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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 7 months

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Common Knowledge 3

Warnings: non/dubcon, power imbalance, bullying, and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

Characters: Geralt of Rivia, Harald Halfdansson, tall & plus-size reader

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

Your next study session is a special excursion. Paranoid about your talkative professor and his distractions, you opt instead for the off-campus smoothie shop you passed a dozen times but never went into. You order a simple strawberry banana concoction and claim a table in the corner for your mission.

You take your laptop out and the giant tome with a cluster of tabs poking out from the pages. You've narrowed down your possible topics. You don't know why you're so indecisive. You just feel entirely out of your depth. Ask you about a Hapsburg or even a Roman emperor, and you're good, but gods and goddesses, giants and beasts... You just can't nail it down.

The coming and going of customers is steady but not disturbing. Most enter, order, and promptly leave. The average patron has a gym bag and appears to be on their way to workout.

You peek up now and again but quickly lose yourself in your research. There's something to say about the plight of the feminine figures in Norse mythos. It surely seems a tragic existence. Somehow, you can relate.

You flip to a tab and lean in to read. You reach for your smoothie blindly and take a sip as your eyes flit back to your laptop. A cup lands heavy on your table and a figure falls in the chair across from you. As if they know you, as if they belong there.

It's that man! With the blindingly white eyes and similarly shocking hair. Hair pokes out above the vee of his peculiar tunic and his hair is wave with a sheen of sweat. You give him a confused look and flutter through the pages, ignoring him. You won't ask how he found you, might be a coincidence, but you'd rather he get the clue and leave you alone.

He reaches over and stops your search. He pushes the pages flat and growls, "you wrote in it?"

You squint at him, curling your lip. You shrug. You bought the book. Who cares if you added a few annotations in the margins.

"How could you write in it?" He sneers.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Don't be stupid," he tilts his head, "I know you remember me."

"Mmmm," you drone dully and slide the book from under his hand.

Silence. Still and suffocating. You have nothing to say to him and it seems he approached without a clear plan. You really don't understand what his end goal would be. He can go find the book somewhere else.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" He hisses.

"Excuse me?" You glare at him above your laptop.

"Sure seems like you don't."

"It's a history project. I can figure it out."

"Hmph," he wrinkles his nose, "well, I am a font of knowledge on the subject."

"Really? What are your credentials?"

"I don't need a piece of paper to tell me what I know," he scoffs.

"So you know nothing?"

"Watch it, girl."

"Or what?" You blink, shocked by the interlaced threat.

He laughs darkly and crosses his arms, "you think you're smart."

You shake your head, "I'm studying, so... that's the goal."

He shifts and leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. He watches you as you ignore him for the blinking cursor on the screen.

"When a man talks to you, are you usually so rude?" He asks.

You nearly recoil. You give a scoff of your own. What year is this?

"I don't know you," your eyes dart up to meet his, "and I don't want to know you. Why would you even--"

"I'm not ugly," he says, a jarring statement. You wouldn't argue, he isn't hideous; on the outside. "And I offered to help. So..."

"Yeah, but you're not nice either."

You shut the book and snap closed your laptop. If he won't go, you will. You stand and he does too. He's big. You might be tall but he's a brick wall.

"Where are you going?" He asks, almost stupidly. That stern, empty cadence of him is almost robotic.

"Away from you."

"Why?"

You furrow your brows. Really? Is it not obvious?

"I'm talking to you. Asking you questions about yourself. It's small talk."

You let out a long 'um', not able to come up with anything else.

"Geralt," he offers his hand in an overly formal manner.

You can't respond. You don't understand what the hell is going on? You might be a social hermit but this man is entirely inept.

"I don't meet many people interested in mythology, but--"

"I'm not interested, dude."

He sputters, "why?"

"Because... you're a jerk," you shove your things in your bag and zip it up. "Wow, are you really that oblivious?"

You see his eyes scanning as he thinks. It's almost like he's never reflected on his own behaviour. You can't imagine why he is still looking for a friend.

"So... you're not going to tell me your name?" He asks at last.

"Bro, I'm about to scream," you warn as you shoulder your bag, "just get out of my way."

You swipe your smoothie off the table and take a step forward. He doesn't move at first. He stares you down as you steel yourself, glancing at the employees behind the counter.

"What school do you go to?" He asks.

Your head nearly explodes. You have never been so lost in a conversation. You grip the strap of your bag tight and set your jaw.

"Move," you grit out, heart racing.

He pulls his chin back as if surprised. He steps away and waves you out from behind the table. You slowly walk forward, swallowing as you try not to shake.

"I'll figure it out," he mutters.

"What?" You spin back to him.

"I said," he turns to face you, sitting again and taking his cup to sip on the straw. He pops his mouth off, "have a good day."

#geralt of rivia #geralt x reader #dark geralt #dark!geralt #the witcher #drabble #au #bookstore au #series #common knowledge #harald halfdansson #harald x reader #harald finehair #dark!harald #dark harald #vikings

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nkjemisin · 1 year

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Hi!

I’m currently struggling to go to sleep the night before a big solo performance for a school event, so I figured I’d ask one of my favorite authors a couple things I’ve been wondering about. (Does flattery still work on people?)

So, I believe I remember you saying something along the lines of “people ask me why I write about weird sex magic. It’s because I read Greek mythology, and it has a lot of weird sex magic.” And I’m paraphrasing that horribly, but I was wondering, what things *have* you drawn inspiration from? I’m in love with the way magic is portrayed in both the Dreamblood books and the Broken Earth trilogy (I’ve yet to read the inheritance series), and I was wondering what inspiration you had? They feel kind of different to me—dreamseed and it’s counterparts seem really rooted in the four humors and the way some older mythos have a big fuss around the seed of gods and all that fun stuff, but the magic in Broken Earth feels a lot more . . . introspective, I guess? It seems like you’ve written it to be much more focused on the individual’s own perception of it, and that influences what they can do/how they do things. And I don’t really think I’ve seen anything that leans into that angle, as far as mythos goes. (Though I really, really cannot claim to be knowledgeable in that.)

And for the second thing: do you have any tips to becoming a good reader? I can read *fast*, but I really feel like I don’t get more than just the surface and shallow ideas about the message/themes the author might intend. It always seems like people are able to come up with very introspective, in depth dissections of their favorite characters and books, and I can’t help but look at those sometimes, and go, “wow, what was *I* reading?” I guess that it might be a learned skill, but I don’t really know where to start. I guess I also wanted to ask about what themes and such you wanted to incorporate into the Broken Earth trilogy (that was my introduction to you, then Dreamblood, then the Great Cities), but that’s really just a secondary thing to this question.

Well, regardless of whether or not you answer, I just wanted to ask so I could stop thinking about it constantly. I can’t wait to jump into the Inheritance Trilogy next time I buy books.

Flattery doesn't work on me, but I do love to talk shop, so... 😄 Cutting for length:

To your first question, about the different ways I depict magic -- first, it's not just Greek mythology that I use. There are soooo many cosmologies and cosmogonies out there that show gods as rowdy, horny, petty, and basically human, just with weird magic powers on top of that. The Dreamblood books are specifically informed by ancient Egyptian mythology and culture. I did some research into ancient Egyptian medical texts -- in particular the Edwin Smith Papyrus -- so I drew from those to create Gujaareh's four dream humors. I wanted Gujaareh to feel like an ancient Egypt that might have developed if magic actually worked... and if its own version of Imhotep had been a manipulative megalomaniac who decided to start a magic-controlled theocracy. tl,dr; Ancient Egyptians had a thing for humors and surgery and gods that were into sex lettuce, so that's what I claimed for Gujaareh.

With the Inheritance Trilogy I ranged more widely in what I mooched from existing cosmologies, because I wanted to build a belief system that resembled real-world stuff but wasn't just our world's gods in costume. For example, I noticed that lots of systems suggested that existence or human genesis begins with gods banging or fighting (or both), so I came up with a creation myth chock full of gods banging and fighting. Familiar hanger, new clothes on it.

But the Broken Earth books aren't about gods. There's a mythic frame "explaining" the Seasons and past disasters and Father Earth and so on, but that wasn't the focus. I was more interested in the ways we apply myths to people, treating some marginalized groups as simultaneously superhuman and subhuman... but never simply human. Same for the Great Cities books. It's meaningful that other cultures have discovered the existence of city avatars and worked them into their cosmologies, but only as a bit of detail to make the world more complete. Again, the mythology isn't the focus there.

I can't help you on becoming a good reader, sadly, because I am a very bad reader these days. I have a lot of trouble shutting off my "inner editor voice," which is a thing that I've heard a lot of other pro authors (and editors, and reviewers) mention. People in my business spend years developing the ability to spot problems in writing... and the inner editor is what happens when you stop being able to shut that ability off. The typos, the clichés, the patches of language that could've been trimmed out, all of it just starts to glare. The thing is, all books have issues like this, and most of the time they're not even errors, just... pecadilloes. The little things that are part of reading work made by human beings. They mean the writer was tired and didn't proofread as closely as they should, or maybe the writer was waffling on word use and inadvertently ended up using one a little too much, or maybe they were having a fight with their copyeditor about spelling and missed a grammar flub. Just part of reading. But if you, like me, have an inflamed inner editor, then instead of taking in the whole picture of whatever the author is trying to show you, you get nitpicky. You get irrationally angry at typos. You hyperfocus on the author's tendency to use one word too much. (A writer friend told me I use too many "plinths," for example.) You spend time thinking about structural issues and not noticing the language, or vice versa.

But since I'm currently in self-imposed reading rehab, maybe this will help you: For me, it helps to move away from what's familiar. I read a lot of stuff outside the SFF genre, because it's easier to shut off my inner editor when I'm less familiar with the tropes, the styles, the concepts. I've also really gotten into audiobooks, for example, because when I can't see the text I can't critique it, or at least not as instantly. So that's all I can suggest. If you've developed the habit of gulping down books, find a way to throttle the flow, so to speak. Try playing audiobooks on half speed, to train yourself to patience. Read outside your comfort zone, which will force you to slow down and take things in because of the unfamiliarity. Maybe try ebooks with the text blown up a lot, so that you have to turn the page more often; I don't know, just spitballing now. Maybe folks will have better suggestions in the comments. Hope it helps!

#answered asks

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thegodcyclecomic · 4 months

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Hello again! Thank you for your post that covered my question on what sources of inspiration you used for Athena. It was super enlightening!

I know this is a tall order because the myths are broad, but could you discuss what aspects of characterization and dimensions you feel are often ignored about Athena? This is me practically begging for a meta post, but I genuinely love hearing your thoughts on her because I agree with your assessment that roughly most media tend to lean to simplistic aspects of Athena. I like hearing from your inspiration notes that you thought of Athena’s childhood with Pallas and how she is more of a pragmatic character that has agency.

I have a lot of thoughts on this so this post won't be as comprehensive as I originally intended, I will be briefly covering the points I want to list out. I try my best to base my writing of Athena on the canon source material, but there will be aspects that veer into my own interpretation/headcanon territory. All Iliad passages here are from the Robert Fitzgerald translation.

Anyway, here are the aspects of characterization I think are normally ignored when authors write Athena.

Her calculating nature / intelligence

This one sounds weird because it's paradoxically the first thing that comes to mind when writing Athena. The issue with this is the same issue when amateur authors try to write characters who are smarter than them: They resort to cheap shortcuts and stereotypes to show a character is "smart".

Examples of this would be the overusage of chess imagery. It's a game that wouldn't exist in Ancient Greece anyway, and it's a measure of spatial memorization rather than strategy. In real warfare, everything is variable to change. Chess pieces don't have motivations or biases that could influence their actions. Opening moves in chess have their counters, but real-life tactics allow you more freedom on how to engage with it.

The next writing shortcut people resort to re: Athena's intelligence is how they use her reading books to show she is "smart" but don't really elaborate on what kind of books she reads of what topics she specializes in which is already in the mythos that can give you lots of ideas.

I mentioned this before but when I started TGC I had a hard time characterizing Athena at first because I didn't understand her domains too well. So you know what I did? I picked up books about military history, Ancient Greek laws, political theory, philosophy, and similar. Learning about these things gave me a perspective of "how would the personification of the state act if they were a person?". Ancient Greece was big on the Social Contract, as exemplified in Socrates's speech in Plato's Apology.

There's a lot more to it, I'm not doing it justice at all in this post. But that's the idea. In the Oresteia, Athena created the practice of cross-examination for murder trials, and then immediately proceeded to undermine the entire justice process by attempting to bribe the prosecution (the Furies). In the Iliad Book 4, she disguises herself as a Trojan soldier to trick Laodokos to shoot Menelaus to break the ceasefire-- essentially enacting what we in modern day would call a False Flag Operation. It's so quintessentially Politician(tm) of her to do.

Athena's intelligence comes from how she seeks to improve and make efficient current systems, like her strategy to Ares's warfare. Or her various inventions in mythos. Another one would be her ability to manipulate people and situations to push for the outcomes she wants. You can see this in her various dialogues in the Epic Cycle:

Athena grifting in the Odyssey in a speech she makes to Zeus about why she should be allowed to assist Odysseus.

520: Athena kept the pace behind them, bearing her shield of storm, immortal and august, whose hundred golden-plaited tassles, worth a hekatomb each one, floated in air. So down the ranks that dazzling goddess went to stir the attack, and each man in his heart grew strong to fight and never quit the melee, for at her passage war itself became lovelier than return, lovelier than sailing in the decked ships to their own native land -Iliad Book 4

and this

100: “Son of Lykaon, I have in mind an exploit that may tempt you, tempt a fighting heart. Have you the gall to send an arrow like a fork of lightning home against Menelaus? Every Trojan heart would rise, and every man would praise you, especially Paris, the prince— you would be sure to come by glittering gifts if he could see the warrior, Menelaus, the son of Atreus, brought down by your bow, then bedded on a dolorous pyre! Come now, brace yourself for a shot at Menelaus. engage to pay Apollo, the bright archer, a perfect hekatomb of firstling lambs when you go home to your old town, Zeleia.” That was Athena’s way, leading him on, the foolish man, to folly. -Iliad Book 4

from what I can understand, Athena's domain of wisdom is not just limited to giving insight to people-- but also in obscuring the truth and leading others to their ruin. Which is in line with one of Athena's epithets which is Απατουρια (Apaturia) "Deciever".

Often times in other adaptations, they relegate Athena's intelligence to spouting random facts or a "nerdy" personality. Or they nerf it so that she doesn't solve these braindead plots in 2 seconds. Take Athena from Lore Olympus for example, the Athena of canon would've never allowed any of this shit with Persephone and Apollo undermining Zeus to happen TT_TT if you have to make your characters stupid for the story to work, then it is a bad story hands down.

2. Interpretations regarding Athena's relationship with heroes

This is something I see a lot where Athena is written to have a personal investment in her heroes like they are "her blorbos" (actual words I've seen people on this hellsite use for this). I'd like to direct your attention to this passage from of Athena speaking in Iliad book 8.

My father, now, is full of a black madness, evil and perverse. All that I strive for he brings to nothing: He will not remember how many times I intervened to save his son, worn out in trials set by Eurystheus. How Heracles would cry to heaven! And Zeus Would send me out of heaven to be his shield. Had I forseen this day that time he went down, bidden by Eurystheus, between Death’s narrow gates to bring from Erebos the watchdog of the Lord of Undergloom, he never would have left the gorge of Styx!

The way I understand this passage is that Athena does a lot of "NPC questgiver" tasks for Zeus in an attempt to curry favor from him. It's a calculated choice on her part and not something she does out of the kindness of her heart. A similar situation occurs when Orestes asks Athena for aid, she helps him on the insistence of Apollo.

Regarding Odysseus, I'm sure there is some fondness she has for him-- but that doesn't stop her from allowing him to be struck by storm (as collateral damage for the crimes of Ajax the lesser for raping Cassandra in Athena's temple). Or from her setting up the suitor problem so she could convince him to murder them all.

If you've noticed, all of Athena's champions are some kind of high-ranking warriors. A king or general or prince. You would think that the goddess of wisdom would favor the philosophers more, or would choose more often to avoid violence. But Athena is very quick to choose violence, it's who she is. And she needs a tool that she can use as a blade.

(these are my interpretations, if you disagree thats fine) 3. Athena as a "peaceful" goddess

This one makes me laugh and also drives me insane.

There are two Homeric hymns that directly and clearly contradict this idea.

(HOMERIC HYMNS 5 - 33, TRANSLATED BY H. G. EVELYN-WHITE) a. The Homeric Hymn to Athena

Of Pallas Athene, guardian of the city, I begin to sing. Dread is she, and with Ares she loves deeds of war, the sack of cities and the shouting and the battle. It is she who saves the people as they go out to war and come back. Hail, goddess, and give us good fortune with happiness!

b. The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite

...Yet there are three hearts that she cannot bend nor yet ensnare. First is the daughter of Zeus who holds the aegis, bright-eyed Athene; for she has no pleasure in the deeds of golden Aphrodite, but delights in wars and in the work of Ares, in strifes and battles and in preparing famous crafts.

What I find insightful about the second one is that it gives a specific reason for why Athena cannot be moved by romantic love. It's because war occupies the space in her heart that love would normally be. Both hymns specifically name drop Ares, so the idea that Athena finds Ares's violence to be repulsive is just blatantly untrue. If anything, she adores it. The time it would become an issue for her is when his rampages act against her greater interests, which is the source of all their duels in canon.

Other proof for Athena being generally violent can be inferred from her characterization in the Iliad, the instances of which are too numerous to list here.

4. Athena's personality defined by her lack of childhood.

I mentioned this in another post, but Athena was born from Zeus as an adult (though in TGC I changed this to being born as a pre-teen. This is intentional and serves a purpose). What we know about psychology today is that for normal social and emotional development, young children need to form an attachment with at least one primary caregiver. Athena being born as an adult means that she would've missed out on important development milestones that other gods would've gone through.

I will preemptively say that before you bring up the "theyre Gods they're not like humans" that as far as mythos is concerned, the way that gods behave and think is almost exactly identical to that of humans. They experience the same range of emotions humans do, as well as grief and trauma. So I will consider that their psychology is also the same with the difference being that they might experience mental degradation not typically seen in humans because of cumulative negative experiences over a long period.

Back to Athena, the only framework she would have to start from literally being born yesterday would be the fragments of memories she gleaned from being inside of Zeus's head. I think this would be confusing for her, as these are from the first-person perspective of Zeus, so using his memories but lacking context for those experiences might lead to an early identity crisis. Athena would then have to play catchup in learning extremely fast everything to fill those blanks.

This is why I think Athena has a hard time forming personal connections. She doesn't have a true equal. Athena's relationships are defined by power imbalances and transactions, and that is how she understands relationships in general to work.

5. Athena's humanity.

I think what bothers me the most about Athena in adaptations is the lack of humanity given to her character. I know I just went over why she's a manipulative machiavellian character, but what I see is that Athena often gets relegated to the Unfun Stick in the Mud character. She exists to ruin the fun of the Fun Chaotic Dudes Dionysus, Hermes, and Apollo. She doesn't have anything going to her except being a snitch and a daddy's girl, or worse, she exists to be "put in her place" by other male gods. This is why I really dislike Fedini's and "incorrect greek gods" take on Athena. I think there's this underlying biases that an ace-coded goddess can't have anything interesting about her, because all media on tumblr and fandom these days are broken down to fucking shipping instead of seriously engaging with the source material. I've seen people call her a Mary Sue or act like she is an annoying bitch for exhibiting personality traits that would be praised in a male character (the traits of a Byronic Hero).

Portrayals of Athena go one extreme or another, either she is a wholly Good goddess or she is a Villain/mere annoyance. It's a real shame to see, because I hope I can show you now that she is a wonderfully complex and morally grey character. I want to see Athena's curiosity and how she tries to understand the world from her own perspective. I want to explore her relationships with Zeus and her siblings like Ares and Apollo outside of the Meme'fication of Greek mythology.

Anyway, that's all I can think of for now, I hope this answers your question. If you have any point you'd like me to explain more, I'd be glad to make another post in greater detail.

#athena #tagamemnon #greek mythology #greek myths #the god cycle #ask

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tideswept · 6 months

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I was tagged by @yourfavoritefridge and am taking a page from @sendpseuds ('s) book and answering this while deeply compromised. Sober, I am not.

You have been warned!

1.) How many works do you have on ao3?

62!

2.) What's your ao3 word count?

800,347! (Ooh, big round number!)

3.) What fandoms do you write for?

Currently: Kingsman & Star Wars. (I really never thought I'd be in either of them but I'm glad I am.)

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?

gold and pink and glittering: 498, Hartwin, E. I'm still surprised to this day how much people liked it. First smut in several years.

the lean and hungry type: 453, Obikin, E. First time getting to do alpha/beta, and written from around 11pm to 4 am and then another hour proofreading. I was mildly delirious, ngl.

offer a little salt for that wound: 463, Hartwin, E. OOH man I had this one in my head and wouldn't leave me tf alone. My plot bunnies aren't USUALLY visual, but this one was!

cold water on your tongue: 429, Obikin, E. Still surprised this one took off tbh! I had a lot of moments where the fic felt awkward to me and not worth salvaging. But I think it makes people happy, and god, I can't really ask for more than that!

somebody to lie in the dark with: 302, Obikin, E. That's the second time today I've typed something instead of someone in that title. HMM. (Sith-Wan, my darling!)

5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do when I can! Have a pretty decent streak going, I think? I think I owe a really lovely commenter from like 5 days ago and nnnghh the guilt is heavy.

6.) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Potentially empty spaces, empty phrases (Obikin) depending on how you decide the ending goes! But objectively: let me stay (TimJon).

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

oh fuck, who are you, the cops? (me, looking at my fics in despair)

I think the honor goes to cold water on your tongue. Everything else tends to end in a bittersweet or incomplete ("to be continued") kind of way.

8.) Do you get hate on fics?

Not outside of TMA. It's been absolutely lovely being in Kingsman / Obikin fandoms. I genuinely showed up here low-key scared for my life, and I've been shown nothing but kindness and support.

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

Yes, and welcome to the first of the "UH IDK? [awkward shrug/hand wave]" questions because... I have no idea how to answer that. Like, what are the quantifiers here? Level of depth (NO PUN INTENDED) in how explicit it is, or what bits are rubbing against what bits, or like, if I specialize in any particular kind of smut (if there aren't pins for "I WRITE BDSM SMUT", I demand we print them) or— tldr: IDK. Vibe. The vibe kind. oh my god not vibrator vibe brain why are you doing this

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

Nope. I've thought about fusions, though! Like, I feel a fic where Obi-Wan is a Kingsman and picks Anakin as his candidate--maybe it was Qui-Gon's dying request still, and when Obi-Wan became a knight and a seat next opened up, he reluctantly said, FINE.

(Now I'm wondering what knight Obi-Wan would be. Gawain? The original version of him, not the vulgarized mythos of later romances. Which leaves Anakin to be Agravaian, which is pretty perfect tbh. I mean he could also be Mordred since they're all brothers)

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yup! Multiple times. It never stops feeling Not Okay.

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of?

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Nope.

14.) What's your all time favorite ship?

oh fuck you are the cops.

Uh. tbh this is a really hard question until I asked myself: a 100k fic written by an amazing author: what pairing would you be more excited about? And my heart... my heart said Hartwin.

15.) What's a WIP you'd like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Ahh, sadly the post-Vday canon divergence Hartwin fic. I'm told it stands on its own as is, though. So maybe that counts for something?

16.) What are your writing strengths?

I have no idea. You saw what happened during the smut question, I fell apart like a jenga tower! And that was a simple question!

Honestly though, I don't know. That I manage to carry enough vibes to be entertaining? That's pretty good.

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

I will not clutch the camera and shove my face into it and whisper everything in a voice ragged with despair I will not clutch th—

18.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Google Translate, my dearest friend. (Unless it's Spanish, I can handle that on my own.)

Granted, if I have a friend who speaks the language, you can bet I'm knocking down their door like a SWAT squad.

19.) First fandom you wrote for?

UH SO FUNNY STORY. I watched IT (the TV series) when I was like, 7. Was very confused for many reasons (partly because I missed the first hour) but also i was a Weird Child, and also Not American.

But! I didn't know it was based off a book written by a dude, so one day I just... started writing the story down in a notebook when I was 8. Because I figured I liked the movie (I assumed it was a movie at the time) so much, why NOT turn it into something to read?

20.) Favorite fic you've ever written?

Beholding's Own. Lightning-in-a-bottle kind of situation, 10+ year break from writing, and also re-entering fandom after said 10+ year long break. It's really hard to live up to that kind of fondness.

From new fics? the devil is a gentleman. I can't help it, this Obi-Wan and Anakin are hilarious. They are so dumb and yet so smart.

I'm supposed to tag people now for this, so imagine me throwing Your Candy of Choice at @irrationalsense, @veloursdor, @kingdomvel and @howlbrooklyn like a fastball. (And anyone else who'd like to do it!)

#ask game #thanks for the ask!

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dailycass-cain · 1 year

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I have time, at last, to talk about Spirit World #1! So what did I think about the issue and all the Cass within it?

I do like that this series is two-fold where you have both plots where Xanthe/John Constantine are trying to figure out a way into Spirit World and you have Cass venturing into the world itself.

Spirit World itself is a fascinating place because you can have all sorts of wonky mystical creatures inhabit it or have it as another plane of the afterlife. It just works perfectly. Like these two sisters who pester Cass early on in the issue. The sequence reminded me of a mixture of "The Bride with White Hair" and the "Evil Dead" movies. I almost was expecting a viewpoint from the sister who was pursuing Cass's pov as the latter is dodging her. Given how she's crackling on how she'll devour her even to the bones.

What fascinates me is how the spirits can tell of her moral qualities and well how it makes her a greater meal. Which writer Alyssa Wong leans heavier when Cass is saved by folks who know of Xanthe and Cass tells them how she got here. It's a little moment but artist Haining captures how slaying the creature still weighs HEAVY on Cass.

It's something overlooked (aka JL Elite), or not shown as much (DCeased: Dead Planet hinted at it but never fully went there).

Even a mythical creature so many years old and evil, and it still destroys Cass inside that she had killed it.

Once again, Wong just GETS the character of Cass. In ways that make me squee. Like, part of me hopes we get SOMETHING of Cass's past rearing their head in the Spirit World in good or bad.

I know my friends discussed a theory that the mysterious "Mr. Hong" who shows up might be someone whose a voice Cass recognizes be this bastard.

Honestly? I'd be down with that as it would separate David Cain from the mercs that seems like a ocean of them at this point.

However, my own theory, if someone is gonna show up from Cass's past, would be:

I mean that would be chilling to have a soul you murdered showing up as a spiritual lord in Spirit World.

The action has even consequences for after death they became nastier and more powerful.

The other possibility is well...

I know it's highly not gonna happen. But I just feel like Cass meeting Carolyn would be neat. You could have the Wu-San sisters being forces both in the Earthly and Spiritual worlds.

I think the reason why I want a Carolyn showing is more due to well Rebirth's lost plot of her being a self-help guru and even in death Carolyn is mending fences.

Anyway, another element I do love is Wong weaving TWO of Cass's other identities. Both one with a sly mention of Orphan and the other basically being a better Black Bat design.

Then again, I feel this new outfit is a clear homage to fan art attempts of another costume for Cass. But hey it keeps something flowing around her belt area. Even if it isn't a scarf. 😝

As for Po Po and Bowen interest me as both characters remind me of Studio Ghibli characters. I think for Bowen it's the mark across his chest we see.

It highly reminds me of the demonic mark Ashitaka had in Princess Mononoke. Is it a sign of he was feasted by Spirit World creatures before Po Po saved him?

Po Po is another character that fascinates me as well as she (and Bowen) are connections to Xanthe's past. I like how it's all connected and the way Wong spins the stories as we learn one aspect of the new character's past and we get another with a cliffhanger.

Not only that but teases of just when Xanthe became nonbinary as her mother deadnames them by issue's end.

Like, I'm glad Wong is showing the origin of Xanthe in full both in glimpses on the Cass side, while also in their attempt to save her.

This was a REALLY good first issue that continues introducing a really intriguing new character to the DC mystical mythos (with their own area to play with) that intertwines with Cassandra Cain and something that the character just well barely has ever dealt with: mystic hijinks.

Like we sort of did (in the tail end of her ongoing) aka one of the worst stories involving the character. So I'm glad Wong is taking something that was once a negative for Cass writers and finally going back to the well with a better story.

The fact that so many fans are talking about it. Shows just how much Wong has got us, and they've barely even brushed the surface of Spirit World and even gone into full details with Xanthe.

The only negative, I could even think is the most minor of nit-picks. In that, I hope Bowen doesn't become another male love interest for Cass. He does look a little smitten of her with what she's done. Buuuuut...

Given the little glances we have of him, I don't think Wong will do that, unlike other writers in the past. I think that's why many are thinking that angle. I think Wong is going for subversion here.

Regardless, I highly enjoyed this series and if you're looking for a new angle of DC mystic this really was something! BUY THIS BOOK AND SPIRIT WORLD #2 NEXT MONTH!

#dc comics #cassandra cain #my thoughts

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honourablejester · 9 months

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While we’re on this topic of old films we watched and enjoyed, some random movie recs from the 1910s through to the 1970s based on the things that popped into my head fastest. Warning in advance, I like horror, noir, swashbucklers, dark comedy and dodgy fantasy films.

1910s

Fantômas serials (1913/1914) – As I said in the previous post, if you ever get a random hankering for silent-era pulpy French crime thrillers, these are an excellent start.

1920s

Metropolis (1927) – the imagery in this movie is absolutely stunning, even if the morals are extremely heavy-handed. Worth it for the Robot Maria transformation sequence alone. Also, and I feel mean for thinking this, because the poor man’s going through hell, but there are moments where Freder is truly hilarious. And also, Batman: The Animated Series owes so much, visually, to this movie. It single-handedly shape a vision of what cities and the future and architecture and transport could look like.

Nosferatu (1922) – imagery. The Germans were so fucking good at imagery in early cinema. Admittedly the movie does some very strange things to the Dracula mythos, and is probably the source of a lot of later ideas of him that have nothing to do with the novel (the sunlight thing), but it’s so cool.

1930s

M (1931) – Peter Lorre is incredible. And actually the whole set up of this movie is so creepy and tense and enthralling, and then the court scene busts it wide open. Deals with some heavy things, including child murder, vigilante justice and mental illness, but it’s so good. And you will never hear ‘Hall of the Mountain King’ the same way again.

The Thin Man (1934) and sequels – they’re half hardboiled noir and half screwball comedy, but they’re not a parody, because they predate most of the noir genre, so this is more of a funny hybrid precursor series. And they’re really funny. If you just want some pep and jazz in your life, a good time for an hour or so, totally watch these, they’re adorable.

The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) – Okay. I just like a good swashbuckler? You will see Zenda several times on this list, because I enjoy a lot of versions of this, but of all of them you need to start with this one, because Douglas Fairbanks Jnr. No one else will ever do Rupert of Hentzau like him. If you like your charming, snarky villains, if you like your Lokis, Rupert of Hentzau. Douglas Fairbanks Jnr. If you also like your villain and your hero to have powerful sexual tension and lean very close to each other while crossing blades, again. Rupert of Hentzau. Just watch. You’ll see.

Son of Frankenstein (1939) – I’m not going to lie, I watched this movie purely to see where Young Frankenstein (1974, also very much worth a look) was getting a lot of its in-jokes and gags from (Inspector Kemp in YF is riffing off Inspector Krogh in this movie). But it is worth watching wholly on its own merits. Among other things, Inspector Krogh is a genuinely cool and compelling character (as a kid, the monster ripped his arm out during its first rampage, and during this movie Krogh fully stands up to that childhood nightmare and has a cool moment with his prosthetic arm), and if you have any interest in Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi, this movie is fantastic. Lugosi in particular as Igor does so much in this movie. If all you picture when you think of him is Dracula, try this. (And The Black Cat (1934), which also has Karloff and Lugosi, but is significantly more intense).

1940s

The Mark of Zorro (1940) – Okay. I like swashbucklers. I like movie sword fights. This movie has the best movie sword fight ever. Basil Rathbone vs Tyrone Power. No contest. And, I mean, yes, the rest of the movie is also good. But watch it for the sword fight. Perfection.

The Wolf Man (1941) – This movie and Casablanca between them gave me a bit of a thing for Claude Rains. I don’t know, he’s just really compelling to watch. Very soft-spoken, but very there. And if you want the tragedy of the werewolf curse, this is the movie that started it all. This is not a monster movie. This is a psychological horror story of one man breaking apart under the burden of a curse. It’s so good.

Casablanca (1942) – I mean, it’s everyone’s answer. It’s stereotypical, the classic movie. But it is very, very good. Extremely quotable. I wish to punch Rick in the face several times over. And Claude Rains as Renault is so sleazy, but also so compelling.

Arsenic & Old Lace (1944) – If you ever wondered what the deal with Cary Grant was. This movie. His face. The whole movie just rides on his face. His reactions, his body language. I mean, the movie does a lot of things spectacularly. If you enjoy dark comedy, this is the pinnacle. Hiding bodies in window seats, kill count competitions between a psychotic criminal and his maiden aunts, the extremely morbid running gags of ‘yellow fever’ and Teddy charging up the stairs and the elderberry wine. But really it’s all Cary Grant and his fucking expressions. There are several points in this movie where I can’t breathe. For a man with so many suave, serious leading roles, his physical comedy was incredible.

The Big Sleep (1946) – This was the movie that introduced me to noir. Not the Maltese Falcon, not Double Indemnity, not Sunset Boulevard. This one. The Big Sleep. And you can argue that it’s not the best of the noirs, it’s a bit too caught up in itself, the plot if you pay attention has some big holes in it, and if you compare it to the book one female character in particular got rather cheated. But. As an introduction. It does land, very definitely. Bumpy Go-Cart (sorry, Humphrey Bogart) and Lauren Bacall are all that and then some. If you want to pick a noir, you can do a lot worse.

1950s

The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) – Mostly I like this as a compare/contrast to the 1937 one. It’s damn near a shot-for-shot remake, and while that could be a bad thing, it’s fascinating what differences and interpretations show up because of that. Watch the ’37 one first, and then watch this one. It’s just cool to compare them. And, you know. It’s still a really fun swashbuckler.

The Court Jester (1955) – Just the best time. The best. I have an unreasonable amount of fondness for this film, this gentle send-up of previous swashbucklers and period dramas in the vein of The Adventures of Robin Hood, and basically every movie Basil Rathbone ever made. Watch it for Danny Kaye, watch it for the tongue twisters, watch it for a baby Angela Lansbury, watch it for an absolutely hysterical duel scene, watch it for Maid Jean being the single most competent character there. Just watch it. I cannot entertain criticism on this point. It’s excellent, and I’m not sane about it.

Some Like It Hot (1959) – Jack Lemon is going to show up again later in this list, and for good reason, (as is Tony Curtis, but we don’t care as much about him), but Some Like It Hot is also, for a 1959 movie, a really gentle, funny, interesting look at gender roles? I mean, the premise is two dudes going undercover as female musicians with an all-female band to avoid mob hitman, and one of them keeps getting hit on by rich man while the other struggles to get it on with Marilyn Monroe in his male persona while trying to hide from mob assassins in a female persona, so it could be such a hot mess, but it actually … It’s quite gentle. Marilyn’s Sugar gets to talk about what men expect when they see her and, because he’s pretending to be a woman, Tony Curtis’ Joe has to listen to her, Jack Lemmon’s Jerry/Daphne gets to get genuinely swept up in the feeling of being romanced as a woman to the point that he’s semi-seriously talking about marriage, and in the end, when Jerry reveals he’s a man to Osgood, the rich old idiot who’s been trying to romance ‘Daphne’, Osgood famously just goes ‘well, nobody’s perfect’, and still appears perfectly willing to marry ‘her’. I mean, it has its issues still, but there’s such a lot of gentleness in it for a comedy movie made in 1959.

1960s

The Innocents (1961) – One of my two all-time favourite horror movies, on raw atmosphere alone. It’s so eerie. SO EERIE. It’s horrible and twisted and goes heavy places (child death, a child acting ambiguously sexually while possibly possessed, strong questions of sanity), but it’s done so gracefully and gently and eerily. If Gothic Horror is of interest to you as a genre, if you enjoyed Crimson Peak, try this. It is all beautiful sunshine and sprawling lawns and twisted desires and paranoid terrors and the single eeriest scene I’ve ever seen in anything ever. Watch the lake scene. It’s stunning.

The Raven (1963) – Pivoting back to comedy horror, this time with added fantasy. Vincent Price has been in a lot of better movies, but I’m not sure if he’s been in many funnier ones. Him and Peter Lorre just own this movie. Wall to wall ham. Just. Just go in, just watch it. There’s a loose frame plot of duelling magicians, vague references to Poe’s ‘The Raven’, Boris Karloff returning as a villain, animal transformations, and the obligatory young romance getting embroiled in their sorcerous parents’ plots (although, jarringly, the young romantic lead is a baby Jack Nicholson, which sure gives it a weird vibe), but honestly? You’re here for Vincent Price and Peter Lorre and the wizard duel.

The Great Race (1965) – Jack Lemmon is back, as is Tony Curtis, but we only care about the former of those, because Professor Fate (obligatory shouting). Okay. I don’t know how many people remember the old Hanna-Barbera Wacky Races cartoons? Am I aging myself here? But this is the movie they were based on, and Professor Fate is who Dick Dastardly was based on. The premise is a 1910s global car race between Curtis’ Great Leslie (you will want to punch him, and that’s perfectly natural) and Lemmon’s Professor Fate, an exaggerated eccentric conman and cheater and over the top cartoon villain of man, and you will love him. He’s the best thing in it. But there’s also Natalie Woods as the reporter who also enters the race, and a young Peter Falk as Fate’s sidekick Max. That’s a baby Columbo as the ‘villain’s more competent henchman. AND. For me, for bonus points, a huge section at the end of the rest is basically a whole-plot Prisoner of Zenda reference in which Professor Fate is the hero. Look. Look. Do you ever want to watch a live-action cartoon? This is that movie. Trust me. It’s fantastic. The romance has aged terribly, you will want to throw Leslie off a cliff, it has several extremely sixties tropes in it, but it’s that movie. Watch it. Have fun.

1970s

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) – Right. So. 70s fantasy movie. Not politically correct in the slightest, and some extremely unfortunate choices were made in it. But. Ray Harryhausen. Stop motion fantasy effects of awesome. And, also, I just really enjoyed the character of the Vizier. He doesn’t really get to do anything, he’s kinda just set-dressing, but he is the horrifically maimed advisor to the king who fell afoul of our sorcerous villain, and he has a cool golden mask to cover his scars, and you think he’s going to turn out to be treacherous but no, he’s rock-solid calm and noble and helpful the entire way through, and I just really really like him. The image of him stuck in my head for years.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) – My other all-time favourite horror movie, and again it’s the eeriness. Pure eeriness. Nothing happens in this movie. There’s no monsters, there’s no explanations. 3 girls go missing on a rock in early 1900s Australia, in the midst of baking heat and sunshine and the looming shape of a volcanic geological formation, and the movie just follows their society unravelling in the aftermath. No one knows what happened. Grief and terror and unanswered questions destroy people. Reactions, prejudice, respectability and hidden flaws, loss of innocence, the unpredictable reactions of people unstrung by grief and fear, all of it snowballs in the wake of the disappearances, and over it all looms the sunshine and the rock. The score and the cinematography of this movie work so well to create this pervasive, eerie, unreal mood, this sense of something watching, this ancient force presiding over the unravelling of the false civilisation layered over top of it. I fucking love this movie. It’s stunning.

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) – A rather big jump in genres, we’re back to crime thrillers here, which we haven’t really touched since the 1910s on this list, but the sustained tension in this movie is par excellence. The opening half hour. A theme for the seventies movies on this list is going to be sunshine and drifting tension, and Precinct 13 does it so well. Heat, claustrophobia, urban isolation, siege mentality. And the character relationships that develop inside that siege mentality, the alliances and bedrock life-or-death trust that evolves between enemies, and then are brutally cut short by the re-establishment of the outside world at the end, the rude reintroduction of law and connectedness and social consequences, is just … amazing. The movie is a heat dream, a bubble of disconnectedness and violence and blood and faith, and then the ‘real’ world slams back down at the end. It’s good. It’s so well paced. Watch this movie.

Nosferatu (1979) – Just to, again, tie things back to the earlier entries on this list. Werner Herzog’s 70s remake of Nosferatu was actually the first version I saw, as it was considerably easier to get hold of. And it stuck. Even after seeing the original. And a lot of that, I think, was because of the opening, which is just spectacularly eerie. The drifting, eerie music, the monastic chant, the heartbeat under it, the panning shots of the mummies in the catacombs (which are from Mexico, but howandever). I mean, there are a lot of problems with this movie, Werner Herzog is not exactly the most upright and sensitive of dudes, (and it added some more questionable elements to the Dracula mythos), but for sheer imagery and tone-setting, this opening was incredible. And the movie does keep that tone, that eerie drifting, especially once Dracula starts bringing the plague behind him. Again, the 70s theme of sunshine and eeriness. It’s worth a look.

#movie recs #classic movies #1910s #1920s #1930s #1940s #1950s #1960s #1970s #horror #swashbucklers #crime thrillers #fantasy #noir #comedy #random selection based on my idiosyncratic memory

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ruiineedsfood · 6 months

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Ruii's twts OC dump (will be updated)

So in order from top left

Yona Stone

Note : ignore how badly drawn the wheelchair is because i haven't made an updated rendered version hshsh

She's inspired by medusa in greek mythology, I know she appeared like 5 seconds in the disney movie, but like how can i not put such an iconic character??? also, medusa is quite villainy in the mythos, so i feel like it fits the twst theme yknow.

Nickname : Yona , Yonyon

Grade/class : 2-B

Club : Honestly, idk maybe board game or magift

Birthday : she's giving leo vibes idk what exactly but leo 100%

Homeland : Shaftlands in the big city area

Favorite subjects : Alchemy and Defense magic

Hobby : darts, swimming(used to be)

Talent : Good eye in fashion

Favorite food : seafood

Least favorite : beef

Bellaire Witcher

So her inspiration is basically a mix of the cheshire cat and mad hatter. she's a tortured artist, so not exactly based on a disney character i just find it fun to make a very wild and artistic character. now i don't know if i should keep her clover design maybe I'll change it because i gave her a clover bcs i thought it looked cute lmao.

Ruth Burn

I just wanted a fox oc lmao. I thought omg twst doesn't have foxes, and then fellow popped up, and I'm like, welp. So personality wise, Ruth is a very responsible person, but she has a cheeky side that is kinda like ruggie in a way. Her motivations are more social rather than self-preservation like ruggie. i didn't really base her on any character from disney i just knew i didn't want her to be text book cheeky fox character, wanted her to be more of like a normal teen with bits of fox like slyness in her.

Mielin Schoerin and Mimi Schoerin

They're kinda inspired by the twin cats in lady and the tramp. The first two that i designed, actually.

Mielin (dark hair) is the oldest between the two, and she's the most developed character in the cast because i just fell in love with her LMAO. Mielin's name came from a part of a cell in the nerve system cmiiw, so its main job is to protect, and i was like, hell yeah, that name sounds cool. So she's the more mellow twin takes things more seriously than her sister. She's usually seen to be very uptight and awkward by the other students but that's mostly because she's just quite dense with her surroundings. funfact but i like to imagine she's the girl crush of campus bcs i want to give her so much love shhshsb

Mimi (blondie) is the younger one, and i like to think she's the more energetic of the two, but she is more analytical than mielin. Mimi has this aura of being more laid back of the two, but she has the sense of being all knowing of things. kinda like floyd but not as wacky as floyd.

Naima / Zahra (can't decide but im leaning towards Naima)

Honestly, she's my fav design, but i have no clue on her background yet. I'm leaning towards her being a passionate dancer whose roots are from traditional dances from her culture, or i could go the other route of her being an ex athlete or ex idol. since the story i want to tell through her is to be her own self and come to terms with her choices because, like, what if our choices are just not right for us? Im trying to make her into a character that isn't similar to the existing cast in twst, idk im finding myself making her into a jamil 2.0 and im putting more thought into her to not be like that. the disney movie doesn't really have a character that i want to adopt to be her so im still thinking about it.

Melissa (Mel)

so diasomnia's book is still ongoing, i dont have any fixed plans for her involvement with the existing cast yet. but my plan is to make her a race of beings opposite to faes in a sense, since her magic doesn't come from her but the magic of others around her. so, like sucking the life out of them and repurposing it to be her own type of thing. Malleus finds her abandoned in the forest as a young kid with all the magic in the surrounding area gone. She gets adopted, but lilia refuses because she can be dangerous with her inate powers that can weaken malleus and endanger silver since in my head, they found her after lilia took in silver. so they came to an agreement to take care of mel with the condition she stays away from silver and malleus before learning to control her powers. Now, what makes mel okay with this treatment in her head is because she remembers everything from her birth and how her mother abandoned her and stuff so she feels like its normal and devotes herself to Malleus as a guard as a sense of gratitude for letting a monster like her in. Her arc is realizing that she's not a monster that she was made to believe. Instead, she was a neglected kid who wasn't taught properly. Honestly, i just feel really sad about her, and initially, i want her to explore lilia's character since he's one of my favorites but after concocting this i just want to give mel a hug.

Also, her OB-ing would be cool

#twst oc #twst oc lore #twisted wonderland #ruii babies

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hellsvestibule · 1 year

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I think characterizing Lancelot as a shameless womanizer seeking out married women on purpose is broke af to my understanding of him. but I m not a hardliner oh h he’s too loyal for that either bc i do find the idea funny that it’s not actually the strict principle he pretends it is so long as you hack into whatever brain chemistry it is that compels him to love in the most batshit way imaginable. And bc I’m an asshole who don’t really like the idea of “one fated true love” as a concept especially in a series like fate where this is like, never the point, that romantic love will absolve whatever’s wrong w you, which is kind of the key issue that makes him and guinevere compelling but also unhealthy. They are so toxic and codependent they struggle to even breathe without each other. Fucking literally. They try to suffocate themselves over it. And I think bc of that I have no problem w her not being here so for once he doesn’t orient his entire being around her he has to learn to become a functional person without her, he and guinevere deserve to rebel against the narrative a bit bc he simply wasn’t allowed before, he often acts like the narrative is holding a gun to his head forcing him to love her and took for granted he couldn’t have anything other than her. So the hardline I guess “shippers” of them to the point where they can’t chill on seeing thempaired w anyone else or don’t unders why he needs to grow as a person without her first also annoy me. But just wish people would acknowledge he’s not the guy a lot of people assume he is. He gets attention from women really easily bc he’s respectful of them to a fault but at least in his source material I’ve read was only really interested in guinevere. but he loves having random bromance with random old guys in the midst of whatever shitshow he’s involved in so like sure maybe he’d fuck a woman other than the queen if he could also like steal your dad or have old man yaoi about it bc it feels like romance is so much more about getting caught up in a Situation for him more than it is about merely presenting him with a pretty woman. and that’s what I actually like about him. Like. Read any story involving him especially knight of the cart. He’s so fucking pretentious about how disinterested he is in romancing hot women who aren’t Her (longingly gazes off into the vast expanse of space) he likes women platonically but he is actually really avoidant of them in an interpersonal level while he’s Allowed to be affectionate with men and so he is less restrained in his affections towards them to the point where the modern perspective is often inclined to be like yeah sorry tails this looks gay to the audience (which I like to fully lean into. He’s a bi icon tbh) maybe some of the later iterations of him do away with him being kind of prudish about women I admit I have not read every single iteration of Arthurian mythos but I do remember reading urobuchi saying he doesn’t take that perspective of him so it’s still annoying to me how much it’s the Go To gag while fgo also simultaneously mostly portrays him correct to my understanding of him as just. A guy who is always in a Situation

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ethanhuntfemmefatale · 7 months

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I have not watched Rock of Ages but I after scrolling past your pinned post with the big claim 'i don't think i've ever seen a musician represented properly in media like this' a couple times I went fine. I'll bite. And watched Pour Some Sugar on Me. and oh my are you Correct. I hear this film kinda sucks. Tom Cruise shrugged and went well that won't stop me. and now just about every good musician movie ever has to live with the fact that they cannot attain to the entertainment value or realism or commentary on concert as performance that is the silly little song pour some sugar on me in the pretty bad film rock of ages.

Anon I am shaking your hand. Thank you for being so correct. That is exactly it. Rock of ages is in fact a pretty bad film and when you watch it you can sense the shame and resignation in every single actor’s performance—except for TC who really said maybe the movie sucks but I could never ✨💅 I love that he agreed to do the movie because he just really wanted to do a musical, of course he wanted to do a musical! the man is a performer and his style of camp is perfectly suited to the musical format! And like you pointed out with Stacee he leans heavily into the performer-playing-a-performer-playing-a (etc) aspect of the role, you can see in each song how he explores that aspect for Stacee in different ways. there’s of course a metanarrative element too, as a great admirer of TC I would never disrespect his craft by suggesting he’s basing Stacee off of himself, but when you’re watching a TC movie 99 times out of 100 in analysis you have to keep in mind that this character is played by Tom Cruise. Stacee Jaxx is a legendary performer played by a legendary performer. He has personas on personas on personas, so much mythos crammed into not a lot of screen time.

For this post I’ll just talk about pour some sugar on me cause you haven’t seen the movie anon but at some point I’m probably going to write a longer rant post about my thoughts on stacee’s arc as a whole

I loveeee the way the song functions in the movie because to me it’s the moment where it’s possible to understand Stacee for the first time. Stacee is fucking confusing in the beginning of the movie, TC’s performance makes him hard to parse and off putting, and then when you see him on stage at least for me there’s this sense of everything clicking into place...you understand how Stacee could be a rock god, and a sex god, and a reluctant sex god, and a burnout, because for the first time you realize that he is not primarily any one of those things. Primarily, he is just a damn good musician. In Pour Some Sugar on Me, I’m so struck by Stacee’s sheer effortless competence. I could write odes to TC’s physicality in that song, not just because he’s gorgeous (he is) but because of how routine it all looks. It’s clearly deeply ingrained in Stacee’s body to go through these motions, it's practiced to the point of instinct, it's controlled, it's beautiful, and he's completely invested in the performance to the exclusion of everything else. It’s obvious from watching him that there’s not a single thought in his head except perfect execution and the adrenaline and power rush that comes with it (I adore the manic gleam of his eyes when he sings ‘do you take sugar?’ not to mention the return of that expression at the end, when he seems dazed, completely out of it and totally satisfied). He's pure function. You understand for the first time that the point of Stacee Jaxx is not to be a human being, but to perform.

It makes the “reluctant sex god” idea posed in the previous songs completely comprehensible, because despite how blatantly sexual the scene is, it's obvious that Stacee himself is not trying to seduce anyone. All the sexual parts of the performance are part of the performance. Part of the art form. Stacee showing personal sexual feeling onstage, or Stacee’s own relationship with sex interfering with the performance of sex he’s executing, would be the work of a lesser artist. Sex is on the program, so Stacee plays it! Incidentally, we see outside of that scene that Stacee the human, the person outside of the persona, doesn’t like sex at all—but for Stacee, fulfilling his own human wants and needs is not his primary purpose. His primary purpose is to be a damn good musician. That’s what he was made for, and it’s the only thing he’s good at.

Anyway i fucking love that scene and im. Shaking your hand so so hard it’s like a blur thank you for this ask thank you for watching the scene thank you

#rock of ages #cecil meta #stacee jaxx #long post #anyway what this post doesn't contain is the fact that. really good musicians are just like this #tc literally gets it

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thetantiger · 19 days

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Flightless Bird

Word count: 2,409

Characters: Mythodoran (he/him)

Mythodoran awoke to a loud slam, jumping in his seat and looking around with alarm. As he blinked the sleepy blur from his vision a fellow Warden leaned over the table in front of him. She had not spoken--not that he was aware of, anyway--and her helmet covered her face, but he could tell she was angry with him.

Reality came to him. Had he fallen asleep at his desk?

“What do you think you are doing?” the other Warden sneered at him.

Mytho scrambled for an explanation. He knew this Warden well--too well. Seldyia Strongwind, a fellow Captain, who policed him too often on his duties. “I-”

“No, I don’t need that answer.” Seldyia stopped him before he could even speak. “Sleeping on the job. I’d have half a mind to get Maiev to kick your sorry ass out of here.”

Mythodoran gritted his teeth. She was no superior to him in rank whatsoever, but asking what gave her the right to speak to him in such a manner was a naive question. He knew the answer. “Apologies, Seldyia. Our order’s recent business in the Dream is afflicting me.”

“Because your half of the population are meant to be druids,” Seldyia replied, leaning further over the desk.

Mythodoran contemplated testing the limits of their armor and slamming that helmet of hers into the floor. “You don’t see me shapeshifting.”

“Perhaps you should. Then you could fly away, and we could get someone that really gets their work done around here.” Seldyia finally stood straight, crossing her arms.

Mytho bit back his reply. He doubled the others’ workload and he knew it well. If it wasn’t true, Seldyia wouldn’t have the time to come barreling into his office unannounced. Instead, he bowed his head. “...I’m sorry. I will do better.”

“See that you do.” The glare built into the appearance of the Wardens’ helmets matched her well. She turned and slammed the door on her way out of the office.

Mythodoran flinched harshly. He had repeatedly asked her to stop doing that. It was.. triggering. He fidgeted before trying to refocus on the papers in front of him. His ears perked to the sounds of chatter outside. The rest were eating lunch. He would not.

His stomach growled in protest, but he had stopped packing any food for even an attempt at a lunch break long, long ago. Not that he had the energy to care anymore. Shakily, he started again to review the reports, reading line after line after line until his head ached and his eyes strained and his fingers felt numb. Usually, it was a distraction from the memories. From the silence and darkness that was the looming threat of nightfall. But he couldn’t help but wish for home.

Where even was home anymore?

Later in the evening as he stumbled towards his house did not answer this thought. It was his house, but it didn’t feel safe. It didn’t feel like a home. What felt like home was when he was surrounded by the Faithful, with the occasional Phoebelynn or Aruna cropping up in his vicinity. He’d noticed he’d taken a liking to Maxwell and Andro as well, despite their prying. Or perhaps that’s exactly what he appreciated.

After a quick appreciative glance of the owl roost in his yard Mythodoran unlocked his door. As a Kaldorei, he should appreciate the darkness in the room. He did not. Instead he lit a candle and closed the door behind him, dragging himself towards his hammock. He was exhausted, overexerted and felt as though he might pass out and hit the floor before he reached the makeshift bed. It wouldn’t be the first time.

He dragged himself into the hammock, sighing with relief as soon as his feet came off the ground and he did not have to hold himself up anymore. The day had been brutally grueling. He was too tired to rummage through his fridge, despite the growing pain in his abdomen. Too tired to undress, despite the metal armor wedging uncomfortably against him. Too tired to even take off his helmet and untie his hair or do anything. He curled into a ball and the last coherent thought he could muster was that he wished he didn’t sleep alone.

---

Thankfully, the next morning was kinder. Perhaps Elune had some mercy left for him after all.

Birds greeted his consciousness. And then hunger again. The sheer force of it was enough to motivate him to sit up and not lounge about, his armor absolutely torturous on his body, but the starvation worse. Changing would have to come later. He found his way to the small fridge in his house and grabbed the first thing he saw; some kimchi that had fermented long enough and should be good to eat by now. He practically tore the lid off its container and scrambled for some extra veggies to haphazardly throw in there and scarfed the whole thing down. As he ate, he noted he was tired enough last night to have not had any night terrors like he normally would. He couldn’t decide if that was a blessing or a curse.

The next step was to bathe. He’d been in this armor far too long. Being a Warden Captain had its benefits and one of them was gold. He could easily spend it on some grandiose fortress of a house but he didn’t need it and therefore he didn’t care. His quaint apartment was enough for him. But a little past the woodland lining of his backyard was his very own Moonwell he kept to himself. He’d had it constructed by Darnassian moon priestesses years ago, to ensure its authenticity. He set up a change of clothes--not the leather Aruna had gifted him for once, but an outfit Shadow graciously handed to him--and practically threw off his armor as if it had personally offended him. He untied his hair and tried to relax in the cool water but found himself unable. He couldn’t help but keep an eye on the woods around him, convinced a Forsaken loyalist or a dissatisfied Illidari or even the reanimated corpse of Shadryssa herself were about to ambush him at any given moment. In the end, he made his way out of the Moonwell without any assassination attempts.

His next mission--since, despite David Wrathhammer’s suggestion, he didn’t feel comfortable bothering Lancelot right about now--was to head to Stormwind. After he’d dried off and dressed himself he made his way through Bel’ameth and through the Alliance capitol’s portal. He was intrigued by the prospect of blacksmithing but knew next to nothing about it, other than occasionally seeing an elven armorer hammering away at something atop an anvil. He made his way to the Dwarven District, with a specific gentleman in mind; Therum Deepforge. Therum was a humble blacksmith but had been located in Stormwind offering blacksmithing training longer than Alindel had been dead. With some coin in a pouch on his hip and his mount at his side as soon as he whistled for her, Mythodoran was off, the mystical tiger Ash’adar racing through the sky with glaives hanging from her saddle. Mytho directed her downwards and ordered her to stay a little down the road from where the trainer was, and strolled over.

Therum was deep in concentration until a towering elvish shadow blocked his sun. He looked up, squinting at Mythodoran. “Aye, elf! What can I do fer--”

Mythodoran wordlessly placed the heavy pouch of gold on the table next to the dwarf.

“....-ye.” Therum blinked a few times and then straightened, cracking his back with a groan. “Ah, so ye wanna learn blacksmithin’? I usually see brand spankin’ new Humans comin’ to me.”

Mytho shrugged. “I decided to branch out today.” The truth was he didn’t know, if any of his fellow Wardens saw him in Bel’ameth, how’d they react to him without his armor. Perhaps they’d call him weak. Perhaps he was.

“Eh, hey, more coin fer me. Tell ye what, lad-” Therum tapped the side of his own temple. “I appreciate the dough, but I ain’t gonna be able to teach you this much money’s worth in one afternoon.”

“I care little how much gold I hand over,” Mytho replied. “I care little how far we get besides the basics. I just need to know how to start.”

Therum blinked at him and huffed. “Well, alright then.” He waved Mytho over with a grimey, calloused hand that was evident he’d been doing this for a while.

Over the next few hours Mythodoran watched carefully as Therum showed him the ropes. A chunk of metal heated in a forge until it was yellow and hammered into a basic shape. Sanding and some shit involving oil Mytho didn’t expect and reheating. Final touches, sharpening, and voila. The heating is what ate up most of the time.

“And that’s how ye make a simple blade.” Therum had magically produced a shortsword, complete with a handle attached on and all. “Any questions?”

Mytho blinked. “Can I try?”

Therum smiled wide at him. “Ye get some proper gloves and glasses on an’ maybe!”

And then they got to it. Mythodoran kept enough on the handle-end of what he was crafting to loop it around itself, functioning as its own handle without anything fixed on the end of it. As he hammered away at this he let his mind drift as Therum went to deal with some other clients, trying to ignore the bustle of Stormwind but wishing he magically had an anvil and forge at his house instead. He wished to hear leaves rustling and birds tweeting than such dense civilization. Regardless, his thoughts wandered anyway. Shaping the steel was oddly cathartic. He hadn’t realized how tense he felt, how much anger and disappointment he contained over everything in his life, but he now felt it ebb away. His work conditions and how exhausted and drained it left him, any memory involving Shadryssa, the fact that he seemed to not be able to muster the strength to say anything even remotely of value to Aruna.

He huffed to himself. Aruna. There had been nights he fell to his knees in the grass of his yard and begged to Elune above to relieve him of this-- this curse. This growing, infectious feeling that distracted him at every turn. He felt oddly nauseous all the time. He’d see a streetlamp containing a flame and be reminded of her lichfire eyes. He’d see a red fox vanish into the underbrush and be reminded of her crimson hair. Any training amongst Wardens he’d oversee he’d watch them clash and tussle and weave and distantly hypothesized that Aruna could fight better. It was bleeding into every moment of his life and he absolutely despised it. Part of him wished she was here right now. Part of him wished she was here all the time.

“How’s that steel shapin’ up over there, lad?” Therum called out to him.

Mytho flinched, being torn from his daydream involving something overly theatrical like fireworks. A flash of embarrassment warmer than the steel beneath his gloves flooded through him, but he swallowed it down. “Well, I’d say.” He looked down and noted he’d evened out the sides of the steel well enough for a beginner. The handle curved into itself just as he’d envisioned. It was a simple knife, but he wasn’t trying to build Suramar.

“Aye! Then get ‘te sandin’!”

Mytho huffed and nodded. He found himself a seat and started smoothing out the edges, keeping himself occupied with his own inner dialogue. He noted an odd feeling of missing. He hadn’t really spoken to Phoebelynn much recently.

He huffed. That wouldn’t do. He paused what he was doing and brought up his watch, opening their chat. The last thing they’d said to each other was ‘goodnight’ a few nights ago, and Mytho rocked back in forth in his seat, wondering what to say. He began to type ‘Hey kiddo, how are you?’ and then shook his head. ‘Kiddo?’ What the hell even was that. Was he as old as the War of the Ancients? He settled on ‘Hey, what’s up?’

He closed the device and waited for a reply, returning to sanding his weapon in the meantime. He’d actually chosen to make a small knife for Phoebelynn. It’d be a great gift, at least he hoped so. Perhaps it would not be the most functional, but he prayed it’d mean something anyway.

Once he was done sanding it down he began to reheat it, whistling a tune and sitting idly until it glowed with heat once more. Quickly, with a pair of tongs, he dipped it into the vat of oil from earlier and waited for it to chill the fuck out. Once that was done he heated it again, waited, and then began whittling away at it with a whetstone.

“Ay, yer knife’s shapin’ up pretty nicely!” Therum had returned to speak to him and clasped a large hand on his shoulder, earning a jump from the Warden, but the Dwarf didn’t seem to notice.

“Uh- thanks,” Mytho replied.

“I’m just about ‘te close up shop ‘ere, but ye can take that whetstone with ye if ye need, they’re cheap.” Therum nodded. “Feel free to come back anytime. Yer off ‘te a great start, lad.”

Mytho looked around. He hadn’t noticed the sun beginning to set. “Oh- right. Apologies.”

“Yer alright, lad! I didn’t say to go fuck yerself or anythin’. Seems yer passionate!” Therum dipped his head to him, and finally retreated from a hand on his shoulder. “I’m gonna get ‘te packin’ up, ye take care now.”

Mytho nodded. “Right..” He blinked down at the knife and stone and decided he’d take the stone with him for finishing touches. Perhaps he would get a forge installed at his house. This was.. this was nice. Perhaps the paladin was right.

As he stood up to leave and carried his supplies with him he walked over and mounted Ash’adar once more. He did not order her to fly this time, instead opting to stroll down the Stormwind street as he stared at the knife in his hands. Occasionally he ran the whetstone along it again. He hoped Phoebe would like it. He wished he didn’t have to work tomorrow.

He pocketed the supplies and headed for the mage tower.

#world of warcraft #wow oc #kaldorei #night elf #writing #mythodoran has big feelings and made a knife about it #tw sexism

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fem-blade-adept · 2 months

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Things to know when getting into the Persona Series

Since the remaster of Persona 3, there’s been a lot of renewed interest in the series as well as a few people, not just from here, but in my real life, inquiring to me about what you should know before getting into the series, so here is a list of general tips you should know and to keep in mind:

Content Warnings. This is straight up just a point. As out there and as crazy as the Persona World can get, Persona is grounded in the struggles of people, of humans and the human condition. Things like suicide, abuse, loss, death, pain, emotional trauma. It’s not for the faint of heart, so I recommend bracing yourself.

Time Commitment. I know it doesn’t look like it, but most Persona games are a 200 hour commitment to one playthrough. Not even kidding. P5R takes me 130 and I know that game like the back of my hand and skip through a fair amount of dialogue because I know where the fluff is. Prepare yourself for that kind of time sink.

Stats vs Friends. The endless Persona debate. Which is more important? On a first playthrough, my recommendation. Focus on stats and the characters that intrigue you the most. Stats get you access to more people so you don’t feel like you’re running into walls everywhere. Also, be aware of their stories. Sometimes, if a character is important enough, their story takes a halt and is postponed until later. Learn to be flexible and managing your time properly will come with more experience.

Persona Preferences. I view Persona in the way that a lot of people view Pokemon. Sure, I could ramp all the way to the high level Personas if I really wanted to, but then I’d miss out on a lot of gems along the way. Nekomata is a level 2 Persona in P3R and I kept her viable the entire game AND used her in the final fight. So I cannot stress this enough: USE YOUR FAVORITES. Persona has the incredible perk of leaning into the myriad of mythos and legends the world has to offer, so explore them all. Also, every persona has the capacity to do most whatever you want it to, so as cool as Satan is, he can still do about the same thing that Nekomata can and Nekomata is available all game. Satan is not.

Where To Start. This is really the main question I get asked the most and with a series like Persona where every game tells a different story, it’s hard to decide where to begin. Here’s the answer I give everyone: P5R. I know, a lot of people will say “but what about regular P5?” Trust me, you get the same game in P5R just with more content. And why P5R? P5R puts you at the starting block in the best way. Great story, great graphics, and it gives you the simplest version of the story that pervades all Persona lore while helping you discover it yourself instead of always feeling like you’re behind other characters. Also, the combat, while incredibly varied, is much easier to succeed at than in P3 or P4 because there are so many skills and tools and it helps you grasp the concepts easier before stripping you of them in P3 or 4.

How to Decide when to Enter/Leave the Dark Hour/Palaces/Mementos/TV World. Time blindness is a lot of people’s worst enemy and that doesn’t change when you make it a video game mechanic. The best tip I can give you is this: limit yourself to one or two trips per story chunk. Especially if you want to dig into character stuff. Characters usually aren’t doing much at the beginning or end of the story chunks. Beginning is more viable because you’re not in crunch time at that point. The end gets more finicky because characters start to worry if you don’t complete your current main objective/palace before the due date. TLDR: Finish the main objective ASAP. Try to complete it in one day if you can. Then, you can spend more time romancing/team building/hanging out with people while waiting for the next due date and if you need to take another trip to complete Compendium stuff or Requests from the Velvet Room or Phan Site if you’re in P5R, wait until the last 2 days.

#p4g #p3 reload #p5 royal #new players welcome #persona series

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mellyncholly · 3 months

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tagged by my buddy stark (@lastquincy) to do this one! thank you :)

last song i heard:

"honey i'm home" by destroy boys. this was the only song from destroy boys (current favorite band) that i hadn't heard until a few days ago when bluejay literally made me listen to it and WOWWW. extremely catchy and the lyrics hit hard as fuck for me.

favorite color:

wouldn't you believe it. it's red. shades of red that could be classified as 'blood' or 'wine' are esp my favorites, and i also really like black. i started wearing more colors in 2023 (red, of course) but recently i've been leaning more into dressing punk and wearing mostly black.i love black

my favorite shades. however im a little bit twisted and i REALLY like any shade of red that is purely R and has no Gs or Bs.

this is a fucking angel to me ok.

last watched series:

my last watched "series" in general would technically be the walten files since a new one came out. by god those files really are walten. specifically in terms of TV though right now i'm watching the sopranos and sometimes mr. robot from time to time, both very good i'm enjoying them a lot especially the latter, although i think my last complete TV series was black mirror. some episodes weren't all too great in comparison to others but for the most part i really enjoyed it.

sweet/spicy/savory:

i'm very much a savory person. the taste is always so great but there is also something that feels so fulfilling about eating something savory compared to something that is sweet or spicy. i do enjoy a little sweetness or a little spice in my food sometimes though. writing this and thinking about food made me go boil a pot of water i want ramen so bad.

relationship status:

i'm single (SHGOULDN'T BE!!!!!) but i'm looking to try and meet people soon. i'm still a little unsure of my sexuality (probably bi lesbian?) but i'm almost certain of the person i am and who i wanna be so that's good. expressing myself sexually has become really important to me so even finding a fwb partner would be nice.

last thing i googled:

the last thing i googled was 'is ramen considered savory'. i was googling a lot of questions about what's considered 'savory' because i saw that question about preference between sweet and spicy and savory and immediately forgot what foods are classified as savory. i don't know how food works

current obsession:

oh my god don't even get me started. it's a four-way between signalis, monument mythos, walten files, and undertale right now. however i'd argue that walten files is only growing again right now and monument mythos for me is always a constant because i love it that much, so currently it would probably be signalis or undertale. i replayed undertale for the first time in at least 7 years in the last couple weeks and it was incredible especially because i could finally understand a lot of stuff i didn't understand or pick up on before, i vaguely got it when i was younger but i never picked up on the deeper, subtle characterization of so many of the characters and all of the details. undertale is an absolute masterpiece. another masterpiece i've been obsessed with is signalis. signalis was my first survival horror and it was an incredible, tense, tear-jerking experience. its such a beautiful and horrifying game about women and sapphic love and uuuuUUGGH it's PERFECT. the soundtrack is beautiful, amazingly composed and performed, the graphics are perfect for the vibe it's trying to go for. the characters all have fun designs and the main characters and story are all so intriguing it just keeps me thinking about the metaphorical themes of it all. signalis is a huge inspiration to me and i have so many thoughts about it please check it out.

last thing i read:

the last thing i read was chainsaw man! i LOVE chainsaw man and it's another massive inspiration for me...asa mitaka makes me feel so fuckin happy. autistic high school girl that i relate to so deeply. last time i read it, the story left off at a pretty big point so i should definitely pick it back up again before i start getting far behind again. the story was going somewhere that i thought was extremely interesting so i'm excited to see how it continues.

something i've been looking forward to:

in the long-term, i'm looking forward to a lot of things in the summer! i'm turning 21, going on a road trip to see a concert and visit a friend across the state, going to anthrocon, and maybe doing some stuff for pride! i'll be doing all of this with two of my best friends in the world and i'm really excited, although i am definitely nervous about the road trip since i'll be the one driving but i think it'll be OK since i'll have my friends with me :) i think this summer will be great because of all of the above but this also feels like it's gonna be the first summer where i won't be almost entirely focused on my job and i feel like myself!

i don't have anyone in particular that i want to tag for this but if you want, feel free to make a post like this :)

#melly screams #photo from a long walk i took a few days ago #might be a little less coherent around the end there. its 3 am ive been working on this on and off for a few hours

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theconstantsidekick · 2 years

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Captain America: Civil War ft. Static (3) | s.r

Pairings: Steve Rogers x Stark!Reader, Tony Stark x Stark!Reader (siblings), Howard Stark x Stark!Reader (platonic)

Genre: Angsty? Kind of?

Summary: Caught in the blast at the UN conference, Y/n remembers a conversation she had with Howard Stark.

(These scenes incorporate y/n, codename—Static, into the pre-existing story as a character without making drastic changes to the plot or mythos. All the major plot points from the MCU remain in place with the addition of the reader as Static, who is not only a Stark but also enhanced. Whatever events from the canon aren’t mentioned, take place without much change.)

Warnings: Swearing.

a/n: read Age of Ultron (ft. Static) to get a better backstory. Not necessary but recommended. But it’s fun. I promise.

“I have an analogy.”

“You have an analogy.”

“Yes.”

“Good for you.”

“I know.”

Both of them fell back into a kind of silence, brimming with anticipation. She knew he was waiting. She could feel it. But she didn’t have all the words yet. She had the thought in mind, but she couldn’t seem to find a way to put the words in the right order.

Being held captive then being used as the guard dog for a secret Nazi organisation which exclusively spoke German must do that you, Y/n ventured.

When the words still didn’t come to her—

“You gonna tell me what this analogy is or you plannin’ to just keep staring at me through the damn carburetor?” Howard chided from under the car. Despite only the lower half of his legs being visible to her as she leaned over the open hood of his so-called ‘flying car’, she could easily imagine him frowning.

“I—” she began, only to pause for a second. Breathing in, she tried again. “I sometimes feel like we’re a ship.”

“A ship?” He asked monotonously while his hands kept working on the engine, tightening a bolt, or whatever godforsaken thing he was trying to do under there. She never really knew how these things worked, she wasn’t sure there was ever going to come a time when she was going to be able to figure it out.

“I sometimes feel like we’re a ship,” she repeated. “And… and there’s a hole in the hull. Some days we throw out more water than we take in but other days…” she shook her head, drifting off. She tsked then. Turning around, she leaned her back against the car.

In the galling fluorescent lights of the S.H.I.E.L.D. garage, the world seemed smaller somehow. Time and again the dullness of it, the drabness of it, the isolation of it reminded her of the Orphanage. The lack of shackles around her hands always helped remind her this place was certainly not HYDRA but that didn’t stop her from being afraid of it when she had been newer than she was then.

“Where’s the hole, Stark?” Howard asked from right next to her, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“What?” She asked, confused.

He looked at her, his ever-present smile gracing his face. He cocked his head as he wiped the grease off his fingers with a rag. She’d been so lost in her thought she hadn’t noticed him roll out from under the car and stand up to face her.

“Where’s the hole, Stark?” He asked again.

“Peggy’s office, sitting on her table,” she answered finally. “It’s shaped like the photo of a certain tall, blonde and handsome Super Soldier,” she added, almost hesitantly. Steve Rogers had always been a sensitive topic among those halls.

But Howard just cracked a smile. Throwing the rug off to the side, he leaned against the car next to her. “You chose a ship?”

“What?” The question threw her off.

Pulling a cigarette out of his pocket, he placed it between his lips and lit it. “Your analogy,” he explained. “You chose a ship?” When she kept looking at him with pure confusion, taking a drag, he added, “We’re called S.H.I.E.L.D., Stark. The hell you calling us a fucking metaphorical ship for?”

NNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Ash.

In the air.

The first thing she sees is ashes.

There’s ash floating in the air.

She’s been through this enough times to know exactly what this was. She would have laughed if she had the wherewithal to do so. Because isn’t it hilarious that she’s been in enough explosions to know how far away the bomb was detonated and what kind it was? Well, she thinks it’s fucking hilarious. It’s just that the smoke clogging up her lungs won’t let her do anything but cough.

Her ears are still ringing, she’s disoriented and woozy from it all. A part of her just wants to lie there a little while longer. She wants to lie there and have it all be over somehow. What’s the worst that can happen? She thinks. I’ve lived too long anyway, death ain’t that bad. What’s the worst that can happen?

But then there is some movement right next to her and she remembers exactly what could be the worst that can happen.

Instantly she’s hobbling to her feet and crawling over to where Natasha’s trying to shove a piece of debris off herself.

“Hey, hey!” She calls out to Natasha. “Hold on, I’ve got this. I’ve got you.” Natasha lets go and stops trying to push the broken pieces of the wall off. Y/n takes over and flips the whole thing off in one fell swoop. She helps Natasha sit up then. Her hands instantly climb up to her face, assessing for injury.

Swatting them away, “I’m fine, I’m fine!” Natasha exclaims. “Go!” She tells her. At first she doesn’t get it, so Natasha repeats herself. “Y/n! Go!”

Oh fuck, yeah.

“You sure?” She asks anyway.

Natasha just rolls her eyes. “Go,” she commands.

“Fuck me,” Y/n curses, getting up to her feet. Shaking her head, she clenches her fist and glitches away.

She’s still a little disoriented so when she drops out of the next portal she opens, she realizes she has miscalculated the whole thing horribly. The portal opens in the air, ten steps away from the blast sight. She falls flat on her ass. “Motherfucker,” she yells out before opening another. Before jumping into it, she notices the remnants of a white van on the floor of the blast site. The bomb must have been in it, she discerns.

When she enters her dimension this time, she takes a moment. Breathing in and out slowly she reassesses.

Before the blast, I remember T’Challa saw something on the street—must have been the same van, she thinks. He yelled out a warning and then lunged for T’Chaka. But—but if he could notice something wrong from so far up it must not have been well hidden.

Shaking her head, she continues, pacing around now. The way in which it exploded, it must have been remote-operated. But then—why… Why use a van?

Opening another portal, she jumps out onto the road and breaks into a run. Glitching in and out, she begins casing the area. She’s not sure what she’s looking for but she’s sure there is something to be found.

Glitching out onto a crowded road, she expects to see nothing significant until she does. A man in a hoodie with a cap on his head. And he—Well let’s just say it’s a face she can’t really force herself to forget anymore.

But before she can follow, she blinks and he’s gone, faded into the crowd.

When she glitches back to the site there’s too many people around. As crude as it sounds, she doesn’t really care about anyone except one person right now. Running around, she’s almost about to lose patience when she finally spots her.

Skidding down to her knees, “Nat, you okay?” she asks, urgently. Crouching in front of her, Y/n looks her over to make sure there aren’t any injuries.

“I’m fine, Y/n,” Natasha says gently.

“You sure?” She asks, concerned and unconvinced. Her hands are glossing over Natasha’s arms, checking, checking and checking again.

But then her hands stop Y/n’s. Looking at Y/n, she says, “I’m sure.”

The determination in her voice calms Y/n down.

That is until Natasha's eyes fly over to someone to their right. “I'm very sorry,” she says solemnly.

And then it clicks for Y/n.

T'Challa glances over at them once. And fuck, if Y/n doesn’t know that face. She knows the expression he’s wearing like the back of her hand. She’s worn it too many times herself. But never like this, never this bad. He's just lost his father. Try as she might she can never fathom that pain because try as she might she’s never had a father to mourn.

He's holding an ornate silver ring which he toys with between his fingers. Unlike Natasha, Y/n knows the significance of the ring.

“In my culture death is not the end,” T'Challa states solemnly. “It's more of a . . . stepping-off point. You reach out with both hands and Bast and Sekhmet, they lead you into the green veldt where . . . you can run forever.”

“That sounds very peaceful,” Natasha says from above her. She can hear the hint of a smile in Natasha’s voice but her gaze is fixed on T’Challa.

“My father thought so.” He puts the ring on his finger. Fuck. “I am not my father.” Double fuck.

“T'Challa. Task force will decide who brings in Barnes,” Natasha tries desperately to placate him.

Barnes.

Fuck.

But he just clenches his fist in response. “Don't bother, Miss Romanoff. I'll kill him myself,” he says as he gets up to walk away. But she can’t let him. Instantly she’s on her feet.

“I would advise against rash decisions…” Y/n says in Wakandan, blocking his way with her body, a hand on his chest, “... your majesty.”

The title makes T’Challa cock his head, he replies in Wakandan as well, “I would advise against fooling yourself into thinking you have any say on the matter.” Shoving past her, he walks away.

The way that the events are unfolding, won’t work favourably for any of them. The moment Barnes gets involved, so will Steve. And when Steve gets involved, so will she. But making enemies out of the Wakandans is the stupidest decision they can make. If they don’t bring Barnes in before them, they are absolutely, completely—

“Fucked. Stark, come on! You know that the whole analogy is fucked when you call us a ship! We went about finding words that fit the acronym for S.H.I.E.L.D. just for you to call us a fucking ship!” Howard laughed, almost doubling over, cigarette still hanging between his lips.

“Shut up!” Y/n chided with no heat, a smile on her face too. “And fuck you, you pretentious prick. The fuck you named yourself S.H.I.E.L.D. for?”

Howard’s smile faded a bit. “The hole you spotted in the hull had something to do with it,” he said, blowing out the smoke through his nose.

“Of course,” she said, shaking her head. “I—I don’t mind him. I don’t hate him or dislike him. Fuck, I don’t know him for any of that but… But I don’t know him, Howie. I don’t fucking know him so I don’t like him either. I see you guys, day in, day out, worshipping the memory of a man I never knew. And it wouldn’t throw me off so much if I wasn’t so intent on worshipping the lot of you.”

At that, Howard began laughing again. “Worshiping me is a huge mistake and you know that,” he looks at her intently, leaning against the car on his side. “Then, why do you make it every single day?”

She pursed her lips and smiled, “You could have picked about seventeen different men to run S.H.I.E.L.D. with you but you chose Peggy. You chose a woman. Not because she was hot which she is, and not because you wanted to get into her pants which you do. No. You did it cause Peggy can kick your ass seven ways to Sunday and outwit you without breaking a sweat. You picked her cause she was more qualified than the seventeen different men before her, and you never once made it seem like a favor.” She stood up straight. “And then you took me in. Broken and beaten, you took me in. You didn’t think twice. You gave me your name and called me your family.” She took a step closer. “You might just be an asshole, Stark but I see you. Under all the assholery—very deep, deep under all the assholery—you’re decent enough to know right from wrong. You try to do what’s right. Worshipping you is a mistake about 80% of the time, but the rest of the 20 makes it all worth it.”

Howard replied with a smirk on his face, “Most of that 20% I learned for the hole sitting on Peggy’s table.” He flicked the cigarette in his hand, took another drag and then continued, “You’re not wrong… We carry him around. She does it with a picture, I do it with this stupid fucking organization. He was just that kind of guy, you know? I remember seeing him for the first time,” Howard laughed, shaking his head with mirth. “He was all skin and bones. I think I would’ve missed him if I saw him on the street. We dosed him up and shoved him into that machine, ready to make the first-ever Super Soldier.” He took a slow drag, smooth and long. “I was sure we were gonna kill him. He was a tiny little thing, you know? I was terrified. I was sure he was done for but well…” He flicked the cigarette between his fingers again and then, “He had that thing about him, you know? Made you want to follow him—made you want to worship him. We weren’t the best of friends. I don't think he even liked me all that much. But he respected me. He never once made me feel small for being a dick but didn't let me be an ass in front of him either... I’m pretty sure he was the best man I’ll ever know.”

“You speak Wakandan?” Natasha’s voice pulls her out of her memory.

“What?” She asks, still a little lost.

Nodding over to where T’Challa just walked off, “You talked to him just now, that was Wakandan, right? You speak Wakandan?” Natasha asks.

Forrowing her brows she replies, “You don’t?”

Before Natasha can object, her phone rings. “Yeah?”

She can’t hear what Steve says on the other end but she knows her boyfriend well enough to know it has something to do with how freaked out he must be.

“I’m fine,” Natasha tells him. “And so’s Y/n. She’s with me.” She looks at Y/n then, “He’s asking why you didn’t pick up his call.”

“Kinda hard to do when it gets blown up,” she explains offhandedly.

Looking around, Natasha stands up. There’s something in the way she looks around that makes Y/n think something might be up. “I know how much Barnes means to you. I really do,” she tells him. “Stay home. You'll only make this worse. For all of us. Please.”

And if Natasha Romanoff really believes that Steve Rogers would ever ‘stay home’ when it comes to Bucky Barnes, she’s got another thing coming.

And she’s proved right when Natasha Romanoff replies to whatever Steve says with, “No. Someone will. If you interfere. That's how it works now.”

Yeah, that’s exactly why Y/n hates all of this.

“Why?” Natasha asks in response to something Steve says. But his answer seems to put her on edge because then she curses softly and hands the phone over to Y/n. While she doesn’t say the words, Y/n can see the plea in her eyes to urge Steve to stay out of trouble.

Which, again, if Natasha Romanoff really believes that Y/n Stark would ever stay out of trouble when it comes to Steve Rogers, she’s got another-another thing coming.

Taking the phone, “Hey handsome,” she greets.

For the first few seconds, all she hears is deep exhales. But then, “You didn’t pick up your phone I thought—” He cuts himself off.

She gets it.

Roles reversed she would’ve glitched her way through continents. It doesn’t much matter if that meant she would’ve died of sheer exhaustion.

It’s Steve.

Her Steve.

She would’ve wrecked the world to get to him and wouldn’t have thought twice about it.

And it’s precisely because she gets it that she says, “Come on, handsome. You and I both know it’d take more than a stupid little bomb going off to put me down.” Before he can interrupt her and lecture her about how he’d rather nothing ever put her down, she continues, “Anyway, what’d you say to Nat? She looks like she’s ready to bitch slap you.”

“Well…” He pauses. “I think I’m not gonna make it home for dinner, doll,” he says almost jovially.

She’s happy to play along. She clicks her tongue. “And here I made your favorite.”

“Let me guess,” he says with a smile almost audible in his words. “The only thing on the menu was you?”

She smiles too. “You bet your sweet American Ass it was.”

Both of them let out soft chuckles, and for a moment they forget. They forget the weight of the situation. It’s not as relieving as they want it to be, but the short reprieve is comforting.

“I have to do this,” Steve tells her after a brief pause. “I can’t just abandon him, Y/n. I can’t.”

“Handsome—”

When she goes to interrupt him, he cuts her off before she can even get a word in. “I know that they’re saying it was the Winter Soldier, but it wasn’t him.”

“Steve—”

“He pulled me out of the water, Y/n.”

“Baby—”

“You said it yourself, you were there, you saw him.”

“Hon—”

“You can’t think it was him. You can’t—”

“I don’t!” She exclaims, finally stopping his rant.

“What?” He asks, clearly in disbelief.

Sighing, she runs a lazy hand through her hair. Kicking the ground below her feet indolently, she says, “I don’t think it was the Soldier. There were 7 different ways to kill everyone at the conference, and sending in a bomb in a stupid van wasn’t even on the list. It was showy and loud but ultimately ineffective. It—” Fucking hell, “It felt like a stunt, Steve… I don’t think it was the Soldier. Stunts are not part of his repertoire.”

“So—so you agree?” He asks, sounding even more shocked than he did before. “You don’t think it was Bucky?”

Oops.

“I never said that.”

“But you just—”

“I said it wasn’t the Soldier. I based that on the fact that the Soldier was trained to be efficient, to be a fucking ghost story. I—” this part’s gonna suck. “I never said it wasn’t Sergeant Barnes.” Clenching her jaw, she adds, “Sergeant Barnes and the Soldier are not the same. They never have been.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Steve asks, sounding audibly (and justifiably) defensive about his best friend of old.

“I just—” She exhales shortly. “After what he’s been through, he—he must be angry,” she says. “He has a right to be angry, of course,” she adds immediately. She means it. “But there’s always a chance that the anger might manifest in a way we might look favorably upon.”

Instantly, “Bucky would never do that. Bucky would never hurt people because he was angry,” Steve’s words are heavy and come with a sense of finality that gives her goosebumps. “I’m gonna bring him home and that’s that.”

“Hon, I’m not trying to pick a fight with you, okay? I’m not,” she urges softly.

“If it were Tony—”

“I would’ve done exactly what you’re doing,” she concedes. “And I am not trying to stop you, handsome…” she says with all the softness she’s ever felt for him. “That’s not what this is.”

“Then what is this?” He asks tersely.

“Whatever you do, I need you to do it quickly and quietly. You need to bring in Sergeant Barnes before anyone else can get their hands on him because if they do…” she inhales audibly. With a plea in her tone, she tries, “They don’t see him as anything more than the Soldier, Steve… I know he’s more, but they don’t. So all this is, is a request for you to bring him as quietly and as quickly as you can.”

There’s a beat, and she thinks for a second it’s Steve gearing up for a fight. She thinks maybe he’s gearing up for a blow. She thinks maybe, just maybe right now she isn’t talking to Steve, not her Steve. She thinks maybe she’s about to go toe to toe with Captain America.

But then—

“I thought I lost you for a second there,” his voice is thick with so much emotion, Y/n doesn’t know how to deal with it. She was expecting a blow but one that was so fucking genuine.

She never thought she’d get to have him. She remembers seeing him for the first time and yea, she thought he was handsome, she always had. Even the picture of the scrawny little boy from Brooklyn that Peggy had on her table was handsome. But he was hers. In her head, there was never going to be a version of Steve that wasn’t Peggy’s. Because honestly who the fuck ever falls out of love with Peggy Carter?

But then her incessant flirting was reciprocated. Steve didn’t just think she was peachy, no. Steve Grant Rogers flirted right back. He bought her flowers, he cooked her his mom’s chicken soup when she was sick. He took her to get ice cream at ass o’clock in the night because she couldn’t sleep. Slowly and absolutely not surely, he was becoming her Steve, Y/n’s Steve.

Time and again though, she forgets. She forgets that she has him. She can’t really wrap her head around the fact that she well and truly has him, all to herself.

“There’s very few things in this world or the next, that can take me away from you, handsome.

Read the next part here. Find the series masterlist here. Find other Static Verse works here.

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