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#when certain things are so easily dismissed when done by certain characters
hoshinoyozora · 1 year
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Poor, Unfortunate Soul(s)
🖤 Pairing: Yandere! Self-aware! Twisted Wonderland x Female! Reader
💛 Word Count: 1,3k+
❤ Warnings: -
[Edited]
Do not re-upload my writing to another website or use it without my permission. Also, don’t ask for a sequel unless I like the story enough to write one. Please reblog so other people can see my stories!
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Just a lil scenario about MC who ‘dismisses’ their existences aka me lmao.
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“They’re just a bunch of game characters, anyway. Why should I care so much about them?”
You laughed, unaware of the hearts that you broke within the screen. The thin yet sturdy piece of glass that separated you from the people who thought of you as their world. Their everything. Your friend chuckled, adding salt to the injury. Had she didn’t ask you why you hadn’t logged into the game for days, weeks even, maybe they wouldn’t be so humiliated and disappointed.
But did that mean they wouldn’t know your true opinion on them otherwise?
Maybe ignorance was bliss, because, then, they would’ve kept holding onto the hope for you to come back. To still want them the same way they wanted you. In this world of codes and numbers, you were the one real thing in their lives. You were human. Warm, fleshy, and expressive. And yet, you dismissed their existences so easily just because you both lived in two different worlds.
Did they really mean nothing for you? Were all of your reactions towards them merely a façade? Or a memory so insignificant you forgot about it in the next day?
“Maybe I should just delete the app. It feels like a chore to open it nowadays.”
The sky darkened, the ground trembled, and the thunder rumbled as the result of a certain dragon fae. Was this your true self? Then again, NRC was a school of villains. They shouldn’t be surprised if you, the Player, turned out to be the biggest villain of all. Not even Malleus Draconia could hold a candle to you. Your words alone had the ability to mold and break their spirits. Your touch alone could move them somewhere else and show them how beautiful Twisted Wonderland was with you by their side. And your presence alone gave them a reason to live.
If you were to disappear, wouldn’t that be comparable to death? A slow, painful death where everyone lost themselves in depression and rage, and ultimately, destroyed themselves. In a moment of morbid curiosity, they wondered if that was what you wanted all along. You toyed with their hearts, and when you got bored, you moved onto their lives.
“We… we can’t just let her leave!” A boyish voice, thick with desperation and an even desperate attempt to recompose, shattered the mournful silence. Everyone recognized him as Ace Trappola, one of Yuu’s enviable first friends and troublemakers from Heartslabyul. “We need to stop her! Come on, guys. Are we really going to stop now, after everything we’ve done to reach her?”
“But how?” Leona asked, sounding even more listless somehow. Despite his pride and consent, you’d taken a peek into his past and remained amicable with him. It didn’t matter that it was for the sake of the plot, your vessel, Yuu, still approached him and asked for his help during Octavinelle’s story. Didn’t that mean something for you? For him? “Just because we’ve managed to hack into her phone doesn’t mean we can drag her here. There’s only so much we can do to make her stay.”
Ace flinched, unprepared for the reality to slap him twice.
“I-I don’t know.” He turned to face the Diasomnia gang who, with the exception of the sniffling Sebek, looked as somber as a funeral guest. “Malleus-senpai, Lilia-senpai, you guys gotta know something about bringing someone from another world, right? You guys are the strongest of the strongest. I don’t care if it’s forbidden. There… there has to be a way!”
For a moment, they were silent as though reluctant to admit their lack of knowledge. Ace wilted, his buckling knees threatening to collapse once the severity of the situation settled in.
That is, until Lilia opened his mouth.
“… There is, actually.” he murmured. “But for every soul that moves here, another has to replace them.”
Some of the characters lit up, but the others remained skeptical.
“And I assume it’s for the sake of balance?” Vil mused, crossing his arms.
Lilia’s glance confirmed his suspicion.
“T-then, what are we waiting for?” In a burst of hope, Azul momentarily stopped sobbing. “Let’s sacrifice that person.”
“But who’s gonna be that person?” Jamil retorted.
Everyone fell quiet again, unwilling to be the lamb in the altar of your capricious existence.
“The NPCs ‘live’ when the story is moving.” Idia mumbled through the floating device. His shyness and reluctance for a face-to-face interaction was customary, but nobody could truly see the underworld his sanity was falling at a rapid pace. Still, it didn’t change the fact that he still wanted to see you living among them. Literally. “That means she has to play again if we want to sacrifice one of them.”
“I, for one, would be more than willing to help ‘convincing’ her, if that’s what it takes.” Jade simpered with his eyes closed and a hand over his chest.
“Oui! It’d be a splendid day to see her sublime face gracing us again. The sun would shine warmly, the flowers would grow tastefully, and the birds would chirp merrily!” Rook enthused, jabbing at Malleus’s inadvertent use of magic.
Riddle wiped his teary eyes with the sleeve of his uniform and straightened up.
“Seeing that our Player has slackened in her responsibility to watch over us, it is our duty to set her right.” he declared. “Heartslabyul students, I order you to find this person and bring him here!”
“I-I agree…!” Sebek piped up, still loud as always despite his trembling voice and runny nose. “I shall seize him and send him to that world at once!”
Ever the dutiful one, Silver gripped his baton and nodded. As long as it wasn’t murder without a cause, he’d gladly perform any task like a true knight would.
“Well, if Riddle ordered us like this, who are we to disobey him?” Cater laughed, trying to hide the shakiness of his voice.
Trey pushed his glasses, foggy from the upcoming tears.
“Indeed. But I won’t lie, this is something that I’m looking forward to carry out.”
“For once, you did something right, Ace!” Deuce beamed proudly.
“Oi!”
Jamil glanced at Kalim, who reluctantly nodded. He hated to see people throwing away their lives carelessly, after all the assassination attempts that he suffered through the story. But if it was for the sake of seeing you with them, who was he to stop them?
Floyd grinned happily, but the anger of being abandoned by you darkened his eyes.
“Once she gets here, I’ll be sure to give her a nice, long squeeze as a welcome~”
“Well, Leona-san?” Ruggie asked, crossing his hands behind his head. “Are we gonna boost their morale or something?”
Leona sighed, lacking the irritated exhaustion he usually had. Even he wasn’t immune to the hope that Lilia brought to them, no matter how annoying it was to trust him.
“You better not be disappointing us, Lilia.” he growled. “And you, too, Radish Sprout.”
“I don’t like this.” Jack murmured. “But if this is what it takes to make the Player fulfill her role again, then I’ll do my best to live up to the expectations!”
“I… I will join as well!” Epel stated, clenching his fists resolutely.
“Look, Brother!” Ortho chirped. “You managed to bring them all together. That’s so cool!”
Idia muttered something, but the younger boy was too engrossed in their touching cooperation to notice.
Sunlight finally dispersed the dark clouds, mirroring their spirit. Malleus took a step forward with his chin raised in determination.
“Then, I shall assist Lilia with the magic.”
You said you didn’t care about them?
Well, they would make you care.
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hunajan · 1 year
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BNHA HEADCANONS Ft. Dabi and Hawks
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After he annoys you on purpose, you snap and threaten to sit on his face🔥💕
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Warnings:+18 MINORS DNI!!! sexual themes, mention of oral sex, bullying if you squint
DISCLAIMER: Characters belong to Kohei Horikoshi
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DABI / TOUYA TODOROKI
There isn’t really anyone who’s safe from Dabi’s taunting, but he loves to point his rude nature specifically at you since he always manages to get a reaction out of you
You get provoked easily, but even when you are aware that Dabi knows just how to push your buttons, you still fall for every verbal trap he sets for you
Annoying you is mere entertainment for the derisive arsonist and the hotter your blood boils at whatever he’s said or done, the more merrier he gets 
Although Dabi is a natural talent at reading people and conniving his way in and out of difficult situations, he doesn’t know yet that there are certain topics that he’d actually prefer to avoid
Your gut was burning with rage as Dabi had once again managed to irritate you to the point of your patience running dangerously thin, especially when he was being so casual about it, sitting on a couch in a relaxed manner with that annoying and dismissive grin on his face
“If you don’t shut the fuck up right about fucking now Dabi, I swear I’m gonna sit on your fucking face”
Dabi visibly tenses, not being used to having such sexual suggest being pointed at him so he doesn’t know how to respond
When it comes to romantic and sexual stuff, Touya is definitely just a shy guy and for the first time you witness that side of him as he’s hopelessly unable to prevent the healthy parts of his cheeks from blushing
“Are you blushing Dabi?” Twice asks, making the arsonist even more uncomfortable
“Am fucking not..” Dabi mumbles, bringing his hand in the back of his neck, not understanding how his gesture exposes the fact that he’s nervous
Clearly he didn’t expect such retort from you, his witty mind now incapable of coming up with anything to say back and that’s when you cross your arms and give him a rather victorious smirk
“What, you getting shy now, Dabi?” What happened to that smart mouth?” 
“Shut up,” he mumbles while getting up, trying to act as casual as possible before shuffling to the corridor
You don’t allow him to escape the situation so with determined steps, you catch him just as he’s walked past the door frame
He is caught off guard when you grasp the back of his coat and with unexpected force, you shove him against the wall
He looks down at you, annoyed from the sudden act and the smug expression on your features, but still trying to deny the nervousness you cause as you come so close to him
“We can go sort this out right now if you want,” you say with a seductive voice, relishing in the way his chest starts to heave, but whether it’s because he’s provoked or aroused, even he can’t tell
“After all, I’ve always wanted to know what that smart mouth of yours can do,” you say while dragging your fingertip on the scarred surface of his lower lip
Dabi is quiet for a brief while, his mind a mess for not being able to think clearly so the only thing he can come up with is to weakly push your hand away and force his way out of your grasp
With a satisfied smirk on your face, you watch as he walks away from you
Dabi’s brows are furrowed as he stares at the floor while walking towards his room with his hands in his pockets, wondering if you were serious about the obscene suggestion
After all, he only bullied you because he had a huge crush on you so if you wanted to sit on his face, he wouldn’t refuse
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HAWKS / KEIGO TAKAMI
Hawks is a carefree guy who likes to tease you for being so diligent
It’s ironic since you’re his secretary, therefore he should be happy that you’re working so hard
Because he is your boss, you can’t exactly tell him to shut up and even if you could, your kind and composed nature just wouldn’t allow you to do so
Hawks knows you’d never raise your voice at him or anyone else and that’s what makes him even more keen on getting a reaction out of you
You’re once again in his office, standing before his desk with paper files in your hands while listening to his commands that hold not so subtle mockery 
“Well, that’s about it. I’m leaving for a patrol now,“ Hawks says before getting up and heading towards a window, smiling as he feels the irritation radiating from you
“Oh Hawks, someday I’ll shut that mouth of yours by sitting on your pretty face,“ you say calmly while your fingers go through the paper files he’s given you 
Hawks can feel his heart jumping up his throat for your lewd threat that was beyond anything he had expected. He stops and glances over his shoulder as if trying to confirm whether he actually heard right
You lift your unimpressed gaze at him, loving the fact that for once he was left speechless
A sly smile appears on your features as you place the files on his desk before slowly advancing him
Hawks now turns around and as you invade his personal space, he’s forced to take a step back
“Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always wanted to know how your tongue feels in between my legs,“ you say while slowly bringing your hand on his face, your thumb gently brushing his slightly parted lips
“So keep running your mouth,” you say, biting your lower lip while looking at his tongue as if already picturing it pleasuring you
Hawks can’t mutter a word since he’s never seen this side of you, all he can feel is the burning on his face at your words
You wink at him and pull away, acting as if nothing happened before picking up the files from his desk and walking out of his office
Hawks is still wordless at your seductive act and for the first time in his life, he cancels his patrol, hoping he could provoke you enough to make you carry out your threat
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daisybrekker · 2 months
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My thought progress throughout my read of HOFAS
Genuinely could not care less about the POVs of Declan, Flynn, Tharion, Sigrid, etc. Sorry, not sorry.
Nesta being the queen she is, as usual😍
After HOSAB, I am neutral about Lidia and waiting to see if I'll warm up to her after this book, but I don’t really care for her as a character. Ruhn could do better.
I like the fact that SJM included several chapters where Azriel spies on Bryce and Nesta in the shadows, but I hate how obvious she made it to be. I understand giving a subtle hint or two that something's watching Bryce, but it seemed like it was very obviously suggested every couple of sentences. Doesn't really match with Azriel's reputation of a great spymaster if his "prey" can sense him🥲
Ithan's stupidity makes my blood boil. He is fully aware that there's a catch with the Viper Queen's offer but doesn't think of asking who she wants him to fight. Come on...
Bryce's plan with the Wyrm was so good, but Nesta & Azriel tricking her was even better. I love them all😭
I am literally praying that the Viper Queen meets a violent end by the end of this book.
I love how easy SJM makes it to hate certain characters. My blood is literally boiling after reading Silene's story.
I'm sorry, but Bryce flipping off Silene's hologram is just so juvenile. The one thing that annoys me about SJM's writing is how so many of her characters always use the middle finger when they're in an argument or whatever. Personally, I find it such a childish thing to do.
Pollux is so disgusting, ugh.
There's something satisfying about the Autumn King living a life of regret after everything he's done.
Once again, what is SJM's obsession with the middle finger?😭
I love SJM's romances, but am I the only one a bit put off that as soon as Bryce and Hunt reunite, his thoughts go straight to fucking her? Like, seriously?
I don't even like Danika, but I feel so bad for Baxian. I hope he finds someone in the future CC books.
Genuine question, was Sathia ever mentioned before her appearance in HOFAS?🙈
If I remember correctly, I don't think SJM's done the forced marriage/relationship trope before, so I'm curious how Tharion/Sathia will work out.
If I got money every time a character flipped someone off, I'd be rich with this book alone.
Makes me giggle that Bryceriels thought Azriel was the one to find Bryce at the end of HOSAB because they'd be mates or something meanwhile it was just their weapons wanting to be together😂
I won't lie, I genuinely expected the Autumn King to have some sort of Redemption Arc (not that he deserved it!). I felt like SJM always added in bits to show his regret & care towards Bryce to imply that ultimately he'll be good, but I guess not. Definitely surprised me👀
I'm a bit mad that it took so long for Sabine to finally be put in her place but better later than never.
Celestina's crocodile tears are so pathetic. I'm gonna be so mad if they forgive her...
Connor, my beloved💔There's always been something comforting about the fact that the dead were still somehow present as ghosts but now that his death is final, I'm sobbing😭
Okay, I'm starting to really like Sathia👀
Perhaps we'll have some sort of angsty love triangle between Tharion, Sathia and Colin in future CC books?
I didn't think I'd say this but Bryce/Hunt don't feel like the same relationship. Not only did we spend a large portion of the book without them together, but now that they are together, it feels like all they do is argue. I also absolutely hate the way Bryce is so easily dismissive of his thoughts/feelings. I miss the Bryce from HOEAB🥲
I understand Lidia and her determination to get to her sons but I wish she stopped for literally one second and thought things through.
Am I the only one who gets extremely annoyed at Ithan? I feel like he messes literally everything up.
Not gonna lie, I find it a bit cliché that suddenly Ace calls Lidia his mom just because she saved them after hating her for so long. I'd prefer if it happened in a different way, this feels a bit forced to me.
I love how Aidas truly cares for Bryce (even if he has bad taste in women *cough* Theia *cough*)
Not Jesiba😭💔
Bryce getting to see Lehabah and the Pack of Devils again breaks my heart💔
Hunt and Cassian both ready to jump between the girls is so funny.
Nesta getting the love she deserves from Ember is everything to me🥺
Baxian freaking out over the pegasuses is hilarious🤣
FINAL THOUGHTS
I'd give it a 8/10.
Tharion's chapters didn't really interest me till he married Sathia.
Didn't really care much for Declan, Flynn, Marc, etc.
I absolutely adore Bryce and Hunt (individually and together), but this wasn't their best book which is disappointing as it's their last.
HOEAB Bryce > HOFAS Bryce
I actually like Lidia more now and am happy with her arc & relationship with Ruhn.
I think the ACOTAR crossover was done perfectly. Nesta and Azriel had enough importance but their presence didn't take away from the fact that this was a CC book.
I absolutely loved Aidas in this book.
It felt a bit too easy though, no truly significant deaths happened.
I don't know why, but I feel a bit dissatisfied with the Autumn King's death. I was hoping for some more closure for Bryce and Ruhn. (& Ember?)
I wish we got some more scenes with Baxian.
The fight with the Asteri was a bit underwhelming.
One of my favourite scenes is definitely the one where everyone holds the portal open for Bryce and Hunt to come back through. It was very sweet!
In general, it was a great book, but a bit underwhelming as a conclusion to Bryce's story.
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copperbadge · 5 months
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If its not too personal could you talk about what was the inspiration for Michaelis? He's got a lot of depth to him, especially for what could have been a one off character in the background after Fete. Also the way he mourns but carries on really resonates with me in Jes.
Oh sure! I mean, on the one hand it is quite personal but it's a kind of personal I really enjoy sharing. :D Michaelis began life as the Standard Hallmark Parent -- you see them a lot in the movies, the parent who is
1. Kinda grouchy
2. Usually pushing their kid slightly too hard in slightly the wrong direction (with the best of intentions)
3. Often a widow/er
4. Practically a cameo designed to stress out the lead, but easily attractive enough that they could be romantic lead themselves in the sequel.
There are actually several Hallmark films where the over-sixty characters are either the supporting romance in a one-off film or the main romance of a sequel film. (The Wedding Veil films, which despite their flaws are actually very enjoyable, have a Michaelis-like character for the mother of the male lead in the first movie, and she then becomes the major supporting romantic lead in the fourth movie.)
By the time I got to Michaelis talking to Eddie at the end of the script for Fete, I'd grown to really like him. When I adapted the script to a novel, I liked him even more. I thought that I could do a sequel with him getting jolted out of himself a bit -- and I was encouraged by how many people liked him in the initial read through. The main inspirations for the actual plot of Infinite Jes were, one, Gregory jokingly suggesting he do a podcast, and two, Michaelis's defensive dismissal of Gregory's question about what he's done for companionship since Miranda passed.
Over the course of writing Infinite Jes, he came to be a collection of themes I've explored or wanted to explore, sometimes themes I knew I wasn't skilled enough to handle yet. The core of him is based on a professor I worked with as a student; the confidence that occasionally tips into arrogance, the keen intellect that likes to take things apart, the ability to look at some toxic family traits and decide "RIP but I'm different" and be a present, nurturing masculine figure, all come from that professor, who had a huge impact on me.
But I have also been fascinated for decades now by a certain kind of character in fiction, someone who has had a devastating loss and keeps going, even if they aren't driven by something like revenge. Profound grief is difficult and fascinating for me, and I finally felt capable of exploring that fully, perhaps because the pressure on romance novels is a bit lower at times.
And honestly, a lot of him is me, processing the fact that I am aging in fandom. I'm older (44) than the oldest person I knew in fandom (38) when I joined it at the age of 14. I have, for lack of a better word, a position in fandom, a status, that affords me certain perks and requires of me certain obligations. Not to call myself elected king of fandom ("I didn't vote for him!") but the duty I feel to fandom, both as a culture that raised me and a found family, is very similar.
Most of my characters contain some of me, but Michaelis and Jerry contain far more of me than most, perhaps because I'm in a place to do some reflection. Michaelis -- intelligent, experienced, hopefully a mentor, but also lonely and detached at times -- is who I'm coming to grips with being; Jerry, the charming fuckup with power but no real clue how to use it, who is doing his best to grow up a little later than a lot of his peers and figure out how disability fits into his identity, is who I still see myself as.
So yeah -- I find Michaelis incredibly fun and compelling to write for, and I think that's because I had hit a skill level in my work where I could combine a lot of tropes and themes into one character and use him to explore why I enjoy them so much. But he definitely began life as the Hallmark Widowed Dad. :D Well, there are worse origin stories.
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archie-sunshine · 3 months
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Survey Says-!(Rodimus/EVERYONE)
Chapter 2: Feel The Beat(Rodimus/Blaster)
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Rodimus is NOT bitter about the results of the crew satisfaction survey, in fact, he’s fully prepared to change! He’s determined to change his crew’s minds, and what better way to do so than to get to know them- in the carnal sense that is. 
There are no problems with this plan in Rodimus’s mind. There are many in Ultra Magnus’s. Magnus engages in some unfortunate(for Rodimus) damage control as head of Cybertronian Resources. Rodimus is not easily deterred. 
Chapter 1 Here! Read on AO3 here!
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FIC TAGS: Rodimus/Everyone(But y’know, not like. EVERYONE. Just a lot of various background characters and also more specifically with some others), Takes place post dark cybertron, but pre the whole ship disappearing thing and the mutiny, smut, Chastity, denial, Rodimus is a slut, Ongoing humiliation, HR Violations as comedy, Ultra Magnus is clueless, sticky sexual interfacing, comedy, sexual comedy, dubious consent (if you squint and tilt your head), contains illustrations
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Authors notes: I didnt know blaster very well before writing this, i watched some of the old g1 cartoon funnily enough, and it turns out blaster is a cutie pie and i love him actually?? beautiful boombox boy
CHAPTER TAGS: Rodimus/Blaster(implied rodimus/huffer, crosscut, kindle, siren, and rad), oral, blowjobs, sexual frustration, blaster's servos can vibrate, the most painful nut ever, rodimus continues to make bad decisions
Ultra Magnus’s little magnetizer trick had been dirty, underhanded, cruel, unusual, and downright sadistic(from a certain point of view). But it was also stupid, considering that as long as Rodimus still had one hole, by primus he was gonna use it. 
The only thing this horrible device had managed to do was shorten his one on ones. He was still going to give his beloved crew the helm of a lifetime, but without having to worry about chasing his own edge, it meant Rodimus was more inclined to get things done quicker. He had managed to check Siren, Huffer, Crosscut, Kindle, and Rad off his list in the two cycles following the incident, however there were some… adverse effects that these meetings were having on him. 
It was hard not to get at least a little bit excited when giving helm, and that became an issue in and of itself, as Rodimus’s array had started complaining more and more as he continued to deny its release. 
Rodimus stalked down the ship's hallway, faceplate set in a frustrated scowl as he made his way back towards his office. He felt like he was walking with a limp, which would have been fun and sexy if he was limping because he’d been spiked silly, but instead was infuriating… because he was limping from having to walk with a stupid fragging magnetizer attached to his overheated panels. 
The captain absently swiped at his intake, making sure there were no traces of transfluid still there from his ‘meeting’ with Rad. He was a bit shy, considering the captain’s ongoing predicament, but still managed to get a good overload in from the deal. It was getting harder for Rodimus to focus when he was giving out his one on ones, it felt like every encounter added new, angrier popups in his processor screeching for him to overload. His helm was swimming by the time he’d felt Rad finish, and it had taken the bot grabbing him by his finials and dragging him off to bring him back to reality. 
So there he was, pouting his way to his office, manually dismissing every one of the popups in his processor to clear his mind so he could think again. He entered the access code, cursing as he flubbed the code the first time and stormed in, letting the door close behind him. He flopped into his chair with an exhausted groan. He eyed the stack of datapads on his desk that he had been instructed to fill out and sign. They were supply manifests… he thought. He wasn’t entirely paying attention to what Ultra Magnus was saying that morning as he’d been considering the unpleasant flavour the aftertaste of transfluid in his mouth made when mixed with his morning energon. Gross. Rodimus chuckled to himself at the thought. Primus, that was fragging disgusting, he was fragging disgusting. He smirked to himself. 
He reached across the desk and tapped at the first datapad, propping his legs up as he began the daily slog through datawork. He let his optics go into skimming mode as he scrolled halfheartedly through the document. He had gathered it was some list of acquisition requests that the crew members had personally made, so he began signing off his approval.
A new shipment of high quality engex for swerve’s… approved
A bulk order of plating patches for the medibay… approved
A set of high quality wrenches for Brainstorm’s laboratory… approved
Rodimus shifted around a bit in his chair. 
A blank datapad shipment… approved
Replacement parts for the staff room vending machine that Megatron had accidentally broken… approved
It was impossible to get comfortable, he felt overheated without even being particularly aroused.
A palette of hover scooters… denied
Rodimus froze. He set the datapad down and glanced between his thighs. His faceplate flared hot with embarrassment. He was fragging leaking. 
It was a miracle that he hadn’t started doing so before he made it to his office, but all the same, around the edges of his panels he could see prefluid seeping out, making the tiniest little puddle on his chair. Rodimus let out a long, frustrated groan, letting his helm thunk against the back of his chair. This was humiliating. He reached for one of his drawers and plucked out a rag, quickly swiping at his panels and the seat before stuffing it under himself and getting back to work. 
Ping! Another popup at the front of his mind ‘Open Interface Array?’ 
He closed the popup. It wasn’t his fault he was in this mess! He was just trying to show a little gratitude for his crew! Some.. sloppy, sticky gratitude, but gratitude nonetheless. Interface was different now, it was purely a means to making his apologetic feelings known, letting people know he really could change. He’d do anything his crew wanted for their approval. 
He swallowed thickly. Anything they wanted… He recalled the servos gripping at his helm, the weight of a spike in his intake or the smooth mesh of a valve under his glossa. Oral was easy, Rodimus had plenty of time to practice in the washracks and supply closets of various barracks during the war. But this fuzzy, syrupy slowness that accompanied the denial of his own overload was something… new. 
He felt his fans starting to kick on. He willed them up higher, trying to blow off as much of the excess heat as he could. He refocused on the requests on his datapad. 
A new set of parts for one of the busted replicators… approved
A bulk order of glassware for the canteen… approved
… the rag was getting soaked. 
Rodimus slammed down his datapad and stood up. He quickly scanned through his itinerary for the day, confirming he had an hour and a half free before his meeting with the comms officer, before wiping up any visible prefluid around his panels and beginning to speedwalk towards the medibay. 
*
“What do you MEAN you can’t do it!!?” Rodimus shouted. He sat up a bit from the slab, only to get a firm servo on his chassis pushing him back down. “You’re Ratchet!”
“I didn’t say can’t, I said won’t, Rodimus.” Ratchet sighed out in exasperation. 
“B-but it huuuuurts, I’m dying here, I can feel my spark about to go out!!” Rodimus whined, rolling his helm back. 
“I know thats a lie, Rodimus, any discomfort you’re feeling is perfectly normal with a device like this, and I’ve received direct orders not to take it off without dire circumstances or reasons to do so.” Ratchet sounded like he was reciting something, it was likely that he was, considering who was the mastermind behind this whole wicked scheme. 
“Direct orders that I as captain-” Rodimus began.
“Co-Captain.” 
“WHATEVER! I outrank Ultra Magnus, I should be able to make those orders completely moot, right!?” Rodimus stared pleadingly at Ratchet, searching for some ounce of sympathy in his field.
Ratchet bit back a smug grin. “Not in cases surrounding Cybertronian Resourses violations. I’m afraid you’re stuck with that until Magnus decides otherwise.” 
Rodimus let out a pitiful moan, going limp against the slab. “I’m gonna die…” He whimpered.
“You know, as your doctor I would suggest that you find other outlets for mitigating this sexual frustration. Try to focus on your work, get a hobby, something to take your mind off interfacing until you get the clamp off you.” Ratchet began, carefully reaching down to swipe away the excess prefluid that had gathered around Rodimus’s panels during their appointment. Rodimus bit back a desperate moan. “But as someone who knows you, I understand that’s not exactly something you’re going to be able to stop yourself from doing. So I’ll prescribe you some coolant accelerators and hope for the best.” The medic offered an insincere, borderline malicious smile and helped Rodimus off of the slab. 
Rodimus glared daggers at Ratchet, clenching his servos. He let his processor wander, wondering if he could convince First Aid to help him out. 
“And I wouldn’t get any ideas about begging for help from the crew.” Ratchet had turned away, now gazing at a datapad and beginning to flick through it. “Ultra Magnus sent out a memo to the crew’s comms to let them know any interference with your ‘reeducation’ would be considered grounds for a week in the brig.”
Rodimus growled again. “... thanks doc, always a pleasure…” 
*
“So, just to be clear, theres nothing at all?” Rodimus asked, leaning helm on his servo. 
“Well, I wouldn’t say nothin’ at all, but radio signals have gotten sparse now that we’re back on our way, no urgent notices from Cybertron, some minor radio chatter from ships we’ve passed, but nothing terribly concerning.” Blaster explained, turning his datapad to indicate the waves coming in. 
Rodimus nodded inquisitively, shifting again in his seat. “Cool, thats good news, thanks Blaster.” Rodimus said. 
“... Yeah…” Blaster said slowly, looking the captain up and down for a moment. Rodimus squeezed his crossed legs a bit. “Listen, cap, I gotta say, uh… I heard about the whole… Ultra Magnus… CR violations… thing.” He said awkwardly, glancing away. 
“...Yeah. It’s not a big deal, I gotta learn to be professional.” Rodimus gritted out, failing to hide his adverse feelings on the whole matter. He was fighting to keep his field to himself, but it was clear that Blaster was seeing through it. 
“I did also hear about your… one on ones.” Blaster lowered his voice, putting the datapad away in his subspace. 
Rodimus perked up. “Yeah?”
“Well- Yeah, obviously, Roddy, you sent a comm to the whole crew about it.” Blaster chuckled. 
“The whole crew- except for Megatron and Ultra Magnus.” Rodimus corrected. 
“Yeah, listen man… I dunno if I agree with the whole thing Mags cooked up, I dunno if its the best like… plan? On your part, to go around slingin your array at whoever’ll take it…” Blaster glanced around bashfully. 
Rodimus frowned. “Where are you going with this?” 
“I mean you gotta know that actions speak louder than words, you gotta show the crew that you’re on their side, that you do stuff for their benefit, all that stuff- but!” Blaster kicked one of his pedes a bit. “Y’know, I wouldn’t say no to ah… what was it you called it? An ‘apology’?” 
Rodimus perked up again, slowly standing up from his chair. “Oh yeah?” Rodimus remembered the rag he’d stuffed on the seat and quickly snatched it up, covertly tossing it into one of his drawers while Blaster wasn’t looking. “Sure, I’d be happy to- Wait- You gotta promise me this isn’t a test or anything, like- Mags didn’t put you up to this did he?” 
Blaster shook his helm, expression melting into an easy-if slightly relieved- smile. “Nah- I figured you’d still be at this whole thing… heard some intel from some other bots… wanted to see if you’re all you’re cracked up to be.” 
Rodimus quickly denied his fans request to turn on, clearing his vocalizer. “Well, I guess I got time between my meetings… Have a seat.” He said, gesturing to his desk chair. 
Rodimus eagerly rushed to the office door, punching in the locking code as Blaster sat down. A lance of embarrassment struck through him as Blaster made a surprised noise. 
“Primus, Rod, you uh- heh- you a little worked up there?” His Comms officer chuckled. “Your seat’s a bit sticky-”
“ITS NOTHING!” Rodimus bleated out, face flaring as he trotted over and knelt down between Blaster’s thighs. “Just- just coolant, nothing else.” 
“Yeah, sure.” Blaster smirked, rubbing a servo over his own panels. “You’re sure you’re up to this, pal?” 
“‘Course I am, c’mon, we both got places to be.” Rodimus hissed impatiently. 
Blaster shrugged, exhaling a little chuckle before letting his panels open. Rodimus let out a relieved sigh at the sight of it, running a digit gently around the edge of his slowly pressurizing spike. It was that sleek, warm grey colour along the underside, red on the top all the way up to a yellow tip, with little triangular yellow biolights along the underside. Rodimus licked his dermas, letting his optics dim a bit. He almost went for it, before remembering what all these apologies were about. 
“So, Blaster, how do you want me?” Rodimus asked pleasantly, fighting to keep his voice from sounding too desperate. His optics flickered a bit when Blaster’s servo came around to rest gently on the side of his helm. 
“I’d love to get my spike in that mouth and see you work your magic, Cap…” Blaster breathed, letting his digits trace the edge of Rodimus’s lower finials. Rodimus’s fans kicked on without thinking. 
“A-” Rodimus cleared his vocalizer. “Alright, heard and listened to!” Rodimus said, allowing himself a pang of pride at his line usage when Blaster’s vents stuttered. He opened his intake, lolling his glossa out to lave over the tip of Blaster’s spike. Offlining his optics, he wrapped his dermas around the shaft, slowly bobbing his helm downwards towards the base. He laved his glossa slowly over the ridges and edges of Blaster’s biolights, allowing himself a moment to feel at the smooth texture of them. Rodimus hummed quietly as he worked, taking the spike two thirds down before leaning his helm back and drawing it slowly up to the tip.
Blaster let out a low, pleased moan, his thumb rubbing fondly at the side of Rodimus’s helm. “Ahhh, thats it… hah, you must be pretty glad you got sparked with an intake like this, huh?” 
Rodimus hummed lightly in confirmation, peeking up at Blaster coquettishly as he rubbed the tip of his glossa over the comms officer’s spikehead. A shudder wracked through Rodimus’s frame as the other mech moaned, low and deep in his chassis. He felt a lick of Blaster’s charge ground through him and tightened his grip on Blaster’s thighs. He started pumping his helm up and down, darting his glossa out against the underside of his spike and swallowing the growing flow of prefluid where it pooled at the back of his intake. Rodimus brought one of his servos up, wrapping around the base gently as he massaged the soft protoform there. 
Suddenly, Blaster’s grip on his helm shifted, now grasping the back of his helm and dragging him down further. Rodimus felt his optics glitch and reset, his gaze flicking up to the larger bot’s face. There was hunger in Blaster’s optics, deep and carnal, held back by a thin, fraying thread of propriety. 
Rodimus’s processor produced several popups at once, warning him of an obtrusion squeezing down his throat, demanding he open his panels, informing him his fans were working hard to stave off overheat. Rodimus gagged, feeling his optics glitch again, bits of charge fritzing over the bridge of his nose between them. He fought back as much control as he could, beginning to close out the popups. He was swiftly interrupted when Blaster’s spikehead slid readily back into his throat and his nose brushed against his panels. Rodimus let out a muffled whine. 
“Ah.. attabot, frag…” Blaster licked his dermas, a curl of steam escaping his lustful smile. “You take it so well, cap…” 
Rodimus’s processor screamed, overfilling with warnings and demands. That ounce of praise rocked him to his core, drawing a pitiful, staticky whimper from his vocalizer. He dragged his glossa frantically against whatever part of his spike he could reach. A bubble of intake lubricant dribbled down his jaw. He could feel his frame shivering with charge. What was happening to him? Giving helm had never had him this worked up before. 
Rodimus swallowed and began to move his helm again, relishing the slippery, undignified noises that filled the room. He sucked hard, hollowing his cheeks against Blaster’s shaft and earning another punched out groan. He could feel him start to twitch in his intake and moaned in anticipation. Blaster’s other servo reached down, curling around one of his finials as his hips began to stutter. 
“Ah- Primus- frag-! Roddy-” He gasped, his fans roaring. Rodimus strained to pull his helm back, focusing all his attention on Blaster’s tip. With a glitchy, choked out groan, Rodimus felt transfluid hitting the roof of his intake. He greedily swallowed down what he could, gasping in surprise as it escaped his dermas. Rodimus felt as though he was about to overheat watching Blaster stroke his spike, splatters of his transfluid hitting his helm and faceplate. 
Rodimus panted, fighting to close out the dozens of popups clouding his processor. He laid his messy helm against Blaster’s thigh, trying to get his vents under control. He could already feel his panels were overheated and embarrassingly sticky with excess prefluid. He absently pawed at the plating there, drawing his servo back with a pained hiss. 
“... Whoooooh….” Blaster breathed, clearing his vocalizer and sitting up a bit. “That was quite the show, captain, thanks..” He chuckled. “Oh- uh… sorry for- er..” He gestured generally at his face. 
“‘S fine… h..how would you rate uh… your…” Rodimus mumbled blearily. He noted Blaster was rummaging around his desk, but couldn’t bring himself to care. He offlined his optics and relished the feeling of a cool rag swiping the transfluid off his face and finials. 
“It was great, Roddy, thanks for helpin me blow off some steam.” Blaster murmured. Rodimus could feel the warmth in his voice and swelled with unfocused pride. He drank in the relaxation and fondness in Blaster’s field, wrapping around him like a warm blanket.
“Happy to help…” Rodimus wheezed hoarsely. He shakily got up off the ground, wincing as a thick drizzle of prefluid dripped from his panels. When he onlined his optics again, he was greeted with Blaster’s pitying look, optics focused between the captain’s legs. “D-don’t worry about me!” Rodimus said, attempting a confident and chipper tone, but unable to force the strain completely from his voice. “This was all for you, Blaster, see, I’m all about listening to my crew and rewarding their efforts.” 
Blaster chuckled. “Yeah, thanks cap.” He slowly rose from Rodimus’s seat, closing his panels up. “Just hate to leave a bot hanging, is all.” 
Please don’t leave me like this. Rodimus thought. Please don’t let me die of overheating.
“Nah- Not much either of us can do about it anyhow.” Rodimus waved a dismissive servo. 
“On the contrary, actually… at least- I think?” Blaster offered. “I dunno about getting that thing off you, but I bet I could get you an overload at least?”
Rodimus’s intake felt dry. “... huh?”
Blaster smirked, sitting back down in the chair. He patted his lap. “C’mere.”
Rodimus shifted uncomfortably, climbing backwards into Blaster’s lap and leaning against the other bot’s chassis. He shivered at Blaster’s servos on him, one wrapping around his slender waist to hold him in place while the other delicately hovered over his panels. 
“Might be a bit intense, okay? Just hold on and let me know if you want me to stop.” Blaster warned, finally bringing his digits down to hold Rodimus’s overheated panels. 
“J-just do it, please-!” Rodimus gritted out through a whine. 
Rodimus’s optics fritzed and rebooted at the first sensations of vibration on his panels. He let out a loud, surprised moan, half cutting out with static as the oversensitive protoform below his panels seared with pleasure. The vibration was intense, just dancing on the line of painful and pleasurable, heady and bassy and rocking him to his very core. 
“Feel good, cap?” Blaster asked.
“Aa-auhuh!!” Rodimus answered intelligently, bucking his hips against Blaster’s hand. His vocalizer felt raw, his voice breaking and cracking as he moaned out. 
“Keep it down- someone’s gonna hear!” Blaster hissed, upping the vibration as he did and forcing another desperate cry from Rodimus’s vocalizer. Rodimus’s optics glitched and flared as Blaster clamped a servo over his intake, silencing him only partly as he writhed and bucked in his lap.
It was starting to hurt now, his processor more full and garbled than ever as his array pulsed and throbbed in need. His optics flickered. Drool bubbled between Blaster’s digits. He could feel every bit of his plating searing against Blaster’s. 
Rodimus let out a pitiful, needy sob as the other mech’s servo squeezed his panels down tighter against his array. He was practically humping Blaster’s servo at this point, chasing that painful, burning edge as he dumbly whined into his digits. 
(go to my AO3 for the illustrated version)
Blaster kicked the vibrations up one more notch and Rodimus saw white. He was dying, he was crashing, he was overloading- Rodimus’s frame arched back, strung taught as a bowstring as transfluid poured from the seams in his panels messily over the magnetizer and Blaster’s digits. He shuddered and bucked and twitched as Blaster drew his servo back, curling back over on himself and grabbing the edge of his desk. Blaster carefully released his faceplate, a string of drool sloppily escaping his dermas as he let out one final, broken moan. 
Rodimus curled his hips forwards, drawing the desk chair in against the desk so he could rest his helm against it. His array ached, now sloppy and coated with his own transfluid beneath his panels. He could feel himself leaking copiously onto his chair, embarrassment pooling in his tanks as he heard it dribble off the edge of the seat and onto the floor. 
“Th… thanks Blaster…” Rodimus mumbled brokenly. 
Blaster patted his aft gently, carefully lifting the captain up enough to slip out from under him. “No worries, captain.” Rodimus felt a half wet rag hit his panels and hissed in discomfort. He let out a stringy whine as Blaster cleaned him and the seat up, leaving the rag on the arm of his chair. 
Rodimus lifted his helm up, watching Blaster unlock the door. “Keep up the good work!” He called after him, earning a laugh as Blaster walked off down the hallway. 
Rodimus sat back, examining the state of himself. That was truly the most painful overload he had ever had.
He didn’t like how good that notion felt in his processor. 
He didn’t like how good the overload had felt either.
“... This had better not awaken anything in me.” Rodimus muttered, before shakily reaching for another datapad to work on.
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elf-osamu · 8 months
Text
“THE HAPPY MONARCH”
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[ masterlist ] [ event ] [ reblogs are very appreciated ]
hurt/comfort, very slight angst & fluff, AU, romantic or platonic relationship, blade (hsr) x gn!reader
warning(s) : blade could be a bit ooc (i hope he isn't but i had to make him similar to the character in the fairytale </3);
word count : 2040 words
plot : “retelling of oscar wilde's fairytale ‘the happy prince’; blade is an immortal traveler who has seen his fair share of odd events when, one day, he meets the statue of a monarch — but is it really just a lifeless sculpture?”
a/n : this is for the masked fools' monthly event ! although this one-shot is heavily inspired from this fairytale, there are great differences between this fic and wilde's story. the original story follows the interactions between the statue of a deceased prince who has been seeing the suffering of the world for years and a swallow that is heartbroken.
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in a long forgotten land there was a stunning statue made of pure gold.
it depicted a young adult who once was the personable and charming monarch of many people; they were known for their goodwill and kindness and, since their face had always been adorned with a welcoming smile, they had been the hope of their realm for centuries.
until, one day everything had abruptly changed for a choice they decided to make.
said statue — you stood above your town, on a tall column, greeting everyone with your warm presence and grinning to the passing travelers.
“they look like an angel”, the citizens commented: some were fascinated by your beauty and were confident in their future, reassured by the happy monarch; others said so regretfully, since their hearts were filled with resentment at the sight of such an ethereal statue, which had to just stand there to be appreciated while they were forced to continue their lives working non-stop.
“how could you know such a thing? you've never seen a true angel”, certain people muttered in indignation with a contemptuous look on their faces.
in another domain, a traveler with long raven hair had been disappointed by the one whom he had fallen in love with.
the traveler's name was blade and he was relatively known for his expeditions and encounters of every kind; he had mastered the grand art of the sword while searching for a purpose in his interminable existence. he wasn't someone who easily trusted others, he preferred to not get attached to people - but sometimes he had to have faith, to hope for the better.
along his journey, blade had found companions to spend the time with: they all had reunited in the same rural area, so they had decided to stick together for some time, resting from their last adventures that happened in a place quite distant from there.
since the new destination hadn't been chosen yet, they had stayed in a near village, helping the local people. blade wasn't quite fond of this idea; he had never used someone else's aid unless it was an extreme necessity and he usually had done everything on his own; he couldn't understand why he had to assist people who meant nothing to him. still, he carried out his duty without complaining.
as the time passed, he had spent many moments with a certain inhabitant; he had saved their skin multiple times, helping them with their obligations, from personal to professional matters.
he had fallen in love for the first time in his life, with that person representing the light at the end of the deep tunnel he had found himself in.
his companions had dismissed his feelings because, after all, he was a wanderer who sooner or later would have had to leave for another journey. “it's aimless to keep talking to them,” they had sighed many times, “they don't even reciprocate your feelings”.
but blade hadn't listened to them and so his comrades had departed for another adventure, leaving him in the village.
he had been afraid of admitting his love, which had grown in the last few months. said emotion was consuming his soul, making him crave the attention he needed. therefore the week following his companions' going away he had determinate to confront his feelings with that person.
“would you like to come away with me on my journey?” he had murmured to them one day after his confession, “i'd always be there for you”.
they had shaken their head. “my home is everything to me; upon your arrival i was glad to have new people in my village and i was more than content with your company, it meant a lot to me. yet, i've never deemed you as a long-lasting partner”.
because of that event, blade had become cold again and left immediately the settlement, looking for a new purpose.
since the city he wished to go was far too distant from him, he had determinated the stop for the night in a town which was nearer his position.
he traveled all day until he finally reached the small city. he had nowhere to go for the hours of darkness, so he walked on the roofs of house after house until he landed on a column near a vast and beautiful palace; on the column it stood a solemn, golden statue which seemed to gently greet him.
it had an affable smile plastered on its face and the statue's clothes resembled the ones of noble people — whoever was portrayed there, in such a way, must have been someone of grand significance.
“i'll sleep here,” blade muttered, situating himself at the sculpture's feet. it was of human height, but the top of the column was so fairly great that a few people could have rested there without feeling pressured.
as he was closing his eyes, he felt a drop of water fall on his neck, making him shiver. blade suddenly sat down and looked at the sky: there were no clouds nearby, but it seemed like it was raining.
“the weather is rather strange in this land, isn't it?” he asked to himself, now too unsteady to try to fall asleep. “should i find another place to rest peacefully?”
drop after drop fell on his head and he sighed in exasperation. he got up and was ready to look for another area when he raised his gaze and met your eyes, which were filled with tears; your golden skin was glowing under the moonlight, a sight that would have been pleasant if it weren't for that sorrowful look.
“who are you?” blade questioned you without thinking; puzzlement had made its way on his face and he had no idea what to believe anymore. could a statue truly cry tears?
“the happy monarch” you said in response, weeping again.
“then why are you crying? i couldn't fall asleep because of your tears”. his intentions weren't mean — his mind was just very tired from the long day.
you, the happy monarch, let out a bitter laugh. “i apologize for this. you see, many years ago i was a young member of royalty and i had always lived in the palace near this statue. in this building tears and pain aren't welcomed, only joy is allowed. i've spent most of my life there, happily joining my family on jolly occasions and laughing with my cousins without a care in the world. once i grew older, however, i doubted the way i was leading my kingdom: i couldn't go outside and meet my people — they only saw my face and heard about my temperament thanks to the artists who could leave the palace from time to time; century after century i wished to share my bliss with everyone, but my relatives had forbidden me to do so. they told me a legend about my kin: immortality ran through my family since the early ages and it was dearly preserved by my ancestors; however, they said that, if someone who was a member of royalty stepped outside of this great palace, they would have been transformed into gold, without giving me other details. i had listened to them for so long that, one hundred years ago, i decided to disobey them”.
you paused for a moment, choosing your next words carefully; it was hard to remember all the emotions you had felt in the past. “and upon seeing how much sorrow, which was something i had never experienced, was in the world, my body altered itself. i'm still a human, though my body is covered in gold and precious gems and, since they're so heavy, i'm stuck here, watching the suffering of the people i swore to protect”.
“i blame myself for not getting to know the truth as soon as i could, but it's useless to dwell in the past now. still, despite my condition, my only wish is to aid all these people”.
blade had remained silent the whole time, wondering what he could have said in a situation like that. he had promised to never help anyone anymore, yet he was there, feeling commiseration for the happy monarch who hadn't felt happiness for a century.
“how could you assist them when you are stuck on this pedestal?” the black-haired boy commented, trying to hide the thoughts that were spinning in his head.
“first thing first, to be able to get my true body back, someone needs to take the gold and the jewels out of my current form. it's not an easy job, for one has to meticulously sculpt my figure under the metal; so, before doing anything else, someone should extract the gems that cover this statue and give them to the ones in need”.
“your majesty, wouldn't that be considered faux philanthropy? you wouldn't change anything by just making them sell your valuable stones — sooner or later, they would be without money again”.
“it has been so long since someone called me that”, you laughed and your eyes shone under the moonlight. “in any case, yes, i agree with you, but i still don't help them by being here and doing nothing. if i want to meet my people, i must get out of this troublesome situation as soon as possible, so i can't be made of gold anymore”.
blade observed the night. “my destination is still far away, your majesty. i won't be here tomorrow.”
“then, could you stay one night with me and be my messenger? in that red building there is a family who has to pay rent due in two days and the parents aren't able to afford it, so take the emerald that is on my left shoulder and bring it to them”.
the man did as he was told and a warm feeling welcomed him in his chest at the sight of a family who seemed to rediscover happiness.
when he described said emotion to you, your smile looked bigger. “it's something very common among people, when they help someone. not everyone experiences it, but most people would say it's one of the nicest things in the world”.
many days passed and blade was still with you, the happy monarch; every night he gifted a jewel to those who needed it and then stayed near the statue's feet to rest. “i'm going to leave this town tomorrow”, he had said many times, but at the end of the day he continued to ask you what he could have done to be of use.
he had gotten to be acquainted with the happy monarch's presence: you two shared the burden of immortality, something which was the main cause of pain in your hearts; blade had told you some of his adventures, describing in great detail all the things that he had witnessed.
after a month, it was time to take off the gold leaf by leaf: a task of such importance required great resilience and self-control, but blade never complained and instead immediately took action.
you had given some of your gold to him on certain days, so he could have bought food and water for himself.
“how do you feel?” he asked every few hours to make sure he was doing everything properly without hurting your real body.
you lightly chuckled and always answered in the same way: “i feel... free. i can sense the soft air that caresses my skin”.
that process lasted for some time - until, it was finally done.
it felt like waking up from a long dream: your limbs were sore from the numbness that one hundred years had caused you and at first blade had to keep an arm on your waist to keep you balanced.
you grinned at him. “thank you, blade. now you're free to go and continue your journey; i'll stay here and build more practical resources for these people”.
the black-haired man shook his head and, for once, smiled back at you, it had been a long time since his face had welcomed a smile.
“no; i'll be here by your side, as long as time allows me to do so.”
perhaps, after so many centuries, he had found a place to belong.
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[ do not copy, translate, repost, etc. | by @ elf-osamu ]
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facadesinternalveil · 2 months
Text
Just watched Hazbin hotel. My thoughts are below.
Spoilers/Trigger warnings ahead!!!
Tw: SA/r@pe, mentions of vivziepop.
You are allowed to disagree. These are just my thoughts on the situation and my opinions.
So I finally watched Hazbin hotel and it's four episodes so far. And truthfully, it was a lot more different than I expected. The passing was a bit too fast and certain situations were solved way too easily. I did like the fourth episode (one where loser baby and poison was sung),but not because of the assault scene. Rather because of how reckless Charlie was. Husk was very dismissive of what happened to Angel dusts literal situation and tried comparing it in a manner which threw me off but I felt like the song was leaning more towards the fact that bother Angel and Husk were in contract to someone. Being controlled and forced to do things. So I don't think he was just straight up telling him to suck it up since husk was singing so vaguely. It was a lot more different with context then I originally thought.
However, I'm still fucking annoyed that vivzie allowed someone with a fetish for non-con/r@pe to literally work the episode. It was absolutely fucking disgusting and very disrespectful. The scenes are crushed and poorly transitioned to the new situation. Vaggie feels flat within a personality and shes only useful when around charlie and or enforcing Charlies behavior. Charlie is so fucking reckless and naive, nothing like her pilot which at least had somewhat of a spine. Alastor, I have no opinion on. He's just kinda there and I don't really care. Nifty is too much at times and it's very obvious. I feel like the only actually character that was somewhat decent in character development was Husk but he kinda feels half ass as is anyway. Plus the overlord thing was just kinda thrown in and doesn't seem to fit anyway but it does explain why he's in contract with Alastor. I absolutely fucking hate Valentino and Vox. Velvet is alright, I loved her song though since it was an absolute fucking bop. Sir Pentious was a neat character but it's mainly comedy and that's it. Nothing but a plot element to further angel dusts insecurities in some manner, however was a nice touch since it did build up to angels situation with Valentino. The entire four episodes just seemed rushed and poorly put together. I can see what they were doing with the concepts but it was poorly done. My opinions on the characters alongside criticisms are:
Angel Dust: I think I like him quite well since I have a sort of connection to him. His connection to Valentino is abuse survivor and abuser, where the abuse survivor still holds some time of co-dependent relationship on the other even after the horrible thing subjected onto him. Plus, at the end where it shows that angel dust is more than just a sex addicted individual but also a deeply traumatized person who is struggling to open up. Putting on an act to make it seem like he's okay cause he's terrified of the consequences. With Husk being the only one to see past it and call it out. The scene of his assault was still fucked up but also balanced in some manner. I'm more upset with who storyboarded it and that alone just runs the whole show for me.
Husk: he still feels a bit half ass and just exists to be a bar tender. However, his compassion and empathy towards angel dust was a nice touch. Helping angel dust out while also pointing out how fucked up the act is and how harmful it'll contuined to be for the spider. I also like the fact that he's pretty open on what he did and that shit just happens. The loser baby song was abit messed up since the context/scene before it, kinda made it seem like husk was telling angel to suck it up. Which really threw me in a loop.
Vaggie: she just doesn't seem like a character anymore. She just seems in place character to support Charlie and protect Charlie. Which is a waste since all it is for vaggie, is to surround Charlie. Waste of a charcter.
Charlie: she's so fucking reckless and frustrating. It's hard to like her when she's so spineless and barely does anything when she has the authority to do something. It's boring.
Alastor: he's just kinda there. Not much to say about him.
Nifty: ehhhhh. She's also kinda boring and basically just filler.
Sir Pentious: comedy relief and also a plot element to boost the theme of the series. That's literally just it.
That's all I can really say. You're allowed to disagree and or hold your own opinions. These are just my thoughts alone.
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mycupofrum · 2 months
Note
I know u like prongsfoot as a ship but can u write prongsfoot as a bromance ficlet... Where sirius comforts james? No ooc characters but no need to tell you that
Thanks for the ask @medasavagepotter! 💙 Sorry it took me a while to get it done. Turns out writing James and Sirius as only friends was harder than my Prongsfoot-infused brain expected. I didn't mean for the story to get so sad, but here we are. I hope you get some comfort from this, despite the hurt.
James & Sirius. Gen. Hurt/comfort, angst, implied character death(s) (but no main characters die), implied Jily. Read here or on AO3.
__
Regardless (I love you)
It started with a soup.
James found it on his nightstand when he returned to the boys' dormitory from Quidditch practice. He was knackered and soaked to the bone from the storm raging outside.
He stared at the bowl, blinking. The aroma of rich, savoury chicken soup flooded his nose, the stasis charm keeping it warm. It made him salivate and his stomach grumble.
"Sirius?" He turned to face his best friend who was lounging on his bed with a book about ancient runes in his hands.
Sirius raised his gaze to James. "Yes?"
"Did you get this soup for me?"
Sirius turned his focus back to his reading. "Obviously. Moony's still tired from the end of his monthly cycle –"
"Oi!" Remus grunted sleepily from his bed beneath three covers, the full moon having just been two nights ago.
"– and Wormy was planning to ask Macdonald out for the whole evening, but he chickened out at the last minute."
"Easy for you to say, Prince Charming," Peter muttered from his own bed. "I'll do it tomorrow."
"Sure." Sirius smirked. "So, that leaves me."
James waited for Sirius to explain why he'd done something so nice for him but did not get an explanation. He sat down on his own bed; there was no point in questioning it, really. He was starving after the practice, which had taken longer than expected and caused him to miss dinner.
"Thanks, mate. I appreciate it."
Sirius turned a page, a faint, softer smile hiding in the corner of his mouth.
"No problem."
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The small, unexpected acts of kindness followed, and James could not point out why they happened. Every time he faced something that annoyed or made him uncomfortable, or was even somewhat inconvenient, Sirius made it better.
He never made a big deal about it, and James could have easily dismissed it as a lucky coincidence that Sirius was so quick to block certain Slytherins' hexes for him automatically in the corridors, or happened to know James would need more broom wax right when his old one had run out and ordered it for him beforehand, or let James have a nap in most History of Magic classes and took notes for him (whereas they normally took turns in this), or insisted on paying for both of their butterbeers at Hogsmeade. (And when James found extra packages of his favourite liquorice and fudge in his trunk later, he knew who was behind it.)
James thanked Sirius each time and went on as if nothing had happened, because that was how Sirius preferred it.
But of course, James noticed. Truth be told, it filled him with fondness like no other for Sirius, but it also made him suspicious.
Sirius had left Grimmauld Place for good in the summer and moved in with James's family. He assumed Sirius felt compelled to pay their kindness back by showering James with extra attention and gifts, knowing how much he valued those things.
It was truly unnecessary, of course, because no matter what happened between them, even if they got into a big row (which was unlikely, but still), neither James nor his parents would ever send Sirius away.
"You know, Pads, it's okay. I can do and buy things for myself. I don't expect you to fulfil my every wish," James said when he found a spell book about 19th century experimental transfiguration in his school bag one morning, which actually made him thrilled, and he couldn't wait to read it.
"I know. I just thought, since I could, why not?" Sirius sat on his bed, pulling socks onto his feet.
"And I'm grateful for it. But it's okay if you don't."
Sirius shrugged and tucked a loose strand of silky black hair behind his ear. The grey eyes were fixed on his hands, and he began picking at his nails. "Sure, whatever you want."
"How about I let you know when I need you to go a little overboard for me?" James suggested, sitting next to him on the bed and bumping his shoulder with his own. "For each birthday and Christmas, I expect the full Sirius Black attention service."
Sirius nodded, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Okay."
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Four birthdays and Christmases later, school was but a distant memory. The house he grew up in was empty, nothing but memories left behind in all its nooks and corners.
James leaned against the kitchen counter, his chest heavy. He'd been putting off the visit for three months since the joint funeral. He needed to sort things out, make decisions he couldn't make. What was the point when the two people who had loved him so unconditionally were gone?
He'd never felt more alone in the world as he did then. He took a shaky breath, one, two, three, four, and let it out.
It didn't help.
He'd told Lily he'd be fine. She was pregnant, she should rest; he could deal with this.
He'd lied. She'd known.
James took another shaky breath, and the burning sensation in his eyes turned into tears, blurring his vision.
He didn't know how long he sat on the floor, the silence around him heavy, when it was broken by the wards alerting him of an arriving guest. This was followed by a knock on the front door.
James stood up stiffly, his feet tingling from the blood returning to them. He opened the door and was met with a tall, familiar figure.
"Hi, Prongs," Sirius said, taking in James's demeanour. "Lils said you'd be here. I thought I should come by and help you with the packing."
James managed a nod and moved away from the entrance, allowing Sirius to enter.
"How are you doing?" Sirius said as they reached the kitchen, where everything still stood in its place.
"I'm fine," James said, the words falling naturally off his lips, untrue.
Sirius sighed, and James realised he was carrying a white plastic bag with him.
Sirius took out two containers from the bag and placed them on the table. "I brought soup."
The smell of delicious, savoury aromas filled the air, reminding James that it had been hours since he had eaten.
He let Sirius fish out spoons for them from the cabinet drawer, knowing his way around the kitchen as well as James did.
"Cheers, mate."
"S'alright. My treat." Sirius sat across from him, and they ate quietly, the creamy chicken soup warming up James like a cosy blanket.
"I thought you were busy with the Order today."
"I'm right where I'm needed."
James looked up from his soup to meet Sirius's searching gaze. "I think you might be right."
Sirius quirked his brow. "I'm always right."
Unexpectedly, James's lips turned upwards just for a moment. It was the first smile he'd had in a long while. "A lot of the time," he agreed.
"Most of the time." Sirius grinned, twirling the spoon in his hand.
"Whatever, Pads. Just eat your soup."
Somehow, the silence that followed was a little bit easier.
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honuofhawaii · 1 year
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Sarah Kazansky and her place in the Fanworks vs Source Material
Some background:
I only just got into the Top Gun fandom, only having watched the original movie a month ago so that I could be prepared to watch Top Gun: Maverick. Top Gun (1986) is entertaining but not something I’m particularly attached to. The two most compelling parts are Gooses death and the handshake/hug at the end. Overall I walked away, having been entertained but not overtly attached.
TGM is another story. It’s extremely well done, emotionally deep, and really cool. (Is it also blatant military propaganda? yes, but that doesn’t stop it from having a compelling story) Probably the best scene is between Maverick and Iceman. Unlike so many sequels where rivals/enemies become friends at the end of the original and then clearly aren’t, this scene demonstrates a deep love and respect between the two characters without destroying the banter filled rivalry that makes the relationship interesting. Now part of this might be the fact that this sequel takes place over 30 years later, and I’m sure Ice and Mav butted heads over the years, but it shows that ultimately they both stuck by their words to be each others wingman.
Okay Now to the point:
Sarah pretty much has a singular purpose in the movie, and that’s to make Iceman straight…(or at least in a m/f relationship). However it’s done in such a way that she doesn’t actually accomplish that purpose. We see her twice and she never interacts with Ice on screen: first when she greats Maverick and he reads Ice’s terminal diagnosis in her expression. It’s obvious she and Mav have a rapport and friendship. The second is at the funeral where she is presented with Ice’s flag. These two scenes along with the wedding band on Ice’s hand all are meant to imply that Sarah and Tom Kazansky are married. And I’m certain you’ll be able to find sources that explicitly state that but the movie isn’t one of them.
Because of this lack of confirmation fandom has done an interesting thing. Many with a queer reading of Ice have decided not to ignore Sarah but instead embraced the non explicit nature of her and Ice’s relationship and say that she’s his sister. And the fact of the matter is that she very well could be. A sister can just as easily be staying with her terminally ill brother. A sister can just as easily be his next of kin and take his flag. So many young soldiers flags are taken by their mothers or sisters.
Now having an explicitly cannon m/f relationship has never stopped fandom from deciding that a character is queer and writing them thusly. But I just find it interesting how Sarah treated.
Her being Tom’s sister isn’t the universal decision of the queer side of the fandom. I’ve seen fics set earlier in the timeline (specifically set prior to the DADT repeal) have her be a lesbian also in the armed forces marrying a gay Tom to protect both of them. There are also some where she’s unknowingly Tom’s beard.(but those leave a bad taste in my mouth realistic as it may be). I’ve even seen AroAce Sarah marrying Tom for taxes, children, and to protect him.
It’s nice that in general this fandom has refused to dismiss the new women who joined the story in TGM even while still maintaining the iron clad belief that Top Gun is about gay pilots. Many Fanfiction authors have given more consideration to Sarah than the actual movie. (Now it does suck when women are only in a movie to tell you something about a man. that’s a problem)
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There was this line in the book [Fire and Blood] that always fascinated me. Daemon's wife, the Lady Rhea Royce of Runestone fell off her horse and her skull was crushed in the fall. And I read that and was like, "that's such a weird detail to include with no context around it. [...] Obviously Daemon went home and murdered his wife." 
Ryan Condal said this after episode 5, and I want to examine it.  Mostly because I think this is the wrong conclusion to make, and I have wholeheartedly disagreed with the interpretation that Daemon killed his wife even before I really cared about him as a character.  So I want to look at the entirety of this passage:
A year later, in 115 AC, there came a tragic mishap, of the sort that shapes the destiny of kingdoms: the “bronze bitch” of Runestone, Lady Rhea Royce, fell from her horse whilst hawking and cracked her skull upon a stone.  She lingered for nine days before finally feeling well enough to leave her bed…only to collapse and die within an hour of rising.  A raven was duly sent to Storm’s End, and Lord Baratheon dispatched a messenger by ship to Bloodstone, where Prince Daemon was still struggling to defend his meagre kingdom against the men of the Triarchy and their Dornish allies.  Daemon flew at once for the Vale.  “To put my wife to rest,” he said, though more like it was in the hopes of laying claim to her lands, castles, and incomes.  In that he failed; Runestone passed instead to Lady Rhea’s nephew, and when Daemon made appeal to the Eyrie, not only was his claim dismissed, but Lady Jeyne warned him that his presence in the Vale was unwelcome. (Pg. 374, Fire and Blood)
So now I want to argue against the notion that Daemon killed his wife.  
The Source:
Fire and Blood is a biased source of history written by Archmaester Gyldayn during the reign of Robert Baratheon, who uses several historical sources that may or may not be true in his recounting of Targaryen history.  Maester’s learn their craft at the Citadel in Oldtown where the Hightowers are Lords, and it is said that the Citadel was founded by Prince Peremore the Twisted, the second son of King Uthor of the High Tower.  The Citadel has always been incredibly loyal to the Hightowers.  The Starry Sept in Oldtown was also built by Lord Triston Hightower, in honor of his mentor and earlier regent, Septon Robeson.  The Faith of the Seven has always had issues with Targaryen’s.  Oldtown in general just seems to have issues with Targaryen’s.  Once you read Fire and Blood, one thing is for certain, during the Dance of the Dragon’s Daemon is painted in a really bad light, and he’s accused of killing a lot of people even though some of them make no sense.  The telling of Fire and Blood is pro-Green.  And yet….Daemon was not accused in Fire and Blood for killing his wife, Rhea Royce, unlike all of the other accusations of deaths thrown at him, so let’s get into the reason why he couldn’t have done this.
Daemon was nowhere near the Vale when Rhea Royce died.  He was all the way in the Stepstones.  I’ve seen people say that he could have easily flown on Caraxes and immediately disappear after killing Rhea, but why didn’t anyone see his dragon if this is true?  And I’ve seen people say that maybe Daemon hired a Catspaw or an assassin to kill Rhea Royce, and I have to question why they would leave Rhea Royce alive?  Rhea Royce survived for 9 days after cracking her head, and was actually awake.  If someone tried to kill her then why didn’t she say so?  Now let’s argue that she doesn’t remember her attack, like Bran doesn’t remember who pushed him from the tower, but I still have to question why Daemon or an assassin would leave Rhea alive?  Surely Daemon has enough money to employ a good assassin?  Maybe not a Faceless Man, but someone skilled enough and ruthless enough to do the job right.  After all, we aren’t talking about someone who would make the same mistake as the literal 12 year old Joffrey Baratheon in the main series.  However, I have to question why Daemon would do this now?  Why wait so long to kill his wife in the books?  Daemon married Rhea Royce in 97 AC and Rhea dies in 115 AC so why did it take 18-19 years for Daemon to do this?  It’s obvious they never got along, so why not cut his losses a couple of years in, and then marry someone he actually likes/loves or stay a bachelor for a few years?  Like I don’t even think you can argue that he was just waiting around for Rhaenyra, because why?  Rhaenyra was born the same year he got married, 97 AC.  So if he was waiting for Rhaenyra, why not cut his losses earlier in order for him to try to wed Rhaenyra as soon as she flowered?  Instead Rhea Royce’s death comes after the rumors of Daemon and Rhaenyra being sexual together AND Rhaenyra was already wed at this time to Laenor Velaryon as they married in 114 AC.  And let’s not forget that as soon as Daemon left the Stepstones he began courting Laena Velaryon and then wed her.  It really doesn’t sound like he was doing what was depicted in the show - killing Rhea to try to wed Rhaenyra.
I also don’t think it’s an odd detail to say that Rhea Royce fell in a hunting accident and cracked her head without context, after all we get none of the gritty details about Aemma Arryn’s death beyond the fact she died in childbirth.  It’s not like it says one way or another if Aemma died from childbed fever or hemorrhaging or a c-section.  I’m not even sure what Ryan Condal thought was weird about that statement.  My guess is that he doesn’t realize how dangerous horses and horseriding can be.  I grew up around horses and people who ride horses.  It’s typical for people who regularly ride to get injured in some way by horses.  When I was a kid, my mom’s horse reared up and smacked my mom in the face, knocking out a couple of her teeth and she had to have stitches.  I’ve been around people who have broken their ribs, hurt their backs, broken their collarbones, etc. all from riding horses.  Horses are also animals that can spook easily.  And let’s not forget that the Vale is rocky terrain.  It’s more than plausible to get thrown from a 800-1500 pound horse and smack your head on a rock, cracking your skull.  Even the most expert of riders can be thrown from a horse at any time.  HORSERIDING IS DANGEROUS!  Now if you don’t believe me I’ll give you some facts:
Each year, horse riders are injured, hospitalized or killed as a result of horse-related accidents and injuries.  Despite technological advancements in equestrian safety equipment, horse riding continues to be found more dangerous than motorcycling, skiing, football, and rugby.   Whilst injury can occur simply from handling horses, falling from a horse constitutes a dangerous fall from height, possibly at speed.  A rider’s head can be elevated up to 3 meters (9.84 feet) from the ground and horses can travel at speeds around 50 kilometers (31 miles) an hour. source
Now let’s look at some motorcycle accident statistics in America:
There were 89,000 motorcycle accident injuries.
45% of motorcycle accidents result in more than a minor injury.  
There were 4,985 motorcycle deaths in 2018.
4.24% of all motorcycle accidents are fatal.
80% of all motorcycle crashes result in injury or death. 
Now let’s look at how common head (and other) injuries are from horse related accidents:
Head injuries are associated with approximately 60% of all equestrian deaths and 18% of equestrian injuries.  
Aside from death, brain injury survivors may suffer personality changes, intellectual and memory impairment, or epilepsy.
Head injuries are associated with approximately 60% of all equestrian deaths and 18% of equestrian injuries.  
Aside from death, brain injury survivors may suffer personality changes, intellectual and memory impairment, or epilepsy.  
Falling or being thrown from a horse accounts for the majority of mounted injuries, while being kicked or trodden on, accounts for most dismounted injuries.
Dismounted injuries require hospitalization approximately 42% of the time, while mounted injuries require hospitalization in only 30% of incidents.
Fractures, soft tissue damage, and head injuries are the most common types of injuries inflicted by horses.
The arm, leg and head/face are the most common body parts to be injured. source
It is not outside the realm of possibility that Rhea Royce did die from being thrown from a horse, thus smacking her head on a rock and dying 9 days later.  It is more than likely, because like I said even the most expert of horse riders can be thrown from a spooked horse and die.  I also want to mention how incredibly unlikely Rhea Royce was hawking alone.  Lord’s and especially Lady’s in her position would not go off alone, and usually hunting/hawking is a social sport for both men in women in our real medieval world.  Rhea should have had other ladies and attendants with her.  It would be incredibly weird, and awfully plot convenient for a noble woman to be off hawking alone in a territory surrounded by dangerous mountain clans.  The fact that Daemon isn’t outright accused by the source, tells me that there were witnesses to this event.
I completely disagree with Ryan’s interpretation of this part of the text.  It seems to me this is a man who didn’t check his facts on how dangerous horses can be or look at the context in which this could have happened.  It’s obvious, he pretty much considers Daemon more of a villain than a truly gray character at this point in the show, which is incredibly unfortunate considering this quote:
Over the centuries, House Targaryen has produced both great men and monsters.  Prince Daemon was both.  In his day there was not a man so admired, so beloved, and so reviled in all of Westeros.  He was made of light and darkness in equal parts.  To some he was a hero, to others the blackest of villains. (Fire and Blood)
So far we haven’t seen much of Daemon’s light in the show, and there are certain photos from trailers that suggest Daemon is going to go around killing more people that are “in his way”.  I can only hope that we will see more nuance for his character in the writing of the show going forward, that doesn’t entirely depend on Matt Smith’s acting to make him seem more complex.  Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the show, so far I am loving it overall, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have criticisms, and so far my biggest criticism is the whitewashing of Alicent and Otto in the first 5 episodes to make them “more sympathetic and complex” while not even bothering to do the same for the characters that make up Team Black, yet more of them are surprisingly still complex and sympathetic even with flaws!  Shock.  Gasp.  And I’m not saying I expected Daemon to be whitewashed, I didn’t.  Daemon isn’t some poor little meow meow.  However, I expected him to be more of a middling gray character, rather than utterly chaotic and murderous, character with invented impotency problems.  I love me my gray characters, so I wouldn’t EVER want Daemon to be whitewashed by the narrative.  However, showing Daemon killing a bunch of people now in the story, I fear, is only going to cheapen a hugely significant event he orchestrates out of obvious grief and anger most likely in the beginning of S2.  But not only that, in my opinion the whole opening scene of episode 5 was not only poorly written but poorly edited and directed.  It was confusing.  At most they should have left Rhea Royce’s death open to interpretation like Daemon’s supposed “heir for a day” comment about whether he actually said it or not and in what tone and context.  I mean we already knew that Viserys exiled him back to the Vale, so in my opinion I think at the very least it should have been left off screen with the next time we see Daemon sauntering into Rhaenyra’s wedding.  And frankly, they could have used that five minutes to further establish the future relationships we’ll be seeing in the 10 year time jump.  And while I’m not a book purist, I just don’t see the point in re-interpreting and actively creating a different scene when you honestly can’t argue about the way Rhea Royce died.  In the show Rhea Royce was paralyzed, and Daemon obviously killed her immediately with a rock, but in the books Rhea Royce lingered for 9 days before dying, and she wasn’t paralyzed, as she was walking around the hour before she died.  So why completely reinvent this part of the story?  I’m sure you all will counter that they changed Aemma Arryn’s death, by her having a c-section, but that’s not the same.  We didn’t get any details beyond “when Queen Aemma was brought to bed in Maegor’s Holdfast and died whilst giving birth to the son [...]”  There are no details here saying one way or another how Aemma died in childbirth.  It could be easily said she did have a c-section, so it’s not an entirely new thing they created.  Aemma still died in childbirth, when Rhea Royce obviously instead died the day she encountered Daemon, despite lingering for 9 days in the books.  Maybe if the interpretation and the scene had been written and filmed better, I’d be more forgiving, as I’m fairly forgiving of most of their decisions, but I just think re-imaging this scene to be something so different than what was depicted in the books, regardless of unreliable narrators (which honestly doesn’t count when it comes to straightforward causes of death, because why lie about things like this, when it’s obvious they aren’t trying to blame someone for the fall?).
So regardless of my own opinions about how the scene was written, directed, and edited, and how Daemon has been being portrayed so far, I really hope I’ve convinced you all, or at least gave you food for thought, that it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Rhea Royce in fact did get thrown from her horse, and sustained a serious head injury from the fall.  As it’s definitely more common than I think Ryan Condal knows.
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brw · 1 year
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What do you think of EMH's Hank Pym? He's my favourite version of the character and the one I think of when I think of Hank Pym. I know he's very different however with his pacifism and him not having the ego that most iterations of Hank do.
I really like EMH's characterisation! It's proof to me honestly that you can adapt a character as historically mentally fraught as Hank, pay attention to those aspects & not demonise him for it as I feel the MCU thought was impossible. They did great adapting Yellowjacket I thought, and I appreciate Hank's pacifist role, even if it's not necessarily what I would have done. Personally, I think I prefer it when Hank is a lil aggressive? Like I think the introduction/solo ep caught a good balance of him being an idealist with these things but also kind of enjoying himself when he's shrinking and fighting people, but I liked how moralistic he is I think that's a good fit for Hank.
I've talked about it before but it's always felt conspicuous to me that Hank was missing from almost every Illuminati group, and while the reality is that most writers just don't consider him I think it would easily say a lot abt Hank's moral standards & how maybe he's less willing to compromise himself like Reed is for the greater good. like, he compromised himself so severely with Yellowjacket & I think it would be fair to say that he no longer wants that for himself & so isn't in the Illuminati, & the idea of Hank being different from Tony & Reed & other supergenius' in that way was portrayed well in the show, like when he's arguing with Tony about him dismissing Simon too easily.
They also portrayed Hank's insecurities well, & I appreciate how Janet is sympathetic without necessarily being supposed to fix him in any way? Like they got a really good balance of respecting Janet & making her fun & light-hearted & Hank being more uncomfortable with his role & struggling to fit his ideals into the superhero life without making their relationship horrible? Like ultimately it's just two people who love each other drifting apart because of their different positions in this business & I appreciate that. I think a lot of writers & fans seem to think that fixing the historical misogyny in Janet's history & fixing the historical ableism in Hank's history is mutually exclusive and you can either have Hank be sympathetic & a heroic but mentally ill man at the expense of Janet, or you can have a feminist, women-first version of Janet no longer defined by the men in her life at the expense of making Hank a one dimensional abusive figure. And EMH proves you can do both, respectfully & tentatively and have it be friendly for kids, no less. Its just such a good version of their characters its aware of all the changes it made & why and what aspects that were good that they wanted to keep.
All this to say, I do think outside of the first few episodes & Yellowjacket, I think it's clear the writers weren't sure what to do with Hank a lot of the time, because at some point he mostly is just there to get knocked out repeatedly, which I think is a shame, but in all fairness "what to do with Hank Pym" is a problem that plagued him for a very long time so it's not like it's exclusive to this show. Still, it does feel obvious in certain episodes that they couldn't figure out how to include Hank in a meaningful way so he's mostly there just to throw one line in or again, get knocked out. Part of this is because the show focused more on the pacifist side of things--like in Tales To Astonish the focus for me personally was more on Hank finding new & adaptive ways to save the day (like lying about getting appendicitis) to fight people he should really have no business fighting, and I think that would probably have been a more narratively rich way for them to portray Hank? It would have given him more to do than "oh violence first, I see" and then getting knocked out by Thor landing on him, but I get the show needed a voice of reason to the team other than Steve so Hank fit that niche well.
But yeah. It's a very good Hank & it's why I recommend this show to people curious in learning more about him, I think it's a good starting point ! Really wish the show hadn't been cancelled bc I would have loved to seen him Janet & Wanda interact, it's an underrated dynamic of those three I miss dearly.
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trainsinanime · 1 year
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What amazes me most about Wednesday is how the show manages to be so good when so much of it is objectively just kind of crap. Not terrible crap, but kind of lack-lustre and easily dismissed and ignored. But somehow it manages to pull something great out of that.
The most obvious thing is that in tone and vibes, it largely ignores what the Addams family is, how they work and what they stand for. It's actually horror, not horror comedy, and it isn't really any contrast to what we consider normal life. Which is explained in-universe, sure, but I'm not actually convinced that it's the most interesting thing they could have done.
Its setting in a store brand Hogwarts is hardly original. They themed it around Edgar Allan Poe, for seemingly no reason other than that he's cool (I don't think he was a founder or alumni, and he certainly doesn't super relevant thematically). There's the vague idea of "what if Hogwarts had american high school cliques", which they don't do anything with. Harry Potter is nowadays much maligned and for very good reasons, but it did know how to make its fictional school seem interesting, deep and mysterious, and Wednesday is very lacking there. The biggest issue is that we don't spend enough time exploring the various students and their deals. We do it a bit, but it could have been more.
The wider world building creates the idea that the world has "norms" and "weirdos", which seems to be the officially accepted nomenclature, and treats them almost as if they were different sub-species. Some people are just born "weirdo", from "weirdo" families, and that's how it is. That's basic urban fantasy stuff - very basic, in fact. And again, it's not that interesting, and the show doesn't do anything with it. A key bit of classic Addams lore is that they consider themselves to be normal, and everyone else a bit weird, and thus question our ideas of what is and isn't normal. In Wednesday, these things are clearly delineated, which helps with the oppressive tone of the show, but makes it overall less deep.
And then there is the murder mystery, which is the big driver of the plot. Except it's barely a murder mystery at all. Everything we learn is because the main character has a vision that just tells them a key bit of background, or where the next important scene will be set, or, eventually, who the murderer is. Things barely ever flow, and there is very little deducting and reasoning; we just get told stuff. Again, it's not terrible, none of this is, but it could be better.
As for things that are actually terrible, I think enough has been written about the love triangle already. It never feels like Wednesday is ever interested in either the boys (her bond with Eugene is considerably stronger and more important). I think what goes underappreciated in discussions of the love triangle is that both boys are suspects in the murder mystery, and remain so until the final episode. As a result, there is always a certain distance. We don't ever actually get comfortable with any of them; we're always supposed to be wary and keep our distance, and indeed, Wednesday does. In the end, we totally get why the boys are in love with her (how could you not be? Just look at her dancing), but she barely shows any signs of attraction, and they certainly never become close friends. That's not the only problem, but it really doesn't help.
But despite this the show works anyway, because while the overall plot is a bit meh, the moment to moment stuff and in particular the actors are just stellar. Jenny Ortega: Amazing. Gwendoline Christie: Love her, she should be in everything. Thing is just perfect. And while the show drops the ball on the official romance, they really nail the relationship between Wednesday and Enid, the emotional cornerstone of the whole show. I just love watching these two together.
In the end, we have the kind of show where I logically agree with basically every single mean-spirited criticism I've ever seen about it, but at the same time I love it with my whole heart. Because it is flawed on a high level, but it nails everything in the details.
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astromechs · 10 months
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I'm keeping my fingers crossed this isn't too controversial; I think nobody involved was equipped to handle Gamora's story once they decided to have Thanos kill her. I think Gunn knew exactly what to do with a relatively straightforward story of surviving abuse and breaking free. Once we entered the realm of woman murdered under the guise of her abuser being rewarded for his love, all bets were off. There was no coming back from that without an entire reworking of the story that followed which would require someone having both more experience with Gamora's type of abuse and awareness of the fact that unfortunately it can take more effort for audiences to relate to certain characters. Someone mentioned Black Panther and I think that was a great example. Gunn is undeniably talented but he still wouldn't have been a good choice to do that movie on his own. Sometimes you need certain experiences or the ability to walk in someone else's shoes to understand the direction a story needs to take. That means either hiring or consulting with people who have that experience or information. I have come across a few women who have survived abuse talking about hurtful or dimsissive comments they received about abuse following IW. I think that says a lot.
With this said I think they never should have killed Gamora or if they had to they should have ressurected her and called it a day. I know Gunn has gone on record as saying he hates ressurections and he believes in the need for consequences, but fact is an abuse victims whole story shouldn't be boiled down to consequences. I'm not saying how Gamora was brought back had no potential. I actually think it had a lot of potential and even though she's not getting the credit due, Gamora is probably one of the most interesting characters in vol 3 when you look at everything she's been through and the whole past present time travel angle plus all the messy emotions. Fans could have a field day with her and if she were a dude she'd be getting way more love and attention. That doesn't change that the story needed the benefit of writing Gunn wasn't capable of giving or in the mindset to give during his already planned out finale. Which means the best choice was not to kill her. I see a lot of people skirting around saying that but honestly don't kill an abuse victim just as she's embracing freedom shouldn't be a controversial thing to say or talk about. And certainly don't have her abuser kill her.
literally gamora should've never died in the first place. like, that's just unequivocally the truth. it was a terrible choice on a lot of levels, especially with the way it was actually done — because it was dismissive toward abuse, and real life people are affected by that. it's been five years since infinity war, and i'm still angry about it!!
the thing, though, is that i was willing to go with it, because gamora has died and been resurrected from the soul world (the dimension inside the soul stone) in the comics. her resurrection, also canonically in the comics, has had long-term consequences for her that are interesting. all of this could've easily been done on film after infinity war, if they were so hell bent on including the death.
but no, no one was equipped to handle this story, from infinity war to after infinity war. this is, again, the importance of having more diverse voices involved in the creation of stories.
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My fear with writing the story I'm working on is that it's an interesting concept, but I'll fail when trying to execute it, thus making it not as effective and easily dismissable. And then someone else out there could take my concept and make it into something better than I ever could. Is there any way to prevent that, or do is it just always a threat to everyone who creates something?
Afraid Someone Will Take Concept and Do it Better
Story concepts and general ideas aren't protected by copyright. So, once you publicly share or publish a story, there's nothing preventing someone from taking that concept or some of your general ideas and trying to do something different with them. However, they can't take your specific ideas and use them without it being plagiarism.
So, say for example you decide to take the Wizard of Oz and set it in space. This is a general idea and there's nothing stopping anyone from doing the same thing. The original Wizard of Oz books are in the public domain, so anyone can take those characters and ideas and do whatever they want with them. And taking those characters and ideas and setting them in the very broad setting of space--that's not specific and unique, so anyone can do that.
But, let's say you make Dorothy non-binary and call her "Dot," and let's say you make Uncle Henry and Aunt Em the proprietors of a silica mine instead of farmers. And when Dot gets to Oz, they encounter a civilization of cyborgs called the "Machiniks" rather than the Munchkins. These are all specific ideas and they belong to you. Someone could do a version of Oz in space and do something different with the Dorothy character, but they couldn't make Dorothy a non-binary person called "Dot." They could make Uncle Henry and Aunt Em something other than farmers, but not specifically silica farmers. And they could have the Dorothy character encounter a completely different version of the Munchkins in Oz, but they couldn't be cyborgs called Machiniks.
And, I think we have to be careful about the idea that someone else could "do an idea better" than we can. Better how? According to who? Who is the arbiter of "better"? Because no matter what a person does with your idea, they're not any more likely to thrill 100% of people with their version than you are with yours. "Better" is subjective...
Jane Austen published a novel called Pride and Prejudice in 1813. It was adapted for the stage in 1935, into an Academy Award-winning film starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier in 1940, a BBC version in 1980, and an even more popular BBC version starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth in 1995. And it was made into a popular feature film starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen in 2005. It was even made into a popular web-series (The Lizzie Bennet Diaries) in 2012. Not to mention the numerous popular re-imaginings done over the years, including Gurinder Chadha's 2004 Bollywood musical version, Bride and Prejudice; the very popular Bridget Jones's Diary books and movies, Seth Grahame-Smith's 2009 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; and one of my favorites, Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Remix by Ibi Zoboi.
--NOW, I want to pause a moment here and clarify that copyright expires, so really old stories like Pride and Prejudice are in the public domain, making them fair game. You can use those specific story elements in your story because they're no longer under copyright. However, you couldn't make Elizabeth Bennet a zombie hunter, because that idea is unique and is specific to Seth Grahame-Smith's copyrighted book.
My point, though, in bringing up the many different versions of Pride and Prejudice is to point out that every single one of those versions has their fans and critics. There are people who haaaaate the original Jane Austen version, but they love some of the re-imagined versions. I am quite certain my grandmothers would have felt that the 1940 film version was far superior to the later film versions. But there are modern day Janeites who would cut you if you said that Colin Firth wasn't the best Darcy ever. Likewise, there are people who think the Ehle/Firth version is boring and unwatchable, but they know the Keira Knightley version by heart. Jane's original idea has been done over and over and over again through the centuries, but nobody did it "better" because nobody can agree on what "better" is. They just did it different.
So, those are the two THREE things (lol...) you need to focus on:
No one can steal your specific, unique ideas.
No one else can tell the story you want to tell in the exact way that only you can tell it.
No one can ever take your idea and make it unanimously better than your version of the idea.
I hope that makes you feel better! ♥
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nightofking · 2 years
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i think this kind of double standard in the fandom about how lizzie is portrayed as the greedy one that profits off her husband’s situation is a big misunderstanding of what her role is, and in what way she’s different from tommy.
she isn’t just tommy’s wife, in the series. she works for the company and owes the money that comes from it just as much as any of the others – you rarely see people complain that ada or polly would have some profit from the company, maybe because it’s clearer that they participate, but lizzie has not only been one of the company’s secretaries for a long time when the events of season 6 occur
she’s climbed herself up the ladder and has become rich for that, and while being tommy’s wife  helped, i find it very obvious how her journey to reach that state is similar to tommy’s.
tommy comes from the lower class, has done everything to have more financial stability to end up never to be really satisfied even by the tons of money he accumulates. lizzie comes from the lower class too, she’s done everything she could to find stability in her life that didn’t require her to continue being a prostitute. the two of them did what they did to survive the world they grew up in, and now that they are richer this reflex of looking for more and more stability even if they have it is still there in both of them. they have a very similar relationship at its core to money and protection.
why are the two judged so differently, or at least why some dismiss more easily that “greediness” from tommy but doesn’t with lizzie, i think it (among other things) comes down to 1. the nature of what lizzie’s job was compared to what tommy did to survive, and 2. the way the series introduce both of these characters.
the shelby family begins to have its business booming in season 1, they earn more than before – they can go to the cinema, they can have nicer clothes. lizzie is still surviving. the contrast between the two might have given this idea that they do not come from the same social background, and accentuate this idea of lizzie as greedy (the scene in the car, mostly). tommy comes off less as that because (among other things) the series begin when the peaky blinders already reached a certain level of respectability. respectability that lizzie didn’t have from others in the series at the beginning (the attitude of polly and the shelby brothers when john mentioned that he wanted to marry her).
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burning-sol · 1 year
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Briefly mentioned in the tags of my exandroth dress drawing, this is my oc Elizabeth Lydon. I've decided I'll put more stuff under the cut if you wanna read a bit more abt her. But I think what's most important to note is that she is a doctor, and generally a very good hearted, compassionate and determined person.
She's caring, but not typically in a spoken way or by using physical affection. Sometimes she seems dismissive because of that, but actually it's just because she's caring in a practical way - if that's how you'd best describe it. When someone vents to her, she might not immediately go to comfort them because she gets caught up in thinking about what to do about that problem. Elizabeth files it away in the back of her mind and puzzles over it, organises everything she needs and then gets back to you with solutions. When it comes to neighbours, she has more than once rocked up to houses with a bunch of tools and supplies to fix that ONE step that you said was annoying you a fortnight ago. And she'll quietly work away at it until she's done before heading home. It may seem a bit strange at first, but it's just her way of doing things.
Anyways. She was conceived all the way back in 2017 (god it's been half a decade) and she's remained essentially the same in concept the entire time. I've made minor adjustments to her story and personality, but that's about it aside from jumping universes! To try and keep the 'jumping universes' bit brief: I had all my OCs together in one universe; they were all wacky and had unique things happening because I was a little lad having fun with characters; the primary group of OCs developed overtime to become more 'realistic' (for lack of a better term) with a more 'realistic' universe; this year I've decided to take certain characters and concepts that were more magical and shove them into a new universe with a fantasy setting where they wouldn't conflict with the 'realistic' setting of the previous universe. Hopefully that makes sense.
Her character concept in question was that she was a doctor! But not just that, she's a time travelling doctor. Originally her time in the past was going to be more involved, but I've changed that now because I don't want to think about time travel too much. As it is, she goes back in time and studies older forms of medicine and disease to create remedies for her clinic in current time. Nobody quite understands HOW she got so prolific in medicine, but she is incredibly well known in the world for both the effectiveness of her medicine and its incredibly humble pricing.
The pocket watch is the secret to her time travelling capabilities. It's a magical mechanism that's been passed down through her family for generations now. In exchange for the family's good deeds, the entity that bestowed the watch permits they continue to use it. The only item that matches it is a bell that is kept in the cottage her family uses for business. When the bells is rung it will ring through the watch and basically serve as a beckoning home. This is VERY useful for obvious reasons. If Elizabeth is asked for in person, the bell can be rung and she'll be sure to come back home.
Maybe that doesn't quite make sense. I guess the way I imagine it is that the bell and the watch are both running in the same linear time. The bell is like an anchor. You can go to any point in the past- But when you have to come home you're brought back to the same point in time as the bell. So if the bell is rung on a Thursday and the watch is back in time on a Monday, you can't just wait a day and then go back to Thursday. When the watch is experiencing Tuesday, for the bell it's now Friday. Sorry if my explanation is messy. I hope that makes sense.
"But Sol, couldn't this easily fall into the wrong hands and be used for nefarious purposes?" Well yeah! Probably! If someone was REALLY desperate to have it they could find a way! But it would be difficult to acquire. And overall this fantasy world is a pretty optimistic, fun one? Like sure. I could make a plot around this. But that's for a DnD campaign or something. When it comes to me writing for myself? Naw. I like things being nice and warm and friendly! People are good, they act in good faith! ^ ^
And that's all I have to say on that.
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