#I like to think the changes to the world are so substantial that the setting just shifts to a less angsty action/adventure story

[sunderwight]

Liushen AU where SY transmigrates into SJ's older brother, and subsequently nopes them right out of the slavery backstory by using his general knowledge of the story and actually being an adult in a kid's body to just leave (basically) with SJ and YQ.

SY carts them both up to Cang Qiong for the next sect trials. It's actually not all that hard, the trickiest part is getting enough to eat and finding safe places to sleep between leaving the slavers and taking the trials (SY manages just barely, with considerable help from his new little brothers.) Nobody bothers to go after them because it's before Qiu Jianluo and this style of human traffickers mostly operate by virtue of their merchandise having nowhere else to go. Chasing down runaways is an expense not worth indulging, given that most of them either come straight back or die of exposure.

Anyway, they take the trials, and as expected YQY gets chosen to become a personal disciple for the sect leader, and SJ gets chosen by the Qing Jing Peak Lord, but also as (kind of) expected (by SY alone) nobody wants SY. He's older the Yue Qi, so too old, and unlike YQ and SJ his cultivation potential isn't striking enough to make any exceptions for him.

SY, however, can't leave it at that. He's spent more than five minutes with the street kid codependency gang, so he's gotten attached to both of them. And he knows what will happen if they're left to their own devices and The Plot proceeds accordingly. (Also, they keep threatening to not stay at the sect if SY doesn't stay too, for some reason.) So with a heavy heart and internal candle lit for himself, SY heads to Bai Zhan Peak. Which is the only peak that accepts disciples by way of them turning up and refusing to leave.

SY's not much of a fighter. He actually really hates the atmosphere on BZP, he's not bad at physical cultivation (his health's pretty good in this life, ironic considering how much worse his situation was) but the random ambushes and survival-of-the-fittest stuff is just not his brand. But that's okay, because it turns out that BZP actually DESPERATELY needs disciples on the actual peak who are interested in things other than fighting and cultivating their own strength. Stuff like, filling out requisition requests for An Ding every time things break, apologizing to An Ding every time things break again, organizing schedules, browbeating senior disciples into actually teaching, educating disciples on virtually any artistic or social skill, hosting lectures on how to beat vicious beasts without just overpowering them, and etc.

Okay so some of this stuff isn't and has never actually been on Bai Zhan's curriculum but Shen Yuan is going to make this place tolerable. And stop these children from needlessly getting acid burns or lyme disease or scurvy or whatever. He keeps internally chewing out Airplane for designing a sect system that means there are a lot of largely unsupervised 12-year-olds running around the wilderness on a mountain picking fights all the time. (When he actually meets Shang Qinghua and figures him out he switches to doing it in person, of course, in twice-monthly bitching sessions that look a lot like budding friendship.)

Of course one of the worst offenders is the Liu kid, who SY would suspect was actually raised by wolves if he didn't know for a fact that Liu Qingge has a younger sister, and also the kinds of nice clothing and letters from home that strongly imply not only does he have a family, but that the family is pretty well-off. Liu Qingge is at first deeply offended by SY being a BZP disciple. He rarely fights anyone, and uses tricks and evasion tactics whenever a fight can't be avoided. And he does other annoying stuff, like pestering him about meals and baths and lecturing him on identifying dangerous plants and the early signs of qi deviation. This is not what their peak is about! He should get with the program already! Just fight stuff until you're too tired to keep fighting stuff!

Also SY's younger brother, SJ, is pure evil (at least according to baby Liu Qingge) even though his other younger brother (?) is cool and nice.

Anyway, Liu Qingge stops complaining about SY after their first mission together, where Liu Qingge doesn't lose a fight but does get into a kind of pyrrhic victory situation where he's really badly hurt, and it's SY who helps him win (correctly identifying the monster and then pointing out its weakness) and takes care of him afterwards and gets him safely back to Cang Qiong. SY expresses surprise at LQG actually being polite to him, and LQG realizes that he's been a colossal ass if people think he wouldn't be grateful to someone who saved his life, so the usual Liushen dynamic proceeds from there. Liu Qingge starts bringing SY fans he leaves behind and hunts down animals that are supposed to be useful for bolstering weak cultivation, SY invites LQG to tea and keeps the critters as pets, etc etc.

SY doesn't get the Head Disciple position, because that's only acquired via beating the current peak lord in combat and lol no. Also he's not interested in stealing it from Liu Qingge, to whom it rightfully belongs (in his mind). But that's fine, because Liu Qingge takes the position when the next generation ascends and then he lets SY exclusively handle all the peak duties SY actually likes (mainly teaching). It's perfect -- Liu Qingge gets to focus on his War God antics and occasional administration/meetings without having to deal with students his has no patience for, but the disciples of BZP don't get neglected because SY is actually teaching and organizing classes and student care. BZP hasn't enjoyed a golden age like this since it was founded!

Things are pretty good overall, but Shen Yuan knows that it's only a matter of time before The Plot shows up, and so he can't rest completely easily.

Meanwhile, the will-they-or-won't-they bets on Liushen have been going strong for a while now. The thing is, most of their martial siblings are convinced that these two are already "together", and just being circumspect about it. Those who know SY well (like SJ, YQY, and SQH) know better but think that SY's romantic obtuseness is to blame, whereas those who know LQG well (LMY, WQW, and MQF) are pretty sure that it's actually LQG's obtuseness that's the problem. Of course it's actually both of them, so efforts to "fix" matters by getting through one of their thick skulls inevitably run afoul of the other's.

An additional complication is of course: SJ doesn't like LQG (mutual), and now that he's the leader of his own peak, he wants to poach SY to come and live there. Not only so he can have one of the 2 people he trusts actually close at hand, but also because SJ also hates actually teaching the atrocious little brats on his peak, and would like to have SY come and do it for him. YQY is still a total pushover for him too, and is also now the sect leader, so YQY agrees that SY can change peaks if SY and LQG both agree to it.

Liu Qingge, of course, is a no, but he's a variable "no". He's not going to hold Shen Yuan against his will or anything.

As for Shen Yuan, it's... complicated. He doesn't really like BZP, but it's gotten a lot better than it was at the start. These days he's actually pretty proud of his accomplishments, and it's more comfortable, but it's still a rough and rowdy place with fewer creature comforts, libraries, or other appealing points than QJP. Also, if he goes to Qing Jing to teach, he can personally ensure that SJ doesn't go around persecuting any of his students!

But... SJ never lived with the Qiu family in this AU, and even though SY's not totally clear on what the PIDW backstory for SJ was, he knows he's a better guy now than the scum villain in the book was. He has a reputation for making cutting remarks, not for being an abusive snake or a lecher. SY's honestly less worried about him doing anything bad at all, and there are other people on QJP who can teach. It might even be good for SJ to promote more people to fill out a social circle he can rely on! That guy needs more friends, seriously.

And QJP really doesn't need more layabout literary intellectual types who get into pointless arguments, which is all SY would be if he went there. Just yet another nerdy scholar for the rich kids with middling cultivation that the peak favors to ignore. At least on BZP he's filling a gap.

SY is clearly torn, and the fact that SY's considering it has LQG upset, and LQG doesn't handle being upset very well, so of course they have an argument about it. SY storms off to cool his head and LQG is like, this is it, he's gone to Qing Jing Peak, I've drive him off by being too aggressive and he's probably remembering all those times I told him he didn't belong here and oh no what have I done maybe if I build him a heated bath and get him books he will come back???

Turns out that SY just went to An Ding to vent at SQH while SQH was like "I think you would have fewer problems if you and Liu Qingge just got married and my disciples could call you Shigu to your face instead of behind your back" and SY threw melon seeds at him and sulked on his fainting couch (which is always cold for some reason...)

Thus begins the Liushen Divorce Arc where SY tries to be anywhere but BZP or QJP, Liu Qingge tries to figure out what thing he can punch to fix this not-punchable problem, SJ is like "I don't see what the big deal is they should break up Liu Qingge is awful and I want my brother to teach my classes for me" like the spoiled youngest sibling he's finally allowed to be, YQY is trying to moderate this Hades vs Demeter situation and is all "well maybe SY could spend half the year on QJP and half on BZP?", and Liu Mingyan is going "I know my brother if this doesn't work out he is going to die single and pining like an idiot" and so keeps conscripting other disciples to y'know, lock SY and LQG into storage closets together (ineffective: LQG can punch through walls) or at least get them in the same room (underestimating SY's willingness to yeet himself out of windows to avoid awkward social interactions.)

By the time Luo Binghe joins the sect (as a Qiong Ding disciple), the drama is in full swing and is the main topic of gossip across most of the peaks.

#svsss #scum villain's self saving system #liushen #long post #sy doesn't even realize lbh has already arrived until someone mentions 'luo-shidi' on qiong ding in passing #he nearly has a heart attack #why isn't this kid on qing jing peak?! #(why would he be on QJP now though? SJ's not gonna want him not even to pathologically torment and he's promising enough for QDP) #SY: well I guess... that settles that? not enough reason to move to QJP if luo binghe isn't even there. everything can stop being weird now #LQG: then we shall have a spring wedding #I like to think the changes to the world are so substantial that the setting just shifts to a less angsty action/adventure story #now the cang qiong crowd are the colorful side characters instead of complicit in lbh's many torments

[a-bit-too-much-of-a-zelda-fan]

I really like the decision to set TotK a few years after BotW, as opposed to the few months we’re used to in direct Zelda sequels. It gave the world a substantial amount of time to change. Hyrule is livelier. In the years of relative peace since Calamity Ganon was vanquished, it’s been allowed to grow and thrive. Hateno Village, the largest Hylian settlement, is becoming economically significant as a tourist destination and food supplier. It’s especially cool to see Riju, Tulin, and Kass’s kids mature into their adult/teenage years, respectively.

Building on that, I think it’s neat that Link is in his early twenties now. This is the oldest Link we’ve ever played as (Skyward Sword held the previous record at 17.5 y/o). He’s had time to adjust to life post-calamity. His traumatic mutism seems to be all but gone. You ever notice just how much he talks in this game? Dialogue options galore, he’s constantly explaining things to other characters, all that. And he’s more expressive, too. He outright laughs when he fuses weapons.

Link’s relationship with Zelda has also had time to grow. Guys. Fellas. Broskis. They live in the same house. In which there is only one bed. They are together. The implication here is that they share most of their meals together, and remember, it’s key to his characterization that he opens up emotionally when he’s cooking or eating. That means there has been a lot of quality bonding time between them.

Before and during the Calamity, Link served as Zelda’s royal bodyguard because the king demanded it of him. Given how he went mostly mute from the pressure of being entrusted with the princess’s safety and being chosen as the Hylian Champion (at age 17, mind you), I’d wager he didn’t particularly like the assignment until he started bonding with her. He looks downright sad when she snaps at him in that one memory at the shrine. Hell, he doesn’t smile once in the memories.

But you know what? I get the feeling that Link protects her now not out of duty like he used to, but out of love. That’s powerful because “love conquers all” and all that, but also, there’s no external pressure to be her bodyguard. Until the Upheaval, he was done being a special little hero. He was just a swordsman, but he still went where Zelda went to protect her. So instead of being crushed by that pressure, protecting her is an expression of his love for her. It’s a choice and he’s doing it because he wants to, not because it was forced on him.

That’s a lot of growth to go through, and it was paced over several years. He doesn’t appear to have aged much, but enough time has passed that Hudson has a daughter who can hold a mature conversation. That’s what, 5 years old? Yeah, Link is in his early twenties. Fucking finally, the task of saving the world falls on the shoulders of an adult (although speaking as someone entering his mid-twenties, that honestly isn’t much better).

I’m starting to ramble here so I’ll leave a parting observation of Link and Zelda’s house in Hateno. Zelda has redecorated a fair bit since moving in with Link, replacing his weapon racks with photos of her horse and various Hyruleans (her subjects who she cares deeply for), but the photo of her, Link, and the Champions is still up. And that’s really cute.

#tears of the kingdom spoilers #TotK spoilers #Zelda spoilers #tears of the kingdom #my own #Zelda analysis #definitely going to find some way to write this into a fanfic

[elfwreck]

Do you think ao3 is going to have a problem in the future?

hot damn isn't that an open-ended question.

...er. yes. Yes, I think AO3 will have "a problem" at some point in "the future."

Which problem is up for debate.

I don't think AO3 is going to be taken down or even substantially hurt by lawsuits from media companies or authors who hate fanfic. I think the time for that was over 10 years ago; if Disney hated fanfic and thought it was illegal, they would've gone after AO3 before it was internationally famous with more than 5 million users. Before it had won a Hugo Award.

Doesn't mean I think a lawsuit isn't possible, and the current SCOTUS in the US is run by a pack of corporate shills, but... it's a hard stretch to get a copyright-creativity case to go that far, and even with such a court, the outcome wouldn't be guaranteed. And no media company wants to be the test case for a lawsuit that decides "actually yknow what? Fanfic is pretty much legal."

I think there will be more regions that block AO3, in one way or another. Not many places have China's control over the internet, but there are other blocks, like pestering Google and demanding they filter search results.

I think antis are going to continue to scream about AO3 allowing content they don't like, even if the term "anti' changes and they wind up calling themselves something else. I think this may create some kinds of problems, including with payment processors, depending on where and how they yell. I don't think any of that will shut down AO3 or change its policies.

The thing to keep in mind is: AO3 does not need to grow. AO3 is not a venture-capital company. It does not have ROR. It does not generate profits. It is not accountable to anyone but itself for its policies and activities. It was designed by a small pack of fans who decided "we're damn tired of being pushed off our fic archive websites, and even more tired of VC-backed things showing up and trying to fleece us for profits while simultaneously insisting to their mainstream stockholders that they don't approve of smut, that they dislike slash, that they think fanfic is copyright infringement. We need to own the servers and set our own policies."

AO3's going to face plenty of problems in the future. A lot of people do not like smut, or do not like some kinds of smut, and think it should be illegal. Or they think it should be restricted. Or at the very least, the people who host it, write it, and read it, should be ashamed, and if they're not, they need to be Taught A Lesson.

Repeat with: slash fanfic, RPF, fanworks based on children's shows, and fanfic in general.

A lot of people think AO3 is Doing Fandom Wrong, and some of those people are going to cause problems. Some of those people are probably government officials, so the problems are going to be big.

But I don't think any of them are going to succeed in shutting down AO3 (although accessing it may get more difficult from some parts of the world), and they're definitely not going to change the core policies.

AO3 was started by people who'd been watching the legal and cultural landscape around fanfic for decades. It's run today by people with the same kinds of experience, the same kinds of beliefs about fandom culture.

I am not worried about the future of AO3.

#ao3

[no-less-than-a-god]

The Lamb watches Narinder, freshly dressed in the familiar red of follower robes, standing among the grass encircling the cult’s many crypts. It was one of the few areas heavy with foot traffic that hadn’t been reduced to dirt or replaced by a walkway, and the grass there is always a healthy, soft green, the nutrients to grow taken from the bodies laid to rest nearby.

And there, Narinder stands, looking down at the grass beneath his feet. The Lamb approaches, hand on the bell around their neck to silence it, and upon closer inspection they see the fur around the exposed parts of his body twitching. His back is to them, and they can see his tail jerking randomly as it sways back and forth languidly.

Not mad, then, but something else.

The Lamb joins Narinder at his side before they drop the hand on their bell and choose to speak. “Are you troubled?” they ask, and take in Narinder’s unveiled face as his neck snaps his head to meet their gaze.

He looks…confused. Mildly uncomfortable. His ears are halfway to being pinned against his head, and his nose is furrowed. Upon meeting the Lamb’s gaze, however, the features on his face smooth out slightly, and his ears come forward.

“It’s foreign,” is what Narinder quietly answers, “the feeling of grass beneath my feet. I had forgotten what it felt like.”

The Lamb doesn’t reply to his words, taking the admission with a heavy weight in their heart. They wonder, chest aching, how much of the world had their god forgotten?

“It’s soft,” Narinder comments, “I have not yet grown accustomed to this feeling, but I think it’s one I may enjoy.”

“I am pleased to hear that,” the Lamb finally speaks, a sigh following their words. They turn their gaze from Narinder to the earth beneath them. “The grass here is always fresh, for the bodies I bury nearby keeps them healthy.”

“It’s like the first time I held you in my claws.” The Lamb’s gaze snaps back to Narinder, eyes widening slightly, as Narinder continues speaking, his three red eyes locked onto the Lamb, who stands only inches shorter than him now. “I was unused to holding such a small creature, so warm and soft. It was first strange, but progressed into something I found myself seeking when you were there.”

“I see.” The Lamb subtly bowed their head. “I apologize for not being able to let you experience that again, now.”

Both of their sizes had changed when the crown halved itself; Narinder had shrunk substantially into a height more mortal in appearance, and the Lamb had grown taller, horns lengthening and splitting at the base to grow a second pair of points. Narinder still stood taller, but nowhere near enough to hold the Lamb like he was used to.

“You apologize for naught, Lamb,” Narinder replies, eyes narrowing. He’s long stopped twitching from the grass, and he stands proud, confident, despite only having half of what he used to deem his own. “I have much preference for being free of that realm and at this size.” His mouth remains open, to say something more, but then he hesitates, and eventually shuts his jaw to look away.

The Lamb smiles, understanding. “I see.”

“Go seek your flock, Vessel,” Narinder replies, his whole body turning away from them. “I’m sure they have need of you.”

“They most likely will.” The Lamb begins to step away, but turns back to Narinder after a few steps to add, “I will return for you in a few hours time, if you remain here.”

Narinder says nothing, but the flick of his tail tells the Lamb that he had heard. They turn again, and walk back to the more populated areas of the settlement, where a rabbit immediately approaches them.

And true to their word, the Lamb returns as the sun starts to set, where they find Narinder on his back in the grass with his arms spread wide, the top half of his robe untied and pooling around his waist. His eyes are closed, and his chest is rising and falling slowly, his half of the crown clasped lazily in one of his hands. He looks asleep, but the Lamb knows better.

They approach, letting their bell signal their arrival. As they stop in front of Narinder’s head, shadowing the sun from his face, his eyes crack open to find the Lamb’s gaze already on him.

“I was left undisturbed after you left,” he says tranquilly. “Did you, perhaps, alert your followers not to pass this area for some unspecified reason?”

“I did not,” the Lamb lies. “This part of the cult grounds are simply not as traversed as the rest.”

Narinder gives them a knowing look, eyes gleefully narrowing, but he says nothing.

aka the first time Narinder touches grass after being freed from his chains (he likes it)

#cotl #cult of the lamb #loredump #narilamb #drabbling ichor

[wrecklwj]

MXTX Diaspora May 2023 is drawing to a close, so here are some personal reflections

As some of you may know, MXTX Diaspora May was originally started by Frost in 2021 as a means of elevating Chinese diaspora creators in fandom. At the time the event was set up, the climate in fandom was truly a hostile one, with Chinese diaspora creators routinely facing discrimination and marginalization. Adding to that were a slew of vicious hate crimes against Asian diaspora people in real life.

May is AAPI Heritage month in the US, and thus it was chosen as the posting month for the event. In other words, it was a time for us to come together, to heal, and above all, to let our voices be heard.

Since 2021, the scope of MXTX Diaspora May has evolved. Instead of solely focusing on MDZS, we now spotlight fanworks for all of MXTX’s novels. More importantly, MXTX Diaspora May has gone international in welcoming the participation of Chinese diaspora creators from not just the US, but all around the world (like me)!

So, why is MXTX Diaspora May so meaningful to me?

At the time that Frost invited me to be a part of the mod team, I was honestly struggling to find a place in MDZS fandom. I was frequently spoken over, treated as an expendable resource for cultural information, and on the receiving end of comments that contained racist microaggressions (and sometimes, outright aggression). Dealing with these interactions was exhausting, as well as grappling with the constant feeling that I had no real right to be in the English-speaking fandom. I still feel like this, even today — works where I (subconsciously or otherwise) downplay my identity as a member of the Chinese diaspora are always substantially more well-received than works where I do not. In other words, as some commenters (helpfully) pointed out to me, it was exhausting and difficult to get into the stories I told and the viewpoints I presented, especially if they contained too many cultural markers and language code-switches.

Being part of MXTX Diaspora May changed everything for me. Creating and interacting in this space that belonged to us, that was built solely for the purpose of elevating voices like mine — it meant that for once, I could tell the stories I wanted to tell, to the likeminded people I wanted to reach, without needing to downplay, apologize, or make excuses for just how unpalatable they might be.

Personal revelations aside and back to the culture-building aspect — I truly believe that the path to disempowering racist structures in fandom (and by extension, in real life as well) lies in changing the fundamental mindsets and worldviews of people. And to achieve that, we all have to relearn the ways in which we think, feel, and operate. MXTX Diaspora May is built on this very principle — the belief that through giving a platform to marginalized voices and actively encouraging open dialogue and appreciation, we can connect with each other over our shared experiences and gradually influence the perception that others outside our immediate circle have over our culture and language. It is an active, inclusive, and sustainable way of dismantling preconceived notions and habits that allow racism to flourish in fandom.

At the same time, it is also worth acknowledging that there is also a limit to how much power we place in institutions to do the work for us. Sit with the discomfort and the exhaustion, question our preconceived notions, and challenge our hearts  —  and I am optimistic that as things change at the individual level, the associated structures and systems will naturally follow.

So, where should we start?

There are so many ways we can be a part of the movement to dismantle systemic racism against members of the Chinese diaspora in MXTX fandom. One of the most actionable ways would be to boost and consume works by Chinese diaspora creators. And if we’re reading, listening to, or looking at something that doesn’t immediately appeal to us, and especially if we find ourselves struggling to comprehend or relate — ask ourselves honestly if it is a failing on the part of the creator, or just our own unfamiliarity with the context of the work, and/or implicit biases coming into play. Take our time to realize it for what it is, and then decide from there whether to move on, or move ahead.

MXTX is a Chinese writer, and her works are an extension and reflection of her culture and upbringing. It is impossible to separate her identity and belonging from the stories she writes. It’s exactly the same for us Chinese diaspora creators. Wherever we are in the world, however we were raised, and whatever pieces of ourselves that we choose to share in our works — I hope that we will continue to find our peace, our pride, and our homecoming whenever we do.

Resources

MXTX Diaspora May collection (2023, 2022, 2021)

Danmei Diaspora Creatives collection (showcases work by Chinese diaspora creators across a myriad of danmei fandoms including MXTX; not affiliated with MXTX Diaspora May)

Directory of MDZS fics and podfics by Chinese diaspora writers that are focused on the modern diaspora experience, compiled by G (not affiliated with MXTX Diaspora May)

#MXTX Diaspora May #own voices #Chinese diaspora #danmei fandom thoughts #Racism in fandom

[mydisenchantedeulogy]

Dying Light [Chapter One] Choking [Bi-Han/Sub-Zero]

A/n: this first chapter took a bit longer than intended. I'd like to thank those who voted, regarding the reader's magic. Thank you so much. Also, I added some aspects from previous games to fill out the plot for the first half a little. Please enjoy.

Tag List: @genesiswrld

Warning(s): arranged marriage au, female reader, cliches, fighting, blood, magic, and family drama.

No Minors Allowed!!

In your youth, new to the ways of the world, you were told about your inescapable fate; that when your clan began its new era, you alone would be the key to its tomorrow. 

The clan was dying off, a has-been of the past. It could not survive another century of change in a world that had no use for it or its teachings. There was no way to preserve them. To keep its lineage from fading into history, your family had no choice but to unite with another clan. 

This was where you would come in.  

When the time was right, you would be wedded to a clan head, and your clan, its strongest and most capable fighters, would merge with them, starting anew. However, this foretold life did not sit well with you. It was not fair. 

For years, you trained with a Grandmaster of martial arts, and then with your father’s consent you were given the Amulet of Damashi, an ancient heirloom passed down through your clan; one capable of substantial magic, enough so that you hoped to call off the merger. Yet, your longings and sacrifices were not enough.   

Your fate was set in stone. But still, you did all you could to draw attention to your clan, and for another year, all was well. 

Until one autumn afternoon. 

Sitting on a balcony at the far end of the main house, you occupy your time with a humorously erotic book brought from the city; it is cliche but you can not seem to put it down. 

As you are lost in the plot, a retainer wearing the clan’s insignia suddenly approaches you from the doorway and bows in respect. 

“Forgive my intrusion, honorable–”

You raise your hand and interrupt him; his immediate silence makes you hum in thanks. Whatever he has to say does not interest you, but you know that he is simply doing as someone ordered him to. Even so, you dislike being called away from your alone time. You continue to read in silence until you reach the end of the page, then you avert your eyes to him.

“It's unsettling when stories are left on cliffhangers,” you state. Resting the book in your lap, you motion for him to continue.  

 

The man bows again. 

“The Master sent me to retrieve you.”

You hum. 

“What reason does he need me for?”

If it is not urgent then he can wait until you have had your lesson with your master for the day. 

The retainer rests his arms at his sides and leans up.  

“To greet the honored guest who is waiting within the front courtyard. He came from Arctika to see you.” 

Honored guest. From the tundra region. 

Your eyes widen in realization. It can not be. 

Father brought him here.  

With a frustrated groan, you stand and rush past the retainer and through the main house to the inner courtyard.

I should have known. 

The servants had cleaned and prepared the main house the night before but you ignored the action, thinking your mother was just being choosy again. You had no idea that your parents were keeping secrets from you.

You manage to squeeze through the throng of clansmen in the inner courtyard until you are at the front, and then you rush to stand beside your father, giving him a heated look.   

“It is nice of you to join us,” he says with a serious tone. Taking the book from your hand, he grimaces at the title and hands it to your mother, who is beside him. 

“You gave me no other option,” you retort. 

Your mother sighs. 

“Had we, you would have found a way to vanish before your fiance arrived. It was the lesser of two evils, dear. Understand this.” 

You do, but it does not make it right.

I've never even seen him before.

“Send him away,” you implore. “We do not need to–”

“Your opinion is unneeded,” your father sneers. He gives you a look that warns you to keep your mouth shut.

An air of gloom and disappointment surrounds you. After what you have done, he and your mother do not seem to appreciate it. You take an uneasy breath and clutch the white and gold amulet attached to your side. Did achieving this mean nothing? 

It certainly feels so. Even after making an effort to master it, they pushed this merge in secret. 

Who is he? Your parents certainly trust in him. You want to know. 

Under your father’s orders, the guards open the doors to the southeastern entrance, and inside walks a group of what appears to you to be assassins dressed in similar attire, sporting a color scheme of blue and black. Some of them wear hoods over their heads, while all of them have their mouths covered, as well as the man in the lead.  

He must be their clan head.  

My fiance.

He is certainly handsome, with defined well-built curves and muscles that strain against the thin fabric of his twilight blue tabard. Even so, there is an air of bitterness that surrounds him as he measures your clan.

You share his sentiments. 

Watching your father bow, you quickly do the same. 

“It is an honor to have you grace us with your presence, Bi-Han of the Lin Kuei,” your father states. 

Bi-Han follows suit.

“It was the former Grandmaster - my father - who had hoped to see this merge.” He pauses to stand. “If your clan is as strong as promised, then I too share his sentiments.”

His tone is deep and high-handed, not promising in your opinion. While a part of you is thankful to him for taking in the clan, the other part is irritated that this is a recruitment visit. 

I am merely the weight that comes with the contract, nothing more.

“I too have been eager for this day. It is a shame, however, that your father passed on before his time. He was a respected man.”

Bi-Han knits his brows. 

“The Lin Kuei are in capable hands.”

No one said otherwise. 

You sigh in dread. 

“Yes…well, allow me to introduce my family,” Your father awkwardly states. He motions to your mother first, then to you. “My wife and my daughter, your bride-to-be.” 

You visibly frown. Must he refer to you as such? Like it is a title. So not to enrage or embarrass him, you smile at the stranger, then give him your name. 

“It is…an honor to meet you.”

Bi-Han remains silent. He looks you over and then turns his attention back to your father. 

“The terms of the marital contract come after.”

Your father hums in agreement. 

“Of course. A demonstration of might is of high priority. But should we not wait for your brothers? I was informed that they would be journeying with you.”  

“Their presence here is nonessential,” Bi-Han states.

You wonder why. If they are anything like him, you are thankful for their absence. 

Hearing your father order the servants to prepare the blocks for the test, you along with your mother stand back as your father gathers the six best fighters and has them line up in the center of the courtyard. 

In the meantime, Bi-Han stands at a distance in front of them with the Lin Kuei on his right. 

Once the six are ready, standing over seventeen 1-inch thick reinforced concrete pavers, your father joins Bi-Han and gives the word for them to begin. One by one, the fighters strike the blocks dead center, breaking them with ease.

You grin with pride. Yes, they can break more, but there is no need to push them, so long as Bi-Han is baited. In the end, it will be his guidance that shapes them to their full potential. 

With his mask on, it is frankly hard to tell. You lean just a bit to see his expression but you can not. He does however cross his arms and hum. 

“Are they competent fighters?”

Your father laughs. Of course, they are. He calls on a man with deep-set eyes - a good choice. The fighter steps forward and bows.  

“This is one of our strongest. If you wish to test–”

“Let us not be hasty, leader,” a familiar raspy voice interrupts.

Your master, an elderly woman with sunken features, saunters out from the throng and approaches your father.

“Excuse my interruption, but your daughter is a competent fighter. Should she not be tested instead?”

You frown. What is she doing? Proving yourself is no issue, but must you do it for your fiance? It is the fighters he came to test. Though you suppose you are not against showing off your techniques.

“If it’s what you wish, Father, I will fight,” you state in confidence. 

“Is this acceptable, Bi-Han?” Your father asks.

The man in question knits his brows in thought and then nods. He snaps his fingers and a member of the Lin Kuei without a hood steps forward and bows. 

“Do not pull your punches,” Bi-Han orders. His keen brown eyes turn to you, as though he wants to measure your expression. 

You remain stoic. If he is eager to see your strength, then that is fine. With confidence, you saunter to the center of the courtyard. Soon, the young man chosen to be your challenger joins you, striking a fighting pose. You do the same. 

A deathly silence consumes the stage.

You are not certain who calls the fight, but the moment it begins, the assassin rushes at you, attempting to strike you with a series of fast kicks. You step back, avoiding them, and manage to catch his leg against your side. Using his momentum to pivot him the opposite way, you strike him in the back with a front kick.  

The assassin staggers forward but catches himself. When he faces your direction, you can see the aggravation in his eyes. He rushes at you with a shout, throwing punch after punch. You can hardly match his speed, blocking what you can with your arms and hands. But then his stance changes and with a hard-hitting mountain punch simultaneously to the chest and face, you stagger back. 

For fuck’s sake.

An intense pain lights you up, but you push through it and rush at him. You do not want to continue this spar; you want to end it quickly before he puts you on your ass. Springing off your foot, you pull off a flying scissor kick, wrapping your legs around his head. Using your momentum against him, you toss the assassin off his feet and onto his back. Then with a shout of irritation, you raise your leg straight into the air and slam your heel into his face, breaking his nose with a wet crunch. You quickly roll back onto your feet and step away from him.

The Lin Kuei are no joke. 

You had hoped that he would not stand, but he does. The thin cloth over his face stains red as he bleeds profusely. All this seems to do is annoy him further. He comes at you a third time in anger, aiming at you with a straight punch. His mistake. You dodge it with ease and grab his wrist, yanking him forward and off balance. Turning in quickly, you elbow him in the stomach, then toss him over your back and onto the ground with a sharp smack. 

Your slip-up, however, is assuming that he is ready to submit. As you advance, the assassin flips back onto his feet and punches you in the face.

Instantly you taste blood in your teeth. Running your tongue on the inside of your lip, you wince in pain. He busted it. 

Your blood boils. 

Pointing your hand behind the assassin, you draw a circle with your finger, and then a swirling black portal materializes. One of the techniques of the amulet is portal creation via space and time magic. You do not want to use it in such a spar, but it is necessary.

Connecting it to one at your feet, you leap into the portal and appear behind the assassin, catching him off guard. He turns, but you pivot and roundhouse-kick him in the face. Your foot connects with his chin and he goes down like a rock, motionless. 

You do not even realize it is over until you hear a round of applause. You win. Stepping over the body, you bow, peeking up at Bi-Han. He seems almost surprised.

“I was not aware that she was capable of magic,” he states, turning his wide eyes to the man beside him. 

You raise a bow. They did not tell him. 

Your father hums. 

“Let us discuss it over some tea.”

He spares no words of gratitude and motions for Bi-Han to follow him. While hesitant, the high-handed man gives you one last look before he follows your father into the main house.

You sigh and saunter toward your mother, who appears elated. 

“Incredible work. I believe that you have impressed him.” 

“I should hope so,” you state with a snap, a bit annoyed that you were kicked around like a ball by his fighter. 

All it took was a few bruises and a busted lip. 

Your mother sighs and offers you back the book she took.

“Tame your anger. Go and rest. Tomorrow is a new day.” 

You give her a look of irritation before you saunter to the main house. Your master looks on at you with pride as you pass, but you are in too much of a foul mood to share your appreciation with her. The fight took too long, in your opinion. 

At least you are at last excused from this fiasco. A part of you, however, is curious about what Bi-Han has to say about you now.

It stays on your mind well into the night.

#mortal kombat fandom #bi han x reader #female reader insert #mortal kombat fanfiction #arranged marriage au #mortal kombat 1 fanfiction #Spotify

[cursedvibes]

I see a lot of complaints lately that Sukuna is too strong and that the protagonists could never defeat him because they are so much weaker. Everything seems hopeless now that not even powerhouse Gojo is here.

For one, I'd like to say that that is very much intentional. A villain should seem like an impossible hindrance, he should be someone who makes the heroes struggle and lose, sometimes often. Not every strategy is going to work or else the story would become very predictable if everything works out on the first attempt. On top of that, jjk has established that the whole point of Sukuna is his overwhelming sense of self and his disregard for others which in turn makes him so inhumanly strong. If you want to be as strong or stronger than him, you not only need some innate skill, but you would have to throw away your humanity as well. Yuuji's entire purpose was to oppose Sukuna in that regard. He is weak, but he cares for others and he has a will that Sukuna can't break no matter how much he tries. So the way to defeat Sukuna isn't by becoming stronger than him, that would only buy into his ideology and not fundamentally challenge him. It is what Gojo and Kashimo tried to do and they failed for it because that is the wrong approach. Yuuji has to be the one to break Sukuna's ideology of the strong, that might makes right, only this way could he truly win over Sukuna. Because at the heart of it their fight is a struggle of ideals. Sukuna himself announced that his goal is above all else to crush Yuuji so he won't get up anymore because Yuuji makes him question himself, his philosophy, his entire life and by defeating him, he proves himself and his way of thinking/living to be superior.

The question remains how exactly they will accomplish this. I don't know the specifics, but I think it will have to come down to hurting Sukuna's soul, to attack him at his foundation. Yuuji's punches to shake the bond of Sukuna and Megumi's souls, Jacob's Ladder's attack of the cursed object and Maki's Split Soul Katana are what have shaken Sukuna the most and in a way he can't easily recover from. It's not about strength, it's about shaking up Sukuna's very being and his root in this world. I also think Megumi will have to play a role in it. With Yuuji's help he could find the will to stand up against Sukuna and if not regain control of his original body, at least hinder him long enough for the others to kill Sukuna once and for all. Sukuna knows he has Megumi buried deeply and crushed his spirit, he's confident that even if Yuuji reaches Megumi, he could never be a substantial threat because he has accomplished with Megumi what he wants to do with Yuuji. He is weak and broken and had to submit to his will/soul. That confidence has to be shaken up.

We'll have to see about the rest, but those are two points I think are very important in defeating Sukuna. I also think that Sukuna has to release Tengen for that plot point to have a satisfying end. Tengen just dying inside Sukuna would be very unsatisfying, waste a whole lot of setup and also make for a pretty bad final fight because Sukuna is a very simple villain and one that is only really important for Yuuji. If he doesn't get defeated, Sukuna won't destroy Japan, he won't fundamentally change the foundation of jujutsu society, he is build on it and their adherence to strength after all. He doesn't pose a systematic threat and inspires change like Kenjaku did and to make up for Kenjaku's presence no more being the greater looming threat, we only have Tengen and the merger to fill that hole. So Sukuna has to release her at some point.

I'd also like to say, that I acknowledge that the current situation and how Gege has set Sukuna up are not without its faults. I know that defeating Sukuna through strength isn't the way to go because of, well, the entire message of jjk, but I also think that Sukuna's struggle with Yuuji and their opposing ideals have fallen short in this final fight so far. The fight in Shinjuku is far too formulaic. It feels like the protagonists are doing a relay race and Sukuna is just passively standing around and lets them do their thing, casually swiping one person away, so someone else can fill their spot. This will hopefully change soon, but I also think there was too little focus on the thematic meaning of this whole fight. We got Sukuna reflecting on his ideals or lack thereof, but then nothing really came of it so far. He boldly claimed to want to crush Yuuji's spirit only to not change anything in his approach towards the main characters and more importantly Yuuji. Instead he's distracted by Yuuta and Maki and whoever else catches his fancy, similar to the Higuruma situation. It just feels like there is a personal approach missing in this fight and it's more focused on flashy action than characters.

It worked well in the past, like for example I think Kashimo's fight despite being short was actually very well written. It wasn't just about Kashimo's strength, it was about their understanding of the world, their values that are similar to Sukuna, but don't entirely line up. It felt more like a discussion than a fight, a feeling you also get with Kenjaku and Takaba and other important fights in the series like Maki vs Naoya. Currently, there is more of a focus on chapping away at Sukuna's strength than anything substantial. It is there in parts, but I would like more. But again, this could improve in the future. At least Sukuna finally seems to take things seriously now.

#jjk spoilers #jjk 252 #itadori yuuji #ryomen sukuna

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 11/04/2024

I will Never be a Redneck

Season 7 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume Sapphire

Ripped by Madinstance

Requested by Corb and uwustepanne! (Discord, Request Form) (@uwustepanne)

"I'm just kidding, this isn't a blue balls rip. However, you're going to wish it was. I warned you."

Can you IMAGINE being 601billionlazer and getting this rip for Secret SiIva 5?? You hear the silly blue balls and go oh, haha what fun, what a great little bit Madinstance, you always outdo yourself so its fun to see you've taken a funny step back here - only for the truth to be revealed and all hell to break loose? You hear the backing change and think, I swear I recognize that, there's no way he actually did it - the banjo comes in with a gleefully sinister pluck and reaffirms your suspicions. Madinstance fucking did it. The first proper rip uploaded as part of Season 7 introduced the year with a fucking bomb. I will Never be a Redneck.

And look, I've covered some One-Winged Angel rips on here already, One Winged PSYcho - V​.​S. Sepsyrop and Hen'yoku no Piraman - the latter even being made by Madinstance as well - but I feel like it needs to be stressed how thoroughly deranged this rip in particular is. We ALL know Cotton-Eye Joe, if not the original American country song then ABSOLUTELY the world-famous 1994 Eurodance version - one that, funny enough, was recorded by a Swedish band. Indeeds, its oddly befitting: A culture clash between my homeland, and the nation where a majority of SiIvaGunner's own audience and contributors live - the result is that ALL of us knew well what Cotton-Eye Joe was, a piece of our childhoods for some, or at least for me. Yet its prevalence on SiIvaGunner had been comparatively tame in comparison to that popularity, only appearing in some modest mashups and melodyswaps in Season 1 - seven whole years before Madinstance deployed the nuclear option. Realizing that this overplayed icon of a song even had the ability to be remixed in such a fashion positively blew my mind - I won't sugarcoat it, I will Never be a Redneck completely floored me.

And like, in some ways its to be expected, right? Madinstance is incredible, he continues to show up on here with rips like Initial Deluxe (I've Just Raced on this Course Before) and Fell From a High Place (Reprise) for a reason - his prowess for these large-scale projects feels like it shouldn't even be humanly possible. I remarked back in Hen'yoku no Piraman just how much the recent trend of One Winged Angel rips impresses me, how each one feels as if the ripper is truly showcasing their worth whilst dedicating it all to the glory of a single meme. That still stands, yes, but to apply it to a song that otherwise had near-no prevalence on SiIvaGunner, no standard set for how remixing it ought to go: To have my FIRST ever time hearing Cotton-Eye Joe pitch shifted be in this absolute behemoth feels downright criminal. And its even crazier how it WORKS the whole way through.

The amount of touches present to make this feel as cohesive as it does is staggering. The chorus' titular line of "Cotton-Eye Joe" replaces the use of "Sephiroth!" in the base track perfectly, the original song's violin instrumental breaks between the chorus and verses are pitch shifted into the ominous tone of One Winged Angel's equivalent instrumental breaks, the banjo going off the shits in the longer break from the main melody midway through the track...really, its incredible how much of the original track's excitement and danceable fun suddenly sound so ominous, with changes so deliberate, substantial yet conservative enough to not lose the Cotton-Eye Joe feel - this ALWAYS sounds like the right amount of both tracks in balance. I love how the song's chanting "Hey-hey-hey-heyys" suddenly sound akin to One Winged Angel's latin choir song, how the vocals of the chorus repeat in a somewhat staggered, haunting way near the rip's end - like Beautiful Dreamer or My Dr. Eggman Can't Be This Evil!, its remarkable just how drastic the change of tone becomes through rips like this.

Most of all though, it is that gradual realization of what you're listening to that has made I will Never be a Redneck such a classic for me - NOBODY could've anticipated it based on the channel's past history, and nobody would've expected THIS would be the way that Season 7 would officially "start". Yet its the kind of rip you can send to anyone - both songs are immediately recognizable, and the effort put in to making the two work in tandem is unmistakably impressive. uwustepanne, who wrote in to request this be covered, included a short anecdote with her write-in, about how this rip showing up in her YouTube feed was what made her realize the channel hadn't ended with Season 6's finale, that I will Never be a Redneck in a way represents everything she loves about the channel, the impact its had on her. And yeah - isn't it crazy how a rip as cracked as this one, still wound up facing incredibly stiff competition for rip of the Season?? 2023 was one of SiIvaGunner's greatest-ever years, and seeing a rip like I will Never be a Redneck uploaded at its very start felt almost like they'd set the bar far too high for the rest of the team. Yet somehow, someway, everyone else was up to the challenge and continued making absolutely incredible rips throughout the entire year. Madinstance continues to raise the bar of quality on the channel at almost every turn, and having him do it at the Season's very start - with a rip as out-of-this-world as I will Never be a Redneck to boot - remains as an absolute power move.

#todays siivagunner #season 7 #siivagunner #siiva #Madinstance #final fantasy 7 #ff7 #ffvii #final fantasy #ffvii remake #ffvii rebirth #ff7 remake #ff7 rebirth #ff7 cloud #ffvii cloud #ffvii crisis core #ff7 crisis core #ff7 sephiroth #sephiroth #crisis core #cotton eye joe #rednex #eurodance #mashups #one winged angel #jenova #professor hojo #hojo

[antianakin]

It’s me again. If you could rewrite the sequels what would you change?

A lot.

Honestly, I feel like my ideal premise for a sequel trilogy would've been some sort-of combo of Lucas's concept for it and what we got in TFA.

Lucas's concept focused in on the OT trio again which I think would've been a mistake for a number of reasons, and I prefer that TFA chose to set it 30 years beyond the OT and gave us a new trio.

Lucas's concept had Maul and his crime organizations as the main villain which I would've particularly hated, and I do prefer the idea of the dregs of the Empire trying to rise again. There's merit both directions I think, continuing to have a Sith character for the symbolism of it really works for me, but I would've HATED for it to be Maul and I don't feel like the crime organizations were ever enough of a real threat to make them a viable issue for an entire trilogy. I also think there's merit to using a "newer" enemy instead of just bringing in the Empire yet again under a different name (except that Maul and his crime orgs aren't actually new). The dregs of the Empire attempting to come together and recreate what was lost has a lot of impact and feels more like a substantial threat, though, since we know what the Empire was capable of before and it's not hard to throw in a new Darksider to make them more threatening. It feels like it continues the more political aspects of the prior two trilogies to have it keep being the Empire in some form (the PT had what the Empire used to be, the OT had the Empire in truth, and the ST in canon ended up what the Empire became). So I'm mostly open to the options here in terms of what the actual major threat is, I think that having a Sith is necessary, keeping in the theme of the Empire is nice, but I could understand bringing in a newer enemy to show the new Republic having to come together against their first real threat without it feeling repetitive.

But the biggest thing for me that I like about Lucas's concept is that it focused on REBUILDING, both the Republic and the Jedi. The whole trilogy was about taking them from where they were at the end of ROTJ and showing how they were able to build something out of the ashes of the Empire. How do the New Republic and Luke's Jedi come together once more after decades of war and devastation? How are they able to rise up and face the darkness when it comes for them again? It creates a really nice resolution to the story we've gotten so far, where the PT shows how the Republic fell and the Empire came to be, the OT shows how the Empire fell, and then the ST could've shown how the Republic rose again. I think immediately destroying the New Republic and the Jedi in order to put the world back into the place it was during the OT was an ENORMOUS mistake. It's the one major grievance I have against TFA's narrative and the one place that I think the accusation that it was trying to recreate ANH too much actually holds weight. For me, the hopeful ending of TROS doesn't hit very well because now we have to contend with the fact that ROTJ had one too and it didn't last and it all got taken away, so what faith should I have that this time it'll somehow work out differently? We thought the Sith were gone last time, too, we thought Luke and Leia would help rebuild the New Republic and the Jedi last time, too, so what makes this happy ending different from the last one?

So if I were to do a complete overhaul of the entire Sequel Trilogy, that's what I'd do. I'd still set it 30 years post-ROTJ, I'd still bring in a new ensemble cast, but I'd focus on how the New Republic and Luke's Jedi were able to rebuild in that time and how they now have to withstand this new threat, whether it's something akin to the First Order or a completely new kind of enemy. It can be a STRUGGLE, they can have LOSSES, but I think eliminating the entire New Republic and Luke's Jedi in order to just focus on a new "resistance" makes no sense. I want to see this community LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES and actually figure out how to fight TOGETHER again, I want to see this world evolve from the one we already know so that they can face a similar enemy or an enemy of similar strength to the one faced in the PT and, this time, they will defeat it because the New Republic stood WITH the Jedi and didn't give in to selfishness and fear and corruption. I like the characters they introduced well enough, I think they're cool and interesting, and I really like the subverted expectations with characters like Finn and Kylo and how those were being set up in TFA, so I'd keep that, too, and maybe just adjust as needed for the slightly changed narrative.

If I had to keep TFA mostly as is and just make tweaks to try to "fix" the rest of the trilogy more to my personal liking, there's probably plenty I COULD make. I'd probably make it so that the destruction of the Hosnian Prime planets didn't completely eradicate the ENTIRE Republic somehow, like maybe some Senators just... weren't there that day or the planets represented in the New Republic still have planetary leaders who come together for some kind of summit to try to throw together a new temporary government really quickly. It's still a massive blow to the New Republic and the resistance maybe has to step up a little in light of that, but it's not left COMPLETELY on its own with no one to ask for help. I'd also have had Luke's Jedi not ACTUALLY be completely killed off, I'd have had him hiding on Ahch-To because that's where he's chosen to hide the survivors he was able to help escape from Kylo's massacre, students he's been continuing to train and teach in the safety of this island no one knows how to find and who are ready and willing to leave their shelter to help the resistance if only Luke could let go of his fears enough to agree to it. I'd even have Leia sort-of AWARE that this is why he's left, why he isn't helping them, even if she doesn't know where he's gone. So even though TFA implies that the New Republic and Luke's Jedi are all gone all over again, you can STILL FIX THAT MISTAKE.

And there's the usual stuff that most people talk about. I'd eliminate Reylo as a thing, obviously, I'd focus in more on Finnrey since they're clearly set up as co-leads and like two halves of one hero and all of that. I wouldn't sideline Finn as a character, I'd make sure his storylines about being Force sensitive and inciting a stormtrooper rebellion got their due in the second film. I'd have made Poe more of an actual second in command to Leia in the second film rather than tossing in Holdo as this unnecessary conflict, so that Poe's growth into a general in the final film actually makes sense. I don't think I'd have set the second film literally like IMMEDIATELY after the first one with no time for the characters to have grown in-between and make it so the timeline is insanely short which means the characters have no time to grow DURING the story either. Either the film needed to do a time jump of sorts to allow for the characters to have grown in-between, or the film itself needed to span across more like months rather than days. I'd have left Kylo as an actual evil character, no emphasis on weird sympathy stuff in the second film, no redemption, I'd have continued what was set up in TFA where he is explicitly NOT going to make a better choice, he's NOT going to be saved by familial love, etc etc. I'd have done something, ANYTHING with Snoke to make him more interesting and not killed him off in the second film. I wouldn't have brought back Palpatine (although connecting Snoke TO Palpatine isn't terrible, even if I would not personally have gone for the clone idea). I wouldn't have made Luke jaded and bitter to the point that he thinks the Jedi should all die, I think that this was out of character for Luke and pulls focus from Rey herself. I'd have done SOMETHING with Rey's parentage to follow-up on what was set up in TFA, made it SOMETHING important and relevant that gets revealed earlier on in the second film so she has time to react to that and grow from it (it didn't HAVE to be Luke's daughter or Palpatine or Obi-Wan or whatever, just... SOMETHING relevant to make the mystery worthwhile).

From a structural standpoint, I'd have hired ONE DIRECTOR to be in charge of the WHOLE TRILOGY and come up with an overall direction and vision for all three films, figure out the answers to the mysteries BEFORE STARTING FILMING so that they can be adequately set up and followed up on as the films progress. Is this a lot of work for one person to do? Yes. Is it still completely and entirely necessary? 1000% yes. This trilogy suffers from a lack of anyone knowing where this story was even HEADING, what the major character beats were going to be, what the major STORY beats were going to be, etc. And also I think the studio should've butted the FUCK OUT and not stepped in to try to make this trilogy somehow palatable to the greatest number of fans possible. I'd prefer a trilogy that had a clear and coherent story that I didn't personally like or agree with than a trilogy that ended up a paint by numbers bullet point sheet lacking in any kind of impact or emotions.

#star wars #sequel trilogy #anti reylo #reylo critical

[thebibutterflyao3]

Day Twelve - Prompt: Iced @rosekiller-microfic

March Daily Series - 674 words

<<<Previous Part OR Start Here

When he stepped out of the shower, Barty was relieved to smell ramen. He’d fully expected Frank to opt for something absurdly spicy that he’d regret eating later. There was no point in pretending that he would have eaten it anyway. Barty couldn’t be bothered to cook.

“Crouch, are you decent?” Frank called.

“Morally? No. Physically? Also, no.”

Frank’s chuckle echoed down the hall. “Well, put your pants on and join me in the garden.”

By the time he reached the back door, Frank had a substantial meal spread out on the metal table set up on the patio facing their small, private garden. The small patch of fenced in grass was a little depressing in the winter, but it was better than nothing.

“Picked up an iced drink for you too,” Frank said, pushing the cup toward him. “Bit late for coffee, but you look like you could use it.”

Barty dropped into a chair and reached for the bright pink drink gratefully. “Thanks. I don’t remember the last time I ate a fruit, to be honest.”

“That tracks.”

Halfway through the meal, Barty realised that Frank was watching him eat. He ignored it. Frank didn’t understand him, not really. He knew Barty, but he couldn’t begin to fathom why he did the things he did. Not like Evan did.

Fuck, I miss him.

“Alright, mate?”

Barty shrugged as he scooped another bite of ramen into his mouth. The longer he could put off this conversation, the better. He knew that Frank would give him a world of shite about the ulcer. Living with a “health conscious” bloke was a nightmare sometimes.

Frank cocked his head to the side and studied him as he bit into a sushi roll. Of the dozen or so rolls that he’d bought, Barty managed to keep down three. This was probably the healthiest meal that he’d eaten since he left the flat a week ago.

“Why are you wincing?”

Barty glanced up at him. “Wincing?”

“Every few bites, you’re wincing like it hurts. Bad tooth?” Frank guessed.

“No. Ulcer, I think.”

“Ulcer? Did you see a doctor?”

Barty levelled an unimpressed look at his flatmate, then shovelled more rice into his mouth. The rice was filling and his stomach seemed to tolerate it a bit better than anything else. He’d avoided the eggs altogether though. That felt like tempting fate.

“Of course not,” Frank said, shaking his head. “Did the drive help at all?”

“What do you think?”

Frank considered him for a beat, then sighed. “You made it worse, didn’t you?”

“Of course I fucking did.”

He should know better by now. I am a class A fuck-up. There is no “helping” myself anymore, just trying to mitigate the damage.

“Barty, when are you going to admit that you need therapy?”

“That’s rather obvious, I’d think,” Barty snarked, taking a long sip of his drink. It was very good and soothed his belly nicely. “There’s no point whinging over it to some overpaid twat. It won’t change anything.”

“It could change things.”

Barty waved his chopsticks dismissively. He didn’t need therapy, he needed Evan.

“Mate, you can’t just ignore your trauma.”

“Sure I can. How do you think I’ve made it this far?”

Frank frowned, his forehead creased with deep furrows. “What does that mean? You’ve survived? That’s the bare fucking minimum.”

Barty shrugged it off and focused on his ramen. Considering how close he’d come to throwing himself into the Bristol Channel earlier today, surviving was good enough. Some days it was an actual accomplishment to continue existing in this hellscape that he called a life.

Evan made this shite life worth it.

The thought landed like a punch to the gut and Barty had to steady himself to stay upright. He set the chopsticks down and folded his arms on the table as his mind whirled. Without Evan, he had nothing to look forward to for the foreseeable future.

I need to fix this. How the actual fuck am I going to fix this?

Next Part>>>

#barty crouch jr x evan rosier #evan x barty #barty crouch junior #barty crouch jr #barty jr #barty x evan #evan rosier #rosekiller #rosekiller microfic

[lugosimmer]

WHY ARE SIMMERS HAPPY with the game ANYWAY?

Game breaking patches that mess up all custom content, a game so bad and expensive that it cannot ever be played in it's full official form, by which I mean with all the DLCs (without the selfless help of comrade modders who have enabled so many of us to get all the official DLCs for free and add basic features through script files that EA would never give us even after a decade of begging), or the EA executives' outrageous, unabashed, decision making "Project Rene" a "free-to-play" cross-platform (ew) nightmare — something no committed simmer ever asked for.

A base game that has not ever been properly updated for ten years, with the same old restrictions of not even being able to change a sim's height, or draw a fence on the edge of a lot, the infuriating 4 floor limit, the inability to precisely resize or modify objects without mods, no colour-wheel, empty worlds full of shell buildings, the endless examples of sims who cannot even get done with the most basic things like cooking and having a meal, no memory system for sims, or even a set of in-game photography tools. And yet rather than a promising, customizable new game (or even reviving old features like Create a Style), we get one hundredth DLC or so which adds nothing to gameplay. And the damned "Project Rene."

In these ten years, I am sure that these life-simulation genre monopolists have had plenty of opportunities of retiring the Sims 4 honourably. Now that apartments are done, I think it is a good time to let the game be, fix all the bugs, and leave the game alone. But that is never happening. By 2035, we are getting the 457th DLC, "my first lemonade stand stuff pack" and five hundred streamers would get together to sing in its honour, of how it "adds" to the gameplay! Every DLC is like a rushed assignment which does not even bother to check for grammar and spellings. I am sure by then we would have twelve new worlds too, with not more than 5 lots each, each lot placed so far away from each other that it is not even possible to create any kind of builds or neighbourhoods that are not American suburbs. In the "For Rent" EP, why were we not given many large 64×64 lots? They just want to sell DLC after DLC without giving any deep thought to changing the basics of the game in a DLC (even within the limitations placed by the structure of the terrible base game, like the lack of an open world) and experiment with something new like large lots with vibrant sim neighbourhoods placed close together. Because the executives do not care. They are not artists. And those who actually are artists, coders and animators in the sims team, I believe, do not get any substantial democratic say in how the decisions regarding the future of the game are made inside EA board rooms.

On a burnt pizza base, EA gave us a ton of cheese and seasoning as DLC, hoping that it covers up for the terrible taste of the base. And the sheer number of Sims streamers – "influencers" – that cannot just shut up about the virtues of the game or sell it to us, without having any serious discussions about how gaming has been ruined with DLC and subscription model of capitalism in the last decade (except a few like LGR; do check them out).

Whatever is good about the Sims, for example its art and vibes, it is good in spite of EA's corporate model, where the work and contribution of its artists, coders and animators peeks out against the limited, ignorant imagination of its executives and shareholders (who I doubt even play the game). And perhaps for this alone that the game is still loved. The executives should just STOP planning all further updates, so the workers who design and code the game can focus entirely on fixing all the remaining bugs, so that finally, the game can rest in peace, and custom content makers too can make good mods that last long without them needed to be updated as fast as the back-breaking corporate game factory schedule of EA, which churns out one unmemorable DLC after another.

But why would they change?

And why are we happy with the game, anyway?

#ts4 #sims #the sims community #thesims #the sims 4 #simblr #sims 4 #capitalism #ea #maxis #anti capitalism #late stage capitalism #electronic arts #project rene #sims 5 #sims 3 #gaming #simmers #simmer #sim #problems with sims #sims critique #games #ts4 simblr #sims community #the sims co #sims packs #sims dlc #dlc

[becauseimanicequeen]

WHAT I’M CURRENTLY WATCHING

ONGOING:

TO BE CONTINUED (Thailand): I’m having the time of my life with this one due to the main characters’ lack of communication, fear of fessing up to their feelings toward each other, the drama of the past, and Poppy (I always love Poppy!).

LOVE IS BETTER THE SECOND TIME AROUND (Japan): I love mature QLs (mature as in adult characters that are complex, flawed, and feel real, and that deal with real-life problems). This is no exception. I also love stories with the possibility of getting a second chance (because everyone makes mistakes).

1000 YEARS OLD (Thailand): This one is way too cute for me (I have a hard time vibing with too much cuteness). You would think this is a series about vampires and aliens, but it’s actually about soup and umbrellas. The only reason I’m still watching this is because of said umbrellas. The umbrellas got me hooked! (Welcome to the real struggles of a visual artist.)

CLOSE FRIEND SEASON 3: SOJU BOMB! (Thailand): There are too few episodes for me to say something substantial about this one. The neon lights in the first episode got me good, though (and I’m a slut for neon lights). Also, I love drunken shenanigans (in fiction, btw) and it’s delivering on that front.

TWO WORLDS (Thailand): This is another series with too few episodes for me to say something substantial. I like the vibe so far, though. Also, I always have a sweet spot for artists so Khram has a special place in my heart.

DEEP NIGHT (Thailand): I love the club setting (again, neon lights are my thing) and the chemistry between the characters (especially between Seiji and Pan). There’s also the possibility of a poly relationship (which I and so many others are hoping for).

(I hope I don’t get as clowned about this poly relationship as I got clowned about Non showing up alive in DFF.) (Either way, I’m staying in this clown car because I need poly! Hope is said to be the last thing leaving a person...)

CITY OF STARS (Thailand): This is really sweet. The characters are sincere and have great communication skills. Fueang and Krom maturely solve every issue that shows up. It’s nice to see a great relationship like this for a change (even though I do love watching miscommunicating characters as well).

ANTI RESET (Taiwan): I’ve recently started watching this and easily got into it since I could binge several episodes. It has an interesting story (falling in love with a robot that seems very real and human). The chemistry between the main characters is great and the visuals are gorgeous (Yi Ping’s house is beautiful, even though the front door never seems to be properly closed, like, ever).

A SECRETLY LOVE (Thailand): Right now, the only reasons I’m watching this is because of Kimmon (the actor who plays Pluem), Kut (who plays Khonprot, since I haven’t moved on from his role as Din in Chains of Heart), the sapphic side-couple (even though it’s a fake relationship right now) with rhyming names (Soi and Froi), and the neon lights. Mostly because of the neon lights! (I’m such a slut for neon lights!)

UNKNOWN (Taiwan): When I say that I’m obsessed with this series, it’s because I am. These characters live in my mind rent-free 24/7. The chemistry, the palpable yearning, the dialogue, the emotions expressed through the acting when there is no dialogue, etc., etc., etc. It’s just soooo great.

(Unknown does cover a topic that’s generally seen as taboo (“adoptive” brothers falling in love), so, be aware of that. I don’t have any issues watching series with taboo topics because there’s very little stuff I get uncomfortable with when it comes to fiction. So, I’m in love with this series with my whole stone-cold heart.)

#what I'm currently watching #currently watching #to be continued the series #love is better the second time around #1000 years old #close friend season 3 soju bomb #two worlds #two worlds the series #deep night the series #city of stars #anti reset #a secretly love #unknown #unknown the series #thai ql #thai bl #japanese ql #japanese bl #taiwanese ql #taiwanese bl #my shit

[pastanest]

if you’re wondering why I’m having to repost this, or why you were perhaps previously following me but no longer are, please refer to this post. I was able to retrieve this thanks to @iamburdened - thanks so much!! ♡

Daryl Dixon x she/her!reader

spoilers: set in season 6

Safe

At this point, it was a tradition between the two of you. As a result of your obligations that kept you - much to Daryl’s relief - safe behind the walls of Alexandria, it was rare that you got to join him on runs. While he was away, you kept yourself busy with the jobs you had to do, you taught the children of the neighbourhood, so you spent most of the day with them. Any night without Daryl was difficult, you tossed and turned without him, worrying about where he was, if he was alright. You’d stare out of the window from your bed and feel the strangest sense of reassurance, like somehow you knew that wherever he was, Daryl was looking up at those same stars and telling you that he was alright.

To this day, he tries to sneak into bed without disturbing you if he thinks you are already asleep, regardless of him knowing that his attempts are futile. Because every single time, without fail, you roll over or your eyes open and you smile so brightly at him the moment you feel the bed dip.

Even if you had been asleep, you made it difficult to tell, because upon seeing him you were immediately wide awake. And this occasion was no different.

You hear him try his best to tiptoe up the stairs to your shared bedroom, and by the time he pushes the door open, you’re already grinning at him.

Daryl sighs, but he cant help smiling right back. “You should be sleepin’, pretty girl.”

Your smile only widens as you stand up from the bed and stroll over to him, taking ahold of his hands to squeeze them ever so gently, before you were carefully brushing his hair out of his eyes with your fingertips. Every time he comes home, you remind him that no matter how rough the world is with him, he can always trust that you will be gentle.

“You know that’s not how this works, Dixon. C’mon, let’s get you cleaned up!” You take ahold of his hands again and drag Daryl to the bathroom while he pretends to resist. Despite his general disliking towards showers, you had definitely changed his opinion when showers included you.

The scolding hot water streams down your bodies, and you stare up at Daryl in wonder as he tilts his head up and closes his eyes, rubbing his face with his hands to clean it before he glances back down at you and catches you staring at him.

“Im standin’ here naked and you’re ogglin’ over my damn face.” Daryl jokes, and you smile at him with rosy cheeks.

“Just because you’re naked doesnt mean your face is suddenly less mesmerising, but dont get me wrong, your dick is beautiful too.” You tease, and he chuckles as he shakes his head and lowers it to hide his bashful face in your neck, causing you to laugh and wrap your arms around him.

“Barely been back five minutes and you’re already drivin’ me crazy. Yer lucky yer cute, y’know that?” Daryl grumbles from his place in your neck, and you nod as you reach for the shampoo.

“Oh, trust me, I know. If I wasnt so cute you’d be substantially less whipped, right?” You say playfully, squeezing the shampoo into your hands behind Daryl’s back.

“Naw, every other aspect of ya would keep me whipped fer sure.”

You smile to yourself, feeling butterflies erupt in your stomach at his words. Your hands reach for Daryl’s wet hair, running through it carefully and massaging the suds into his scalp. He releases a sigh that is so completely relaxed, so comfortable and happy, your heart sings. The little kisses Daryl places at your neck as he wraps his arms around your waist almost make you tear up.

“Look up sweetheart, I dont want to get it in your eyes.” You coo, wanting to rinse the shampoo from his hair for him.

Daryl nods and lifts his head from your neck, tilting his head back so that you can rinse the suds from his hair. The fact that you even make the effort to avoid hurting him in the minimal sense of accidentally getting soap in his eyes, you never fail to remind Daryl just how much you adore him in everything you do.

The two of you head back to your bedroom with a towel each wrapped around your body, and another on each of your heads, wrapped in the way you taught Daryl to after his first shower at Alexandria. Your fingers are intertwined up until you reach the bedroom, and then you briefly part to get dressed. Daryl ends up in just a pair of boxer shorts, while you settle for one of his shirts. With Daryl lying on the bed waiting for you, you do a dramatic twirl in his shirt, knowing his eyes are glued to you. He smirks at you, and you smirk back at him, until you both burst out laughing and you crawl over to him on the bed.

“Never known someone to be so sexy and so cute at the same damn time, yer impossible.” Daryl tells you as he snuggles into you, you sitting up slightly on the bed with your arms around him as he rests his head on your chest. Towels have since been discarded, leaving you both with damp hair. You subconsciously start running your fingers through Daryl’s hair to ever so gently untangle it.

“You say that like you arent the human embodiment of those two qualities at all times.” You reply, and Daryl scoffs.

“Only you think that about me, though.”

You cant help laughing at that, having told him countless times that very few humans alive would be able to resist him. “Daryl, you realise Im a school teacher, right? The only people that ever see me to find me attractive, apart from you, are the kids in my classes. Speaking of, you might need to have another word with Elliot.” You bring up playfully.

Daryl shakes his head dramatically. “Did he give ya flowers again? I thought I told him t’ ease up!”

You sigh with dramatics in equilibrium to Daryl’s. “He said he’d treat me better than you, that he wouldnt leave me by myself and he’d bring me flowers everyday.”

Daryl scoffs, pretending to be angry. “Tha’s it, I aint never leavin’ again - cant! Not when some guy’s tryna steal my girl!”

You both laugh, knowing that the Elliot you are referring to is a very sweet 7 year old boy you teach who has quite the crush on you. Anytime he sees you with Daryl, the two of them have pretend fights or give each other ‘Im watching you’ gestures. It’s hilarious every single time.

As the night continues on, the two of you settle into another comfortable tradition, involving you reading Daryl something to help him get ready for sleep. He didnt want to admit it at first, but having you read to him as you hold him in your arms, putting on voices for different characters to make him laugh, it gave him an experience of peace that he had never had before, one that brought him an unreasonable amount of joy. Daryl was sure that as a kid, his mother probably did read to him at some point, but the memories from after her death somewhat overshadowed any good times he had, and he could no longer remember what came before. You gave him that experience in an entirely new way, not as his mother, but as someone who truly cared for him, who would protect him with your life, and love him in a way that even he couldnt deny.

Tonight, you are reading a chapter from The Hobbit, and although Daryl does absolutely adore your voice for Bilbo Baggins, he finds himself wrapping his hand around the spine of the book, closing it in your hands, leaving you confused.

“I love you, ya know that, dontcha?” He asks, his voice hoarse for a reason that he cant quite distinguish, because love isnt that simple.

You cup his face in your hands, smiling down at him adoringly. “Of course, and you know I love you too.”

Daryl’s eyes close as he relaxes into your touch, but he opens them to speak to you so that he can see your reaction to what he has to say. “I’ve never...had someone who makes me feel safe, like you do. Even Merle, he left, and when I foun’ him again he didnt min’ leavin’ me to go off fer girls or drugs. Thought that he made me feel safe, but ya made me realise...he didnt, not really. An’ it made me realise sum’ else, ‘cause I’ve never felt safe, I didnt know who I was when I was safe. You’ve shown me that side o’ me, (Y/N), an’ I can’ thank you enough. Words aint really my area, and I know even when I cant say sum’ you know exactly what’s in ma head, but I wan’ed you t’ hear me say all this.”

Tears are stinging your eyes as Daryl scans your face, his gaze locking onto your trembling bottom lip, then the streams that escape your eyes. He’s quick to hold your face, brushing your tears away with his thumbs.

“It is an honour to love you, Daryl, thank you for letting me love you.” You tell him, and Daryl pushes himself up to capture your lips with his.

The kiss is slow, it speaks words that are too strong to exist in any spoken language. Your fingers curl in Daryl’s hair, wanting to pull him impossibly closer, and he reciprocates by deepening the kiss, sighing against your lips.

By the time the two of you pull away from each other, you’re lying on your sides, facing each other with legs intertwined and swollen, dopey smiles. Daryl stands up to turn the bedroom light off, and you immediately pout at him for breaking away from you, which makes him laugh. The moment he’s back in bed, you’re snuggling back into each other, your head on his chest this time, the preferred sleeping position for the two of you.

“Goodnight angel, sweet dreams.” You whisper, and Daryl places a kiss on your forehead.

“Night sweet girl, I’ll see ya on the other side.” He whispers back, using the exact phrase he gives you every time he falls asleep with you. Daryl has told you that his dreams arent sweet unless you are in them, so whenever you wish him sweet dreams, he simply has to mention that he’ll see you there.

Daryl stares off to the side, looking out of the same window you stared out of whenever you missed him. The stars wink at him, and he smiles up at them, thanking them as he always did, for getting him back to you.

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon imagine #x reader #the walking dead #twd #imagine #imagines #fanfic #fanfiction #headcannon

[lady-bess]

Just A Date - Joel Miller (Post-Outbreak)

Part of the LadyBess Valentine's special! 8 Characters; 8 Dates 💜

Joel Miller x GN!Reader Mature/18+ (Minors DNI Please✨) WC: 2.6k Notable Tags: Post-Outbreak Joel, Life in Jackson, First Dates, First Kiss, First Date Nerves, Joel being a bit of a wreck, Cinema Date, References to Death, References to Tess, References to Sarah, References to Ellie, Slight Age Gap (Joel late 50s, reader mid 40s), Fluff in the snow (you'll see what I mean).

I ran a poll on my Twitter (@/this15theway) to decide which version of Joel I should write for, and post-outbreak Joel won! It was very close to being a 50/50 split though, so perhaps that tells me y’all also wouldn’t mind more pre-outbreak Joel. Watch this space…

Next up, Joel! Now, like Jack, I feel we need a bit of clarification here. Joel goes through some shit in his life, which undoubtably would change how he’d view valentine’s day. The man who lived before the outbreak is a far cry from who we see in the events of TLOU, twenty years after the world ended. As such, any traditions he used to have before the outbreak would likely be vastly different to life after.

So, how does Valentine's day look like for Mr. Miller in Jackson? Let's see, shall we?

Joel had never imagined he’d celebrate another valentines again. When the world ended, and Sarah died with it, for so long there wasn’t a single bright day in his life. The first five years of the outbreak went by in a bit of a blur, the rage and anger towards the world taking over and clouding his vision.

When the smoke eventually started to clear, dating was still not something Joel had thought about. He’d had the occasional hook-up here and there within the QZ, but nothing substantial. Not until Tess, anyway.

But with Tess dead, left behind as a sacrifice to get Joel on the road with Ellie, that loneliness had seeped back in. Travelling cross-country with a girl you consider your own kin, fighting off raiders and infected, hardly gave him much time to dwell on this state of being, though. It wasn’t until the two of them found safety in Jackson that Joel relaxed enough to think about it.

A year after settling into town, he met you. Jackson grew with each passing month, and slowly but surely the town was becoming the size of a small city. The commune still worked well though, but the expanse did make it so that it was no longer a small community where everyone knew everybody.

You’d arrived with a small group a couple of months ago, and had quickly settled in across town from Joel. Maria and Tommy had put you in charge of working in the stables, your experience with animals coming in handy in an area that relied so heavily on going out hunting on horseback and handling livestock. It was one afternoon where Joel was to accompany Tommy on patrol outside the gate, and in need of a horse, that he met you.

He’d been enamoured with you immediately, and almost to the point where it surprised him just how quickly you had seeped into his mind. The way you smiled, your laugh, and how gentle your demeanour was. Joel had plenty of experience with horses by now, having used one to travel most the way to Jackson from Boston, so he knew the kind of approach one had to have with animals. The fact it came naturally to you set off butterflies in his stomach for the first time in years.

Tommy had, of course, teased his older brother about this crush relentlessly. But deep down, he was happy to see Joel starting to open up. His brother had never been one to be overly emotional, but since the two of them reunited last year, he could tell there had been a huge shift in Joel. No longer did he show much emotion, preferring to just remain a hard outer shell that nobody seemed to be able to penetrate. Nobody except you, that was.

“Why not ask them out?” Tommy asked, “They’re single!”.

“Oh, and do what? It’s the end of the world, Tommy. People don’t…date. Do they?” he’d asked, drawing laughter from his younger brother.

“Joel, how the hell do you think Maria and I got it on?” he said, laughing to himself as the two brothers rode around the perimeter of Jackson. “You gotta drop this whole ‘end of the world’ narrative, Joel. Sure, life ain’t what it was, but you’ve been here a year now. Surely you can see that there can be some kind of normality?”.

He had a point. Jackson had established schools, libraries, shops, and salons, as well as the more “practical” industries like farming and rearing livestock. The town had set itself apart from most post-outbreak settlements in that it did actually function like a proper city. Communism or not, it certainly worked well.

“Alright, you might have a point,” Joel admitted.

“I know I do, brother. Come on, just ask them! I’m fairly sure they’re as smitten with you as you are with them,” Tommy teased, and Joel’s face lit up.

“Really?” he asked, and Tommy nodded.

“So the word on the street says. ‘The word’ being that of Maria, so I’d say that’s pretty trustworthy,” he chuckled. “Promise you’ll ask them when we get back?”.

Joel sighed, but the more he thought about it the giddier he got. It was a feeling he was most unfamiliar with, but the fact he did feel it again was surely something he could take as being a promising sign. He always looked forward to your conversations, and each time he went he yearned for a reason to make them last longer.

“Alright, I promise,” he said. “But you gotta help me out. I haven’t dated in…fuck,” he laughed, “Twenty-five years!”.

The two brothers laughed with one another as they completed the last of their patrol, still chuckling as the gates opened for them both on their return.

“Brother, I think you need all the help you can get then! I tell you what, suggest this. The 14th is in two days – there were plans to show a film in the town hall that evening. Nothing too out there, and keeping it family friendly, but it would be a good ice breaker date?” he suggested.

Joel nodded as the two men headed towards the stables, trying his best to ignore the thudding feeling in his chest where his heart was almost trying to escape from nervousness. Any kind of date felt like a terrifying concept at the moment, but Tommy was right. It would be perfect.

“Alright, you got a deal,” he’d said, and the two of them dismounted the horses as they headed to the stables. Sucking in some air, Joel had prepared exactly what to say to you. Now he just had to do it…

Much to his surprise (and delight), you’d agreed to the date. But really, how could you have said no? You’d been carrying round your crush on the older of the Miller brother’s for a few weeks, but never had the chance to actually speak with him enough to broach the idea of a date. The day Tommy brought him over to the stable felt like all your Christmas’ came at once, and Joel was everything you hoped he would be. Quiet, and definitely reserved; but it was clear that under the hardened shell he built around himself was a kind, sweet man. You just hoped you’d see more of him.

Saying yes to this date was the easiest decision in the world. Now, on the night in question, you’d patiently waited outside the town hall for Joel to arrive. He’d been a little late, but with only so many films to continually have on show here in Jackson, it’s not like you were missing much.

You smiled wide as Joel headed over towards you, a slight skip in his step. He was bundled up in his signature thick brown jacket, the fastenings pulled across his broad chest to fight off the cold snap that had descended around Jackson lately. Snow lay on the ground, littering the streets and coating the tops of houses, and if you had to guess by the appearance of the clouds above there would surely be another downpour of it tonight.

“Hey,” Joel said, greeting you with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye that mirrored your own. It warmed you deep inside to see a man usually so stoic and closed off actually appear happy – and it was made even more sweet by the fact that it was because of you he felt such a way.

“Hi,” you said, “You made it!”.

Joel chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about bein’ a little late. Ellie needed my help with something before I headed out, and, well- I just can’t say no to that kid,” Joel said.

You chuckled, instinctively moving a little closer to Joel to link your arm around his. You’d seen how he was with Ellie, and had heard the stories of Joel with Sarah before the outbreak. Even though you never knew Sarah, and only really observed him acting parental towards Ellie from afar, it made you happy to see Joel settle into that role of being a parent again. The end of the world had taken so much from so many people – you found you didn’t have to know people intimately to still find comfort in others having some sense of normalcy back. You wished everyone had that chance.

“It’s alright, the film has only just started. Shall we?” you said, and Joel nodded. He reached over and covered your hand that sat on his arm with his, his woollen glove warming your bare fingers. Smiling back, you turned towards the door to the town hall and wandered inside.

The film was only about ten minutes in by the time you entered and sat down. The hall had filled up nicely for the evening, as it usually did on film nights. All the children who lived in Jackson sat up front, intently glued to the screen, and you chuckled to yourself as you remember being exactly the same way back when as a kid. Your parents always fussed about you getting ‘square eyes’ on account of sitting too close to the VCR TV in the lounge, which was always a strange concept to explain to the kids of Jackson. You often wondered what your parents would be most worried about in this modern world now. Often you were glad they didn’t live long enough to even experience the outbreak.

You and Joel snuck in towards the back where there were a few free seats. It was still a little chilly in the hall, in spite of how many people were present, so you opted to keep your coats on for the time being. You’d released your hold on Joel’s arm once you sat down, but the two of you kept your distance close to one another. The little taps of his knee against yours sent little butterflies through you and suddenly you felt like a teenager all over again, sneaking out at night to go watch a film with a guy your mother definitely didn’t approve of.

Throughout the whole time the two of you sat with one another you couldn’t fight the giddiness that surged through you – for so long you’d been alone, just as Joel had. Sure, you’d been surrounded by folk for years; there was always safety in numbers. But having someone to call your own, your partner, your lover…that was still an alien concept. Even if tonight came to nothing, it was nice that you’d taken a step towards living again.

About half an hour through, Joel began to get restless. He was enjoying himself, yes, but he had a newfound urge to sit and get to know you. Not something which could be so easily done during a film, where silence was required. It was a desire he hadn’t had with anyone for so long that he didn’t want to risk chickening out of this, so he opted to take advantage of this.

“Do you wanna go for a walk?” he asked lowly, whispering into your ear. You smiled up at him, nodding. You felt a warmth in the palm of your hand as Joel’s fingers softly interlocked with yours, tightening their grip slightly, and then leading you out the door of the hall.

Once outside, you felt a wave of relief wash over you. As much as you loved the film nights put on in the hall, a huge part of you wanted nothing more than to spend time with just Joel, and to get to know him. As you walked away from the hall, and the first few flakes of snow began to fall across the town, the two of you did just that.

He didn’t think he’d ever asked, or been asked, so many questions in his entire life. But he wasn’t complaining for a second – he hung on every word you said, learning everything there was to about you and your life; where you were born, what you did before the outbreak, and how you came to be here. He found he was also just as receptive to telling you anything you wanted to know, and was spilling his guts about everything as the two of you walked round the town, still hand in hand.

“I was really nervous about asking you out, you know,” Joel eventually admitted. “But you’ve been an absolute treat tonight, darlin’.”

“Nervous? How come?” you asked.

“Well, truth be told, my last proper date was several years before the outbreak began,” he chuckled, “So I’m a bit rusty now, more than two decades later,” he said. You shrugged.

“You don’t seem it, if that’s any consolation. Must just ooze charm naturally,” you teased, squeezing his hand softly. Joel chuckled at your joke, smiling wide.

“Yeah, I ain’t sure about that at all,” he said.

“Well, how about we test it?” you asked, boldly.

“Test it? How?” he said, his brow furrowed.

“Kiss me, Joel,” you said, stopping in your tracks. Joel’s eyes widened, but quickly he softened his expression and smiled at you. Turning to face you, he slipped his other hand to settle on your waist, and kept you close to him.

“Sure?” he asked. You nodded in response, wetting your lips slightly with your tongue as you waited for him to make a move. “Alright,” he drawled, chuckling under his breath, as he leant down.

His lips caught yours and he planted the softest kiss on them you’d ever experienced – not in a way that you didn’t know it was even happening, but rather it was so tender that you could be mistaken for thinking the two of you had already been lovers in a past life. It was like he already knew exactly how to kiss you, his lip gently sucking yours just before he parted from you, your heads still resting together.

“See? Not rusty at all,” you chuckled, a blush spread out on your cheeks, a warmth rushing through you.

“Hey, I never said my kissing was rusty, just my ability to go on a proper date with someone I like,” he said, blushing slightly with you, brushing his nose against yours.

“So you like me then?” you teased.

“Yeah, I do. And I know I ain’t all that much, darlin’. This evening hasn’t been much and, Hell, I’m nearing sixty,” he laughed, “But I really do like you. Been a long time since I felt this way about anyone, too. I’m really hoping we could…we could date,” he said. You nodded, smiling wide up at him.

“I’d like that, Joel. And your age doesn’t bother me, by the way. I’m hardly a spring chicken either,” you chuckled. “My spine enjoys reminding me that I’m in my mid-forties!”.

“Let’s fall apart together, then, at the end of the world,” Joel joked, smiling so wide his eyes creased when he laughed. You smiled at him, joining in with a giggle.

“That sounds like a plan to me”.

For more from this series, check out the Just A Date Masterlist! For more works from me, here's my main Masterlist! ❤

LadyBess xox

#pedro pascal #fanfiction #joel miller #fanfic #tlou #tlou2 #life in jackson #jackson #post outbreak joel #valentines day #valentines fic #fluff #sfw #reader insert #gender neutral reader #jackson tlou

[jorvikpov]

Time is standing still.

You aren’t sure whether your eyes are open or closed. You do not know why the grass seems to have moved to beneath the palms of your hands. You cannot tell what time of day it is. All you know is the presence of your horse anchoring you to the earth, the bone-chilling horror of having almost lost control of yourself, and the hope that you succeeded.

In the hours leading up to the ritual at the Sunset Islands, you were repeatedly warned that it could bring you to your very limit. You were under no circumstances to keep going if you began to feel like the magic was too much for you to bear, consequences be damned. You do not say it—you never do—but had you ever heeded this advice, you would have stopped using magic long ago. You are a dam of flesh and blood between your powers and the world, and whenever you tap into them for more than a moment, you feel like that dam is about to burst. You know that this is not what the Druids warn you about. The strain they speak of is not from holding together the dam, but from trying desperately to push every last bit of one’s magic through its few small cracks. You doubt that you could ever drain yourself in that way—the powers that course through your blood feel endless, as though it’s not a lake behind the dam, but an ancient, neverending river—and truth be told, the dam feels closer to fragile than to unbreakable. You do not want to know what would happen if you were to let it burst. You aren’t sure you would live to know the answer.

All things considered, perhaps the Druids’ warnings are not unreasonable. Still, you cannot live by them. You would be next to nothing if you did.

They have changed the way they talk about you, as of late. Between every word of every sentence spoken on the long ride from Valedale to southern Epona they hid secrets and cryptic messages clearly not meant for you. You understood them anyway, of course, and between the brief conversations you and the Moon Rider shared the occasional, silent look, almost as if to confirm that you had both heard and understood the same things.

You cannot live by the Druids’ constant warnings, because you would be next to nothing if you did, and you are not meant to be nothing. You are meant to be what she who you should not know of never became. You are meant to be the fifth to lead the way, as she could not. You are meant to stay true to your task, as she failed to. You cannot live by the Druids’ warnings, because you must succeed at any cost, and yet so much of what they lay on you rings false these days. It is no easy task to believe in their emphasis on you as one of a kind when the feeling that you are little more than a replacement of the girl who should’ve completed your mission two decades ago lies heavy on your shoulders through every second of every day.

In the end, you hardly experienced the ritual, as tends to be the case in situations where magic is involved. Every second of the process was spent desperately trying to control yourself, and when it is over, you spend minutes that feel like hours leaned against your horse, head still spinning from the forces that made your body their home only minutes ago.

You are beginning to think that something deep within you substantially sets you apart from the other four.

You are beginning to think that Catherine was wrong.

You are beginning to think that your fate is not an offer you can decline.

I am sorry, your horse whispers to you, and softly nudges your shoulder. It helps, if only a little bit.

You come back to the world when you realise that somebody is talking to you. The realisation that the sentences are filled with anger hits you before the words making them up do, and it almost makes you retreat into your head again. You force yourself to stay and take in the moment.

It boils down to this: you succeeded in bringing Fripp back, and now he is angry.

He is angry that you have involved a witch in the Druids’ business. He is angry that the Sun Rider is missing. He is angry that the Lightning Rider has gone after her. (You could have sworn that she was here mere minutes ago. Did she slip away during the ritual? Right after?) He is angry that you did not go after her together, and much, much earlier. You should have done so while there was still time and hope to stop her foolish decision. You should have realised what she was considering the second she asked where the foal had come from. For the short time before Linda intervenes, it is as if none of you have done so much as one thing right while you were left to your own devices.

By then, you are just aware enough of the world around you to share a cautious look with Linda, and it confirms what you already knew: you must keep finding your own answers. None will be given to you.

You lock away what little hope you had of perhaps, once Fripp came back, finally having somebody to ask about why the dam feels like it is about to burst, and then you throw away the key.

It will be fine. It has to be. You have made it this far on your own, after all. Going just a little further will not be the end of you.

#sso #star stable #star stable online #ssoblr #jorvikpov #ssofic #sso fic #sso fanfic #this is a whole new kind of longest jorvikpov #it's the longest by probably like. 200 words #I promise they won't all be this long I just had SO MUCH to fit into this one #and beta reader Manda said it was ok so I'm sure it's ok <3

[hsvh-hp]

Hi! Thanks for all the responses -- I hadn't realized how many chapters I'd gotten through since your last round until I saw the emails lmao

I was wondering, in regards to this:

And omg, I totally feel you on being a trans person in the HP fandom. It's very weird how my tumblr dash is set up. I have mutuals still from old fandoms who are queer, and I feel so ostracized from them at times when they toe the line of 'anybody in the HP fandom supports JKR, you're a bad person if you're still engaging with it'. I'll spare you the essay on why I disagree with that, but oddly the safest place I feel on the internet as a trans person is in the HP fandom. Which is weird at face value, I suppose, given what JKR is doing, but we really are separate from her. I've yet to see substantial evidence that fandom, which is infamous for generating zero revenue, is floating trans peoples' demise. It's just a thought crime, I guess.

if you would, perhaps, not spare me the essay? lol

I feel the same sort of ostracization which is especially frustrating when I am in such "thought crimes are fake!" circles, and I'm interested in your perspective, if you want to give it!

Sure, I’ll offer my perspective on it! This is probably best broken down into bullet points:

1. JKR was already a billionaire before she came out as a TERF.

There is nothing in the world that will change this status. Even if every single person currently engaging with her various IPs immediately dropped them, JKR would still have a billion plus dollars to drop on anti-trans movements and whatever. A billion dollars is immensely difficult to picture. The easiest way is to think like this: if you make $50,000 a year, the equivalent of her dropping $75,000 the other day is you spending $3.75. How often do you spend 0.0075% of your income and give it any thought? JKR’s wealth is not directly tied to ‘levels of fandom engagement’.

Which leads to…

2. Boycotts don’t work.

Sorry. They don’t. Not against someone this politically powerful. If they did, the flood of people out of the HP fandom in 2020 would have had a measurable effect. What did have a measurable effect? People not going to watch the Fantastic Beast movies (because they were hot trash lmao). Not giving JKR any more money works in the sense that it cripples her future projects, but it has zero effect on what’s already in her purse.

Also, think of boycotts this way: wasn’t it hilarious watching conservatives try to boycott the Barbie movie, Nike, Bud Light, and whatever else they’ve systematically locked on to? But so then why do progressives/the left/whoever think it’s going to work the other way? Like with Hogwarts Legacy? Just don’t interact with the media, dude. And if you do, pirate it.

3. Fandom is not mainstream. I have never seen any data to substantiate that participating in a fandom directly correlates to dollars for the IP. Copyright literally prevents that from happening. To bring up to popular saying, “there is no ethical consumption under capitalism”, fandom exists outside of capitalism—for me, at least, as a fan fiction writer. This is a hobby to me. I have never seen a red cent for any of the hours of work I’ve put into my fics.

And I can probably guarantee that no one has stumbled upon Harry Potter through me, lol. They didn’t read one of my fics and go, ‘you know, I should check out what source material this is coming from’. Harry Potter is so well-known that there’s no way they came in blind.

Also, the TERF discourse is very much an online thing. I work retail irl and I’ve had conversations with customers who’ll say “you know, I really don’t get all this hubbub against trans people” but are too boomer to be anything more than tangentially aware that Harry Potter is a Thing. Like, ‘oh yeah, my kids read those books when they were coming out, but I never bothered’. One of my employees bought a set of the HP books because they were on a wicked deal at Costco, and when we were discussing it I told her that while I still enjoyed HP, I wasn’t comfortable giving JKR more money because she’s extremely transphobic and donates a lot of money to anti-trans causes. My employee was horrified and said that had she known that, she wouldn’t have bought the books. Lots of people just don’t know!

Which takes me to…

4. This type of online activism isn’t effective.

I’m talking specifically about being anti-Harry Potter or anti-JKR. Falling into those two categories does not automatically make you pro-trans. This was pretty blatantly obvious back when the books were being burned for promoting witchcraft. As far as fighting for trans peoples’ rights, screaming until you’re blue in the face about how anybody who engages with Harry Potter is a traitor and JKR BAD is wasting time better spent doing something productive - something that could actually benefit trans people rather than…I don’t know…virtue signalling that their blog or twitter account is a safe space?

5. I personally do not feel welcomed or vouched for by these people.

Listen, I’m going to break myself down into all my stupid little categories. I’m trans. Autistic. Intersex. Aromantic. Asexual. Basically, all the things that people love to try and cast out of the queer community, whether that means they’re trying to split LGBTQIA+ at the T or Q.

The anti-Harry Potter stuff, as far as attacking the fandom, feels like the latest strain of purity politics to me. As I’ve laid out above, abandoning HP will not right the wrongs of JKR in any measurable or tangible way. Boycotts don’t work. Fandom does not feed JKR’s coffers, and destroying the fandom will not cripple her. There are trans people inside the HP fandom, and what of us? Are we traitors? Are we not ‘really’ trans, because obviously we don’t care about the current political climate? Are we just confused and need to be enlightened as to what harm we’re doing? Where have I heard this rhetoric before?

One small thing, tangentially related:

6. I don’t care what JKR says about how engaging with Harry Potter tells her about who her ‘supporters’ are.

Seriously? She’s a lying dirtbag, and I’m just supposed to take her word on this? This is the one thing she just so happens to be right about?

When she started spouting TERF shit, I was really saddened by the writers who, upon leaving the fandom, also deleted their works in protest. Seeing as the majority of the HP fandom is queer, I’m sure that JKR was very pleased with the amount of queer media erasure that occurred. Why did we do that for her?

7. I believe JKR actually seethes and malds over the prospect of her fandom being queer and producing queer content.

As a writer, there’s a special kind of pain that comes from someone not quite interpreting your work the way you would have wanted them to. What do you think JKR’s first reaction was when she first learned about the Harry/Draco ship? The Draco/Hermione ship? If she didn’t live in a stone castle, I bet she would’ve punched a hole in the wall.

So, yeah. Transing and gaying all of her characters is a pretty nice way to get to her in a way that she can’t legally or financially retaliate. Every time she screams ‘WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?!’ at the queer people in her fandom, a trans person’s crops are watered.

8. The HP setting is very welcoming to trans people.

Potions exist that can change your body. Enough said.

That the Harry Potter books never really says anything specifically about trans people (NOTE: obviously JKR’s prejudices even back then showed through, but this isn’t about that) leaves the question on the table. Obviously trans people exist in the Harry Potter setting, because they exist everywhere. So, how did they never get any page time?

Well, who says they didn’t? In a setting where potions exist to change your body, trans people are just…people. I don’t even think that they would have a marginalized identity because gender dysphoria would be something very easily treated. Think of it like someone who takes medication for blood pressure. They need the medication, it’s life-saving, and while there isn’t a magical pill to ‘cure’ high blood pressure, it can be managed. The magical world revels in being strange. Why would being trans, while being considered strange here in the ‘Muggle’ world, be anything other than normal there? Why can’t it be?

And then there are Metamorphmagi. People who can literally change themselves at will! If that isn’t a trans person’s dream, I don’t know what is. I would personally love the option of being the biggest, hairiest dude with a dick so big an erection would make me black out, and then ultra femme and delicate the next.

Last on this point, Harry never notes anyone specifically trans in the text (NOTE: touching on things like the physical descriptions of Rita Skeeter and Marge Dursley, JKR tends to do the ugly=bad person thing. Although she describes Rita and Marge as mannish in appearance, they aren’t trans characters. They’re women that JKR wants to frame as bad people. Like I said above, this is JKR’s prejudice showing through). If Harry never notes anyone as specifically trans, that probably means that it’s impossible to tell at face value. The same as blood pressure medication, to return to that analogy. How do you know someone is on them? They tell you. You see the pill bottle and happen to know what that medication is for. They complain about side effects. They complain about the symptoms that led them going to the doctor in the first place.

9. Queer HP fandom content can potentially be how a Harry Potter fan realizes that they’re queer (or that queer people are just regular folks).

Hey, the first one happened to me!

If someone comes into the Harry Potter fandom unaware of JKR’s politics - maybe they were gifted the books for their birthday or happened to catch the movies on TV - it’s good actually that this person doesn’t fall right into an echo chamber of JKR’s politics. I’ll be happily here to correct her record in a way that isn’t shaming or policing them.

Anyway, I think that’s everything lol. To summarize:

- The HP Fandom is a neutral setting. Engaging with it doesn’t help JKR, and not engaging with it doesn’t help trans people. Just don’t spend money on official HP merch.

- If you want to be a pro-trans activist or trans political ally, please just ignore JKR and put all your focus on the real world.

- There are trans people in the HP fandom who are left feeling awkward and uncomfortable due to virtue signalling.

- Generating queer HP content is good, actually.

#harry potter #drarry #dramione #just because i mentioned them