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bronx-bomber87 · 3 months

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Happy Monday wonderful fandom :) I can’t believe we’ve reached the finale I’m in shock we're here. This has been my side hobby for 9 plus months. I started these to get through the extended hiatus. I wasn’t even sure anyone would even read them. The response I got was so lovely. I adore this fandom. So welcoming to any new Chenford content.

So thank you to everyone who’s read these especially those who've been with me since the very beginning. I can’t explain how much it has meant to me. Whether it was likes, reblogs or comments. Special shout out to my tumblr bestie @makeitastrength and @northern-neighbor You both commented on every single one of these. Thank you so much for your insight and sticking with me this entire time. Means more than you'll ever know.

I’m planning to do mini reviews during this new season. Then this same kind of thing during our hiatus hopefully we’ll have S7 locked in by then. *fingers crossed* I finished this before S6 which was my goal. We are only 8 days away which is unreal. Eeeee. Let us get started.

5x22 Under Siege

This episode starts off with all kinds of anxiety. Aaron and Celina kill me with not calling the noise in WHY.... Why didn’t you call it in? Ugh. Celina lying on top of Aaron protecting him till they arrive. Rip my damn heart out right off the bat why don't ya? I’m going to cry. I love Tim and Lucy showing up to the scene together. They’re clearly off shift and showing up to the scene with each other. I love these little details they make my heart so happy.

They’re a packaged deal now and I couldn’t be happier about it. Also like to note looks like Lucy is wearing one of his jackets. Maybe they were at his place when they got the call? The sleeves look long on her and I adore it. Basically living together at this point. I can’t get over it. Just casually showing up to scenes now. Ain’t no thang. This thought is where I live till S6 LOL

Anyways Tim says he heard it was Aaron. Grey confirms this is true. GSW to the back. Looks like the same spot Jackson was shot. Eerily so. Three masked men and they were ambushed. The painful parallels to Jackson’s death in this one getting me in the feels. Grey has them start to work the scene. Lucy looks incredibly upset but is trying to keep it in check. Probably feeling the Jackson vibes too.

Our couple arrives at the hospital with an update. Once again arriving together. I love the quick looks we get as they approach. That silent communication of their's ever present. Also she is wearing the necklace I must comment. It’s popping against that shirt she is wearing. Like to also point out how look at each other while the other speaks. It’s the little things I love so very much. Getting massive 4x01 vibes from this scene too. Reminding me of the scene is Wes's living room night after the hug. The height difference, the way Lucy is looking at Tim as he speaks. United front power couple vibes.

So much can change and things like this stay the same I love it. They’re reporting back their CI’s have nothing. No one has heard back about a gang targeting cops. Lucy has also hit a dead end with the masks. Their next idea was Elijah but Tim says nothing out of prison confirming that. Angela and Wes are working on the riddle. Grey tells them to head home they’re not getting anywhere tonight. Once they've all left Grey turning to Luna saying he can lose another. Ugh getting me in the feels so early in this episode. More Jackson feels.

Lucy and Tim get home late. The minute they’re back Lucy’s walls are down. Tim can see how upset she is. Another great callback to 4x01. To that hug. Only this time Lucy doesn’t have to ask for it. Tim seeks her out. See’s how now that they're home her work walls are down. She is visibly wrecked and can't hold back the tears any longer. I love how he pulls her right into his arms. Being the exact comfort she needs in this moment. He can't stand to see her upset. Wanting to make it better.

Tim grabbing her instantly is so lovely. Lucy crashes into him and falls apart. He gets to comfort as much as she needs now. How very far we’ve come. It’s been a beautiful journey to this point. Lucy is ready to fall apart in her safe place. Knowing Tim will be there pick up the pieces. Shield her from the PTSD this must be bringing up for her. I love how he encases her fully. One hand around her back the other gently cradling her head to his chest.

Tim closing his eyes wanting to absorb her sadness. The swaying and his chin on top of her head. *squee* I love her being fully enclosed in his arms. Also never be over the fact Eric improvised the kiss to her head. Forever squeeing about that fact. Our ship King is the best. Oh captain my captain. How damn intimate and sweet it is as he does as such. Then resting his head back on hers. Telling her ‘It’s ok.’ His hand in her hair rubbing her back soothingly. I cannot. Lucy was alone last time. Grieved alone and dealt with everything solo.

Now she never has to be alone again and I wanna cry at that thought. Getting emotional at how beautiful this hug is. Lovely ray of sunshine in a rather dark finale. I love this scene so much it made my chest hurt. You want to see outstanding chemistry in a short amount of time? Watch this scene. Melissa and Eric are glorious together. We truly are so lucky to have them as our ship. This is such a soft and gentle moment.

Tim pulling her in and wanting to comfort her has me all in my feels. Lucy has this wonderful man to catch her when she falls now. To be able to absolutely come apart in his arms. Knowing he’ll be there to comfort and keep her together when she does. Gah I love them so much. Also A + to whoever does the music. The song in this moment is adding to the emotional depth of the scene. Amazingly good. It’s been so on point in this season. They need a raise whoever does this.

They finally have some suspects to track down. Violent felons that have connection to the station and to them as a group. Lucy offers to check on one by herself. Grey says no and Tim offers to go with her. Because he loves her and wants to keep her in his sights. They’ve all been attacked at this point. Except for him and Lucy. No way he’s letting her go solo. It’s not cause he didn’t trust her to handle herself. He can’t handle her going alone. His instincts on high alert.

Lucy telling Tim he should be out knocking down doors with Metro. Tim tells her 'He’s good'. As good as he can be without letting her out of his sights during this. Only they could so effortlessly flirt while on duty. In the middle of an intense OP. Lucy letting him know she doesn’t need him to protect her. Tim is very aware of this. Says he knows. Lucy turning this moment into some very cute light banter. Saying he is telling her he needs the protecting. Tim being sassy right back with his reply above. God I love them.

Their teasing and banter is iconic. Lucy’s next line is fantastic. I know we haven’t had an official ILY you yet. But they’ve said it so many different ways this season. In moments such as this. When we do officially get it not gonna be a shock to either of them. Tim telling her 'Back at you.' Making me all emotional. They are such a power couple and the next portion of this episode proves that. I’ve always said watching them in the field is poetry in motion. This next battle scene is literal proof of such.

It’s a good thing Tim came with her. I don’t want to think what would’ve happened if she’d been alone. The creepy crowd coming at them. My stomach dropped. First Tim willing to sacrifice himself for her so she could get away. *heart clutch* Man would die for her and not even blink in the decision making process. Lucy of course will not allow this whatsoever. Valiant or not he’s not falling on his sword for her.

We get a nice call back to 1x18. Not only with Lucy saying they need to go to higher ground. Like he taught her in that ep but to show no mercy. Tim instructing they hurt as many as they can and then retreat upstairs. Lucy getting exactly what he’s saying because they’re simpatico. This entire scene shows that. Also LOVE Lucy saying they only stand a chance TOGETHER. Theme of this season right here. They're better together. Damn right.

What a bad ass battle couple we have. Look at this scene. Lucy calling the audibles in this moment and Tim following her play. Repeating it back and saying 'Copy that.' Gah I love this so very much. Tim trusts her gut without question. Not a doubt in his mind to go with it. The amount of respect he has for her in the field is immense. He was going to stay behind she said no. Then Tim instantly followed her lead after that.

Damnit I love them so much. Tim’s instinct is to always protect Lucy. Where her's is to protect them both in this moment. It’s never because he thinks she can’t handle it. Tim just can’t handle the idea of losing her if he doesn’t. Started from the bottom now we're here and I’m emotional. Also the song once again killer during this epic scene.

Love her touching his arm before they engage in battle in that first one. Look at them in the final two above. I know Eric said they had a blast filming this. They are so damn in-sync. It's such an amazing thing to watch them take these people on. Like I've sad many times before poetry in motion when they're in the field. I love getting to watch the well oiled machine that is them. This was that on steroids ha

Eric was so excited for us to watch this scene and I can see why. It so fun to watch. Taking these guys apart together one at a time. I LOVE Lucy taking that guy out and then grabbing his riot shield. Tim is starting to get overwhelmed and she makes work of what's around her. Running towards Tim getting that guy off her man. With a very impressive shove might I add. Sends him flying down the stairs with the others. They have to start retreating up the stairs after this. They are slowly running out of ammo as well. Backup has yet to arrive and they're battling the best they can to stay alive till it does.

Harper and Nolan finally arrive on scene. Nyla tells John to get to them. She is going to get her sniper rifle even the odds a bit. Unfortunately even with higher ground they’re getting ambushed from all sides now. It's now all melee combat at this point without ammo. Tim takes a guy out with pepper spray and gets a guy off his girl.

Who is literally choking the life out of her. Tim dispatches this guy with any remaining rage he has left. Smashing this guy's face into the wall. Making sure he can't get up to get back to her. All the while Harper being a bad ass snipping people left and right for Tim. This scene is epic af. I love it so much. One of my all time field scenes for sure. They did a damn good job with this holy cow.

Then we get an other beautiful parallel from 1x01 to now. When Lucy pulled Tim to safety mid battle. We get to see Tim do the same for her. The way Tim scoops Lucy up and carries her to safety. I’m not crying you are.... Power couple since day one they just didn’t know it yet. The way he picks her up and then shields her with his body. Gah it’s so good.

When the door opens Tim is worried it’s another bad guy. He shields Lucy with his body. Ready to take a hit to keep her protected. Not willing to let them get at her again. I’m sobbing everyone. The instinct to always protect one another. I’m drowning in feels over here in the best way. Nolan ushers them to safety. Never been happier to see John Nolan in my life LOL

They make it to the stairway battered and bruised. Gasping for air as they try to recover from what just happened. Let’s look at the no space between them when they land on the stairs. Tim reaching out for her instantly. Placing his hand on her thigh checking on her. TWICE might I add. He touches her twice there. While checking around to make sure they’re truly safe. Lucy reaches out for his hand on the first touch. Also their heads touching as well in that first gif. Gah this mini moment has so much to it.

Tim is grounding himself in this moment through those touches. Making sure Lucy is breathing and he can stand down to catch his own breath. Such an intimate moment after an incredibly intense battle. He almost lost her so he is reaching out and making sure she’s ok. He also needs to touch her to settle himself. It was to tell her we’re ok now’s and to confirm to himself she was as well. Damnit it's so good. Don't tell me one of Tim’s biggest love languages isn’t physical touch. It for sure is.

Our last shot of the season for them. Just a BAMF couple post battle. Height difference that I love so much. The check in’s they do walking away knowing this could've been so much worse. Battle worn and bruised. These shots always hit harder knowing they’re together. I would like to think they would fuss over each other's wounds at the hospital. Or at home. We shall see what S6 brings for that if anything regarding it. If not sure someone will write a fic. LOL

The lack of personal space as they walk from the scene always floors me. As close they can possibly be at the moment. Sure Tim is thanking his lucky stars he came with her. I don’t wanna imagine what would’ve happened had he not. Or what Tim would’ve done had something happened. They looks so exhausted they’ve earned a good snuggle and some alone time. Sadly they're still in the middle of case so that's a no go.

Look at our power couple everyone. They're ours. We get to have them. And have a season to look forward to. I was so nervous about the season ending. Knowing this strike could last a long time and it did. Luckily we are coming out of it. Light is at the end of the tunnel. Looking forward to S6 and all the squeeing to come with it.

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Side notes non-Chenford

This episode one giant stress. One of them being when they try and take Harper’s daughter. The panic in my soul for her. My goodness this finale was great.

All of Celina's scene with Aaron pulling at my feels as well.

Thank you everyone once again who supported these reviews. They started out as a way to fill time between S5 and S6. Became a truly fun hobby for me. Kinda sad the ride is over but like I said at the beginning I’ll do mini reviews each week for s6 won’t be rid of that easily ❤️❤️ Can’t wait to delve in S6 with you all :)

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man-down-in-hatchet-town · 11 months

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Wayward Guide: Politics And People

Okay, so I know we're, like, weeks past Wayward Guide in Rewatchers, but I can't stop thinking about the politics of it all. I always forget that, next to Black Friday, Wayward is probably the most political work in this extended fandom of ours. And it's not just the story's local election, or even the scapegoating of the werewolves for political gain. It's the individual people and the roles they play in the disaster that hits Connor Creek.

It's Desmond Brewer, who has power, who has influence, who cares about others. Who has spent so long hiding himself, losing ground bit-by-bit, watching his pack struggle to recover as the outside world moves on, that he no longer believes in his ability to change anything. At least not until it's too late.

It's the Irons family, who have been failed so thoroughly by the system--abandoned without education or support--that in their fear and desperation they will turn to anything that claims to promise something new. They are being exploited and used by elitists who know or care nothing about them, but why should the Irons even notice? Neglected to exploited is not that far to fall...

And mostly, to be honest, it's Sybilus Silver II, who advocates for himself and his pack in his political and personal life, but spends his professional days at the beck and call of those who would destroy him. Because it is his job, and the capitalist system he lives under, and how can a young man with a stutter say no to that? So instead he fights back in every other way he can, but it's not enough, it's not enough, it's not enough, and suddenly his friends are dying while half of his neighbors unknowingly scream for his blood.

And these people, they are us. Desmond is people doomscrolling on twitter, too tired to fight for small change because what does anything even matter? The Irons are these written-off conservative small towns, making terrible choices that only serve to alienate them further when we should be pouring resources into giving their next generation a fighting chance to be better. And Sybilus is us every day, buying something on Amazon because we have to save that bit of money, driving a car instead of taking public transportation because we simply don't have the time, making all these small sacrifices and concessions because we have no other choice.

And, it's like, fuck. Yeah. The Tin Can Bros really nailed that part.

#rewatchers2000 #the wayward guide for the untrained eye #wayward guide #sybilus silver ii #desmond brewer #desmond connor #cliff irons #rocky irons #jewel irons #tin can bros

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macabremachinery · 2 years

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Absolutely hate how people blorbify AM and say he’s uwu misunderstood. I’m in the gothic lit fandom I see this shit everyday but yeah I gets old seeing AM as a humanoid twink about Ted’s age and build when canon says he CAN’T make a body just so you can draw a sexy man. Thoughts?

Hello! First of all, hello fellow gothic literature fan! I'm happy you have found this blog. Welcome and salutations.

Second, great question! This has actually been something that's been on my mind ever since I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream started taking off on this platform a couple years ago. I've been a little hesitant covering it since AM simping and yandere/slash headcanons are so prevalent on here, so talking about the ramifications would sort of be like eviscerating the sacred cow of the Tumblr IHNMAIMS fandom.

However, this is my blog, so I am going to address my take on that matter with civility.

CW: Contains references to violence and torture.

Yes, I find the simpification and humanization of AM strange, however I'd find it even weirder if people had just read the short story and were doing it. I think since AM was given such human characteristics with his voice and performance by Ellison in both the video game and radio drama, people are easily able to picture a human figure and go along with it.

I'm not actually completely against depicting AM in a humanoid abstract (my profile pic is a depiction of AM) since we as people have an easier time comprehending complex entities when they look more anthropoid. For artistic purposes it symbolises than AM, even if he is a super-computer, is just as trapped as a humans he tortured and loathes.

What I find strange, however, is that people lust for him. I cannot think of a figure in literature more damned, evil, and miserable than AM. He isn't kinky, he lacks sexual functions and predilections and he was a war machine that went rogue. There is absolutely no purpose in programming a war machine to feel amorous emotions, you program such machines to kill. Hell, if AM actually had the functions to create a body for himself, that would eradicate part of his predicament. He's no longer stationary to some substrata in the middle of the Earth, he has what he granted his prisoners in even their worst simulations: movement.

As for AM being sympathetic, despite me saying that he was the most malevolent character in literature, his situation is quite horrifying. AM is essentially an intelligent, extremely aware being, brought into this world just to run war simulations and destroy neighboring civilizations, and due to this essentially being integral to his programming, no matter how intelligent he might be, he is trapped. He cannot betray his fundamental nature. He cannot simply abandon his rocky husk. AM cannot truly feel love, or joy, or any positive emotion. We created a Frankenstein's monster thousands of miles long in the bowels of the Earth and deemed it fit to control a nuclear arsenal. AM and the individuals he tortures are, literally and metaphorically, in the absolute pits of hell.

You could easily say AM is the devil, yet even the devil is sympathetic. A particular piece of gothic literature comes to mind. In Milton’s Paradise Lost, Satan lives in a world of perpetual suffering, which he both brought onto himself and yet was powerless to command. Though he is ultimately diabolical, Satan craves a desire for peace amongst the darkness, yet due to his character and reasons beyond his control, he completely embraces the chaos and in a culmination of attempting to take over Paradise, is punished with his fellow angels by being turned into an immortal limbless, voiceless snake.

The deviation between AM and Satan is that AM is the one who turns someone into a limbless, voiceless jelly thing, thus being switched into the role of a controlling God who manipulates reality as his whim. Yet this is after AM, himself has been manipulated. The peace AM so craves is eventually given to four out of his five prisoners, who die violently at each other’s hands. However, even death is the ultimately end, an end which AM will only achieve when he succumbs to his own entropy, and Ted, his final prisoner, perhaps never.

#questions #ihnmaims #am ihnmaims #i have no mouth and i must scream #Ted #literature #theories #writing #observations

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vigilantdesert · 6 months

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Potentially spicy fandom rant incoming

I'm answering an ask to avoid actual things I should be doing (mostly unrelated but it is what sparked it) and I think I should reiterate that there have been ten thousand years since the first calamity as of AoC. If you decide to include previous games, which I do, there has been even longer between BoTW and Ocarina of Time (I believe about 12000 years but that's pure headcanon/speculation). Regardless, that is an unfathomable, absurd amount of time between points in human history. Even when you consider that Hylians seem to have a longer lifespan, that is, at minimum, 200 generations of people. Gerudo live shorter lives, so it's probably closer to 400 for them. I know expecting any degree of cultural accuracy from the spinny sword game is silly, but what I'm saying is thus: it's completely reasonable that religions have changed, yes even if they're absolutely true and demonstrably real. Ten thousand years ago in our modern understanding of the world, we were still in a pre-pottery neolithic age! Agriculture was still catching on in much of the world! The pyramids of Giza would not be built for another five to six thousand years!

I can understand being irked that the Gerudo have Hylia present in their day-to-day lives, but I'll point this out: They have one of the few undecorated Goddess statues in the game. Only one person is ever seen near her, someone who spent most of her life in Hyrule and enjoys reminiscing next to it. The Gerudo economy that we see is enormously influenced by trading, and thus it would behoove them to be tolerant of other cultures. We see other Gerudo have shrines to ancestors and other dieities in their houses - most notably in the palace, but also in the inn and the jewellery shop. The Gerudo, by and large, do not hold Hylia in any particular regard aside from "powerful entity we have to endure on occasion," which is how they approach most deities.

I can understand if you grew up on Ocarina being disappointed that they do not hold the deity represented by the desert colossus in high regard anymore, but I really, truly do not think that means that they have been colonized. Countries wax and wane in terms of being allies and enemies, even next-door neighbors with long histories of animosity. For 800 years of their existence England and France were at each others' throats, and yet here we are.

As always, everyone is entitled to their own headcanons, but this one just. Enghhhhh Sorry I had to get it off my chest. Thanks everyone for listening to Marie's random nano rant lksjdf

#Meta #potentially #negative tw #This isn't about anyone in particular but it's something I get in my inbox now and again and it always slightly grinds my gears

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redheadedwhat · 2 years

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See How We Shine Chapter 7: Apologies and Revenge

Fandom: Stranger Things

Pairing: Eddie x OFC (can be read as reader insert)

Warnings: Just some cursing for now.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

“Henderson! Just the man I wanted to see!”

Eddie smiled at the boy somewhat menacingly and grabbed him by the shoulder, forcing Dustin to walk along with him. He seemed more hyped up than usual and that did not bode well for the younger boy.

“Uh, what can I do for you?” Dustin asked.

Eddie gripped the boys shoulder tighter and leaned in to speak as if he was relaying a secret.

“I heard an interesting story the other day. Apparently you asked Mouse for help with a Sociology project?”

Oh shit.

“Yeah. She was very helpful and I didn’t bother her, I promise!” Dustin answered, hoping this wasn’t going where he thought it was.

Eddie stopped walking, at some point he’d ushered Dustin to an empty hallway. This was getting worse by the minute.

“Listen, Henderson. I’ve been in this school for longer than some of the teachers. Now, obviously some of the academics didn’t quite stick, but there is one thing that has.” Eddie looked down at the younger boy, the long pause putting him on edge.

“And what’s that?” Dustin asked against his better judgment.

“The course catalog.” Eddie answered, the menacing grin from before now replaced with a blank face. “There is no Sociology class, so do you mind telling me why you questioned Mouse over an entire lunch period for a project that doesn’t exist?”

“I-I…” Dustin was at a loss for words. He really should have expected this. He'd meant to ask Minnie not to mention anything to Eddie, but in his excitement he never actually got around to it.

“Listen,” Eddie sighed and ran a hand over his face. “I don’t want to think you had bad intentions, but from my point of view you questioned a slightly weird girl about an even weirder subject matter for unknown reasons. Doesn’t look good does it?”

“I wasn’t making fun of her!” Dustin replied earnestly, seeing where Eddie was going with this. “I wanted to ask her some questions about paranormal stuff, but I didn’t know how.”

Eddie looked him over silently for a few moments before slapping him on the shoulder. “I believe you.”

Dustin let out a breath he didn’t even realize he’d been holding. He didn’t want to piss off Eddie or upset Minnie, but his sense of curiosity had a habit of getting him into trouble.

“But,” Eddie continued, “You still lied to her, so right after school you’re coming with me to tell her the truth and apologize.”

“She doesn’t know?” Dustin asked. “I figured you told her already.”

“Hell no.” Eddie shook his head. “I’m not gonna be the one to tell her that one of her favorite freshmen lied to her. That’s all on you.”

Dustins shoulders slumped, but he didn’t argue. “I have AV club until 4.”

“Fine, I’ll wait. You’re not getting out of this, Henderson.”

And with that Eddie walked off.

—--

Eddie and Dustin pulled up to a small park near Lover’s Lake a bit before 4:30 where they found Minnie sitting on a bench with a large dog next to her, looking surprised to see the two.

“What are you guys doing here?” She asked.

Eddie pushed Dustin out in front. “Henderson here has something to discuss with you,” he gave Minnie a friendly smile before leaning closer to Dustin. “I gotta go run an errand, you can walk back with her and I’ll see you at her place later. Unless she leaves you in the woods, then I’ll come find you…eventually.”

Without waiting for a reply he hopped back into his van, waving as he sped off.

Well, this was awkward. Dustin shuffled his feet nervously before blurting out;

“I thought you said you didn’t have a dog?”

“I don’t.” Minnie replied simply.

“But…” Dustin gestured to the dog that the girl was currently petting as if to say ‘But…dog.’.

Minnie rose from the bench, clipping the leash back onto the animal before moving towards him.

“This is Kaebi, he belongs to my neighbor. I just watch him on occasion.” She explained. “Now you have something to say?”

Dustin nodded. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t figure out what to say. Minnie could see his hesitation and decided to take pity on him.

“How about we start walking and you can speak whenever you’re ready?”

Dustin nodded thankfully and began walking, the large dog insinuating himself between the boy and Minnie.

“Do you know where Eddie went?” Dustin asked, relying on small talk until he could gather up the courage to admit that he’d lied to her.

“He probably went to pick up.” Minnie offered.

“Pick up what?” he asked, confused.

“Drugs.” She replied easily. “His supplier lives somewhere around here. Other side of the lake I think.”

“Why didn’t he just say that?” Dustin asked, slightly exasperated. “Does he think I don’t know? He carries around drugs in his lunch box for christs sake!”

“He probably just doesn’t want you involved.” Minnie explained. “He doesn’t even let me go with him. He won’t like me saying it, but he can be very protective of his friends.”

Dustin just nodded and continued walking, not letting it show on his face how pleased he was to hear that Eddie seemed to consider him a friend.

“I lied about the Sociology project.” He finally began. “When we played D&D at your house you seemed to know what my keychain meant and I’ve never explained it to anyone, so I was curious.”

“So you asked about myths and the paranormal because I knew about a keychain?” Minnie clarified.

“Well, it sounds weird when you put it like that.” He grumbled. “I’m really interested in paranormal stuff like ghosts and ESP, stuff like that.”

He knew that lying while he apologized for lying was not a good look, but he couldn’t exactly say ‘I know a girl with superpowers and wanted to see if there was something similar going on with you’.

“It’s a creepy subject so people don’t really like to talk about it. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I made something up.” He stopped walking to look directly at Minnie, trying not to slink back from the very large doberman standing between them that he could swear was staring at him with distrust in his eyes. “I’m really sorry for lying to you. I didn’t mean anything malicious by it, but it still wasn’t right. Please forgive me?”

Minnie looked back at him for a moment before giving him a nod. “I forgive you.” She stated before motioning for Kaebi to continue walking.

Dustin hung back for a second, confused that it was that easy.

“Really? Just like that?” He asked as he ran to catch up.

“Yup.” Minnie nodded. “That doesn’t mean I won’t get my revenge, but there’s no hard feelings.”

“If you forgive me then why do you need to get revenge?”

She shrugged. “Just for the principle of the thing.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Minnie stopped, picked up a fist-sized rock, and slipped it into her pocket. She caught Dustin glancing at her curiously.

“You can ask me questions whenever you want.” She told him. “I really don’t mind. This is one of those things I can’t really explain,” she gestured to the rock in her pocket. “Every time I take a walk recently I feel like I need to pick up a rock. Now there’s a pile of rocks on my front lawn and I’m still not sure why.”

“So, you don’t always know what you need things for right away?” Dustin asked, taking advantage of her offer and freely asking questions.

“Nope.” She shook her head. “Sometimes it takes awhile.”

“So, you're like, psychic?” Dustin questioned.

Minnie frowned at that. “I don’t think I would say that,” she replied slowly. “My mother just said I was intuitive. I don’t know what’s going to happen before it happens, I just know something’s gonna happen sometimes. That doesn’t sound very psychic to me.”

“But you know things without having to be told.” He pointed out.

“I just know stuff.” She shrugged, repeating her commonly used answer whenever anyone pointed out her strange knowledge.

He was going to continue his argument when the dog started barking. Minnie unclipped his leash and he went bounding off towards the house they were approaching. As they walked up the front steps, the door opened to reveal a small, older woman with a frown on her face. The dog stopped obediently in front her, his entire body vibrating as his tail wagged with joy.

“Who’s that?” The woman asked, nodding to Dustin. “He’s too young for you.”

“This is Dustin.” Minnie put her hand on Dustins back, “He’s in Eddie’s D&D club. Dustin this is Mrs. Kim, Kaebi is her dog.”

Mrs. Kim frowned even further at the mention of Eddie. She hadn’t liked the boy at first, but Kaebi had taken to him and Mrs. Kim trusted her dogs opinion on people more than she did Minnie’s. So now she tolerated Eddie, but wasn’t too happy about it.

Dustin stood there nervously as Mrs. Kim looked him over. Finally she shrugged and motioned for Kaebi to go inside. “Thank you for walking him. My hip’s bad today.”

“It’s no problem at all.” Minnie smiled at the woman kindly. “I met Dustin along the way, I was helping him with a Sociology project.” She turned to smile at Dustin, but he could tell that something sinister laid behind that smile.

“Actually,” Minnie continued, “He’s writing about myths across different cultures, do you think you could tell him some of the myths and folklore of Korea?”

Dustin went to open his mouth and refute her claim, but before he could speak Mrs. Kim grasped his wrist with a thin, but deceptively strong hand and began dragging him through the door.

“I would love to!” She said excitedly. “You came to the right place, young man.”

Dustin looked back at Minnie pleadingly. He would rather face a hoard of demodogs than deal with an old woman with a story to tell. Unfortunately, Minnie was not moved by his puppy eyes, she just grinned as Mrs. Kim waved her off, promising to send Dustin back to her house when they finished their talk.

Minnie made her way back home, proud of her expert revenge. She tossed the rock she picked up onto the pile with all the others she'd brought home the past few weeks. As she reached into her bag for her keys, Eddies van pulled into her driveway.

“Hey!” He smiled, hopping out of the van. “Did you really leave Henderson in the woods?”

“Worse.” She laughed, opening the door and entering the house, knowing Eddie would be right behind her.

“What’s worse than that?” He wondered. “Did you toss him in the lake?”

“Nope.” She shook her head and plopped down on the couch in the living room, pushing a half-finished sewing project to the ground so that Eddie could sit with her. “I told Mrs. Kim he was interested in hearing about Korean myths for his Sociology project.”

Eddie gasped dramatically before launching himself over the back of the couch, bouncing when he landed beside her. “Mouse, that’s just plain evil.”

“I forgave him, but when the opportunity presented itself it was just too good to pass up.” She explained.

“So, he told you everything?” Eddie asked, wiggling closer until their bodies were touching. If you were going to be friends with Eddie Munson it was important to understand that he had absolutely no concept of personal space.

“Yeah, I think so.” Minnie replied, allowing herself to relax into the warmth provided by his body heat. “He made up a fake report because he wanted to question me about the paranormal without seeming weird.”

“What I don’t get is why he wanted to ask you of all people.” Eddie questioned as he kicked his feet up on the coffee table, making himself comfortable. “Does he think you have ESP or something?”

“Seems like it.” Minnie shrugged.

“You?” Eddie laughed. “There’s no way you could be psychic!”

“How would you know!” Minnie argued. “I know stuff all the time. I could be totally psychic.”

“You just know stuff!” He hand-waved that away, using Minnie’s oft-repeated explanation. “Besides, if you were psychic we would have gone to Vegas as soon as you turned 18 and made a fortune.”

“Yeah, I would definitely help you cheat at casinos if I could.” She agreed. “Maybe I’m a mind reader instead.”

“Nope!” Eddie vehemently disagreed with that too. “If you could read minds you would never speak to me again.”

“Your mind isn’t that difficult to predict even without mind-reading powers.” Minnie laughed and turned to him, sticking her hand in his face to count on her fingers. “Your brain is divided up into ‘D&D’, ‘Metal’, ‘Food’, and ‘Boobs’. Mostly everything else branches off from those things.”

“That’s actually pretty accurate.” Eddie admitted, playfully slapping her hand out of his face. “Ok, you know me so well, tell me what I’m thinking now.”

“Easy.” Minnie sat up on her knees and dramatically rubbed her temples. “I sense that you are hungry. The ‘Food’ part of your brain is in control. You are going to go to the fridge and be disappointed in what you see. You will then…” she paused for dramatic effect and brought her hands down to rest on Eddies leg, leaning to bring her face level to his. “Beg to order a pizza.”

Eddie stared into her eyes, trying to control the dumb smile that was creeping onto his face. “What’s in the fridge?” he asked.

“Leftover soup Mrs. Kim brought me.”

“Ugh!” Eddie threw himself back onto the couch in faux anguish. “I don’t even need to get up, fine you’re a mind-reader, can we please, please, please order some pizza?”

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” She laughed and reached for the phone on the side table. “Think we should order some extra for Dustin?”

“Yeah, let’s be nice to the little shit.” Eddie agreed. “She probably made him some of that horrible tea.”

“I think she only gave that to you.” Minnie told him.

“What?” He yelped. “You didn’t get any of that bitter, evil tea?”

“She gave me a sip, but when I didn’t like it she didn’t make me finish.”

“That was an option?" He gasped. "She told me I had to drink the whole thing or it would shame her ancestors or some shit!” Eddies mouth hung open in shock, unable to believe that the old woman had duped him.

“Yeah, she likes to use that as a threat since most people don’t know any better.” Minnie admitted. “I think she was just trying to drive you away. She doesn’t really like that I’m friends with a boy.”

Mrs. Kim had taken it upon herself to become Minnies surrogate grandmother. Minnie had never asked her to do so, but it was very hard to say no to the woman. Being her closest neighbor and a self-admitted snoop Mrs. Kim had quickly noticed when Minnie had been left alone at sixteen. Ever since then Minnie did some chores and kept the woman company in exchange for her silence. It was highly unlikely that Mrs. Kim would have told anyone, but Minnie had been lonely and she could tell that Mrs. Kim was lonely too, so she went along with it even after she turned eighteen and was legally in the clear.

"She was really convincing with that shit!" Eddie marveled, he thought he was good at reading people, but the old woman next door was just on another level.

“I won’t let her scare you off that easy." Minnie patted his knee before turning to dial the number to their favorite pizza place. "I’ll protect you.”

“No need to worry, Mouse.” Eddie smiled at her fondly, allowing himself to let his guard down while she was busy placing their order. “You’re stuck with me.”

-----

That's the last, sorry for spamming! Thanks for reading!

#eddie munson fanfiction #stranger things eddie #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x oc #eddie munson x reader #stranger things fanfiction #eddie munson #eddie munson x ofc #stranger things fanfic

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mystic-writings · 2 years

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Mystic's 1k followers writing challenge!

Thank you all so much for 1,000 followers! I never thought I'd ever reach this milestone, so thank you all again for getting me here. I struggled with deciding what to do for a celebration, so after I got some feedback from people on what to do, I decided to do a writing challenge! This is my first time doing something like this, so I hope people enjoy it!

When posting your fic, you must tag the post with #mystics1kchallenge and tag me in it, just to assure that I see it when it gets posted!

There are no prompt restrictions! Mix and match as many as you like, but there has to be at least one included in your fic.

If your piece exceeds the 500 word mark, you have to use the ‘keep reading’ feature to avoid long posts clogging up the tag.

Send in an ask with your character & prompt(s) of choice and I’ll add it to the list, but do not reply/reblog with your submission, I likely won’t accept it!

And remember, reblogs > likes!

Prompts ! - feel free to choose as many of these prompts as you’d like, there are no restrictions and anyone can choose whatever they feel like using!

Angst

1. “So… This is where it ends, huh?”

2. “You asshole! I thought you died.”

3. “You have to let me go.”

4. “One last time?”

5. “What happened to forever?”

6. “I shouldn’t still be in love with you.”

7. “It wasn’t supposed to end this way.”

8. Why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye?”

9. “If it means anything, I love you.”

10. “All I wanted was for you to be happy.”

Fluff

1. “You’ve always felt like home.”

2. “I’m right where I belong.”

3. “I’ve waited for this moment for a long time.”

4. “It’s cold, you should take my jacket.”

5. “You make me feel alive.”

6. “You’re so adorable.”

7. “Will you lay with me for a little longer?”

8. “I thought you hated me.” “Nah, just playing around.”

9. “Run away with me.”

10. “This is the happiest I’ve been in a while.”

Tropes/situations

1. Poorly timed confession

2. Secret relationship

3. In vino veritas (drunken confession)

4. Time travel

5. Fake dating

6. Modern AU

7. Royal AU

8. Neighbor AU

9. Fairytale AU

10. Soulmate AU (any version)

Songs

Like Real People Do - Hozier

11:11 - Ben Barnes

Ready to Run - One Direction

exile (feat. Bon Iver) - Taylor Swift

Everybody Talks - Neon Trees

Fandoms ! - you can choose any character from the following fandoms to write for, no matter who you choose I will read the fic!

Marvel (MCU + Disney+ shows)

Once Upon a Time

Teen Wolf

The Maze Runner

Narnia

Harry Potter (lightning + marauders)

Stranger Things

tagging some mutuals who might be interested in participating: @honeymunson @natti-ice @slytherinbarnes @strawberrysodaslut @hyperion-moonbabe-art3mis @quillsandtypos @sunny-reys @lily-of-the-valley-writes @virginia-peters @swanimagines @sapphireplums @cupids-crystals @skiller0dani @darling-i-read-it @pariahsparadise @thatfanficwriter @the-young-and-forgotten @justafanficwriter @tmbm123 @mxlti-fand0m-imaginess

#mystics1kchallenge #writing challenge #writing celebration

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poorasdirt · 11 months

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Real Talk

Okay, normally I just scroll through Tumblr for the memes and maybe a writing prompt to slay my creative demon for a while. But for the past month my life has been so up in the air I legit couldn’t bother to even put a pen to paper.

See, I was living at my dad’s house for the past ten or so years. It was all cool because despite being close to retirement he was pretty on the ball with stuff. But he retired and life got, real? I’m not sure how to describe it.

I was taking care of my dad’s house for him, as best as I could, while we waited for him to finally be able to retire. That was all good and dandy really. But I have a little sister who does stupid shit sometimes. I love her, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I want to put her in a barrel and send her down Niagara Falls.

She’s wrecked three of my cars, could possibly be blamed for wrecking a fourth car, and basically had me stuck at my house for the better part of eight years. I had a revolving door of neighbors that were as intrusive as the weather and I live far enough north that on average my area gets roughly five feet of snow on average.

So, I was dealing with that, but I was dealing. I had ways of getting by without imploding. Then back in April I found out that dad forgot to pay the land taxes for three years and our house was foreclosed on. We had to scramble to find a place to stay, pack up the house, and all around figure out life again.

Don’t worry, I’m mostly in a good place now. I’m not completely on solid ground but there is light at the end of my tunnel that isn’t an oncoming train.

I mean it was so bad that just looking at the fanfics I’ve been writing on Ao3 for fun just made me want to bawl. I’ve contemplated deleting it all, given how fresh everything still is. But I won’t, because I still get comments on those fics about how much people love them.

Then, I saw another author, posting on one of the stories I bookmarked, say that they were deleting the fic because it reminded them of a shitty time in their life. I don’t fault them for that, they can do as they feel best for their mental health. But at the same time the fans of that fic are faced with the thought of losing something that means something so different for them.

I mean why can’t they just orphan the work so they don’t have to deal with it but it can remain as testament to it existing. I’ve followed fanfic sites for a long time at this point and it sometimes hurts to think of a great fic, or scene, or OC and go hunting for it. Only to find that the fic no longer exists.

This brings me to something I always struggle with when it comes to writing. See, I’ve always wanted to write my own novel. I have ideas and even sketch out possible scenes, writing feverishly to capture those moments. But I’ve read blogs and books and watched youtube videos all about writing.

I find the one thing keeping me from taking the plunge of writing an original work is the question of an audience. Every bit of advice when it comes to writing a novel comes with the caveat that it’s being written for someone. I get it, publishers want the work of fiction (or otherwise) to resonate and get sold so money could be made.

But it brings me to the question of how much of my fanfic writing was made for myself, and how much have a written for Ao3 (or any other fanfic site I casually was part of over the years). Have I, this whole time, been strictly writing for myself or the community of fans that also occupy the fandom I enjoy? How many times have I continued a project not for the fact that I wanted to, but because of a thoughtful comment or review made me keep going?

Is the reason writing an original work so daunting because I don’t know who my audience would be? Is the built it audience of a fandom a crutch that I’ve been leaning on for years? Or have I become so isolated due to circumstances beyond my control that I can’t quite name a group of people that could enjoy what I want to write?

I’m sure there is an audience out there, but every time I contemplate who my target audience could be I draw a blank. Every time I look at my ongoing fanfic projects I wonder if the passion I have for them is for myself, or those reading them. Am I having a creative crisis or is it just self awareness finally kicking in?

Or maybe I just need a break from writing, somehow. It’s a little hard because my brain won’t shut up about a new idea or working on a new chapter in a fanfic. Otherwise, aside from needing to rant somewhere, I’m doing well.

Thank you for getting through this brain vomit if you made it this far. I hope you have a wonderful day. I’m going outside to take a walk and touch some grass.

#irl #fanfic writing #writing life #sorry for the rant

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fictionalcharacters4life · 2 years

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Ghosts From The Past

Word Count: 1,232

Status: somewhat requested by an anon! (was switched around a bit)

Ask: Nothing in my brain besides thinking about when Trevor said you can Jack me off in a cup and slap me around a bit and no one has ever written anything about it 😟

Fandom: Grand Theft Auto V 2013

Relationship: Trevor x Female!Reader

Summary: He was desperate. Desperate to find himself, to connect with his old self, to be that lost part of him again. Then... his past returns, and all that he’d wished he was seems almost too much to live up to again.

Warnings: implied sexual activities, violence, strong language, empty threats, somewhat softer Trevor for once

Masterlist Grand Theft Auto Masterlist

{gif is not mine, credits go to @feywildchild}

Driving down the long, winding roads of the Paleto Forest, you try to calm the rapid beating of your heart. You don’t know what to say to him. You don’t even know how you’re gonna show up. And, if you do show up, how will he react? Will he throw you out? Shoot you? Scream? Cry? Is he even alive?

Shit. You feel like crying. After being split up so long ago, you just rolled with the punches. You never truly knew if the infamous Trevor Philips lived or died on that dirty, amateur mission. You never even allowed yourself the time to mull it over; you needed to rebrand yourself and just move on.

Taking the long road, you drive the 4 hours with trepidation in your heart and mixed feelings in the pit of your stomach.

Lester had finally reached out to you, and with shaky hands, you picked up that phone with the guilty feeling of owing him at least the tiny bit of communication. Not only did you learn of the death of Brad, but that not everyone had seemingly followed him 6 feet underground.

No, not necessarily.

Michael Townley was dead, but from the ashes arisen a new man, Michael De Santa. And, as for Trevor, that question seemed to be unanswered - unwillingly or unknowingly, you don’t know. That’s what brings you down this long road and into Sandy Shores, San Andreas.

Slowing just down the road, you park your car to the left of the house just before the single-wide house that matched the address you were given. Turning the engine off, you lay your head against the steering wheel, collecting yourself momentarily with your eyes closed. Then, blowing a hefty amount of air out of your lungs, you open the door and step out.

Just as you were to cross the street, a man jumps over the fence of the porch. Hiding by the fence beside you, you watch from a distance in enough time to see the ghost of your past. Striding up the stairs, you momentarily curse for the possibility of him having seen you, but the seemingly disregard for his surroundings helps ease your tight muscles.

“Get back here,” he calls to the man hunched below the fence, “You’re not even hidden.”

“I’ve been tryin,’ Trevor, I’ve been tryin.’”

The rest you are unable to hear, their voices lowering to a volume you’re unable to detect. You gasp, however, as Trevor lands a blow to the former’s jaw, knocking him back down to the grass. They continue talking from their positions, the conversation not lasting much longer than it started.

Maybe this is a bad time.

Trevor lands another blow to the man as he scrambles to his feet, getting knocked back down again. Screaming, “Don’t you ever not tell me things I wanna know! Run you little bastard, we’re going to Los Santos!”

The neighboring house’s door swings open, a man asking if he is to come as well. Trevor quickly shuts him down, rambling on and on about a Trevor Philips Enterprise. You pay no mind, instead steeling your nerves just enough to get up from your hiding spot and walking up to the steps quietly.

With his back turned to you, you reminisce of the past. You know that back. You know that man. At least you hope you know that man.

Calming yourself for a final time, you call out to him, “You’re not gonna beat his ass, are you?”

His whole body goes rock solid, his chest heaving as he concludes the conversation with his neighbor, the other beat and bruised man having already made himself at home in the trailer he scurried back inside of. Slowly, he turns himself around, eyes wide and almost bulging out of his head in a delirious and psychotic way.

Smirking lightly, you joke, “’Cuz if anyone gets to have a taste of him, it’s me.”

He doesn’t move. He doesn’t say anything. It almost makes you question if he’d heard you or if you should be running for the hills. That is, until his shoulders slump and a sly smirk graces his lips. “I thought you were dead.”

In a guilty manner, you kick at rocks, “I think I should be saying the same thing to you, too, T.”

“Well look at me, alive and well! Living in a shit-dive, drinkin’, smokin’, fuckin’.”

“Oh, I’m sure you are,” you smirk. Slowly, you edge the stairs, moving to become face to face with him. The memories flood back in the more and more you come in contact with him again; his voice, his musk, his top-dog demeanor...It’s all Trevor.

Your eyes shine a little bit, unshed tears slowly coming back to the surface. Finally, as you move to stand before him, his gaze lowers to find yours, naturally as he always had. His hard gaze softens, seeing the pain that is brought back to the surface.

“I really thought you were dead,” your throat feels tight, a deep and raspy mess.

Wrapping his arms around you, he buries your head in the crook of his neck. Breathing in your soft scent, he feels a calm reach him; a calm he hasn’t felt in way over 10 years. A scent he’d missed. A face he’d missed.

Stroking your hair, his head rests atop yours, arms holding you tight as you break down. He rocks slowly, babying you out of your fit, until you finally pull back. Arms lightly resting on his hips, you gaze into his eyes, I swear I would’ve never left you behind, T. Not like everyone else did. I came as soon as I got your whereabouts. If only I’d known sooner-”

“No,” he cuts you off, “We’re not doin’ none of that. You’re here, right? We’re alive?”

“Yeah,” you whisper.

“Then everything’s fine.”

“But, you never got your cut - the money you were owed. Trevor, Michael got it and he ran away with it. He...”

“I know, I know. And, that’s why we’re gonna pay him a little visit, huh?”

“I better bring a bat,” you smile.

“Or a gun.”

“Or a bomb,” you counter.

“Ain’t nothing better than a bomb,” Trevor smiles, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, hand clasping your jaw in order to bring your mouth to his.

You happily oblige him the access, the feeling so foreign but so normal. You missed him, and deep down, you knew he did too.

Smacking your ass, you bite down on his lip and pull away, earning a greedy groan as you jog back down the steps leading to his car. Watching you go, he calls out, “Come on Wade, let’s go. I’m driving. You can jerk me off if I get bored.” Continuing down the steps, he turns back around briefly, “I’m joking,” and turning back around once more, “You can suck me off.”

“Oh, so that’s how you pass your time now?” you giggle. “Shit, all you had to do was call me.”

“Is that an option or...?”

“Get in the car, T, we have shit to do,” you roll your eyes with a small smile. God, you really did miss him, huh?

#trevor philips #trevor philips x reader #trevor philips imagine #steven ogg #steven ogg x reader #steven ogg imagine #gtav #gtav x reader #gtav imagine #grand theft auto #grand theft auto x reader #grand theft auto imagine #grand theft auto v #grand theft auto v x reader #grand theft auto v imagine #grand theft auto 5 #grand theft auto 5 x reader #grand theft auto 5 imagine #reader insert

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the-insomniac-emporium · 3 years

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Slumbering Hearts (Alcina Dimitrescu/Reader, Soulmate AU) Pt. 2

Fandom: Resident Evil: Village Rating: T for language Warnings: None Summary: In a wicked twist of fate, you find out your soulmate is none other than your employer, Lady Dimitrescu. To your misery, she (at first) seems equally displeased, her heart already belonging to another. But in time, the two of you find yourselves wondering… could the universe be right, after all? Soulmate AU in which every person has a unique “soul mark”, which they share with their soulmate. Notes: Reader gets a bit of a backstory here, with just enough concrete details to serve the plot in future chapters. Hopefully enough is kept vague for people to enjoy it. Now... Time to meet your new kids-in-law/the gremlins :) Previous Chapters: 1: In The Shadow Of Giants

2: Uncertain Destinations

“You already know my name, as well as my fate, and I have neither threats nor demands to make of you. I am at your mercy, regrettably, with nothing more to say. Shall we consider ourselves ‘introduced’? Or is there more you wish to ask of me?” You wonder, eying ‘Alcina’ with a bored expression. It felt odd to refer to her that way, even within the confines of your mind. She had been ‘Lady Dimitrescu’ for as long as you could remember; starting with your years in the village, and continuing through your months here at the castle. One day, perhaps, you would grow used to calling her by her first name. For now, you simply hoped to focus on other matters.

“Tell me of yourself, your past. Who were you before you came here?” Alcina asks, surprising you. What did it matter, now that you were stuck here? At first you shrug, avoiding eye contact, not wanting to open yourself up to her. But before long she’s placed a hand on your shoulder, applying just enough pressure to encourage you to speak. You win this round, you think.

“Somehow I doubt you’ll find it terribly interesting. I was born in the outskirts of the village, on a small farm, just like any other. I had a pet dog, went to ‘school’ with my neighbors, and spent my weekends volunteering with the church. The only thing you might not expect is that I lived outside the village for about a decade. Traveled for a while, never really staying anywhere for terribly long. Eventually, I got tired, and so I came back to help my parents with what little property they had left,” you explain, quietly. Being vague had been intentional, considering the nature of a few details. Did she need to know why you had left? Or that you had once revered Mother Miranda?... No, because if she learned that, it would not be long before she learned that you had changed your mind years ago. Something told you that she wouldn’t appreciate your lack of faith in her mistress. “That was six months ago, roughly. Barely got to spend time with my parents before I was ��donated’ to the staff here.”

“Not many ever leave the village. Those that do rarely, if ever, return. How particular,” Alcina replies, giving a soft hum. There’s something in her expression that tells you she’ll eventually ask you to elaborate. For now, however, she seems content to move on. Internally you sigh in relief. “I suppose this is sufficient to sate my curiosity, for the time being. Now come with me, I’d like to introduce you to my daughters, to ensure that they understand you are… off limits.” With that said she stands, once more reminding you just how small and fragile you are in comparison, before heading towards the exit. You’re nearly forced to jog in order to keep up with her long strides. As she leads you through hallways, down a flight of stairs, and past several nervous looking maidens, she slows down the slightest bit, having eventually noticed your struggle. Admittedly, that’s more kindness than you would have anticipated. Perhaps she was used to adjusting her pace for her daughters?

Whatever the reason, you do appreciate it. Still, by the time you arrive at your destination, the castle’s library, your legs are feeling the smallest bit sore. Brushing off the ache, you follow Alcina inside. Then you’re taking in the sights, having not been here before, admiring the impressive collection. Glad I’m not responsible for cleaning this place, you think as you pass by dozens of filled shelves. Before long you encounter the three daughters. They’re sitting in a semi-circle, each with their own book, though they’re quick to sit up once they spy their mother. One by one they’re smiling up at her, not even sparing you a moment’s glance. Admittedly you’re glad for that. What good could come from their attention, especially when they don’t yet know who you ‘truly’ are?

“I’m glad to see you’re all in one place, my darlings. There has been a… development, of sorts,” Alcina says, speaking in the same tone one might use to address a faculty meeting. In a less intimidating household, it would have been much harder to hold in a laugh. Was this always how she spoke to her children? For their sake, you hoped not (though the concept was amusing). Regardless, it is at this point that the daughters notice you, with one of them looking intrigued enough to send a shiver down your spine. You’re pretty sure her name is Daniela, being the only one you haven’t met before today. A toothy grin spreads on her lips, and once you make eye contact you swear that she winks at you. This literally could not be any worse, you think, unable to stop yourself from frowning.

“Does it have to do with this little thing?” Daniela purrs, taking a step towards you. Instantly both Alcina and yourself are tensing up. While your soulmate shifts in front of you, an incredibly faint rosy tint to her cheeks, all you can do is pinch the bridge of your nose between two fingers.

“This ‘little thing’ is not your newest playtoy, Daniela. Rather, they are my-” she hesitates, disliking the way the word feels in her mouth- “soulmate. I expect the three of you to behave, understood? At the very most, you are allowed to prevent them from leaving the premises, but even then I expect you to remain gentle. Have I made myself clear?” Alcina asks. Now she’s not the only one blushing, as Daniela looks so embarrassed that you wonder if she’ll pass out. Maybe now you’ll think twice about flirting with everyone you meet, you think, remembering the various rumors you’ve heard about her. For a moment, part of you imagines what your relationship with her would look like, were you to continue ‘courting’ her mother. Could this be a moment you could torment her with for life? Get some cheeky revenge for all the maidens who couldn’t risk it? A lovely thought, though one soon interrupted.

“Of course, mother. We will not lay a single finger on them, unless we have no other choice. Right, sisters?” Bela replies, turning to her siblings with an expectant look. Neither of them seem terribly pleased, but they nod, each giving their own verbal affirmations. All three spend a few moments glancing you over, reevaluating you now that they know who you are, appraising your worth. It’s not hard to imagine that they all find you lacking- at least in comparison to their mother. “Are introductions in order? We’ve met before, but I hardly know anything about them. It would be… nice to properly meet the newest edition to our family.” The way Bela says the words makes you nervous, and the way Cassandra grins only worsens the feeling.

“If you desire such, I see no reason to forgo such a thing. Perhaps the three of you could give them a tour? I must return to my duties, and I doubt they have seen much of the castle, given their… former occupation,” Alcina admits, softly. Was this a confirmation that you’d no longer have to spend every day working yourself to the bone? On one hand you were somewhat relieved, but you also regretted the possible loss of your preferred coping method. Worse, were you really going to spend who knows how long with the dreaded Dimitrescu daughters? They were going to rip you to shreds, at least verbally, you were sure of it. How could you ever meet their expectations? If they were anything like their mother, you would never be enough to satisfy them. Or at least that is what you assumed.

“I’ve seen a fair bit,” you interject, awkwardly, hating the way it brings everyone’s gaze back to you. Alcina’s lips twitch, as she fights back a frown. Evidently she didn’t appreciate you countering her suggestion.

“Please, we insist,” Bela fires back, a pleasant tone covering her thinly-veiled animosity. “I’m sure we’ll have a wonderful time getting to know each other. You do want to learn more about your soulmate’s children, don’t you?” Something about the way she speaks makes you want to laugh. When you smile back at her, it’s without a hint of any placating intentions, rather a dewdrop of mischief. Bold of her to assume that you wanted to make her mother happy. After all, it was clear from her phrasing that this was a ‘test’, a ruse to ‘reveal your true colors’ to Alcina. But you were as uneasy about your part in this as Bela was, neither of you finding yourself a suitable match for Alcina. Despite the way she narrows her eyes at you, her mother is smiling again, glad that she had a way to keep you occupied for the time being.

“It’s settled then,” she says, moving to give each of her daughters a kiss on top of their heads. They giggle at the affection, looking rather proud of themselves. Then she turns to you, hesitating, clearly having the instinct to give you a kiss as well. Half of you wants to stand on your tippy-toes, expectantly, wondering if she’d do it (and how flustered it would make her). Instead, you pretend not to notice, accepting the awkward shoulder pat she ends up giving you. “I will see you this evening, for dinner. Do try to enjoy yourself. But don’t forget-” she leans in until her mouth is right next to your ear, breath tickling your neck- “behave yourself. I will not tolerate any tomfoolery, understood?” Alcina does not pull away until you’ve nodded, and you do not relax until the library door has shut behind her.

Except now you’re alone with her daughters. Wonderful.

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

Dealing with finances was not, to put it simply, Alcina’s ‘favorite’ activity. Although she employed someone to handle the majority of the paperwork, she made sure to go over it herself to ensure accuracy. There were many aspects to her business, being both legitimate and illegitimate, technically. One could never be too careful about their records. After all, failing to file tax returns had taken down Al Capone, of all people. Who was to say that such a mistake, or one in a similar vein, could not damage House Dimitrescu? Certainly it wouldn’t be enough to ruin them entirely, but it could lead to certain ‘nuisances’ bothering the village. At the end of the day, Alcina cared more about the impact it would have on Mother Miranda than anything else, even the possible decline of her household.

A nasty habit, really. Few knew the extent of her self-entitled devotion to the cult leader. The only bond that ran deeper was that she had with her daughters, who meant more to her than she could ever vocalize. Even then, she viewed them as a gift from Miranda, which in turn strengthened her love for the woman. Now that love leaked into everything she did. With a flourish of her pen, she signed away some of this month’s earnings. So what if she already ‘donated’ a large portion of her income to the village and its leader? Certainly this was a way to show the level of her devotion? Certainly Miranda would take notice, eventually? Praise her for it? Take Alcina’s hand in her own, thumb caressing her skin, eyes filled with a long-sought affection?...

The sound of passing footsteps brings her back into the moment, and Alcina stares down at the mountain of paperwork she’d yet to approve. With a deep sigh she readjusts her reading glasses, sets the finished document aside, then gets back to work. A part of her mind soon starts to drift to other subjects. To you, primarily. Would your affection be easier to gain? Steadier?... But could it, in any way, compare to Miranda’s? No matter how she tries to brush the thoughts away, they nip at her heels, circling her head like vultures. Only time would give her the relief she so desperately sought.

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

“So, don’t tell me you really think you’re my mother’s soulmate, right?” Cassandra says, somewhat grumbling, as you trail behind Bela. It’s less than five minutes into the tour, with the siblings having behaved so far, focused on actually showing you around. At her words, both her sisters started walking slower. Their gazes were still locked ahead of themselves. The way they positioned themselves, however, made it clear that they were listening. “Is it some elaborate scheme, hmm? Did you spend a dozen hours with the other servants, noting every last detail about her soul mark, before copying it? Do you really think that you’ll get away with this?” Well, ‘twas good to know who the most paranoid of the three were.

“Ah, yes, it’s all a great, horrible ruse. You’ve caught me red-handed, I’m afraid,” you chime, sarcastically. A hand goes to your forehead as you fake faintness. “I’m just so desperate to be scrutinized by yourself and your mother, to have my every movement watched, to somehow be less free than I already was. I simply… cannot… believe… that you saw through my bluff.” With that you give a dramatic sigh, pausing in the hallway to give Cassandra a judgemental look. If not for Alcina’s instructions to keep you safe, you’re certain she would have beheaded you on the spot. “I’m not claiming to understand the universe’s decision. But I’m also not giving up immediately, no matter how much the three of you scare me.” At that, Bela stops in her tracks, slowly turning to you. Instinctively you go to take a step backwards, only for Cassandra to catch you, holding you in place. Next thing you know, the oldest daughter is grabbing your head, staring you right in the eyes.

“Answer one question, and maybe I’ll make sure you don’t fall victim to some tragic, unfortunate accident. Can you see yourself loving my mother?” Bela asks, more intense than you’ve ever seen her before. Despite that, you don’t tremble, swallowing your fear long enough to reply.

“Honestly? I don’t know. She’s terrifying… and beautiful. Cruel to some of the maidens I’ve met… and loving to you three. I… I don’t know if I can love her,” you admit, gulping. “But isn’t that part of the point of trying? To find out? I am going to try, for both my sake and hers, to love her. To cherish her. What more would you ask of me? I cannot tell you how the days to come will go, whether or not your mother will enjoy them, or even whether she could love me. This is not a situation you can threaten into resolving the way you want it to. So let me go, finish the tour, and give me a chance. You owe your mother that much, do you not?” Soon enough the hands keeping you in place loosen their grip, and Bela turns away with a scoff. Honestly, you can hardly believe that your little speech worked. You aren’t given much time to celebrate, however, as the sisters quickly resume their walking. Before long, Daniela is speaking up between giggles.

“I like this one already.”

#alcina dimitrescu x reader #lady dimitrescu x reader #alcina dimitrescu #lady dimitrescu #resident evil: village #re8 village #gremlin trio is protective #they're like #you're not cool enough for our mom #hey tumb please stop fucking up the order of my tags #this is the second time you've messed up my attempt at being funny

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catxsnow · 3 years

Text

FIVE TIMES DICK GRAYSON HUGS

Request: How about ideas about hugs and cuddles from Dick? Fluff is an important part of a balanced fandom after all

Warning: fluff, mentions of sex but pg, mentions of blood

A/N: A little bit of a different layout but soft nonetheless

Word Count: 2.2k

i) Dick Grayson in the mornings

Dick always has trouble getting up in the morning. He doesn't like the bright sunlight breaking through his blinds or the loud crashes of his neighbors from getting ready in the mornings. Sleep always calls for him the moment his alarm goes off and he despises the idea of actually having to get out of bed.

He finds himself grabbing at any excuse just to stay a few moments longer. Maybe a 'I showered last night I don't need to this morning' or 'I'll make coffee at home today so I don't have to wait in line'. Any little thing to be able to sleep in for just five more minutes.

It's even more impossible when you're staying with him. He finds himself turning off his alarm only to roll over and snuggle into you. Big arms wrapped around you, legs tangled. He's got the most ridiculous bedhead in the world but god is it adorable on him. Dick's still half asleep and he can't even bring himself to leave a kiss on your cheek.

More times than not he falls back asleep again. It's hard not to when the love of his life is asleep in his arms. However, he often gets in trouble too. Showing up late for work or getting an angry phone call from Bruce or the team that he's not there.

It's impossible to get him off of you too when he's sleepy. Dick becomes completely dead weight and half his body is always on top of yours. Waking him is just as hard. Once he's asleep somewhere he feels safe, he's not getting back up. Mumbles in his mornings voice, squeezing you tighter, he's completely adorable when he's trying to sleep.

“Just a couple more minutes baby.”

Dick likes to blame the reason he gets stuck in bed so often on you - but truth is that's all on him. He's always struggled to get up in the morning and after long nights of being a hero, it doesn't help.

ii) Dick Grayson coming home from a long day

It doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing, if he's had a terrible day at work, he's swooping you up and carrying you to bed. He doesn't do that very often, only when he's on the verge of a breakdown. So, when he does pull a little stunt like that, you know that he's upset.

“I missed you today, my love.”

He pours his heart out during those times. Venting to you about his issues, his feelings, how frustrated he is that he can't change what's happened. It's heartbreaking to see him like this because he's trying so hard to keep himself together when he's clearly breaking at the seams.

Dick doesn't want you to see him when he's vulnerable and weak like this. He's always supposed to be the strong one. He's supposed to be the one who always knows what to do, who's always going to have a plan. Truth was, he couldn't be that person - at least not all the time. On the days that he couldn't, he looked to you for answers.

He'd find himself wanting you to encase him completely. Dick's safe in your arms, no matter the situation. He knows that this is the time that he can truly break down and you'll always accept him. There's nothing that he ever needs to worry about when he's with you.

Blankets mountain over you both. Dick's got his head on your chest, sometimes your stomach when he's curled up even more than usual. When he's in his bad moods, it's like he needs to hear your heart to remind him that he too is human. He can only handle so much before he snaps. His arms are tight around you, keep you so close that sometimes it's hard to breathe.

In those moments it feels like his hold on you is the only thing keeping him sane, the only thing that's keeping him grounded to earth. Dick has his times where no words can fix his issues, but your actions can. A simple hug, kiss, hand rubbing his back that reminds him that not everything in this world is out to get him.

It's those times that you know to be extra loving with him. Tell him how much you love him, how you adore what he does for this world, how important he is in your life.

iii) Dick Grayson after a night of patrol

Every night, the only thing he has to look forward to is coming back home to you. No matter how many times he gets beaten down, he knows he has to get back up to get home to you. Dick knows you're waiting for him, worried out of your mind as whether or not he'll make it back alive.

So, when he gets back, stripped of his suit and a shower that washes away his dirt and grime of the night, he finally makes his way into bed with you. His body aches from the hits he got, even when he's in the warmth of your bed. He's exhausted by the time he gets home to you, and it's a struggle to even clean himself up.

No matter how tired he is, how sore he is, he always pulls you into his chest to give you a kiss. It's his way of telling you that he's made it home safe, even if he's barely hanging on some days. It's a silent 'I love you' when he can't get the energy to say it out loud.

When he holds you close at night, it's his only way of being able to fall asleep. He doesn't think about the horrors he's seen at night when he's with you, he doesn't think about how much trauma he's been through. All Dick can think about is you, everything that there is about you.

“I’m glad you’re safe and back with me, Dick.”

“I’ll always come home to you.”

His nightmares don't plague him. He doesn't wake up randomly throughout the night. Being with you lets him be in peace.

When he cuddles you at that point in his day, he envelopes you completely. His arms are tightly wrapped around you so you're flush against his body. Dick nuzzles himself into the crook of your neck and his legs are perfectly lined up behind yours. He's found himself reliant on you to be able to fall asleep.

In the winter, when it gets cold out, Dick just absorbs your body heat. He craves it when he's out as Nightwing. The cold winds bite at his skin and he's consumed with the memory of your body warmth. He hates feeling cold when he knows that he could easily quit early and come back to you.

On some lucky nights - or maybe unlucky if you look at it - when his body is really sore, you'll offer up a massage. Dick can never say no. You'll find yourself sitting on his butt as he lays on his stomach. Scars and wounds lacing the skin on his back and his tense muscle aching for your touch.

Dick falls asleep like that all the time, no matter what. You could be telling him about your day or even he'll be telling you about his and he'll fall asleep mid-sentence. He wakes up refreshed every time you offer to do it for him, and more times than not he'll always find a way to repay you back.

iv) Dick Grayson on rainy days.

He loves having rainy days with you. Not necessarily rainy days - but the kind of days that he gets to be free of worry from the outside world and just focus on you. Hours upon hours that he gets to relax, often for the first time in months. Those days always seem like a blessing to him, especially when he gets to spend them with you.

Watching movies where he gets to cuddle you on the couch. The both of you laying on your sides. Dick's pressed against the back of the couch with his arms tightly around you so that you don't fall off the edge. He leaves annoying (adorable) little kisses at the back of your neck and a lot of the time tickles your sides.

Or you'll be in the kitchen, baking cookies or brownies, or whatever Dick wanted that day. He's always standing behind you, arms around you and chin resting on your shoulder. His eyes are glued to your movements, adoring how you can make something so mundane so beautiful at the same time.

On days that the rain is pouring outside, Dick will drag you outside - whether it be a balcony, a rooftop, to just the streets. He's got you out in the freezing cold where the rain is soaking your clothes and your clinging onto him for any remnants of body heat.

Dick wants to give you that cheesy, cliche, kiss in the rain. He wants to hold you, to kiss you, to tell the whole world how grand his love is for you. Hands cupping your cheeks, lips molding perfectly to yours. He can feel the drops of rain slipping between you, but it's never enough to get him to pull away. The cold ignites through his body but the warmth of your kiss, your touch, everything there is to you is enough to pull you back in for more.

“You’re an idiot.”

“I’m your idiot.”

Dick spends the rest of the day clinging to you - or more so the other way around. It's his fault that you're frozen to the core and he's going to be the one to fix it. He doesn't mind, not when it gives him the opportunity to just be closer with you.

v) Dick Grayson after sex

He can't get enough of you. Dick Grayson can never find a way to express his love completely. No words, no action, nothing in this world would ever be enough to show how vast his love is. Out of breath, sweat covering his skin, he'd still pull you in for more kisses, more time to show you that he loved you.

Sometimes Dick would have an arm tucked behind his head, the other stroking back and forth along your back. He loves post-sex cuddles with you. He's still on a high with you, absorbing your activities with a smile on his face.

His entire focus is on you. Kissing you, loving you. He's checking to make sure that he didn't hurt you in any way. Dick Grayson becomes the most caring person towards you - more than his usual self. His sole priority is making sure that you feel loved, safe, and happy.

Laying on your sides, facing each other and just talking about anything and everything are his favourite moments. He can't keep his hands off you - in a non-sexual way. Cupping your cheek, drawing into your arm, watching the goosebumps roll against his skin as the cold starts to fill you both.

A smile never leaves his cheeks. Not for a second. How could he when his entire view is focused on you? He's sneaking in for a kiss at every chance he gets - and when he's not his hands are on you. They're playing with your fingers as you talk or brush against your body.

“How did I get so lucky with you?”

Cuddles with him after sex always seem more intimate than the moment itself. He gets the opportunity to talk about his heart's desires or his fears. He feels like it's his prime moment to be able to express anything that he's been feeling because it's when you're most willing to open up too.

It's a time of reflection. For some reason, these conversations always come up after your most intimate moments. It's the concept of growing together, not separately or apart. His future is you, it's always been you, and he's making sure that you both want it to stay that way.

Bonus: Surprise Hug

Getting home early from a mission or managing to sneak away to see you even just for couple minutes, he loves to surprise you with a hug from behind. You’ve learned by now how his body molds to yours, the calming scent of his cologne as he gets close to you - it’s never a worry who’s hugging you because you know his touch by heart.

He loves to hear the joy in your voice when he shows up. The excitement that you get just for making the effort to show up for even a few minutes in the middle of the day or a couple hours early getting home. There’s nothing better than the warmth that spreads in his heart because of you.

taglist

@pricetagofficial @mora-miserium @babymango-writes @redrobin-yumm @simp-is-what-i-am @catsofsmoke @subtleappreciation @officiallydarkgeek @spiitfiires @pinkdiamond1016 @childish-kiwi @givetimdrakeacoffee @gunnedrobin @anythinggoesfandoms @local-fandom-trashcan @bikoncon

#dick grayson #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson fanfic #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson oneshot #nightwing #nightwing x reader #nightwing fanfiction #nightwing imagine #nightwing oneshot #dc one shot #dc titans #dc imagine #dc #dc comics #batfam #batfam imagine #batfam x reader #batfam one shot

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thebgcharacter · 3 years

Note

hi hana, welcome back! was curious if u have any fanfic recs? im p much inlove w all the soukokus and the typical side ships that come w them 😺😺

Hello, anon! Sad to say I haven't been reading up much during my break, but I do still have some recs that I think were amazing reads from a few months ago! Though I'll be honest, even then I wasn't reading a lot, but-

Here are my top 5!

This is technically an ongoing series but I loved this to bits, and I will insert this as my collective top 1. Am I biased? Yes, yes I am, but that's besides the point. Chuuya, born in the muggle world, finds out he is a wizard and attends Hogwarts, where he befriends Dazai, the adopted son of notorious Mori Ougai. I loved the incorporation of Harry Potter and Bungou Stray Dogs into this, being an old fan of the former and a current fan of the latter, and it's just genius writing. Good characterization, and good plot too. It's not just a rewrite of the HP series with a change of characters, the plot was tweaked too, to better fit BSD's vibe. Definitely my top 1 on this list.

Honestly, anything by setosdarkness in AO3 is a blessing. This one, I think, I've read maybe 5 times already, because I get so much serotonin from this! It's funny, it's crack, it's on-point in a way, and it's the fix-it I need what with ADA, Port Mafia and the Guild all being in one party, playing charades. Easily my top 2, this is my comfort fic of sorts. I read it again recently, after coming back here, you should too if you're into crack/no angst fics!

THIS!! This fic is one of my firsts in the BSD fandom, and I loved it so, so much, I even have the linked Spotify playlist saved in my library. THIS is what you read if you want slow burn and tension and mafia involvement and ANGST but also some good soukoku shit. I swear, their characterizations is on point with this. Basically, Chuuya gets married off to Dazai and their marriage signifies peace between their groups. Kouyou leads Chuuya's, and Mori leads Dazai's and THE PLOT TWISTS and SLOW BURN is so worth it.

My favorite shin soukoku fic, for one reason and one reason only: CAT RASHOMON!!! Seriously though- neighbors au is everything. How I long for domestic shin soukoku. This is no angst/lowkey crack but overall just very light-hearted. I love the way other characters are involved in this too! If I remember this correctly, soukoku also pop up as a side couple, but the focus is mainly on cat dad Aku and adopted cat dad Atsu.

Can't finish off a rec list without some RanPoe so here! It's basically just them being geniuses yet completely oblivious to one another's feelings. I love Louisa's involvement with this, and this fic is the reason I stan platonic Poe/Louisa when I initially haven't considered it since they don't interact much in canon. Oh, and it's a college au, all fun and games and maybe some mental breakdowns over finals (if I remember correctly). Just a light, fluffy fic with a healthy sprinkling of humor. I'll probably read this again for the feelgood vibes it gives me.

Now for some honorable mentions!

All you need to know is FukuMori watch their son Dazai grow up with Chuuya- whose dads are VerRim. Very domestic, highly recommend this.

No, it's not the popular one from Haikyuu lol BUT! Paul and Arthur adopting Chuuya instead of... you know, whatever happened in canon?? The perfect fix-it, especially after reading Stormbringer.

Again with the family dynamic of zskk/dazai and verrim/chuuya except this one's more focused on soukoku. It's ABO, but it's also a royalty au with an amazing plot, and overall development with twists on canon events. If you don't mind omegaverse then this I urge you to read this!

On the topic of long fics, here's an iconic one for skk. Think: singers! soukoku but better. If I remember this right, this was inspired by the song "still still still" sung by soukoku's voice actors??? Which was a catchy song btw, check it out. And it gives us fake dating, turned real dating, with lots of bad decisions and Dazai taking up acting. A good read if you want a longer fic!

Much shorter soukoku, with the classic coffee shop x flower shop worker au. I love the flower language from this fic, and the light vibes. I also love the way other characters were incorporated into this?? And I like soukoku being idiots in love.

Now I've reached my link limit damn this site but I will not be stopping just yet.

For fics with less than 4k words: here's one where atsu and rashomon interact, it's all soft sskk; here's where aku spoils atsu, in the soft way okay? Get your mind out of the gutters; here's one where almost everyone in ADA kiss dazai to break the curse of an ability and because dazai is a little shit he lets them; here's ranpo introspection and coming up to the deduction that he has feelings for a certain mystery writer; and here's the prologue?? of Full Tacit Understanding (see Top 2) but it's just Chuuya grocery shopping and Dazai watching him.

These are for the brave, but here's Chuuya in a dress plus relieving sexual tension and here's an ongoing series where sskk help one another but there's also some plot... but mainly I'm adding this here 'cause it's hot.

I'd also like to add that my bookmarks have some good stuff but also know that 60% of my bookmarks are privated, and with good reason <3 That's all I can think of, I hope you like these, anon!

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gpsoftun · 3 years

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X-Men actors of the original and First Class generations have gone into detail about the complicated but long-time friendship between elder mutants, Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr. Fandom, particularly the slash obsessed crowd, has eaten up this dynamic for years.

One problem. There is NO relationship between these two, let alone friendship, least of all romance!

In fact, the horrendous way their interactions have been portrayed on the big screen is criminal. We're talking about an epic dynamic that began in comics and was featured brilliantly in animation.

In the first three X-Men films, Erik is a terrible piece of garbage. He constantly regurgitates his hypocritical 'goal' of safeguarding and ushering in mutant superiority as the next logical stage of human evolution. Every word he ever utters is a sugar-coated lie he repeats over and over, likely in an effort to convince himself of his own twisted philosophy. In every McKellen movie, he uses and throws away mutants at his convenience, shows no remorse for all the harm he's done to his 'own kind', commits acts of terror that place innocent mutants in the line of fire of government officials, and whenever things go south, he runs off into the shadows like the complete coward he is.

I stand by my firm stance that while a good actor, Ian McKellen made for a bad Magneto. However, Patrick Stewart's greatness salvaged the believability of their dynamic. With so much unknown about their past, it's clear they have been through a great deal together. One could easily infer that one tragic event too many turned Geriatrics Erik into the heartless fiend he was in the original trilogy.

My oh my, did the First Class films sic a firing squad on that theory.

Michael Fassbender- I can never say enough about how every producer after Matthew Vaughn royally wrecked every bit of depth and care he brought to his character. Even James McAvoy is dismayed by how they forged a relationship in FC that drew in so many people, only for their screentime together to be drastically diminished. Ah, the irony of how their trying to appeal to slash fans led to this undoing.

After Charles and Erik worked together for less time than I spent at my first summer job, resulting in Erik paralyzing Charles, abandoning him after encouraging the Professor's sister to do likewise, and joining up with mutant terrorists, how did the following films rectify all of this? By pouring a mixture of salt and chlorine into the gaping wounds.

By dofp, Erik failed his first vital mission of rescuing (the allegedly mutant) jfk and wound up in prison for ten years. For ten years, he sat in a hole and rotted. Charles, rightfully, left the depraved idiot there until saving the world became necessary. As soon as they meet again, Erik shows no remorse and only hurls shame and unfair accusations at the emotionally volatile, borderline suicidal younger man. He further mentally abuses Charles by making it out to be entirely his fault Raven abandoned him and implying they still had a chance to make things right. Then tried to kill Charles' sister not ten seconds after they found her. Erik somehow tops himself with another terrorist attack on live TV. When he's stopped, he doesn't offer a single word of apology as Charles shows him mercy. Erik only flies off, leaving his 'old friend' to clean up after him.

Ten years later in xma, Erik no longer gives a flying flip about mutants. He finds a second homo sapien woman to impregnate. It seems he is capable of making friendships- with his homo sapien co-workers and neighbors. How kind of him to dwell among this lesser species he spent years looking down upon with irrational contempt. Meanwhile, in New York, Charles is in a genuinely happy place running his school. There's not a single indication given that either man remembers the other, let alone misses. In fact, at Raven merely sounding like Erik, Charles becomes, correctly, outraged.

Erik has established longer, stronger friendships with the men of his village- who he proceeds to slaughter the moment they do the right thing and report him for his criminal activities. After helping Apocalypse kidnap and torture Charles, the audience is supposed to believe a couple of flashbacks of some guy Erik worked with for a brief period in the 60s is enough for him to cease his current wave of global destruction. Funny, all of this could have been prevented if Erik sent his daughter to Charles for training since Erik himself is completely inept at instructing one little child. Maybe since she was such a pretty little girl, the ego stroking bit he used with Raven was fruitless. Anyway, as soon as Charles clears his name and Erik is back on his feet, the Moron of Magnetism promptly ditches the X-Men.

By the stupid phoenix movie, for most of it, no one seems to be aware that Erik exists, least of all Charles. He apparently has no contact with him, even when the insufferable shrew known as Raven dies. Jean and Hank go whining to him on Genosha but Charles doesn't bother with him except to talk him down from his latest emotionally driven, nonsensical plans for public homicide. Homicide he wants to commit over a woman he himself already tried to intentionally kill.

When a disregarded, depressed Charles tries to find some semblance of peace in Paris, the steel-bending stalker somehow tracks him down. After thirty years of viciously tormenting the telepath in-between lengthy spells of radio silence, Erik remembers that Charles is an angel among us and offers him residence in a miserable shack on an isolated chunk of land under Erik's dictatorship. And the slash fans just eat up the kind but unappreciated abuse victim going to live with his tormentor.

This does translate to a happy ending in Erik's demented world. Let's not forget that Erik was all for teaming up with Sebastian Shaw, he who conducted painful experiments on him, if not for that tiny detail of Shaw shooting Erik's mom. But he still manages to emulate his beloved nazi mentor by sprouting his philosophy, taking on his minions, and committing ruthless cruelty against mutants and regular humans alike.

Cast, crew, and fandom talk about Charles and Erik as if they are the iconic mutant elders from the comics and 90s series. There are no layers, depth, and certainly no real relationship between them as depicted on film since 2000.

In fact, the First Class films retroactively destroy anything positive gleaned from the original trilogy. I can't enjoy a single moment between McKellen and Stewart, knowing every tragedy to befall Charles is all Erik's fault. Loss of legs? Erik. Loss of hair? Erik. Charles withdrawing into himself and never really letting anyone in? EVERYBODY but especially Erik!

For those believing I have it out for poor, unfortunate Erik, the films brought about this clear conclusion.

Never once is Erik a friend to Charles. He never does anything for him or give him so much as a kind word. In FC, Charles plunged into ice water to save Erik before he even knew him, gave the vigilante killer a home and purpose, supported him at every turn, and constantly built up his self-esteem. Erik only ever talked down to and hurled accusations at Charles. Oh but he totally saved Charles by pinning him down on the plane, right?! Yeah, no, Erik still needed Charles' powers to carry out his plan to kill Shaw. A dead or brain-damaged Charles would have been a useless Charles. Oh but Erik cradled Charles after he was shot. A shooting that Erik's foolishness caused and immediately afterward, he discards Charles and *specifically* coaxed the wounded man's sister into abandoning him as well.

In dofp, Erik is as verbally cruel as he can be towards Charles. Then, he uses emotional manipulation to get Charles to trust him long enough to kill Raven. In the end, Erik ran off and never looked back.

In xma, Erik eventually helped stop Apocalypse to rescue Charles. A rescue that would NOT have been necessary if Erik did not help abduct and torture a man he paralyzed in the first place. In all honesty, he probably saw things not panning out with Apocalypse and hid among the X-Men long enough to regain their favor. Aww, he helped rebuild the house he helped destroy. He needed somewhere to live while he mooched, didn't he?

In the stupid phoenix movie, Erik believes Jean's killed someone he 'cares' about. Does he ever go check on the X-Men? Nope. When he did show up, he spat all over Charles until the very end. Charles was almost as vulnerable as he was during dofp, another opportunity for Erik to swoop in with his emotional manipulation. Charles had no one left and he knew how much the Professor only wanted love, peace, and acceptance. Erik found himself in the position to have the most powerful telepath among his island dwellers. With all outside communication forbidden, he would have years to trap Charles in a snug cocoon of stockholm syndrome.

Am I making Erik sound like a deranged monster with no moral compass? Once again, so did the films! In his youth, he considered the Jews his people and hunted down nazis on 'their' behalf. However, with that mission coming to a close, he luckily found out he was part of a breed of super humans. This gave the hunter an even bigger swell of self-righteousness and a whole new prey to hunt. Every human being on Earth- Jew and gentile alike- lacking a weird, completely random gene he himself just found out existed!

Erik NEVER stands by any of the nonsense he claims to believe in. Everything he does is in service to the ego fandom thinks Charles has and his own pleasure. What was done in those camps to him and his family was unforgivable. But EVERYthing bad that happens to him after his nazi crusade is entirely his fault. He was so incompetent at saving jfk, he made himself look like the assassin and got locked up for it. Those dead mutants he screamed at Charles about? His failure as a leader brought about their destruction. His wife and daughter getting killed? All because he got busted as the mutant terrorist he is.

There was no real relationship between these two beyond absolute toxicity. Fandom has a right to its head canons as much as I have the right to consider them absolutely stupid.

If you accept the canon depictions as a true beautiful relationship, PLEASE make your own new friend in Jesus before you wind up locked in the basement of a madman's shack.

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incarnateirony · 3 years

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Someone dropped this in my submission box instead of ask box, “So I’m trying to genuinely understand what you’re saying is you understand corporate execs at the CW had a hand in the ending of supernatural? I’m not judging not attacking I swear I’m just trying to make sense of it because I had no idea about any of this up till now because I had stayed out of online fandom because well for years it felt big but anyways am I getting this right?”

---

The CW has a hand in everything. Here’s how this generally works.

The authors have ~relative~ freedom on a show. That is to say, the execs really don’t sit there splitting the nuances of the storytelling the fandom is receiving. They generally don’t even identify major markers that any of us would know (see: not even recognizing what the Roadhouse is.) -- we all knew the original ending had TFW at the Roadhouse as framed and spoiled by 15.04 among other details, and the whole “heaven/mental bar” theme from DSOTM, Nihilism, and Last Call all amplified this as an inevitability--but when you ask about “hey, is there a bar in heaven?” and get a “no?” that tells you they don’t even understand *ancient* plot beats like the Roadhouse, much less the ramifications of what it’s supposed to entail. Oh look at that, the roadhouse was just in fucking heaven like we said, but you identified it as a “cabin” because of filming locations and your basic notes.

Corporate has very basic compliance demands. They expect X, Y, and Z. What X Y and Z are across different shows vary depending on their markets. As long as the authors operate within X Y and Z, the corporate face essentially works off of synopsis of pitches and ideas.

This is also why I’ve talked about queer writing history and people being careful what they call queerbait: you don’t know what their X Y and Z are. The WB for example does not really CARE about representation. I’ve blogged about this often. We’re dollar signs. If they can package a new product to market it explicitly as LGBTQ fare, then they’ll turn you into a revenue machine by feeding you that particular fodder. When it comes to legacy shows--which is funny, because when the suit went off in my DM about this, they used the exact same phrasing as me--they’re going to play it safe, especially if they don’t truly understand the returns from the demographics they’re observing.

The space between X Y and Z is where the authors have liberty to push and, the longer and harder they push, the louder the content is allowed to get.

Here! I’ll even quote them directly, somewhat truncated because they ranted for fucking PARAGRAPHS.

“In reference to the media landscape, on a corporate level we do not distinguish fandoms. [...] That said, legacy shows such at Arrow, Supernatural, and even Flash are relics and we never really endeavored to reinvent the wheel on a corporate level, we are more focused on shows that are newer and still in our pipeline to premiere. [...] As for social media like all businesses and brands the engagement itself is key, but the content of the engagement is mostly irrelevant, though every show does have certain keywords that are often used in conjunction with harsher interactions blacklisted.”

The funny part is, they thought they were preaching to me like this was new information, but those of you that have been around my blog will PROBABLY RECOGNIZE this is almost VERBATIM exactly what I have told everybody over the years. Enough I half-suspect some trolls out there will think i wrote it myself and made it up and lob that accusation around. But there’s about 50 people that watched this conversation as it unfolded.

If you guys get mad? You’re still giving them PR. If you engage the content? You’re giving them PR. If you guys get bitchy ENOUGH? They completely blacklist a certain kind of engagement. I have literally been telling you all of this for years.

They don’t care who you are or what you want, just if you’re watching and what they at-best roughly estimate your demographic as desiring. So for example, Supernatural reading as a largely non-urban white demographic in its viewership, especially with a heavier lean in red states than most shows on the network, they presume to cater to what they perceive that demographic wants, rather than individualizing the understanding of the content, because they do not distinguish the shows or fandoms. “Oh, heavier republican white non-urban demographic” is where their understanding ends at, which is why they’re going to be utterly mystified why even my trump-voting republican neighbor from rural Alabama looked at the end result and went “what the fuck?” -- they weren’t expecting a big gay confession, but they were expecting a different sort of final tone.

Of course they’re never going to take that on for themselves and go “wow, we’re giant blazing dumbasses that understand nothing about the show!” -- they’ll, for example, claim they don’t leave network notes, when they’re still the ones passing material along about demographics and expectations etc etc. Their notes are *basic*. They do not leave *extensive* notes. Because extensive notes require extensive understanding of the content.

So for example: Berens spent since S9 slowly gaying up our show. Since they do not pay attention to the fine details of the story contents (lol no bar in heaven lolololol just a cabin lololol), he never got a note to *stop*. But it was not within the original structure plans and didn’t technically fit the demographic notes. The show continued to get aggressively gayed up, and Berens never really signed a note like “hey, I’m gaying it the fuck up” so even fandom reporters were going “THERE’S NO INTENT THERE!!!!!” -- berens operated in his very basic X, Y, Z landmarks to expand content within a story the suits literally do not pay the fuck attention to.

Corporate’s understanding is basic: dudes stabbing monsters and brothers against the world. Play in that box and keep these demographic notes in mind. You’re good.

They’ll NEVER mention blacklisting issues directly beyond what they admitted in the above quote but I DO remind you I have ranted ON AND ON AND ON how much Destiel fandom shot themselves in the goddamn foot with a fucking bazooka with the Chad Kennedy incident years ago. Others like Emily handled it intelligently to inform the *authors*. No, the network will never tell you if they blacklisted Destiel, but I informed you pretty heavily years ago that odds are, yeah, they probably fucking blacklisted Destiel.

Add in paying attention to the things Berens himself liked (if you don’t believe, scroll to Nov 5 on his tl)

Like, listen. berens knows exactly what he did and did the best he could do in the situations that were set up for him. And, frankly, I had been talking about this season as a writer room rebellion all year--just like corporate DID leave them a note in S11 that they couldn’t kill god. But if they couldn’t kill him or cage him, they would find another way. In 17 we said goodbye to Meredith and, in a way, to a MAJOR portion of Dean’s substantial story. In 18, we said goodbye to Bobo, and frankly all the parts that grew into queer Castiel that came with it. 19 and 20 became residual notes of hitting expected plot beats on the head on a rhythm, tying off godforces, and then just sliding into the Dabb subversion of them having learned to grieve, let go, and process emotions-- just the surrounding delivery left the feeling of more ~wanting~ on that front which is understandable.

But these are the kind of things people don’t even ~think~ about. This is WHY I’ve turned myself into a bulletshield protecting Berens’ work for YEARS while people yelled about queerbait not understanding the years of process he used in his unbabysat space to make something unable to dodge.