#these big conspiracies are kind of fun in that way

[thebirdsandthebats]

Okay @s-p-r-i-n-g-t-i-m-e I’m sure you know plenty BUT I’m going to use your wonderful and hilarious comment on this as an excuse to talk about Bernard, bc I realized recently that there are plenty of ppl who haven’t read most of the comics he’s been in. So get ready for my long overdue:

UNPACKING BERNARD DOWD + HIS TRAUMA (for those who cannot keep up with comics but want to get to know him)

So to start, Tim met Bernard years ago ofc, when they were in high school. It’s established pretty quick that Bernard is an extremely Unserious guy LMAO, the first thing he does is literally circle Tim and try to feel him out socially, see what kind of guy he is. He’s the kind of guy who gets himself in trouble with his big mouth, and seems to enjoy poking at Tim and testing his patience. By the time we meet Bernard again in the recent years, he’s grown a lot, but at his core he’s still the light-hearted, fun, goofy guy with very strong opinions. Just less stand-offish, maybe

Throughout the time Tim spends at this school though, Bernard does experience some wild shit. He lost Darla (somebody he really cared about), he experienced a shooting at his school, and then Darla came back from the dead, kind of scared the hell out of him, and used him to contact Tim again. It was kind of played for laughs, but like. That’s gotta fuck you up. (Robin #140)

Obviously this is the kind of thing that maybeee has a lasting effect on you. And BECAUSE Tim Drake: Robin got cut so short and the writer had to rush to wrap up the series, we’re left to fill in a lot of gaps and draw conclusions about the years we didn’t see Bernard ourselves. But we absolutely get some insight as to his life after Tim left that school and we stopped seeing him in the comics. Spoiler alert: it was hard.

In TDR, Bernard discusses the the cult that he’d been in that Tim saved him from in Urban Legends. He says that “he’d accepted himself”, but others hadn’t. Obviously there’s the natural reading that he means his queerness (which has me chewing through drywall), but I think that he’s speaking very broadly too. Bernard is a very odd example of a civilian, because he’s always getting dragged into things much bigger than him. And even before that, he had his big ideas, his conspiracies, his loud personality. He tended to rub people the wrong way in high school. Then in issue #7 of TDR (the Bernard pov issue my most beloved, weird pacing aside) Bernard refers to this “oozy, sticky feeling” that he ALWAYS feels when Tim isn’t around. He says when he’s alone it’s harder to put one foot in front of the other. To keep GOING. To wake up every day.

I think that Bernard has always felt like an outcast. (Robin #121, he doesn’t fit into any clique). He wasn’t as okay with it as he acted. And I think he wasn’t getting any attention from his parents. (Batman: Urban Legends #5, Bernard’s parents nonchalance to the days leading up to his kidnapping)

So just like Bernard explained to Tim, that feeling got bad. and he wanted to let go. The chaos monsters, the cult, all of it was a means to an end. But then Tim agreed to see him again, and I think that sparked something in him. Because he started learning to fight. When he was tied down to that alter and Tim was saving him, I think it fully sank in to Bernard that he didn’t want to die. Reconnecting with Tim gave him hope and made him really feel something good for the first time in ages.

So now that they’re dating after the cult fiasco, we get to know this current Bernard. A less goading, maybe calmer Bernard. But he’s still himself, of course, rambling about his ideas and making bad jokes and sticking to his guns (he has NEVER been a pushover, no idea where people get that idea?). I think a lot of people complained that Bernard mellowed out too much in terms of attitude, but I think if he seems “nicer” it’s because 1) he’s grown now. It’s been a while since we last saw him, and he’s clearly changed a lot. And 2) because he’s dating Tim now. He likes him a lot, and he’s an affectionate partner. He wants to lift Tim up.

But the fact that he was pulled into a cult still remains. And as lighthearted as Bernard tries to be, that traumatic experience still happened. It said in Urban Legends #5 while Tim was searching for him that Bernard had welts on his arms and legs and had been acting different, so it’s not like he was just snatched up on a whim. He’d spent significant time there. For those who haven’t read much abt the ways cult trauma specifically can fuck you up, I recommend doing a search if you’re in a good headspace for that and want to understand him more. because it’s pretty bad.

And then! yeah. you guessed it. Bernard gets kidnapped again. Chained up next to a BOMB that’s counting down. RIGHT WHEN HE’S WORKING ON HEALING FROM ALMOST BEING SACRIFICED BY A CULT.

And surely this can’t get crazier. He’s almost died twice in the past 6 months. except, remember his parents? In TD:R #7, we really see a little more of his relationship with his parents. He doesn’t live up to their standards, and his dad specifically seems to just want to argue with him. The restaurant they’re at is attacked, and everything goes to shit, and. you know, I think these panels really speak for themselves.

And for the record, when it’s revealed that everyone is seeing their worst fears, Bernard’s parents fears are not about him.

So now Bernard has to deal with that. And we start to see that Bernard is really not as okay as he’s tried to be. He keeps a baseball bat by his door because he’s been kidnapped twice now. And just when he’d likely thought things couldn’t get worse, he heard the Chaos Monsters were back. I can’t imagine he feels safe. He lashes out for the first time since all this has happened and yells at Kate and Tim, because while they’re doing what they feel is necessary to save more people (AND I DONT BLAME THEM AT ALL), Bernard can’t talk about it.

And I will forever be sad and insist that TD:R got cancelled too soon, just before we could get into the really juicy stuff, because things had to be wrapped up pretty quick and this was the only comic Bernard was consistently appearing in. But when Tim is giving himself up to the chaos monsters, Bernard goes out and rallies anyone he knows can help. Things were rushed because there was no more time to flesh out the story the way it could have been, but I’m including these panels just because I love Bernard Audacity Dowd using a fucking flashlight and shadow puppet to call Batman. geeking out for a minute. And then leading the battalion to save Tim with a SLEDGEHAMMER. gay people rule.

So yeah! While I see the vision of how a lot of Bernard’s trauma was meant to be semi-resolved and let him come to peace after saving Tim back, we just didn’t have the time for him to heal properly. I’d give anything to get inside his brain again. UHH IF YOU READ THIS I HOPE YOU LOVE BERNARD NOW and don’t come at me if I left something out, some of my comics aren’t with me rn. Bonus TimBer for the road:

#WHEW IT TOOK A WHILE TO ORGANIZE THESE PANELS #Hes NOT BORING he is SO FASCINATING TO ME #i think his character is just not being utilized the way it could be #I didnt source every panel so just ask if you want to know where something is from! #bernard dowd #batfamily #dc comics #tim drake #timber #timbern

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/727841287119814656/ehh-generally-they-were-like-ask-specifics-about Can you expand on writer’s block not being real?

--

Sure!

I think everyone who's ever made art has hit points where it's hard to go on making art or where a particular project isn't moving. So from that perspective, sure, a version of it is real...

But there's a particular version of it that's what a lot of people mean where you're A Writer™ and then the magic inspiration gnomes come and steal your inspiration juice. This is mostly nonsense, and quite a few author types who've actually finished long projects will tell you so.

When you sit down to a blank page and it stubbornly stays blank like your head, that's a symptom of something... and the something in question is often either depression and overwhelmed feelings that are taking over your whole life or an entirely correct instinct that your project is flawed and the next step is not writing that next scene.

Many people try to be pantsers instead of planners, get maybe a quarter into a project, and then choke. It's because they started with the kind of concept that requires planning, but they haven't planned. If your plot revolves around the characters eventually learning the meaning of life, you'd damn well better start with what you, the author, think that meaning is and work backwards. Same if your characters are solving a twisty mystery or complicated thriller conspiracy: you will not come up with a genius idea that ties everything together just by writing by the seat of your pants. If you don't go in with the ending in mind and some waypoints to write towards, you're going to choke. This is exceptionally common in grandiose fic concepts that are like "What if this true blue hero were a viiiiillain, oooooh!" where it's neat, but 99% of the point is showing us the work of getting from A to B. People write the prologue showing us the big concept and then flash back to how it all started... and then stop.

I see it a lot in projects that start with a character sheet for RP. Yeah, for RP itself, noodling along and figuring out what X would do in situation Y is great fun... but for many longfic/novel plot types, you will not arrive at a workable plot this way. You'll end up with a mess that can, at best, be used as brainstorming and completely rewritten from the ground up, using only key cool images or character observations. There are authors that start from individual characters and then see where they go. In my experience, they don't tend to be working in the genres that fic fandom types tend to want to work in. It's also something that often takes a lot more experience and skill than starting with a basic plot outline, and inexperienced writers often overreach.

It's not writer's block. It's a project that needs to be taken out back like Old Yeller.

Even the salvageable projects that are making you pause usually have some other issue like you not being clear on the central emotional themes even if you've outlined some factual plot. Or you've demanded that your characters do a particular thing for plot convenience, but you know deep down that it doesn't ring true. You can't write the next scene because there is no next scene. You need to rework the forced part till the rest can make sense.

And even more common than any of the above is people thinking that just because Danielle Steel sits down every morning and writes for eight hours, that means they can and should with no warm up or experience. Trying to force yourself to be a type of writer you're not—majorly overdoing it on any work, in fact—just leads to burnout and inability to function.

[milkywayhou]

You've Got Email (König x OC: Medical Student!Snow) PART III

Summary: When the Colonel from some Private Military Corporation group accidentally send KorTac's secret file via email to a random civilian girl and now they develop some weird relationship.

or

Snow now overthinking about how fucked up her situation can be

TWs: Slow burn (not really), Implies stalking behavior. I just wrote this for fun.

Words Count: 1.9k (The email contain 1.3+ words while the rest was Snow's 4Chan post)

----

From: [email protected]

To: Colonel_Kö[email protected]

05/13/23 at 01:38 am

Subject: A late night conspiracy ramble…

Hey!

Once again it’s a late night and these weary med student brain cells are firing off all kinds of…interesting theories and connections, to say the least.

For example, okay hear me out, but what if Big Pharma is actually run by ancient shape-shifting lizard people from the center of the hollow earth who feed on human adrenal gland fluid harvested during rituals conducted at Bohemian Grove, and they started the pharmaceutical industry just to get us all addicted to medication so we’re docile little cash cows?!

I know, I know, it’s utterly ridiculous…buuuuut it would explain a few things haha! Anyways, somehow my winding thought process led me back to pondering your own doubtless intriguing backstory, oh mysterious Colonel.

You’ve given mysterious snippets here and there, but never a straight history lesson, you sly dog. Care to unravel some of those shadows for this thirsty student? Like how’d you get into this line of work anyway?

Maybe share something to take my mind off lizard people conspiracies before this insomnia kills me. You’ve got me curious now!

Conspiracizing but also bedridden,

Snow

----

From: Colonel_Kö[email protected]

To: [email protected]

05/13/23 at 02:01 am

Subject: RE: A late night conspiracy ramble…

You’ve a vivid imagination, to be sure. As for my own history…it’s nothing so fanciful, I’m afraid.

I grew up isolated, with only books as company. Social skills proved…challenging. The bullying was constant. All I wanted was to disappear into the quiet of nature, far from the incessant noise inside my head.

By 17 I was desperate to escape, and the military offered just that. I dreamed of being a sniper – controlling chaos from afar through calm precision. But my frame and restlessness didn’t suit remaining still for long. They saw potential elsewhere. They assigned as an insertion specialist instead. It was difficult, but taught discipline. In time I learned to turn noise into focus, chaos into strategy.

Now I protect others as I wished to be protected then. It brings…solace, of a kind. Purpose, where once was only turmoil.

Get some rest, Snow. Sweet dreams.

König

----

From: [email protected]

To: Colonel_Kö[email protected]

05/13/23 at 02:14 am

Subject: RE: RE: A late night conspiracy ramble…

I see.

Thank you for sharing that with me. I can’t imagine how difficult those experiences must have been, but I’m grateful you found your calling in spite of them. It takes real strength of character to turn trauma into purpose like that.

Also, I should say the bullying says far more about their weakness of spirit than anything about you. Their loss, as it brought you to where you’re meant to be – helping people in your own way. I can’t help but smile thinking of a tiny bookworm König dreaming of sniping lizards in the woods! Well, you may not be in the trees anymore but it seems your aim is truer than ever.

Thinking on childhoods, mine wasn’t all sunshine either as an awkward kid. Let’s just say blending in was…challenging, to put it lightly. Between moving a lot after my parents split and living with various relatives, school was an escape into study. Seemed the safest route to gain some footing and make the family proud, at least. Kept me busy avoiding the realities outside books for a while too, I suppose. Somehow I suspect lonely bookworm me and you may have gotten along splendidly if our paths crossed back then!

Anyways, not sure where I’m going with this aside from reflecting our younger selves may have found solace in one another, strange as that sounds now in these roles. At least we’ve come into our own in the end, in our own ways. Small favors and all that.

Just a light note before sleep – rest well, König!

Your friend,

Snow

----

From: [email protected]

To: Colonel_Kö[email protected]

05/28/23 at 08:27 pm

Subject: Essay Woes and Cadaver Flashbacks

Ugh,

My apologies for this incoherent word vomit you’re about to endure. I’m approximately 5-7 days into an all-nighter essay crunch and my last two brain cells are DANCING.

This final assignment is killing me dead but at least after it’s over I can finally be done with med school! *insert jubilant celebration emoji* Of course that’s if I don’t starve to death first living off instant ramen. I’m positively wasting away without a decent meal. At this rate they’ll be teaching anatomy lectures using my lifeless body.

Whoever invents a magic food delivery service that beams freshly cooked meals directly to overworked students is getting a freaking Nobel Prize. A girl can dream, right? At this point I’d kill a man for a good pizza. *hideshypotheticalmurderweaponbehindback*

Anyways, in my spiral of delirium my thoughts keep wandering back to that fateful day months ago when I randomly received your classified KorTac email out of nowhere. Still bewildered how you even had my address to begin with…were you watching me, Colonel? *pretends to be frightened but is secretlyflattered*

Getting that file was kinda scary at first, not gonna lie. Reminded me of the first time we received our cadavers – that creepy feeling of being watched even after leaving the lab. Is that what it’s like being you, always paranoid someone has intel on you? :)

Anyways, enough gibbering – just wanted to share my pain and also wonder again how our wacky email friendship began! Stay safe out there in whatever shady places your work takes you. And send help – I mean, good luck with all the classified stuff!

Tired and Hangry,

Snow

----

From: [email protected]

To: Colonel_Kö[email protected]

05/28/23 at 08:40 pm

Subject: WHAT DID YOU DO

KÖNIG I SWEAR TO GOD

I LITERALLY JUST GOT A DELIVERY AT MY DOOR. IT WAS PIZZA AND IT WAS ALREADY PAID FOR

DUDE TELL ME YOU DIDN’T HACK INTO MY LOCATION OR SOME SHIT. HOW DO YOU KNOW WHERE I LIVE??

I’M FREAKING OUT A LITTLE NOT GONNA LIE. I KNOW YOU HAVE ACCESS TO SHADY TECH BUT PLEASE TELL ME YOU DIDN’T TRACK ME DOWN

I was joking in my last email! Sort of! Please say this was all just a coincidence. I don’t need some extra secret stalker on top of everything else ;____;

Explain yourself soldier man!!! My paranoia can only be quelled with answers.

Sending mildly panicked regards,

Snow

----

From: Colonel_Kö[email protected]

To: [email protected]

05/28/23 at 09:12 pm

Subject: RE: WHAT DID YOU DO

Snow,

I assure you, any capabilities related to surveillance are reserved strictly for operations.

As for your delivery, consider it a small kindness from one overworked soul to another. Now eat, regain strength, and get back to that essay. You’ve proven quite resourceful in pulling secrets from shadows. But some mysteries deserve to remain.

Worry not and carry on with your studies.

König

----

From: [email protected]

To: Colonel_Kö[email protected]

05/28/23 at 09:25 pm

Subject: Spill. Everything. Now.

I appreciate the pizza bailout, don’t get me wrong. But my paranoia has now reached DEFCON 1 levels and it WILL NOT stand down until I get some answers. So spill. Just how much do you actually know about me? Do you have my address on file somewhere? Photos? Socials? Pet peeves? Middle name??

I understand need-to-know for operations, but this is need-to-know for my own peace of mind. Please assuage these frazzled med student nerves and assure me you’re not some mysterious stalker Colonel (unless that’s just part of your charm). I’ll even send new Luna's pics in return! Consider it a debriefing – you give, you get. Otherwise the wheels will keep spinning in my head…

Sincerely (and only mildly obsessively),

Snow

----------

>>Anonymous

05/29/23(Mon)22:37:10 No:132926391

Colonel Stalker Dude is freaking me out

Image: [Confused pepe scratching head.jpg 230kb, 400x400]

>Be me, a totally tired out and broke student

>Remember getting those shady files months ago

>Thought Colonel dude was cool and weird pen pal

>Even started to like him after long talks

>But NOW he knows my address???

>WTF how long has he been watching me

>On one hand it’s creepy AF but kinda flattering a high rank dude cares

>Other hand I don't want a secret stalker or to get disappeared

>Free food is nice but feeling stalked is not cash money

>Used to have bit of crush but now I'm skeeved TBH

>What do? Can't go to cops cuz questions. No close friends/fam

>Too broke to move or change info

>Maybe he’s just lonely but also maybe he climbs in my window ;____;

>What if he takes my organs in the night like some human harvester?!

>Only protection is my cat Luna and she's useless in a fight ;_;

>Try to be positive and asking him how much he know

>Currently waiting for his replied while I was writing this post

>Anons pls help, should I keep talking to possible stalker man?

Don’t want my organs harvested but also don’t wanna waste a free food connection

Very conflicted and slightly paranoid this girl is in DIRE need of advice

Anonymous 05/29/23(Mon)22:45:19 No:132926405: >>132926391(OP)#

Sounds like a thriller romance novel lol! He probs just cares in his own intense way. Keep talking but be safe, maybe feel him out more? Could be nnothing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anonymous 05/29/23(Mon)23:16:08 No:132926439: >>132926405#

IKR it does sound like a book! But what if it’s a prequel to a snuff film?! I’ll try to subtly find out wtf he knows without pissing him off…

Anonymous 05/29/23(Mon)23:37:12 No:132926502: >>132926391(OP)#

LOL girl chill no one climbin in ur windows. He prolly just admires ur spirit. Keep lines of comms open, set boundaries if needed but relax!

Anonymous 05/29/23(Mon)23:45:01 No:13292623: >>132926502#

You’re right, I do overthink! I’ll calm my farm. Thank u stranger, maybe he’s just a bored soldier man and not a psycho (´。＿。｀)

Anonymous 05/30/23(Tue)00:25:31 No:13292684: >>132926391(OP)#

Change ur info anyway, maybe he won’t go to ur new stuff. And get some locks/alarms jfc. Play it safe.

Anonymous 05/30/23(Tue)00:42:44 No:13292692: >>13292684#

Can’t change anything, I used my student email! And too broke for moves or upgrades, these loans gotta last :’( but self defense is a must, thanks!

Anonymous 05/30/23(Tue)01:28:19 No:132922735: >>132926391(OP)#

Send Luna pics. Also tell col u feel weird, set ground rules like no stalking. Maybe he just wants friendship. Be safe!

Anonymous 05/30/23(Tue)01:46:31 No:132922757: >>132922735#

[sleepy_Luna.jpg 1,3mb 1000x1000] You’re so right, communication is key. I’ll lay it all out clearly and see how it goes. Thx fren <3

Anonymous 05/30/23(Tue)01:59:36 No:132922805: >>132926391(OP)#

Maybe he liiiiikes you ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) whatever happens keep us posted! We’re invested now lol

Anonymous 05/30/23(Tue)02:08:55 No:132922822: >>132922805#

omggg don't say that!! Now I'll be paranoid AND flustered X_X But I definitely will update y'all, this is quite the melodrama unfolding

Anonymous 05/30/23(Tue)02:15:36 No:132922811: >>132926391(OP)#

Girlll tell that stalker if he wants a piece he gonna have to pay your tuition first! Then maybe you’ll reconsider the organ harvesting. Gotta respect your worth sis 💅

Anonymous 05/30/23(Tue)02:23:12 No:132922834: >>132922811#

Omg you genius!!! If he’s really interested he can sponsor my broke ass med student life lol. Alleviate my debt and he gets unlimited Luna pics, win-win!

Anonymous 05/30/23(Tue)03:01:46 No:132922839: >>132926391(OP)#

Lmao girl you been reading too many thrillers! Military guys have ways of finding people, changing email won’t do shit. Just ask him wtf is up like a normal person

Anonymous 05/30/23(Tue)03:39:44 No:132922926: >>132922839#

Ugh you make a good point, confronting is smarter than hiding. But what if he locks me in a dungeon for being nosy?! I have no one to turn to if I disappear ;-;

------

From: Colonel_Kö[email protected]

To: [email protected]

05/30/24 at 03:45am

Subject: RE: Spill. Everything. Now.

Snow,

Let’s just say I know more than you think. But rest assured, your privacy and safety remain my priority here.

As for debriefs, some questions are best left unanswered, even between…friends. Maintaining mystique has its place too, no?

Focus on your studies. I’ll focus on ensuring no more interruptions are needed.

Now get some rest. You’ve an early lab tomorrow if I’m not mistaken.

Sweet dreams.

König

----

From: [email protected]

To: Colonel_Kö[email protected]

05/30/23 at 03:47am

Subject: DUDE.

HOW.

----

This one was short because I've been busy with other stuff hahah. It sure took some twisted turn hmmM? or maybe poor Snow just over reacted ;)

Also love, comment and reblogged are really appreciate! 💖

#könig cod #könig call of duty #könig mw2 #könig x oc #könig #cod oc #cod x oc #konig call of duty #cod fic #cod mw2

[avillanappears]

godzilla x kong: the new empire

"For most of human civilization, we believed that life could only exist on the surface of our planet. What else were we wrong about?"

okay, I kind of fell off doing this, but we’re back! the best ever tumblr review series that’s written by avillanappears.tumblr.com! I came in not expecting much, but it turns out I really, really liked it, actually! I’m more pleasantly surprised than anyone, godzilla vs kong rubbed me very much the wrong way. godzilla and kong beating the ever-loving tar out of each other was fun, sure, but I have WORDS for the human stuff. I could fill a whole post with those, probably, but we’re not talking about that! we’re thinking good thoughts, about the one I liked!

it’s definitely a fun adventure film. hollow earth was a much more fleshed out setting this time, I loved the varieties of locales and creatures. giant, flying flamingo fish that shoot electricity? kong crossing a rickety bridge made out of the spine of a monster so massive, that it’s kaiju sized compared to him? this is exactly the sort of thing I wanted to see! it was fascinating seeing kaiju sort of “on their level”, in a whole giant sized ecosystem made for them. we got some of that in the atomic time of monsters by @tyrantisterror, and I think it’s such fertile ground to explore. godzilla’s flirted with the idea before in both its netflix animes, but this is them really committing to it. it makes my worldbuilding and specbio freak heart happy. we even got to see more hellhawks! I love those guys.

lookit that face

okay this is going pretty long, but anyhoo, I liked the character stuff too. kong was as lovable as always, you really feel for the big lug. even though he’s a living god the size of a mountain, there’s a real vulnerability to him. he’s just a sad, lonely guy who wants purpose and belonging.

he and suko had some kind of fast, but still very nice bonding. the human side was fun too, they fixed a lot about what I didn’t like from the last movie. jia had more of an arc going instead of just being “the one kong talks to”, bernie was a lot more enjoyable since they cut out the weird conspiracy theorist stuff, trapper was a fun guy. it was nice just seeing someone who loves monsters and weird nature stuff.

skar king surprised me with how personal of a threat he is, they really let him feel like a horrid, nasty piece of work. he’s more than just a big evil overlord, he’s a bullying control freak who wants everything his way, and it makes his wretchedness more tangible in a way.

shimo didn’t get all that much, but I love shimo. I love her, and I can barely even tell why, there’s just some kind of Vibe to her I resonate with. I think it’s how mythical she feels. the oldest of a line of gods, a great being of ice, controlled by a wicked devil….in fact it all felt very mythic. I appreciate that, I love it when kaiju works play out like weird mythological epics.

probably the most tangible complaint I can think of right now is that the godzilla stuff was pretty underwritten. it honestly felt like he was just….doing video game sidequests or something. like, it didn’t have Impact up until the very end when he finally meets kong and SPOILERS SPOILERS. and it feels a shame to kill scylla and tiamat off this early, I liked those two as unpredictable wildcards. with rodan and the others still mia, and two titans unceremoniously dead, it’s starting to feel like the monsterverse is sorta….flattening itself? now that kongs arc is done, I think we need to get back to a godzilla solo or two, flesh things back out a bit. but that’s for future peter to talk about, today we’re leaving things off on a high note. fun characters, dynamic locales, some great monster brawling, this one was a good’un!

godzilla cast monkeys into hell for their sins

#avillananalysis2024 #godzilla #king kong #godzilla x kong: the new empire #kaiju #long post

[cheolsfae]

Can u make seventeen as bestfriend? Thank you~

𑁍SVT as your best friend!

Requested: Absolutely

Genre: Platonic Fluff

Warning(s): None

Requests are open!

S. Coups

Snack runs!

Didn't matter how late.

"Wanna go with me to get [insert snack here]?"

"Thought you'd never ask!"

Movie nights!

Heavy blankets thrown on the couch, you both cozied up on either side of it, laughing at whatever was on.

Coups was kind of protective of you.

He really didn't like it if you came over completely upset.

"Who the hell hurt my child? Who's ass do I have to kick?" type of thing!

Wonwo

Remember that trend where people would go to thrift stores and blindly pick clothes? That's what you guys did but with books.

You always ended up with the really weird ones!

One time, it had been smut written about the grinch...

Somehow, Wonwoo always got lucky and got a decent one.

He gives me grandpa vibes, lmao! But like in a good way.

You guys watched a lot of game shows together. Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. That kind of thing.

You guys liked to poke a bit of fun at some of the contestants on the shows. Mainly the ridiculous answers they gave.

Mingyu

Loyal as they come! ✨️

Gets pouty when you hang out with other friends other than him.

"I'm supposed to be your best friend!"

"You are!"

This was always a goofy little argument you guys had.

Spa nights were pretty frequent. Face masks, pedicures, manicures...!

"Can you paint them? I don't want to."

"Gimme them fingers!"

Expect the nail polish to be messy! He tried his best though!

Vernon

You guys would have the most chilled out, relaxed type of friendship.

I get the vibe he's a floor sitting type of person.

Whenever he's at your house, there is a perfectly good place on the couch/bed for him, boy opts not to sit there.

He picks the floor, every single time. And he just sprawls out on it.

You often do the same though so it all works out.

He often comes over just to sit in silence with you.

You guys didn't have to be doing anything in particular. You guys just simply existed together like 90% of the time.

The other 10% of the time, was you guys having serious conversations about things going on in each others lives

Or maybe even talking about the most outlandish conspiracy theories. Like if Big Foot was real or not lmao

Joshua

Coffee dates at least once a week.

It was a time for you two to talk about your week.

It was a cozy little friendship.

I think he'd do handmade gifts for you.

I mean, yeah, we know he makes bracelets and things like that, but I think sometimes, he'd make you matching T-shirts.

Mainly if you guys were going on vacations together, things like that.

"Do I have to wear this?" you would ask.

"Yes! you have a tendency to get lost! I need to be able to find you easily!"

He gives hovering mom energy but in the most positive way possible lmao

Jeonghan

"It's for the plot" sort of friendship.

You guys feed each other your delusions about whatever.

He had a crush on someone, you'd be right there saying "oh I know they really couldn't stop staring at you!" When in reality, the person just happened to look in his direction.

That type of vibe

One to clown on you! 100%!

You fell asleep first at the little sleep over you guys were having? Better believe he's taking pictures of you and posting them on IG or something. And if it isn't that, he's drawing all over your face in permanent marker.

You also did the same type of thing to him.

One time, you'd put clear tape over the bathroom door, when he tried to walk through, he got tangled all up in it!

Woozi

I think late night drives are pretty common for you two.

Chilling out in silence.

Listening to whatever was on the radio.

Such a vibe

Tons of deep talks

Lots about how you guys wished things turned out differently

Or how things could have been better if...

If it wasn't things like that, it was silly little inconveniences through out the day.

"This idiot cut me off in traffic and then flipped me off"

"It's what you deserve"

A little bit of a dark humored type of friendship I think.

Dokyeom

I think there would be a whole lot of sleepovers at one another's places.

You guys would be stuck together like glue

Nothing could separate you guys!

You did everything together!

He had to go to the grocery store for groceries — you were right there going along with him.

You had a doctor's appointment, he'd be sitting in the waiting room for you.

Almost codependent.

Seungkwan

This man is the best friend anyone could ask for!

You guys love to spill the tea with one another, similarly to the boyfriend thing.

"[Insert name here] is so rude"

"They are! Oh my god!"

The looks you guys give one another from across the room...

No words even need to be spoken!

You guys just look at one another and immediately know what the other is thinking!

He feels exactly like your soulmate in best friend form!

Hoshi

This goof!

You know that video where the kid says "Do the roar"? You'd say this to him and he'd end up doing his infamous tiger thing.

To be honest, it was kind of funny.

I think random presents from one another is something the two of you did.

Yeah, 90% of what he'd gifted you was little lion themed things and he'd received a lot of tiger things from you. A sort of match-y, match-y thing.

Speaking of match-y, match-y things...friendship bracelets were a thing!

If you didn't wear it, he would be so upset! Please never forget to wear it!

Jun

He is so cute!

He doesn't try to make you laugh all that often but he does unintentionally.

That's a pretty common occurrence.

You guys would text each other about every little thing through out the day

"I think I'm getting a pimple on my nose. Looks like it's going to be HUGE one...you wanna pop it?"

"Dude, I stubbed my toe on the couch corner."

Little things like that, it was a constant thing.

Minghao

Personal photographer!

He gets your best angles!

"Tilt your head a little more...perfect." *click*

He also really likes to pick out clothes for you. If doesn't he'll tell you exactly what he doesn't like about the look. Even if it stings a bit.

He'd always tell you the dress code for some event you guys were attending!

I think, he'd be the time to have meditation sessions with you, or at least attempt to but really couldn't focus because you would kind of laugh in between the awkward silences.

He'd lightly tap you, trying his very best to stay focused on the guided meditation but sooner or later, he'd join in on you laughing.

Dino

Hypes you up! Constantly!

He tries to teach you some of their choreography

He's so patient with you! Even if you are a little clumsy and mis-step a bit.

Another one who loves to clown on you, it feels like one of his favorite pass-times.

"You look like a racoon!" he'd tell you before laughing his ass off about how goofy you looked. It wasn't like you had much of a choice in staying up all night to finish that project! You'd put it off for the night before it was due

Another thing he'd do is give you encouragement when you most needed it.

He was always the best at that.

Trash day? He was right there with you on the couch ripping every single part of your day up with you.

#seventeen smut #seventeen #choi seungcheol #jeon wonwoo #boo seungkwan #hansol vernon chwe #hong jisoo #kwon soonyoung #kim mingyu #lee chan #svt dino #dk seventeen #lee seokmin #yoon jeonghan #woozi #lee jihoon #seventeen fluff #seventeen reactions #seventeen scenarios

[peachybeom]

Illicit ♡

Beomgyu x reader. tiny bit of angst, slight suggestive!

Your head was throbbing, the tight Versace dress you were dawning squeezed the living hell out of you. If it weren't for the third glass of champagne in your hand, you'd probably be on the verge of losing your sanity.

In the distance, on the other side of the large banquet you could see people mingling and pretending to be having the time of their lives. This was an yearly occurance for you but somehow you still haven't gotten used to it and dreaded it with all your soul and body.

The Gala you were attending tonight was one of the most prestigious and renowned event for any multi national company in the world. It was basically a hunting ground for power hungry business moguls and their families. Stocks were discussed, positions were conspired and million dollar deals were struck over some expensive wine and steak.

Being the daughter of one of the most sort out and respected man of the industry, you were practically obliged to go to these every year or else the media will have a field day making assumptions and conspiracies.

You let out a sigh and closed your eyes. Only a few more hours.

Eyes slightly droopy, you relaxed slightly in the corner until you felt a shuffle around you.

"I didn't think you would show up, princess. Fancy seeing you here." You heard a deep masculine voice speak up next to you. However you didn't need to open your eyes to figure out who it belongs to.

"How do you manage to find me everytime?" You replied with genuine curiosity, eyes still closed.

You had made sure to observe and then pick a perfect dark corner of the hall where you could hide and no one could forcibly engage you in a conversation about things like luxury cars and real estate.

"It's not that hard, just got to look for a timid yet sexy presence lurking in the corners I guess," The man replied smoothly as he took a sip of his own whiskey neat.

"I see... trying to seduce the rival's daughter. Classic." You said and opened your eyes to give him a look but froze in place as soon as you saw the man standing next to you.

Beomgyu was handsome you already knew this. The whole world knew this. but tonight as he stood facing you in his expensive tailored black suit, hair parted neatly and face carved to perfection, you realised he was a meal waiting to be devoured.

"That's the most fun part though," Beomgyu replied teasingly. Fully aware of his effect on you.

You coughed and quickly changed the topic,

"But I assume you have better things to do than charming the wallflower though?"

Unlike you, Beomgyu thrived in the corporate world. Deals, negotiations, contracts- they were his forté so naturally he was a busy man, not to mention he was announced only a few months ago, the new CEO for Choi Corporations.

The same Choi Corporation that your father had tried so hard to get rid off as they were his strongest competitor.

"That dress... You look breathtaking, didn't believe you'd come," He replied, ignoring your question.

"Oh quit the pleasantries Mr. Choi," You said in a sarcastic tone and attempted to wave off the compliment however the blush creeping under your cheeks didn't go unnoticed by Beomgyu.

"It's Gyu for you my love. And what did he blackmail you with this time anyway?" He asked, coming closer towards you.

"Threatened to get them to prepone the exhibition schedule way before due date" You admitted to him without putting up a fight. A tone of sadness evident in your voice.

It was common knowledge that you and your father did not get along. His only daughter choosing art over a well established family business did not sit well with him at all.

But in the end you won the battle-well kind of, as he still had a big influence on whichever person you worked for.

"That's more like your dad," Beomgyu chuckled but then in a serious voice he said, "You know I would never do that to you right?"

Your breath hitched at his words.

The relationship you had with him was a strange one. It had only started a few years back at a night just like this. You were bored out of your mind, finding ways to piss off your dad and Beomgyu was dazzled by your extraordinary presence. One thing led to another and since then you found youself waking up next to him a few hundred times.

"Follow me." You replied after a pregnant pause. The alcohol in your system definitely taking over your right to reason.

"That was surprisingly fast, we may have a new record here" Beomgyu joked before giving his assistant a discreet look to tell him to manage things while he was gone as he obeyed and followed your lead.

Beomgyu was known to be one of the most collected and strategic man in the business, trained to be the best in the game ever since he was announced the heir of his father's empire but when it came to you, it felt like he lost his senses just by your one single touch. Following your lead like a lost puppy.

Passing the reception you made a beeline towards the end of the hall, not bothering to stop and turn around to ask for directions. The hotel was frequently used to host these kind of parties and this was one place where you ended up during most of them.

Heels clicking on the posh marble floor, you passed gentle smiles to the few staff members as they passed by, in return all they could do was bow to you in haste, very much aware of the intimidating aura walking right behind you.

Once inside you practically pounced on him, wrapping you arms around his neck and capturing his lips inbetween yours.

"Easy there, Princess." Beomgyu chuckled, as took a few steps backwards to balance himself.

The first time you kissed him, it was out of spite. You had run into him at the bar after getting an earful from your father about tarnishing the family reputation. Beomgyu recognised you and jokingly mentioned if you wanted to plot against your father and make him more mad.

To his suprise, you agreed by pulling him to the side and kissed him, hard.

It felt so good.

But it was recently you realised you weren't getting the high by defying your father anymore, but because of the man who held you in his arms. And that's when you felt you were in deep deep trouble

Even in anonymity Beomgyu treasured you, he always made sure to make you forget whatever it was that got your mood sour in the first place.

Then it clicked you. This wasn't the reason why you had brought him in here tonight.

"We shouldn't be doing this," You murmured quietly against Beomgyu's lips, your voice and body both betraying you.

"I know." He replied, one hand dangerously close to the hem of your dress while the other gripped your side tightly.

His touch was fire and you were melting underneath it.

"Gyu...." You tried again but only breathy moans left your mouth as he started leaving wet kisses down your neck.

"Beomgyu." This time you said raising your voice and pushing him back a little.

He pulled apart from you with a confused look.

'This is wrong'

'It's too risky'

'One of us will end up getting hurt'

Thoughts were circling your mind like a hurricane, there were so many things you could have said at that moment but it was like you're mind went blank as you started at his face, looking back at you with concern but his gaze still held so much adoration in it.

"I like your eyes" Words left your mouth even before you could make sense of them.

Beomgyu laughed at your words, and then placed a hand on your cheek.

"Yeah? Well I like you." The loving look in his eyes was something you never expected from the otherwise stone faced Beomgyu.

"And I want to show you off to all those people outside." He continued, leaning in so close that your noses touched.

Your lips twisted up in a sad smile.

That was complicated, you both were aware that too much was at stake for you two to come out and publically announce any sort of relationship.

But tonight you prefered to live in oblivion.

You realised it was time to change the topic as soon as you felt tears forming in your eyes.

"Mmm, maybe one day. but till then this could be our dirty little secret," You said circling your arms around Beomgyu's neck.

"Yeah it can be dirty, scandalous and illicit," Beomgyu whispered, voice deeper with every syllable.

"Illicit?" You laughed at the dramatic word. Shifting the tone of the room.

"Hey don't ruin the moment and my fantasy!" He whined before successfully sliding down your satin dress from your body, making it pool between between your feet.

------

ivy's note: reblogs and comments would really be appreciated cause i spent way too much time contemplating whether to post this or not ><

#txt imagines #txt reactions #txt fic #beomgyu fic #beomgyu imagines #choi beomgyu #beomgyu fluff #beomgyu oneshot #txt x reader #beomgyu x y/n #beomgyu x you #beomgyu #beomgyu x reader #txt smut #beomgyu smau #txt smau #txt fluff #txt scenarios #kpop scenarios #kpop x reader #kpop smut #tomorrow by together #tomorrow x together imagines #txt

[bluesyjean]

It's the last one, so I might as well do this. Very big thanks to @c0ffeeb1ack for organizing a rewatch. I really enjoyed all the commentary and going through the series one episode at a time rather than binging the whole thing, and it made me appreciate it so much more. (Especially s3, which got infinitely more fun on a rewatch without my Big Nerves about what was going to happen. s1 is forever my girl, but there are some genuinely great moments in s3.)

Extra hot takes for Oblivion:

SO HAPPY LUTHER AND KLAUS GOT TO DO SCENES TOGETHER. The entire Void sequence was quality. Knowing these two are such good buddies irl it's about damn time they got to hang out more on screen. They must have had so much fun doing this.

It took me a long long time, but Sparrow!Ben grows on you. He's hilariously trying SO HARD to be an asshole every time he opens his mouth you just have to laugh. So extra.

I forever wish Lila wasn't pregnant. I'm sorry, it just doesn't do a great service to her or Diego because now everything has to be about this. My relief when Stan wasn't theirs was so short lived.

Five whispering conspiracy theories with Viktor is so good. I missed them being besties, so happy he's still the one Five trusts. (In a "I'll kill you myself" if you fuck up again kind of way, but that's just Five for you.) We love paranoia.

Also was so happy to have Five and Allison actually talk to each other, even if it's just to fight. I've waited so long.

This episode had a lot of interesting character combos. Sloane and Ben with Five, Luther and Klaus, I could have had more of this.

Didn't notice before that the sigil thing is on the back of the guardians. Which means...? Nothing, but I did notice.

Love that they always turn blue when life is being sucked out of them. Just a bunch of little blue aliens.

The first time I watched this I was convinced that Five would eventually lose that arm again when they fix the universe. I hope not, poor left-handed little guy. He loves to write. :( But that might also mean deaths happen again. Fully prepared for bummers in s4.

I was not as enthralled with the soundtrack of s3 as I was in past seasons, but I will say the closing song is the only one that made its way into rotation on my playlist. Great choice.

Desperate for Abigail to be a horrific villain in s4. Please give me this, it's all I ask.

Anyway I might end up watching the last season this way. (One episode a day.) Great idea! Taking time to enjoy something, what a concept. Thanks all!

#tua #the umbrella academy #tuamre #five hargreeves #allison hargreeves #viktor hargreeves #ben hargreeves #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #lila pitts #klaus hargreeves #tua hot takes #this was fun! #nobody does it like tua #tua s3 #tua s3 spoilers

[burr-ell]

To expand on the previous post (with excellent addition by @kerosene-in-a-blender), I genuinely believe Laudna as a character would be a lot stronger in one of two scenarios:

1. Ditch the Whitestone stuff. I say this as someone who has produced almost nothing but de Rolo content—that is too big a part of Campaign 1 not to completely overshadow anything different the character tries to do in a long-form narrative. I think they could have threaded that needle, but that requires so much more focus and attention that a fast-paced story about a moon conspiracy just isn't built for. It's been 65 episodes and Whitestone nostalgia is all the character has meaningfully contributed to the narrative.

They put themselves between a rock and a hard place before the story even started. You can't bring in Delilah too often without inevitably treading on Campaign 1, but you also can't use her too little—not just because she's Delilah Briarwood, but also because that's the patron of a PC and your PCs need to be taking center stage. And yet there is nothing Delilah's presence has done in the story thus far that could not have been accomplished by a completely different, hitherto-unknown necromancer patron. Laudna's experiences in Whitestone could be replaced with a similarly traumatic backstory (it's not like Exandria is hurting for necromancers abusing power) and she'd have to actually elaborate on it and flesh out the worldbuilding and think about the backstory instead of being able to lean on "Hey, you guys remember that Briarwood arc? Freaky, right?"

2. Keep Laudna as she is and use her in an EXU miniseries. Set it in northwestern Tal'Dorei, where she's been wandering aimlessly for thirty years, spending half the time disassociating and half the time making her dolls. She meets a colorful group of people and they go on some adventures, and she finally decides to take back her life and do something about the voice in her head. You'd basically keep the Whitestone episodes of C3 as they are, give or take a few beats, as the climactic episodes of the series, and then the newly fire-forged friends set off for whatever new journey awaits them.

Maybe Laudna switches patrons; maybe she ditches the warlock thing entirely; maybe she ends the miniseries not knowing what she wants but excited to learn about it with her new companions. Mini-campaigns don't have to worry about that kind of thing! You can have your Whitestone nostalgia and some fanservice while still telling a pretty fun story, and it won't feel like a weird extra appendage to a main campaign that otherwise has very little to do with it. I wouldn't say it's a story I'd be interested in seeing continue, but it's perfectly serviceable for something small and self-contained.

What it has not been serviceable for is the long-form story of Campaign 3.

Honestly, I was a little concerned about all of this even before I started watching all the way through, but I wanted to give it time and judge it for myself. I don't believe in unfounded doomsaying, and I wanted to give the show a chance to do something interesting. And it has been 65 episodes, over 260 hours of content, which I think puts us well past the window of "give it a chance", and Laudna has spent the vast majority of her time not meaningfully engaging with her levels of warlock if it doesn't contribute to creepy girl vibes. (She frankly isn't engaging with her levels in sorcerer, either.) She's never even addressed potentially finding a new patron—so does she not want to? But then why is she so distressed about the idea of Delilah resurfacing? And if she does want a new patron, why has nothing actually happened in the almost-thirty episodes we've had since the Whitestone trip? If she's been "fighting Delilah for thirty-odd years", why didn't she take the chance to explicitly try to connect with, say, the Sun Tree? Or literally anyone else?

And honestly, as a Campaign 1 fan I have to say I'm also frustrated at how Delilah's presence specifically undercuts that story. Like, yeah, you have a technical reason for why she's still here, but "well she IS a powerful necromancer" is just a mechanical explanation, not a dramaturgical one. Her story is done. The chapter closed. She had ample opportunity, including when specifically asked by the Hells, to state any specific goals—any at all—and didn't. This is the woman who menaced Percy and Vex? This is the woman who permanently killed Vax? ...Really?

It could have been an interesting challenge to take on in referencing something from the past while bringing something new to the table, and it's not like they haven't done that before; they've already shown with Jester and the Traveler that it can be done. But they haven't done it here; any opportunity for Laudna to grow beyond her vague concepts—"What if Sun Tree Body...with Delilah patron? What if weird scary girl...but happy?"—has been generally ignored. Her killing Bor'dor is the first time in the entire campaign that she's done something that really got my attention, and in two episodes it's almost immediately papered over, followed by some inexplicable "must you continue to reconquer?" word salad about the gods.

Marisha explicitly refused to create a new character until she knew for sure whether or not Laudna would be resurrected. But if she enjoys her so much, when is she going to do anything meaningful with her?

#critical role #cr meta #long post #i would love to believe that something will happen with her but i've been hoping for something to happen all this time and it hasn't #it seemed like it would! and then it kinda just. fizzled out and got papered over #like you can't just say 'nono her character is great she really picks up after 300 hours of pure aesthetic and nothing else' #like. that's a lot of potential and increasingly diminishing returns #and it's WEIRD. because i've had beau for five episodes and she's so much stronger as a character #i've never been really into keyleth as a character but she similarly feels really grounded #and patia was around for four episodes and was an absolute tour de force #like we KNOW the player can do better. why isn't she

[ariaste]

Hello hello! If it’s all right with you, I would like to vent for a moment: Back in the day, I used to be really into BBC Sherlock. I know it was bad, but it was “Be Gay (solve) Crimes” and I couldn’t resit. One of my favorite parts of the fandom was reading fan metas. I enjoyed reading your ridiculously long meta! I am not very clever and I enjoy reading people noticing things that I can’t. It’s fun watching people passionately pick up clues and put them together.

I don’t think I’m the only one getting superwholock flashbacks lately. Sherlock also tried an unreliable narrator in S4 and it was an absolute shit show. People thought thought the finale was fake, it was so bad. TBH, the entire show was a dumpster fire that thought it was more clever than it was. Moffat was a good writer for single episodes for DW, but a garbage show runner. And they called us crazy for picking up what they were putting down.

But Good Omens gives me a spark of hope. It is unashamedly queer, fun, drinks its respecting women juice, and, unlike moffatiss, I think Neil and the crew may actually be clever enough to pull something big off. I adore the Discworld series and Sir Terry, and I have faith Neil will to do right by him.

Good Omens is restoring my faith in nerdy queer fiction and reminding me why I love fandom so much. Please keep up the crackhead theories. I love them 💕

Thank you, that's very kind!

(Ended up writing a very long reply about the response to my essay and also about queerness in media. Idk why i am writing such long posts these days SORRY LOL. Anyway I'm putting it all beneath the cut so I can tag it without clogging people's dash or the tag pages)

It does make me sigh a little when I see people scornfully comparing my long essay to The Johnlock Conspiracy or saying that they're having Sherlock flashbacks, because the both the contexts of the shows and the methodology of the theorizing are VERY different. To my mind, a more direct comparison of methodology would be the Gravity Falls fandom's "Stan Has A Secret Twin" theory. Writers and showrunners DO like being sneaky and clever from time to time, and many of them are much better at it than Moffat is.

But whether or not my theory is right or not is... kind of irrelevant to me? I wasn't out to force anyone to agree with me, AND writing it was a really fun way to spend a weekend, AND I'm proud of the work I did and the story I told, AND it felt good to have a satisfying workout at the Brain Gym. So even if I'm proven utterly and completely wrong, I won't feel like I wasted my time. :)

Good Omens is a great show, and I am SO HAPPY to see it (and other shows!) embracing queerness, sharing the fans' enthusiasm for the story, and honoring and respecting the fans' love rather than punishing them for it. As more and more time goes on, I think we're going to see more and more shows like that, because some of the people who grew up reading tumblr discourse are going to be showrunners themselves one day, and they'll have learned serious lessons about what it feels like when the audience is met with love rather than disgust and disdain. In fact, we're ALREADY seeing more shows like that than we had 10 years ago! There is so much canonical queerness on-screen these days that the me of 10-15 years ago is ASTONISHED and feels wealthy beyond counting. Of course, there is so much further to go, but man... when i was a kid, we had to walk uphill in the snow both ways just to see two dudes making sustained emotional eye contact, and we were grateful for it. (Jokes but also.... kind of real tho)

We've seen the exact same thing happen in scifi/fantasy publishing in the last seven or eight years, too! (Went off on a long tangent about Queerness In Media from an insider perspective, continuing below a cut so I don't clutter everyone's dash)

Even as recently as 2013--ten years ago--you might not have even been able to get your book published if it was openly gay. Hell, you might not have been able to get an agent to represent it, even. It would have been labeled "unmarketable" and passed over; if it DID get published, the queerness would have been camouflaged and downplayed and hidden in the marketing as much as possible--you wouldn't have known by looking at the cover that it was queer, you wouldn't have been able to tell by reading the back cover that it was queer. In literally 2016, seven years ago, a few months before I got my first book deal, I remember having a conversation with a friend and being very very worried that if I wrote books as queer as I wanted them to be, I would be "pigeonholed" as "ONLY writing Gay Books", that I would be passed over for any of the publisher's marketing budget and publicity efforts, that I would be sidelined and ignored... In 2016, I thought I was facing a choice of writing stories with more "mainstream appeal" OR writing the books I wanted to write and potentially undermining the rest of my career.

That didn't happen, thankfully, because in the next couple years there was this incredible explosion of queer scifi/fantasy. You see, ten to fifteen years ago, a truly stunning percentage of my colleagues -- writers, editors, publicists -- were writing and reading fanfic, and they carried their tastes and story-hungers with them as they grew up and got Real Adult Jobs at publishing companies. And suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a lot of us came of age all at once and there was this absolutely enormous wave of queer SFF that in my opinion has brought us into a new golden age of the genre: The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir, The Chorus of Dragons series by Jenn Lyons, She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker Chan, Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, The Tensorate series by Neon Yang, Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki, The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders, the Birdverse books by RB Lemberg, The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickenson, The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri, Reforged by Seth Haddon, The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson, Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell, The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin -- and these only the ones I could remember off the top of my head in 30 seconds, and I have a flavor of ADHD that makes my brain go blank when people ask me to think of specific examples of things! It is harder for me to think of a SFF book published in the last 7 years that ISN'T queer.

And then almost exactly a year ago, my book A Taste of Gold and Iron came out with THIS COVER:

Which. Is not so much a step forward in openly queer SFF as it is a fucking gauntlet thrown down in challenge. I cannot impress upon you strongly enough how much I would not have gotten this cover 10 years ago, and that's if the book was even accepted for publication in the first place. This cover SCREAMS gay fantasy romance. There is no attempt to hide it or camouflage it. It is advertising exactly what it is, right up front.

I got the absolute privilege and honor of having this cover--and I do consider it an incredible honor--because of the work that all my colleagues put in with their own work. Each queer book that got published wedged the door a little wider for the next one, and then a little wider still for the next one, until finally someone could get their foot in the door and squeeze across the threshold, which opened it a little wider again. So when I look at this image, I don't just see a beautiful cover that I am delighted to have on my books--I see an entire history of slow, steady progress by so many incredible writers who risked damaging their careers just to drag us to a point where a book as gay as this one could get a cover as gay as that one and STILL get the full and enthusiastic support of both the publisher and the audience. And the most incredible honor and the most humbling privilege out of all of this is the fact that the success of this book meant that the door was wedged open another little bit, that I got to contribute in this small way to the efforts of everyone who came before me, so that ones who come after us will find the door flung wide -- or that there's no door left at all to block the way, because we've collectively torn it down.

So yes, @eyona, I think that having your faith restored little by little is a very good thing, and I am delighted that Good Omens is doing that for all of us. And what's even better is that even if Good Omens doesn't play out exactly how we want it to, that's... kind of okay? Because there is always the next one, and at the very very least, Good Omens is wedging the door open further so that the next one can have an easier time of it. We don't have to walk uphill in the snow both ways just to get a moment of emotionally charged eye contact anymore. We don't have to starve anymore, not like we used to back in the bad old days. And that alone is a wonderful thing. :D

#good omens #a taste of gold and iron #publishing #queer media

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Do you think HYBE will do anything about some of these boycotters? There’s some serious defamation going on that could have consequences for them (although maybe I’m overreacting and it won’t gain traction) but I wonder if they can do anything about it. This has really spiraled out of control imo. They clearly hate that man more than they love BTS because they’d be happy to burn down the whole company with BTS in it if it gets rid of Scooter, despite Scooter equivalents being present in pretty much every entertainment company ever.

***

I have no idea what HYBE intends to do but I don’t see them deviating much from how they’ve handled boycotts in the past, that is, ignoring them or offering a statement that addresses a tangential issue. Whenever there’s been a more direct response and/or donation, it’s always been spearheaded by the members themselves and as they are all enlisted until 2025, I don’t think that’s coming anytime soon but I could be wrong. Maybe Jin takes on the brunt for the group and says something, but again I highly doubt it.

One thing I am absolutely certain about though, is that a good 90% of those fully sucked in will turn full anti by the time Festa 2025 rolls around lol. I wasn’t sure about this at first, because like I’ve said it’s fine for fans to communicate to the company if they’re upset about whatever, but yeah now, there’s no mistaking what this is. It’s a pipeline I’ve seen hundreds of times.

It’s impossible to feed yourself a steady diet of the narrative that BTS is complicit in one of the most grotesque atrocities in recent history, act as though you hold them uniquely responsible for it being in your space, and not grow resentful of the boys and the fandom. Aside the fact the focus on BTS is misguided to begin with, the whole notion of ‘protecting’ these grown men from executives in their company is infantilizing at best, it’s a sentiment these people show only towards BTS rather than Tori Kelly, Beyoncé or Ariana Grande - all three working directly with Israeli-linked Jewish men, because none of these fans have developed a parasocial attachment to those artists they feel they can weaponize, the way they have to BTS. Like I’ve been saying, although BTS is far more removed than any American artist under a big music label, these Korean guys are the only people k-pop fans feel they have control over. It’s the kind of mentality to expect from toxic shippers, akgaes, and mantis. Those groups of people will always tell you the reasoning for their actions is for the greater good and for the benefit of the artist, and given in this case the subject is something as serious as the latest escalation of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that’s certainly serious. But just like with every other case, the focus on BTS itself is misguided, in my opinion, and so the fallacy persists, which breeds conflict, which breeds even more resentment. From the boycotters, we’ll start seeing more thought experiments, narratives and conspiracies to explain the dissonance between what they expect and what is actually happening. Even if their demands are met this time, another topic will flair up these same behaviours in people already pre-disposed to this. It’s the most predictable pipeline in k-pop.

But as it so often is with things like this, most people won’t be fully honest with themselves about what they are, and what they are doing, and so even though it would be best to realize BTS might not fit the expectation they have of them, they’ll remain in fandom spaces, growing more resentful and constantly in conflict with other fans. Many of them are already multis and it’s only a matter of time (weeks) before the takes become painfully predictable.

Anyway I’ve rambled. I’m curious as to what you think HYBE will do:

*

Perhaps a more fun question is how the fandom will increasingly spiral, the more aggressive and confrontational opposing sides of the fandom become. I’ve said before that a lot of ARMYs are easy to manipulate and incapable of nuanced conversations, and normally that’s a recipe for the jokes we see on Twitter daily, but in times like this, it’s tinder for a bonfire of disaster lmao.

I hope y’all are holding on to your wigs for the magnificent, ripped body pics Jin will have to drop to calm things down as soon as he’s discharged.

#BTS #BTS fandom #BTS army #fandom behaviour #hybe boycott #SeokJin

[sorenblr]

So, what are you and your friends' thoughts regarding Personas 1 and 2? And honestly, you can be as critical and as brutal in your replies as needed.

I can only speak for myself, but I'm very fond of both. The original has this really distinct, lugubrious atmosphere propelled largely by the music of Aoki, Okibe et al. It's a huge shame that English-speaking players are forced to choose between a version with an infamously compromised localization and a more approachable one that eradicates the aural identify of the original game.

I have a ton of affection for this era of Kaneko art as well. You can tell he was having a lot of fun using then-contemporary celebrities as references for the character designs; there was a certain facial idiosyncrasy that would be lost as he settled into his more distinctive, modern style. Also a big fan of the lanky, expressive sprites in both games- it's such a rarely deployed idiom.

The battle positioning and diffuse exp acquisition go a long way to diminish any satisfaction there might be in the battle mechanics, but I do appreciate the oddly terse dungeon design, which feels like a complete outlier among the first-person dungeon crawlers in the series.

I'll have more to say about the P2 duology once we revisit it for the stream, but I think these games are really singular. EP in particular has what I would consider the platonic ideal for character portraits in this style. Super eclectic, tons of heft to the construction, and clearly a lot of care invested in every expression. An early peak for this representational mode in the series.

The dungeons are kind of wretched. Brutal encounter rate, and these huge, nothing rat mazes that feel completely divorced from the urban structures they're intended to represent. Record stores do not look like that, they are in fact very small! Fuck off!!! The combat is functional but basically frictionless. Best negotiation dialogue in the series.

One thing that I love, and this is present to a lesser extent in P1 as well, is the way your party members will populate the various stores, shrines, parks etc. There's like 50 of these fucking places, and every new plot flag refreshes the dialogue for each character. They easily could have written so many variations of "Hey, are you sure we should be wasting time here instead of heading to (next plot destination)?", but almost every interaction is full of fun character-building moments that would otherwise have no place within the urgency of the narrative. I think this superabundance of tertiary dialogue is actually very charming when engaging with it is left to your discretion.

But most importantly, it's the perfect capstone to the fin de siecle obsession with the occult in Japanese pop culture as it had manifested in the previous two decades. The games throw absolutely everything into the equation- alien spaceships, divination, ancient prophecies, the NWO conspiracy, Lovecraft, the fucking Dan Brown Hitler subplot- everything was on the table. It's this fantastic summation of the Nostradamus/Y2K/Millenial zeitgeist of 1999, and just a great outlet for that sheer, Okada-Kaneko-propelled creativity. The modern games are incredibly anodyne in comparison.

hope all my guido guys out there enjoyed this post and no one scrolled past it b/c they thought I wrote fucking 7 paragraphs about kandori

#ask #smt #megaten #persona #persona 2 #kazuma kaneko #guido kandori

[gothicprep]

looking back on everything that’s happened wrt james somerton, part of me has got to wonder what hbomb’s and his viewers’ *real* problem with him was. when you see stories like this, and maybe I’m just cynical having been on the internet for too long, most people who get cancelled like this are kind of weird in some way. or people just don’t like them.

idk if you’ve ever watched “the traitors” before, but often the people who get voted out early don’t make eye contact or are slightly a bit weird. and people make up all sorts of conspiracy theories about why they can’t trust them, and blah blah blah. but it’s actually just a kind of “ick” fundamentally. these stories can be that, or they can be a kind of professional jealousy, or they can be “who’s the most marginalized in the marginalized pile”, or they can be smurfette syndrome (“there’s only room for there to be one gay disney youtuber, and by god, it’s gonna be me”). and beyond all that, it’s fun to be part of a mob.

maybe this is just growing pains on my end realizing that I used to have that tendency and over-indexing in the other direction. I’m weirdly sympathetic to villains. but john ronson points this out in his book, that the internet never doles out the correct amount of punishment. all things considered, plagiarism is a misdemeanor. ripping off articles and YouTube videos is a sin, but it’s a venial sin. he may have harmed people, but he didn’t hurt people if that makes any sense.

there’s a very good piece by malcolm gladwell in the New Yorker archive from like 10 or 15 years ago about how he doesn’t personally believe plagiarism to be that big of a deal. it’s very interesting and basically the lynchpin of his argument is that there isn’t any copyright on ideas. it’s not about the ideas, it’s the execution. think of that scene in the social network when jesse eisenberg says to the fucked up looking winklewhatever twins, “if you were the inventors of Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook”

lot of this seems to be prefaced on the idea of people making money that they “don’t deserve”, which is a philosophical question beyond the scope of this post.

#there’s another word for what somerton does and it’s ‘aggregation’. which happens all over the internet.

[polteergeistt]

Vessel runs around in the woods and howls. It's canon. I know. I have visions.

One day he dragged the others in this too and they thought it was weird at first but they didn't want to offend him so they tried and turns out it's really fun so now there are 4 masked cryptid guys running around and howling in english forests.

I also like to imagine them playing by a river and splashing each other and looking for pretty rocks (III got the most prettiest rocks. He's a natural at this.). I also like to imagine II crawling and climbing on a fallen tree or a low thick branch on all fours and settling on it like a panther. IV likes to climb too but he wants to go really high and sometimes scare the shit out of the others but he's fine he's a big boy.

And then when they're tired they find a patch of comfy grass or moss and lie down together (as the gods abandon the heavens to find them, you know the drill). They just lay flat on their back with their hands under their head or they cuddle and use each other as pillows. They make crowns out of random plants. Sometimes, they chose someone who will be some sort of canvas and the others will pick up things and arrange them on him and make him look pretty. When Vessel is the chosen one, he gets daisies on his nipples.

I feel like they would do Land art. For those who don't know, land art is basically art with natural items. It's usually done on the ground. It could be rocks arranged in a certain manner to form a drawing or something with plants and sticks. I imagine they would do their logo, like some kind of offering to Sleep, or marking their territory. They see that their runes scare the locals and make them come up with crazy conspiracy theories and they laugh at them. I feel like IV is more the kind of guy to do a sculpture out of sticks. II makes fragile towers of pebbles and rocks. III obviously does things with flowers (mostly crowns) because he's a flower boy. Vessel plays around with moss mostly.

Vessel : moss boy

II : rock boy

III : flower boy

IV : stick boy

And yes, I know, I said that III was the one who finds the prettiest rocks. It's true. But those rocks are mostly fit for decoration and not construction. He does give some of his little treasures to II rocks for his towers. As the prettiest and most special ones, they belong at the top of the towers. And II offers III flowers as well. They all kinda find good stuff for each other.

Now that I think about it, it would be more logical for II to be the stick boy because he's the drummer. But he still likes rocks and he has a patience monumental, which us greatly needed when making rock towers. It requires a willpower and self-control that he masters to perfection and he feels really proud of himself afterwards. And IV likes sticks because he can make 3D stuff easily, with a bit or string and imagination.

And of course, all of their creations come together. They end up making villages for fairies, when in reality their inhabited by bugs and small mammals. It's nice to dream sometimes. They are also offerings to Sleep as I mentioned earlier. At the end of the day, it's just a nice way to spend time together and unwind after an overwhelming tour or a random date just because.

This is what being seen by my fav writer and by other ppl obsessed with this band like me does to me <3 i love this fandom to death so take care of yourself, yeah ? Go hang out in the woods, it's always nice.

Worship <3

#oof #polteergeistt rambles #polteergeistt writes #sleep token #sleep token band #sleep token vessel #vessel #vessel sleep token #sleep token fanfiction #sleep token iii #sleep token iv #ii #vessel iii #iii #iii sleep token #sleep token ii #iv #iv sleep token #vessel iv

[factorialsotherfandoms]

tw: talk of major canonical character death in an au context, also implied neglect if not abuse

I am not confident at modern aus, but I desperately need one where Fit and Spreen were married. And were planning on a divorce. But Spreen never showed up to the meeting with the lawyer, his last message being an annoyed and rude text to Fit about how he'd be late due to traffic. Because Spreen isn't there to sign the paperwork, the divorce cannot be finalised - for seperated couples they have to be seperated for a few years before the divorce paperwork can go through without both signatures.

Now, either Spreen is killed somehow obvious (car accident, Fit gets called in to formally id the body that evening), OR Spreen genuinely vanishes, and his body just mysteriously shows up months later in a ditch or something. The body too decayed and mutilated to determine the cause of death, though clearly something violent. Alternatively months later his car and body found bottom of a lake if you don't want violence.

Either way, Fit ends up a widower, not a divorcee, and has to deal with that.

IF taking the violence option, it'd be really cool to link into a big conspiracy plot where he was killed by the Federation and maybe to complicate things more he was genuinely a shitty husband and father but he /did/ love them both enough he played up how much he hated them because he knew he was being watched and didn't want backlash to fall on them. Add both a big mystery and high stakes plot, with the added emotional gut punch of Fit learning Spreen loved him and Ramon just enough to save them from the consequences of his actions (Roier can get this slap in the face too it'd be fun, but I'm talking about the other family atm), but not enough to be kind. And then Fit and Ramon being dragged into it all anyway, either via Pac and Mike or via Missa - his close friend's husband and his brother-in-law - getting the Federation's attention as Spreen couldn't manage to act hate enough towards his brother to keep them from getting suspicious on that relationship.

Anyway it's just thoughts about a messy au I don't think I could write (feel free to adopt bits or all of it if they take your fancy), but I wish I could do longfic as the more i think the more i want it.

#qsmp #qsmp au #qsmp fit #qsmp Spreen

[sadboyeddie]

Things That Go Hump In The Night

October 19th: Werewolf!Steve

Kinktober 2022

Summary: You come across a furry friend

Warnings: (Minors DNI 18+ only) smut, blood, biting, daddy kink, breeding

A/N: So this is the alternative for the previous Vampire Eddie fic but with Werewolf Steve instead, that’s why the beginning is the same. I’ve marked when the new chapter starts so you can skip passed the old stuff if you read the previous chapter.

7.5k Words

Masterlist

You let out a pained groan as you peel your eyes open but the harsh fluorescent light causes you to immediately snap them shut.

What happened?

As your mind starts to clear of the fog of unconsciousness you realise that you’re currently laying on a very uncomfortable floor. You heave out a sigh as you roll onto your side and sit up, instantly grabbing your head as a sharp pain throbs through your temples.

You take a deep breath as you try to remember what happened last night. It was the weekend so you decided to go out with some work friends to unwind.

There was some drinking involved.

You honestly didn’t want to go but you’d just moved to the area and didn’t want to be impolite.

A few months prior an old friend from school sent you a link to a small town where the housing was cheap and the pay rate was high, to say you were skeptical would be an understatement. This place seemed like a dream come true, so what was the catch?

Well, according to some research, back in the 80s there was a neighbouring town, Hawkins, where a number of strange incidents happened, ranging from missing kids, chemical leaks, Russian spies and even cult stuff. In March of 86’ there was an earthquake that split the town and big clouds of ash and sulphuric gases spewed out like an active volcano.

Because the air was toxic, and due to the earthquake, more people died or went missing never to be found again so they forced an evacuation. Kind of like Chernobyl, most people couldn’t even collect their most precious items before they were being escorted out.

The U.S government built a large steel wall to fence in Hawkins, apparently months after the event people would try to sneak in and would inevitably never be seen again. They have a 24/7 U.S military surveillance and, according to some conspiracy sites, a private military group that monitor the fence line.

You thought it all seemed a bit much, it’s almost been forty years for Christ sake, but people were stupid and it technically didn’t effect you so it wasn’t really your issue.

When you were travelling to the small town the roads were barren and in bad shape, you were also shocked to see the large black plume of smoke that towers into the sky. Sure you’d seen pictures but seeing it in person was much more alarming.

According to some ‘survivor stories’ the smoke was so thick it was like constant night in Hawkins.

You found a few Reddit subs about conspiracies and there was a user who posted a lot in the different groups, ‘HawkinsHero86’, they posted stories about growing up in Hawkins.

You ended up reading a lot of their entries but had to stop because you were freaking yourself out. It started like fun stories but then it went into nightmare territory — creatures with no faces, teens being turned into pretzels, cult leaders, kids with superpowers, the creepy list was endless.

You closed the browser and for a few weeks you forgot all about Hawkins and the creatures that came from the lab, but your friend sent you a link to a job opening and you snatched it right up.

You surmised that the reason housing was cheap and pay was high was because of the negativity that’s spurred from all the rumours but you weren’t going to let it ruin an opportunity for a fresh beginning for you. Living expenses were high in the city so if you buckled down and saved your money from this new job you could pave your way to a brighter future.

After a few weeks of being in the small town you’d learnt a lot. First of all: the job you had was mundane, secondly: there’s a large facility between this town and Hawkins that constantly monitors the hell scape around the clock and thirdly: the locals were very… weird.

It was hard to make friends with the locals, and you haven’t really, the friends you made at work were all out of towners like yourself who were lured in by money. The locals were standoffish and only talked to you if they really had to and even then it was one worded replies.

The building you were staying in was payed by the company you work for, you found it odd that a job where all you do is the bare minimum would pay for your housing. You work at the local hospital as a lunch lady. Everyone in the apartment building had similar minor jobs like your own, cleaning, cooking etc. it was strange but you didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Not even when you were driving home one night and got lost, you came across a large fenced off field that was filled with hundreds of cars. Some old some new, considering there’s maybe two hundred locals in the town this came off as a red flag but maybe because you’re young and stupid or maybe it’s because it all felt unreal to you but for some reason you believed nothing bad was going to happen and stuff like this only happens in the movies.

That’s why you ignored the warnings of “don’t stay out too late, you never know what wild things run about at night,” or the looks of pity and emptiness on the locals faces, you were only going to be here for a short while anyway.

Now that’s you’re sitting in a white tiled room you’re filled with regret for not listening to your gut.

The room was small and empty, there was a mirror that took up a majority of one of the walls, and you suspect in was two ways, with a camera in the corner. You slid back until your body made contact with the wall and observed the tiny prison.

After a few minutes there was a unpleasant crackling that filled the room followed by a mysterious voice.

“Ah, you’re awake?” You bite back the urge to reply with sarcasm, there’s a beat of silence as they wait for your reply but when they realise none is coming the continue on, “I’m sure you’re very confused, we hope to clear things up very soon we just require a bit more time,” the voice is sickly sweet, “please bare with us.”

The crackling ceases and and you’re once again left in silence as you wait. You want to bang on the door and mirror and scream to be let out but you doubt that would do anything other then exhaust your energy.

You’re not sure how much time passed before two men entered the room, fully dressed in white and wearing matching scowls. You stand up instantly but stay rooted to the floor.

“Come here,” the one of the left orders you, his voice gruff. You clench your jaw and stand straighter.

If they want you they have to come and get you.

The one who spoke lets out a sigh of annoyance, not happy with your defiance, as the other man stalks towards you.

The small bit of bravery you felt earlier instantly dissipates as the large orderly towers over you, not quick enough to fight back you’re grabbed and dragged from the room.

The walk through building is slightly disorienting, there’s so many twists and turns and everything looks the same, you’re honestly surprised these men know where they’re going.

You arrive at a set of double doors, after a keycard is scanned you’re hauled into a large room with other people — prisoners?

You’re quick to realise the prisoners are all the people from your apartment complex, you furrow your forehead in confusion as you stand idle in the middle of the room. At least nine others reside in the room with you.

You go to walk over to one of the people, Tori, you’ve gotten closest with but before you can a man wearing a three piece suit in a lab coat enters the room, followed by a few armed orderlies.

You instinctively step back toward the farthest wall and try to make yourself look as small as possible, unfortunately there’s a few male prisoners who try to act tough and end up getting a knock to the nose from the butt of the gun.

“Let’s not erupt into chaos,” the voice from the doctor (?) matches the one from the intercom. “My name is Doctor Yuri and I’m sure you’re all wondering why you’re hear.”

There’s a few scoffs from around the room from the more braver captives and Dr. Yuri smirks at their response.

“36 years ago there was an incident in Hawkins,” he starts to explain, “you see, our reality is not the only one out there.”

You scrunch up your face in confusion and a quick glance around the room shows you’re not the only one confused.

“There is a reality right next to ours, it’s been affectionately dubbed ‘The Upside Down’,” he continues, still not making much sense, “this reality mirrors our own almost completely except for a few minor details.”

He takes a long pause as everyone, including yourself, waits impatiently for him to continue.

“In this reality instead of people there are monsters, it’s dark and cold and twisted’,” he goes quiet for a few seconds, “there were those who tried to stop the incident and those who tried to continue so they could study it, unfortunately both were not prepared for what was on the other side… Pure evil.”

Your mind is spinning with the information and you can’t help but notice that a few things sound familiar to what the Reddit user was saying.

“After a great battle on both sides unfortunately ‘The Upside Down’ won. It claimed Hawkins and a lot of the citizens but for the brave few that tried to fight against them they were met with a fate worse then death,”… “they became monsters themselves.”

The room is silent as you all try to comprehend the situation. This all seems like a plot to a poorly written story not real life.

“We’re not sure exactly what happened after Hawkins was lost but we know the monsters are strong,” Dr. Yuri looks pensive for a moment and before he continues he’s interrupted.

“Why not just bomb them?”

“Yeah, or send the army in?”

Dr. Yuri looks annoyed, “do you really think we’ve not tried that!” He snaps, “it only makes them stronger, the vines feed from the energy of the weapons and that causes them to grow and the soldiers, well, the soldiers feed the monsters.”

The explanation causes the room to fall silent once again.

“We’ve struck a deal of sorts with them,“ Dr. Yuri’s voice is quiet, “if we provide them with… certain things they will not become a threat to us.”

You nervously chew on your fingernails, the more he speaks the less sense he makes but the gist you’re getting from this is: you’re gonna die today.

“W-what ‘things’?” Someone braver then you asks.

“I believe you all know,” Yuri speaks, he sounds slightly guilty.

Once the information is processed in everyone’s minds the room erupts into chaos. Screaming and cursing from both sides as the prisoners try to rush the guards or escape the room.

You sink to the floor and crawl along the sides of the room towards the exit, praying that due to the scuffle you may pass unnoticed. You let out a gasp as a someone falls next to you, their body convulsing as 1,200 volts of electricity shocks through them and leaves them incapacitated.

You watch as others fall to the same fate and before you can get close you feel a hot sting begin to pulse through your veins as you fall back onto the cold floor while volts of electricity shock you into submission.

It takes probably half an hour and a handful more of taser ‘demonstrations’ before the prisoners give up the fight. You admit after the first shock you didn’t put up an fight after that.

“Think of this as helping your fellow man,” Dr. Yuri says when the room has calmed down, “your sacrifice is for a noble cause.”

With those final words he leaves the room and more armed guards come in, though this time instead of using their tasers they hold full automatic weapons in their hands.

You tense as everyone is rounded up like cattle and marched back through the confusing halls of the facility, you’re then lead to an large elevator that takes you deep underground.

You’re all forced out into a long, dark, cement corridor that seems endless, before anyone can ask what’s going on the doors shut on the elevator and several sci-fi looking iron doors close over the opening. There’s no possible way to access the elevator or the shaft from this end.

The only way forward is through the tunnel.

Every one stands in place and looks around the area in confusion before Dr. Yuri can be heard over the intercom, “you must leave the tunnel, if you don’t the guards will come back down and they will force you to vacate.”

You walk like zombies onward, everyone too afraid to speak. It all seems unbelievable, it doesn’t make sense. You heard stories about rich people hunting the poor for sport and that’s exactly what this feels like.

Your head spins with the array of information forced upon you in such a small amount of time. You wrap your arms around your chest, the chilly air of the tunnel causing goosebumps to rise under your thin sweater, the cries and sniffles of the others reverberate off the cement walls only serving to add to the misery. You feel as though you’re walking to the electric chair, and in someways you were.

After walking, for what feels like forever, you come across a metal door, once opened it reveals a narrow staircase that’s only wide enough for everyone to walk in single file.

No one wants to be first, you all stand there for a few seconds waiting for someone to be brave and take the lead but no one does.

You suck in a deep shuddering breath deciding to just do it, waiting for death seems more painful then what’s to come.

You ascend the metal staircase, cringing every time your step causes the steel to creak and after several long minutes you finally reach the top.

The landing is enough for a few of you to huddle together and you wait for the others to join you, most of them seem content on dragging their feet.

When everyone has gathered by the top of the stairs you turn towards the door, a fresh wave of terror and dread crashes through your body and gathering by the postures and facial expressions on the groups face you know you’re not the only one feeling it.

You reach forward and pull down the thin metal door handle and wince as the it makes a loud, almost ear piercing, squeak that carry’s out amongst the trees. When you step over the threshold, away from the small comfort that the tunnel provided, you quickly survey the area.

The exit from the tunnel looks like a small cement outhouse and it’s surrounded by forest on all sides. The woods are dark and there’s a multitude of strange noises bouncing off the trees making it seem like you’re surrounded, and for all you know you are.

You let out a gasp and step back as a dark figure runs through the shadows, so quick it couldn’t possibly be human, but so large it couldn’t possible be an animal.

“What? What was it!” Someone harshly whispers from behind you.

“S-something is out there,” you point to the area where you saw the figure run to as your eyes dart all around.

You hear some cursing and will yourself to calm down. This won’t be so bad if you keep a level head about you.

Unfortunately there’s not enough time to calm down because seconds later a blood curdling scream is heard from behind you and when you whip around you see a large pale creature on top of one of the men and is mauling his neck.

Everyone, including yourself, scatters into different directions into the woods. You feel a pang of guilt over leaving someone behind to die but as of the moment your mind can barely comprehend what exactly it was you just saw.

You keep running in hopes of reaching a road or a town so you can hide but so far it’s just more woods. You run until your lungs start to burn and your thighs are chafing but the image of the monster back there fuels your adrenaline.

You skid to an immediate halt when you’re met with a literal crossroads, you kneel down and crouch behind a log as you clutch your chest from exhaustion. You were no athlete. You can hear blood in your ears and as sweat trickles down your forehead and you fight to level your breathing.

The left path is dark, really dark, the vines are more twisted and gnarled and there’s a soft fog rising from the floor of the woods.

The right path however is less dark and less… vine-y but now that your breathing has calmed down you can hear a deep growling coming from the path.

Your hands are now shaking against your chest as you struggle to pick the lesser of two evils.

x-x-x-x-start-x-x-x-x

The fog to the left has started to come in thick, so thick you can’t even see the trees anymore, there’s also sticks snapping and weird noises coming from that path so you pick the right path and pray to a deity that you don’t believe in that it’s the right path.

You rush through the thicket of dead, spindly trees, being careful to step over large vines protruding from the dirt as you wander further into the dank woods. You hear a growl to the left of you but it’s not like the one you heard earlier from the pale creature, that one was more high pitched, this growl sounded like it came from the chest, deep and rumbling.

You immediately turn to the noise and let out a yelp at the four-legged creature, in your attempts to back away slowly you end up ungraciously falling. You land with a thud as you scramble away from the large dark shadow until your back is pressed against the rough bark of a tree.

You cringe in fear as two unblinking gold, glowing eyes stare down at you and whimper when it starts to move menacingly closer.

You snap your eyes shut tight as tears trail down your face and curl your fingers into the dirt and wait for death to strike you down. You just pray that it’s fast and painless.

There’s a hot breath on your face and you turn to the side when you feel the warmth of the creature as it steps over your legs, you’re momentarily confused as you feel fur lightly grazing your calves.

You sit there waiting for the thing to make it’s move, seconds feel like hours, when you suddenly feel a wet tongue on your cheek. You let out an undignified squeal and flinch back, wincing when your head makes contact with the tree.

“Ow,” you mumble, forgetting for a second about the creature only inches from your face.

You feel a huff of warm air hit your face and your attention instantly returns to the large wolf?

“Ooooh my go-od,” you stutter as the demon dog watches you carefully with piercing eyes, “um, hello…”

You talk to It in a calming voice like you would a spider or a small child, trying to convey you mean It no harm when once again another puff of hot air is blown on your face… almost like this thing is laughing at you.

“Are you, uh, are you gonna hurt me?” You speak slowly still not a hundred percent sure on what is going on.

Though you’re not given much time to ruminate when It leans forward and licks your face again, this time the wet appendage covers the whole cheek in a thick layer of slobber.

“Okay, okay!” You huff a laugh as you push at Its chest, the wolf is very tall that it has to lean its head down to make eye contact with you.

You feel a light breeze on your ankles, kind of like It’s wagging It’s tail and you can’t help but crack a barely-there smile.

You spend a few moments in silence, both taking the time to size up the other when you end up making intense eye contact.

His eyes are large and almost… human?

Before you can follow that thought process a branch snapping just a few meters away grab both your attention.

The wolf is quick to take up a fighting stance, fully facing the tall pale creature as you scramble to your feet. The creature starts to walk towards you slowly but is instantly stopped as the wolf lunges in front of you and lets out a deep, threatening growl, you swear you can feel the vibrations in your chest at the sound.

The creature instantly stops in its tracks but keeps its empty face pointed in your direction, you assume it’s watching you in someway. You stay deadly still and wait to see who makes the first move as your eyes dart around your surroundings in hopes of finding an easy path if you have to run.

The pale creature risks it all and moves insanely fast in your direction but even with the long gangly limbs it’s not quick enough as the wolf tackles the monster just before it can swipe you with its horrific sharp claws.

The wolf tears into the creatures side and a black substance oozes from the wound, blood surely, with a terrifying ear piercing screech the thing cries out. The wolf rips onto its neck silencing it permanently and for a few blissful seconds you feel a little relieved.

That is until several shrieks can be heard all around you, to say your heart dropped out your ass would be an understatement. You let out a whimper and move closer to the wolf who looks around the woods with sharp eyes.

A growl from the wolf has you snapping your gaze to the left where several creatures start to emerge, all on four legs, though these ones do not resemble a wolf.

Fear starts to overcome you and your hands start to shake violently as the creatures are joined by more just like them.

There’s a tense calm before the storm as they gather together and without any visible warning they all lunge towards you and the wolf together.

The wolf scratches one and sinks it’s teeth in to another but you don’t wait around to see how this fight pans out, you turn tail and run in the opposite directions. You feel a pang of guilt over leaving the wolf there alone but you figure it knows what it’s doing… you however do not.

The sounds of the fighting start to get fainter the more you sprint away from it but you with a quick glance backwards you catch a glimpse of two of the creatures on your heels.

You feel dread start to overcome you but when you break through as small thicket of bushes and your feet make contact with tar you feel a small bit of relief.

Just up ahead of the road you see a gas station so you muster all the energy you can and push forward, you run passed the building and head towards the small tin mechanics shed and quickly push the door closed and latch it until it’s firmly locked.

You let out a small cry as the creatures ram against the metal trying to get in and as the noises get louder you slip into fight or flight mode.

You look around the dark space for anything that could be of use, there’s a car covered in vines but you feel like that wouldn’t be in driving condition so you call that Plan B. On one of the work benches it’s filled with wrenches and car parts but nothing large or sturdy enough to help you.

With shaky hands you flip and push away indiscernible papers and documents until you make contact with a small box of matches, you let out a barely audible noise of happiness which switches to a curse as you drop the box on the ground. You get on your hands and knees, it’s so dark in the garage you can barely see so you heavily rely on feeling around, you try to focus on positive things whenever your fingers make contact with something wet and squishy.

Before you can find any matches the metal door breaks away with a loud crash that has you skidding back, thankfully you’re hidden behind the car so the creatures haven’t seen you yet… but since they can’t see you, you can’t see them either.

You quietly rest your front half against the cold cement floor and look underneath the car, you bite your lip to still the whimper as you see the legs of one of the creatures.

Where’s the other one?

You don’t have a chance to look around before you feel something slimy and thick dribbling down your cheek.

You snap your head back and let out a scream when the creature leaps from the roof of the car to the spot right in front of you. Without much time to think you open the drivers seat door and quickly slam it behind you, managing to close it just before you’re scratched.

There’s not time to feel relieved as the creature starts throwing itself against the window trying to get in. The other creature follows it’s lead and jumps onto the hood of the car and begins to slam its body against the windshield, your breath catches in your throat as the glass starts to crack, you turn to climb over the back when almost simultaneously the window and the windshield smash at the same time.

As both creatures fight to get to the back you manage to open the door with trembling hands and fall out onto the hard cement, you kick the door shut and it smacks against the face of one of the dogs. You scrunch up your face when you feel a thin piece of wood beneath your fingers and quickly grab the match before crawling over to the fuel tank, you uncap it before striking the match against your shoe and drop it into the nozzle before turning and running towards the entrance.

There’s only a slight chance that will work and for a few panic induced seconds you’re convinced it didn’t but a loud explosion from behind followed by an intense force thrusting you forward against the gravel shows you it did.

You let out a hiss as you push yourself up, there’s no way those creatures didn’t hear that, and wipe your scraped and bloody hands on your jeans, whimpering as a few sharp rocks dig into your palms a bit.

You hear a sickening howl from behind and you snap your eyes to the garage that’s now engulfed in flames, one of the creatures stumbles out, completely on fire, before falling dead to the ground.

Your victory is short lived as shrieks and growls can be heard getting closer.

You’re about ready to give up when a hand grabs your forearm and you let out a startled cry. You throw around your fists, slapping and punching the offender but in reality you’re probably not causing much damage.

“Hey, calm down!” The voice is aggressive but hearing another human being has you stopping your assault.

You feel your mouth open and close like a fish out of water as your eyes meet with the prettiest brown ones you’ve ever seen, they’re so warm and… familiar.

Unfortunately a growl that’s too close for comfort ruins the moment for you and the man in front of you laces his fingers with yours before leading you away from the noise.

You ran for what seems like hours, your lungs are burning and you’re gasping for breath. You start to stumble a bit which caused the man to grind to a halt.

“What’s wrong?” His voice is gravelly from not talking but he turns to you and quickly looks over your body.

“‘What’s wrong?’” You scoff as you drop his hand and hunch over to catch your breath. “Oh boy, where to start,” you sarcastically reply.

As harsh as your tone is you’re extremely relieved to find another survivor.

“C’mon,” he nods his head in a direction and you both start to move again, this time at a slower pace.

You spend the next however long observing the man from the back, you scrunch your nose up and you try to remember him. You didn’t personally know all of the captives but you had seen them around the apartment building but you’ve never seen him.

He’s the prettiest man you’ve ever seen so you definitely would remember him.

When you start walking down a barren street you notice that the man is walking with a slight limp, his hand clutching his ribs. It’s hard to distinguish injuries in the dark and you don’t want to risk saying something until you’re safe so you continue to watch him until he turns up a steepish driveway.

There’s not a lot of houses in the street and the house you’re walking towards is hidden by a few trees. You assume you’re going to go inside the building but to your surprise the man makes a turn and heads towards a metal box.

On closer inspection you notice two large doors and realise it’s a storm shelter, he throws open one of the doors and you wince as the squeaking of the hinges bounce around off the trees.

He nods his head towards the stairs and you nod before descending. Instant relief floods through your veins when you reach the bottom and the room is filled with a warm glow from the camping lantern.

The shelter isn’t that big and the floor is entirely made up of mattresses, pillows and blankets. It looks more like a giant nest.

You kick off your shoes, not wanting to add more dirt then necessary to the pile as you make your way over to the wall closest to the lantern.

You hear the man close the door before quickly hopping down the stairs, he gives you a disarming smile before removing his shoes and heading over to a small adjacent room, first glance shows you it’s a bathroom.

He grabs a box from under the sink and walks over and sits down directly in front of you and makes a start to clean your wounds.

Now that you’re in a relatively safe environment your body has started to come down from the adrenaline and you’re exhausted. Your limbs are heaving and so are your eyelids, you can definitely fall asleep but the sharp sting from your palms has your eyes shooting back open. The man gives you an apologetic look before applying ointment and bandaging up the wounds.

Once finished he doesn’t let go of your palms, you look down at the conjoined hands with heated cheeks, your hands are tiny in his, but the feeling of comfort soothes your racing heart.

He seems reluctant to let go but judging by the hiss of pain he lets out when removing his shirt you’re guessing he also needs to be patched up.

When you move to clean him he gently pushes your hands away with a soft smile, you stare at him in confusing as he only used a bandage to stop the bleeding when clearly he needs stitches but almost like he can sense you’re about to say something he places his hand on the back of yours and squeezes in reassurance.

You gathered by now, with the personalised bunker, that whoever this guy is he’s been here a long time. He chucks you a surprisingly clean shirt and turns away to give you some privacy as you change out of your dirty clothes. You don’t want to tell him you’re done, talking, even whispering seems too loud right now so you hope he can sense it.

And much to your surprise he does.

Later that night the lantern is off and you’re in complete darkness, it would be unbelievably terrifying if not for the warm presence of the man besides you.

And you mean warm warm. He’s like a furnace. Not that you’re complaining. Ever since arriving in the dystopian hell you’ve had a cold chill you haven’t been able to kick but as you lay here next to the Human Torch you feel the ice inside you start to thaw.

“Who are you?” Your quiet whisper sounds foreign to your ears but you push past it, “how long have you been here?”

“Does it matter?” He matches your volume and the timber in his voice has your heart fluttering in your chest.

“I guess not,” you’re laying on your back but you turn your head to look at him when you answer, “but I’d still like to know.”

There’s a stillness in the air as you wait a long time for a reply, you know he’s still awake but judging by the tense silence you’re sure he’s not going to answer you.

You were wrong.

“My name’s Steve,” his voice is even more quiet from before, “I’ve been here a very long time.”

He enunciates the ‘long’ at for some reason it makes your heart clench in… sadness?

You’ve only know this man for a few hours and barely spoken ten words to him but you feel this strong magnetic pull.

It’s very possible it could be from the fear, clutching on to anyone so you didn’t have to be here alone, but something deep insides you tells you that that’s not it.

“Hi Steve,” you greet before introducing yourself and he lets out a huff of amusement.

A huff that sounds weirdly familiar.

Just like the eyes.

No… it couldn’t be… right?

No, you’re just tired and your mind is exhausted.

You slowly turn your head to look at Steve and slightly jolt in place when you see he’s already staring at you… his eyes slightly glowing in the dark.

Your heart rate spikes but oddly enough it’s not from fear.

“Are you scared?” He’s already aware of the conclusion you’ve come to and most likely he can hear your heartbeat.

“No.” Your voice is firm, you’re not afraid, if anything you feel safer with him then you’ve ever felt in your life.

“Good.” You breath hitches as his eyes flicker down to your mouth, the air is thick and you all of a sudden are feeling too hot.

“Ste—“ your sentence is interrupted as the werewolf in front of you lunges forward, mouth smashing against yours in a heated kiss.

You lean further into him and he pulls you until you’re laying on top of him completely, you turn your head slightly and deepen the kiss as one of his hands remain on your waist and the other cups your cheek.

He pushes his tongue between your lips and you let out a desperate moan at the taste on his tongue — you split a chocolate bar earlier.

As his tongue moves against yours you bring your hips down against his absentmindedly as the desire and arousal starts to build up.

The growl he releases into your mouth is deep as he grinds his hips up against yours while using the hand on your waist to help you start a rhythm on his lap.

Every time your clit grinds over his cock you let out a small whimper which Steve happily swallows down, eager to devour anything you give him.

You move your hands under his shirt and rest them on his warm tummy, your fingers running over his hairy abdomen and you gasp as you notice his previous wounds from earlier are completely healed. He lets out a pleased hum as he continues to buck up into the warmth between your legs.

“Steve, please,” your whine is desperate but you don’t care you just need him.

“You sure, baby?” He pecks your lips as few times but never stops the movement from his hips.

“Please,” you nod eagerly, lips grazing against his as you swallow down every breath he takes, “need you inside me.”

You feel his growl vibrate through his chest and rumble against your, the motion causing electricity to strike down your spine to your core.

In a matter of seconds the clothes you’re wearing are torn from your body landing in shredded piles on the floor, Steve shows no remorse as he moves to kiss every new part of exposed skin, nipping and sucking as he goes.

He’s quick to strip down and you audibly gulp when you see the size of him, if you hadn’t known he was a monster before you would now.

He smirks at your shock before sitting his back against the wall and pulling you into his lap, when your bare pussy runs against his cock you moan out before leaning forward and wrapping your arms around his neck.

He noses at your jawline until you turn your head and he dives straight to the tendon on your neck and starts to suck a dark bruise on the soft skin, you pull at the ends of his hair near the nape of his neck as you grind down harder on his dick.

He groans into the bruise before moving his mouth lower and sucking an identical mark to match.

You continue a moderate pace on his lap, your arousal wetting his cock and making the glide a lot smoother, he lets out mixtures of growls and groans that tickle your throat as he litters it with bruises.

When he’s satisfied he pulls back and plants kisses all over your cheeks making you blush and giggle before pushing his face back.

“Wanna ride me, baby?” It’s not really a question but you clench around nothing anyway.

“Please,” you nod, biting your lip.

“‘Please,’ what?” His smirk is light and teasing and you let out a small amused scoff before answering.

“Please, Daddy!” You bat your eyelashes and let out an exaggerated moan in his ear but he’s satisfied as he bucks up against your heat.

“Good girl,” he praises and lightly slaps your left ass cheek, the motion causing your breath to hitch.

He doesn’t say anything about his newest discovery as he reaches down and lines his cock up with your entrance, rubbing his tip through your folds to gather your slick, it’s gonna be a bit of a tight fit so he wants to make it as comfortable as possible for you.

Your breath comes out in heavy pants as he inches into you bit by bit, the head was thick and it only gets thicker the more you take.

He kisses the corner of your eyes where tears are slowly gathering and whispers small praises into the skin of your cheek as he massages your waist.

When you make it half way down you pull off a little and start to fuck yourself on the top part of his member, hoping it will loosen you up a little bit.

“That’s it, baby,” Steve encourages as he helps lift you, “fuck my cock, take what you need.”

You clench around his throbbing length and he lets out a moan at the tight feeling, he closes his eyes as he reins in his urges to fuck up into your womb.

Very soon you’ve almost managed to fit the entire length of him inside you but your legs are getting tired and you’re growing impatient so you decide fuck it before seating yourself entirely on his lap.

You cry out in pleasure and pain as your pussy burns at the stretch and his tip rubs against your cervix, Steve lets out an animalistic howl as he buries his head into your neck and bites down hard.

A flood of arousal drenches your pussy and drips down his cock as you hiss out at the sting of his teeth but seconds later the pain is replaced with a blinding pleasure and you have the incredible urge to be connected with Steve forever.

Almost in unison Steve lifts you by your waist as you sit up, he leans back and slots his mouth against yours as he brings your hips harshly down until he bottoms out again. Your cries of pleasure are muffled by his lips and he quickly starts a rhythm as he bounces you on his cock.

You let him manhandle you and use you how he pleases, a warm thought passes through you that you’d be happy if he only uses your pussy to get himself off and leaves you wet and desperate for him all night.

There’s a blinding light behind your eyes every time his tip makes contact with your cervix, the room his filled with deep groans and whimpers along with the slapping of his thighs making contact with yours and the wet sounds of his cock pounding your tight hole.

“Gonna fill you up,” he moans as he moves his hand to your chest, thumb flicking your nipple, “fuck my pups into you,” you let out a debauched moan at the thought, “have you barefoot and pregnant for the rest of your life,” he voice takes on a whine at the end as he wraps his lips around your nipple and sucks hard.

You throw your head back and let moans and whimpers freely fall from your mouth as you envision your future with Steve, somehow the image of being bred by him doesn’t turn you off, in fact it has the opposite effect.

“You’re mine,“ he bites down on your nipple before pulling away and cupping your face until your eyes are locked with his, “say it.”

His voice is deep and commanding and it makes your pussy twitch around him and you instantly follow his orders.

“I’m yours, Steve,” you moan.

“You belong to me?” He asks as his fucks up into you a little harder.

“Yes,” you nod, “I belong to you!”

“You’ll let me fill your pretty little womb with my pups?” His voice still has a hard edge but it’s softened a little.

“Want you to breed me, Steve,” your whine turns to a moan when his eyes darken considerably.

“My pretty whore,” he whispers against your lips before inviting you into a deep heated kiss, this one more passionate then the last few.

“Can I cum, Daddy?” You breathlessly beg against his lips when you pull away, your orgasm quickly building.

“Yes,” he smiles and rubs his nose against yours before moving his hand down to flick your clit.

Sparks shoot through your body to your core as you let out desperate cries of pleasure, Steve adds more pressure to your throbbing nub as he thrusts his hips up a little harder, driving his cock deeper inside you.

You arch your back, pushing your chest against his as pleasure overwhelms your body, your ears are filled with the sound of rushing blood and you can just make out the similar sounds of pleasure coming from Steve as he fucks your pussy to completion.

When your senses come back you’re slumped against Steve’s chest as your body lightly spasms in his hold, you’re both sweating and fighting for breath but there’s a smile on your face as you blissfully come down from your orgasm.

Steve’s hands rub soothingly up your back and you’re a little disappointed that you missed his climax but you figure there will be plenty of time to make up for that in the future.

Your pussy is sore from the beating it took but it’s the best pain you’ve ever felt, when you move to lift off his slowly softening member your brows furrow in confusion as you feel something bulbous at his base.

“Uh, what’s that?” Your voice cracks from over use, you don’t exactly understand werewolf biology.

“That’s, ah…” Steve seems a little embarrassed as he looks away from your face, a light dusting of red covering his cheeks, “that’s my… knot.”

“What—“

“It’s for when I get you pregnant,” the newfound confidence throws you off as he leans forward and pecks your lips, seductive Steve making a reappearance, “ plugs you up so my cum stays right here:”

He pats your lower abdomen and your pussy clenches around his soft cock at the implication, he hisses at the sensation, cock starting to harden again in interest but the smirk never leaves his face.

“Mine.” He leans in for another heated kiss and your mind starts to go hazy with arousal.

Yours.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Taglist

@eiriancrow

#stranger things #my writing #steve harrington #joe keery #steve harrington x reader #werewolf steve harrington #steve harrington x fem!reader #werewolf!steve #kinktober

[sergeifyodorov]

i cringe to even say this because it just feels so off but a (let's be honest, sidgeno) fic where sid goes to anaheim instead in 2005 (and maybe even baby bedard later if we dodge the conspiracy theories and just play pretend, as god intended) would rewrite my brain tbh. captain evgeni malkin? only seeing each other twice a year? a ducks v pens final? or it could even be like your tony fic but make sid go to other teams in a hell loop.....

now this is CERTAINLY an interesting prospect. the ducks in those days were so diff tho like... sid wouldve been teammates with SERGEI FEDOROV, RYAN GETZLAF, Hart-era COREY PERRY, and motherfucking TEEMU SELANNE... that's immediately a superteam. they won the cup in 2007 even without sid!!!! what even!!!!! maybe they'd still be the mighty ducks idk that branding change was a bad idea the old colouring/jersey goes kinda hard. sid with his pale, red-cheeked face, each feature somehow both too big and perfectly balanced, and that coal-dark hair in the Silly-Ass Ducks Jersey.

anyway with western conference sidney we'd have soooooo much more fun with the geno/ovi rivalry also... esp in 2009 when geno goes on that Conn Smythe Murderous Rampage (and defeats the caps on the way). sorry im temporarily ignoring sidgeno here but thinking thoughts anyway.

the real sid rival in that case would likely be the SHARKS.... ough. not that i know much abt that sharks era but they were so so good in there for so long (looking at them now makes this hard to believe but. it's true) and the SEDIN-ERA CANUCKS and EARLY KOPI KINGS.... all that to say the western road trips of the era would have thoroughly sucked for literally anyone who was anyone.

sorry nerding out about superteams. back to sidgeno we'd have to do this w like a.. hm. pittsburgh without sidney is different. they're still a reasonable team that's avoided having to be sold/moved but it's not hardly so much a hockey town. meanwhile anaheim's rabid; sid's practically a hollywood icon. not great when you're closeted, is it, to be a celebrity. so on his own eastern road trip, he slinks out in pittsburgh and walks until he finds a gay bar. and who does he see at this gay bar but a tall, familiar russian with an expressive face and hands the size of dinner plates?

because even a hockey superstar can get away with cruising in pittsburgh, because nobody cares in pittsburgh. the two of them get to talking, sid more to geno than geno to sid because sid's like, friendly and chatty and secretly so, so jealous of this kind of privacy. and it kind of. goes from there

#asks #sidney crosby #evgeni malkin