#In my mind they are the country/goth couple of the year

[youareunbearable]

Tonight is a great night to think fondly on Haleth and Caranthir. I think they would make such a funny couple.

Imagine??? The Big Tall Broody Scowling Kinslayer Who Is Also The One Reason The Economy Is Functioning At All Between The Different Races/Elvish Factions Who Probably Is Dying To Tell King Thingol/His Cousins To Fuck Off At Any Given Moment and hes looming over this short human lady??

This short human lady that Can, Will, and Already Has told him to pull the stick out of his ass and bullies him into doing normal townsfolk chores??? Lord Carathir, Master Economist and a Weaver with the skill to rival his grandmother, sitting there and darning socks cause his tiny mortal wife told him too. His reward will be a kiss on the cheek but she'll scold him while he does it because he said a mean thing about his Cousin Finrod in his last letter to her while he KNEW Finrod was visiting her.

Only three things in the world keep Caranthir in check: His Eldest Brother, The Lord Himring, The Current Head of the Feanorian Faction of Noldor, and Former High King; the idea that if he didn't complete his brothers' tax paperwork and run the Trade Routes then the Nolofinweans and Arafinweans would become more economincally important And We Cant Have That; and his 4'11 wife he met bloodied and wrathful on a battlefield screaming at an orc over the corpse of her brother-- it was love at first sight

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

I wonder why vampires aren't shown to be as depressing as Aleksander is. (Idk anything about this book but since I follow you I have been reading all these metas and DAMNNN)

LMAOOOO first of all formal apology for subjecting all my previous followers who didn’t sign up for TGT meta to all of this TGT meta.

But also, I would argue that some, to even a lot, of vampires are that depressing? The Louis du Point du Lac archetype is a very prevalent one, that then got eventually watered down to the angsty Angels and Edward Cullens of the genre. (I would argue that Aleksander is directly written in conversation with the latter type) And the Vampire Chronicles/Interview With the Vampire itself, with its cast of varyingly wretched, depressed, and traumatized immortals, arguably redefined the vampire genre entirely.

Meanwhile, if you were following my blog before this, I’m assuming you’re here for Hellsing. In that, vampirism is partially a metaphor for trauma, or at least a past that cannot be overcome and turning to self destructiveness for it. Alucard’s entire personal motivation and goal is to die.

In my gradual fandom hop from Hellsing to TGT, I basically just went from analyzing the inner workings of one murderous and miserable, 500+ year old war criminal for anons in my inbox to another— only one of them happens to be Dracula!

(And I have said a couple times before that I think the Darkling is written like a vampire.)

However, I’d agree that there are key differences in the way Aleksander is depressing, and I think that is down to the themes, narrative function, and cultural associations that vampirism frequently lends itself to.

Since you aren’t familiar, I’ll sum up the plot of TGT as briefly as I can. It starts out as a very typical chosen one fantasy, where the protagonist Alina Starkov, an overlooked and unremarkable orphan serving in the military, is discovered to be the lost princess the super special, never before seen magic user with the special type of sunlight magic that the entire country has been waiting for to save it from the shadowy, monster filled dimensional rift, smack dab in the middle of it, that’s been making everyone’s life hell. She’s immediately whisked away to a life of luxury, and taken under wing by The Darkling, the mysteriously goth and pretty commander of all magic users who possesses the antithesis of her power. If she can summon light, he can summon shadows. He’s supposedly “only” one hundred years old, but his ancestor created the Shadow Fold. And he’s soooo sad and guilty about that inherited mistake and he’s determined to fix it. Alina’s supposed to to help him do it— chiefly, through the power of a mythical amplifier that’s meant to enhance her power. But the mid point of the very first book is that shdgdd after a big makeout scene with very dubious vibes, one of Alina’s magic teachers, herself turning our to be the Darkling’s mother, reveals that he’s much older than he claims and that he created the Shadow Fold and has no intention of destroying it, as opposed to using it as a weapon against other countries. And he also means to use the amplifier they’ve been searching for to magically enslave her and take her power for his own. So Alina runs away! And this sets off the rest of the series which is a race to get to each of the three mythical amplifiers before the other does. And generally evading the Darkling who has now gone gloves off and doesn’t mind showing himself to be an unfeeling mass murderer.

The narrative from this point on positions him chiefly as Alina’s foil, as her potential future and worst case scenario. As she amasses her own power and makes sacrifices in the name of defeating him, she’s presented as essentially being in danger of falling into the same path of corruption over centuries. Because, crucially, now that she has the amplifiers, she will also be immortal. And he is both convinced that she must turn out like him, but also that her immortality positions her as his equal above mortals, and as his companion, even if he must capture her and break her will down to make her see that.

The series’ main themes— handled with… debatable success— are that of autonomy, greed, the corruption inherit in accumulated power, and the pitfalls of means to an end morality. The particular ways that Aleksander is a uniquely miserable character are inextricable from his role in the story and what he is meant to represent. But the in-universe circumstances of his immortality also change things a lot.

Vampiric angst is usually tied to the overtly, or otherwise thinly veiled, Christian concept of damnation. Vampirism is culturally a curse, drinking blood to live, and fearing the sunlight is meant to be monstrous. There are individual instances (World of Darkness, some of the True Blood lore) where vampires have their own doctrines and believe themselves to be chosen or better than mortals. But typically cultural associations with them are uniformly negative.

In TGT there is the vague implication of “shadow powers bad” but it’s mostly framed as prejudice against something unknown. Meanwhile magic isn’t inherently awful, and the more powerful a magic user the more long lived they are, hence Aleksander pretending to be 100ish was believable. But hardly anyone else actually lives into multiple centuries the way he has. He’s an aberration. There’s also no element of like readily making anyone else immortal, so Aleksander ends up in this kind of bewilderingly lonely position of being isolated in his power and having no real idea of how or why this happened (beyond his equally long lived mother explicitly trying to have The Most Powerful Child Ever)

I think similarly, immortality as something that’s given to someone at some point during their life, as is the case with vampires, tends to evoke themes of stagnation and being frozen in time. Aleksander is a VERY inadaptable character, who isn’t really able to comprehend how much his sense of morals has been warped over the years. But he’s very driven and forward looking?

I feel like vampires as a concept don’t lend as easily and immediately to the “I am going to create widespread political change�� type. And again with no preexisting associations with being cursed or damned, nor their being the inherent need for murder to survive, I think Aleksander ends up being in a position where he’s both more and less morally ambiguous. He’s not inherently monstrous, he only becomes that way through gradual, and inadvertent moral corruption. There’s no element of “succumbing to his nature.” He can keep thinking that he’s fully morally correct as long as he believes his goals are worth it and his sacrifices will have a return on them. The fact that he easily could have turned out completely differently and never been a villain at all is integral to his character.

Vampires conversely tend to deal with corruption of the soul/moral character at the point of immortality, or about consciously trying to combat the corruption of a known and acknowledged baser nature.

I’m aware that I’m making a lot of generalizations and assumptions about the ready thematic functions of vampires in fiction, but I hope this makes sense? Basically I think the tragedy just comes from a different direction.

Anyway, while I’m talking about vampires, I want to circle back to my earlier point about the Darkling feeling Edward Cullen influenced to me. Shadow and Bone was published in 2011, and with how slow moving the traditional publishing industry is, it’s safe to say it was written at least a year or two prior.

This would be towards the tail end of the post Twilight paranormal, and specifically vampire, romance boom. It was not at all uncommon to see unironic romances focusing on impressionable teenaged protagonists with poor self esteem, getting with 100+ year old love interests who, in singling them out (for their “maturity” and discontent from their peer group) validate their self worth, but also completely isolate and impose their own values on them.

The first half of the very first TGT book follows those same tropes pretty closely, and the initial romance heavy book marketing was basically indistinguishable from that crop of books.

To be clear, I think wish fulfillment stories are fine lol, but it’s really interesting to think of SaB (and the Darkling!) as a deliberate deconstruction in response to those trends.

Anyway this kind of went all over the place.

TLDR: I think vampires are?? frequently just as depressing?? They just tend to do it in mildly different ways. Also I have a soap box about Aleksander being a direct take on Edward Cullen (and others of his character type) being easily read as a controlling and abusive groomer.

[lordkingsmith]

Farkas Bulkmeier, oc kids and canon kids. Bulk’s fun because canonically as far as we know, he’s single. BUT. He has a lot of options~ like, so many. Male and female. I am not against this man being charismatic af but wow lol. He and Eugene both have so many options simply by virtue of being on the show for so long. If I miss any lemme know!

Canon;

None that we know of, though he was absolutely co parenting Spike Skullovitch. Spike might call him uncle Bulk but I think we all know he’s basically Spike’s other dad.

My Alternate OC Kids;

Kimberly Hart;

Chloe Bulkmeier-Hart, aged 19, pink ranger. Au that will be animated, Kim and Farkas waited to have kids and actually Chloe was a bit of a surprise baby. Best friends with Tommy and Kat’s oldest grandson. Was a good ranger, became brainwashed and is a villainous ranger. Her love interest is a vampire named Iva Song. She is pastel goth with a deep love of frills and spikes, deep pinks and velvety blacks and poofy skirts and dresses and combat boots. She's got an inordinate amount of knowledge on ancient battle tactics, and how to hotwire a motorcycle. Both things she learned from her parents. She has a lovely singing voice. She is five foot four, and is a bottle rocket of doom. While she's had a crush on Iva since they were tiny, she never knew he seriously reciprocated until much much later. She's able to shake the mind control when she's-gasp-forced to go undercover as a punk. Trading her dresses for miniskirts? Respectfully, no.

Tangential Coinless au, bur she’s a newborn and Billy and Drakkon’s clones Bit and Tom become her babysitters. Her godmother is Sharkie and her godfather is Eugene Skullovitch.

Katherine Hillard;

Lois “Heavy” Bulkmeier. Aged 21. Kat got with him after being saved by Tommy and Kim, bur the relationship with Kim or Tommy never went anywhere. Tommy and Kim got back together, Kat was happy being single for the most part. Lois though was an accident baby; however Kat and Bulk make it work and do like the relationship and their kid. Heavy for his part is a lot like Bulk. Rabblerousing loudmouth with a heart of gold. Heavy got his GED and currently is working on going through community college so he can buy Ernie’s old place and take it over. It was a refuge for him as a kid and he wants to keep it going for all the kids who need a refuge, from whatever’s going on. Not associated with a color. He does, however, know who the rangers are, and helps where he can. Kat’s an Olympic diver, and Bulk is the owner of a very popular chain restaurant. Bulk’s Eats.

Jason Lee Scott;

When Jason came home to take care of his dad after his mom died, Bulk was there almost before Jason's friends were. He had Eugene in tow and they more or less gently bullied their way into getting him to accept help. When his dad finally died, miserable as ever, Bulk pulled Jason over to his place and they played video games and ate until they passed out in Bulk's bed. They have a mild competitive nature to their romance, and the little love affair surprised absolute nobody who took two seconds to think about it. They adopted two girls. Jason's a PE teacher at the highschool, while Bulk is the history teacher. Orla and McKenzie, aged fifteen and sixteen respectively, were adopted a couple years apart when they were in gradeschool.

Orla was originally from Stone Canyon, and Aisha knew her mom. They went to highschool together before she moved to Angel Grove, but they kept in touch. She couldn't keep her daughter, so Aisha helped her screen prospective parents. Jason and Bulk fit, and the paperwork was taken care of. Orla still talks to her mom on weekends when she can, but she loves her dads. Orla is into cross country running and shock put. She loves adventuring and hiking, and is constantly pulling her family out for hiking trips on weekends, as well as camping. Not the most popular girl in school, but she's okay with that. Currently getting into the idea of going into some form of nature study science as a profession. Not associated with a color.

McKenzie is one of the popular girls, though she's also into sports. Hers is soccer. She's also not afraid of standing up for her friends and sister, and her drop kick can shatter tables. Bulk and Jason made her promise not to get in fights in school, as it not only looks bad on her, it could cost them their jobs. So she's careful who she fights. Monsters who the power rangers can't handle are useful, here. At least one of them offered to hire her. Jason and Bulk were. Not Amused. She's considering acting as a career, just so she can do her own stunts. Everyone likes her because she doesn't let people walk over her, but she's managed to be nice about it. Likes history as much as Bulk does.

Tommy Oliver;

Bulk had been mildly afraid of Tommy since day of the dumpster but after the first couple weeks, he mellowed out. A LOT. Unfortunately Tommy's walking eye candy and that entailed a lot of attention by a lot of pretty people. Bulk found it easier to simply antagonize him rather than directly compete with everyone else. They've had a fun flirtatious back and forth for years. Things got a lot more of a lot more when Bulk came back from Mirinoi, and Tommy of all people got him in a hug so tight he thought he was going to actually get a broken back. They reconnected and opened a small hotel together. It's nothing spectacular but it's consistently filled with people, some of whom even choose their hotel again for future vacations. A couple years after the 'this is going to flop' fear subsided, business partners became married partners. Tommy and Bulk chose to go the adoption and surrogate route. Adoption because Tommy wanted to give a good life to someone who needed it, much like he'd been given, and surrogate because a friend asked during New Years when they were gently shooing them out of the hotel a little after midnight so they could sleep and their kid could sleep. The question had stuck around, which lead to an awkward conversation, which lead to asking around if anyone was willing. The surrogacy via Trini lead to twins, much to everyone's surprise. David thought this was hilarious. Tommy apologized profusely to Trini, who had to remind him he didn't control that. And she was willing to help them prepare for twins if they were.

They have three kids. Beckett, adopted at nine and currently 21 and working at the hotel to save up for college, and the twins. Trinity and Leon, born when Beckett was twelve. Rambunctious, and taking after Tommy a lot. There is no brain cell between them. The hotel is their personal playground when they have to spend time at home, much to the chagrin of Tommy and Bulk, though they have managed to make this work in their favor, and many of the twins' games also double as their chores.

Beckett's the straight man type. He's very up front, responsible, and charming when he wants to be. He can switch from business to leisure at the drop of a dime, is good with money, and knows Angel Grove like the back of his hand. He is practically a walking tour, and has debated whether or not it'd be worth setting up a tour guide side business to help the hotel, and his wallet. Bulk respects the hustle. Tommy just wants him to be careful. Beckett's going into business management. He doesn't necessarily want to take over; it'd be fun to open up a rival place for a while just to see how he does. He's also prepared for any and every eventuality. Living with this family, he's got to be. Not that he minds, he used to wander Boston streets all day and go to the boy's home at night. Tommy ran into him on the street wandering back, and it was basically an immediate whirlwind of Beckett becoming Beckett Oliver and going to live with Bulk and Tommy.

Trinity is the older of the twins by four hours. She's also the go getter and more of the risk taker. She is dragging Leon along after for better or for worse, because no he's not going to let his sister do something dumb alone. That's lonely! They've had run ins with a lot of supernatural things, but that's par for the course so half of them Tommy and Bulk don't know about. Trinity is more likely to fight something twice her size. Also more likely to jump from the second story railing to see if she can fly (she nearly gave Bulk a heart attack and he caught her before she could begin her downward trend. Luckily he knew her by that point). Not currently a color but she's Tommy's. She's going to be a green ranger when she's older. Tommy and Bulk have the twins in judo classes.

Leon's the more careful of the two but that's not saying much. Still the one that decided to experiment with dishsoap in the laundromat. He was grounded for a month. He's also more of the curious one, in the book sense. If he doesn't know, he asks. It's less of a headache. More of a direct talker than his sister, very polite. Is not adverse to using his sister or brother as a distraction. Enjoys parkour, even at nine. He likes detective stories. Enjoys birdwatching. This isn't a calming activity for him; he walked onto a cliff to see if a bird was an eagle. It was. He nearly got very very hurt. Tommy, fortunately, knows him. general rule with the twins is if Beckett Tommy or Bulk is with them it's for everyone else's protection; not their own. Leon is not associated with a color, but he's Tommy's. He'll be a white ranger when he's older.

Although many adversaries did have their eyes on these kids for a time-absolutely not, it's too much trouble. Tommy and Bulk are at least a little self aware and their kids are fully prepared to turn the hotel into a massive booby trap. There's a protocol and everything.

in a tangential au, Beckett is a ranger and passes the Power to either Leon or Trinity as his chosen replacement, so depending he's either white or green.

Eugene Skullovitch;

Absolutely nobody was surprised when they got together. Eugene became a teen dad and Bulk didn't even think twice. He could fit boyfriend in one arm and baby in the other and he often did in the early days when sleeping with the two. For comfort and sense of protection. Skull was his best friend, and everything he'd ever want in a partner. They didn't bother with a ceremonial wedding, it was just going to get the paperwork signed and then having a big party celebrating with their friends. They have Spike, of course, and adopted one more. Between Spike and Amy, they're good. Sharkie offered to be a surrogate, and Billy offered a way to mix their genetics, but after a long talk with each other and them, it was just Spike and Amy.

Amy and Spike are the same age, with a four month difference. Spike's more emotionally mature than his sister, but Amy's more cunning and less naive than Spike. Currently both eighteen. She's jaded in a lot of ways and makes sure her brother doesn't have to be. Spike has had to ask her not to threaten any partners he might get with, because he can handle himself. She's had to occassionaly ask this goes both ways. Amy is considering being a mechanic, or a roadie for Skull or Spike. She likes feeling useful, she likes puzzles and chess and general challenges. Cannot cook to save her life, but she's a whiz at baking. She's better at math than anyone else in her family. But english is the bane of her existence. Is not associated with a color.

Trini Kwan;

in one au she's a surrogate mom for Bulk and Tommy, but in another, Bulk and Trini got together after Minh's dad left the picture. Bulk had experience with helping a single parent, and Trini was extremely grateful. Minh loved him, and loved when Spike came over. Bulk and Trini had one more kid together when Minh was around six. Rue Kwan. currently aged 17. Minh is going into law, and Rue is considering being a private detective. Or a rocket scientist. Both would be equally fun challenges. Rue's a quick thinker, and rather politely sassy. She's got a dry sense of humor but her comebacks are scathing and legendary. Rue's on the heavier side, and this leads to some self image issues sometimes, especially around valentine's or dances, though Bulk and Trini and Minh are quick to nip this in the bud as quickly as possible whenever it crops up. Rue knows her own mind, and her own opinions. She's been sent to the principle's office for getting into arguments with her teachers more than once. not associated with a color.

Aisha Campbell;

Nobody saw this coming. However, he invited her to a dance, and she didn’t say no. Then they just saw each other as friends for a few years. New Year’s party and nine months later….well. Actually they work well together, who knew? Bulk can make Aisha laugh, and she helps him set more realistic goals. And they kick ass together. Recently divorced but not on bad terms. Hobart “Hobie” Bulkmeier, though…is struggling. New purple ranger, parents recently divorced, trying to keep grades up and a steady job on top of it? This is. A Lot. He’s a ballet instructor for a babies first ballet type class. Does not put up with bullshit for anything. Not afraid to call people out. He’s dating the green ranger and that’s fine, his parents like his boyfriend. It’s just everything on top of everything on top of everything. Has a bit of an anger issue but he is stressed out. Doesn’t really know how to talk about it, either. He’s usually a very upbeat, positive, and easy going kid. But everything has happened within six months of each other and if he doesn’t get a day off he’s going to blow. His parents are trying but they don’t know how to help if he doesn’t talk to them. He needs a weekend with his boyfriend and no life or death situations for five minutes if you so please.

Sharkie;

The world went to hell and Bulk and Sharkie made the best of it. Sharkie always did love Bulk, had since they were kids. Bulk, well if he didn’t love her it was close enough to love to not make a difference. Like Skull they’re teen parents. All three of them banded together, hunkered down, and co parented because none of their actual family members were going to help with this. Leech’s actual name is Sabrina. Nobody calls her Sabrina. She had a reputation for biting as a kid, but this saved her from being carried off by Goldar, who became too preoccupied trying to get toddler off his hand and just flew off to get his wound treated (and later called the small one a worthy warrior who’d be a great adversary and possible apprentice when she was older). Most people assume Leech, currently 16 and dealing with the “totally not” cult kids branching out of that creepy house and her honorary cousin, got the nickname for a variety of other reasons. Not an alien warrior affectionately naming her it after confronting her parents after the incident. And it just sticking because objectively it was funny. Leech thinks Lauren Shiba is a total babe but if you tell Lauren no she doesn’t.

Unfortunately “be as abrasive as possible” is the agreed way for flirting to go, in this family, so Lauren has the distinct impression this scary mall goth karate instructor absolutely hates her. They’ll figure it out. Leech, when she’s not mooning after Lauren, or helping her parents run the dojo, or goofing around with Spike, she’s playing video games at the arcade at the mall. She has the high scores on every game there. She’s going to get the tickets for a life sized plush gorilla in a Groucho Marx glasses. She thinks it’s hilarious and wants to modify this into a lounge chair for her room. Loves ironic humor. She looks a lot like her mom, but she’s as strong as her dad. This leads to a lot of funny situations.

Spike and Leech act more like siblings than best friends and in their eyes, they are.

Zack Taylor;

Zack realized he was crushing on Bulk when Bulk explained his plan to be homecoming king. Zack loved his tenacity and how genuinely excited Bulk actually was over this. Overhearing Marleau’s threat and Bulk backing down, Zack backed him, and got the rest of the rangers and their dates to back him, because Marleau might think she rules the school but she really didn’t.

He completely fell in love with him seeing him crowned homecoming king. However nothing happened in school, and they fell out of touch for several years. Later, they met again when Zack went to a bar with friends, and found the bartender and owner was a familiar face. Farkas was happy to see him, and Zack was extremely happy to see him. He stayed over that night, and then never left. They work well together and have two kids via genetic splicing courtesy of Billy and Aquitar technology. Brianna, aged thirteen, and Devin, aged ten.

Brianna goes to dance classes twice a week, is as friendly and strong in her sense of Justice as her dad Zack was when he was a teenager. He is so proud of her. Her sense of Justice is perhaps a little too strong, and Zack is watching his thirteen year old like a hawk. Power rangering is fine, but he is not letting his baby girl do it before she’s sixteen. Out of personal experience. She often has a group of kids around her, as a sort of social butterfly nexus; and their house is apparently the “safe house”. Polite, energetic, friendly, everyone’s her friend and she’s everyone else’s friend. Bulk and Zack have had to tell her more than once she needs to know her limits. Not associated with a color; but she’ll be silver the second she’s old enough.

Devin wants to go to Mirinoi when he’s grown up and explore everything there. He likes being everywhere, and doing things with his dads. Happy learning how to bake and cook, is fascinated by sewing and Bulk’s hand sewn jackets. Interested in his sister’s dance recital outfits and often borrows them to study. Bulk’s happy to help him in all his interests. Not associated with a color, but he’d be pink if old enough and chosen.

Hailey;

Prom dance was nice, Bulk was nice, even if he didn’t become prom king, and Bulk was capable and seemed to like listening to her. Next thing they knew though, she was pregnant and he was doing his best by her. Axel Bulkmeier is sixteen and kind of wishes his parents would get divorced and not stay together. Everyone would be happier that way. He especially would be happier that way. Often wanders around town, anything’s better than going home. At this point if one of the villains asked him if he wanted to join, he probably would, it’d at least be better than watching two people who could only barely stand each other and him go about their lives. Axel’s a drummer in a band, kind of moody, and more of a dreamer than anything. Would love to be a famous poet one day, or get off earth and never look back.

Marleau;

Hate fucks can still lead to kids, sadly, and this one did. He married her out of extreme pressure from her parents and neither of them can get out of it because her mom decided they look good together and they don’t want to screw up their kids do they? Peregrine and Pansy really really wish they’d get divorced because they could not possibly screw the two up more than they already have. Pansy’s not even sure if Bulk’s her biological father. He raises her like his own, and so that side of it doesn’t matter, she knows he’d treat her like his whoever the dad was, because he’s the one stepping up.

Peregrine is 27, working at a firm his grandfather set him up at, looking at the rest of his life with a lot of exhaustion and trepidation. He doesn’t want to be here, he doesn’t want to keep up a facade. He’d much rather be in the library as a librarian, and reading all the historical fiction he can get his hands on. His grandparents want him to settle down; he would rather chew off his own arm. Not associated with a color

Pansy is 21, and strongly debating if asking someone to pose as a girlfriend for the holidays is worth the drama it’s going to cause. Not that she doesn’t like girls, but she just broke off an engagement; does she want to put that person through all that? The answer is no. Not associated with a color.

Rito Revulto;

Bulk and Skull do not take advantage of him or Goldar when they have amnesia, exactly. Bulk at first offers a sort of ransom to Vile for his son because Rito’s got to be worth something right? Vile basically laughs in Bulk and Skull’s face and tries to kill all of them. Rito protects Bulk and Skull with Goldar, and the four hide out. Rito’s memory coming along in drips and drabs but colored by the experience, well. He throws his lot in with the humans. Hell, he would have done what Bulk and Skull did too so he’s not even that mad about the ransom. He gets closer to Bulk, impressed by his tenacity. Bulk jokingly tells him “hey come back in ten years if you still feel the same way and I’m single.”

Rito takes him seriously. At that point a then 30 year old Bulk, impressed and flattered, couldn’t really think of a good excuse for why this shouldn’t happen. They have one daughter via magic. Faline, aged eight. She’s a force of nature, as much so as her dads. Spike loves her, and often has the little mystic girl on his shoulders as they go all over town or follow her dads around. Everyone else side eyes Rito massively, but he’s much calmer now. He’s quite content just taking things day by day with his little family. Out of necessity, they moved to Briarwood after the mystic rangers happened. Just so Faline could be close to her aunt, and a community who could mentor her when and if she felt ready to learn magic. Fairly typical for a little girl, she likes adventure, make believe, and playing with her friends. She’s fairly bossy, and knows how to haggle. She loves braiding Bulk’s hair.

While Rita doesn’t get it, she’s happy her brother is happy. Plus, this niece of hers gets to be just a child, they’re both making sure of that. She grows up safe, she grows up loved. Faline’s second favorite place to be aside from Bulk and Rito’s house in Briarwood is the mystic mother throne room, where Rita tells her (age appropriate) stories. The mystic rangers adore the kid too, and she’s an unofficial mascot of the record store.

-

Aaaand if I’ve missed anyone lemme know and I’ll put them in! I think I have, but -shrugs- this dude has a lot. It’s wild.

[carnocus]

writeblr introduction

Hey! I'm Arsen, I'm a Ukrainian-American in high school. I've been writing and making other forms of art for many years, and am planning on posting both my writing and my other art on this account! I've had this account for a while, yet it has undergone many breaks and changes so I'm reintroducing myself.

Some basic facts...

I'm 17 and will be 18 later this year

I currently live in the Northeastern US but my family is Ukrainian

My main blog for everything but my art is @thembones07

My account used to be under @/cryptidsandqueers

I tend to write mostly dark fantasy, horror, gothic, and literary fiction. I write both short stories and novels, and most of my works include a good deal of body horror. I am a big fan of using gore and horror as a vessel to demonstrate themes and put societal commentary in my writing ("A Modest Proposal"-style). I write mostly LGBTQ+ characters, and am a big fan of haunted house and mad scientist tropes. I make patches for clothes, including band patches, make other crafts, and draw. I am also into goth, industrial, metal, and grunge music, oddities, and fungi. I am currently planning on studying biology or mathematics after graduating high school.

I love doing ask and tag games, though sometimes I do get lazy and forget to. I also don't mind adults following me, but I am very liberal with my block button, so don't do any weird stuff no matter your age!

I've been wanting to connect to more writers on here, especially more horror writers, and refreshing my dash!

So with that out of the way, here are some of my works in progress...

Novels:

The Promethean Society (working title) - novel series - currently planning - dark fantasy/horror/apocalyptic dystopian

On a post-apocalyptic earth where some possess the ability to manipulate bodily tissue, a prestigious university opens its doors for the first time in 15 years, and young adults eager to serve the god of flesh pour in. The select few with the power are taught how to harness and grow it, given special treatment above the rest. They stumble into a world of lies, illegal experimentation, and fraudulent history. While trying to stay alive in the dungeons of the academy, which are crawling with unfinished experiments, the students must decide wherever to obey the Clergy and the god they supposably serve, or rebel and reveal the truth.

This is my main project right now, I am veryyy attached to it and it has undergone SERIOUS changes over the years. It features me being overly edgy and also a nerd, and is an exploration of corruption in the scientific research field but with body horror and gore. There is also a great deal of speculative biology, mad science, sibling relationships, and enemies to lovers.

Untitled - novel - currently planning, on the backburner - contemporary fantasy/folkore fantasy

After being away from her hometown for many years, a Ukrainian trans girl comes back and discovers a ecosystem she believed she'd imagined there. This is a novel about reconnecting with ones culture while feeling alienated from it because you are queer and grew up in a different country, as well as a love letter to nature and folklore.

This is a VERY self-indulgent story. The main character is Ukrainian-American and trans, like me, and the story deals with many issues I face everyday. I still need to do a lot of research before writing this because its setting is based on Ukrainian folklore and spirits.

Short stories:

The Architect - short story - 2nd draft completed - literary horror

A man is pressured by his dead mother's aspirations for him, with her dreams for him physically manifesting on his body.

This is a story about parents who raise kids for self-indulgent reasons and pressure them to fulfill the parents' unrealized dreams.

The House of Famish - short story - 1st draft completed - gore horror

A couple living in a carnivorous house fight over wherever to live by tradition or reject the harmful past.

I am very happy with this title and this story. It discusses familial attachments to unhealthy traditions through very cool visuals and features a subverted haunted house.

If you read this to the end, ily <3

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

Ranking the DCLA WLW ships

Many people prefer canon, and I get that. But there's one thing that non-canon ships give me and that is the comfort that they are exactly what they are. Especially the WLW ships. I never assume they will be canon, but I can love them all I want either way <3

I will not take every single dcla wlw ship, cause with all the girl characters there's so many combinations you can do. I will only take the ones I've seen, or recognized myself.

1. Franletta

Obviously. How can I not? I've not been crowned the biggest Franletta shipper in the fandom for nothing! They give me the softness no one else does. The way they always depend on each other, the way they care for each other SO MUCH <33 GAH they're adorable

2. Jam

I'm taking my two biggest from each show here. When I started watching SL, everyone expected me to just like the three biggest ships. NO ONE told me about Jim and Yam. HOW COULD YOU NOT tell me about Jim and Yam?! Smh you're sleeping on them (/hj, /lh)

But yeah, I think a part of what drove me with loving them so much was that no one else talked about them. Yes, people agreed they were girlfriends, but no one was as vocal. I am currently also the only one who even has written fics with them tagged romantically - something I did after I discovered after finishing season 1, I was really surprised how no one had written about them? So I took it in my own hands and wrote some.

Jam are my little chaos children, they're jin and yang and they're everything to me.

3. Luty

The year was 2021 and I had been starting to rewatch Violetta after getting D+. With my newly love for Franletta, I also thought about the others. I thought to myself "Hey! Maybe Naty stays with Ludmila, not because she's afraid to say no, but because she actually likes her? Maybe she even has a crush on her?"

Cut to when I rewatched S3, which had not been out until april of 2021 in the Nordic countries. I just. Fell for them. OH how I fell for them.

They make me insane honestly.

4. Natila

In season 3, something I really noticed was that the REAL love triangle was between Naty, Camila and Ludmila. And Naty and Camila DATED. They DATED in s3. OH MY GOD HOW THEY DATED. THEY FUCKING KISSED OFF SCREEN!!!!!!!!!! LIKE I AM STILL MIND BLOWN OVER THAT. WHEN I SAW IT I JUST WENT INSANE.

5. Ambilia

THE GOTH GIRLFRIENDS honestly they're everything. They're insane. It's them against the world. They'll go from the ashes and into the fire. They're a power couple.

6. Lumbar

"But but but but-" I hear you go. Yes, yes, yes, I know. These two gave a fucking crisis in s3. But I fell for them SO HARD in season 1 it was a wound that never got away. Season 1 FED me with them, S2 also fed me a lot, and then in season 3 I just went around with a "🥲". At least, they ended up being very close in one way <3

7. Cadmila

Love the enemies to lovers. I don't feel as strongly about them as the other two in the "unholy trinity", I sometimes feel like Cadmila is the female version of Dieleon (but not with everything). But it's also how Ludmila just plays with Cami's hair, always sits close to her and how Camila is like "get tf away from me" but highkey interested in what Ludmila is doing.

8. Mora/Ana

They moved in together?? This was a whole storyline and tbh I am fully convinced the writers actually wanted them to be a couple, it's not just my imagination.

9. Jadangie

Alright, you made me fall for them! Thanks, tumblr! <3 They're very cute.

10. Jackie/Angie

They would never date in canon but GOD are they exes. They're bickering exes, look at them. First episode of s2, you can't deny they've met before and something went down and now they pretend they don't know each other. The ANGST.

11. Celeste/Trish

When watching Bia, I was like "I really feel a straight vibe from every character" and all of you, and I mean ALL OF YOU, went "But what about Celeste?". I was confused because I was at the ep where Celeste told her therapist that she had a crush on a boy so I was like ???????????????????

But then the SECOND I saw s2, I had a 180 spin and went "OH OK SHE'S A LESBIAN" and her obsession with Trish was really like. !!!!!!! WOW. And when she met Trish irl and just scratched her neck I just. Yeah. Yeah I got it.

12. Lunina

Ok, I really do like them as just friends, but if they were more I also wouldn't complain. I just like to joke a little about them, but I am not as serious about it as I am with ships above on the list.

13. Jazmin/Delfi

Every now and then I think to myself "they should kiss" lmao.

14. Francesca/Ana

Most random thing. I got this because I felt like Ana legit tried to seduce Fran for a while. Like that Ser Mejor duet????? What

15. Violetta/Lara

I don't think they have a lot of chemistry, but I get it. Also Violetta totally got a bi awakening from seeing Lara sing like I-

16. Ludletta

I really get it. I really get after I myself fell for Lumbar. Like, you have 2 seasons of freedom. It's hard to just... stop?? After that? Also Si es por amor is the gayest music video in Violetta, it's just how it is. But I've personally never shipped them. I love their canon relationship.

I do get where you're coming from, though.

17. Jim/Luna

This is the one wlw ship where I don't really get it. But I've seen it around. And during my SL rewatch I've tried to see it, but I don't see much. I think it's whenever they're alone together they sort of have a matching vibe and that's what appeals to people? I don't know.

I know for a fact I've probably forgot someone, but that's how it always is. I actually almost forgot some here and had to re-rank my list. There's still plenty of wlw ships <3

[fific7]

Evil Twins - Part 1

Billy Russo & Aleksander Morozova x Reader

Summary: When two worlds which have already collided then collide with yours - that’s an explosive situation.

A/N: This does not follow canon, it’s mainly a mix of fluff and angst with quite a lot of lemon zest 🍋 My Fantasy Punisher/Shadow and Bone crossover AU.

Warnings: 18+ NSFW due to sexual content including oral and unprotected* sex between consenting adults. Some drinking & swearing.

*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.

(My photo edit)

New York City

Billy Russo awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed and grabbing for his Glock. What the hell? Thunder was rumbling loudly overhead and he sighed, putting the gun back under his pillow and laying his head back down. It was probably the bright flash of the lightning followed by the beginning of the thunderclap that had awakened him.

He was just closing his eyes again when he spotted something, only vaguely visible in the dim light from outside, in the corner of his room. It was…. swirling?

Grabbing his gun again, he sat up and pointed the Glock at the corner. It was getting bigger. “You’ve got two seconds to show yourself before I blow your fucking head off,” he announced, calmly.

He squinted a bit to get a better look but it didn’t make much difference. What the fuck was it?! Smoke? He decided he had no choice and leant over, switching on the wall-mounted bedside light.

The… smoke cloud?… was still increasing, becoming bigger and blacker with every second. Then he saw the vaguest silhouette of a tall figure within it, moving towards him. He leapt out of bed, on the far side of it so it was between him and whatever the fuck this was.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Aleksander Morozova - or General Kirigan, the Darkling, the Black Heretic, the Starless Saint, whichever of his many names he decided to call himself at any given point in time - could see a tall figure brandishing some kind of strange gun at him as he began to emerge from the swirling shadows.

Following certain unfortunate incidents - including a huge and furious argument with his darling mother - he’d decided it would be politic to get out of Ravka for a while, much as he didn’t really want to. But this wasn’t where he should’ve ended up. What was this place?

He emerged completely from the shadows and immediately felt something bounce off his kefta. He heard a ‘ding’ and looked down at the wooden floor at his feet. A bullet.

Looking quickly back up, he saw that the man opposite him was glaring at him, eyes wide and unbelieving, gun still pointing at him. He also realised that looking at this man was like looking in a mirror.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy was dumbfounded. He’d just shot the fucker! And the bullet had bounced off him. Fuck. He threw the gun down onto the bed and slid his hand under his other pillow, pulling out his Ka-Bar. No way he’d get past that.

He took a moment to have a good look at the dude opposite him.

Dressed in riding boots and some kinda long black tunic thing, with a black fur-collared full-length cape over it. What a freak! Was he a goth or something? But then he realised something even freakier…. this guy looked exactly like him.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

The two of them were still contemplating each other, when finally Billy spoke. “Who are you? And what are you?”

Aleksander laughed. “Usually it’s me asking those questions.” Billy huffed, “You’re in my fuckin’ apartment, so just answer them!” He saw the guy draw himself up, and he said, “I am Aleksander Morozova, also known as General Kirigan, commander of the Second Army of the Grisha.”

“Means fuck all to me,” grunted Billy. “One name not enough for you? And why do you look like me? Are you some kinda shapeshifter or somethin’?”

“I have many names because I am centuries old. And I don’t know what a… shapeshifter?…is,” said the other, “…but I am the Shadow Summoner. And who are you? Where is this?” he waved a hand round at the apartment.

Billy scoffed, “Centuries old?!! Oh fuck off. You’re the same age as me by the looks of ya! I’m Billy Russo, ex-US Marine Lieutenant and now CEO of Anvil. That’s a security company, mainly staffed by ex-military vets. And this….” he also waved his hand around, “…is my penthouse apartment in New York City.”

Aleksander shook his head, “I have never heard of that place.”

Billy eye-rolled, “How can you not have heard of New York?!” he asked, incredulously. “And what the fuck is a Shadow Summoner?”

“It’s becoming obvious we are from two different worlds. I seem to have been diverted from my intended course, I don’t know why,” shrugged Aleksander. “Well maybe it’s time you took off to wherever it is you were headed for in the first place,” said Billy.

“It seems that I have been brought here for some specific reason,” replied Aleksander, “and it also seems I cannot leave for the moment, I have already tried.” He waved both hands around, firstly extending and then curling up his fingers, watching them closely as he did but it was clear that nothing at all was happening. “You see? Nothing. It is worrying to me. My shadows are no longer obeying my commands at present.”

Billy sighed and perched on the edge of his bed, “Great! Just fuckin’ great! This is just…! So when can you leave?” The other man spread out his arms, “I have no idea.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Devon, UK

Way across the Atlantic, you were already hard at work in your little bookstore in Appledore, Devon. You had a snug apartment above the store and had filled it with lots of your favourite things. It was a cute little coastal town and you loved living there. The community was small and friendly especially in the winter months, only increasing in summer with all the tourists who came to stay. As long as you made a decent living during the holiday season - which you normally did - then winter was a much calmer, chilled time of year.

You added a final book to the new display in the centre of your store and stepped back to take in how it was looking. Yeah, not bad if you did say so yourself. It was comprised of a fantasy trilogy for young adults about some ancient guy who could summon up shadows, and was a bit of a villain from what you could tell from the story synopsis on the book covers.

Not your cup of tea, to be honest. Generally speaking, all types of action stories were more your thing - something with a bit of ‘va-va-voom’. In fact, you were looking forward to tonight when you’d decided you were going to sit down with a nice tub of ice cream and rewatch one of your favourite series. The one with a relentless avenging ex-Marine whose family had been killed and his psycho ex-Marines buddy. Who happened to be rather hot to your mind.

You sighed a little, heading back behind the counter. That was the only thing about Appledore. It was a lovely place, but there was a distinct lack of hot guys.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

New York City

Billy and Aleksander were sitting on separate sofas in Billy’s living area, eyeing each other warily. Aleksander had been trying to explain to Billy all about his world, the Grisha, the Fold, volcras, Ravka, the Sun Summoner, sand skiffs - as much as he could.

It had blown Billy’s mind, to be honest. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. In turn, he’d explained all about his military career and the shitshow which had eventually developed once he’d come back to New York. Aleksander looked as equally confused as Billy.

Billy sighed, “I mean, what the hell are you gonna do? You don’t belong here. I need to go to work in a couple of hours. I’m not leaving you here so I’d need to take you to Anvil with me, and you sure as hell can’t go out looking like that.”

Aleksander looked down at his kefta which he’d unbuttoned. His cape was draped over the back of the sofa. “What is wrong with the way I look?” he huffed. “S’pose I could always say you were going to a Comic Con,” muttered Billy. “A what?” “A Comic Con. it’s where fans of fantasy comics go to have fun. They dress up as their favourite characters sometimes. I could always say it was cosplay.”

Aleksander shook his head, “I still don’t understand what you’re talking about. Are you saying I’d look out of place in my uniform? All the Grisha wear these,” he pointed at his kefta. “Not what we wear here,” said Billy, “…and I still don’t get why you look so much like me.”

“I have no idea!” said Aleksander, through gritted teeth, “I told you that already!” “Alright, alright! Calm down.” “I AM CALM!!!” roared the other man.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

New York City

Slightly later that morning, Billy was showered, suited and booted and ready for work. He’d persuaded his uninvited visitor to put on a borrowed leather jacket of Billy’s over his kefta as Aleksander refused to take it off. He’d also made him put on a pair of black trainers, which he’d done very reluctantly. These two items had instantly transformed the freaky-looking guy into someone at least a little more acceptable to your average New Yorker.

Aleksander was wriggling around in the jacket, “It’s not very comfortable.” Billy heaved yet another large sigh - he felt like this was all he’d been doing this morning - “Look, just wear it! You’ll get used to it.” He noticed the other guy sniffing at the collar of the jacket, then his eyes lifted to Billy’s, “You wear perfume?!” “Men’s cologne,” snapped Billy, “or aftershave, as it’s also known because - guess what! - you use it after you’ve shaved!”

His fingers stroking his chin, Aleksander nodded, “Okay, that I understand. We do not use this perfume in Ravka.” “Cologne!” yelled Billy. “Fine, cologne then. Why don’t you like it when I call it perfume? That’s what it is, after all.” “Women wear perfume. Men wear cologne. Okay? Now c’mon, I’m gonna be late.”

Billy strode over to his front door and tried to open it. The handle wouldn’t budge. He shook it, rattled it, pulled the door handle back and forward, exerting more and more strength but nothing worked. He stood back from the door. “It won’t open,” he said, rather unnecessarily. He looked at Aleksander, “Is this you? Or something to do with you?” “No!” he protested, “I have nothing to do with this.”

A somewhat raspy female voice spoke from behind them, “No, but I do.”

The two men swung round, both gaping as they saw that there were what could only be described as rippling waves distorting the whole interior of Billy’s flat. The light had also diminished quite drastically and then they both saw a woman’s head and shoulders start to become defined and then fully visible in amongst the ripples. She seemed to float there at head height but she obviously wasn’t physically present.

“Mother!” exclaimed Aleksander.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Devon, UK

You snuggled down amongst the soft cushions on your sofa, tub of ice cream and spoon in hand and scrolled to the series you were looking for. It was quite gory in places but you loved it - except for the bit right at the end where the hot dude got killed. That made you sad although you couldn’t deny he definitely had psychopathic tendencies.

As you were looking for the one you wanted to watch, another series caught your eye in the ‘Suggested for You’ section. Hey, it must be based on that trilogy of books you had in the store right now. Maybe you’d give it a try after you’d finished your current one.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

New York City

“Mother?” echoed Billy, “….what’s going on here?!”

The woman’s head swivelled towards him then back to Aleksander. “My two boys, together again. How sweet.”

“What!?” said the two men in tandem. She gave a bitter laugh, “How I managed to produce two such problematic children, I’ll never know.” “What are you talking about, Baghra?” ground out Aleksander. Billy was just standing there, dumbfounded and looking between the two of them when suddenly her glare focussed in on him.

“Maxim.” Billy returned her stare, “I’m Billy!” he corrected her. She shook her head, “You will forever be Maxim to me. And as I’m your mother, do not argue with me. Now…. no doubt Aleksander has been making a great fuss about how he’s many centuries old, has he?” “He did mention it,” said Billy, begrudgingly. She nodded, “I thought he might have. Listen to me, both of you. You are twins, so obviously you were born within minutes of each other. To me.” The two men exchanged glances, before looking back at her. “It became obvious to me that Aleksander - from a relatively early age - was going to cause himself and everyone around him nothing but trouble and strife, so I took a radical step.” “What did you do, Baghra?” questioned Aleksander.

“If you’d have patience, I’m trying to tell you!” she snapped, before continuing, “I got one of the few Heartrenders in existence at that time to take Maxim out of Ravka to a secret location. There, he placed him in long-term suspended animation. When you…” she pointed an accusatory finger at Aleksander, “….started all that nonsense with the Sun Summoner and hunting for the stag, I travelled with another Heartrender to where Maxim was, and brought him out of his enforced hibernation. I had to protect him as there was no guarantee you’d survive, Aleksander.” She stared at his scowling face and carried on speaking.

“He had no memories remaining of his past life and so I took him into the forest, there is a portal there which only I know of. There used to be more knew about it but I am the only one left now. Other universes can be reached through it. And I decided to send Maxim to another one. This one. It was only three months ago in Ravkan time, but in this universe more than thirty years have passed.”

“Wait… what?!” Billy was pissed. “You… you just threw me into some portal and walked away? Not knowing where I would end up?” “I had to save one of my sons!” she spat out, “…the other one had lost his mind and was on a collision course with disaster!” Billy put his head in his hands, before looking up again and raging at her, “I was abandoned for a second time by the woman I thought was my mother in this universe! She was a drug user, a total mess! I was placed in an orphanage… it was terrible!” He saw a remorseful look pass over her face for a split second, “I am sorry, Maxim! But I had no choice. Then I had to step in again when he…” pointing again at Aleksander, “….was nearly killed by volcras. I managed to get him to the portal before he fully regained consciousness. He thinks it was his idea to leave Ravka after we had an argument, but I managed to plant that idea in his mind before I pushed him into the portal.”

Billy and Aleksander both snorted in unison, then glanced at each other again. Billy looked back at her, “You’re sorry? That doesn’t quite cover it. I went to war! And now I’m in a very bad situation due to things which went down in Afghanistan during that war.” Aleksander chipped in, “And how dare you make a decision like sending me to another universe without consulting me first?”

The sigh Baghra gave echoed round the apartment. “You are a pair of ungrateful whelps! And now it sounds like I have to get you of trouble too!” She pointed at Billy this time. “I firstly had to find some very old documents about it, but I managed to find out how to enter the limbo section of the portal, which this is, because I wished to speak to both of you before I sent you on your next journey.” She lifted her hands and swirled them around in a kind of ritualistic fashion, “Be on your way to the next universe!” she chanted, and suddenly the rippling got even more pronounced.

Billy and Aleksander began feeling overwhelmingly dizzy, feeling as if they were falling but in fact realised they seemed to be rushing through time and space.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Devon, UK

It was Saturday tomorrow so because you could sleep in a bit as you opened later, you finished the first series (but not the second one - it always upset you) of the one you’d originally been watching, and had then moved on to the one based on the trilogy.

You peered more closely at your TV screen - yeah! you were right, the hot bad guy looked so similar to the hot bad dude in the other series they could be twins! Was it the same actor? You’d need to check on the credits but it must be, surely.

No reflection on the series you were watching, but having finished your ice cream you dozed off during episode 6.

You woke up - you had no idea how much later - and as you sat up slightly, realised that you were feeling very strange. Standing up from the sofa, you were so dizzy that you collapsed back down onto it. You tried not to panic, but you’d no clue as to why you felt so unwell all of a sudden.

Then you noticed that your apartment appeared to be rippling. Rippling??!! What the…. The rippling waves began to die down a little and you were suddenly aware of two looming figures standing over you. Their outlines and features slowly became more defined, more solid, and eventually you realised you were looking up at both the hot bad dudes from the TV.

Of course you were.

Okay, your reeling mind said to you, maybe the celestial Powers That Be had been listening when you were complaining about the lack of hot guys in your town.

They were both looking down at you, clear interest in their eyes. Maybe because you were wearing silky shorts with matching tank T. Your sleepwear didn’t leave too much to the imagination.

So you stared at them, and they stared right back at you, although again you were acutely aware of two sets of very dark eyes roaming all over your body.

You wondered if someone had spiked your ice cream.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

[idreamtofmanderleyagain]

Five years ago, the women on this site who treated me like trash over loving Labyrinth and shipping Jareth/Sarah were almost always obliviously consuming Radfem propaganda, or were out and out Radfems/Terfs themselves.

They were the types of people who casually threw the word “pedophile” around against grown women who shipped an adult Sarah with Jareth, aka literally one of the most popular ships for women in fandom for 30 years.

Pretty much invariably, these women had serious sex-negative anxieties, which included a severe paranoia about any and all kink and fetish, and porn in general. I saw a lot of shocking, fear-mongering propaganda surrounding sexual expression. Pretty much invariably, their method of approach involved immediate personal shock-value attacks on anyone they perceived to be “bad.”

Today, you can look at the way some people react to other popular so-called “problematic” ships and recognize the same toxic, fear-mongering rhetoric coming from women who consider themselves regular, trans-inclusive feminists. Sometimes it even manifests in the words of very well-meaning people (including myself here), who feel the need to talk about specific issues that pertain to their own experiences of trauma and oppression.

The people who shit on Labyrinth often seem to not really be able to comprehend that the Goblin King, like the film itself, is canonically a representation of a teen girl’s psyche, a soup of fears and anxieties and desires and dreams. He’s not a literal human adult preying on a literal child, and to read the film that way seriously undermines the entire point of the film. 

When I (and people of many fandoms) say “This is fiction, calm down,” I’m not just saying it’s not real so it cant hurt you and you can’t criticize me. I’m trying to call attention to what fiction actually is - artistic representations of feelings and experiences. The Goblin King is Sarah’s fiction. Therefore, he can be anything she or any woman who identifies with her wants him to be, including her lover when she’s grown and ready for such a thing.

I once took an alarming dive into Beetlejuice fandom to see what content was there (the cartoon was a favorite when I was little). Chillingly, what you’ll find is an extremely wounded fanbase, with a sharp divide between the older women who had long been shipping BJ/Lydia because of their love for the cartoon series (and whom were previously the vast majority of the Beetlejuice fandom), and a massive amount of young people riding the wave of the musical fad who had decided that the entire old school Beetlejuice fandom was populated by literal pedophiles. 

I saw death threats. Suicide baiting. Constant, constant toxic discourse. It did not matter how the BJ/Lydia fandom dealt with any particular issues that would exist in their ship, in fact I’m certain that the people abusing them cared very little to even consider if they were trying to handle it at all. The only thing that mattered was that they were disgusting subhuman scum asking for abuse. If you have at any time reblogged recent Beetlejuice fan art or content from fans of the musical, you have more than likely been engaging positively with the content of someone participating in toxic fandom behavior.

Nobody is really sticking up for them, either, as far as I saw. It’s really hard to imagine how painful it must be to have such a large group of people explode into into your relatively private fandom space to tell you that you are evil, vile, and deserve constant abuse, and also you are no longer allowed into the fandom space to engage in it’s content. But I think there’s something very alarming indeed about this happening specifically to the BJ fandom, and I’ll explain why. 

The pop-culture characterization of Beetlejuice, which is heavily influenced by the cartoon series to be clear, has always in my mind been a vaguely ageless being who matches with the psychological maturity of whatever age Lydia is supposed to be. He’s more or less like an imaginary friend, a manifestation of Lydia’s psyche. In fact, I would argue that i think most of us who grew up with the cartoon or it’s subsequent merchandizing before the musical ever existed probably internalized the idea as BJ and Lydia as this ageless, salt-and-pepper-shaker couple beloved by the goth community, similar to Gomez and Morticia. In each version of canon he may be a creepy ghost in the literal sense, but any adult who is capable of identifying literary tropes (even just subconciously) would read cartoon!BJ as an artistic representation of a socially awkward outcast girl’s inner world. Lydia’s darker dispositions and interests, which alienate her from most others, are freely accepted and embraced by her spooky magical friend. BJ/Lydia in the cartoon were depicted as best friends, but to my memory there was always an underlying sense that they had secret feelings for each other, which I identified easily even as a small child. In fact, their dynamic and behavior perfectly reflected the psychological development of the show’s target demographic. They are best friends who get into adventures and learning experiences together, who have delicate feelings for each other but lack any true adult romantic/sexual understanding to acknowledge those feelings, let alone pursue them.

Though I haven’t seen the Musical yet, I’ve read the wiki and I would argue that it embodies this exact same concept even more so for it’s own version of the characters, in that Beetlejuice specifically exists to help Lydia process her mother’s death.

This is not a complicated thing to recognize and comprehend whatsoever. In fact, it looks downright blatant. It’s also a clear indicator of what BJ/Lydia means to the women who have long loved it. It was a story about a spooky wierd girl being loved and accepted and understood for who she was, and it gave them a sense of solidarity. It makes perfect sense why those women would stick with those characters, and create a safe little space for themselves to and imagine their beloved characters growing and having adult lives and experiencing adult drama, in just the same ways that the women of the Labyrinth fandom do. That’s all these women were doing. And now, they can’t do it without facing intense verbal violence. That safe space is poisoned now.

Having grown up with the cartoon as one of my favorites and been around goth subculture stuff for decades, I was actually shocked and squicked at the original Beetlejuice film’s narrative once I actually saw it, because it was extremely divorced from what these two characters had evolved into for goth subculture and what they meant to me. It’s not telling the same story, and is in fact about the Maitland's specifically. In pretty much exactly the same way two different versions of Little Red Riding Hood can be extremely different from each other, the film is a different animal. While I imagine that the film version has been at the heart of a lot of this confused fear-mongering around all other versions of the characters, I would no more judge different adaptations of these characters any more than I would condemn a version of Little Red in which Red and the Wolf are best friends or lovers just because the very first iteration of LRRH was about protecting yourself from predators.

I would even argue that the people who have engaged in Anti-shipper behavior over BJ/Lydia are in intense denial over the fact that BJ being interested in Lydia, either as blatant predatory behavior a la the film or on a peer level as in the cartoon (and musical?) is an inextricable part of canon. Beetlejuice was always attracted to Lydia, and it was not always cute or amusing. Beetlejuice was not always a beloved buddy character, an in fact was originally written as a gross scumbag. That’s just what he was. Even people engaging with him now by writing OC girlfriends for him (as stand-ins for the salt-and-pepper-shaker space Lydia used to take up, because obviously that was part of the core fun of the characters), or just loving him as a character, are erasing parts of his character’s history in order to do so. They are actively refusing to be held responsible for being fans of new version of him despite the fact that he engaged in overt predatory behavior in the original film. In fact, I would venture to say that they are actively erasing the fact that Musical Beetliejuice tried to marry a teenager and as far as I’m aware, seemed to like the idea (because he’s probably a fucking figment of her imagination but go off I guess). The only reason they can have a version of this character who could be perceived as “buddy” material is because...the cartoon had an impact on our pop cultural perception of what the character and his dynamic with Lydia is. 

We can have a version of the Big Bad Wolf who’s a creepy monster. We can have a version who’s sweet and lovable. We can have a version that lives in the middle. We can have a version who’s a hybrid between Red and the Wolf (a la Ruby in OUAT). All of these things can exist in the same world, and can even be loved for different reasons by the same people.

I’ve been using Beetlejuice as an example here because it’s kind of perfect for my overall point regarding the toxic ideologies in fandom right now across many different spaces, including ones for progressive and queer media, and how much so many people don’t recognize how deeply they’ve been radicalized into literalist and sex-negative radfem rhetoric, to the point where we aren’t allowed to have difficult, messy explorations of imperfect, flawed humans, and that art is never going to be 100% pure and without flaw in it’s ability to convey what it wants to convey.

This includes the rhetoric I’ve seen across the board, from She-Ra to A:TLA to Star Wars to Lovecraft Country. We don’t talk about the inherent malleable, subjective, or charmingly imperfect nature of fiction any more. Transformation and reclamation are myths in this space. Everything is in rigid categories. It is seemingly very difficult for some of these people to engage with anything that is not able to be clearly labeled as one thing or another (see the inherent transphobic and biphobic elements of the most intense rhetoric). They destroy anything they cannot filter through their ideology. When women act in a way that breaks from their narrative of womanhood (like...not having a vagina), then those women must be condemned instead of understood. Anything that challenges them or makes them uncomfortable is a mortal sin. There is an extraordinary level of both hypocrisy and repressive denial that is underlying the behavior I’m seeing now. Much like toxic Christian conservatism, these people often are discovered engaging in the same behaviors and interests that they condemn behind closed doors (or just out of sheer cognitive dissonance). As an example, one of the people who talked shit to me about Labyrinth was a huge fan of Kill La Kill, which to my knowledge was an anime about a teenage girl in like, superpowered lingere (hence why I stayed the fuck away from that shit myself). Indeed, they even allow themselves plenty of leeway for behavior far worse than they condemn others for, and create support systems for the worst of their own abusers. 

Quite frankly, I’m tired. Instead of talking about theoretical problematic shit, we need to start talking about quantifiable harm. Because as far as I can tell, the most real, immediate, and quantifiable harm done because of anybody’s favorite ships or pieces of media seems to consistently be the kind that’s done to the people who experience verbal violence and abuse and manipulation and suicide baiting and death threats from the people who have a problem.

[crownillust]

Still trying what dimensions to make these but i just give up.   Anyways, obligatory ‘ AA oc with canon ‘ post once again. I had this messy mockup for months and I am tired of it taking up space in my drafts--       part 2: Barok van Zieks.  (  boop boop TGAA 2&1 spoilers ahoy )            This was too obvious - Sherlock is to Iris/Mikotoba as Auguste is to Barok! I was thinking that the ‘mysterious unnamed partner’ was better as some other oc or something, but doing that would completely be a missed chance for Iris and her uncle to be great rivals as authors.       Searching for ‘lost texts’ in a library in France is something I can see Barok doing, as well as staying in that country for a brief period of time ( i mean, it’s an adequate place to begin refining his sophisticated taste in wine, too ). Him being the child of an upper class family,  the ‘time-rotten and grotesque mansion’ in Paris is more or less an aesthetic choice on Auguste’s part and nothing to do with lack of funds.

       Timeline-wise, this is approximately around 1884/5, placing these two at their early adulthood ( where Auguste would study law at the Sorbonne and play amateur detective // and Barok stayed for the few years despite the original plan to go back to the British Empire, instead serving as the detective’s partner and recounts the antics in writings  ). However, succeeding the case of the Purloined Letter,  the realization grew that they may have gone too far into the bowels of the dark side of the law ( ironic ), and Auguste demanded for Barok to return home to London, even if it meant getting Klint to retrieve him in person. From this point they will not see each other again until the later events of TGAA( ~15 years ). I like to think Auguste travels to London after the death of Tobias Gregson, this instance alone being how he is tied to the events, though as more of an outsider. Holmes would have been in contact with him, being a sole person capable of pulling strings for the fellow detective for Inspector Gregson’s safe transfer to the Parisian department. With the inspector dead before arrival, Auguste would have less to do in Paris, and more interested in the going-ons in London ( certainly having been told of the van Zieks by Holmes residing in the English capital ).        This would mean he would be validated for the British courts after the events of DGS2, having entirely missed the removal of a decade-old thorn in the court system, but entirely capable of aiding in bringing new minds into courts in the wake of this. Coupling this and the ongoing search for his long-lost partner, reignites his desire to play detective.

BONUS :  small goth frenchman draining the pockets of the british aristocracy ( 1884, colorized )

[staytiny-angel]

Grace and Country 2/5

Rating: M

Pairing: 'Hangman' Adam Page/F!OC, One-Sided Kenny Omega/F!OC

Warnings: Canon-Typical Violence, Harrassment.

Co-Written with @lilmissriottbliss

Taglist - @moxleyunstable, @axelwolf8109

Summary: Ava and Adam go on that date, it goes about you'd expect with the Dark Order involved, Things with Kenny come to a head.

"Violet!"

"Ava? Mon Cher Smackdown is about to start why are you screaming?"

Violet gave Finn a look before putting her friend on speaker "Mon Roi is here too, what has you so excited?"

"ADAM ASKED ME OUT ON A DATE!" The younger woman yelled

Ava could hear Violet cursing in French from a small distance. “Really? That’s amazing! Give me details now!”

“I lost my phone and he found it near your adopted brother and then Kenny was annoying me again so he covered for me by saying we were going on a date so we’re actually going on one!”

“I’m so happy for you!”

“Could you do me a solid?” Ava asked

Of course darling," Violet agreed

"Could you guys not tell the big boss?" Ava begged "You know I love Seth to death, he's my dad shaped person but he wasn't happy about this whole AEW deal and he'll be even less happy to know I'm going out with one of their biggest stars"

Violet and Finn silently looked at each other before agreeing to the younger woman's request 

"We have you covered darlin" Finn said

"What are you going to do about Omega?I'm starting to worry. He's really not taking no for an answer"

“I honestly don’t know” Violet handed Finn her phone, taking out the one meant to contact family. “I think she’s going to threaten Malachi into watching over you” Finn laughed.

Ava sighed in relief. While Malachi Black, formerly Aleister to Violet, was dark and broody, he did scare Kenny with a simple stare.

“So how’s Mox doing?” Violet asked

"Good, he got Omega off my back last night at Dynamite, threatened him with Ruby." Ava said "He said something about promising Seth to look out for me?"

"Seth called him and Miro when you decided to go to AEW." Finn explained 

"Called in a couple of favors. You are the baby."

Ava rolled her eyes even though the couple couldn't see her "You've got to be kidding. I can take care of myself"

“We know you can take care of yourself, Seth has a overprotective complex” 

Ava sighed but didn’t disagree. “We got to go now, see you tomorrow!” Violet hung up.

Ava turned off her phone, seeing a text from Kenny. Rolling her eyes she deleted it. “Is he ever gonna get the point?” she asked herself before flopping on her hotel bed with a sigh. He thoughts turning to the next day and the date she'd been dreaming of for years. 

-Next Day-

She met Adam outside a café, the cowboy looking handsome in normal street clothes and without a certain purple and black group shadowing him.

“Wow, you look great” He said. As she grinned and twirled once, showing off the chic black suit she'd chosen for their date. 

“Hope you don’t mind but I invited Violet and Finn just in case your friends crash this”

Adam laughed. “They probably will ”

Inside the cafe, Finn and Violet were waiting at a four person table, surprisingly without their daughter in tow.

"Where's my honey bunches?" Ava said with a pout, that Adam found adorable

"Becky and Seth have her" Finn explained "Shes having a playdate"

“Next time you bring her” Ava pointed. Finn raised his hands and laughed. Violet slid over a black coffee to Adam. 

He accepted it with a smile. “So you’re both going after the top titles in Smackdown” he grinned.

“Yup!” Finn grinned. “It was fun in NXT but I wasn’t spending another week without my husband there” Ava sighed.

“It’s harder to get a title shot in AEW, I have no idea how to get to Britt”

“I lost the chance to be the inaugural champ because someone thought an ass deserved it” Adam muttered.

“Adam I think your shadows are here” Violet pointed to a booth in the corner

Sure enough, the purple and black clad Dark Order filled 2 corner booths, trying and failing to be inconspicuous.

"Oh god" Adam murmured "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have told them where we were going"

"They really care about you" Ava smiled at Adam causing that feeling to flutter in his chest again.

"You may not, have been the first AEW champion but you've got a shot at Kenny at All Out" Finn says

"Sure do" Adam says "I can't wait, I've owed Kenny an ass whipping for a while now"

“Fucking creep” Ava rolled her eyes. “How’s Paige?”

“You don’t know that from Mox?” Violet raised an eyebrow. Ava shook her head

“She’s ok, doing wonders with her makeup. Her and Sonya are planning a wedding”

Ava nodded. “Sorry about the Kingdom disbanding” 

Finn rolled his eyes. “Of course Vince brings up Shotzi and us but doesn’t want Kyle, Millie, Priscilla or Jordan”

Adam and Ava share a smile knowing while AEW wasn't a paradise by any means…it wasn't run by Vince. 

A loud bang sounded from the back of the restaurant and every turned to see one of the corner tables flipped on its side as John Silver looked around sheepishly. 

Adam dropped his head in his hands as Ava giggled "I'm sorry, I'm gonna go uh…handle this" he said rising from his seat and heading toward the back.

"They are quite the band of misfits aren't they?" Violet said as she tried not to laugh as they watched Adam easily lift the table back in place and start seemingly scolding them for crashing their double date.

"They love him, and with the entire….mess with the Elite…their very overprotective." Ava explained

“Reminds me of Seth” Violet said. Ava’s eyes widened.

“It totally is!” Finn laughed as Adam came back and sat down.

“They swear it’s just a coincidence they all wanted to come here on the same day and time as my date”

Violet flipped her hair and put on her flirty voice. “So this a date?

Adam blushed hard. “Um…well, it’s definitely not a…friend thing…we’re not friends. I mean we are friends!, but I want to be more then friends!" 

Ava blushed as she watched Adam flounder under Violet's question 

"Leave him alone, mo chroi" Finn finally rescued the younger man from his wife. 

“I was just being a good friend” Violet smirked.

Adam took a breath. “I don’t know why but I have a thing for goth people”

Ava looked at Violet.

“Really? Is that why you went to the Dark Order?”

“Honestly? Kenny ruined tag teams for me. The Bullet Club went to shit after you were kicked out”  

Finn’s eye twitched, remembering how the Young Bucks fucked him over.

“The Bullet Club is nothing to me now. They ruined it!”

“The Elite’s worse, nothing but kissing Kenny’s ass, apparently he was looking to go to Impact and take their top title”

“Thank god the old man bought them, Impact might have been the worse part of my career but AEW would have ruined them” Violet sipped her ice coffee.

Adam sighed.

“I don’t know what happened. One minute he was my brother, now he’s a stranger” Adam said quietly as Ava rubbed his back

"Its okay, your going to take the AEW title from him at All Out." Ava consoled him.

The 2 couples finished their meal and left the restuarant, Finn and Violet heading to the arena to get ready for Smackdown, and Ava and Adam walking though the city streets enjoying each other's company. 

"This has been great" Ava says as they finally end up back at the hotel

"We'll have to do it again sometime" Adam replied causing Ava to blush again.

"Maybe next time….just the two of us?" He asked softly

“No demon and vampires. No Dark Order” Ava agreed. Adam hugged her.

“Adam!” Evil Uno yelled. The pair looked at the stable. Anna walked over. “Well, the date was a success so Alex made you this” She handed a black jacket to Ava. It had a purple rose stitched in the back.

“Wow, Alex’s a suckup” Adam joked. “I’m totally wearing this next week” Anna smiled.

“C’mon Adam, before the idiots start screaming” 

He rolled his eyes but hugged Ava goodbye, kissing her hair before walking away.

The Next Week 

After spending the weekend and into the next week bouncing between elation over her successful date with Adam (including spending a hefty amount of time texting back and forth with the cowboy) and annoyance that Kenny just would not stop texting and calling, it was finally Wednesday and time for that weeks episode of Dynamite, at which Ava had a match against Nyla Rose.

 

Over the past few days she had gone hunting for more appropriate gear to compliment her new jacket and was now wearing black leather shorts with purple accents and a purple and black corset top. 

"Don't you look like a full fledged member of the misfit society, I really thought you'd have better taste Sweetheart" Kenny said walking up to her, the Young Bucks flanking him

“I’ve liked purple and black before the Dark Order existed” Ava snapped.

Kenny grabbed her arm. “Let go!”

“I just want what’s best for you” Kenny said fiercely 

“HEY!” Darby Allin hit Kenny with a skateboard.

“She’s said no to you for weeks now, get lost!” He roared, Ava seeing why Mox had pretty much adopted him.

Kenny looked panicked and all but ran. The Bucks, glaring at her as the followed

“Thanks” Ava said to Darby. “I hate that fucker”

"Join the club" Darby replied 

Later that night after beating Nyla Rose, Ava was celebrating in the ring when Kenny's music hit and The Elite surrounded the ring. 

"I really tried to do this in private Ava, baby but you just won't listen to me, you'd rather hang out with those losers instead of being part of The Elite"

“I. Am. Not. Your. Baby!” Ava screamed,.

Kenny stepped in, smirking. “Just accept the date”

The crowd began chanting variations of yes and no. 

Then the music of the Dark Order hit, Adam leading the stable to a beat down. Colt tackled Kenny, Adam waving sarcastically at him before going over to Ava, "You okay Darlin?"

"Yeah, fucking asshole. Why won't he leave me alone" 

"Ava, Ava!" Kenny panted, "I have a deal for you, since you and the drunk, seem so close lately, Next week….you and Adam against me and Britt Baker. You win, you get a title shot at All Out. You two lose, Cowboy loses his shot, and you go out with me"

Ava looked at Adam, who was clenching his jaw. Anna and Evil Uno nodded their heads.

Ava grabbed a mic. “We accept! And let’s raise the stakes!!! If we win and move on to kick you asses at All Out, you leave me the fuck alone!” 

Kenny gulped "Done!"

“I’ll add to that!” Adam yelled. “When I kick your ass, you don’t get to have a rematch as long as I’m champion. Let someone else get an opportunity”

"Deal!" Kenny said cockily "It doesn't matter anyway "You two are gonna lose and when you do...not only will Adam never get a shot at the AEW Championship,  Ava...baby...your all mine" 

[the-fiction-witch]

Black and Red P5

REAL LIFE VAMPIRE COUPLE: TBS X READER RATING: FLIRTY

When I woke up I groaned a little turning over to check the time it's only eleven still I got back late last night. I sat up having a stretch and I noticed something, My bed was empty. I looked across the room and saw Thomas sat on my sofa with a blanket watching tv with a bowl of popcorn on his lap, I smiled going over sneaking up on him a little

"Comfy?" I asked

"ahh! fucking! Christ woman! don't sneak up on me like that"

"I thought you were a vampire? with all the super senses and what not?"

"I'm a vampire. Not physic."

"What are you doing?"

"Catching up, I have missed a lot" He said "What the hell has happened since I've been gone?"

"Lots."

"So many new countries"

"Yep"

"I missed so much," He says as he watched the screen and I had a bit of a giggle as I noticed he was watching twilight just as he was sparkling "I have never been so offended in my life"

"Yeah, that's universally hated"

"Good.... good, What is a vampire movie that's well-liked?"

"There aren't any. They're all terrible, You'd Like Tim burton though. That's kinda his vibe"

"Is it? good. Also what is cardor and can I have some?"

"what?"

"cardor? It was on the tv"

"Carte D'or? it's ice ceam thomas"

"Ohh..... can we get some?"

"I thought you drank blood?"

"I do."

"And eat like meat?"

"I do"

"So why do you want ice cream?"

"am I not allowed to want ice cream?" he asks "I'm pretty sure perfum is for vampires... it looked like it"

"No that's just perfume Thomas it's how they advertise. You can't really sell  a smell via tv without getting creative"

"But why where they all like nuzzling each others necks and looking like they were gonna bite or fuck each other?"

"Maybe you just saw a particularly gothic ad"

"Maybe, either that Or I just saw it like that. It has been many hundreds of years... Not surprised I'm a little horny. seriously DO NOT take a black light to that mausoleum... you will not like what you discover."

"Why?"

"I've been sealed away in that thing for hundreds of years, on my own.... intermittently sleeping. and eating. what do you think I've been doing?"

"You're disgusting" I sighed going for a bath

"What? I drink human blood and eat flesh, that your fine with but jerking off is where you draw the line?"

"Do not jerk off In my house you disgusting monster" I yelled

"..... Where was that an hour ago?"

"DO not jerk off in my house or so help me I am sealing you back in that mausoleum and welding the fucking door shut" I warned him heading into the bathroom running my hot steamy bath with a nice bath bomb starting to wash my skin and he came and leant on the door frame making me jump a little

"Maybe I should mate with you. You're as whiney as a wife" He sighed "And you already have the aesthetic"

"shut up Thomas" I sighed

"whoa.... Holy... I am HOT!" he yelled excitedly I was a little confused looking over at him as he stood eagerly over my sink staring at himself in my mirror

"What?" I laughed

"what? I've not seen myself before. vampires don't have reflections not sure why I do now?"

"People stopped using mercury in mirrors it's just glass"

"Oh. so I have a reflection now?" He said, "I definitely need to shave."

"I don't mind it" I shrug

"don't you? the first person to tell me that in a thousand years" He laughs

"Question?" I asked as he was still inspecting himself in the mirror

"Yes?"

"Why are you in here?"

"This is where the mirror is?"

"There is a mirror on my vanity thomas. you do not need to be here"

"why not?"

"This is my bathroom. I am... In a bath"

"Ohh relax, vampire women, run around half-naked all the time. Unmarried ones ran through the forests naked when I was younger"

"So what times have changed get out of my bathroom!" I told him

"Fine, you look beautiful though my littlw wiccan"

"Out!" I ordered, and he did go I finished my bath and got wrapped up in my robe going out to see im still at my vanity looking at himself "That's how narsisius died you know" I told him

"Ohh please, the tales around his death were greatly exaggerated to make that point," He says

"Move," I told him so he moved over till there was enough space for me to sit too, so I sighed sitting beside him and starting to do my makeup and hair for the day

"Goth girl" He smirked

"what?" "Goth girl" He smirked looking at my make up

"Shut up, I like it."

"you are so committed to it aren't you? this lipstick literally says coven on it"

"I like the colour, and it smells like vanilla"

"sure you do" He smirked

"How do you know about how he died?" I asked

"who?"

"Narsisius"

"Oh. he was my dad's friend's son I think. hard to remember it was so long ago now" "wasn't that like.... way way back?"

"I did say I have been gone a while"

"Not that long"

"Vampires have been around a long time my little Wiccan." "Ohh shut up, please stop calling me that" "Why? it's cute. it suits you"

"How long exactly?" I asked ignoring him

"I have no idea. the calendar keeps changing. Every time I come back for a while the whole system different." he sighed "But I remember him, used to go to the river a lot. but not to stare at himself" "Then to do what?"

"He was a colossal fucking perv" He laughs "He used to go down and watch the girls bathe on a Thursday afternoon"

"And you know this? How?" I smirked as I blended my makeup

"I was two hundred leave me alone"

"No, I won't" "I was a teenager leave me be"

"two hundred is teen by your standards?"

"Yeah?"

"so... when you were two hundred?"

"I was mentally like, fourteen if that. But I looked about six. Yeah I had problems with that. Late bloomer my mum said, My dad, said I was too much like my mother" He laughs "But he used to go down the river watch the girls and uhhh... you know with himself."

"so how did he die?"

"He got obsessed with it. he'd be down there twice a day, the practically pitched a tent and moved down the river just so he could be pervy and jerk off all the time"

"so?"

"so, you live off a diet of forest berries and you jerk off sixteen times a day it's gonna kill you after a while"

"Hu. fair enough" I shrug "Are all that kinda people vampires?" "Most of them, I'm not sure how you guys never figured that out, human or blood sacrifices, living forever, never aging, amazing powers, mating with humans make half human half other."

"You have a point there"

[iamallyetnotatall]

Gonna share an A:TLA hc that I’m never gonna write...

I love the hc that Zuko and Mai get married platonically rather than romantically and are each other’s beards. Their friendship is gorgeous and I stan, but I definitely see Mai with Ty Lee instead.

Like Mailee is the childhood friends to lovers trope and I LOVE it so much. And they have their shared trauma of dealing with Azula’s wrath (who, in my hc, gets a full redemption arc and gets all the help she needs and finally gets to be her own person) and they’re both nobles and have known each other for most of their lives and understand each other even though their personalities are super different. If the show were to make any queer couple canon, I’d want it to be Mailee, even though I love Zukka, that would change the show too much. But Mailee is goals. At least canonically Ty Lee doesn’t actually show much interest in boys? She flirts a bit and is friendly, but it all seems for fun and attention rather than because she’s interested in any of them.

And Mai is my lesbian goth queen, fight me. 

SO - hc. Zuko goes up to Mai and is like, “My country is still kind of homophobic and I’m working on it, but marrying a guy is gonna cause trouble that I just don’t have time to deal with. And it’d be really awesome to have someone help me with all this Fire Lord bullshit because reforming an entire country is a lot harder than it looks and you’re the best person I know and would make an awesome Fire Lady.” And adds, “And since the Kyoshi Warriors are my guards, it’d make a lot of sense for me to appoint one as your personal guard, and I don’t think anyone will wonder why it’s Ty Lee, you know, since your ‘friends’ and all.”

And Mai brain freezes for a second - because a husband will get her parents off her back, and she is bored and the idea of being a housewife makes her want to vomit and Fire Lady’s definitely still get to practice knife throwing (or throw knives at anyone who says otherwise) aaaand she gets to keep her girlfriend. 

“That sounds acceptable.”

In private Ty Lee throws herself at Zuko shouting thanks because now she and Mai get to be together all the time and she doesn’t have to worry about Mai being forced to marry a gross boy and have babies she doesn’t want.

The wedding is gorgeous, obvs, and all their friends/families are there and only their close friends (aka the gaang) know the truth and they’re supportive because they just want their friends happy.

They get rooms next to each other, and it’s proper for the Fire Lady to have her own quarters so no one thinks anything of it. And Mai and Ty Lee will sometimes just come into his room to go through his things (”I need a hair tie” “I am SLEEPING!” “Then sleep.” “UGH.”) and it’s kind of like having two wives and he doesn’t really mind.

After assassination attempts, they drag him into their room to sleep with them just for a couple of nights because they’re worried about him (the guy didn’t even make it to the palace, but he’s touched by the concern anyway). 

“Huh. We’ve been married for half a year and this is the first time I’ve shared a bed with my wife,” he jokes and Ty Lee giggles. “I’ve been keeping her company, don’t worry.”

And now that he’s married the pressure is gone (until they start going on about babies, but that’s later) so he can either start macking on the Water Tribe Ambassador (”Finally!” “Shut up Ty Lee.” “Don’t tell my girlfriend to shut up.” “I’m divorcing both of you!”) or he finally has some freedom to start hoeing it up, w.e floats your boat.

Anyway, Mailee is the jam and Maiko is cute platonically.

End hc.

[janeykath318]

Darcy and the Prince (Shieldshock)

“I’m going to be so happy when this is over and we can all get on with our lives,” grumbled Darcy, as she helped her friend into her very beautiful white wedding dress, fit for the princess Jane was about to become. Jane had met the Asgardian Prince Thor while visiting the country on a science quest (as Darcy referred to her research trips) and the two had, against all odds, fallen head over heels in love and became engaged a year later. Despite the meddlings, of Thor’s troublemaking brother Loki, they’d made it to the wedding day and Darcy was playing bridesmaid and generally trying to keep Jane from going full bridezilla. 

“Hmm, maybe you’ll be singing a different tune once you’ve met some of Thor’s friends,” Jane suggested, as she was buttoned up. “He knows a lot of attractive, single, people.”

Darcy rolled her eyes and grimaced as she worked on the last few buttons. 

“Ugh. NO, JANE. I do not need that drama in my life right now. I’m gonna finish my masters, then go globe-trotting and enjoy being single and free. Men are more trouble than they’re worth.”

“Sometimes I want to wring Ian’s neck for what he did to you,” Jane said vehemently. Darcy’s last boyfriend had turned out to be an utter cheating scum and she’d ended up with a broken heart, hence her general annoyance with men. 

“Thor and I got our revenge,” Darcy said, smiling at the memory. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to trust again. Don’t be sad, Janie. I’m super happy to have you and Thor and Eric as buddies. Now, let’s get finished so we can get you down that aisle!”

Before she knew it, Darcy was preceding Jane down the aisle and trying not to start bawling. She was a shameless wedding weeper and knew it would be even worse this time since it was her best friend getting married. 

As she blinked rapidly, she took a glance up front where a beaming Thor was standing, along with several other very striking, very well dressed men. She caught the eye of a gorgeous blonde decked out in full prince uniform and he smiled at her, which did funny things to her insides and it took all her self control to not stare at him through the whole ceremony. 

Of course, by the time the happy couple kissed and was announced as husband and wife, Darcy could barely see through her tears and just hoped she’d grabbed the right man’s arm to walk her back down the aisle. 

“I’m sorry,” she sniffled to her unknown escort. “I always weep an embarrassing amount at weddings and these dresses NEVER have pockets to stash tissues in.” 

“Nothing to be sorry for,” a very pleasant voice answered. “I admit, I shed some tears as well. Luckily, I always carry a back up handkerchief. Here.”

A soft cloth was pressed into her hand, and Darcy gratefully accepted it, finally managing to wipe the tears away. Vision cleared, she was able to see her helpful person and let out a gasp as she saw it was the gorgeous blonde princey dude. Up close, it was clear she’d grabbed the arm of Prince Steven, one of the most swooned over royalties to ever grace the papers. 

“Wow, thanks, your highness,” she said breathlessly. “I’m afraid this thing is ruined. It looks like my waterproof mascara is not actually waterproof.”

She held up the handkerchief, which was now smeared with black streaks. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Prince Steven said, pretty blue eyes crinkling in a smile. “Like I said, I’ve got extra.”

“You’re the best,” Darcy blurted, then turned red. “Ohmm….. I’m gonna go repair the damages before they start the pictures. Will you let Jane and Thor know where I’ve gone? It should only take a few minutes.”

“Sure,” the Prince said kindly. “And please, call me Steve.”

Darcy ventured to look back at him, and saw nothing but genuine friendliness in his kind eyes. She fell a bit in love right there.

“Nice to meet you…...Steve,” she managed, a tad shyly. “I’m Darcy, by the way.”

“Lewis?” he asked, recognition appearing in his expression.

“The very same,” she confirmed. “I take it Thor’s mentioned me?” 

“He sure has,” Steve answered. “He calls you his lightning sister and is frequently expounding on your wit, brains, and beauty. I’d have to agree with him. You are stunning.”

Darcy felt herself blush like a tomato. 

“You’re one to talk, Prince GQ,” she sassed, to cover up her internal freak out over his compliment. “Be right back!” 

With that she picked up her skirts and swished off to the restroom, leaving Steve looking after her with great amusement and interest. Darcy Lewis was a very strikingly lovely woman and the blue dress she was wearing greatly flattered her figure and emphasized her bright blue eyes. Thor had tried to set him up with her before, but Steve had stubbornly refused. Now that he’d met her, He thought he’d been an idiot. 

“Are you well, Darcy?” Thor inquired, when she had rejoined the others.

“Yeah. My mascara betrayed me and made me start looking like one of those goth rock stars,” she told him. “That’s the Last time I use THAT brand. Congratulations, by the way.”

She offered up hugs to the happy couple, before they were whisked away for pictures with the official royal photographer. 

Spotting Steve, she casually strolled over and watched a bit as he talked to a group of individuals, who must have been his friends, because he looked so much more relaxed and was laughing and smiling in a very jovial manner. He kept his public persona very buttoned up and stiff, so seeing him like this was utterly fascinating and Darcy was becoming more and more attracted every minute. She chatted with Bruce Banner for a little bit, then helped Jane manage her train in between shots. 

They were so cute together, it was almost sickening. Thor looked at Jane like she was his whole universe and Jane looked at Thor like he was the only man in existence. 

“I want to look at someone the way she looks at him,” Darcy murmured, half to herself, half to the blue and gold clad figure who had joined her. 

“Me too,” Steve agreed, sounding very wistful. 

“Shouldn’t be that hard for you, dude,” she pointed out. 

He chuckled ruefully, blushing a bit.

“I’ve discovered there’s a big difference between starstruck lust, and real love and I haven’t seemed to find the latter yet. Most of them aren’t interested in getting to know the real me at all.”

“That’s sad,” Darcy told him. “You seem like you’d be very interesting, once you get past the whole princely trappings and regal persona. Tell me, Steve, what makes you tick?”

Steve turned to look at her, and she felt like the blue eyes were piercing through her, searching for something. Whatever he saw, it must have eased his mind, because he took a deep breath and started talking.

“For one thing, I’m very passionate about using my position to do as much good as I can, not be just some stuffed shirt figurehead,” he told her. “I’m also very fond of the arts and am in the process of starting an art school for underprivileged kids. I’m hoping they’ll let me teach, because I love to draw and paint.”

“That’s awesome,” Darcy said warmly, giving him an approving nod.

“I also love dogs and help out at the shelters whenever I can.” He continued. “They’re so much more pleasant than dealing with parliament.” 

Darcy laughed at the distaste in his voice, but never got a chance to say anything else, because duty called. They shared a few looks across the room, and Steve shamelessly winked at her once when she pretended to strike a diva pose. 

They didn’t get close enough to actually talk again until the reception, when he sauntered up to Darcy as she was giggling at a ridiculous archery joke Clint had made. 

“Excuse me. Darcy, would you care for a dance?” He asked, holding out a white-gloved hand.

“Y-you’re asking me?” Darcy squeaked. 

“I don’t see any other Darcys around here, unless one of you has something to tell me,” Steve said dryly, squinting at Clint, Natasha, and Bruce, all of whom knew him. 

“Nope, not it,” Clint said, shaking his head.

“She’d love to,” Nastasha answered, giving Darcy a nudge forward.

“Yeah, I would, “ Darcy managed, taking the offered hand nervously.  Steve’s hand closed around hers and she felt a tingle up her spine.

She was in a dreamy daze as the prince expertly guided her around the floor. It was clear his princely education had included good dance technique and he was absolutely courtly about it. 

“Now, Darcy, it’s your turn to tell me what makes YOU tick,” he said after a few minutes of silently gazing at her. 

“Well, I live fueled by coffee and sarcasm, I majored in political science, and I’m not afraid to use my taser on creeps and jerks,” she told him proudly. “Also, I may have a thing for tall blonde princes.”

“Is that so?” He asked, a dangerously flirty tone in his voice.

“Yup,” she admitted. “Which is a little inconvenient seeing as how I’ve sworn off men.”

“That is too bad,” Steve agreed. “Any chance of possibly changing your mind?” 

“I’ll certainly let you try,” she told him, struggling to keep her mind from its fantasies about his magnificent broad shoulders and muscular arms. 

“Good,” Steve said, with another one of his stunning smiles. (If he kept doing that, there was no way she would be able to hold out long.)

“You look like you’re already planning your persuasive tactics,” she told him.

“Well, they don’t call me The Prince With A Plan for nothing,” Steve said, twirling Darcy around dramatically. Yeah, she was in SO much trouble. 

[elskamo]

Aleduncan Week, Day 2

How on earth did I write over 1300 words for this!? It’s Day 2 of Aleduncan Week so I’ve combined the prompts for Coming Out, Confessions, and Pride. This one hints at some darker stuff in places but is otherwise pretty positive towards the end. I’ve also referenced a few popular ships and headcanons throughout too. I really hope you guys enjoy this one, it took me so long to finish:

To say Total Drama hadn’t aged well was an understatement. As the show’s ten year anniversary was coming up and Chris went into overdrive trying to create a big enough buzz to warrant another season much of the contestants past behaviour was dredged up again. Homophobic remarks, transphobic jokes, there was even a passionate argument from one news outlet around deliberately queerbaiting audiences and refusing to acknowledge contestant’s LGBT+ identities on the show. The backlash became so great there was only one thing to do…

Duncan kept his hoodie up over his head as he stomped over to the float. He couldn’t believe Chris was making them do this. He could have made a half-assed apology on social media or talked to a journalist about how ‘it was a different time back then’. But no, he had to make a huge show of sponsoring one of the biggest Pride events in the country and buying a whole damn float for the old castmates to ride during the parade. So maybe Duncan had contributed to some of the controversies on the show… okay, he’d been responsible for a lot of them, but did he really have to take part in some glorified publicity stunt to make up for it? It was ten years ago!

As the young man weaved his way through the swarm of people he finally reached his old teammates getting ready. He immediately noticed Geoff and Bridgette together stringing some lights up on the side of the vehicle but who was that other guy with them and why was he holding Geoff’s free hand? DJ wandered over to help the group, but his look was a lot gloomier than Duncan remembered; his entire outfit was coloured black, white, grey, and purple. Had he gone goth or something? Glancing around he recognised Owen and Noah talking to some guy in a leotard and another dork with glasses, neither of which Duncan could place. Owen was doing his usual touchy feely crap, but Noah was being surprisingly cool about it, he was even smiling! 

Walking away from what was possibly the creepiest thing he had ever witnessed in his adult life Duncan doubled back, hopefully he could just hide out in the public bathroom and no one would notice he hadn’t shown up. Even with all the noise around him he could still hear giggling coming from the women’s room. Rolling his eyes the former convict made a beeline for the men’s room until another round of giggles made him stop in his tracks. He knew that laugh… Staring down the door he gently pushed it open, his eyes widening in shock as he witnessed Courtney and Heather making out against the countertop.

The door slammed as Duncan let go, bolting as far away from the scene as possible, pushing and shoving anyone that got in his way. Why did he bother coming? He shouldn’t be here, he couldn’t handle this! The whole world felt blurred as he ran, it was only when he slammed into something hard that his vision began to clear. Blinking away the tears he hadn’t realised were falling he found himself face to face with one of the last people he wanted to see.

To his credit, Alejandro hadn’t made a big deal about the situation and for that Duncan was grateful. The two were sat in one of the big chain coffee shops nearby, Alejandro insisting that the two of them had time to spare and of course he didn’t mind paying for drinks. He was sat opposite him now in the booth, calmly sipping his tea in silence while Duncan huddled up even more in his hoodie, as if the dark garment would hide him somehow. After ten minutes without any talking he finally spoke up, “You know our ex-girlfriends are sucking face right now don’t you?”

Alejandro raised his eyebrow, “Well they have been dating for almost six years.” Noting the look of shock on Duncan’s face he continued, “They ended up rooming together at college, they made amends with each other, and when Heather came out we broke up and she asked out Courtney. They make a pretty cute couple.” Duncan frowned in confusion, “So they’re both... lesbians?” “Heather’s a lesbian, as far as I know Courtney identifies as bisexual.”

Duncan leaned back, seemingly trying to process that information, “But everyone else is still straight, right?” Alejandro held back a laugh, “Some people still identify as straight. Some have come to terms with their identity or are still exploring it. A few of us were already out during the show but are more open about it now.” He gestured towards his tank top which Duncan finally took notice of, it looked like a pink, yellow, and blue flag though Duncan had no idea what the colours meant. “The show wasn’t really the most… accepting place to talk about this kind of thing. One or two of us might bring it up our dating lives or lack thereof off camera otherwise we just didn’t mention it. The producers pretty much axed all the footage they deemed ‘unsuitable’ anyway.”

There was a clear edge to Alejandro’s voice that caught Duncan off guard. The other man took a large gulp from his drink while the delinquent stared down into his still full mug. Duncan fiddled with his jacket zipper for a couple of minutes while the silence set in once again. His brow furrowed as he seemingly came to a decision, his eyes stayed focused on his drink as he spoke, “Sorry I don’t really get this kinda stuff, it’s never really come up before.” “Never?” “My family don’t talk about it. I mean, a few of them were discussing the whole gay marriage thing in America a couple years ago but…”

As Duncan trailed off Alejandro sat up in his seat, his companion still examining his untouched coffee. Choosing his words carefully he asked, “So do you still see your family often? Or have you moved in with a partner or…?” Duncan chuckled but he sounded far from amused, “No I’m still at home, went straight back to my childhood digs once my sentence was over. I haven’t really seen anyone since I got out, never got round to it I guess.” “Not still hung up on Courtney then?” “Oh god no!” 

The two of them laughed humourlessly when Duncan finally looked Alejandro in the eye, “Honestly I wasn’t really all that sad when we broke up for good. I mean, yeah I missed having her around, but I wasn’t upset that the relationship was over. I don’t think I ever got upset during any of our splits. I didn’t really care when Gwen dumped me either…” A flash of understanding passed between them and Alejandro reached under the table to squeeze Duncan’s hand, “You know, it’d be good for you to join us today. Get some fresh air, see your old friends, get some closure. You might even have fun.”

Duncan hesitated and pulled back, leaving Alejandro’s hand hanging, “I don’t know, it’s kinda overwhelming out there, I should probably-” “One hour!” Both men jumped a little at Alejandro’s outburst, it seemed he’d even surprised himself. Clearing his throat Alejandro lowered his voice, “The parade is only an hour long, you could always stay with me while we’re out there and if you still wanna go… we can chill at my place for a bit?”

Alejandro silently cursed himself until Duncan gently tugged the zipper down on his hoodie, revealing his blank T-shirt, save for the little rainbow flag in the centre. “Let’s… get this over with I guess.” Duncan laughed awkwardly as the pair got up to leave. Taking a deep breath at the door the two men smiled at each other as Alejandro led Duncan back to the float. This time when he took his hand Duncan didn’t let go.

[mom-of-today]

So we did it. We fucking got it done. And for five minutes we can all step back and take a huge breath. We can sleep soundly in our beds tonight knowing that the nightmare of the past four years is over. We can think about something other than vote counts, which states we need, how many states we need, and whether we can really pull this out. We did it.  Now, in a few weeks, maybe even not until January 21st, 2021, we have so much more work to do. We still have a white guy (an old white guy) in office, and no matter how amazing and wonderful he is, no matter how much I voted for him and supported his campaign once he was the Democratic candidate, that doesn’t mean we couldn’t have done better. That doesn’t mean there weren’t better options.  I don’t think that Bernie would be our guy. I know the hard left wants Bernie to be our guy, but the truth of the matter is: he’s too left for our country right now, in all the ways that absolutely terrifying centrists, the right, and conservatives as a whole. Is this a problem? Yes. It’s one of the reasons I ultimately threw in behind Biden; he is a centrist, he is not hard left, he will negotiate fairly and evenly, and he will be a voice of reason and calm. He is someone even the conservatives can support. I love Bernie Sanders, I love his policies and his beliefs, but I’m a ~liberal snowflake~ who thinks that global change is important and necessary. I am not a centrist, right-leaning, conservative-minded, Democrat. Or Republican. In another time I would probably be far left, but instead I am just regular old liberal left.  In the 2022 mid-term elections we are going to have to put forth better candidates. But we have to also be aware that we are working against a group of strong conservatism that is dominating the country right now. They might be in the minority, but they are armed, dangerous, and feeling threatened. Have you ever cornered an angry, scared, dog before? That is what the hard right is. They believe their way of life is coming to an end; and in many ways they are right, their old-school belief about race, gender, the LGBTQ+ community, and so many other liberal agendas are changing the shape of our country and around the world. If we keep pushing further left, faster than we are convincing people that the left is a safe place to be, they are going to continue to give us people like Trump.  Trump is a symptom of a much larger problem. Trump did not create this mess, he simply fed off the mess. Much in the same way that the Goths did not bring down the Roman empire in the 470s CE, instead they found weaknesses within and exploited those weaknesses until Rome came crumbling down around them. We are Rome, and if we are not careful Rome will come crashing down in a much more violent, frightening way. We cannot afford to tear ourselves apart from within as we all search for common ground.  The rise of people like Trump, and Trumpism as a whole, simply created a bigger wedge, a wider divide between the Right and Left, conservatives and liberals, and it isn’t going to be fixed by electing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. We took a step in the right direction, we decided that a Black, Indian-American, WOMAN could, in fact, be worthy of holding the Vice President’s office. Nearly 5 million Americans decided that she, and Biden, were a better, more fitting choice for our country in this time, and I agree. But we know this because they will not actively seek revenge and push an agenda that is going to shove conservatives even further down a path of self-destruction.  Electing Joe Biden as president is HUGE, and we shouldn’t forget that in nearly all of my years on earth this has only happened ONE single time. 30 years ago the country decided that George H. W. Bush was also someone we could not count on to do the right thing and run our country, he was a one-term president and lost to Bill Clinton. But a victory today does not ensure a victory 4 years from now, and we must be careful. We must be wary. We must ensure that Biden can maintain his hold for eight years and we work to repair our communities from within. Perhaps without the vitriol from the leader of our country we will begin to see a return of reality. We will see a shift in tone throughout our country. But it is going to take more that four years and Joe Biden. It is going to take all of us, it is going to take electing younger Representatives and Senators to replace those that are retiring, those that understand the battle we are facing right now, those who can see the reality of the world, while also being willing to fight for it. Change is not going to happen from the top up, it must happen from the ground first. You would never start a building by building a roof, you must start with the foundations. So we must spend the next four, hell the next two, years convincing our neighbors, our family, our friends, to keep seeing the value in moving left. That our values are not being compromised by seeing that all people have value, that Black lives matter, that women have a right to decide, and the climate needs to be addressed. We must have conversations, not fights. And we must do this or we risk another Trump-esque rival rising up and fighting Biden in 2024, running against another Democrat in 2028.  This battle is over, but there are many more to go. The fight for our country, the fight for human decency, the fight for reality still lingers. We cannot forget, though we may take a deep breath and rest our wary fingers, our wary minds, and our hearts for a couple of months before we pick up the mantle and keep fighting for all the right (or left) things we believe in. 

[fulcrumahsokaamidala]

Sunday Spectacular #24

Happy Sunday!!! So this is me thanking awesome fanfic writers for their amazing work and all the time they put into their fics. ♥️ I want to recommend spectacular fanfic stories I read this week! ♥️ They are posted in the order I read them. All posts will be tagged #spectacular fic rec

Last week I didn’t post because it was my last week before spring break. I had so much homework that I didn’t read fic almost at all. I’m just adding what I read the week before to this post.

A Soul Lost at Sea by @tinaday3w​ | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Olicity Victorian AU - Five years after pirates attacked his ship, Royal Navy sailor Oliver Queen returns home to England to find his affluent family in financial ruin. So when he’s presented with the opportunity to marry Felicity, eldest daughter of the ridiculously wealthy Noah Smoak, Oliver doesn’t hesitate to capture her hand…even though he has no idea if he can capture her heart. Or if Felicity could ever possibly learn to love a soul lost at sea.

Pieces of Always by @so-caffeinated​ | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Life continues after Forever is Composed of Nows.Ongoing non-linear collection of family moments for the Queens. You do not need to have read FiCoN to enjoy this, but it will spoil the end.

A Surefire Guide to Getting Over Your Ex  by lilbluednacer | Arrow | Completed

Summary: Felicity and Oliver can totally start sleeping together without ruining their friendship… right?

An Island Of His Own Making by @realityisoverrated-fic​ | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Oliver broke up with Felicity and Tommy because it was the right thing to do, at least, that's what he keeps telling himself.

The Green Arrow Did It by @realityisoverrated-fic​ | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Tommy is on the other side of the country. Oliver is at work. Felicity is home alone with the twins. The twins might be ninjas.

Pas de Deux by @realityisoverrated-fic​ | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: With Oliver gone, Felicity and Tommy need to figure out who they are as a couple.

Workouts and Babbles by ElasticMonk | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Oliver comes to the rescue of one cute blonde at his gym just as Felicity stumbles upon one handsome mayor at her gym. They both have something in common, but will it bring them happiness?

The Daughter That Was Left Behind by @laxit21​| Arrow | WIP

Summary: Before the Gambit, Oliver Queen met QC intern Felicity Smoak. When he boarded the Gambit, he left something behind. Now, five long years later someone is waiting for him.

Artemis by @laxit21​ | Arrow | WIP

Summary: When the Queen’s Gambit sank, two people were stranded on Lian Yu. Five years later, four came back.

in another world (just the two of us) by @inlovewithimpossibillity​ | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: She knows she has no right, no place here to say anything about it, but she can’t help the images that flash through her brain. A different Connor, with a kinder face and no facial hair, a different Mia too for that matter, in a completely different place. Somewhere darker and grimier, as if the filter that seems to shine over Star City has been removed.

[When Dinah and Laurel restore the rest of FTA's memories, Mia and Connor talk through some of their issues... or at least they try to. It's a little hard when you have two lives' worth of memories in your head.]

The Miracle of the Avenging Angel by @realityisoverrated-fic​ | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: It's a typical weekend in the Merlyn-Queen-Smoak household. Temple on Friday night, church on Sunday morning, and a whole lot of smut and confusion in between. It's the 20th anniversary of the arrival of the Green Arrow in Starling City and Prue has an unusual interpretation of her superhero father.

(your love is) always on my mind by @inlovewithimpossibillity​ | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: She’s clearly taken some time to get ready and that thought alone has Oliver’s heart beating out of his chest at an abnormal rate. The concept that she wanted to look nice for him makes his heart glow in a way he’d forgotten it even could. And good lord, she looks so much more than nice.

[An evening set between 6x03 and 6x04 because we all know these two couldn't keep their hands off one another]

Baby Daddy by more0rLessJess | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Bartender Oliver Queen was living his twenties to the fullest, he lived with his best friend John Diggle, and his brother in everything but blood, Tommy Merlyn just moved into their apartment as he started his professional baseball career for the Starling City Rockets. On top of that, his childhood best friend Felicity Smoak, who was no longer goth and instead blonde and beautiful, was back in town and they were hanging out again. Oliver thought his days were going to be filled with partying, one night stands, and boys weekends while also spending quality time with the girl everyone kept telling him he was in love with. Until his ex-girlfriend dropped a baby on his doorstep who turned out to be his son. After a lot of thought and Felicity Smoak pep talks, Oliver decides to keep and raise his son with the help of his friends. Or the AU fic inspired by the Freeform sitcom Baby Daddy that no one asked for but I needed to write. Aka Oliver and Felicity are childhood friends and are hopelessly in love with each other and everyone knows but them, oh and now they’re raising a baby. What could go wrong?

It’s in the Air by @emmilynestill​ | Arrow | WIP

Summary: December 23, 2016. It’s Mayor Queen’s first-holiday party and love is in the air.

No, wait, that’s tension in the air. Bitterness. Regret. Painful longing for one’s former love. Awkward interactions with current significant others. A little humiliation mixed in. Yup, this was one great party.

Then the gas came.

Maybe love was in the air afterall.

**Just my usual lock Oliver and Felicity in a room with a mind-altering substance with a dash of holiday magic thrown in. And, by magic, I mean Sex Pollen. And maybe a little Truth Serum to stir things up.**

Always Been You by @smoaking-greenarrow​ | Arrow | WIP

Summary: On Oliver's last night in Starling, Tommy throws him a yacht party. When his little sister and her best friend show up, Oliver has a hard time hiding the torch he's always carried for Felicity. But he's leaving in the morning... They both know it can only be a one-time thing...

From Russia with Love by griever11 | Arrow | Completed

Summary: Rookie FBI Agent and resident IT extraordinaire Felicity Smoak has just landed the assignment of a lifetime. Together with Supervisory Senior Agent Diggle, she returns to Starling City undercover in an attempt to flush out the elusive Odessa gang that has been a thorn in the Bureau's side for many years.

Leader of the Russian mob Oliver Queen stumbles upon a piece of information that unfortunately requires a certain set of hacking skills that no one he knows seems to possess. Lucky for him, he comes across an unusual criminal hacker who has mysteriously turned up in Starling and funnily enough, seems just right for the job.

How's that for perfect timing?

All Her Firsts by @callistawolf​ | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Felicity Smoak visits Starling with her high school decathlon team, prepared for a week of intellectual rigors. What she doesn’t expect is the emotional roller coaster that follows as she begins to fall for her host- the totally-out-of-her-league Oliver Queen.

Almost Lover by lust_muffin | Arrow | WIP

Summary: After the siege, after the whole mess with Slade Wilson, after telling Felicity he loved her without meaning it (but totally meaning it), things hadn’t been great between them. Tension was running high, they had problems communicating when that was something that never happened before and Laurel… Laurel was making everything worse. Until one night, she went too far. And that was the point that changed their lives forever.

Or a “what would Oliver and Felicity’s life be like if they got together sooner?”

It's A Long Corgi... by @alexiablackbriar13​| Arrow | One-shot

Summary: William accidentally, secretly adopts a corgi puppy.

Felicity and Oliver eventually find out. Eventually.

Daughter of the Demon by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: What if in 1988 while traveling through Las Vegas Ra’s al Ghul bumps into a nice waitress named Donna Smoak and they have one-night stand together? A little bundle of joy named Felicity Smoak is the result. In 2014, the Demon Head becomes aware of his youngest daughter’s existence.

The Ravager by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Slade Wilson’s plan for revenge against Oliver took time, money and no shortage of lives to pull together. His plan didn’t anticipate Felicity Smoak. How will his plan change now that his lost-lost daughter is working with the very man he’s trying to destroy?

Felicity of Themiscyra by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Years ago, Donna Smoak left the island of Themiscyra and her sister Queen Hippolyta behind to live in man’s world. She never told Felicity the truth about where she came from. As a result of the Undertaking, Felicity discovers some of her Amazonian abilities and makes an interesting new friend: Diana Prince.

I Scream But No Sound Comes out by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: When Oliver returns from Lian Yu after five years, he comes back different. What happened there damaged more than just his body. How will his friends and family deal with this new Oliver?

[midastouches]

why i love long live (2010)

i really could break this down line by line but i will not micha this is for u honey enjoy <3

Long Live

I had this best guy friend, since like sixth grade. We really only became friends because he started dating my best girl friend and i actually dated his best friend for like a solid two weeks because well, sixth grade relationships :) ANYwho, me and this bgf would talk a lot because we spent a lot of time together because of my bff/his girlfriend. Anywho, eventaully our conversations got really deep and I developed a huge huge crush on him that I couldn’t admit because well, he was dating my best friend.

flash forward a few years later when i finally actually have my own phone and can talk to him, he and my best friend go through this huge messy breakup that essentially means I have to pick a side and can never talk to the other one. I pick the boy that this point i’ve had a crush on for four? years at this point of my best friend (this is actually one of my biggest regrets, and yes, me and girl bff made up later that year on valentines day wow im so bisexual woo)

we end up getting super close, and we talk a lot. i learn that he used to cut himself, except he would do it on his back so no one could see. i would tell him about how much i hate my body, how uncomfortable it makes me and how much i hate eating and gaining weight. we would talk about our depression and the things we hated about high school, and I really though he would fall for me, I did. 

He didn’t. 

I learned about his new girlfriend later that day at a winter strength and speed session. She was blonde, blue eyes, and i somehow convinced myself that she was essentially going to be someone he dated until I turned sixteen and would be able to date him. I recognize now how utterly stupid that was of me just to assume that, assume someone’s feeling were only a placeholder. 

Anyway, high school goes on, and we’re still super close, but there’s now a buffer. I turn sixteen, he and this girl still date. He turns sixteen. They still date. My anorexia gets even worse and my junior years goes to shit. I find it in myself that I can’t talk to him, I can’t be that girl who obsesses over someone elses. So, I simply start to remove myself from him for my own well-being. I put my feelings for in a denial mode and I start to flirt with other people, other boys that make me think I’m moving on, but I’m not. 

Because everytime I get a text or a snapchat from him, my whole face lights up and I know I’m fucked. 

And to my credit, I was not othe only one trying to convince myself he felt something for me. Countless other people in my high school shipped us, countless other people could tell I had a crush on him and they would tell me all the ways they could tell he secretly liked me. It made the narrative continue and my feelings for him were still buried. I couldn’t tell him, I wouldn’t tell him. I was not going to jeopardize our friendship, his relationship with his girlfriend all because I had a dumb crush on him. I just kept thinking it’ll go away, it’ll go away. 

It didn’t, but again, let’s go into the denial phase. 

Hit senior year. We barely talk now except for in person stuff, mainly because I’m trying to convince myself that he doen’t care about me at all. We’re both in cross country though so August hits and I see him eevery day. Except that I think the crush has faded a bit, and I’ve got this other guy I’m talking to, one who makes me feel seen and compliments me and is just overall an amazing guy. Septemeber passes by, now I have a boyfriend and there’s homecing nominations coming up. He gets nominated, I get nominated. I joke to my boyfriend that I’m not going to win, I’m not part of the popular crowd. He bets that I will win. 

This boy texts me in class later that month, after everyone’s voted and now the boy and girl our paired. He send a photo with the pairings and oh look, we’re paired together. All I can think is fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. There’s a ton of homecoming events, lots of pictures, and we’ll be in every single one of them together. 

(also one of the dress up days for homecoming that week is goth day and he gets smudged eyeliner put on him and i just about lose it)

spring forward to the pep rally and we’re all down there, facing eachother, me holding a rose covered in foil and tape with about a dozen other couples surrounding us. I’m looking at him, he’s looking at me. 

They finally tell us to unravel the roses and i can’t. i’m struggling. just about every other girl has their rose unwrapped  but I don’t hear any screaming yet, no winner has been declared. I’m looking at him and he’s got a damn smirk on his face watching me struggle when I finally get. The homecoming queen is announced when she is holding a red rose. 

As I finally get the foil off and stare at the rose in shock, I realize it’s as red as sin. The whole gymansium goes up in a roar of celebration and all the sudden he’s hugging me so tight tight tight and I’m hugging him back just as tight but we’re being pulled from eachother and the other girls who lost are hugging me and I glance back and he’s just go this huge smile on my face and 

holy shit we won. holy fuck shit. we aren’t popular in the way the others were. we were just a rag tag team of a girl and boy and we fucking won. 

we’re crowned king and queen and the entire time long live by taylor swift is stuck in my head. 

the photos of us are gorgeous. the candids, the staged. our crowns. 

and everytime i look back at them i just think of this: 

I said remember this moment In the back of my mind The time we stood with our shaking hands The crowds in stands went wild We were the kings and the queens And they read off our names The night you danced like you knew our lives Would never be the same You held your head like a hero On a history book page It was the end of a decade But the start of an age

flash foward to today. We don’t really talk at all. Occasionally I see him on a run, or at his work. Occasionally we’ll see eachother around, but it’s never awkward. He always brings the same grin to my face that makes me wonder if he ever knew. 

I still love to look at the photos. Every smile, every laugh. 

I think I’ll be in love with him forever. I think that a part of my heart will always belong to him, and I don’t think he’ll ever know. But I hope that sometimes, just sometimes I linger a bit too long in his mind as well. 

Hold on to spinning around Confetti falls to the ground May these memories break our fallCan you take a moment Promise me this: That you'll stand by me forever But if God forbid fate should step in And force us into a goodbye If you have children someday When they point to the pictures Please tell them my name Tell them how the crowds went wild Tell them how I hope they shine

Long live the walls we crashed through I had the time of my life with you

This is why Long Live is one of my favorite songs. It provides this amazing narrative for me to relate one of the greatest people who have ever touched my life. As far as I’m aware, he doesn’t have tumblr, so he’ll never actually see this, but yeah, that’s kinda it. if you read this far, tysm and I hope you have an amazing day <3

and for one moment a band of thieves and ripped up jeans got to rule the world.