#and enjoy dramatic stories of their adventures. maybe have some of her own

[seaglassdinosaur]

I know we collectively agree that Hiccup isn’t romantically inclined, and his getting married and having kids didn’t make sense in the epilogue, but consider: Hiccup getting married for political reasons.

It’s a marriage of alliance, which is recognized both by him and his partner, and they enter it without expectations of romantic involvement. Since they’re now married, they live in the same castle, spend time together, and Hiccup finds he really likes his spouse. They’re funny, get along with his friends, and has the same interests and values. They both probably speak multiple languages. She understands why Hiccup is so dedicated to making the Wilderwest better, and holds similar views. She’s a good politician (her job after all, was to be an ambassador). Hiccup likes spending time with them, and the feeling is mutual. They’re not in love, they have their own lives, but they’re dedicated to each other and eventually decide to raise children. They teach their kids how to train hawks and hunt with dragons, riding, history, the Languages, and all the necessary skills of their world. They’re not in love and they’re happy together.

#pushing the aromantic hiccup agenda and also the queerplatonic agenda #as much as the idea of hiccup getting married was always a little off to me it was more the romantic angle #which I why I like the idea of a marriage of alliance and a partner who understands that #and then of course the montage of them being a good team and getting along #and going ‘yeah I like this person. I think this is the person I want to spend my life with.’ #also a) a lot of arranged political marriages did have the foreign spouse function as an ambassador #b) polyglot hiccup is canon and I think it would be neat if his spouse was as well. it is a marriage alliance after all. #she isn’t from the small area of berm #(actually give all the Vikings regional accents. I think it’s neat) #c) she/they because I didn’t feel firmly about the partner’s gender and the nords were pretty gender diverse #anyway I think the partner would probably be fond of the library and admire hiccup got it open way back when #get along with Fishlegs and camicazi well enough #and enjoy dramatic stories of their adventures. maybe have some of her own #also: normalize people having their own lives outside their partners. hiccup and they are happy together but also have their own friends #oh and you know hiccup would be a great dad. he loves Stoick but he would so much be the dad he wished he had growing up #are the kids bio related? are they adopted (cast off and No Names)? who knows! #I could build in my head what hiccup’s spouse is like but I’ll leave it here #they exist as we construct them #httyd #httyd books #my post #book!hiccup #hiccup the third #hiccup horrendous haddock iii #book hiccup

[arataka-reigen]

Winter Anime Review by Yours Truly 🍄🌻

This season I said I would not watch anything besides dunmeshi. As we can all see... that was a fucking lie.

In total I've started 10 anime (can everyone praise me and be proud of me for being a bit more tame than I was in the fall season? At least it wasn't 20 anime this time).

My reviews are something I make just for fun, and they 100% reflect my own personal tastes. I might give a highscore to shows other people would call absolute trash, and that's okay! To each their own~~ That being said, I do try to make it very informative to aid you in choosing what you might want to check out by adding a summary and a few content warnings along with the actual review.

A little preview: this season has some great romance anime with couples that actually do make progress in their relationship, which is kind of rare for anime couples, always on their "will they wont they" thing, so if anything, i would recommend picking up one of the romances this time around. (And dunmeshi. Watch dunmeshi.)

***This review will include exclusively animes that debuted this winter, so no 2nd seasons or continuing shows from the fall season.

So, without further ado, let's get into it under the read more.

Dungeon Meshi

Summary: Seinen, Fantasy, Gourmet, Comedy

A party of adventurers gets stuck fighting a Dragon even though they are starving and in no shape to survive. In a last ditch effort to make it out alive, mage Falin sacrifices herself to save her brother Laios and their party. She sends them back to the surface but gets eaten by the Dragon. Now Laios and co are in a race against time to save Falin before she gets digested. The problem? They don't have any money for food. The solution? DUNGEON MESHI!!! AH, DUNGEON MESHI!! DUNGEON FOOD!! JUST EAT THE GODDAMN MONSTERS 😋

Rating: 10/10

Review: if you've been following me for 2 seconds or less you already know dunmeshi is one of my all time favorite mangas. And the anime absolutely delivers. The animation is great, the voice acting is great both subbed or dubbed (the english dub AND the portuguese dub are worth it). The comedic bits hit so hard, and we're just at the start but you can already see bits and pieces of a larger and more dramatic story unfolding.

World building is insane. Character design is insane (everyone say thank you Ryoko Kui our goddess).

Not only is the story incredibly well written with no plot holes, the characters are also well fleshed out and three dimensional.

I could sing praises for it for hours, but then it would leave no space for the other shows on this list so I'll stop now.

But if you only have time to watch one anime this season, this one is it.

Content Warning: blood, death, necromancy crimes 🧟‍♀️

7th Timeloop: the Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy

Summary: Reincarnation, Fantasy, Romance

Rishe is not new to the reincarnation business. This is her 7th time around. After being accused of crimes she didn't commit and having her engagement to the crown prince broken off in her 1st life she went on to discover that life is full of possibilities and adventures. But, after 5 years, she died. Only to find herself back at the moment the crown prince broke off their engagement. With each life she explores new countries and new possibilities, but in every life, after 5 years, she is caught up in the war waged by emperor Arnold Hein, and is killed. In her 6th life she dies directly by Arnold's blade and in a turn of fate she runs into him in her 7th life, catching his attention, and maybe his heart? Can she prevent her death this time around and finally live a peaceful life?

Rating: 10/10

Review: ah, we all knew the otome reincarnation was coming. This shit is my life source. That being said, even if it wasn't, I would still probably really love 7th Time Loop. It's just that good.

Rishe is a great main character, in all her past lives she was on The Grind. From being a merchant, to a doctor, to a maid, to a royal guard. And now she tells herself she just wants to chill, but this girl simply cannot chill. She is playing mind games with Arnold, trying to figure out what he is planning and how to stop the war from breaking out.

Meanwhile, Arnold is head over heels in love and probably so so full of trauma we still don't know yet. We must protect this dude. I'm very excited to find out more and more about him and what exactly led him to start a war against the world.

The animation is gorgeous, I love the way the eyes are drawn like constellations.

The romance is great and developing at a very nice pace, Arnold is very respectful of Rishe's boundaries for their marriage and overall just a really great guy.

CW: blood, death, kidnapping.

Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!

Summary: Boys Love, Adult Cast, Workplace, Supernatural, Comedy

Office worker Kiyoshi Adachi has gone 30 years of life without ever having his cherry popped. Due to this profound accomplishment, he gains the ability to read minds through physical contact. However, this new skill has only made his life harder and he now hates crowded spaces.

On the way to work, Adachi runs into his colleague Kurosawa, curious about what an outgoing guy like him thinks about, Adachi touches him and finds out that Kurosawa has a crush on someone from their office, looking further he realizes Kurosawa is actually crushing on him.

Rating: 10/10

Review: first of all, if you say "romance + adult cast" you already have my full attention. Add mind reading to the mix to make sure that the main character doesn't have miscommunication problems and i'm at the fucking table eating it up.

This show is incredibly funny, Kurosawa's thoughts about Adachi are always so sweet and/or horny and obsessed, but he is still just a super great guy with great morals and he would never do anything Adachi doesn't want (much to Adachi's surprise because he thought the dude was going to jump him anytime with how badly in love his thoughts are).

Adachi is straight until proven otherwise, and Kurosawa proves otherwise really fast. The pace of their romance is really great, we dont get ten thousand episodes of "will they wont they" and I really appreciate that.

CW: none that i can think of atm. Let me know if you have anything i could add here.

Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord

Summary: Otome Isekai, Fantasy, School

Yumiella Dolkness is a girl with dark hair and dark magic (characteristics associated with the Demon Lord) and for that she is feared.

When Yumiella was 5 years old she regained memories of her past life in modern Japan, and the game she used to play: Light Magic and the Hero. In it, Yumiella was the secret boss you had to defeat after the Demon Lord. Determined to avoid this fate she applies gamer logic to her life and begins adventuring in dungeons to max her power levels.

Now, 15 year old Yumiella is going to school, where she will meet the true hero of the game. She wants to avoid calling attention and just go through her school years without trouble. But when their power levels are measured in the first day of school, she is measured as a level 99 dark magic user and now even the king and queen have their eyes on her.

Rating: 10/10

Review: you gotta trust me on this one and get through the first ten minutes, I promise it gets so much better after Yumiella is really introduced. They just had to spend a few minutes doing a gag introduction, where you follow the game's hero before you find our beloved villainess. And it was very cool how the opening resemble a dating sim game opening.

Yumiella is great, one of my favorite female leads this season, and that is including frieren and maomao from the fall season animes that are still airing. She is not very aware of all the social cues and has trouble communicating and making friends, but we get to see her inner thoughts and they're always hilarious.

My favorite gag is that dark magic can be used for healing, but the healing process looks fucking grotesque so people would rather not be healed by Yumiella. For some reason that always gets me.

I really fucking hate the 4 hero characters, they're super annoying, but in a "i love to hate them" way, and I love seeing yumiella wipe the floor with their asses without even trying because she is just that overpowered. Most of the anime is just her trying to use just a tiny bit of her power because if she uses her full power people would just straight up die with a simple punch.

CW: blood

Yubisaki to Renren

Summary: ✨️Shoujo✨️, Adult Cast, Romance

(Summary stolen from myanimelist, sorry) Yuki Itose is a hearing-impaired university student whose world has been shrouded with silence since birth. She has lived in the same place her whole life, and rarely interacts with others save for her best friend, Rin Fujishiro. During her commute one day, she meets the silver-haired and multilingual Itsuomi Nagi, a mutual friend of Rin. Unlike most, Itsuomi is unwavering when he learns of Yuki's impairment; this, along with his experiences abroad, fascinates and touches her. After they part, her fondness of him starts to grow. A new world begins to open for both Yuki and Itsuomi as they learn about each other's different lives.

Rating: 10/10

Review: and here we have The Shoujo Of The Season. And it occupies that spot marvelously.

Yuki and Itsuomi are another one of the incredible couples of the winter season. Relationship developing at a very nice pace that isn't too fast and not too slow (like shoujo can be sometimes). Yuki is very inspired by Itsuomi, she wants to see the world and experience new things now that she got a glimpse into his life and realized how big the world is.

I specially love how cool, calm and collected Itsuomi always acts, but how his cousin, Kyouya, lets us know that Itsuomi is really interested in Yuki and just shows it in different ways, like the way his voice gets very affectionate towards her.

The animation!!!!! Wow!!!! So soft!!! So warm!!!! I love it!!!! I'm sure you'll love it too!!!

Sound design is also very good, it's specially interesting during scenes where we cant hear anything because we are on Yuki's point of view. I wish it happened even more often.

I've seen people compare this show with Koe no Katachi but they're very different shows, specially since we get to see most of this one through Yuki's point of view, while Koe no Katachi was not from the POV of the hearing-impaired character and dealt a lot more with issues like bullying and suicide. Yubisaki to Renren is a lot more light-hearted, soft, sweet and overall just a feel good anime.

I am always going to recommend shoujo. Specially when they're as good as this one is. So definitely check this one out.

CW: none that I can think of. Let me know if there is anything I should put here.

The Foolish Angel Dances with the Devil

Summary: Seinen, Romance, Comedy, Supernatural

The angels and the devils are waging a war. Things are not looking so good on the devils' side, so they send Akutsu Masatora on a journey to the human world, to find someone that can aid the demons on their fight.

Akutsu is assigned a seat next to Lily Amane, the cutest girl in class. But when he tries to recruit her to the devil's side he realizes she is not a normal human. Now he must deal with the fact that he is tied to his mortal enemy, an angel, and with the fact that he might be falling in love.

Rating: 10/10

Review: More like,, the foolish devil gets played by the angel.

Akutsu and Lily get into stupid mind games trying to make the other fall in love, all while realizing that "hey, angels/devils arent so bad after all" as they spend more and more time together.

It reminds me just a bit of Kaguya-sama how the main couple wants the other to cave first.

This show is simply hilarious, I was laughing out loud at so many stupid scenes. Some gags do get old a bit fast, but overall it's still going strong and makes up for where it falls short with how badly in love these two already are just a few episodes in.

I'm not sure we'll get a proper confession this season, but it doesnt look like these two will be stuck forever in the "will they wont they" stage like the couple from kaguya-sama.

CW: there is a scene by the end of episode one that is completely played as a joke that has one of the lead characters putting a collar on the other lead and the imagery was a bit disturbing, definitely leaning on non con bdsm themes, it isnt terrible, just felt a bit distasteful to me, but nothing big, i dont think it should deter you from watching this, but watch out for that.

Solo Leveling

Summary: Action, Fantasy

(Synopsis stolen from myanimelist again) Ten years ago, "the Gate" appeared and connected the real world with the realm of magic and monsters. To combat these vile beasts, ordinary people received superhuman powers and became known as "Hunters." Twenty-year-old Sung Jin-Woo is one such Hunter, but he is known as the "World's Weakest," owing to his pathetic power compared to even a measly E-Rank. Still, he hunts monsters tirelessly in low-rank Gates to pay for his mother's medical bills.

However, this miserable lifestyle changes when Jin-Woo—believing himself to be the only one left to die in a mission gone terribly wrong—awakens in a hospital three days later to find a mysterious screen floating in front of him. This "Quest Log" demands that Jin-Woo completes an unrealistic and intense training program, or face an appropriate penalty. Initially reluctant to comply because of the quest's rigor, Jin-Woo soon finds that it may just transform him into one of the world's most fearsome Hunters.

Rating: 8/10

Review: everyday that passes I find myself liking battle shounen less and less. This one is not bad, it is actually quite interesting, it's just not the type of stuff i'm into anymore, I guess.

That being said, if you're in the mood for it, this one if very interesting. Jin woo's life is now completely ruled by this game that allows him to level up, and he is getting a bit fucked in the head by it.

Animation is great, I love when his eyes get all shiny because you know he's gone Beast Mode.

Not a lot of characters introduced so far, but it's still cool to see Jin Woo leveling up on his own. I mean... a show named solo leveling has got to make sure that the solo aspect isnt boring lol.

For some reason tho I still gave it an 8, which is high, so... it's pretty good.

Jin woo is just a bit... generic i guess. Nothing you havent seen before from an isekai male lead.

Also... i miss his haircut from the earlier episodes, his current haircut makes him look even more generic.

CW: blood and gore, body horror, torture, death games. Big and scary god statue that smiles in a fucked up way and kills kills kills.

Drop Box

Animes I either already dropped for a specific reason or will probably drop in the future simply because I wont have time to watch everything I started this season, so among the 10 I started, these are the ones i'm least likely to finish:

Majo do Yajuu

Summary: Seinen, Action, Fantasy

Guideau and Ashaf are an ominous pair, working for a mysterious organization that deals with magic crimes. Guideau is a feral and unhinged girl/genderless beast with a curse she wants to break and Ashaf is her soft spoken and calm companion. They go from town to town looking for witches to defeat and trying to find the witch who cursed Guideau and get their revenge.

Rating: 7/10

Review: I do like this one, I just think that if it comes to it and I dont have time, I wont miss it too much if I never finish it.

The blood and gore are heavy, and that might be the reason why i'm fine dropping it, i'm not that big of a fan of gore.

Other than that tho, I find the two main characters extremely interesting and i want to learn more about them, specially Guideau and her curse and that crazy beast mode she goes on when she manages to put a pause on her curse sometimes.

CW: blood and gore, body horror

Gekai Elise

Summary: Reincarnation/Otome Isekai, Fantasy, Medical, Romance

(Again, stolen from myanimelist) In her first life, the renowned and genius surgeon Dr. Aoi Takamoto was Elise de Clorance, a villainess of noble descent. Elise's selfishness, insolence, and obsessive love for her fiancé—Prince Linden de Romanoff—led to the deaths of her family members and, eventually, herself. Only after being reborn did Elise realize the error of her ways and decide that, instead of ruining lives, she would devote herself to saving them. But a tragic airplane crash robs her of her dreams too soon.

By a miracle, Elise wakes up in her original body before her official engagement to Linden. Recognizing the chance to cherish her loving family and free Linden from an unwanted marriage, Elise wishes to use her advanced medical knowledge to continue down the path of saving lives. In a deal with the emperor, Elise is given only six months to prove that her true place is not on the throne, but rather with the wounded and ailing who desperately need her help.

Rating: 6/10

Review: I'd like to say I dropped this show for personal reasons, not because it is a bad show.

It is definitely not the best otome isekai of the season (7th time loop and Villainess 99 win by a mile), but it is quite good and has an interesting premise. The main couple didn't seem too promising or interesting to me tbh.

The thing that interested me the most was the fact that Elise's original life was as a noblewoman, her second life was as a doctor and then he got a chance to relive her first life and change the mistakes she made.

Unfortunately, I am a med student, and I simply can't watch medical related stuff without nitpicking it to hell and back. Mostly, I try to distance myself from medicine related shows because my life already revolves around it too much, u know. I just need a break from All That when I'm watching my silly little shows, so... i had to drop this one.

Also, the main character was kind of annoying, but that might just be me.

Anyway, check this out if you think it sounds interesting. I might not be the best judge of this one.

CW: plane crash, death, medical procedures, surgery

Gushing Over Magical Girls

Oh boy...

I'm putting the CW before anything else because this one is problematic and I don't want anyone acting like I didn't warn them beforehand.

CW: this is straight up softcore porn and the characters are all middle/highschool aged. The anime revolves around BDSM themes (so many and increasingly worse themes, from simple bondage to pain play, to age play and other stuff), and there is nothing more than that to it, all the character growth is about the characters becoming more and more uninhibited with their sexual preferences. Also extremely dubious consent for all of it.

This is just a hentai disguising as an ecchi. It's fully yuri tho. Small blessings lol.

Summary: Mahou Shoujo, Girls Love, Ecchi, Comedy

I'm tired already so this will be short. Utena is a girl obsessed with magical girls. One day she gets the chance to become a magical girl herself, however, she is fooled and actually becomes a villain. She is made to fight Tres Magia (magical girl group) and ends up realizing she quite enjoys inflicting pain against them.

Review: the animation is good, very clean, the boob physics is not all that bad (what. this is an honest review and the anime is an ecchi. i gotta talk abt the boob physics.)

It is indeed super funny and definitely unhinged.

Plot wise, it is pretty straightforward, girl likes magical girls -> girl finds out she likes to watch magical girls suffering and in pain and moaning (well, not only watch, she does a lot of touching too)

Do I recommend it? No. Am I having fun watching it? Yes, it is pretty funny if you're the type of person who can ignore A Lot of things.

I'll probably favor the other animes tho so this one is very likely to get dropped before the season is through.

Thank you for reading (if you managed to make it this far lol, although this list is definitely smaller than my fall anime list)

If there is any other anime you think I should check out this season leave it in the replies and I might take a look at it and update this review with it!

#well. here's this. #this season is packed full of great romances #or romcoms #also great #gi talks animanga #dungeon meshi #7th time loop #cherry magic #villainess level 99 #yubisaki to renren #the foolish angel dances with the devil #solo leveling #majo to yajuu #gekai elise #gushing over magical girls #gi reviews #shoujo #shounen #winter anime 2024

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Question: if Miss Raven (your OC) was put under Malleus' sleep spell like everyone else, what would she be dreaming about?

Miss Raven would dream of the idyllic fairy tale world of a Disney animated film or musical production (including spontaneous song-and-dance sequences and dramatic soliloquies). Think like Enchanted!😂 She'd be the main character (freed of her curse, of course), able to spend her days singing in meadows, picking flowers, eating fresh bread (she shares with the local priest named Rollo), and sharing stories with the local townspeople. Oh, but what's this? An invitation to a grand ball has arrived for her! Miss Raven had better dress nicely for her big debut. Her friends are there to help--patient Silver with his animal friends (the mice can sew, and the birds make perfect bows!), compassionate Kalim with his endless smiles and budget, clever Ortho searching up the latest fashion trends to formulate the best look for her, and... Deuce who's there for moral support~ When the night of the ball comes, her Uncle Crowley can lead her in by the arm, warning her to have fun, but remember to be ready to go home by midnight or her father will worry. Her father, her creator, her mentor, the Storyteller--he's still alive in the dream, and she lives happily with him and her Uncle. Miss Raven makes the promise and skips off to enjoy herself, not knowing that she just may find not just fun, but also the prince of her dreams. (Who that is exactly, I'll leave that up to your imagination 🤡 Maybe it's an eel butler, maybe it's a huntsman maybe it's a lion)

(Malleus is off in some secluded corner of the ball, carefully observing her from a distance. Miss Raven was often the one weaving these stories--but now the roles have been reversed, with Malleus as the weaver and Raven as the character in the tale that has been woven. "Sweet dreams, young Crowley. Dream on, forever and ever.")

Basically, it's the kind of nice, peaceful life she expected she'd have when she first turned into a human.) The Miss Raven we know of now has become a little jaded and pessimistic from her life experiences like constantly being around the troublesome students of NRC. Despite this, she’s still a kid at heart and wants to believe in, and hope for, the best in others (though she tries desperately to cover these parts of herself up so she can appear as mature and strong to her peers). That's why her version of a “happy ending" reflects the more girlishly innocent, naive side to her, just like the stories she likes to write.

She's wished for her own happiness for so long, I think she'd easily fall into the trap and not realize it's all fake. As one wise and hopelessly optimistic Disney princess put it: "Everybody wants to live happily ever after." It would take some outside interference or dream world anomalies for her to realize that something is 'off' and snap out of it.

Bonus: I’ve been thinking about m!Raven lately (from an April Fools Day blog event), so I’ll talk a little about him too!

(Male) Raven’s idea of a happy ending is like an amalgamate of OG!Raven’s wishes and Vil’s desire to play the hero. Like the original Raven, m!Raven would be free of his curse in the dream. His ideal life has more adventure than OG!Raven’s 😂 and he gets to be a local pretty boy or something— indulge in his own markedly selfish desires whenever he wishes to.

Instead of being a pauper turned princess attending a ball, m!Raven wants to be the heroic prince the kingdom is throwing the ball to celebrate. He loves having the freedom to galavant and flirt among his subjects—but hey, who’s to say he won’t find a meaningful connection amongst all those in attendance? A partner to soothe the wild, wayward soul of the raven prince?

#twst oc #twisted wonderland oc #spoilers #Malleus Draconia #Raven Crowley #notes from the writing raven #question #Princess Giselle #Enchanted #Giselle #Dire Crowley #Silver #Ortho Shroud #Deuce Spade #Kalim Al-Asim #Rollo Flamme #Rollo Flamm #m!Raven Crowley #Vil Schoenheit

[heywriters]

I’m attempting to write a romance in my otherwise fantasy adventure story, which ends in the love interest dying to further the main character’s goal of finding solace and fighting against the forces that bring death to her loved ones. Any tips on how to write it to steer away from cliches?

Romance and fantasy are genres that thrive on their tropes and cliches though! Most dedicated readers of either genre want what they enjoyed in other books, so it doesn't hurt to read repeat tropes. Maybe it would help to know what the pros and cons are of some are first?

Love Interest Dies to Further Story is a common trope when it's a woman who dies, but it can also be a man. The cliche itself isn't bad, I've used it myself and it changed my character's entire arc. Readers might get tired of it, but impactful deaths are useful! It has been done well in several stories, especially ones where the romance is secondary to the plot.

Love Interest Only Exists to Die is a less great trope, especially for the reader. The love interest may be a great character, but if they never have a real influence on the story or even the main character, keen readers will catch on "wait, this person's just fodder!" Whatever the stakes are for the love interest, they should be equivalent to those faced by the main character. It hurts more to see a loyal partner die than an obvious vehicle for angst.

Love Interest is Secretly Bad has a dramatic use, but unfortunately it gets abused often for shock value. When it comes out of nowhere it's especially unfair to the reader. It can be used to redeem a character last minute, for example "Yes, I did help them break into your house, but then I called the police because I felt guilty. I should have told you sooner."

There are tons more, but you do not need to worry about them. It would be better to just right the story any way that feels right to you. You can use the cliches I mentioned, put your own spin on them, and create something new and interesting!

Found an article on Writer's Digest that may also help -> 4 Tips for Writing Fantasy Romance

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#writing #writing tips #writing romance #writing fantasy #romance writing #writeblr #writing help #writing advice #writing blog #romance #tropes #spec fic #fantasy #fantasy writing #creative writing #answer

[multifandoms27-blog]

Yu-Gi-Oh dub continuity please. (You can smoosh DSoD dub into the timeline if you want to. I usually do.) Aro ace female reader, neurotypical but weird anyway. (I may be an introvert who spends hours alone by choice and doesn’t have a huge social circle, but I was born to be a ridiculous anime character who dresses flamboyantly, has a sense of the dramatic, and wants to impress people. It’s certainly how I try to live in Real Life.) Reader quickly lets go of past irritations, and is more interested in honesty than not getting her feelings hurt. Smart, and self-teaches herself whatever skills seem interesting or useful to her. Rather childish in a lot of ways even though she is an adult, with a real sense of wonder. Rarely responds to sarcasm with more sarcasm. Reader is also a decent duelist, but not at Kaiba’s level. Physically she’s three inches taller than Yugi, with a very slight build, no makeup, long straight hair past her waist, boyish posture and movement, and a great sense of balance and understanding of moving her own body. Not a lot of physical strength though, she can probably only do about 10 push-ups.

Reader always calls Kaiba by his last name. Kaiba calls Reader by her first name.

Set after the run of the show. Reader and Kaiba have become friends. (Mokuba and Yugi secretly worked a lot behind the scenes for years doing friend-matchmaking in order for the friendship to materialize. 😋) They have similar interests, figured out how to communicate well (although perhaps more brusquely than most,) trust one another, and each believes the other to also be uninterested in romance/sex (which is highly reassuring when you suspect all your friends and relations will one day fall in love and accidentally push you out of their life.)

I’d love some writing with excitement, adventure, trouble, or danger! (If you want to throw in some angst that would be fine as well.) Perhaps the reader and Kaiba end up in a bad situation which is quickly flying out of their control. One of the fun things about Yu-Gi-Oh is the fact this could stem from any number of absolutely bonkers reasons! Maybe they were abducted by aliens to be sold to other aliens as “important Earthlings you can enslave to show off or feel more important.” Or maybe a rival company decided to get quite cutthroat and try to take over Kaiba Corp with literal force. Did they get accidentally transported to a fantasy dimension where they drew the ire of an evil leader? Or maybe an eviler Gozaburo shows up from another dimension and tries to force Kaiba to join him in a multi-dimensional conquest, with the explicit threat that if he doesn’t help, then Kaiba and those he cares about can spend their lives firmly under Gozaburo’s thumb, serving him in much less enjoyable capacities. You can use any scenario that seems fun to write! (You can also include other characters like Yugi, Joey, Mokuba, etc. if it feels like the story needs it. I would love to be friends with any of the good guy Yu-Gi-Oh characters.)

Uh, silly thing, but I don’t like profanity, so it would be great if you could not use any when writing this particular request. (It’s definitely possible to write scary, threatening, creepy dialogue without it, so I hope it doesn’t inconvenience you too much.) Sorry!

And please don’t write the two main characters as having any interest in romance/sex.

Some violence is okay though. Even the dub has a lot of implied violence and brutality. Just, don’t go overboard into R rated territory.

Hope the formatting isn’t too bad.

If you have any questions, or would prefer I send in a different request, or would like me to send in this request again with different formatting, or would like to tell me you are refusing my request, feel free to DM me.

P.S. Do you have a Ko-fi or something similar?

Hiya Dei! No, I don't have anything like that. Maybe I should set up one though?

So sorry this took so long to write, but its finally here! I really do hope you enjoy it!

Edit: Fixed some POV errors and added the opposing companies' name.

Content: Platonic! Seto Kaiba x fem!Reader

Warnings: Kidnapping

Notes: I really enjoyed writing this!! It was like writing an episode of Yugioh and I've always wanted to do that :3 This turned out to be 13 pages long, so yippe!! I had a little funny joke at the end here lol

• ───────────────── •

After graduating Domino high, it’s like everybody hit the ground running with their dreams. Tea moved to America to pursue dancing, Joey and Yugi started working at Solomon’s shop, Bakura left Japan with his father to travel, Tristan began working at his fathers company, Duke left Domino City to spread Dungeon Dice Monsters around…and then that left you and Kaiba.

Kaiba needed someone who could watch Mokuba, but someone he could trust, and someone he could keep close. Joey and Tristan and Tea were out of the question, Duke definitely no, he would be caught dead before letting Mokuba around Bakura, and Yugi can’t keep anybody safe.

So he decided to hire you. A week after graduation, Kaiba approached you with the job position. You were thinking about your future anyway, figuring out whether or not you wanted to go to college, or go straight into the workforce, or do both. When Kaiba laid out the job position for you, you practically jumped on the idea.

“If you can’t handle this job position now, then back out of it while you still can.” Kaiba teased, though to a bystander, he was just insulting you due to his lack of a smile.

“I can handle it, don’t go doubting me just yet, Kaiba.” You jabbed back, also without a smile.

Finally, Kaiba allowed a small smirk to form. “That’s what I like to hear. Come with me, we’ll start the paperwork ASAP, and you start tomorrow.”

It was hardly much work compared to the pay you got from Kaiba. Your job was just to keep close to Mokuba and make sure any shady characters got dealt with. The rest of your time could be spent with Kaiba in his office, or doing something with Mokuba. It truly was a dream - you got to be near your best friend and get closer to the younger Kaiba brother.

So far, no shady characters have gotten past your watchful eye. But about six months after taking the job position, everything flipped upside down.

• ───────────────── •

A new ride and section of the arcade was built into Kaibaland, and Mokuba practically begged you to take him. You agreed, and now you were trapped in the heat with Mokuba and a few other security guards. The guards did a good job at keeping bystanders away from grabbing you or Mokuba, or just getting too close in general. You had to get used to paparazzi, but after the last three years with Yugi and your old friend group, that wasn’t a hard transition.

Mokuba stopped your train of thought by tugging your arm. “(Y/n), (Y/n) look! There’s the new rollercoaster! Can we go on it?!”

The heat was making you nauseous and dizzy. While you wanted nothing more than to go on with him, you knew you had to pass it up so you wouldn’t completely ruin his day. “Sorry, Moki. I need some water, I’m not feeling too good. But I’m sure one of the guards would be happy to go on with you.”

Mokuba pouted, but nodded. “Okay. But can we play games together in the arcade?”

“Absolutely.” You grin, patting the boy's head.

One of the guards, Bishop, volunteered to get on the ride with him. You approved it, knowing you could trust Bishop. He had been with Kaiba for a couple years now, and has always carried out his orders flawlessly. Another guard, Keith, went to grab you a bottle of water. You sat down on a nearby bench and watched as Mokuba got on the ride with Bishop, waved to him, then he was off. Leaning back on the bench, you felt like you were able to relax for the next few minutes. You closed your eyes, knowing the guards will help protect you while Mokuba was on the ride.

More than a few minutes passed, and the sounds of screaming from the roller coaster had stopped. Opening your eyes, you looked up to see if Mokuba had gotten off. To your horror, the ride wasn’t moving. Nobody was getting off or on. Part of the ride was going through tunnels, and since the ride itself couldn’t be seen, you guessed it was in one of those tunnels. Scrambling to get up and run towards the ride, you approached the fear-stricken teen girl trying to operate said ride.

“What happened? Why is the ride stuck?”

“A-ah! Miss (Y/n)! I-I don’t know, the wheels stopped and I can’t get it to work!” The poor girl was shaking, she was afraid she was going to lose her job.

Looking up at the broken up tunnels on the tracks, you had no idea which one the ride was in. Instead, you turned to the girl. “Which tunnel did the coaster go in before it stopped?”

“That one…” The girl pointed to the highest one, before her voice trailed off.

You looked up and saw a helicopter approaching the ride, one that didn’t look like a Kaiba Corp one. You immediately grew anxious. “Keith, Cole, Sam! Code: Mocha!”

“Yes ma’am!” The three men yelled in unison before swiftly taking out walkie talkies to inform other guards of the situation both on and off Kaibaland.

However, it was too late. Two men dropped from the helicopter and - presumably - cut a hole into the tunnel. Your heart rate picked up, and you foolishly tried to mess with the controls one more time, hoping and praying that it would work and you could get Mokuba back safe.

The teen girl next to you gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. You snapped your head back up to see the two men - now with an additional third man - rising back into the helicopter holding a struggling Mokuba.

“Mokuba!!” You screamed, banging your fists against the control panel.

There was nothing you could do. The three men got Mokuba into the helicopter and flew off, then suddenly the coaster began to move, the screams of the other passengers picking back up. Tears pricked your eyes and your head hung low. “Mokuba…”

• ───────────────── •

You sat in Seto’s office, eyes downcast as you informed him of what happened to Mokuba. He didn’t say anything for a moment, and you were afraid he was going to have an angry outburst. He had every right to of course, you just didn’t want something to hit you. Seto took a deep breath before standing.

“You were at the bottom of the coaster?” He asked.

“Yes.”

“And Mokuba was with Bishop?” Seto asked.

“Yeah.”

“I have an idea of what happened then. Come with me, (Y/n).” He grabbed his suitcase, closed his laptop and shoved it in before moving briskly past you.

You got up and quickly followed. You didn’t know if Kaiba was mad, but you decided it would be better to follow than ask questions. Kaiba stopped at Lisa’s desk - his secretary - and informed her to cancel any afternoon plans he had, and have his chopper ready, before continuing his strut throughout the building. They headed for the elevator, and once Kaiba pushed the highest button, you finally began to ask questions.

“Who do you think took Mokuba?”

“Bishop’s old company - Knightly Rook, a rival of Kaiba Corp in the business world for a little while now. But I never thought the company would stoop to this. Bishop was pretty loyal to them, and I had wondered why he quit. Now I know he never really quit.” Kaiba glared at the wall.

“No way…you really think Bishop was in on the kidnapping do you?” (Y/n) asked in disbelief, eyes wide and mouth almost gaping.

Although, it made sense. There had been a third man to join them after Mokuba was caught. Bishop hadn’t come off the ride. Your eyes fell to the ground and you turned your head away. “I’m so stupid…I’m so sorry, Kaiba. I thought he would be safe…”

“This isn’t your fault. It’s mine for not looking into him more.” Kaiba spoke, with an air of irritation in his voice. “We’re going to fix this, one way or another.”

You look up at him. “You mean…?”

Kaiba looks down at you and nods. “We’re going to duel them for Mokuba.”

“Wait, I don’t have my deck-” You objected before Kaiba placed a hand on your shoulder, and the other hand offered you your deck. “Oh.”

“You keep leaving it in my office. Your cards will get bent if you don’t put them in a case.” Kaiba made a mental note to get you one. Maybe he’d get you one with designs of your favorite card on there.

“Are we going to do a double team?” You asked.

“Most likely. The CEO and his assistant are close, and are almost never seen apart.” Kaiba explained. “Of course, I trust you’ll keep up with me during this duel.”

“Yes, Kaiba.” You nod, putting your deck away securely.

The elevator doors opened and they both stepped out into the gleaming sun. It had been an hour since Mokuba was kidnapped, but it felt like it was even hotter outside than before. Or maybe it was your body trying to get used to the fast shift between the heavily air conditioned Kaiba Corp building, and the scorching heat outside. The blades of Seto’s chopper were just beginning to start up, and he continued to stride towards it. After you both sat down and secured yourselves in your seats, Kaiba placed his briefcase on his lap and opened it.

“Can you hold this for me?” Seto asked.

“Sure.” You nodded, grabbing his computer.

He then lifted the bottom of his briefcase to reveal all of his cards. “I’ll allow you to pick ten to boost yourself in this fight. I can’t have you lagging behind.”

You gave him a pointed look. “I can handle myself with my deck.”

“Fine. Five cards, take it or leave it.” Seto moved the briefcase for you to get a better look at the cards.

Grumbling under your breath, you looked over some monster, trap and magic cards before choosing five you figured would benefit you. “Thank you, Kaiba.”

He only hummed, and began assembling his own deck. You saw him slip the three Blue Eyes into the deck of 40 cards, and you cracked a smile, but didn’t say anything, and the smile faded as soon as it showed up. You were nervous. For Mokuba’s safety and wellbeing, for your job, for your friendship with Kaiba. Were you done at Kaiba Corp for this? You hoped not.

Once Seto was done assembling his deck, he turned towards you and noticed your nervous look. He was nervous too, for Mokuba’s safety. But you seemed like you were worrying about a lot more. “...something on your mind?”

“Oh nothing, just going to gamble a child’s life over a children’s card game, what else is new.” You spoke sarcastically.

Kaiba understood. It was a lot for you to take in - before, either he would get Mokuba back himself or you had Yugi and his friends there to help you. Now, you’re Kaiba’s only backup. “I suppose you could put it that way.”

“How long until we get to this company?”

“A few hours. It’s on the other end of Japan. They’ll get there before we do.” Seto explained, looking out his own window.

“What do they want with Mokuba?” You asked.

“Probably something to do with me ignoring their requests for a meeting.” Kaiba spoke dismissively. “I doubt they’d purposely harm Mokuba if they ever want a shot at being in my good graces. Though now, that ship has already sailed.”

You looked back at him. “Kaiba, what happens if we lose?”

Kaiba glanced at you and huffed. “I don’t lose. And just because you’re some second rate duelist doesn’t mean you can go doubting yourself now too.”

Second rate? You thought to yourself. It was a step up from Joey, you supposed. “Thanks, Kaiba.”

“Whatever.” Kaiba shrugged and turned away.

As much as Kaiba acted mean and teased you, you knew by now that it was good fun. He wouldn’t keep you around if he actually hated you, much less let you use some of his cards and duel side by side with him. Kaiba had slowly become an older brother to you, and Mokuba had become a younger brother. You had hoped you’d become a sister to them, if not then a close friend. You watched the world go by as the helicopter flew to the Knightly Rook building. You closed your eyes and decided to rest for a moment before you’d have to hit the ground running.

• ───────────────── •

The helicopter landed and Kaiba shook you awake. The doors opened and once you both stepped out, you were met by a glammed up couple surrounded by guards. The man wore a mahogany suit, looked older (about his 50’s), had a cane that was likely for show, and had a dark grin on his face. Next to him was a woman who looked younger (about her 30’s) with a matching mahogany dress and a white fur shawl that went around her shoulders and down her left arm. On her left hand was a big shiny diamond. The woman laughed.

“Darling, you think they’re here to pick up dear Moki?”

“Don’t call him that!” You yelled, Seto put a hand on your shoulder to stop you.

“Where is he?” He asked.

The man spoke. “Follow us, and you shall see.”

“And if we want to stay up here?” You asked.

“Then I guess Moki will cease to be~” The woman giggled, causing your eyebrow to twitch.

“We’ll follow you.” Seto glared at the couple.

“Excellent!” The man exclaimed, clapping his hands twice.

The guards formed a group around you and Kaiba, forcing you two closer to the couple. The man stuck his hand out to shake with Kaiba's. "Reginald O'Malley, nice to finally meet you, Seto Kaiba."

"Can't say the same." Kaiba reluctantly shook his hand, causing Reginald to laugh.

The woman stuck her hand out to you, and you swore her ring almost blinded you. You hesitantly shook it.

"I'm Sasha O'Malley." The glammed out woman grinned.

"(Y/n) (L/n)." You responded, not wanting to touch her any more than you already had to.

Reginald led you and Kaiba inside. The building didn't look like a company building at all. The walls were a golden yellow, with redwood flooring. The windows gave you a nice view over the city. Wasn't this supposed to be the corporate building of this company? Where were the workers? And come to think of it, where was the pilot of your ride here?

Reginald led you over to the sizable fireplace. "Now friends, I'm sure you're wondering why I've gathered you all here."

"Not really." Seto narrowed his eyes at him. "Just get to it, Reginald. I don't have all day."

The man chuckled before pulling a picture frame to the left, and the fireplace began to turn. It revealed stairs leading down. Was that where he was keeping Mokuba? Was that where his workers were?

"Come my friends, for a duel." Reginald grinned and led them down the stairs.

You clenched your jaw in irritation, but took a deep breath and cooperated, following the couple down the stairs. Seto was behind you. At the bottom of the stairs, there was a gigantic arena fitted with four seats. So this was going to be a double team duel.

"Big brother! Big sister!" Mokuba yelled from his cage, dangling in the air.

"Mokuba!" You and Kaiba yelled in unison.

"Beat us in a duel, and we give the boy back. But if we win, we take Kaiba Corp. Deal?" Reginald grinned, holding his hand out.

Seto growled before taking his hand into a bone crushing grip. "Deal."

• ───────────────── •

The duel was seemingly nearing an end. Sasha was the lowest count with 500 life points left, though that was to be expected. You only had monsters in your deck. Reginald was a little harder to beat, and was at 2300 life points. You and Seto were doing good, Seto with 3700 life points and you with 3000.

It was your turn, so you draw. Mirror force.

"I play this card face down, and my Luster Dragon attacks Sasha head on!"

Sasha didn't have any monsters on the field, with Kaiba destroying the last one last turn with his Battle Ox. Luster Dragon has 1900 attack points, so Sasha's points drop to zero. She whines to her husband from across the arena.

"Darling, I lost! Please win for me, I want that company!"

"Of course dear." Reginald nods and draws a card. "I summon Blackeyes, the Plunder Patrol Seaguide in attack mode! Now, I sacrifice him to summon Wattaildragon in attack mode!"

You knew that card. Wattaildragon had 2500 attack points. So while it couldn't hurt Seto, it could still hurt you. And Reginald knew that. "Wattaildragon! Attack (Y/n)'s Luster Dragon!"

The dragon let out a roar before preparing to attack. You acted surprised for a moment before you smirked, catching Reginald off guard. "You forgot about my face down card. You activated my trap - mirror force!"

The card lifted face up to show mirror force, which made the Wattaildragon's attack bounce off and hit it, destroying it completely. Reginald had no more monsters on the field.

"Darling that is not what I wanted you to do!" Sasha yelled but Reginald ignored her.

"Kaiba!" You called.

"Right. Blue eyes! Attack Reginald head on, and finish this duel once and forever!" Kaiba yelled.

The Blue Eyes let out a roar before firing a beam straight at Reginald. His life points had dropped to zero. You and Seto shared an accomplished look and a thumbs up. Then Seto's phone rang.

"Well it's as I expected. Reginald here isn't a rich man. In fact, he's been committing thirty years worth of financial fraud." Seto gave the glammed out couple a dark grin. "You're both going away for a long time."

• ───────────────── •

It turns out that the pilot doubled as an infiltrator. Seto had planned to duel the couple as a distraction either way. He had managed to get all of Reginald's statements and aliases and fraudulent checks. Police surrounded the building, and both Reginald and Sasha were taken away in cuffs, with an added charge of kidnapping. Their guards, along with Bishop, got taken away too.

Mokuba ran up to Seto and (Y/n), hugging them both. "I knew you guys would come for me! That was an awesome duel!"

"Thanks, Moki." You smiled, ruffling his hair causing him to laugh. "We're just glad you're alright."

Seto nodded in agreement. Mokuba grinned up at them. "Well...for being kidnapped and all, you know how you guys can make it up to me?"

"Therapy?" Seto and you spoke together.

"No silly, ice cream and duel monsters!" Mokuba threw his hands up excitedly.

You and Seto looked at each other before laughing. "Sure Mokuba, sure."

• ───────────────── •

Here is my Masterlist in case you want to request, or look for more of your favorite character!

#seto kaiba #mokuba kaiba #kaiba brothers #platonic seto kaiba x reader #platonic #yugioh #yugioh duel monsters #ygo #kaiba mokuba #kaiba seto

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Hey, how are you doing? How was coming back to work?

If I can be curious, let me ask you this super hard (or maybe simple, it depends), question: who's your favorite character and why? Also, which one do you find the most easy to understand/write?

Have a nice day my friend, cheers 😊

@dolceaspidenera hi! I'm so happy to hear from you! ^.^

And ooh, those are good questions. I won't answer them completely, but I will give you honest answers ^.^ I apologize in advance for what turned into a character analysis mini-essay XD

I do have a favorite character of the M6, but I prefer not to write like it on this blog. I think it's awesome when fan creators focus on their favorite characters - it means that everything they make is done out of love! - and it's almost something you'd expect in a dating sim fandom when you have to choose one specific character to experience most of the story with. I initially chose not to do that just because I genuinely enjoy writing for connections with all of the M6, even if there's very few that I would want a specifically romantic connection with. Every single one of them are characters that I'd be happy to get to know, as a lover, or an honorary sibling, or a close friend.

The longer I write like that, the happier I am that I do. It means I've explored aspects of the world of the Arcana that I wouldn't have initially been invested in, but that have contributed so much to the story! It also means that I get to chat with people who have so many different perspectives on the game because of their own preferences, and I've learned a lot from them!

As to who is more or less easy to write - that changes based on the prompt. For example, prompts that reference pre-prologue Vesuvia are a lot harder to write with Portia, simply because she didn't arrive there until after Lucio's "death" and because the game doesn't really delve into the life she's had there since. And the hardest prompts for me to write in general are for MC with specific familiars, only because those are characters I haven't read about XD

There are also themes I wish I could explore more, sometimes, for all the M6, but doing so would require so much speculation that it would be hard to keep the headcanons feeling "canon." Julian's life before Vesuvia, for example - he's been knocking all around the world since his teens, and of the two or so decades that that comprises, he's only spent a few years of that in Vesuvia. He glamorizes his adventures when he talks about them, but nobody in their late teens acts as a medic on a battlefield for their apprenticeship without taking away some kind of baggage. When does he break down without dramatics or smokescreens? When does he learn to talk about a painful past without trying to redirect his hurt into drama? When does he learn the healthy kind of selfishness that lets him be completely honest?

Asra's so emotionally private it's hard to get a read on them sometimes. We know they're deeply in love with MC and that that's been a shaping influence on them for the last nine years - but what else? There's so much about him that aches to be known, which he frequently tells MC in his route, but he still treats his relationship with them like it's fragile and new. What happens when things are more settled and they know MC isn't at constant risk of falling apart? Did they ever feel betrayed by MC for not leaving Vesuvia with them? Did they ever feel resentful of MC for causing that much relational pain, or at the very least, for holding them in a full-time caregiving role for three years? When does he learn to depend on them to the point of exposing them to his own ugly thoughts and feelings?

Nadia, for all of her capacity, is still very emotionally young. She's just beginning to process her feelings regarding her own family, which stem from her childhood and were never addressed directly until they were invited to the Masquerade. She has a deep-seated lack of faith in her own strengths, which MC has had the chance to help her overcome, but that attitude has been affecting her perception of other people's opinions of her for most of her life. At what point does she learn how to interpret someone's concern for her as something other than belittlement? At what point does she learn how to recognize and apologize for her own mistakes in a relationship without experiencing it as self-rejection? At what point does she learn to recognize someone else's strength without comparing it to her own and feeling challenged if she doesn't measure up?

Muriel's especially hard to predict physically. He has a whole host of reasons to feel the way he does about his body in relation to himself and others. It could be easy to say that, as he heals in his relationship with MC, he learns to enjoy and seek out physical pleasure as he overcomes trauma (in multiple ways, like food, and comfort, and intimacy). But when it does come to physical intimacy, Muriel is so easily read as demi/asexual that his interest in that aspect of a relationship doesn't really act as a good benchmark for healing. Maybe his aversion to touch is only trauma-related, and underneath that gruffness is a pent-up, touch-starved lover. Maybe he stays consistently disinterested in that kind of physical pleasure, simply because that's the way he is - and there is nothing wrong with that. But we don't know how that progresses.

So much of Portia's life is missing. We don't know much of what her life was like before she came to Vesuvia after Lucio's "death", and we honestly don't know much of what it was like after. We know that she's friends with all the palace employees and that she has a close connection with Nadia, and that's it. It's hard to know how she fits into a post-canon community because she remains so detached from the other M5 throughout her story. Most of what we know of her life with MC afterwards is that she spends a lot of it on a ship. She's the kind of person who thrives in building and maintaining community, and yet we have so few clues about what that looks like. Does she become like family with the sailors, assuming that the ship keeps the same crew? Does her new status give her a peer-based relationship with Nadia? Does she try to keep Julian in her life, or do they drift apart again? Does she eventually create a new home base in a different country?

And, well, I've already a written a whole character analysis of Lucio. We know that he's determined to become an honest man, but we don't know how that plays out. Does he get tired? Does he find a stopping point at "morally gray"? Does he stick it out and become one of the most emotionally healthy characters? Does he ever settle down somewhere else and build a life there? Does he stay in touch, or reconnect with anyone from Vesuvia and build a new friendship with them?

Anyways, those are some of the rabbit trails I let my brain loose on sometimes, and those are a lot of the character aspects I have a harder time writing for because it's so open-ended. Maybe another creator will read this and have answers I don't yet XD

Thanks for your questions, friend, I hope you don't mind my mini-essay!

brainrot

#ask arcana brainrot #the arcana #the arcana headcanons #the arcana hc #asra the arcana #julian the arcana #nadia the arcana #muriel the arcana #portia the arcana #lucio the arcana #the arcana game #fandom essay #asra alnazar #julian devorak #nadia satrinava #muriel of the kokhuri #portia devorak #lucio morgasson

[milo-the-professional-yapper]

Hello! about your malevolent ask

[long ass answer- many apologies]

its a slightly goofy, sort of horror soap opera, in the vein of call of cthulu/tma. I dont find it Super Scary, but idk what your milage for horror is.

The overarching plot is drivin by the patrions (sp sorry), in the style of a choose your own adventure novel- you can usually tell where the choices are; it'll be something like 'omg arthur, we're at a crossroads- do we go left, to the evil cavern (where the horrors live) or right, to the evil woods (more horrors).' You can also hear more overt RPG stylings in the beginning- dice roll sounds for perception checks, etc. These do fade out after the first season.

Rough outline (some spoilers): John (a spirit/demon type guy) possesses Arthur (a detective from Arkham MA) and, in doing so, takes over his eyes. Now Arthur must navigate the world with only the guidance of the voice in his head. Horrors unfold, walls are walked into the boys are in their get-along consciousness. Think venom, if both of them were way bitchier and prone to swearing. and also eddy was blind.

IS IT GAY: Yes and no. If its a friendship, its really intense- but cannonicaly it has been very firmly stated that they are just friends. However, the relationship is intertwined and deep enough that many people consider it to be queerplatonic- Arthur being aromantic is a very popular interpretation, if that sweetens the pot for you (idk how loosely you're using gay here). Glib answer: its pretty queer, but no kissing.

COOL STUFF:

-A dramatic, intense relationship between a guy and the dude who lives in his head. They argue ( my god how they argue) they make up, they argue again.

-The saddest little english man (arthur) gets chucked off cliffs multiple times. Do you like men whimpering? This is the podcast for you!

-Very impressive voice acting: the writer voices absolutely everyone in the podcast (yes. everyone) and its genuinely almost unnoticeable. You really do have to have it pointed out to you.

-Fun, slightly campy (in the way of an rpg campaign) Lovecraft style horror

-Lovely piano soundtrack

-A gentleman called the butcher shows up in- what season 3? maybe?- and I adore him. Go singing irishman go. You get that violent homoeroticism.

Drawbacks:

Again, I don't really know your taste, but these are some of the things that might turn someone off from listening. YMMV etc.

-LOUD. If you dont like gentlemen yelling DIRECTLY AND ANGRILY INTO THE MIC then this is not for you. If you do like that, then you are about the have the time of your life. There is also just. An incredible amount of panting/heavy breathing. Also directly into the mic, and at length. Like, an 'i am secretly watching gay pornography' amount. I had it going on a speaker once and my roommate had questions, kind of amount

-Almost no women characters: understandable, since a dude is voicing Literally Everyone- but it is something of a sausage fest. Women exist in universe, they just tend to move in the backround/be unvoiced. Lots of 'oh heres whats happened to her' sort of describing around the 'I can't voice a woman' issue. One old lady has a few voice lines and thats it.

-Kind of a soap: This is a draw for me ngl, but if you are looking for TMA 2: the magnusing- she isn't it. Its a LOT lighter than tma, writing wise, and isnt exactly hitting any crazy new twists in its plot (if you've read Any lovecraftian stuff you probably wont be super surprised by anything)BUT. Its still very fun. Two dudes sharing a body, detective roadship shenanigans. They might kiss! Might see some skinned bodies or something.

The dynamics can be a lil repetative (wake up break up back together) and the plot can be a little- ehhhh. due to it being yk, patrion controlled- but that can be fun- it's pretty heavily a choose your own adventure story at heart, so if your down with that (and the sillyness that comes with it) then you'll like it.

-Gore: pretty gory. I enjoy that sort of thing/ am not really effected by it BUT if that not your cup of tea, then you might wanna skedaddle.

🤠 thats all. Again, apologies for the very long answer.

First off- don’t apologize! This gave me everything I needed- thank you for the detailed answer to my question! Looks like I’m giving this podcast a listen- everyone wish me luck 😭

#malevolent #malevolent podcast #you said qpr and I was all in #I’m aroace so I’d love to see better rep of that kind of thing #even if it’s not explicitly stated that it’s a canon qpr

[eldritch-muppetshow]

[Slides on in] Heya, so I have just discovered ya via TADC and looked at your TADC stuff and was wondering if ya had any other lore bits ya feel like you could share?

sure thing! i actually have two tadc aus/stories rn, so i’ll just post some lore for both

sexyman descendants

all three of them are unfinished npcs created by caine, planned to be used in adventures (maybe as a ‘taking care of a fake baby’ exercise of some kind?), but he scrapped the idea of using them. instead, he placed them into a deep sleep and stored them away in one of the areas of the circus that would be inaccessible to the performers.

the three of them ended up waking up from that sleep too early though, and spent the rest of their time trying to escape from “the storage room” and (believing themselves to be performers) practicing their performances.

they eventually escaped storage, and briefly lived with the rest of the performers. it wasn’t a great arrangement, though— because jax and poppi had no idea how to raise the kids that were basically just dropped in their laps, and abel was too similar to caine, seeing him as competition for the role of ringmaster.

abel eventually led poppi and jj out on an “adventure” of their own, seeking to prove to cain that they deserve to be ringmaster more than he does— only for their unfinished programming to cause them to noclip out of the circus and into tumblr high.

they now basically live at school, trying wacky schemes to return to the digital world and doing their best to adjust to their new environment.

jj is regularly on the receiving end of slapstick, especially within abel’s performances. he always bounces back right after, but he quickly learned to hate the life of a performer and is enjoying/adjusting to the real world far more than the other two.

poppi has basically zero concept of personal space, and will physically cling to people if she’s excited/scared/upset— which does not mesh well with pomni.

abel takes school talent shows very seriously, seeing them as their chance to prove themself/their troupe as performers. it’s gotten to the point where poppi and jj actively hide when tryouts for talent shows start.

untitled pomni escapes au

i’m thinking this au takes place in the 90s, since that would match up with the model of computer monitor shown in the pilot (and tadc is based on 90s kid’s games).

i haven’t fully decided how she manages to escape tbh? i’m leaning toward the idea of it being a lucky accident/pure chance though, since it adds more dramatic tension when it comes to the question of “should she try and go back for the others”

the other performers/npcs are still in the circus! from their perspective, pomni didn’t show up for an adventure one day, leading to caine making “find pomni” the new adventure for the day… but when none of the performers could find her and caine (secretly) checked the void/the areas inaccessible to the performers and still didn’t find her, that’s when everyone freaked out

caine’s pretty upset over pomni’s disappearance, not only because he’s worried she got hurt/lost outside of the circus, but also because he genuinely doesn’t understand why she’d want to leave. the other performer’s reactions range from worrying abt her to just being angry that she didn’t take anyone with her and seemingly isn’t coming back for them.

on pomni’s side of things, she’s just trying to adjust to life outside the circus the best she can. it’s a pretty difficult task though, and she regularly struggles with the trauma/feelings of survivor’s guilt from her time in the circus.

she’s very conflicted on if she should try and go back to save the other performers. because yeah, it’s the morally right thing to do and they don’t deserve to be trapped there, but she’d really rather forget about the circus forever and there’s no guarantee that she’d be able to recreate the circumstances that let her escape for all of them (plus there’s always the risk that she’ll just get stuck there again).

aside from job-hunting, she’s been keeping tabs in news about the c&a company to try and find her human identity— specifically after finding news about a string of employee disappearances. she hasn’t been able to find much yet because of the legal red tape surrounding the case, though.

#tadc #tadc au #sexyman descendants #the amazing digital circus #asks #pomni escapes au

[sunstaar]

Bedside Story

Kakashi Week 2022 | Day 6: Legends, What If

Word Count: 1,1k

Ao3

@kakashiweek

Summary: There was one bedside story Kakashi had yet to tell.

I expected this to turn out completely differently, so I can't say I am satisfied with the outcome. But I did like it too much not to post it. Enjoy!

Daddy, can you tell me a story?

Each evening ever since his daughter had taken an interest to bedside stories, it was the same routine for Kakashi.

As soon as he put the tired girl to bed, his daughter’s hand would reach out to hold onto his significantly larger one, tugging her father back toward her bed to beg him to sit down again and tell her a story. The few times she did not manage to grab his hand, she instead chose to bury it into his evening shirt, her small and nimble fingers grasping the material tightly, practically burying themselves into it as she held onto him. Under no circumstance, she would let go while staring at him with puppy eyes, her bottom lip quivering to convince him.

Without fail, it was the puppy-look that convinced him to stay and tell her yet another story before she fell asleep. His hesitance didn’t stem from the fact that Kakashi minded entertaining his daughter, he couldn’t image anything better than to spend some time with his little girl, but rather from the fact that slowly but surely, he was running out of stories to tell her.

All the books in her bookshelves they had already read together at least twice, his daughter being able to identify the book by the first sentences already. While Kakashi was glad that she was picking up on his genius, he wouldn’t mind it either if she simply forgot that she had heard the story already, so that he could tell it more than just several times.

As Kakashi sat down on the side of her bed, he was, admittedly, getting a little nervous about what story he should tell her today. There were many stories he had told her already, most of them glamorized and polished versions of missions with the little Team Seven, like the time they had to take care of a speaking ostrichs, or find a missing cat. Others were adventures he had with his own team back in the day, missions he had only come to appreciate years later.

Kakashi cleared his throat, by now completely convinced by the sweet and yet so expectant look his daughter gave him, already tucked into bed again. Her small fingers were holding onto the blanket tightly, her excitement very much so evident by how the gap between her teeth was visible as she grinned.

“Today I’ll tell you a story about a boy who messed up big time,” Kakashi began, swallowing the worry clawing up his throat. Maybe it was a mistake to tell the story. His hand immediately went to settle in his daughter’s silver hair, brushing through it to not only calm her, but also to keep himself calm. “When he made the mistake, he was very young, and would later regret it, you know?”

His daughter let out a dramatic gasp, her hands pulling up the blanket to nuzzle further into it. Hesitantly, she asked, “What kind of mistake?”

Kakashi let out a small chuckle, smiling at his daughter. “A big one. But I’ll get to that now, pup.”

The girl nodded eagerly, her gaze focused on her father. The story already appeared to intrigue her, it seemed.

“As I already said, the boy made a big mistake, one he would regret for a long time,” Kakashi took a moment to continue to create a dramatic pause, watching his daughter grow restless from how curious she was. “The young boy was very foolish and believed in the words of the people more than he did the in what his father taught him. The young boy thought of himself as beyond his age, when he still had so much to learn,” The silver-haired man had to breathe in deeply, finding it increasingly more difficult to find the correct words. “And when his father was … gone one day, the young boy grew bitter, and lonely, although he wouldn’t have admitted that to anyone.”

His daughter shook her head, her lips tugging into a frown. “His daddy just … disappeared?”

Kakashi nodded hesitantly. “He did, and the young boy did not take that well. He didn’t believe in friendship anymore and pushed those around him away. He thought it was better that way and set his priorities differently. But in the end, that just made the boy very unhappy.”

“Is the boy happy again?”

“It takes some time, but eventually he is. He grows up and learns a lot of lessons, he learns the value of friendship and how people around him can help him,” Kakashi thought it would be best to leave some parts out of the story. “And that does make him happy, very happy, even. He is no longer bitter, or lonely, and he isn’t afraid to admit that, because he’s happy now.”

“I like that,” His daughter said, wearing a soft smile. Her charcoal eyes looked over at her father, gleaming with an emotion he couldn’t exactly pinpoint. “I like a happy end.”

Kakashi knew that very well. The stories with the happy endings had always been her favourite from an early age on, and he found that to be very sweet. Gently, he ruffled her hair which had her squealing. “I’m glad you liked it, pup. I’m sorry today’s story is so short. Tomorrow’s will be longer, I promise.”

“I like that,” Her brows furrowed for a moment, reflection her thought process. “but you won’t ever leave me, right?”

Seeing his daughter’s confused expression, Kakashi was sure his heart might break at any moment. His hand continued to run through her hair in an effort to somewhat comfort her as he spoke, “I would never in my life, leave you, pup. You’re the best thing that has happened to me, you know? I wouldn’t even dream of leaving you,” He stopped brushing through her hair, and instead leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss onto her forehead. “Never ever.”

Her bottom lip quivered slightly. “You promise? I don’t want to be sad.”

“I promise. I will always be here for you, no matter what.” Kakashi could feel tears decorating his eyes, but he chose to blink them away as fast as he could, before his daughter caught side of them.

Luckily for him, she did not, and instead sat up in her bed and wrapped her tiny arms around his waist, squeezing it with as much power as she could. Kakashi pretended to be affected by it as he placed his hand on her back, only pulling his darling daughter closer.

“I love you.” She murmured into his shirt, her face pressed into it, refusing to let go of her father.

Kakashi let out a quiet laugh, his shoulders shaking as he did so. “I love you too, pup.” And nothing, not even a silly little bedside story, could change that.

#KakashiWeek2022 #kakashi hatake #hatake kakashi #kakashi hatake x reader #naruto x reader #gender neutral reader #hatake kakashi x reader #kakashi hatake x y/n #hatake kakashi x you #kakashi hatake x you #kakashis daughter #kakashis child

[nemo-of-house-hamartia]

WIP WEDNESDAY

Hi everyone!! It's been SO LONG since I last shared a WIP from my story and since today is WIP Wednesday, I thought "WHY NOT TODAY"???

So, here you have, a short WIP of the 4th Chapter of "In The Heat Of The Moment"!!

You have no idea how excited I am to finally being in 1868, and finally starting to write and explore all the adventures of my precious babies!! So many new ocs coming in, so many so beloved by yours truly. I am truly excited!!😁😁😁😁😁

well, without further ado, here is the Wip!!

Hope you will enjoy it!!

(....)

“Well, with Queen Charlotte’s ball approaching and your debut, you will have plenty of opportunities to find a gallant young man that shall take proper care of you,”

Dorothea pursed her lips at that, furrowing her brows. Being taken care of. As if she wasn't a young woman with a mind of her own, but a child needing constant guidance through all aspects of life. As if she was a doll, to be gifted away to some stranger just because that’s what she was born to do. She sighed, trying as much as she could not to let any of her aggravation transpire from her face.

“Mother has mentioned many changes, as soon as I returned home. In the last letter she wrote, she said Father had a few surprises for me. I wished she had been more precise about what these surprises relates to,”

Phillip pursed his lips, looking toward the city, the Big Ben finally in sight, standing high above the chaos of roofs and chimneys in front of them. When she saw that he didn’t answer, she turned to face him, and saw a twinkle in his blue eyes.

“You know something, Phillip, don’t you?” she asked.

“Who, me?” he said, feigning nonchalance. “I think you are mistaken. I would certainly recall if such information had been relied to me by Uncle Crawford?”

Dorothea smirked, crossing her arms against her chest. “I know that look, cousin dearest: you can fool your business partner at the Alhambra, but not me. It is your job to know what is going on around you,”

“Even if I concede that you do bring up a fair point, darling Dora, I cannot deny nor confirm any of your assumption," he answered, clicking his tongue in annoyance, and giving her a look of fake aggravation that soon melted in a warm smile. "Even as a child you were so pestiferously enquiring, always putting your nose where you shouldn't have and following me and Charlie around,”

Dorothea couldn’t help but giggle at that last sentence.

“I cannot take all the credit for myself, Phillip, for I found the greatest teacher in you: ’The Master of Secrets, the one that knows all that goes in London and who is consorting with whom’. You should be proud of your pupil,” she jested, poking his arm with her elbow.

The man scoffed, adjusting the Templar Cross hanging at his neck.

“I wouldn’t call myself a Master, just merely devoted to my profession,”

“Or maybe you just like being a nosy gossiper?”

Phillip brought a hand to his chest, feigning outrage, and Dorothea couldn’t help but muffle her laughter behind her hand.

“Why, my dear Madam, I assure you, I would never meddle with anyone’s business but my very own! What a preposterous insinuation, i dare say!”

Dorothea cocked an eyebrow, and smirked even wider.

"You have such a penchant for the dramatic you ought to be an actor, instead of a businessman,”

Dorothea saw the pained light flashing for one moment behind his bold face. When he spoke, his tone had lost all traces of facetiousness, and despite its neutrality, she could feel the sting of hurt lying underneath.

“If my father had not threatened to disown me -several times, infact, the last in a letter he deigned to send me just to remind me about the precariousness of my own inheritance- I’d probably done that,”

Dorothea pursed her lips in sadness, and without hesitancy, she took his hand once more, gently keeping it in hers, and gave it a small reassuring squeeze.

“Uncle Alfred could sometimes speak words of truth and wisdom, but those that concern you are the farthest from the truth. He does not know you, not at all.” She murmured with a sharp voice, looking at him straight in his eyes. He sighed, shaking his head.

“If only I were more like Charles-”

“Charles is Charles. You are you, and both me and your brother love you dearly for that exact reason. You know we wouldn’t want you to be any different than who you are,”

(....)

--Nemo

#Assassin's Creed Syndicate #AC Syndicate #Jacob Frye #In The Heat Of The Moment #Dorothea Starrick #Phillip Starrick #Jottie #my story #my ocs #Nemo writes #WIP

[spacerangersam]

Where did you get the inspiration for Of Fangs and Claws? And how did you choose who would be a werewolf and who’d be a vampire? Basically can you talk about the story because I love it so much <3

Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it (and I will get around to updating it, I swear). And I can absolutely talk about it, I love to ramble on about my writing.

So, it’s been a while so it’s hard to remember specific details, and I’ve not ever really engaged with vampire/werewolf media (outside of one show I watched as a teenager, and like, youtube critiques about monster shows which I’ve never seen), so I don’t really have a clear cut inspiration. This is all going to be a bit vague I’m afraid.

But the main inspiration was definitely like, Halloween, in general. I’m a big spooky season fan and really wanted to write a Halloween fic. Vampires and werewolves seemed like an obvious choice for that. They have such different vibes and all that it's fun to compare and contrast them, and the idea of splitting the ghoul group in half to do that sounded cool. I also have my own ideas about how vampires/werewolves work and all, so it was a chance to put all those thoughts I’ve had bouncing around my skull to use (namely, I just wanted to write werewolves without all of that alpha, beta bullshit, god that sucks).

This may or may not have been around the time the first Dracula read-along was going on too, and while I gave up on that early on, it probably left me with vampires on the brain. Fun fact, I haven't gotten to it yet but vampires don't turn into bats in my story but into a pile of writhing leeches because I have a memory of a friend saying that was one of bram stoker’s original ideas that he discarded. I can’t easily find proof of that though so there's a chance I'm misremembering something. Regardless, I like the idea so much that it's vampire canon to me now. It's so much weirder and grosser than bats and honestly, fits better too.

The world specifically and a few small details kinda came from an original story idea that's been bouncing around in my years for years now but never fully taken form- funnily enough, Pat and Mike's adventure group is a big part of it, actually, though it works a bit differently in my story. Anyway, this was kinda my chance to feel out some ideas for that og story. I've still not gotten far with it, but I do have the mc figured out at least, (Briallen, her design is cool if I do say so myself, I like her a lot).

As for deciding who’d be what, it basically came down to wealth. When I think of a vampire, I think of giant Gothic castles and expensive jewels and dresses and ornate goblets full of blood- excessive wealth, basically. Vampires are practically metaphors for the rich, so anyone from a wealthy family in canon was going to be a vampire, no doubt about it. Also, vampires always seem like solitary, guarded creatures to me, so that’s why the Captain became a vampire. Besides, I needed to beef up the Button gang and thought Fanny deserved to have her bff with her.

In contrast, werewolves give off the vibes of being friendly, down-to-earth folks (maybe because I watched Wolfblood as a teen where all the werewolves are just like- otherwise very normal schoolkids, or at least that's what I remember), which just suited characters like Pat and Robin and Mary way better. 

With the exception of Thomas, is was. I’m trying to remember if he was originally going to be a vampire, and I’m not sure. Out of all the characters, dramatic Regency poet Thomas seems the ripest to be a vampire, and I have a feeling I probably made him a werewolf specifically because of that. It just seemed too obvious, you know, and the obvious annoys me sometimes. It also let me make a more interesting backstory for him, so it was a win-win.

Same sorta goes with Alison, making her a werewolf with Button ties was a good idea to centre the story around. Also, I just like werewolves more, so writing about a character becoming a werewolf was more fun to me.

For the other characters, including [REDACTED] and [REDACTED], it was more a matter of what monster/creature haven’t I included yet? Jemimia became a morgen specifically because I wanted to throw in some Welsh monsters, and morgen- idk how to say this, but they’re very like, swampy in my mind. Like, with greenish skin and dark green hair, covered in seaweed or algae, and that just fits with Jemima in my mind. Margot and Rachel are water nymphs because. 

Body is there and a bat because a) thought it would be funny to make Humphrey’s body an actual character, b) I just kinda wanted a Salem-esque (a Sabrina Salem) character in here because I like Salem, I think he’s a cool cat, and bat because vampire. He also works as a sort of red herring- like he’s a bat hanging around vampires, probably makes you think that all the vampires themselves can turn into bats too but no. leeches. :)

This was probably a rambly mess and I’m sorry about that, but I hope this was somewhat interesting.

[idle-flower]

Dear Yuletide Author - 2023

Thank you for your time and attention, and I hope your wishes are granted this holiday season!

Likes:

I prefer plot and angst and adventure to fluff, though a nice warm fluffy scene can make a good dessert at the end of the pain and suffering. I lean more to f/f and m/f than m/m. I enjoy forbidden relationships and the agony of trying to keep one's heart secret. I love exploring the 'what if' spinoffs of a small change in a canon. I swoon for lovers who take dramatic risks to protect their loved ones. I sometimes use my blorbos as chew toys.

I also enjoy detailed description of clothing/furniture/jewelry/pretty things in general. Not just heaping up brand names, but sensory detail. Tell me what I'm looking at!

Dislikes:

Please avoid sweeping tropey AUs like 'what if noir' or 'what if everyone was in high school'. No excited rambling about pregnancy or babies. (Older kids are okay.) While I am okay with pretty dark stuff, please don't gorily torture characters to death on screen. If people gotta die, limit the icky details! I am generally not keen on crossovers. I dislike PWP unless it is exceedingly hot smut (see below). Please don't do gender swaps or secret trans characters unless I specifically mention it as an option.

Smut:

I don't require it, but I do read a good bit of filthy porn.

Kinks I find interesting: mild bdsm, pain mixed with pleasure, dubcon, sibling or cousin incest, strap-ons (for f/f not for f/m), futanari and other magical appendages (also generally for f/f, unless we're in a setting where 'man turns out to have tentacles' actually makes sense), teasing, teenagers, drugs/magic with interesting effects, people making terrible decisions due to being emotionally overwrought or really really horny, trying to stay quiet and failing, desperate urgency, pushing people up against walls

PLEASE NO: rape or painful sex that one party is not enjoying at all, inserting anything edible (licking off boobs is okay), aggressive face-fucking, choking, degradation, scat/watersports, bukkake, parental incest, anyone younger than teen, anyone being called "baby girl", emphasis on 'virgin blood' (some writers make it a huge deal with tearing pain and fountains of blood, please don't).

NOTE FOR TREATS:

Absolutely fine with people getting inspired by my ideas and doing whatever! I don't know if we have to actively say this this year but yeah if you want to have a go, sure.

Poison Ivy (1992 film)

Sylvie Cooper, Ivy

I was struggling through the confusions of puberty, Ivy was hot, this film left an impression on me. In a way trying to build any sort of happy ending for Ivy feels out of place, but on the other hand there's a lot of loose ends left after the story.

Throughout the film, there's a lot the audience never knows about Ivy, including her legal name. Did Coop know it? (Maybe, probably.) Did her father? (Quite possibly not). How do they handle all the legal responsibilities of her death? Were Ivy's stories about the aunt she was staying with true? How do they break the news? How does her funeral go?

What do Sylvie and her father have to say to each other about Ivy after the truth comes out? Does he admit everything that he did? (The movie seems to let him off way too easily by implying things are all Ivy's fault, when he ABSOLUTELY knew how wrong his actions were) How does he handle the guilt? How do they rebuild their relationship? Or, speaking of guilt, Sylvie kind-of-sort-of was responsible for Ivy's death, even if it wasn't 100% intended and she was not quite in her right mind at the time. She did push Ivy. How does she handle THAT?

What is school like, afterwards? What rumors escape? How does Coop handle them? Does this attract new weird friends? Does she adopt any of Ivy's traits as her own?

Or - what if Ivy survives the fall? Seriously injured, possibly paralysed, but alive? How do they deal with her, once the truth comes out? Do they cover up her crimes? Do they keep her in their home? What happens to their relationships?

Did Ivy ever care about Sylvie? Did she legitimately want to be friends before she started trying to seize hold of the world and the wealth that Coop lived in?

Sylvie ends up kind of pushed out of a lot of the middle of the movie so the film can spend more time perving over Ivy. More about her character and her thoughts in general would be great. We know she can be a troublemaker and a fantasist - who else has she been telling lies to? Or is the whole movie itself a lie she's telling us? And if so, what is the story behind the story?

For AUs, what would have happened if Ivy had met Coop when they were several years younger, so she couldn't get her hooks into Darryl as easily? What if they met at summer camp and Ivy was just as messed-up and needy but the situations were different? What if the movie plot is actually a fantasy younger-Ivy spins about her future to her fascinated-and-appalled friend, who then has a chance to react to it? Or what if Ivy tried to replace Sylvie rather than her mother? Or what if it's Darryl that she wants to kill, as revenge against the men who've mistreated her in her life? Or if it's Sylvie she really wants to be with, and we get some twisted bad-girls scenario where BOTH parents are conveniently disposed of so the girls can live together forever, lying to each other and the world and refusing to acknowledge the truth of what they've done?

IF YOU WANT TO WRITE SMUT: I'm on board with Sylvie/Ivy sex, I don't want to have to see Ivy/Darryl in too much detail. Brief reference if necessary is okay but not a focus.

DNW: Sylvie to die, Ivy to end up with Darryl

Roseanne

Darlene Conner, David Healy, Molly Tilden

I got some lovely happy romance stories for my classic couple last year - this year I want to explore the possibilities of the love triangle.

Molly had the hots for David. David thought she was cute but was devoted to Darlene. Molly badly wanted Darlene's attention and friendship, which eventually turned into rivalry when Darlene constantly rejected her. Darlene felt threatened (but did check out Molly's chest, if just for comparison). That much is canon; it doesn't take a whole lot extra to give Molly a crush on Darlene as well and make the whole mess more complicated. Is Darlene's rejection of Molly's need for attention really so different from the way she treats David sometimes?

I generally prefer drama and angst and sticking to a fairly serious character exploration but with these three I'm also up for some Wacky and/or Sexy Shenanigans. Obviously it doesn't have to end with a happy poly trio, but I'd be tickled if it did (especially if it takes some serious work to get there. suffer first, then happiness!). Or you can whump people around a bit if it makes the angsty longing more intense. Bittersweet is fine.

Some idea seeds:

Playing With Matches, Molly kisses Darlene rather than David, Darlene panics because she doesn't want to be either a lesbian or a homophobe, David panics because he thinks this means Darlene will never really want him, Jackie overhears the wrong things and panics more, chaos ensues.

Molly runs away from home and strikes a deal to hide out in Darlene's college apartment because no one would think to look for her there. David finds out.

Molly hooks up with David after Darlene dumps him for Jimmy, everyone's bitter and angsting about what they don't have.

David and Darlene are happily married stable adults living in Chicago and publishing a comic together. They are reunited with Molly at a comics convention and she confesses that when they were teenagers she was into both of them.

All three live together and raise kids, the perils of poly parenting. Especially if the rest of the extended Conner clan keeps sticking their noses in to complain about this weird situation.

Gen ideas: the three of them at a thrift store comparing their various fashion tastes as they pick through old clothes, working on a school project and battling over its direction and political messaging, or maybe the three of them doing roleplaying together (either tabletop or LARP, the 90s is peak White Wolf era after all, imagine them in a vampire game)

IF YOU WANT TO WRITE SMUT: Any combination of the three, teens or adults, is fine! No extra characters in bed though please. I have a weakness for outwardly soft and submissive boys who are much more dominant in bed, particularly if he's teased to the breaking point before pouncing and going absolutely wild (to everyone's enjoyment).

DNW: Anything from the revival/TheConners continuity. Please try not to have characters commenting on David being "emasculated" or Darlene only liking him because he's "practically a girl", the gender policing really bothers me. Don't make Jimmy actually appear because I don't want to have to think too much about that actor. Please don't make David gay even if Darlene leaves him for Molly. Don't make anyone 100% Evil.

Kushiel's Legacy

Phedre's Younger Sibling

Ever since someone mentioned it I've been intrigued by the idea of what happened to Phedre's little sister or brother, the one her mother was pregnant with when Phedre was sold to the Night Court. We know her parents probably died during the Bitterest Winter, of fever or of war, because they never tried to meet with Phedre once she was famous. But her sibling might never have even known Phedre's name or that she even existed, so they might have lived past that point without ever having a reason to contact her. What sort of life did that second child, four years younger than Phedre, have?

Phedre's coloring and defiant nature might read quite differently on a beautiful young man, a clever one with a knack for getting into trouble. Did he grow up bouncing along on slightly more successful caravans, learning scraps of Skaldi and Caerdicci as they traveled? Did he develop the business sense his father lacked? Did he beg caravan guards to teach him swordplay? Did a young love of travel combined with his parents tendency to bad fortune lead to him signing on as a sailor while he was still basically a child?

A boy might also be less likely to hear even a whisper of rumor of the lost older daughter. A boy might have been embraced as Firstborn and Heir by his father and never doubt.

A second daughter, however, one with a passing resemblance to Phedre but without Kushiel's dart and its mixed blessings, her existence might be more complicated. Looking at her might be a constant reminder of the shame of what happened with their first daughter. She might qualify for the canon of one of the Houses, but her parents might have felt themselves unable to return to the city of Elua to trade her, for fear of incurring the wrath of Cereus House. Might they have sold her somewhere else, even on the open market as a slave, as Phedre feared her fate might have been if her parents had been desperate enough? Or perhaps she was less pretty, less useful, and found herself abandoned at a temple of Naamah or Elua by her family? (We meet a Liliane at the temple where Imriel grew up and Phedre notes that was her mother's name. She seems a little bit young to be Phedre's sister but it's not impossible, and there's certainly a story in what happened to her if she is.)

But if a sister grew up looking a great deal like Phedre but without that divine spark, might she have been seized by someone precisely because of that resemblance? Someone who longed for the heroine but could not afford or entice the Comtesse de Montreve, so instead acquired their own little discount version? Or someone with a grudge against Phedre that they dared not act on, so kept a girl to punish in her place, never knowing it was actually her sister?

Or perhaps Phedre's wayward parents settled down a bit and matured and lived a respectable middle-class life outside the City of Elua, and this younger sister or brother lived a very ordinary d'Angeline life, until the Bitterest Winter. If they were sixteen and suddenly orphaned by fever, what did they do then? Take up arms to fight the Skaldi invasion? Go in search of more distant relatives? Philippe Cantrel had at least a father and two older brothers - we can assume Grandfather died and the inheriting elder brothers didn't remember Phedre's name or weren't paying enough attention to know she existed. But the child might have returned to the city seeking these uncles out of desperation. Or they might have been killed or enslaved by the Skaldi. Or all sorts of things.

I guess what I'm looking for here is a viewpoint on events within Terre d'Ange from a character who isn't important, isn't divinely touched, doesn't know exactly what all the great houses are up to, and never has any idea how closely connected they are to great events. Some dramatic irony and angst welcome. Possibly they live a short, unremarkable life and die alone. Possibly they make something of themselves, but without ever becoming rich and famous and royally connected. Whoever they are, Phedre never knows.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I have not yet read Cassiel's Servant! I may or may not have gotten to it by Christmas, and I was not taking anything in that book into account when making this request, this is a repeat from years before. I have no idea if any further light is shone on the subject, and I will likely not recognise any character from that book. If you haven't read it either, great! If you have, don't lean on it.

IF YOU WANT TO WRITE SMUT: go for it, just see my general smut-DNWs at the top.

DNW: Accidental incest between Phedre and her sibling. The sibling turning out to be a secret behind-the-scenes savior who was responsible for some major event in the plot. Either sibling ever figuring out that they're related.

Picnic at Hanging Rock

Hester Appleyard, Sara Waybourne

Note: I have not read the book or seen the 1975 movie, I've only seen the miniseries. You can draw ideas from other versions if you want but you'll have to explain what you're talking about or I may not get the reference.

First off, TV Sara is the cutest thing and I want to protect her (and, well, THAT obviously didn't work out). Second, I feel like the relationship between Hester and Sara is interestingly ambiguous (what isn't, in this show?). Hester seems both antagonistic and friendly to Sara in different ways, and it seems clearly suggested that she's reminded of her own orphan past. She sometimes wants to bond with her and othertimes wants to furiously reject her. She fears that Sara knows far too much, and she's tempted to tell her more.

The circumstances of Sara's death are very unclear, though we see that Hester knows something and is covering it up. What happened between them on that final night? Did Hester push Sara out in a rage? Did they struggle, up in the tower on a windy night, and a careless shove let Sara fall? Did Hester try to save her? Did Sara leap from the tower in despair? Did Sara try to climb out to escape and fall? How did Hester find out that Sara was dead, and why did she choose to deal with it in the way she did (pretending Sara had left but not disposing of the body)? What was she thinking? Or did she truly convince herself Sara had just 'disappeared' like the other girls?

So things that I'd be particularly interested in, storywise:

A depiction of the details and the drama of that final, fatal night

Any scene in which they really open up to each other and share secrets we didn't see in the series (which might or might not end with Hester threatening Sara to shut her up)

AU in which Hester adopts Sara herself and trains her to follow in her footsteps? Possibly where she uses Sara as a bridge to marry Mr Cosgrove? (Dark and mysterious things should still happen, just DIFFERENT ones)

AU in which it's Hester who falls to her death after their last confrontation in the tower. Sara lives! But she might be suspected of murder, especially if for some reason Hester named her in the will and left her the school. What happens to the school and Sara now?

Angst and drama are likely. Killing either or both characters is fine. Depictions of self-harm and child abuse consistent with the series are fine, but tag it. No sexual abuse depictions please.

Smutwise: Not with each other! In keeping with the style of the show, some light sexual scenes might work well for filling in character info (what IS hester's sexuality anyway? If Sara Lives, how does she eventually move on from Miranda?) but this is not a kink request.

DNW: Hester/Sara slash. A super-happy fix-it fic. This is a dark canon, so I'm okay with the threat of someone being pruriently interested in Sara or young Hester, but I absolutely don't want anyone to do anything sexual to Sara while she's underage. It's okay to imply that young Hester might have been molested or prostituted but I don't want to see it happen in detail.

21 Jump Street - Series

Harry Ioki

I always felt like Harry was shortchanged on the show in terms of how much screentime and attention he got. Maybe just because I thought he was gorgeous and wanted so much more. Because they showed less of him, I have fewer strong hooks to build off of for requests. I don’t really know what I want, other than an Ioki adventure during the first four seasons of the show. Some mystery, some drama, a chance for him to look cool, an excuse to dress him up nice? (Can you find an excuse to make him solve a mystery while wearing a snazzy dinner jacket, or some sort of lovingly-detailed punk getup?)

Romance-wise, I don’t want him in a full relationship with any of the main cast but I wouldn’t mind him flirting with ANY of them. I’m cool with writing an OFC for him to romance during the story, but I would prefer a reset button on that for the ending. Maybe she dies, maybe she’s the bad guy and he has to arrest her, maybe she doesn’t like it when she finds out who he really is, maybe it was just a fling, whatever. A nice poignant note to wrap up on. Given the time period and his personality, I feel like if Harry were bi, he'd be keeping it quiet, and I don't want a story that's all about the struggles of being closeted in the 80s, so if you really want to give him a boyfriend, that shouldn't be the main focus. Romance isn’t necessary either, but it’s nice to have someone to admire the boy. Even if it’s just Tom and Doug complaining that he looks better in that outfit than they would. (Background Tom/Doug bromance is fine too.)

Angst and bittersweet endings are very acceptable and common for the canon. I'd prefer at least a tiny spark of hope (for him personally even if not for the characters of the week) rather than total despair.

Please do not reference anything having to do with the movies, not even as a joke.

I'd actually prefer to skip the smut on this one and keep it in tone with what you'd see on television.

DNW: Harry sleeping with anyone in the main cast. Any main character dying. Gross-out jokes or otherwise not taking the premise of the show seriously. AIDS storylines. Any reference to the movies.

#yuletide letter #yuletide 2023

[godofcreatitivity]

One Piece the Movie

(the following is a nonprofit fan based parody any characters from one piece is owned by Eiichiro Oda, Toei Animation Co., Ltd., any characters from super Mario are owned by Nintendo, any characters from troll hunters, are owned by DreamWorks and universal)

Chapter 6: An unwanted Guest

(Party Bar: 6 hours later)

The music was so loud your ears would burst, there was so much food that it filled the entire bar counter and some of the tables inside the bar. There were crates full of beer bottles for the part that had yet to be open. People were either dancing or singing, or trying to dance and sing.

Others were drinking and conversing at the counter where Makino was working.

There was a party at the party bar and everyone in Foosha village was invited to it.

It was meant to be a welcome home party for Luffy and so that everyone in the village could get to see him again before he left.

He was getting the chance to see so many old and familiar faces that he hadn’t seen in a while.

Lots of people were surrounding Zoro and asking him a bunch of questions that he couldn’t answer all of them at once.

So far they were having a great time, especially since they were being asked to sign a bunch of autographs from the villagers.

And even though he and Zoro were only staying for about a week, maybe two, Makino had set up this massive party at her bar and wanted to make sure Luffy had the time of his life while he was back.

And that’s exactly what he was having.

Having all of these people acknowledge him for all the hard work he put into becoming a pirate made his world.

She also had some of the mountain Bandits act as bodyguards for the bar in case anything were to happen. She even decided that since this was a party for Luffy, that all of the food and drinks would be on the house. Just so that Luffy and everyone else could enjoy themselves.

She was basically catering the party, supplying food and drinks for all the guests that arrived.

Everyone from Foosha village came to the bar in order to celebrate the temporary return of the future pirate king Monkey D Luffy.

Children were even invited to the party, but she made sure that they weren’t drinking anything other than water or root beer.

Vanellope was also doing a side hustle trying to make sure that any kid who wanted to go near Luffy had to pay up.

A few rookie pirates (Who were already in town at the time) had also gone to the party to meet the legendary straw hat pirates.

This was so that they could learn how to be great pirates like them too.

And speaking of which, Luffy and Zoro sat at the bar counter surrounded by most if not all of the villagers (that came to the party) and they were pouring out questions to Luffy about all he had gone through while he was out there.

And even though he was only going to be back for a short while, everyone was still more than happy to see him and they all wanted to know about all of the crazy adventures that he and his crew had, or at least the ones that they didn’t hear about.

Luffy was more than happy to tell them, he even had Zoro there next to him to make sure he wasn’t straying too far from the truth.

“And then just when all hope was lost, I’m tired, my bodies about to give out from using 4th gear, Doflamingo about to kill everyone with his bird cage”, Luffy was saying, mostly everyone in the bar was listening in on the climax of the Dressrosa story.

This was the very event that caused Luffy to get the attention of both the Emperors of the sea.

“And so I suddenly get the idea to fly up to the top of the cage and blow my fist up to make my giant Gum Gum King Kong Gun and then I aim it right at Mingo, he’s doing the same with his attack, were both sitting and waiting for the other to make a final move when suddenly….”, he pauses trying to add some dramatic effect to his story.

Everyone had inched closer to him so that they could hear the finale.

Vanelope gulped down her root beer in excitement, waiting for the story to reach its best part and ending.

Even some of the other pirates had to try and hold in their excitement on what they were about to hear from the legend himself.

He balls his hand into a fist and positions it in the same way he did in the fight,”We both attack as hard as we can colliding our final attacks together, both of us not looking to give up, al hope seemed to be lost, before i suddenly feel the cheers and cries of all the people that I was fight for, and it felt like I was given a bunch of power because the next thing I knew had broken through Dolffy”s attack and Landed a giant punch that went BOOM right onto his face shooting him right into the ground”!!!, he shouted, motioning his fist similar to how he beat Doflamingo.

Everyone in the bar started cheering and clapping at the ending of the story of how he beat Doflamingo and saved all of Dressrosa.

They had only ever heard the stories of Luffy’s adventures from either the newspapers or the navy so it was interesting to hear from the very person himself about how everything went down.

It was definitely much different from all of the versions that they were told over the years.

Vannellope looked at him with wide eyes,”Wow you really are amazing Luffy”.

He responded by smiling widely and giggling.

Vanellope hopped up and down on her stool before stopping suddenly and looking towards Zoro,”Wait Zoro what did you do during the fight”, she suddenly asked out of curiosity.

All eyes were on him now, they all inched closer to hear what he had to say

This made him a tiny bit nervous but he obviously didn’t show it and gave them all a

Sly smiled l,”Well I actually had two roles to play in that battle, the first was to keep the Cage from closing in on all of us”, he then put his arm around Luffy’s back,” the second was keeping this idiot from getting us all killed.

This made everyone in the bar laugh loudly including Luffy and Zoro.

Vanellope didn’t laugh though, she was too busy admiring her two heroes and how far they had gone.

She couldn’t help but feel as though she was meeting her personal role models for the first time.

Since she had met them earlier she had fluffed them with questions about their lives as pirates and all of their other crazy adventures.

And it didn’t help that she was using her glitch fruit powers to teleport around them as she was asking questions.

Though it did make them nervous and overwhelmed at times. They were able to try and answer her questions to the best of their abilities.

She was definitely a child that didn’t really have a lot of friends that shared this passion for being a pirate with her.

Curly definitely wasn’t lying when she said Vanellope was a bag fan of them.

She has been hanging out with them the entire day showing Zoro all around town and even the kingdom(which was hard considering they weren’t like the rich folk).

She had made it her mission to show them that she was making sure they had a great time, and she wanted to learn as many things as she could from them before they had to leave.

They were basically like her babysitter, just in charge of keeping her safe and out of trouble while they were there and making sure she’s safe(well more like Zoro was making sure she was safe, Luffy just went along with whatever she did).

It wasn’t an easy job considering all of the glitching, but it was a job that was given to them by curly.

The only reason they were looking after her was because Curly said she had to go and do something important and that she would meet them later on at the party and they had to watch her until then.

She didn’t exactly give them much information about Vanellope, only that she was a bit of a wild child.

And she definitely was far from wrong about that.

Speaking of curly, she had been sitting at one of the tables with some of the other villagers and Whoop slap (who had long woken up from fainting earlier that day) they were both looking over at the two pirates.

Curly was chuckling at the sight, seeing her sergeant son finally getting recognised for the great pirate that he is.

She was also watching Makino’s baby while she was working at the counter.

The baby was mostly drinking his bottle so he wasn’t really much of a hassle.

Whoop took sips of his beer and while watching luffy tell his story.

She shrugged not wanting to bother him at that moment if he was upset with something before looking into her pocket to see if what she thought was important was still there with her.

It was something that she promised herself a long time ago that she would give it to him if he ever came back home and today was the perfect time to do so.

She looked at Whoop for confirmation before she did so.

He nodded in response telling that the time was just right.

So she had gotten over to the center of the bar tapped her spoon on her bottle to get everyone’s attention,”ALRIGHT EVERYBODY, TODAY WERE HERE TO CELEBRATE THE FUTURE PIRATE COMING BACK TO US AFTER ALL THIS TIME AND WE COULDN’T BE ANY HAPPIER TO SEE HOW FAR HE'S COME”, she announced to everyone in the bar before looking over at Luffy (who was chugging down on his drink).

She smiled before turning back to the crowd,”AND WE’RE HERE TODAY TO DRINK IN HONOR OF HIM BECOMING ONE OF THE FOUR EMPERORS OF THE SEA”, she shouted excitedly before hopping off of the table she was standing on and waking towards the bar counter where Luffy and Zoro were sitting.

She smiled at him before pulling something out of her pocket,”AND IT'S ONLY FAIR IF WE GIVE YOU SOMETHING AS A WAY TO REMEMBER HOME AND WILL GIVE YOU GOOD LUCK ON ALL OF YOUR NEXT ADVENTURES”, Seh pulled something out of her pocket and placed it in his hands.

He opened his hands and what he saw next completely shocked him.

It was Ace’s necklace.

Curly moved in closer to Luffy’s ear and whispered,”Garp had it fixed and brought it back to me so that I could give it to you whenever you came back home”.

Luffy did hear any of what she just said. His mind was racing with the thought of Ace on that day.

It was as if he were brought back to those horrifying moments of what had happened.

All he could see was Ace being impaled by Akinu’s Magma Fist, before falling dead to the ground.

These memories flooded his mind like a storm that showed no signs of stopping.

This caused him to just stare right at the necklace, as if he were entranced in it.

All while this was happening Curly had been continuing her speech,”SO I GIVE THIS GIFT TO YOU AS A WAY TO CARRY ALL OF US IN YOU HEART AND NO MATTER HOW FAMOUS YOU BECOME THAT YOU'LL NEVER FORGET US OR YOUR LATE BROTHER GOLDY D ACE”!!!

Everyone in The bar closed their eyes in a moment of silence to pay quick respects to Ace.

Once that was over everyone opened their eyes and turned to Luffy to see his reaction.

But to their surprise he wasn’t doing or showing any emotion to what was said.

He was just looking down at the necklace Curly had just given him.

Everyone was confused by his strange reaction.

Curly Leaned her head to the side in confusion of this before waving her hand in front of him trying to get his attention,”Luffy, you ok”?

Zoro (who was right next to him) noticed that something was wrong and placed his hand on Luffy’s shoulder.

This snapped him out of his trance and brought him back to reality.

He blinked his eyes and looked up to see that everyone was staring at him,”Huh what”,he asked confusedly.

Zoro, seeing that Luffy wasn’t right at that moment and wanted to take the attention off his captain.

He stood up and raised his pint,”OBVIOUSLY CAPTAINS SO HAPPY THAT HE'S AT A LOSS FOR WORDS SO LETS MAKE A TOAST”,he ushered everyone to raise their pints for the toast which they did before he started,”A TOAST TO THE FUTURE PIRATE KING, AND LET THE NAME STRAW HAT LUFFY BRING JOY AND DREAMS TO ALL FUTURE PIRATE GENERATIONS”!The party cheered in celebration as he said this.

People began to start chugging down on their drinks and dancing.

Everyone was too busy partying to notice Luffy just sitting there looking at the necklace.

Everyone except Makino and Zoro who looked over at him with worry in their eyes wondering what was going on inside his head.

(Later That night)

Once the party was just about over and mostly everyone who was there had gone home.

There were only a handful of people who were still in the bar having a few more drinks.

Zoro and Curly were both doing a a drinking contest to see who could handle chugging the most beer without throwing up.

Zoro was on an easy hot streak, chugging beer after beer with no sweat.

And he was at his eighth bottle.

While curly on the other hand wasn’t doing so well, falling out of her seat only after the fourth bottle

Zoro saw this and raised his arms in victory as Vannellope glided to his side and held his arm up,”Winner Roronoa Zoro”, she declared.

Makino (who was on the other side of the bar counter) ran over to help Curly up from the floor and back into her seat before going to get her some water.

Zoro turned to Luffy (who was still looking at the necklace) and sat back down next to him before placing a hand on his shoulder ,”hey you alright captain,”he asked in a concerned tone.

The young captain slowly turned to his vice captain with an almost sad look on before turning back to the necklace,”It's-”, he paused and took a quick breath,” it’s really Ace's necklace, the only thing I have left of him”.

The swordsman almost knew where this was going and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder,”yeah it is and you know what I think he’d want you to hang on to for a while, shit he may even want you to pass it onto someone else”, he said encouragingly.

Luffy looked back up at his friend with a smile, he then started bringing the necklace up close to his face and squeezing it tightly before putting it in his pocket.

Zoro had reached his hand over the counter and grabbed Liffy another drink and placed it in front of him.

Luffy didn’t drink from it though and just simply turned his head around to see if anyone else was in the bar.

To his surprise it was completely almost empty with the exception of a few people, who were sitting at some of the tables still drinking.

“I mean just take into consideration how far you’ve come since you left home”, he said before taking another sip of his drink and turning back to Luffy,”I don’t know about you but that to me seems like a huge achievement and that’s saying something”.

“It doesn’t say shit,”a voice from behind them shouted.

Luffy and Zoro turned around to see two men walking into the bar.

One of the men was tall with tanned skin and a muscular build and brown hair with a brown beard. He wore a black shirt, red dress pants, no shoes, a pair of sunglasses with orange lenses, and a tiger fur colored jacket over his shoulders. He also bore a scar on his left eye. He was smoking a cigar in his mouth.

The man next to him wasn’t as tall but he also had a muscular build with just black hair that extended into a ponytail with stubbles on his face. His clothes like slightly similar to Zoro’s except this guy’s clothes were red and black( which Zorohad noticed before rolling his eyes). He wore golden hoop earrings on both of his ears and golden bracelets on both his arms. He had a sword on his left hip and a pistol on his left.

By the looks of it, they both looked like pirates who had been visiting the island.

Zoro turned around to face them,”we gotta problem here”, he said before placing his hand on his sword and gripping it tightly.

The Zoro wannabe stepped forward,”You damn right we got a problem with you pirate hunter”, he stopped before pointing towards them,”There's no way in hell we're gonna except a little runt like you as an emperor of the sea”.

Zoro shot him a glare, the wannabe did the same, as if he were trying to challenge him.

Luffy gave the two men a confused look as he turned to face them as well,”who are you guys”, he asked curiously.

The wannabe stop before shooting him a grin,”Well if you must know, I’m Vice captain Reddy Ruger”, he said before turning and pointing to the taller man (who was still standing in front of the door),”And that right is the captain of the tiger claw pirates, Spike Terrano”.

Makino returned from the back with a glass of water in her hands when she saw the two new pirates in the bar.

She unfortunately knew who those two pirates were because they and the rest of their crew were always causing problems in the bar whenever they came for a drink.

She handed Curly (who was still sitting in the stool right next to Zoro) and walked over towards them,”What are you doing here spike, you know you're not supposed to be here after all of those fights you caused”,she said, tapping her foot on the floor.

The tiger claw captain raised both his arm’s high up,”hey, come on now Maki that’s no fair we just came here to enjoy the straw hat party and grab a drink just like everyone else”, he said with a sly and flirty smile.

Makino gave him a look of disgust as she took a step back.

Curly (after drinking some water) got up and made her way over there to back Makino up,”Party’s bend over for hours so best it bozos both of you”, she had ordered them.

He ignored them and walked to one of the uncle and tangles to grab one of the beer pints.

Spike turned to grab one of the pints of beer before taking a sip out of it and look over at Luffy,”For years Kaido and Big mom ruled these sea’s with an iron fist and you expect me to believe that a snot nosed little shit like you was actually able to beat them”, There was a moment of silence before the two men burst out laughing,”HAHAHAHA DON’T MAKE ME LAUGH”.

He walked closer to them,”Why would anyone in their right mind believe that you, that laughing stock of all pirates, actually be worthy of calling yourself an emperor”.

“You know what I think captain”, Reddy turned to his captain before turning back at them,”I think the must’ve pulled some strings and made the whole Wano story up just to rise up their bounties, shit if anything I bet a lot of the straw hats adventures are nothing but farses”, he boldly stated before snatching a beer of a passed out customer.

Zoro raised his eye browser in response to the statement,”Wow, now isn’t that a bold accusation”, he said sarcastically nudging Luffy on the elbow,”That sounds like a lot of trouble for a person to go through just to boost up their reputation as a pirate especially as an emperor”.

Luffy sat there, his head tilted to the side in confusion,”Yeah, why would I need to do that when all I could just do is go on an adventure”.

“Because cowardly pirates like you don’t have what it takes to be real pirates, much less emperors, so there’s no real reason for us to possibly believe that you of all people could single handedly defeat one of the most powerful of them”, Spike said.

Vannellope stood up in offense,”Hey Luffy’s a better pirate than you’ll ever be”.

Spike turned to her and laughed,”Don’t count on it kid, pansies like them could never beat great pirates like kaido and big mom”.

Zoro started to chuckle at that,”Hey if you don’t believe us you're more than welcome to go to Wano and look at the big ass craters captain left Kaido behind after knocking him out of the sky with a giant fist”.

Spike gave him a stare.

Zoro then raised his hands in defense,”But hey believe what you want it won’t kill me”, he said before once again, picking up his beer,” it also won’t change captain’s title of emperor one bit”.

Reddy stepped up and pointed at Zoro,”Hey, no one’s talking to you Lapdog”, he said furiously.

Zoro's eyes rows in response to that comment before he started to snicker to himself and going to open his beer,”You know I’ve been called a lot of things over the years, Pirate hunter, moss head, an alcoholic, an Topographically Agnostic, and a racist for some weird unknown reason”, after a couple of twist and turns he got the bottle open before taking a sip,”But lapdog’s definitely gotta be the strangest”.

He then sat the bottle down behind him and turned back to Reddy with a terrifying stare,”Never once has anyone ever been stupid enough to call me a Lapdog”.

This sent a chill down Reddy's spine but he kept a brave face, not wanting to look weak.

“Especially not by some pretty boy knock off wearing cheap versions of my clothes”, he said examining Reddy’s clothes.

Reddy turned red at that comment and stepped forward until he was a foot away from Zoro,”You think you scare me please, I bet your sword skills aren’t even as good as people say they are”.

Zoro responded simply by standing up taking another sip right in front of reddy,”Look I would love nothing more than to give you a demonstration but I’m not entirely in the mood to do so and if I’m gonna be honest I’m not really a fan of using my skills on little small fries bitches little you”, he turned and sat back in his seat to finish his drink.

Reddy went bright red in anger as he was about to charge and attack Zoro but Spike placed his hand in front of him to stop him.

“And you know what straw hat”, he started, grabbing another pint while making his way to Luffy,” You like to sail around the world with that stupid ass smile talking about how you gonna be the king of the pirates, but all of us real pirates see you for what you really are”, Luffy gave him a confused look right before spike took a big gulp from the beer pint and spat it all over him, leaving him soaked.

Vannellope and Makino both gasped at what had just happened.

Curly was about to lunge out and attack him but was stopped by Zoro, Who placed a hand in front of her.

Spike poured what was left inside on top of Luffy’s head,”Your just some scared and stupid little kid that likes to sail around all of us successful pirates and making us all look like a laughing stock and giving us a bad name well you know what I want you to get through your empty head”, he grabbed Luffy by his shirt and yanked him up towards his face,”Your a joke and you always will be”.

Those words echoed in Luffy’s head after they came out of Spike's mouth.

Though it bothered him, he wasn’t a tiny bit intimidated by Spike's comments nor was he the least bit shaken by his threats.

Spike began to grin after he said this before being shocked by a sudden scream.

“STOP IT RIGHT NOW”,Makino shouted at them.

The three of them turned to see and angry red hot Makino standing next to them, once again g tapping her foot,”This bar does not tolerate violence, especially during a party, so you can either THIS BAR DOES NOT TOLERATE VIOLENCE, ESPECIALLY NOT DURING A PARTY”,she stepped forward, staring right at spike,”SO YOU CAN EITHER GRAB A DRINK OR GET OUT”, she shouted right in his face.

Spike and Reddy, both looked at each other with wide eyes, everyone in the room was the same way.

No one had ever seen Makino get so angry before unless someone gave her a good reason to.

When that happened everyone knew better than to push her any further.

Spike turned to Luffy (who had more of a blank face) and grinned,”Well see you around straw hat”, he said maliciously before shoving Luffy to the

Ground and laughing loudly.

Makino went to see if he was ok and helped him up.

Spike turned to Reddy,”Let’s blow this joint”, he said before pulling out his wallet, grabbing a couple of bucks and placing it on the counter.

He turned around and made his way to the door.

Reddy did the same but not before turning back to them with a sly grin,”Later pansies”, he said before falling Spike out the door.

Once the door shut there was a moment of silence.

Zoro spun around in his seat and looked to the ground where Luffy was (with Makino right next to him) and said,”You know something tells me that he doesn’t like you”.

The two of them looked at each for a couple of seconds before bursting out laughing.

This surprised everyone in the bar.

They were both mocking and laughing about the two pirates.

“And you always will be”, Zoro mimicked Spike in an obnoxious way.

That made Luffy laugh even harder causing him to roll around on the ground.

Vanellope and Curly looked at them both in confusion wondering how they were so happy after what had just happened.

Makino however, just smiled and sighed in relief, thankful that Luffy was acting the way he usually did.

Even if it was around pirates like those two assholes.

Makino had helped Luffy up from the floor and began brushing off any dirt or food crumbs off his clothes.

Once she was done Luffy looked at her and smiled,”Thanks Makino, sorry if we caused a bit of trouble with those guys”.

She then looked at him with a shocked expression on her face wondering how he could apologize when he did nothing wrong.

She bowed her head,”No Luffy I’m the one who should be sorry, I should’ve made sure those pirates didn’t cause any trouble while they were here, Curlys crew and I usually keep them in check, but instead this time I just sat there and let them disrespect you guys”, she began to apologize profusely to him for those pirates.

Curly also stepped in,”I’ll make sure they don’t cause you guys any more trouble while you guys are staying here.”

Luffy simply smiled and patted her on the shoulder,” Don’t sweat it”.

“Stuff like that happens all the time especially if it’s with other pirates”, Zoro chimed in.

Vannellope stood up and spoke up,”But you shouldn’t have that happen to you especially not by losers like them”, she turned to Luffy,” How could you let them bully you and talk down to you like that especially when you are an emperor now”.

She had a bit of anger in her eyes,” plus you are also super strong so you coulda kick all their asses if you wanted to”.

Luffy in response gave her a confused look,”Why would I wanna do that”.

“Just because you can beat somebody up doesn’t mean you should”,Zoro said from behind her,” especially if you know that same person is much weaker than you”.

Vanellope (still not wanting to let this go) turns right back to Luffy,”But, Luffy, they disrespected your dream of becoming the king of the pirates and they said you weren’t really an emperor doesn’t that make you want to get mad and fight them”.

Luffy however responded by simply shrugging his shoulders,”Why would I get mad over that when I actually am an emperor”.

She was shocked at how unbothered he was about the situation.

It was as if what they had done to him just a few minutes ago meant absolutely nothing at all.

Zoro got up and walked towards her before speaking up,”Why would we bother getting worked up over them not being able to accept the fact that the straw hat pirates aren’t a rookie crew anymore, especially if everything that has happened to us up until this point was true, and sometimes it’s better not to fight a battle that isn’t worth half your time”, he then placed his hand on his captain’s shoulder”, those loser don’t wanna believe the truth that’s their problem and and not gonna lose any sleep or my cool over it and you shouldn’t either, but if they start causing too much of a ruckus than we’ll be more than willing to set them straight”.

Vanellope turned to Luffy, who was smiling widely as he placed his hands on her shoulders,”Someone once told me that, They can laugh at us all they want, but when you aim high you offend find some fights that aren’t worth fighting”.

Those last few words stuck to her like glue as if she had been told the most important thing in her life.

Luffy stood up and nodded to her,”so don’t sweat it ok”.

Makino watching this reminded her of that time when Luffy was a kid like Vanellope and Red Haired Shanks and he told Luffy almost the exact same thing 12 years ago when they came to Rothy's bar and may have caused a bit of a ruckus.

It made her happy to see how much Luffy had grown from all those years ago.

It was almost like that exact day with a few changes.

It was like he was becoming more and more like him every time she saw him.

The thought of this made her chuckle a tiny bit.

She turned towards the clock and saw that it was getting pretty late and she would need to close up shop and get ready for the next day,”Hey guys, why don’t we wrap this up for tonight and we can all meet up in the morning to explore the island”,she suggested.

Curly (who had just been sitting back and watching all of this) smiled and stepped forward in agreement,”Yeah she’s right it is getting a little late”.

She then turned to Vanellope and remembered how Zoro promised her that they would give her a tour of their ship.

She placed her hand in j Vanellope's head,”Why don’t you two take Vanellope here with your guys back to your ship and give her that tour she was asking for earlier and the two of us can clean this up, hell she can even spend the night there if she wants to”.

Vanellope's eyes went wide after hearing that and she turned to Curly,”Really”.

Curly nodded in response to her question,”As long as they say it’s okay”.

The little girl turned to Luffy and Zoro with puppy dog eyes as a way of asking if she could go.

Luffy and Zoro both looked at her before turning to each and grinning.

Luffy turned back to them,”Yeah sure that sounds awesome”.

Vanellope froze for a moment before squealing loudly and started glitching herself up and down and all around the party bar walls.

The two pirates smiled in joy seeing how happy they made the young girl.

Zoro stuck out his hand and grabbed the little girl before she could teleport anywhere else,”Alright come on let’s get a move on we need to let them clean up before they make us help”.

Vanellope nodded at this and glitched herself on the floor,”Last one there is a rotten egg”, she said before running to the door.

Luffy laughed as he chased after her, but not before turning to Makino and Curly, and waving goodbye to them.

He ran out the door and continued his race with Vannellope.

Leaving Zoro, Makino, and Curly inside the bar.

He was about to go after them but was stopped by Curly,” Make sure you watch after them for me ok”, she asked with a worried look on her face.

He turned to see Makino with the same look on her face.

Zoro smiled and nodded to them in response before turning around and making his way to the door.

Once they were home Makino had breathed a sigh of relief seeing as though nothing too bad had happened.

Curly turned to her and placed her hand on her shoulder,”It really is good to see him again, huh”.

Makino chuckled and said,”Yeah it really is”, she said relieved.

(Later On The Sunny)

It had been about an hour since they had returned to the ship for the night.

While Zoro had been taking Vanellope on a tour of the ship and showing her where she would sleep for the night.

Luffy wanted to take this time to go and look out at the sea.

The ship was parked in Foosha village harbor pointing towards the sea.

Luffy was lying outside at the ship's deck just looking out at the sea.

It sure was beautiful that night, especially with the light shining from the moon.

Even at night the sea looked beautiful to him, even if he wasn’t able to swim in it.

He continued watching over the sea for a few minutes before reaching into his pocket and pulling out Ace's necklace.

Once he pulled it out he did what he was doing earlier and looked straight at it.

He knew what Zoro was saying earlier but he honestly couldn’t help it.

Seeing something from his late brother after so long had conflicted him a lot more than he would’ve ever expected.

It was like the last few hours ever since he’s been back home he’s seen nothing but reminders of Ace.

Though Luffy had come to terms with Ace’s death he was still very much hurting from it and in some way he still blamed himself for it everyday since.

Losing his brother in such a horrible way had stuck with him for a long time.

He was never going to be able to fully come to terms with Ace's death no matter how many good things were happening to him.

He had always thought that he and his brothers would stay together for as long as they could and now that one of them was gone it just wasn’t the same.

All he wanted now was to get strong enough to protect his friends and achieve his dreams.

He had to find the One Piece no matter what and he was going to find it.

He tightly squeezed the necklace in his hand and put it back in his pocket.

Zoro suddenly walked out of one of the ship doors and made his way to where his captain was lying down.

Once he got there he stood over him as he too began to look out at the sea as well,”It’s a beautiful sight ain’t it”, he said admiringly.

Luffy chuckled and said,”Yup”.

Zoro started to walk towards the edge of the ship and lean on the rail,”No need to worry about the kid she’s currently taking refuge in choppers room, says she likes the look of it”.

Luffy didn’t say anything back, he just continued to look out at the sea.

“You know it’s definitely odd to meet someone who’s actually a fan of you and knows damn near everything about you”, he said looking over at where he left her.

“Yeah it’s totally weird”, Luffy said, still not taking his eyes off the ocean.

Zoro then turned his head to look at the village,”Quite the place you came from huh”, he said getting up off the rail,” I can see why you wanted to come back here so badly”.

“Yeah it’s great to see everyone again after so long”, Luffy said, turning to look back at his home.

“Can’t wait for what tomorrow brings”, he said excitedly.

Zoro looked at him and chuckled,” you know I don’t mind being in this quiet environment for a bit and I mean come on what’s the worst that could possibly happen while we’re here”.

Vanellope suddenly appeared in front of them with an excited look on her face,”Wow guys your ship is even more cool than I thought it was and it even has all of its battle scars too”.

“Yeah Franky does a hellava good job keeping this old thing together”, Zoro said, looking around the ship.

He then looked toward the town and saw just how dark it was at this time of night,”Jesus guess you guys never heard of a street light huh”.

Luffy turned his head to the town too,”yeah it can get pretty dark around here”.

Vanellope gasped,”We should tell scary stories while we’re here and it’s dark out”.

Zoro and Luffy thought about it for a moment.

After a second or two Zoro shrugged,”I’m down”.

“Does anybody know a scary story?”,Luffy asked.

Vanellope shook her head, she was hoping they would know any good scary stories.

There were a few moments of thinking before Zoro spike up,”I could tell a story about Arashi being if you guys want to hear that”, he suggested.

After her that suggestion, both Luffy and Vanellope looked at him with confused faces

Zoro saw this and slapped his hand on his head,”Arashi is Japanese for trolls”.

Vanellope's confused face disappeared as she understood what he was talking about.

Luffy however still didn’t understand,”What’s a troll”?, he asked curiously.

Vanellope turned to him,”A troll, you know those big smelly monsters that eat people and turn to stone when the sun comes out”.

Luffy’s confused face had yet to disappear even with that brief explanation she gave him.

Zoro sighed seeing that his captain still wasn’t getting it,”They’re basically made up mythical creatures that people used to make scary stories about to kids”.

Luffy still barely understood what they were talking about but was still curious,”Wow I still don’t get it”.

Zoro once again slapped his hand on his head,” you know what I just tell a brief story and see if you’ll try to understand”.

Luffy nodded his head.

Zoro turned around and began as he looked out at the distance,”Alright from what my teacher told me as a kid, there was once a time where there was a bunch of magical creatures that lived in harmony or something, but then came the trolls, who were hideous, monstrous beasts that were almost entirely indestructible from everything but the sun which was the only thing that could kill them, and they wanted to devour all of mankind and they were like super close to doing so, but this old man named Merlin stepped in, he was apparently a wizard that knew some kind of powerful magic strong enough to defeat the trolls, which he did, he and his sword buddy king arthur used this excalibur and defeated the trolls and banished them to a far away place, but not before the king of the trolls swore revenge and that he and his army would return and kill everyone or something like that”, he turned to Luffy,’ you understand that.

Luffy was still somewhat confused about what he had heard so he just shrugged his shoulders.

Zoro sighed in frustration and decided just to leave it at that.

“Well after hearing that i kinda wanna talk about another story”, she turned to both of them,” anyone else wanna try”.

They’ll all started thinking for another moment before Luffy spoke up,”Hey i think I got some-“,but then that feeling from earlier had returned the feeling of being watched.

He looked over to Zoro who by the cautious look on his face seemed to have felt it too as he was grabbing the handle of one of his swords,

Vanellope gave him a confused look wondering what he was talking about,”You got what”?, she asked curiously.

He didn’t answer, he insisted hopped up from where he was sitting and started checking his surroundings.

She turned to Zoro to see if he knew what Luffy was doing but he was doing the same thing.

It was like they were looking for something, something important.

And they were, they were looking for the person who had been following them for almost the entire day.

Whoever this person was had been following them since they had arrived at the island but couldn’t find any sign of them.

But this time was different, this was a much more prominent feeling and it was close, really close.

Vanellope (who had been just sitting there and watching them look around the ship) was just about fed up with not knowing what they were doing,”GUYS”!!!, she shouted trying once again to get their attention.

This time it worked and the two of them turned to see her tapping her foot before walking towards them,”Can someone please tell me what's going on”.

After realizing that she was still here, Zoro's eyes went wide.

Whatever was out there was obviously a threat to them and didn't have the best intentions with them.

The two of them could probably handle whoever was out there but she was in more danger than any of them.

He quickly ran over to her and placed his hand on her shoulders,”Vanellope, I need you to go back to chopper's room and lock the door”.

She turned her head to the side in confusion,”what why”.

Before she got an answer though she was already being ushered to the door,”We don’t have time to explain, just do it”, he said urgently.

He brought her to the door but she turned around to look at them to see if this was some kind of joke, but when she saw Zoro”s face she saw just how serious it was.

She looked to Luffy, he was still looking for whatever was out there.

This helped her realize that this wasn’t a joke they were playing on her but something much more serious this was.

She nodded to him and ran inside the door.

Zoro then turned and made his way to his captain,”You were feeling that too huh”?, he asked as he stood behind his captain and got into a battle ready position.

Luffy did answer him but he did yell out in the distance,”I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE, COME OUT NOW SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASS”!!!!, he threatened.

There no response, there was only silence and the movement in the waves.

This was like this for the next few seconds until they suddenly heard a sound.

They couldn’t fully make out what exactly it was but it almost sounded like a humming sound.

The two pirates continued checking their surroundings until they finally heard where the humming sound was distinctly coming from.

The sound went from humming to all of a sudden there was singing.

https://youtu.be/lY6rIxUuXVA

“Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream (bung, bung, bung, bung)”

“Make him the cutest that I've ever seen (bung, bung, bung, bung)”

The singing was echoing all over the ship as if giant speakers were planted on the ship.

They were looking around trying to ignore the song but they still weren’t able to find anyone.

They then heard a loud screeching sound coming from the second floor deck.

“Give him two lips like roses and clover (bung, bung, bung, bung)”

“Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over”

They looked up toward their second floor deck and saw an ominous shadowy figure standing there.

The figure stepped forward revealing himself to be a man with bright yellow eyes.

It was the same man that came into Makino’s bar earlier that day.

Luffy and Zoro both got themselves into a battle ready stance preparing for what was about to happen next.

“Well well, hello friends”,he said, his mouth formed into a malicious smile.

“Looks like I finally tracked you down”, he said.

(End of Chapter)

Sorry for the delay

More is coming soon.

[folkloreguk]

French Class [2]

A/N: I hope you all enjoy this part! I’m excited to put out more parts soon!

genre: optional bias (m) x reader (f), smut, oral (f receiving), car sex, dirty talk, college!au, nerd!reader, fuckboy!bias

words: 4.4 k

✽series masterlist✽

taglist (lmk if u wanna be added!): @lovely-ateez

“And then he asked me if I would wear his tie around my neck while he- Hello? Earth to Y/N? Are you there?” Your roommate, Chohee, waved her hand in front of your face from across the table. You had occupied the seats in the back of the Chinese restaurant, in a niche where you were mostly hidden from other customers. Turns out, for all the spicy stories she had in store – as always – that had been a great idea.

“I swear your thoughts have been all over the place lately. Are you sure you have nothing to talk about?” She twirled a strand of her dyed pink hair around her fingers while she mustered you suspiciously.

“I’m sorry, I zoned out. It’s nothing, I’m just tired. I’ve been studying day and night. Looks like you’re the only one with the stories today. Just start again from the part where he got the whipped cream from the fridge,” you said.

“We went over that part five minutes ago! Have you paid any attention?” Chohee shook her head with a grin. Then she began her bedroom-adventure story from the beginning, because she knew as well as you, she loved talking about it.

Truth was, you had one hell of a story to tell. And no, you had not been paying attention. Not because you were tired. Not because you had studying on your mind. But because one hundred percent of your focus was currently directed at the boy only a few tables from yours. You only saw the back of his head, but there was no doubt about his identity. The mop of hair was unmistakable. Plus, he was in his famous black leather jacket. There was no mistaking this piece of clothing. It was decorated with white splatters of acrylic paint and had his name written messily across the top of his back. You could just about make out the tips of the letters as he leaned back comfortably, legs spread on his chair, chatting to his friend.

Chohee had no idea about the grip the person behind her had on you. She was your closest friend, and yet you hadn’t broken the news to her: You were hooking up (and not just once) with the so-called “hottest guy on campus”. AT least those had been her words when she had first told you about him. Lately you had to admit, you were starting to agree. It wasn’t like you wanted to keep secrets from her. In fact, on many occasions you had almost crumbled and told her the full story. Had she not been such a chatterbox, and did she not love gossiping as much as she did, you swore she would already know about your little arrangement with him.

She was aware of this much: You and him were casual friends. Study buddies, one would say. You had subtly passed over the little details of your friendship. How grocery store visits sometimes turned into visits to his dorm because of a simple text of his, or how you had sneaked out on more than one occasion in the middle of the night because he had told you his dormmates weren’t home. It wasn’t weird to Chohee that you brushed over the particularities of your “one-night-stands” when you returned in the mornings. You had never been as big on sharing as she was.

Maybe you wanted to keep things to yourself out of fear what people would say, too. You couldn’t care less whether people knew you were sleeping around. But everyone knew him, or so it seemed. Girls wanted him. Boys wanted to be him. All you desired was his friendship and some fun. You had no interest in being known on campus or having people you’ve never met giving you the side-eye over having sex with an oh-so-special boy. One day you would tell Chohee all about it. You weren’t technically lying. Just not sharing the entire story.

“Remember how I said H/N was the hottest guy ever?” Chohee suddenly said. The sound of his name made your head snap back to reality.

“Oh, now you’re listening, I see. All it takes is for me to mention your new bestie,” she teased. “You shouldn’t get too attached to him. I have a feeling that girls are interchangeable to him, either way. Anyway, I’ve decided I find his friend Korain much more attractive, since I’ve been hooking up with him.”

Would it be weird to correct her? To promise her, when you had more time and weren’t so distracted, you would lay the truth on her? He isn’t like that at all, you wanted to say. Yes, he liked female attention. But that didn’t make him a bad guy. Would it sound crazed to explain how he knew how you took your coffee, and how he sent you pictures of your favorite animals before your exams to take some of the nerves away? Or how he reported that it took him exactly 1,012 steps to get to your dorm from his place? Multiple times you had tried to count the distance yourself, but you never seemed to have enough focus to make it. Something always caught you off guard. You had doubted his credibility, but he swore he wasn’t bluffing.

Speaking of his friend Korain – who was at this very Chinese restaurant with H/N – he was suddenly making eye contact with you. Before you could slide lower into your seat like a frightened animal, he had grinned at you. Oh no. Prompted by his friend’s smile in your direction, H/N now turned his head. You were thankful Chohee was still deep in her explanation on why she had changed her opinions on the two very boys only a few tables away. If only she knew.

H/N’s eyes caught yours and a smirk plastered on his face. You assumed the tiny smile you sent him would do, but no. The two young men had collected their things and were getting ready to leave. The exit was the opposite direction, and yet H/N took the long way there. His stride was that of a model as he approached your table.

“Y/N,” he said, voice sweet like sugar candy and his smile charming like famous artwork. “You wanna hang at the library later?”

Chohee was now eyeing him as if she was your bodyguard and he was an obsessed fan who had crossed into your personal space. All you could think of was how you wanted him as your dessert. Now. But you had an exam coming up in a few days. So, his invitation fit just right.

“I’ll be there.” You smiled politely. He gave you a raised eyebrow, but then nodded, said goodbye, spun around and followed his friend out of the restaurant. When you looked at Chohee, she was already giving you eyes that asked a billion questions at once. Fantastic. Now you’d have to explain that “hang at the library” was not some sort of codeword for sex, but you had – against all odds – convinced the local prince of fuckboys that studying wasn’t such an atrocious idea after all. But fate saved you before you could begin your clarification.

“Oh no! Where has the time gone? I have to get to my afternoon lecture!” Chohee exclaimed, quickly gathering her purse and jacket. “My professor will curse me if I’m late again!”

And with that, she scrambled up from the table. “Don’t think you’re getting off easy just because I have to go! I demand a good story when I get home!”

You knew she was just being dramatic, and should you decide to keep everything to yourself for another month, she wouldn’t be mad. And yet, the urge to tell her crept up on you as you watched her hurry out of the door while waving one last time. Your morning classes had been the only appointment in your calendar for the day. So, with nothing else to do, you fished for your phone to message him for a time to meet at the library.

~

“What were you being so weird for earlier?” he asked as he plopped down on the wooden chair across from you. His books slammed on the table, and you flinched a little. Boys.

“Thanks for reminding me why I chose to sit in the group project area today. Could you be any louder in a library?” you said. “And thank god we’re the only ones here.”

“Thanks for reminding me that you’re still great at avoiding questions,” he returned.

“I just didn’t want my friend to ask questions.”

“So you talked to me like a five year old would respond to their kindergarten teacher? Are you embarrassed to be seen with me? The guy with the reputation?”

“No, I’m not. Wait? What? And what kind of reputation would that be, if I may ask? The you-only-sleep-with-a-girl-once-reputation?”

“You should know the nastiest rumors mostly prove to be false. I was thinking of something more delightful. Like a gives-the-best-head-on-campus-kind of reputation.”

You snorted. “And who is going to do the research to prove that?”

“Why don’t you look around and report back to me?” he smirked.

“No thanks. I’m already hooking up with a guy who’s more than a handful.”

He faked taking offence in your words with a theatrical gasp. “Is that so? The girl I’m hooking up with isn’t much better. Always asks to hang at the library like she doesn’t beg me to fuck her the second we get out of there.”

“Let me remind you that you were the one who suggested this place today,” you said. “I was ready to jump into your bed and you had to stall time like this.”

“Are you for real? What are we still doing here, then?” he asked, and you tilted your head with a suggestive grin that mirrored his.

15 minutes later:

“Who the fuck stores five umbrellas in their car?” You kicked another one off the backseat you were lying on. Your bra was exposed beneath your shirt which he had pushed up on your chest and was now attacking the exposed skin with hungry kisses.

“That’s what you get for not getting it on in the library,” he muttered against your skin without looking up.

“We’d be asking to get suspended from there by doing that,” you said. “And I cherish my library very much.”

He only made a snickering noise and shook his head before he went to take off his shirt – and promptly hit his head on the car roof. “Ow! This sucks. I can barely move.”

“That’s what you get for not waiting until we’re at your place,” you teased him with his own words. But judging by the prominent bulge in his pants, you supposed you didn’t want him driving anywhere. Not with naughty things on his mind, and with you next to him to only make him hornier. Your eyes fell on the dark purple spots on his abdomen, and you grinned.

“Wow. Someone must have worked hard to make that stomach even prettier,” you said.

“Yeah, you would know all about that, wouldn’t you?” He bent down to your ear and his husky tone sent cold shivers up your spine. Of course, you knew. You were the one who bit and sucked the hickeys into his skin two days ago, after all. His hands palming your boobs through your bra drew out a desperate sigh from you.

“Let’s play a game. What do you say?” he asked.

“What kind of game would that be?” Your interest was roused. He was lost in thought for a moment, hands slowly running up and down your exposed legs. Luckily, you had opted for a skirt today. All he’d had to do was to push it up to your belly and get rid of your underwear after your short but very steamy make-out session on the backseat. The cool air on your exposed core was only magnifying your impatience.

“Whoever comes first, loses.” You couldn’t suppress a chuckle at his idea, and he eyed you with indignation. “You don’t like it?”

“Everyone knows women take longer to orgasm than men do,” you said. “Are you trying to dig your own grave or what?”

“That’s why I’ll have a head start,” he announced. His hands circled the skin close to your core, creeping up your thighs slowly.

“And what’s the prize for winning?”

“The loser owes the winner a favor.”

“Too vague. I don’t trust you with that.”

“I don’t trust you, she says as she waits for me to fuck her in my car,” he mocked.

“I don’t trust your crazy ideas,” you clarified. “What about this? The winner pays for the loser’s next meal when we eat together.”

“Deal.” He slid his fingers over your pussy, and you crumbled into a whining mess within seconds. No matter how much your head denied it, he really was the best. He caught your clit between his digits and your eyes rolled to the back of your head for a moment.

“Shit, you only turn me on more if you’re going to moan like that.” He lowered his head and spit on your center, and the laughter that had been bubbling in your throat died in an instant. His fingers rubbed your nub fast and spread his saliva – without doubt his attempt at tipping you closer to the edge before he had even begun to fuck you.

“Too bad you find me so hot,” you said, and let out a purposely dramatic whimper, followed by his name in your best fake-porn-voice. His smile had something wholesome, as if he was admiring his friend making silly jokes, but also a glint of playfulness. You knew had been a mask when he bit his lip and exhaled slowly. With ease, he slid his middle finger into you. As he curled it against your sweet spot, he bent down to suck on your clit and your back arched at the sudden pleasure.

“Too bad you’re going to lose,” he said, and then continued his antics. Had he continued this way for another few minutes, his words wouldn’t have been so far from the truth. But you had other plans.

“Are you going to fuck me now?” you asked. “That’s enough of your head start.”

“I only just tasted you. Why would it be called a head start, if you’re going to stop me two minutes into giving you head?” he asked and you would’ve slapped his shoulder, had he been close enough. Instead, you closed your eyes for a few seconds. He was the competitive one here, and you didn’t mind enjoying yourself for now. Sighing in temporary defeat, your head fell back onto the seat. The sun was shining its last rays through the car window. They caught in his curled eyelashes and on his skin, coloring him golden.

“That’s a good girl,” he said, arm snaking around your thigh. He held on to you, but it wasn’t as if you could have moved away from him. Your head was right by the car door. His lips around your clit paired with his finger steadily rubbing against your sweet spot inside of you made you feel like floating. His free hand touched your leg gently, caressing your skin as if he wasn’t also simultaneously pushing you to the urge to yell out his name in pleasure. You tangled your fingers in his soft hair, as if you needed to do so to keep him in place. But something in the back of your mind still had a desire for winning. Trying to collect the last bits of your dwindling sanity, you hatched a plan. Good on you – you knew just what rode him into madness.

“I- I need you to fuck me, please,” you begged, making sure to add an extra layer of tragedy to your voice. “Please, I want it so bad.”

He looked up at you, a dark glint in his eyes. Of course, he did. All was going according to plan. It wasn’t like you had known him all your life, but you were perfectly aware of one thing. He could never resist your dirty talking and begging.

“Please?” you bat your eyelashes ever so longingly at him.

“Is that so?” He was now straightening up. His black pupils were dilated, and he was looking at you with the expectation of a loyal puppy waiting for his treat. You grabbed the front hem of his pants and pulled him towards you. In a moment, you had unzipped the material for him.

“I want you to fuck me like you did the first time we met. At the party,” you said. “Do you ever think about it, too?”

“Fuck, of course I do,” he said. Faster than you could register, he was ripping a condom wrapper and sliding it onto his free length. His cock stood angry and hard against his stomach. Perhaps your dramatic words weren’t so far-fetched. You couldn’t wait for him.

“Then do it, please,” you said. “Right now, this pussy is all yours. Use it the way it should be used.”

He muttered a swear under his breath and you knew he was in the palm of your hand. His hot breath fanned your neck as he bent over you, cock aligned with your exposed core. For a moment his length slid through your wetness, and he groaned at the warmth that was about to engulf him.

“I’m so fucking wet,” you moaned. “And all for you.”

You would have been lying if you said you weren’t enjoying the exaggerated show you were putting on for him as much as he did. Although, you weren’t sure whether you were allowed to call it exaggeration, at all. Your walls clenched around nothing as the tip of his cock touched your juices and he eyed you like he could’ve eaten you up right then and there.

When he finally entered you, he instantly sighed. His eyes were shut tightly as he dealt with the impact of feeling you around his shaft. A small spark of triumph went through you. That was, until he pushed your legs up and snapped his hips against yours. A sharp, sudden burst of pleasure shot through you and the coil in your stomach tightened all at once. You suspected your plan was backfiring slightly. Your words not only appealed to him and his famished mind and body. They also got to your head, and there you were, barely able to contain yourself under a load of blind hunger.

“You want me to fuck you senseless, huh?” he asked. His words went straight to your core. Nonetheless, you had a goal to work towards and you weren’t set on giving up.

“Yes, oh my god,” you whimpered. “That’s all I’m asking for. Please, I know you can. You always fuck me so well.”

In response, he rammed his body into yours so abruptly, you gave off a noise of surprise and pleasure at the same time. He bent his upper body over yours to support himself. His hands lay flat on the seat on both sides of your head. His thrusts made your legs shake now and then, when his cock hit that one spot inside of you. It was causing you to see entire galaxies on the inside of your eyelids. When you blinked up at him, the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon. Darkness had always suit him better than the golden sunset, either way. The muscles in his arms flexed and his eyebrows furrowed, and for a moment you called victory yours. But you couldn’t be sure for longer than a moment.

Because from one second to another he straightened up and slowed his thrusts. The gradualness had something equally as striking. He dragged his cock through your scarlet walls and his fingers found your clit. You drew out a ragged breath and cursed him for regaining the upper hand. Yet, you quickly abandoned the thought of defeat. When you allowed yourself to feel the pleasure, every last thought vanished at last. You moaned and whimpered helplessly. Without overthinking, you wrapped your hand around his wrist. He shot you a confused smirk.

“Too much, baby?” he said. “Think you won’t be able to handle it? A shame. It would really be too bad if you lost. You were doing so well up to now.”

You swallowed, hard. His patronizing voice tugged at your nerves and yet you loved when he spoke to you this way during sex. And he was aware of it – hence his knowing grin.

“Don’t stop moving,” you asked him to keep up his thrusts. “It’s not fair, otherwise.”

“Oh no. I would never dare break the rules,” he said.

He did as you said, and it only made things more mind-consuming for you. You were again reminded of the small tornado raging in the pit of your belly, threatening to consume you all over. It was only a matter of time. But what he could do, you could do better.

“Do you like fucking me in my skirt?” you taunted him, blinking ever so sweetly. Your eyes were dripping honey as you put on your most innocent gaze. “Am I pretty like this?”

“You’re the prettiest,” he muttered, biting his lip as if he was stopping a thousand moans from spilling out. “So. Fucking. Hot.”

“If I wear this skirt to class tomorrow, and you see me in the halls, will you think of this moment?” you asked. His fingers on your clit were shaky and moving unevenly. You might have been digging your own grave along with his. You didn’t care. Too many lectures you had wasted, barely able to concentrate because of the boy on top of you.

“Definitely. You weren’t wearing that earlier, at the restaurant,” he said. You wondered how many people had ever seen him this way – utterly breathless, all his cool vaporizing at once.

“Good observation,” you said, but you were struggling with your words as much as he was unable to keep calm. What was meant to sound lazy and seductive had morphed into a whimper and small sighs. “I wasn’t. I- I put it on just for you.”

He cursed again and abandoned all his remaining self-control. His grip on you was iron-tight and you clenched your fists. Oh, how you wished you could have buried your head into a pillow, or better even, the crook of a neck. Instead, you moaned his name almost soundlessly and searched for his dark eyes.

“Say my name again,” he demanded, like it was his last request on earth. So, you obeyed, only because you would have done anything for him right now, if it meant that he would keep fucking you that way.

“Oh my- my god,” you moaned. “Please don’t stop, fuck-“

“You look so hot right now, baby,” he groaned. “Shit- I could come just looking at you.”

“Then do it,” you said. Challengingly, you both smirked at each other. It lasted only the blink of an eye. You felt your insides twist before you could have prevented it. And all of a sudden, you crashed. Your intense orgasm erupted, and it took you several seconds to realize it, but then you heard it. His high-pitched moans, quiet and curse-stricken, could only mean one thing. You weren’t the only one, and therefore not the first to reach your high. A content smile spread on your face as his messy thrusts went on for a short while and you bathed in the remaining moments of bliss.

Silence set in as you both kept still to catch your breaths. You worried he would pin the loss on you, nonetheless, and inwardly braced yourself for his accusations. But to your surprise, he only laughed and collapsed on top of you. His breath tickled your neck slightly.

“We’ll be splitting the bill, I suppose?” he said. He straightened up to look you in the eyes playfully.

“Looks like it,” you said. You guessed his fighting spirit had been appeased and his energy had been spent on better things than arguing with you. You never minded it.

~

“Did you have a nice study session? Does the library lady assume you’re homeless and actually living there, yet?” Chohee teased as you entered your shared kitchen. She was typing on her phone but looked up when you only laughed.

“Is that a hickey?” she asked, and you knew you were done for. “What exactly is it you were studying? H/N’s body?”

“I guess I should tell you. Sooner or later, you’ll know,” you relented.

“Tell me what? Oh my god. Are you guys dating? Are you dating H/N?”

“No! You know I have no time for a boyfriend,” you said. “But…we’ve been hooking up.”

“Damn girl,” she said. “What do you have on him that he keeps coming back?”

“Excuse me? Am I really that boring of a company?”

“No. You’re the best company I could ever ask for, obviously,” she said, smiling at you. “But you remember his reputation. He sleeps with the same girl only once.”

“It’s just a stupid rumor,” you said. “Besides, we’re not just hooking up. He’s my friend. You already knew that.”

“Friend, huh?” Chohee asked. “Alright. So, you’re telling me he can hang out with you without trying to get it on?”

“He can, actually. And let me tell you, he’s cool. And pretty funny, too,” you said. She raised her eyebrows at you. “We’ve set some rules. We hook up, but also hang out as friends. Neither is allowed to be upset when the other turns down sex. We can both hook up with anyone else, still. No jealousy, no attachments. Just a good time.”

“Alright,” Chohee nodded. “If you’re so close, do you think you could introduce me to some of his friends sometime?”

You laughed, nodding. Chohee and H/N had quite some things in common, you realized then. Maybe that’s why you liked the two of them so much.

“Let’s see how long that lasts, then. Don’t wrap him too tightly around your finger, or he might trip and fall,” she winked. It was your turn to raise your eyebrow. Whatever she might have been insinuating – you had zero plans of making it reality. (Yet.)

#optional bias #optional bias smut #optional bias scenarios #optional bias imagines #kpop smut #kpop imagines #bts smut #nct smut #exo smut #txt smut #ateez smut #day6 smut #n.flying smut #the rose smut #stray kids smut #sf9 smut #seventeen smut #btob smut #pentagon smut #the boyz smut #ikon smut #astro smut #monsta x smut #cravity smut #got7 smut #enhypen smut

[beautifulwhensarcastic]

STEGGY FANFIC READING CHALLENGE

~  * ~  * ~  * ~

Agent Carter

Tactical Insertion by TriplePirouette / @3pirouette

One of the best and loveliest executions of ‘Steve in Agent Carter timeline’. So gracefully weaving Steve into Peggy’s adventures, adding extra layers of feels.

~ * ~

Fred Wells

‘S Wonderful, ‘S Marvelous by @teaandatale

I should be angry at this fic for a false promise of great romantic experience if you go for a work-related retreat, but can’t help squashing your own desires down when you get to read about Peggy getting it. And right in front of Fred’s punchable face. 

~ * ~

On the run

Make a run for it by @rachlovesligers

It’s not the kind of escape you expect, but perhaps because of it it’s actually extra dramatic? I mean, it’s both Peggy and Steve joining forces, so theatrics are involved. 

~ * ~

Sweet Dreams lipstick

this knockout ficlet by @roboticonography

A classic on the topic. I’d even dare to say the classic. 

~ * ~

Edwin Jarvis and Ana Jarvis

Foolish by chasingkerouac

Good thing Edwin and Ana are here to save the day when misadventures happen. Their appearance is maybe small here, but I like this kind of accidental first meetings. 

~ * ~ 

What if

Where you go (I’ll follow) by svgurl410

Because I always loved them ending up together, no matter the universe. 

~ * ~ 

SHIELD

The Director you wish to reach is unavailable at the moment by @doctorhelena

This is the kinda petty and maybe unhealthy way of coping, but if a  grand and important career fucks up private life you have to fuck it out of your system. Seriously though, it’s a surprisingly emotional argument leads to sex (and SHIELD is to blame for the anger).

~ * ~ 

Canon Compliant

Queen of the 107th by Fyre

What’s more canon compliant than showing Howlies in awe of Peggy, her winning the canonically certified pushup contest, and Steve supporting her all the way.

~ * ~ 

Steve doesn’t crash

And the sun hits ground by @steggyisimmortal

Okay, so this one is a stretch - not a cheat, but a stretch! Steve does crash, but he’s found soon after. I took this category as “how would things go if Steve didn’t crash into ice for 70 years”, so it may as well be read as such, because the impact of him being MIA only for a few months is different than him being gone almost a century.

~ * ~ 

Sam Wilson

The honeymoon phase by @roboticonography

Sam probably enjoys the hilarity of it all, having some laugh at Steve’s expense, but I also think he deserves some more good treats for dealing with his friend’s craze. This level of amused-but-exasperated reminds me of the time I had a talk with my bff who was freaking out about “partially” losing her virginity... don’t ask. 

~ * ~ 

The right partner

The right partner by @steggyisimmortal

Come on, I couldn’t not go for that one. It even has a fitting title! And an even more fitting plot that will make you all carry watermelons to join the party (lol, sorry for the lame joke, but since this fic is based on Dirty Dancing it had to be done).

~ * ~ 

Colonel Phillips

Happy accident by Shatterpath

It has one of those enjoyable harsh-but-supportive portrayals of Phillips. And the story itself reads smoothly, giving lots of feels.

~ * ~ 

Reread an old fave

You can’t take the sky from me by @indiefic

I will use any excuse to reread that story. This is my fic. All time fave. My true love of all fics. My preciousss. I will be buried with a printed copy of it. 

~ * ~ 

Steve’s blood

Slim chances and mad decisions by alianora

Mostly sad and angsty, but isn’t everything that has to deal with the last vial of Steve’s blood?

~ * ~ 

Soulmate AU

Soulmarks series by @formerlyir

How could I not pick this one up? The choice was obvious. It was the first that came to my mind when I read “soulmate AU”. Like that time Evans and Scarlett were asked about who’s the hottest and before the question was even finished Chris blurted out “Hemsworth!” That was my brain with this fic when seeing the category.

~ * ~

Natasha Romanoff

this ficlet by @lavellenchanted

So Natasha isn’t even personally present, but it’s her that becomes the focus and instigates some confessions. Nat’s powerful like that. 

~ * ~ 

One timeline

Time heals all wounds by @indiefic

I’d say it’s a punch-to-the-guts story that lies mostly forgotten, until someone fishes it out of the archives. Much like that interview with Peggy.

~ * ~

Domestic life

Warm in December by @notlucy

I’m not claiming that winter season is best background for fluff and domesticity, but this fic may prove that theory. Cozy, sweet, just perfect.

~ * ~ 

The Griffith

this delightful ficlet by @rachlovesligers

A cheeky peek at the power Steve has over women, even the dragon ladies as scary as Miss Fry, hahaha. It’s also one of those stories that immediately come to mind when thinking of the category.

~ * ~ 

Battlefield

In the heat of the battle by @littlereyofsunlight

I almost forgot how this fic keeps you at the edge of your seat, occasionally punching you back with feels. It was a thrill rereading it again for this challenge. 

~ * ~ 

Contains fave trope

On ceremony by CapandCarter

Enemies to lovers is one of my fave tropes. Sprinkled with arranged marriage it’s even more potent. Though be warned, the urge to smack Peggy over the head with a frying pan appears quite often in the beginning. 

~ * ~ 

Multiple timelines

Dark ways by @indiefic

This is twisted and perhaps not the very first thought of many when thinking of multiple timelines, but it fills the category. At some point there are even two Steves from two different timelines. And it’s so deliciously dark and fucked up. 

~ * ~ 

Pre-Canon

Where poppies grow by @beautifulwhensarcastic

It’s not cheating if it fits the category and if the author herself thinks it’s a good story worth promoting (and I do). 

#steggyfanficchallenge #steggyfanevents #fic rec #steggy fic #steggy #peggy x steve

[lokiondisneyplus]

Most Marvel post-credit scenes hint at the future. Loki opted for a blunter approach: the God of Mischief would return in season 2.

Based on the final turn of events, there was really no other choice: Loki (Tom Hiddleston), having journeyed to the furthest point in spacetime with his variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) to meet the founder of the TVA, a scientist-turned-survivor-of-multiversal-war known as He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), finds himself zapped into a new reality when his lady self slays the omnipresent being. The mind reels!

Creator Michael Waldron takes delight in the endless possibilities of Loki’s core premise. And as a veteran of Rick and Morty, he knows what anchors a mind-bending show, and what will keep Hiddleston’s character hurtling through his chaotic, rewritten future. Below, Polygon talks to Waldron about landing on the key choices of Loki season 1, what to expect from season 2, and a bit on his next project, the wrestling drama Heels, which is set to premiere on Aug. 15.

Did you know there’d be a second season of Loki from the beginning or was that choice made later in the process?

Michael Waldron: We always knew that it was a possibility. We always knew that we wanted to propel Loki and these characters out into the MCU after this, into further stories. But that didn’t really crystallize as a sure thing until we were in production and everything. And as we were really figuring out the finale.

So you were still cracking the ending as you shot the show?

There was a hiatus due to the pandemic. So things were constantly being retooled because of that. I think, by and large, everything with He Who Remains and the Sylvie-Loki conflict was always there. But that cliffhanger was the sort of thing that suddenly became a really appealing opportunity, a chance for that to lead into a second season.

What element of the series helped you crack the macro story of Loki, and made all the other pieces fall into place? Each episode almost feels like a standalone adventure, similar to Rick and Morty, but what helped it all click?

The first couple of weeks in the writers room was just laying out the individual episodes. It was very important to me that each episode stood on its own, and you could say “This is the Lamentis episode,” “This is the apocalypse moon episode,” “This is the Void episode.” I didn’t want it to just be cut up chapters and have one long continuous story. Obviously, we had to figure out the time travel for things to slot into place. I think a big idea for us was the way you get around the TVA by hiding in apocalypses. That felt like such a big, cool, exciting idea that it drove the action of episode 2, episode 3, and in a way it’s like Alioth is the ultimate apocalypse that He Who Remains is hiding behind. That sci-fi idea cracked a lot open for us. I know that after we had that I went home and I slept a little sounder.

Did adding the multiverse to the Marvel Cinematic Universe feel like blowing something up or expanding it, in terms of narrative possibilities?

In the same way that after the first couple Iron Man movies, and with the first Avengers, suddenly these movies were kind of going to space. Then we had Guardians. I think of the multiverse as another version of that. It’s new ground to cover, and particularly interesting because characters meeting other versions of themselves and other versions of people they know is... cool. That’s just a cool sci-fi concept! But I think with anything, as you expand outward, it only works if the humanity remains. It’s exciting to watch characters dealing with big crazy multiversal conflicts because we can see ourselves in them. I think you just have to hold on to the humanity that makes these stories work in the first place.

Did you go back to the Thor movies for Loki? Was there anything to find in the past of Marvel as you were paving the future?

Absolutely. I mean I watched them many times, contrary to what Twitter might think because I did some bits on there saying that I’ve never seen Avengers and I upset some people [laughs]. I have seen it many times. “Confirmed: Loki writer has seen Avengers and saw it before writing Loki show.”

In fact, I was watching all these movies on a loop in the writers’ room. I gleaned so much because you watch the evolution of the character. Avengers was particularly informative because our story picks up Loki right after that, but I also I found a lot of inspiration in Thor: The Dark World, a maybe sometimes maligned movie that I actually really enjoy. I just think there’s great stuff with Loki being tangentially responsible for the death of his mother, how he reacts to that. That is the start of his journey of that version of Loki’s redemption, so I was inspired by that.

What’s propelling the characters into season 2? Where are you headed in basic terms?

In season 1, you saw a lot of characters reckoning with and questioning their own glorious purpose, and that glorious purpose changing, [characters] realizing that that can change. Everybody except for Sylvie. I think she holds onto hers, which is vengeance, and to the detriment of us all, perhaps. And we’ve got a Loki who, at the top of our show, assessed himself as a villain and, I would argue, at the end of our show, has become a little bit of a hero. There’s nothing more heroic to me than fighting for the right thing and losing. You see that washing over him as he’s there back at the TVA, after Sylvie has knocked back there. And then he gets up because that is what heroes do — they keep going. So I think that you’re gonna see a Loki that looks at himself in a different way certainly that at the top of this.

Do you hope to explore more of Sylvie’s backstory in season 2?

I guess we’ll see. We certainly have our own rich backstory for her, stuff that didn’t get to make it into the show. Elissa Karasik, our episode 2 writer, wrote a lot of amazing backstory for Sylvia and everything. So those ideas exist out there.

And her version of Thor?

Tune in.

How did He Who Remains come about? Did you bring the character to Marvel or was that a character Marvel hoped to introduce?

I was pushing and our team was pushing early on in the writers’ room that it should be a version of Kang up in that Citadel, sort of fusing the mythology of He Who Remains with a little bit of the Immortus mythology. And that was a thing we were excited to do. And it became clear that it actually made sense for our story. The only way we were going to do it was if it made sense, but it was like, who had a better argument for creating the TVA to prevent other versions of themselves from existing then a guy as evil as Kang the Conqueror?

You wrote the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — did Marvel hire you for that after Loki? Does the movie feel like a continuation of the show?

Yeah, that opportunity came as we were getting ready to start production on Loki. It was a pleasure. I got to work with Sam Raimi, a hero of mine. I was in London for five months making that movie at the top of this year. We had a blast. I think that it’s a continuation in as much as ever every Marvel movie is to some extent a chapter in an ongoing story, but these things are meant to stand alone and the most important thing about Doctor Strange too is making the most kick ass Doctor Strange movie we could.

Is Loki a two-part show now or are you invested in telling a longer story with future seasons beyond season 2?

Time will tell, but I do my hope is that season 1 stands on its own. We always wanted to tell a complete story there. And in whatever the next chapter may be will stand on its own as well.

Your next show, Heels, is already on the way. We got a big preview out of Comic-Con this year, but I’m curious about the scope of this story. You’re starting with two brothers running an independent wrestling franchise, but you’ve dropped the name “Vince McMahon” a few times — is this about the building of an empire? Would you liken it to The Godfather or Breaking Bad?

I always thought about it a little bit of a Scorsese-sort-of rise, and we’ll see if there’s a fall. Starting from humble beginnings and trying to build some crazy. Wrestling was certainly not always the empire that it is and that’s what’s interesting, to watch the evolution of a family-run wrestling business from something you do in your small towns and perhaps a national, even global empire. That would be a really compelling arc for a show over the course of several seasons. I’d be excited to explore that.

What’s the most dramatically fulfilling wrestling moment you’ve witnessed? What’s the bar for the wrestling drama of Heels?

It’s gotta be Hulk Hogan turning heel in the WCW. There was an invasion storyline, these guys from WWF, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, came over and they were the bad guys. It was at a Pay-per-view and and they were beating up on the good guys that you love, and here comes Hulk Hogan in the yellow and red and he’s the hero. “The Hulk’s gonna get ‘em! The good guy’s here!” And then the Hulk just leg drops Randy Savage. That was the original Red Wedding. I just think about the boldness of turning him heel. To a little kid... I wasn’t even like a massive Hulk fan, but he was just such a mythological figure. What a chance that Hulk Hogan took as a performer, as a bankable kind of movie star at that point. That was bold, risky storytelling and it set off two years of amazing storytelling with Hogan just playing a craven, cowardly heel and just being so evil. I really respect the hell out of them for doing that. That was a great storyline.

#michael waldron #interview #loki #s1 #s2