#but the concept itself never piques my interest THAT much

[trensu]

I wish there was more steddie time travel fics. Where steddie travels back all the way to season one. Maybe both or one of them. Actually both because the comedic potential. Like Steve and Eddie trying to change things and save the day. And anyone who sees them sneaking around thinks they are in a secret gay relationship. Nancy has this whole theory that her boyfriend is gay and sneaking off with Eddie Munson. Reason why he's being distant and hiding things. And on one hand she's not wrong, because steddie has so much unresolved sexual tension that one is oblivious to and the other is to afriad to admit to. But on the other hand is she way way off.

okay tbh, as great as that would be, i don't think everyone would immediately jump to the gay thing. if this is during steve's kingly days, he's got enough sway and popularity that people would bend over backwards to prove he's a Normal Straight American Boy.

what i think would be more likely, considering he throws those parties and is a good athlete, people would assume he's either developing an addiction on something OR taking steroids. nancy would be SO worried about it because omg steve, do you know what drugs do to your brain? how are you going to get into college if you keep doing that stuff??

meanwhile, steve is touched by her concern and also like...just going along with it? What is he supposed to do? That explanation makes WAY more sense than the whole Upside Down nonsense that they're trying to prevent. So now you've got Steve--who can do a mean kegstand but has literally never even considered doing anything harder than that because DUH the hard stuff would fuck up his body and he's an ATHLETE--trying to pretend he's got to get his Drugs so he has to cancel his plans with Nancy and go see Eddie RIGHT NOW. Because of Drugs. No other reason.

But we all know Nancy is a stubborn bastard (affectionate), so she'd definitely use her investigative skills to find out more. She'd track down this Eddie Munson guy and give him a piece of her mind. Now, this Nancy is still pretty mild and is lacking guns because the UD stuff hasn't hit her yet, but Eddie remembers with crystal clarity his Nancy and her weapons proficiency and reacts to past Nancy accordingly. As in, he immediately apologizes for anything and everything and promises not to do it again, please don't hurt him.

Now Nancy is confused as to why this big bad leather and chain wearing drug dealer is practically cowering before her. She starts to suspect other stuff is going on because the pieces aren't adding up. Eventually she figures out what's happening and joins Steve and Eddie because while they're both creative and skilled in their own ways, they're not really that great at the actual investigating bit of the plan-making process.

It's only then, when she's spending more time with the two of them together, does she start to catch on to the way Eddie looks at Steve. She remembers the rumors that go around about Eddie, so she's not too surprised because Steve is stupid hot and really good in bed, like, so good, the things that boy could do with his tongue will stay with her always. What does catch her off guard is the way Steve reacts whenever Eddie does something that edges around flirty (but still has plausible deniability). He doesn't get disgusted, he gets confused and ruminates over it. It's curious (though if nancy were honest to herself, she'd admit that she's never really understood all the romance stuff and it's never particularly appealed to her). If there were more time, she'd probably study them more.

But there are more important things happening, so she's going to leave them to deal with that mess on their own.

#stranger things #nancy wheeler #eddie munson #steve harrington #steddie #trensu tells stories #trensu replies #this definitely got away from me #also i actually don't read a lot of time travel fics #or time loop fics #i wouldn't say i actively avoid them but they're usually the last thing i pick if i have other options #idk why #because there are really good ones that i've loved #but the concept itself never piques my interest THAT much #anyway #i think your idea is really fun and you should definitely write it up if you're so inclined #(did i take this opportunity to push my aro!nancy agenda? yes i did bc she screams aro to me and there's distressingly little fic with that

[gloomiebearwritings]

I have a request of a fake relationship with Johnny, Milena, and Rain during s/o's week long family reunion and they start to actually develop feelings for s/o?

Sorry, this took a bit to get done, Anon! My art took my pain tolerance from under my feet, and I couldn't focus 😭

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Johnny

You were a good friend of his, so he didn’t hesitate to fill in for the s/o role you needed to feel less out of place at the family reunion 

It was all in good fun until he realized he’d have to keep up the act for a whole week, but he refused to back out and leave you alone

He filled the role of the goofy boyfriend perfectly, charming the whole family and bringing you plenty of smiles

Though one night he laid there in bed with you, your peaceful sleepy head resting on his shoulder making him question just how he really felt. A part of him started making itself known as he ran through all the excuses he could to avoid facing the fact- that being that he felt completely at home like this, being your boyfriend and being so close to you. After making sure you were completely asleep he carefully pressed a soft kiss to your forehead before finally going to sleep.

After it was all said and done, and you were both heading back to your usual lives he approached you with a request for a moment alone. While alone he bit the bullet and admitted that the week you two spent together really made him realize not only how much he treasured you, but that he had come to realize that you meant more to him than just a friend- but someone he felt truly at home with.

Mileena

She was bored out of her mind, so to have something to do piqued her interest- even if going with someone to their family reunion was a tad strange to her

It was even stranger when you said you two had to pretend to be together, though she played along, finding it fun to see you get flustered when she’d hang off of you

For her it was just fun to poke and tease at you the whole week, jokingly telling you that if you had feelings, you could’ve just told her sooner

She seemed completely unbothered by the whole thing, appearing to just be enjoying the food and company- though sometimes it was clear something was weighing on her mind. At first she assumed it was concern for how long this reunion was dragging on, and tried to push it aside until she felt her heart beat faster when you leaned against her during some alone time outside. She never thought she could see you this way, and yet she didn’t even try to stop the situation, the feeling of you against her being comforting almost. 

However, it was still only after the two of you went back to your normal lives after she finally began to crack, pulling you aside from the small crowd to speak with you. With a softness unheard of by you she quietly told you that she’d much prefer to “keep up the act” at all future reunions, because she’d come to genuinely love you.

Rain

You were someone he trusted already, so when you came to him for some company he didn’t object, even if the concept was a tad new to him

He figured it’d be a short reunion, a day or so perhaps, so his eyebrows went up when you told him it’d last a week

The role of the doting lover was filled perfectly by him, your family loving just how much he cared for you, and sometimes saying it’d be sad if you two ever parted

Those comments rang around in his head on a restless night, unable to think of anything else besides the way your family seemed so thrilled to see you with him. It made him really think about how deeply he trusted you, and treasured your time together- in the past saying it was just because you were attentive, but now he began to question the validity of that. The more he thought about it the more it set in that you meant more to him than anything, even if he’d try to hide it in the coming days.

Once the two of you had returned from the week-long trip he pulled you aside, telling you there was something important you needed to know. And with an incredibly gentle tone, he admitted that the trip made him see things differently- that he actually did love you for real.

#my works #mortal kombat #mortal kombat x reader #x reader #mk x reader #mk mileena #mileena x reader #rain x reader #mk rain #mk johnny cage #johnny cage x reader #x gn reader

[egophiliac]

hello hello! i am actually the anon from a bit back who screamed about how cute ortho’s college gear was :D i really loved your riddle-trey-mrs. rosehearts comic, the painting the roses was something i never thought about with riddle’s hair but now the concept wont leave my brain, it’s hilarious and so so so fitting. 

but!!! the main reason behind my ask. ive seen a ton of kamen rider stuff on your blog and it piqued my interest! ive been a bit intimidated by the fact there seems to be a lot of different series, so i was wondering if you could spare me a recommendation where to start, please? it seems like a fun time :D

AHH! thank you!! I apologize in advance because Rider is very close to my heart so I tend to get wordy about it, but I am always happy to inflict share it with others. :D :D :D

the blessing and curse about there being essentially a brand new show every year is that there's a huge variety in tone, theme, and quality -- really the only consistent thing is superhero boys fighting rubber monsters. so you can pretty much jump in anywhere with any that sound interesting to you! personally I started with Den-O and I think it still stands up as one of the better ones; my personal favorites are:

Den-O - chronically unlucky boy fights Time Crime with the help of a time-travelling train and a bunch of idiot demons that live in his head -- great if you like a weird, slapsticky show that only takes itself semi-seriously, and has some surprisingly genuine emotional moments scattered throughout

W/Double - a detective and his semi-omniscient partner fuse into one superhero to protect their city, and solve the mystery of his partner's past -- a nice balance between silly and serious; if found family is your jam, this is basically that in a rubber-suited package (also one of Suda Masaki's first roles if you're a fan of his!)

OOO - a drifter is accidentally responsible for release a bunch of monsters into the world, now must stop them with the help of a shady corporation and a snarky disembodied floating arm (it makes sense in context I promise) -- goes more serious as it goes on, more plot-focused but also with solid characters, not to mention the origin of everyone's favorite 🎂Cakeboss🎂

Zero-One - struggling young comedian suddenly inherits the presidency of a giant robotics company, tries to juggle corporate politics with stopping a terrorist group of anti-human androids -- starts out pretty silly and upbeat but veers a bit darker later on, unfortunately suffered from pandemic restrictions so there's a couple of big pacing stutters (don't skip 35.5, it's not just a clipshow!) but still a perfectly enjoyable series

Ex-Aid - pediatric intern slash radical gamer fights sentient video game viruses, and it just keeps getting weirder from there -- much darker than the designs would make you think, honestly this one is messier in execution so maybe not a great entry point, but I did really love it nonetheless (Poppy my beloved)

on the other end, avoid Decade and Zi-O, which are anniversary series that expect you to already be familiar with past Riders (and, honestly, just aren't very good. which I say as one of the, like, three people who liked Decade. I love Tsukasa but he could only carry it so far. o7)

of course, these are only my opinions and you may find your own mileage may vary! plenty of people do not care for the ones I listed, and conversely there are some I hated that other people really loved -- the variety is one of the fun things about it! and even then it is a very specific type of show so it's totally understandable if it ends up not being for you. I appreciate you taking the time to check it out, and I hope you enjoy! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

#children's shows are serious business #i'm sorry i just get very excited about bugmen on motorcycles #one more disclaimer that these are just my favorites and everyone has their own opinions and variety is the spice of life and all #(so please don't yell at me) #anyway #w also got a grittier adult-focused sequel manga that is being made into an anime! #which for some reason made philip's hair green I KNOW i bring it up every time but #why is his hair green

[inventors-fair]

Final Draft: Innovation Nation Runner-Ups

And here's the runners!

Overwhelming Growth by @izzet-always-r-versus-u

Man, flavor on battles is weird. It’s gonna be a while until I get used to them. This one piqued my interest though, because a leyline-esque effect that’s only active in draft seems like a ton of fun, while still being able to play the cards normally. This seems a bit too cheap for the normal cost, considering the versatility of free playing it, but I suppose since it’s easily removable, it probably evens out pretty nicely. What I’m curious about is, are campaigns by their nature going to be universal effects? Or is that just something for this one? Regardless, this is the kind of thing you could pull off in a single set and then never again, because the window of effects that you can allow to be on the field at the start of a Draft game without warping the match entirely is a very narrow one. Still, for that one set, it’s gonna make for an incredibly fascinating environment.

Riverbed Reejery by @halfsilveredmirror

This is a tricky one- not because of the card itself, but because of the logistics it implies. This is a wildly different form of tribal payoff than we’ve seen before, which is why I love it so much, but it’s tricky to both draft cards of the creature type you want, while also giving some of them up for your Kin pool. When you draft a second one of these, do you remove the first to guarantee your types, or do you take a risk? That tension fascinates me, but it also means that this set would have to be painstakingly constructed to make sure that getting the right kin types is neither too easy nor too hard. I’m less sold on the fact that there’s two types here, because either they appear separately enough that this would be near-impossible to turn on, or there’s enough merfolk wizards in this set that the ability is functionally identical to just picking one or the other for the condition. The concept here is fantastic, but there’s a lot of work to be done to make it a functional set.

Vindictive Vengeance by @just--a--penguin

Archenemy card #2 in the top 6, this one for similar reasons. This card is NASTY, but for 7 mana it feels appropriate. This card is playable in Archenemy, but also distinctly outside of it too, in any 4-player format. Ironically enough, it would immediately make you the archenemy (lowercase a) if you played this in a commander game. It is truly brutal when it guns down the Archenemy, but if you’re the Archenemy and you let your opponent hit 7 mana, you’re kinda asking for it. Ultimately, this card could probably have the knobs tweaked just a touch to make sure it’s really where it wants to be, but it’s such a solid concept that it just had to be a runner up.

See you in a few days for commentary! Holiday weekend here in Canada, so might take me a bit longer!

~judge @naban-dean-of-irritation

#mtg #magic the gathering #custom magic card #inventor's fair #commentary #runners up #innovation nation

[thewatcher727]

The Art of Dance Is Now Live!

The royal castle never ceased to amaze Silver every time he visited. The castle seemed as if it were sculpted by the very hands of gods, its towering spires and grand turrets looming like ancient sentinels guarding secrets untold. It was a place where dreams and reality danced together.

But this visit was different. As Silver sat in Blaze's royal bedroom, his fingers tracing the intricate patterns of the silken tapestries adorning the walls, he realized he had come at an interesting time

"So, what's the Celestial Yuletide?" Silver asked, his golden eyes locked on Blaze's every move.

Blaze stopped pacing with her back to Silver. She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. "It's a yearly celebration held in the castle in celebration of Christmas," she explained. "People from all over the world gather to celebrate peace and cooperation."

Silver's head tilted, his eyes reflecting genuine curiosity. He had always been somewhat of a fish out of water in the Sol Dimension, where Blaze reigned as the princess and guardian of the realm. "So, it's a party?" he asked, his voice carrying a hint of innocent intrigue.

From her vantage point, Blaze couldn't help but roll her eyes, a subtle smile playing at the corner of her lips. It was one of the endearing qualities of Silver that she cherished – his unwavering innocence. It was one of the reasons she enjoyed his company so much.

Blaze turned to face Silver, a faint sigh escaping her lips. "In a manner of speaking, yes."

Silver tilted his head once more, his quizzical expression revealing his lack of familiarity with the Sol Dimension's traditions. "Parties are supposed to be fun, right?" He recalled the chaos of Sonic's birthday during the Time Eater incident, wondering if this celebration would be similarly eventful. "So, what's the problem?"

Blaze gracefully settled into a nearby chair, her regal demeanor contrasting with the playful innocence of Silver. "Silver, when I attend these celebrations, there are always the occasional suitors who seek to catch my attention," she explained with a hint of weariness in her voice. "It's a rather trying experience, having to navigate their advances and manage their expectations."

Silver's eyes widened in understanding. He might not have been well-versed in the ways of royal gatherings, but the concept of unwanted attention was something he could grasp. As he considered Blaze's predicament, he couldn't help but feel a surge of protectiveness toward his best friend.

Silver's face took on an adorable twist as he furrowed his brow, deep in thought. His large, expressive eyes blinked slowly as he pondered, and his lips formed a subtle pout. His quills, normally neatly arranged, seemed to ruffle and quiver with each passing idea that flickered through his mind. He looked like an overgrown child trying to solve a puzzle.

In his mind, Silver ran through all the scenarios where he could be of assistance to Blaze. She was undoubtedly a formidable guardian of the Sol Dimension, capable of wielding flames and handily dispatching any threat. The castle itself was fortified with scores of loyal royal guards, making physical protection redundant.

Then, like a bolt of lightning, an idea struck him. Silver leaped to his feet, and his boots produced a soft, almost playful sound against the floor. "I've got an idea!"

Blaze's ears and tail twitched with momentary surprise at Silver's sudden enthusiasm. She raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued. Arms crossed, she watched as Silver's golden eyes gleamed with determination.

"Idea?" she inquired, her voice tinged with curiosity.

Silver nodded vigorously, his quills bouncing with his excitement. "Why don't I come with you? You know, like a companion!" His suggestion hung in the air, and he awaited Blaze's response with a hopeful smile, fully aware that he couldn't offer physical protection but eager to provide moral support and be there for his dear friend in her time of need.

Continue Reading:

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14310640/1/The-Art-of-Dance

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52520977

#blaze the cat #silver the hedgehog #silver and blaze #blaze x silver #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #a03 #a03 fanfic #a03 fic #archive of our own #fanfic #fanfic writing #fanfics #my fics #my writing #new chapter #return of the dark brotherhood #read on a03 #sonic chronicles #sonic fanfiction #sonic story #sonic stories #sonic the hedgehog fanfiction #sonic writing #writing #writing fanfic #writing stories #writeblr #writblr

[sophieinwonderland]

Ooo we just saw your ask on our dash (we're up early!!) and maybe you already answered this but, what kinds of stories do you like?

When we started to we reas for real we tended to like Warrior Cats and Watership Down. We had a small interest in Tokyo Mew Mew that never got anywhere and when we ran into Shugo Chara! it seemed dangerous and still piqued our curiosity somehow (we don't like everything about how they portray it but it's the closest we ever got to how we've seen our systemhood if we hadn't gotten fucked up psychologically around that time period anyways). We think we also may have been interested in Witchcraft Works because of the art or something. There was also this encyclopedia if cat breeds we always checked out? We can't remember anything specific about it besides the fact we learned about the snowshoe, exotic, munchkin, american curl, and scottish fold from it.

We're pretty sure it was Silva that used to frontnfor school and honwwork-related stuff and Hailey was front for mostly everything else which...explains why we guess.

I haven't found much I'm into in the way of books.

But one thing I appreciate a lot is modern Western Animation and its ability to tell complex, emotional stories with fun and whimsical characters who manage to be surprisingly deep.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Steven Universe, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Infinity Train, Bee and Puppycat. Not to mention a lot of animated movies like Inside Out, Soul, The Mitchells ve The Machines, and Frozen. (I also just realized that my host likes Anna better than Elsa... now I want to do a rewatch this winter and then argue about who the best character is! 😁)

And of course, there's The Owl House, which I've insisted on fronting to watch every episode of!

Speaking of which, Eda turned out to be a surprisingly solid system rep! Sure, the Owl Beast starts off as aggressive and dangerous, but Eda learns to build communication with it, and they ultimately learn to co-exist as a team. And they have an inner world to boot!

Host: for myself, any story needs good characters, obviously, but I read to be taken away to another place and so the author can convince me it's real. This is why I love so much of Brandon Sanderson's works. No one does a better job at building complex, intertwined worlds and magic systems.

Worldbuilding is also why I prefer animated fantasy series over live-action. Unless your live-action property is based on books that had consistent worldbuilding already, expect the worldbuilding in most live-action shows to be shit with rare exceptions.

Did anyone here watch Once Upon A Time? It was a show that would establish new rules for how magic worked every episode, and then break those rules a few episodes later. For every rule, there was an equal and contradictory rule. It wasn’t that the writers made exceptions to the rules either. They just seemingly refused to read the scripts other people wrote, and didn't care if there was any consistency. This is true of most live-action magic systems.

The only fantasy shows that respect their audiences are animated, based on other properties, or Motherland: Fort Salem. That last one came as a complete shock because Freeform. The show itself isn't that great, but the world building is incredible and you can tell they put a lot of heart into it.

Back to books... The Discworld books are fantastic. I liked the first Shannara books I read, but then realized several into it that Brooks was just retelling slightly different versions of the same story over and over again in a stagnant world.

As a kid, I loved the Percy Jackson series and related book series like The Kane Chronicles. TKC is the only series I have read that was written from a 1st person perspective while alternating between multiple viewpoint characters, which is an interesting concept enough on a technical level for me to give it my seal of approval.

And Soph mentioned that I read The Hunger Games but what she didn't mention is that I knew the author before she was famous, from a little-known series called Gregor The Overlander. Both of these stories are great at giving you the classic narrative of the child forced to become a kid hero... and then pulling the rug out from under you at the end, telling the audience, "now these child soldiers are traumatized for life, don't you feel bad for cheering this on, you sick fuck?"

(Steven Universe did this pretty well too.)

And I unironically think that's fantastic. The Hunger Games is a criticism of humanity drawing pleasure from watching violence while you're doing just that. The villain in The Hunger Games was never President Snow, but a society that watches children hurt each other for sport. You, the reader, who was drawn to this story by the idea of seeing kids forced to kill each other, are the villain of the story.

The Hunger Games isn't the type of thing I normally read but I'm very glad that I did.

#ask box #hunger games #the hunger games #the owl house #owl house #toh #eda #the owl lady #harpy eda #shows #series #fiction #review #tv #television #books #literature #novels #reading #motherland fort salem

[writingonesdreams]

HAPPY STORYTELLER SATURDAY

You told me something interesting today.... Very interesting... If you don't mind, please tell me more about the Reversed Art in Tears of Iron.

Maybe I'm new to the party because I don't think I've heard of this yet O:

You also mentioned how it could negatively impact Zephyr.... This is good food.... Tell me more...

Happy Storyteller Saturday @bloodlessheirbyjacques ! Thank you for stopping by (・∀・) now that you are all busy with your new library blog and won't have time for me 😂

You haven't heard of this, because it's a) new b) a HUGE spoiler I don't know if should talk about or not :D. I'm glad it piqued your interest, but it does make this position difficult (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧

I have never been one to have problems with spoilers, you can tell me any spoiler and it won't change the story for me. I'm of the weird sort to read the plot of movies before I watch them to check my interest and to be able to analyse and enjoy the execution on a different level.

So the ongoing writing blog debate of do I share/don't I share has never been a problem for me. The more people know and are interested, the more opinions and feedback, the more I train putting it into words, the more immediate external validation I'm getting...which are all very verlockend tempting things (why do some words that first come to mind sound more fitting? You can say there is a translation, but there is NEVER a perfect literal translation. The more I know of languages, the more senstive I'm to the shades and tones not being exact. I have to write a bilingual character someday to explore this more).

So Reversed Art is the sixt arc of originally five arcs long story that gives surprising meat and comfort to my fears there is too little happening for this to be a novel (I would go with a novella too no problem though).

It is not set in stone, because as much as I love me a well developed magic system, writing it out is different, fills it and shapes it into something more tangible and I'm looking forward to seeing how it comes across and if you can guess what's happening and why.

Tears of Iron has a lot of magic going on, from the wild consious magic of the Islands, the magic types, the Dragonknigths Art and now the Reversed Art. I don't think I have explained the Art itself yet either, for a similar purpose. I would like to know how it comes across and I'm working more with feelings and images here insead of nicely worded concepts. I'm trying out how it feels to have to write it to get a reaction and how it is with things I can't summarize, cause they have to be told through the story to be understood.

Another thing is that the sixth arc is the arc before the final (it's actually the fifth of the six arcs chronologically) so it's basically the whole story leading up to that point.

Thank you for your interest ❤️ I'm looking forward to what you guess & interpret from what is coming.💙🧡💙

I do wonder how other writeblrs handle this.🤔 Do you tell your writer friends more, for the behind the scenes feel? For help and idea development? Do you distinguish fans from competition from collegues of the art from friends from writer friends? How much do you tell to whom and why? How does it work for you, Jacques?

#writeblr #ask #sts #wip: tears of iron #I hope it makes sense

[nostalgiqueajamais]

Spider-Man: No Way Home

I have to admit, I used to be a bit biased when it came to Spider-Man. The first movies with Tobey Maguire were my favorites and I wasn't very open-minded when the newer versions were released. Despite liking Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, I didn't like that they made the Amazing Spider-man when they did. I was like "Why mess with the original?" Anyways, my thought process and general way of thinking changed when I entered my 20s. I don't remember the Amazing Spider-man, so I need watch that again. I do remember that it had a very sad ending with Gwen dying and I remember not liking that. I was more open-minded after the Avengers and the new movies with Tom Holland came out. But I never got around to actually watching them. I still haven't seen Homecoming. Gonna do that tomorrow after I get a good night's sleep. I watched Far from Home for the first time today on Netflix and it was EPIC!

No Way Home piqued my interest the most, obviously there's Tobey Maguire but also of course, the entire concept itself is genius. Creating a multiverse where all three Spider-mans exist in different timelines. I unconsciously had a lot of expectations for the movie.

I felt bad a lot for Tom Holland's Peter in this one. Like Doctor Strange put it, the kid has been through a lot! And now, he was about to be put through even more stuff. Luckily, he had two other friendly neighborhood Spider-mans to help him. That was a great moment when the other two Peters were just hanging on the rooftop like a regular chimp on a treetop. It was lowkey cool!

I had some freak out fangirl moments when Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield showed up. I even clapped. I was excited to see the villains as well. When Dr. Otto Octavius showed up, it felt like seeing an old friend again. My heart was beating fast when the Green Goblin showed up. I knew he was coming, still exciting. I mean, I haven't seen him since the FIRST movie. He's been gone a long time! Cameos as the dead vision don't count. He's alive! in this one. I think he was the scariest Spider-man villain. It's the voice.

I felt bad for the villains, compassion. Wow, script writers are all about enlightenment these days. Villains were humans once too, until they chose to turn into other beings and killed a bunch of people. I felt bad for the Spider-mans as well, having lost so many loved ones.

I know they were by design, but I feel the need to mention how poetic it was when Andrew's Peter saved MJ. I knew it was coming. It made the character's story come around full circle. He was also so adorable, constantly stating how he had always wanted brothers, telling them that he loved them. He was just lovable. I kind of wish that they would face-time him from across the universes.

I LOVE how mature Tobey's Peter is. There's just something classic about him. Like fine wine. I screamed out NO when he got stabbed but he lived. Phew. That would have been a bummer. A more interesting plotline, but a bummer.

Now, don't come for me MCU fans, but I was also a bit disappointed. Maybe because I expected so much. The idea of bringing all the villains and all three Spider-mans together, it's epic but also a lot of pressure. There was a lot of star power in this: Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Tobey Maguire, Jamie Foxx, Rhys Ifans, J. K. Simmons, Thomas Haden Church ... and yet, there was just something off about the way it was shot. Maybe it was the angles, but something felt awkward. Like the scene where Tom Holland's Peter rages and beats the $h*t out of the Green Goblin; I guess they wanted us to see the fight, but it could have been shot more dramatically than just the front angle. And then Tobey's Peter comes to stop him. Tom's Peter yielded a second too fast. Also, Peter paid ZERO attention to Ned after dating MJ even as he was about to be forgotten. It wasn't as emotional for him and Ned I guess. Sigh.

Btw, why does Zendaya or MJ remind me so much of Selena Gomez.

The scene on the statue of Lady Liberty was amazing, and beautifully shot. I loved when the three Peters talk normally before the villains come for them like it's just another Sunday.

I really wanted to see the aftermath in the other universes. What happened to the villains? Norman Osborne? Without his evil counterpart, he's left with sanity and the guilt of what he did when his dark side took over. Does he go insane anyway? Does the amount of guilt drive him crazy? I also wanted to see Flint reunite with his daughter. What about Dillon? What becomes of him? And also Dr. Connors? Does he get put in jail? So many unanswered questions. Would have liked to see some scenes regarding that.

Overall, not a bad movie. A lot of moments to freak out over, the villains, the Peters, it was truly a treat for fans. But the hype of the crossover before the movie's release did ruin it a tad. I haven't seen Homecoming but so far, Far from Home is my favorite out of the trilogy.

Also, can't wait for the fourth one.

[doritosandavocados]

Okay y'all the fabulous @discomagicwitch actually DMed me a bunch of DWD deets like an absolute saint, so it's time to keep my end of the bargain. Here is an updated 2022 version of "yo Hollywood please stop casting Harry Styles" (no that is not the real original title sadly)

A few things worth noting:

1- I went back and realized I wrote the headline and the blurb for the original article, but an ex co-worker actually wrote the article itself so this is actually my first stab at the topic.

2- I am not a Harry Styles stan - I don't hate the man - I find him rather intriguing and very hot, but I really haven't ever listened to his music much, nor was I a One Direction fangirl. So, overall I'm wildly ambivalent about him.

3- While I was, in fact, a professional entertainment news writer... I am not anymore. Which means I barely re-read this and I did minimal fact-checking or sourcing because that's the true spirit of Tumblr. Anyway, without further ado: Hollywood please stop casting Harry Styles, 2022 edition

Harry Styles is best known for being a boybander gone solo and (true to his last name) a fashion icon. However, over the past few years Styles has begun venturing into the world of acting.

Styles, however, did not start small and work his way up. He had the shocking luck to work with Christopher Nolan on his acting debut. Nolan, who (at least at the time) was an untouchable and unreproachable writer & director. (While Nolan has finally experienced what a flop is, his track record is still absolutely stunning - but I digress.) Styles was, somehow, plucked from the music industry and plopped into the highly acclaimed Dunkirk. Nolan is known for being highly choosy about who he casts and is most certainly in filmmaking for the art above all else. So, the choice had most everyone's curiosity piqued.

So, how did Harry Styles, pop star extraordinaire, get added to the cast of Dunkirk, alongside the likes of Kenneth Barnagh, Cillian Murphy, and Tom Hardy? Honestly, I still haven't the faintest idea. Did somebody lose a bet? Was there blackmail? Was Styles so desperate for a chance at the big screen he bought out Nolan's artistic integrity? We'll never know.

What we do know is that his role was relatively small and had minimal speaking lines. He was there just enough to bring in an audience of young women (his core demographic) that otherwise might not have been interested in Yet Another WWII Movie.

Considering he'd peaked pretty early - starting at the top of the mountain, as far as most actors would be concerned - it was hard to imagine Styles continuing his unexpected career detour. Most actors would offer up a kidney in order to work on a Christopher Nolan movie, so maybe Styles just packs it up, calls it a day, and says "thanks for the fun, but I'm going to go back to my life of being screamed at by a couple thousand fans every night while I sing about fruit."

To most people's surprise that is very much not what he did. Sure, he made more music and went on more tours, but suddenly he was being cast in more movies.

Why? For what reason? For the butts in seats? We know Hollywood is rabid to cast well-known faces to draw in crowds - quality of story or other movie aspects be damned. They'd rather overpay a recognizable face than *gasp* cast a nobody and put the budget in say... literally anything else. Costumes? Practical effects? Soundtrack?

So, here we are in 2022. Harry Styles has not one, but TWO movies coming out in the near future where we're going to really find out what kind of acting skills he harbors within. First up is Don't Worry Darling, which is again a star-studded cast. This means that if he falls even a little bit flat in his performance it's going to stand out like a hog at a dog show.

Frankly, I'm not holding out a whole lot of hope considering he can't even hold an intelligent, nay, coherent conversation regarding the concept of film. We've all seen it, the video where Harry is asked why he likes Don't Worry Darling and replies, I like the movie because it's a movie. Well hot damn, I never would've guessed that! Guess I have to see this groundbreaking film now!

Oh Harry, it's a good thing you're pretty. Poor Chris Pine, who is forced to sit beside Styles, seems to be helplessly deciding between looking like he is completely unengaged or interrupting the inane ramblings of his younger co-star. Like a true gentleman, Pine sticks with the former option.

If an actor can't even talk about the filmmaking process or even just... film in general, that seems like a hell of a red flag. Even the interviewer has to try not to laugh in that video.

Could I be pleasantly surprised by Harry Styles' performance when I inevitably sit down to see DWD in theaters? Sure! I'd be happy to be wrong, but I'm really not expecting to be.

I know why producers will continue to give the green light to putting Styles in movies. It's always about the butts in seats with them. What I don't know is why Styles decided to take on this foray into acting in the first place. I don't know what he gets out of it. He has a stunning music career. He gets praise and adoration from his countless fans. He has a career some people would kill for.

There's probably an interview floating around where he says something about "ooh it sounded fun", but like... that's what sixth graders say about their school musical. Not what a professional should be saying about BEING IN A CHRISTOPHER NOLAN MOVIE.

Of course, we've moved on from there. We now await Don't Worry Darling and My Policeman where Styles has far more substantial roles with actual lines. One would think that surely he must have some potential to be put into these films by casting directors - especially since these are films that are vying for Oscar nominations. But let us all remember that Hollywood is about money first and art second... oh and a lot of lust. Let's not forget that Olivia Wilde is (or was? - okay that's just speculation) dating Harry Styles.

In the end Styles being in Don't Worry Darling has generated far more press than if someone else (even Shia LaBeouf) were in the same role. The social media chatter, the strange & unhinged theories, gossip, and speculation about drama have created more free press than a movie producer would dare to hope for.

I mean really, we all know Harry Styles didn't spit on Chris Pine in public. Though, I'm willing to entertain theories on what wildly rude or idiotic things he may have said to elicit that reaction out of Pine.

In the end, Hollywood will always be filled with things like nepotism, favoritism, et cetera, et cetera. And that means we can beg the powers that be to stop putting Harry Styles in movies, but at the end of the day they will just cackle and stick him into a Netflix Christmas rom-com next. (Fuck they're going to do that aren't they?)

[scorbleeo]

Book Chat: Trick Play

Fake Boyfriend (Book 2) by Eden Finley

Source: Amazon

MATT

Want to know the fastest way to get screwed out of a football career? Get photographed in a compromising position in a gay bar. Yep, welcome to my life.

My agent says he can fix my image. He wants me to become the poster boy for gay football players. Me? I just want back on the field. I’ll do anything to play for the NFL again, even pretend to have a steady boyfriend. If only my fake boyfriend wasn’t Noah Huntington III—the most arrogant, entitled rich guy in the world.

NOAH

Pretend to be Matt Jackson’s boyfriend, my best friend said. It’ll be fun, he said. What Damon neglected to mention is Matt is surly and bitter. Being his boyfriend is a job in itself. From his paranoia over being constantly photographed to his aversion to PDA, being with Matt isn’t the care-free fake relationship I expected when I signed on to do this.

It’s supposed to be a win-win. I get to stick it to my politician dad who thinks no one is good enough for the Huntington name, and Matt’s reputation of being the bad boy of football dies.

What I don’t expect is to start caring for the guy. That’s not part of the plan. Then again, neither is fooling around with him on my private jet.

Oops.

Source: Goodreads (2018)

I Did Not Expect to Love This but I Did

I'll be honest, I had low expectations for Trick Play. Noah did not strike me as characters I adore. And in the beginning of this book, I think I was equally as bored by Matt as Noah was. The whole fake dating concept in this book did not pique my interest either. When I said I had low expectations, I was ready to come out of this reading experience disliking the book.

Yet in the best twist ever, everything about Trick Play was nothing like I expected. If Fake Out was good, this was even better in terms of everything. Take the characters as example, I still love Damon and Maddox but Matt and Noah currently takes the crown for favourite couple in the Fake Boyfriend series. I have always loved a tortured character like Noah and when the characters downplay their pain and feed into the torturous negative expectations? I always end up loving those characters more than others. And even though Matt's not tortured like Noah was, Matt is another kind of tortured character in Trick Play, mainly because of his promises to Noah. You see how these two men surpassed Damon and Maddox so easily? Tortured characters, usually my kryptonite.

Other than the characters themselves, the writing and the plot was a hell of a lot better than Fake Out (by no means am I saying Fake Out was written badly with a weak plot). Personally, I just liked the writing in this book a lot more. The plot felt like there was more effort placed into developing it. Moreover, the tension-filled longing in Trick Play was everything. I am a straight female and I could feel everything Matt and Noah were feeling especially in those chapters when they were either pulling away or preparing their goodbyes. It's like I was there, or sometimes, even felt like I was them.

Last but not least, the chemistry between Matt and Noah. I mean, this is still part of the writing I am so amazed by, but their chemistry deserves its own spotlight. I don't mind instant love, nor do I mind characters lusting after each other. However, what made Matt and Noah different was that in their story, even though the lust was there but the care came first and their lust never overshadowed their care for each other, not even when they were in the beginning of their relationship and physical attraction was very much the main character.

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)

P.S.: Chapters Twenty and Twenty-One, or the chapters surrounding these two chapters broke me so much!

More on the Fake Boyfriend series here: Fake Out (#1)

#book review #trick play #fake boyfriend #eden finley #matt jackson #noah huntington iii #noah huntington

[backalley-requests]

The Proposal | Chapter Seven

The Proposal Masterlist

Summary: Proposal au, where Ivar gets swept away in a lie about a fake engagement to stay in the country and needs to convince everyone (including his family) that he’s genuinely engaged to a woman he works with

Warnings: mild swearing (I think)

Word Count: 3,022

“I was thinking,” Aslaug began. Most of the family was seated at a large table, breakfast on display and on their plates. “Me and Ragnar have talked it over, and we agree it’s in everyone’s best interest to have the wedding here,” she grinned.

The bacon in your hand never reached your open mouth as your eyebrows raised in confusion. Now? It felt entirely too soon, you looked at Ivar. He was seated next to you and appeared uneasy.

“Just think about it. Ivar, this is the first time you’ve come home in seven years. Who knows when’s the next time we’ll have an opportunity like this? And most of our family is here for your father’s birthday. He said he was more than on board with the idea.” Aslaug seemed so excited.

It wasn’t that you didn’t want to have a wedding. You already knew you would, but having it so soon made the whole thing more real. It used to be an abstract concept and now was a lot more.... here. “I think we’d have to talk about it,” Ivar replied cautiously.

Up until now it was mostly just playing pretend. You knew what you signed up for but this hit different. “But maybe?” You offered to soften the blow. Your leg bounced nervously under the table, and you found that your appetite was gone.

“I’ll let you two talk it over,” Aslaug decided with a nod of her head. “But it just makes sense. And it’d be a pity if I couldn’t be there for it.”

—

“We have to do it at some point, right?” You brought up when you entered the room again. You two were doing this. A lot was on the line. “Your family would hate if they weren’t there,” you bit your lower lip.

“Did you want to do it here then?”

Doing it here would make it feel more real. “I expected to get court papers and go back to my apartment and not notice a difference.” A wedding was something much more official.

Ivar nodded his head. “I’m okay with doing it now. The work will be done for us, mor has been dying to set up a wedding for a while.”

Were you okay with it? “Sure,” you nodded your head. “Maybe it’s better to just rip the bandaid off.” You shook your hands and limbs to get the nervous feeling out of you. Your stomach was twisted in all sorts of knots. Why was it so nerve wrecking now?

“You don’t have to describe our wedding as painful,” Ivar rolled his eyes.

“I’m just nervous!” You shot back quickly. Maybe part of it was that you still had the interviewer left, you forgot about him most of the time. Or maybe it was that you weren’t sure you had done enough yet.

“It’ll be a few hours of your life and we can just go back to our respective lives. Go back to normal.”

That was it. You didn’t like the idea of that. Before you came here it was easy to get the papers and pretend it didn’t happen. “You’re right, back to normal.” He would just be your boss you were legally married to. Tentative friendship aside, you couldn’t imagine going out for coffee with him. Once you two didn’t have to pretend anymore you just… wouldn’t.

“So then let’s just say yes?”

You nodded your head. “It’ll be kinda fun to dress up,” you laughed.

—

One agreement after another, neither you were sure you were entirely comfortable with. Why didn’t you say no earlier? That it was happening too fast, or that you didn’t love lying to his family.

There wasn’t a high stakes excuse, he just seemed like he wanted it and for whatever reason you agreed. But the sooner you ran through the wedding the sooner it would be over.

“Are you alright, dear,” Aslaug asked you in town. She had taken you there along with a woman named Torvi. She was married to Ubbe, as far as you could recall.

“I’m good! Just nervous,” you replied with an awkward laugh. A woman was gathering your measurements, an act that already lent itself to making one feel self conscious. You also didn’t really know anyone you were with.

Ivar wasn’t allowed inside, maybe that was for the best. Aslaug said something about it being bad luck and you didn’t bother fighting it. “Don’t be. It gets easier with each wedding, but everyone's a little nervous,” Torvi tried to calm you down. “People won’t gossip for years about if you tripped over your dress, or if your makeup was off, or if the dress didn’t match your—“ her listing things off that you never considered only increased your fears and Aslaug noticed.

“Torvi, dear, I think you’re making things worse.”

“I’m fine,” you insisted.

“All that really matters is what Ivar thinks of you. You don’t really know anyone else there, and therefore their opinions of you don’t matter,” Aslaug countered.

Torvi nodded her head. “And if he wants to marry you then you must be special. Especially after what happened with—“ Once again, Aslaug made the girl stop talking with a quick wack to her arm. “I’m just saying he’s clearly head over heels. He won’t sweat the small details.”

“What happened with who?” Curiosity was piqued. Ivar didn’t delve into personal details. It made sense, you two were hardly friends at best, but that didn’t make you any less curious. “Sorry— he just doesn’t talk about Denmark often.”

Aslaug and Torvi looked between each other for a moment until Aslaug sighed and threw her hands in the air. “Fine. But I don’t want to be here for it. It just makes me angry.” She walked out of the room and left you standing with Torvi.

“Ivar was in one other serious relationship I can recall. Sure, I think he had some affairs with a few girls but nothing real until Freydis. Nothing after her either, until you,” Torvi nodded her head.

You were changing in between suggested dresses, attempting new styles at an incredibly slow pace. Torch helped carry the weight of some dresses and zipped up the back every time. “What happened to her then?”

“Well she was beautiful and kind. He was madly in love. I’ve never seen him so love sick.”

There was no comfort that he had looked at you like that— not that you should’ve expected that. You shook her head back to reality as fast as you could. Of course Ivar looked at someone he actually loved differently than someone who just worked for him.

“Anyways, he had a whole proposal planned out. She turned him down and didn’t give a real reason why. We didn’t find out for a while,” Torvi admitted. “I think it was because she didn’t qualify for a US visa. Ivar was willing to drop his dreams of New York for her and she didn’t seem okay with that, something about not wanting him to change his entire life for her.”

You were silent the whole time. You never saw Ivar date people. You’d have known if he had in the last three years. It made sense why any short term flings didn’t last.

Torvi laced together a dress. “I wasn’t sure he’d recover— until you. So all’s well that ends well, right?” She leaned over your shoulder and grinned at you. “I wouldn’t worry too much about her. Aslaug just resents Freydis for breaking his heart. But I haven’t even seen her around here in years. She’s hardly a boogeyman.”

Why did that bother you so much? If Ivar was secretly in love with some other woman the entire time it shouldn’t matter. She turned him down anyways. But it did bother you. Ivar didn’t mention his past and you had to wonder if Freydis was why.

“I think this dress looks lovely by the way,” Torvi complimented.

—

The day just seemed so fast. Nothing was seemingly capable of slowing down information as it was thrown at you. It didn’t seem to get any better when you finally left the store, a dress sent in for alterations, to find Ivar at the nearby cafe you left him at talking to someone you haven't seen before.

“Ivar!” You smiled. Aslaug and Torvi had shooed you away while they worked on ‘something’. You heard through their whispers it had to do with a bachelorette party. The idea wasn’t exactly fun but they were too nice to turn town, so you already knew you’d agree with whatever they had to say.

You glanced over at the woman, she was beautiful and maybe that was why you felt the strong urge to sit incredibly close to Ivar. “Y/N, this is an old friend of mine, Freydis.” That made things instantly worse. The warm smile on your face turned cold.

“Hi, I’m Y/N,” you extended your hand to shake hers. Even her hand was soft and warm. You turned your head to face Ivar, seeing an urge to do something.

What if Ivar realized he didn’t need to return to the US if Freydis was here. You could go to prison, or lose your job at best. The man needed his priorities straight. Oh— who were you kidding! Freydis hadn’t even done anything other than show up today and now.

They spoke in Danish, only occasionally letting you into the conversation. You understood fragments of it. They were talking about their time at university, growing up together, when they dated. You were ignored and isolated from their chats and it bothered you.

Maybe you wouldn’t have cared at all if Torvi didn’t ignite a fear that Ivar was still in love with her. But he was already so much more animated and kind to her than he usually was with you.

“We’re being a bit rude to your girlfriend, aren’t we?” Freydis brought it up at some point, speaking in English for your sake.

“It’s fine,” you smiled awkwardly, waving it off.

“She’s not really my girlfriend,” Ivar admitted. “It’s complicated. She’s just a good friend. She’s helping me stay in America and get my citizenship official.”

You froze, every muscle in your body tensing up at once. Freydis laughed at the absurdity of it. “Then you must be incredibly kind as you are beautiful to deal with him. Ivar certainly has a knack for the dramatics, doesn’t he,” she smiled at you.

You took a deep breath and smiled back. “He also seems to have a habit of bad judgement calls. Ivar— I don’t care if she knows but the point of a secret is not sharing it where anyone can hear. Your mom and Torvi are in the same district right now. What if they were behind us?” You snapped.

Ivar frowned his eyebrows at you, “It’s not a big deal. Freydis wouldn’t share it and they aren’t here. Do you honestly think I’d be that reckless?”

“If I can’t share it with anyone how come you get to without discussing it,” you demanded. It bothered you. A lot. “We’re supposed to be a team.”

Freydis shifted uncomfortably, “I think this is my cue to go. Obviously things are a little tense. Look, I promise you two that I won’t go around sharing this.” She stood up and collected her things.

“I think that’s a good idea. You’re fine, Freydis. My issue is with my not-boyfriend,” you admitted, anger evident in your tone.

“Good luck with the wedding,” Freydis waved before leaving. Her walk was a little faster than a normal one.

“What the hell was that,” Ivar demanded the moment Freydis was out of ear shot. He turned to face you and it was the first time he looked at you since you showed up. His eyes were intense and narrowed in anger.

Your jaw tightened, “I should be asking you the same question. Why were you even talking to her? Let alone telling her our entire plan. You realize that I go to prison if it gets out, right? You can stay here and live out your perfect fantasy but I rot in a cell!” You stood up and wanted to leave.

“I’m not going to blow anything up! Freydis won’t tell. We’ll get married as we planned, divorced in three years. No one gets hurt.”

But you already were. And you couldn’t identify why.

“Oh and who’s gonna believe that we’re a real couple getting married if they just see something like that! You ignored me the entire time just to stare at her perfectly symmetrical face!”

Ivar’s face went from anger to confusion for a moment. “No one saw it. I’m not bringing her to my home or reintroducing her. It was one interaction. What’s wrong with me wanting to see an old friend.”

“But she’s not just your friend, right,” you reminded him.

Ivar froze and hesitated to respond for a moment. “How do you know that?”

You tried to calm down but you could feel yourself spiraling. “Torvi told me about her at the dress fitting. Everything she knew.” You bit your bottom lip, Ivar remained silent. “I’m your fiancée! Okay? So just— just stop looking at her!” You didn’t understand why it bothered you so much. You hoped it was just for appearances. “I just need this to go well. We’re supposed to be working together. That wasn’t together.”

“What happened to wanting to not argue,” Ivar challenged. “And over her? I haven’t seen Freydis in a long time. It’s not like I’m proposing to her.” Tears threatened to leave your eyes and Ivar’s face fell. “Whoa— hey, Y/N. It’s okay. I didn’t do anything. I don’t love her, I was just catching up. I didn’t think it would matter so much.”

You didn’t either. “Maybe.” You didn’t really have a right to care beyond him telling Freydis who you actually were. And if you were being honest that isn’t what you really minded. “I don’t know why it does. Things are just happening fast. I keep losing control over my life right now.”

Ivar wasn’t good at trying to comfort people, he awkwardly placed a hand on your shoulder and patted it. “You should’ve said something. I would’ve tried to help.”

You laughed softly and shook your head. “Yesterday you told me that you would've helped me if I asked for it.”

Ivar rolled his eyes, “well I lied. You should be used to that by now.”

“I don’t like her,” you admitted, “she’s way too nice.” There was nothing genuine to hate her for. She didn’t step on your toes or was rude. “I can’t even imagine you dating her. She doesn’t look like she could bite back.”

Ivar found it a little amusing. “I didn’t usually bite at her to begin with. Not that you’d know. Torvi shouldn’t have said anything. It wasn’t her place— and nor was it mine to tell Freydis the truth.”

“At least you admit it.” So what gripe could you have left?

“Were you jealous,” Ivar asked suddenly.

“No!” Your face got red at the idea. “Of course not. How could I be jealous of that?” Were you jealous?

“Okay,” he nodded his head. “Then I’ll just put this out there. As friends. I’m choosing to marry you. Not her, you. If I wanted to have married Freydis I would’ve.”

For some reason the words calmed you down a bit more. “Not that you could’ve, she's way too beautiful for you.” You found yourself easily relaxing into petty insults.

“You’re just jealous she’s better looking than you.” He knew a new way to get under your skin and didn’t hesitate to take a shot at you.

Your face fell.

“Just because I made a poor choice in who I choose to marry doesn’t it isn’t true. It’s my legs that are broken, not my eyes.”

“You are so mean!” Your voice filled with a bit of dramatic hurt.

“You insulted me first. And if I’m being honest, I’ve been incredibly patient with you today. So I deserved to say it. You went off on me for no reason. If you were anyone else I would’ve said something to actually hurt you,” Ivar replied. “Like how you have no family. Or you’re only so jealous because no one’s ever truly loved you the way you believe I love her— something to that effect.”

That’s when it occurred to you that Ivar didn’t respond like he normally would. Like he used to. He tolerated your display of anger and worked with you rather than get defensive and attack in any meaningful way.

“This is the part where you apologize,” Ivar nodded to you. “Or at least thank me.”

You didn’t want to. “You’re right,” you sighed. “Thanks.”

Ivar shrugged, “you’ve tolerated me when I’ve gotten angry over nothing. I figured I’d return the favor.” He took a moment before deciding to share more. “I broke up with her, by the way. Before I left. I decided that being here and knowing her was all I knew. I haven’t loved her for a long time. I certainly wouldn’t lose my job over her.”

Your eyes locked with his. “Torvi made it sound like—“

“None of them know. That’s why you don’t rely on rumors, Y/N. You could’ve just asked.” He didn’t seem to mind it. “You went off the rails today,” Ivar sipped his coffee and he eyed you. He was calm about it too. As if he didn’t mind this simple truth.

“I’m sorry.” It all seemed really dumb right now. “You’re right. It’s just all been… a lot. Things are moving fast. I thought you were just another thing running ahead of me.”

“You’re supposed to be the one keeping me in check,” Ivar teased. “It’s strange being the sane one for once.”

You rolled your eyes, “I slipped up once. Don't expect it to happen again.”

But that didn't solve the nagging in the back of your mind. Why was that the final straw?

—

taglist** @youbloodymadgenius @heavenly1927 @momowhoo

#ivar x reader #ivar the boneless #ivar the boneless x reader #vikings #the proposal #it’s late but shhhh #I’ve been busy

[luvreyn]

My Manhwa List (2021) Part 10

Freaking Romance

Summary:

A sexy supernatural story about being out on your own, finding your dream apartment and discovering that your new place is haunted by a handsome spectral stranger from another dimension. Sure, HE can’t see you and YOU can’t touch him, but who said every relationship starts out perfectly?

THOUGHTS & WHY YOU SHOULD READ

- art = 3/5

- plot = 3/5

- sometimes I feel like some scenes are all over the place >.>

- green flag boyo!!

- comedy!!

- good concept!!!!!

- pls I am so proud of our girl for standing up for herself

- V E R O S E and that’s on periodt

- there are twists!!

- verdict, interesting read!

The Protection of Lariensa Gelinus

Summary:

Reading about Lariensa was an innocent pastime, but Song Yiseul never imagined becoming personally entangled in her story. When she wakes up in a fictional world as Lariensa’s best friend Marilyn, she quickly realizes that her favorite novel’s star desperately needs her protection. The thing is, Lariensa is just a little too sweet for her own good, which makes her an easy target for master manipulators like Sibel Noma Kahn. As Lariensa’s loyal friend, it’s up to Marilyn to save her from the boy who will one day ruin her life. But Marilyn’s desperate attempts to circumvent Sibel only seem to pique his devilish curiosity. With the antagonist now suddenly interested in her, Marilyn sets out to foil Sibel's sinister plot to use her to get to Lariensa.

THOUGHTS & WHY YOU SHOULD READ

- art = 3.5/5

- plot = 3/5

- girl squad <3

- ngl but the male leads are crazy

- think there’s gonna be a major development tho @_@

- for now, leggo 2nd lead!!

- spoiler: the prof should rot pls why is he still alive

- c o m e d y  

- verdict, cute female friendship!

The God of Highschool

Summary:

Mori Jin is a high school student and Taekwondo specialist who enters "The God of High School," a fighting tournament that promises the winner anything they want. What began as a competition to seek out the best high school fighter soon reveals itself to be part of a much greater plot that goes beyond Mori's wildest imagination. What will he give to become a true god?

THOUGHTS & WHY YOU SHOULD READ

- art = 3.5/5 

- plot = 6/5

- MY FAVORITE ACTION WEBTOON

- Mori Jin!!

- friendships <3

- I love this sm ngl

- PLOT TWISTSSS

- the villains!!

- there’s so much going on but you will understand it

- incorporated popular legends/myths etc and wow

- made me tear up (my crybaby self is shaking)

- will make you beg for more!!

- verdict, a highly recommended webtoon!

Nice to Meet You

Summary:

A ditsy university student Mew finds a lost student card. Instead of doing the sensible thing, Mew decides to let fate take the wheel and try something silly. Little did she know, she would be confronting the owner of the card, Daze who has some things to say about what she did. Did Mew make the biggest mistake of her life? or the best decision of her life? Follow these two adorable goofballs to find out!

THOUGHTS & WHY YOU SHOULD READ

- art = 3.5/5

- plot = 3/5

- so cute so cute

- sugar, spice, and everything nice

- friendships!!

- willow!!

- f u n n y

- verdict, cute read!!

Tower of God

Summary:

What do you desire? Money and wealth? Honor and pride? Authority and power? Revenge? Or something that transcends them all? Whatever you desire—it's here.

THOUGHTS & WHY YOU SHOULD READ

- art = 2.5/5 I'm sorry I'm not a fan of the art TT__TT (but it greatly improved as the story goes~)

- the plot makes up for it thousand times tho!! plot = 6/5

- THE PLOT TWIST AFTER PLOT TWIST

- F R I E N D S H I P!!

- CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT FOR THE WIN

- khun aguero agnis <3

- really will make keep you on the edge of your seat!

- will keep you wanting for more!!

- one of the best webtoon in well webtoon hahah

- Verdict, highly recommended!!

#webtoon #manhwa #The Protection of Lariensa Gelinus #tower of god #god of highschool #freaking romance #nice to meet you #reynlist #the god of highschool #reyn.manhwarecs

[thesunwillshineonusagain757]

𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒

This is the third part in the series, where I put my headcanons about Rhaegar Targaryen, and about his personality. This came as an idea from a post from @dragonstemper . So yeah let’s get this started…

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

Rhaegar has a unique perspective and vigorous intellect, often losing himself in his thoughts and own world inside his mind, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, hardly ever stops thinking. From the moment he wakes up, Rhaegar's mind buzzes with ideas, questions, and insights. At times, he may even find himself conducting full-fledged debates in his own head. Imaginative and curious, Rhaegar Targaryen can find endless fascination in the workings of his own mind. So sometimes on his own, with no interruptions, is what gives him the greatest feeling of happiness.

Any stress or daily worries shed from his mind, giving him an amount of time to focus on what he really cares about: deep, complex thoughts that he can analyse and synthesize into entirely new concepts, that brings Rhaegar a deep feeling of joy and fulfilment. Although Rhaegar can be quite content with just his ideas, books being the greatest catalyst in order to initiate it. Books about science, and philosophy or even how to cook the best omelet, or maybe even a romance book about Jenny of Oldstones. Either way, the book has to carry him away to a point, where the next fascinating thought comes into the next grand idea.

Rhaegar has a very reserved nature, so he likes to stay indoors , sitting in the library reading books and debating ideas. But he found that he also has a particular liking for going outside, it helps him to connect with the world and other people. It was easy for him to skip things and isolate himself, and not think about the surrounding people ( in particular his father and his tantrums and episodes of craziness ) . He found comfort in his loneliness, yet he found going outside especially with his children helped him feel better.

In his life he had lived with people who are very negative ( such as HIS FATHER ) so he also found that avoiding him the most was a blessing for his mental health and happiness, of course he could be honest and tell Aerys to stop being so negative or confronting him because he knew dire consequences would follow, so he just avoided his father all together.

New ideas, bring Rhaegar Joy. Some grand possibility opening up to him, paving a new path to truth and meaning. A spark of curiosity and he goes into his realm of familiarity, searching for conceptual precision, piqued by a word or thought, and when Rhaegar arrives at an answer and conclusion that makes sense to him, he places it gently in his framework of truth like a delicate feather dangling from a spider’s web, liable to be blown away at the slightest wind that his storm of new possibility. He is terribly happy to go on thought journeys, even with the people he loves . It gives him an overflowing feeling of pure joy.

Now happiness, to Rhaegar comes a lot from the feeling fulfilment, and a friend to share in the crazy in the way to go. Rhaegar doesn't consider himself crazy ( as you know cough cough you know who ) but he has very particular things he likes and thinks about, that to outsiders, and people that don't know about what he is talking can sound crazy, a whole lot of crazy. So sharing his thoughts and particular wondering points brings him a lot of fulfilment, he can go on and on for hours discussing and debating about his areas of interest.

The best-case scenario would be if it takes no effort , if he ever found someone who is already on the same page as he is. Someone with whom he can talk has the same wave level of loco as he does. Someone to listen to his thoughts and theories and discuss the ideas and discoveries and latest findings. Furthermore, someone to agree, validate and debate with him! But most importantly of all, listen without judgement and engage him without fear of social consequences.

But why? Simple, because all he wants it's an individual with mutual understanding that nothing in this life is even real, much less fathomable or truly tangible. Something to unites him and this individual or group of individuals in a way that means everything is up for discussion. This unity provides him with a sense of camaraderie, something Rhaegar forgets to acknowledge sometimes, that he needs this will bring him a spirit of true fulfilment.

Summarizing: A few hours alone with an interesting book. People might say no man is an island, but Rhaegar feels ' with himself' when he has a nice chunk of solitude and can stretch his intellectual muscles during that time without any interruptions from the outside world. And also some people with whom he can discuss those books. The man is not demanding, he just needs a book club.

𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐑𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄, 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 ?

Rhaegar is someone who struggles with showing kindness, he had his mother Rhaella as an example of warmth in his own way. She thought to him that love only grows by sharing, but she was also very sad, and grief stricken for good reasons, she lost a lot of babies and her husband was a psychopathic maniac, so yeah showing kindness wasn’t easy, so he didn’t have many good examples that stuck with him about being kind. Unkind, selfish, and inconsiderate were most of the things that Rhaegar learned from his father, and from most of the surrounding people, he was the prince, but he could see the shallowness of their actions. It was almost certain that he would turn out as fucked up as his father, but he didn’t.

Most people thought that for him to be kind, he needed to make kindness his most important way of doing things. But he came to be kind and helpful, but the thing is that he doesn’t see fit to be kind and show kindness to those who he isn’t sure deserve it. It also would be worth mentioning that Rhaegar has promised himself never to be, like his father, to never have that erratic behaviour, to not be envious, jealous, suspicious, and violent, to not be prone to furious outbursts. So kindness could be somewhat of a handicap. He can be prone to over-giving to the people closest to his heart, in things such as self-sacrifice, and other actions that might be deleterious to him and his health. He is a very mature person so poor value judgment doesn't often happen to say it even happens with Rhaegar, so he would never expose himself to ruthless individuals, but over giving to those who have his trust and love before thinking of his own health might happen.

Rhaegar will show his empathy and kindness, the fact that Rhaegar is very emotionally and intellectually deep makes his act to be very significant. So that's why he shows empathy when he concerns himself, and understands the feeling like your pain others feel, on a very deep level he might not show it much, but he feels intense emotion just not too outwardly. So in the same breath that Rhaegar will be very calm, he will be taking it all in, almost in a sombre sober way, but somehow he lets people know that he gets it, and he understands profoundly the essence of what the pain or uneasy feeling others around him experience.

The dragon prince shows his empathy with the soothing, feeling his understanding and sympathy bring the people he is close to. He is a shoulder to cry on. Even if Rhaegar in the situation in question remains calm while trying to understand the feelings from people around him. It's like he hits people with a tsunami of understanding, most of it is underwater and not displayed outwardly, but there is a tremendous depth, because he'll be there by the people he has closest to his heart, as he deals with their feelings and turmoil.

Summarizing: Rhaegar’s kindness is not given easily, and it’s not given to everyone, only to those close to his heart, but when given to an individual it comes as understanding. Understanding free of judgement, and helping to solve problems and turmoil, or soothing and comforting when the problem presents itself as pain, anything to make these people feel understood and valued .

𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 :

Rhaegar's happiness comes from very reserved activities, his mind always races with thought so to relax he will read a book about space, magic, romance, and keep it to himself to recharge his energy. The dragon prince’s kindness comes from him trying to understand people around him, understanding their turmoil, problems, doubts, likes, dislikes, likes, he shows his empathy and kindness by understanding.

───── ⟨ 𝐑𝐓 ⟩ ─────

So what do you guys think of it @rhaelyas @dragonstemper @aerltarg @vivacissimx @imaginaryvane @valaenarhaegarovna @rhaegar-and-lyanna @rhaegarxlyanna @lorelei-4 @rhaelyanna @intheairwewilllookmonstrous

#dragon feelings #game of thrones #a song of ice and fire #got #asoiaf #house stargaryen #house targaryen #prince rhaegar targaryen #rhaegar targayen #rhaelya #a character study #valyrian scrolls #valyrianscrolls #headcanons #rhaelya headcanons

[leviiattacks]

Two Faced | Chapter Seven

↳ levi ackerman, the very person who was about to kindly behead you by a surprising turn of events manages to become your loving husband? you would be elated if this was true love, but it’s all thanks to a mysterious magic spell that your life is spared, for now at least.

pairing :: duke!levi x duchess!reader genre :: royal au ??? (at this point idek) angst, fluff, slice of life etc ?? word count :: 2.6k author note :: ofc the reader would still be considered to be a duchess which is why it’s duchess!reader but i guess there’s just more themes of war and titans etc than i expected. so i guess it’s also cadet!reader ?? i promise i have a plan OK! T___T. anyways i hope that’s alright and not very confusing the original premise very much still stands!! :D also i promise levi gets better maybe soon who knows... → click here for the next part ! 

It's understandable why she's noticeably alarmed by the shift in behaviour, the concept of Levi showing any inclination towards caring about you is foreign to the both of you.

"The Duke has also been asking me and Mikasa the most peculiar questions too."

You blink. "What sorts of questions?"

"Ones concerning your past" She begins and your curiosity piques. "Asked if you ever mentioned anything about your old life. Basic information, I don't understand why he would ask now."

"He asked about me?" You question incredulously. This is surreal.

Bobbing her head up and down you stare closely at her trying to figure out if she's serious and she passes your test with flying colours.

You don't know if you should be nervous or afraid, perhaps he shifted back to his loving self for a while? Thousands of explanations surge past you but you can't pinpoint what exactly could have caused him to ask such questions. As far as you know, he's never been interested in you unless a transaction has been involved. That's all it's been since he snapped out of the spell. A purely transactional relationship.

Sasha places a firm hand on your shoulder "Talk to him, figure out what's going on." Her suggestion makes you shudder, frankly you're fearful around him after the events of yesterday night.

Whatever sick and twisted mind game he's playing at you won't let yourself become prisoner to it.

"No," You shake your head simply. "This is another one of his stealthy tactics, I won't give into it out of desperation."

"All the more reason to question where his morals lay." Sasha is persistent. The anxiety is burning itself into your body and it's tough to disregard its presence.

If there's one thing you have learnt in your lifetime it's to put trust in as little people as possible. You have your confidants and are dedicated to keeping your friendships with them. Sasha and Mikasa are loyal at heart and their steadfast nature is incomparable. But, they are anomalies. As much as you would like to admit that there are many diamonds similar to those two you can't.

It's rare to find reliable individuals in this harsh reality full of wealth, jealousy and power hungry survival. Levi, is a man you refuse to put even an ounce of trust into.

Putting any faith in him is hazardous. His unflappable demeanour, self-control, the knack he has for long-winded and gradual manipulation. Distant, bitter and calculating. You think he wouldn't care less if you were to drop dead this instant. In reality you aren't a human being to him, simply a problem out of the very many he already has. So why the sudden interest? Why? What is it he's after this time?

You've signed your life away to this empire under the ruse of becoming an informant. You're risking your life for him. What more does he want to coax out of you?

Those are the thoughts that scuttle past you as you pace in one of the very many hallways within the estate. Your initial destination had been his office but you retreat. For now you choose to withdraw from a battle of words. You aren't prepared.

But life has a way of never letting you pick when you encounter him.

The sound of footsteps behind you is a blunt indicator he's near but you let your naivety pray it's simply a maid. "Cadet." And there he is. Snarling behind your ear, breath blazing.

Cadet?

He must be able to tell you don't recognise the name which rolls off his tongue, especially when the two of you aren't in a professional setting, its placement is odd.

"What? Do you think you're worthy of a better term?" He's taunting you, disgusted that you're dense enough to think you're deserving of any other title.

Arms clasped behind his back he takes a long stride forward, you take a step back in response, he steps forward again and you move in the opposite direction again.

"I'm not used to it that's all. I know I am no Duchess."

His raspy voice creeps into your ear "Get used to it. You are my subordinate, don't assume this is a level playing field."

"Do you hop into all of your cadet's beds very often Sir?"

The question comes out of nowhere and as soon as the words have left your lips you slap your palms over your mouth taken aback just by how easy it is for the impulsive side of your brain to defy him.

"Really?" He asks darkly, and when you narrow your eyes in bewilderment, he coughs, clearing his throat to begin again. "Are you willing to bring this up right now?"

He's as close as ever now, if he moves an inch closer his nose will brush against yours, it suddenly feels difficult to breathe but you swallow the struggle away still unsure if you can force yourself to reply to his question. Is there a right or wrong answer?

For once, you choose to be selfish and put your interests before anyone else's even if that means risking your safety in the process. You just want to understand for once how his brain works.

Balling your fists into two you manage to squeak out what you've been holding back "Do you pry into the personal life of each and every one of your cadets or does that special rule only seem to apply to me?"

"Do you give all of your cadets random days off?"

"Do you-"

He grabs the back of your ponytail with his gloved hands, his skin isn't directly touching yours but the firm grip he has on you doesn't stop your cheeks from flooding with warmth. Fumbling around you're about to scream when he pulls at your hair again jestingly, his other arm moves to securely hold you keeping you stuck in the position you're in.

"Levi." You squirm around awkwardly trying to escape his grasp but he doesn't find this at all amusing.

"Captain." His firm correction catches you off guard.

"Sorry. Captain." Your throat is dry as you croak out the short reply.

Straightening your back you try to shake off the hold he has on your hair but he only tugs your head backwards warning you. Your bare neck is exposed and his eyes slip to your half done buttons. Rolling his eyes he knows if it were any other male member of the corps even the oh so respectable and mature Erwin Smith who caught you like this they would fantasize about how you look underneath that flimsy button up. It's now slipping down one of your shoulders.

Moving the arm that has been holding you down he jerks the fabric back up your shoulder.

"I was under that spell of yours. You're naive to think there's any other reason." He returns venomously, his voice is dripping in poison determined to exterminate any of the attitude you've shown him in the past two minutes.

"Why all the questions about my personal life? I was informed you interrogated a few of my friends."

He tugs at your hair again, you tilt backwards. "What do you hope to get out of this? Find out I have some sort of secret feelings for you?"

In the blink of an eye your bubble has been burst, deep down you did hope that was what this was about. It's not that you would like for him to love you, you wouldn't mind it but, if he loves you your safety is guaranteed that's all that matters. That's what you tell yourself. You don't miss the old him no you don't.

The colour drains from your face when you hear what he has to say afterwards.

"Adorable." His tone is spiked in mockery. "How fond you are of me, but I have no interest in the likes of you."

Heart leaping to your throat the simmering rejection settles.

"And. If you must know, you were given a day off today because Hange insisted every cadet have a day of rest before we all relocate to the training facility's dorms." You curse yourself, the transfer had slipped your mind completely.

"Got it? Fucking prissy princess." The expletive makes you wince.

Then he's silent, it's deafening and bizarrely you find his silence all the more daunting and menacing than when he speaks.

Wrestling yourself out of the grasp he has on your hair is your next move but he loosens his grip without being told to.

Levi allows for you to retreat with no further arguments.

And just like that the rare day off goes past as quick as it happens.

You learn that ignoring Levi is your best bet at living a peaceful life within the walls of this Kingdom. Follow the orders he gives you and you almost always guarantee your own safety. Living. Even if it isn't a happy life you are aware there will be some pleasant moments. Living to experience those moments is the only motivation you have.

Erwin has said you would benefit from working with the rest of the cadets more often. It stops them from questioning why you receive personal training - after all they are unaware of the deal stricken up between you and Levi, it's understandable for the influx of questions.

You don't mind, after all training with Mikasa by your side for most of your days sounds more appealing in the long term. It usually gets lonely and tedious being alone. The prospect of being around the other cadets appeals to you too. You haven't actually had the opportunity to speak to very many of them and a few new members have apparently joined the ranks as of today.

Curiosity is kicking in, everyone is mumbling about the new cadets joining the squadron. You count as one of the new additions you suppose, there's no other explanation for why everyone whispers and murmurs as you stroll into the crowded training area with Mikasa by your side.

"Isn't she the one who banged her head?" muffled chuckles are heard but you pay no mind to the expected response, they'll soon be done talking about you when the next person in line embarrasses them self in your place. Levi's sharp tongue has conditioned you to pay no mind to the commentary of the other cadets. Nobody seems to be able to humiliate you in his fashion.

Mikasa doesn't take the same approach as you when greeted by the unwelcoming whispers, instead she whips her head in the direction of the insults, it looks as if she's thinking about careening one of her steel blades at the group just to instill some respect into them but the simple jerk of her body facing them is enough to make them rotate away in panic and curve the topic of discussion elsewhere.

She mutters something unclear under her breath, you would ask her to repeat her sentence but you're sure all she's done is call the boys infantile and stupid for the way they conduct themselves.

Everyone is introducing themselves and you familiarize yourself with some faces. Krista, the human embodiment of a dainty flower, she's as sweet as honey, A brunette ruffles her hair, she seems close to Krista, she doesn't even bother to introduce herself until she tells her too. Ymir, is her name.

Next you acquaint yourself with Connie, he's friendly and more than happy to converse with you, a breathe of fresh air from the cramped nature of the gossiping group from before.

Everything is going smoothly but then you feel a shoulder slink over your arm, it's not Mikasa it doesn't feel like her.

"You know Jean?" Connie is obviously very surprised.

That's when your eyes bulge out of your sockets in complete and utter shock at the slim chances of this possibility ever occurring, of all the people in all of the places, you just so happen to encounter Jean Kirstein again. He's a wildcard that's for sure.

It doesn't even cross your mind to think he could easily rat you out and ask why a noble woman such as yourself is here of all places. In fact, that concern is at the back of your mind far from your attention. You simply smile, happy to see a familiar face. You barely know him personally but from your last encounter you've been able to discern that he's welcoming and sociable.

He's incredibly friendly patting your head and completely bombarding you with questions "I would have never expected someone like you to show up." If it were anyone else you would have taken it as an insult but he's genuinely curious what brings you here, that much is obvious by his tone.

"Likewise Kirstein, I suppose we live in a small world."

You purposefully choose to not reveal much, you don't know who you can and can't trust.

He seems to catch on because he doesn't follow up on his inquiry. Instead he and Connie ask what part of Paradis you're from, what your parents do, all sorts. You're so engrossed in making up a somewhat believable story you don't even realize Kirstein's arm is still slung over your shoulder.

It's only until Hange yells "ATTENTION!" at the front of the training grounds do your notice the close proximity between you and your fellow cadet.

Slowly edging away from him you're swiftly able to detach yourself with no disturbances.

Hange is introducing themself, hands flailing in all directions and eyes wide describing how their additional role is investigating titans, they say if you're lucky enough maybe one day you'll be able to help with one of their secretive experiments. A towering blonde brute nearby whispers that Hange is eccentric and odd, a few others say it's surprising they're a superior.

Sensibly, you bury the frustration you feel down your throat, but God would you love if those childish fools kept their false opinions to themselves.

Erwin and Levi exchange looks probably deciding who speaks afterwards, it seem begrudgingly Levi agrees to take the stand.

The training ground abruptly falls silent.

Levi taking a step forward surveys the area and not once does he bother looking at you.

"Rules." His voice rumbles. "Which you all must follow." His gaze unusually centers in on Jean, you bear witness to how his form begins to tremble. Just one look from the Captain and he's about to dissolve.

The majority of his rules are basic and can easily be predicted, "You are expected to help with the cleaning. If your personal hygiene is that of a pig you may as well walk yourself out of the door now." His silver eyes are stabbing into the front row, most likely because Eren is there. He's apparently missed cleaning duty for two weeks now, it's miraculous how he's escaped unscathed.

After Levi is done wordlessly threatening Eren he rubs his hands together expectantly. Lips quirking up into one of his sharp cut-throat smiles he stares right at Jean. After a moment of silence he speaks with clarity. "No dating between cadets is permitted. No fucking either, sorry to disappoint Kirstein."

Metallic eyes are piercing into his wobbly form again and all of the cadets burst into a rupture of giggles. You too are about to join them. Truthfully, it is laughable that his notorious womanizing reputation is known even to the Captains.

But before you're able to laugh your breathe falters, you can practically feel jagged daggers twisting and digging into you. Quickly before he swiftly looks away you’re able to note Levi's eyes deliberately flick up in your direction, gaze boring into you, it burns.

You feel guilty but don’t know what it is you’ve done to produce such a hostile response.

Nevertheless, you can feel his scrutiny impale you.

#levi ackerman #levi #aot #snk #attack on titan levi #attack on titan #aot fanfiction #aot headcanons #duke levi #levi x reader #levi x y/n #levi smut #levi angst #levi fluff #levi fanfiction #leviiattacks

[snakeassassins]

Rabbit Dad Theory: A Weapon to Surpass Dad for One

okay so. I know that the theory about local big bad of the series being the protagonist’s father , but I’m pretty sure the real reason that midoriya’s dad hasn’t shown up in the plot is because he’s a rabbit

no really

[ WARNING: LONG post under the cut ]

Part 1: Rabbit Motifs

To get this party started properly, let’s begin with a bunch of the rabbit symbolism regarding Midoriya himself.

The most notable of which being that his hero costume is literally him dressing up as a rabbit

His freckles are even stylized to look like little rabbit whiskers. fuckin naruto kinnie

It bleeds into his fighting style too

Two big innovations he has that aren’t based on previous users of one for all

are hopping from place to place

and his big, rabbit-like kicks.

(which would also go a ways to explain why the plot thought Midoriya having legs was a big deal)

A lot of this goes into his characterization as well. The most notable bit being how much the first chapter of bnha parallels the story of the moon rabbit.

(Sometimes referred to as the jade rabbit which. Green)

Anyway, the story goes that a rabbit, along with a bunch of other animals (it varies depending on region) decided to gather food for the full moon as an offering, believing that the best one will bring a reward from the gods.

All of the animals bring plentiful amounts of food, sans the rabbit, who brings only grass.

Eventually, a starving old man comes along.

The other animals have food to give him, but refuse to do so to meet their own ends.

The rabbit, sympathizing with the old man,throws itself into a fire he was kindling so that he can be fed.

The old man, touched by the rabbit’s actions, reveals himself to be a god and saves it.

In honor of the rabbits deeds, the god imprints his image on the moon, bestowing special gifts to him.

Along with this there are a number of other mild rabbity traits tho.

Such as his skittishness.

Not to mention his general resourcefulness.

The show regularly conflates Midoriya being himself with him looking and acting more and more like a rabbit. This isn’t too hard to understand from a Doylist perspective; Horikoshi blatantly just likes bunnies. (I mean just look at Miruko)

What’s interesting here is that we’ve never been given an in-universe explanation for why midoriya himself identifies this way. In a series that is otherwise really invested in dissecting the ideal versions of themselves that characters want to live up to, the show doesn’t provide any justification for a character motif Midoriya has that is almost as present as all might himself.

Judging from the title of this post, you can probably guess what my reasoning for this choice is.

**Part 2: Hisashi’s Quirk **

“But snake,” you may be asking yourself, “We already know what Hisashi Midoriya’s quirk is. He breathes fire.”

This is true. he probably does. Consider what we know in-universe, though.

Characters with heteromorphic quirks don’t have their physical attributes listed as a part of their quirks if they have a secondary characteristic.

Tokoyami is the most obvious example. He’s a bird person, but his quirk is dark shadow. The fact that he’s a bird man goes unmentioned because as far as anyone is concerned, the shadow monster is his power.

Characters like Spinner have their animal attributes listed as quirks, but that’s only because he can’t do anything a gecko wouldn’t. If he didn’t make his lizard powers his quirk he’d have nothing to put.

If Midoriya’s dad happened to be, say, a rabbit that could breathe fire, the fire quirk would be listed while the rabbit bit went unstated. In fact, in a roundabout way, the fire quirk makes rabbit dad even more plausible.

You see, most of the animal character designs in bnha are actually recycled from an old series horikoshi did called oumagadoki zoo. Mind you this isn’t a knock at horikoshi or anything. A lot of mangaka do this sort of thing. I’m mostly bringing it up because one of the main characters is a rabbit called Shiina

and one of the early gags in the series is him smoking a carrot like a cigar.

This would be very easy to translate to my hero academia’s setting if said character happened to breathe fire.

I should also say for those keeping score at home that I don’t necessarily think Hizashi is a Shiina expy specifically (tbh I kinda imagine him being more like a fluffy spike spiegel). At most I think it’s probably just some design motifs and some VERY loose plot points.

There is also the somewhat mild rebuttal of Midoriya never attempting to do anything rabbit-like while trying to see if he had a quirk, but I think that’s self explanatory. If Izuku was a rabbit he’d notice right away, so of course he didn’t bother checking.

**Part 3: Why He’s Absent **

Of course, another big question that might be on your mind is why he’s not present if that’s the simple truth of his identity. Why have him fail to show himself for what has now been 300 chapters?

I can think of two simple reasons:

1) It’s really funny

Just fuckin. The Mystique of it all. You can’t tell fans a character is going to show up eventually and fail to have them appear without piquing someone’s interest. It’s bound to make fans speculate, especially with the canon dabi twist hanging in the air. Years to imagine what his presence might entail if it was something big enough to be worth planning ahead for.

And then. Boom. Bunny.

Fucking. Hysterical.

2) The themes. Oh god the themes

You might have noticed by now but Horikoshi has a tendency of making like. The Shounen Jump equivalent to that rpg character you make as a joke that then has like. an undeniably tragic life when you’re actually forced to tackle with the implications of your own character building.

I would not be surprised if the Midoriyas ended up falling into that category.

So let’s get into that.

One of the big things that my hero academia attempts to tackle is the concept of normalcy.

Mostly how it’s kinda bullshit and, in many cases, outright harmful.

What makes this bit interesting within the context of Midoriya family is Izuku’s sort of. Artificial Plainness.

He is a character deliberately designed to look as normal as possible. The key word there is look. Basically anyone who’s been following the series long enough to be reading this post knows that the kid often struggles to keep his head down

which also makes it interesting that the only two scenes where Midoriya wears his rabbit cowl are scenes where he is actively questioning the status quo.

Methinks there is some symbolism here.

Which I guess brings us back to square one.

At the end of the day, the concept of Midoriya’s dad being a rabbit is funny because it’s so unexpected. Without him around, the Midoriyas look like a normal family.

But that’s also the kicker.

Without him around, the Midoriyas look like a normal family.

A lot of people are quick to call Izuku’s dad an absentee father, but technically speaking, we don’t quite know that yet. We’ve only been in a position where we don’t see him as the audience.

And, well, when your kid is being bullied for something as banal as being quirkless, you might not want to give society more ammunition to use against him.

It wouldn’t strike me as strange if he just avoided being seen in public with his son to keep him safe in his own way.

They say that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down the most. Under those circumstances, it’s not too hard to understand why the loosest nail might just feel safer wriggling out of the wood altogether.

#izuku midoriya #boku no hero academia #mha #bnha #bnha theory #my hero academia #bnha spoilers

[beatriceeagle]

I'm more of a fantasy than sci-fi person, but consider my interest piqued. Why should I watch farscape?

Okay, the thing is, every Farscape fan’s pitch on Why You, Yes You, Should Watch Farscape ends up sounding very similar, and that’s because Farscape is a black hole that sucks you in and does things to your brain, and after you’ve watched it you are never, ever the same, which incidentally is basically the plot of Farscape.

I would summarize the basic plot for you, but that’s work, and luckily, the show’s credits sequence includes a handy summary that I will provide instead of doing that work: “My name is John Crichton, an astronaut. A radiation wave hit, and I got shot through a wormhole. Now I’m lost in some distant part of the universe on a ship, a living ship, full of strange alien life forms. Help me. Listen, please. Is there anybody out there who can hear me? I’m being hunted by an insane military commander. Doing everything I can. I’m just looking for a way home.“

So let me break down that monologue into its component reasons you should watch Farscape.

1) Some of the strange alien life forms are Muppets.

Farscape a co-production with the Jim Henson Company, and while there are many aliens played by humans in make-up, there are also a considerable number (including two of the regular crew) who are Muppets. By which I do not mean Kermit. I mean really gorgeous, elaborate works of art.

Also, even a lot of the humans-in-makeup aliens just look cool, and incredibly weird. Here’s an alien who appears in a single episode of season 1:

Not that there aren’t, you know, occasional Star Trek-style “these guys are just humans with weird hair,” or whatever, but in general, the aliens on Farscape look really alien. And that’s more than an aesthetic choice; it’s Farscape’s driving narrative principle. The aliens look alien, they act alien, they have alien values.

You know how a lot of sci-fi shows will have a stand-in for “fuck,” like Battlestar Galactica has “frak”? Well, Farscape has “frell.” And also “dren.” And yotz, hezmana, mivonks, loomas, tralk, snurch, eema, drannit, dench, biznak, arn, drad, fahrbot, narl. Some of those are swear words, but some of them are just words, never explicitly translated, that the alien characters will pepper into their speech, because, well, why should translator microbes be able to completely translate all the nuances of an alien culture? You’ll pick it up from context. One time, in passing, a character mentions that he’s familiar with the concept of suicide, but there’s no word for it in his language. I cannot emphasize to you enough how fleeting this moment is; the episode is not about suicide, we’re not having a great exchange of cultural ideas—at the time, the characters are running down a corridor in a crisis, as they are about 70 percent of the time—it’s just that the subject got brought up, and this character needed to talk around the fact that he literally didn’t have a word, in that moment. Things like that happen all the time, on Farscape.

Because more than anything else, Farscape is a show about culture shock. John Crichton is this straight, white Southern guy, at the top of his game—he’s an astronaut! he’s incredibly high status!—and then he ends up on the other side of the galaxy, where none of his cultural markers of privilege hold any meaning, where he doesn’t know the rules, where he literally can’t even open the doors. And he has to unlearn the idea that humanity is central, that he is the norm.

2) John Crichton, an astronaut, is pretty great.

A show that’s about a straight white guy with high status having to learn that he’s not the center of the universe could easily be centered around a really insufferable person, but one of the subtle things that makes Farscape so wonderful is that Crichton is, for the most part, pretty excellent. He has a lot of presumptions to unlearn because almost anyone in his cultural position would, but he’s also just a stand-up guy: compassionate, intelligent, open-minded, decent, forgiving, brave, hopeful.

And the galaxy tries to kick a whole lot of that out of him. It doesn’t succeed, mostly, but if Farscape is about anything other than culture shock, it’s about the lasting effects of trauma. How you can go through a wormhole one person, and experience things that turn you into someone you don’t recognize.

That’s kind of grim-sounding, but ultimately, what I’m trying to say is that Farscape is almost fanatically devoted to character work. Crichton is not the only character who sounds like he should be one thing and ends up being another. All of the characters—all of them, all of them, even the annoying ones—are complicated wonders. And you don’t have to wonder whether the events of the episode you’re watching are going to matter. They will. Everything that happens to the characters leaves a mark. Everything leaves them forever changed. Whether it’s mentioned explicitly or not—and often enough, it’s not explicit—the characters remember what has happened to them.

3) The living ship houses a lot of excellent women, among them the ship itself.

Ah, the women of Farscape, thou art the loves of my fucking life.

There’s Aeryn Sun, former Peacekeeper (that’s the military that the “insane military commander” hails from) now fugitive, currently learning the meaning of the word “compassion” (literally). She will break your fingers and also your heart. John/Aeryn is the main canon romantic ship.

There’s Pa’u Zhoto Zhaan, a priestess of the ninth level, current pacifist, former anarchist. Sorry, leading anarchist. She orgasms in bright light! (Oh my god, Farscape.)

There’s Chiana, my fucking bestie, a teenage(ish? ages in Farscape are weird) fugitive on the run from a repressive authoritarian state. Chiana is like a seductress con artist grifter thief who mostly just wants to survive so that she can have fun, damn it. Characters on Farscape do not really discuss sexualities (sex, yes, sexualities, no) and it would be fair to say that several of them do not fall along human sexuality lines generally, but I’m gonna go ahead and say that Chiana is canonically not straight.

Then there’s Moya, the ship herself, and it’s hard to get a straight read on Moya’s personality, since she mostly can’t speak. But she definitely has opinions, and things and people she cares about. And she moves the plot, though that gets into spoiler territory.

Past first season, further excellent women show up: Jool (controversial, but I like her), Sikozu (I once saw a Tumblr meme where someone had marked down that Sikozu would lose her shit when someone pronounced “gif” wrong, and that’s absolutely correct, and it’s why I love her), and Noranti (who is incredibly weird, and incredibly hard to summarize, but man, you gotta love her willingness to just show up and do her thing). Plus, there’s a recurring female villain, Grayza, who I could write probably multiple essays about. (I don’t know how you will feel about Grayza, as not everyone loves her, but I think she’s fucking fascinating, especially because she’s not actually the only recurring female villain. We also get Ahkna!)

(Side note: I should mention, here, that the cast of Farscape is really, really white. There is one cast member of color, Lani Tupu, but he pretty much represents the entirety of even, like, incidental diversity in casting for the series.)

Anyway, Farscape is full of awesome women, and also awesome and unexpected men, and it really enjoys playing with audience expectations of gender roles, generally. Literal entire books have been written about the way that Farscape fucks around with sex, sexuality, and gender. It’s a little weird because it was the late 90s/early 2000s, and sometimes that does come through, but Farscape’s guiding principle was always to try not to present American culture of the time as the norm, so like. It is not.

(An aside on Farscape and sex: Literally every character on Farscape has sexual tension with every other character. If you are a shipper, this is a Good Show, because no matter who you ship, there will not only be subtext, you will get a Moment of some kind. Multiple characters kiss the Muppet. Farscape is dedicated to getting into the nitty-gritty of the galaxy—I like to think of it as showing the guts of the universe—so a lot of the show is kind of squishy. They live on a biomechanoid ship, instead of androids there are “bioloids,” there’s a lot of focus on strange alien biologies, and lots of weird glowing fluids and things. I think the sex thing is kind of part and parcel of the larger biology focus: Farscape is really fascinated with how we all eat and evolve and live and die and, well, fuck. Which is in turn, kind of part of its focus on making everything really alien.)

4) Other stuff you should know.

Farscape as a whole is excellent, but it was kind of the product of creative anarchy—an Australian/American coproduction (oh yeah, everyone except Crichton speaks with an Australian accent) that was also partnered with the Henson company, whose showrunners were based in America but whose actual production all took place in Australia, and who was just constantly trying new things. So individual episodes can vary wildly in quality. It really takes off in the back half of season one, but no season is without a few off episodes.

It is extraordinarily funny, and I really think I haven’t stressed that enough. It’s one of the shows I want to quote the most in my daily life, but almost all of its humor is really context-dependent, and if you just wander around going, “Hey Stark? What’s black and white, and black and white, and black and white?” people look at you really funny.

It’s very conversant with pop culture generally (although obviously sci-fi  specifically, and Star Trek most specifically of all) and really enjoys deconstructing tropes, often to the effect of, “Well, Crichton really does not know what to do here, does he?” but sometimes just to be interesting.

There are also a lot of themes about science, and its uses and misuses.

The whole thing is fucking epic, and if you get invested at all, will take you on an emotional ride.

This show is weird. I know that that’s probably come across by now, but I think it’s worth reiterating as its own point: Farscape is so weird. Like, proudly, unabashedly, trying its hardest, weird. An amazing kind of weird.

If you’re into fantasy, you should know that there’s a recurring villain who’s just a wizard. Like, they don’t bother to explain it any more than that, he’s just a fucking wizard.

In summary: You should watch Farscape because it is a weird, wild, emotional, epic romance/drama/action/allegory full of Muppets and leather and one-liners and emotional gut punches and love, and if you let it, it will worm its way into you and never let go, which, now that I think of it, is another Farscape plot.

Send me meta prompts to distract me from my migraine!

#farscape #meta