#Part of my brain just belongs to those characters now

[spoonsloot]

Call of Duty brainrot is real. Going 8 months strong my dudes 💪

[oizysian]

You should totally write reader being an actor too and being in avengers and her character is a love interest of Natasha but her and Lizzie have been dating forever anyway. So her character has to be in a scene where Scarlett x R are lovey dovey and kissing and she’s a little :( Like she knows it’s the job but also upsets her to see her kissing other women, even if it is a friend that’s Scarlett. After she’s so possessive, she drags her off to the dressing room to claim her🤭

Jealousy, Jealousy | Elizabeth Olsen

Pairings: Elizabeth Olsen x Fem!Reader

Warnings: strap usage, dirty talk, mommy kink

Word count: 1.9k

•

“Kiss me.” I whispered softly, my girlfriend looking deeply into my eyes before gently pressing her lips to mine, mindful of my injury so she didn’t hurt me.

I held her face in my hands and closed my eyes, the soft feel of her lips against mine almost bringing tears to my eyes.

Natasha pulled away and rested her forehead against my own, sighing as she realized this would probably be our last kiss.

“Cut! Beautiful, girls! Absolutely fantastic!”

The cast and crew applauded and Scarlett and I parted, smiling at each other proudly. The scene had been stressful, emotional and draining, but now it was over and it had been completed perfectly.

I looked over at my girlfriend who was watching from the sidelines, looking a little pouty. She was adorable, standing there by herself in her Wanda costume, eyeing us silently.

I made a move to walk over to her when the director caught Scarlett’s and my attention.

“Ladies, we’d like to do scene 22 again, if that’s okay with you both?”

“Sure, that’s fine.” I said, looking towards Scarlett who nodded in agreement.

We went back to our places, Lizzie’s pout deepening as Scarlett got on top of me on the makeshift bed, caressing my face softly.

“And … action!”

“You’ll be okay, I promise.”

“You can’t keep that promise.” I said softly.

“They won’t find you here.”

“They’ll never stop looking for me, Natasha.”

“I’ll kill them all before they touch you.”

“Stop,” I spoke against her lips, inching closer to her. “Just …”

She pressed herself against me, kissing me softly, slipping her tongue into my mouth. I let out a whimper, pulling her down on top of me and grabbing at her greedily.

She began to take off my shirt, kissing my neck as she groped at me.

“Cut! Thank you both! We’re done for today!”

Scarlett handed me back my costume and I smiled in thanks, slipping it back on before getting off of the bed. I rushed over to Elizabeth, excited to be done with filming and would finally be able to spend some time with her.

“Hi, baby.” I said smiling up at her, before realizing she wasn’t smiling back at me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She averted her eyes, looking down at the ground instead of at me.

“Hey,” I said gently, encouraging her to look at me. “Talk to me.”

“Can we talk in my trailer? I really don’t wanna do this in front of everyone.”

“Do what?” I was afraid of her answer.

“Please, just, let’s go.”

She took me by the hand and practically stormed off with me. We made it to my trailer in record time, and I followed in behind her, closing the door behind us.

“What’s going on, Lizzie?”

She turned to face me, her chest heaving, her eyes dark.

“You seemed to really enjoy those scenes you were doing.”

I stared at her blankly, not following her.

“What do you mean?”

“It looked like you had forgotten who you belonged to.”

When her words finally registered in my brain, I flushed a deep red, realizing what she was saying.

“I would never …”

“Are you sure? Because I heard you moan for her.”

“Lizzie, I was just …”

“You were just what, hm, baby?” She approached me slowly, like a cat going after small prey.

“I was acting.” My voice was small, trembling as she pinned me up against the door, caging me in with an arm on either side of me.

“Sounded too real to just be acting.”

“P-please,” I whispered softly. “Lizzie …”

“Please what?”

I could feel her hot breath on my face and I couldn’t help but tremble with need underneath her. She was jealous and it was fucking hot.

“Show me who I belong to.”

“Have you forgotten?”

I shook my head.

She crashed her lips against my own and I melted against her, my mouth opening for her to claim me. She wasted no time in slipping her tongue past my lips and exploring my mouth. I moaned softly, grabbing onto her shoulders and pulling myself up against her.

She pressed her knee between my legs and my breath hitched, pulse racing as my hips moved against her strong thigh.

“Look how needy you are. Is that for me?”

“Yes,” I whined. “Only you.”

“I shouldn’t even touch you, the way you moaned for Scarlett.”

“I-I didn’t.” I whimpered softly, looking up into her eyes desperately.

“Oh no? Shall I ask them to play back the footage?”

“No,” I blushed deeply, knowing she was right. “Don’t do that.”

“Hm.” She put pressure on my core and I let out a whine. “Sounds like you already know what you’ve done.”

“I’m sorry.” I bucked against her and she pulled her leg away from me.

“You know, you’ll have to be punished now, right?”

I nodded, but pouted up at her, hoping to earn some sympathy points with her.

“Use your words, baby.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good girl. Now,” she took my hand and led me over to the couch, sitting down and patting her lap. “Lay down.”

I took a deep breath and laid myself down, my ass propped up on her lap. She ran her hand over the swell of my ass before tugging on my pants and bringing them down to my knees.

“Count.”

She rested her hand on my legs before smacking my ass.

“One!” I cried out.

Another smack.

“Two!” I could feel my tears building up in my eyes.

Another hit, and another and another before I lost count and I cried, grabbing at the pillows underneath me, sobbing into them. My panties were soaked and her hand slipping between my legs to check only made them wetter.

“You liked that, huh?”

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

“You’re completely soaked.”

I was so embarrassed. My hips jerked and my body trembled as she touched me through my panties, featherlike touches that I could just barely feel.

“Poor baby. Do you need me to touch you?”

“Yes!” My voice was muffled by the cushion.

She pulled my panties down my legs, letting them meet my pants and slipped her hand between my thighs, her fingers dipping in my heat.

“You’re wet like this just from getting punished?” I nodded sheepishly. “I should punish you more often.”

“No.” I whined. “I want love and kisses.”

“Is that what you want?”

I nodded again.

“What makes you think you deserve it?”

“I’m a good girl.” I said softly. “I counted just like you asked.”

“You did.” She agreed. “But, you also lost count.”

“That’s because you did too many.”

“I did too many?” She asked with faux sympathy. “Well, how many do you think you deserved?” Her fingers moved inside me and I bit back a moan.

“None.”

“None?” Her quiet voice came out surprised. “I don’t think that’s the right answer.”

“Two?”

She pumped her fingers in and out of me twice before she stopped moving completely.

“That’s it?”

“No, more!”

“No more?” She pulled her fingers out of me and I let out a whimpering cry, my hips bucking towards her.

“No, keep going, please!”

“I’m not sure you deserve it.”

“I do. I’m your good girl.” I wiggled my ass, trying to get her to touch me again. “I’ll be so good for you.”

“I’m sure you will.” She rubbed my ass, sure to be gentle. “Do you wanna suck my cock so I can fuck you, love?”

“Yes.” I sniffled and she helped me stand up.

I kicked off my shoes, pants and panties and went over to her bag, digging around inside for the strap I knew she kept in there for situations just like this. I brought it back over to her and got on my knees, making sure to not put too much pressure on my raw ass. She stood from the couch and slipped herself out of her own costume, dropping it on the floor beside mine and stepped into the harness I was holding out for her to get into. She secured it tightly around her hips, moaning as she sat down and stroked the cock at the apex of her thighs.

“Come here, pretty girl.” She said as she grabbed me gently by the hair, pulling me towards her.

I licked my lips excitedly as I approached her, sticking my tongue out so I could lick the tip of the cock.

“That's right, baby,” she guided my head down so I would take the shaft completely in my mouth. “Take mommy’s cock.”

I tried to relax as I took her into my mouth, breathing out of my nose and closing my eyes as she hit the back of my throat. From the sounds she was making, it was almost as if she could feel what I was doing to her. Her hips were jerking upward towards me and she was moaning softly, her fingers threaded through my hair, gripping at it tightly. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought she was close to release.

“I could cum just from watching that pretty mouth wrap around my cock.”

I squeezed my legs together, another gush of wetness spreading between my thighs. Sometimes I couldn’t believe the things she said to me, she was always so fucking hot.

She pulled me off of her, a trail of saliva went from my lips to the tip of her cock and she groaned at the sight.

“You’re so fucking sexy, baby.” She helped me stand and brought me onto her lap, my legs on either side of her and her cock pressing against my core. “You’re gonna ride me, aren’t you, my pretty girl?”

“Yes, mommy,” I took a deep breath and led her to my heat, taking her slowly. “I’m gonna fuck myself on you.”

She leaned back, watching as I took her inch by delicious inch. She bit her lip and took hold of my hips, guiding me down onto her slowly.

“Look at that hungry pussy.” She said, almost in awe. “Look at how well you take me.”

I braced myself on her shoulders, nails digging into her soft skin, as I fucked her. The coil in my belly tightened as I rolled my hips against her, her hands sliding down from my thighs to my pussy where she played with my clit.

My hips jerked and bucked as she thrust up into me, pulling me down onto her and filling me up with her length. I clenched around her as I came, bringing myself closer to her and capturing her lips with my own, kissing her as I rode out my high.

She kissed me back and slapped my raw ass, making me jerk against her.

“Mommy, I’m gonna cum again.” I whispered against her lips and she smiled.

“Cum for me again, baby. Cum for mommy.”

Almost on command, my body shook with pleasure, and I came against her again. She thrust up into me hard, prolonging my high and milking her cock with my greedy cunt.

“You did so good for me, baby.” She breathed against me, peppering kisses all along my face.

I smiled and nuzzled against her, burying my face in the crook of her neck. She wrapped her arms around me and held me close, still inside me.

“You ready for a nap?” I nodded at her words and she held onto me tightly as she adjusted us on the couch, laying us down and cradling me close.

“Stay inside me.” I said softly and she nodded, closing her eyes and relaxing against me.

I sighed happily, kissing her chin and getting comfortable. Maybe scenes with Scarlett had its advantages.

[awkwardosthe3rd]

I love that animation of the tiger and fox ocs that you have for DnD! What are the two characters names? I wanna learn everything I can about them omg :0

Awe, thank you kindly!! ;; I will do my best to answer, pardon if any of this is confusing, I am a bit sleepy- /// Big ramble ahead, for I cherish this opportunity The tiger is actually not one, but based on a fishing cat, though I can see how the very broad face can be a bit confusing! Otherwise I have also drawn the fox with an actual tiger fella, but he is not the one featured in the animation. <:

The cat, lovingly going by the name of Vodnik, belongs to my friend, as far as I understand (given his backstory is partly kept secret from me) he is a retired pirate, now fisher, whose a bit grumpy toward the world and wizards (Because they are elitist?). Additionally big ol' communist, tho the pirate part may have already suggested that.

Adding this lovely height chart done by @rema-rin to show the characters, with her wizard being the lanky blue nerd to the right.

The fox, named Mishka, is my lil thief, accursed fey of sorts who eats shiny things, because she has some form of pocket dimension in her gullet. The DM very charitably granted me this infinite vault, knowing that my character would never let go of a single object that goes into it, so at this point they could have a dragons treasure in there and still refuse to spare a single copper coin. If its shiny, it goes down the hatch.

The two met up in the wilderness, because she wanted to eat the scales off of the fish that Vodnik caught. Because Mishka is so short, she was originally mistaken as a lost child, but no, she is just an adult discount fey in her late 20s that will crawl on all fours and chew on toxic metals with no second thought behind it, because her brain is made for consumption, not for the laws of nature. Vodnik remains as grumpy as ever, but has seemingly grown somewhat empathetic toward Mishka, supporting her little "fill the void with tiny shiny things" without quite knowing the full extent of it. He's been a big Mishka apologist. She would eat the stars if nobody stopped her, she got huge klepto itches for anything reflective enough to catch her attention.

And for reference, the animation in question for those who looked thru this and were wondering:

[dragengyrr]

Dealbreaker

I found a fic "The Last Bus Stop in Hell, Now Boarding" by @prince-liest and… well, some scenes just stuck around in my head (read: tormented my artistic brain) long enough to get me down to sketching them out. Then a few hours, a few brushes and a few different colouring experiments later, it was no longer barely a sketch, at the expense of actual lunch... Oh well.

For those who haven’t read it (spoiler free), Angel and Alastor got their bodies swapped involuntarily, and the horrendous expression on Angel’s face belongs respectfully to Alastor.

Now, bear with me, because I’ve been overthinking this scene the whole time I was drawing it – Angel made a promise to Alastor, but one that is much more of a gesture of reassurance and what-happened-will-always-remain-in-this-room kind than anything resembling actual deal. And then, mere moments later, Angel realises that helping Al AND keeping the promise is impossible, so he dismisses the fact that he even said anything, and just jumps right onto the helping part, because he knows that that’s best thing to do for a friend. But Alastor doesn’t share that view – maybe it’s a mix of trauma, shame and the loss of control over almost anything, but he doesn’t think clearly at this point – normally, he’d sooner or later agree with Angel. But not there, not then – he’d rather expect the impossible to happen, and rage when it doesn’t.

And there’s the interesting choice of words – he could’ve called Angel anything at this point, we know how rich Alastor’s vocabulary is – but the word he chose was dealbreaker. Maybe, just maybe, from a perspective of hellish overlord, a sinner that twists and turns in an attempt to get rid of their contract is nothing less than pathetic, but what if the deal was only verbal, no signing, no contract, just "trust"… There are probably no other beings in Hell that, ironically, have less trust in somebody’s WORDS than the overlords, knowing what extremes the sinners are willing to go to just to squeeze their way out of a sticky situation. Also, one can only become a dealbreaker exactly in that scenario, when nothing was set in stone.

For Alastor, dealbreaker is a knife in the back. The worst kind of liar. The very being that reminds him so painfully that trust doesn’t exist without force applied to it by a binding contract, which, if you think about it, is a paradox. Dealbreakers are the reason he distances himself from everyone.

And here’s the sugar on the cream (pun intended): Angel is only trying to HELP. What a beautiful tragedy.

To end this little overthinking session: it’s been a long while since I’ve read anything that would make me genuinely terrified, and it’s even more amazing that it began as something quite hilarious. Do mind though that the topic is HEAVY, to say the least.

I can’t say I’ve read a lot of Hazbin fics, but so far Princeliest writes Alastor probably the closest to his original character, which I love. Please, keep up the good work!

[talks-with-the-void]

Fluid kintypes - identity doesn't need to be static

I used to be a wolf, once. Not in a past-life sense, but in a therian sense - I was a wolf therian and then I wasn't. Sounds weird to you? I'm not surprised!

Something that I have repeatedly been told by other therians and otherkin is "you are what you are and if you find out you are something else - well, then you never were the first thing at all." Especially when I joined the community several years ago, I saw this statement everywhere. But let me tell you: it's not true. I had several different kintypes over the years (side note: we are plural and for the sake of this post I am simplifying some internal structure things. if you want the complicated details, feel free to ask! /gen), started as a wolf therian, then I was a cryptid, a dinosaur, a dragon and some kind of monster. Now I am Khhanivore (from Love, Death and Robots) and Mewtu (from Pokemon, Mewtu is the German spelling) - and a raptor kintype is coming back. (I am also a werewolf, but that's not a kintype, that's just Purely Me And My Whole Essence)

"Okay Istasha, but isn't that just questioning or maybe flickertypes?", you might ask. Fair point, but no.

I honestly never really questioned my kintypes - if I truly question something, it turns out to either be a hearttype or Nothing at All. As for kintypes, I just know - all of us just know what we are, it's like chilling and one day, suddenly, one of us is like "oh, I am a horse. alright, carry on" and that's it. Our kintypes stay with us for several months at least, theoretically they could stay forever but tend to change along the way - which brings me to the next point. They aren't flickertypes either. We only really get fictionflickers and sometimes animalflickers and those are extremely short and always tied to media we are currently consuming - they feel, technically, like kintypes to me. For example, if I watch a lot of Supernatural, I sometimes get an intense feeling of belonging there, of being a non-canon character, of being part of the story, etc. I am this non-canon character in that moment, I might even get pseudo-memories or shifts, but as soon as I don't engage with that show too much again, it instantly fades.

Our kintypes don't work like that. Take my re-emerging dinosaur kintype as an example. I was walking somewhere a few days ago and suddenly had a pahntom sensation in my legs and feet and in the same moment I knew "ah shit, new kintype". I gave it a day because maaayyybe it's nothing? But deep down I already knew what was going on, so I have an Utahraptor kintype now. I am this. I identify as this through and through and it feels like I've always been this way. But it wasn't - a week ago I wasn't a dinosaur and now I am. I did not choose it, I did not engage with any dinosaur media at all, it just happened.

My kintypes have always been changing and trust me when I say I had a complete identity crisis when my wolf kintype first went away. But over the years Ive learned to accepot it - my identy is not static, it never was and it never will be and that's okay!

It doesn't make my kintypes less important or less real and it also doesn't mean I never was a wolf. I was. And then I wasn't.

I honestly think it is so, so damaging to still have this "kintypes are static"-sentient floating around in the community, because that's simply not true for all of us. For me, it honestly even makes more sense this way. Our brain has always been unstable, I lacked a true identity for so long. We grew up with untreated BPD andf although the symptoms are 95% under my control now (read: it's in remission), our brain still has a ton of habits from that time, like clinging onto different things to try and form an identity, to try and fill the void where a person should be. And the fact that the void is filled now, that I finally am enough of a person to fill it, this habit never changed. Our brain still randomly grabs things and makes them one of us, leading to fluid kintypes.

Let me end this with saying: being wrong about a kintype is fine. Figuring out you are X instaed of Y and never were Y is fine. But it is also fine to be X today and Y tomorrow.

I think I've said this before but I'll say it again: we, as a community, need to take our identities less and more serious at the same time. Let's stop the gatekeeping and policing others, let's stop overanalyzing ourselves so much. Let's stop looking for rules and asking "is it possible to be this?" over and over again - because the answer is yes. There are literally no rules as to how, why and what you can be. In order to be otherkin you need to do exactly one thing: identify as The Thing in question. Nothing else. On the other hand, we need to kindly educate those who confuse identify as and identify with, we need to kindly educate young therians who "choose their theriotypes", we need to make sure we are not watered down to being "a fun thing you can do".

I sometimes feel like the focus and effort of this community is in good faith but in the wrong place - static kintypes is one of them.

There are no limits. Be who you are today and if you are something else tomorrow, be that then. <3

[peachhcs]

she's not her.

hughes!sister x will smith au (samy + will)

will thinks the combine will help him get his mind off samy, but that completely backfires when he realizes she's everywhere with him.

3.2k words

hiii here's the first (new) installment of the new breakup timeline of the au!! (also so long wow) i'm writing four of the major points of the breakup into fics, but if you guys want smaller blurbs about any of it, send them to the inbox. cassidy is a completely fake character here, but zeev and james are real people! (i don't know the other boys too well, sorry!!)

au masterlist

“yeah, mom. it’s going great,” will hummed as he shuffled around his room searching for his keycard despite him already being ten minutes late. 

the boy could never keep his belongings straight whenever he stayed in a hotel room by himself. how did he even manage before? the answer hit will before he could even really think about it because you know who was always with him on these things? 

he knew who and he was not going to say her name. will promised himself he’d use this week to just forget about all of his problems and just enjoy getting to know the other guys here and that meant he was not going to say—

“samy’s mom called me earlier. she asked about you,” damn it. whatever his mom was saying before didn’t process in his brain because he snapped right back into reality as soon as the name left his mom’s lips. 

and why on earth was she referring to ellen as “samy’s mom.” will knew his mom always, always called her ellen. she probably read his mind or something knowing he was trying (and failing) to not think about her this week. 

“oh. okay,” will didn’t know what to say, so he continued searching for the stupid keycard. 

“i told her you were at the combine having fun. she told me samy’s at her sleepaway camp for the week too,” mrs. smith continued even though she knew will didn’t want to talk about samy at all. 

“mom, can you not?” the boy mumbled. 

“can i not what, will? she’s still a part of this family, so i am gonna ask about her and tell you because i know you still care,” colleen had a point and the blonde hated it because she was right. 

he did care. of course, he cared no matter how much he didn’t want to. that was the hardest part about all of this. 

“i gotta go. i’m already running a bit late. i’ll talk to you later, mom. love you,” they exchanged their goodbyes as soon as will found what he wanted under a pile of clothes in the corner. 

“thank god,” the boy mumbled as raced out of his room to where some of the guys he met were waiting down in the lobby. 

will felt so new to all of this—the media, the sudden popularity, the press. these guys seemed so used to it all yet he was so lost in it all still. he spotted his new friends in some of the chairs awaiting his presence, so he mustered up his best smile as he approached them. 

“there you are, smitty. where were you?” zeev spots the blonde first, his legs hung over the armrest of the chair. 

“sorry, i lost my keycard. i had to find it before i left,” will explained a bit embarrassingly. the other guys laughed him off though and that’s when the blonde noticed a few girls mixed into the group now. a few of them sent eyes his way, whispering things to one another which made will’s cheeks flush a slight pink color, but not in the blushing kind of way. 

“come on, i’m starving. those lines got me wanting anything,” cole muttered as the group pushed themselves to the door. the five of them plus the three new girls walked down the sidewalk chatting about anything in hopes of taking their minds off food until they found something. 

“hey, you’re will, right?” the new voice caught the blonde off guard. 

to his right was one of the new girls in the group he didn’t really know. her name was along the lines of cassidy, but he wasn’t 100% sure. “yeah, that’s me,” he laughed lightly. 

“nice to finally meet you. i’m cassidy, but everyone calls me cass,” she held her hand out with a big smile. will stared at her outstretched hand for a moment, his mind running in circles. 

this could be his chance to finally forget about samy. he said he needed an distraction and this seemed like the perfect one. plus, what was the harm in a little flirting? he took her hand a moment later. 

“nice to meet you, too. you play for minnesota, right?” will wondered, watching cass’s eyes light up that he even knew that about her. 

“yeah, i do!” 

“you guys had a real good season. i was impressed,” her smile continued growing with will’s words. 

“yeah, we did. i mean, you guys were incredible, too. you dominated the ice,” she gushed a little making will flush. he knew people watched his games from all over the place, but he never paid much attention to all of that. 

not when he was always thinking about samy watching the livestream from her dorm room while cheering him on. wait. no. 

no. there was no samy. 

“thanks. it wasn’t always easy, but the fans made it worth it,” the boy hummed. cass grinned again, letting their conversation die into comfortable silence as they followed their group into a restaurant someone chose. 

the young hockey player spotted rutger and some of his buddies at a nearby table making him stop in his tracks for a second. he knew rut would be here, but he just hoped he’d manage to avoid him because he knew the older boy probably hated him knowing what happened between him and samy. 

some of the guys behind him pushed will forward again. his eyes glued themselves to where rutger sat in a laughing fit over what someone at his table said. the older boy held his chest, violently shaking from laughter and finally looked in will’s direction. the two met each other’s gazes and in a surprise gesture, rutger nodded toward the younger boy. 

that threw will off guard. he studied rut for a second longer until someone pushed him forward again and he landed in his seat. 

“woah, careful smitty. you okay?” james laughed a little as he walked around to his seat. the others glanced will’s way. 

“yeah, sorry. got a little distracted,” the blonde excused himself, eyes diverting to the menu to get the attention off of him. the others shrugged, returning to their conversation while will’s eyes stayed right on his menu. 

“what’s your favorite food?” cass’s voice filled will’s ears again. he looked up, her eyes already on him where she sat in the seat next to his. 

“anything, really. i tend to eat anything,” the boy mumbled with an awkward smile. 

“hey, i’m the same way. i’ve never been too picky about my food,” she returned his smile. 

“my sister’s a big picky eater. our mom was always making three different meals for the family because we were all eating different things,” the blonde chuckled as some of the nerves he had earlier started subsiding. 

the two quickly hit it off, having their own little conversations throughout lunch. will’s smile was big when cass laughed at the things he said and he laughed right back at her own corny jokes. it felt refreshing for the blonde. he suddenly didn’t have this heavy feeling in his chest anymore that he’s had since the end of may. this felt really good. 

but what did they say about good things? they never lasted long? something like that. 

will’s gaze would bounce over to where rutger still was every so often. the older boy was never looking in his direction when will looked, too occupied with his own conversations, but rut did glance over at the younger blonde when he wasn’t looking too. 

rut only heard bits and pieces about the breakup, but he knew samy was really hurt from all of it and while the older hockey player wasn’t one to involve himself in things that he wasn’t a part of, he couldn’t but watch what looked like will laugh a little too hard with that girl. 

sure, will could do whatever he wanted and rutger didn’t care. the boy did care, however, about the fact that it looked like will was trying to talk up a new girl not even two weeks after breaking up with samy. that bothered rutger because he knew if ethan or mark were here, they wouldn’t be afraid to go over and bitch at will. 

rutger’s subtle glances finally caught will’s. the blonde was in the middle of a conversation with cass when he caught the glance from the corner of his eye. rut was looking right a him with a look on his face that will knew wasn’t good. 

“you good?” cass wondered when she noticed will’s attention shift. 

the boy’s attention immediately snapped back to hers, “yeah, sorry. my bad. what was i saying?” his words rushed out together making him come off a bit nervous. 

“something about…sumer on a boat or something?” cass reminded him. 

“right, yes. yeah. so, as i was saying,” will’s mind couldn’t stop thinking about rutger’s look. it felt like a warning or..disapproval? disappointment? 

why could he never escape samy no matter how hard he tried? it was like she was everywhere. 

“every summer my family and i go to this lakehouse in michigan. my best friend and i—well, used to be best best friend would always stay up super late to see how many planets we could count. whoever counted the most by the end of the summer would buy one another something the other really wanted,” will hummed, somehow always finding ways to talk about samy without even realizing it. a small smile was on his lips at that memory because he was the one buying samy things by the end of the summer every time. 

“huh, that sounds interesting. aren’t the same planets always coming out at night though so how does that work?” cass’s expression became puzzled. 

will’s gaze snapped to hers, his face flushing again. “i mean, yeah, but different ones will come out and go away as the summer goes on. it was just some little thing..” the boy’s voice trailed off as he slowly realized that game only really made sense to him and samy because they were the ones who came up with it when they were younger. 

cass didn’t look too impressed though. the blonde’s eyes swept over to rutger again who wasn’t looking at him this time, but will still couldn’t get that look out of his head nor the fact that he talked about samy without even trying after trying so hard to forget about her this week. 

it seemed like everything will did or said led him straight back to samy. shit. 

who was he kidding? he couldn’t flirt with someone. he didn’t even know how to flirt because he never really had to with samy. 

cass’s attention drifted away from the boy and no one else was really looking at him, so will took that as his chance to excuse himself. he needed air or something to just get out of his fucking head. the boy scrambled out of his seat in a rushed goodbye, hurrying off to the bathroom before anyone could really bat an eye. 

rutger’s gaze fell on the younger boy as he retreated further back into the restaurant. he saw will’s friends glancing around for a moment before letting him be. the older brunette gazed one more time before saying fuck it and going after will. 

the blonde stumbled into the bathroom suddenly feeling hot. his hand clutched his chest where his heart wouldn’t stop pounding a bruise on the spot while his other hand grabbed ahold of the edge of the counter, bending over the sink as if he was going to puke. will squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that would slow his heart rate down, but it only heightened as his breathing picked up into heavy pants. 

“fuck, pull yourself together,” will mumbled to mostly himself. 

she’s not her. she’s not her. she’s not her. the stupid phrase replayed itself over and over in will’s mind. 

the bathroom door swung open with rutger rushing to will’s side when he saw the kid bent over the sink while panting. “jesus christ, will? are you okay?” the older brunette bent down to will’s level, trying to meet his eyes. 

“i can’t breathe,” will managed through his hyperventilating. 

rutger looked around, realizing no one else was in the bathroom with them. he wasn’t really an expert in this, never really having dealt with panic attacks before. 

“hey, yes you can. it’s okay. i’m here,” rutger tried his best, his attention back on will. 

“she’s not her,” now the blonde was crying. 

“what are you talking about?” the older hockey player grew confused. the heavy pants and now tears didn’t make it easy for him to understand what was being said. 

“she won’t ever be her. i fucked up, rut,” will got out a bit clearer this time. 

rutger quickly understood. 

“do you want me to call her? i can call her?” rut eased his tone, finishing for his phone in his pocket. 

“no, no. don’t,” will shook his head. he couldn’t call samy like this. plus, she didn’t want to speak to him ever again, making it very clear after blocking him on nearly everything. 

“will, i gotta call someone. you’re freaking me out,” the older boy said. 

“call gabe or ryan. i need to talk to them,” so rutger listened and searched his contacts until he landed on ryan’s number first. 

the phone rang three times until ryan finally answered. “rutger? what’s up?” the younger brunette sounded confused that the michigan hockey player was randomly calling him. 

“hey, sorry for the call. i-i’m with will. he’s..he’s having a panic attack i think. he wanted to talk to you,” rutger explained the situation, eyes on will who’s breathing began slowing down. 

“shit, is he okay?” ryan urged. 

“i-i think so? i don’t know. i’m not an expert in this,” rut held the phone out for will to take. 

the blonde’s shaky hand brought the phone up to his ear, “hey leno,” he managed weakly. 

“will? are you okay?” ryan’s voice was laced with concern. he never called will by his first name unless there was something serious going on. 

the guilt and shame quickly settled into will’s body. his eyes glanced to rutger standing beside him still and then his head fell. “i fucked up, ryan. i realize i fucked up now.” 

“what are you talking about?” ryan didn’t get it. 

“everything brings me back to her. no can be her no matter how hard i think they are or want them to be,” the blonde frowned deeply, especially because he was admitting this in front of one of samy’s closest guy friends. 

ryan didn’t need to ask twice who his friend was talking about while a pause came from his end as he digested will’s admission. rutger realized this seemed like a conversation he wasn’t a part of, so he just squeezed the blonde’s shoulder and nodded towards the door saying to just find him when will was done with his phone. 

“i’m gonna add gabe to the call, okay?” ryan finally said as will sunk down onto the ground. he didn’t care that the bathroom floor was incredibly disgusting because he could not go back out and face his friends out there without muttering some lame excuse about leaving. 

“uh, hey?” gabe connected a moment later, confused about why he was on a call with ryan and rutger mcgroarty. 

“hey, it’s me. will’s on the call with rutger’s phone,” ryan explained. 

“oh. is everything okay?” gabe wondered, still confused on what was happening. 

“i fucked up really bad. i know that now,” will said and gabe also didn’t have to ask twice about what his friend was talking about. 

“what made you finally come to this conclusion?” ryan asked, trying not to sound bitter. he knew will was having a hard time, but he would not forget samy showing up to his house in tears after their breakup. 

“i really, really thought i could just forget about her at the combine and just enjoy myself, but everytime i talk to someone, i always end up talking about her no matter how hard i try not to. she’s everywhere in my mind. i thought i could stupidly talk to this girl..be a distraction? i don’t know, but i think i just really wanted her to be samy instead,” will admitted sheepishly. 

“yeah..that happens after having such a history with someone,” gabe said. 

“i know i fucked up. you don’t need to keep telling me that. i feel like shit about it,” will scoffed, rolling his eyes a bit. 

“as much as i hate you for doing what you did and never wanting to see samy that hurt again, maybe you should talk to her,” ryan finally said, tone softening out. 

“i can’t talk to her even if i wanted to. she blocked me on everything almost immediately,” the blonde frowned. 

“look, we all make mistakes. it’s human nature. are you an asshole for hurting her? yes. am i still mad at you for it? yes. do i think you fucked up completely though? no. maybe give it some more time and then reach out. things are still fresh, emotions are still high. we all know samy and we know she doesn’t hold a grudge for that long,” gabe gave his two cents about it as well. 

“i wouldn’t blame her if she did hold a grudge for a while though,” ryan cut in. 

“jesus, shut up, leno. i get it,” the blonde rolled his eyes. 

“look, we’re always here for you, will. I’ll be in boston next, so i’ll see you and we can talk more, yeah?” gabe spoke again before ryan and will started fighting or something. 

“yeah, thanks. sorry for bothering you guys,” will frowned a bit. 

“don’t sweat it. love ya, smitty,” that made will smile again. 

“yeah, love you i guess. just try to have a good time for the rest of the week,” ryan said and will nodded even though they couldn’t see him. 

“thanks, love you guys too. talk later,” they hung up after that. 

will pushed himself back to his feet, splashing water on his face to hopefully get rid of his red and flushed cheeks. he carefully pushed the bathroom door back open, surveying the restaurant for rutger’s table. 

the boy made his way over, nudging rutger’s arm when he was closer. the older boy looked over, “thanks,” will said. 

“of course. you okay, now?” 

the blonde nodded. he glanced to his table where a few of the guys met his gaze, waving him over. he walked towards them, already having decided he wasn’t all that hungry anymore and just wanted to be alone for a bit. 

“there you are! you good?” zeev asked seeing his friend. 

“yeah, not feeling too well. i think i’m gonna head back. sorry,” will muttered out his excuse. 

“oh, okay. feel better man. text me,” zeev said and will nodded before making his exit. 

he didn’t even look cassidy’s way. the only girl on his mind was samy and it was gonna stay like that for a long time. 

[fancyfade]

2009 era Damian reading

As I've been doing my 2009 era Damian reading, I'm trying to condense the good stuff and bad stuff, and things I believe are relevant for his character. These are in addition to what I assume is obvious (Batman and Robin 2009, the comic where he has a starring role).

Battle for the Cowl: this has how Damian becomes Robin. It's not necessarily good. Daniels really does not understand Damian, especially this early in his writing, but it does have some important context for things going down b/c Damian helps Squire save Tim's life, and we can see Dick viewing training Damian as something he is responsible for.

Secret Origins (2014) #4: This is a much more in character Damian becoming Robin, though fit for a condensed new 52 timeline that leaves some stuff out (like Damian's rocky intro with Bruce).

Batman #688 (Long Shadows part 1): Winick seems one of the early writers who does a Damian as he lines up with later characterization (views himself more as a professional assassin), so I think this one's good.

Batman: streets of Gotham #1-6: damian makes some minor appearances here.

Batgirl #5-7: Always take Damian's guest-starring stuff with a grain of salt, as often times writers just go with "how would an obnoxious 10 year old boy act here" without understanding he's a specific kind of obnoxious 10 year old boy... that said I do like some of his interactions with Steph, and I think it's incredibly important that we see Damian defends his competence based on his training, not on his blood.

Like he'll sometimes justify why he belongs based on his blood (which like... no one acts like they want him around), but he isn't going around saying "I'm better than you b/c I'm batman's son". he was trained intensely since birth (and that's why he should say he's better than you :P)

Batman #692-697: not a ton of Damian in this, and it is Daniel's writing, but he's a little better than he was in Battle for the Cowl. We see Dick training Damian some.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #7, #10-#11: love this plotline for him. Good show of competence and characterization.

Blackest night: batman: More focused on Tim and Dick, and Tomasi sucks at writing Babs, but at there is some Damian content that I remember enjoying.

Red Robin #11-15: as long as you read this one with your brain turned on, it's good for explaining some Tim and Damian stuff. Sadly some fans are like "woooo arrogant 10 year old gets beat up". Nicieza makes some missteps (frames Tim's thinking around Damian as coldly logical, when it is anything but and he is reacting from a place of emotion), but one can ignore those.

Batman #703: shows Damian's character pretty well in a default Batman and Robin adventure, and his relationship (or lackthereof) with Bruce and his dynamic with Dick and Alfred

Teen Titans #88-92 (including Red Robin #20 in a crossover plot): surprised by how well I liked this one. I think it portrays Damian pretty fairly, and we can see that he is trying hard, but hasn't been given a lot of support up until now (or even now, Dick kind of just drops him off with a bunch of older kids who all also have issues and are predisposed to disliking him XD). His dynamic with rose is fun and I think it is notable how quickly he does acquiesce to following Cassie's orders when she's like (at first) the only Teen Titan who is OK with him being there and assures him its not personal when she makes a comment he doesn't like.

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Batman and Robin: Has some nice Dick and Damian banter, showcases how they've worked together well

Batgirl #17: more damian and steph interactions.

I will probably add more (either editing this post or in a reblog) as I keep reading.

[lemotmo]

But we're the delusional ones 🙄. Dear God I have no words. The ask is loooong but I had to include it so you could see it.

Q. You all do understand how absurd it is to see Ryan with a mustache and go straight to assuming he's queer now, way to stereotype. I agree that the show is clearly going in a different direction with him this season but it's not the direction you all want. They have to remove him from the 118 because they need a spot Tommy can fill. Tommy is going to want to be where he can protect Buck, and Hen and Chimney if need be, from Gerard so either he will request a transfer to the 118 or Buck will ask him to request a transfer to the 118. That means they have to remove someone. Eddie is the easiest choice because he's so similar to Tommy. And before you even start all of the characteristics and background Eddie has, minus Christopher, belonged to Tommy first, he has technically been on the show longer. When they brought Ryan/Eddie in he was given all of those Tommy traits so Buck would kind of fall for him and when they brought Tommy back last season they had Buck point out his similarities to Eddie as a way to tell the audience that Tommy had those things first. That's why Buck chose Tommy and not Eddie. The video showed Ryan in a car, perhaps it's a patrol car. Removing him from the 118 is required to bring Tommy in, which the show is absolutely going to figure out a way to do. Having Eddie become a cop is a way to still keep the character but remove him from Buck and the 118 so Tommy can have his original spot back. Tommy fills that spot effortlessly because it belonged to him in the first place. Which has been their plan all along.

A. Okay I was one hundred percent going to ignore this ask because it's absurd on every level, but, BUT, anon, is that really how you all arrived at your 'string theory'. Is that how you all got there?! Because that absolutely breaks my brain. There is so much to unpack in this ask I don't even know where to begin so I'll just start at the top. Just so I'm clear, us seeing Ryan/Eddie in a mustache and, correctly, pointing out its part in queer culture (something Tim and Ryan Murphy would know plenty about) is absurd, but you all seeing him with a mustache in a car and saying he's becoming a cop makes perfect sense? Do I have that correct? Wow.

Okay Tommy isn't joining the 118. Buck isn't going to ask him to transfer to the 118 (your Buck erasure is showing btw). Buck, Hen and Chimney don't need him to protect them from anyone or anything. The show has no plans to bring Tommy into the mix in any capacity but temporary plot point. The show has no interest in or intention of separating Buck from Eddie for any lengthy period of time. Eddie is not becoming a cop. I'm going to take this time to say that I believe you know everything you said in your ask is nonsense, but I'm going to explain it to you anyway. The show did not give Eddie Tommy's backstory. The show did not add Eddie as a character 6 years ago to give him the characteristics and backstory of a background character who was never given a real backstory in the first place because background characters/plot points don't get actual backstories. Their entire purpose is to be an empty vessel character the show can use for any storyline they want. A plot point characters' personality and interests change to fit the plot they're being used for. In the case of Tommy, for the current plot he's involved in, the show needed him to have surface level similarities to Eddie, for Buck to specifically notice, so they gave them a couple of common interests, and a military background, all of which were never mentioned again after episode 4 because they were no longer relevant to the storyline. The show had Buck point out those similarities for the audience to know that Eddie was the point not Tommy. Then, because Tommy is just a plot point to move the Buck/Eddie storyline forward, the few scenes Tommy had the rest of the season were used only to highlight how different from Eddie Tommy really is, especially where Buck is concerned. There is no invisible string theory tying Tommy to anyone or anything. There is no Tommy grand plan. You all gave Eddie's entire character history to Tommy because you also know Eddie, and not Tommy is the point here. Tommy's entire purpose is for Buck to figure out his feelings regarding Eddie. So your man's entire reason for being is to give Eddie to Buck. Enjoy the show.

Thank you once again Nonny for dropping this into my inbox, although this one kind of made me want to hit my head repeatedly, because I could not believe what I was reading. 0_°

I don't even know what to say about this. Ali definitely said all that needed to be said here. I'm not even sure if this question was worth her time and effort to be honest.

I have so many questions though. Where do these bizarre theories come from? Why? How? WHAT!?!

I just, Eddie gets a moustache and suddenly he can't be a firefighter anymore, because once you have a moustache you need to be a police officer? Can he just transfer from being a firefighter to the police force? Wouldn't he need to go to school for that?

Tommy, who canonically was shown to be a bigot and a follower of Gerrard had all the qualities that Eddie stole later on in season 2? And the grand plan was to make Buck fall in love with Eddie, so that he could later meet Tommy in season 7 to fall in love with all of Eddie's character traits that were actually Tommy's first? Even though we knew nothing about Tommy until we got some more background information in season 7? Wouldn't that mean that they actually gave Tommy some character traits from Eddie to have Buck realise later on that Eddie is the (for a lack of a better word) improved version of Tommy?

Even by typing this up, I'm confusing myself.

I don't understand this behaviour and level of self-deception. I'm the first to admit that the Buddie fandom gets carried away with some theories once in a while. We've had a couple of really interesting ones as well. But most of those theories were still built on canon events in the show. By analysing scenes and episodes, there were patterns and by following those patterns you could draw conclusions. Sometimes we were right, but just as many times we were wrong.

But this is on a whole other level. None of this is rooted in canon. It's all make believe, coming from the headcanons of Lou (at first) and then his fans took over from him and spun all of their own headcanons around the ones he first created, until the Tommy in their heads was nothing like the real Tommy anymore. It's fascinating how all this came about.

Anyway, I'm just stopping it here and I'm going back to the real world now where Eddie still has his queer magical Buck-attracting moustache. I'm telling you, season 8 is our season. The magical moustache has spoken. :) LOL!

IMPORTANT! Please don't repost this ask and/or a link that leads straight to my Tumblr account on Twitter or any other social media. Thank you!

Heads up! For anyone who is giving me the shifty eyes for reposting Ali's updates instead of reblogging. Read this.

Remember, no hate in comments, reblogs or inboxes. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[genericpuff]

Familiarity in the Unknown - The Book Written by Tiny Paws

So there's this story you may or may not be aware of. It's about a rat who, despite being a rat, expresses a deep love for creating and cooking, often through unorthodox means and yet - throughout the unorthodox - compels us to think about the virtue of art and our own place in the world.

I know, completely absurd concept, why would a rat be cooking? It's ridiculous - but absolutely beautiful in its execution and simplicity. Our main character exists within a world that is treacherous, endlessly massive, occupied by strange creatures that could hurt him - even kill him - where good food and joy is hard to come by and living for oneself is against the tenets of his society's herd-mentality - but he is able to persevere and break through the difficulties of this world through his joy for food, for cooking, for the fire and smells, for satisfying his curiosity of the unknown, for expressing himself through the creation of art and, subsequently, for the love of the community and friendship that only grows in response to his sincerity.

Who am I kidding though, you know who I'm talking about, I don't need to keep patronizing you with wordplay and flowery descriptions. I'm obviously talking about The Book Written by Tiny Paws-

The Book Written by Tiny Paws isn't really a comic that I found so much as it found me in my daily scroll through my feed of notifications, featured in a user-submitted post to the /r/webtoons subreddit, discussing their newest update. There are a lot of comics that get promo'd in these communities and for the most part, none of them really ever compel me to read them, usually due to elements outside of the creator's control - they aren't a genre I'm interested in, the art style isn't gripping me, I'm just not in the mood to pick up anything new, etc.

But every now and then, something breaks through my own mentally enclosed barrier and reaches the innermost parts of my brain. And strangely enough, this time around, it was this little guy:

I did not know his name. I did not know what species he was supposed to be. I mean, he looks like a rat at first glance, but he also has little webbed feet like a platypus. I didn't even really pay much attention to what he was saying at first - all I could look at was his sincere little face. And once I snapped out of the cuteness hypnosis and read his dialogue, I suddenly found myself already hooked even before I read a single page. I wasn't sure what to expect, just so long as I could see more of this cute little guy.

By the end of the 9 episodes it had available at the time, not only was I more in love with this tiny creature than I was when I started, but I had the realization that this was going to be one of those rare, magical occasions when a piece of work would grab me and refuse to let go.

The Book Written by Tiny Paws is, to put it simply, a story about a creature known as "Firemaker" trying to find his way back to his herd after being separated from them during a flood so devastating that it drowns the earth beneath its waters. We are shown immediately the nature of this world - barren, bleak, cruel - but Firemaker describes it with the curiosity and wonder of a child experiencing all of it for the first time.

We're also immediately introduced to another core character - a stranger named "Vagabond" who does not seem to belong to a herd.

From its first two pages alone, The Book Written by Tiny Paws exceeds in what many comics struggle to do - it not only introduces us to its main character through his personality alone, but presents us the creator's approach to storytelling and worldbuilding: familiarity in the unknown.

Throughout each episode, alongside Firemaker, Vagabond, and the others who come and go throughout the world, we learn about how this world operates, and how they have been surviving in it. We learn that the flooding is actually a regular enough occurrence that creatures like Firemaker count their ages by how many rains they've survived. We learn that there are other creatures described only by their physical traits, and are left only with our own assumptions based on their word choice and imagination as to what they're referring to. There isn't any sign of human life, but human-like intelligence is present as creatures like Firemaker and Vagabond are able to communicate, count, multiply, use tools, and, as we see above with Firemaker, make logical connections between cause and effect (even if they're initially wrong).

Many of these concepts are familiar to us, if not absolutely mundane and outdated, but through the eyes of Firemaker and Vagabond, we get to see those same concepts re-contextualized in a world that is unlike our own. In this way, The Book Written by Tiny Paws asks us to re-explore the mundane through the eyes of creatures that rely on our privileges for their survival.

And when it's not re-contextualizing, it's introducing us to new concepts entirely that make this story and its world feel wholly unique. One such unique concept is the way in which they count - a system of multiplication through simple geometry.

It should be mentioned, before I get in any further - the creator of this work, Nolinno, proclaims themselves as "more of a physicist than an artist", and while I do believe they're not giving themselves enough credit for the art (which I will get into soon), their passion for physics shows immensely, showcasing not only their love for learning, but their affinity for teaching as well. It takes someone who really knows their stuff to be able to explain it as simply as possible for the layman such as myself to understand - and even then, not everyone who is well-trained in their field of study can necessarily teach it well - and yet Nolinno has done an extraordinary job so far of explaining their story's concepts in ways that are both simple to grasp and rewarding to master. Specifically, they reward the readers' ability to retain information and engage with it through their own conclusions, largely by creating opportunities in the text for that information to become relevant.

One of the earliest examples of this is when Vagabond initially reveals his age to be what first-time readers will assume is the number '11', and from there we can assume that '11 rains' must be significant as Firemaker seems astounded by this.

But then, we immediately find out that Firemaker himself hasn't learned to count that high, prompting Vagabond to teach him how to count higher than 3, which is when we get to learn the actual details of that aforementioned counting system built on multiplication and geometry.

It's through this explanation that we learn that Vagabond isn't 11, but the text doesn't explicitly tell us - it asks us as readers to instead follow along with Vagabond's teachings and come to our own answer.

And so, I'm not going to tell you the answer here either! There's a top comment on this particular episode that's gotten it right (as confirmed by the creator like a very proud elementary school teacher, awww), but consider that more of an answer key if you want to know if you got the correct answer. And if you feel like Vagabond's explanation here is too limited or you want more examples, nothing to fear - Nolinno has given us a study guide!

What I adore about this is that as much as I'm intimidated by mathematical concepts like this, I genuinely appreciate when a creator puts in the effort to establish ground rules like this, and in such a natural, sincere way. It challenges you just enough to compel you to try, but not so much that it's completely alienating or overwhelming.

And thanks to Firemaker's characterization, we don't feel so alone in learning these concepts, either. Firemaker's own inexperience on account of being only "three times three" years old (he's 9!) he makes a perfect surrogate for the audience to learn about the world through him. This isn't an uncommon storytelling trick, but can often come at the expense of the character's own personality - after all, if a character is constantly having to be a surrogate for the audience, it can lead to them becoming more of a blank slate without any voice - but Nolinno has accomplished that balance perfectly through Firemaker's curiosity and vulnerability. Firemaker being 9 years old and still inexperienced doesn't rob him of his own skills - more so, it's clear that he's fulfilled a specific role for his pack, and now that he's been separated from them, he's now having to learn the skills that were likely reserved for other members of his pack.

This also makes him a perfect foil to Vagabond, a creature whose past is still shrouded in mystery but is clearly experienced and can act as the parental figure or "older brother" to Firemaker - but we're always left wondering why Firemaker has left his pack, and whether or not those survival tactics were taught to him through his pack or learned the hard way after leaving. It ultimately leaves us wondering what Vagabond's true motives are, and whether or not he can be trusted as a role model to Firemaker. Fortunately, nothing so far has made me or even Firemaker doubt his capabilities or motives, even earning himself a new name-

-but in a world so unpredictable, who's to say that Vagabond's own motives are entirely pure?

After all, as we soon learn, not all creatures are kind in this world.

Again, in case it needs reminding - Firemaker is nine. Though 9 years old for a rat-platypus creature may not be equivalent to 9 years old for a human, it is still very much communicated to us through the narrative that he is a child and, as such, is going to have his safety threatened in this world the same way a child often would in our own - through the cruel actions of untrustworthy adults.

But, as I mentioned already, Firemaker is never made to be the constant ball and chain of the pair. Though he may just now be learning how to count and multiply higher than 3, he's earned his name through his own particular skills that can be used to not only save himself from starvation, but save others from ambush through the use of smoke signals.

Of course, as much as I can gush about the narrative, I also wouldn't forgive myself if I neglected to mention its art style which, despite being created by one person who claims to not be much of an artist, wonderfully complements its theme and tone. I would go so far as to argue that this is one of those stories that just simply wouldn't work as effectively as it does if it had a full color art style. The contrast of black and white between the environment and its characters, as well as the simplicity of the character designs against the more detailed designs of the architecture and props, makes for a brilliant visual presentation that - like the worldbuilding - expresses itself clearly without overcomplicating anything. Through its art - just like through its writing - it asks us to try and find familiarity in the unknown.

And best of all, when things do get complicated-

-it harshly reminds us how quickly a simple and beautiful thing can turn ugly and cruel.

Even though it was initially Firemaker's cutesy little face that suckered me in, the worldbuilding that Nolinno has expertly crafted through their own knowledge and affinity for teaching others has stolen the show. And that's a quality that I find is quite rare in fantasy works nowadays, but just like the culinary arts of that other rat who's far more well-known, it came from a completely unexpected place.

Nolinno has accomplished what I find a lot of budding fantasy writers struggle with - they have successfully created a world that is full of its own unique qualities, and communicated it clearly to their audience in a way that is both engaging and rewarding. Unlike others who often put the lore before the story - usually by dumping every bit of exposition, conlang definition, map and political chart on their readers before they've had a chance to even read the first page or know the main character's name, often out of fear that all their prep work will have been "wasted" if they don't reveal all of it immediately - Nolinno simply shows us their world and its inhabitants as they are, without the need to justify itself, and invites you to join along at your own pace, with helpful little bits of knowledge communicated through the narrative to help you find your way. It's okay if you're not entirely certain of how this world works, because you're not travelling alone - so too are Firemaker and Knower finding their way.

As someone who was raised on the works of Jeff Smith (BONE) and Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), and even found their own passion for fantasy writing through both comics and video games like The Legend of Zelda, I have a lot of appreciation for stories like this that can be appreciated by all age demographics, and I've found myself almost disillusioned by the current landscape of conveyer-belt media today that often fails to live up to even a fraction of what we remember existing 20 years ago, existing only to pad a rich executive's bottom line. This has only been further exacerbated by the advent of generative AI that's now threatening the integrity and livelihood of artists both within the industry and outside of it.

Suffice to say, just like the world that Firemaker inhabits in The Book Written by Tiny Paws, our world is very bleak right now. Even still, its characters still find their moments for joy, for rest, and for play, and the comic in and of itself reminds me through its existence that there are still wonderful works being made that are capable of making me feel as curious and excited as I did when I was reading BONE cover-to-cover at the age of 12.

Those moments and those stories feel harder to come by than ever, but I'm happy to say that The Book Written by Tiny Paws is one of them, new memories that I'm happy to have made and am eager to continue to make - familiarity in the unknown.

[milaisreading]

I just found your account when you started posting the blue lock managers posts and I instantly followed and turn notifications on-

I was debating on requesting something but was nervous ehe😅

But if possible can you write something about manager having a like a obsessive fan of some sort that is always trying to get into the blue lock facility somehow to see her? I just wanna know what the bllk/u-20/egoist will do/react to that- especially the possessive(imo) ones(rin/sae/barou/Kaiser/ness etc) I feel like they will be very overprotective and threaten the person ngl-

Sorry if it doesn’t make sense- It made more sense in my brain but ya🤣 can’t ignore if too complicated!

Author: I like the idea and idk if I will be doing more parts to this, I will leave it up to you all, but I will go for now wit the characters you suggested. Thanks for the request🩷

Warnings ⚠️: Reader uses she/her. Mentions of blood and stalking. Requests are open

⚽️Blue lock belongs to:Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura⚽️

'BATHROOM!' (Y/n) yelled in her head as she ran down the hallway. The whole morning she was trying to find an excuse to leave the training ground, but was stopped either by one of the coaches or by one of the boys who were making the most random requests. Now she found an escape in the form of Shion pissing Rin off, and while everyone was busy watching them, she escaped the room. Before she opened the bathroom door though, (Y/n) felt some weird shivers go down her spine and she looked around the place.

'Is someone... watching me? No, nobody is here. I think I just lack sleep.' She shook her head and walked inside.

'She looks even prettier in real life than on TV.' A figure thought as they watched (Y/n) from behind the corner of the hallway.

'It took me so long to finally get to her, and now she is finally within my reach. Thank God they didn't control who are the real staff members and who the fake ones are.' The boy giggled as he observed the bathroom door.

'She will finally be mine!'

The boy smiled as he noticed the door open and he quickly ran over to the door.

"Finally." The girl sighed, ready to return to her duties when a unfamiliar voice called out for her.

"(Y/n)~"

"Ha?" The girl turned around quickly, only to come face to face with a staff member she never met.

"Wh...who are you?" (Y/n) gulped, noticing the crazy look in his eyes.

"I am your biggest fan~ I came here to rescue you from this place. Full of filth and people who don't deserve your presence." The boy giggled as (Y/n) grew nauseous, noticing she has really no way to escape him.

'What now?!'

"I-I seriously don't know who you are. Please leave this place, I promise I won't tell anyone about this-"

"No! You don't understand!" The boy yelled, growing angry at her protests and grabbed her shoulders.

"Do you not see how this isn't for you?! You shouldn't be fulfilling wishes of these germs! I know what's best for you and your best is to be with me!"

"I don't even know you!" (Y/n) yelled, flinching as his grip tightened.

"That's ok... we have all the time in the world to get to know each other-"

"What the fuck?!" A new voice appeared and (Y/n) felt the soul leave her body as she looked at the figure in front of them.

Rin:

'R-Rin...' (Y/n) thought as she looked at the teal-eyed boy, who looked ready to murder the boy holding (Y/n).

"The hell are you doing with my manager, lukewarm?! Let her go!" Rin ordered as he walked closer to the boy.

"Is this really who you want to stay with? You would be treated way better if you were with me." The boy said as he looked at the horrified girl. Somethings snapped in Rin as he heard those words.

'Some... some nobody thinks he can take (Y/n) away from me? And treat her better?'

Rage bubbled up inside of him and he punched the guy in the face, causing him to let go of (Y/n) and fall to the ground.

Using this opportunity, (Y/n) ran behind Rin.

"What us going on here?!"

"What's with the loud noises?" Two other staff members ran over and looked at the trio, horrified at the scene.

"Take this asshole away from here before I do it myself. He tried to kidnap (Y/n)." Rin said in a threatening manner and took the boy away.

Once gone, Rin seemed to have calmed down a little and turned to look at (Y/n), who was still in shock.

'That asshole... should have punched him harder. But now I have to focus on her.'

"Come on, let's calm you down first." Rin said, picking the girl up and walking towards the medic room.

"B-but your training-"

"It can wait. Just relax, it's only me here. Nothing will happen to you." Rin said in a softer tone as (Y/n) nodded her head, easing up a little bit.

"Thank you, Rin." She said softly, laying her head on his shoulder. The boy sighed and looked at the path in front of himself.

'I will protect you... no matter what. A nobody will not take you from me.'

Sae:

Now Sae was always a calm person and tried not to lose his temper in front of (Y/n) of all people, to show her he was mature and thought with his brain. But something just snapped in him and the rational part flew out the window when he saw a literal nobody grabbing onto the girl and scaring her to the point where she started crying. The older Itoshi lost every piece of self control at the proclamation the guy made and in a matter of seconds he was on the ground, passed out as Sae stood over him with a bloody knuckle. Sae seemed to have not noticed how strong his one swing was, strong enough to break some of his skin off.

"What the..." one of the security guards muttered as he looked between the three.

"He... uh... he..." (Y/n) stuttered, still in a daze from the previous events, but the guard seemed to have understood what had happened.

Once the guy was carried away, Sae seemed to have calmed down a little.

'He dared to touch her...that nobody touched her... I will kill him.' Sae's eyes narrowed as he tried to walk after them, but was stopped by (Y/n).

"S-Sae... your hand is... we need to treat it."

The boy looked at (Y/n), his eyes softening as he saw her worried look.

"It's nothing, it doesn't even hurt. It would have hurt more if that maniac had hurt you." Sae shook it off.

"Still, come on it will get infected. We can't gave you returning to Spain with wounds from a fight." (Y/n) tried to joke, but Sae didn't like it.

'It was for your safety.'

The older Itoshi put a hand on her head and gave her a small smile.

"I don't mind, as long as it's for you, these wounds don't hurt."

"Sae..." (Y/n)'s eyes widened at those words.

Shidou:

Bow Shidou was known for a lot of things, a great football player, aggressive when playing, questionable behavior at times and also for being very protective of the ones he holds close to his heart. So it came to no surprise to anyone when he stomped over to where (Y/n) and the unknown guy were, grabbed him by his collar and threw him away.

'It looked like he did it with 0 effort too.' (Y/n) thought with wide eyes as Shidou stood in front of her, shielding her form from the guy.

"It seems like some bottomfeeder forgot his place here. Who are you to come here and touch (Y/n) like that? Trash like you can just watch her from a distance."

Shidou said, his grin making his whole presence even more ominous than it already was.

"Who I am? I am the only one of you freaks who will know how to treat my (Y/n) right, you all don't even deserve her." The boy argued back.

"My (Y/n)? You seem to want those teeth knocked out, huh?" Shidou grinned wider, scaring the boy as he cracked his knuckles.

"Shidou... just call a guard... please." The blonde stopped in his tracks and looked over at (Y/n), his eyes widening when he noticed the tears running down her face.

'I will kill him one day. He deserves the worst pain.'

"Alright." Shidou said, picking the boy up by his collar.

"You are lucky she is here now... but don't worry, you will meet my fists very soon." Shidou whispered to the boy, who looked ready to throw up.

Kaiser:

For Kaiser the highlight of visiting Japan is pissing Isagi off and take (Y/n) away from the group to spend some alone time with her. During that time he would try to get her to come back to Germany with him, and so far it didn't really work. With that being said l, Kaiser had always his eyes on (Y/n)'sform, at any time. So when he noticed her leave, Kaiser decided to wait it out for a few minutes and then went to look for (Y/n), and he sure regretted waiting for so long after the scene he witnessed.

"I will teach you a lesson on touching my girl. You little piece of shit." Kaiser whispered as he punched the guy for the 3rd time, a wide smile on his face when he noticed the blood running down his face.

'I will kill him! I will kill him-'

"K-kaiser! Please stop... you will get hurt."

The boy looked away from the passed out one and looked at (Y/n). The worried and horrified look on her seemed to call him down and he sighed, getting up and walking to her.

"But I need to teach him a lesson. Didn't he scare you and touch you?" Kaiser questioned, trying to keep his cool as he remembered the scene.

"H-he did... but it's not worth to hurt yourself because of it. I already called a security guard. Come on, I need to clean up your hand." The boy seemed to have had an epiphany and he pulled the girl into a hug.

'Mine.' Be thought as his grip tightened on her.

Ness:

Now Ness was generally a calm guy, unless you insulted (Y/n) or Kaiser, then he will go full on mental. And while he kept that side hidden from (Y/n), he just couldn't do it now. Because when Ness saw the creep touching her and causing her distress, he was ready to commit murder.

'That bastard.' Ness smiled tightly and walk up to the duo.

"What... what do you want, freak?" The guy questioned, but got no answer in return. Instead, Ness grabbed the man's jacket and pulled him away.

"I will be back in a minute." The magenta-eyed boy said to (Y/n), who said nothing in return.

"What is it? Just say something, pig?" The boy said glaring up at Ness, who laughed and moved closer to the boy.

"Listen up, you piece of trash. Just because I am calm now doesn't mean that's how I feel. If I ever see your ugly self near my angel, I will make sure not even your own family will recognize you, once they find your body. (Y/n) is off limits for everyone, especially you." Ness whispered into the boy's ear and then moved away, satisfied with the pale look he caused him.

"Now, scram." Ness said in a low tone as his smile turned into a frown.

"Are you alright? He didn't hurt you?" Ness asked once he got back to (Y/n). The girl shook her head and wiped some of the tears away.

"No, I am fine. What about you?"

"I am alright, don't worry about me. Now, let's get you out to calm down a little. I know just the spot for it." Ness smiled and pulled (Y/n) along.

"Thank you, Ness." The girl said as the boy shook his head.

"It was nothing."

[scara-hater]

HELLO I

AM HERE TO REQUEST

Cyno, Tighnari, Wanderer, and Xiao with a reader who feels lonely when they're gone so they knitted/made a mini plushie of them to hug and coddle with affection everyday

Cause plushies are cute and plushie of your favorite character? I will be gripping that piece of cotton for dear life

Idk if you have a character limit so you can just choose how many and who you want to write for, for this request :))

Anon this is so cute?? Yes yes and yes! Apologies if I misinterpret the request! I also got too excited, so apologies x2 if it seems rushed!

Not proofread! One day I will create a masterpiece when i actually edit my work.

Pt.2! <--

——————————————————————————-

Cyno

You two stay in touch as much as you can, but him being the general Mahamatra keeps your relationship distanced at times. He’s dedicated to his work and everything within the gaps means nothing. With you being the exception, kind of. He tries to make time, but if he views something important, he’ll mutter a quick apology before leaving you to sit around the house alone.

You actually told him that when he is absent, you cuddle a makeshift Cyno instead. You love that thing so much, it never leaves your side. Even when exiting the confines of your home, it is safely secured in your bag. Explaining to him that It’s just comforting, knowing that if the real Cyno can’t be there, at least you have one that stays with you at all times.

But something about that innocent statement, left a wavering feeling in is mind.

after he bid farewell, and was far beyond sight, it lingered in his brain.

You on the other hand, were missing him something fierce. The doll was made out of old materials that belonged to the white haired general, so it made it very soothing when you would hold it to your face. It’s smelled of his freshness, and if you closed your eyes, could imagine him there.

And as the day passes and the sun greets the moon, you grow tired as your eyes can no longer fight your sleep. Now, all that can be heard are your soft snores within the bedroom.

Meanwhile, thousands of meters away, Cyno lay awake. Chewing at the feeling he’s had all day, a doll? Of him? While he finds endearment in that and loves you even more for it, the emotions mixing in his chest sit unlabelled. Rolling to his side he shuts his eyes and awaits to see you in the morning.

And believe me, when he came home and saw you cuddling your dear doll, it hit him like ten million bricks.

He felt guilty.

“Wake up, I want to hold you.”

Tighnari

Told you he’s going to be gone for at most a week and apologized for leaving so suddenly, not forgetting to hug you before he parted ways. Though when he’s gone it feels so quiet. Always resulting in solemn feeling in your chest, you sit around thinking of ways to feel better, until one day it just clicks. make a little fox friend!

You run to your mess of a crafting table and start sewing. With a few stabs and much focused stitch work, you finally have it, your very own fennec fox hybrid! Admiring your accomplishment, you hold the treasure to your chest.

Days past and the mini companion never left your grasp. It sat in your lap as you ate and layed in your arms as you slept, needless to say the doll eased your sadness when Tighnari was gone. It truly helped you through some of those nights he couln’t be with you. And in all honesty? he to misses your company just as much.

Counting down each day until he can nest in-between your body once again, feeling the warmth of your embrace, Archons he’s thankful everything ended early.

Entering the city, putting his work aside and rushing home, he acknowledges the might night return, so he puts in an effort to silently crawl unto the covers without waking you. Now lifting your arm to lay under, only to find something invading his spot. That’s his spot y/n, just what lays in his way?

He picks it up, and upon further insection, it looks exactly like him. It’s a doll.

You really are just the cutest.

Carefully moving it to the side, he then finally shimmy’s into the bed, at last in your hold. Your hands find their place, and he falls asleep, knowing he chose the right mate.

Wanderer

Is often aiding the traveller in their goal of finding their twin. That and tasking in odd jobs around Sumeru, so usually chunks of your day has been dedicated to creating a partner to keep you from feeling empty. And now that it is complete, you can cuddle it as much as you want! Fiddling with it’s nubby hands and tracing it’s rosy cheeks, this was by far the best idea and probably the greatest thing you’ve crafted.

Lone days now accompanied by a tiny wanderer. How cute is that?

“What the hell is that?”

Oh, you didn’t hear him come in, “what, this?” You lift up the dainty thing, “why its you! Just travel size, you’re too big to carry you know?” You joke while he glares at the object. “I can see that, but just why do you have it? Are you going to give that one a consciousness too?” Ahh you see,

he’s jealous.

Putting the doll down, you fold your arms and tell him to look at you “ Are you seriously going to hate on something that was made so horribly? Look at it! If that thing was conscious, it would beg me to turn it back to mere cloth and string.” Pointing at it you continue, “I only made it because when you leave, I do miss you sometimes, is that such a crime?”

Certainly not, he loves it and finds his chest swelling.

“Perhaps not, though I am the only one you should be directing your affections, I too am a doll y/n, or have you forgotten?.” He turns around to escape the ever growing blush reaching his face. Though the tips of his ears are a dead give away.

Xiao

Watches over liyue, that is his priority when it comes to what he does.

And it is hurtful on nights like this one. Today was tiring and draining. Working in a noisy part of the city and interacting with less than enjoyable customers is not what you wanted to deal with. But life goes on, and all you wanted was to see your Adeptus and tell him about how awful today was.

Though, you remind yourself about his duties, and opt for a solution. Taking out your knitting needles, you begin your plan of a replacement Xiao. Harmless and fun. Plus when you succeed, the victory is even greater when you get to cuddle it while sitting down. It’s small and squishable, they both totally have the same vibe. The only difference is, your knitted partner wears a happy smile. Bringing one to your face as well. Oh how you wish he was next to you right now, holding it closer as you caress it’s cheeks with your thumb.

“Did you call me.”

“AH-“ falling of your chair, the squishy mini xiao flies out of your lap and lands on the floor. “Jeez, make some of sound before talking into my ear like that.” Looking his way, you see his gazed locked on the item on the floor. “Uhh, hehe yeah, um- when you’re gone I miss you and stuff so I made it to keep me company.” You say, hoping he didn’t find you terribly weird. Yet, you see him walk over to his mini figure and pick it up, looking over it. And seeing how much effort you put in makes him feeling all tingly.

“Summon me when you feel you want my company y/n, say the word and I’ll be here.” Archons he is so precious, “ I know that, but I don’t want to burden you when there are important matters to attend.” Now that put a pout on Xiao’s face. “you could never burden me.” He takes your hands in his,

“I will never ignore your call.”

Now, on days where you both reside together, two dolls can be seen placed on a shelf next to one another.

Requests open!

[sylacris]

— chrysanthemums.

elbert greetia x gn! reader

content: sfw ; angst ; character study ; mild(?) spoilers for william’s route ; victorian flower language ; self indulgent (screw plot)

(partially) inspired by: tonight you belong to me by patience and prudence

word count: ~754

a/n: first ikevil fic, trying to wrap my head around the characters …

Of course Elbert knows you belong to Will.

After all, you were the most beautiful when you're with him. He's seen the image many times throughout your stay in the castle. The way you light up when William enters the room, the lift in your voice when speaking to him, the love in your eyes when William is reflected on it.

The way that William is the reason for your beauty.

If the gods pried into his brain and search for the question he's asked the most—the question thought to himself in fitful nights of longing and early morning blues, something that even Elbert feels guilty of admitting through words— it would be:

Why?

Why you? Why William? Why not him-

That was the thing he has been trying to find the answer for ever since his own eyes landed on you that night. A robin caught in a gathering of villains, like a single white rose in a bush of red. He had almost wanted to pluck you and keep you to himself. Until William’s voice chimed in, recognizing you, and you, who shared the same sentiment.

A month passed by in a blur, it was easy for Elbert to get lost in time. But he would always remember the determination in your eyes in that meeting regarding the papers detailing the “crimes” of William Rex. Your eyes shone with a beauty brought out by the King himself.

You'd almost caught him marvelling at the sight of you.

He wanted to help, one way or another. However, the Crown could not move under the name of the Queen, or in large groups due to the risks in secrecy, so he asked Alfons to act in his stead.

“Your ability is suitable for infiltrating the enemy headquarters… May I trouble you to go with them?”

In the end, he's aware of why it was William you chose. It was a fact that he knew deep down in his heart, something he'd rarely acknowledge and yet will resurface everytime his mind wanders to the thought of you.

William Rex is everything that Elbert Greetia isn't.

And in that very fact alone lies Elbert’s own tragedy. One that'll slowly eat him up from the inside until there's nothing left but the remains of a monomanic yearning.

Not every beautiful thing could be his, Alfons would poke in the playful manner that he usually dons. But perhaps his words do hold weight in this situation.

It's alright, he can settle for watching from afar.

(No he can't. His curse could never allow it. He wants, he wants, he wants... And that was how his destiny wrote itself in tragedy.)

Elbert knows of the fact that he's awful at suppressing his tendencies. Hands that can't be kept to himself, always wandering to something he'd desire, it was usually a question of when he'll have it- rarely a question of if, up until now at least.

Those same hands that desired more, now held yours in a slow waltz.

"Al informed me that William went out on a mission... I was… quite surprised to find out that you did not come along with him."

"It's because it's quite late, and William insisted that I stay behind tonight."

step, step, step.

A dance across the garden, that was his invitation. Indulging in the opportunity that arose in William's absence. It was Elbert’s own way of satiating his want.

(though it will never be enough)

Some part of him feared that by interacting with you like this, he'd yet again desire for more. More than a longing stare across the dining table, more than a dance in the garden, more than just his hand in yours.

“How about you, Lord Elbert? You seem troubled these days.”

“...Ah, how so?”

And just as both of you reached the middle of the pavilion, you let go. The coldness setting on his hands faster than he'd like in the absence of your warmth.

And in the next breath, you'd take your leave- greeting the wistful earl a goodnight. Heels clicking as you step out of the pavilion and into the moonlight, until you were nothing but a distant figure, one he did not take his eyes off until you'd reach the confines of the castle, your silhouette disappearing from his sight

And once again, he stood alone in the garden pavilion.

The yellow chrysanthemums looked bitter under the moonlight, and he knows that those same flowers would never bloom in an azure hue.

© sylacris. 2024 —

[malfunctioningemi]

Hi im emi and i think way too much about sk8 the infinity part 261

COLOUR THEORY TIME i just had like, a brain blast in realisation.

Reki is yellow coded, langa is blue. Usually people would ASSUME reki is the "red" character of the show because of his hair, but i think that just helps to show off his passionate and firey personality. His colour is yellow because he is energetic, friendly and most often optimistic (especially when it comes to helping people learn how to skate or make friends)

Langa is blue coded, usually used for quiet, cold and mysterious characters, or those with lots of sadness (think inside out). BUT because he is pastel blue, his sadness is lighter because of people like reki lifting him out if it. He is still young and has time to grow.

Because they are yellow and blue coded, its different from what is the usual trope of red and blue which are most often rivals or opposites. BUT because theyre yellow and blue, theyre actually perfectly made to compliment each other. I like to see it as reki being the sun to langas moon.

Now. You know who IS red coded? Adam. He is passionate and all about love and anger, the two emotions most connected to red. Because he is red, it links into his whole idea of thinking he "belongs" with langa, but he is already fulfilled by being with reki.

Then we see adams colours slowly change from red to that dark blue we see him wearing in the finale. He comes to realise that he was chasing after langa because he thought they were the same (blue = sad and hurt. Adam being a deeper blue means his emotions and sadness runs deeper aka because he has had YEARS longer to sit with his feelings and trauma) but it takes langa, a fellow blue, being happy and excited and wanting to skate with REKI not him, to show him that he doesnt have to put on this red boisterous persona. If we look at Adam through the years, he's never really had a red-coded personality. It's always an act. How he thinks people wANT him to act.

He's a blue, just like his hair and the suit he wears.

Now. Joe and cherry.

Cherry being pink is so INTERESTING TO ME. Its seen as graceful and youthful, but is also just a toned down version of red. Cherry CAN be graceful and composed, but is also full of so much anger and emotion (especially towards adam) and the fact the two are similar in colour makes me so invested. I also think Cherry has a complex colour pallet- being not only pink, but also wearing deep blues and whites. He is elegant and complex.

THEN JOE. oh joe. My deep green giant. He is down to earth (haha get it) and is always trusting his gut with everything, AND IDK IF YOU HAVE NOTICED THIS BUT HE NEVER GIVES BAD ADVICE!! Green is usually associated with grounded and level-headed characters, but green is also the colour of jealousy. Joe doesn't seem like the jealous type, but he has this strange loneliness to him. All he has is his restaurant and Cherry. He never seems to be able to fully grasp what he wants, so finds his fufillment in other places.

Now onto the fact that pink and green ARE opposites and so are cherry and joe. Where cherry is quiet and reserved, joe is loud and energetic. Their lifestyles and jobs couldn't really be more different. They argue and bicker and always seem to know what perfectly annoys the other most.

BUT!! Pink and green (while being opposites) ARE ALSO COMPLIMENTARY!!!! they work well together beCAUSE theyre so different. And being together just seems to work out somehow.

ANYWAYS. Yeah. Sun and moon coded renga are very special to me :)

[niallhoranhasthat1thing]

I just finished watching All The Light We Cannot See and I need to rant cause I’m loosing my damn mind.

First off, they took the character names and minor plot points and created their own story with them so at that point just crest something else and if you cannot handle showing the nuance of Werner’s character then you are not the right person to adapt this.

This is going to be filled with spoilers so be warned now.

Werner is a German boy who lives in an orphanage with his younger sister and one day he stumbles upon a radio and falls in love with it. He fixes it and him and his sister Jutta start learning about science and what Germany is actually doing by listing to a French broadcast. Two boys in his orphanage join the Hitler youth and Werner scared for his and Juttas safety destroys the radio which leaves Jutta furious with him. But it’s already too late. His entire town knows how capable he is with a radio and the nazis come for him to put him in a school. Werner who is very much living in a fantasy world in his head believes he will go to this school and will learn and learn and learn and by the time his finishes the war will have been lost and he will never have to contribute to anything, he may even win a noble prize. Jutta still furious with him has this conversation with him

and that’s the last time she ever sees her brother. Werner leaves willingly and you as the reader understand why, you know that if he were to refuse but him and his sister would be killed. You understand it and you even justify it.

Once at the school he meets Frederick and you instantly don’t want to like any of those other boys because they’re not like Werner, he’s there without having a choice. But you learn that Frederick is there only because his father is a high ranked nazi and his mother is waiting for the Jew up above them to be taken away so they can get the top apartment and they made sure he got into the school despite not being able to pass the tests to get in. One night the boys at the school are sent outside in the cold winter to torture a prisoner with cold buckets of water. When it’s Werner’s turn, he does it despite not wanting to and you understand it. He doesn’t have a choice. He would be killed if he refused. Once it’s Fredericks turn he refuses to throw the water. He’s beat and beat and beat. Everyday he is beaten worse and worse until he gets brain damage. Frederick had a choice. He chose the possibility of dying over throwing away his morals. Werner didn’t do that. Because of that your views on Werner begin to change.

Werner ends up going into the field to find illegal radio broadcasts, and while he himself never kills anyone he is directly responsible for many deaths. He ends up being sent to Saint-Malo to find Marie-Laure and her uncle and tracks them down instantly and upon seeing her he decides he’s not going to turn them in. To speed this along Werner ends up saving her life during the siege and they spend a few hours together where in his head he creates this fantasy of them living happily ever after which is juxtaposed with Marie-Laure allowing this German boy to wear her uncles clothes but knowing damn well that he’s not going to be able to hide his German accent. They part ways with Marie-Laure not giving him a second thought because she only wants to go find her uncle. Werner ends up dying a few days later.

You then go over to Jutta who along with the other girls form the orphanage have been sent to Russia to help the war efforts and when Germany looses the Russians take it out on the German women. She learns of Werner’s death and it doesn’t phase her. You fast forward to the 70s and Jutta is a married math teacher with a son, who is so deeply embarrassed and ashamed of her brother. A German man shows up at her door once day with a bad of her brothers belongings and it takes her weeks to open it. Upon opening it she finds the very notebook she had sent Werner to remind him of who he was. She opens it and is reminded of her brother’s innocence and decides along with her son that she is going to go to France to find out what happened to Werner. Jutta eventually finds Marie-Laure and her first thought upon seeing her is that her brother hurt her. Through the conversation Jutta is finally able to mourn her brother and realizes that it’s a lot more than bad vs good. But Marie-Laure is still conflicted with her thoughts on the German boy who saved her life. He doesn’t fit on either sides of the war.

You then jump to 2014 where Marie-Laure finally comes to terms with her thoughts on Werner.

Jutta and Marie-Laure’s feelings on Werner are also the readers feelings on him. The show completely stripped those feelings away. Werner in the show is a perfect human being and everyone forgives him within minutes of meeting him. Marie-Laure even kisses him and then fears for his life and wants to sneak him out of the city and meet up later so that they can spend their lives together.

Werner is such a complex character who you are so desperately rooting for while also feeling completely torn on him. The show is not willing to crest that conversation and beats you over the head with how good of a person Werner is, they rip Juttas character apart in order to make Werner more likable.

I don’t understand how this was made the way it was, I’m honestly still in shock. I had to laugh multiple times through out watching. I knew this show was in trouble as soon as I seen it was only 4 episodes. I hope one day this book gets a second chance and is made by people who understand the material.

[devieuls]

The way of love pt.III

Neteyam Sully x Tayrangi Fem Reader (Na'vi)

Warning of the Serie: MDNI. Dom Neteyam x Fem Reader; SMUT; ANGST; FLUFF; Dirty Talk; Fangs; Bites; Blood; Spit; Power Play; Jealousy and Possessiveness; Foreplay; violence; Swearing; Teasing; Unprotected Sex; Enemies (because of you, Neteyam treats you well). Aged characters: Neteyam 19 y.o / You 18 y.o. SERIE

Synopsis: After a great loss happened in your family, you are forced to take a role that before did not belong to you, following a path that you will feel like your only in time. Just when you thought you were finally overcoming the loss, your clan shows up with those you blame for the great offense received. You are the daughter of the first Olo'eykte of all clans and are about to take your mother’s place to lead the Tayrangi clan, but first you must follow Neteyam (the eldest son of the man you detest with all your heart) To train him, despite your contempt for the Sullys and everything about them, you inevitably bond with the boy, unknowingly falling in love with him.

CHAPTER WARNING: Some parts are explicit and slightly NSFW, if you are minor do not interact with the series, the more I go on and the less chaste it will be.

Lenght : 4,3k

Notes: All characters will keep the age difference but will be aged eg: Neteyam 19 y.o; Lo'ak 18 y.o etc…

NA'VI WORDS: PARULTSYIP: Children. KARYU: Teacher. 'ITE: Daughter. TANHI: Star. NARLOR: Beautiful (visually). SA'NU: Mum (affectionately). YAWNE: Beloved. YAWNTUTSYIP: Darling/Beloved

PART:1 ; 2 ; 3 ; 4 ; 5 ; 6 ; 7 ; 8 ; 9 ; 10

· · ─────── · 𖥸 · ─────── · ·

< All this was so fast, so fast that you were most likely in that state of shock, not for anything else, at least this you tried to make you believe, failing miserably when Neteyam caressed your face. You felt like such an idiot when he looked at your lips, because inevitably you did the same with his lips and you couldn’t believe they looked so soft and warm. Your breath was suddenly cut when he slowly drew his face to yours, and your heart decided to let you experience tachycardia. >

Neteyam moved a strand of hair behind your ear as his thumb brushed against your cerulean skin and gave you yet another shiver. His eyes explored every inch of your face, looking at you as if you were Pandora’s most beautiful and precious thing; while the eclipse was starting to take space in the sky, kissing Neteyam’s face with sweet fuchsia and purple shades that made him strangely beautiful in your eyes. You tried to avert your eyes from Neteyam’s by turning your face, but you were blocked by the hot hand of na'vi. Your breath was dying in your throat, its proximity had sent you tilt your brain and your heart decides to do the same thing.

"I. don’t think you’re… a good person. Just a demon." you said trying to convince yourself more than the boy.

"Then tell me by looking me in the eyes. Tell me 'Neteyam Sully, I hate you', do it sincerely. If you convince me, I swear I won’t bother you anymore" His voice was strangely warmer, electric discharges ran through your body, only managing to swallow.

It would have been so easy if he had stayed away, but now your heart and mind betrayed you so clearly. You knew you had to hate him, it was the right thing to do, it was also his fault that your sister died, that your village suffered sudden bereavement. Then why didn’t you see the evil in his eyes? It was easy to hate the Sullys by not having them around, but now that you had the eldest son of what you recognized as a demon, you couldn’t even list one flaw or downside.

"I hate you. I hate your family. I hate your person and your personality. Neteyam, you are the most irritating and childish person I have ever known, stubborn and stubborn as a sturmbeest. The biggest skxawng I know. I hate you. I hate you viscerally and I just want you to disappear from my village." You said with clenched teeth, trying to accumulate as much composure as possible, spitting in his face all the words you were dedicating to him.

Unlike what you would have expected, Neteyam smiled without taking his eyes off you, as if instead of insults you had confessed to him the most romantic thing ever heard.

"If so, continue to hate me this way, ma Tanhì." He said with an affectionate tone, and then put his lips on your forehead, sending you into a frenzy.

You ripped your wrist from his gentle grip and walked away from him whispering insults in na'vi, as you called your Ikran to return to the village without Neteyam. The na'vi laughed as he watched you go away angry, even though he could notice a slight redness on your cheeks before running away.

"Narlor… just shining like her freckles," Neteyam said, leaning against his banshee, watching you walk away.

While you were tied to your Banshee she felt every emotion you were feeling, and she made you realize that she knew, so you leaned on her exhausted back, seeking solace in your spiritual sister. " I don’t understand. I said I hate him and he's still…Ahhh ! If only he behaved even once in a rude way towards me, maybe… yes, maybe I could insult him more heavily" You said to the wind, while the Ikran drove you home. " Stupid heart. Stupid mind and stupid Neteyam. Oh Great Mother, why do you do this to me?" your voice was exhausted.

You’d only known Neteyam for three days, and it seemed like I had a crush on him for years. You hoped that your Banshee could communicate directly to the great mother to have mercy on her poor daughter, and avoid her all these sentimental entanglements.

As future Olo'eykte you already had a young Na'vi who would mate with you, your mother chose him because it was the will of Eywa, Tul'pey was the best warrior of the clan, trained by your father from a young age. He was your friend besides being your promised and future companion; you could say you were happy with him, you loved the attentions he gave you and how he treated you, however with him you had never tried the vertiggini as with Neteyam, your heart did not accelerate until you hurt your chest, Your breath didn’t cut. You hated the feelings you had with that Omatikayan son of a demon, so why couldn’t you stop thinking it was such a good feeling about you?

When you got home, you spent another sleepless night, thinking again about that damn boy, his hand around your wrist, how he held your face still to look him right in the eye, his fingers in your hair and the smile he gave you even when you insulted him. It was terribly difficult to even think about him and not be able to find something with which to insult him. If it was true that night brings advice, in this case Eywa was advising you things you had no intention of doing, so you decided to spend the next day with Tul'pey instead of Neteyam, only to give you time to recover from that night that was damning you more than the flower given away on the first day.

The weeks passed quickly, you had discovered that Neteyam was a great athlete and with an almost natural predisposition to excel in everything. In a few weeks he was able to interpret almost perfectly both the wind and the sea, learning the fishing and hunting habits of your clan. You had not yet told him your name and you were not willing to do it, rather you preferred that he simply called you Karyu (teacher), to put stakes between you two. Not that nights like the third night hadn’t been repeated, Neteyam was a sweet natural flirt and wasn’t ashamed to hide it. The whole thing was damning you more than I could imagine, and you couldn’t help but think it was sexy and attractive after all, and every time you thought about it, you took a break to stop thinking about him like that.

Soon came the month of Ikran, and with it began preparations for the Day of Atonement. This day was dedicated to the search for forgiveness for the wrongs committed in the last year, and was important for the Na'vi, as they believed that by acknowledging their mistakes and seeking forgiveness, they could maintain balance and harmony in their clan.

This year you were forced to share this important holiday with the person you never wanted to forgive, you were always happy about the holidays that made the clan more lively and joyful, actively participating in all kinds of activities, But the thought of finding Neteyam near you only made you nervous. To put the cherry on the cake, your parents had well thought of inviting Neteyam to spend the retreat after the party together with you, since it would only be that his family was in the Omaticaya clan.

In the week preceding the Day of Atonement, na'vi were used to changing their look to represent their transition from people who committed wrongs to people finally free from the burden of 'sin'. For this reason your mother after preparing your father with a new fantasy of braids and jewelry, invited Neteyam in such a way as to take his mother’s place and prepare him for the event with items typical of the Tayrangi Clan, which bothered you slightly since they were not objects that belongs to him.

In the following days it was the turn of the women to change Look, you decided to prepare the very morning of the celebration. Your mother made you sit on the mat under her, starting to take off your braids gently, while she took care of your skin and treated your locks with some oils derived from plants.

"Ma 'ite, this may be your last Day of Atonement as Olo'eykte in preparation. Next year you may be recognized as the next Olo'eykte of the Tayrangi" Ikeyni said as she stroked your hair.

"I know, sa'nu. But I prefer to think that there is still much to the rite of passage" you confided sighing

"You'll be a great Olo'eykte, you and Tul'pey will be the best guide for this clan" Your mother’s voice was so safe and kind, you could not help but nod as she combed your hair.

"What if… I’m not the best choice? Eywa has put me in front of all kinds of tests in recent weeks, maybe he doesn’t want me to-" Ikeyni stopped you, laughing softly.

"Ma 'ite, if the Great Mother has tested you and to temper your character and help you lead the clan when the day comes"

You sighed and nodded, letting her continue with the work she was doing on your hair. After a few hours your mother let you rise from the ground, your hair was loose and wavy, some red and white feathers that embellished the hairstyle that represented the tie with the wind and the colors of the clan, along with some beads embedded in two strands of the side that you had on your face, behind your head a soft bun that collected only a small amount of hair at the top of your head, and there, too, two feathers were wedged together, and they received the flower that Neteyam had given you. You weren’t happy with your mother’s choice to use that flower as a jewel, but she stood her ground until you found yourself accepting it. Some pearls decorated your forehead, along with small shells representing the bond with the sea. You wore your white loincloth which was narrower than the traditional one, as you wore a mesh-woven belt above which contained white feathers and shells; on the calves there were interlacements recalling the fantasy of the belt, while on the arms some bands with beads stuck; Your breast was covered by a shawl made of white mesh, while below there was a piece of cloth from which other pearls hung, also white. Your mother used the white and gray paint to draw tribal lines on your body, which she also did on her once ready and your father, reluctantly shed sent you to do the same to Neteyam, since she and your father had to finish some preparations for the celebration, to bring him the clothes that were created for the occasion.

You sighed heavily and then you shook your head and headed towards the hut of Neteyam, after all today had to be a day of forgiveness and happiness, for this you could not bend to your 'hatred' towards the boy Omatikaya. You knocked on the side of the tent, on the wooden part, before entering at the invitation of Neteyam who was behind, intent on settling some jewel that had entangled in his hair, swirled your eyes and silently leaned your clothes and paint on the table, looking at his back. When he finally turned, you turned your eyes to the side, looking at the objects on the table.

"My mother sent me to prepare you for the celebration." You said before you sit down and move some small items on the table to have more space. Neteyam looked at you with his mouth open, feeling his heart accelerate, before whispering "Ma Eywa…" to get your attention.

"Sit down, the ceremony will begin in about an hour, we have no time to waste" You said calmly, suppressing the sour and bitter tone because of the day dedicated to forgiveness and in Eywa, it would be disrespectful to behave as usual on a sacred day. Neteyam nodded in enchantment, before sitting in front of you and studying your face and clothing, not even finding the right words to start talking, which you regarded as a blessing.

You started putting paint on his arm, making a thicker gray line and a thinner white line, "You know why you never paint your own body?" You asked, as your eyes moved on the bowl of paint next to you, seeing the side of neteyam’s face squotersi in negative sign. " There are three main reasons. The first is because body painting is part of the Tsaheylu ritual, and you use paint to represent union in a couple, so it would be bad for you to do it yourself if you have a partner." You said as you dipped your fingers in the paint, starting to draw a new line just above the armpit that headed towards your chest "The second is because you paint your face yourself only if you go to war, doing it outside the scope of the war is like calling it to you. And this is the only time Eywa allows us to paint our own faces." Your eyes avoided looking at his face, but you could feel his look on yours, admiring you in silence just before you spoke." And the third?" He asked with a thread of voice, remaining firm in such a way as not to make you sort the drawings. " The third? This is the most detestable motivation. Because you have to let someone who cares about you do it: a family member, a friend, or your partner. It means that you trust them enough to let them touch you at every point of your body. It’s also a kind of bond you create." You sighed and then looked him in the eye, noticing that he was looking for eye contact. "I told you this only as a preamble. I’m not your friend, your family or your partner, I’m painting your body as the future Olo'eykte." You said, and then you focused on his chest, drawing a thick line from his shoulder to the center of his chest. " Just in case you found out in the future, just to set the record straight."

Neteyam nodded, never looking away from your face. You didn’t understand why but inside you hoped he would tell you if he already had a partner in his clan, but he didn’t argue with anything and that made you think that he probably didn’t have a partner yet, leaving you with doubt.

"Your paints are different from ours, we use green with white on these days." Neteyam said, breaking the silence between you two.

"White represents purity, the new birth, that’s why all the clans on this day basically use this tint. Clans and sub clans differ only on the second color, you have the green, representing the forest and nature that surrounds your clan. The Metkayina have the blue that recalls the water and the ocean. The Tayrangi have the gray that represents the wind and the sky. On this holy day you should have your skin painted green, not gray. And you should wear Omatikaya jewelry and items." Your voice was calm and serious as you spoke and finished the drawing on your chest.

"I am also part of this clan now…" He whispered, at that moment you had to hold back and mentally summon Eywa not to growl at him.

"No, you belong to the Omatikaya, you are their future Olo'eyktan, your loyalty is to your people, not to mine." You responded sharply, seeking again inner peace.

"I am faithful to my people, but I can be loyal to yours too…" he said, turning his face to the side, looking for a visual contact with you "…and to you." Your eyes darted over his face when he finished the sentence. Neteyam’s face was revealing sincerity and seriousness in what he had said.

Was this the confirmation that he didn’t have a partner? Your heart suddenly lightened and you couldn’t hide a little spontaneous smile. When you realized you were smiling, you quickly restored your face to a neautral state, but Neteyam had already seen it and bit the inside of your lip as he watched you.

"You have a beautiful smile, you should show it more often, Princess Tayrangi." He said sincerely, and then received a pinch from you.

"Silence." That’s all you could say before you dropped your hands down his sculpted abdomen and felt the contraction of her muscles against your fingers, which made you slightly swallow. You thought with all your heart about Tul'pey, the fact that he must have been the na'vi with your tribal designs, just not to think about the strong perfume of Neteyam that made you glum to the thought.

"You have to lower… the loincloth a bit…" You whispered, you had to finish the line at the level of his low pelvis, but it was slightly covered

"You do it, I don’t know how low you want it" he said with a smile, as his tongue licked one of the canines without ever taking his eyes off you, seeing you already slightly tense mantre lowered read while his loincloth. When you finish with the line you made him rise for convenience in painting.

"I need you to stand still now, the part of your legs is always the most problematic" You said kneeling at the level of his pelvis, as you began to draw lines on his thighs. Neteyam couldn’t help but think of you in the same position but while you were sucking his dick, after all you knelt down in front of a boy, so the thought of putting a hand in your hair and then pleasing himself with your soft mouth wasn’t that far away. He bit his lip and then took a deep breath, trying not to think about anything erotic, but your arched back like a cat’s did not help, let alone your fingers working the paint on his legs. Yeah, now he could see how problematic he could be, not so much for you as for him.

"I said stay still. You keep moving." You said sighing, as you finished the drawings on your thighs, blowing lightly on some paint that would be poured if not cooled down quickly. With that breath Neteyam had to look at the ceiling, asking, indeed, begging Eywa not to let him have 'bad surprises' between his legs.

Once you finished his legs, you got back on your feet, to finish the lines of your back, feeling how your touch caused chills to the boy, which made you bite your lip. You had added an extra line along his spine, only to see him slightly arch his back forward and contract his muscles. "Sit down and spread your legs so I can finish the face. Then I help you with the bandage and you can finish the rest yourself." The boy did as you told him and welcomed you between his legs, and even there, it was inevitable to think of a thousand scenes that could begin with you between his legs before you find yourself moaning and orgasming his name. Ironically, you’ve been having the same thoughts since you first touched his body today. You unbalanced yourself forward, making two lines on his cheeks, then making a line that started from the cupid’s arch and went down his throat to the central part where the collarbones were divided. You took an extra couple of seconds going down with your fingers to draw the line, her lips looked so fluffy when you passed the paint and you watered at the thought of savoring them. Even on these lines you had to blow to make them dry quickly because of the too liquid composition you had used on the finish. Neteyam took deep breaths that only made the situation worse, as now he had in his lungs and nostrils your sweet natural scent mixed with oils that you did not know were also subspecies of aphrodisiacs.

You broke away from him after a few seconds and you both got back on your feet. You gave him your back while you took the rolls of fine cloth that had been sent by Neteyam’s family for the occasion. The boy explored every part of your body; your back covered by small threads of net and pearls; your narrow waist and perfect hips that left so little to his imagination; your tail moving from side to side slowly, almost creating a hypnotic effect, He broke just to admire your legs and thighs with paint on them. He bent his head back taking a deep breath before seeing you as you approached him, beginning the bandage of his body, feeling how your fingers hesitated to touch his skin now. There was tension in the air, you didn’t understand if it was embarrassment, sexual tension or just blind and empty tension.

When you finished the bandage you walked away from him, showing him the various jewels that your mother had sent him just for the ceremony. " Put them on and then reach the village, soon the ceremonies will begin."

You came out of his hut, taking a deep breath, holding a hand to your chest as you walked, feeling how your heart had accelerated. You swallowed walking around troubled by this, only to feel two firm hands taking you from behind and flying in his direction. For a second you thought it was Neteyam, but it was only Tul'pey who saw you walking restlessly and stopped you.

"Ma Yawne, are you okay? I see you upset" said the boy, stroking your face and moving your hair behind your neck

"Oh? Yes, yes, I’m fine ma yawntutsyìp, I was just over-thinking" You smiled back to your future partner who looked at you lovingly, while one hand remained firm on your side.

"You’re beautiful today. I mean, you’re always beautiful but today more. I-I mean, you get prettier every day… you know. You’re gorgeous." He said, blushing slightly, while you laughed at the way he tried to compliment you without offending you.

"You too are beautiful" You answered gently before leaving a kiss on his cheek, while you put a hand on his arm, making him smile. For a second you wanted to forget about Neteyam, focusing on na'vi that one day would become your partner.

You walked to the village, squeezing yourself at Tul'pey’s arm, watching your clan preparing feasts, while some had already begun to seek forgiveness by apologizing. You smiled at your parents who had already begun the fooling and to dispense blessings and pardons to those who asked for them.

"One day that will be our place, I alongside the most beautiful and great Olo'eykte of all times. With all respect to your mother," Tul'pey said, taking your hand, kissing it. You smiled without answering, at other times you would have been happy with the sweet words of your partner, but there was something inside you that told you that it was wrong to be with him, that he was not meant for you. And in that moment of doubt, the person who gave them to you came along. Neteyam, as beautiful as the Sun after a blizzard, shining as not even pandora stars at night, perfect in his ceremony dresses. The girls of your clan had already approached as if they had never seen a na'vi before him, a little thrill of jealousy pinched your back. You took a deep breath, forcing yourself to look away from him, calling yourself stupid.

You shouldn’t have seen him as a simple Na'vi, he and his family had brought so much pain to the clans, you shouldn’t forget about your sister’s sacrifice.

Tul'pey smiled at Neteyam, inviting him to approach you two. You wanted to scream so loud at that moment, it hadn't crossed your mind that Neteyam had become friends with everyone in the village, including your partner, who ironically had become his closest friend.

"Neteyam! Happy Day of Atonement. I hope that the distance from your family does not make you suffer this day" Tul'pey politely said, as he carried a hand to his forehead and then pointed at the boy in greeting, receiving a smile from Neteyam and the same sign.

"Nah, I miss my family, but I know they think of me and I do the same. After all, I’m going to have day of celebration with friends," Neteyam said, and then look at you, "And maybe get to know people who aren’t my friends." You rolled your eyes and squeezed at the arm of your companion, seeing how Neteyam’s eyes darted from your face to your hands wrapped around his friend’s arm.

"Haven’t you got to know y/n well yet? I thought she was your teacher," the boy said innocently and then received a murderous look from you, Neteyam smiled slightly, looking slightly irritated.

" Y/n, huh? No, we focused more on teaching and distance…" Neteyam tasted your name in her mouth, such a sweet name for such a demanding na'vi. Your name moved from his mouth to his mind, it sounded so good in his head.

"Distance?" Tul'pey asked, looking at you.

" Yes, I prefer not to bond with my students, it would be unprofessional" You said with clenched teeth, forcing a sweet smile. " I leave you two alone, I see that the girls are calling me" your voice was slightly sour, before giving a kiss on the cheek of your partner and throwing an annoyed look at Neteyam, making him smirk.

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Notes from the author:

I felt bad to leave the "cutest" outstanding point, so today I also release chapter III. Love me, thank you.

-Mel

[graysoncritic]

A (Negative) Review of Tom Taylor's Nightwing Run - What Went Wrong? Bea Bennett

Introduction Who is Dick Grayson? What Went Wrong? Dick's Characterization What Went Wrong? Barbara Gordon What Went Wrong? Bludhaven (Part 1, Part 2) What Went Wrong? Melinda Lin Grayson What Went Wrong? Bea Bennett What Went Wrong? Villains Conclusion Bibliography

I wish to spend this part of the essay examining how Taylor’s appropriation of Bea’s character betrays his complete disregard towards the ordinary people. Admittedly, this section is a late addition to the essay. As I was going through my edits, Nightwing #107 was released and Taylor’s handling of Bea was simultaneously so atrocious and so relevant to the topics I wish to discuss that I was unable to leave it untouched. 

I should also note that this section was written and edited long before the Nightwing Annual written by Travis Moore was released. I considered completely cutting this section as a result, or to add a section addressing Moore’s (very bad, in my personal opinion) retconning of Bea, as well as how it tainted Bea and Ric’s relationship (what, in the view of many, was one of the few redeeming qualities of the Ric arc). But I decided to instead leave this section intact, for while Moore’s Annual adds additional context for this section, it does not change the point I wished to make. 

Bea was always a complicated character when it came to Taylor’s run. She was the elephant in the room, her absence felt yet unspoken. Dick loved her not too long ago. She was there for him when Babs and his family abandoned him because he could not meet their expectations. She gave him a place to belong, she gave him the support he needed, and she fought for his well-being not because Nightwing needed to return, but because she loved him. 

And yet, when Dick regained his memories, Taylor completely ignored her existence. Rather than dealing with the aftermath of regaining his memories and dealing with the incredibly complicated ordeal of sorting through who he was before losing his memories, who he was as Ric, and who he is going to be now that those two parts of him are combined, Taylor decided that he would instead create a soft reboot. This meant that while the Ric arc was acknowledged as having happened, its consequences, events, and characters were, for the most part, ignored.

And that included Bea.

We can see this in how Taylor decided that rather than allowing Dick to be single for a while as he regained his footing, he immediately started to lay the groundwork for Dick and Babs’ romance, making it clear as early as #79 that this would be a major point in his story. 

(Taylor, Tom, writer. Redondo, Bruno, illustrator. Leaping into the Light Part Two. Nightwing: Rebirth. 79, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2021. pp 05)

Never, during those early days of Dick and Babs’ romance, was the fact that Dick just got out of a serious relationship with another woman whom he was deeply in love with acknowledged.

(Jurgens, Dan, writer. Cliquer, Ronan; Moore, Travis, illustrators. Who is Dick Grayson? Nightwing: Rebirth. 75, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2020. pp 36)

Never did Dick have the time to process the way Babs treated him while he was Ric, nor did Babs get a chance to apologize for the unreasonable demands she made of him while he recovered from a traumatic brain injury.

(Castellucci, Cecil, writer. Sauvage, Marguerite; Lupacchino, Emanuela; Aneke, illustrators.  Little Wonders. Batgirl: Rebirth. 50, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2020. pp 14)

Never did Dick and Babs have a conversation about whether they should wait for Dick to heal before proceeding forward with a serious relationship, what it meant for Dick to be with someone who only knew a version of him from years ago, and if the him of now could be the same person Babs once knew and loved. They never had to reconcile their time apart. They never had to wonder what Dick’s relationship with Bea meant now that he recovered his memories. They never had to have a serious and mature conversation where they figure out what is best for them as individuals and if what they wish to have now is even possible given their circumstances.

Just as important, never did Dick seek Bea, who is a Bludhaven native who worked with homeless individuals, for her opinion on the best ways in which this problem could have been addressed.

(Taylor, Tom, writer. Redondo, Bruno, illustrator. Leaping into the Light Part Six. Nightwing: Rebirth. 83, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2021. pp 13)

There are ways in which a Dick and Babs romance could have developed slowly while taking all of these conversations into consideration. There are ways in which Dick could have examined his relationship with his family and friends from years as Dick Grayson and the friends he made as Ric, and if those two worlds could exist as one. There were a myriad of ways in which the aftermath of Ric’s existence could have not only been acknowledged, but also addressed in a mature story about recovery and healing while still giving Dick a fresh start and treating Taylor’s run as a good onboarding point for new Dick Grayson readers (the memory recovery and reassessment of relationships could have provided ample opportunities to explore Dick’s history and provide context and information for new fans). But rather than doing any of this, Taylor decided to ignore all of these complicated affairs and treat his run as if it were Nightwing’s very first issue.

As I said before, I do not wish to go into the merits of whether this was the right or wrong decision. But it was a decision nonetheless, and nowhere else was its effect more felt than in not only Bea’s absence, but the complete erasure of her character. Rather than making it so she just wasn’t a part of Dick’s life anymore, her existence was never acknowledged, never commented on, her absence never mentioned. When Taylor started his new run and decided to skip Dick’s healing process and to start a new romance between Dick and Babs he also, as a result, removed Bea from existence.

Now, I cannot know why he recently decided to walk back this decision. My best guess is that he witnessed the push back against it and decided that rather than stick to his plan, he would quickly and, quite frankly, messily deal with said criticism by having Bea play a part in a story arc.

The warning sign that this was going to be handled poorly appeared early on, when the narrative mentioned that it had been two years since Dick recovered his memory. Again, I cannot know for certain why Taylor made such a decision, especially as there had been no indication of time passage up until that point, but my best guess is that once Taylor decided to bring Bea into the narrative, he realized how badly it would reflect on Dick to have gone from his romance with Bea to one with Babs.

However, what was far more offensive was how Taylor took a character whose big draw was the fact that she was just a regular person and decided that, in order to make her worthy of his narrative, she must have been a vigilante as well.

When Dick was confused, hurt, trying to discover who he was and trying to distance himself from vigilantism, Bea was a safe harbor. In an universe so filled with super-powered individuals, with humans capable of taking down monsters by themselves, with individuals whose hacking skills are so great they could shut down governments, Bea’s ordinariness was a breath of fresh air. She grounded the narrative and became a guide to the regular world of Bludhaven, the world that Nightwing once protected and that Dick and Ric both belonged to. Through her volunteering, she showed that you can still help others even if you’re not in a position of power; through her compassion towards Ric she showed that even when someone is at their lowest, they are still worthy of love; and by taking on Joker and Court even though she was just a regular person, she showed that even the most ordinary person can be brave, can be heroic, can protect those they love.

(Jurgens, Dan, writer. Cliquet, Ronan, illustrator. War for the Mind Nightwing: Rebirth. 71, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2020. pp 19)

A lot of Bea’s importance in the narrative came from the fact that she was just an ordinary citizen. Her “lack” of specialness was what made her special. She gave the ordinary people of Bludhaven a face and a voice, and she served as a reminder of what it is that the heroes we love fight for. As someone who was also not involved in vigilantism, she could also give Dick a form of unconditional support that it would be difficult to get from those whose lives are often dictated by life-or-death stakes. As someone who was not involved with the Bats, the Supers, the Titans, or any other hero, she had just the right amount of distance to offer him impartial advice that is not colored by a complicated history with either characters or the conflicts of being a vigilante. She could give him an alternative perspective that he, his family, and other heroes would ordinarily have lacked. She could remind him and the reader of the importance of the little things, she could be his anchor, and she could be his friend and his friend only. She could be the person who was always on Dick’s side. Not Nightwing, not Robin, not Batman, not Agent 37; not the detective, the superhero, the leader; not the boyfriend, the older brother, the mentor, the son. Just Dick.

But instead of realizing the specialness in her “lack” of specialness, Taylor instead decides to make her into a secret pirate queen, with a long and troubled family history that involves all those high stakes. Most insultingly, not only does Taylor physically remove Bea from Bludhaven for her vigilantism operations by making her operate in the sea rather than on land, he also has Dick specifically call out that Bea’s incredible actions are now explained because she was a pirate queen. 

(Taylor, Tom; Conrad, Michael, writer. Byrne, Stephen; Acuna, Serg, illustrator. The Crew of the Crossed Part Three. Nightwing: Rebirth. 107, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2023. pp. 08)

This one line is truly revealing of Taylor’s thoughts of ordinary characters and the ordinary people of Bludhaven. He insults Bea and destroys her character by very blatantly stating that her “ordinariness” made her a liability in his story. Bea could not have been helpful to others despite lacking power because she cared, because she wanted to help, because she realized that even regular people can make a difference — she had to be a pirate. Bea could not have taken on the Joker and the Court because she loved Dick and that love gave her courage to fight for him — she had to have been a vigilante. Rather than empowering, now Bea’s strength and capabilities are waved away as her being another vigilante. 

In trying to “make her special,” Taylor took away what made her special. Not only that, by having it Dick state this sentiment in these words, Taylor is making it so rather than believing that we all have the power to make the world a better place, no matter how “ordinary” we may feel, we can only do so if we are one of the few who have this specialized training and abilities. Ordinary people, according to Taylor and to Dick, do not have the courage to face difficulties or take on bad guys for the sake of our fellow humans or for those we love. We are incapable of doing that. It is only once someone is “special” that such traits “can make sense.”

This complete disregard towards the value of ordinary humans can also be observed during the brief time in which Dick gained power during Taylor’s run. Rather than using this as an opportunity to emphasize that Dick does not need powers in order to be great, the entire arc has this wistful tone, as if Taylor wished he could permanently make Dick into a superpowered individual. “Wouldn’t it be cool,” the arc implies. “If Nightwing could have all of these superpowers?” Taylor goes as far as having Clark, a character who has known Dick since he was a child and who would have known that Dick never needed the assistance of powers to be a hero, lament the fact that Dick’s talents were only temporary.

(Taylor, Tom; Pacat, C. S., writers. Pansica, Eduardo; HDR, Daniel; Moore, Travis, illustrators.  Superwing in Rise of the Underworld Finale. Nightwing: Rebirth. 104, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2023. pp 11)

Once more, I feel the need to draw a comparison between the implications of this panel and how, in World’s Finest #12, Waid had Kara emphasize how awe-inspiring it was that Dick could save himself while still being an ordinary human.

(Waid, Mark, writer. Lupacchino, Emanuela, illustrator. Scream of the Chaos Monkey. Batman/Superman: World’s Finest no. 12, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2023. pp. 06 - 07)

This disrespect and disregard towards “ordinary” humans explains why, rather than building a supporting cast with Bludhaven-natives, and rather than having Dick bond with the citizens, Taylor instead decides to move the Titans into Bludhaven, move Dick into the Titan’s Tower, and impose a physical and emotional distance between Dick and those he is meant to protect. It is as if Taylor does not think that ordinary citizens are worthy of writing about. While their flaws are scrubbed away so they can be “perfect victims,” their troubles can be used as backgrounds, to make the heroes look socially progressive, but any opportunity for meaningful interaction is cleanly removed from the story. 

The ordinary people of Bludhaven are denied agency, denied voices, faces, individuality, diversity, and even names because Taylor’s narrative deems them invaluable due to their “ordinariness.” Their lack of “specialness” makes them unworthy of Taylor’s time and of Nightwing’s time. In Taylor’s story, ordinary people do not deserve screen time, they do not deserve to interact with Nightwing, Batgirl, or the Titans. Bea’s transformation is but the embodiment of Taylor’s complete lack of regards towards the people of Bludhaven, towards the city of Bludhaven, and, by extent, towards their hero. 

To treat the ordinary people of Bludhaven with so much disregard is to fundamentally misunderstand what is so incredible about Dick Grayson. The appeal of most Bat characters is that, though they are just ordinary people, they are able to rise above the odds to do what seems impossible, and in doing so, they inspire us to take on the challenges we face in our lives. Dick, specifically, has always been a voice for those who felt ostracized by society. He defied all sorts of expectations, not just as a hero, but as Batman’s partner, and showed that one could still be different and be great. He empowered individuals who felt otherized not by being super-powered, but by being compassionate. Dick sees the value in every single individual, his compassion is unparalleled, and his desire to help everyone, in both big ways and small ways, is why he so often worked among the citizens of Bludhaven, and not apart from them. He was not better than them, he was not above them. He was one of them. He was Nightwing, yes, but he was also a bartender, a police officer, a gymnastics instructor, a taxi driver. 

But Taylor does not allow Dick to be any of that. Just like Taylor does not allow Dick to have his toxic perfectionism or obsessive tendencies. Just like Taylor has Dick recite online-rhetoric without considering if that would be fitting of his character. Or how he has so Dick’s competence and individuality is sacrificed for a heternormative romance with Babs. In trying to paint himself as progressive while responding to online discussions, Taylor demonstrates his, at best lack of interest, at worst disdain, for who Dick Grayson is and what Dick Grayson fans love about him so much. Rather than embracing the uniqueness of Dick and of Nightwing, Taylor instead strips away everything that differentiates him from others, taking him away from those who love him and appropriates him, his values, and his relationships. In Taylor’s Nightwing, Dick is only a blank canvas stand-in protagonist for audiences to project themselves into, a wish-fulfillment fantasy that has nothing of Dick Grayson in sight.