#imagine this without strictly following the plot

[alastorsfuckassbob]

We'll Meet Again

Alastorxfem!reader

Part two to "you're never fully dressed without a smile"

Plot: You're down infamously bad for Alastor. You work for a shift for Valentino and somehow you end up at everyone's favorite hell based hotel! I swear to god you will make physical contact with deal Al by chapter 3.

A/N: OH GOD THIS IS A LONG ONE, and honestly for an Alastor fic really Valentino and Angel Dust focused- but like any good story there are more than two characters so we should develop them✨

As always, minors DNI-

Somehow we got spicer and a bit more angsty so read the warnings and think critically if its something you really want to read

⚠️WARNINGS⚠️

-Domestic Violence, Abusive Relationships

-Swearing

-Valentino (has to be its own warning)

-Smoking and Alcohol use

-Sexual Innuendo

"Y/n"

"Y/n, please let me hear you. Your voice lights a fire within me that I cannot ignore"

The static popped, heartfelt and genuine, the phrase echoing throughout the dimly lit room and deep into the pits of your soul. It reminded you of those late nights spent at the studio with him. Of the memories you had created with him, you spent the least time mulling over your time at the station. It was just too much to handle, you would sit for hours talking about whatever fancies fit the time, swaying to the complex chords and swing of the music. No matter what mood you walked in with, it vanished the moment your frame entered his arms. Your hand grazed the edge of your cheek in the mirror imagining how his hand traced the outline of your face as it so often used to do. The show had hundreds of listeners, you were speaking to the world so it would appear, but anything and everything you said or played was made strictly for each-other.

Here you were, lost in time once again. You had missed those little moments, far more than you anticipated. You had always been one to get lost following the tracks of memory. but this..this was different, your body felt as if it was buzzing. His honey lined transatlantic accent reverberated throughout your skull. Sickeningly sweet, holding desperation but still not depravity. It lacked the typical Sadism and savagery, a commonality in your hellish experience. The wicked pair usually found itself wrapped around your arm and caught against your throat. You had become accustomed to those feelings of desperation, but somehow his was different. He hadn't said much of anything and it felt like he had bottled every sweet nothing and loving whisper he had uttered in your direction throughout your life, and poured them into his tonality all at once. The static grew heavier.

"Y/-n y-y-N"

his voice became distorted and crackled. He kept speaking but the words were mangled and malformed. You couldn't quite make out what he was attempting to get across. You couldn't lose him not another time, even if you hadn't really "had him" again.

It was enough to send you into a fit of desperation.The incoherencies faded out, only deafening static remained .

"Alastor"

your wavering voice filled with alarm. You rushed to the radio nearly falling of the counter as you did so. You feverishly tuned the knob hoping for just another moment with him, even if it was just audibly. The electricity crackles, and dark grey smoke erupts from the small box and into your face. You cough rapidly upon contact. The fire sparks, promptly melting the exterior of the radio.

"shit fuck shit fuck shit"

You rasp between coughs. Something ablaze was not entirely out of the ordinary, yet you remained panicked. you thoughtlessly unplug the radio, scalding your hands in the process. Not knowing what else to do, you throw the newly aflame radio into the tub. It wheezes out another plume of smoke before sinking down into the water.

"well that isn't..ideal"

You decide its a tomorrow issue and head off to sleep. Still slightly shaken up, you throw on a silky nightgown and plop into your bed. You wouldn't find peace in your sleep, you never did. You closed your eyes unready to face your demons but too exhausted to care.

The next day comes to pass sooner than you'd care to admit. You don't feel well rested, but you can't find it in yourself to go back to sleep. Your thoughts are still so dreadfully plagued with Alastor. The way his lips felt on your own, the soft gentle curl of his hair. Everything aspect of him was so fundamentally perfect. Even his so called flaws. He may be an attention seeking idiot, but he was your attention seeking idiot. That was all that mattered. You'd be happy to do most anything to supply him his attention fix. You looked at the clock across from your bed, it was already noon. You had told Angel you'd be at the club around one. Unhappily, you rolled out of bed grabbing another outfit from your closet to change into. You applied some simple mascara, and tied up your hair. You could finish getting read with Angel Dust like you usually did.

You arrive at the club meet Angel, you liked to arrive a few hours before your call time just to talk with each other. You had vastly different schedules but you made it work. You walk through the lobby watching other scandalously dressed demons go about their daily life. You could have sworn you saw a flick of shadow watching you from behind the other inhabitants. You shook it off, you didn't sleep well, its possible you're just seeing things.

You arrive at your dressing room, and knock at the door. Its a calm and quiet environment. The eye before the storm working tonight will plunge you both into.

"the fuck do you want, can't a guy do his eyeliner in peace"

you roll your eyes before opening the door, he glances back at you.

"oh hey toots, didn't expect you so soon- you're not late"

"Fuck off angel"

you sit down in your chair and begin brushing out your hair. Val was very particular about the image you portrayed, even if your hair was already curly he'd want it to curl differently, If it was straight, he'd want it consistent coiffed to his liking.

If you didn't have hair he'd probably get you a wig of some kind. You glance down at the black porcelain mask on the counter. It was delicately painted with small golden roses. It was the only thing between you and an army of horny fans. Angel finishes his eyeliner with a small flick of a wing.

He stands up and takes the brush from you. He combs through the ends making sure there aren't any tangles left before grabbing the curling iron. To be quite honest, you both absolutely sucked at doing your own hair, so you did each others. It was nice, and he always made you look good. You had known angel for quite some time, you felt like you knew who he was but nothing about him.

He was always rather private about the details of his life before hell. You had gathered he was Italian by his sound, and that he had been involved with the mob from small anecdotes he sometimes shared.

It didn't really matter who he used to be, he was your friend and you loved him.

"I mean this in the nicest way possible y/n, but you look like shit" He grabbed a strand of your hair wrapping it around the wand.

"oh gee thanks" you deadpan

"long night?" he asks releasing your hair from the curling wand scrunching it slightly.

"something like that, how about you, you look shockingly well rested, and i doubt its just the concealer"

"I'm staying at a new place" he continues working his way around your head.

"Val let you leave?" a hint of shock permeated your voice

"he can't dictate where i stay when i'm off the clock babe" He grabs a smaller curling want and begins with some small face framing pieces.

"does he know?" you ask hesitantly. You didn't want to upset him.

"I don't think he's caught on yet, probably figures I'm just out getting drunk and high off my ass"

"to be fair you often are"

"you're no angel either y/n" He rolls his eyes, he picks up the larger wand again and re-curls a few more of the back pieces.

"where did you move off to?"

You were lucky to have your own apartment. Most souls under contract with Valentino stayed in the complex....Your situation wasn't much better but it was enough. To be completely honest, you only lived about a ten minute walk from here. It wasn't much of a distance, but it was far enough Valentino would rather call upon some other, closer, unlucky soul outside of work hours to do his bidding. It was good enough. It was shocking to hear Angel had managed to find someplace with his cocaine habit and how little Val payed us.

"Its that rickety hotel on the edge of the Pride ring, I know it doesn't sound like much but its free" You almost visibly buffered from shock. How did he manage that? Then it hits you, he's probably sleeping there for free because he's sleeping with someone.

"who'd you have to fuck to get a room there"

"y/n" he groaned, slightly annoyed by your antics.

"No angel I'm serious, its hell people don't just give things out for free" you mused at his reaction.

"I didn't have to fuck anyone, its run by the princess, shes trying to rehabilitate souls"

"is that even possible" your mind began to swim with possibility.

"i dunno, i don't really care. It gives me a space to just exist..as myself..away from all of this"

your hand finds his way into one of his.

"i understand what you mean" your voice comes out no more than a whisper.

He continues curling your hair silently for a bit. Angel had his issues but he was a good person. He just found himself in a bad situation. Unexpectedly, he broke the silence. You two had a lot in common, including your tendencies of avoidance.

"you should live there too y/n, its free, and theres a bar, the bartender isn't too bad looking either."

You smile at the thought, it would be nice to get away from it all. Thats all it could be though, a thought. You were already on such thin ice with Val.

"Angie dear it sounds nice, but we both know I'm already Val's least favorite sinner. I shouldn't aggravate him more" you say with a defeated huff. Angel wraps another tendril of your h/c hair around the wand

"You can't let his life be your only life. I'm not stupid doll, I know you've been spending a lot more time around here." He's visibly and audibly frustrated.

He stays quiet for a minute picking up another strand of your hair.

"you're more than what you can do for Valentino okay? you were a person before you're still a person after, don't let him take everything from you." his voice becomes quiet, almost unrecognizable. Its velvety in a way, he speaks almost as if he's telling you just as much as he's telling himself Its the realest you've ever seen him be.

He quickly shakes it off

"his ugly mug cant be the only thing you see, I swear to god every time I look at him I throw up a little" He releases your hair from the curling iron stepping back to admire his work.

"now don't you look riveting" A jokingly seductive tone takes hold of his voice.

Your mind sparks with an idea, why complain about Val when you can just straight up mock him?

You stand up, rushing to the clothing rack, sift through the items before finding a long cherry red robe. Naturally its angel's. Its far too long for you, the second set of arms gets a little confusing, but eventually you slide it on. You sit back seductively on the counter mocking good ol Valentino.

"angel dust! you slut! you're fucking 20 guys before lunch! " You cross your arms dramatically before standing up on the counter. You strut across, being careful not to step on any of his things, but still maintaining the destructive energy Val usually carries.

A wild smile courses through your features, you grab the magazine Angel had been reading before you came in and throw it back into his face.

"Heres the 40 page shockingly kinky script about some kidnapping scene in France you have an hour to memorize, ignore the syntax errors and improvise!" He looks up at you baffled. I mean, you were right-He starts laughing uncontrollably,

"y/n what the fuck" he sputters out

You laugh along with him. He reaches up placing his arms around your waist, putting you onto the ground with very minimal effort. For a second you feel a bit like a house cat hopeless dragged off the counter. Angel was shockingly strong, for such a lanky guy he certainly wasn't flimsy or weak

A smug look overtakes his features

"let me show you how its really done"

He takes the robe off of your body and dawns it himself. He whips out a pair of bedazzled pink sunnies. Tilting them down, he gives you a cheeky wink. Once the knot of the belt is tied he is fully into character

"My siren! Y/n."

"oh god" you roll your eyes as angel begins his display. He walks across the room dragging you with him before twirling you into his arms. You cant help but be a little dizzy at the sudden motion.

"y/n, baby! You have made much so much money with that truly bodacious rack" He swings his arm around your waist. You both stifle a laugh as he drags his second set of hands across the shape of your body in the air in front of you.

"Angel I don't think Valentino would ever utter the phrase "bodacious rack", at least not in this existence" You form your fingers into little air quotes playfully rolling your eyes at him

"shh toots i am working on a real character here"

"Angel" you sigh

"shh" he hushes you again placing his finger against your lips.

Your collective antics go on for a little over two hours, stopping only briefly for you to style his fleecy hair. He looks at the clock before letting out an aggravated sigh. He pulls his body up from his chair.

"I gotta go doll, Val has me shootin yet another new movie before we shoot the scheduled "film", perks of being Hell's best actor" He grumbles grabbing his robe off of the floor leaving you alone in your shared dressing room.

You continued getting ready, expertly styling your newly curled hair and applying a thick coat of deep red lipstick. It wasn't too long after the door swung open. The suffocating smell of lust filling your lungs.

"My dear sweet y/n! how about we lose the mask for tonight?" Valentino burst into the room as if he owned the place. To be fair, he did. You still found it a bit off putting he didn't knock. Despite your profession, you valued privacy.

"Val-" You began, he cut you off.

"I don't believe I was asking." a smirk decorated his sly features.

"Respectfully, sir. It's not within my contract to appear as I truly am."

This shit again. Val was always on your ass about this. He always wanted more. Usually after a few minutes of arguing, he'd give up. There was nothing else he could do, so you don't think much of it. You pull out a cigarette, flicking the lighter, the small white stick begins to blaze.

You blow a cloud of hot red smoke in his direction. He rolls his eyes gritting his teeth in frustration. He takes a deep breath, sordid displays of force didn't work the best on you. You'd be frightened, but your stance would rarely change. Not unless he got physically violent, and quite honestly he was not in the mood today. You were not the most important thing to deal with. Its not that he didn't want to hurt you, he didn't want to waste his time. He tries a lighter, more manipulative approach.

"Think of how much success your beautiful little face would bring us. Sinners and Hell born alike already get off to your body, its just revealing a little bit more"

"No, I won't do it" your voice is small but resolute. He didn't have the patience for this. As soon as the word "no" left your lips Val had begun to lose it. "Wasting time" became a lot less important. Members of the Ars Goetia family would be present in tonight's audience. You had to look your best, so he could look his best.

"You are going to out there without that fucking mask and give all of hell a good show. You won't like what happens if you don't listen." He growled through gritted teeth

"Its breaking the contract. Val" You take another lazy puff from your cigarette. He ripped the cigarette from your hand, throwing it on the ground. He was done with your shit.

"I own you. Did you forget that, I own your body and your voice. you speak only when i want you to. You fuck who I choose. The only thing you technically have a right to is your name, isn't that right my little siren?"

His voice is sleazy to say the least, the tone makes you shudder. You couldn't help but think,

...was he right? you had asked to be anonymous, you never thought to specify how. He continued before you had a real chance to observe your thoughts. He wraps his arm around your shoulder, snakelike and seductive. He was getting tired of this, tired of you.

"the mask is getting old, hell will get tired of you if you don't give them more. you won't like what happens if they deem you all washed up.."

You attempt to move away, His grasp on your arm grows tighter. You flinch slightly from the pain, but not enough for him to notice. He wants to elicit a reaction in you, perhaps if you stay calm he'll give up.

"I have some very specific clientele coming to tonights show I need you to wow them"

You could hardly believe the audacity. Sure, Valentino was always kind of a prick but this complete and total discount of your previously agreed terms was relatively new. He had suggested removing the mask before and brought it up countless times, but this level of disregard was new. Screw being calm you weren't about to be this fundamentally disrespected.

"No I won't do tha- " his hand waves cutting you off. your voice caught in your throat the sigil on your hand marking his ownership glowing a dull faded pink.

"I can do whatever I please. I've let you forget that, I've been going too easy on you. Rereading our little contract brought me the enlightenment I needed. Those who bite don't get to speak" he pauses moving away from you taking in your figure.

"it looks like you'll just be dancing tonight, and what a wonderful performance that is going to be."

The click of his shoes taps against the stark white tile as he walks towards the clothing rack in the edge of the room. He hums, picking out a dark red burlesque outfit. He exchanges it for the mask from the table and breaks it in his hand.

"I think a more revealing number will compensate more than enough for your silence..don't you?"

Your last defense had been shattered. The last ounce of your personage robbed for the sake of pleasing some sleazy unsavory high end customer. You tried to speak but the words stayed nestled inside of you. You wanted to scream or talk honestly you'd take a whisper at this point, still, nothing. The anger in your heart welled its way up into your throat and without an outlet, your frustration took root in your tears."Great" you thought, "just what i needed to look respectable, yet another crying fit."

He grabs you by your shoulders, it had never registered how small you were in comparison. You knew he was tall, but in ten years, you'd never noticed how much taller he was. Usually the moth hunched over in some way to communicate better as his eyesight is less than superior...Yet here he stood a good three or four feet taller than you, anger almost visibly steaming off of his purple fur. two of his hands grasped firmly on your newly bruised shoulder, the other on your neck, and the last raised and ready to strike you. Closing your eyes you accept your fate. the contact comes and as soon as it does you are sprawled on the floor. Unable to move, unable to run. You had never been strong enough to fight. After all you were still the same person you were in 1936 and long after that. Your nose gushes blood, splattering droplets onto the tile as he abruptly jerks you up from the floor.

"maldita cabrona! quién se cree que es?"

he tuts clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. It sounds oddly like the loading of a gun. Every aspect of his body was drenched this newly violent attitude. His moth like horns lined with anticipation, twitching with every rigid breath.

Valentino had gotten rough with you before but not like this. This time, it felt more real. He leans in closer, his face directly in front of your own. From another angle perhaps the pose looked sweet,loving even. The thought made you sick.His arm rested against your shoulder, just forceful enough to cause you pain but not so harsh to send you tumbling to the ground again. The sharp talons tipping his long fingers traced the edge of your face, deep red blood madly racing after it. He would have killed you then in there if you weren't such a "valuable asset".

"Next time you'll learn to listen, I've killed fuckers for less than this shit you're giving me. If I don't have the patience with angeldust I certainly won't have it with you, even if you're named hell's favourite pequeña pecadora." He pauses glaring deep into your eyes

"I made you y/n, i can take that away and kill you myself whenever i please. try not to forget that again"

His inflection is wickedly sweet, but not sugary enough to hide his true malice.

He grunts in frustration, throwing you against the dressing room table, the back of your head shatters the mirror. An all too familiar feeling. He laughs viewing the position he's put you in, it is a dry, heartless, and dirty sound. The silence after is chilling. You close your eyes bracing for another impact that just doesn't come. He must have gotten bored with you, he usually did after a while. The door finally slams, the lights of the dressing room flicker and then click off. You slide down onto the floor, all you are left with is the small pool of blood and regret.

The performance that night felt like an eternity. Your skin practically peeling off as lustful eyes burned holes through your skin. You had drank a few more than too many cocktails. It wasn't nice to refuse a gift, and it kept you a little less than fully conscious. stumbling through the hallway you arrived once again at your dressing room. you sat down hopelessly viewing the dark purple bruises formed from your previous alteration through the shattered remnants of your mirror. So much for not "damaging the merchandise" as Val would so often say.A soft knock rattles you from your thoughts. the door creaks open and Angel Dust slides in. You silently look at each other's exhausted frame and scratched faces. Angel was the closest thing you had ever had to a friend, and just about the only person who could ever understand what you're going through. After all, your experience was modeled after his.

"Whats wrong y/n? cat got your tongue?"

Despite his exhaustion he kept up his usual performance. You didn't respond, you couldn't. The tears so expertly rimmed in your eyes threaten to fall. His expression falters and he walks up to you hugging you tightly. You didn't need to say or do anything to explain. He knew exactly what you were going through. For just a moment you relax into his arms.

A minute or so passes and you break the contact. You figure a little context wouldn't hurt. You motion to the glowing sigil on your wrist and then to your throat, hoping he understood the signal.

"You can't speak can ya doll?" He asked softly his hand ruffling your hair. You shook your head no.

"God i hate that fucking prick, he can't just play fair. Maybe if he did that sorry fuck wouldn't be making shitty porn and running washed out clubs for a living". He angrily paces around the room. As he speaks you grab an eyeliner pen and the back of some flier someone left taped to your door. It seemed like the easiest way to communicate. You messily scrawl the words

"Can I stay with you I promise its just for one night"

He takes the page from you a smile taking root.

"damn toots what happened to not mixing personal and professional life?" he joked. You sat there motionless, tears threatening to spill. He takes the hint and grabs a coat off of the rack wrapping it around your shoulders.

"I thought you'd never ask-I've been dying to hang out outside this shit hole. Let's head out, Its gonna rain soon and these boots are too hot to be messing with that acid bullshit"

He posed albeit dramatically earning a smile from you. He tilts his head towards the door and the two of you leave the messy dressing room behind. It was one of the few things you didn't have to worry about. After all, Valentino values appearances, any mess you had made would be gone in the morning. In one way or another, you could fuck up any way and make any mess, and Val would have it cleaned up. The only messes he wouldn't fix were the ones he made himself. The cuts on your body always lasted longer than your reflection in a broken mirror. Unlike you the mirror could be fixed.

Not long after you arrive at this so called "Hazbin Hotel"..you didn't have much to say other than it...seemed fitting. You walk up a few flights of carpeted stairs. His hand calmly connected to yours. He continues down the long winding hallway before reaching a large wooden door at the end. He unlocks the room, and it is exactly what you'd imagine it to be. An embodiment of everything "angel dust".

A few hours and a pack of cigarettes later, the rain starts. The acid falls from the sky burning sinners and generally..most everything in its path. The sizzle on the sidewalk almost sounds like the crackle of a record player. Leaning further back into his bed, you pull out yet another cigarette. Your hand waves, gesturing towards the box and Angel takes the last of the pack. He lights the end of yours first and then clicks the lighter again in an attempt to get his own fix. However the lighter had other plans, it pops and ticks before sputtering out completely. He strikes it a few more times to no avail

"Shit what does a guy gotta do to get a decent lighter in this shit hole"

His arms raised above his head in some odd exaggerated performance of anger. Despite the lack of necessity, you found the fake drama to be amusing. It reminded you of Alastor in some strange way. It was different than the usual drama you found yourself viewing. Hell is full of overdramatic assholes, at least Angel isn't.. cruel. You take the first hit of your newly lit cigarette. The pink smoke fizzling into your lungs, giving you a sense of calm you cant really find anywhere else.

"What you aren't gonna share?" he deadpans before he presses the edge of his previously unlit cigarette to yours.

You look at him as if to say "Angel you dumb bitch that never actually works you're just going to put mine out and then we'll both be miserable"

He rolls his eyes with his signature smug look. He presses his cigarette a bit closer to your own. Shockingly it lit up in a hot pink flame.

"Working with Val sucks but at least you learn a few useful things",

He deeply inhaled from his own newly lit cigarette, puffing the strawberry coloured smoke into your very clearly unamused face. Still. you couldn't help but laugh.. or you tried to anyway, not that it would have worked. You took another long delightful drag and sent the smoke his way. A fit of giggles ensued, at least on his part. You were just happy it worked and he didn't end up pissed off.

The action made you wonder, what if you weren't just meant to hurt others. perhaps you could light them up instead of burning them down. You sat there for about another hour, listening to Angel's sleep deprived rambles. It wasn't too much long after that your own exhaustion finally carried you safely into a well deserved slumber. It was peaceful, the most restful night you'd had since your fall into this desolate shit pit known as hell..For once you didn't "dream." You weren't haunted with his face. His shadow didn't suffocate you. The ghost of your past stayed simply that, a ghost.

The night passes swiftly. Almost as quickly as the stars had appeared they retreated deep into the hazy maroon sky and bright carmine clouds. The rain had stopped, somehow the damages caused weren't entirely discernible from the average look of things. It was then you heard radio static again.

Familiar and soothing, his gravelled voice broadcast to the denizens of hell.

"Good morning to all of you lovely listeners ! Today's broadcast is brought to you by hell's favourite sinner, what isn't to love about that little starlet. Tune on in dearest, I've been hearing so much about you."

the music started softly carried by the wind and into your ears. You felt intoxicated.

We'll meet again

Dont know where, dont know when

but I know we'll meet again some sunny day

Keep smiling through, just like you always do

til the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away

It was irrevocably, unmistakably unquestionably him.

Alastor, your Alastor.. was in hell. Not to mention an overlord (shocker there). Despite that fact, you were evidently on his mind. He was speaking to you and only you. There was nothing you could do to respond.

So you listened, to his voice, the instrumentation, the melody, everything. Maybe it would somehow bring you closer to him...

Unbeknownst to the both of you, you were no more than a few rooms apart, enjoying your stay at the Hazbin Hotel.

a/n: I SWEAR I PROMISE YOU, ANGEL, AND ALASTOR ARE GONNA WRECK THAT LITTLE FUCKERS SHIT, dw

[curiouspupsicle]

Good Omens Fan Fiction Friday (2/28/25) - Alt Season 3 Speculation

Following the ending of Good Omens season 2, desperate fans brought all their creativity to imagining what season 3 could look like. And they created some AMAZING and EPIC works.

Many of them began with a drunk and destructive Crowley left to make sense of Aziraphale returning to heaven. Eventually, the pair find themselves working together to avert the Second Coming (not always after reconciling). And then follows chapters of action-oriented, plot-driven, high-drama fan fiction. This list is not about those fics. (But someone else definitely needs to recommend a bunch of them in their own post.)

Instead, I'm recommending the quirky, alternative views of what might have happened after the final 15. These are fics where Crowley is less self-destructive. Where the action is generally toned down. Where feelings matter more than the plot.

In other words, these are the speculative season 3 fics that zig when everyone else zags.

Let's start with a silly one--Kidnapping a Supreme Archangel for Fun and Profit (T) by @waitingtobebroken. This four-part series has Crowley becoming Grand Duke of Hell. And befitting his high office, Crowley sets about tormenting the Supreme Archangel Aziraphale--by force-feeding him sushi, holding him by the hand to keep him from escaping, and leading him on a forced march through the park. How evil!

A longtime favorite of mine is But You Are An Ocean (T) by megzseattle/ @ineffably-good. Rather than fall apart, Crowley moves to the South Downs himself and becomes a "project" for the locals to befriend. Our ineffable pair are eventually reunited but without fireworks and flaming swords. And it's just a delight.

I'm breaking my own category by including the action-packed Down/Up (M) by @klikandtuna. I can't tell you more without spoiling the story. But you won't regret reading this story of BAMF!Crowley and BAMF!Aziraphale. It's a unique and fascinating take that still fits with this theme. Mind the content warnings.

In Among the Stacks (NR) by MeinirRhos/ @rhosmeinir, Crowley senses Aziraphale for a year after he returns to heaven. Until, one day, he doesn't. After moving on the best he can, Crowley finds Aziraphale is working in a library. Or is he?

And here's my exception to avoiding drunk Crowley--don't let this darkness fool you (M) by @mygalfriday. The Mayfair flat is a disaster zone when Shax shows up with a fallen Aziraphale. Everything about the Second Coming is extraneous when it comes to our demon caring for his angel.

Finally, Ginger_Cat/ @gingiekittycat wrote a long one-shot that hints at the epic speculative season 3 they would write in Prelude to an Epic (T). Crowley takes the role of Duke of Hell strictly to get the last word with Aziraphale. Instead, he finds himself in--well, a prelude to an epic story of heaven and hell. Can't give much away without spoiling the story. But this would be a good work to pair with Down/Up.

I'll be back next Friday with more recs on an entirely idiosyncratic theme. Follow and reblog to keep track.

And check out previously recommended fics on my pinned post of weekly Good Omens fan fiction recommendations

[achromatophoric]

Taking a Break

Serious talk time. Apologies in advance. I have a question that I hope can be asked and answered without any vitriol. I understand that everyone has their own comfort level concerning written content, and I deeply dislike causing people grief of any sort.

For the first time, I was presented with criticism (that weren’t just Asks from bigoted trolls) concerning writing shorts with sexual humor involving two 16-year-olds (Wednesday and Enid), with the idea that an adult writing that content makes that individual problematic.

It’s understandably a very sensitive subject, and it was enough to have me banned from a server I occasionally posted on for content written in this blog. That’s understandable, because the comfort and safety of a server’s members is always important.

I wasn’t offended, and it was even a welcome distraction during a funeral, but it did leave me with a question:

Should I stop writing these?

I’m a big fan of teen sex comedies like Bottoms, American Pie, and But I’m a Cheerleader, particularly since they allow me to experience what I missed out on due to a religious upbringing. I’m also terminally unable to take sex seriously, which could be related to my demisexuality. Needless to say, I haven’t taken my posts very seriously.

I’ve been presumptuous in what I’ve been writing. I don’t have the attention span for longer form, so I always imagined what I write as scenes that could slip into the general gestalt Wenclair headcanon, letting the readers fill in the blanks. Brief, but not hopefully not entirely meaningless.

I knew what I was writing was bereft of plot and heavy on absurdity, but I didn’t realize that by lacking plot for the humor to move forward, it could be taken as sexualizing minors purely for the sake of sexualizing minors. That was so far from my intentions that I’m just disappointed with myself.

I’ve always felt that fanfics (and fanshipping in general) was intended as a safe space to write/share interests that other people would ridicule them for. Just people being their nerdiest and protecting each other from predatory or malicious behavior. So if my writing has ever seemed predatory or malicious, I am deeply sorry.

This fandom is honestly awesome. I’ve never been a part of one before, and it’s given me a much appreciated creative outlet when I’ve had to give most of mine up for various lifestyle/health reasons. So if it’s better for the Tumblr community that I just stop, I’ll be sad to do so, but I’ll understand.

I’ll take the poll results into consideration. That said, even if #7 wins out, I’m not sure how it will go. While I do adore the fandom, I don’t communicate very actively with others in it, so I have no real perspective of how my writing is perceived. Knowing that the things I write are actively making people uncomfortable enough to act on it is… just a lot.

[jazzy-dreamer]

BEHOLD

THE LAMB✨

They’re known simply as “Lamb” or “The Lamb”

My Cult Of The Lamb Au is kinda sorta less of an Au and more of my interpretation of the characters and how I imagine the story to go and stuff. My Lamb’s backstory is still a work in progress so there’s some plot holes and confusing stuff going on with the timeline but that’s exactly why it’s a WIP-

Backstory I guess:

Lamb has been on the run from The Old Faith for as long as they can remember. They have very few memories of their flock and mother (who they called “Baba”) and the few memories they DO have are of being in her comforting arms and her murder :]

Since they’ve always been on the run, they were never given a proper name and are instead only known as “Lamb”

Trivia and more I guess:

*Lamb is intersex!! :D But that’s not why they’re agender!!! /lh

*They’re extremely perceptive when it comes to other people, but are completely oblivious when it comes to their own thoughts and feelings.

*They’ve come to think of their followers and the cult as the flock they never got to have. It’s far from a healthy idea considering the context, BUT I like to think it eventually does become somewhat healthy!

*Since it’s how all the other sheep died, and of course how they died, they’re STRICTLY AGAINST any kinda sacrifice. But knowing me and how much I love angst, at some point they’re probably forced to sacrifice someone anyway.

*They got that autism stare (There are no thoughts inside that head. Only trauma and revenge)

*Though it’s not impossible to see them without their bell on, it’s still rare as they don’t like looking at the scar from their first death.

*LAMB AND NARINDER KISS??? 👉👈

[budd-ie]

I’ve seen people complain before that hualian doesn’t need sexual themes in it and that it would be fine (or better) without it, and this opinion is completely valid to have and it’s completely fine to ignore the sexual themes to better your own enjoyment if it adds to the individual experience, though I also think it’s important to acknowledge sometimes that hualian does have a sexual relationship and that those sexual themes are prevalent throughout the novel and it’s okay for this to be the case. My personal opinion is that I think these themes are really cool and actually help us gauge character growth in a plot relevant way, especially for Xie Lian.

(Some book 7/8 spoilers ahead)

Along these lines, I’ve also seen people question why Jun Wu is so fixated on Xie Lian’s virginity. It’s true that it feels like a weird and specific thing to fixate on, though I’m sure the plot relevant answer to that has to do with Xie Lian’s cultivation. His cultivation style requires a pure mind and body, and maintaining cultivation rewards one with more spiritual energy. The short and simple answer is that by ruining his cultivation Xie Lian will be weakened in both power and mind, and attacking his virginity is the fastest route to achieve this (such as in the land of the tenders). As true as this is though, it really isn’t everything. Remember that Xie Lian begged to join the temple before he was of age because he was so determined to start cultivation. Not only did he take it extremely seriously, but his commitment to cultivation was one of the reasons (besides hating his dad) that he basically lived at the temple and wouldn’t come home for months at a time. Otherwise, he never found interest in consorts or getting married and starts chanting Dao De Jing if he even suspects something has the potential to start messing with him in order to maintain his steady heart and pure soul. Thus, cultivation is fun and rewarding to him.

This was before and during ascension, but what about after? After his second banishment, I honestly can’t imagine he’s actually trying to ascend again, so why cultivate?

Isn’t the answer there just because wants to?

At its heart, Xie Lian’s cultivation is something that seems to help ground him; it makes him feel comfortable and gives him something to focus on. Furthermore, it’s one of the last things Xie Lian actually has control over, isn’t it? Especially after falling so far into despair during his first banishment, cultivating is his way of rebuilding and holding on to himself, like a way of healing.

Thus, as it coincides with his cultivation, virginity is also extremely important to Xie Lian, simply because he chooses for it to be. Maintaining these principles is one of the main things that makes him feel like he’s still doing okay and is still in control.

All that being said, why did Jun Wu have a virginity detecting sword? If we really want to speculate a Xie Lian-centric answer to this, let’s establish that Jun Wu knows enough about Xie Lian to understand his individual relationship to cultivation. If Xie Lian is not a virgin during the Lan Chang in heaven scene, that means he has broken his cultivation. If Xie Lian’s cultivation is broken and he is genuinely unbothered by it, that means that Xie Lian has grown into a different, much stronger person than Jun Wu anticipated. It also means that controlling him by targeting his cultivation/virginity specifically isn’t going to be as effective as it might have been in the past. That’s what I think makes it matter so much to Jun Wu strictly from a plot perspective.

Following this logic can take us further too, because everybody who read extra chapters knows that Xie Lian does NOT leave this plot a virgin, but he’s very okay about it, which is also not at all where he starts. Xie Lian’s relationship with his own sexual nature is something that is constantly evolving throughout the novel, and it’s something that he struggles with tremendously that causes him a lot of torment whenever it’s challenged. Impurity isn’t just bad to him, it starts off as nearly catastrophic. As he learns to accept his feelings for Hua Cheng though, he starts to come to terms with that side of himself, as hard as it is for him to accept it.

Suddenly this scene (from the clearnoodle translation of the revised) comes to mind:

The whole alcohol scene is easy to play off as a mix of silly virginity joke and desperate need for a diversion, but there’s a lot of good stuff here. The first part clearly shows his stance about cultivation and where his priorities lie (in which absolute celibacy is more important than absolute sobriety). The second part, Hua Cheng’s response, is something like foreshadowing, isn’t it?

“Okay. However, I think that the Tao follows nature, and precepts and abstinences are inconsistent with Taoists’ free nature. What do you think, gege?”

If breaking his cultivation would be like losing a pillar of support, then his ability to rely on Hua Cheng is like adding another impenetrable, immovable, unbreakable pillar of infinite support. If he doesn’t have to worry about losing himself through indulgence becuase of this new immovable pillar….then what’s there to be afraid of? Isn’t he free to explore how he pleases?

If Xie Lian can break his cultivation without breaking his spirit, this symbolizes the ultimate growth and reclamation of power over himself. That’s why Xie Lian’s sexuality is something I think is extremely significant to both him and the story overall. He spends so much time tied down to the expectations he has of himself, but by the end of the novel he really does get literally and figuratively freed from this. Who knew it could all tie back to his virginity! Regardless, let’s take this as a psa that sexual stories are good and deserve to be told just as much as non sexual ones. Xie Lian DESERVES his freaky ghost sex and is in fact an icon of healing and growth for it!

[leohtttbriar]

For the character ask game: Seven of Nine and Kira Nerys

seven of nine:

How I feel about this character

how i "feel about" seven can be compared, in the most lateral yet essentially unrelated way, to how i feel about baking. or maybe hercule poirot. there's a fussiness to her that reminds me of people who follow the recipe exactly every time and, if one were to hypothetically say she's american, she'd be one of the few hobby-baker americans in the country converting all teaspoons/cups/etc. into metric units, definitely be using a scale. at the same time, she's not a "fine" cuisine eater. she's like the hercule poirot of jello-cake. or tater-tot casserole. the midwestern stereotype of making nearly everything from a box. still, she manages to be very fussy about her box food jello-cake.

bc like, i think the way she thinks about things isn't exactly uncreative. i think she finds comfort in the idea that there's a correct way to do things while respecting, in her frankness, the individual elements of a composition. she's attentive and she's pragmatic which makes her a refreshing character on screen. her relationship with idealism is less about an abstract ongoing-ness, exemplified by the voyager's crew continued will to explore (which she protests), and more about considering the completeness of the telos of survival. what further purpose can she give herself, in this moment? ("the moment" being end of season 4, for me--haven't watched more yet). it gives her approach to people and her projects and her personal narrative a bracing forthrightness. thus, she makes me feel like there's a bit of creative glory in a box cake and tater-tots 🙏

All the people I ship romantically with this character

when it comes to shipping, the ships i'm most interested in (interested enough to write/read fic about) are mostly just pairings where i think the two characters would have a conversation i personally want to write/read about them having. so, of course, who i ship with seven: b'elanna. and neelix, i think? if seven and kes had talked, that would've been fascinating.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

non-romantic OTP is neelix. i think they're different kinds of ridiculous and wouldn't enable each other like tuvok would seven, as good friends do.

My unpopular opinion about this character

i'm not sure what the unpopular opinions about seven are or where my opinions would fall on either side of the line? and unpopular in what crowd? i imagine it's an unpopular opinion among certain annoying fans that i think the actor never should've been forced to wear that costume. maybe?? among other kinds of fans it's unpopular that i think that she's wrong and janeway is right and that exploring while voyager travels home is important.

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon.

haven't seen all canon with seven yet, but what i wish would happen is that she talks to b'elanna more. possibly about how the body can be made into a political landscape.

kira nerys:

How I feel about this character

i feel about kira a lot of "i want to protect her" which i know is strictly irrational, not least because she is a fictional character. watching the show, i got stuck in my head about how several narrative patterns in kira's story throughout the series showcased her willingness to give herself to something outside of her and the show doesn't really seem to be aware that pattern exists. i'm still as frustrated by the jokey pregnancy plot as i was when i first watched it and that sort of just added on to other more deliberate stories where she, like, decided she should definitely die for the possible possibility of the "children of time" or where she decided to let a non-causal alien/god enter her body to wage lethal battle or where she decided to embrace a caste and career she had no personal connection to and had to be saved from without any time in the episode for productive self-choice.

while that's all causing tension in my head, though, i think kira is such a wildly intelligent character in her story. the way she has to contend, on and on and on, with so many people she disagrees with, who see her as either victim or militant, navigating the many conflicting politics of her own planet while navigating on top of that the federation representatives and the consistent politicking from the oppressing people who her people had just pushed out, all while her new commander (and friend) is also a significant religious figure in the religion in which she is very devout. kira handling all this, and it is a struggle at times, obviously, is an example of person who is able to understand and absorb competing narratives while still securing her own perspective, drawing her lines in the sand. which impresses me, as an audience member.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

she's got a lot of interesting pairings tbh. odo, keiko, winn, sisko, julian, ezri. i think jadzia appeals the most to me though for a couple reasons: 1) jadzia is protective of kira in the instances that i want to be protective of kira, and jadzia's values would protect kira from the things i also want to protect kira from (and vice versa, too), an aspect which i think has come across in all the fics i've written for them, and 2) jadzia and kira are ride-or-die friends while being extremely different people which means there's just a depth of tension and questions to explore anytime you think about them.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

also her and jadzia.

My unpopular opinion about this character

i think i've expressed a few already? well, the pregnancy thing. hate it for many reasons i've talked about here.

couple others? not sure if these are unpopular. kira is an extremely ruthless person and is comparable to winn in this respect; kira's religion/religious beliefs should've been been interrogated way more throughout the series by her, especially when they lead her to so thoroughly deny herself. i mean the bajoran religion in general is so crazy to me. the gods are real aliens. this should've affected all the allegorizing about faith in the show. but it did not. kira just has a lot of moments with odo that are like "faith is faith, what can i say" and he grumbles in opposition until the moment she almost dies while being possessed in a final boss fight, at which point he's like "she for sure would've wanted this, no coercive anything here."

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon.

i've tossed a few ideas out already of things i would change/add. if i had to choose, i'd say i wish she could've helped sisko build the star-sail ship. not necessarily go with him and jake bc that episode works really well with sisko and jake together--maybe she could've been conveniently trimming the sails or something while they had their moments--but i wish she had been more involved with that story.

[veiwryn]

Alliances/friendship that I think would have been interesting in season one + explanations! (Pt 2)

Screaming Gophers

Beth & Noah

Both are shown to be incredibly intelligent people who "struggle" with people at first. I personally believe Noah purposely booted himself, but that's another post. Beth is naive, a person who catered to others with the want to be accepted; in short, a people pleaser. The opposite of Noah, who is blunt and follows his own tune despite the consequences. If Noah had stayed longer and been a part of Heather's alliance, then there could have been a chance where Noah would help Beth become more confident as they scheme against Heather. Like, imagine that plot twist! A mean girl's proxies actually being the mastermind and playing her like a fiddle. Although back to canon, Playa de Losers would be where they become friends. I can imagine them being book budies and making crafts together, which evidently turns into gossiping.

Justin & Gwen

LITERALLY AN ARTIST AND HER MUSE. Gwen is a painter, and who is better than to pair her with a model? It would start as strictly business, a small alliance. Gwen would get another vote against Heather, and Justin gets to have drawings of himself—plus a trusted ally. Gwen and Justin would have discussions on what angles would be better and debate on posing directions. Imagine Justin telling Gwen that the pose she was making him to was better if the perspective came from a lower right angel, using the rule of thirds, when she wants to capture him with the landscape. Justin could help point out issues with anatomy, too. I would assume. Outside of that, they would go shopping and try out clothes recommended by the others. I just think it's a cute idea. In short, two different types of artists come together.

Lindsay and Cody.

A dork and a dumb blonde. It would start with Cody attempting to impress her (failing) but succeeding in getting her interested in his hobbies. Lindsay is overly enthusiastic. She would support Cody even if she didn't understand, and he's shown to be a patient and understanding person at times. Cody would take the time to explain things to Lindsay. In return, Lindsay advises Cody during or for social interactions. Like giving advice on how to compliment a girl without it being weird or how to tell if a girl is interested in you. They could've been an adorable duo if given the chance!

Trent, Izzy & Leshawna

Hear me out on this trio. Trent and Leshawna are shown to be rather chill people, enough so that Leshawna goes along with Izzy's antics during the bike challenge and essentially misses the entire thing. Why would Trent be any different? They would accidentally go along with Izzy's plan, but make sure to keep it tame, ultimately learning ways to keep the psycho hose beast in check while having fun in the chaos. Especially if it's chaos against a certain queen bee. Leshawna and Izzy would be planning with Trent being the voice of reason.

It really was difficult finding underrated friendships for gophers

[zenmastercharles]

Cobra Kai: Made Miracles AU

An AU that combines two of my current hyperfixations: Miraculous Ladybug and Cobra Kai. This is basically me just dropping the Miraculouses and all their lore in the Cobra Kai verse and using my writer brain to string them to the main characters and see how it would all effect the plot.

Yes, I am a MADMAN the likes of Frankenstein cannot measure up to, putting two shows that are completely opposite tones and forms of media together.

"Oh, zenmastercharles, ThEsE sHoWs WoUlD nEvEr MeSh WeLl At AlL-" IDGAF I'M DOIN IT ANYWAY

I know I have more Cobra Kai followers than Miraculous followers so allow me to explain; all you need to know about Miraculous for the sake of this AU is that it's a kids show that revolves around these magical jewels called, well, the Miraculous, each one containing the metaphysical personification of a major universal concept. The main two jewels, The Ladybug and Black Cat, the jewels of Creation and Destruction respectively, are used by two heroes to fight against the shenanigans of the Butterfly Miraculous, the jewel of Transmission, who uses their power to turn random people into supervillains by enhancing their negative emotions and transmitting it into magical power.

The superhero stuff would probably be the B Plot, while the karate and parental drama is still the A Plot. It's basically Cobra Kai except almost half of every episode is taken up by two teens saving the day with magical jewelry. Speaking of teens, I suppose I should answer the question of whose getting what Miraculous, more specifically, the Ladybug and Black Cat. Now, I have an interesting idea for that. But I'm gonna go into it in a character format. Firstly...

Miguel Diaz | Mariquita

Okay, so it might be super obvious that Miguel gets the Ladybug. He emits main character energy, he's creative, he has a heart of gold, and he's also a bit of a dork. Perfect for Tikki.

I imagine he'd get it randomly at a convenience store, he sees the earrings and thinks they'd be a good gift for his mom, so he spends all of his allowance on it. The moment he opens the box, Tikki pops up and explains the whole gist to him. Meanwhile, Miguel's over here freaking the fuck out internally because this is JUST like the comics. He takes the chance without a second thought, while Tikki's explaining he's literally taking notes, studying, even drafting up superhero costumes. When he makes his first superhero debut, he's geeking out internally, geeking out worse when he meets his partner.

His costume as Mariquita would probably be Kamen Rider inspiried. Starting with a red segmented chestplate that goes down to right above his midsection with a pointed triangle-esque finish, the chest plate having a couple black spots across it's segments. His midsection and upper legs are simple, solid black spandex, but he has red boots that go up to his knees and carry the same black spot pattern as his chest plate. He'd have angular steel gauntlets that go up to his elbow and have tiny black blades going up the side like a real ladybug's limbs, and a hard, red, shell-like cape attached to his back from his shoulders. And finally, he'd wear a red helmet with black accents and blue lenses over his eyes, the lenses super expressive like Spider-Man's.

Robby Keene | Abyssian

Gonna make it clear that this is NOT a Kiaz AU, the dynamic between these two is strictly platonic. Picking Robby for the Black Cat because Plagg seems to navigate towards people with parental issues, and it'd be interesting to see how he'd interact with 'bad but sad boy' Robby Keene.

Robby would get his hands on the Black Cat thanks to a scam he pulls on an old lady who didn't even know the ring was so important, and when Plagg pops out, he's very surprised and definitely tries to kill him. Plagg doesn't take it that seriously, though, lol. While Plagg's over here explaining the whole shebang to Robby, he's half cringing and half self-doubting. He's a delinquent at best, how could he be a hero? But he doesn't say that directly, deciding to just do it until he can find somebody to ditch Plagg with.

His costume as Abyssian would would be pretty basic, Robby's not exactly the most fashion-forward person. Plus, he's always been satisfied with the minimum. It would be a black, sleeveless shirt with flat, silver-n-gold shoulder pads, as well as a little silver design at the collar. His forearms would be bare, but he'd have black leather vambraces connected to gloves with claws at the end, as well as black leather grives at the end of his baggy black pants. Now, I actually thought a lot about this, I think Robby would just have an actual cat tail lol. And then he'd just have the mask and the cat ears. It's basic but hey, it's Robby.

And now, there are two important questions for me to answer.

Why aren't Miguel and Robby getting their Miraculous like in the show?

If you don't know, the main characters got their Miraculous because they helped a fallen old man who turned out to be the last guardian of the Miraculous. Miguel and Robby don't get them this way because I personally believe that's stupid and it's way more interesting for them to just stumble upon them. As for the explanation, the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous were scattered across the country because of a plot thing I haven't come up with. And two-

Who wields the Butterfly Miraculous?

Well...

Gossamer

A charismatic yet sympathetic voice that wiggles into your mind when you're feeling down and convinces you to take his power, only for it to warp your mind and transform you into a monster. I'm not telling you who he is just yet, mostly because I have two big ideas that I need to decide between.

That's it for this posts, if this does well and people take interest, I'll make another post explaining akumatized villains and where other Miraculouses would go.

[love-kurdt]

How to Write a Good Fanfiction: A 5 Step Manual

Hello! My name is @love_kurdt, also known as Eva, and I’m a Wattpad Veteran of the early 2010s, where the genres of Slash Fics, Y/N, and Imagines ran rampant. I spent years of my life as a kid scrolling through my iPod touch, weeding through Wattpad’s plethora of profiles, on a quest to find quality fanfictions. I found a handful, which I added to a specific reading list to come back to when I needed a break from screaming into my pillow because of the sheer audacity of thought-criminals who called themselves writers.

When I’d reached the point of reading the same five works over and over in a never ending cycle, I decided to make the life-altering decision to start publishing my fanfictions online. Granted, I was only thirteen at this point, so my writing wasn’t spectacular by any means, but I came to discover that over time, the mere acts of reading and writing can light a spark of inspiration that can carry you to creative success.

I’ve been writing my own works for over ten years now, and can confidently say that I have cracked the code to writing a good fanfiction that will have your readers captivated instead of cringing. Please don’t get me wrong– if you want to just write fanfic on the internet for fun, and not to write a novel, that’s great, too! That’s what the internet is for; exercising your free will. But this manual is tailored towards those who want to hone in on their craft and gain a substantial following as strictly fanfiction authors. So without further ado, let’s jump into it. Godspeed!

Step 1: Choose Your Fandom

What show, movie, or book has drawn you in and left you feeling like there should be more to the story? When one of those media comes to mind, you’ve chosen your fandom!

Step 2: Do Your Research

When writing fanfiction, it’s kind of an unspoken rule that you need to know the canon of the fandom you’re writing about. The canon is also known as the source material. For example, if someone were to write a Draco Malfoy x OC fanfiction (*cough* a 200+ page Draco Malfoy self insert fic written at 11 years old in a series of notebooks bound together with multiple layers of Gorilla tape *cough*), the canon would be the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. It’s, in essence, what “really” happened. It’s totally fine if you want to write a non-canon compliant fic, too! In fact, they’re extremely popular, specifically within the “fix-it” genre, which usually involves characters that died in the canon but the author kept alive in their fanfiction. Either way, you should have a general idea of how the canon functions within the context of the fandom, so you can make creative choices that diverge from or stick to the canon.

With the canon comes the fanon, which is basically a compilation of fan theories and headcanons that are often common themes in both canon and non-canon compliant fanfics. A pretty niche example of this is the Byler fandom (the ship between Stranger Things characters Will Byers and Mike Wheeler), where there’s an official list of theories on Tumblr that are used in many, if not most Byler fanfictions. There’s FlickerGate, where the flickering of the garage light in Season 1 is actually Will and Mike in the Upside Down in Season 5. There’s BirthdayGate, where the antagonist, Vecna, manipulates the minds of everyone in Hawkins to forget Will’s birthday, which is a central plot point in a lot of Byler fics since no one seems to remember it, not even his best friend. There’s also LetterGate, where Will confronts Mike in the canon about not sending any letters after he’d moved away, but the theory reveals that Mike wrote plenty of letters– he just never sent them because they ended up turning into love letters, which in turn resulted in internalized homophobia. You get the picture. Most theories reach far into the land of delusion, but it doesn’t stop writers from creating incredible work that could easily be mistaken for a script.

But Eva, what if I just think the characters are hot and I don’t give a shit about the cannonball? I can’t tell you what to do, my friend, but I highly suggest you at least consider the canon so you can avoid all the petty, obnoxious gatekeepers in some fandoms who can be unhinged enough to send death threats if you leave out a significant canonical detail. But you do you!

Step 3: Choose Your Platform

There are three popular platforms to choose from: Archive of Our Own (ao3), Tumblr, and Wattpad. There are also a few other lesser known or dead pages such as fanfiction.net, but I honestly wouldn’t bother with those, since they’re more infiltrated with anons and bots nowadays.

This is where you want to think about 1) where most of the members in the fandom you chose reside, and 2) the demographic of readers you want to reach. For example, I observed a higher number of Nirvana fans on Wattpad than the other two platforms, which is why I chose to post my full length Kurt Cobain fanfiction, “You Know You’re Right,” on there. It also helped that my favorite author of another Kurt Cobain fanfiction on Wattpad, @/ugh-nirvana, had hits in the hundreds of thousands, so I was confident that my book would do well on that specific platform. On the other hand, the Stranger Things fandom is in full swing on Tumblr and ao3, so I chose to post those fanfictions on there rather than on Wattpad. It all just depends on who’s where.

You also have to consider how active you want to be on your platform(s). Tumblr is more of a blog situation, while ao3 and Wattpad are solely for publishing the work. If you want to have a life beyond the realms of the world wide web, choose Wattpad or ao3, as inconsistent updates are a bit more accepted than on Tumblr. But if you want to throw yourself headfirst into a fandom and put your whole author-ussy into your fanfic, then Tumblr is the platform for you.

You should be aware, however, that Tumblr involves a lot of upkeep, as well as constant, strategic, and active participation within your fandom. Visual aesthetic is vital to any functional Tumblr blog. Most profiles have directories, with color coded links to each work’s homepage, which is linked to each individual chapter, which are then distinguished by a unique GIF to capture a prospective reader’s attention while they’re scrolling through copious amounts of content. And there are always new ideas and theories in development in certain fandoms, so it’s crucial to keep up with recent updates in order to stay relevant.

After all is said and done, you don’t have to get married to one platform for the rest of your life. You can choose to be exclusive to one or two platforms, or publish everything on all of them! The decision is ultimately yours!

Step 4: Obey the Writer’s Trifecta of Consistency

Yes, I came up with this term, and yes, it should be a real thing. Because in every piece of writing, whether it be fanfiction, a short story, an actual book, a screenplay, what have you, it is critical to be consistent in your People, your POV, and your Plot. Let me explain.

People

Your people, or your ensemble of characters, consists of three hierarchical levels: your protagonist/antagonist, your side characters, and other background characters. I should emphasize the importance of building character profiles for everyone, including your pre-existing characters from the fandom, but specifically for your original character(s) if you have them. That way, you know who serves as a major plot device, who serves as someone who just helps time move faster, and those who are mentioned by name but have very little significance to the events of the story. I’m going to reference Harry Potter again, since most of the world is familiar with the characters. Harry and Voldemort are the protagonist and antagonist; Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid and company are side characters; and Peeves, Seamus Finnigan, and Blaise Zabini are background characters. Keep this hierarchy in check; don’t let your main characters fade away, and don’t let your background characters shift to the forefront for no reason. If you do plan to move a character up or down the ladder, make sure to have clear motive as to why you’re bringing this character into or out of play.

2. POV

Your POV is the point of view in which you’re writing from. Assuming you’ve been in a typical middle school English class, you’ve heard of the first, second, and third person points of view. I cannot tell you how many times I have read fanfictions that jump from one POV to another, sometimes within the same sentence. I open the door and see Kurt Cobain standing in the corner of the room. She walked across the floor to meet him there. See what I did there? I jumped from first person present tense to third person past tense. Do not attempt this at home.

The least common of the three points of view is the second person, or what I like to call the Y/N point of view. In fanfiction, second person POV is often used in self-insert fics, where instead of a character’s name, it’s replaced with “you.” That’s why a lot of romantic character x reader fics are so popular. You should feel free to use this one, especially if that’s the kind of vibe you’re going for, but I’m going to elaborate a little bit more on first and third person, as they’re a bit more “literary.”

The first person POV confines the narration to the mind of one character. It can also be done with multiple characters, but be sure to do it so it’s painstakingly obvious to the reader whose POV you’re writing from. Also note that if you plan to write multiple first person POVs, try to keep that number on the lower side, as a large number of POVs can get really complicated really quickly. Third person narration can be done from two angles: limited or omniscient. Limited is more similar to first person, in which you’re confined to one person’s viewpoint, but they aren’t the narrator; you’re just seeing the story through their eyes. Omniscient is my favorite, because you can narrate from a bird’s eye view with the freedom to travel from mind to mind and read their thoughts.

Building character profiles can be really helpful when developing both first or third person POV; if you connect with a particular character more strongly than the rest, that should tell you whose POV you should write in. If you choose to switch POVs, be sure to do it either on an alternating/rotating basis, or if you repeat, it should be apparent as to why that particular character is the “voice” of that scene.

3. Plot

Dare I say that Plot is the most important step of them all, so do not skip this one, whatever you do! The biggest mistake most fanfiction writers make is having a concept but lacking a plot. It’s like biting into an apple just to discover it’s a lemon. Many writers are capable of starting off strong, but once their initial story begins to meander, traveling into uncharted territory, their brainchild can become a monstrosity.

In order to write a solid plot, it’s pretty common knowledge that you need to have a beginning, middle, and end in place. It doesn’t need to be overly specific or down to the last detail, you just need to figure out how your characters make it from point A to point Z (the larger scale), and how points B through Y factor into the plot (the smaller scale). There are a few routes that you can take in order to do this: you can write the entire thing ahead of time without any input, you can write the entire thing with the feedback of a beta reader or proofreader to help you work out any kinks or mistakes before you publish it for the entire platform to see, or you can publish it gradually and take feedback from your readers as you go. Should you go with the last option, though, you should be made aware that if you aren’t already an established author, it may feel like you’re talking to a wall, and you will likely feel discouraged from writing the story altogether.

I find it helpful to outline the whole thing. I have a closet door in my house dedicated to a Dave Grohl true crime fanfiction I’m working on. I’ve written the entire story from beginning to end on index cards, split into four different parts with each card representing a chapter. What’s good about outlining is that I can edit my story as I go along. If I decide to change something, I can add or remove an index card, then replace or rearrange the other index cards to work around the change I made, and that way, I don’t have to start over from scratch. It’s helpful to see everything laid out in front of me, so I’m not left at the end of a completely improvised plot with a slew of loose ends that I’ll need to go back and edit. It’s also better than publishing each part individually then having to redo everything after your readers have already seen it. And I don’t know about you, but I enjoy it when I’m able to save some time, energy, and lengthy explanations to random people online. That is, unless you enjoy constant feedback from readers, in which case you can change the plot on a chapter by chapter basis based on their feedback.

Consistency in all of these respects is key. I cannot emphasize this enough. Keeping all of these elements in check will help you create a sort of cohesiveness that will neatly wrap the story up with a little bow on top. 

Step 5: Use Relevant Tags and Content Warnings

Repeat after me: tags matter! Again: tags matter! When you’re about to publish your fanfiction, you’re going to be given the option to add tags to your work. For my first few years spent on Wattpad, I had no idea what tags were, so I didn’t use them. Thankfully, the platform was still pretty small, so people still found my work pretty easily. Nowadays, though, it’s nearly impossible to find what you’re looking for without searching excessively specific tags and using a million filters. It’s unfortunate, but look at it this way: there are so many people contributing to so many fandoms that the content is seemingly endless!

What you’re going to want to do is add as many tags as you can but keep it as simple as possible. I know that sounds kind of oxymoronic, but I mean it in a way that all of your tags relate directly to your story, and not just to the fandom itself. A lot of readers feel misled when they’re scrolling through their filtered search page for, let’s just say, a Byler fanfic, and end up neck deep in a Mileven fanfic in disguise. That’s not a fun experience.

Lastly, please remember that you are publishing your work on the internet, and you don’t know who may encounter your work! Listen, we live in a world where everything needs to be overexplained, everything needs trigger warnings, and everything needs to be neutral or else someone is going to hate you. I get it. I’ve been writing fanfiction for a long time. It might be annoying to add content warnings, especially if one of those warnings spoils a major plotline, but if I’m being honest, I’d rather be safe and add the damn warning than not add the warning and be responsible for someone’s worsened emotional or mental state. Bottom line, it’s just fanfiction! Let’s do our due diligence to create a community full of love and understanding for everyone!

After that, you should be all set to publish! Let’s review one more time for the road:

Choose Your Fandom

Do Your Research

Choose Your Platform

Obey the Writer’s Trifecta of Consistency

Use Relevant Tags and Content Warnings

If you’ve stuck around for this long, thank you so much!

I hope this manual helps you along your fanfiction writing journey, wherever it takes you <3

[mdhwrites]

Hello! I find your analysis of Amphibia really fascinating. As someone who is interested in the plot and relationships of Amphibia, but hasn't been able to watch every episode, I'd like to ask: Do you think the show does fail a bit, before season 3, to show that Sasha, despite her many issues, cares about the other two? I know the team has said that she does have good intentions, but bad execution, but I feel like that sort of statement should have lots of back up from the show, even before Sasha had her redemption arc. I may be missing a lot of context as I haven't watched the whole show, so Id really like to hear your opinion! ☺️

Weirdly enough, it actually doesn't need a lot of back up. Normally yes but Amphibia does a LOT with very little through smart narrative choices. One side of this is Sasha's own worldview. With the S1 finale, we see the arguments she makes for spending time with her to be better. How she will defend and pamper Anne but then expect total subservience to her because, well, I mean, when she's happy everyone should be happy, right?

It's what makes Sasha come off as very close to a narcissist. Even when she supports various toads, even Grime, she is doing it with an agenda. They are just pawns to get her what she wants and she doesn't see Anne and Marcy THAT differently, just that they matter more to her than 99% of other people. As such, they can actually hurt her by proving they don't need her because it questions her excuses. Her justifications that say worship to her is genuinely fulfilling in and of itself.

(spoilers going forward since you said you hadn't watched the whole show)

Reunion, and the line about her making sure to find her girls at the end of her first appearance, are really the only genuine showings of the care side to this but Reunion's especially does a LOT of heavy lifting. After all, if Sasha really was truly narcissistic, truly evil... She would have let Anne die with her. They would have both dropped because Sasha would never have imagined another life being worth sacrificing for someone else.

However... She can. She doesn't want to admit it and it leads into S2 where she is constantly fighting this moment of weakness but for good reason. In that moment, she straight admits that maybe Anne is better off without her. If she admits then... How much has she been wrong about? How much of her personal identity is wrong? A lie? An excuse for abuse?

True Colors is the episode that will never stop being talked about but elements like this actually put Reunion really high for me as well, let alone everything about Anne's arc and the payoff to actually caring about this small town getting worked over by the toads. The fact that Anne's behavior though through the season, especially setup by the second half of episode 1 to plant these seeds early, also setup Sasha is impressive, especially because it's the ONLY reason that this being her SECOND appearance in the entire show functions as well as it does. Like on paper, this should not have worked as a climax as well as it does but...

I've said it before: Strictly on paper, Amphibia looks fine to good. It's in all the small details that it really shines as something that people should be talking more about. Sasha is no different.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[usagirotten]

Movie Review: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice shows off unnecessary nostalgia

We have seen once again that nostalgia sells, Hollywood is desperate to have that success in its summer blockbusters without achieving it, and for this, it has relied on old classics, modernizing them unnecessarily and making them inclusive for a new generation, so that they know how good cinema was made at the end of the last century. Unfortunately, we have realized that this no longer works, there is nothing that can surprise us anymore, this crisis in entertainment has not only lost millions of dollars but also viewers who have seen more interesting content on streaming platforms. Since Michael Keaton embodied a fun character that took horror and dark fantasy comedy to another level, the creativity and originality that its director Tim Burton has had to make this whole bizarre world possible in which nothing seems to be impossible is undeniable. 36 years have passed since its premiere and now it returns to the big screens with a sequel that tries to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor with nostalgia as stale as its existence and that aims to have a vision focused on having more followers from these new generations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoZqL9N6Rx4

What is Beetlejuice Beetlejuice about?

After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return to their home in Winter River, still tormented by Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) Lydia's (Winona Ryder) life turns upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) discovers the mysterious model of the city in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife accidentally opens, with problems in both realms it is only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice's name three times and this mischievous demon returns to unleash his kind of chaos. Yes, in this day and age, we are very familiar with this type of inherited sequel with all their nostalgic enthusiasm and how empty they can be, we could say that at first glance its director Tim Burton, and star actor Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder return to reprise their characters for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, we understood that what had to be told was already told, it was retold in a musical play on Broadway (2019 - 2020) it was continued in 4 seasons of an animated series (1989 - 1991)

We were wrong in thinking that this was over and this was a new opportunity for these old "classics" to repeat their macabre magic that managed to surprise and entertain 36 years ago but making everything new and more modern, suitable for the current world in which we live. However, for better or worse, the most "novel" thing about Beetlejuice is that it is not strictly a remake or a new version of its predecessor this is what sequels were supposed to be with big, striking changes to surpass and expand the original. What's loud and boisterously silly about this work is its pacing and storytelling, it's plausible proof that Tim Burton's imagination has no limits if left to his own devices, as an audience who wants Halloween-style fun with scares and practical jokes we doubt that even that matters to his story, given how fast-paced this film can be there are several things to consider in the development of its plot and how it links references from its predecessor with these new subplots. Unfortunately for everyone involved during the first act, there are a lot of setups to do before getting into the action, one of these things involves the revelation that Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) has surprisingly and out of nowhere become a star, is the host of a supernatural talk show called Ghost House (any resemblance to Late Night with the Devil is purely coincidental) doing what once caused her serious problems and consequences when her parents tried to profit off of ghosts and the supernatural, it is evident that she is not happy as her producer and possible fiancé Rory (Justin Theroux) pressures her and promotes her more towards the commercial which helps in large part to distance herself more and more from her rebellious teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega). After her stepmother Delia (Catherine O'Hara) informs her of her father's death, these three generations of women are forced to gather for the funeral during Halloween week. The central ghostly characters of the first film, the Maitlands (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis), are inexplicably no longer back, something that would have been a great point in favor of the film; in fact, they are not even mentioned. Understandably, Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis can't return to play these adorable and charismatic ghosts they played so many years ago. Their script fails to find something strong and credible enough to replace that of this couple to adapt to the conditions of the same, conveniently for the writers the few qualities that this sequel has do not reside in what they can or cannot improvise but in the way in which they are developing it and using as a pretext that Burton's madness is like that, a place without law and without rules where everything can be done and undone at will and in the service of a script that does not escape from being mediocre and trite. Along with the above, several subplots are more interesting than the story, but when it comes to applying the main essence of the film, it reveals itself and confuses itself. We immediately realize how poorly crafted the script by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar is, something that bases its effectiveness on nostalgia and on something we have seen before. The narrative is straightforward. It is about three generations of women who face different stages of grief and the relationship they have had with death and their world. All of this is forced by superfluous things and half-formed ideas. For example, the movie star turned detective played by Willem Dafoe is completely unnecessary and could be eliminated without the film losing its rhythm. It could have used more of its time to clarify and develop the new stage of Lydia's character, an element of the first Beetlejuice that unfortunately is not taken into account here, it is the emotional anchor of a macabre and sinister normality of Adam and Barbara Maitland that countered the madness and chaos of everyone else in 1988. The romantic moment comes with the love story between Astrid and Jeremy (Arthur Conti) this inopportune teenage romance evokes sensations driven by jokes, music, shared stories, and jokes that could well have been told separately in another work that detail things more but we would be falling into copying, in that we already saw this told in another way in the television series Wednesday even the character of Astrid reminds us of the essence of this other one. All of this is a work that prides itself on being imperfect. The film suffers from major flaws such as its obvious narrative irregularity that is present in most of Burton's modern films, but the creativity and ingenuity of its director seem to have had a necessary rebirth. Almost all the scenes have that peculiar visual style that characterizes the type of cinema of the person who directs it. The emphasis on returning to stop-motion effects and the most artisanal and manual visual camera tricks is its strongest point. It is in these moments that it feels more like a sequel. Beetlejuice relies on and abuses jokes too much in almost every frame they make fun of everything where some work well and others don't, the overload of all this serves more to interrupt than to amuse and entertain, ideas that could have been good and that are not expanded or exploited as they should be to continue enriching, we have seen this comfort zone before along with its essential moral discourse that empowers women more in the manner of a modern joke, the importance of the family is present once again and that everything can be achieved if you have the will to do it, concepts that have already been told to us in a thousand and one ways until we are tired and that very rarely work and this is not the case. The same can be said about the references that are a copy and recreation in some cases of random and endearing details that desperately plead for nostalgia, Burton uses Beetlejuice's memories of his marriage to Delores (Monica Bellucci) as an excuse to pay homage to the black and white Italian horror cinema of Italian film director Mario Bava, this supposed villain with an appearance typical of the style that Burton has used in Catwoman from Batman Returns (1992) and in Sally from A Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) a reinvention of the modern Prometheus' girlfriend that contributes absolutely nothing to the plot, the death scene of a main character is told in a shocking and sinister way but cleverly done with the use of stop motion animation, it is disappointing that none of these elements complement each other and each one has its rhythm, as if they were completely different things.

At the end of the film is when Beetlejuice inevitably returns to reproduce all the successes of the original film making this a whole show together with the desire to please and entertain both friends and strangers in a nonsense that is just plain fun, it is pretentious to think that a new saga could emerge from this that leads these characters to tell new stories, it is stretching the gum on the other hand with the hope that it works leaving an open ending. The production design of this supernatural underworld is dazzling, dark, sinister, and exquisitely creepy just as we saw it in the 1988 film, and despite being able to use all these modern techniques in CGI and special effects the film goes more for the side of maintaining a simple and artisanal look, the makeup and costumes do their thing and in the same way, it works with everything we see, everything is taken care of down to the smallest detail emphasizing that almost 4 decades have passed. The cast is made up of Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, Danny DeVito, Jeffrey Jones, and Monica Bellucci, each having fun in their way, each contributing what is needed and a little more to their performances and character development, a party for adults where the plot fell short as well as the dialogues and their respective jokes, great actors for a film that should have given more of itself. The music composed by Danny Elfman does not surprise us, the chords and the pieces are a modernization of what we had heard before, something that musically does not sound like a sequel but rather like the laziness of making new material that has its personality and that keeps up with the modernity that it claims to have, a weak work that is not up to what is expected, the songs are a separate point, the new version of Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) was essential, Donna Summer, Bee Gees and Richard Marx also participate. In conclusion, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is far from being a classic film that the new generations of gothic teenagers can appreciate it is not even a good film, it very forcefully fulfills its role of entertainment and achieves this thanks to the duo that Burton and Keaton make, the rest is unnecessary. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is already in theaters across the country. Spanish version Read the full article

[krawkpaladin]

Minor Plot/Gameplay Spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3, Act 2 below the cut, but it's mostly discussion on the mechanics of a specific encounter with some plot.

So when you enter the temple of Shar by the House of Healing and get down into the Gauntlet of Shar, there's a gauntlet (heh) of trials you have to go through in order to get these magical gemstones to be used later, pretty typical "test of skills/character" stuff. There's a lot of cool things you can do, including scouting out the rooms if you pick the locks before starting the challenge, disarming traps in advance, that sort of thing. One of the challenges, however, is called the Self-Same challenge and is... a clone fight.

If you've played a lot of CRPGs or JRPGs (or lots of other games, say hi Ocarina of Time!) you've seen this type of gimmick fight before. The party (or character, if it's a solo deal) is confronted with a clone/dark reflection of themselves that is a perfect copy in every way and you have to defeat the clone(s). The in-universe intended solution to this sort of gimmick combat is generally superior skill/tactics, but D&D 5E's combat is swingy enough that even superior tactics can't save you from rolling a fat 6 for damage on Guiding Bolt only for your clone to turn around and hit you for 30 damage at a time when you likely have a max HP of around 40. On top of this, your clones have several additional abilities that you normally don't: like many Act 2 enemies, they turn invisible when not standing in a light source, they are immune to being pushed/moved around, and they are immune to spells like Hold Person. The last component of the fight is that you receive a stacking debuff (-1 to all ability scores until your next long rest) from attacking your allies' clones until you defeat your own. So your tactics end up having to be a lot of "hit your own clone and hope they die first" since you get a debuff for doing the reasonable tactical action of, say, using your rogue to gank the wizard clone first thing.

Of course, there are ways to reduce the difficulty of the fight, partly because it is a video game. You can do this in a couple ways, usually by manipulating how the clones generate. The most straightforward is to strip your party of all their equipment, generate the clones, and then put all their gear back on and beat the snot out of a bunch of naked people. I... I don't particularly like this solution. The logic is overly video-gamey, as it's hard to imagine how anyone would make the connection between a clone fight and removing all their equipment without already knowing the conventions and limitations of the encounter. The other way is that you can send in only one person to start the challenge, and then have the rest of the party follow by breaking into the room after it is sealed so you're only fighting a single clone. I do think that this solution is actually pretty clever, and given the nature of the dungeon and Shadowheart's storyline, can be a fun little potential thematic rejection of Shar's faith in her own temple.

Though to be perfectly honest, I just don't like clone fights the way they're implemented 90% of the time in RPGs. It's either a slug-fest where you hope you roll better on average, or you strip down naked and then get back in your armor faster than the Dragonborn Skyrim eats 10 wheels of cheese to recover from a sword stab mid-battle. There are some interesting ones out there; Final Fantasy 4's Dark Knight fight comes to mind, where the solution is not to attack at all. (It is also, strictly speaking, not a real clone fight, as it doesn't scale with Cecil's level, but it is very much thematically a clone fight.) This has got me thinking though of how to make clone fights interesting, especially in the context of TTRPGs, but I'm still sorting my thoughts on that so I'll probably make a follow-up post assuming I don't get lost in more BG3 or prepping for my group's Sci-Fi Campaign 2 Space Theft Boogaloo.

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

I'm happy you brought up that we're halfway through filming. I don't know just how chronologically they film, but I imagine they do try to work through scenes from episode to episode as sequentially as possible for continuity sake if something needs to be changed. This suggests that the first couple episodes, at least, are more or less finished.

I don't strictly follow leaks, but I do catch what people share here and I occasionally pop over to HawkinsAVClub to see what they're talking about. There hasn't really been a lot, and there's been nothing there that I haven't seen somewhere else. However, they don't seem to acknowledge everything, and they typically don't bother with relationship stuff. That probably goes to show how the majority of anything "leak" related has been about ships, specifically regarding the Mike, Will, El love triangle.

If people really did have good inside sources, we would have a better idea of what the plot is. But all we really have is "military is doing something with kids" "a farm is involved" "there's a rich family that owns a big house" "Holly seems to be a target" "they're using the radio station as a base and/or to hide El and Hopper."

These are the types of tidbits that we can expect to get, and they can be backed up by actual evidence.

Beyond that, all we really "know" is stuff that people can predict based off of how season 4 ending.

We know nothing about what's going on with Max.

We barely know anything about what El is up to, besides speculation that she's holed up in the radio station.

While we can kinda sorta work out some little things with Mike, Will, and Robin thanks to reports they're filming together and a script that Maya doodled on.

I could keep going with what little we do know, but it's honestly very little when it comes to details or significance.

It does seem like security may be better this season, which makes sense considering the Duffers would want to protect their finale. Some things can't be hidden perfectly, of course, since they film some scenes outdoors. But even that stuff has been largely inconsequential, if not exciting, nonetheless. The scene of Mike and Will biking with Holly was cool, but ultimately told us nothing of value.

People need to calm down on these "saying a lot without saying anything" anti-Byler leaks. Considering how much we do not know, despite being halfway through filming, it really seems unlikely to me that someone would claim to know so much about such a specific storyline. Especially considering how divisive, and thus attention grabbing, the storyline is.

Why are there so many leaks pertaining to Byler and how it's supposedly not happening, and barely anything else pertaining to literally any other aspect of the show, including relationships?

What little we do have of other elements of the show seem to be based off of set photos/clips and reports of who is on set. Maybe throw in someone going into sets and taking pictures here and there.

With anything Byler, we have "confirmed leaks" that are vague reports on scenes and story arcs. These reports claim to know a lot without saying anything about detail. The people reporting on them claim they either can't get details or are protecting sources.

I have to wonder why these wonderful sources are limiting their work to reporting on Will and Mike not getting together.

I can think of only three reasons:

1. It's all made up bullshit.

2. The people on Twitter are only asking their mysterious sources about Byler.

3. The inside sources are only willing to talk about Byler.

In all honesty, I have trouble believing the second two options there.

There's no reason a source, who would be risking their job, would limit themselves to a singular topic. Everyone needs to ask themselves why we suddenly have so many "confirmed leaks" about Will not getting together with Mike or Will having another love interest who conveniently isn't named.

[greycity]

nct au: nct dream x it (2017) — when you’re a kid, you think the universe revolves around you. you think that you’ll always be protected and cared for. then, one day, you realize that’s not true. cause when you’re alone as a kid, the monsters see you as weaker. you don’t even know they’re getting closer. until it’s too late.

[hwanghyunjinenthusiast]

✨️1K Followers Celebration Day 3: TXT bias wrecker - Kai✨️

Special delivery

AN: Honestly, my TXT bias list is a fucking mess right now but, I think Kai tentatively holds the position of bias wrecker (though Yeonjun has been yelling in my ear lately). Also, it's completely by accident that my two most recent TXT fics are porn genre/trope related lol. However, I had a lot of fun writing this and my Soobin fic so, maybe I'll explore more tropes, clichés etc with different idols in future fics.

Synopsis: Kai hates his job, but he needs to pay rent. However, when a ridiculously pretty woman can't pay him and offers up another form of payment, maybe it isn't all bad.

Heads up: Huening Kai x Fem! Reader, Pizza delivery man! Kai, strangers to strangers who fuck, the plot is virtually nonexistent, porn logic applies here, implied power dynamics (more dominant Reader and more submissive Kai), praise kink (m. receiving), hints of a size kink, oral sex (m. receiving), Reader touches herself while sucking Kai off, unprotected piv sex, nipple play (f. receiving) and creampie.

Word count: 3199

I will block you if you are a minor and/or have no easily visible indication of your age on your blog if you interact with me in any way.

Today sucks. It's been hot as hell the entire day, two customers gave him shit for their orders being wrong and he got a text from his roommate that their shower broke. Again. Kai is at his wit's end.

He slams the door of the delivery car harder than strictly necessary but, he can't bring himself to even pretend to care right now. To say his day has been terrible would be a gross understatement. Luckily, he only had an hour left of his shift, and then he would be a free man. That's the single thought that pushes him forward. He can do this. Just one more hour.

He's about to knock on the door of his current delivery address again before it swings open. His words die on his tongue when he takes in the very attractive woman mere centimetres away from him with a robe that leaves very little to his imagination.

"Hi! I'm so sorry it took me so long to answer. I just hopped out of the shower. Just give me a minute and I'll go get my purse," You're gone before he can utter anything in response. Images of what he thinks you look like in the shower flood his mind without much prompting. He needs to get it together. He's a grown man. He shouldn't be getting hard just from fantasising about a stranger taking a shower. Especially not when he's fucking working.

"Oh shoot, I don't have any cash on me. Do you accept card by any chance?" You ask once you return, your head titling in a way that Kai finds far too endearing.

"Um no, Miss. Sorry," he tries not to visibly cringe at the shakiness evident in his voice.

"Damn. I don't know how else I could pay you," you ponder loud, crossing your arms. Which makes him panic because the motion just causes your tits to be even more visible through your poor excuse for a robe.

He's not sure if he's just that obvious or, you have knack for these situations but, you notice him looking. He really doesn't mean to. He just can't help it. Who could really blame him? They were right there.

Before he can't comprehend what's happening, you're in his personal bubble. Eyes that were warm and welcoming moments ago now light up with knowing amusement. Kai swallows.

"Well, I could always pay you another way if you'd like," you trail off.

Now, Kai may not be the best at reading these kinds of situations, but it's clear as day what you're offering.

He knows this is probably incredibly unethical. He knows he shouldn't even be considering what you're so blatantly suggesting, but you are pretty. He'd be lying to himself if he thought otherwise. Plus, it's been longer than he cares to admit since he's gotten any action, and here you are, offering yourself up to him willingly.

He'd be an idiot to say no.

"Okay," he whispers, and he's caught completely off guard when you practically launch yourself at him. Eager hands winding into his hair and soft lips pressing against his. Blood rushes south so quickly that it leaves him completely disoriented. Trying his best to meet your enthusiastic kisses before he realises he's still holding your pizza like an absolute buffoon.

"Hey, s-sorry. Can I put this down somewhere?" He cringes at himself, hoping his awkward interruption hadn't completely obliterated the mood.

"Oh right, sorry. I got a little carried away there," you respond with sheepish laugh, "You can just put it on the table over there."

Once his hands are free and, to his relief, you still want to continue, he hesitantly rests them on your hips. Losing himself in your expert kisses once more and groaning against you when you experimentally tug on his hair. Blood rushing to his face when he feels you smile against his lips at that.

His brain stops functioning all together when you press yourself closer to him. Soft tits against his broad chest, your arms wrapped firmly around his neck, and your stomach flush against his quickly growing erection. He can feel so much of you all at once, and it's not helping his already delicate resolve.

"You can touch me, you know," you say once you two remember that you need to breathe. Your eyes already heavy with such blatant want that it's honestly doing fantastic things for Kai's ego.

"I did-didn't want to go too far or make you uncomfortable,"

Your giggle is like music to his ears, "Considering that I'm going to let you fuck me, I think you're fine. That's very cute, though. Thanks for thinking about my comfort."

He's not sure if his cock twitches because you so casually mentioned letting him fuck you or because you called him cute but, either way, he takes your go ahead. Large hands grabbing generous handfuls of your ass and tits, respectively. Mind already growing foggy from how soft you feel and the kisses and nips you press to his jaw.

"You're so broad," he hears you mutter softly against his neck, shudders running down his spine from the sensation. He's sure his face is flushed from your words. No one's ever called him broad in this kind of situation, and from the way his head spins, he may be learning some things about himself today.

"Th-thank you," he stutters out, not entirely sure what to say in response and still trying to make sense of this realisation as your hands greedily run along his shoulders.

"You're too fucking cute," you groan, weaving one of your hands back into his hair and tugging him down into a messy kiss. At this point, Kai is more than happy to let you do whatever you want with him. Though, he supposes, it should be the other way around given the...circumstance he finds himself in.

He gasps into your mouth, fingers biting into your skin, when you palm him over his jeans. He's already so hard, and every bit of friction you allow him makes his knees buckle.

His grip on you tightens without much thought from him when you lavish his throat with licks and open-mouthed kisses once more. Your smaller hands toying with the belt of his jeans. Not quite seriously trying to unbuckle it, but just the brushes of your fingers so close to where his aching for you makes him feel dazed.

"Please," he whines, desire and embarrassment coiling tightly in his gut.

"Please what?" You ask, a mischievous gleam in your previously warm eyes. Fingers pushing up his shirt to trace nonsensical patterns on his abdomen. Kai thinks he's either going to scream or cry.

"Plea-please touch me," he whispers, trying his utmost not to grind himself into your hand.

"Well, since you asked so nicely," before he can blink, you're on your knees in front of him. Skillfully unbuckling his belt and unbuttoning his jeans.

"He-Hey, you don't ha-have to do that," he says quickly, piecing together through the fog of his mind what you're planning.

"I thought you wanted me to touch you?" You ask coyly and, fuck if the sight of you staring up at him with faux confused innocence doesn't make his cock twitch.

"I- yes, I do but, I didn't- you don't have to y'know if you don't want to,"

"What makes you think I don't want to?"

Oh. You've got a point there, he concedes.

"You should relax, cutie. I'm not doing anything I don't want to," Kai hates the way his cock jumps at the wink you have the audacity to send him while tugging down his boxers and jeans.

Relief fills him when he's finally free from the increasingly restrictive confines of his bottoms, but it's fast replaced with anxiety when you just...stare at him.

God, do you think it's ugly? Is it too small? Is it curved weird? Fuck, what if you-

"So pretty," he hears you barely whisper, lidded eyes becoming glossy as you wrap, or rather attempt to wrap, your hand around him. Between the compliment that leaves him completely blindsided and the slight pressure your hand provides, he can't help the whine that bubbles out of him and the jolt of his hips into your soft hold.

Kai feels his vision blur for a second when you take your first tentative lick of him. Pretty pink tongue curiously dragging along the underside of the head of his cock. That mischievous gleam is still present in your eye, and before his brain can catch up to what's happening, he finds himself enveloped in your warm, wet mouth.

His hands weave themselves into your hair instinctively. A broken, bordering on embarrassing, moan falling from his lips when he feels your throat constrict around him. Your hand stroking everything you can't fit in that sinful mouth of yours. He thought the feeling alone would drive him to madness, but the sounds of you gagging on him sends shudders down his spine. Hips shallowly fucking you as not to overwhelm you.

However, given how eagerly your choking on his dick, he doubts he could overwhelm you even if he tried.

He cracks his eyes open with much effort and immediately regrets the decision. Your pretty face is streaked with stray tears, and the combination of your spit and his pre-cum dribbles down your chin. If that wasn't bad enough already, he notices your unoccupied hand disappear between your thighs. His muddled mind taking longer than he cared to admit to understand what you're doing.

Holy fuck, are you touching yourself right now? Is this even real? Based on the circular motions he notices your hand making and moans that are being muffled by his dick down your throat, that pretty much confirms his suspicions.

"Wait shit fuck, st-stop," he stutters out, large hands gently tugging you off of his length before he makes a fool of himself and cums in your mouth.

"Is everything okay?" You ask, looking up at him. Fuck. He can barely look at you right now. Face smeared with tears, spit and his pre-cum. Your eyes a combination of concern and still barely restrained desire. He just hopes you don't notice his cock twitch then.

"Yeah, I just- I was close,"

Warmth floods his face when a smug grin spreads across your face.

"Oh? Why stop then? I'd gladly swallow anything you're willing to give me,"

Kai closes his eyes in an attempt to collect himself momentarily. Which turns out to be a terrible idea because his mind unhelpfully supplies images of his cum streaked across your face and your tongue. God.

"I'd rather cum somewhere else,"

He tries not to feel too proud of himself at the stunned look that crosses your pretty face. It feels good to leave you a little off kilter for once.

You laugh a little breathlessly as you make your way onto unsteady feet, "So you do know how to talk." He resents the way he flushes at your teasing.

His response dies on his tongue when you gently shove him back. He lands on your couch with a soft thud, looking up at you in question only to feel his tongue turn to lead in his mouth and his cock jump against his abdomen.

You shrug off your robe. Exposing your completely nude form to Kai and, he drinks you in. Taking in your breasts and the way they jiggle with every minute bit of movement from you, the slopes of your waist and hips until eventually he zeros in on your slick upper thighs. His blood turns molten. He can't quite see your pussy as clearly as he'd like to but, the streaks of wetness he can see on your thighs makes his head spin.

"You're staring," you tease, strutting over to him. He's not sure if the sway in your hips is just for him or not, but he couldn't care less. He's mesmerised.

"I can't help it. You're beautiful,"

You stop between his legs, and for a moment, he's terrified he went too far. Was calling you beautiful too much? God, why can he never get his foot out of his fucking mout-

He's pulled out of his anxious spiral by your smaller hands cupping his face. You smile at him and proceed to kiss him softly. Your thumb caressing his jaw as he finds himself lost in you once again.

"Thank you, cutie. You're really sweet," you mutter against his mouth, making yourself comfortable in his lap. Any line of thinking Kai had going is swiftly drop kicked out of his mind when he feels your pussy glide over his cock. Based on the way your hands fly to his broad shoulders and the little gasp that leaves you, he's not the only one affected.

He thinks he might lose his mind if you don't sink down on him immediately.

"Please," he whimpers, his hands making themselves at home on your hips.

"Since you asked so n-nicely," you respond with a devious smile. His heart rate continues to tick up when your hand grasps him and lines him up with your entrance.

Kai knows he's in trouble as soon as you begin to sink down onto him. His vision blurring slightly, and his hold on you quickly becoming bruising just from his tip being enveloped by your scorching, slick walls. The little strained whimpers and moans that slip from your lips only making it all worse.

It takes everything in him not to just shove you down onto him or snap his hips up until he's fully inside of you. However, he's not so far gone in his lust that he can't see that hints of discomfort on your pretty face. He pulls you down into a kiss in the hopes of providing some form of distraction. Long fingers reaching between your soft thighs, and he can't help that small smile that finds its way onto his face when you gasp into his mouth and clench around him.

He experiments with various speeds and patterns until he finds the one that cause you to moan into him and, more of your wetness to gush down his cock. "You're taking me so well," he mutters, half-delirious from how otherworldly you feel, and he isn't even fully inside of you yet.

He isn't prepared for you to so suddenly take him all at once. Needy hands tugging on his hair and watery cries of pleasure pressed into his mouth. Kai, for his part, his just trying not to cum from all of the unexpected sensations assaulting him at once. His fingers biting into the skin of your thighs as he fights to regain his composure. Closing his eyes and kissing you back to the best of his abilities while his cock throbs inside of your velvety walls. He's so fucked.

If anyone asks, he definitely doesn't whimper when you start to move. He definitely doesn't leave indents of his fingers on your skin from how tightly he's holding onto you. He definitely doesn't keep his eyes shut just so he doesn't cum in an instant from watching how your face contorts in pleasure for him, how your tits bounce and how your unreal pussy splits open to take him. Definitely not.

His attempt at concentration is disrupted when his ears catch a strangled cry from you, and you clamp down harshly around him. He cracks his eyes open and immediately wishes he hadn't.

The light from the setting sun hits you beautifully. Forming a halo around you as you continue to ride him. Your nimble fingers toying with your nipples and, based on the whines that fall from your devious mouth, they're pretty sensitive. He can't help the way his hips jolt up into at the vision you provide. Yeonjun had always teased him for being a bit of a romantic.

Instinct guides him. His arms coming to wrap around your waist as he fucks up into you. He wouldn't be shocked to find out his eyes had crossed from the depth this angle allows him. Eager mouth latching onto one of your tempting nipples. Groaning into your skin with every lick and suck and tug of the sensitive bud. Unadulterated lust guiding him all the way.

The symphony of skin slapping against skin and your wanton cries fill the space of your living room. Your hands are restless. Not quite sure if you want to tug on his hair or steady yourself on his broad shoulders. "So good. So de-deep," he manages to catch you whine, bordering on pathetic and that just motivates him to fuck you harder. Keeping you in place with his firm grip so you have no choice but to take all of him.

Between the way you tighten and spasm around him and the increasing pitch of your moans, Kai isn't sure how much longer he can last. Teeth nearly sinking into the flesh of your tits with how wound up he is and large hands drifting downwards to grab generous handfuls of your ass.

"I-I think I'm go-gonna cum," he moans out, "Sh-should I pu-pull out?"

Your hands move to cup his face so quickly that his foggy brain takes a few moments too long to even register it. Nails biting into his cheeks and your eyes blazing as they bore into his, "Don't you dare."

Kai couldn't have stopped himself from unravelling even if he wanted to.

He's practically crushes you to his larger frame while he remains completely sheathed inside of you. Ropes and ropes of his cum painting your walls white as he moans loudly, his chest heaving and flushed with exertion.

His disoriented eyes find your frenzied ones once he's able to crack them open. Your mouth shaped in a silent O and, it only hits him when he feels you clench harshly around his softening cock and more of your wetness gushes out of you of that you're cumming. The sting in his scalp is worth it as he takes in the way you fall to pieces on top of him. Eyes fluttering shut and your body convulsing. He tries his best to soothe you through it. Pressing gentle kisses to your neck and shoulder. Large hands rubbing your thighs gently.

He rests against your couch when you eventually sag against him. Laboured breaths hitting the skin of his neck where you've made yourself comfortable. A combination of your releases beginning to trickle out of you and, down his spent cock and balls.

The silence is more comfortable than he anticipates. Neither of you feeling the need to fill it while you gain your bearings.

A thought hits Kai, and he panics. Feeling like the biggest piece of shit on the face of the Earth.

"What's wrong?" You mutter, fingers absentmindedly toying with the ends of his hair.

"I never asked you for your name,"

Your giggle could easily be mistaken for windchimes, "Oh, is that all? It's Y/n. What's yours?"

"It-it's Kai."

"It's nice to be properly introduced to you, Kai," you respond with a dizzying smile.

Yeah, maybe today isn't all bad after all.

[obanaispy]

omg pent up samu who's into regular-customer-reader so he goes onto a cam site in hopes of finding some look alike to jack off to but instead ends up seeing a familiar face 👀

smile for the camera!

{ adult audience only }

notes: @natriae also sent in this request with this plot, “okay ive been waiting for webcam y/n for so long🤞🤞maybe with Osamu, Suna, and Sakusa. i feel like Osamu would agree to be in the video with y/n and y/n would just wanna show off their precious baby. Telling everyone to look at how cute Osamu is as they ride him, but he would just be so dazed 😌 Now Sakusa 100% didn’t realize how into it he was till he actually watched from behind the camera as y/n streamed”. i will be incorporating both thoughts into these drabbles and thank you for sending in your thoughts! (y’all are creative as fuck i love it).

warnings: dirty talk { it’s soft core so there aren’t many }

wc: 1.3k

200 followers event: click me

characters included: suna rintarou ,kiyoomi sakusa , osamu miya

suna rintarou, the regular.

⍟ y/n had given suna something he’s lacked in all his years of living— structure. ever since he saw you on the top 5 “best webcam models on the west coast”, he’s sure to never miss a live stream— friday’s strictly being set aside to support you.

⍟ he’s not one of the watchers who speaks a lot but he definitely captures your attention with the enormous tips he sends in. he’s sure to attach what positions he loves you in the most, instructing you to pose up for him and him only. in his eyes, these lives are specifically for him and he has the dough to back up that mindset.

⍟ one thing you’ve always loved about suna is that he was never one to directly show you attention. with that being said, you couldn’t help but be a bit excited once you saw that message ..

“ user @sun.taro has requested a private session “

“crazy how you wore my favorite set without me saying a word..” sighs “too bad it wont be on for long..”

suna’s 1 hour session had ended 20 minutes ago yet here you both were, talking each other through yet another orgasm. “spread it open for me baby.. let me see how good i have that pussy feeling..” he husked out lowly, hand pumping his cock as he watched the way you rode your dildo— the ground below you drenched in the juices from those previous orgasms. suna’s brows furrowed as he imagined how good you felt. maybe this call was a mistake.. because now? he was hungry for more.

your eyes stayed focus on the way he pleasured himself to the view of you. brain turning to mush at the pet names he graced you with. all it took was one more “there we go pretty girl.. make daddy proud” before you were gasping for air, his orgasm following shortly after. coming down from that high, you could do nothing but smile modestly— contrasting all of your previous actions . “i feel like you did more than me. maybe you should be the webcam model” you laugh softly, throwing on your robe. suna simply responded with a chuckle as he cleaned himself up, “i find my pleasure in watching you lose your morals simply at my command.. to me that’s more than enough..”. his words sent a chill down your spine but the next ones would affect your entire being.

“hope you know i’d give anything to experience you in person.. how about it?”

kiyoomi sakusa, the supportive bf

⍟ one thing sakusa always loved about you is that you were always serious about your money and your craft. you spent bands on equipment, outfits and even took the time to write out elaborate scripts.

⍟ no matter how supportive, he always tried to give you your privacy during filming. he understood the men who watched enjoyed the idea of a single y/n— his presence would simply ruin the entire persona. he knew this he swear he did.. so why did he find himself sitting behind your camera— cock throbbing through his sweats as you worked through your set.

“i’m aware of how bad you want to fuck me..”

y/n’s regulars were eating up how into today’s session she was. her words were dripping with filth, cunt squelching more than it ever as she slowly worked to stretch herself open, eyes low and body glistening as she worked on her second orgasm. in all honesty, y/n was paying no attention to the men that drooled over her in the stream. no no, what really caught her attention was her introverted boyfriend boldly pumping his dick as his eyes stayed trained on her.

she felt herself throb as she watched the way kiyoomi’s hips thrusted upwards, lips slightly parted as he whispered low enough for only her to hear “y/n.. wanna fuck you so bad right now.. that pussy is calling my name.. you’re so fucking filthy” he gritted, his own vulgarity shocking him for only a moment before he drowned deeper into his lust. “i’m nothing more than a dirty slut.. need to be cleaned out so fucking bad..” y/n moaned out sweetly.

their viewers would never know why the stream suddenly ended. y/n couldn’t care enough to inform them as she struggled to keep any string of sanity as kiyoomi folded her in half— fucking her cunt like he never had before. he should definitely sit in more often.

osamu miya, the sweet + osamu miya, the intrigued

⍟ osamu was completely aware of the audience y/n attracted. men who got off the fact that she was completely unobtainable. when walking past her recording room he would have to hold in chuckles as he listened to the way he broke these simps—- managing to add sex appeal to each insult.

⍟ he would immediately agree to the idea of him joining you in a stream. all he asked in return was for you to try a new dish he had been experimenting with. he was a very simply boyfriend to please.

“have you ever made someone feel like this? i already know the answer.”

y/n’s hand caressed osamu’s head as she rode his cock in reverse cowgirl. they sat in her favorite chair so that their viewers could see the way his face twisted in pleasure, mind too dazed to provide any additional commentary. “look at my pretty boy.. this pussy was made just for him.. wasn’t it baby?”. osamu could do nothing but nod, hands gripping her hips firmly as she started to guide her down into his thrusts— low groans coming out loud enough for her and her only. he was sure to bury his head in her neck every so often, marking her up to show the lames watching exactly who she belonged to. his hands couldn’t get enough of touching her, groping and pulling on her nipples as his hand snaked around to give her clit much needed attention.

it wasn’t long before he said “fuck the stream”, now bending y/n over to where her face sat directly in frame, eyes crossed in ecstasy. finally focusing them she smirked, brows furrowed as he filled her up to her gut. “daddy’s fucking me so good.. you could never experience this— how embarrassing is that” she laughed, being cut off quickly with another moan. the tips were nonstop until the stream ended, y/n completely disregarding any and every donation as her pretty boy proved exactly why she was his and his only.

⍟ osamu had never had a crush on someone for this long, nor had he liked someone this hard. not hard enough for him to be clicking through his favorite webcam site— hoping to find someone as beautiful as you.

⍟ who would’ve thought he’d be lucky enough to find you instead! he barely recognized you out of the barista appropriate attire you wore at the coffee shop he visited regularly

“ @chefmiiya thank you for the $100 tip lovely.. this next one goes out to you..”

osamu could do nothing but blush at the way she said his name, cock gripped tightly in his palm as he watched the way you shoved in your lovense— starting the vibrating pattern he requested. he twitched in sensitivity, eyes refusing to blink once he saw how well their body reacted to the toy, brain trying to process how good she looked out of that uniform that truly didn’t do her justice.

after about ten minutes he had no choice but to switch to his fleshlight, groaning shamelessly as he matched y/n’s pace, cock thrusting and stretching the toy that barely provided him the stimulation he needed. he wanted to feel her. he wanted to be the one who had their toes curling, hands gripping onto your sheets as she let out jumbled thanks. honestly, the repeated “holy fuck mr. miya.. you surely know how to please a cunt.. ready to see me cum so hard for you baby?” was more than enough. osamu held in his orgasm until the last second, loads shooting out as soon as he saw her o-face appear.

cleaning up his mess he tried to fully process the fact that y/n was a webcam artist, thoughts quickly being interrupted once he heard a ding.

“yk.. your name looks so familiar..”