young just how hard it is to make new friends once you’re out of school and I think she’d enjoy it, but we’re both looking at our wallets wondering how to pay for it.

School is one of my happy places. I loved learning, I loved feeling my brain work, I hated studying for exams but loved the feeling of understanding the material. I loved explaining to the class what the teacher meant when they couldn’t parse it and I loved making outline after outline of my study notes until I’d whittled the course down to bullet points. I love having conversations with people who are smarter than I am.

I briefly considered pursuing a Certificate of Higher Learning from Oxford because how cool would it be to be able to say I’m an Oxford alum? The majority of classes can be attended virtually, which is where I admit that I don’t just want to be taking classes by myself. I have a wealth of Great Courses available anytime I want to go ahead and start taking them. I want to Go To School. I want to meet smart people. I want to be surrounded by that energy and excitement again.

Now I’m looking up Eddie Van Halen and learning that he’s been in radiation therapy for his cancer for five years and was just in the hospital after a bad reaction to the drugs. Getting older, as my Gram used to say, ain’t for sissies. Love died for me when Eddie and Val got divorced but I’m glad they’re still friends and I’m thrilled he’s been sober for eleven years. I’m not sure I would have survived a rock and roll lifestyle, but then again, I’d rarely be driving.

(Speaking of the brothers Van Halen, how did I never know their mom was Indonesian? Now I understand why Alex’s eyes have looked vaguely Asian to me for all these years. Apparently Valerie has a cooking show and shared Mama VH’s recipe for something that grabbed Mom’s fancy so I can look forward to that!) (Don’t tell her that I’m a little meh on ham for Thanksgiving. She’s finally cooking Brussels sprouts a new way and I am calling that a win.)

(Mom found a recipe YEARS ago that uses Guinness and had faithfully made her “Relapse Brussels sprouts” every year since. They are fine, but they are mushy, and having seen the way, truth, and light of fresh Brussels sprouts roasted with salt and olive oil, I don’t have the heart to tell her that the Relapse BS just aren’t my favorite.)

This is my fourth day in a row of feeling pretty good, and that’s on less sleep than I normally get. I really hope this is because the medication is working. It’s hard to keep putting one foot in front of the other when you feel like you’re doing it in three feet of water. But I’ve been productive at work and at home and actually considered taking on a work training challenge today. I even started my Christmas shopping! (I hate much of what Jeff Bezos stands for, but goddamn if Amazon doesn’t alleviate most of the Christmas crazy.)

The increased meds are not helping the words come out! I have rare free time in front of a keyboard and nothing to say? Maybe that *is* a sign of increased mental health.

December is flat out insane in my family. Thank goodness my aunt moved away with her 12/4 birthday! There were birthday dinners with Mom (12/2), my aunt, me (12/20), and my dad (12/26). My brother’s birthday is also on the 20th and he’s continued the tradition in the latest generation – my niece will be five on 12/1. Her Aunt Lindsay has decided it’s time we start taking her out for birthday dinners. Basically, the fulcrum of the year tips at Thanksgiving and is just a steep slide into New Year’s. (Which I actually have plans for!)

Christmas shopping is so anxiety-laden for me that I have bad dreams about it all year long. (It’s always the same: December 23rd, I’ve purchased nothing, and the only place open in Walgreen’s.) I can’t enjoy the holiday season until I’m relatively sure what everyone’s getting and honestly, I don’t need any more stuff. Just being together and enjoying yummy food is enough for me. The holidays also mean the Hebert Christmas punch tradition from which I’ve been excluded for this will be the 24th time (I can drink anything I want! I choose not to!). My family are all wine and spirit drinkers and most of the time I look around it, but the holidays really make me miss that fuzzy festive feeling.

So how does one achieve that without using? I need to get back on a meditation routine and I need to make upside-down yoga part of my weekly life. Upside-down yoga always made me a little giddy and we rarely invert in the class I take now. I also need to try on my New Year’s Dress and assess how vigilant I have to be between now and then to make it work. I was having some success with an intermediate fasting routine where I’d restrict my calories for two (non-consecutive) days per week. The beauty of that schedule is that I can maintain it through the holidays. I should have just started this week after the colonoscopy.

But I also had a pretty severe mood crash last year and fasting is not for the unstable. Yes, I’m an emotional eater but you know, I’d rather eat my feelings than wish I could opt out of life. I know how to lose weight; necromancy is above my spell level.

Did I ever mention I was a witch and practiced in a coven for a decade? I’ve just gotten to the 20K word mark and it’s likely I’ll start repeating myself any time now. The coven was made of some amazing people but the actual business of witching just felt too much like work. I went in looking for a spiritual experience and what I got was a delightful social experience. That required a lot of time and 40-mile drives and the stagnation of my 12-Step recovery in that decade was not a coincidence.

Yesterday I got to whip out one of my favorite recovery slogans on a friend: “Religion is for people trying to stay out of hell. Spirituality is for people who’ve already been there.” It doesn’t hold up once you consider religions that don’t have conceptions of hell, but it’s catchy.

(The NaNoWriMo website helpfully breaks down how many words one has to produce per day to get to 50K by next Sunday and it is a little overwhelming. I only need 2235 more today to stay on target! [I am not staying on target.])

Somebody give me a topic! (Give me a beat!) Oh! Yesterday I emptied out one of my spare room dressers, which is something that’s been on my project list for, oh, a long time. All I have to do is patch the hole and that room will be ready to paint, which will let me do the floors in that room and the front. With that done I’ll have my closet annex and yoga station all set up and I will finally live in my entire house. And it should inspire me to do the last three rooms.

I’m excited to set up these last two rooms as functional spaces. I can’t tell you what’s taken me so long to surrender to the idea that I need a room-sized closet extension but look…I have to grab joy wherever I can find it. Waiting for the big stuff to fall into place just takes too long and this bizarre timeline provides plenty of reasons to despair. I don’t understand how people can spend eight hours a day in cubes that aren’t decorated and I am not going to limit myself to one of my life’s compulsions if I have room to store it all. (Vanessa is in Tennessee shouting “You’ll never have room for another person in your house that way!” and I’m shouting back “You and your person bought a new house!”)

I do love my house, though, and getting me out of it is going to take some extraordinary conditions. With any luck I’ll meet a life partner who also loves their house and we can commute and share. I still won’t have enough wall space to hang everything I want to; perhaps a rotating gallery space is required. Says the girl who can’t manage to swap the screens out for storm windows and vice versa every year.

#f**k fifty #nanowrimo

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ardenttheories · 5 years

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So do you hate the epilogue or love it? Also I feel like the exposition provided on Hope was interesting in Candy. Besides that I’m curious as to what your full thoughts are

So, I’m still kind of torn on this. I’ve tried to think it over a few times, to really chew on my thoughts while I was reading the two Epilogues into a singular coherent idea, but all I’ve really come up with is a sort of mushy, oversweet mess that’s pretty indistinguishable from roiling confusion.

I still stand by my mentality that the Epilogues are really well written. There’s something about them that, although it sometimes doesn’t read like Homestuck used to, still really comes across as enticing and interesting. Even when the characters are at their worst - and even though a lot of them have had weird character developments or evolutions - the actual characterisation within the foundation of what’s been set in the Epilogues is believable. I can believe that a Dirk who acts like Meat!Dirk does would think and feel that way; that a Roxy who’s under the sort of narrative pressures of Candy!Roxy would end up as demure as she does. It’s believable, in the same way a well written fanfic is believable - which is, ultimately, the point.

But do I like it? As an English Literature university student, yes. Oh, yes, I love the Epilogues. There’s so much to think over, to sink your teeth into, to really and thoroughly enjoy on a literary level.

The inter-connectivity between the texts is fantastic. You can get an idea from both on their own, but only when they’re put together does the full picture come out. Knowing that Alternate!Calliope has influence over the narrative in Meat gives you a good chance to realise that she’s bringing canonicity back into Candy well before she even confirms it herself.

For instance, the reason Roxy’s so wildly offbeat that even John notices it is that they’ve departed so far from canon that her canonical developments and foundations have become worthless. She doesn’t bother going through her identity stuff because there’s ultimately no point in focusing on it; character development doesn’t matter anymore, and without anyone to help her focus on it, there’s just no reason for her to think about it. It’s only with the presence of Alternate!Calliope that things slowly start to get better. It’s why, when Alternate!Calliope is at her most present, Roxy starts to become herself again - why during her conversation with John she’s able to stand up for herself and admit that something has been wrong the whole time. Alternate!Calliope brings them back towards a faux sense of canonicity, and as a result, Roxy’s development suddenly becomes relevant again (even if it isn’t allowed to flourish fully, because that goes against what Calliope is trying to do).

The sort of narrative theory it brings up is incredibly interesting, too. Having to read both sides of the same story isn’t exactly new, but this sort of interconnectivity is incredibly rare. The way that Meat and Candy work as concepts are also beautifully interesting; as I’ve said before, Dirk’s logic on Meat is that without a plot, there’s no relevance or importance in anything that they do, but the inhabitants of Candy frequently remind John that even if what they’re doing is inconsequential to the plot, it still matters to them. Maybe Jane being a fascist in Candy isn’t going to have a rippling effect on Paradox Space, but it matters to every single inhabitant of Candy’s Earth C. Calliope sees the importance of these moments; Dirk doesn’t. It brings about a firm point that if you try and make a story too plot-focused, you’ll ultimately make a story that’s too much of a slog to read, too depressing, to heavy - but if you try to make the story too fluff-based, then nothing of relevance will happen, you’ll have characters that never grow or develop down a natural path, events will happen in ways they were never meant to or don’t happen at all, and might be interesting but won’t be enough.

Plus, just reading through how A!Calliope explains the narrative voice and how it can be used is phenomenal, and I think a lot of literature should start to question that. Even in a text without a specific narrator, is the text completely without a narrative speaker? She basically explains what Dirk does in the sense of the boiling frog; he allows the narrative to seem like it’s speakerless so that everyone he’s whispering in the minds of don’t recognise that something is wrong until it’s too late, and he’s fully in control. He puts everyone in the cool waters of nonbiased narrative and slowly turns up the heat of his own opinions and inflections until he’s boiling their self identity and independence and free will alive with biased narrative.

In that sense, I love the Epilogues.

For thoughts on the actual story, though… I kinda love it.

For what it is, it’s incredibly interesting. The dichotomy of Dirk controlling Meat while Alternate!Calliope controls Candy, being the respective narrators, is oh-so incredible. A!Calliope even says, in her dialogue to Aradia on page 40 of Candy, that sometimes narrative voices don’t bring themselves forward; sometimes the narrative is speakerless, sure, as we think Candy is - but that sometimes the speaker of the narrative simply doesn’t want to show herself. As much as Dirk overtly influences the events of Meat, I think A!Calliope influences the events in Candy - she just hides her narrative voice, and lets us figure out if it’s actually her doing the talking, or if there’s no narrative voice at all.

It’s clear that in Meat, Dirk is the only reason there’s any sort of canonicity. He’s forcing events to happen to keep everyone relevant in the way they’re not in Candy - and Candy is what he actively fears, because Candy is A!Calliope’s answer to Meat. Dirk needs plot and relevance to exist; A!Calliope specifically needs that void of plot and importance for her plans to work - and both directly influence the other. Dirk is literally so scared by the concept of Candy that he over-controls in Meat because the idea of irrelevance just doesn’t work in his mind. There has to be some bigger picture, something to work towards - but for Alternate!Calliope, the simple concept of existing and allowing things to play out naturally, without interference, is the better way, even if there’s no bigger picture to strive towards, and irrelevance is left in her wake. Both Epilogues happen side by side to allow both narrative players their chance to reach their full potential, to present what they think is the best form of narrative. Meat is Dirk’s answer to Candy; Candy is A!Calliope’s answer to Meat.

To borrow from the previous ask, “In his suicide, Dirk destroys the last piece of narrative importance in the Candy Epilogue. He is the narrative importance in Meat after all; with him gone, there is no narrative entity to keep it going.” Without Dirk, the characters slip so far away from canon that everything becomes meaningless. All those foundations the characters are based on disappear, and they become horrific caricatures of themselves. A!Calliope brings stability back to this unstable, noncanon world. This is why Roxy’s gender reveal ends up being less “I’m able to decide who I am, and I am more comfortable using he/him pronouns and presenting as masculine” and more “I’m not feminine, and I don’t need to cling to the feminine gender; my body is a machine of flesh, and nothing more”. She still comes to the same sort of conclusion, but it’s only half way there - because A!Calliope isn’t bringing a full plot back to that timeline. Just enough to stop it from self destructing.

Additionally, the fact that the black hole wasn’t so much of a black hole as a wormhole from canon into non canon. That brings up so much interest. Does Dirk even realise that’s what happened? I don’t think so. He seems to think that Davepeta really did complete a suicide mission, but if the same thing happens to them as happened to the troll ghosts then all that’ll happen is they’ll come out the other side, still clinging to Lord English, into the Candy timeline. Does Dirk realise that he’s been played? He essentially set into motion what needed to happen for A!Calliope’s plan in Candy to work. But maybe that’s the beauty of the duality? They’re opposing each other, but they also rely on each other for their own parts of the Epilogues to work.

I’m interested in seeing where this goes. At this point, I’ve read enough to be invested. I’ve gone on about some of the Meat aspects in depth, so I won’t really go over that much more, but I love Candy’s portrayal of relevance. How fatalistic John becomes when he realises that everyone’s just completely fake - fake to themselves, fake to who they were, fake to what they could become - and how (Vriska) goes on to talk about John’s overall importance - that he’s probably one of the most powerful beings going because he has the ability to decide the entire fate of canon without even realising he’s doing it (as we’ve seen in Meat and Candy; both are a direct consequence of actions he taken without realising the dire effects it will have on the timeline).

But do I love it as a fan?

I definitely enjoyed the exposition on Hope. It essentially confirmed a theory I had on this blog ages back; that Hope’s Belief was sort of the other side of the coin for Light’s Truth, and that the Belief of something to a strong enough degree is ultimately what makes it True. Maybe that’s why everyone was acting so fake? John believed with his whole heart that everything was wrong, and fake, and impossible, and he let that overwhelm him. Of course, the fact of the matter is that these things really were taking place, but I’m at least 87% sure that it was worsened by John’s own morbid attitude towards his fate and the lives of everyone around him.

There are some parts I definitely liked. Confirmation about Jade’s weird gender situation in Candy, confirmation that Callie is they/them and Roxy is he/him in Meat (and that, regardless of the timeline, he’d always recognise that he has some sort of issues regarding his gender and figure out some way of understanding himself and his identity), the canonisation of DaveKat in Meat (although I firmly believe it could have ended up as DaveJadeKat if she’d still been in the picture, but a much healthier version than we see in Candy), the relationship between John and Terezi, the exposition we get on Candy!(Vriska) (finally realising a lot of the things fans have said about her for a while, especially in regards to (Vriska) in the comic), and now that I’m coming to terms with it, the plot’s pretty okay, too. For what it is, and the route they went down, I’m getting through the stages of grief to reach acceptance.

But no, I don’t really like the Epilogues.

Fundamentally, I hate the route they chose. I hate that after three years, rather than just be told “you can decide whatever you want, because even the noncanon things have validity and we’re well aware that we can’t please everyone, so making your own ending to suit your needs not only works best but also fits the theme of Homestuck well”, they went to all this effort of making a plot and characterisation that ruined so many of these characters we love.

I have a lot of issues with Dirk. It’s bad narrative crafting to set a character so far back in his development. I can understand how the development works in the way that they’ve done it, but I’m also very aware of the fact that this, in no way, had to be canon. For all that Bro is a splinter of Dirk, and that emotionally stunted Dirks must also exist across Paradox Space, there are also plenty of other splinters and versions of Dirk that must have gone through beneficial emotional development. Out of every outcome that Hussie and the team could have chosen, I’m disappointed and upset that this is the route they took - after three years of waiting.

This was an outcome that could happen, yes, but it didn’t have to be the official outcome. Regardless of how much anyone prattles on about canon and non-canon, people are always going to regard something that’s official as The Most Canon. If the point of these Epilogues is “you can make your own, valid ending”, then it’s overshadowed by the notion that this ending, these endings that we’re being given, are the ones that Hussie himself devised, and sees as most plausible. You can’t scrub the Official ™ mark from the Epilogues. You can’t get rid of the connotations of canonicity that comes from that.

It’s a bad ending to Homestuck. No matter how you look at it, viewing just Meat or just Candy or both together, it still sucks as a fan to try and reconcile with the idea that this is how Homestuck’s officially going to finish. I’ve got no doubts that there’s more to come - cliffhangers like these are just begging to be finished, and if Hussie’s going to this much effort to make an interconnected story then it’d be weird to leave it hanging - but I’m still slightly bitter about the fact that this is what we get. Two relatively unhappy, upsetting, triggering endings that really give across a good statement, but not as much of a good conclusion to the people who have been following this story along for ten years. They’re hard to read - emotionally and physically - they’re unpleasant to try and get through, and although I’ve read both and am glad I did… I’m well aware of the fact that I could have not read the Epilogues and probably been better off.

I actually go more into this aspect of it in a few other posts. I’ll link them below, so please give them a read, because they’re more eloquent and definitely explain what I mean a bit more. But that gives the overall gist of how I feel. I’ll also be including a few posts that explain how I feel a bit more, not written by me, because hell yes I want to share that good shit.

So, yeah. I’m accepting of the Epilogues at the moment; I love them in a literary sense; I hate them as a fan.

“Thoughts On The Upd8; Honestly Strikes Me As A Cop-out” - Kienansidhe

“The Dirk Thing And Why It’s Bad Storytelling” - Stormsbourne

“A Common Defence Of The Epilogues” - Unionhack

My thoughts on Candy

Why I hate the Epilogues (3 year drop)

My thoughts on Meat

#Anonymous #long post//#ardenttheories out of theory #homestuck epilogues #homestuck ramblings

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alfredosauce50 · 5 years

Text

Who’s the bad guy? (1p + 2p America x reader) 8

Wordcount: 2,953 The reader is referred to as she/her

"We're gonna go crash Alfred's."

A mushy, cookie-dough-like substance began falling out of the blonde's mouth as it separated wide open to gawk at Allen. Falling onto the marbled counter like wet sand, you were also too shocked to even realize the mess he was making. Allen approached this situation so calmly that it was odd, but the pain that was bleeding out of his eyes was so clear. He never meant for this to happen, he would rather die than let this event take place on his timeline. Unfortunately for him, you would be in imminent danger if he wasn't around to protect you. A tense silence fell around you three after his bold statement, but it was Alfred's explosion of excitement that finally crushed the ice that had formed.

"We are?" He started with uncertainty. Azure eyes wide with disbelief, they melted into a luminous shine of joy when he watched his cousin nod slowly. "Holy shit, we are!" Alfred then exclaimed, spinning on his heel to spit the remainders of chewed up cookie-bit in the bin. Thrown into an overdrive of euphoria, he could feel his wounds pound to the rhythm of his speeding heart.

Shrilling like a child, he hopped off the chair and started dancing all around you two, his contagious energy feeding off to you and spreading a beautiful smile on your face. Soon, the two of you were jumping on the spot and squealing like a bunch of children, much to Allen's displeasure.

Alfred couldn't even begin to start on the thoughts that were running through his head, picturing the millions of perfect dates he could take you out in the city. This was the perfect, golden shining opportunity to sweep you off your feet again with his riches, and to hopefully make up for the stolen kiss. As he was squeezing the life out of you to where you enthusiastically returned the favor, his thoughts then drifted off to the redhead staring at them with a tensed expression. He loved what was going down and had to thank Allen for this, but he had to ask, why? Allen suddenly sprung up with a drastic change of plans, to bring the party over to Alfred's place. Aligning perfectly with Alfred's wants and needs, it was the absolute opposite of what he'd want, but he still insisted.

Allen was brought up in the dirty slums of New York, the only luxury being to have you. If he moved to the towering skyscrapers where Alfred lived, even temporarily, Alfred would be granted a major advantage on his turf.

Those best friend privileges wouldn't even be up to par with half of what Alfred had to offer.

On the other hand, you were consumed entirely with excitement, the mere idea of visiting the lavish world you never thought you'd ever see making you shake with anticipation. You've never really left this small microcosm of a city let alone rise from the chains of poor financial standing, and now you were just slapped with the face with an opportunity too. Blessed with the best tour guide there was to offer, a door just opened up for you to infinite possibilities. Your head was even beginning to hurt with all the places you wanted to see.

You felt like you could do anything with Alfred.

After the ruckus simmered down, you insisted for him to visit the hospital. The effects of uplifting plans lingered its hands over the two of you, however, and he shot down that offer with an ear-to-ear grin. "Haha, fuck that. We have something to plan!" He sang.

You couldn't agree more. Nodding whimsically, you let out another contented sigh. "Yep! I can't wait to go to your place!"

Those were the words he needed to hear to confirm that he had in fact won- and that Allen had lost. As the two of you basked in high spirits in the living room, Allen's soul was sucked out of his body. He grit his teeth and left, storming to his bedroom and slamming the door behind him. It sent the whole house shaking in a rattling tremor, and the two of you could feel the strong vibration pound against your feet. Your heart sank and you flinched at the explosion of noise that just made your eardrums burst, jolting to the door with a weary expression. "Oh-" You uttered out, "That scared me..." You lingered your gaze over the door for a moment.

All the festive mood was gone in a bang, but Alfred thought otherwise. Turning you to face him, he shot you a bright smile with his hands rubbing soothing circles on your shoulder. Even with his face bruised in blotches of black and blue, you could only see his dazzling, million dollar smile and shining cerulean eyes behind his glasses. "He can be loud sometimes, can't he?" He laughed, licking his lips. "He's really wild."

You managed a soft smile. "Yeah, that's what I love about him..."

You sighed almost dreamily. That was a heavy understatement; absolutely crazy for his unpredictable and fierce personality. Impulsive but wild at heart, you really couldn't tell at all what was going to be held in the future for you two. Yes, he was your best friend whom you loved dearly and his antics were to die for, but there were still such things like boundaries existing. Him lashing out on Alfred was way past the line.

"... But... What he did to you was way far out of line. I really think he would have killed you if I hadn't stopped him..." You whispered. "I just can't believe it."

Sniffing a little, you kept your head low.

"... Yeah... I can't believe him either." Alfred admitted. Was his jealousy that intense that it sparked such rage to consume him? "Maybe he just got really mad when I... You know..."

The both of you lit up in a glowing red blush like Christmas lights.

Coughing awkwardly, you glanced away from him. "Uh... Yeah... I don't know why he turned out to be that angry..."

Although you were oblivious, the blonde was aware of Allen's feelings for you.

"And I think he still is..." Alfred sighed. "He's probably breaking shit inside."

You frowned, facing the door that just radiated waves of dark energy.

"... Oh dear..." You swallowed thickly. "I think I might let him cool off for a bit. You wanna go watch something on Netflix?"

"Sure!"

Allen's P.O.V:

Reducing to tears faster than he ever could imagine, he ran over to his dresser with his hands ready to wreck havoc. He shot them out quickly with a flaming hot face trailing with tears, ready to push everything off onto the ground. Before he could even lay a finger on anything, he stopped himself abruptly. Allen almost forgot that you were still sharing the room with him; it flew right past his head after witnessing the horrors of you being happy with another man.

He resorted to strings among strings of curses, struggling to keep his voice down with the fury licking around inside him. Overwhelmed with grief, rage and stress, he fell on his bed hunched forward to let the fat balls of tears dot the carpet. His world had just crashed at his feet. He should've known to not speak of Alfred's name. Now you were all over him for the millions he could offer that Allen couldn't.

That night, he covered himself up in the sheets and turned off the lights early. You joined him a little later with a soft smile dazzling on your lips, but at the moment you stepped into the room it faded. Slipping into the bed, you slept on the other side with a considerable amount of space separating your two bodies. Still weary that Allen might be fuming, you kept your distance with him just in case he snapped again. As much as you wanted to tap him lightly on the shoulder to wake him up, you held back that urge and just waited.

A line of cold formed in between you two, no man's land, a place where neither of you dared to cross. The silence in the darkness was almost sinister, and as if to taunt him even more in the predicament he caught himself in he could hear the quiet's deafening shrills of laughter jeering at his misery.

Facing away from each other throughout the night, his body was aching to touch you. Your soothing, soft skin that he could embrace for hours on end and not let go.

Why were you just laying there, instead of sleeping inside his arms like you usually would? Unfortunately, the tense ambience was too hard for you to even try to get close.

How did it end up like this?

Forcing himself to fall asleep, he wasn't prepared to face the manifests of his inner consciousness. Blinking his eyes open that were coated with a layer of rust, the rumbling of motorcycles and distant shouting buzzed in his ears. The soft ring of the doorbell faded as the glass door closed, one of the regulars leaving with a satisfied expression with his usual bag of dog pellets. Standing in front of him was you, in the flesh with a comforting smile dancing on your lips.

"Allen, are you okay?"

Your sweet voice called his name so tenderly. Biting his lip, he rested his hands on his hips and scoffed. "Yeah, I'm great."

Narrowing your eyes with a skeptical glint, he watched you with awe as you walked up to him and patted his back. Peering up at him with a softened gaze, he melted into your warm eyes. "Come on Al, just tell me what's so spiteful about him. I'll help you out."

He flickered his eyes over to you and the intimidating glare engraved in his features faded. Fixated with your beautiful face, everything around him disappeared into a blur of color. "My cousin's getting the upper hand. I'm scared, (F/N)." Allen whispered with trembling lips. "He's going to steal you away. He's going to give you things that I can't give you."

You smiled at him sadly and took his hands, swaying him gently from side to side. "Oh, but Allen... You're my best friend. Nothing in the world can replace you."

Shaking his head furiously from side-to-side, he stared at you desperately with red irises glazed all over. "No, baby. Alfred can. You don't want me anymore." He murmured with shaky breaths. Allen couldn't even see you anymore, but the blurred blotches of color and an outline of your form. Swallowing thickly, he hung his head low. "... I'm only going to hurt you if I stay. I'm violent, I'm angry all the time, I'm a freak."

His heart sank when he felt your fingertips brush against his cheek.

"Because of the shit I do, you're gonna get hurt. I'm so sorry, baby." He continued airily, shaking his head. "Luciano's on the hunt for you because he knows that I love you."

You chuckled softly, wiping away the single tear that trickled down his face. "Then that's why I need you."

Allen couldn't control the endless stream of tears running down his face. "(F/N)..."

"Protect me."

Jolting awake with a gasp, his pupils dilated as he shot up from the bed. It took him a while to realize that it was nothing but a dream, hitting him with a sharp pang of disappointment. They say you would forget around ninety-percent of your dream, and he did. It drifted out of his mind as he slowly gained back his orientation, but that sensation of melancholy still remained to loom over him like a dark cloud. Rubbing his eyes roughly, he glanced over to his side to see your sleeping form and back rising and falling at a steady pace. The way how peace would settle on your features was angelic as you slept. Allen just couldn't pass up on the chance to give you a good morning kiss.

"Good morning, dollface..." He cooed softly, leaning in to press his mouth to your forehead with longing.

His lips that grazed so lightly over your skin caused your eyes to flutter open. You met with him smiling down at you, his strong and tanned arms decked with tattoos thick with muscles as they supported him on his side. Shifting on the bed to inch closer to him, you nuzzled into his chest and wrapped your arms around him much to his surprise.

"(F/N)?" He whispered huskily.

"Mhmm?" You hummed.

You continued to press your face into him, making his heart flutter at how adorable you were acting. "What are you doing?"

Rolling your eyes up to him, you smiled. "I'm hugging you, dummy."

Why?

"... But aren't you mad at me for what I did yesterday?" He asked.

You scoffed. "Of course I am, idiot. You nearly killed Alfred."

The redhead smirked and lowered his hands to your back, caressing it gently. "Aren't you glad that I didn't?" He spoke lowly. He was mentally slapping himself from keeping up his smug attitude instead of an apologetic one. Sweat consumed his forehead as he dreaded your response to his antics once again.

A sigh left your lips that were upturned in a smile. "Yeah, I am. I hate myself for not being mad at you."

Allen felt a rush of relief to come flowing in at your smile. "That’s because you love me too much to stay mad at me." He chuckled.

"... I guess that’s true." You murmured, much to his delight. You also wanted to add in how much you missed him, but you thought that he didn't deserve all of your forgiveness, not just yet at least.

You pulled away from his hold, turning your back on him to go over to your pile of bags sitting in the corner. He watched you from the bed, laying on his side with his muscles popping due to the lack of a shirt. As he admired you bent over to tend to the bags, he couldn’t help but lock his eyes on your behind. "Heh..." He breathed. "Whatcha look’n for in your bags?"

You zipped everything up and looked at him. "I’m not looking for anything. I’m just making sure that I have everything."

"For what?"

You rolled your eyes. "Alfred’s place? Did you already forget?"

He inhaled sharply with widened eyes. "Shit fuck- I totally forgot!" He hissed, throwing the blankets off of his legs to go charging at his dresser. You could only cackle at his forgetfulness, calmly tending to your belongings as he ripped open one compartment after the other, salvaging any clothes he came across. Chucking them into a large duffel bag, he finally finished when you popped out of the bathroom.

"You all set?" Allen asked, sitting on the bed like he had been waiting there forever.

Your lips stretched into a smile touched by excitement.

"Let’s hit the road."

***

Once you stepped into the polished Cadillac that was set alight under the hot orange sunrise, you knew you were be going in for an adventure for a lifetime. The scent of leather immediately overwhelmed your nose, the backdrop noise fading away into the faint beeping of the car. After buckling on your seat belt, you were absorbed with the wonders of the vehicle's inner works with fascination swirling in your eyes. You've never seen, let alone touched something so luxurious. You traced your fingertips along the window, completely captured by every little detail of everything, all the way down to the little sockets that were supposed to hold miscellaneous items.

The whole vehicle dipped to the side when your travel-buddy entered the car. Allen scooted next to you and clicked on his seat belt, leaning back to cross his arms with closed eyes. Even though all he saw was black, he could imagine the expression radiating off your face as vivid as a dream. "First time riding first class?" He chuckled.

You nodded with a wide smile. "Yes... This is amazing." You whispered, your attention snatched by something, or someone, who was worth millions more than the Cadillac itself. With some special cream and medical attention flown in from his private jet, everything successfully healed and the bruises faded away like magic overnight. Climbing into the driver's seat, he flicked on his black shades feeling his lips stretch into a wide smile. A classic American one. "Are we all ready to go?" He asked, fixing his rear-view mirror.

Poking your head out of the window for one last time, you met with the striking red irises of your blonde friend. You stuck your hand out and waved at him. "Bye Flavio! Thanks a lot for volunteering to keep my store open by the way!"

He shuddered and waved you off. "More like threatened." Darting his eyes over to the auburn-haired male sitting comfortably beside you, he clicked his tongue. "You're lucky I like animals..." He scoffed.

Allen coughed and rolled up the window. "Yeah, hit the gas."

Alfred hummed.

"Okey-dokey. Strap in and get comfortable, lady and gent, cuz' this is gonna be a long ride."

Allen guessed that he could put up with his cousin for a while... Only for you of course, because he knew that moving to his place for a while would provide you with some refuge from some lethal troublemakers in the dark. Leaving behind the ghetto Allen and you called home, the two of you were ready to forget the past and see the future - the towering skyscrapers and blinking lights in your wondrous irises.

#hetalia #hetalia x reader #fanfiction #hetalia fanfiction #aph #aph america #aphamerica #2ptalia #2p!talia #2ptalia x reader #2p!talia x reader #2p!america #2pac #2pamerica x #2p!america x reader #alfred f jones #allen jones #Axis Powers Hetalia #Axis powers ヘタリア

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theromanticscrooge · 6 years

Text

Thoughts on Rednid

(Note: I'm gonna be so sleep-deprived tomorrow because I wanted to crank out rambly diatribe about my current OTP instead of sleep.)

Enid’s Perspective

Initial scenes or short story beats featuring Red started out as Enid admiring the coolest kid in town from afar and desperately wanting to impress her. The first major Red-centric episode involved both characters realizing they could let down their guard around the other. They both already passed that initial “You’re cool” hurdle. But even though they’ve become more comfortable around each other, the next Red episode focuses on Enid’s reluctance to talk things out or express certain emotions. She honestly thinks there’s certain feelings she has to suppress around Red or it’d make her seem “clingy” or “mushy.”

Enid’s big falling out with Elodie contributes pretty heavily to her reactions and behavior here. When Enid first met Elodie, Elodie came across as this cool, glamorous kid that was also incredibly friendly, kind, and compassionate. She was the picture of what young Enid wanted to be like: a by-the books, confident, and competent aspiring hero. It was easy for Enid to not only draw inspiration from her, but feel a connection to her and develop a fairly close, intimate bond. Elodie is probably the only one that saw Enid as a shy, sweet, and self-conscious kid. She started to help Enid ease up on her self-consciousness by being an approachable, encouraging figure. When Elodie dropped Enid like a hot potato in favor of improving/cultivating her image, Enid was crushed. It became harder to trust other people and led to her developing her tough, detached demeanor.

Enid’s falling out with Elodie helps paint why she’d be so nervous and flustered around Red. Here’s another cool, seemingly confident kid that fits the picture of what Enid aspires to be like. Interestingly, Red fits the bill of what Enid considers more appealing now: an adventurous, risk-taking deviant. Red is the antithesis of what Enid used to be like as an eager-to-please, meek kid. And she naturally fits the mold of the devil-may-care, follow-my-own-rules type Enid tries to be. While Elodie’s callous dismissal of her isn’t a one-size-fits-all possibility, Enid still entertains fears that a certain comment, reaction, or behavior could earn Red’s ire. In her mind, Enid places Red on this high, untouchable pedestal. She fills in that hole of ‘person that inspires me’ that Elodie left behind, but only as long as she remains this highly idealized, romanticized portrait Enid has of her. Around her, there’s higher pressure on Enid to figure out the right combination of attitude, behavior, and image to impress Red.

“The Cool Kid” is only one dimension of how Enid views Red. The other part rests in Red being coded as Enid’s love interest, too. In “Second First Date,” young Enid is partly drawn to Rad as a kindred spirit: He comes across as awkward, nerdy, and sensitive like her. She was willing to take a chance in the hopes of making a new meaningful connection with someone her age and hopefully, start a cute relationship too (I can’t comment too much on what Enid would expect from a romantic relationship since viewers have only seen her comment “She’s a babe” or bright, shoujo-inspired color bursts).

When Rad reveals himself as a full-blown insensitive, callous meathead, it turns Enid away immediately. Enid is even further rebuffed by him later because he doubled down on this super macho persona as he got older. He never figured out how and why he screwed up, he refuses to admit he screwed up, and it’s not easy to sit down and have any kind of meaningful conversation with him about that awkward date. To be fair, Enid wasn’t really willing to broach this particular topic unless she absolutely has to. Even after Enid and Rad started understanding each other a bit better, they still clash in regards to their personal coping mechanisms for their personal insecurities. Enid is more likely to make a sarcastic quip or tease than start a meaningful dialogue; Rad is more likely to deny any wrongdoing and get really defensive about his actions/motivations. At the current point in the series, they’ve overcome their communication problems pretty well. Enid doesn’t shoot down every comment Rad makes and Rad is better about standing up for himself and expressing his thoughts more openly.

Digression aside, Enid’s initial disappointment in Rad plants a little seed of doubt in Enid’s mind about Red. What if she isn’t entirely what I’d expect her to be like? It’s one thing to be friends with Red. Enid already has enough hang-ups with figuring out how to understand and interact with her on a deeper, interpersonal level beyond “Let’s blow something up or do something fun.” It’d be another, more intimidating unknown to consider her romantic feelings or indulge the idea of testing the waters on a romantic relationship. If Rad is the most major framework Enid has to reference, then it’s understandable that she’d want to keep things platonic or show some reluctance towards the idea of taking a bigger, more vulnerable leap in their relationship. A Rednid relationship seems more likely when Enid feels like she can have an earnest, honest discussion with Red.

Enid’s rounded a few of her most significant character arcs: She reconciled with Elodie and both came to a mutual understanding of how each other operates and wants from their respective hero career. Elodie lives up to that original “genuine inspiration” Enid painted her as before, so that probably clears up a few of Enid’s bigger doubts and uncertainties. If Elodie can turn over a new leaf, then it’s a bit easier for Enid to see potential and genuine intentions in other friends/allies. When Rad and Enid interact on screen anymore, Enid is a lot more open to hugs and more openly expressing mutual affection towards him. There’s some awkwardness, but they’ve carved out some kind of friendly dynamic that works for the two of them.

Red’s Perspective

When she’s first introduced, Red is shown as an obnoxious, rebellious figure that likes pulling pranks, causing trouble, and then trying to broadcast as much attention to her antics as possible. She’s well-liked because she’s adventurous, confident, and abrasive. Red’s friend Drupe is portrayed as an admired, respected fashion plate; Gregg seems to be a bit shy and self-conscious, but hanging out with Drupe and Red helps him fake being more confident and assertive. In Brandon and RMS’ debut episode, Drupe confesses that she lacks ambition and takes the barista position in an attempt to give her life more direction. Perhaps, Drupe is drawn to Red since Red presents a pretty convincing image of someone put-together and self-assured. Red doesn’t really question what tomorrow will bring. She knows what she wants in the moment, when and how she wants it, and just goes for it regardless of the consequences.

Though, while Red is a fun fair-weather friend, she’s not too keen on accepting responsibility or acting maturely unless she absolutely has to. After K.O. helps her and her friends out, she snaps at him rather than wound her pride by apologizing. The first time she hangs out with Enid, she doesn’t confess to her Hue Trooper past and running away from her mistake until they’re physically confronted by the Hue Troop themselves. One of the big points in “Back in Red Action” was how dire circumstances forced Red to grow up, mature, and take more responsibility/accountability for her actions. Older Red clashed horribly with Enid on this very topic. Supposedly, the stress she was under and the “bigger picture” for her current circumstances didn’t mesh with Enid’s more impulsive, brash approach. For lack of a better description, Enid roughly fit the picture of Red’s younger, more ‘immature’ self. The entire episode condenses what could be considered a full, self-actualizing character arc for Red.

Of course, the point of the episode was how important open, honest conversations are between friends and significant others. If there’s a certain way you feel or something major that needs addressed, it’s better to say it rather than dance around or bury the topic. It’s so easy to shelve certain problems and feelings but given enough time, people drift from each other and change so radically they aren’t compatible anymore. In regards to what significance that kind of message holds for Red and Enid, their friendship and overall dynamic would be that much stronger if Enid openly expresses her thoughts, feelings, and fears more openly and often. The same can apply to Red. When older Red tells her younger counterpart to stay behind, it’s not just to indulge in unchained fun a little longer, it’s in the hopes that some variation of her can become more responsible and mature in an organic, timely manner. Becoming more responsible would happen because of others’ influence (like Enid) and a genuine desire for self-growth and improvement; not because of demanding circumstances and external forces beyond her control.

Red sits in a similar camp to Enid in regards to figuring out their respective roles as heroes. Enid is muddling through whether to follow her family’s tradition by becoming a witch or carving her own unique path as a ninja, if not something in-between the two choices. In Red’s case, she was originally drafted as and committed to her role as a Hue Trooper. She has second thoughts and doubts about this particular role. Either she’ll find an approach that suits her personality, values, and goals or she’ll take a completely different route. She’s already continuing to deviate from her team as a 21st century time-traveling hero. Since viewers already have an alternate timeline that showcases Red as a fully-actualized Trooper, she might stay in the 21st century because being a hero in that century better fits what she’s looking for. I see that particular decision as a character-defining moment rather than a make-it or break-it factor for a possible Rednid relationship. There may be a later episode where the two seriously discuss their respective futures and confide their personal hopes and dreams. That particular conversation is the most likely route for finding out more about Red since her dynamic with Enid contributes the most significantly to her character.

Other Thoughts

Red has already introduced Enid to her closest friends and family in the Hue Troopers. And Enid already knows their names and general information about what each one likes or expects. I’m guessing here, but does that mean Red has some level of trust and respect for Enid? It’d add a lot of insight to Red and Enid’s dynamic to see how Enid reacts to introducing Red to her family or what kind of rapport Red has with them already. Since Enid is embarrassed by her parents and family, introducing her friends or potential significant other is a pretty significant rite of passage for her. Neither Rad or K.O. were voluntarily introduced to them. If Red was voluntarily introduced, it’d mean that Enid was far more self-assured and that she and Red had achieved a certain level of trust and intimacy with each other.

Also, if Red and Enid do end up together, it’d be pretty interesting to see how they express affection, PDAs, and romance in general. Red seems pretty open about physical interaction; she was ready to casually sling an arm around Enid’s shoulders as her new buddy. So, she might have an arm around Enid or hold her hand often. As for Enid, she seems reluctant towards big, overly showy interactions. She’d probably be okay with low-key gestures. Canonically, I imagine these two keeping things cool and casual with a few flirty lines and looks every so often. It just seems out of character for Enid to get as lovesick and overly-expressive like Rad did with Shannon. (Note: I break my own headcanons for Rednid in my own fan works. I like drawing Enid with heart eyes and super-expressive, OOC expressions.)

I might take another crack at discussing these two again at a later point in time. This is a pair I honestly think could become canon, so I’ll wait and see if there’s more substantial stuff to work with and unpack down the road.

#rednid #red action x enid #ok ko red action #ok ko enid #red action and enid #shipping discussion #character analysis #character discussion #ok ko #ok ko let's be heroes #ok ko rad #ok ko elodie #second first date #back in red action

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andishacks · 5 years

Text

twelve days of tyrus 🌟 twelve

I TOLD MYSELF I WOULD POST THIS YESTERDAY BUT I FORGOT, so here it is, approximately 2 days late, but here anyway. this last prompt was a free space, so I wrote another songfic, because I cant be left alone for three seconds without writing a songfic. the song is one more day of snow from jasper in deadland, because it’s a really light song and I could imagine the teens singing it! but I didn't do this fic w all the teens because I am incredibly lazy. this is very domestic & a bit slow so I hope u enjoy that

also, ao3 link

my toes are bound to break off

my nose will crack if i cough.

but oh, look at the snow . . .

Christmas day, and Cyrus was taking a walk to TJ’s house, drudging through four-inch snow. It had been snowing nonstop all through Christmas Eve, and Christmas day was forecasted for flurries. On the roads covered in snow it was silent, but if you strained your ears you could hear families inside houses singing and talking, and that’s the perfect background noise for the type of day that day was.

It was the kind of day that you knew you were freezing, but you couldn’t go inside yet, because the snow was inviting, and the snow made you want to spin in a circle or just look up at the sky until more snow started falling and you could catch it. It was the kind of day where you, oddly, felt like you could breathe better than other days.

TJ, on this day, was at home, in a warm hoodie, watching The Wizard of Oz, which is not even a Christmas movie, he just felt like watching it. His father was out, his sister had friends, and it just wasn’t the kind of day where you wanted to talk about basketball - and all his teammates had plans. It was TJ-doesn’t-move-for-a-whole-day time. He’d been texting Cyrus about the The Wizard of Oz, and Cyrus had mysteriously stopped texting back, so he was watching The Wizard of Oz without what is arguably the best part of watching any movie, live-texting your boyfriend while watching it.

A knocking came at his door.

He checked the time. 11:30 AM was far too early for either of his family members to be home. Expecting it to be a salesperson or someone he generally didn’t want to see in the middle of his self-pity party, he just glared at the door, but the person outside was insistent on continuing to knock. He paused the movie, and stood up. He swung the door open impatiently, ready to tell someone off, to be met with Cyrus, standing at the door.

“Cyrus, what are you..?” TJ instinctively looked behind him for a car. “Did you walk here?”

“Yes, I did,” he responded, breathing shallowly, but smiling. “Do you wanna go out or are we staying in?”

“I mean.. I was planning on staying in.” TJ said, glancing back at The Wizard of Oz on their TV screen. He waved Cyrus in, and closed the door behind him. “I would’ve thought you had other things to do on Christmas than come visit your lonely boyfriend,” he said, huffily.

“Nope. Andi and Buffy are having quality family time, and you’re alone at home. Of course I’m here.” Cyrus took at his coat off and hung it on the coat hanger.

TJ slumped back on the couch, and Cyrus took a seat next to him. TJ looked over at him. “So, you’re really staying here, then?”

“Of course. You need the company. And I want to be with you.” Cyrus said, looking at the TV.

TJ smiled, crossing his hands over his chest. “Thank you.”

Maybe this wouldn’t be exactly a bad day.

They finished the movie together, which there was thirty minutes or so more of, and at some point Cyrus moved closed to TJ, and leaned on his shoulder, putting his arm around him. TJ had a hard time staying in his bad mood. When the movie faded to credits, TJ shrugged Cyrus’ head off his shoulder, and turned to him.

“So, food?” He said, awkwardly. He’d never hosted a - what was this? a Christmas.. hangout?

“You don’t need to. I do kind of want to get outside, though.” Cyrus said, his eyes lighting up as he remembered the snow. “It’s a perfect snow day. I have no idea what we’re doing inside.”

So Cyrus put his coat on again, and TJ put his own coat on too. Cyrus opened the door first, and TJ followed him outside. It was snowing again, lightly. Cyrus offered TJ his gloved hand, and he took it, and they started walking, clearly with a place in mind.

each drift is shoveled and curbed

each life completely disturbed

and all the world takes stock

as ice even freezes the clock—

TJ almost didn’t want to admit it, but it was the perfect snow day. They’d often had white Christmases, because of the cold, cold winters, but it wasn’t often that you had a day like this one was. Younger kids were out and about, as always, but there were kids - teenagers - from their classes laughing and smiling like TJ was sure he hadn’t seen them laugh or smile for years.

It was a Christmas day stuck in another timeline, TJ decided.

Cyrus pulled him along to the crosswalk, but there weren’t any cars on the road, and if they were, they were parked. They walked slowly across the road, trying not to slip. Cyrus adjusted his hand, and intertwined his fingers with TJ’s. They made it across, and Cyrus turned to TJ, who was very focused on the snow falling onto his face. He spent a good few seconds sticking out his tongue to catch it, and Cyrus waited.

“So, you can’t spend time with your family, but I thought this would be pretty nice.” Cyrus said, and gestured to the building they were standing next to.

It was a small bakery, decked out for Christmas, and it smelled like sweets. It looked cozy and warm. TJ put his hands in his pockets and smiled at Cyrus. “This is so cute.”

Cyrus looked up at him. “I know.”

TJ pecked him on the lips, and then they entered the bakery.

It was as small and cozy as it had seemed on the outside. The walls were light green, and the floor was wooden, and it seemed almost like a home. The few people who were inside were smiling at each other with faces flushed from the cold.

“Good morning, Cyrus,” a woman behind the counter said. “I didn’t expect you here today.”

“I am unpredictable like that,” he said, and then turned to TJ. “This is… the boy.”

“The boy?” TJ asked, grinning.

“The boy,” the woman said, raising her eyebrows and nodding. “Does he have a name?”

“TJ, ma’am,” he said, awkwardly putting out his hand for a handshake.

Cyrus was certain he’d never heard TJ call anyone ma’am.

“I’m Rosie,” she said, shaking TJ’s hand. Rosie was a tall, dark-skinned woman who looked like she gave regular hugs to everyone. Her apron, fittingly, was covered in roses, and TJ slowly pieced together, from the excessive rose decor in the bakery, that it was her bakery. “What can I get you boys?”

“Chocolate mint muffin.” Cyrus said, confidently. He’d been surveying the menu behind Rosie intensely.

Rosie nodded. “Mixing up your order, I see. And you, TJ?”

TJ glanced at the menu. His mind automatically went to what he usually ordered when there was anything sweet around. He wondered if he should get something different, just because it was Christmas, but decided against it. “A sugar cookie and hot chocolate, please,” he said, politely.

“Of course.” Rosie responded, and slipped her gloves on, and leaned down to grab their sweets out of the glass box next to the counter.

“You’ve brought me food from here.” TJ said, suddenly, remembering.

“Twice.” Cyrus grinned. “But I come here a lot more often than that.”

“I can tell.” TJ smiled back. “‘The boy’,” he recalled.

Rosie put TJ’s cookie into a little plastic bag with a rose on it, and gave Cyrus his muffin. Then, she handed a warm cup of hot chocolate to TJ. They paid, they left.

“Where to, next?” TJ asked, taking a very warm sip of his drink. Hot chocolate always tasted better while you were standing in the middle of the snow.

Cyrus looked up at him, having been staring at his muffin intently. “Well, I didn’t really have anything in mind.”

TJ looked up at the snow falling, and let it fall onto his face. “That’s okay. We can stay out here.”

So, they started walking together, TJ sipping at his hot chocolate and Cyrus very focused on his muffin. They were headed back, roughly, in the direction of TJ’s home, but they were both walking slowly, because there wasn’t really any rush. It was Christmas, no one was home, and it was snowing.

There was a comfortable silence in the snow, but there was still life. TJ could hear his own footsteps and Cyrus’ next to him, and sometimes, that’s just a good thing to hear. He knew someone was there, and he knew it was Cyrus, but he didn’t have to check or anything, because he trusted that he was there and that it was going to be an alright day if Cyrus was there, which was an extremely mushy thought to have, but TJ was starting to embrace those.

so out the door to the street

to find a friend in the sleet.

and through the flurry of fluff,

TJ was munching at his sugar cookie, and Cyrus was watching him, fondly. TJ wasn’t looking back at him, but it was alright. Cyrus’ muffin was getting snowed on and a little bit soggy, so he bit into it. Mint chocolate was an odd combination. Cyrus wasn’t sure why it worked, but it did.

Cyrus moved closer to TJ, like a plant attracted to the sun, mostly because he was warm. He did this a lot. It was nice to get close to someone, especially when that someone was TJ. Cyrus thought about holding TJ’s hand, but he was holding hot chocolate, and a sugar cookie in the other hand, so he just let their arms bump together and they kept walking. TJ glanced at him when he got closer, and Cyrus smiled, and tried to say, silently, something like: ‘hello, I’m here, good to be here with you.’

Cyrus wasn’t sure either of them were telepathic, but TJ nodded and went back to his cookie.

So, there they were, taking a walk through the snow.

They would get home. Eventually. But, for now, this was this, and Cyrus put his muffin’s wrapper in the nearest trashcan they passed, and then looked up at TJ, both of his hands in his pockets now, because they were cold.

He tilted his head, as if he was investigating TJ's face, and said, softly, “I think we don’t slow down enough.”

#text #andi mack #12 days of tyrus #fanfics #tyrus #cyrus goodman #tj kippen

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