#'and i will do it again with zero qualms' kind of way. a 'i am not a haven for you so why are you trusting me' kind of way

[artofchira]

I really dislike putting drama on main, and I also really dislike giving mentally ill people attention, especially when they are doing their behaviour to specifically be rewarded with it.

But since this person in question has tagged many online artists of large followings, they have at least succeeded in getting a public statement as a simple explanation to those who inevitably come to understand what is going on.

I will not be naming the individual in this post, nor linking this person's accounts. I have a directory of screencaps of their history of abuse toward me that, if needed, I will be willing to post in the future. But for the purpose of this post, I have included only a handful with their name censored, as a demonstration of their behaviour toward me and my creative partner in private.

A disclaimer: I do not want this person attacked or maligned. In my view they are extremely ill and they desperately need some kind of aid or medical intervention. Their anonymity is not out of concern for myself, it is a concern for their well being.

But to begin my statement officially:

I was friends with this person from 2016 to 2020, though we remained in a business contract until the end of 2021.

As for why we stopped being friends, I honestly can't say. I truly can't. I wish I had an explanation, because I was pretty heartbroken. Myself and my creative partner tried to reach out multiple times to talk or have some kind of reconciliation, but it was ignored. I was not the one who ended the friendship, I was the dumped, and I accepted I won't have the answers and moved on peacefully.

Our business relationship ended late 2021. The conduct while our business relationship was active was without complaint and I have nothing negative to speak of their behaviour while we had a contract. The contract was officially dissolved by their choice in the fall of 2021 -- which is entirely in their right and I have zero qualms with that, but it makes their statements that I backstabbed them and used them very perplexing. Still, despite some unprofessional remarks here and there from their end in closing out our professional relationship, it remained more or less cordial. I paid every bill and fulfilled every contractual obligation in the close out, and we had a very clean split. We moved on our separate ways with no correspondence after that.

So it was especially surprising that April 2024, this person returned aggressively and angrily and apparently has re-characterized me in their memories as an abusive manipulative villain. I truly have no words for this.

In August 2024 after months of persistent abuse toward me in anonymous or alt accounts, this person decided to send an email to my creative partner's inbox lambasting my abuse, and failed to cite what I did in there, either. I took the opportunity to finally respond to them -- the only time I have since my last email to them in 2021 -- to try my best to find some kind of reconciliation or discussion. It ended about as well as you can imagine.

These are the only screencaps I have included here, I have censored the name because, again, I do not want this person being rewarded for their attention seeking abuse.

Aside from this one email from both myself and my creative partner, we have not interacted with this person since 2021 or even since our responses cited here.

I also have no idea how to respond to any of their accusations, because they are completely from a different reality. I don't even know how to take them seriously. A primary accusation they keep citing is I'm somehow responsible for them being in an abusive romantic relationship with someone I do not know and have no relationship with. Even if I were to take this accusation at face value and agree with everything they are saying, I still have no idea how I am responsible for someone's private affairs in their every day private life and who they live with, especially when I live in a completely separate country from this person and have never once visited their place of residence where they co-habitated. My role toward their relationship was always a person who listened as a friend and offered thoughts whenever the conversation became the topic.

To say the least, this is an accusation I keep forgetting they are making toward me because it's so absurd I genuinely can't hold the thought in my head.

As for every other accusation they're citing, that I'm two faced, manipulative, target competitors, betray my peers, and whatever else -- I have very little idea what they are referring to here, as well. They have cited that I have abused them and betrayed them, but they have never once cited a clear example of this happening, even after being directly asked. All they have done is vaguely gesture at my character and refuse to explain further.

I also have even less than no idea what they're referring to in regards to 'picking a side' between them and my creative partner. We were never in tension in regards to that and I have no context to what they could be referring to there.

I do not know what image of my life they have, but I'm notoriously a hermit, and have only become more so as my life downsized drastically since 2018/2019 since I started pulling back from social media, and even more so after my father passed during lockdown in April 2020.

I live alone with my dog, and I work about 15-20 hours a day either on my projects, freelancing, or workshops. I rarely take days off for any kind of social interaction, mostly just to run errands and maintain my health. I speak to only 2-3 people privately on the regular, otherwise all my existing online relationships are professional in nature, and my presence online has been reduced to simply posting art and the occasional text response to questions. Whatever predatory behaviour they think of me, I am hard-pressed to discover it within my life at the moment when I live extremely conservatively and privately since 2019, and they refuse to explain what it is I did.

In just the past few months, they have a history of creating accounts specifically to harass me and my creative partner, and delete them in a matter of minutes when it doesn't inspire the reaction they wanted. In the past month, they have created new email after new email to send abusive harassment to our inboxes, to no response, so they escalated to their latest tactic. Now they have created a new tumblr to write a rage manifesto and tag every large artist name in the scene they could think of, but I imagine this, too, will be deleted at some point. And I imagine they'll simply make a new account to try to bait another response out of me or my creative partner.

I want to reiterate again that I do not want this person harassed or responded to, if you are aware of who they are. Please do not engage and follow my example of blocking and reporting and offering no oxygen to this behaviour. My only wish in making this post is a public statement to my defense and a personal wish that they seek any kind of aid.

To those who seem completely confused or unsure of what is going on, I apologize. For any questions that I feel is safe or necessary to answer, I'll do my best, but as of finishing typing this post I have very little intention of giving this more effort or energy than I already have.

[luthien-under-bough]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

Tagged by @girlwithakiwi

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

97! I am scratching and clawing my way toward 100 this year.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

537,646 *probably at least 400k of that is Daemyra

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Almost exclusively House of the Dragon/ASOIAF since HOTD s1 aired and Daemyra consumed my life.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

i got a bad desire (baby i'm on fire) - Daemyra modern AU multi-chapter (WIP)

ain't nobody hurt you like i hurt you  - Daemyra modern AU multi-chapter (complete)

better not touch (i want it too much) - Daemyra modern AU multi-chapter (complete)

...anyone noticing a theme? 👀

I found some hate for you, just for show - Daemyra canon divergence oneshot

do you feel the hunger? - Daemyra canon divergence oneshot

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to respond to all of them! Sometimes I get behind, but I usually get to them by the time I post a new chapter, at least.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Uhh probably i've looked at clouds from both sides now. Even though only one of the major characters dies, it somehow still feels angstier than the literal necrophilia fic where they both die.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I feel like most of my other fics have a happy ending? Both of the completed multi-chaps I linked above definitely do.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I occasionally get a rude comment, but I have no qualms about being a dick or just deleting/blocking. I have gotten a few tumblr anons that made me roll my eyes, but any hate I get has been firmly a THEM problem and not a ME problem. Haters stay pressed. 💅

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

It's a rare day when I do not write smut. I write all kinds. Since writing in the Daemyra fandom, my list of "hard no's" when it comes to writing has rapidly diminished; it seems like every other day I discover a new kink that makes my brain do a record-scratch. I started writing fic again in 2020, and published baby's first smut shortly thereafter, but it was fairly standard stuff. Now I'm like "well if you aren't literally digesting your lover, is it really romance??!"

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

The only crossover I've written is a House of the Dragon/Naked Attraction crackfic that infected my brain during the depths of binge of the latter show.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Only one that I know of - someone copy/pasted all of do you really feel alive without me into different chapters of their ""fic"".

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

for our blood is restless was translated into Russian here.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. My writing process is chaotic and inconsistent and I would not inflict that on another writer. I'm also very particular about what I do and do not want to write, as well as my prose, so I don't think co-writing is for me. If we don't like to break the rules of English grammar in the exact same way, I'm afraid we won't be able to get along.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

I mean, I think it's pretty obvious. 😅 Daemon Targaryen/Rhaenyra Targaryen (House of the Dragon) has only been my OTP for <2 years, but they are already my all time favorite. Prior to that, it was Dramione (Harry Potter), Cullen Rutherford/Female Inquisitor (Dragon Age: Inquisition), and Aloy/Avad (Horizon Zero Dawn).

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Not technically a single WIP, but I always meant to add more stories to my collection of Cullen/Inquisitor Dragon Age fics (most of which I posted during Swoon June 2022). It's possible I'll experience another burst of inspo for that fandom when Dragon Age: Dreadwolf finally comes out, but I'm pretty firmly entrenched in Daemyra for the foreseeable future.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, characterization, ANGST. I think my smut is pretty hot. Idk I generally like everything about my writing. That's why I keep doing it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Uhhh anything to do with plotting or planning. We thrive on vibes here. ✌️

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Beyond the occasional word or phrase in High Valyrian for my HOTD/ASOIAF fics, I cannot be bothered. Italics and a dialogue tag do me just fine.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

This changes semi-regularly, but my current favorite is one that I'm actively writing - a Daemyra early marriage canon divergence (milk teeth). Also because I just re-read this the other night - surrender (a rare non-Daemyra HOTD fic).

No pressure tags: @anamazingangie, @ar-feyniel, @grandlovescheme, @crimson-tulip, @bluegoldrose

[sparring-spirals]

So I’ve been slowly losing my mind the whole day, over how Laura Bailey keeps managing to craft these fantastically morally complex characters.

tl;dr: both Imogen and Jester have backstories and context that leave them (or could leave them) with ,,, lets say, loosey goosey moral systems, and both of them handle it and react differently, and I love them both, and I am so excited for Imogen and her instincts and the way she fights them, y’all.

It got... long. Tossing a read more here.

Jester morality is always one of my favorite things, okay. Jester is sweet and kind and loves to make people happy and make them laugh and also she is fine with wiping peoples memories and occasionally doing mild-to-moderately-terrible things if its funny enough, and who is absolutely cold and ruthless if push comes to shove for the things she cares about. Jester grew up with a fey as her best friend and it shows. And through C2, she grows, and changes- but for the most part, that grey morality is extremely Jester, and stays that way and I love her for it. She never feels bad about how she processes the world- or not for the most part. Maybe when people she could be hurting are right in front of her, maybe when things are dark but overall? She believes in her choices. She sticks to them. She’s Jester Lavorre, she loves her friends and family and will kill for them, she’s spreading chaos, and she’s very funny and talented and good at pranks. That’s all.

But Imogen-

Look, we don’t know Imogen yet, so this is all technically conjecture. I’m just going to say that Imogen is kind of a constant ball of nerves (rightfully so), and not always great at lying, and very polite, and I love her-.

(As an aside- my god, hearing other peoples thoughts constantly, like an overpowering wave, deafened by crowds, constantly privy to peoples secrets whether they want you to be or not? The implications! The angst! The character potential!)

And-

Imogen has absolutely zero hesitation about lying, Imogen lies to shopkeepers to get information, Imogen pulls Dorian in and lies to two guards about getting ~too noisy hehe~ with a dead body behind her. Imogen makes a casual offer to pull one over Lord Eshteross.

Imogen has very, very few moral qualms about listening to people’s thoughts- for haggling, for information- even with the pain as the cost, Imogen doesn’t ever really show guilt for listening to the minds of others, speaking into the minds of others, she doesn’t really apologize for what is, arguably, an absolutely incredible breach of privacy.

(But would she see it that way? After who knows how long of being deluged and tortured by the weight of a thousand strangers thoughts that she doesn’t want to hear- does it even register like that to her anymore? She must know so much about how people think and operate and feel. She must be at least a little numb to it.)

And-

She’s so apologetic. She’s so unsure. She’s withdrawn and nervous and she apologizes for when the crowds are too much and she can’t push through the noise and she apologizes for pulling Dorian in if he wasn’t ready (not being considerate, she says). She is unfailingly polite, consistently second guessing, and- if my instincts are anywhere near correct-

guilty.  Guilty, or at the very least warring. There’s an instinct there- there’s something there, that drives that, that makes her first tools a little terrifying, a little unthinking, and then there’s a catch- there’s her reviewing her actions after, doling out apologies, holding that regret. Fixing her mistakes. Addressing them.

and I am so curious about that conflict. Imogen is full of so much turmoil and complexity. She’s holding on to so much and holding herself in check and fighting herself and her past and idk, probably a red storm AT LEAST, and I am absolutely pumped to see this conflict unravel, I want to Know. 

How does Laura Bailey do this. How.

edit: this is unexpectedly picking up some traction again, so if you're Feelin This, might I also offer this meta :D

[dwellordream]

Initial Impressions of HotD, Episode 5

be warned there are spoilers below.

i have read fire & blood, but i am not judging the show as to its accuracy towards the book, as i had major issues with fire & blood, particularly in regard to how grrm wrote the female characters and handled the Dance.

this is not an evaluation of it as an adaptation but on its own merits.

Rhea’s actress did a great job establishing her character in such a short amount of time as confident, independent, and blunt - similar to Daemon in many ways, but clearly not someone he would ever find appealing because she would never flatter his ego.

I think her death scene was a little silly; they could have had her riding out alone, and then show Caraxes’ shadow overhead, then cut to her being found dead, but I’m glad they kept it nebulous as to whether Daemon directly caused her death, or even meant to hurt her at all.

Otto is a horrible person, but it’s true that Rhaenyra’s claim will never be secure so long as Alicent has living sons. Rhaenyra might not initially intend to harm them, but they would always be a threat to her, and Daemon would have zero qualms about killing them.

Having it be autumn at this point in the story is a good choice, because everything is declining; Rhaenyra and Alicent’s relationship is dead in the water. Viserys’ health is fading fast. Daemon has repeatedly squandered the power he has. Laenor and Rhaenyra’s betrothal is depicted as a rather tedious, reluctant affair.

Not getting to see the shiny silver roofs of Driftmark was a missed opportunity. It looked very generic and seemed quite desolate, as opposed to a bustling port.

Larys’ actor is great, and he and Alicent have a very fun dynamic. He comes across as much more awkward than the typical scheming advisor, but in works in his favor because he is aware people already pity/scorn him due to his disability.

Laena’s actress is great, but this show has done her very dirty. Laena easily could have featured in Episodes 3 and 4 as Rhaenyra started to pull away from Alicent. They also cut her claiming Vhagar, which annoys me a lot. The writing for women of color on this show sucks, frankly.

It was a delight to see Rhaenys again. Then, again, we could have seen a lot more done with her in the last two episodes. What a waste.

Corlys and Rhaenys seem to have become disillusioned with Daemon now that Laenor and Rhaenyra are a possibility, which makes sense. They very pointedly bring up that Daemon may have murdered his wife, and have probably heard the rumors about him and his niece.

Viserys never says anything about Rhaenyra’s firstborn child succeeding her regardless of gender in Fire & Blood, so it’s strange here that he doesn’t even try to go ‘well, of course Rhaenyra will have sons...’. 

It’s nice to see Rhaenyra trying to be kind to Laenor and proposing a marriage of friendship and respect, even if his actor is much more stiff than hers. 

To be honest the breakneck pacing of this season could have been slowed down considerably, and the finale could have been Rhaenyra and Laenor wedding, and Alicent turning against her permanently. It would have developed the Velaryons much more.

Corlys being in denial about Laenor’s sexuality and insisting he’ll ‘outgrow it’ seems silly. It would make more sense for him to be aware, but not see it as a genuine impediment to Laenor siring children.

Joffrey Lonmouth is very fun, and I think his actor has a lot of charm. You can see how Laenor, who seems much more solemn, would be attracted to him.

I assume the implication here is that Rhaenyra and Criston have continued their sexual relationship in the few months since last episode. He never seriously proposes running away with Rhaenyra in Fire & Blood, and I don’t really like his characterization here - I can’t see Criston being willing to abandon his post as Kingsguard and the honor/fame of it for a life on the run with a princess.

However, I do think his reaction to Rhaenyra proposing they continue the relationship after her marriage is good. Criston wants to preserve Rhaenyra in his head as a pure and chaste princess who was only willing to give up her virtue to him, and then never stray from her husband. He’s horrified at the thought of being the third party to a marriage between her and another man, even if Laenor is gay.

Alicent’s nervous speech to Ser Criston, trying to ascertain if Rhaenyra actually had sex, is very well done, especially when she tries to play the wise older woman reflecting on the ‘flush of youth’. Alicent never got to make youthful mistakes or have any lapses in resolve. And the thought of Rhaenyra having had sex doesn’t just upset her on a moral level, but seems yet more salt in the wound of the life she never got to lead, and the pleasurable relationship with Rhaenyra that ended abruptly with Alicent’s marriage.

Nice to see some actual dragons again the dragon show.

Daemon waltzing in to the wedding celebrations uninvited and knowing damn well he is still exiled is such a Daemon thing to do.

Alicent’s evil stepmother entrance was beautiful. Seeing her do the first genuinely petty, selfish thing for herself right at the perfect moment to show up Viserys was so fitting. The music was also great; a very sinister waltz.

Joffrey massively underestimating the consequences of joking about Criston Cole is pretty heartwrenching. 

Harwin being completely unthreatened by Daemon, but also never contradicting or defying him establishes a lot about him as a character. He doesn’t have much of a temper or ambitions; he just wants what he wants, and is willing to bend rather than break for it.

Criston ‘accidentally’ killing Joffrey during a tourney was one thing. Brutally killing him in a brawl during the royal wedding celebrations is another. I hope they’re prepared to explain the consequences of this next episode. The Lonmouths are not a minor house, and they would be enraged by this act from a Kingsguard.

Despite my issues with how they have handled the Velaryons, especially Laena, I do think this was the best episode since Episode 2. The pacing was tight and the suspense was genuine, and there were a lot of great shots of characters carefully observing one another.

[seijorhi]

Cry-Baby

A commissioned continuation of this soulmate AU by the lovely @pokemonfreak666 - thanks for your patience, bby!!

Bakugou Katsuki x Female Reader, Kirishima Eijiro x Female Reader

TW non-con, nsfw, double penetration, rough fucking, minor mentions of blood, kidnapping

The water’s not hot enough. 

It should be; it should burn. The knob’s twisted all the way up, steam rising in billowing clouds, fogging up the bathroom mirror, but it’s not hot enough. You can still feel them on you. Everything else – the blood, saliva, their cum, you’d watched it swirl down the drain, sitting on the shower floor, arms curled tightly around yourself as if that was the only thing keeping you from falling apart and shattering entirely.

But the water’s scalding, and you can still feel your soulmates’ hands crawling over you…  their mouths… their cocks tearing you apart from the inside out. Why won’t it wash away? You’ve scrubbed and scrubbed, your skin’s red and raw but the filthy feeling won’t go.

And they’re just outside. Sitting in your bedroom, or maybe wandering around your living room, sprawled across your couch flipping through channels on the TV. Maybe they’re out there looking at the pictures that line your walls, you and your family, your friends. Fuck, maybe they’re in your kitchen, rifling through your fridge for a late night snack after fucking their soulmate six ways from Sunday.

You can’t go back out there. You don’t want to see them.

Is it awful to hope for some kind of horrifying villain attack or massive accident to force them to go and leave you in peace?

… Would they? 

You can’t imagine Pro Heroes not running off to do their duty, but before a few hours ago, you couldn’t imagine them holding somebody down and raping them either, and clearly they had no qualms about doing that, so maybe your Heroes aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. 

Then again, what difference would leaving make? They know where you live, probably where you work. There’s no anonymity anymore, it’s not like you can just slip away and hide from them. 

You’ve been in the bathroom too long already, you know that – you can almost feel their anxious energy seeping through the crack in the door. Too much longer and they’ll surely come bursting in. 

Patience clearly wasn’t their strong point, and it’s nothing short of a miracle they let you come in and shower alone. Kirishima at least had been more than eager to come join you, grinning widely and tugging you by the arm towards the bathroom– it’d been Bakugou, watching you pale and flinch through red, unreadable eyes who’d reined him back in. 

Maybe he saw how scared you were, how fragile the thread that was holding you together was. Maybe he thought that gifting you these precious minutes alone after what they did would in any way come close to starting to mend the damage they’d just wrought. 

Maybe he just hadn’t cared enough beyond getting his dick wet. 

You’d grown up thinking your soulmates would make you happy, love you in a way that nobody else ever could. The possibility of ever deliberately hurting them seemed like such a foreign and uncomfortable concept to you. But obviously they didn’t care enough about your feelings or your lack of consent to stop them from forcing themselves onto you, maybe you were nothing but an object to them. Something to take and fuck, because naturally you were made for them.

What did it matter if you didn’t want it? 

Your eyes drift down to the timers on your wrists, run down to zero. A quaking sob rips from your throat and you bite down harshly on your bottom lip to stifle it. 

“Why am I even here? In less than an hour you’re gonna meet them, and what am I supposed to do then, hmm?” your friend had asked with a laugh. “Be the world’s most awkward fourth wheel?”

You’d laughed with her, knocking your shoulders against hers with a fond little smile, “Well if they’re gonna be in my life for the long haul, don't you think it’s important that they meet the person who matters to me the most right off the bat?”

You’re terrified of going back out there and facing them, but what other option do you have? The only window in the bathroom is too high and too small to squeeze through, and even if you could, getting an apartment on the seventh floor had seemed like a great idea at the time, but it doesn’t exactly lend itself to an easy getaway. 

The flimsy lock on the bathroom door is all that’s keeping them out – with their strength it’s hardly much of a barrier at all, but it’s all you have.

Here in your bathroom, under the scalding water, you’re safe. They can’t hurt you.

You’d like to think that now they’ve gotten what they wanted, now that they know that you can’t run and their reputations can’t be tarnished, they’ll go. And there’s a little voice inside your head that tells you it’s a stupid, foolish hope. You know that the moment you set foot outside that door, things’ll never be the same again.

A few years back, you read an article on some tabloid website about an up and coming Hero who’d disappeared out of the blue after joining Hawks’ agency as an intern. Supposedly, they were soulmates, and once the Pro realised it, he’d swooped her up and taken her to some secret safe house to hide her away from the rest of the world, supposedly ‘for her own protection’. It was all rumours, of course. No way for them to actually prove the theory – and no one actually cared about some missing, low level Hero at the end of the day. It was news for a week and then everybody moved on.

Are they gonna do the same thing to you?

Spirit you away to some hideout where they can keep you all to themselves – so they can fuck you whenever they want without having to worry about you running off? You’ll never see your family again, or your friends… they’ll be your entire world, and just like that intern, everybody else will forget you ever existed.

Or maybe they’ll be satisfied enough just forcing themselves into your life, letting you go back to your job, your boring, mundane nine to five, never knowing when they’re going to pop up and take what they want. They’ll come over and play house, acting as if this is a normal relationship, waiting for you to come around and accept them. 

Love them. 

The thoughts makes bile rise in your throat. Your entire body aches from inside out. There’s bitemarks and bruises littering your skin, marks that won’t fade for days… you can’t let them do this to you again.

As if they can hear your panicked thoughts, a knock sounds on the bathroom door, and your heart clenches.

“Hey, babe?” Kirishima calls out, “You okay? You’ve kinda been in there a while…” 

That same voice, chanting breathlessly above you, “I love you, I love you– f-fuck– I love you!”

Panic, cloying and sharp tears at you. You try to answer, tell him to leave you alone, that you need more time, but the words catch in your throat and all that comes out is a pitiful squeak and he knocks again, louder, more insistent and it’s too much.

They're gonna break down the door and hurt you again. Hot tears well up and spill down your cheeks with an audible sob, and you clutch at yourself tighter, willing them away–

“Babe? Talk to us, sweetheart, you’re making us worried.”

The door handle jiggles insistently, and you bury your face between your knees breathing rapidly, they’re gonna break it down, they’re gonna break it down, they’re gonna–

“Move, Kiri,” Bakugou snaps.

You don’t register the snap of the lock breaking or the frantic footsteps that approach, the harsh sound of your heaving gasps drowning out all else. Then suddenly there’s strong, muscular arms pulling you out from the water with a muffled curse.

It’s Kirishima who’s holding you, you realise as a flash of blond darts back behind you to turn the shower off. And it’s suffocating, the way he clutches at you, big hands running along your back, pulling you closer, holding you tighter, words of comfort you can’t hear over the pounding of your own heart spilling from his lips. 

And then Bakugou’s face is filling your vision, the scowl on his face growing more pronounced as he studies you – shaking, teary, eyes wide and swimming with fear– 

Something inside of you just gives and you don’t fight it when the darkness swallows you whole.

—

When you come to, you’re lying on something soft – a bed, you realise, but not your own. There’s an arm slung over your waist; corded with muscles, tan, covered in fine, golden hair and faint white scars; Bakugou’s.

Which means that the warm breath gently tickling at your neck must belong to him as well. 

You’re not naked at least; a quick glance down at your body revealing they’d dressed you in one of your old tees and a pair of panties. You’re not sure whether that observation is supposed to calm or unnerve you; you’d rather be clothed than not, but the thought of your soulmates rifling through your things, dressing you while you were unconscious… is not a pleasant one. 

“You’re awake.” It’s an observation, not a question.  His voice is gruff, an edge of sleepiness clinging to the words, but it lacks the heat you’ve come to expect from the explosive Hero. He sounds comfortable almost – at least that’s the sense you get as his face presses up against the nape of your neck, his arm drawing you closer with a low groan.

Still, you haven’t uttered a sound. 

It feels surreal, lying there in your captor’s arms – and he is your captor, soulmate or no, there’s no denying that fact anymore. There’s a part of you that realises that you should be panicking, kicking scratching and clawing because you don’t know where you are, but it’s certainly not your apartment and you definitely don’t want him touching you after what he’s already put you through. 

But rather than the sheer, unrelenting panic that had gripped you before, it’s just… nothing. Dormant, lying simmering just below the surface, and you’re almost scared to draw breath, to shatter the sweet, tender facade between the two of you.

There’s no point in asking where you are, no point in demanding he let you go. They’ve shown you that what you want doesn’t matter here, so instead you ask the obvious question.

“Where’s Kirishima?”

Bakugou grunts, burrowing himself closer. It’s not cold in the room, but his bare skin burns like a furnace, just on the wrong side of comfortable. “Makin’ breakfast.”

Breakfast. 

You swallow tightly, but Bakugou isn’t done. 

“Scared the shit out of us, fainting like that,” he scoffs. “Should’a fuckin’ known you’d need us to come take care of you.”

His fingers, resting over your stomach, dip lower, sliding roughly beneath the hem of your panties as he grinds his hips along your ass. He’s hard already, you can feel every inch of it, long and thick pressing insistently up against you. 

Shame and indignation flare up like a match struck, but before you can even open your mouth to snap a retort, Bakugou yanks his hand out of your underwear to stuff his fingers inside your mouth.

Your first instinct is to bite down, but the blond at your back just growls, “Suck,” and you’re not stupid enough to think that hurting him (or trying to at least) is going to stop what’s about to happen.

Or maybe you’re just scared to test exactly how far you can push them before they really hurt you. 

Obediently, your tongue swirls around his thick digits, hollowing out your cheeks and earning a grunt of appreciation from your soulmate. 

“Always thought that my soulmate was gonna be someone strong,” he mutters, his hips still rocking up against yours. “Somebody who could keep up with Kiri ‘n me, hold their own in a fight. Never thought you’d be some weak as shit, quirkless little cry-baby.”

It stings more than it has any right to. 

Slowly, his fingers slide from your lips, a long, thin glistening strand of saliva connecting the two. It’s hard to fight the whine that escapes you as they return to your pussy, angrily shoving aside your panties before thinking better of it and ripping them off of you completely. The warm puff of breath that ghosts across your skin sends shivers down your spine, and though you can’t see his face when he speaks next you can tell that he’s grinning.

“But fuck, sweetheart, you’re goddamn perfect – everythin’ we didn’t know we needed.”

He kisses you as his index and middle fingers plunge eagerly into your cunt, not the rough, biting kisses he’d gifted you with the night before, no. These are almost tender, sweet – or at least as sweet as a monster like Bakugou is capable of – entirely at odds with way his calloused fingers curl inside of you, fucking you, stretching you out while he cruelly thumbs at your clit.

Katsuki wants you strung out and whining for him. For Kirishima.

He wants you helpless.

“We’re gonna keep you nice ‘n safe, baby. Won’t have to worry about a goddamn fucking thing ‘cept keepin’ your soulmates happy.”

It sounds more like the passing of a sentence than a reassurance, but you can’t tell him that you don’t want this. He knows – he has to by now. He just doesn't care.

You don’t hear it when Kiri comes back, not when Bakugou’s sucking at your neck, your pussy throbbing with need as his fingers drive relentlessly into you, hitting your g-spot with every flick of his wrist.

You might not have noticed the redhead lingering in the doorway, his cock tenting in his pants, eyes dark and glazed over as he watches the show unfolding before him, but Bakugou certainly does.

“Oi, shitty hair. You just gonna stand there and watch or are you actually gonna fucking do something?” His voice is rough and a little breathless, closer to a growl than speech – it makes your gut clench, a shiver run down along your spine.

When your eyes finally do meet Kirishima’s, your heart squeezes, your stomach flipping. Kirishima’s staring at you like a wolf readying itself to pounce, like he wants to devour every inch of you and savour the taste.

He grins widely, pink tongue darting out to lick his lips.

Bakugou’s the one with the bad reputation – as explosive as his quirk, brash at the best of times and overly aggressive even with his friends – you have every reason to be terrified of him, even before he broke into your home to take you. 

Kirishima might be kinder, gentler with his touches (at least, he tries to be), but you’re a fool if you think you’re any safer with the redhead. 

“Thought you said you were gonna wait,” he says, advancing towards the two of you as he kicks out of his shorts, but the grin on his face doesn’t waver for a second. He’s not nearly as put out as he pretends. “I could hear the pretty little thing moaning all the way in the kitchen.”

Shame would be enough to flood your cheeks with heat, but it’s the sight of Kiri’s cock, flushed an angry red, veiny and thick, hanging heavy between his muscular thighs that does the job. The spit in your mouth dries, your heart thumping unevenly even as pleasure pools in your gut courtesy of Bakugou’s attention. You let out a sharp shriek as he quickens his pace, one hand reaching to grab at his wrist, the other clutching desperately for purchase at the bedsheets, but it’s not enough. 

Heat burns at your core, and unwittingly, you find your hips bucking up against him, fervently searching for more.

At your back, the blond chuckles, you feel the deep vibrations echoing through your chest, “Yeah, well you were taking too long.” 

There might be more that he says, but at that moment he slides a third finger into your dripping cunt, calloused fingertips slamming against your tight, gummy walls and you’re robbed of the ability to think. 

Your first orgasm hits you like a tidal wave, the building pleasure snapping like an elastic band stretched too far. A strangled moan slips out of your lips, and you don’t even notice the teeth sinking into your shoulder, Bakugou once more staking his claim as you cum for him. You quiver and quake in his grip, your cunt tightening around his digits and sucking them in further with a lewd squelching sound that you might be more embarrassed about if you could focus on anything but the pleasurable aftershocks of your peak.

All the while, Kirishima drinks you in, salivating at the sight of your drooling, fucked out expression, the syrupy slick that’s all but dripping out around Bakugou’s thick fingers, still stuffed deep inside of your pussy.

And maybe if he were a better man, he might allow you a moment to breathe and hurtle back down to earth, but patience has never been a virtue of his. He lunges forward faster than a man of his size has any right to, jumping onto the bed and all but tearing you out of Bakugou’s hold. You’re still reeling, panting and sore and dizzy with pleasure as Kirishima’s lips crash against yours, stealing what little breath you have left in a burning kiss.

Your attention’s caught on the way his tongue’s sliding against yours, trying to coax you into kissing back, the sharp, minty taste of him – you miss the way he grasps at his flushed, leaking cock, dragging it along your puffy slit. You miss the sound of Bakugou shedding his own pants.

You’re still weakly trying to push at his chest when Kiri slides his cock into your warm, welcoming cunt, his low, guttural moan lost to your lips. And despite Bakugou’s attempts at preparing you, it still burns, the sheer girth of his fat cock filling you up and stretching you uncomfortably. Tears sting at your eyes, a whimper catching in your throat as he hums in pleasure, grabbing your hips and pulling you closer, impaling you further onto his length.

Yet you’re not given a moment to accommodate the massive cock inside of you – not as you feel another blunt, flushed cockhead pressing up against your already stuffed pussy. Realisation hits a moment too late, your face blanching, your heart skipping a beat as panic – sheer panic – chokes at you.

You try to push back from Kiri’s embrace, only to feel Bakugou once again pressing up against your back, trapping you between them. You squirm in vain, trying to kick and push, fighting even as the blond’s cock, not as girthy as Kirishima’s but still far too big for you to take with Kiri still inside of you, starts to force its way into your plush, velvety walls.

“F-fuck, she’s tight,” he grunts as you arch up against Kiri, your tits, still covered by your thin, cotton tee, squishing up against his bare chest in an attempt to writhe away from the overwhelming feeling of fullness, the burning, stinging, throbbing pain between your legs.

But your soulmates are far from considerate, not even as you start to wail, your nails raking down the redhead’s broad shoulders. 

“Your pussy’s a fuckin’ dream,” he continues, swearing with a hiss as he finally bottoms out.

It’s too much, you feel like you’re being split in two. Every twitch and throb of their dicks, every vein, every inch of them is pressed too tightly against you, your walls struggling to take them both. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, oh god it hurts so fucking bad, but neither one of them care as you start to sob–

No, Kiri just kisses away your tears, taking your face in his large hands and cooing sweetly when you beg them through gasping, heaving sobs to stop.

“You’re doing so good for us, baby. Look how well you’re taking our cocks – it’s like you were made for us,” he laughs at his own stupid joke, and all you can focus on is the pain as he starts to draw his hips back, your oversensitive walls screaming in protest. “We’re gonna make you feel so fucking amazing, just wait.”

And it’s not his wide, beaming grin that shatters you, or even the hunger blazing in those crimson depths. It’s not Bakugou panting at your back, his hands coming up to shove your top up so he can palm greedily at your tits, or even the lewd almost feral sounds the explosion Hero’s making as he and Kirishima settle into a maddening rhythm, not allowing you a moment to catch your breath and steady yourself as they fuck you.

No, it’s the sheer, feverish love you can see written across his face clear as day, the softness with which he holds you, even as he chases his own pleasure.

This is their version of love, and you – quirkless, weak as shit and entirely at their mercy – have no hope in hell of escaping it. 

[goldenlaurelleaveswrites]

Congrats on 100 followers! 🥳 Can I request prompt 6. “What are you staring at?”?

Thank you!! 🥰🥰 I hope you don't mind, but Juleka kind of butted her way into this one and refused to leave 😂

From this prompt list

AO3

He had been less than thrilled when Rose had dragged him to this party. One might have even said he pouted the entire way there. If that was a thing adults did. Which, as an adult, he definitely did not. 

Just like he definitely wasn’t awkwardly hovering by the table laden with hors-d'œuvres, avoiding small talk with industry people, or worse, Bob Roth, like the plague. It was all well and good for Ivan- he had Mylène to keep him company. And Juleka just had to stand beside Rose, nodding and murmuring at the appropriate times as Rose dazzled the room. While he…

He had been resigned to dodging small talk as politely as he could and hiding by the edges of the ballroom the party was being held in until an acceptable amount of time had passed and he could leave. But then he had seen a flash of pink, and the crowd had parted... 

And the party suddenly hadn’t seemed too bad. 

Pain flared through his foot. He flinched, screwing his eyes shut as he hissed in pain. When he opened them again, he panicked for a split second thinking he had lost sight of the woman in pink. But then he saw her a little ways off, talking with Penny Rolling, and he relaxed. 

And then tore his gaze away to turn and look beside him. “What was that for?” 

“For ignoring me,” Juleka said flatly. 

“I wasn’t-“

“So, what are you staring at?” 

“I- I wasn’t- I’m not staring,” he spluttered. But even as he said it, his eyes were drawn back to the woman in pink. She was laughing at something Penny had said, and it sounded like music. 

Juleka inhaled sharply, and he rounded on her. But before he could even open his mouth, she was glaring at him. “No.” 

“You know her?’ 

“Yes. She’s the designer who made this dress,” she gestured down to the column of black lace she was wearing. 

“So you could-“

“No.”

“C’mon, Jules,” he wheedled, “Please?”

“No.” He blinked at her with his best puppy eyes, silently pleading with her. “No. No. No, no, no, no!” his sister hissed, her eyes darting around as if checking to make sure no one had heard her.

“Why not?” 

She reached up to massage her temples, sighing as she did so. “Because,” she glanced at him with a look of pure exasperation, “Marinette is cool,” so her name was Marinette, “and I like her, and I want to be friends with her.”

“So? I don’t see the problem-”

“Because you’re a dork.” 

“I am not-“

“Yes, you are.” He opened his mouth to protest, but she barrelled on. “You’re hiding by the refreshment table, staring like a lovesick sap.” 

He wasn’t… a lovesick sap. 

“Yes, you are.” Had he said that out loud? “So I’m not going to introduce you to her only to have you scare her off and ruin my shot at being her friend.” 

“Who says I would ruin anything?” he asked, crossing his arms to glare at her. 

But she matched his glare measure for measure. “One. You have literally zero chill. Two. I’ve never seen you look at anyone like a lovesick idiot before-“

“Has Rose met her?“

“What? Yes. Yes, she has,” Juleka said, shaking her head in confusion. “But what does that have to do with- no.” 

He shrugged, flashing her a victorious smirk. “Well, if you won’t introduce me, I guess I’ll have to ask Rose to…” he let his words trail off in a threat. If Juleka thought he had no chill… well, Rose was the antithesis of chill. And, she fancied herself a matchmaker. A modern-day Cupid. 

Who had no qualms with over-the-top—if often rather obvious—schemes.

He watched as Juleka’s eyes darted over to their lead singer, who was currently dazzling a group of producers, then over to the woman in pink, who had drifted away from Penny and was seemingly wandering the crowd aimlessly while sipping from a flute of champagne. 

Juleka groaned. “Fine,” she mumbled, grabbing his arm a little more roughly than was necessary. “Come on.” She dragged him towards the woman, grumbling under her breath. As they drew near, Juleka slowed. “Remember,” she hissed, “don’t-“

“Embarrass you. I know.” 

“And don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t,” He couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath as he rolled his eyes.

But then Juleka yanked him forward with a cheery—well, as cheery as she could get—greeting of, “Marinette.”

Marinette turned at the sound of her name, and his breath caught in his throat. He had thought she was beautiful before… 

“This is my brother, Luka.” He was staring into the bluest eyes he had ever seen. And how did she get them to sparkle like that? Her eyes were enchanting, blinking up at him from under thick, dark lashes. And her smile… the gentle curve of her lips that reminded him vaguely of a rosebud was spellbinding. Her raven hair gleamed in the lights, the little pearls scattered throughout her up-do reminding him of stars in a night sky. Just like how her smattering of freckles reminded him of-

A sharp elbow dug into his rib cage, courtesy of his sister. He blinked stupidly. 

Oh great. He had said he wouldn’t embarrass Juleka. That he wouldn’t do anything stupid. And here he was, just staring stupidly at Marinette. 

“You’re gorgeous!” 

Marinette’s cheeks flushed the same pink as her dress, and he heard Juleka groan. 

Maybe… maybe that had been a stupid thing to open with… 

But then Marinette peeked up at him, a shy smile playing at her lips, and he found he wasn’t sorry. 

Not even a little bit. 

[seokjinsonlyone]

Not My Type | 3

pairing: jungkook x female reader

summary: "She's a lot more than nice, so you need to be careful."

genre: friends to lovers

warnings: none; jimin here tho being flirty and stirring the pot <3333

rating: pg

wc: 1.7k

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

Jungkook’s newfound hobby was driving her crazy. One too many times had their little lunch rendezvous made its way into her mind in the past week. The way he sniffed her hair oddly enough was a recurring playback. She had a thing for weirdos and Jungkook could definitely be classified as that. And, that was exactly why she needed to shut this whole thing down.

Now, she considered herself a progressive individual. She didn’t mind change as long as it was for the better. She didn’t have a problem evolving her relationship with a friend. In fact, she preferred it. Always said that if she was gonna get into it, she wanted to be with a friend. But, this particular friendship wasn’t the one. It wouldn’t make sense. There was no way it could possibly be better.

They were like oil and water. They didn’t mix. Which was fine as a friendship, they could peacefully coexist. Anything more than that, however, would be an unnecessary burden. And, her life didn’t need to be anymore difficult than it already was. She wanted an easy love. It was this line of reasoning that carried her straight to her best friend’s house.

“You need to talk to your friend,” she announced, waltzing into Jimin’s home, throwing her purse on the couch before finding him sitting at the island eating cereal.

He looked up. “I’ve already told you should just ask Taemin out. He’ll most likely say yes. He thinks you’re hot. Stop trying to get me to create scenarios.”

“And, I’ve already told you I refuse to pursue a man. No matter how dreamy and evil he is,” she sighed.

In all honesty, she probably would’ve gone for it if it weren’t for the fact that she could tell he wasn’t really into her. Not in the way she would’ve liked for him to be into her. He flirted with her in person (and in her dms), held her in a way that made her stomach jump after a few drinks, but ultimately his goal was a few nights in the sheets. And, that just wasn’t her thing. She didn’t do casual. Didn’t like to invite people into her life that weren’t going to stay. So even though she thought they could be good together, she was deciding to let this one go. If he couldn’t see what was right in front of him that was on him.

“You’re gonna end up alone.”

“You must realize that I am my favorite person.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I wasn’t talking about him. I was talking about Jungkook.”

“What he do?”

“He’s been acting weird ever since last week.”

“What happened last week?”

She sucked her teeth. “You know, when we were all here?”

He narrowed his eyes at her, pupils shifting from side to side, visibly racking his brain trying to recall what happened at his place last week. “Oh! Wednesday! I was so drunk, bro. What happened?”

“Ugh. You don’t remember asking me to rank all of y’all from most to least my type?” Typical Jimin. Cause trouble then dip.

“What’d you rank me?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“I ain’t doing this again.”

He dropped his legs from the footrest of the barstool, tugging her closer and wrapping an arm around her waist. “Mmm. You couldn’t handle me either way.”

She’s not gonna lie, her heart skipped a beat. But, that’s the only reason he did it in the first place. He knew it flustered her on some level. So, she decided to play along for once, bringing her hand up to toy with the hair that rested at the back of his neck. “Baby boy, I could make you cry,” she whispered seductively.

He made a face, then pushed her away turning his attention back to his cereal. “You’re gross.”

“You started it,” she accused, laughter bubbling up at his reaction. He was CEO of “Do as I say, not as I do.” Always in the mood to dish it out, but hardly able to take it in return.

“So, what’s going on? Why do I need to talk to him?”

“Because I told him he wasn’t my type, and now he’s trying to convince me that he is.”

He choked. “What?”

“He literally showed up at my work the other day and brought me lunch.”

“That was more so directed at you saying Jungkook isn’t your type.”

“He’s not.” He raised his eyebrows, smirking conspiratorially. “He isn’t,” she insisted.

“So, you didn’t used to drool over him when you two first met?”

“See why you gotta go and bring up the past.” She wouldn’t say that she had a full blown crush on him, she didn’t know him and therefore couldn’t actually like him, but for a minute she was down bad. She wasn’t expecting to meet him when she did. Jimin had wanted to hang out and asked for a ride. He was with Jungkook when she picked him up and she was effectively caught off guard. Before she even realized what she was doing, she was out of the car and shaking hands with him in greeting. The next few weeks were spent trying her hardest to be in his presence. She never said more than two words to the boy, but yeah she was down bad. Once her hormones subsided, though, they eventually developed a friendship. A friendship that needed to stay a friendship. “Besides, I never said he wasn’t hot. I’m saying our personalities don’t match up. It wouldn’t work.”

“You aren’t that different from each other.”

“Yeah, but we’re wrong in just the right ways. It wouldn’t work.” He was right in saying that weren’t all that dissimilar, but it was because of that that she was sure starting any kind of relationship with romantic intent would go up in flames. The two were like parallel lines. Never meant to cross. Adjacent, but never intersecting. As they should.

“It sounds to me like you’re just afraid of what could happen.”

“Hold on there partner. I didn’t come here to be lectured or psychoanalyzed. I don’t even think he likes me for real, but he’s heading down a slippery slope. I just want you to talk to him before he goes and starts something that’s gonna get his feelings hurt, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see what I can do.” One thing about Jimin was that he was nosy. Had absolutely zero qualms about getting all up in other people’s business. Knowledge equals power is what he always told himself. So, if she hadn’t come to him voluntarily offering up this information, he would’ve picked up on it sooner or later, inserting himself in the middle of it all. As it stands, he’s been giving explicit permission to do some digging. All he has to do is wait for the opportunity to arise.

The opportunity came a few days later. Jungkook was sitting on his couch, phone in hand, completely zoned out when Jimin pounced.

“So... Y/N?”

Jungkook startled at the mention of her name. It wasn’t like he was just thinking about her. He definitely wasn’t about to text her. He hadn’t spent the past minutes in a daze typing, deleting, and retyping messages to send. Nope. “Huh?”

“Y/N? What’s going on with you and her?” Jimin asked again.

“What do you mean? Nothing’s going on,” he feigned innocence, voice raising an octave. Even though, for all intents and purposes, there really wasn’t anything going on.

He looked him up and down, raising an eyebrow. “That’s not what she said.”

“What did she say?” She talked about him?

“You tell me.” He smirked sitting down, crossing one leg over the other like some kind of therapist.

“I don’t know. We had lunch,” he mumbled.

“Why?”

“Because I thought she might be hungry.”

“And this has nothing to do with the fact that she said you’re not her type?”

He blew raspberries into the air. He couldn’t lie to Jimin even if he tried. The man always managed to see right through him. A consequence of nearly ten years of friendship. “I’m just trying to get to know her better,” he insisted.

“Why?”

“Because she’s nice.” Which wasn’t the complete truth, but if he admitted that he thought she had stars in her eyes he’d never hear the end of it.

“She’s a lot more than nice, so you need to be careful.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that she’s one of the best people I know, but she’s stubborn and once she has an idea in her head it’s very hard for her to let go.”

“So you think I should stop?”

“I think you shouldn’t go into this blind, is all I’m saying. Whatever you’re doing, probably won’t be easy. And, I don’t want you to get hurt. Or hurt her. What do you plan on doing if you manage to make her like you? If you’re not serious then I think you should stop.” Jimin patted his shoulder, then got up leaving him to his thoughts.

Jungkook heard what he was saying. He did. And, he was right. He hadn’t been thinking too hard about what he was doing. Honestly, he was just following the skip in his heartbeat and so far that led him to her. There was a very real possibility of him getting his feelings hurt. She was very strong willed. Couldn’t budge her mind with a bulldozer. So, if she was dead set on being against this, there wasn’t much he could do anyway.

Still, this wasn’t something he could let go of easily. He had no intentions of hurting her. It wasn’t just some conquest for him. That much he was sure of. He would hate to get closer to her, have her catch feelings for him, then dip because he wasn’t feeling it. But, he seriously doubted that would happen. It’s not like they were complete strangers. He was just seeing her in a new light now. And as much as he didn’t want anyone to get hurt, at this point he didn’t know if this was something he should even avoid. It didn’t seem like it.

Truthfully, he didn’t feel this way often. This pull he now felt toward her. He was usually much too caught up in trying to be the best version of himself he could be to entertain thoughts of others. However, right now she had his attention and he didn’t want to look away. He opened his text thread with her typing and finally sending a message before he could overthink it.

[10:53pm] jk: lunch tomorrow?

[maliro-t]

I am purposefully keeping my vm posting as salt and nit-pick free as possible (mainly because I have almost zero to offer, and no investment in offering it. the show is so good) but lol it’s weird how specific pet peeves of mine can still rear their heads.

Like, this is very specific, but I’ve seen probably over 10 different posts across twit and tumblr w ppl yelling about Percy’s shadow having his gun to his head when asked about the sixth barrel which. yeah very cool and dramatic, and I have no real qualms with it as a directional choice. I do however have a longstanding resentment for the implication that the sixth barrel is for him though lmfao and it’s weird to see it leaned into so hard by fandom again. Like, there’s a metaphorical interpretation of that aspect of the pact that I can accept, but...that’s just literally not what it is, and the actual answer is far more interesting imo! The sixth barrel is an acknowledgment that the list won’t ever actually end; that the new brand of violence and destruction wrought by this technology will never go away; that more names will always be waiting around the corner. It’s a very dark aspect of Percy’s larger feelings about legacy and Whitestone, and fittingly enhanced by the fact that Ripley’s is the only original name that never gets crossed off, given that she’s the eventual catalyst for the spreading of firearm technology. 

And Percy says this pretty plainly when asked in game, before they even get to Whitestone iirc. I’ve always found it so odd that people just kind of...ignored that?? and went ‘WELL but actually it’s still probably for him, guess we’ll never know!!’, to the point where in the campaign wrap-up when Taliesin was asked again who it was for and gave exactly the same answer, it was taken as new information. Only so much weight on word of god and all, so every interpretation is valid, especially given that he never says this in the animated series, and I know there are a lot of people experiencing the story for the first time here. So go wild I guess! It’s just a weird sticking point of mine. Percy as a character reads to me as being largely about legacy, both as something sacred, and as a source of anxiety, and I love the way that’s sewn into every aspect of him at the root, including his fucked-up revenge quest.

[evakuality]

Mia, episode five

1.  One thing Druck is super good at is these aesthetic shots.  This whole opening bit reminds me of the scene with Amira when she’s praying in her room.  Lots of beautiful shots of the room, curtains and stuff, which are just super pretty with a few hints of colour.  I dunno, this is just an aesthetic I like and I appreciate that Druck caters to me.  Mia is so cute, too!  Like both the way she looks and also how kind she is.  She still doesn’t really like Alex a lot (though you could see in that montage from the previous night that she’s warming up to him) but she still feels like she should leave things looking nice.  These little post-it notes are sort of cute too, and you can see that she thinks they’re sweet.  I don’t like this Bjorn though.

2.  Interesting that we get a clip specifically one week later.  I have no idea how that must have felt while this was live, and I’m really glad that I didn’t have to live through these long gaps in any of the things I did watch in real time.  This one was reasonably low key though, so maybe the wait wasn’t as agonising.  If you didn’t know who Bjorn is (I’m assuming the Niko character) then nothing in the last couple of clips would have felt all that alarming.  But Mia’s so flirty here - that one conversation at his house must have really charmed her.  Pity we didn’t really get to hear a lot of it because he still hasn’t charmed me!!  And actually that ‘show a montage of how things are going while a song and/or other conversation plays overtop’ is a huge thing Druck does, I think.  I feel like in some cases (Matteo and David after their first pool kiss moment, for example, or Hanna and Jonas breaking up) work quite well.  But here, I think we needed to hear more of Alex to actually believe that Mia would be this flirty with him.  For me, this is too big a turnaround from her very cold manner with him at the piano and an actual proper look at that conversation might have helped.  But also, I am super biased because William and so maybe a more reasonable person might like it okay.  This bit with Linn is weird.  Genuinely creepy, and I’m not sure why they’re setting her up to feel like this.  Maybe some sort of hint of the creepiness to come with Bjorn (I’m assuming it’s coming, anyway).

3.  I don’t get this bit with all the pictures at the school.  I assume it will become obvious later but I’m not sure what exactly they were trying to do with this.  You’d think they run the risk of having the whole Abi chaker clan thing shut down - if this happened in my school there’d be so much trouble.  A groups of kids once put post-its all over one teacher’s room and they got in SO much trouble for it, and that wasn’t obscene like this is.  This thing here seems so targeted at the Abi thing, using their plan specifically, that it feels like someone outside the group wants them not to be allowed to run their theme.  Or someone in the group who wants a different motto maybe.  I don’t know, but it feels very mean and very specifically directed at this group of people.

4.  Hmmm, I’m with Leonie on this one.  I’d be giving Carlos the super evil stare too.  It may be ‘funny’ to some of these people, but given that there are younger kids at this school (I assume, right?  They still have classes running for the smaller ones at the end of Matteo’s season, allowing their prank to go ahead) this is sure to go down really badly with the school itself.  I’m rolling my eyes at the ones who are outraged that the school is considering reporting it - what did they expect?  Also, surely they can figure out who was doing it - people were literally throwing handfuls of the pictures over the stairs.  Surely they could work out who it is.  It’s pretty clear that Alex still thinks this is funny and I’m losing patience with him.  Every time it seems like maybe he’s getting less gross he goes and acts like this again.  Bleh.  I’m not often rooting for Leonie and feeling for her, but wow today I really am.  This is shitty and she has a right to be angry.

5.  Ew, Alex, why are you stalking Mia again?  She’s made it pretty clear she’s not happy with you.  Turning up out of the blue like a creep isn’t a good way to go about winning her over again.  His ‘we were drunk, what can you do?’ is so... stupid???  They’ve lost money from this, the school is really angry, they could easily have some pretty bad consequences and he’s all ‘meh, it was a drunken prank’?  I know money isn’t an issue for him, but there are issues here beyond the money.  I’m also kind of annoyed that everyone keeps suggesting she’s upset because she’s jealous.  I’ll be really annoyed if the show carries on this way - this isn’t just a silly little prank, and people have every right to be angry and annoyed.  Diminishing it to jealousy isn’t cool.  Is Leonie also jealous?  The people who are angry and upset they’re being blamed and their money has been taken?

6.  I do love scenes where the whole girl squad is together.  They make me happy and I miss seeing them together so much.  But OMG, Alex is blackmailing Mia again????  I mean I guess it worked the first time so why wouldn’t he?  But this is seriously shitty behaviour.  Honestly, in clip one I was mildly starting to warm to him with the post-its and all, but he’s managed to speed run right back into ‘asshole’ category.  This was the problem in the og as well - William was such an asshole, that in order to make him likeable, we had to see a much more genuinely villainous character.  Alex is still super dislikeable and so we need someone ‘worse’ to make him look palatable, which I assume is coming.  We’re halfway through - we should like him by now.  I dunno.  Maybe some people do?  But he still has done nothing to make me think he’s nice or someone who Mia might be attracted to.

7.  Oh a long Friday clip?  Almost half the episode?  I guess it’s going to be a rough one for Mia then.  More reflections again - her whole face in the mirror now, but it’s surrounded by graffiti.  I’m always fascinated by the way mirrors and reflections work, and it’s fun to see Mia slightly obscured in her mirrors even now.  It’s not as disjointed as it was at the start but it’s not a fully clear reflection either.  I may not like the way Noora/Mia’s story goes but I do like some of these things which show the progress.

8.  I feel kind of sorry for Jonas, because that break up wasn’t his choice.  But seriously, he seems to be blaming this on Hanna a bit and like ????? He chose to make her feel small and unworthy through her whole season.  She’s allowed to try to figure herself out outside of him and his wants and needs.  Eh, I know he’s hurting and all, but that’s actually his issue and he shouldn’t be pushing it on her.

9.  This scene with Mia and Alex bothers me.  He still seems to have no idea why she might find his actions (selfish and self-serving and filled with blackmail) offputting.  ‘I fixed it, so we should totally be together now’ is such an immature and childish take on this.  These types of guys need to grow up and learn that they can’t just buy and/or coerce their way into whatever they want.  I like the way they decide to have Kiki walk past just as Mia has to choose whether to say she doesn’t want Alex or not.  It adds a poignancy to it and Mia obviously chooses to stick by her friends.  I do wish it felt more conflicting, like if Alex genuinely had changed or had shown he has depth or something it would be a bigger ‘wow she’s rejecting him for her friend’ but instead he’s still such an unpleasant character that I don’t care.

10.  I’m not sure why Mia does the brushing off of the makeup - I feel like it made more sense when Noora did it (I mean I watched it once a very long time ago so who knows, but my memory is that it was her way of trying to reject being ‘pretty’ and having guys liking her because it was messing her up).  With Mia, I don’t understand.  Someone help me out?

11.  I still don’t get what Mia sees in Alex.  Again, I know I have a really big bias against him because of William and I know it was always going to be tough for him to be someone I care about.  But even so, this feels like a huge whiplash when she says of course she likes him.  I’d get it if we’d seen any of his development, but every time he took a mini step forward he shoved himself right back into dislikeable territory.  Once again, I mourn the actual conversation between Mia and Alex.  This all feels far too fast, and the fact that this is suggesting his blackmail is all good is very worrying.  All the post-it notes in the world can’t make me think he’s nice enough to want to kiss.

Overall, I didn’t really like this one.  I feel like the pacing is still off; I don’t believe the speed at which Mia has fallen for him and honestly it hasn’t been very long since Kiki was with Alex and had her heart broken.  The fact that Mia even saw her and told him she doesn’t like him only to turn around immediately and change her mind is strange to me.  Mia has always come across as a caring person who tries to do the right thing and help out her friends.  That she has apparently no qualms at this point is difficult for me.  They’re acting the hell out of this, but I can’t buy it.  Unfortunately.  Sadly, because this is based on a very flawed original, I don’t think it’s going to make me enjoy these two.  There are things that I’m interested in seeing as we go forward but most of those have zero to do with Alex.

[bourbon-ontherocks]

helloooooooo and: wth happened w ep7. wtf. agree w the jarring close-ups but it's kinda fun they're trying new things, so that's actually the least of my qualms. 1) ROXANE😰 2) plot? what plot? 3) I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. but the dancing scene felt so out of character I was utterly convinced morgane had dreamt it up. ??!?! no words. it's my least-liked ep across both seasons😂 pls tell me I'm not the only one in shock... (phew, feels good to get that out of my system😅)

(Julia's adventures with the HPI anon)

Oh my gosh, anon, I'm so sorry that you didn't like this episode!!! While I completely feel the point you listed, it didn't stop that episode to be one of my faves, so I just feel like I should explain myself (yeah I just needed an excuse to ramble about that episode you got me)

This got a little long so I put it under a cut for the dash’s sake

Okay so first of all, 100% agreed, the Roxane cliffhanger was wayyyyy over the top and random and very TF1 (that is NOT a compliment 😅), I was shocked too. Considering what happens in the last episode, I understand the need to bring some ~drama~ to the table and to kinda poke Karadec where it hurts, but I don’t think going for a such a cliché and dramatic final scene was necessary. That is not my favourite part, except that I do have a soft spot for characters going through hell together so the fact that Morgane and Karadec are left to deal with the situation together at the very end kind of makes me go 😍😍😍

Not sure what you meant by plot what plot, if you’re referring to the case, I agree it was bonkers and am coming back to it later. If that’s about the character’s personal lives, I guess I agree it was pretty nonsensical but not more than in previous episodes? Idk I feel like Morgane kiiiiinda moved forward in her life by finding a house and slowly winning her son’s affection back? Now the birthday party was totally random (again: these people have zero personal life outside of work lol) but it was kind of fun to see the team in a non-precinct context.

Now the dancing scene. Wow. Where do I start? Okay, so I definitely vibe with your theory that it’s juste a Morgane fever dream. The whole scene feels completely eery (the close-ups et al. do NOT help with that), and I do agree that it’s wildly out of character for Karadec to do this, BUT he literally told Morgane “let’s create your first good memory here together, baby”, I mean he actually said that, after which I rightfully died from a heart explosion, so the bottom line is I DON’T CARE ABOUT THE OOC-NESS BECAUSE THIS IS LITERALLY THE MOST ROMANTIC THING HE’S EVER DONE WITH HER 😱😱😱 😭😭😭🔥🔥🔥💖💖💖

Also the fact that you pointed out that the scene felt out of character sent me down a rabbit hole of questioning re why Karadec would do that (I assume you meant ooc for him, because at this point I believe Morgane would be down for anything lol), and I think that the only possible explanation is that he genuinely bonded with her when she lived at his place (I mean, he did act really nice then, re the pasta scene) which leads him to behave like an actual friend with her now, and seeing how distressed she was about moving in her new house, he wanted to do something nice. Also my theory is that he’s been completely head over heels for her since the bathroom almost-kiss + her being single again, BUT he’s not actually aware of that, so basically him asking her to dance is the only way he’s found to unconsciously channel his attraction to her.

Which ties with the fact that they’re both blatantly aroused after dancing together (Morgane’s breathing sounds like she just orgasmed, and Karadec’s first move is to bootycall his girlfriend???), ahfioahaohzauohzduhaziduhui WTF IS THIS SHOW??????????? 😭❤️😍😂😱🤦🥵🔥🙊💖🤣🤭😩🤯🤩🙈🥳

Actually I have the same love/hate relationship with the dancing scene as I have with the toothbrush scene. It’s just very awkward, and out of nowhere, somehow painful to watch but at the same time swoon-inducing, y’know? It feels OOC but also it’s terribly them because you CANNOT expect these two dummies to do anything normal about their (non)-relationship.

Plus Les démons is one of my favourite songs but we’re not talking about that... And I absolutely agree that Morgane’s reprise of the song alone at the club at the end was heartbreaking (as was, like, idk, ALL THE SAD PUPPY EYES SHE GAVE KARADEC ALL NIGHT WHILE HE WAS OBLIVIOUSLY GROPING HIS GF?????), as well as the handprint being brought back in that moment. The handprint is actually a symbolic thread that I really liked, since Karadec meant it as a happy/fun memory for Morgane but it very quickly becomes something tragic for her because it symbolizes her own heartbreak over him, and something something about torment and delusion and walls having litteral memory... I don’t know I just really really like this. Also do you think it could be a twisted ref to Titanic?? 👀👀

Speaking of that club scene, you know what I really hated about this episode??? The reveal that Karadec has absolutely no notion of musical taste!! I'm sorry but Femme like U is a CURSED song that nobody should be allowed to use, especially for such a cheesy gratuitous karaoke moment (tis a CXG ref btw)!!! You tell me how I'm supposed to write the POV of someone who's got shitty tastes in music 😭😭 For the sake of my sanity I'll pretend it was Roxane's fave and Karadec humored her mmkay? 😢

The Terrific Trio is always here to save the day, Céline’s rant when she couldn’t find where the body had gone absolutely killed me, and I’d buy that Gillles chante Goldman album tbh! There’s absolutely room for a Gilles x Karadec ship, also it’s getting more and more obvious that Gilles has a total crush on Karadec and keeps fangirling over him and their professional partnership so y’know... #makegilleskaradec2k22

The car scene as the beginning was... weird imo, lol, because the close-ups on Karadec’s lips, hands, etc, felt like someone drunk-tried to depict female-gaze while having only theoretically read about it in books? But I liked how the show unsubtetly stressed on Morgane’s obsession with Karadec, haha!

Now for the other parts that I liked about this episode:

The birthday card. The scene where Morgane reacts to everyone’s bday note to Karadec legit had me in tears, this was so funny 🤣🤣 Also can we talk about the fact that Morgane said out loud “Adam I love you”???? CAN WE???? 😱😱😱

The case. Okay, this investigation was complete bananas. How did the husband did not realize his wife never was pregnant? This scenario sounds like a Maupassant 19th century short story, you know one of these where a bougie teengirl gets knocked up and mysteriously disappears in “thermal cure” with her mother, to come back a few months later “oh yeah turns out mom was pregnant, miracle of life, huh?”. I literally don’t understand how this works in the 1990s though??? Did both sisters go to the maternity and the younger one quickly passed off the baby so the other one would claim she’d just given birth??? Did they stay in Mali for 9 months and everybody was cool with them not coming home for the birth? I have so many questions. BUT. Putting the absurdity aside, I really really like the playfulness and aesthetic (the cluedo, the harpsichord music, the dramatic filming, Morgane’s big reveals and the ppl complaining when her phone goes off at the wrong time, CYRIELLE omfg best look I’ve ever seen on this show and that includes Morgane’s outfits) they pulled in that episode. Also the creepy alcoholic twins who betted on whether their cousin killed her mother or not?? Amazing characters 😂😂

The “little seed” joke. I’m sorry but Morgane messing with Karadec and asking him if he knows where babies come from makes me laugh. That and the genetics back-and-forth of recessive genes vs. nulliparous (I’m surprised that one of them didn’t know the term each time, though, I knew both and I haven’t studied biology since high school 👀)

“You’re 10, you can handle a house moving!” 🤣🤣

Anon, I’m so sorry for this incredibly long rant that I took like an hour to write lol, I’ll try to be more concise next time

[romioneficfest]

Romione FicFest 2021 - Kickoff Post

Good evening/afternoon/morning to everyone. Welcome to the FicFest 2021.

This year has a few additional upgrades including....

Gmail address for submitting all fics

Our own collection for Ao3

and currently working on headers and other décor as well as an updated FAQ. (This one is the one from Last year so working on a new update for it.)

If anyone needs audio in addition to alt-text for any graphics, please let me know so I can figure a way out to add it as well. But if no one does, then I’m not putting in the additional time which can be spent on other things.

*************************

Prompts

This isn’t a sign-up kind of fest but a prompt one. Since so many lovely people submitted prompts - across 4 entry points! - there will be plenty to choose from for writers. There’s various tropes & genres, settings and situations, and prompt words/ideas/items.

Day 1 prompting starts tomorrow @ 6pm GMT.  Link to World Clock.

Pick 1 from the daily list. If you wish to incorporate more, more power to you. If there is something not on the list you want to write, there is a Free Day prompt going up sometime. Use it if there isn’t anything else you like.

Write it how you will - from the trope busting genre to using an object in an unusual way - heck, even take a prompt and crack it like Mary Wollstonecraft’s headstone - that’s fine for me. I love seeing the creativity in action.

For those who don’t speak English as a first language:

By all means, submit your work in English - but it doesn’t have to be perfect. No one (gives side-eyes to all entrants!) will hold it against you for not speaking perfect English (and if they do, they have to deal with me.)

Entries:

Want to write 50 entries? Send them all in. The more the merrier. Only have time for one? That’s great too. I take any and all entries - if they are under 1500 words. (Though if it was like last year and an entry is over such, it will still be posted but not entered into the voting for the prize(s).) 

Only 2 things are exempt:

No Infidelity for the main couple. ‘Tis my squick - and my fest - so that’s my rule. It doesn’t mean anyone else isn’t open for such - but not Ron & Hermione. This is a fest for them, after all.

No bashing. Criticism is OK but not bashing. 

Also, like last year, I will submit at least one. It will be labeled and ineligible for voting consideration. I win because I get to read the entries first.

Betas:

While they aren’t required, it does make for a more pleasant reading experience. If anyone needs a beta and doesn’t have one (or their normal one is busy) email/IM/DM me and I will post a need - and if no one reaches out, I will pinch-hit as a beta for you - and make note of it in the author’s notes for transparency.

Ratings:

Any rating is fine - from G to NC-35. I am the final arbiter on ratings & if I think that it’s rated too low, I will bump it up - or add tag warnings for it. Not everyone wants to read lemon citrus works or not safe for work items so active and ongoing consent is mandatory.

Also, if someone has a trigger warning they need me to keep in mind for any entries - no matter how embarrassing or strange you think they are - please let me know. Really. No judgment on my part on what is a trigger. No, I won’t ask why, either. That’s not my business. Your comfort for this fest is my business. That’s why Anonymous stays open.

Submission forms:

This year I have the email address up and running

romioneficfest@gmail.com as well as the collection point on Ao3 up and going. But submitting it on the Tumblr form - and me doing the legwork - is there as well. If you email it in, it doesn’t have to be in Ao3 html markup. I have a script on Google Docs I use for that - and check it before entry. But if you do, it saves me much time on validation of the coding.

The less time I work on coding means more time for other stuff.

Back-stage administration:

All behind the scenes items are open for inspection so anyone saying I have my scaly talons on the voting/nudging anything will see that isn’t my objective. I win because A) I get to read these works first! and B) I get to watch healthy drama unfolding.

If there are any criticisms, I gladly accept them. I won’t bite if you put your name to your criticism and will take it in consideration. I have some amazing Romione writers who have already reached out to help the behind the scenes administration for this fest whom will help if there are any ethical or moral concerns. Come in blasting on anonymous and.... well, that never goes well. There’s ample rusted chainmail in my caverns from those who tried and failed. I have zero qualms blocking via IP address. So, please, be civil & cordial.

Voting

Yes, there will be voting again this year. I will, once again, put up a grand prize. While @hillnerd​ is too busy being amazing for art, I will find another suitable prize for the winner - and some prizes for the top 4. What they will be.... remains to be seen. Yes, this goes for everyone - including those internationally (I have my ways!)

I’m finishing up the links, updating headers, and other goodies. Stay tuned for further updates.

And if you want to turn on notifications, that’s brilliant too.

Sincerely from the bottom of my stone primed scaly talons,

[meigh-day]

Obligation (Tendou x Reader)

I seriously didn’t think I would be back writing a brand new story already (I can feel the looks of betrayal from the 6 other fics I was writing previously.). It’s been like a day since I finished Breathing Lilies, but here I am with a great need to get this story out of my brain. So please enjoy yet another Tendou centric fic. 

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Title: Obligation

Pairing: Mafia AU Tendou x F!Reader

Characters: Includes characters from both Shiratorizawa and Seijoh/Some OC background characters

Includes: Swearing, Mentions of Guns/Knives and Violence

Status: Complete

Word Count: 1.8k

Next

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"Is this really necessary?" You mumble out in irritation.

"Watch your tone." Kimura warned, emphasized by the look he directed at you. He’d been taking care of you since you were twelve, playing both guardian and bodyguard when the need arose. Your parents had been special to the family and when they had both been taken out during a job, you were left to Kimura to look after. Over the years, you had tried to weasel your way into some kind of work within the family, anything would have done. You'd have been happy even just guarding a door but that meant you'd need a gun and Kimura had made it clear you weren't permitted to even hold a gun, let alone learn to use one. You'd even tried to get in on the boring office work but for whatever reason any and all attempts were thwarted and thus you were left to your own devices within the confines of the house.

With a sigh you force yourself to sit upright in the chair. You had been slouching like a moody teenager and he deserved more respect than that.

"I apologize, Sensei. Please continue."

The older man let out a sigh before continuing. It's not like he was a big fan of this idea either but they needed to ensure the relationship with the Shiratorizawa group remained intact and this seemed to be the preferred method the rest of the family had agreed upon.

"It's going to take place in about a month but they want you to go stay with them before-hand so you can get to know him and get familiar with how they do things."

You chew thoughtfully at the inside of your lip as you ponder this new development. It wasn't uncommon to arrange a marriage between families to secure a new alliance or to further strengthen an old one. Now, it was your turn. For years you had complained about not being able to do something for the family that had continued to take care of you in the absence of your parents but, now that your time had come, you couldn't help but feel a little hesitant. Marrying someone you had never met wasn't your idea of romance but that didn't matter. You nod a little bit as you steel yourself, mentally preparing as you come to terms with the decision that had been made on your behalf.

"Do, do you know who it is?" Kimura nods at your question, crossing his arms as he takes a few paces across the room.

"Tendou Satori." That name, it sounded so familiar but you couldn't quite seem to bring up his image in your mind.

"You actually met him once a few years ago."

"Oh?"

"Mhm. He helped tie-up some loose ends in connection to the gang who..." He faltered for a moment, even though it had been so many years, he could still see the sadness in your eyes over the loss of your parents. It had taken several years to track down and wipe out every single rat that had had a hand in your parent's death. The family had lost a number of valuable people that day, and they made sure everyone involved paid for it dearly. You glanced up and over at him, already knowing the words before he said it, and with that brought a vision of crimson hair.

"Oh." You nodded and your sensei understood you knew the person he was referencing.

"I'm sorry. I know he's not the nicest looking person. Red hair and eyes like a demon and a personality to match."

To that you said nothing. That was not the person you remembered. In your memories you saw a smile with kind eyes to match and the loveliest red hair. Honestly, even after all these years, he was still the most beautiful person you had ever seen. Tendou had only stayed at this house for a short time but each day the two of you managed to find one another. Maybe you unconscientiously sought him out, maybe he did the same, or maybe it was just fate or a coincidence. Talking with him had been a treat and you sorely missed him when he'd finally had to return home.

"When am I expected?"

"Tomorrow."

With a nod, you offer the older man a bow before leaving. He watched you leave and let out a little sigh before retrieving his phone.

"It's me. Yea. She's gone to pack. Hm? No she understands." He listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, pacing across the room to stare out the window. You had taken this so casually that it made him a little nervous. Not that you were the type to argue but he was so sure as soon as he’d told you who it was you were being forced to marry you would at least try talk to him into getting you out of it. Instead, you were on your way to your room to pack. He was less that excited to know you were going to be married to the monster of the Shiratorizawa group. Tendou was good at what he did, it was absurd how good he was actually. Kimura had seen the aftermath of the red-head's work and it had left even a veteran like him feeling uneasy. Now he had to send you off into that creatures clutches tomorrow and there was a good chance he might never see your precious face again. There was nothing to be done for it though, in the end you had a purpose to fulfill and he would make sure you got there. After that it was up to you to decide how you would handle the rest.

.

..

...

..

.

Presently, you found yourself standing in a rather large vestibule, your luggage sitting off to the side. As your eyes roam the room, you find yourself nervously toying with the hem of your shirt. An assortment of emotions plagued you as you stood waiting. You were scared, you'd had zero interactions with the people in this house and had no idea what to expect. You felt sad, you'd had less than 24 hours to say goodbye to everyone who had been a part of your life until this point. However, mixed into the sadness and the fear of the unknown, was excitement. You were genuinely looking forward to seeing Tendou once again. There was sure to be a bit of awkwardness, you were, for lack of a better term, being forced to marry each other. You wondered if he would even remember you. It had been a few years since then and it was such a short time, you couldn't imagine you had made any kind of real impression on him.

That's where you were wrong. Satori, like you, didn't remember your name right away but when reminded of that job a few years ago, your pretty face came rushing back to him. That had been the happiest series of weeks he could recall in a long time. Everyday the two of you would inevitable run into each other and spend the following minutes..sometimes hours...chatting and joking. The sound of your laugh had become his favorite song for those few weeks and he'd have given anything to hear it once more. So, when the time came for him to leave, his only qualm was that he'd had to leave you behind. At first when he'd been told they were marrying him off to a perfect stranger, he'd been ready to spill blood. His tune changed completely when they'd told him it was you. He was so thoroughly happy, for a little while anyway. Sure you hadn't know each other for long but at least you had met and every memory of you was bliss. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world but he could only imagine how you were feeling right now. The prospect of being forced to marry him, it must have been so terrifying.

Tendou was all to familiar with what people said about him, he'd used those rumors to his advantage. They helped him built up a fairly fearsome persona, though it wasn't all bullshit. He really, truly, was a terrifying being to behold when it came to completing his work. He wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, dripping with someone else's blood. But that wasn't all there was to him, he was still just a person, just a human being. He loved to laugh and share jokes, though they went fairly unappreciated around here. He happily devoured Shonen Jump each week, the shelves in his room practically sagged with the weight of the collected issues. He was the demon, the monster, of the Shiratorizawa Group, but he was still just a human and part of him desperately wanted to feel something akin to love. Even so, he knew there was no way someone as wonderful as you, someone so charming, so beautiful inside and out, could really truly fall for a beast like him. He knew you would do your duty and you would do it well but that's all it was, a duty, a job, a burden.

So with a sigh, he made his way through the house to collect you. He wore black from top to bottom, the only pop of color on his entire person was his dazzling red hair. You had to grit your teeth to refrain from gasping when he entered the room. He cut an impressive figure, leaning casually against the door frame, his calculating red eyes on you. You remembered he was handsome, but had he always been THAT good looking. It wasn't fair. Suddenly you felt very plain and underdressed in comparison to him. The knee-length jacket he wore on top of his outfit fluttered behind him as he crossed the threshold into the vestibule.

"It's been awhile, Y/N." He offered up a grin as he drew closer to you. Had you always been this pretty? The expression on his face did little to betray the thoughts racing around his mind as he took in your appearance. His memory of you couldn't compare to the vision before him now. You were looking up at him with wide eyes but he couldn't tell if it was in fear or awe. Though, assuming it was the former he let the grin on his lips fade until his mouth was pressed into a line.

"It's nice to see you again, Tendou." You smiled up at him, truly happy to see him again and feeling somehow lucky. Honestly, arranged marriages often ended up in extremely unfortunate pairings. Somehow you had hit the jackpot.

He hummed in response, the negative thoughts prickling in his mind wouldn't allow him a moment to just consider perhaps you meant it. Instead he noted how well you were already performing under this obligation. He hefted your two suitcases up and started back towards the door he came in.

"Wait! Let me help you with those." He glanced over his shoulder, a smirk on his lips.

"Don't worry your pretty little head. It's the least I can do as your future husband."

[historic-old-guard-lover]

Do you have any headcanon on the cast’s sexuality ? ( I really like the demisexual Yusuf one )

I've been meaning to get around to this, so thanks for asking! Its important to keep in mind that Nile (and maybe Booker) is the only member who doesn't predate modern identity terms. Consider that the obligatory most-historians-frown-at-anachronistic-labeling plug, though my response is (as I point out here a little bit) that this just seems to serve to make queer history more difficult and it can be done respectfully.

TL;DR: Lykon as aro-spec bi/pan-romantic, Andy as chaotic bi/pan-sexual, Quynh as bi/pan with a slight femme-aligned preference, Yusuf as demi-sexual bi/pan-romantic, Nicolo as homosexual/gay, Booker as the token heterosexual, and Nile as queer. Scroll to the bottom for a free (trans)gender headcannon that no one asked for but that I’m handing out for free.

I personally headcannon that the oldest members are both too old for rigid social sexual norms and too old to give a damn otherwise. We know canonically in both the film and the comics that Andy is openly attracted to and having sex with multiple genders, so you can pry bi/pan Andy from my cold, dead hands. I put Lykon and Quynh in the same never-monosexual category as well. I have the totally unsupported concept of an aro-spec (bi/pan-sexual) Lykon mostly because I don't want his life traveling with two love-sick warrior women to be made worse by his #forever alone status he seems to get. It’s a choice and he’s not into romance. I also cannon Quynh to have a slight femme-aligned preference to Andy's true-chaotic-neutral bisexual energy. Yes, it's for angst purposes as most things in my life are. And it fits in with the Special Bonus Gender Headcannon at the bottom of this post. Oh, and I think that they all have poly-amorous inclinations because monogamy is overrated. Guilt and shame around sex and relationships are just not in their vocabularies.

Our Immortal Husbands are from a time where homophobic attitudes are starting to become a thing, so I don’t hand them the bi/pan-by-default card that I do for the older members’ attractions. I too like the idea of a demisexual bi/pan-romantic Yusuf, though I am totally open to him being homo-romantic as well. My issue is that I find it unlikely that a merchant in his 30s would not have already married a woman, especially if he is the first-born son or his family is particularly wealthy. There are definitely story lines where that doesn’t happen, though they require a bit more careful planning and Yusuf having nerves of steel. I’m all for the angst of a political marriage, but I worry about how the spouse might get depicted if people go for a totally homo-romantic Yusuf and she deserves more than his contempt. I assume that Yusuf values honor/righteousness (he ends up fighting in the siege of Jerusalem despite being from the Maghreb), so he would not be the kind of man to cheat on his wife even if he was not hetero-romantically inclined. They would build a relationship of mutual respect for certain.

I know I just said that homophobia is starting to become a thing, but the medieval church and knighthood was hella gay. I have absolutely zero qualms about cannoning Nicolo “that feral gay priest” di Genova as 100% certified homosexual. It’s up to any fanfic writers whether they make him internalize homophobia, but I will just point out again that monks having gay sex was a problem that the Catholic Church purposefully overlooked back then. Mix and match your angst to your own delight. Maybe he’s a tortured soul who joins the priesthood once he figures out that he could never marry/love a woman and then realizes that he’s not alone. Maybe he’s a quiet pining mess in the priesthood. Whatever route you take, please make him gay.

This brings us to Booker who grew up with good old-fashioned religion-induced homophobia. We know canonically that he married a woman and had multiple children, so I’m down for Booker as the token heterosexual of the group. I also like that it gives him the chance to reach full himbo potential and not realize he’s surrounded by three queer icons. Just imagine him thinking for decades that Andy is sad because she lost her “gal pal” Quynh and then at some point as he’s amassed details he starts realizing that they were Our Immortal Wives... It makes the Western erasure of female homosexual behavior into comedic gold.

And finally, the new kid on the immortal block. I like to think that Nile would strongly identify with the label queer and be uninterested in more specifically labeling her sexuality. Am I projecting? Maybe so, but it has value as a shared bonding experience with Andy. Also, a queer Nile brings history full circle, so to speak, from a time where sexuality labeling was unimportant to a time when people are starting to realize that it’s not always important to them. The heart-warming poetics of it all!

The Super Special Gender Headcannon That Lives in My Head Rent-Free: Transgender Andy

In a previous post, I discussed the existence of a third-gender/transgender shaman role in Scythian cultures called Enaree or Enarei ( ἐναρής ) which allowed individuals assigned male at birth (AMAB) to undergo possibly the earliest hormone replacement therapy (HRT) process. We know that the name “Andromache the Scythian” is weird for Andy because her supposed ~6,000 year old age predates the Scythian culture for a while. Consider, however, that an AMAB Andy chose to take the name of the Scythian culture because they helped her medically transition! Obviously she can find acceptance and support long before then (and I’d be mad if anyone tortured her for literally three thousand years without love and support), but I think that it would be a way for Andy to honor a people who helped her achieve something that she didn’t think was possible while simultaneously cleaning up a glaring cannon issue. It also makes the whole femme-preference bi/pan-sexual Quynh that much sweeter because Quynh would 200% see Andy as a woman regardless of whether she has access to medical transition.

[autisticandroids]

i was reading ur alt s6 stuff and i think they fumbled the heaven and angels plots so badly in s6 and the following seasons so much because they simply didn't care about heaven at all. they wrote it because they needed cas to be Away and Busy. partly because of the superpowered character thing and partly bc of the dean thing. so instead of actually thinking anything through they would set up and knock down angels plots so cas would always be off chasing something 1/3

pi KNOW they were worried about having such an overpowered character with suddenly no qualms about being loyal entirely to them, but the solution to that is to simply make him human. there is so much to explore there and he wouldn't be useless - his knowledge alone would be incredibly useful, not to mention his connections. he would be the anya (from buffy) of spn - has a bunch of comic relief moments but also bc he's new at humanity & played as autistic he can cut through the bullshit by 2/3

simply questioning things that are taken for granted. which would help both boys question their status quo's and continue to grow instead of falling back into the same brother drama over and over and over again. anyway this all started because i was commenting on how the spn writers had zero interest in heaven but i guess i ended up opposite of where u are and i propose getting rid of heaven politics altogether and bring cas down to earth lmao. but anyway i love reading ur alt s6 stuff! 3/3

okay so, i have my own theories on the specifics of why the angel shit happened the way it did, but yeah you’re mostly right. basically: i think s6, specifically, suffered more from “sera gamble is a bronly” disease than “we need to get rid of cas for uhhhhhhhhhh reasons” disease. 

i actually wouldn’t mind if s6 was a jeremy carver style “we need to get rid of cas for uhhhhhhhhh reasons” plot, that’s actually basically what my season six au is! like my au is in many ways��“what if season six, but carver style (but good because carver is incompetent as a writer and showrunner)?” like, i think fundamentally the problem with the angel bullshit in carvernatural is threefold. first, carver’s seasons were just, like, bad, because carver was a bad showrunner. like, he was a heller, he loved cas, he intentionally queercoded dean so hard that i’m shocked he didn’t get shut down by the network, but he was a bad writer and showrunner. reason number two is that he was always trying to separate cas from the bros but never for like..... reasons that made sense. it was all kind of manufactured conflict, or a lot of it was. plus i feel like once cas has lost his wings it makes more sense for him to actively try and stick w the bros, vs before that it does make sense that he’d be off doing his own shit. and then the third, biggest reason why the carver seasons angel bullshit didn’t work was fucking! because godstiel was SO critical to all the angel bullshit but sera gamble didn’t give a shit and made a hash of the worldbuilding!

like, i actually really like angel stuff because i am, in my heart, a star trek fan, i love stories about governments and bureaucracies and diplomacy and politics and espionage and institutions. and the only real place for that on spn is heaven. hell, that’s actually why a lot of the heaven stuff feels out of place: the basic vibe of spn requires that governments not exist. this is something i’ve always found kind of galling about spn, actually, BECAUSE i love stories about governments. but heaven politics can be that, so in my spn it will be because i think it’s sexy.

but like, no, the problem with season six specifically is first and foremost that sera gamble is a bronly, and only cares about cas insofar as he affects or illuminates the brothers, which is CRAZY given that he was the one having the character arc in season six.

but also i do agree with you. if i was allowed to cause the show to go totally au after or mid s4? i would completely be like..... keep angels as fucked up and mysterious and inhuman as possible and just nerf cas and then keep him fucking nerfed. i actually made a post about this a million years ago where i said if i could make like, a couple things about spn good good instead of like, spn good, then one of those things would be angels and keeping them big and scary and other. and the best way to do this is never have them play too big a role and to keep cas fucking nerfed.

also, i LOVE the concept of cas as the anya of spn fkjgneirjgneign

[mctreeleth]

I found out last night that there are companies that just scan vintage dressmaking patterns and sell the scans. They just... do that. I floated the idea of posting the pattern to a shirt that I so heavily re-drafted for my PCOS-bloated belly that every line was different from the 35 year old pattern I started with, and people on instagram started sending me - me! - condescending DMs about how that is like, not okay uwu. And people are just out there doing it and not changing anything about the patterns and CHARGING PEOPLE MONEY for them!

It has been 24 hours and I am still livid. Not because they are doing it - most of these patterns are otherwise inaccessible; the pattern companies are not selling them anymore and finding them second-hand often comes down to luck. Scanning these patterns and making them accessible is what I want people to do, what I would like to do.

No, what makes me so angry is that these people have acquired access to knowledge, and decided to say fuck you to the original copyright, and then, instead of following that urge and putting them out there for the common good, put a price on that knowledge for profit. And while a couple of these sites are re-grading the patterns for a wider range of sizes than the originals - which okay, derivative works like this are arguably legally new works - some of the sites are just scanning patterns and selling the copies and like...

Challenging the idea that monopolies should be allowed to possess a copyright over creative knowledge is good! And questioning neo-liberal capitalism’s utilisation of Intellectual Property “rights” as a core component of post-Fordist hustle culture is basically my whole deal! But I have spent so long in the depths of discourse about the ethics of letting a friend borrow a pattern that you own that somehow it never even occurred to me that people were just... doing this. Straight up, zero qualms, scan a pattern and say it is yours now.

In my research, I butt up against people who publish patterns as their livelihood. They point out that, given the amount of time and expense that goes into writing and testing and marketing and all of the other things in the process of selling patterns, the amount they actually make often equates to less than minimum wage. And they think my research says they don’t deserve even that, when actually, my research is really about asking how we got to this point – what structures contributed to their decision to do this as a means of making money, and the effect that these structures and social ideas and historical factors have had on their ability to do so. I am firmly of the opinion that they are engaging in labour and they deserve compensation for it. I would rather we all be able to do it for the good of humanity while we live off of a UBI, but we are not there yet. In the meantime, this is the system we have.

My qualms about intellectual property are rooted primarily in the idea that, much like other forms of capital, its holder can profit off of it repeatedly and at the expense of others. That something can be sold many times while other things can only be sold once sets up an unequal playing field, and this is compounded when rights holders attempt to restrict what makers can do with the finite products created from that endlessly re-sellable knowledge. Even ignoring the structural factors that dictate what kinds of sale prices the two can get, there is no theoretical limit to the number of times a pattern, particularly a digital or print-on-demand one, can be sold, whereas each shirt or quilt can only be sold once. The idea is that the multiple sales offset the fact that the time required is higher and the sale price is lower for the pattern than the product, but this is based on, you know, the pattern seller having invested all that time and effort into designing and drafting and writing and testing and making and photographing and editing and all the other stuff it takes to get a pattern out there and selling. That stuff is why pattern designers are so very pro-copyright and IP. They need to sell the multiple copies to make it worthwhile. Saying “fuck you” to copyright is for people who aren’t trying to make money off of patterns.

Which is why the combo of disregarding the original copyright and selling patterns is, I think, so unpalatable to me. I have to couch my criticisms of Intellectual Property in reassurances that no, just because I think that these systems are bad does not mean I think you are a bad person for using them if you have to, emphasising that I am rejecting the idea of copyright not in order to take from them, or to profit at their expense, but instead as part of a shift towards a future where knowledge is free and accessible to all. The fact that someone could just bypass all of this, and go, no, that copyright is being disregarded because it stops me from profiting on something I have gained physical access to and want to make money off of, just took me so very very by surprise.

Like, don’t get me wrong, the original copyright holders have been bought out and bought out and bought out, and the big four pattern companies that comprise most of their scanned patterns are now owned by a single mega-corp; I am in no way concerned for them. But that I have to be so careful and polite and respectful towards every perspective meant that seeing someone go “my copyright now” is just infuriating. I work so so hard to push for a world where we share this kind of knowledge, where we have moved past the shitty paywalls of intellectual property. These people took the same stance as mine but instead of channeling the chutzpa required to post these patterns online into doing some good, they used it to profit for themselves. That is what I am furious about.

As for the shirt pattern? The one especially re-drafted for my body; the body with the waist that is 4 sizes bigger than the bust and hips? The shirt that hides incredibly well the fact that you are bloated to the size of someone 4-months pregnant? As soon as I get my sewing room unpacked again (my Mum is visiting for a bit) I am going to take tutorial photos and post it. For free, obviously.

[phoebehalliwell]

could I just ask you ALL the questions? (minus any you've already answered of course)

lksdajglaks hell yeah bro (i'll also be skipping the ones require like fill in the blanks)

Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

no again like the charmed fandom isn't really like hella active so there's no like mass swarming 2 drive u mad which is nice

Have you received anon hate? What about?

like i'm sure i have but like idk about what prolly just like what i said was wrong or incorrect or something idk i usually just delete

Most disliked character(s)? Why?

i mean i never really liked cole :/ like he was fine in the beginning but i was never big on phole which was his big thing and then of course they tanked him so :|. like whatcha gonna do. i can respect the concept tho n julian does have some really good moments. i also don't like kyle bc he bugs the shit outta me but also i find him like So Fascinating like. like he's so interesting just the way he interacts with people like it's so. i personally have a headcanon that he really has trouble like connecting with people / like reading emotions or social cues which is why you know like he dropped that magic bomb with darryl and sheridan and had like no qualms about it and he has like this. it's not quite charm but he has like this. god i can't describe it but you know this kind of light playful tone with an underlying malice that he tends to present with most people upon first meeting but in like relationships he has skin in he's just like a lot more stiff i personally think there's not the same swagger that we see initially Which I Think is because again i don't think he can read people well and his early attitude is actually his impression of like. the leader of the evil kid gang he fell in when he was younger. someone who was a cool sauve leader who was afraid of nothing but people were afraid of him something that a young kyle who was like still like really afraid reeling from the trauma of the death of him parents really kind of worshipped as the perfect mask of strength and masculinity that then proceeded to really sail him through law enforcement you know so it is like his most comfortable mask but it is at the end of the day just some impression of a school bully. but of course this is just my own lil brain in canon kyle's like a bitch

Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

jack sheridan my beloved <3 also richard montana. i literally see a lame ass male character go is anyone gonna project onto that guy n then i don't wait for an answer. but like fr. he is literally me <3

Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

um continuing in the same vein calling it an arc might be generous but i fucking Love prue/jack so unreasonably much like. they're so fascinating. like. but beyond that i also liked paige's temp jobs which i think were kinda unpopular

Unpopular opinion about your fandom?

i mean again n/a bc this fandom's just so like chill. because the shows been off air. for like. 15 years. that being said. i do hate when people like. maliciously hate any the sisters. like you can just leave if ur having a bad time??

Unpopular opinion about the show?

i mean like. i don't think this is like. Unpopular per se. but like. it's gotta be said. like this wasn't really like a ""good"" show. like obvi we all love it but like some of it was like. really bad (lookin at u l8r season phoebe arcs 😡😡) idc tho bc i still fucking love this show. so much. but like. has 2 b said.

If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

ah jesus like just one thing? hmm. i guess if i get only one move it'd probably be to save prue idk how that would work per se because i love paige and piper's arc in s4 but killing off prue was just So Cruel it breaks my heart.

Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased?

i'm gonna level w u i think the phrasing of this q is so funny bc hell yeah ur biased it's called like having an opinion lol. but again in regards to charmed specifically it's So Fuckin Old that being in denial really no longer applies just because. like what's done is done and cannot be undone. that being said bianca didn't die lmao she n chris r fine

What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

😐. idk. some people read the text different then me & i'm all like no!! u don't see it the way i see it!! what the fuck!!!! but like. at the end of the day. i really don't fuckin care?? like u can be wrong and that's fine it doesn't affect me. & ik a lot of people probably feel the same way about me like you know i'm out here like pruejack <3 piperkyle <3 paigeleo <3 pruecole <3 like. i've got bad opinions. so at the end of the day it's really whatever. i'm really grateful that this fandom is like p quite and you know not insane and vicious and cutthroat bc liek bro calm down it's literally just pictures on a screen? but yes. some people have like. Wrong Opinions. but i let it go. zen.

What is the purest ship in the fandom?

that's a good fuckin question. paigeleo? lol. in canon and ik a lot of people probz won't like this but phoebecoop.

What are your thoughts on crack ships?

depends on how u define like crackship because like i get none of them are going to happen but if a crackship is defined as something i think is funny but i would never wanna actually see happen then i have like zero of them bc i am like dead serious about like damn near all my ships idc how stupid i'm like hell yeah i wish this would have happened in canon. piperkyle my beloved <3 that would have been so fuckin funny to go canon. like. like. so fuckin funny. would have loved it lol

Popular character you hate?

prolly cole bc he is popular and i just never loved him as much as everyone else i just never really liked what they did with him there are some episodes where i'm like hell yeah (see: the good the bad and the cursed) but for the most part i really don't care that much about him and the narrative Really Wants Me To Care

Unpopular character you love?

once again. richard & jack. <3

most shippable character?

tbh i feel like piper. just because we get so many sides of her in the show like she has a lot of character growth and that's really fun to work with that. beyond that i do love paige and she's usually my go-to for gay pairing bc look at her. she's gay.