#and no one particularly means anything to them more than anyone else because they're All Friends!

[thankskenpenders]

The Knuckles show

The announcement of a live action Knuckles streaming miniseries was surprising, to say the least. I mean, what would such a show even be about in a version of the Sonic universe with no Angel Island and barely any characters from the games around? Is he gonna go treasure hunting with the gang from Montana or something? Would a streaming miniseries have the CGI budget to squeeze in any new game characters, even briefly? Rouge? Amy? At least one member of Team Chaotix? Anyone?

Now the show is finally out, and it turns out what they actually made was a comedy show about bumbling deputy sheriff Wade Whipple, the minor comic relief character played by Adam Pally who you might not even remember all that well from the first two movies, with Knuckles as his sidekick. While, yes, Knuckles does get a decent amount of screentime and opportunities to punch bad guys and do cool moves from the games, large stretches of this show focus on Wade's personal life, to the point that a couple times I almost forgot I was watching a Sonic-related show. If you're judging it purely by the metric of how well it adapts and engages with its source material, this surely must be one of the worst adaptations the Sonic franchise has ever seen.

So then, despite some huge complaints... why do I kinda like it?

(This will contain full spoilers for the Knuckles show.)

A brief summary of what the show is actually about because I know half of you aren't going to watch it

The show picks up not too long after the end of the second movie. Knuckles is now living in Montana with Sonic, Tails, and the Wachowskis out of a sense of debt to them, though he doesn't really see it as his home. He doesn't feel like he belongs on Earth, and his life currently lacks direction. After communing with the ghost of Pachacamac, though, Knuckles is instructed to keep his culture alive by teaching "the ways of the echidna warrior" to a new apprentice: deputy sheriff Wade Whipple, who's currently more concerned about winning a bowling tournament in Reno than anything else.

Things are complicated by the interference of two rogue GUN agents - Agent Willoughby, played by Ellie Taylor in a bad wig, and Agent Mason, played by Kid Cudi. (Yes, the artist behind the second movie's credits song is one of the bad guys in this.) They want to steal Knuckles' power and sell it to a former associate of Robotnik's played by Rory McCann (The Hound from Game of Thrones), who now works as a black market arms dealer. Yes, they're still doing the thing where Sonic and friends' quills radiate some kind of super-energy that the bad guys all want. No, I don't particularly love this element of the Paramount Sonic continuity. Anyway, they go after Knuckles and Wade, complicating their straightforward road trip to Reno. Antics ensue.

The Wade show

So here's the thing. While the first episode focuses largely on Knuckles, the entire rest of the show is very much the story of Wade, and by extension the other original human characters invented for this miniseries.

Episode 2 is about Wade having to rescue Knuckles from captivity after the GUN agents get him. Knuckles spends most of the episode in a cage.

Episode 3 is about introducing Wade's Jewish family, including his slightly overbearing mother and weird sister, so that Knuckles can learn about their family traditions and have Shabbat dinner with them (and then save them from bounty hunters that the GUN agents hired).

Episode 4 only features Knuckles at the very beginning and very end of the episode, probably for less than a minute total. Wade is captured by a bounty hunter he personally knows, and Knuckles decides to let that be a trial for Wade to overcome on his own.

The last two episodes feature the climactic showdowns with the GUN agents and their arms-dealing ally, who comes in with a mech for the obligatory final boss fight. You'd think this would be Knuckles' time to shine, but really, these episodes are mostly about the bowling tournament in Reno where Wade encounters his estranged father, wrapping up his own personal arc. While Knuckles does get some fights, a lot of the finale is spent on lengthy bowling scenes where Knuckles isn't in the room or even mentioned. It frequently feels more like a spiritual successor to '00s sports comedy movies like Dodgeball, Talladega Nights, or Blades of Glory than it does a part of the Sonic franchise, and the presence of ESPN 8: The Ocho commentary in the finale only drives those Dodgeball comparisons home. They get so immersed in the bowling stuff that it's genuinely hilarious when the show suddenly pivots and remembers "oh shit we still need to do the final boss fight"

Throughout all this, Wade is the protagonist. He's the character we spend more time with, he's the character who drives most of the major events, he's the character who gets more of an arc. The emotional core is Wade's journey. Knuckles is still present - sometimes, at least - but he's there as Wade's wingman, and also just as the excuse for there to be some fight scenes.

How much Sonic stuff is actually in this show?

Honestly? Not much.

Sonic and Tails are only in the first episode. Sonic gets some good scenes, but Tails gets a grand total of five lines. I counted. Unsurprisingly, Jim Carrey is absent as Robotnik, though he does get mentioned a fair bit. (For that matter, basically the entire established human cast beyond Wade is absent, even including Tom, though Maddie is there in episode one.)

GUN is involved in the story, which helps it feel slightly more connected to Sonic, but it kind of feels like it's GUN in name only. They don't use any recognizable GUN tech, and they don't call in the military. It's just two agents in suits. They might as well be the Men in Black.

The Master Emerald is mentioned as something Knuckles has to guard, but it's never seen. Angel Island is pictured as a drawing during the show's intro, appearing exactly how it does in Sonic 3, but it's never referenced at all beyond that.

I guess the climax taking place in and around a Reno casino is a reference to Sonic's many casino-themed levels. That's something. I'll give them that.

Oh, and if you're wondering if this is the point where we finally start to get actual music from the games: no, it's not. The soundtrack consists of a lot of '80s needle drops, many of which are generic Hollywood picks like "Holding Out for a Hero" for the billionth time, thought it at least has some slightly less obvious picks than the Mario movie. The theme song is '80s rock song "The Warrior" by Scandal. You'll hear it many times. You'll hear the Adventure era Knuckles raps zero times in this. You'll briefly hear classic A Tribe Called Quest song "Can I Kick It?" before Knuckles takes the question too literally and breaks the radio in Wade's car.

Beyond a handful of surface level references for nerds (one of which is admittedly wild - we'll get to that), this is probably the least an officially licensed adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog has ever tried to actually engage with its source material. I struggle to think of another Sonic adaptation that has less to do with Sonic. For as much shit as I and countless others have given Penders for seemingly ignoring the content of the games in favor of building his own convoluted mythos, his Knuckles comics honestly included way more elements from the games than this show does.

Somehow, the one new(-ish) Sonic character introduced in this is the ghost of Pachacamac of all characters. Not even Tikal! Pachacamac! A very minor character nobody has particularly strong feelings about! You can't even use the excuse that they already had the character model, because they completely redesigned him compared to his cameo in the first movie to better match his Sonic Adventure design. And he's voiced by Christopher Lloyd! Honestly, so many of his lines are strained that it sounds like he's on death's door here, but then he'll surprise you with a more casual line like "just do it, man" and it catches me so off guard that I can't help but laugh.

Pachacamac here has basically nothing to do with the game character he takes his name and appearance from. Where the game character was a cruel warlord who kicked off a 3000 year cycle of violence, Paramount Pachacamac is now just this chill old man who gives Knuckles (and later Wade) advice in two episodes of the show. Hell, he also feels completely disconnected from his established role in the movies, where he's literally the guy who shot Longclaw. The show will not grapple with this contradiction at all. He's just here to be a thing fans like me will recognize from the games. Again, if that's all they wanted, it's kind of baffling that they didn't just use Tikal.

I don't love Knuckles in this

But what about Knuckles himself? Well, he doesn't feel all that much like Knuckles to me. Ironically, he sometimes feels like one of the weaker elements in his own show.

Back when the second movie came out, I noted that Knuckles' characterization seemed to be pulling heavily from MCU Thor as a gallant warrior from an archaic alien culture who doesn't really understand modern day Earth stuff. That worked for me in that movie. It was just there for spice. Just a little extra flavor for the character in what was otherwise a very faithful adaptation of Knuckles' storyline in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Without those familiar elements grounding him and with a much higher reliance on comedy, Idris Elba's Knuckles becomes a pretty one-note character in this.

In damn near every scene with Knuckles, he's going to say something about being a proud, honorable echidna warrior, or brag about his glorious feats of strength, or be confused about some Earth thing and call it sorcery, or act like every other character is also a member of some noble warrior clan. He still has his moments for sure, but this schtick kinda gets old fast, and it just doesn't feel like Knuckles to me. His entire character feels derived from the scene in the diner where Thor smashes the cup on the ground and goes "Another!" Sure, I can picture game Knuckles smashing a radio to turn it off and being a little too gung-ho about busting holes through walls. That's Knuckles behavior. But building a barbarian combat pit in the living room so the Wachowski family dog can fight the mailman? Nope. That's some other guy now. It really does just feel like them taking a broad character archetype from something popular that kinda sorta fits Knuckles and just running with that, rather than trying to actually adapt the character.

Oh, but don't worry, he wears the OVA hat for like two minutes! AND he loves grapes! See, Sonic nerds? We read the wiki! That's his favorite food! Grapes! This is gonna come up like five times!

Knuckles kind of gets an arc here, but not as much as Wade does. I think the stuff about him starting to feel at home on Earth thanks to Wade's mom and the way he connects with their Jewish family traditions is oddly sweet. This arc is kind of let down, though, by the fact that Knuckles' heritage is treated as a complete joke. He's a cartoonish pastiche of various historical warrior cultures stuck together in a blender and used mostly for comedic effect. When Pachacamac's ghost appears, he's reading a newspaper and bemoaning the fact that the Mets lost again. This is not the place for a serious examination of Knuckles' feelings on being the last of his kind.

This is far from the only time the show undercuts itself with its jokes and attempts at self-parody. In the first episode, for instance, Knuckles clashes with GUN Agent Mason and his tech-enhanced punches, leading to an extremely on-the-nose inversion of the "Do I look like I need your power?" scene showcased in the trailer for the second movie. Except this time, Agent Willoughby butts in and points out how stupid that line is in this new context, since they're literally trying to steal Knuckles' power. The fight can't just be cool, they have to get cute with it. A lot of stuff like that happens in this show.

Given all these complaints, the first two episodes left me thinking I'd be fairly negative on this show overall. This seemed like the version of the show from the fandom's collective nightmares, one that undoes all of the progress the movie series seemed to have been making towards faithfulness to the games. Like, just look at these cast posters. Is this what you want out of Sonic? Do these excite you?

But then, something strange happened. Over time, I just kind of let the jokes and shenanigans wash over me and basked in how fucking weird this show is.

And I started to actually enjoy it.

Look. The Wade & Knuckles Show was never going to be peak Sonic. But that sure as hell doesn't mean it can't be entertaining.

This show is so fucking goofy

Here's the thing.

The show is funny.

Unlike a lot of other people, I didn't hate all the wedding stuff in Hawaii in Sonic 2, because I thought a lot of it was funny, both in its actual jokes and in the ways in which they tied everything back to Sonic. Tom looking wistfully at some bodybuilders doing Top Gun shit and spraying each other with beer and being like "I wish Sonic had that" is weirdly funny. The twist that those muscle bros are all agents of the newly formed GUN, who orchestrated the wedding as an elaborate scheme to catch Sonic, is funny. Mr. Olive Garden becoming the fucking GUN Commander is VERY funny. Are any of these elements of my dream Sonic movie? No, of course not. But my dream Sonic movie was never gonna happen in live action.

The Knuckles show follows up on the comedy of the previous films by being probably the funniest live action Sonic release yet. Did every joke land for me? God no. There are some stinkers in there that made me roll my eyes. But enough of them landed that it worked out for me overall. A big part of this is the fact that they've got a good cast of actors and/or comedians here.

Adam Pally is funny as Wade, and I found myself liking him more and more as a character as the show went on. He becomes an oddly endearing loser, with some sweet moments in his personal arc that made me feel for the guy. I like Wade more than Tom now, thanks to this show. I will now be happier to see Wade in Sonic 3 than I would have been previously.

The supporting cast is frequently great, too, many of whom are playing completely cartoonish, over-the-top characters. They took a cue from how exaggerated Carrey's performance was as Robotnik and decided to just abandon all pretense that this is the real world. Stockard Channing as Wade's mom is funny, and carries some of the more sincere parts of the show. Cary Elwes as Wade's very British dad who abandoned him as a child to run off and be the world's most egotistical professional bowler is funny. Edi Patterson as Wade's sister Wanda is... well, she's kinda trying too hard, but she has her moments. The Mighty Boosh co-creator Julian Barratt(!!) as a scenery-chewing bounty hunter, who was also somehow Wade's former best friend and bowling partner, is VERY funny. I love this guy.

(Honestly, they should let more people who were on Garth Marenghi's Darkplace be in Sonic stuff. Where's Matt Berry)

This is kind of a stacked cast for a bunch of stupid side characters in a live action Knuckles show! And honestly, that just makes it funnier to me. Even when they're not funny, the fact that this exists makes it funny. They somehow convinced Paramount to give them a bunch of money to make a spiritual successor to Dodgeball about a schlubby guy who wants to beat his dad at a bowling tournament... except also Knuckles the fucking Echidna is there as his personal life coach. My life is richer for the fact that I can say that sentence. I think about all the little kids who are probably watching this show this weekend, going in expecting a show about Knuckles the Echidna and having to sit through extensive bowling scenes and lore about Wade's family, and sorry kids, but I just have to laugh. Wade isn't even on the poster! The poster is just a picture of Knuckles!! They punked those kids!!!

In a franchise where every single aspect is so carefully micromanaged these days, it feels truly special to get an adaptation this bonkers. It frequently appeals to the same part of me that enjoys the fact that there's an officially licensed Knuckles comic in which Charmy Bee's best friend (also a bee) dies of an accidental LSD overdose from a drug-laced chili dog. Or like, everything about the original 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie. Or the fact that they made seven direct-to-DVD sequels to Alpha and Omega, one of which is half a retread of the adventure from the first movie (with more annoying supporting characters in tow this time) and half a literal clip show of the first movie. The sheer absurdity of the fact that these things exist is charming to me. Except, with the Knuckles show, it has the added benefit of frequently being funny on purpose! This is why I'm not sure I'd call it "so bad it's good." Like, it's not amazing, but there were a lot of parts that I enjoyed in the exact way I was supposed to enjoy them.

Look. Here's a list of real lines of dialogue from the Sega-approved Knuckles the Echidna streaming show that they're billing as a pillar of the Paramount+ lineup, to drive this point home. Let these marinate for a minute:

"I only eat grapes, and Cool Ranch Doritos™."

"Annihilate this little girl, Wade. Crush her spirit. Humiliate her so badly her parents won't even look at her again." "Doesn't that seem like we're going a bit far?" "Not far enough."

"So is he Jewish?" "Half, I think."

"I had a friend who when he listened to Alien Ant Farm he could lift a Toyota Corolla over his head."

"I'm in dire financial straits. Due to my lawsuit against an unnamed rainforest-themed restaurant franchise, I don't have two pennies to my name."

"We're here in sunny Reno, Nevada, which is so close to Hell you can smell the sparks."

"You can't threaten me with your Jewish karate chops because I am a federal agent."

"I will say, regardless of how you feel about child abandonment - and I'm against it! - the deals at TJ Maxx can't be beat."

This is a Sonic show in which they got Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel to appear as ESPN 8: The Ocho commentators.

This is a show where Wade's mom insists upon pronouncing "Knuckles" with the throaty Hebrew "ch" sound, and declares that Knuckles is basically Jewish. Later, they watch Pretty Woman together while enjoying a nice slice of key lime pie. Knuckles comments: "I don't understand. This young streetwalker with a heart made of gold, why do the others treat her with such disdain? Is it so wrong to walk the streets?"

This is a show where the fourth episode is directed by one of the guys from The Lonely Island and features a hallucinatory low budget rock opera stage musical put on by the ghost of Pachacamac. It recounts Knuckles' life story, with Wade playing Knuckles and the "evil" Longclaw played by the bounty hunter guy who's played by the Mighty Boosh guy.

Look at this.

And also, Knuckles' singing voice is provided by Michael Bolton, which they proudly announce in the middle of the musical.

And also...

Also...???

IBLIS IS IN IT????????????

Yes, Iblis!

From Sonic '06!!

Knuckles is said to have looked for a mythical power called the "Flames of Disaster" to avenge his clan, which ended up being the power that was within him all along that lets him do fire punches yadda yadda yadda. As part of this, he apparently fought Iblis off-screen at some point, as conveyed with the giant singing papier-mâché Iblis in the musical.

...Then Iblis sings about hitting up Facebook Marketplace

How? How does any of this exist? Why reference '06 of all games? How did Iblis get into the live action Sonic movie universe before Amy and Metal Sonic? Why are they using Iblis and the term "Flames of Disaster" in such a goofy way that completely disregards their original context?

I don't know. I don't know how any of this happened. But I love it. We got a Knuckles miniseries in which Michael Bolton sings the phrase "the Flames of Disaster." The world is a beautiful place sometimes.

Some people will tell you to skip episode four. "Knuckles is barely even in it," they say. "It's dumb and pointless," they say. "They clearly just ran out of special effects budget," they say. These are people whose opinions you should disregard. The episode with the least Knuckles in it is somehow the most entertaining episode of the show. I would, in fact, go as far as to say that if you only decide to watch one episode of the Knuckles show to see what goofy bullshit they get up to, it should be this one.

I cannot be mad at this show. It's so dumb, but it completely owns the fact that it's a dumb and unnecessary spinoff. Inferiority is baked into its very DNA. It's very self-consciously redoing the premise of the first movie, but stupider. It's about The Other Cop from the movies, instead of the competent one. Instead of being into a "cooler" sport, his life revolves around professional bowling. Instead of going to Vegas, he goes to Reno. Even his tragic backstory that shaped his entire life sucks. He was abandoned by his pro bowler dad in a TJ Maxx. Not even a nicer department store. A fucking TJ Maxx. This whole show is a Dril tweet.

They put a ton of effort into making it dumb in an occasionally spectacular way. So much effort was put into that joke rock opera that fans will just write off as stupid filler. They put their whole pussies into it. This is not a poorly made show. This has better production values than half the shit made for Disney+. This was made with love. Maybe not as much love for the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games as we'd like, but it's love nonetheless.

Maybe this show broke me and these are the ramblings of a madwoman. Maybe I'm just really nostalgic for the '90s and '00s comedy movies all the Wade stuff is modeled after. Maybe the Alan Wake fan in me just really loves it when a story pivots to a silly rock opera for no real reason. I won't discount any of these possibilities. This isn't high art. This isn't something I would recommend to anyone with zero interest in Sonic, and it also isn't going to sway Sonic fans who hate the Paramount universe. I really can't blame them for being bewildered by this show. But for a specific type of person, this is the absurd three-star Sonic-adjacent comedy miniseries of your dreams. It's a mid masterpiece.

Again, I just have to step back, realize the fact that this shouldn't exist, and smile. Sega's too afraid to do stupid bullshit with the franchise like this these days. And I can't blame them, after years of Sonic being a treated as a laughingstock. But part of me misses some of the goofy shit. No matter how much I tore some of the Archie comics apart as I was reading them for this blog, I just look back on stuff like Cal and Al or the Many Hands issues and laugh. And that same part of me looks at this show about Knuckles being the sidekick to this fucking guy, and just goes...

"We're so back."

In conclusion, I genuinely think this was a more enjoyable TV show than Sonic Prime.

I wouldn't go back and rewatch Sonic Prime anytime soon, aside from maybe, like, a couple of the Shadow-heavy episodes. Huge stretches of that show bored me to tears. The writers squandered all of that show's potential. But I would rewatch the Knuckles show, which takes a terrible premise and has a lot of fun with it, in a heartbeat. Even the bowling parts. The bowling scenes in the Knuckles show are more engaging than 70% of the fights in Sonic Prime. I am not trolling. I mean that sincerely, with all my heart. Don't @ me.

Stray observations

There is effectively zero meaningful setup for the third movie in this, unless Wade's family or the two GUN agents come back or something. Project Shadow is not mentioned in this. There is no secret post-credits scene with Gerald

The CGI in this is pretty good. Not quite on par with the movies, but pretty good. Sonic's weird forehead wrinkles are distracting in his scenes though. Please fix that

I wouldn't say I liked this as much as the second movie, which obviously gets a ton of points for, you know. The Cool Sonic Shit. But I had more fun with it than the first movie, which I still feel is a painfully generic family movie that was only saved by Tyson's redesign

"Grapes are an interesting choice for someone who doesn't use his individual fingers."

Agent Willoughby was apparently the one at GUN who had to buy the Olive Garden gift cards and set up the fake wedding. Her origin story is that she hated doing shit like that and wanted to go fight aliens

This miniseries contains another Keanu namedrop because Wade's childhood bedroom has a Speed poster on the wall. I swear, if Sonic doesn't say Shadow sounds just like Keanu...

Knuckles is familiar with Paul Blart Mall Cop

Near the end the ESPN 8: The Ocho commentators say that the 1974 Reno bowling championship was also interrupted by an extraterrestrial, and given that was exactly 50 years ago I can't write off the possibility that that was Shadow. Please for the love of god give us a sequel series after the third movie where Wade takes Shadow the Hedgehog bowling. I need this more than I need air

#tkp post #other media

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

five is gay and arospec thank you for coming to my ted talk

#lorien legacies #LL tag #LL number five #More to Follow in reblogs + tags because i do legitimately feel like there was Intent behind this coding #surprise the intent is fcking shitty lmao #but also it just. as much as boy is there some shit to unpack there #it absolutely kills me how strongly he feels for and about people in ways that are very queerplatonic #he isn't ~emotionless and cold and uncaring about connecting to anyone~ #he wants to connect with people SO MUCH and they Mean Things to him #there's this uncomfortable trend i see in a lot of well-meaning aro rep where 'cares about their friends instead of romantic relationships' #becomes this weird kind of like.... public access/ownership thing where /everyone/ they might be friendly with gets equal priority #the aro person's life and heart and dedication and commitment just kind of get spread out equally to everyone #and no one particularly means anything to them more than anyone else because they're All Friends! #give me raw messy queerplatonic attraction and commitment and betrayal and love #let them choose their people like a thunderbolt; let them be confused and conflicted; let them hate and love in equal measure #'we were more than friends; we were partners' i just. /god/ #five would honestly be great aro rep imo if he wasn't in fcking LL lmao #anyway five is just. deeply queer and i am being so very normal about it #add it to the list of reasons baby moogle glommed onto him so hard

[qdbs-writes]

How do you think the Cullens would act around a disinterested crush? Maybe they're fated but reader isn't having it lol

(I love your twilight writing btw thank God someone is still doing it 🤤🤤)

ah it has been many moons since I've gotten a twilight request yay!

Cullen Clan Reacting To Their Crush Being Disinterested In Them

Carlisle Cullen

Being alive for just over 400 years tends to give one a good perspective on life and the bigger picture, and Carlisle sure has a pretty good idea of how all things pan out. So you're not interested in him? That's fine, Carlisle can wait for as long as you need to change your mind.

In the meantime, Carlisle will continue to maintain your friendship and continue to show just how hard he's worked to become the kind caring father figure he is. He knows you'll fall for him, eventually.

Esme Cullen

Obviously, she's not going to stop caring about you just because you don't return her feelings. But she might switch up how she shows her affection.

Rather than flirty winks and suspiciously candle-lit wine tastings, she'll back up to more traditionally motherly affections. Making sure you're eating right, baking cookies, etc. And of course, giving you homemade soup when you're sick is still one of her favourite things to do, no need to stop now.

Edward Cullen

Of course, you're not interested, how could anyone love a monster like him? Who did he think he was, thinking he was worthy of your love? Or so his inner monologue goes.

But it's really not that dramatic, it almost never is, Edward just sprung his crush on you suddenly and it caught you off guard. It was largely the excessively long preamble about how he was an irredeemable murderer that put you off first, but of course, he won't realise that until considerably later.

Rosalie Hale

She's a little relieved actually. All her mortal and immortal life, Rosalie has been aggressively pursued by people she wasn't particularly interested in, so the fact that she can crush on someone who isn't really that interested is a wonderful change of pace.

For the first time ever, Rosalie has butterflies in her stomach, she fumbles with her words when she speaks to you, and she feels like a silly, mortal teenage girl again, begging her mother to let her go to the dance just so she can sneak away to catch a glimpse of someone just like you.

Emmett Cullen

You and Emmett had been good friends for a while so when he casually drops a blissful "We should get married" into the conversation, you initially choke on your drink in laughter.

Emmett's a little heartbroken that you'd laugh at something like that, considering that he was being 100% serious. But since you've known him, the both of you have been constantly cracking up jokes, trying to get on each other's nerves, so no wonder you thought this was another one of his pranks. He decides to take this reaction as a blessing, you have no idea he's actually into you, now he knows he has to work out a different way to confess his feelings for you.

Alice Cullen

She's a little confused obviously, having multiple visions of the two of you in a romantic relationship kind of gave her the impression that it might've been going to come true, but your disinterest says something else altogether.

But the worst part is that those damn visions of you and her together keep coming back, taunting her, luring her in deeper to despair with the thoughts of what might be. It's all getting so intense, so she decides to skip town for a bit, see if that changes anything, or at least helps her clear her head.

Jasper Hale

Oh well, so you're not interested in a romantic relationship, so what? Doesn't mean you can't still be friends. Doesn't mean he can't be the charming Southern gentleman he is. Doesn't mean he can't still pull out chairs or open doors for you. Or send anonymous bouquets to your house. Or leave your favourite snacks in your locker when you're having a rough day. Of course not.

It doesn't mean he can't worry about other people who might want to date you. Doesn't mean he can't scare off people who'd be bad for you. I mean, what else are friends for?

#twilight saga #twilight saga headcanons #twilight saga imagine #twilight saga x reader #carlisle cullen #carlisle cullen x reader #esme cullen #esme cullen x reader #edward cullen #edward cullen x reader #rosalie hale #rosalie hale x reader #emmett cullen #emmett cullen x reader #alice cullen #alice cullen x reader #jasper hale #jasper hale x reader #qdbs writes #cullen clan #cullen clan x reader

[waldau]

softie — choi seungcheol | 890 words | fluff

#melonpan :c also, my need to include marriage in every other fic of mine needs to be studied.

gender neutral reader. warnings: none.

"are you sure it wasn't as bad as i thought it was?"

you stop combing through seungcheol's hair with your fingers. "yes."

"really?"

"yes."

"i mean, i broke a plate, stepped on your mom's foot and—"

"i was there."

"—swore in front of your dad."

"i know, baby."

"promise it's okay?"

"seungcheol, if you ask me that question one more time, i'm going to eat up all of your melonpan."

seungcheol tilts his head up to look at you from where he's sitting on the floor between your legs. he tries to put on his best hurt face. "what happened to cheol? or love of my life? or even...pookie?"

you laugh. "you want me to call you pookie?"

"...no. but anything's better than my name."

"no," you say, resuming combing through his hair and detangling a particularly stubborn clump. "your name is lovely, even if you insist it isn't."

"it's just so...serious. it sounds like i'm going to get scolded."

"it's you. and i like it. but tonight didn't go bad at all, baby."

the thing is, seungcheol's never met anyone's parents before. at least, not since he became an idol. you had been telling him your parents should be more worried about hosting an idol at their place for dinner but seungcheol had been stressing about it for a couple of weeks, worrying about what to wear and what to gift and how to sit, till you held him by the shoulders and very sternly told him to be himself, and nothing more.

he's done just that tonight, and he's landed himself in this predicament now.

"you're just saying that to make me feel better."

you sigh and your hands stop working in his hair again. now seungcheol can't have that, so he turns around and clings to your leg.

"cheollie!" you say immediately, ruffling his hair. he lets go. "what, are you really that scared of what my parents think of you?"

"yes? they're your parents. and i met them for the first time yesterday. what if they tell me to stay away from their only child for the rest of my life because they didn't like my shirt yesterday?"

you fish out the television remote from behind the cushion and toss it into his lap. "show me a fancam of yours while i finish working on your hair. choose one you really like."

that doesn't sound good. why would you ignore what he said in favour of something else? unless—

"did they—"

"choi seungcheol."

that shuts him up. he scrolls through some videos on youtube and picks one he thinks looks good. you pull out a rubberband and gently tie his hair into a ponytail. seungcheol swears you have magic hands, because you've never once hurt him whenever you've volunteered to do his hair.

"done," you say, pushing him a bit forward so you can stand up.

seungcheol groans. "don't leave me alone."

"i'm just...going to get us some water?"

"i'm having a crisis here."

you giggle and sit back down, tugging at him till he climbs up and rests against your chest, both of you watching his videos of choice together. your grip on him tightens even though you don't say anything. seungcheol keeps quiet about it for exactly two and a half fancams before he twists to look at you.

you have a goofy smile on your face, and he feels kind of silly for wishing you were looking at the real life him, and not the one on the screen.

"what is it?"

"what?" you ask, looking down at him.

"you're smiling. at him."

you snort. "that's you."

"yeah, but i'm right here."

your eyes crinkle when you smile at him. seungcheol just feels like he's stepped into bright sunshine after a cold day.

"i was watching some edits of yours yesterday."

"oh. were they any good?"

"really good. but i wonder what your fans would think if they got to know you're the biggest softie in the world. none of that supposed alpha stuff here."

seungcheol pouts, but he can't keep it up for long. he's pretty much at his best when he's with you. you're the reason why he can physically feel his shoulders relax most days. you're also the reason he finds himself smiling a lot more.

"supposed?"

"well..."

seungcheol turns to bite your arm gently. you push his head away, not before pressing a kiss to it. "stop worrying so much, okay? you didn't mess up anything with my parents. do you have any idea of how much my mom liked you?"

"she...did?" 

"yeah. and my dad asked me when we're going to visit again."

seungcheol feels his worries dissipate. you don't look like you're saying it to placate him, but...

"are you..."

"...sure? cheol, my mother literally asked me when we're planning to get married. i think that's enough for surety, isn't it?"

seungcheol swears he can feel his heart beating fast enough to escape his chest. of course he'd love nothing more than marrying you one day, even if it's a long way down both of your futures.

"hm," is all he can say, settling back down against you. he doesn't mind you smiling at the version of him on the television. he's the one who's going to get to marry you, after all.

#this maaaan #choi seungcheol #choi seungcheol fluff #seventeen #seventeen fluff #svt #svt fluff #coups #scoups fluff #coups fluff #fluff #waldau writes #🍃 — svt

[izvmimi]

cw: selfship content. married with named children. fluff.

Izuku has been pacing around the kitchen for the past five minutes, and you, devilish as you are, are pretending not to notice, content with your late night snack of hot chocolate and lightly buttered bread.

The kids are all asleep, or at the very least turned in for the night, and things have been overall peaceful in the Midoriya household for the past few days, so whatever has your husband in distress is unlikely to be that bad. Additionally, he has an expression he makes when the situation is more embarrassing than dire, and that's written all over his face at the moment.

You bite into a particularly crunchy part of the bread and the sound appears to echo - Izuku looks at you and you return his gaze with your mouth full, blinking innocently, then burst out laughing when he frowns.

"Fine, I'll bite. What's wrong, baby?" you ask.

Izuku stops pacing then stands still facing you, one arm crossed over his chest and his other hand balled into a fist under his chin.

"Did you know Izumi had a crush on..." his voice was already hushed, but now it falls into a barely audible whisper, "... Ami?"

You blink. That's all? you wonder.

"Well, yeah..." you reply. "He's uh... been like that since he was 8?"

"What?!"

Izuku looks betrayed for a moment, then moves over to you quickly, pulling out a chair to plop down on.

"Okay, but his sketchbook is literally filled with portraits of just her!"

You drink the last of your hot cocoa, then smile at him, resting your hand on his wrist posed on the table.

"Sounds like his dad."

Izuku turns pink at the ears, but then he shakes his head, trying to focus.

"It's not the same!"

You sigh. "Are they tasteful at least? They seemed fine when I saw them."

Izuku's mouth opens and closes quickly. "W-What do you mean tasteful?"

"I mean he is 15."

"___! They're okay, he's not a pervert!"

You tilt your head to the side. "Exactly, so what's the problem?"

Izuku looks at you with incredulity, shocked by your unbothered manner. "You know, perhaps the 10 year age difference??" Izuku starts. "What if he gets his heart broken? It's not like it can happen!"

You take another long look at him, then laugh again.

"Don't burst a blood vessel, it's just puppy love. He'll get over it."

"I didn't get over my first crush!"

"... Honey, how old do you think I am?" you ask. He sighs then sidesteps your statement, knowing he sounds ridiculous, then presses his head against the table. You push your plate and mug aside now, then take his fingers in yours, and he turns his head to the side to look up at you.

"You know, it's not weird for your teenage son to have a crush on a pretty girl, especially when she was his babysitter most of his life. It's harmless."

Izuku frowns.

"It's not weird I promise. Plus, it won't last." With that last part you lean just a bit closer to whisper, "I heard him on the phone with someone else, he has a crush on another person in his class right now, which I also know because he actually starts caring if I iron his shirts for school."

Izuku seems briefly relieved, then again bothered by this additional info.

"Why doesn't he tell me anything?" he asks.

"Teenagers don't tell anyone anything, don't worry about it." You say, squeezing his fingers. He gives you a half-smile, then you decide to change the subject.

"By the way, Atsuna needs to get stuff for cheerleading, so you can you take her tomorrow? I have some errands I need to run."

"Cheerleading? When did she start cheerleading?"

Izuku looks genuinely dumbfounded, following you as you get up to put your dish away.

"Two weeks ago." You snap your fingers. "I need you to keep up."

He pouts, and you actually feel a little bad.

"I'm kidding," you insist, but the damage is already done. You lead him back to a seat in the kitchen, and he frowns again, tapping his foot anxiously as he sits.

"I'm a shit father," he mumbles, and your heart aches for just a moment. You shake your head then cup his face in your hands. Izuku looks at you and you soften then kiss him.

"No way. You're just doing a ton at once right now. Let me take care of things for now, and then we'll catch up this weekend, okay?"

His hands circle around your wrists, and he's not completely convinced but he nods.

"You do such a great job, I wanna pull my weight," he murmurs and kisses you again. You let his kisses warm you more than the cocoa and press your forehead against his.

"You pull yours too, baby. We can't give 100% to everything all the time so I'll cover you and you cover me, okay?"

He nods.

"Thank you," he adds. You move out of your seat into his lap, and caress the side of his chin, feeling the roughness of his unshaven face, tired but still handsome.

"I'm taking more days off," he promises.

"You don't have to," you insist.

"I don't have to, but I want to."

You laugh but it's just a breath through your nose, and press yourself closer to him so that your face buries into his chest.

"#1 Pro Hero wants more days off so he can give his son the Talk? That will go over well with the Hero Commission."

Your sarcasm hits a little too close to home but he gently grips your fingers again and pulls them to his mouth, kissing the finger tips.

"Izuku, your husband and the father of your kids, wants to spend more time with the beautiful woman he married and the children he helped create," he states. You look into his eyes and he looks determined to make a change and you smile, accepting his resolve.

"Thank you."

---

Your phone rings in the late evening on Sunday, and you can't help but be amused as you pick up. The second you say hello, you can already hear screaming on the other end of the line.

"Is there a reason Deku is suddenly off the patrol schedule for an entire month?!"

You stifle a laugh.

"Why don't you ask him, Kacchan?" Calling his name like your husband does only serves to aggravate him more.

"Very funny. Tell him to pick up the fucking phone."

You glance over at your husband who is busy helping your youngest daughter, Ai, braid her hair down for bed in the living room. Ai holds a mirror and tells him where to part her curls, and Izuku's tongue sticks out as he tries the style on the video on the TV screen. Despite his slight confusion, he looks happy as Ai observes his work and gives him plentiful encouragement.

"When he's no longer busy. Bye! Hug the wife and kids for me!" you say cheerfully as you hang up.

#izuku x reader #izuku midoriya x reader #cw kids #cw families #mimidoriya #daydreams: bnha #mimi's notes

[appocalipse]

can i please request a worn teddy bear + dusty love letters w/ steve harrington? 🥹 maybe steve feels insecure about his scars and reader makes him feel better and it's all 💗❤️💕🥹

i love this idea! tysm ♥ | cw: a little suggestive but no smut, 0.9k

amy's flea market ♥

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.

"Stevie, do you...w-what's going on?"

You stop by the door, leaning against the frame as you watch him, confused at first, not sure what exactly you're seeing, then concerned when finally you do. He is standing in front of the mirror, his shirt off, hands pressed to the sides of his ribs like he's trying to force himself to see something different than what's before his eyes.

Steve's heart skips a beat as he follows your gaze down. His cheeks flush red. 

He shrugs, trying to play it off. "Nothing, babe. It's just... I dunno. It's been a while since anyone's really seen them, y'know?" He gestures vaguely to the scars on his abdomen.

You feel like your heart might break just looking at him, the way he's so clearly struggling with himself. You take a deep breath, trying to steady your voice, and walk over to him, wrapping your arms around him from behind. "Steve," you whisper, pressing your cheek to his back. And because you don't know how else to explain how much you love him and how much those scars mean nothing to you, you reach around him, gently tracing your fingers over each one, and repeat, "Steve."

He sighs, leaning back into you just enough to let you know you're not upsetting him. "You really don't have to..."

"I want to," you insist, pressing a kiss to the spot between his shoulder blades. You grin. "You know, I actually think they're kinda hot."

You know that Steve's looks have always mattered to him in a way that no one else might be able to quite understand. It's not that he's particularly vain or anything, more like...he still finds it difficult to see his self worth beyond the image he sees in the mirror everyday, beyond his physical appearance. He is still trying to figure out who he is now, outside of being 'King Steve'.

He laughs softly and you can feel him relax a little as you run your fingers over his scars. The tension in Steve's body seems to ebb away. "Really?" he asks, turning his head slightly to the side, gazing at you over his shoulder with a grin.

"Oh, yeah, really," you say with a smile, tracing a finger along the edge of one of the scars, feeling the raised, puckered texture beneath your touch. You gently tug on his arm to turn him around to face you, meeting his gaze with a grin of your own. "I think they make you look tough."

He raises an eyebrow. "Tough?" he repeats, quirking a smile. "I'll take that."

You grin back at him, leaning in to brush your lips against his. He feels so good against you, warm and solid, and you want nothing more than to kiss him until he feels better and the rest of the world fades away. You wrap your arms around him, pulling him closer, feeling the hard planes of muscle beneath his skin and the soft give of his abdomen where the scars are. You wonder, briefly, if and how anyone could ever find them unattractive.

"Mhmm, very tough," your lips gently trail down his neck, nuzzling at the soft skin just below his earlobe. You can feel him shiver ever so slightly, tightening his grip around your waist, fingers digging into your skin just enough to make you gasp. You move down to his chest, kissing his collarbone, sucking on the tender skin, your tongue flicking out to trace a line down to his abdomen. You press your lips against the top of his stomach and glance up at him through your lashes.

Steve sucks in a sharp breath as you kneel in front of him, looking down at you with newfound curiosity. He chuckles. "Baby, what are you..."

But then your lips are there, warm and soft as you gently kiss the center of his stomach. Steve tries to remember how to breathe. You chuckle softly as you nuzzle against his skin, pressing tiny, teasing kisses along the length of the scars on his sides, feeling the vibration under your lips as he, too, laughs.

"See?" you whisper, looking up at him with a wide grin, "Sexy."

He laughs, a real, unrestrained laugh that makes your heart swell. "You're insane," he tells you, but there's no sting in the words. He brings a hand up to cup your cheek, his thumb brushing across your lips. Steve's eyes are soft, and he gazes at you like you're the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. "But I'll take it."

You smile up at him, feeling a warmth spread through your chest. You reach up, twining your fingers with his, squeezing his hand gently as he helps you stand. "Thank God," you tell him, laughing softly. "And...seriously, Steve, I love you and I love every inch of you, but we don't have to go to the beach with our friends if you don't want to."

Steve frowns, looking thoughtful for a moment. "No, I do want to," he says slowly. "It's just...sometimes I feel like everyone's looking at me, and I just..." He trails off, shrugging a little. "It's stupid, I know."

You squeeze his hand reassuringly. 

"It's not stupid," you say. "I get it. Sometimes I feel like people are looking at me, too, and I'm not sure why. But we don't have to do anything we don't want to. If you want to go, we'll go. If you don't, we can just...have a quiet day at home or something. I don't mind."

Steve looks at you, his expression softening. "You really are the best thing that's ever happened to me, sweetheart."

#🏷️ amy's flea market #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #steve harrington x you #steve harrington oneshot #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington angst #steve x you #steve x reader #stranger things fanfic #stranger things imagine #steve harrington drabble #amy's flea market

[headcanonenthusiast]

Alex Keller x chubby reader headcanons

Guess who's back with a 3rd Alex post in 3 days? These headcanons will be entirely SFW, focusing on a chubbier, gender-neutral reader, because Lord do we need more headcanons on this man, especially with chubby readers 🥲

Just a quick reminder that y'all are beautiful, no matter your weight 💙

Enjoy! 

-Ik I mentioned this in my NSFW Alex headcanons, but that one (obviously) was more sexual. But, he will still force you in front of a mirror, even in a non-sexual context, arms hugging you from behind while he whispers in your ear about how beautiful/handsome you are. 

-His fingers trail on each and every stretch-mark, observing them with pure delight. 

-And if you dare to complain about them, he's shutting that right down. 

-"What do you mean you don't like 'em? They make you look like a tiger, and everyone loves tigers." 

-"Yeah, but tigers aren't chubby." 

-"They can be. And when they are, they're extra cute." 

-Probably proceeds to show you this pic as well

-Your belly has become his personal pillow. 

-Its also almost like a stress ball to him, too. He'll softly knead at it like dough when y'all are cuddling, pressing kisses to the skin and tickling you with his facial hair. 

-When he gets home from a particularly long deployment, all he wants to do is just bury his face in your belly and forget about life for a while. 

-Will also ask for pictures of your tummy while he's away. Tells you how much he can't wait to come home and cuddle with you. 

-"That belly is the perfect pillow for me, baby. Can't wait to get home and fall asleep on you ❤"

-Absolutely doesn't take anyone shaming you for your body. He probably gets more pissed than you do, but he isn't super confrontational. As much as he'd like to knock the person out, he doesn't, and just leads you away instead.

-If those harsh words get to you, he'll drag you back to the mirror and gently ask you to tell him the specific things you don't like about your body. Then, he'll caress and compliment whatever you point out.

-"What do you mean your thighs are too big? They're literally the softest things in the world. You're nothing short of a warm, cozy pillow, baby. My pillow." 

-Also has an obsession with your thighs. Please let him kiss and squeeze them, he'll probably never be happy again if you don't. 

-Can't stop touching your stomach. He's also obsessed with that. 

-He'll make you feel like the most beautiful/handsome person in the world just with his words, which are always sincere.

-"Hope you know that you've got the best smile, baby doll." 

-If you're at a stage in your life where you actually want to lose weight, he hopes you do it for yourself and noone else.

-Always reassures you that he'll love you no matter what you look like. 

-"I don't care what you look like, baby. You'll look amazing no matter what you do." 

-Will actually help you work-out if you wanna try it. Always there to encourage you and honestly just sees it as more time spent with his wonderful partner.

-Also, he'll only be wearing a thin white shirt and gray shorts while exercising. Do with that what you will 🤭

-Goes clothes shopping with you a lot. 

-If you find clothes that you really like but they don't fit, he'll rub your shoulder comfortingly while searching the racks for another size.

-And if the store barely has anything that fits you? He's fuming about it on the way home and then tries to see if he can get you something customized to fit you. 

-Enjoys bathing with you just so he has an excuse to touch at and clean your body. Rubs soap all over your tummy and makes sure it's all nice and clean so he can fall asleep on it later. 

-Picks you up constantly and grins when it makes you giggle. 

-Once when you were especially sleepy and he made breakfast, he simply just scooped you up, carried you to the dining table and grabbed you a plate. You were definitely 100% awake after that. 

-His lap is always avaliable for you to sit on. 

-Sometimes pouts when you don't sit on it and looks at you with the saddest eyes until you do. 

-"Aw, is my lap not comfy enough for you, dolly?" 

-And if you insist you'll crush him, he looks at you like you have 5 heads. 

-"Thats the craziest thing I've ever heard. Come on, love. Get your pretty/handsome ass over here."

-Pats his thigh when he wants you on his lap, too. His arms immediately wrap around you when you sit on him, giving you a hug so tight it takes your breath away for a sec. 

-Never allows a negative word about yourself fall from your mouth.

-"Don't say that, baby. It's not true. Not at all." 

-"I wish it wasn't so hard for you to see yourself from my perspective. You're amazing, sweetheart. Always have been and always will be." 

-Would absolutely be a wonderful partner overall, no matter your body type or background. Alex genuinely couldn't care less about what you looked like, and would totally throw compliments at you so much you'd get flustered. 

Let's gooo another one done! I'm sure y'all can probably tell that I'm chubbier myself, and as such I'm here to provide for my fellow chubby readers out there with content on this wonderful man 🙏

Feel free to leave requests on who I should do next!

#alex keller #alex keller x f!reader #alex keller headcanons #alex keller cod #alex keller x reader #alex keller x male reader #alex keller x y/n #alex keller x you #cod x reader #cod modern warfare #call of duty #this man is so fine #im here to provide for my fellow chubby readers

[xcerizex]

How obvious it is when they like you.

When the boys likes someone who has a tendency to overthink. Imagine if you meet them irl fr. You're not going to be certain that they actually like you unlike in the game and when they start flirting with you, you start getting super paranoid for some reason. Like some of us don't suffer the same thing. 💀

Alkaid:

Your first impression of him is that he's generally nice to everyone, you see. After several rounds flustered panic attacks, you gave him a nickname.

"Central air conditioner"

(This basically refers to a person who's nice to everyone)

This is when you first meet of course, so it left you flustered whenever he'd say or do anything sweet.

Sometimes you'd spend one hour during class just... overthinking about it. Trying to crush those rose-colored glasses.

You tell yourself that he's just being really friendly, like the same way he's always helping someone out.

It's evident seeing how many teddy bears he's gifted on a daily basis lmao

It's only after seeing the obvious difference between how he treats you and others when he comes in strong, do you consider his actions as him being romantically interested in you.

That's when it starts being really obvious. Like, really, really obvious.

(Psst, Halloween event.)

Ayn:

It's pretty obvious.

Man won't take one foot out his house no matter how much anyone begs him to but the moment you invite him out for something silly he's at the door calling you slow.

Not exactly but you get my point.

A good thing about his blunt attitude is that it leaves little room for doubt. You don't have to think so much when interpreting his actions and words.

And you know you mean something special to him when he makes both small and big exceptions for you the way he wouldn't do for anyone else.

(Princess Day event)

In short, there's a lot less confusion because he's more forward in expressing his interest in you.

Like, whenever he'd tease you in a flirting manner on rare occasions, your brain starts to shortcircuit and it takes a few minutes for you to understand that he's doing it because he sees you in a romantic way before your face turns red.

He teases you for that too.

Lars:

I'd say it's more obvious than not, especially after you spend more time with him. Doesn't mean you don't get confused.

He was playful when you first met him so you never really took him seriously. Especially when you see the way other girls react when they're around him.

Not that you thought of him as a player of course, not at all. You always thought it was just his character. In fact, you found it sweet how he's always trying to support your dreams.

His support makes you wonder however. Sure he could just be interested in supporting a future artist, but sometimes you find his actions and words going beyond a simple sponsor.

It makes your head go around in circles. And it gets a whole lot worse whenever he does something so endearingly sweet, you know it's got nothing to do with business anymore.

It leaves you flushed red when you finally arrive to a proper conclusion after an hour of thinking.

He's going to be the death of you.

Clarence:

Unlike the others, he is less obvious with his affection. He's much more subtle in regards to showing it.

He's extremely attentive when it comes to you and it shows. He'll frequently remind you to take care of your health, offer to grab a small bite for you when you mentioned you've skipped breakfast, and gently reprimands you when you don't take care of yourself enough at times, saying how important your wellbeing is to yourself, and to him.

😵‍💫

These small acts of concern are so sweet it leaves your brain in an overdrive. You chalk it up to him being a responsible, duty-bound Student Council President and stay in denial for a good long while.

Many times you'd just start banging your head in order to not get your hopes up cuz' he's just so damn caring.

It's only when you realize that his care for you is particularly more affectionate and intimate, do you actually start believing that he likes you in a romantic way.

Cael:

Where do I start with this man?

His entire existence is cryptic puzzle, his feeling are not gonna be any easier to pinpoint lmfao.

He's your guardian so naturally it's going to be harder for you to see him in a romantic light.

He could literally say "I love you" and you'd think internally;

'As a dad?'

💀

No wonder this man's not a LI until like, the third world lol.

While I wouldn't say it isn't obvious, his character makes it hard to discern his true feelings.

As time passes and if he's willing to accept his own feelings, his romantic affection for you becomes more apparent. It doesn't show, you just feel it.

It makes you wonder if you're being delusional. Sometimes you'd throw your pillow across the room whenever you started thinking about it. You'd call it absurd the moment you start believing that, maybe, just maybe, Cael sees you in a romantic way.

You're screaming into the sheets again. This is not going to be resolved anytime soon.

BONUS

William:

This is for that one William fan. Forgive me if he may seem OOC 🙏.

Oh, you get very confused.

William's the friendliest person on the block so it takes awhile for you to realize you mean something special to him.

Another "central air conditioner" ig?

Whenever he would go out of his way to help you, you tell yourself it's nothing special. That he would do the same for anyone because that's just how he is.

But one time you told him you'd fallen sick over text, literally ten minutes later he shows up at your door all sweaty with bags of medicine lined up on his arms because he forgot to ask what sort of sickness you had.

You spend the rest of your sick day mulling over if that meant anything because you literally cannot fathom if this was something he'd do for anyone else.

He does a lot of big things for the people he likes, but if it's for someone where it's beyond a simple friendship, you start to notice the smaller details in his actions.

It leaves your heart in a flurry and your mind in tangled threads. His actions however, are not bold enough to stop your thoughts from running the mile.

But trust me when I say that his feelings are more obvious to you than they are to himself.

So until he realizes his own feelings, you're both stuck. But once he does, he'll go all out to show you just how special you are to him.

#lovebrush chronicles #for all time #this is not me being dense #its being ✨self-deprecating✨ #i genuinely hope i did them justice #especially William

[petrichor-idyllic]

Hellooo how about a Minho x she/her reader where Minho has been hit by the lightning and hs the scars and one day Reader walks on Minho being half naked and she traces his scars and theres tension building up ;) THANK YOU

I love lightning scars Minho so absolutely.

This is a relatively new request, but I'm trying to get some of the easier ones done since I'm currently away.

And I just liked this idea.

SPARKS

MASTERLIST | MINHO MASTERLIST

SUMMARY: See above. After TDC in the Safe Haven. You're a Right Arm member because I just like the idea.

WARNINGS: Inappropriate language, spice, typical dumb horny teenage bullshit. That's it, really.

You're a member of the Right Arm.

You're not high-ranking or necessarily special. You just ended up tagging along after Vince came through the refugee camp you were staying at.

But that doesn't mean you don't do anything. You're bold and forward, and you went through life-risking measures to help WICKED's Subjects escape.

Because, well, everyone did.

That doesn't matter now, though. They're safe, you're safe - everyone is safe and everything is okay.

Well, kind of.

Trauma doesn't just vanish. But, people are getting on with their lives.

And so are you.

You've ended up befriending some of the Gladers. Originally, you were friends with Harriet and Sonya since they'd been around a while - and they introduced you to the boys. So, you've got your own little friendship group now.

You're particularly close to Frypan and have some friendly competition with Gally. But you like them all the same.

Well...

Almost.

You don't know what it is about Minho that has you in such a chokehold. Sure, maybe if you were some innocent girl from a Maze who didn't know how to act around boys, it would make sense. But you're not.

You've survived the Scorch and the land outside of the remainder of society. It's not like Minho is the first person you've ever been attracted to either. So, why does he make you feel like this?

Apart from the fact he is undeniably attractive.

You figure it's just dumb surface level physical attraction. And with nothing else better to do, you decide to test the waters a bit.

Glancing at him across the table as the bonfire dances and his friends chat, often meeting each other's gaze. He holds it longer than he should. He always does.

Always standing or sitting next to him; your arms or your knees brushing as neither of you make any effort to grow the distance between you.

Playful inside jokes that often have subtle suggestive undertones. Normally, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it style that the other Gladers brush off or don't notice. This results in Minho smirking into his chosen beverage, drinking up your figure out of the corner of his eye.

It goes on like this for a while; just being in the same friend group with some subtle flirtations going on. It's actually kind of fun and a much needed way to relax.

But it doesn't actually go much further than that. And you're fine with that.

For a while.

The jokes start becoming more explicit. The eye contact becoming less subtle. The closeness becoming drunken dancing instead of just standing together.

People are starting to notice.

The dumb attraction is starting to become actual feelings. He's brave and strong and funny and everything you want - and it's just making the sexual tension thicker.

God - it's getting bad. Anyone and everyone in a room with you two would be able to feel it.

The Gladers often tease Minho about it, talking about how he's one wrong move away from ripping your clothes off and cracking where he stands.

It's taking a lot of resilience from the both of you. Especially since you're both stubborn - it's become a silent game of who will crumble first.

"Hey, (Y/N)!" You're currently sorting out bedding and hauling different types of sleeping arrangements around camp. With Gally being put in charge of the Builders now, the huts are being thrown up like there's no tomorrow.

The Gladers and other Maze Subjects got the first available buildings, along with high up Right Arm members. You don't really mind, to be fair, you enjoy the hammocks and are happy to help the Gladers.

But as Thomas shouts you, you groan, turning around, blankets threatening to spill out of your hold. "Hey, Thomas. You good?"

"Yeah," something seems off about him as he fiddles with the hem of his shirt, "I know you're already busy, but could you check on Minho for me?"

"Huh?" You tilt your head, concern immediately setting in. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Uh," Thomas did not think this far ahead of his dumb plan. "Well, we just haven't seen him all day - seems kinda down. Figured you'd be the best person to speak to him."

This perplexes you. "Why me? You guys are closer."

And you could've sworn you'd seen Gally and Minho shoving each other about earlier today. Though, maybe you're just mixing up your days.

"Yeah, but he likes you, so..." You pause, farrowing your brows. He likes you? In what context? Like you know that he likes you. But... like, more than just the dumb flirting?

You shake it off. "Alright, gimme a second."

You dump the bedding off where it needs to be and make a beeline for Minho's hut.

Little do you know that Minho has just gotten out of the shower - and is completely fine. Thomas and Frypan decided they'd had enough of enduring the tension between you and this is the result that.

Reaching the door, it's slightly ajar, and in your concerned state, you, for some reason, decide not to knock.

"Hey, Minho, are you-?" You push open the door and immediately freeze.

Well, shit.

Minho stands with his back to you, loose sweatpants hanging off of his hips and he's without a shirt. He rubs his hair with a towel, freezing at your voice and turning slightly to look at you.

Which would be less awkward if you weren't in some kind of trance.

Minho is tall and muscular, and he doesn't have to be half naked for you to be aware of that. But, that's not what's stands out.

All over his upper body, mainly populating his back, are pinkish lines. They travel down his spine and split like webs across his back, some whisps creeping across his sides and grazing his front.

"You just gonna stare or ask me about it?" Minho says after a good few seconds pass.

What do you even ask?

"Uh, what... why..?" You trail off and Minho raises his eyebrow before scoffing.

"I got hit by lightning." He states matter-of-factly. "Ended up giving me some scars."

"When did that happen?"

"Out in the Scorch, just before we met Brenda and Jorge."

"And you never mentioned this?"

"Well, it didn't seem like a big deal," he smirks. "And I'm kinda enjoying the look on your face."

This kind of snaps you back into reality. You're here for a reason.

You clear you throat, closing the door behind you for more privacy just in case the ex-Runner is on the verge of a meltdown. "Are you... alright?"

"Uh, yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Minho is growing more concerned by the second. What is happening here?

"Well, Thomas said that something was wrong and asked me to talk to you."

Minho scoffs, putting the dots together and slowly nodding his head before rubbing his face with his hands. "Did he, now? Shuckin' slinthead. I knew they were up to something."

"Huh?"

"They're messing with you - us, even."

"Huh? Why would- oh! Oh."

Ah. That makes more sense. And is mildly mortifying.

"Yeah." Minho shakes his head, turning away from you again as he mumbles to himself. "Sorry, my friends are dicks."

"It's uh, fine. It's fine."

Your gaze falls back on Minho's chiselled form. He's practically mouth-watering.

And it's not like this is weird. You've been pushing each other's boundaries since day one. This could be another opportunity to see how far you can take things. I mean, he would if this were the other way around. So, with a sudden peak in confidence, you walk over.

Minho chucks his towel on his bed. "So, are you-?"

Minho doesn't even get the chance to finish his question as electricity sparks through him. Again. This time, not because he's nearly dying, but because your fingers graze his back.

His entire body stills, his mind immediately becoming foggy, and the hair on his arms stands on end.

"Do they still hurt?" You ask, your gaze focused on his skin and your voice low.

You're gentle in your moments, letting your fingertips barely tickle his flesh. But with the immediate and tense reaction, you're reminded that Minho is about as touch-straved as someone can get.

He's just good at hiding it.

"Uh, no, not really. They kinda feel weird sometimes, and I was really buggin' out about them when I first noticed them. But I guess I had bigger klunk on my plate." He tries to maintain his composure, but his voice wavers at several points.

You bring your hand higher, dancing across his spine and between his shoulder blades.

"Why were you buggin' out?" You've grown somewhat used to the Glader way of speaking.

He hesitates for a second, physically jumping when your other hand joins in, using your thumb to rub circles and pull at the scars threating to escape to his middrift.

"Well, I uh- shit," he mumbles the cuss word, stepping back more and into your touch, letting his head fall back. "I just... they just look weird, yanno?"

"I think they look hot."

Okay, you're becoming very bold.

"Hm? You think I look hot?" He asks, half-looking over his shoulder at you, not wanting to fully turn around and lose the feeling.

"That's not what I said."

"That's what I'm askin'."

You blink at him, watching his lopsided smile creep across his face.

In a game of confidence - Minho will always win.

Which means trying to play it cool.

"I just think scars are interesting, they tell a story."

"Do you go around touching everyone's scars, then?" He cracks a wicked grin you can't see as he turns his head away again. "That might get you in a bit of trouble around here."

"Yeah, but not with you." It actually is genuinely fun tracing the patterns in his skin. You have one hand following one path and the other following a different one.

"Oh, yeah? How do you know that?"

"Because you like it."

He peers at you again, his face suddenly serious and his tone lower than before. "You're really starting to push it, yanno that?"

"Push what?" You tilt your head, pretending to play innocent.

"You know what."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"So, you're just feeling me up because you think my scars are hot?" He scoffs. "That's what's happening here?"

You think for a second. Fuck it. "Yep."

"Well, there's more scars if you wanna touch them?"

Your eyes flicker to his face, letting your arms fall from his skin. He turns around, holding his hands behind his back, he rocks on his heels.

From his back, travelling to his front are smaller webs of the scarring. At first glance, you thought they only reached around his sides, but now you're realising there's thinner, less noticeable branches trailing across his abs.

He presses his lips into a thin line, almost like he's calling your bluff. Because this is the game you've been playing. Pushing each other. And you've pushed him so he's pushing you.

Though, this very well might end up being the breaking point.

Too stubborn to back down, your hand connects with his stomach area. He flinches, but very quickly relaxes again. You gently run your fingers across the lines and the curves of not only the remains of the electricity, but of just his body.

Your eyes flicker to his face as you expect him to make some cocky comment about how that's not a scar. But he doesn't. His eyes are fixated on your hand.

It's a feeling he's never really experienced before - watching someone enjoy him. Someone touch him with such care. With such want. Someone touching him like this at all is new.

And it's you.

You're the one touching him.

You.

And that's making it so much worse.

He doesn't make any effort to hide or stop the tightening sensation in his pants or the way his chest is rising and falling. His mind is falling into complete fog; he feels like he's taken something he probably shouldn't have.

You notice it, too.

"Minho-?"

"Shut up," he says almost immediately, eyes finally meeting yours. His pupils are wide and his eyelids heavy. "This... this isn't fair. You can't..."

He seems a strange mix of stressed and turned on.

"Okay, I'll stop," you pull your hand away, but he immediately grabs it, laying it flat against his middrift. "Minho?"

"Don't," he mumbles. "Don't stop." He can't look at you properly.

God, what's happening to him?

"Look," he continues, trying to gain some sort of clarity for a second. "If you're just messing around, that's fine, but leave now, okay? 'Cause this is getting cruel."

His words and the way he's acting is sending heat straight to your core. You step towards him, your faces inches apart.

"Are you caving, Minho?" Your voice is sultry as your hand slides further down his front.

"Are you?" He responds, leaning in further, your noses brush and you can feel his breath on your face.

"We can't keep doing this, yanno? One of us has to break eventually." You mumble, practically into his lips.

His eyes flicker from your eyes to your lips.

"Shuck it," his hands come to your waist, yanking you closer as he finally kisses you. You squeak from the force behind it as you throw you arms around his neck, clawing into his back to try and steady yourself.

It takes a matter of seconds for Minho to spin you around, pushing you onto the bed, both of you tangling together. Desperation sets in fairly quickly.

Minho's hands under your shirt as you try to pull it over your head. His lips on your neck and chest as he slips a hand under you, trying to yank your jeans down. You leave stains on his skin from your nails.

It's a blur of emotion and hormones.

Then Minho hesitates as he sits back. At first, you think he's just admiring you as you lay in your underwear, but there's something else.

"You good?" You ask, becoming concerned.

"You know we're not gonna be friends anymore if we do this, right? Like the flirting and klunk is fun, but this is different. We can't take this back. A-and I've never done this before. I don't wanna shuck up our friendship or make things weird."

You blink at him before sitting up. He watches you as you move onto your knees and kiss him again.

"I don't wanna be your damn friend, Minho. Take the hint."

It's like there's a light behind his eyes, a smile creeping across his face, but unlike his usual cocky smirk, it's soft and warm and genuine.

He pecks your lips. It's sweet and unusual for him. "You wanna be more than friends, then?"

"Yeah," you chuckle, "but I'm sure we can worry about that later. We're a bit busy right now." You wrap your arms around his neck again, lightly touching the scars on his back. He grins at you, connecting your lips again as he pushes you down.

He pulls away, his teeth brushing your ear lobe as he lets out a low chuckle.

"Sounds like a good plan."

Here ya go, another spicey Minho piece for y'all.

I hope you enjoyed :))

#🌿 petri tmr minho #🌿 petri writes #🌿 petri writes tmr #🍃 petri tmr #tmr fanfiction #tmr imagines #minho the maze runner #tmr minho #minho maze runner #minho tmr #minho tmr x reader #the maze runner

[atopfourthwall]

I wanna clarify up front that I both understand and agree with the "don't send death threats to creators" and the whole fan entitlement thing... but listening to Zeb Wells gleefully, smugly talk about how funny it is that people care about Ms Marvel and dismissing the criticism of his fridging her is absolutely fucking maddening, and kind of disgusting. Kamala Khan is a character who was massively meaningful to me, and has been massively meaningful to a LOT of brown girls who read comics. The whole treatment of her has been really, really gross - and tinged with more than a little bit of racism, not least of all the whole "Let's bring in the teenage muslim girl for one issue so she can die to save a white lady." Yes, she's going to come back soon, this whole thing is a marketing stunt to make her a mutant and MCU-ify her... which is gross in and of itself, but at least means she's not gone forever... but that's part of the problem. From start to finish the creative choices made for Kamala Khan during this arc feel incredibly exploitative, particularly because she is a woman of color - none of them are ABOUT HER. The creative team have made that abundantly clear, multiple times. Again - I am not gonna send anyone death threats, and no one should do that. But what do you do when creators seem to be actively trying to provoke that response? How are fans who are upset by this supposed to respond to this kind of overtly provocative dismissal of why this is significant to us, particularly those of us who AREN'T really represented particularly heavily in comics to begin with? How are we supposed to get Editorial to understand this is simply not okay when they seem to WANT backlash, and will treat ALL backlash as something positive or otherwise funny? I'm not buying any of the comics about "The Death of Ms Marvel", but I know other people will - and I'm worried that message could easily be interpreted as "People don't care about Kamala Khan anymore", which could lead to MORE mistreatment of her character. As someone who is very familiar with the industry and fan culture surrounding comics - what would your advice be in terms of expressing how shitty this decision was and how specifically terrible Zeb Wells and Nick Lowe's attitude have been to this whole situation?

There really are only two things you can do: -Talk about it - give the reasons why and discourage other people from buying it or anything else related to this debacle. Contact Marvel and say "As a fan and customer, I am upset and you are damaging future sales by doing this." Will people listen? Eh, maybe not, but you can't control what other people do or believe. -Now this is the really hard one, but it's the same one that I've stuck to: actually don't buy it. In fact, don't buy anything with Zeb Wells' name on it. Tell people "Do not buy anything with his name on it and this is why." And you have to stick to your guns on this. "Ms. Marvel is coming back already? No. Fuck you; you have made it clear you do not want me as a customer and my opinion does not matter. So I am washing my hands of this. Unless I can see that you recognize what a mistake this was, I will no longer be a customer. And I will tell others to not be customers." And I know that can be hard because you WANT to support the character, you WANT to read more stories with them, you feel you need to... but you have to let it go. Because otherwise they'll pull this shit again in 5 years because they think they can get away with it. And if they don't hear the message... well, that's their problem. This is their mess - they can revel in it and you're free of it. After all, if they're still producing the bullshit that you hated to begin with, why are you STILL giving them money? And this is why I still haven't bought a Peter Parker Spider-Man comic since One More Day - especially when, like Lucy and Charlie Brown, they keep yanking the football away at the last second for fixing it. They don't want my money? Fine. They won't get it.

[lilac-gold]

hero & mari's friendship has so many more layers than people typically consider, and it's genuinely so painful to think about.

to begin, they're both people pleasers, determined to impress everyone and act as role models to the younger kids. they settle for nothing less than perfection, mari practicing her piano for countless hours on end, hero earning solely first place awards. they both feel the pressure of everyone's expectations, of knowing that they're obligated to go above and beyond, to do more and more to impress. but nothing is ever enough, not when those expectations just get higher and higher the more they strive to meet them, so it builds up to the point where they can only feel satisfied achieving flawlessness. but flawlessness isn't possible, not when there's always something else to criticise, something that could have been better. they're both placed on pedestals because that's where they want to be, they need to be. they take it upon themselves to be perfect, so perfect is how they appear.

mari is gentle, caring, funny, wise. she offers bountiless good advice at only the cost of your love-- because she needs love, needs the validation that she's doing well or else her efforts will have all been for nothing. she's the perfect older sister, looking out for her little brother and protecting him where necessary. she's the perfect musician, dedicated and quick-fingered, composing masterpieces at the age of fifteen. she's the perfect student, spending hours after school studying to ensure that she does the best she can in her exams.

hero is compassionate, talented, charming, helpful. he offers assistance to anyone, all they have to do is ask-- because he can't say no, not when that would be letting people down. he's the perfect older brother, joking around with kel, setting a good example, keeping him out of trouble. he's the perfect hobbyist, taking an interest in cooking, each meal as good as the last as he puts his all into making them delicious. he's the perfect student, incredibly hard-working and doing his parents proud.

in the real world, hero and mari don't seem to have many friends. they spend all of their time in the group of six. they feature in the vast majority of the photo album's photos, and are often implied to be together in the scenes neither of them feature in. hero isn't particularly close to anyone when he returns to faraway, not seeking out anybody his own age to catch up with. when mari dies, it's sunny, kel, aubrey, basil and hero who are affected deeply.

but they have each other. they talk together, have fun together, work hard together. they understand each other in a way no-one else does, because they're in the same position.

hero isn't just "mari's malewife". mari isn't just "hero's girlfriend". their relationship goes so much deeper than just an implied romantic connection, because in the whole world, these two lean on each other the most. they're both older siblings. they're both straight a students. they're both masters at what they love. they're both the pride and joy of their parents. they're the same in so many ways, and that means they can trust each other.

hero and mari grow up together, and they grow up always trying to impress people. always avoiding disappointing them. they bottle everything up and hide it under warm smiles because they have to be perfect. they can't be anything less, or else they risk losing the images they've worked so hard to build, the images they can't afford to lose. not now, not ever.

they can't tell anyone about their struggles. about how hard a perpetual state of perfection is to preserve. about the crushing weight of expectations that never leaves their shoulders. about the endless responsibilities seizing hold of them in a vice grip, and their own steadfast refusal to burden anyone with their "problems". they're not supposed to have problems. they're supposed to be perfect.

they can't tell anyone, except for each other.

so that's who they go to. they each know the other inside out, know every intricacy and detail of their trains of thought, because their minds work in the same way. they're able to connect, to provide those pillars of support they can't get anywhere else, because they've always been a shoulder for someone else to lean on with no wall behind them to catch any falls caused by the weight.

they listen to each other. there's no judgement, no fear of disappointment. only the burning need to let out the fears plaguing their minds, to be allowed to feel bad, to have someone that won't be disappointed or shocked about their problems. they're teenagers with what feels like the weight of the world atop them, but together, they're able to share the burden.

looking at the other is like staring into a half-faded reflection, because hero and mari are both broken mirrors showing only the images people want to see. the cracks are hidden by their light, any imperfections masked and obscured by the awe brought forth via their achievements. but hero sees mari's silently shattered shards, and mari sees hero's. and they're always, always there for each other to slowly start mending the cracks.

and then mari "kills herself". and hero's left alone.

there's always been an unspoken vow between them, a promise that they'd support each other no matter what. that they could trust each other with anything. and hero stares up at a limp, lifeless corpse, and he doesn't know why mari couldn't trust him with this.

the worst part is, he knew there could have been signs, because he knows mari's endless cheerfulness isn't all genuine. he knows she gets irritable when she doesn't achieve flawlessness. he knows she won't let anyone else see her cry. he knows she's been battling the voices inside of her head for ages now.

but it's only in the months succeeding her death that he truly knows what depression feels like. for a while, there's only his suffocating devastation and grief, only the world-shattering fact that his best friend, his confidant, his pillar, is gone forever. and without her, he crumbles.

he goes to her funeral, and sees a never-ending array of black umbrellas on a cold, wet, miserable day. he holds no umbrella of his own. the water trickles into the unfeeling fabric of his black suit, sends shivers down his spine that should have forced him to react, plasters unbrushed hair to his forehead, mingles with the salty tears spilling down his cheeks. the sun shined brighter when she was here, and now that she's gone, he can only let the chill of the rain seep into his skin.

he returns home, and crawls into bed, into the empty embrace of heavy blankets and a darkness he wishes would consume him, and spends hours upon hours upon hours simply sobbing into his pillow. it seems impossible that she's gone. that the only person he could count on, the only person who understood him, the person he'd vowed to face the world with, the person he's relied on so heavily, is gone. gone forever. gone of her own volition, because she could see no reason to keep living.

hero wasn't reason enough. he wasn't good enough. he's tried so hard for so long not to let anyone down, but it's clear to him now that he's failed her. and that's his breaking point, when the half-sealed cracks all burst back apart. there's no point in trying anymore. there's no way to win. he can't fathom keeping up the picture of perfection without her.

mari wasn't the perfect older sister. she snapped at sunny when he got distracted during practice, brushed off aubrey when the girl offered to help out with the recital, spent her days too preoccupied to offer advice. she wasn't the perfect musician. she couldn't bear the thought of hitting even one wrong note, obsessing over the cursed piece she'd created even as it continuously refused to meet her sky-high standards. she wasn't the perfect student. she didn't even live beyond the start of freshman year.

hero's no longer the perfect older brother. he doesn't respond when kel tries to reach out to him, any words buried under the dirt covering a grave he slowly digs for himself over the next year. he's not the perfect hobbyist. he can't bring himself to so much as think of indulging in his passions, believes that he doesn't deserve to have nice things and no longer finds that spark of joy appear at the prospect of cooking. he's not the perfect student. he doesn't go to school over the next year, completely sectioned off from everyone else as he rots out of sight of the sun.

mari was gentle, caring, funny, wise. mari was stubborn, secretive, secluded, sensitive.

hero was compassionate, talented, charming, helpful. hero was silent, selfish, subordinate, spineless.

hero is all alone. mari is dead dead dead dead dead.

he finds himself following in her footsteps, and holds it all in. really, what else can he do? his only confidant is gone. he refuses to face a world without mari in it. he shouts at the one person who still sees him as someone to admire. he breaks down time and time and time again, a constant disappointment.

but he's seen how mari's death has affected his little brother. he knows how his own would, too. and he can't do that to kel. that would extinguish the one bit of light he has left. the sun may have shined brighter when mari was here, but with kel, some of its glow still remains.

so he gets up. he learns to try again. and this time, he does it all alone.

he reconnects with kel, as false as his efforts feel to himself. he tries not to think of how much better mari was at this, how much easier it had been to put on a grin with her in his life. he watches out for kel, notices when his smiles flicker just a little too much and offers to take him to gino's. perfect older sibling.

he takes up every extracurricular he can find, and brings home trophy upon trophy in each to demonstrate his capabilities. he works hard and learns fast, and is handed shiny plaques of silver and gold that indicate his mastery of skills he can't bring himself to truly enjoy. perfect hobbyist.

he makes up for the year of school he's missed by dedicating hours upon hours to studying. he passes with honours and goes to one of the best colleges he can find. he takes the course he's expected to, and pretends the sight of blood doesn't sicken him to his core. perfect student.

he upholds mari's legacy. he does everyone proud. it's a hollow sentiment.

throughout it all, he doesn't visit mari's grave once. he doesn't so much as mention her name, despite her haunting his every waking and sleeping thought. he misses her more than words can say, but he can't handle looking back on their memories. he claims he's doing just fine without her. he's a liar.

hero's always had a tendency to bottle things up, but after her death, that gets infinitely worse. he doesn't risk getting close to anyone, lest he fail them too. he closes himself off. people like him, people know him, but he doesn't have friends. not really. he's always been a little disliked, a little ostracised, a little different. he cares so much about how others perceive him, but the one group he's never managed to win over is those he was expected to be closest to. that was where both he and mari had struggled.

at least before, they'd had each other. now, hero makes it through the dull, monotonous cycle of his life by himself. he finishes high school, but moves onto college. he leaves behind faraway, but brings a huge piece of it with him. he tries to manage. he keeps it all hidden in neat little rows, fragile bottles on slanting shelves he does his very best to balance. he teeters precariously on the edge of a breakdown with every step he takes, but doesn't let anyone take notice. he wraps it all up under charming smiles and silken words. without the sun to guide him, he fades into the shadows as easily as he breathes. he's just another student, nothing particularly special about him, and while it's different and strange, it's in plenty of ways relieving. average people don't let anyone down. now it's only his parents he still has to impress. he pretends to be happy, and ignores the ghost he seems to be following every footstep of.

hero's alone, but it's better that way. mari died because he wasn't good enough to save her. he won't let anyone else down. never again.

he hopes mari would be proud of him. (he knows she'd hate what he's become.)

i feel like these two are often dismissed due to the lack of focus on their arcs and characters in canon, but there's so, so much about them to unpick that's lying in the subtext. hero and mari are such tragic, interesting, complicated characters, and it's sad to see them be brushed aside. no matter how you see their dynamic, there's so much to explore surrounding them, both separately and as a pair, and i'd love to see more people discussing just how brilliantly complex they really are.

#to be honest #i like to imagine them as platonic #familial bonds are so so strong #and what they had went beyond just teenage crushes #they've known each other since they were tiny #know each other inside out #and while the ship is very cute #i honestly enjoy them most as incredibly close friends #omori analysis #is this lowkey a vent post? #...maybe #my hero kinning is showing again <//3 #omori hero #omori mari #omori game #omori kel #omori #omori aubrey #omori sunny #heromari #omori real world #character analysis #long post #analysis #they mean so much to me

[epickiya722]

Can I ask your opinion on answer from this :

https://www.tumblr.com/gojuo/742796780522061824/is-satosugu-a-queerbaiting-ship?source=share?

Yes, you can!

The only thing I agree with the post is that SatoSugu isn't queerbaiting. Other than that, I don't particularly agree with anything else at all.

SatoSugu would have been queerbaiting if the ship had been promised to be canon and used as a marketing tool. Gege, from my knowledge, never said anything about making them an actual couple by the end of the series. At most, Gege wrote characters that do have this relationship that can be interpreted as romantic if one chooses. They do have a lot of romantic undertones, but it's more so for telling a story than just "I need readers".

And saying the fandom is queerbaiting using SatoSugu is... odd.

The fandom can't make the marketing decisions of what happens with JJK. Now, a person can lie and say "oh, SatoSugu kissed in episode whatever", but that doesn't mean they're queerbaiting. They're just lying.

Now, yes, we indeed have a lot of merchandise with Satoru and Suguru, but we gotta take in consideration as to what season we just finished.

The Hidden Inventory Arc which centers around the two and the Shibuya Incident Arc which most of what happened was because of those two. (Satoru getting locked up because he saw Suguru's face, MY GUY WAS TRICKED!!)

And it's not like we don't get merchandise of other characters.

Honestly, the answer of that ask just sounds mean-spirited. "(Majority) stsg shippers are just annoying as fuck because they genuinely believe their ship is canon, try to force their headcanons and misinterpretations of the material down everyone's throats, and send death threats to anyone who dares to ship Gojo with literally anyone else."

As done every other shipper, let's not kid ourselves now.

For anyone who seen my BNHA posts about ships, you know that I believe any shipper is capable of doing this. Now I don't doubt that a SatoSugu could do this. But there have been other shippers who have attacked SatoSugu shippers for the same reasons.

Hell, I just had someone try to make my NobaMaki and ShokoHime post about YutaMaki and I didn't mention his ass in that post. Like, damn, let the girls have the spotlight. Yuta ain't all that for you to throw him onto every single thing where he's not mentioned. (I like Yuta, folks, calm down.)

Also, I don't see a problem with a SatoSugu shippers believing their ship is canon. If they want to, let them. If you don't like it, skip along.

Another thing they said is how just because Gege doesn't do fanservice of his female characters doesn't mean he's above being misogynistic.

Okay, we got to stop throwing that word around.

I don't know how Gege personally and I won't say Gege (okay, has Gege actually confirmed their gender?) can't be misogynistic.

But using the writing material as an example is just kinda getting played out.

(I also dislike the JJK - Naruto comparison in general, it's gotten to the point that's a pet peeve of mine.)

The thing with the female characters here is that they feel like characters, not added accessories. Hell, some of the male characters actually feel more like an accessory to the story than some of the female ones.

Gege isn't afraid to write a complex character like Mei Mei. Nobara isn't written to be some generic love interest and chase some guy. Instead, she got her own morals, goals and even a whole backstory that we did get some insight on before Shibuya. We haven't see Nobara in a while, but remember what happened to her? Yeah, we probably won't see her for a while.

Hell, we haven't seen or heard anything about TODO AOI since Shibuya, but Nobara has been shown to be thought about by Yuji and Megumi.

Maki is more developed than Toge, a male character we haven't seen since when.

Uro was only in a few chapters but she was more entertaining during her fight against Ryu and Yuta than Ryu was. And she didn't die!

You know sometimes a fandom will say a creator is misogynistic for killing off a female character as if it's illegal for her to die because SHE IS STILL PART OF THE CAST and as if more male characters haven't been killed. And died in lame ways. And some of those male characters, again, didn't get the development female characters did.

No two female characters feel the same, that's just me.

The OP talked about how Shoko and how Gege should have developed her more. "Had he given Shoko the same care and love he's given to the boys, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. Because that would mean that the fujos would have to engage with her character and her dynamic with other characters in a meaningful way."

Shoko isn't like Suguru and Satoru though. Out if the three, she was the most "stable".

Also, the reason we didn't get a lot of her during that arc is because she was often isolated because of her technique. Shoko herself is a victim due to how things are ran. She was isolated from her friends very often and later years, we see she has eyebags. She barely is getting sleep.

And the thing is... Gege does acknowledge her relationship with the SatoSugu even later in the manga.

She herself comments that when Suguru left, Satoru wasn't alone. She was there.

Of course, Suguru and Satoru were closer. They had to spend a lot of time together. When they started to drift, that's when things definitely went downhill.

I have seen many SatoSugu shippers actually acknowledge Shoko's existence more than anyone else (besides actual Shoko fans). And they often include her being close to SatoSugu and even include her romantically with the two. (Here for it.) She'll sometimes be the one to give advice, expected, but sometimes in fics and whatnot she is written as a person than just a tool to push SatoSugu together. I have seen people draw fanart of her being involved with the situation with the Hasaba Twins.

I have yet to see a SatoSugu shipper actually hate her and deny her existence.

I'll tell you a person I often do see get ignored when it comes to SatoSugu. And that's Yaga. A male character. It's not all the time he gets ignored by the fandom, but he's more ignored than Shoko, I'll tell you that.

This is gonna sound mean, probably, but I don't think that question should be asked about anything pertaining to SatoSugu given the post is tagged "anti". Interesting as it is to see someone else's POV who doesn't ship SatoSugu, I just... eh...

#kiya answers #kiya answers questions #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jjk spoilers #satosugu #gojo satoru #geto suguru #satoru gojo #suguru geto

[dipendenteconad]

Some LiuHan/BiKang headcanons for MY soul (NSFW) pt. 2/?

Random nsfw hc, there's not a particular warning because I don't get too much into detail, but beware anyway.

From a chat I had with my pookie @staronx

I want to imagine their first time the same way I wrote in my fic Darkshines: they were attracted to each other for some time (still, Liu Kang was way more invested in the relationship at first) and eventually they couldn't ignore their feelings anymore. Still, it lacked real intimacy, and it was followed by a bitter morning after;

The following nights they spend together are objectively better for both of them. Liu Kang would definitely regret how their first time went, and he'd try his best to make Bi-Han feel at ease with him again. He's the definition of romantic, he'd never take Bi-Han without setting the right mood;

Liu Kang is THE service top, and Bi-Han is THE power bottom. You can't change my mind on that. Liu would be down to be at the receiving end once or twice, but he prefers to stay on top because he wants the focus to be all on his beloved. He doesn't care that much about his pleasure but more on Bi-Han's one: this includes that he's very observing of Bi-Han's reactions, so that he knows what he enjoys most and what he dislikes without the need for him to say anything; he also finishes only after Bi-Han's done and he hates it whenever he can't control himself and ends up coming before him (but y'know sometimes it just feels too good);

While Bi-Han had always been used either to quickies or rough fucks, he came to appreciate it when Liu Kang took things slowly. They can go at it for hours and do more than one round without either of them growing tired or bored of the other's attentions. Again, Liu is very romantic to me. They really have little time to spend together like this, and they want to make the best out of each night, and if that means making love until morning, so be it;

Also Liu is usually very gentle in bed but he can be rougher if Bi-Han asks him to (after all, he knows he can take it). He personally likes to mark Bi-Han, more like a playful provocation than a show of possessiveness;

While he's very careful with his touches, at the same time, Liu lets Bi-Han do anything he wants to him. He trusts that Bi-Han wouldn't purposely hurt him, so he's not afraid to let him scratch, bite and touch, however (and wherever) he wants. He enjoys it a lot especially when he lets Bi-Han use his mouth: the latter finds pulling Liu's hair and making him choke on his cock hotter than what he wants to admit. The morning after Liu's throat is so sore it hurts him to speak;

Liu Kang is the one who usually initiates things, but it's just because Bi-Han is too proud to openly admit he needs to fuck. Even if he's the one who craves Liu's touch the most: he would never say it out loud, but he misses him a lot whenever they're away from each other. He doesn't express his needs also because Liu Kang recognizes his signals too well;

Body worship in bed is a must: Liu would take all the time in the world to prepare Bi-Han and he particularly loves to caress and kiss his body all over until the latter's a moaning mess and he's melting under him (sometimes he teases him just to see how long Bi-Han can take before losing his patience and begging him to touch him where he needs it);

Also, as someone who has never been used to people complimenting his body, Liu Kang's praises weren't taken very seriously by Bi-Han. At first, he just thought it was his lust talking, but deep down, his heart melted at the thought of Liu appreciating him that much. Tho this doesn't only apply in bed but on all occasions, Liu likes displaying affections (in my opinion) in all the ways he can, so when they're alone he kisses and holds him with an affection Bi-Han has never seen with anyone else, while if they're in public, he limits himself by complimenting him in ways that wouldn't rise suspects but that still can have double meanings (at least for Bi-Han who knows him deeply);

Am I too soft with them? I see some people interpretating them as a love-hate type of pair, but I personally can't see Liu Kang as anything different than a tender lover.

Anyway, I think I've said enough for part 2! I am cringe but I am free.

#credit for the photo @ROTTEN5OOD on twt #bikang #mortal kombat 1 #liuhan #bi han #bi han × liu kang

[bakuliwrites]

This might be a little oddly specific, but what about The Arcana Main six with an MC whose family does not support the relationship? (possibly doesn’t like the LI, doesn’t want to give their blessing, overall just disapproves of the LI)

Thank you and best of wishes xxx

I would be delighted to write this one! Thank you so much for your request and I wish you the best as well 💜

M6 when MC's Family Does Not Approve of Them

It would certainly hurt Asra to know that your family doesn't approve of your relationship with him, or perhaps doesn't even approve of him. All Asra wants is for you to be happy, so knowing that he may somehow be contributing to your unhappiness is devastating to him.

He wonders often if your family is disapproving of him because of your history with him. If your family knows what went down between the two of you before, during, and after the plague. Or perhaps they're simply wary of the magician. Of his powers. "There's no point in speculating," you say to him one day after a particularly stressful visit to your hometown. Asra casts a troubled glance your way before pulling you into his arms and pressing a tender kiss to your lips. You're right. All that matters is that you have each other.

He is a constant support in your life. If you have to visit your family, he is more than happy to be by your side, even if they don't care for him. And he's not about to let them take their frustrations or cruelty out on you. Fine, say unkind things about him. He can take it. But he's not going to let anyone hurt you. He'll stand up for you to your family. Whatever support you need from him, in whatever form, when it comes to your family, he's there for you!

His parents approve of you. In fact, they adore you! So he figures that the four of you (seven with Faust, Chimes, and Flamel!) can be your own little family 💜

Nadia is familiar with the feeling of family disapproving of a significant other. To say her marriage to Count Lucio was no picnic is an understatement, and with it came a lot of stress due to the fact that her family was incredibly displeased with him. But this doesn't mean that Nadia isn't deeply hurt by the fact that your family doesn't approve of the two of you being together.

At first, Nadia will probably go out of her way to try to win them over. Not in any ridiculous, over-the-top sorts of ways. But she'll offer any services of the palace, should your family need assistance with anything. She tries her absolute best to gift them with things that she knows they would like, and with your recommendations for what they might like/need.

After a while though, when nothing seems to be working, you sit her down and politely tell her not to bother anymore. "I just don't understand," you manage to whisper through the threat of tears. She lets you collapse into her, holding you close as you weep. She smooths away your tears with the pads of her thumbs and gives you a warm smile. "Sometimes things bear no explanation," she reasons, pressing a featherlight kiss to your lips, "All we can do is carry on with our lives and do what brings us joy."

Nadia isn't petty. Your family is still invited to all events she hosts, to every party, and ball and what not. But her gaze is cold and disapproving when she glances at your family members from across the room. She's quick to defend you, too. Her support is invaluable to you, and she wants you to know that she'll always have your back, even if your family doesn't 💜

Julian is devastated that your family doesn't like him. He's aware that he's not everybody's cup of tea. Normally, that doesn't get to him. But the fact that it's your family cuts him deep. He's not worried about himself, though. No, he can handle it when people don't like him. He is, however, worried about what it all means for you.

He frets often about their disapproval. He wonders if you would be better off being with someone else, someone that your family actually approves of, but he tries to quash that unhealthy train of thought. The two of you have a lot of late night discussions and debriefs about your family. Especially if you've had to interact with them extensively, say at an uncomfortable family dinner or gathering.

"Maybe I should simmer down a little when we're around your family," Julian suggests, worrying that he's a bit too boisterous for them or something. You shake your head, "No, you shouldn't. You should still be you. If they can't handle it, that's their problem." He admires your ability to stay strong, even though he knows your family's disapproval is painful for you. He wants to stay strong for you, too.

He'll be right by your side if you have to attend any family gatherings. Julian will slip his hand into yours and squeeze it tight if he can feel that you're getting stressed, or press a soft kiss to your cheek. He'll defend you if your family has the audacity to say anything about your relationship. He knows you've got his back, too. And luckily, his family adores you. You, Portia, and Mazelinka are the most important people in the world to him, and that's all that matters to Julian 💜

I think it would break Portia's heart if your family didn't approve of her or your relationship with her. She lost her family young, but was able to make one with her brother and the grandmas in Nevivon, so I think she would really be hoping to include your family in her own.

Whenever the two of you go to visit your family, Portia always brings a baked gift to try to smooth things over. She is polite and courteous, offers to help out around the kitchen, and tidy up after dinner. But none of it seems to smooth things over with your family. She starts to wonder if maybe she isn't good enough for them, if you'd be better off with someone of a little higher status or something.

"Nonsense," you tell her back at her cottage, snuggled up in bed together, "My family's opinion doesn't matter to me anyway." She smiles ruefully at you, knowing deep down that that isn't true. She can see the way it hurts you, but nonetheless, you put on a brave face. "It's okay if it's not okay," she whispers, pressing a soft kiss to your lips. You give her a small smile, squeezing her hand tight, "You're what matters to me, Portia," you reassure.

Portia gets feisty if she needs to with your family, if they're being cruel to you. But otherwise, she tries to keep the peace if the two of you do have to interact with them. She has bouts of insecurity, where she feels like maybe it would be best if you found someone your family approved of. But you are quick to reassure her, and your obvious love for her is enough to prove that the two of you are meant to be 💜

Though Muriel is reserved, I feel that a lot of him would have been hoping to be able to become a part of your family, given that he lost his when he was so little. Having grown-up on his own, Muriel hoped that your family would be gracious enough to accept him into their circle, but unfortunately, that's not the case.

He wonders late at night when his thoughts keep him up if his past has anything to do with why your family doesn't approve of him. He wouldn't blame them. "Maybe we should just go our separate ways," he offers one afternoon after a particularly uncomfortable luncheon with your family. You frown at Muriel, quirking an eyebrow up, "Break-up with me because you want to break-up with me. Not because you think my family would like it."

And with that, it dawns on Muriel that you're with him despite what your family thinks of him. That you care about him, truly and deeply. That this is probably incredibly painful for you, too. "I love you, Muriel. I don't care what anyone else thinks," you say to him, spelling it our clearly and precisely.

You and Muriel decide that you don't need your family to approve. The two of you, and Inanna, are a family. And Asra, and Nadia, and Portia, and Julian (though Muriel agrees to this begrudgingly). The two of you have people in your life that care about you, that love and cherish you. Blood doesn't always mean everything, and the connections that you and Muriel have formed together, the bonds you've made, are what matter most 💜

At first, Lucio is flabbergasted as to why your family doesn't like him. He's so likeable, so what gives??? But over time, it dawns on him why your family might not approve of your relationship with him, and why they probably don't like him at all.

For a long time, he tries to win them over with overly-elaborate gifts that increase in amount (and in price) in the hopes of winning them over. He's desperate to gain your family's approval, hoping that at some point, he'll happen to send the right present and suddenly, all will be well. All will be forgiven and Lucio will be in their good graces.

When this doesn't work, he makes a show of expressing his adoration for you. He tries to talk to your family and convince them of how much he loves you. But nothing works. Lucio starts to feel defeated. "Why don't they like me?" he whimpers one evening, after another failed attempt at winning them over. You smile softly, gently tilting his chin up to look at you. "It doesn't matter what they think, Lucio," you reassure, brushing your lips featherlight against his, "You're important to me. I don't care what they think, and neither should you."

He stops trying so hard to gain their favor, and instead opts to ignore their existence (unless you have to visit them, in which case he'll try his best to be polite, but will likely come off as curt). Lucio feels a swell of confidence at your words. Oh yeah, that's right, it doesn't matter what they think! Lucio loves you, and you love Lucio, and that's all that matters 💜

#the arcana #asra alnazar #nadia satrinava #julian devorak #portia devorak #muriel of the kokhuri #lucio morgasson #count lucio #arcana headcanons #dani headcanons #my writing #request #asra x reader #nadia x reader #julian x reader #portia x reader #muriel x reader #lucio x reader

[onehundredandeleventropicalfish]

thinking about death's necklace again... and how she replaces it in high cost of living... and something's just lodging in my brain about that, and about dream

like. for those who haven't read that particular side story, death's human form is kidnapped by people looking to steal the ankh from her, because it's her sigil, her symbol, it has her power in it

and it does! sort of. there's certainly a magic to it when she's wearing it. but when it gets stolen, she has no problem letting them keep it, because it's just metal. she can (and does) get a new one

and just putting on this cheap replica, gives it all the power the old one had

because the old one wasn't inherently magic either. death didn't lose anything when it was taken from her. symbols have power because belief has power. because the way that people see and understand the world, the connections that they draw, inform everything about how they act. the endless themselves are only really concepts given life, why would their magic be anything else?

and death's not the only one who wears or carries her symbols of power. delight had a necklace with a flower on it, before she became delirium, and despair wears her hooked ring everywhere - i'd imagine that jewellery also functions like death's. destruction's sword is probably at its base a normal sword, made into something powerful because it's destruction who wields it. desire carries their heart shaped cigarette lighter everywhere, but they've left that behind before, and gotten a new one (and i imagine their sigil has probably taken many different physical forms, particularly in the time before cigarette lighters)

destiny is physically chained to his book, so who knows whether or not the power is in him or the book - i suspect that question in and of itself has a faulty premise, because they're not two distinct entities. destiny is the book and the book is destiny

but dream. dream stands out for two reasons

firstly, his symbols weren't given to him at his creation, and they aren't interchangeable objects only imbued with power by being associated with him. all of dream's symbols are made

i'm curious to know what his sigil was, before he was imprisoned the very first time. if he had one. but the skull sigil references his helm, and his helm is manually crafted from the skull of a creature that tried to take over the dreaming, when the endless were all very young, and kept dream locked up in his own palace. when dream escaped, and defeated the creature, he took that symbol as a warning to anyone else who might try and usurp his throne like that

and then there's his own piece of symbolically significant jewellery - his ruby, and the other dreamstones. again, things he physically crafted, things he put actual pieces of himself into

which brings me to my second point - dream stands out because he is weaker without his symbols. the other endless don't care if they lose theirs, because it was never about the physical object, they'll get a new one. but the helm is explicitly, in both show and comic canon, something dream is physically stronger when wearing, it does contain a portion of his magic and he's not complete without it. and we've seen what happened without the ruby

and dream's sigils being actually imbued with his power means that people have a lot easier time stealing that power from him, than they would the power of any of his siblings

and i wonder why he gave himself such a glaring flaw, that no one else in his family has

i think again, one of two reasons

either that it has to do with his self destructive nature, and many people have written many great metas on that already re: why he put so much power in the ruby

or it has to do with the nature of what these things are, and what dream is

like i said, symbols have power because belief has power. we make random objects much more powerful than their base elements by giving them meaning, taking a shape, and adding a story to it. that's dream's domain. he is said many times in the comic to be a creature of metaphor and allusion and abstraction. of symbolism.

and i'm not sure if he can help it

his entire job is to take all those flimsy concepts that exist only in the outskirts of imagination and to give form to them, so that they can be useful. every dream and every nightmare that dream himself creates contains a piece of dream's power, that magic is constantly flowing in and out, being borrowed when a dream is created and then returning to him when the dream is no longer needed. every symbol and every story contains a piece of dream's power because that's all dream's power is

and that means his own symbols are a part of that equation

he is giving up pieces of himself constantly

the problem arose when humans learned how to keep them

#dream of the endless #sandman comic spoilers #death of the endless #mine #meta #the sandman

[oliversrarebooks]

The Rare Bookseller Part 28: Fitz's Capture

Masterlist

June 1905

TW: mind control, captivity, restraints

"And wake." Snap.

Fitz's eyes popped open, as though he'd just closed them for a second -- but that clearly wasn't the case, because he was no longer backstage. Nor was he in his bedroom, on his couch, in someone else's bedroom, on someone else's couch, or in prison, which covered all the places he was likely to wake up unexpectedly.

No, instead he was in a sterile looking room, almost like a doctor or dentist office, perched on top of a table. His arms were restrained behind his back, a pair of handcuffs that he was sure he could easily get himself out of. Lily was standing in front of him, serene and confident.

He'd been a bad judge of character many, many times in his life, but he had a sinking feeling that this would turn out to be one of his more spectacular mistakes. He crushed down the little voice telling him about how he'd been stupid, so stupid, and tried to plaster an unflappable smile on his face.

"Did you have a nice rest? It seemed like you could use it," said Lily.

Fitz's eyebrow twitched with the amount of questions flooding his brain. He hadn't really even believed in mesmerism, and yet somehow she'd put him to sleep and taken him to a location that was clearly not anywhere in the theater. It didn't seem possible, and yet, here he was, trying to remain calm, act like he belonged here and that he knew exactly what he was doing.

"It seems I lost the bet," he said. "Good trick. Mind telling me where we are now?"

"Care to guess?"

He frowned, looking around the room. There wasn't much to go on, just a few chairs and tables. There was an odd post in the center of the room, and the table nearest him had what looked like medical tools on it. He hoped those were just decorative.

"Oh, it's beyond obvious that you've kidnapped me for ransom," he said, picking the most likely option and bluffing his way with the rest. He just needed to keep her talking while he worked his hands free of the cuffs, quietly so she would not hear. "A terrible decision on your part, really. I realize that it's hard to believe, but my family has no appreciation for my talents. They're not going to part with a single dime on my behalf. If anything, they'd pay you to keep me. Not that I expect you to listen to my sage wisdom, but you'd really be better off releasing me before this business gets any uglier."

"Don't worry, I know that your family has left you for dead. I wouldn't have taken you if I thought anyone was going to look."

Now that was actually worrying. "What exactly do you mean by that?" he asked, mostly to stall for time since he didn't think he'd get a real answer from her. 

The door was right there, slightly ajar. Lily was smaller than him and didn't look particularly strong. He could overpower her if needed, especially if he caught her by surprise. And the sooner he got out of here, the better, before he found out firsthand why she didn't want anyone to come looking for him. One of his hands twisted free.

"I mean that I'm not interested in ransom. I'm going to make money from you in a much more surefire way." She grinned, and Fitz was sure he saw fangs there. That couldn't be right -- he had to be imagining things.

Still, she had somehow mesmerized him entirely. And she was very, very pale...

"And how do you intend to make this money?"

"I'll be selling you in an auction. An auction where you're going to be in very high demand. You see, your family's blood is extremely high quality, but it's too risky for us to take anyone whose disappearance might be investigated. That is, until you did the courtesy of divesting yourself of your pesky family. Really, I should thank you."

Fitz's mouth was going dry. "Did you say my blood? You mean my lineage? Because that --"

"No, I mean your literal blood." She was way too close to him now, and when she grinned, her fangs were very sharp and very obvious. How had he not noticed? "Haven't you figured out that I'm a vampire, yet? I thought you might be sharper than that."

"A vampire?" A chill gripped his heart. The evidence -- but no, there was no way. He forced himself to arrogantly laugh in her face. "You do realize I spend most of my time in the company of performers, magicians, occultists, fortunetellers, carnival freaks, and circus acts, don't you? I've rapped on the table during seances. I've been to a dozen rituals to trick rubes. Your vampire act is good, no doubt, but it falls a little short of believable."

She leaned back, and Fitz could see the door again. He slipped his other hand just free of the cuff. "You don't have to believe if you don't want," she said. "What you think hardly matters, especially when I'll be changing your mind. Now let's --"

He took his chance, leaping off the table, pushing her aside and bolting for the door. Fake vampire or no, he wasn't about to let himself be sold at any sort of auction. Thankfully, she clearly wasn't expecting him to slip the cuffs, so his escape should be --

His blood rushed to his ears as he was grabbed and slammed into a wall, with enough force to hurt but not enough to seriously injure him. Lily, the mousey woman a head shorter than him, with arms like fragile twigs, was effortlessly pinning him.

"You get one free attempt," she said. "Mostly because I like you, and you're far too valuable to harm."

Fitz kicked his legs uselessly, his struggles not even seeming to register with her. His panic was growing as he tried to think of an angle behind her apparently supernatural strength and reflexes and came up short. He'd never seen anything like this.

An actual vampire.

Yes, this was one of the worst of his mistakes.

With how effortlessly she'd stopped his dash for the door, escape probably wasn't an option as long as she had him in her sights. That meant his efforts had to go towards survival. Bluff and charm and stall and hope a better opportunity presented itself.

"Can you truly blame me?" he said, hoping his terror wasn't too obvious. Could a vampire smell fear? "I'm a magician. It's my instinct to try and escape. But I've learned my lesson, now."

"Have you?" she said, cocking her head. "You don't strike me as the type of man to learn his lessons easily."

"Perhaps not, but I am the type of man who would rather not be thrown into the wall again."

"That, I can believe," she said, releasing her grip. She walked over to a nearby cupboard, keeping her eye on him all the while. She pulled out a white linen shirt and slacks, tossing them at him. "Now, little magician, be nice and obedient and put these on without a fuss, and your body and mind can remain intact for now. How about it?"

"You want me to change in front of you?" Fitz asked, earning him an impatient glare. "Yes, yes, no fuss, lesson learned. I hope you enjoy what you see." He began unbuttoning his shirt, never breaking eye contact with Lily. He didn't like the sound of "intact for now." Nor did he like the implication that his mind would be harmed. She had him completely over a barrel, and all because he thought he could easily outwit a mesmerist. Stupid, stupid, he'd been so stupid.

He tried in vain to crush down his thoughts by making a great, dramatic show of whipping off his shirt, which gained no reaction whatsoever from Lily. "You know, you were quite good at being part of my magic show," he said as he stripped off the rest of his clothing. "And you have impressive talent as a mesmerist, not to mention your surprising strength. You could make a lot of money in vaudeville."

"I can make a lot of money selling humans."

"Vaudeville's a much easier paycheck, I would think."

"I wouldn't say that. It was awfully easy capturing you, wasn't it?"

Fitz couldn't help but scowl. There had to be some angle here. "Don't you feel a twinge of remorse, doing this? Kidnapping innocent people? Not me, of course, I'm hardly innocent, but surely others..."

"Oh, I do, at times. But my remorse pales compared to the size of my paycheck, not to mention my hunger for blood like yours."

"So that's it, then? Some vampire is going to drain me dry and leave me for dead?"

"Oh, not at all. With how valuable your blood is, it'd be extremely irresponsible to leave you for dead," she said. "No, more likely they'll leave you in a half-lucid state for years while they feed from you whenever the mood strikes them. If you're lucky, you'll get to keep enough of your mind to be a servant."

Stupid. Stupid. He'd been so stupid. "Well, doesn't that sound..." His composure broke, unable to think of a retort. Trapped by vampires, having his mind taken, being forced into servitude -- he always knew his life would lead him to some kind of bad end, but he didn't expect this sort of fate worse than death to be waiting for him. "Doesn't that just sound charming," he finished pathetically. 

The uniform was uncomfortably itchy and ill-made, and he was glad he had no mirror. "Well? Do I look the part of your prisoner?" he said, striking a pose before Lily.

"It'll do. You'll get a more thorough physical examination later," she said. "But it's almost sunrise, so for now I'll get you to your cell. Any funny business and I'll put you back to sleep."

"I think I've had enough charmed sleep for one night," he said, offering no resistance as Lily gripped his wrist and pulled him out of the room. They walked down a sterile corridor and through a set of metal double doors, the guard glaring at him as he passed through. The doors opened to a long row of prison cells, most filled with people in various states of misery. Some curled up, some sat on cots and stared vacantly at the wall, one woman was pacing and muttering to herself.

The reality of it all began to sink in. This wasn't a nightmare, or a trick, or a joke. He was actually a prisoner here, and he had no way out. It was all he could do to keep from fruitlessly struggling against Lily's grasp, knowing it could only make his situation worse.

She led him to an empty cell and motioned him inside, and he took a long look at the doors before reluctantly entering, the door closing behind him with a definitive clang.

"Meals are three times a night. The faucet water is for drinking and bathing. Use the bell if you need the chamber pot cleaned or if there is an emergency. Lights out means quiet. Noise during lights out, abusing the bell, or harming yourself will all be punished."

"What's the punishment?"

"Anything we like, so I wouldn't recommend testing it," she said. "Oh, and you should know that I am planning to keep your mind intact. I have an old friend who I think would appreciate your antics. But if you attempt to escape, that plan will change. Is that clear?"

Perhaps he had indeed learned a lesson, because he didn't doubt that she could do that. He had to do whatever it took to stay alive here. "Crystal clear."

"Good, I'm glad we can understand each other. I can tell we're going to get along well, Phantom Fitz."

"Like a house on fire," he said bitterly.

"Anyway, I'll leave you to stew in your many regrets. See you next evening."

As Lily walked away, Fitz flopped down on the meager cot with the rough mattress. Even his bed in the tiny room he'd rented was better than this. He couldn't help but think of his old family home -- the luxurious bed, the sumptuous food, the gorgeous clothing. He'd run away from it all to pursue his freedom, to live a life away from constant criticism and expectation. He'd been broke, slept in the nastiest of flophouses, gone hungry, begged, bartered, and stole. 

It had all been worth it when he was up on the stage, in his element. It was all going to be worth it when he made it big, when he basked in the applause of adoring crowds and rolled in riches every night. Approval he didn't need to wring out of his parents like blood from a stone, money that wasn't doled out with withering glares.

And now, that dream could all go up in smoke. A servant to a vampire. So much for freedom, fortune, and fame. If he had known...

He was stupid. So stupid.

Part 27 >> Masterlist >> Part 29

Thanks for reading this story of a down on his luck stage magician. Back to Oliver next.

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