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uglyducklingofthe2000s · 2 months

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Flowers For Me. Flowers For You. - Charles Leclerc

Summary: Charles is a romantic and his girlfriend isn't quite so used to it. But he doesn't expect her to ever return the gestures he makes. He is a gentleman after all.

Anti-PDA/secretly needy!reader

Charles is fairly notorious for his romantic gestures and for being open about how he enjoys being a romantic gentleman as a boyfriend.

His relationship with y/n has been an interesting dynamic of Charles sort of always pushing y/n out of her comfort zone purely unintentionally because to him, it's just how he shows his love and functions in a relationship. Y/n, on the other hand, is much more physically removed. She just sort of isn't the type to like witnesses to any affection beyond just holding his hand and that's mainly to not get lost in the crowds that often follow him.

Truth be told when they're alone or even just indoors with a small group, Charles is certain she just glues herself to him. Practically glued to him.

"Pour ma belle." Charles grins appearing with a large bouquet of all sorts of red flowers which one mistake as flowers bought for him or just for Ferrari, but no. Like everything else in Charles' life, red is a running theme that is embraced and never avoided.

Now this is the first time that Charles has ever bought y/n flowers and he wasn't even sure how she'd react but it he thought it might earn some sort of a smile.

"You got me flowers?" Y/n pouts looking suddenly very emotional. "I love them."

"You do?" Charles grins making her nod and take the red bouquet.

And in a moment that he's sure cameras caught and will turn into a meme for Twitter to haunt him. But he goes in for a kiss and instead finds his face blocked by the very flowers he gave her.

"I should've seen that one coming." Charles mumble more to himself but y/n hears him and smiles.

"Thank you." Y/n smiles earning a hum before he manages to catch her wrist and hold the flowers from blocking him as this time he manages to lean in stealing a kiss. Not that she'd ever actually be so cruel as to deny a second attempt at a kiss.

"Je t'aime." Charles smiles earning a small grin. "So you like flowers?"

"I love flowers and I love you." Y/n beams then looking stepping back to put space between them. Oh how she doesn't love close proximity.

Charles is certain there must be a reason for it. Some previous relationship that ended badly or her parents being messy and giving her something to fear. But he's met her parents they're the perfect picture of happiness and when he's asked friends and family, they just say that physical touch or affection has never been how she shows her love around others.

"I will remember this." Charles states making her smile at him. "Can we go away from people so you will let me kiss you?"

Y/n smiles letting Charles use his one privilege of taking her hand and guiding her out of sight of prying eyes.

And as soon as they are out of the open space, in his drivers room. She sits on top of Charles lap still holding the flowers while she smiles at her. Y/n almost in love with the flowers.

"How did you get flowers that so perfectly fit the exact shade of Ferrari red?" Y/n questions earning a dimpled grin from her boyfriend.

It's not long that they get to spend together, Charles is called upon for getting on with his schedule.

"I will see you soon." Charles smiles enjoying y/n's reluctance to let him go from her company now they were alone. "Do not cause trouble."

Y/n smiles a little then returning her gaze to the flowers. She's going to get a proper vase and then she's going to give him flowers in her own way. Flowers for him to keep.

She's need to talk to someone in the team but she's sure Fred would help her if she asked it of him, or at least point her in the direction of someone who would be able to help her.

It took a couple more races to pass, to make it happen. Charles had continued to show up every single day, race weekend or not with more flowers. It's became a norm as part of their every day routine now and he finds no loss in enjoyment of seeing how happy she is to receive the flowers each time.

"You are pulling on my arm, mon amour." Charles laughs as they walk through the car park to the paddock. She's already holding her daily bouquet of flowers in her free hand while tightly holding his hand with the other. "What is so special about this race weekend that you are so excited about?"

"I-Well, I just...I've got a surprise for you and I'm excited for you to see it." Y/n explains not bothered by the others who seem to watch them with piqued curiosity since y/n is very much rushing them.

She's not one to ever act in a way that draws attention to herself from others. But she's rushing and nudging her way through the paddock and it's almost as if she's in distress of it all.

"You have a surprise for me?" Charles questions almost tripping as she yanks him up the steps to the Ferrari unit.

"Yes." Y/n smiles before spotting the marketing girl who worked to help her make this happen. "Come on."

Charles just laughs at her level of excitement before she gets them into his drivers room where he expected to find a big and obvious surprise awaiting him. But instead it looks no different to how it always looks when he walks in.

"I don't really know how to properly show you a surprise like this. So um...well...I hope you like it." Y/n states looking so nervous that Charles almost feels worried that she has taken a risk and he really won't like it.

Y/n picks up his racing suit and sighs unfolding it till she can hold the sleeve, specifically the cuff.

Charles frowns a little before realising in the red, there's a green steam leading to embroidery of red flowers, you'd miss them if you weren't looking for them as they're the Ferrari red of the flowers he buys her each day, a slightly darker red outline to help define the detail but only just dark enough that it makes it easier. Each flower is different, roses, tulips, carnations, azalea. Almost like a flower chain going around each sleeve just below the cuff.

"Y/n." Charles mumbles speechless as he gently dances a finger over the thread.

"It's not easy to make alterations to the racing suits you know. Especially without you knowing about it. We had to make sure all the threads were the proper threats to not risk compromising the fireproof of the suit." Y/n rambles nervously before she sighs. "I just...I love these flowers every day so much and I know I am not the romantic you are, but I thought it-well maybe it was selfish, but in a way it's my way of always being with you."

Y/n looks like she might be on the verge of tears, ringing at her hands like she might even rip her skin from the the movements.

"Y/n-mon amour. These are beautiful. Are they on all of them?"

"Yes." Y/n confirms earning a grin from the driver.

"Good, I won't wear a suit that doesn't have them. For the rest of my career." Charles declares then moving and cupping her face, catching her in a kiss that seems to melt away all remaining nerves and fear of him disliking the gesture which he knows she went to great lengths to make happen.

Charles didn't just wear the suit, he showed everyone who would look, from the other drivers, people on the team to media and fans. He took such pride in it that he even tried to flash his hands enough while speaking in his podium interview just so it would be spotted more.

Eventually he didn't just have the flowers embroidered on his cuffs, they were on his collar and y/n had mentioned thinking about putting them on his boots and so he made it happen. Eager for him to have almost the same number of flowers on his suit that he buys her in the bouquets every day.

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chubs-deuce · 3 months

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I think I also saw a post explaining that if a ship in the fandom got too popular, the network producers would try and force that ship to become canon.

It's like, I love Charlastor, but I really don't want it to be canon. I feel like non canon ships are more fun!

yeah!!! 100% agreed, and I despise it when producers actually let that happen too :/ Glaring very hard at the grossly entitled people a good while back to tried to sway their preferred ship into canonicity by doing petitions....

I wouldn't want charlastor to be canon tbh.

It's, frankly, wild to me that so many people even equate shipping to exclusively mean "to root for two or more characters to get romantically involved in the source material", and any exploration of dynamics beyond that is then frowned upon, shamed or invalidated.

To an unfortunately large amount of people, shipping is little more than a popularity contest :')

To me, a huge part of the appeal in shipping is that it's a means to explore interpersonal character dynamics from a piece of media in ways we don't necessarily see happen in canon.

I LOVE non-canon ships for the fact that they leave us with SO much creative freedom! [more in-depth thoughts + what appeals to me about charlastor under the cut]

It allows us to hypothesize and experiment in-depth with how these characters would find their way from one type of dynamic into a different direction in so many different ways, without canon to give us one solid path to stick to.

One trope I'm very fond of in fanfiction in particular has always been slowburn with a touch of mutual pining - when a dynamic is truly given room to breathe and naturally grow into different directions and REALLY digs into the involved characters, it enables the authors to thoroughly lay out why and how their feelings change, what affected them in the process and how/when they eventually choose to act on them!

Character analysis is my bread and butter, so if a dynamic strikes my interest it's almost always because it has something unique about it far beyond just wanting to see them all lovey-dovey bc it's cute (though that can be part of it lol).

Charlie and Alastor as a combination are so intriguing to me because they're in many ways polar opposites, but simultaneously also have just enough similarities to leave a lot of potential for a genuine bond.

They combine the most conniving, manipulative, steadfastly and proudly immoral person with someone whose good intentions color absolutely everything she does, who also has the willpower and moral code to see it through.

They're like a forbidden, alluring dance, endlessly circling in each other's gravitational pull - which parts of them will prevail? Who will inevitably buckle to the other's influence first? What draws them in? What drives them apart?

I love watching Alastor's masterfully crafted plans get absolutely thwarted because he can't get a consistent read on her - a being who's - by her very nature of being part demon and part angel - a bundle of contradictions.

I'm also extremely fond of Charlie 100% seeing through him every step of the way and still keeping him around - regardless of his motivations, he is a vital, helpful part of the hotel, and she won't give up on trying to win him over for her cause in earnest.

There are very few things as funny to me as the idea of Alastor -master manipulator - being so far up his own ego, obsessing over getting a figurative hold over this fascinating and yet frustrating princess, that it takes forever for him to realize he's the one being used all along, expertly playing right into her cards.

Simultaneously, there's so many other ways to write them!!! It's just so damn fun to explore all of the what-ifs.

#there's more I could say abt all this but the post is long enough lmfaoo #charlastor #radiobelle #shipping #chubs answers #long post

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perotovar · 4 months

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hey sweeties!! kel and i put a list together of all the submissions we got for our event and split them into two masterlists of fics for you all to read and enjoy! this is my part of the list, so if you don't see yours give @beskarandblasters 's list >here< a look and see if that's where your fic/submission ended up!

we can't thank you enough for submitting and helping us give a voice to the smaller writers of the fandom ♥ oh, and for any multi chapter fics/series, we only read the first chapters to make it fair!

please make sure to read each fic's warnings carefully and happy reading! ♥

@iamskyereads - Compulsion (Ezra x ofc!Beatrice)

i can't even begin to describe how much i love this fic already. it's so smart and the worldbuilding?? incredible!! it feels like a sequel to the film, or like it could easily take place in the same universe. just brilliant. and ezra's voice is so clear here, i could hear him saying every word. and the oc, beatrice, is fascinating already, i can't wait to see where it goes!

@all-the-way-down-here - This Is Why We Fight (Dieter x nb!oc!Bell)

i love the start of this. both dieter and bell have excellent characterization and the conversations being had by every character feel so real and are so important. bell's group of friends all sound like friends i would have, and i would love to hang out with them. i love the direction this is going!

@linzels-blog - Delta Palms Tropical Resort (Frankie x f!reader)

ahh what a delightful little fic! it feels very much like an early 2000s rom com and i mean that in the best way! very cute and i love the vibes. everyone's characterization is great and i can't wait to sink my teeth into the rest of it!

@elvenmother - Context and Perspective (Marcus M x f!reader)

completely obsessed with this concept. i love a good enemies to lovers and this is such an awesome way to do it! i always see marcus m fics featuring someone without superpowers, but to have a character that's just as powerful as him? sign me up!

@kedsandtubesocks - In the Dead of the Night (Din x f!reader)

one of my absolute favorite din fics. the worldbuilding and din's creature form is incredible. i love a horror au that's flipped on its head. i also love the "creature is also the hunter" trope and this does that incredibly well. the atmosphere is off the charts.

@ghostofaboy - Rock Bottom (Frankie x original male characters)

god, i don't even know where to begin with this story. it's so raw and visceral and i can't say enough how much i enjoy it. i love reading something new and especially if it's coming from a male perspective. this is, unfortunately, something i could see frankie getting up to. frankie is such a deeply tragic character and this fic does that justice in a dark, but really intriguing way.

@ishabull - The Way We Were Drawn (Marcus P x f!reader)

ohh this is such a sweet fic. i love the imagery painted and the dynamic between marcus and reader is so sweet!

@secretelephanttattoo - Headshots (Marcus P x f!reader)

this fic is beyond sweet and so dreamy. the ideal scenario for anyone, in my humble opinion. who wouldn't want to take pictures of handsome fbi agents and then fall in love with said agent?

@lesbianhotch - you walk by and i fall to pieces (Frankie x f!reader)

THIS WAS THE CUTEST DAMN THING. i love me a nervous frankie (hello, have you read my fic lmao) and this was by far one of the cutest. i'm obsessed with reader's confidence and i just know those two are gonna be menaces once they're together. throw in some patsy cline and i am a goner. this is going on the reread list for sure.

@insomniamamma - Remain Nameless (Ezra & Cee w/ gn!reader)

ok, this one actually made me cry. i'm not sure if it's my own sleep-deprived ass that caused it but this is probably one of the most beautiful but sad fics i've read in a long time. i mean all of this in the best way because i don't normally get emotional from fics. prospect as a movie makes me emotional, though, so it doesn't surprise me that this did as well. it's such an incredible missing scene that i can, unfortunately, see absolutely happening. have some tissues nearby.

@sweetercalypso - Unlikely Friends (Joel x gn!reader)

this fic is one of my absolute favorite fics for joel. a big reason for that is i have a cat named tilly. and imagining joel reluctantly and grumpily cuddling with my tilly makes me emotional, ok??

@softstarlite - The Casualty of Love (Javi P x f!reader)

very cute! i love the awkward tension around not seeing someone for so long and there being a huge glow up maturity-wise from one of them! seeing someone in a new light is always a strange thing and i love the start to these two and their journey!

@julesonrecord - Shots (Jack x f!reader/oc)

probably one of the best post-movie fics i've ever read for jack. the way jack's trauma and therapy is handled is so fucking brilliant and tonic is one of the best fucking characters, god. eva is written so well and i just. i can't recommend this fic enough. if you like jack, hell even if you don't, give this fic a shot. i promise you'll come out of it liking it.

@coulsons-fullmetal-cellist - The Audition (Dieter x f!reader)

goddd this was so cute! dieter's insecurities don't come up very often and i absolutely love what a match he and reader make. she's so sweet with him and takes such good care of him. and he loves her so much and i love them ok

@max--phillips - A Little Lipstick Never Hurts (Max P x f!reader)

this is one of the best explorations into kink that i've ever read. it's so respectful and hot as fuck. completely obsessed with this take on max as a character and i can't get enough of the dynamic between him, reader, (and eventually dieter). it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but i highly encourage you to give it a try. max gets some well deserved lessons taught, and who doesn't love that?

@coastielaceispunk - The Gift of Lingerie (Max L x f!reader)

god, this was so fucking hot. i'm so here for a mentally healed maxwell in a healthy marriage with a fulfilling sex life lol the little bit of teasing on both their parts was beyond sexy and i loved how equal everything felt. ugh, will be rereading this one for sure.

@lotrefcp - Hidden Away (Javi P x f!reader)

i'm obsessed with a no nonsense reader with just as much attitude/sass as javi does lol i just kept reading going GET HIS ASS. an excellent start to a universe i'm excited to sink my teeth into!

@beefrobeefcal - On the Waterfront (Frankie x f!reader)

oh, this is dark. i love the vibes immediately. i've had a weird fascination with the mafia for most of my life and this has that air about it. a dark, chubby mob boss!frankie is right up my alley for sure. i love that he's still frankie tho. sensible, practical, but with an edge. mind the warnings.

@flightlessangelwings - La Estrella de Mi Vida (Javi G x f!reader)

ahhh so romantic and so tragic!! i swear, it's impossible to make javi unappealing but this fic is just so sweet and manages to make me love him even more (somehow). but i love the added drama and tension from outside forces!! i need to read the rest of it asap!

@littlemisspascal - Rockford & Roan (Tim x f!reader)

my god, i love this?? i'm not usually one for superpowers/soulmate au's but i'm in love with the practicality of this? it feels otherworldly without being too much and it's very grounded. i love the reader and the way tim is written is so believable. i love that we as a fandom have created such a visceral image of this character from only a minute's worth of footage!

@something-tofightfor & @the-blind-assassin-12 - Aphelion (Oberyn x Ellaria & f!reader)

goddd the imagery painted in this one. so heartbreaking. absolutely breathtaking. i'm a slut for vampires and i'm a slut for oberyn/ellaria. this is absolutely something i will be reading the rest of lol

@bluestar22x - The Rockford Files (Tim x f!reader)

ok this is insanely good. one of my favorite books of all time is "red dragon" by thomas harris and i felt like i was reading that again while i read this. the details of the case and the cadence of everything was top notch. obsessed with the psychic element thrown in there and i'm beyond excited to see where tim and psy end up next!

bonus:

@sweetenerobert - Fiction vs Reality (Tommy Miller x m!reader)

ohhhh my god. you give me a bisexual tattoo artist tommy miller with stretched ears and i'm supposed to be normal about it??? UNLIKELY. i am extremely tempted to edit this into reality ngl but my god. this was so fucking hot lmao

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eleanork-28 · 26 days

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Post s3e6 what happens now?

I am begining to write an 'after' fic which has brought up a lot of questions and speculation that I'd like to share. Yes willmon is endgame but also where do they go from here?

Class

Money (what are the Erikssons doing with their money from August?)

The rift between Wille’s elitist upbringing and Simon’s economical and political beliefs

Wille needs to learn and figure out what he wants his relationship with politics and money to be

Abdication

Wille is giving up the crown but he now has to go through that process

Official meetings

What is his new title going to be

What money does he have not has Crown Prince

The official statement of abdication and handing the duty to August

Figuring out the PR strategy for this as well

Wille isn’t free automatically he is going to price for a little while longer while they introduce August more prominently to the public so that the crown isn’t handed off to seemingly a stranger

They also have to figure out a way to make sure it is clear that this is a choice Wille made for himself rather than because of his very publicised relationship

Making sure there won’t be speculation that he is leaving voluntarily because the Swedish monarchy doesn’t want a queer monarchy because that would be a media shitstorm

School

Where is Wille going to school? And Simon?

Even with abdication he is still a part of the Swedish aristocracy would he go to another posh school?

I think not with everything that happened at Hilerska but its also the thing he knows, so how does he figure that out?

Where does Simon go? He wouldn’t want to go to another rich kid school

Will they go to school together?

If so what interest will their classmates take in them, how would they maintain their privacy

Even apart what would their privacy look like

What would their relationship look like if they do decide to not go to school together?

Same questions for Felice and Sara because they also have to go to school they are all children and education is very important lol

Familial relations

Wille and his parents need to repair their relationship

Do Simon and Sara start working on a better relationship Micke?

I want Wille to get to meet Micke I think that interaction would be great

Public relations

Yes they are free but sadly the public doesn’t entirely care

Luckily on an international scale the Swedish monarchy doesn’t hold much attention but maybe that has changed since Wille’s scandals and then open queer relationship? This is never addressed in the show

But amongst Swedes especially after abdication people will have a vested interest

Think Harry and Megan (obvs the UK royals are a much bigger scale but the point stands)

Like people still really care what they're up to, and Megan and Simon have those similar experiences of being a poc partner of a european royal family member, the harassment doesn’t suddenly stop once you've left the direct limelight of royal life

Platonic relationships

What is Wille’s relationship with Rosh and Ayub?

They have witnessed every thing that Simon has gone through because of his relationship with Wille and now they are back together again

They do respect him because of his choice to leave the monarchy, they are maybe not even surprised because they did witness the “I could be free with you” speech

But do they trust him?

On that note does Linda? She definitely cares for Wille but she also knows how this has affected her son.

Does Wille have to prove his intentions and himself?

Can he Rosh and Ayub truly form a friendship? How will that happen

Simon, Wille, Sara, and Felice have forged their own kind of found family through shared traumas and love for one another, how to Rosh and Ayub fit into that new dynamic? Will there be conflict because of this?

What does a friend group consisting of all of them look like?

Other than mega gay

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bengiyo · 2 months

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She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat 2 Eps 1-4 Stray Thoughts

The lesbian sister to WDYEY is back and I am so ready to see these two get deeper into their romance. They had barely started when we left.

Episode 1

THEM. I missed Yuki and Kasuga as much as I missed Shiro and Kenji.

Love that both WDYEY and SLTCSLTE are struggling with inflation.

God this rice bowl looks great.

Ladies, I know food is pricey lately but you cannot sacrifice these meals together. This is an important aspect of your relationship. Can we just discuss modifying the menu??

I love the work bestie. She cuts through the noise and calls it what it is. Nomoto is lonely because she stopped hanging out with the person she's falling for.

Kasuga is definitely not moving out. You see that TV and chair? She's settled. I love her because she does everything real big.

Yes! Have a mochi party! You both like hanging out together!

I was into the mochi pizza concept until they added corn. No thanks

Smash cutting into Nomoto fighting off the itis is exactly what I hoped for in the mochi party.

They're both so tentative with each other, but at least the fondness is obvious.

Episode 2

Wow they captured all of lesbian film discourse in one tweet. The only part they missed was a comment about it being a period piece.

Of course she's gonna watch this film from her kitchen table with a tablet. I get it but you have a friend with an enormous TV.

Baby's first gay film. It'll do that to you. I'm fairly certain my first film was Get Real (1998). I'm not sure what my first lesbian one was. It's either Chasing Amy (1997), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999) or Pariah (2011).

Oh good. Nomoto and Sayama were both offered positions. I was worried they'd be outted against each other.

We have a young woman who just moved in who has a bunch of quality ingredients and no idea what to do with them..she looks a bit disheveled and tired. She is in the lesbian food drama. Oh yeah. It's all coming together.

This was really excellent. The imagery of all this raw potential in the new tenant via her ingredients she doesn't know how to use, with Kasuga's ability to move them around, and Nomoto's ability to find a way to turn it into something delicious. I am ready.

Yes, Kasuga! Suggest meal dates! Nomoto's eyes dilate every time!

Episode 3

I like Sayama a lot. I appreciate that they have her pursuing het romance so I don't have to wonder about romantic tension between her and Nomoto.

There's such a huge demisexual component to Nomoto that I really love.

Wow, it's actually so unexpected to see a romance say that the big swells of emotion in film don't match the experience some of us are having. This is how I've felt my entire life.

Nagumo, you have two women who live alone who want to feed you. You gotta let them in, girl.

Kasuga is always so direct about how much she enjoys spending time with Nomoto.

I love Kasuga so much. She asked Nomoto how to receive the news about her new project at work and didn't assume.

I like these two admitting that they like their lives right now.

Episode 4

I love that Nomoto is doing research now that she knows how to describe her feelings.

I'm so invested in these cabbage rolls you have no idea. I need Nagumo to eat one.

450 yen is not bad for that amount of food! Food is so expensive in America!

I'm losing it over this sushi mat business.

I'm worried about Nagumo! She doesn't seem unloved by her family, but she's clearly going through it!

Nagumo is a gamer, and she put her fridge on the opposite wall Kasuga and Nomoto did.

The Japanese really snapped when they decided that soup was a requirement of most meals.

These rolls look delicious.

I hope the friend on Twitter gets revealed.

I love these two so much, and I'm glad we have 20 episodes if this is the romantic pace we're moving at! I like them balancing the challenges of maintaining their dynamic in the changing world, and I like that they were both willing to invite someone else into their space. I especially love that Kasuga encouraged the young woman to be safe and watch out for herself. I can't wait for their romance to be out in the open and for the new neighbor to comment on it.

#Ben watches #tsukuritai onna to tabetai onna #she loves to cook and she loves to eat #Japanese GL #gl series

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aislinrayne · 26 days

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[𝔐𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱] [𝔖𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔐𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱]

𝔖𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶: Anthony Lockwood makes it through a late and relaxed morning, a leisurely afternoon well suited to reminiscing, and the earliest part of a normal evening before his luck runs out.

ℜ𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤: M

𝔚𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰: They're idiots, your honour, unrequited pining (it's requited, they're just stupid), language, canon typical violence, only proof-read while sick

𝔄𝔲𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔯'𝔰 𝔑𝔬𝔱𝔢: I love me a good miscommunication trope, and coming up with ideas on how to make long-term mutual pining work is way too much fun, so finally figuring out both angles of what these two lovebird's dynamic was going to be was a major driving force behind this re-write hehehe I'm not sorry This chapter fought me every step of the way, and I had to split it into two parts so it wasn't outrageously long, but in the end I'm incredibly happy with the result! Chapter three will take place only a few minutes after the end of this.

Since this is where the 'slight au' part comes into play, I'm curious to see what you guys think of the world building in this one! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions if I was a bit vague on something, or if you just want to know more about this little headcanon universe of mine

𝔚𝔬𝔯𝔡 ℭ𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱: 5.17k

⇠ 𝔓𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔦𝔬𝔲𝔰 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯

The sun has only just begun its descent towards the horizon, but the chill on the wind already cuts to the bone. In spite of the numerous layers of suit and coat, it bites into Anthony’s flesh.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” a woman calls out to him, loud enough to be heard over the chorus of cafe patrons hiding from the cold behind steaming cups of tea and coffee.

“I think I’d be better off not doing anything you would do, Luce,” he shoots a wink at her over his shoulder, holding the door open with his elbow to shoot a two-fingered salute at the ginger woman beside her laughing unabashedly at their playful bickering.

Lucy mutters a retort under her breath, a particularly colourful string of insults if the swat on the arm it earns from her girlfriend is anything to go by.

The door swings shut behind him, abruptly cutting off the sound of Norrie chastising her partner about ‘publicly decent language’ and leaving him with a pep in his step as he wanders towards Regent Street in the general direction of his favourite rapier shop.

Something about afternoon tea with his best friend and her girlfriend always leaves him feeling reminiscent, the water-colour splashes in soft shades of orange across the horizon only serve to heighten the feeling. His short walk to Mullet and Sons allows him some time to indulge.

A lot had changed in the six years since Lucy had joined himself and George at Lockwood & Co.. For one, they’d gained quite the reputation. Fittes and Rotwell were still most people’s first choice, but now you’d be more likely to hear their little agency recommended than Bunchurch or Tendy’s. He’ll admit, initially it seemed as though they were going to become infamous rather than renowned; between the disaster at Sheen Road, the disaster at Combe Carey, the disaster at–

Well, you get the point. It hadn’t looked promising.

Their luck had begun to change with the case of the Bone Glass, then eventually Aickmere’s, but it hadn’t felt like nearly enough. Those days had been filled with anxiety. Worst of all was the fear of his Talent fading, the uncertainty of what his life would look like without the thing he’d based every choice he’d ever made on. How was he supposed to survive in a world in which he couldn’t See? He’d been terrified of running out of time to achieve his dreams, petrified he would fail his family by never achieving anything worthy of their name. It was safe to say he hadn’t been in the best headspace.

The fear almost overwhelmed him as time rushed on towards his eighteenth birthday, made all the more unignorable by his experience watching Quill Kipps lose his own Sight. And while they’d found a solution for the retired Fittes agent in the form of Fairfax’s Ghost-Vision goggles, there was no replacement for the real thing.

And then the daunting milestone had come and gone with no discernible difference.

George was the next oldest. Over the course of that year his Talent faded slowly, then all at once. He hadn’t minded overmuch, the library had become preferable to being in the field somewhere around their fifth arson-related-incident. In his defence, Mrs. Manfield flying across her lawn like a bat out of hell screaming about her antique doily collection being smoke-stained would have been enough to traumatise anyone.

The following year had gone quite flawlessly, if he did say so himself. With George as their dedicated researcher, and Lucy and Anthony’s competitive spirits driving them to never fall behind each other in skill, they were capable of taking on a significantly larger number of cases. If they needed additional hands in the field for any particularly challenging jobs they’d enlist either George or Kipps with the aid of the goggles.

But by her nineteenth birthday, Lucy actually seemed upset that her Talent refused to fade. The boys had been confused by this at first, and while Lockwood had the sense to leave it alone, George had continued to question her. They’d found out the full story of how she’d come to be an agent when she’d finally broken down. She’d never chosen this life, and even though she loved her time with Lockwood & Co., she’d always been comforted by the notion that this life of fighting and fear had an expiration date. In contrast to his own relief and excitement at the prospect of never losing his Talent, she felt nothing but trepidation. George was watery eyed by the end of her confession, his lips pressed tightly into a thin line to prevent them trembling. Anthony felt like he might be sick. By the light of the numerous mismatched candles on Lucy’s lopsided birthday cake, they made a pact to pretend as though her Talent was fading, and phase her out of the agency within a year's time.

A few short months later, the first headline popped up in a small gossip rag. It wasn’t even one of his top five. Someone had taken notice of his remaining Sight at his advanced age, but hadn’t yet noticed their attempts to fake Lucy’s waning Listening.

In the days after the first article's publication, the obnoxiously loud business phone began ringing more often. Then, another article in a larger paper. Followed by another, then several more.

Anthony had to restrain George from ripping the phone’s cord out of the wall after one too many interrupted naps. The researcher moved in with Flo not long after, but still kept his room mostly furnished for the evenings he worked far too late to make it to their flat safely.

By the time their story had been told often enough for the media to lose interest, they had gone from having enough cases to keep them busy to too many to keep up with in what had to be some kind of record time. In light of the extra attention they had considered hiring another agent, but their options were slim and the thought of bringing in a child to fight their battles was surprisingly difficult to stomach. Anthony made a mental note to apologise to Barnes after that realisation, gaining some perspective on the man who’d tried so desperately to keep them away from the front lines.

Time felt more like an undefeatable foe in the six months that followed than it had at any previous point in his life. How was he supposed to keep taking on cases without anyone to watch his back in the field? Would he end up alone in this bloody house yet again? Despite the thoughts that haunted his darker moments, he knew he would let Lucy leave without any fuss. Even in the last weeks of her employment he knew he could never be selfish enough to ask her to stay. Though, had he known–

A street sign reading ‘Half Moon Lane’ interrupts him from his stroll down memory lane, heralding the end of his journey. The old building slumps under the weight of time. Even the paint on the window is chipped, almost removing the ‘Sons’ in Mullet and Sons. Although the storefront's outward appearance borders on decrepit, they have undeniably the highest quality rapier’s in London. The hinges shriek as he pushes the door open, alerting the proprietor to the presence of a customer.

“Ah, Mr. Lockwood! A pleasure, as always. How can I help you, my boy?” emerging from the back room, the white haired old man beams upon recognising him.

“Mr. Mullet, please, the pleasure is mine! I believe one of my agents placed an order with you recently? I’m here to pick up for her.”

After confirming her name and the details of the order, the old man teeters his way back into the room he’d just come from. When he emerges again, he does so with empty hands and a deep frown upon his face.

“It appears one of my sons has caused a touch of a mixup and sent your employee’s rapier home with another agent. I can place another order with our supplier, but I’m afraid it won’t arrive until the end of the month,” his tone is apologetic, but Anthony still has to fight the urge to groan in frustration.

“Mistakes happen, Mr. Mullet. We’re only human after all,” thankfully, he’s had plenty of practice schooling his tone over the years, “that being said… we’ve made commitments for this evening. I can’t very well ask one of my agents to walk into a haunted house unarmed.”

“Of course, I understand completely. Since you’ve been doing business with us for so long, I’m willing to offer a percentage off of any of our in stock models as a token of our apology.”

It’s a gracious offer, one Anthony is happy to accept. He defers to the expertise of the older man, allowing him to lead them from option to option within the dimly lit store.

Trying to choose such an essential tool for her without her input is a surprisingly daunting task, and he finds himself quickly overwhelmed. Searching for something to distract him until he can ground himself properly, he lets his eyes wander freely over the different kinds of metal glittering from mahogany shelves before they fix on a single standing display across the room. Driven by curiosity, he approaches the case to inspect its contents. What he finds nearly steals the breath from his lungs. Laying on a scarlet velvet cushion is the most beautiful rapier he’s ever laid eyes on. It has a fine silver blade, connected to an intricate swept hilt inlaid with gold leaves that wind around the counterguards and down the central ridge. When his eyes travel to the pommel and find her birth stone caged within golden vines, he begins mental preparations to re-mortgage the house. Thankfully, when Mr. Mullet wanders over to find him staring transfixed at the weapon, he gives him a knowing smile and cuts the younger man a deal he almost feels guilty accepting.

When he departs the shop, rapier tucked safely into a cloth wrap, the sun is dangerously close to the horizon.

Uttering a quiet prayer to the powers-that-be, he scans the area for a payphone. Luck is on his side today and he finds one rather quickly, tucked into a nook beside a cafe a few shops down. As he makes a beeline for it with purpose, he comes aware of the hairs on the back of his neck standing slowly to attention. At first it’s easy to brush it off as a result of the temperature, but the closer he gets to the booth the more the sensation builds. It feels like someone’s watching him. Stepping into the silver-glass encased rectangle, he lifts the phone from the receiver before pausing. Thinking quickly, he puts on his best thoughtful expression, pretending to have forgotten the number he needs to call as an excuse to let his eyes wander his surroundings. The droning of the phone waiting for input makes the entire situation feel even more unnerving.

Nothing glaringly obvious jumps out at him; no nefarious stalker in a trench coat peers at him from some dark alley, no one stares at him over the top of an upside-down newspaper. All his eyes can find is folks hurrying into their vehicles before the threat of darkness grows, shop workers locking their doors and flicking off their lights.

Scoffing at himself for allowing his paranoia to get the best of him, he dials a night cab. Though he’s quite certain he’d imagined the threat, he still refrains from mentioning his destination out loud. He hadn’t made it as far as he had by throwing all caution to the wind. Just… most of it. Before he can waste too much time chastising himself any further, he slams the phone back into place and turns with purpose to wait for his ride in the safety of the cafe.

Honestly, it’s a good thing he’s so dramatic. If he hadn’t insisted on doing the most theatrical spin, complete with the billowing of his coat as he exited the box, he wouldn’t have startled the man watching him from behind the corner of a nearby bookstore. The balding head disappears as the body it’s attached to ducks behind the brick wall. Anthony has several options, but very few of them are good. He quickly decides his best course of action is to pretend to be unaware of the man’s presence, electing to continue on to grab himself a tea whilst he plans his next move.

Watching the brilliant orange and scarlet glow of sunset, Anthony finds himself observing the comings and goings of vehicles outside the shop window. There’s an unusual amount of traffic for this time of day. He’d expect to see a large number flocking to their homes, seeking safety from the threats that come with darkness. But to see even two or three vehicles stop to park alongside the road this time of night was unusual.

The arrival of his cab shakes him from that train of thought, jumping the tracks straight to figuring out how to make it to Mrs. Roland’s house in decent time without being followed. He hadn’t seen another sign of the man since, but he’s not convinced the danger has actually passed. With a huff, he draws himself out of the comfortable chair. The cold air is no more forgiving now than it had been before. Allowing the warmth of the night cab to envelop him, he instructs the driver to begin a complex route to their destination in the hopes of losing those tailing him.

The sky is pitch black by the time they arrive, but his efforts seem to have been successful. While he’d thought for a moment one of the cars that started up as he’d exited the cafe might have been following them at first, there’s no sign now of anyone suspicious following behind.

Stepping out of the cab onto the curb, he takes a deep breath and tries to sort his thoughts before he dares to step foot into the house. Why, precisely, would somebody have him under observation? For once in his life, he can’t think of anyone who would have reason to. Pulling up the sleeve of his coat to check the watch on his wrist, he curses under his breath at the time. There’s going to be a lot of grovelling in his very near future. It’s nearly thirty minutes past six. She’s going to kill him, and he can’t even fault her for it.

He’s about to rush into the house when a set of headlights comes into view at the top of the street, nearly blinding him before cutting to blackness at the sight of his silhouette.

Bloody hell, that is the final straw. He’d done quite a fine job feigning ignorance until this point, but he has to draw the line at this level of obviously shady behaviour. If they’re this incompetent he can get to the bottom of the matter without the need for secrecy or strategy. He straightens to his full height, setting his jaw and turning to walk with confidence towards the sleek black car now parked roughly a hundred feet ahead of him.

The sound of glass shattering fills the quiet night air before he can make it more than halfway, stopping him dead in his tracks as he listens for any further sign of danger. Usually, the thought of his associate in any form of peril is more than enough to send him spiralling into an – admittedly unnecessary – protective frenzy. However, considering all elements of the present situation, he finds himself torn. Their interview with Mrs. Roland prior to the acceptance of the case had left them both confident the Visitor is a Type One, which she’s more than capable of handling herself, and if he doesn’t chase this lead down now–

An unholy shriek echoes down the street, sending chills down his spine.

Sketchy stalker-mobile be damned.

He turns on a dime, long legs carrying him across the lawn as if chasing his own shadow as the headlights behind him reignite and light his path. The golden beams veer away, the car pulling a sharp u-turn to flee the scene. If he wasn’t so worried, he’d probably be frustrated. He almost can’t stop fast enough to prevent himself from running face-first into the door when the handle refuses to turn. Swearing loudly, he jiggles it again to ensure it isn’t just stiff before he risks causing property damage. The screaming is making it hard to think, but he can’t quite put his finger on what about it is making him feel so unnerved. When it finally hits him, property damage is the least of his concerns. Barely audible beneath the unnaturally shrill sound, her scream is hoarse and pained.

He takes a full stride back, rocking his weight back on his left leg and lifting his right. His foot hits its mark directly beside the lock, the full weight of his panic-aided-strength sending it flying open. He can’t help but wince at the crunch of drywall, likely from the knob on the far side embedding itself in the wall, but he doesn’t waste any further time on it before striding into the house. Dead ahead, an electric lantern sitting on the kitchen counter bounces light off of the shining tiles covering the majority of the space. To his left is a small dining room with only a mid-sized table, four chairs, and a plethora of obnoxiously colourful paintings on the walls. Deciding having both hands free will be more conducive to survival, he dumps the cloth bag containing her new rapier on the table and rushes towards the commotion.

Between his relief at seeing her unharmed and the sheer comedic value of the expression on her face as she slides around the corner with arms flailing, he almost bursts into hysterical laughter. Thankfully, his self preservation instinct is strong enough to encourage him to duck behind the wall while he gets himself under control. Under normal circumstances he would let her exit the house rather than practically jumping out at her, but he can’t be sure there isn’t someone still waiting outside. And as a small bonus, if she’s already mentally signing his death certificate, he can’t make it any worse by making an entrance. He feels a grin spread across his features despite a valiant effort not to enjoy this too much.

“Sorry it took me so long, darling. Traffic was atrocious,” he has to bend to wrap an arm around her middle, but that doesn’t stop him. Instead of lashing out or screaming again, she catches him off guard by completely relaxing into his hold. A spark of protectiveness flares beneath his breast as the back of her head falls to rest on his collarbone and she lets out a shaking breath. In stark contrast to her usually unflappable nature, she trembles like a leaf. There’s no way a simple Type One put her in this state.

It takes all of his willpower to peel his arm from her waist, to offer her the only shield he can by tucking her safely behind him. He takes a deep breath in through his nose, exhaling slowly through pursed lips and drawing his rapier. It’s not enough to eliminate the intoxicating effect of her proximity, but it dampens it enough he can think clearer.

“Anthony John Lockwood, you fucking asshole! The sun set half an hour ago!” the rage in her tone fills him with relief, not even the impact of the flat of her hands against his back can take away from it. He’d obviously prefer if she were calm, but he’ll take anger over despair any day.

“Any idea what kind of Visitor we’re dealing with? Or what the Source could be?” he breezes past her outburst, not having to look over his shoulder to know if looks could kill he’d be dead on his feet.

He knew this routine like the back of his hand. She’d be angry at first, call him every name in the book, and then they’d move past it and get the job done.

Except there’s no scoff, no retort, no rapid fire insults, no reply of any kind. The silence is deafening. Taking back every scathing remark he’s ever made about Orpheus’ lack of restraint, he caves to the impulse and glances over his shoulder. He’d been right about the look, at least. The incredulous fury painted across her face might have been comical in another place, on another day. But there, just beneath the surface, was something he hadn’t expected to find; betrayal.

Shit. He’s really fucked up this time.

“Y’know what? Figure it out yourself,” the venom dripping from her tone feels like knives in his chest, “you would have had to if you’d been a minute later anyways.” Time comes shuddering to a halt. His pulse is deafening as it thunders in his ears. If he’d put her life in legitimate danger – regardless of the circumstances – he’d never forgive himself.

“What do you mean? What happened?” he manages to choke around the lump in his throat that feels suspiciously like his heart, turning to face her fully and reassure himself by searching every visible inch of her for any sign of injury. The urge to reach out and touch her, to feel her body beneath his hands and know for sure she isn’t being stubborn enough to hide some kind of fatal wound from him, is so strong his fingers burn.

After a few incidents involving him turning into a lovesick moron at the slightest touch from her early on in her employment, she’d gone to great lengths to avoid any form of contact with him. He’d come to terms with this, resigning himself to the idea of a life spent admiring her from arms length. So while she hadn’t seemed too opposed to having him in her personal space tonight, he had no intentions of pushing any farther and making her uncomfortable.

That was the plan, at least. But when screaming pierces the air once more, the colour drains from her face, and he watches her cave in on herself in an attempt to hide; he feels like this counts as extenuating circumstances. He takes a single large step forward, arms reaching towards her in unison. Her hands are over her ears, head tucked into her chest, elbows tight to her ribs. He allows his upper body to curl at the edges and cage her against him, hugging her head to his chest to muffle the noise.

Then, it stops. It’s hard to decide if the ghostly howling or ensuing silence is louder.

“You okay?” he murmurs the question, reluctantly releasing her to rest his hands on her shoulders and leaning down to try to catch her gaze in the low light. There’s merely inches between their faces when her unfocused eyes finally lock with his own. It’s hard to breathe without acknowledging they’re breathing the same air, but he files that thought away for later. He concentrates instead on tracing every one of her features with his gaze, every tensed muscle and line that may offer him some insight into her condition. She squeezes her eyes shut, blinking like she’s just woken up. When she finally focuses on him, her pupils blow wide as dinner plates. Her lips part, her small gasp the only disturbance in the air as he involuntarily holds his breath.

A sharp stab of heartbreak courses through him as she steps back abruptly, raising her palms in surrender. His poor heart stops dead for the umpteenth time today when he spots the dark spot on her hand. She tries to drop her arms, to move to put more distance between them, but his sense of urgency outweighs his better judgement as he grasps her tightly by the wrist. The chill of her skin beneath his does nothing to assuage his concerns as he pulls her across the kitchen to the light, ignorant to her protests through the haze of his anxiety. Their proximity to the light confirms his fear, and the crimson red of fresh blood staining her skin has his stomach rebelling against him. As soon as he drops her wrist she pulls it away and clutches it to her body, glaring daggers at him. He makes a mental note to beg for her forgiveness later, reaching for her face and watching shades of red begin to decorate her flesh as she reaches new levels of infuriation. Her skin is sinfully soft beneath the fingers that turn her towards the light and brush against her cheek, tucking the hair behind her ear to give him a better view. A cold blanket of righteous fury settles over him at the sight of the narrow crimson river running sluggishly down her neck, using his thumb to swipe it away. Murderous thoughts fill his head at the sight of the stain left in its wake, doubling in intensity at her expression when he shows her the smear of red highlighted by its contrast against his pale skin.

“Now will you tell me about it?” any attempt at a playful tone is harshly undercut by the tremor of rage in his voice, but she still laughs with less nerves than he’d expected.

She studies him closely, but he stares right back, too focused on making the bloody thing pay for hurting her to be self-conscious under her scrutinous gaze. After a short minute of this, understanding blossoms across her face.

“Through the living room, down the hallway - mind the runner, it’s slippery - the primary haunting is in the bedroom. Husband’s name was Harold Roland. There’s a painting on the left wall, initialed ‘H.R.’, psychic imprint like I’ve never seen. Twenty quid says that’s the Source,” she pauses, lost in thought with her eyes fixed on the ground, “Oh! And it’s probably obvious by now, but it’s definitely a Screaming Spirit.”

He can feel the corners of his lips quirking up as she drops the stubborn attitude.

‘Good girl,’ he wants to say.

“Your rapier is on the table,” he says instead, turning his back on her under the guise of watching the direction they’d heard the screaming from. In reality, he’d just needed an excuse to hide his blush and re-centre himself.

He’s so busy shaking the offending thoughts from his head and cursing himself out for allowing his mind to wander into unsafe territory that he’s completely blindsided by the burst of other-light lighting up the living room like a flash bang. He’s still blinking the blind spots from his eyes when rapid movement in his peripherals alerts him to the potential danger. The ringing of iron fills the air as he draws his rapier, muscle memory taking over despite his still spotty vision as he slices clean through the centre of the spectre mere inches from his face.

Behind him, the sound of her drawing her own blade drains anxiety he wasn’t aware he’d been feeling. As she takes her place beside him he admits to himself that nothing in this world feels more natural than having her at his side, trusting him to keep the Visitor at bay whilst he trusts her to strategize.

Despite being the newest member of their agency, Anthony trusts her instincts more than even his own most of the time. He’d figured out not long after she’d joined that she had a particular balance of empathy and intelligence - and a sixth sense he couldn’t really explain - that made her an asset in the field. Of course he’d never been dense enough to phrase it like that to her face, not after sticking his foot in his mouth with Luce all those years ago.

Her posture shifts almost imperceptibly, but it’s enough to tell him she’s finished piecing together a plan. All he can do now is hope she’s feeling generous enough to let him in on it.

The crisp clean sound of her new rapier sliding into its sheath suggests he might be out of luck. He’s considering whether or not it’s worth asking her directly when his brain sputters, then stalls. She steps back far enough he has no warning of her proximity until she presses herself completely against him, the surface area of her chest displacing against the back of his ribs in a way that leaves him feeling a little dizzy. As much as he really, really enjoys her hands dancing along his sides and hips, he can’t help but question her truly terrible timing as he fights to keep his blade in the air to ward off their ‘friend’.

“Follow my lead,” she says. It takes a while to filter through the dial-up connection that is his mind at that moment. He regains his composure just as she hurls the salt-bomb over his shoulder, realisation dawning on him in a flash similar to that of the silver fulminate as it collides with the ghost before him. So that’s what she’d been up to.

She’s off like a bullet the second the apparition dissipates, shooting past him and into the other room. In a rather impressive manoeuvre, she tucks and rolls to land on her side parallel to a horrifically sunny loveseat before shoving her arm beneath it as though searching for something. Of all of the things he could possibly expect for her to retrieve, a silver-net was not one of them. He adds that to the list of questions he has for her once they get this situation under control.

She’s back on her face and hurdling across the house like a bat out of hell when Mr. Roland decides to make another appearance in the form of a pair of ghostly arms emerging from the white walls. A stone drops in his gut when he realises there’s no way he can reach her before the grasping arms of the apparition wrap around her shoulders.

“DUCK!” he hollers, an iron taste filling his mouth. She immediately dives for the floor and–

He loses sight of her past the walls of the hallway.

The pounding of his heart drowns out the noises that follow, his legs carrying him across the house on autopilot. The cold air stings every inch of exposed skin as he closes the distance to the active haunting, but it’s not nearly as cold as the blood in his veins when he spots the telltale sparkle of silver on the rug outside the bedroom. He ducks to grab the net and sweeps through the doorway just in time to watch her body fly across the room.

Even the brutal screaming had paled in comparison to the sound of her head hitting the bed frame.

𝔑𝔢𝔵𝔱 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 ⇢ ℭ𝔬𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔬𝔬𝔫…

taglist (if your name is in bold, it wouldn't let me tag you!): @tessas4 @chloejaniceeee @shakespearseclipse @ettadear @kassandra1000 @stardust611 @ell0ra-br3kk3r

𝔉𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔞𝔤𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱 𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔞𝔤𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱, 𝔱𝔞𝔭 [𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢]

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wannab-urs · 8 months

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The Spreadsheet Digest - Vol 18

Hi friends!! I have 19 absolutely fantastic fics for you this week.

There are so fucking many incredible fics coming out every day in this fandom and I cannot possibly keep up with them all. I am in constant awe of the Pedro fandom and the gorgeous work that comes out of it at a frankly alarming rate.

If you if you're tagging me in stuff and I'm not interacting with it, just know it's on my list and I'll get there eventually <3

As always you can peruse my Spreadsheet here and you can find all my previous fic rec lists here.

Recs below the absolutely stunning photo of our collective husband

a lover's pinch - a joel series by @hier--soir

I love a fuck first, feelings later situation. I love it even more when you have a super fucking hot bathroom fuck with an older man and he ends up being your PROFESSOR!!! God this was fantastic. I really love the way they can't stay away from each other. That one thing that happens in part two, you know the one, had me barking like a rabid dog. This is hot. And it's beautifully written. I'm excited for the feelings to come in.

Mr. Miller - a joel series by @tremendum

I read the first installment of this fic a while ago, I'm assuming before I made the spreadsheet because it wasn't on here. Picked it back up this week and oh my god. Joel is mean, emotionally constipated, a little stupid. Reader is also mean, emotionally constipated, and a little stupid. The way these two crash into each other, a little violent, a lot desperate... it's gorgeous and devastating. I could read about these two forever

Revenge - a Dave York one shot by @toomanystoriessolittletime

Forced cucking is hot idgaf. In this one, your husband is a blatant and unrepentant cheater and his boss helps you get back at him. Dave is sexy and menacing in this. There's subtle hints to his darker side, but it's never directed at you. He takes care of you in a way your husband never has and makes your husband watch the whole thing -- without anything more than his words btw. Husband isn't tied down, he's just terrified.

I know it when I see it - a Joel series by @bageldaddy

Pornstar!joel, pornstar!reader, set in the 70s (? nixon?) the fucking golden age of porn. This isn't your usual "aspiring porn actress fucks big bad joel miller and gets hooked" fic, even though it is that kind of fic. It's a really fresh take, with some really fucking good emotional dynamics and shit going on. The smut is filthy, dirty, gorgeous, delicious, perfect -- but the emotional grit in there with it? The struggles that both reader and Joel are experiencing and the way they're navigating (or failing to navigate) them? Stunning. I'm so invested in this series

Yes, Chef - a Joel series by @sempersirens

Mean.... secretly soft.... Joel. I love this! It's a Chef!Joel AU and the reader is a chef in his kitchen. They start secretly hooking up. I love the way this is written so much??? The angst is so good also. I cannot wait to read more of this.

The Layover - a Frankie series by @goodwithcheese

This fic, man. God damn. Reader kept pissing me off (this is a compliment, btw, i love it when reader makes me feel things) because of all her hang ups with Frankie. Frankie is so perfect. He's soft, caring, sweet. He's worked on his trauma and come such a long way and he's such a good dad. Reader is a wonderful mom and I see where she's coming from with all of her decisions even if they make me SCREAM. And the reason it makes me scream when she pushes Frankie away is because when they meet in the middle? When they get all tangled up in each other after days or weeks of staying away? It's stunning, mind blowing, earth shattering. I don't know how anyone could resist

The House - a Jack series by @gemmahale

Okay I kinda fucked up and only read the first chapter of this series because I have ADHD and I had to go do something and then I never went back. BUT seeing it on my list just reminded me how fucking excited I am to read this. The first chapter sets up such a good story. I love the suspense... Why does statesman give a fuck about her dad's land? How does she know Jack? How well does she know Jack? AHHHH what is going ON???? I'm immediately reading more of this after posting the digest bc oh my god???

Common Grounds - a Marcus Pike series by @whataperfectwasteoftime

I am, as usual, absolutely in love with the way Penny writes Marcus. I love love love reader's backstory and that she's an artist. I loved her kind of pining for him while he waited for Teresa and I adored everything after she dumps him. I just... AH. And like... in this one... he has this darker undertone? Some of that inner turmoil jumping out maybe idk, but it made the smut gorgeous. I was in awe, for real. He's so gentle and sweet with reader in the coffee shop and on their dates and stuff and then he just kind of snaps, but even then there's like a feeling that he's restraining himself? It's unbelievably hot. No one does Dom Marcus quite like Penny... got me fuckin droolin got DAMN

Friendly Competition - a TF boys (no Tom, and mostly Frankie) one shot by @absurdthirst

This was so hot. Literally reader just gets blindfolded and dicked down by all the boys and Frankie is a sex god. Perfect. And there's some really cute feelings in there too. There's more installments to this as well and they are just as fucking lovely. I loved the plot twist in the second one -- was not expecting that. God absurdthirst really is out here writing down all my fantasies....

Go ahead and cry little girl - aJack one shot by @xdaddysprincessxx

Okay obviously I love this because Reader is called Agent Gin... but also reader does a little sex work on the side and she accidentally sends a lil somethin somethin to Jack and he goes all Daddy on her and it is SO FuCKING HoT OH MY GOd

Eat - a Joel one shot by @notjustjavierpena

Men suck, usually, and won't put in the effort to make you cum with their mouth. And this is why reader doesn't really ever ask for it or even want it.. it's a waste of time. Oh but our lovely dbf!Joel proves her so very wrong in this fic. Joel is so soft and sweet and sexy in this UGH

The right wrong number - a Joel one shot by @proxima-writes

I read more than one wrong number fic this week lol. Anyway this was SO hot. Joel is a dirty talking god in this. and then the like slow build up with the soccer coach? The way they are so totally dancing around flirting with each other and Sarah is egging it on and then by pure chance they find out.... HE was the dirty talking dom with the gorgeous cock? Excellent. This is so good UGH. I want a part two in that sex club.

Gotta Start With a Good Foundation - a Joel one shot by @bonezone44

This is a part of a series called Sacred Spaces where Reader and Joel talk to each other, no actual smut, and.... just give it a read. I love these so much. This one is kind of a dom/sub relationship negotiation thing and it's gorgeous

In Every Lifetime - an Ezra series by @xdaddysprincessxx

Witch!Reader and Demon!Ezra!!!! I love this. I love the setting. The mysterious spell book. The ritual. I'm so excited to see where this goes. Demon Ezra is sexy omg

Late Night Texts - a Javi P series by @undercoverpena

SOFT JAVI ALERT!!!! Set after the events of season 3, Javi is back in Laredo and he's lonely. Then he gets a text from a wrong number and subsequently racks up the biggest phone bill the year 2000 has ever seen. This fic is soft and sweet and flirty and adorable with a touch of angst (long distance things). The smut is sequestered in bonus scenes if you want to skip it, but it's so worth reading. It's so good. I love this fic AHHHH

Bad Idea, Right - a Dieter one shot by @proxima-writes

Yes, hooking up with your ex is usually a bad idea. Especially when it's Dieter Bravo. But I sure as shit wouldn't say no. Guys.... Proxima made the motherfucker CRAWL. If my ex dieter is crawling across the floor to eat me out... who am i to say no. Seems like a great idea actually. Also they're both still clearly down bad for each other and we love that.

Hard Work Gets Rewarded - a Joel and his crew one shot by @walkintotheriveranddisappear

This is like... if you looked at my search history -- if I had one ;) -- you would find this. Straight out of my depraved fantasies you've got contractor!Joel and his very sexy crew giving you the fuck of a lifetime. We got a little breeding kink, a little DVP, a little cum on every part of your body, situation. This is... so hot.

like rabbits blinded by the light - a Joel one shot by @walkintotheriveranddisappear

Yeah so I read a depraved smut fantasy and then jumped on over to this. This is stunning, emotional. it has depth. I love the way Joel finds her and I love the way they stick together and I love the ending. This is sad and sweet, a little painful, very human. I loved it

the world tipped on its side - a Frankie series by @idolatrybarbie

Chronic pain havers -- you will love this one!! Reader has chronic pain from an injury. I'm two chapters in and I'm hooked. There's a lot of trauma and fucked up shit swirling around in both reader and Frankie's heads and it's just under the surface as of chapter two. I love the set up here -- stunt coordinator!reader and stunt pilot!Frankie -- it's really interesting and not something I've read before. (i think i did read a stunt pilot!Frankie / actor!reader / actor!Dieter thing once though lemme know if y'all want that link). Bea writes beautifully and I'm so excited for more of this series.

---------------------- oldies but goodies -------------------------

Wanna bet?, Lingerie, Morning, Afternoon, and Evening - Dieter one shots by @write-and-buried

I'm being so for real right now Every Single Fic by @prolix-yuy - I have almost her entire masterlist on my spreadsheet and this seemed easier than linking them all.

And the same for like everything by @ezrasbirdie, I have so many of their fics on my list.

---------------- my fics --------------------

My most recent fic is This Night Has Opened My Eyes - a Javi P one shot.

--- I have written for Joel, Frankie, Ezra, Javi P, Mr. Ben, Veracruz, Max Phillips, and my darling boy Dieter, you can find those here

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

Happy Reading!

#fic recs #the spreadsheet digest #fanfiction recommendations #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro fics #pedro pascal character fanfiction

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emmabirb8 · 1 year

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As much as I absolutely adore the Nandermo relationship dynamic, it can be so frustrating sometimes.

Like, Nandor loves Guillermo so so much, but he is too emotionally stunted and repressed to actively show him that in ways that Guillermo can understand, so Guillermo believes he doesn't feel the same way he does. That disconnect becomes even stronger with Nandor's tendency to reject Guillermo's efforts to show him how he feels, especially when he denies Guillermo's attempts for something as simple as a hug every single time. Because of this frustration and because Nandor is often dismissive, aloof, and emotionally closed off, Guillermo lashes out and strains what intimacy they do have, not even realizing how he's hurting his own chances of forming a deeper connection by doing so.

Meanwhile, Nandor does actually express his feelings in LOTS of different instances in his own himbo way, but because Guillermo isn't responding positively to those ways Nandor has found, Nandor is likewise led to believe Guillermo doesn't love him back. (Most everybody has figured this out, but that's why he's held out so long on making Guillermo into a vampire - in Nandor's mind, if Guillermo doesn't love him, he won't stay, but he will stick around if he wants Nandor to sire him.) It's a quintessential version of "the love is requited (very, very requited), they're both just idiots" trope. It's just that the "idiots'' part stems from a total lack of proper communication, both verbal and nonverbal, on both ends.

See, these bitches are so intensely in love with each other, but they haven't quite figured out that they speak different languages when it comes to attempting to express that love. And I don't just mean that they utilize different love languages either (though Nandor tends to gravitate toward gift giving while Guillermo goes for acts of service). Both of them have actually expressed some form of each of the five love languages to each other at different points through the series. No, what I mean is that, being as repressed as they are, they each are at a point where they need direct, explicit, and blatantly obvious signals from the other to truly believe the love is requited. Buuuttt neither has yet found what those signals should be, partially because they each struggle with verbalizing their feelings (esp to each other's faces) and partially because they each require different signals to really get it.

Nandor focuses on gift giving and taking action, such as saving Guillermo's life on multiple occasions and trying to make him more happy/comfortable in his role as familiar and bodyguard in various ways. And for someone so repressed and hesitant, that's great! He's at least developed some techniques over the years of showing how he feels. However, in order to convey those feelings to Guillermo clearly, he needs to be more emotionally vulnerable with him and express himself through words as well as actions. Stating his feelings directly is key for Guillermo in particular - it's been shown/implied at least a couple of times when they've had arguments that Guillermo would prefer Nandor be up front and direct about what he's thinking and feeling. And obviously, another important step would be for Nandor to stop his habit of rejecting Guillermo's advances and allow him to follow through on attempts to show his affection (such as through hugging - damn it Nandor, let Guillermo fucking hug you).

On the other hand, Guillermo focuses on acts of service as well as taking action, such as becoming a vampire slayer in order to keep Nandor safe despite the fact he loves vampires. The problem with Guillermo's expressions is that for the most part, Nandor doesn't perceive his service and actions as indications of love. Nandor thinks Guillermo is only fulfilling his familiar and bodyguard duties and doesn't know or understand the full extent of how above and beyond Guillermo has always gone for his sake out of devotion and love. So for Guillermo to really get it through Nandor's head that he loves him, he needs to make a point to do activities with Nandor outside of his working hours as a familiar/bodyguard, and verbally say that he wants to spend time with him as a "friend" and not just go through the motions of his usual duties. This way, Nandor will (hopefully) understand that Guillermo values their time together and wants to be around him even outside of performing as a servant. And ofc, he ALSO needs to be more emotionally vulnerable and talk more openly with Nandor.

I'm obviously not a therapist, but I think this would fix them. At the very least, it would finally set them in the right direction of realizing and accepting their love for each other and doing something about it. Preferably in the form of Guillermo railing Nandor against that snazzy new bar of his until they both see stars. 💖💖💖

#what we do in the shadows #wwdits #wwdits fx #nandermo #nandor the relentless #guillermo de la cruz #nandor and guillermo #wwdits nandor #wwdits guillermo #wwdits analysis #wwdits meta #my posts

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dawnagustd · 1 year

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for hours couple can I get reader wanting to get her nails redone and asking jk what shape and style she should get and if he can pay for them and cus he's whipped he will 🤭

pairing: hours!jungkook x f!reader

genre: fwbs | neighbors to lovers

word count: 0.6k

rating: 18+

author's note: This is a month after reader starts visiting Jungkook's apartment but they've know each other longer than this, of course. They're neighbors. I changed the prompt up a little bit because I felt like it'd be more meaningful if he just offered to pay instead of her asking. I think it suits their dynamics better. This can be read as a stand alone but this is the main story. Thank you @hobeemin for looking over this for me. I love you!!

“The usual, right?”

You look at your nails carefully, examining them before you answer. This shape makes your fingers look weird when you don’t choose the right polish. You miss the old days but you had to make some compromises.

“Nah, let’s try short this time. Same shape,” you reply.

“What?!”

Both your nail tech and Jungkook, who’s paused his video game, look at you in disbelief. Like you're speaking gibberish.

“Why are you getting them short?” Jungkook asks.

Your phone sits on the device station propped against the mount so you can see the FaceTime call and check your notifications without messing up your nails.

You shrug your shoulders. “Just want something different, I guess.”

“You can just try another shape,” your nail tech suggests.

“Yeah, I agree,” Jungkook adds.

You roll your eyes because you don’t think it’s a big deal. You can’t get what you want so the length doesn’t really matter to you.

“Then what should I get then?”

The question was directed toward your nail tech, but Jungkook speaks up instead.

“How you used to wear them... Like when you first started coming over to my place.”

He picks up his controller and resumes his game while he talks to you, describing the shape he’s speaking of best he can. “The vampire shape. I like those; they’re sexy.”

“Dude, you mean coffin?”

Jungkook snaps his fingers. “Ah, yes. That’s it.”

You’d kill to have coffin nails again, but they’re too high maintenance for the kind of sex you and Jungkook have. Besides, you remember how badly you scratched up his back the first time he fucked you. You felt bad, so you changed the shape to oval so you wouldn’t hurt him as much.

“I don’t know,” you sigh. “I like those a lot but I don’t wanna rip your skin open anymore.”

You mumble the last part so that only he can hear, and he responds with a laugh.

“I’m good, baby. I like pain.” Jungkook glances at his phone and winks.

Your nail tech can probably see steam rising from your cheeks because they’re on fire. Jungkook is smirking proudly, knowing he’s got a reaction out of you.

“Yeah, we really like those,” he adds, grabbing his dick. The lady walking past you chokes on air after looking the wrong way at the wrong time. You offer a small apology as you're ogling at the bulge forming in his sweatpants. “Matter of fact, how much are they?... Everything.”

“Like my entire appointment?... Gosh, I’m embarrassed,” you laugh.

“Yeah, all of it.”

You go over everything you’ve gotten done at the spa while Jungkook has paused the FaceTime call. You know he’s still listening because he gives an “mhm” every time you pause. Once you’ve come up with an estimate you look at your nail tech, who has your invoice and you’re given a nod, letting you know you’re in the right range.

You’ve been coming here since high school so you already know how much everything costs, but you still ask out of respect. You repeat the total so Jungkook can hear, thinking he’s about to tease you for spending so much, but to your surprise, he doesn’t.

“Cool,” he answers, switching back to the video call. “Hey, I’m gonna finish this game, but I’ll see you later, okay?”

Wow.

“Kay, bye.”

“Bye, love.”

When the call ends, your missed notifications come across your screen. A few from Instagram, Tumblr, and a missed call that says Spam Risk, but the last bubble grabs all of your attention.

“He Cash App’d me. The fuck?”

“Someone’s got a man,” your nail tech teases.

Your smile spreads before you can stop it.

“Will you stop it? He’s not my man.”

Your argument is dismissed with a scoff. “Mhm.”

“I don’t, though.”

Not yet, at least.

#jungkook x reader #jungkook fanfics #jungkook imagines #fic: hours #bts fanfics #bts x reader #bts imagines #sugakookitty

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shoujomangathoughts · 7 months

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Shoujo Thoughts - Snow White with the Red Hair

This is another series that I've heard about for years and finally gave it a chance (watched the anime then immediately went to the manga). It's a series that I find very charming, relaxing and was a nice change of pace for me and my usual tastes.

I remember seeing people warning others how "you shouldn't read the manga" because apparently it gets boring and is overstaying its welcome story-wise. While I don't think everything that has happened so far is entirely necessary, I think this sentiment comes from people wanting the more romance focused parts from the beginning to remain throughout. If you haven't read the manga, Shirayuki gets (and takes) an opportunity to help her studies as an herbalist but this results in two years away from the palace, and therefore Zen. They're still together here and there, but the manga starts leaning in a more slice of life direction and the romance is a bit more subdued. I actually appreciated this and found the individual adventures and growth of Zen and Shirayuki more interesting at times as Zen tries to learn and be a better prince and Shirayuki continues her studies and tries to reach people.

Zen and Shirayuki do have a nice relationship though and I find the romance to be pretty well done. They both have that awkward energy and are trying to navigate their own lives as well as their relationship.

The presentation and world of this series is another captivating point for me. The anime was visually great and I thought the manga's art was really nice too. It has a whimsical style and shows you a lot of small interactions and details. It makes the world feel lived in and allows you to have a clear idea of the cast and their personalities. I specifically really like the visual of Lilias and its snow covered imagery (as well as the wintry outfits).

The main cast is also mostly likeable. The way they interact with each other feels natural and they each have their own charm that adds something unique to the dynamic. Even the part that had people frustrated with Mitsuhide didn't bother me as much because I could understand how that was a very in-character decision for him.

Favorite character : Obi

I do find that Obi is the most charismatic character in the series for me. He's obviously had a difficult life but he also seems so genuinely affected by having found a group of people that he comes to value. Every time he's around he adds something, whether it be a witty remark or demonstrating his ability to be a bodyguard. Yes he loves Shirayuki, but the series doesn't really show that Shirayuki loves him back (basically the series isn't really leaning into the love triangle direction). Though I do appreciate that she has on multiple occasions told him how much she values him because he does do and help her a lot. He also seems to have good chemistry with the rest of the cast (particularly in his interactions with Shirayuki and Zen though I also love his relationship with Ryu).

All in all, I've found this to be a really enjoyable series up to the current chapter (sad to see it's on hiatus, hope the mangaka is doing well). I'm not entirely sure how long it will continue as the scope of the story seems to suggest it still has a while left, but I'll be continuing it whenever it does come back.

It's been a little bit since I posted one of these but as always, thanks for reading!

#shoujo #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #manga #anime

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gender-trash · 2 months

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okay i AM going to turn reblogs off for this one --

i think we need to talk more about the collective trauma of being part of an online community that a different online community is directing coordinated, nonstop harassment towards. this is the part of the post i am so close to deleting or leaving in the drafts, because i'm (still!) anticipating anon asks like, how dare YOU, an asexual, compare YOUR experience to that of REAL queer people -- and i have no experience of being a transfeminine person on tumblr but i get the impression it is way way worse than aphobia was at its height. but like -- the experience of having your queer subcommunity harassed sucks! hardcore sucks! and has a variety of shitty knock-on effects on the health of the community! and i wanna commiserate with other people who've had that experience!

(also, i can't stand the sj "how dare you compare bad thing A to bad thing B when B is clearly much worse" rhetorical move. sometimes bad things are bad in similar ways and it's useful to talk about that similarity without necessarily making any claims about relative severity.)

i also think we need better tools and mental models for thinking of harassment as not just a one-to-one relationship, but a many-to-many relationship -- "moderation" as a concept seems to exclusively deal with individual posts or at best individual accounts, when, like. the social graph exists; clustering algorithms exist; i don't trust their reliability enough to want to bring down the website banhammer on anyone in a particular cluster, but i would absolutely fucking love a "block this blog and everyone within three degrees of separation of them" button. or something along those lines -- hey, i'm just spitballing here. a mental model of bad actors on a website as not just individual bad actors, but badly-acting communities with internal dynamics.

in every community of recreational bullies i've ever closely observed on tumblr (terfs, truscum, aphobes, various flavors of shipping drama), the following dynamics are present:

members of the community socially reward other members for engaging in harassment, and encourage new members to engage in harassment

members of the community screenshot and pass around often-equally-rude responses from the people they're harassing, as "proof" that these people are Incredibly Harmful and therefore the harassment is Morally Good, even Important, and that the harassing community are actually embattled victims valiantly fighting the oppressor

usually an Opposition Community forms, with the mission of harassing the bully community and exactly the same group dynamics, and the "original" bullies + opposition bullies become a self-sustaining feedback loop of harassment, because each group is constantly giving the other one more material to pass around and rile themselves up with

each community forms an incredibly specific and characteristic dialect of shorthand language that updates frequently as the community they're harassing gets wise and starts blacklisting keywords (when i was most recently on a terf blocking spree, "febfem", "TiM", and "moid" were big ones). engaged community members rapidly become unable to interact with anyone who is not Very Online, isolating them so that the community is now their main social circle

eventually the community comes up with some chain of reasoning, no matter how strained, for calling the objects of their hatred pedophiles

occasionally someone in the community will actually Go Too Far and bring down the banhammer on themselves. they remake their blog within days or weeks (due to the profit incentives of running a social media website, users are sucked into becoming hopelessly addicted -- especially users who are in so deep that they can no longer figure out how talk to people who aren't up on the Incredibly Specific Group Vocabulary). they are promptly passed around as a martyr

you'll notice that the main forces that keep the feedback loop going are a feeling of victimization -- if you feel like you're a righteous, oppressed victim, then you can justify little a death threat as a treat against the evil outgroup who is oppressing you, right? -- a community that rewards its members socially both for harassing others and for being harassed, and isolationist tendencies that make it difficult for community members to get social reward anywhere other than within the community.

it seems that, if you want to be able to deal with a group like this, you need to have some strategy for countering those forces -- whereas conventional moderation efforts mostly feed into the victimization mindset. maybe you need to somehow wall off the harassing community and the responding opposition harassers from each other, so that as far as each group is concerned the other one doesn't exist. maybe you need better tools so users with the characteristics that the harassing community targets can block the entire harassing community all at once. i don't actually know! but i doubt we're going to get anywhere without at least a basic understanding of system dynamics!!

#the trashcan speaks #webbed site

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nemoys · 8 months

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a very long messy review of link click (season 2)

alright so reading through a bunch of (mostly negative) reviews of the season thus far i've come to my own conclusions over how this season felt, and i really feel like addressing them since i personally feel like it deserves recognition (and rightful criticism) within certain aspects. really interested in everyone's takes so lmk whatever you think about all these aspects i'm about to gloss over.

NOTE ; i'm not going to be talking about the art direction or OSTs . i believe those have been nothing short of phenomenal and i feel like we can all universally agree over that

1) tonal shift : from a more emotionally driven s1, coupled with sprinkles of slice of life moments, we turn to a mostly thriller/mystery plot line. personally, i've always seen this coming. the tonal shift really didn't take me by surprise. with the lg stabbing at the end of season 1 it almost seemed inevitable that the more light hearted aspects of the first season weren't going to happen. more importantly, it was very clear that there was always a higher presence to fight. link click was always meant to be a thriller, this was always the plan, and so i suppose logically i assumed the second season would follow that path. i understand how people might've felt disappointed, or 'robbed', but i don't think the shift was all that shocking quite honestly, it was always set up. link click was never light hearted, even at s1.

the more shocking shift has to be the shift from an emotional, to suspenseful change in writing. the emotional writing in link click has always been the best part of the show and that hasn't changed, the emotionally driven plot lines of s2 (chen bin, ltc/ltx) have been written very well. the suspenseful writing also works. replaces the tear jerkers with an unsettling anxiety, and it's executed relatively well. you can clearly tell that the crew's been experimenting quite a lot with this season, and yes, that's usually what season 2 is for.

2) pacing : now i totally get the criticism in this aspect. in my opinion, the weakest part of s2's been the pacing. with overly drawn out fight scenes, and unnecessarily long recaps, i think the issue has to do with the fact that lc just has a LOT to address, and so it makes us feel less inclined to sit through longer scenes that don't directly advance the plot.

obviously i get that the fight scenes show off a lot of the animation budget #tm and they do look great but the fact that we had way too much time dedicated to a five minute long fighting cutscene in the FIRST episode just made me feel impatient.

3) red herring endings: alright this might be an unorthodox opinion but, aren't red herring cliff hangers a norm in general with these kinds of shows lol. idk i've come to expect the total opposite every time so it doesn't really bother me i guess i'm just used to the medium. not really a lc problem it's a story telling problem in general but that's just marketing i don't know what else to say.

it'd be nice if they followed through but some part of me thinks they're pulling a whole boy who cried wolf situation, eventually they'll pull the trigger when we don't really expect it.

4) shipping/ main trio reconciliations : it's a really serious ongoing situation. i kind of get why the main trio/shiguang don't get a chance to talk things over amongst themselves, it just isn't the time. keep in mind everything that's happening rn is happening continuously, there are no gaps within the days or anything, kind of makes sense that they don't really talk about it. they probably will get to once it's all over, which might be well into s3. again, this was always meant to be a thriller more than it was trio focused. also idk about you guys but i think we actually did get a lot of sweet moments within the trio, cxs and lg, even the sibling dynamic with ql and cxs were really lovely this season.

5) the women: okay i REALLY don't understand the problem here. the women are written well. ql is written FANTASTICALLY and all side characters like ltx and that one red eyed lady i'm forgetting the name of were great too. hell even chen bin's wife was great. i think for a donghua/anime where women are usually given dirt in terms of actually strong writing, lc has always been very solid. their lives do not revolve around the men in the show it just happens to be that men are a part of their lives. they have very distinct personalities and aren't treated like weird objects to gaze at (what a bar lol) but yes i do think the women are written quite dimensionally.

6) unanswered questions : when have linear shows ever answered questions (especially mc based) in season 2?? when has season 2 EVER tied loose ends? when it comes to linear television, season 2's purpose almost always build towards a greater evil/climax. there's a reason why season 2 hasn't answered questions we've had, season 2s in most shows rarely ever do. from what i can tell, with a confirmed s3, i've always expected s2 to simply do its job as a second season and further raise stakes and raise even more questions. i do get the frustration, i get the lack of any backstory, but i want to refrain from making any actual comments over that till every episode's aired ahah, however, im not too mad at it. i just think this show's ride is currently still at an increasing accelerated pace (guys i'm sorry i study physics), things will only be explained once we've once hit the climactic point or go downhill right after. time will tell i guess

Conclusion

overall, i think this season was actually pretty solid. s1 set a very unrealistically high bar, as s1 in my opinion is one of the best seasons in television period. but s2 and s1 shouldn't be compared in the same way, their tone is quite different, and needs to be analysed individually instead. i'll make a complete review once the season is over, but honestly i've come to enjoy the season most when i stop expecting too much out of it. i think people had way too many things they've expected from s2, that were bound to simply never happen.

that said, i do hope the crew takes the valid criticism regarding the pacing (and ig the character focus?) into consideration and implements it well into s3. it's worth noting that i believe nothing was meant to be complete with s2 in the first place.

i've really enjoyed this season, and i'm beyond ecstatic to rewatch it all once it's done airing, in order to properly take it all in. it's had its flaws, more than s1 has had (let's be real s1 had little to none). but that's bound to happen to shows when they head down their linear routes. currently sitting at a 7/10

#link click #link click spoilers #shiguang dailiren #cheng xiaoshi #lu guang #qiao ling #this is still my favourite show ahaha #had to make this because i got tired of the overly negative views i've been seeing #some are fascinating and perfectly valid of #but some plainly disregard the effort put into it #calling it unrefined or insulting the very clearly passionate crew is NOT the right way to criticise a show #i really enjoyed reading negative reviews that had tact though'#lmk what you guys thought i'm very interested

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found-family-tournament · 8 months

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Found Family Tournament Round 2 Part 6 Group 28

Propaganda and further images under the cut

(Mod Note: For increased clarity, Ghost House’s name and photo have been altered)

Chimeron: Evan Kelmp, Karen Kieko Tanaka, Whitney Jammer, Sam Black

Bad Kids: Riz "The Ball" Gukgak, Adaine Abernant, Fabian Aramaris Seacaster, Gorgug Thistlespring, Figueroth "Fig" Faeth, Kristen Applebees (& Ragh Barkrock)

Chimeron:

They’re just my little guys I love them so so much :((( sweetest guys ever

Bad Kids:

before i start the pictures below are by isawiitch (https://www.tumblr.com/isawiitch), victor rosas (https://twitter.com/SirVictorThe2nd), and m0nomercy (https://www.tumblr.com/m0nomercy) respectively check them out they're very cool and also that middle guy did the official art for fantasy high its very cool

anyways

all of these dumb teens are just god they complete each other they're the most important people in the world to each other like fabian and gorgug meeting with a punch to the stomach and going on to share a hug in an evil forest and "DO YOU WANT ME TO BITE IT OUT FOR YOU" "the ball, wait" -riz and fabian and kristen's really bad inspiring speech (they're gonna get inspiring real soon) but they are inspiring because they're from the best and sweetest friend in the whole world and gorgug getting razzed a little for thinking random people are his dad and the sheer joy everyone felt for him when he met his real parents and RIZ THE BALL GUKGAK AND FABIAN SEACASTER THE DUO OF ALL TIME and adaine learning to be a normal teen and fig swearing she's not an open person when she pours her heart out to her friends every chance she gets and riz and adaine being the only two non-horny members of the team and bonding over that and being smart but terrible in social interactions together and "its called being gay, when you're here you're family" -kristen applebees, 2019 and fig starting a band with gorgug, one of the more socially awkward members of the party and "what would riz do" "you bite down hard on a piece of glass" and adaine's actual worst fear being what she would become after her friends passed and the KILL YOUR DAD chant and its gorgug keep going and all of them feeling each others' overcoming of fear in the forest of the nightmare king no matter how far apart they are and riz shooting off an incel's fingers for being weird about adaine (there was other stuff going on but you can't convince me that it wasn't at least partially because of that) and the gang not really letting gorgug and kristen forget that one time they died (they got better and were psychologically okay with it after a bit so this was lighthearted jabs and not straight-up reminding them of a big traumatic moment) and "my friends were warmer to me on the first day that we met than you were to me in my whole life" -adaine abernant, 2020

AND that doesn't even include all the crazy stuff with bad kids-adjacent found family members like gilear faeth getting his life back together thanks to these teens and jawbone o'shaughnessy being the dad of all time to the point where he actually adopts adaine at the end of sophomore year and aelwyn abernant holy shit (she's harder to justify here because her main important interactions are with her sister, unlike gilear who is technically fig's stepdad but is a core part of the found family in all directions) aelwyn abernant is trying so desperately hard to be better and ayda aguefort and adaine swapping homemade spells named after each other (adaine kills her dad with hers its a good time) and ragh barkrock getting over his internalized homophobia

SO IN CONCLUSION these guys have changed each other so much and every single combination of them, be it a duo or a trio or whatever has a distinct dynamic thats so so important to me. they're all family to each other, some of them more than even their real families. they are the guys of all time and my blorbos even and are a wicked good found family

Sometimes a family is the kids who all got detention together on the first day of school at adventuring academy.

And sometimes that family is:

A Half-elf-Half-Pirate rich boy who killed toxic masculinity by learning how to dance, and mercy-killed his father by stabbing him with a sword.

"The Greatest Wizard of this Age" (actually a Barbarian who took a level in artificer to boost his cellphone-reception to call and apologize to his satyr girlfriend) Half-Orc drummer who was adopted by Gnomes;

A bisexual Punk-rocker Tiefling who thought she was a wood-elf until her horns came-in & caused her and her adoptive father to discover that her biological father is actually an Archdevil;

The Elven Oracle (later just "The Oracle"/"Everybody's Oracle") who was adopted by the school's Werewolf Guidance Councilor after her evil parents disowned her (she later punched her evil bio-dad to death in a single round of combat, despite being a magic caster);

An aro-ace (un)licensed Private Investigator Goblin who carries a briefcase and ate the face of the dragon that ate his father;

And a lesbian ex-fundie human who met the corn-god her family worships, found out he sucks & left the church and her family, CREATED HER OWN GOD (of Buzzfeed listical symbols, known first as "YES!" then later "YES?"), only to then abandon that god to become the Saint of the long forgotten Goddex/Goddess of Mystery, Night and Magic.

(Optionally, add in the Half-Orc repressed-gay bully they befriended and helped come out)

And sometimes, that found family becomes a literal family, because over the course of the series:

Fig's mom starts dating Adaine's adoptive dad,

Fig's adoptive dad gets engaged to Fabian's mom,

Fig's biological dad starts dating Riz's mom,

Kirsten starts dating the niece of Adaine's adoptive dad/Fig's mom' boyfriend.

(Gorgug is the only one who still isn't related to the others, but he did find his biological parents. And although he still lives with his adoptive parents, he is now in the famous band "Fig and the Cig Figs" along-side his bio-parents, Fig, and Fig's bio-dad)

Currently, Fig, Adaine, Kirsten, Fig's mom, Adaine's adopted dad, Kirsten's GF, Adaine's biological older sister, Adaine's sister's ghost fiancé, Ragh, Ragh's mom, and Fig's Half-Phoenix librarian/pirate GF all live in one giant haunted old Victorian-style Manor.

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royjamieprompts · 3 months

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Super whump jamie centric prompt / trigger warning for CSA, SA, james tartt and zava being assholes. It could be RJ/RJK (but also would love soft Will being present somehow and I love coach Bear and Jamie silent supportive relationship) ................................................................................................... ................................................................................................... I just have the icks every time I see the way Zava is around Jamie, both the way he touches him and talks to him, so I couldn't help but think of a scenario in which those touches go slightly beyond what is in canon and into sexual harassment and assault (grabbing him in inappropriate places, threatening him, making sexual gestures, and general violence like grabbing him at the back of his head like in the weight room) etc. Now from Jamie's POV he first of all struggles with "learned silence" and is unable to enforce boundaries (which is a very common thing among survivors of CSA and we're assuming he's not ever said anything about Amsterdam and this is pre-bike ride with Roy + he's canonically bad at setting boundaries with his own father and already has an off relationship with his own body #LCA). He also doesn't want to antagonize the team again since they're finally friends again and they're all super into Zava so he just really struggles every day with Zava being a piece of shit to him, everyone loving his abuser, even the coaches not taking his suggestion when he puts it out as "for the good of the team" etc

Maybe he finds support in an expected figure like Trent Crimm or Leslie or Will (my heart has a soft spot for Jamie and Will cuddling, a couple of puppies!) or Dr OSullivan or Dr Sharon.

To make it even worse, but it's not really part of the main prompt I guess, there would be something even more awful that could have happened aka either Denbo/Bug (who are aware of Amsterdam) harassing him once back in Manchester (threatening to tell Georgie or making jokes about maybe Jamie not liking it cause it was a woman) or someone at Man City academy (like a doctor or a physio - I feel weird it being a coach because then it'd make the royjamie of it all very hard to explore - who sees Jamie struggling post-Amsterdam, being irritable and sad and zoning out and who gets him to open up) actually betraying that trust and taking advantage of him and him being unable to speak up about it both because he just did and look what happened, but also, of course, because of shame surrounding it (and it having happened again) and not wanting to cause pain to Georgie and not wanting to be kicked out of the team like he's being threatened. So you can see how this all would cause even more conflict in Jamie wanting to speak up about Zava to the coaches at Richmond.

(Sorry for the angst! It would all, of course, need a good those of hurt/comfort because that is what we live for in the end. This is just the bad stuff of the prompt, but it can go in any direction in terms of how he does bring it up and recovery and getting help and the RJ/RJK of it all).

Zava gives me bad vibes all around, and he definitely pushes Jamie's boundaries in ways that make Jamie uncomfortable, so, unfortunately, yeah, I could see this happening, making the whole Zava arc even worse for Jamie.

I hope that all the coaches, not just Roy, find out about it because I need them all to realize that Jamie was right about Zava from the get go. I will forever be bitter at the show for the conclusion of the Zava arc being that he left himself and not that the coaches realized he was ruining the whole team's dynamic exactly like Jamie said he would. And this would make it soooo much worse.

#Roy x Jamie #Roy x Jamie x Keeley #Fanfic Prompts #TW: SA #TW: CSA #Zava #p.s thanks for the prompt #This is the first one since November

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pluralthey · 11 months

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could we get some facts abt jessies sister/their dynamic .. she is so cool i love her design

emily is older than jessie -- not by a lot, like 2 years, always just a little bit ahead of her. jessie's always felt overshadowed by emily and is a little resentful of this, but moreso deeply wants emily's approval. she wants emily to laugh at her jokes, she wants emily to think she's smart, she wants to win against emily when they play games and then get a pat on the back from her. i think it's a pretty standard youngest-eldest dynamic. emily sees jessie as another part of her life that makes her look better. how poorly jessie is doing can correlate a lot with how much effort she feels she has to put into keeping up her own appearances at a given time. she has an air of confidence by the reassurance that she's always going to be the better between the two of them in the same way jessie has an inferiority complex from the dynamic no matter how much power she has. prior to the story she's also taken care of jessie as their parents have become older and less physically able to keep up with doing so. she lives at home with them specifically to help her parents and jessie function -- still, this is moreso about taking care of jessie than of her parents, because jessie helps their parents a lot physically. that's a less charitable/more clinical way to describe their dynamic; a lot of the more complicated, unpleasant emotions are entirely subconscious. they are really close. you'll see jessie go to emily when she's feeling uncertain or being vulnerable than her parents a lot in the story, like with her powers and about starting to see this chick she likes. conversely, you'll not see much of emily opening up to jessie for emotional support because she does not see the both of them as equals. she's probably one of the most chill people about jessie's powers simply because she can't wrap her head around jessie surpassing her (in addition to feeling like someone important to jessie whom she wouldn't harm). she's also probably one of the most direct people about asking jessie for "wishes" or favors with the god powers lmfao. about emily herself outside of jessie, she's still a pretty chill person. at least part of it is from her dad, who is also very difficult to upset. she neglects some of her social life for the sake of family, but she's not really introverted. i'm still working on her profession specifically, i know she's in the same field as shiloh (tech) and 100% works on indie games (i don't think she's like, created one from the creative side beyond sparse input to a small team) to some degree. dunno if i would say this is her primary income by any means. she also participated in speedrunning communities primarily as a glitch hunter, but the hobby has been put on the backburner since she has more responsibilities. what can i say, she's a gamer girl............ she loves to figure out how to make things break and freak out, specifically. this can extend to other areas of her life as well. the dog in that one sketch comic, trouble, is also emily's dog. trouble died a couple years prior to the start of the comic, but is revived early in at the behest of emily, whose first attempt at trying to use the powers herself is trying to revive trouble. they're best buddies. their dynamic changes drastically once trouble can "talk" but i think emily handles it well (eg. when trouble says "now you sit" she laughs and sits) also, she IS trans. she started transitioning at the end of high school and by 32 she's had like every surgery known to man and is just chilling. she's also bisexual, which kind of grinds jessie's gears because it means she can't even be The Gay One in the family.

thanks for asking, i'm love answering questions about these creatures

#not art #ask #asks #idletry #sorry they're not like a random list of facts like they used to be i kind of try to contain things to being relevant to the story now #yeah the speedrunning is relevant--#not in an exciting way

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tomwambsmilk · 1 year

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ur thoughts on Tom’s attraction to men?

Ohhh boy. Well. Before we can even get to things like internalized homophobia and the idealization of the “traditional” family unit and the Tom’s lifelong ambition in a highly conservative environment necessitating a certain self-image that excludes homosexuality, we have to talk about how Tom understands masculinity and, by extension, platonic interactions and relationships between men.

(I'm answering both of these anons together because they do go hand-in-hand - you can't talk about Tom's attraction to men without talking about his feelings towards Greg).

Tom’s understanding of masculinity is very much shaped by the Waystar approach to masculinity (which is representative of a wider cultural opinion, for sure, but then we start to get into certain nuances that are beside the point, so I’m just going to refer to it as the Waystar approach for now), and that understanding focuses largely on the concept of dominance. You can't really have two equal men in any kind of relationship (friendly, platonic, antagonistic - anything); one has some kind of dominance over the other, and both (if they're masculine men) are constantly seeking to gain an edge over the other.

And this extends to how they understand love and sex as well. Women are excluded from this dominance framework, with the exception of a few women who, by virtue of their competence and their ruthlessness, are really just considered to be men (eg Gerri and Cyd - and notice how both of them have names that sound masculine?). But sex still plays into it; having a lot of casual sex and seeking their own pleasure is one way men can display dominance, and they can humiliate other men by using sexually violent language towards them. Intimacy and vulnerability are exclusive to the realm of heterosexual romantic relationships, and even that has limits - take Logan himself, who allows Marcia to witness his physical vulnerability while hiding it from everyone else, but displays very little emotional intimacy with her.

One of the immediate consequences of this attitude is that genuine friendship between men cannot exist. Every 'friendship' in the show is marked by these interpersonal dynamics, which make the kind of trust and intimacy true friendships are built on impossible. And if friendship cannot exist, then romantic or sexual attraction absolutely cannot exist, except possibly as another expression of dominance (and even that would be questionable, because by expressing attraction to another person you are giving them a degree of power over you).

So do I think Tom is attracted to men? Probably. In terms of 'what do the showrunners intend', there are a few different directions they could take canon that are plausible to me - and if they chose not to acknowledge any attraction to men on Tom's part, I wouldn't necessarily consider that to be misguided or poor writing. That's mainly because I don't think Tom understands himself as being attracted to men. And how could he? He's not allowed to be, and I'm not just talking about homophobia but that entire framework of how men are supposed to relate to each other. He's 40 years old and probably worked at Waystar for 15-20 years, which means he's internalized this enough that he's viewing all of his interactions with men through this lens without consciously realizing that's what he's doing.

This is complicated even more by the fact that for Tom, physical attraction and sex are largely indivisible from emotional attraction. Tom is not someone who enjoys casual sex; I would argue that not only does he need an emotional connection, but that the emotional connection is the origin of his attraction to someone. But in a world where emotional intimacy is taboo, that attraction becomes deeply fraught. And again, Tom himself has internalized this framework; he's bought into the idea that men should want casual sex, that attraction for men should be mostly physical, and that emotional vulnerability belongs only in the sphere of heterosexual marriage. He gets a blowjob from Tabitha and goes "Threesomes, that's the dream" because that's how he thinks he should feel, and the fact that he doesn't actually feel that way means there's something wrong with him. Already the way he experiences attraction is profoundly wrong and unmasculine even before we start bringing men into it.

I know it's fun to look at the "Would you kiss me? If I asked you to? If I told you to?" scene as a declaration of repressed attraction, but... Tom has just met Greg, some kid off the street who technically is a blood Roy but whose place in the overall Roy hierarchy has yet to be established. Tom is currently at the bottom of the totem pole, and he knows that being able to place Greg under him in that hierarchy will increase his standing. "Would you kiss me?" is not an expression of attraction, it's an attempt to utilize the same sexually dominating language we see Kendall using with Lawrence Yee and Logan using with Kendall in this same episode. But it comes out horribly wrong; instead of dominating and violent, it sounds homoerotic. It unsettles Greg, for sure, but not for the reasons Tom wanted it to.

And I think that's the foundation of their relationship. Greg is the first person in the show that Tom is truly able to dominate in some way, and Tom is also a person who is absolutely starved for emotional intimacy. So it makes sense that once Tom is confident that Greg is under his thumb - which happens pretty quickly since no one else gives a shit about him - of course, Greg is going to become the outlet for Tom's complex emotions around and desires for intimacy. Of course, Tom's expressions of dominance towards Greg are going to become increasingly homoerotic. Of course, Tom's feelings towards Greg are going to start to move more and more into the realm of attraction the longer he knows Greg and the more he develops the emotional intimacy with him that he isn't allowed to develop with anyone else. And of course, when Tom finally does start to express that attraction it has to be violent. He can't just marry him but he has to castrate him too because there might be an attraction but they're also both men, and the dominance framework is inescapable.

And, of course, I don't think Tom understands his attraction to Greg as attraction proper. I think because he's not attracted to Greg in the same way he's attracted to women, he would classify his attraction to women as Attraction proper, and his attraction to Greg as something else. I don't think starting a relationship with Greg would make him realize he's attracted to men; at least as long as they're both at Waystar and in that sphere I think he'd classify it as some kind of exception that proves the rule.

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention that yet another complicating factor is that Tom is a man who's definitely idealized the "traditional" nuclear heterosexual family ideal for a very, very long time, and who considers it part and parcel with all of his other ambitions. A long-term committed relationship with another man does not fit into that image. Even if he did get to a point where he could acknowledge his attraction to men, he's going to be deeply reluctant to commit to anything real until he lets go of that ideal - which he's unlikely to do while he's at Waystar, surrounded by other people who are also committed to that ideal. And even after he leaves, he might not, if only because this is an ideal that likely pre-dates his time at Waystar, and goes all the way back to his childhood, probably, and the fact that he is attracted to women means it's not something he ever really has to give up on or re-evaluate in the same way he would if he was exclusively attracted to men.

If Tom and Greg left Waystar together, would they be able to have a healthy and functional relationship? Maybe, but it would involve deliberately unravelling a whole lot of Tom's very deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes. If neither of them had ever gone to Waystar and met in an entirely different context? Who knows. Probably, but Tom in particular would be an entirely different person if he hadn't spent his entire professional life at Waystar. It's very fun to write the fanfic and explore the infinite possibilities out there (and btw I'm absolutely not trying to knock any of the really fabulous tomgreg aus and post-S3 tomgreg fics out there), but in terms of what we see in canon - Tom, as a character who exists in Succession, is so formed by that environment that any version of him that didn’t come up at Waystar is a fundamentally different character.

(Greg, on the other hand, has not been formed enough by Waystar to have that same kind of deeply ingrained character development. He's been shaped by it, but I think he's still elastic enough that if you remove him from the environment he'll reshape and adapt into something else. Which is why I think if a post-S3 tomgreg relationship fell apart it would be largely Tom's fault, not Greg's.)

#succession #tomgreg #meta #tom go to therapy challenge

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