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jo-harrington · 8 months

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Stranger Than (Fan)Fiction - Prologue: Crossover

Summary: Everyone wishes that they could have an Eddie Munson in their lives. In a strange turn of events, Eddie wishes that he could meet you, his favorite character from a cult classic 80's TV series. And he's about to get his wish.

Word Count: 3.9k

Pairing: Eddie Munson/Fem!Reader

Warnings/Themes: No-Upside-Down AU, Minor Angst, Fluff, Isekai, Mentions of FOI-compliant events

Note: Hello and welcome. I'm very excited about getting to expand on this idea; it's going to be a wild ride. Please note as you head in, and as we get into further chapters...this fic is going to be a little mind-fucky and a little bit self aware. This is my love letter to and my criticism of fanfiction, but at the end of the day, we're still gonna get to fall in love with Eddie and get some kind of Happily Ever After. This is my guarantee.

You can find my masterlist here.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

May 2022. Such a weird time.

A time of uncertainty, a time of change. A time where the world seemed like it had been torn apart and was slowly being knit back together again.

But then a switch was flipped. Something happened. An old season ended and a new one started and with that start came something new. Someone new. And suddenly, countless people began to yearn for this new person in their lives.

A new, old person. Eddie Munson.

Joy ignited. Creativity sparked. Millions of words written and read. Edits made. Art drawn. Merch bought.

So many voices crying “why isn’t he real. WHY ISN'T HE REAL.”

If there was a god, he would let them have their own Eddie Munson. And if there was a Satan, he would let them sell their souls for Eddie Munson.

That’s just not how the universe works.

At least…not this one...

October 1985. A different kind of place and time. Still weird.

But Eddie Munson was real.

Sometimes to his detriment.

And for the most part, it was alright.

He played guitar, laughed with friends, mocked bullies to protect the people like him that were considered less than. He'd overcome hardships of one sort or another for most of his life, he could keep at it for a little while longer.

It would be his day week month year sometime soon.

Wouldn't it?

But until then, he would bide his time. Hopefully, this year, he'd pass all of his classes and finally graduate. Get to flip that douchebag Higgins off and snatch up a long-awaited, and well-deserved diploma.

What made it all easier, what softened the blow...was you.

It was silly. He knew that. Ronnie used to tease him on Wednesday nights when he needed to run home because he had a "standing date with his girl."

"Your girl doesn't even know you're alive," she'd scoff as he bustled her into the van. "She isn't real."

No...no you weren't.

Why couldn't you be real.

See, for the past...however long Eddie had spent his late nights half-assing homework, planning campaigns for Hellfire, working on music, and watching a television show. His guilty pleasure, a show about the ups and downs and upside downs of living in a sleepy suburban town: Port Geneva.

A show where you were his favorite character.

And crush.

You weren't the main character--in fact, you were just the main character's quirky best friend--but you were a fan favorite, as much as he could tell. You'd only been in the background during the first season, but before long you were front and just-left-of-center. And last year, you'd even gotten a two-episode arc in the season finale as you turned the small town on its head by announcing, a month or two before graduation, that you were quitting school to follow your dream and become an artist.

And man...Eddie had been there.

He'd actually missed those episodes airing when...well, when everything happened with his father and the heist...and the house...and Paige.

He'd missed a lot of episodes that season. Missed seeing you come into your own as he tried and failed to come into his.

Thankfully Wayne--and Eddie wasn't a believer but whatever deity in charge needed to bless his Uncle Wayne--had the foresight to tape those episodes for him.

Those tapes would be cherished 'til the day he died, because they had truly gotten him through those tough days after everything.

He wished he had seen them when they aired, maybe...maybe he would have made some different decisions if he had.

Of course, Eddie had already loved you before then.

Since he had first laid eyes on you, actually.

He was sure that if you were real, you would be the one to understand him more than any of his friends. See the real him. In return, he would understand you, be there for you too.

He already had been. He'd seen you cry countless times, he'd laughed with you, celebrated your successes and mourned your failures. He'd been there for you when you crushed on that dickhead Mark, and then had your heart broken by the careless jerk.

And somewhere deep down inside of him, when he was sitting in that jail cell after he wasted his phone call on Paige and he felt the weight of the world bear down on his shoulders…he wished that you were real so he could have called you instead.

If you were real, Eddie's life would just be a little nicer.

He knew…he just knew.

Of course, in the mean time while he wished with every fiber of his being that you would walk into his life, he brought you to life in other ways. During mid-season and summer hiatuses, he would write you into his DND campaigns. His friends knew, they always called him out for it.

"Are you seriously making her an NPC man?" Dougie would scoff and throw a D20 across the table at him.

"No, what are you talking about?" he defended and threw the die right back at his friend. "This is Spiria the Bold."

"Uh huh," Jeff rolled his eyes. "Sure."

By his imagination and his pen, you became a powerful warrior, a sharp-tongued trickster, a seductive mage. You became anything he wanted you to be--most often with a companion and lover that mirrored him--and everything he knew, deep down, that you were.

And then the unthinkable happened.

September ‘84. He and Wayne were in the checkout line at K-mart. Cart stacked with new clothes and school supplies and groceries. When suddenly...there you were. Right in front of him.

Alright, not you. Per se. But your face, smiling alongside Samantha and Patrick and Scotty and Bill on the cover of the TV Guide.

On Set with the Stars of Port Geneva.

Wayne was the one to snatch the magazine from the rack and add it to their bounty, a knowing smile on his lips as he shook his head.

He knew Eddie needed a little pick-me-up.

Or a big one.

How could he have known this would be anything but one...

Eddie scoured over the pages once they got back to the trailer. He was hoping there would be a big enough picture of you that he could cut out and tape to the otherwise barren walls of his new room. And there was; you were leaning against the back of your signature pastel blue Volkswagen Beetle, arms across your chest, head tilted to the side with the signature scrunched smile you gave when you were embarrassed.

He adored you.

Before he took scissors to the page, he read the interview with your actress.

He wasn't too keen on her, even though she had your face.

The illusion that Rosemary Glass was really you had been shattered the first time he'd heard her voice on a radio interview; instead of your perfect and familiar middle-American speech...Rosemary's voice was accented.

Not to mention, she sounded pretentious.

Gross.

Still, he could look past that annoyance if he got some kind of insight to what the next season would bring for you.

Hopefully not a new love interest. His heart could only take so much.

...gives us a tour of the Patterson and Son's set, one that is forever enshrined as the setting of Patrick and Samantha's first kiss. "Oh I'm actually not fond of that scene," Rosemary confesses. "Yeah it's sweet, and the way I bring Sam in so Pat could confess his feelings but the...when I fell down? It was not scripted. And I was honestly shocked they kept that in. But fans seem to think she's clumsy now because of it. That I'm clumsy. When I just tripped over a wire. It's quite awful, really." We ask Rosemary to tell us what she'll miss most, now that the show is coming to an end...

Eddie went rigid as he read those words.

The show...coming to an end?

"What?" he exclaimed into his empty room. "No, no, no."

He carefully examined the article again, then turned back to the beginning of the feature, only to feel his heart stop in his chest.

The title of the feature was like crit hit.

The final killing blow to his already weak constitution.

One Last Summer in Port Geneva - On the Set of the Final Season

The final season was a sham.

Eddie savored every episode, though. Of course he would!

He would enjoy every last moment with you that he could get before he lost you forever. But...he hated it.

It was lazy writing--seriously what were they thinking--and a quick, cheap means to tie up all the loose ends they'd set up over the years. He could tell they tried to deliver as fulfilling a finale for the extensive cast of characters as they could. Still, he was sure he could have done better.

Samantha and Patrick got engaged after graduation. That was lame.

Bonnie finally quit the bakery to open her own cafe the next town over. Didn't anyone remember that she wanted to quit because she wanted to be a vet instead? That was the whole point of her! She didn't want to follow in her family's footsteps and she was doing just that.

And you? You took a backseat.

Instead of leaving town right after graduation--something that you had followed through reluctantly to make your parents happy even though you had just resolved to put your own happiness first for once--you stayed to help Pat plan his proposal.

Your big adventure, your big push for your dreams, were on hold again. You played second fiddle over and over until the final episode.

Eddie was grateful to have you for a little longer, but...once again annoyed that you were looked over--over and over, just like he was--when you had already proved that you were worthy of top billing.

Worthy of being the main character for once.

Still, at the beginning of the series finale, you packed your bags, cashed in your savings account, and drove out of town. The future was yours, just like it was always meant to be.

And Eddie cried.

The whole time tears streamed down his face as you said your own watery goodbyes. He might have even waved as you stuck your hand out the windshield to say goodbye to your friends as your car idled at the last stop sign. You blew a kiss to everything you knew and loved then started on your way into the unknown, car getting smaller in the distance right before the commercial break.

He held his breath for the final scene: a walk through the house where it all started and then Sam smiled her signature hopeful smile as she shut the door on the audience.

The screen faded to black for one final time and he exhaled.

"It's over," he muttered in slight disbelief, suddenly unsure of what to do with himself.

Port Geneva was over, and you were gone for good.

It was a strange feeling.

Heartbreak, mourning, disappointment? He couldn't really know for sure. Empty was the best way to describe it; the lack of feeling. It was infuriating. Port Geneva was just a television show, he attempted to rationalize for the nth time since he started watching. You were just a character on a tv show; how could you mourn for someone and something that wasn't even real?

You hadn't actually died. He could still see glimpses of you if he wanted, whenever Rosemary Glass' next movie came out or something.

But that wasn't you.

You were gone, for all intents and purposes, and it was a blow that hit Eddie hard.

How could he go on without you?

Devastated, he got high that night after he stewed on his grief. He day-dreamed and monologued to an empty trailer about a universe where the two of you were together, where your travels took you to Hawkins, of all places, and you fell in love with him, just like you were supposed to.

If the walls could talk, they would have a fantastic tale to tell. One with heroes and misunderstandings and love at first sight. One with a horrible, unseen foe and many pitfalls and dangers that exceeded anyone's wildest imaginations. One with a magic door that led to the happily ever that was beyond well-deserved.

Grief did wonderful and terrible things, after all.

He woke up for school the next morning with cotton mouth and a vague outline of a story that did just that: brought you to Hawkins to fall in love with him and all of the other things that seemed like nonsense once he was in a more right-minded state.

The only problem was that it was all in his English notebook. And he didn't need anyone finding that.

"Fuck," he groaned and ripped the page out. He shoved it into his bedside drawer, where it would be doomed to a crumpled and forgotten future.

Or until he needed a condom.

Which, considering how everyone had doubled down on their disgust of him, wouldn't be any time soon.

But there you stayed.

Put away, like old obsessions and childish things, to be ignored and forgotten.

At least for a little while.

Eddie tried.

He did.

He kept you and Port Geneva out of sight and mind as much as humanly possible. It was the most effort he had really put to anything tangible in the past year.

The series ended at a weird time--during the middle of the season--and some investigative journalism show took over its time slot. Barbara Walters couldn't hold a candle to you, so it wasn't difficult for him to keep himself rooted in reality on the nights where he typically indulged in his silly fantasies.

The daydreams that he had were limited to lyrics for Corroded Coffin originals and ideas for Hellfire, and nights were spent alone in the darkness of the living room, with his reflection in the television set to keep him company as he tried his best to do homework that he'd already done before.

Before he realized, though, the school year was coming to a close and he was--big shocker--on the brink of failure. It wasn't until Higgins called him into his office, again, that you made your violent resurgence into his life.

There was a tentative truce between Higgins and Eddie for a while.

Civility was a strange thing for both of them. They actively avoided one another, save for a snide jab here and there, and Eddie tried to stay out of the Principal's Office as much as he could.

That is, until Higgins was forced to tell Eddie that he needed to repeat his repeat senior year.

"Don't act like I want this at all," he sneered at Eddie who tripped over a reaction. "I'd rather have you out of these halls for good. You drop out one year, then you re-enroll and you fail another. Try to make the most of it this time Munson; I don't want to have this talk again."

Eddie grumbled the whole drive back to the trailer, and he fell onto the sofa with his head in his hands once he got in.

"Which one of the fates wrote this stupid plot for me now, as if last year wasn't enough. You can't make this stuff up sometimes."

He laid there, wallowing in his misery for hours, days, years, until it got dark enough for headlights outside to be noticeable as they shined through the window. There was a glint of a reflection that caught his eye and had him turn his head.

"TV," he sighed and reached out as though he could touch the set and stacks of tapes neatly piled below. “The cause-of and solution-to all of life’s problems.”

He contemplated his life for a few more minutes.

He could make the most of the final few weeks of the school year. He could set himself up as a willing and reliable pupil for these last few assignments and tests, even though they wouldn't mean very much.

He could do all of these things so that when he walked into the halls of Hawkins High in the fall, on his absolute last first day of school--whatever deity or powers-that-be willing, because how "getting the hell outta dodge or he would die here" turned into "two extra years in that shit hole" he could only attribute to cosmic intervention--the faculty would already know he would try his best this time.

It would show them he was serious about graduating and that he would succeed despite all odds against him. Finally.

He could do this.

Or...

He could put in one of the tapes from the stack and scrounge for loose bills left over from his last few transactions and order a pizza. Pretend like he didn't exist for a little while.

And given the choice?

Eddie Munson chose the latter.

And he continued to choose the latter throughout the summer and even into the fall.

Nights that he didn't already have plans were spent in front of the television.

They were cherished nights with you.

Aside from his VHS recordings, he found a channel that showed reruns of Port Geneva after 10pm. Two hours of small town shenanigans that might very well be found just outside of his own door--if he only went and looked--with you just there, making your appearance every so often and catching his eye.

Homework was sometimes left halfway done on the coffee table until he needed to switch out a tape, or change the channel, and he spent more time filling his heart than enriching his mind, so to speak; he knew all of this school stuff already anyways.

Third times a charm and all right?

He talked to the screen more often than not, tried to warn you against one disappointment or another. Sometimes, if he was watching one of his tapes, he'd pause right on your face and just talk to you. Mundane things, usually, like Ronnie's last phone call home or some album that got released and a song he thought you might like.

Other nights, like tonight, he got vulnerable. Moments where life seemed a little extra trying, and he'd confess his feelings to your image.

Knelt on the floor in front of the coffee table, warm light bathed his face promising comfort as he spoke, and the din of static emitted from the television set, akin to an angel's voice...beyond understanding of humans.

He'd never been one for church, but this kind of confessional was sacred enough.

An eternal bond, just you and him.

He stopped his ramblings at that thought.

It was a strange moment of clarity.

Where had that come from?

"I..." Eddie looked down at himself, a foot away from the television set, remote clenched in his hand. Then he looked at you, soul-filled eyes just beyond the glass, not looking at him, only...through him, just past him. "What am I doing?"

What was he doing? He was...he wasn't a kid anymore who could hide in his dreams; well, honestly he was always going to do that, but this was different.

One minute he felt the weight of the world lift off his shoulders as he told you about his troubles, and the next it was all back, heavier than ever, as he realized how silly this all was.

And here he was, wasting his life knelt at your altar.

It wasn't holy. It was pathetic.

You'd never answer; you weren't real.

"Why?" he asked aloud, jaw clenched. He gripped the remote tightly. "What did I do to not have...someone? Huh? What have I ever done to be alone? That I have to rely on a fucking television character to feel understood. And now I'm losing my mind talking to myself, talking to you, at midnight every night. Why am I here wishing that you're real? Why couldn't you just...be...real?"

If there was a God, he would let Eddie Munson have you. If there was a Satan, he would let Eddie sell his soul for you.

And that's how he knew neither of them existed: you didn't exist either.

Eddie hit the eject button on the VCR and was about to shut everything so he could go to bed, when there was a crash outside.

Crashes in Forest Hills weren't abnormal--someone backing into trash cans, losing traction on the icy roads in the winter, and the one time Mrs. Dawson kicked her husband out and threw all of his things out the window--but it was something he'd gotten used to since he came to live with Wayne.

This crash, however, started a ruckus.

Someone was yelling and that stupid dog across the way started barking.

Eddie was a lot of things...but a dramatic gossip was definitely high on the list.

What else was there to do in the Midwest?

He grabbed his cigarettes from the bowl full of junk on the coffee table and stepped outside, fully intent on plopping down on the old couch on the porch to smoke and watch the scene unfold.

A car crashed into the telephone pole; didn't look like there was much damage but it had run through some trashcans and might have clipped the drivers side mirror off of Mrs. Mayfield's car. The same Mrs. Mayfield who was on her own porch being held back by Max as she yelled.

"Are you kidding me? It's fucking midnight!"

"Mom! Stop!"

"The car, Max!"

Maybe there'd be a fight.

He barely got his cigarette lit when he noticed--really noticed--the offending car: a powder blue Volkswagen Beetle.

He blinked several times and then rubbed his eyes, thinking it might have just been a trick of the light or something.

Or it was a coincidence.

Or a dream.

Maybe he'd had a heart attack and died in front of his television or something?

Plenty of people drove Volkswagen Beetles. He was pretty sure he'd even heard Nancy Wheeler asking her parents for one as a graduation present.

But with the same license plate number?

The same one from the show, the same one that was in the TV Guide all those months ago. The same one on the makeshift poster he had taped on the wall next to his bed, that he'd run his fingers over to "kiss" you goodbye countless times, just like he did to his guitar.

"It's just dark," he tried to convince himself, "and I'm tired, and...and..."

It was a coincidence. It was a dream.

He repeated the mantra over and over in his head like a lifeline.

It was another fan like him who just used fantasy to make their life a little better. That's all he was trying to do too, right? He could understand; hell, if this was a new neighbor, maybe he'd be able to chat with them about the show. Wouldn't that be something?

Eddie was so distracted making up endless excuses for himself that he didn't notice Mrs. Mayfield as she threw her hands up in the air with an exaggerated "I'm calling the police. He didn't hear Max holler at her mom to calm down, or see the tail lights of the Beetle turn off either.

It wasn't until the driver's side door swung open and a sneaker-covered foot crunched against the gravel that he forgot all the excuses he was conjuring.

And his heart stopped as the driver got out of the car and stood in the faint glow of the streetlight.

Because that driver was you.

Next Chapter: Alternate Universe

There is no taglist for this series, please follow the STFF Updates tag or check the series out on AO3.

#Eddie munson x reader #stranger than (fan)fiction #stff #Eddie munson fic #Eddie munson fluff #Eddie munson angst #stranger things fic #stranger things Eddie munson #Eddie munson #stff updates

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thatfeelinwhenyou · 1 year

Text

HANDS ON YOU — lee heeseung

IN WHICH; I-LAND 2 happened and you debuted first place as the leader of LUMIÈRE. Having been told that your group is involved in a lore crossover with ENHYPEN, you navigate work, friendship, and love while trying to make it in an industry filled with animosity and condemnation. When life throws you lemons, you gotta make lemonades chuck it right back!

PAIRING: idol!heeseung x idol!fem!reader

GENRE: smau, strangers to lovers, celebrity x celebrity, forbidden love, fluff, don’t let the first part of the smau fool you i swear it’s full on angst towards the end, slowest of the slow burns…

WARNINGS: contains profanities, horrible humour, kys/kms jokes, sexual innuendos, spelling errors, incorrect timestamps, probably some cringe-worthy moments, cyberbullying, racist and misogynistic comments made about reader, death threats, mentions/depictions of overworking, insomnia, eating disorders, not proofread etc. (i am not in anyway romanticising, encouraging or condoning the usage of these topics. purely for the plot and development of the story.)

STATUS: completed! (04/06/2023 – 08/08/2023)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: please read! literally my first attempt at a smau so please don't flame me 💀 i must warn y’all that the timestamps are really all over the place, so DO NOT pay attention to them until stated. the content and depiction of the characters in this smau do not in anyway represent them in real life. chapters with ‘(hw)’ next to them indicates that they are half-written, in case y’all accidentally skip over it! last but not least, if you do end up enjoying it please like, comment (absolutely love reading comments!), and reblog! without further ado, enjoy!!

p.s this was written way before the actual airing of I-LAND 2 and not meant to be connected with the real show/contestants in anyway.

TAGS: #tfwy handsonyou

prologue - introducing LUMIÈRE part 1 | part 2

profile. one | two

chapter 1 - number 1 hater

chapter 2 - infant

chapter 3 - #prayersformarklee ✊🤞

chapter 4 - dog-eater…? (hw)

chapter 5 - breaking records(?)

chapter 6 - still employed!

chapter 7 - bad publicity is still publicity

chapter 8 - to hee or not to hee

chapter 9 - the heist

chapter 10 - trigger warning

chapter 11 - soompitydimpity

chapter 12 - chronic insomnia

chapter 13 - to hee after all

chapter 14 - wild pokémon heeseungie

chapter 15 - artists

chapter 16 - that should be me

chapter 17 - bills

chapter 18 - the elephant in the room (hw)

chapter 19 - if you let me

chapter 20 - trouble? travel! (hw)

chapter 21 - caught in a lie

chapter 22 - always on your side

chapter 23 - princess syndrome

chapter 24 - you (hw)

chapter 25 - golden thread

chapter 26 - way back home (hw)

chapter 27 - uh oh…

chapter 28 - fight or flight

chapter 29 - close friends

chapter 30 - paradoxx invasion

chapter 31 - ramen

chapter 32 - 080923 (hw)

chapter 33 - driver

chapter 34 - demure and honest

chapter 35 - p-platonic?!?

chapter 36 - friends don’t look at friends that way

chapter 37 - bungeoppang

chapter 38 - back to the way things were..?

chapter 39 - wheel of fortune

chapter 40 - i miss holding your hand (hw)

chapter 41 - sooha (real)

chapter 42 - rizzseung

chapter 43 - project luminescence

chapter 44 - i will go to you like the first snow (hw)

chapter 45 - it’s awfully quiet…

chapter 46 - jake pick me era?

chapter 47 - my life without you is a misery

chapter 48 - your honour, i’m innocent

chapter 49 - breaking my silence

chapter 50 - he’s being exploited!

chapter 51 (finale) - number 1 fan (hw)

epilogue - forever ruined by you

bonus chapter!

the exes talk

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felassan · 1 month

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Thoughts on DA: Vows & Vengeance -

[info compilation post link] [more info on the podcast]

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this post is rather unstructured : )

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I know what BW said about how there won't be official transcripts, but I hope that they decide to post official transcripts of each episode if it's possible, as it's rly important for accessibility & inclusivity.

I like the title - the alliteration is fun, and the concepts of vengeance and revenge are a DA thematic staple atp. it's neat that it's free and the spacing of one episode per week until mid/late October will help pass the time until launch (the last podcast episode releases 2 weeks before DA:TV Release Day). it's also cool to see DA expand into new forms of media, and I'm excited that we will hear lots more lines from each of the 7 Veilguard companions. 👁️

here is one of the podcast writers, Jeremy Novick, on Twitter.

I’m really looking forwards to Taash and Davrin’s episodes of the podcast in particular ◕‿◕ it feels like we don't know much about them or their backstories relative to the other DA:TV companions at this point in time.

Nadia Carcosa, Drayden and Elio are described as being "podcast-exclusive" characters, I guess this means they will not appear in the game itself (which helps the podcast storyline stay self-contained and the podcast to remain as optional listening). but it would be cool if in the game there is some references to them here and there, like in dialogue and/or codex entries/notes etc. 😊

in the background image of the teaser trailer and what looks like the thumbnail for the podcast[?] on podcasting sites, the two faction symbols shown are the Mourn Watch and the Shadow Dragons. is this a coincidence/just since their symbols look cool, or are these two factions the factions with the biggest roles in the podcast storyline relative to the others? the penultimate episodes are the ones that focus on Emmrich and Neve 🤔

"revenge, redemption, and love": these themes mixed together often produce regret. and there was a quote somewhere in DA:TV marketing materials that said “For DA:TV [the game itself], from the start one of the biggest themes has been regret; how regret shaped peoples’ lives, how people deal with their regrets, how people maybe move past their regrets.”

Mae Whitman previous credits include: Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Brigette Lundy-Paine previous credits include: Bill & Ted Face the Music, Atypical, I Saw the TV Glow Armen Taylor previous credits include: Diablo IV, Octopath Traveler II, Vinland Saga

I wonder when the podcast is set? maybe in the weeks to months before Varric, Harding, Neve and Rook go to Solas' ritual site in the game's prologue? I also wonder what lineages Nadia, Drayden and Elio are? If Drayden has a mysterious connection to the Fade, they're most likely to be human or elven, right?

cat burglar, thief, scoring jobs like the one described in the podcast's plotblurbs - these kind of plot beats remind me of what we learned about an earlier concept of DA:TV when the game was more about stuff like heists and spies.

Nadia being a thief unknowingly employed by the Dread Wolf to track down a powerful ancient artifact before finding herself tangled up in everything: this reminds me sm of one of the 'here's what the DA4 PC's backstory could be and how they could end up caught up in the narrative of the game'-speculation ideas I used to wonder about hhh.

a retired cat burglar.. maybe Nadia has ties to the Lords of Fortune? some of them seem to be more thiefy. although, being wanted by Tevinter authorities for crimes of theft, high treason and murder maybe points towards Shadow Dragons instead.

two lovers going on a job to get an artifact reminds me of Irian Cestes and Vadis from TN. "burglar" also gives me Hobbit/LOTR vibes :D I imagine that over the many years since DA:I, the Dread Wolf has employed many such people [unknowingly to them] on jobs like this.

Elio being "seemingly" banished to the Fade is interesting wording.. so is "banished" actually. (Elio's Fade banishment also makes me think of foreshadowing Solas' subsequent entry to Fade Jail in DA:TV.) ((shoutout to left-in-the-Fade-Hawkes' LIs who I can also imagine desperately searching for answers on a rescue mission across all of Thedas after learning that Hawke was left in the Fade in DA:I...))

Carcosa

I'm reaaally curious about what Drayden's mysterious connection to the Fade is all about and entails.

"a few [answers] they wish they hadn’t" 👁️...

the question is, what the powerful ancient artifact is, and why does Solas want it? if he wants it it's probably ancient elven, right?

On the trailer itself

"This chamber, it feels different from the cave. I can sense something. The Veil is thin here." - I'd guess this speaker is Drayden. it isn't Nadia, as we hear her later on. the speaker can sense the thin/thickness of the Veil and Drayden is said to have a mysterious connection to the Fade. at this point they're in some kind of, well, chamber, as the speaker's voice echoes and you can hear water dripping down the damp walls.

The announcer's voice is so deep hh!

To be wanted by Tevinter authorities for crimes including high treason, maybe Nadia is from Tevinter? treason is "the crime of betraying one's country, especially by attempting to kill or overthrow the sovereign or government." so to commit treason in Tevinter context, you're probably from Tevinter.

"Who the hell is Nadia Carcosa?" - this sounds like Varric. :>

"So, what's the mark?" - I'd guess this speaker is Nadia. they sound scrappy/seasoned (Nadia is nearly retired), and the speaker is probably asking for more details on the job they've just acquired to do. does she sound like she could be a dwarf to anyone else or is this just me? :D maybe that's just my daydreams hhh

"The Eye of Kethisca" quote: presumably the middle man who Solas hired to hire someone, thereby keeping his own identity secret

The Eye of Kethisca itself: this must be the "powerful ancient artifact" from the text blurbs. there are no hits for "Kethisca" on the DA Wiki, so this is a new name/thing. it must be creepy-deepy, because when it's mentioned in the trailer you can hear creepy voices whispering ominously. :D "Kethisca" doesn't sound elven, but you could easily have an artifact that's e.g. ancient elven but acquired another name or been called something else by others in the centuries since.

"The Eye was made from a rare gem mined here in the caves beneath us. It was crafted centuries ago by a powerful Dreamer." - Solas speaking. I wonder how oblique/lies of omission/technically true (you know what I mean? that thing he does) Solas is being here.. like maybe the Dreamer was an ancient elvhen Dreamer not a human Tevinter one, like maybe the centuries ago were centuries and centuries and centuries ago dating back to Elvhenan rather than later on temporally at say, a more recent time in history like the height of the Imperium. "Eye" makes me think of spherical things, "gem" makes me think of how lyrium (Titans' blood) is a mineral. caves makes me think of dwarfy things and the Deep Roads. as for "mined":

"The runes say the Evanuris fought the Titans. They mined their bodies for lyrium and... something else. It's not clear."

what if the Eye is the heart of a Titan, a foci? Solas' Orb was spherical and the hearts of Titans look spherical here in the Death of a Titan mural. the way he frames it makes it sound like the mark is a rare jewel mined from caves by a Tevinter human dreamer long ago before being crafted into something, but I wonder if it was, more technically, the heart of a Titan mined from the body of a Titan even longer ago by, say, a member of the Evanuris, before being crafted into a foci. Solas needed his own foci in DA:I to carry out his plans, and then it was broken. there was more than one foci in ancient Elvhenan; after DA:I and Trespasser, I could see a world/storyline in which, during the long years between then and DA:TV, Solas at some point learns that another one of the foci artifacts survived into the modern day, and decided to try and get his hands on it so that he can carry out his plan using another foci instead. and since the foci can do Fadey/Veily stuff, that could be how Elio got yeeted in there. reminds me a bit of the scene when the Inquisitor yeets Cory at the end of DA:I. (here I'm just speculating wildly for fun hhh. Solas' Orb doesn't really look like a gem etc. and the Lyrium Knife tears the Veil, so maybe this storyline was set before he got that or sth)

also I wonder where these caves are? beneath Minrathous? Solas has a hideout beneath Minrathous, as we know, and the deeper you go the more elfy things get.

Magister Andante: I think this is our first time hearing about this character. their name reminds me of Andraste.

"Magister Andante? It's about Nadia. She's about to do something quite reckless." - this sounds to me like Neve speaking. it kind of sounds like she's meeting the magister clandestinely, at night. she seems to know Nadia.

"Listen to me, you've been tricked. This isn't a simple grab-and-go for the money. There are bigger forces at play. We have to put this back and leave." - I'd guess this speaker is Elio. it sounds like at this point he and Nadia have found the Eye and taken it, but he's trying to get her to see reason/warn her. it's a tense moment with the sound of battle all around them.

"I'm sorry, but I won't let you pay for my mistakes." - Nadia refusing to listen to Elio. the sounds of battle get louder and it sounds like there's an explosion or something? plus the dragon roar. maybe Mr dragon is breathing fire everywhere. :D I wonder as well if it's Elio grunting in pain at this point. I'd guess this is the moment where Elio is seemingly yeeted into the Fade perhaps?

"Nadia, I presume. I am Solas, and I am, I believe, the one that you seek." - Solas again obviously, only this time sounding way more godly and Fen'Harelly in persona (booming) than he did when he was talking more demurely/plainly about what the Eye is.

"The name I seek is the Dread Wolf" - Nadia again obviously :) so something in the job went wrong, she figures out who hired them, and goes to find the Dread Wolf presumably because she either blames him for Elio being stuck in the Fade and/or she thinks he might be able to get him out or tell her how.

"The Eye will destroy you" - and this sounds like Neve again maybe?

#dragon age: the veilguard #dragon age: dreadwolf #dragon age the veilguard spoilers #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #dragon age #bioware #video games #long post #longpost #solas #dragon age: vows & vengeance #dragon age: tevinter nights

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heian-era-housewife · 19 days

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Synopsis | Tired of being overlooked by your handler (and longstanding crush) Shiu Kong, you decide it's time to show him what a knock out you really are. Will a trip to the aquarium finally help open his eyes?

Content | g/n assassin!reader x shiu kong, fluff, swearing, cigarettes/smoking

Word Count | ~3.5k

Prologue ○ The Date ○ The Photos

Most assassins start out the same. Down on their luck. Blessed, or cursed perhaps, with a particular set of skills. Nothing that could be considered useful in a typical workplace, of course. Lonely. Desperate, maybe. A bit apathetic.

Then, one way or another, the opportunity presents itself. An offer that comes to them in their most vulnerable hour. A chance to meet two needs at once:

The first is money. Afterall, murder for hire doesn't come cheap. For someone who's had so little for so long, that kind of payout is hard to ignore.

The next is acceptance. Let's face it. The would-be assassin is usually a bit odd. And that "particular set of skills" mentioned earlier? They tend to fall firmly in the "red flag" category. So when those skills are met with intrigue and your peculiarity is given worth, you suddenly find yourself being valued. And who doesn't want to feel needed?

Yes, most assasins start out the same and you were no exception. These, plus your friendship with one Toji Fushiguro, are what led to your humble beginnings as an operative for notorious handler Shiu Kong.

You always had a knack for stealth. Sneaking up on people, going unnoticed, it seemed to come naturally. Perhaps that's why you always felt a little invisible. While Toji was a master of speed and weaponry, you could melt from the shadows like darkness itself. So, when Toji brought you in on a high-stakes heist, and you more than proved yourself as a capable (not to mention frighteningly lethal) ally, Shiu held out his hand and gladly welcomed you aboard.

Shiu was, in many ways, your opposite. Classy and sophisticated. A smooth talker with a gift for persuasion. Bit of a politician, really. You, on the other hand, were a classic maverick. Loose cannon with a loose tongue. Slipshod and off-color. You were friends with Fushiguro, after all. But, if you and Shiu had anything in common it was your keen eye for detail. He- an ex-detective with the skills to match. A regular Sherlock Holmes. You- a master of stealth and duplicity. A proverbial "fly on the wall". It became somewhat of a game to sneak up on your handler. What a thrill it was when the man who noticed everything was rendered flustered and shaken by your unexpected presence. It was through these little games, and your rapt observations, that you began to fall for the man who liked cheese and tropical fish.

And it was these same circumstances that led to your current predicament. Heart racing. Stomach in knots. Hand in hand in front of the Okinawa Aquarium with the very man you just kidnapped aprehended.

But now wasn't the time for nerves.

Pulling him along, you dashed up the long stairs before you, laughing as you looked back over your shoulder to see the sophisticated man stumbling along behind. He joined you in laughter, free hand grabbing at his fly-away tie, struggling to keep up. He looked boyish. Full of life. Hardened features and tired eyes giving way to playful innocence. Gaining his stride, he played along, chasing you the rest of the way up the stairs garnering a squeal from you where the toes of his dress shoes nabbed at your heels.

"Two please!" You gasped, catching your breath as you reached the ticket counter first.

"Please, let me." Shiu offered, patting his pockets. "Just gotta find my-"

"Money?" You finished, waving his own leather-bound wallet as you pulled it from your pocket with a cheeky wink.

"You little-"

"Thanks, boss!" You said with a wry smile. "I'll get us next time." Behind his annoyance, he could hardly conceal his smile. This strange date had barely begun, and he already liked the sound of "next time".

You reached for the pocket of his suit jacket, replacing the stolen wallet and swapping it for his pack of cigarettes.

"You know you can't smoke in there, you gonna survive?"

"Thief." He accused, snatching back the little red and white box.

"Addict." You shot back.

"Narc." He glared. "I'll be fine."

"Whatever you say," you shrugged, reaching up to fix his tie. Then, with a wink, "just let me know if that mouth of yours needs a distraction..." Shiu blushed a deep red that spread from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. "...'cuz I brought gum." You finished cheekily, unwrapping a stick and popping it into your mouth before snapping a small bubble between your teeth.

You really were dangerous, he thought to himself. Not just in the silent assassin sort of way, but in a way that could leave him more damaged than any weapon. You were a heartbreaker.

"What are those?" You asked, doing little to hide your disgust.

"I used to catch these. As a kid. Back in Korea." A distant look in his eyes reflected a memory you could not see. But that didn't stop you from imagining. You smiled thinking of the serious man as a young boy, exploring tidepools and combing the beach for shells. You wondered if his upbringing contributed to his interest in fish. You wondered what he was like as a child. If he grew up to be the man he wanted to be. You wondered-

"They're sea cucumbers, by the way." He said, pulling you from your daydream. "Crazy little things. No face, no limbs, just a digestive tract."

"Weird. So, what do they do?"

"Not much, really. Pretty much just eat, shit, and lay around."

"Oh, so just like Toji." You said with a grin.

That got him laughing. "You want to touch one?" He waved you closer. Truth be told, you'd been maintaining your distance for a reason. As an assassin, you had a high tolerance for the gross and grotesque, but something about the little turd-like creatures made you oddly squeamish. "C'mere." He said.

In an instant your hand was in his as he gently pulled it under the frigid water. Sliding his hand over the back of yours, he lifted two of your fingers and guided you down the length of the sea cucumber's back. It was soft and rubbery. Almost velvety in places, contracting like a muscle under your fingertips as you and Shiu drifted over.

Despite the unique sensation, you found it hard to focus on anything other than Shiu's touch. The warmth of his hand under the cool water. The confidence he'd gained just by entering the aquarium.

He was too rapt in the moment to realize he'd moved in closer. It was like a dream come true. Minus the slimy cucumber. But, you had to admit, even that was starting to grow on you.

The next hallway opened up to a kaleidoscope of bright colors and shimmering light. You had to shield your eyes a bit just to take it all in. Thousands of vibrant tropical fish swam in all directions, darting in and out of equally vibrant corals. A sign overhead read, "Sea of Tropical Fish". Your mind jumped to the image of Shiu's dating profile, "tropical fish" listed under his interests. His only interest.

Your chest swelled as you turned to look at him, hoping to glimpse the approval on his face. Instead, you found yourself standing alone, Shiu no longer behind you.

"Chromis viridis." You heard him mutter.

Where the hell was he?

"Chaetodon lunula."

Oh. How'd he get over there? The suited man was crouched, childlike, toward the floor of the exhibit. Entranced, it seemed, by what he saw.

"Zebrasoma veliferum!" He breathed in excitement.

"Boss...?" You approached slowly, not intending to startle him...this time. "Sh-Shiu?" You offered tentatively, never having used his given name before. It dripped from your lips like honey.

He spun around, eyes wide, a sharp frown hardening his handsome features. For a moment, you thought he might scold you for your breach of formality.

"Scarus spinus." He said jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at the tropical display.

"Come again?" You asked, beyond confused.

"Scarus spinus. The Greensnouted Parrotfish." He said thoughtfully. "I don't have this one at home."

"Wait, wait, wait." Your eyes shot open, gleaming in the brilliant light. "You've been over here spouting off the Latin names of all these fish??"

He nodded. A sense of pride washed over him as he awaited your words of praise at his impressive display of knowledge.

"Oh my God!" You stared at him in disbelief. "Shiu Kong..." His smile broadened. "I can't believe it! You're a gigantic fucking nerd!"

His face fell flat as you burst into raucus laughter. He stood, brushing his tailored slacks and turned to walk away, cheeks once again taking on a rosey hue.

"No, no, no, come back here, you!" You said, grabbing his wrist and halting his hasty retreat. "You don't get to walk away that easy. I came here to learn about fish, and you're going to teach me!"

He cast you a cinical look as you wiped a tear of laughter from your cheek.

"I'm serious." You said, smiling up at him. "Show me what you got, "Jacques Cousteau".

Setting his bruised pride aside, he told you the names of the tropical fish. Which ones he had, which ones he didn’t, ones that he wanted, and ones that were highly endangered.

You learned about mouthbrooders who held their babies, sometimes hundreds of them, deep in their mouth- throats and gills expanding to accommodate their many offspring.

You learned about corallivores. Fish that eat coral through a variety of adaptations. Some, called "excavators", even had human-like teeth and molars.

You learned about parrotfish who make mucus coccoons before they sleep to protect themselves from parasites and predators.

Most importantly, you learned that Shiu was so much more than what meets the eye. Smart and patient, charming and quirky. His serious nature and mob boss persona all just a front for a man whose essence was smoother and softer than silk.

"So, do you name them?" You asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"Your fish! Do you name them?"

He laughed, waving off your question with a look that would fool no one. Certainly not you.

"You totally name them!" You jeered, nudging his ribs with a teasing elbow.

"One. One!" He caved, finally. "My first fish, 'Lucky Strike'."

"Like the cigarettes?" You said incredulously.

"Like the cigarettes." He agreed. "He's a silver arowana. Some people call them 'cigarette fish'. Maintaining their health is said to bring you luck."

"Hah!" You laughed. "How fitting. You said he was your first?"

"Mhmm. 15 years and still young. We've been through a lot together."

"That's...really sweet, actually."

Display after display led to more illuminating moments.

Your favorite areas were those that were dark and hushed. The dim light casting everything into monochrome, filtering through the water in soft lines like a film noir. Shiu's warm breath fanned your ear and neck as he spoke, low and quiet in these muted spaces. His face so close you could smell his aftershave. His hand now a constant presence in yours, as though he feared letting go might mean losing you to the shadows.

It was in one of these darkened hallways, bathed in dreamy blue light, that you caught your first glimpse of a massive spotted fin.

Gliding noiselessly by a large window, a tail, inky black and as tall as you, blocked the light momentarily as it drifted by. You tensed, startled by the unexpected sight, shrinking wordlessly into Shiu's arms, his chest shaking softly against your back with silent laughter at your trepidation. But as the hallway ended, the laughter stopped, both of you forced to hold your breath at the sight that followed.

From the second floor of a gigantic room, glass stretched wall to wall, floor to ceiling, you watched as two gargantuan whale sharks slid past each other in lazy circles. The creatures were stunning. Each the size of a city bus, they dwarfed the hundreds of fish that shared their tank and the dozens of people who had come to see them. Their beauty was unrivaled. Their magnitude, unbelievable. Every upturned face hung, slackjawed, in their shadow. Every awestruck eye was on them.

"Hey," Shiu hummed, lips intoxicatingly close to your ear. Goosebumps sending shivers in waves over your skin as he spoke. "Did you know there are over 80 species of coral in this tank?"

"Shiu Kong, you absolute nerd!" Your words came out as something of a choked whisper. "You're the only person here who cares about the damn coral!"

"You think?" He asked sincerely.

"I think you're missing the bigger picture." You laughed softly, gesturing to the giant fish before you.

"Or maybe," He said, bringing his cheek to rest against yours as he held a hand out indicating the tank's entirety, "you're only seeing part of it."

As you pulled your eyes away from the sharks, you began to see more of what he meant. An entire world of oceanic technicolor, rich in intricate detail, each as fascinating and beautiful as the next. Maybe you really did need to broaden your view.

Or maybe, you thought to yourself, settling further in Shiu's embrace, the best view was standing right behind you.

The tip of Shiu's nose was mere inches from yours. Steely eyes gazed warmly into your own as you stood, captivated by one another. Every feature, every crease, every striking detail as clear to you as ever. You felt like you could reach out and-

Bonk

"Crazy, right?" He said, stepping out from behind the 2-foot-thick acryllic.

"It's like it's not even there!" You shook the pain from your fingertips where your hand had jammed the crystal clear material.

The acryllic pillar was part of an educational area beyond the main ocean tank and served as an example of what the tank itself was made of. Despite its thickness, it appeared as thin as the average window and was so clean you could easily fool yourself into believing it wasn't there at all.

Beyond this lay a room of other hands-on displays and activities including-

"Origami!" You chirped, bouncing over to the station clearly intended for younger participants.

"Yeah...I don't think we need to-"

You shot Shiu the most soulful puppydog eyes you could muster, sidling up to the small table where a friendly attendent stood, teaching kids and parents how to fold tiny paper sting rays. He was utterly powerless.

20 minutes and several crumpled pieces of paper later, Shiu held in his hand a perfect paper sting ray and you- well... yours was... you tried.

"Stay close." Shiu said, not giving you much of a choice as he wrapped his arms around you. "Don't want you disappearing on me," he whispered into the shadows.

The final section of the aquarium, "Journey to the Deep Sea" was an immersive exhibit with almost no light, housing only those creatures who lived on the sea floor. Tank after tank featured deepwater sharks and wide-mouthed groupers, fish with no eyes and luminescent corals. Each creature more alien than the next, so bizarre they seemed like the work of fiction.

You were about halfway through this final floor when you noticed a shift in Shiu's behavior.

At first you chalked it up to nerves. Perhaps the real reason he held you so tight was not for concern of you slipping away, but for fear of the dark that he dared not mention, or an uneasiness brought about by its grotesque inhabitants.

In time, shaky hands became shaky arms. Squinted eyes against the darkness took on a pained expression, and his speech changed from informative quips to downright nervous rambling. "Mr. Composed and Sophisticated" appeared to be slowly falling apart, and it wasn't until his jittery hands left yours in order to take up desperate search of his pockets that you understood the reason.

The poor man was in dire need of a smoke.

“Shiu.” You said gently, working his hands in your own. “We're almost done, okay?” He looked confused. Hurt, even.

“I…don't want to be.” He admitted, an unsteady hand grazing the back of his neck.

“Me neither.” You smiled.

It wasn't the whale sharks or the giant manta ray that got his attention. Not the dolphins and their tricks, nor the many types of exotic sharks. It was the tiny spotted garden eels emerging from their sandy burrows. The glass shrimp that were nearly invisible with their transparent carapace. He liked the small and nameless fish you could find at any pet store. Even the sea grass, which you doubted anyone had ever cared about, earned a look of admiration from the modern-day mobster. He had an eye for the unseen and a heart for the unfavored. It was no wonder he had been such a skilled detective.

As you watched him take it all in with wide-eyed wonder, you realized too late you'd been tossed overboard- swept out to sea. Caught up in the tides of affection and left drowning in the deep. Without even trying, he had you- hook, line, and sinker.

It was both to your horror and your unwavering joy that you found yourself desperately, hopelessly, shamelessly, and inescapably in love with Shiu Kong.

Choosing his words next words carefully, he mused, "So…remember that gum you mentioned earlier-"

His eyes went wide as your lips interlocked, your palms on his cheeks, fingers framing his ears. Then, closing his eyes, he pulled you in hungrily, passionately. One hand on your back, the other on your hip. Drinking you in with an unquenching thirst. You wondered if others might condemn your indecency, then realized you didn't care. This is why you brought him here. This is what you wanted. All these years of playing "gun-for-hire" it was all for him. The man who was tired of drinking alone. Who smelled of fine whiskey and cheap cigarettes. Who was so full of contrast and contradiction. The one who found beauty in the the places no one thought to look.

The man who liked cheese and tropical fish.

Shiu stirred, throat dry and eyes bleary.

What time is it?

Twilight shone through his parted curtains, bathing him in deep blue. For a moment, he felt like he was back in the dewey atmosphere of the Okinawa Aquarium.

The Aquarium.

Shiu scrambled out from under the covers, looking for his phone. 5 am. No messages. He looked down to see his usual sleepwear- a white t-shirt and pair of boxers.

Was he losing his mind? Had he dreamt the whole thing?

In the bathroom, no amount of face-splashing nor mirror-staring could help him recall how he'd gotten home, what happened after the date, what happened after the kiss...

His entire ride to work was a dreary blur. Memories of stingrays and jellyfish swam through his mind's hazy periphery, but sitting at the forefront was you. You with his wallet and that cheeky smile. You with your hand held warmly in his. You with your eyes so full of the ocean's depths. Surely it wasn't all just in his head.

Right?

At work, Fushiguro made no mention of his absence. Everything was exactly as he had left it. Staring blankly at his computer, worthless dating profile still up on the screen, he stiffened as you melted from the shadows behind.

"Still on that old thing?" You gestured to the screen.

Shiu stared, lips parted, scanning your features.

"Speechless, huh? I get that a lot." You winked. "Did'ya do anything fun this weekend?"

He gulped. Mouth dry. He thought he had. Now he was forced to admit it had all been some maladaptive daydream. A desperate wish conjured up by his own drunken loneliness.

"I...I don't know..." He said with a faraway look.

"Ah well," you said with a wave as you bounced toward the door in a cheerful saunter. "They can't all be memorable."

Casting his gaze downward, a small black and white something caught Shiu's eye.

A bit of paper sat upon his desk. In the low light of the office it looked like trash at first, something he had crumpled up in frustration. But as his eyes adjusted, he was able to make out the vague features of a small, poorly folded bit of origami in the shape of a-

"Sting ray..." Shiu whispered to himself, thoughts firing fast.

"Pardon?" You paused in the doorway.

Confidence returning, a growing smile flickering across his face, he asked, "Do you want to grab a drink with me later?"

A bashful hand flew to your mouth as you feigned your reserve. "Mr. Kong, are you asking me out on a date?"

"You can save the theatrics." He said with a sly grin. "This one's on you, remember?" He said, searching his pockets.

"Looking for this?" You held up the leather-bound wallet with a teasing wink.

"You little-"

Darting from the room in a fit of laughter, Shiu went to give chase before pausing and returning quickly to his computer. He hovered for a moment over the still-open dating profile, considering, before making up his mind.

As he ran from the room, long legs quickly catching up to your stride, leather dress shoes nabbing at your heels, two words remained on the illuminated screen:

Account deleted.

Special shout out to @heian-era-househusband who not only came up with the idea for the ending of this story, but listened to me gripe, moan, and reread this horrendous tale for WEEKS until we were both blue in the gills.

Fun fact (if you're still here): Mr. Househusband proposed to me at an aquarium, in an underwater tunnel, surrounded by sea lions. He is now and forever more my one and only aquarium date. And I have been known to steal his wallet on occasion.

Fin.

#jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jjk fic #jjk fluff #shiu kong #kong shiu #jjk shiu #shiu kong x reader #shiu kong x you #shiu kong x y/n #shiu x you #shiu x reader #shiu x y/n #shiu #jjk x reader

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roguegambitweek · 3 months

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Romy Discord FanFic Rec List

In honor of Rogue/Gambit Week, some of the writers from the Romy Discord wanted to share some fics that we’ve written.

With so much Romy love to share, we hope y’all find a new favorite or rediscover an old one.

💚💖 Thanks for reading! 💖💚

Takes Two To Tango (or take down a Wild Sentinel) @aldreantreuperi by AldreanTreuPeri [ao3]

Rating: M | Universe: XtAS’97 | Words: 1,521 | Chapters: 1 | Status: Oneshot

Summary: A battle is as much a dance as anything achieved on a dance floor…and having the proper partner can literally keep you alive… Episode 5 fix-it fic.

But Here We Are by AppleJ @applejacks1552 [ao3]

Rating: M | Universe: Comics | Words: 32,978 | Chapters: 30 | Status: Complete

Summary: They never thought this would be possible, but Rogue is uneXpectedly eXpecting. Yet nothing is ever THAT simple in the life of an X-Man. What secret will Gambit discover that complicates their happily-ever-after?

AppleJ says: Hmmmm ... why I wrote that fic in particular: First, because I wanted to make the fan theory that the twins (Maxime & Manon) were Romy kiddos real. Second, because I KNOW it will be a cold day in hell before Marvel ever gives Romy kids in the main 616 (like maybe long after I'm dead & they're out of storylines & they've already split/reunited them 5 times over?), so it seemed like fertile ground (pun intended). And third, because they say to write what you know & I wanted a pregnancy/birth story that reflected the reality that it isn't all sunshine & rainbows & certainty for many of us & that's okay too.

Mighty Thin Ice by Cajun_Hawk @cajunhawk [ao3] [ff.net]

Rating: E | Universe: Comics | Words: 138,942 | Chapters: 11 | Status: WIP

Summary: Rogue is working hard to get her powers under control while she and Gambit have decided to take their relationship to the next level, in hopes of having something normal very soon.

The Legacy of Dark Cerebro by Chellerbelle @chellerbelles [ao3] [ff.net]

Rating: T | Universe: Movies | Words: 45,064 | Chapters: 12 | Status: Complete

Summary: What if X2 had ended differently? What if the X-Men hadn’t gotten to Professor Xavier in time and all the humans had died? Takes place 5 years after this alternate ending (exception of the prologue).

Chelle says: After much indecision, I decided on The Legacy of Dark Cerebro. The opening scene had a special place in my heart, and New Sun vs Phoenix was on my fanfic bucket list for a long time. 🙂Also, this story seems a bit more “new reader” friendly than some of my other favourites, haha.

Risk and Reward by DayenuRose @dayenurose [ao3] [ff.net]

Rating: T | Universe: Comics | Words: 47,518 | Chapters: 13 | Status: Complete

Summary: There’s an old adage that goes, the greater the risk, the greater the reward. As a thief, Remy LeBeau know full well that oftentimes the greatest risks come with the greatest rewards. When he starts to fall for the enigmatic Rogue, Remy must decide if the risks are worth the possible reward.

Rose says: This was one of the first Romy fics I’ve written. It was a real entry into Romy fandom for me. Everyone was so welcoming and kind in the comments. And during the process of writing this, it helped me come to a better understand of Gambit, Rogue, and their relationship. 💜

LeBeau’s Eleven by Ilargikat @ilargikat [ao3]

Rating: G | Universe: Comics | Words: 14,182 | Chapters: 6 | Status: WIP

Summary: Planning a heist is not easy, especially when you need special skills to pull it off. The luck of being an X-Men is that the skills are within reach, maybe not people willing to commit a heist.

Once. Now. Before. Always. by lovethelebeaux @lovethelebeaux [ao3]

Rating: M | Universe: Comics | Words: 10,179 | Chapters: 4 | Status: Complete

Summary: Four vignettes from four different time periods over the course of Rogue and Gambit’s relationship.

Lovethelebeax says: Heehee I've only written like four things so this will be easier for me than most 😅 it's this one, my first in 20 years

The Tailor & The Seamstress by Ludi_Ling @ludi-ling [ao3] [ff.net]

Rating: M | Universe: X-Men |Words: 58,659 | Chapters: 13 | Status: Complete

Summary: Remy LeBeau is the creative lead at a waning fashion house in 1910 New York. Over the street is his employer’s rival, where a pretty and talented seamstress happens to work. Romance ensues, of course - in-between a friendly rivalry, that is.

Ludi says: It was a tough call on which fic to choose, but I settled on this one because the last fic I write is always the one I'm most proud of, and this is the last one I completed! Last summer @narwhallove challenged me to write a Romy fic that played on my love of both them and of historical fashion. She threw some ideas at me, and I wrote nearly an entire chapter. Then, X-Men '97 starts, and I read back on what I wrote in July '23, and suddenly the rest of the story unfolds before me. I had a blast writing it! And I hope you have fun reading it too 😉

But I Can’t Trace Time by Sandmans_Raven @sandmansraven [ao3]

Rating: T | Universe: Comics | Words: 8,998 | Chapters: 1 | Status: Oneshot

Summary: After a battle with the time-traveling mutant-hunter known as Ahab, Rogue is sent into the future. To get back, she must rely on old friends and put a stop to Ahab’s plans.

Toys by Spaceorphan @spaceorphan18 [ao3]

Rating: T | Universe: Comics | Words: 1,619 | Chapters: 1 | Status: Oneshot

Summary: Romy catches Remy playing with toy action figures of the X-Men. Shenanigans. Set in the 616 verse, but some fun meta-y references to XM97.

#rogue/gambitweek2024 #rogue/remyweek2024 #rogue #gambit #romy #anna marie lebeau #remy lebeau #rec list #fanfic recs #romy discord #otp: home and harbor #otp: mon coeur

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baiabay · 1 year

Text

No Role Modelz (ATSV Black Cat Variant! Reader Insert)

Chapter 1: Scaredy-Cat

Prologue

Chapter 1: Current Chapter

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

^^links 2 chapters!! this story is also on ao3, wattpad, and quotev under the same name ! <33

------------------------------------------------

A/N: Spot is here!!

Hey all! Okay so first things first thank you so much for all the support of the last chapter! It honestly means alot given that ive never written before lol. Alsoooo sorry for the radio-silence after the last release, i just graduated highschool! So yay for me :) also means that ill have much more time to write since its summer break for me now. Lastly,sorry if this chapter seemed kinda slow, I wanted to try to incorporate what this universes’ Felicia Hardys “canon events”(or what would be of her canon events) would look like in this chapter to set up a bit of backstory, as someone who doesn’t read the comics nor play the games, pls forgive any inaccuracies in Felicias lore as I am only going based off of wikipedia (plus in this story reader is a minor so I wanted to exclude the nsfw trauma that Felicia goes through in og story) I also wanted to find out a way how to integrate reader into the main plot which is why i decided to feature Spot in this chapter :D thanks again for the support and don’t forget that this chapter along with any future ones will be posted to ao3/tumblr under the same title!

P.S. Much more Spider-Miles/Black Cat interactions next chapter!!

Word Count: 1844

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You remembered it like it was yesterday.

Seven months ago, Brooklyn, New York.

Your father - The Black Cat’s face on every screen in the country, but most importantly yours.

BREAKING NEWS: WORLD-RENOWNED CAT BURGLAR CAUGHT IN THE ACT : IDENTITY SHOCKS THE NATION

…huh?

LIVE ON THE SCENE: ‘BLACK CAT’ REVEALED TO BE MULTI MILLIONAIRE WALTER HARDY AFTER RUN-IN WITH SPIDER-MAN

…no, this-

THIS JUST IN: CAT BURGLAR WALTER HARDY PRESUMED DEAD AT HEIST SCENE - POSSESSIONS TO BE TURNED IN TO OFFICIALS

This can’t be happening.

It was all too much at once.

He never kept it secret from you. You knew about your father’s job.

You knew all about what he did. The planning, the heists, the reselling, he had done it for years. And you knew all about it. But he had been doing this for years. Long enough to allow your family to live very comfortably. Long enough that you believed he would never be caught.

But yet there you were, all that you knew burned to the ground in a matter of minutes.

You remembered it like it was yesterday. Frantically packing everything you could into any bag you could find; clothes, money, pictures, weapons, anything - before they could take it away from you.

And when they did, it was brutal.

Live-streamed news coverage of men raiding your home, rummaging through your stuff- your father’s stuff- as if he never existed.

Soon enough there were auctions. Bids, worth millions, on your father’s items, broadcasted across the nation, with drinks and music and finger foods - they made a fucking sport out of it.

You remembered it like it was yesterday, the cheers in the street after the big-bad-black-cat was pronounced dead. The endless praise Spider-man received, that of which he took with a smile on his face. You had wished you could kill him.

You remembered it like it was yesterday, the day Peter Parker died.

You laughed.

. . . . . . . . . .

Seven months later, Brooklyn, New York.

Ugh.

Muscles aching, you stretched up in your bed, and groaned. Ruffling the bedhead out of your hair, you reluctantly trudged out of your mattress to open a window. Coincidentally, one of your many cats was perched perfectly on its sill, wide-eyed and tail flicking in your direction.

“...This whole heist stuff is really catching up to me, huh?”

The cat stared. You sighed. You really had to get yourself some friends.

Ever since your fathers passing, you’ve basically been on your own. Shortly after all his (and your) possessions were seized, you hopped around until you managed to find shelter in a shitty apartment on the west side of town. You, fueled purely by spite (with a tasteful teeny tiny dash of vengeance on the side), inherited the criminal persona of your father, along with his criminal tendencies, and took upon yourself the name of The Black Cat.

All this time you’ve managed to keep your identity completely secret, not even your resellers knew who you were. That came with one major drawback though… you were extremely lonely.

Even with your frequent charity rounds around the community, noone really knew who you were. Even though Black Cat was nonviolent, the name was widely feared seemingly everywhere you went. Even with your days at school, the school you’ve been going to for months now, you made your way around the halls unnoticed.

Speaking of school, you were late.

Shit.

Spending ample time dazing out your window, you’ve completely lost track of time. You disregarded your hair and rushed to pull on your uniform. Stumbling around your complex you hastily dumped too large of a portion of cat food into the automatic feeder, something you’re sure the cats will be grateful for. Shoving a few snacks into your bag, you simultaneously shuffled into your school shoes, proceeding to dash out the door.

Sprinting down the stairs, nearly tripping once, twice, you whipped out your phone to check when the next bus route would arrive. 35 minutes.

Shitshitshit.

You paused, still in the stairwell, before turning to sprint in the opposite direction, towards the rooftop terrace. Creaking open the door, you checked to make sure noone else was up there before making your way towards the edge of the terrace. To anyone else but you, it would look like a young student was about to make an unfortunate decision and jump. And jump you did.

You fell for a few seconds, relishing in the way your stomach dropped. You’d never get tired of that feeling. Seeing the ground get closer, you released your grappling hook and latched onto the nearest building. Pulling and releasing, you quickly fell into a swinging pattern, towards Brooklyn Visions.

Hidden from the eyes of civilians, you swung yourself through the shadows. Everyone looked so small from up there, and for a brief second, you found power in your lonesome. In the corner of your eye you noticed what seemed to be a lanky white figure clumsily flying through the air. (You paid it no mind).

Dropping down into a dark alleyway much closer to campus, you continued your mad dash towards the main entrance. Winded, you finally made your way inside the building, a thin layer of sweat shined on your forehead. The hallways were empty, class must be in session. You took a few steps forward, making your way towards your classroom until being knocked over by a student, very evidently in a hurry.

“Sorry! Sorry, I didn’t mean to-I’m just in a rush, I didn’t mean…”

The boy reached out his hand to help you up.

“Hey, it's no problem, I get it.”

You smiled, and took your hand in his. He hesitated for a moment, staring, brows furrowed at your now interlocked hands, before nodding and continuing his sprint down the hallways.

You took in his disheveled appearance, his wonky tie, his half-tucked shirt, untied laces, dark eyes, curly hair, brown skin, sweaty palms…

Your thoughts were quickly interrupted with the shrill ringing of the school bell. Suddenly, the hallways flooded with students rushing towards their next classes, you decided to follow suit.

On the other side of the hallway, Miles Morales lingered on how his spidey-sense flashed alarms in his head when his hand touched yours. Every nerve in his system telling him to run, fight, dodge, anything to get away from you-he couldn't put his finger on why. (He paid it no mind). Blaming it on nerves, Miles shoved his way through the packed hallways, dreading the meeting waiting for him in the guidance counselor's office.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

School was a bust, as always. Nothing new, you made your way through the rest of the day unnoticed. As always. But you didn’t have time to think about that right now.

At the moment, you were in the middle of going through numerous number-codes on a padlock blocking the vault door to an extremely expensive gemstone. You’ve been salivating over this stone for weeks now, planning out how and when exactly you would strike to get this thing in your hands. You could see it now, the headlines, the chaos, after some rando millionaire’s little rock was taken from him…

“Woah, hey, you’re new!”

You flinched, hard. Whipping around towards the source of this unusually chipper voice. You were met with… a cow? … Man?

You stared, hard.

“Okay, hey. The ogling isn’t necessary… I just-”

The cowman’s sentence was cut short with a quick lash of your whip, that of which he caught…? Your whip seemed to phase right through a large black hole on his torso, the opposite end appearing in a similar black hole right behind you, the whips end striking your back. You cried out, hit with the full force of your lash.

Sinister giggles emerged from the spotted figure, pointed towards your pained form. You trembled, in shock.

“It’s rude to interrupt.”

Spot stepped slowly towards you, his…well, spots, whirring aggressively, pointedly. You were frozen on the ground. Staring up at him, your lips trembled open.

“What,” You coughed. Once, twice. “-what are you?”

The black and white figure straightened, only to then fold over into a dramatic, hilariously unthreatening pose.

“You, can call me… The Sp-”

“Some sort of cow?” You snickered. It was now his turn to flinch, hard.

“I am NOT a-” The cow cleared his throat. “I am not a cow…whydoeseveryonesaythat…I, am the most dangerous villain you’ve ever seen, The Spo-”

“I mean, what’s with that getup?” The grin on your face grew. “Is that… is that supposed to be a costume? Orrrr…”

The Spot sighed, defeated. “...it’s skin.”

“It’s skin?”

“Yes, yes, now I-”

You stood up, energy back and eyes crinkled.

“Wow, that’s…hm, interesting…skin, that’s skin? Sorry, sorry-listen man, I uh, I really gotta get back to this, so if you don’t mind?”

Stepping backwards in offence, the spotted figure shook in anger before swinging out his arm, releasing numerous dark voids around the room. Hitting practically every surface, but one most importantly, landing on the vault door, separating you, from your stone.

“Ah-wait-”

Swiftly, The Spot weaved his way through his holes, limbs popping up and out around the room in a way you couldn’t even begin to reach for your whip.

No way was he about to take it from you.

But take it, he did.

In what felt like seconds, the whole room was engulfed in black. Stumbling backwards, you fell through one of the voids, flailing ungracefully, swimming through nothing.

It was hard to breathe.

A shrill crackling terrorized your ears, and before you, appeared a very disheveled Spot, now fully black with white spots, facial dot whirring and trained on you.

Gem in hand.

Panic.

You were panicking. The sound of blood thrummed in your ears as you squirmed around in nothingness. Fuck the rock, you just had to get out of here.

A cold hand grabs your wrist, dragging you upwards, towards the crackling form.

For the second time today, you were frozen.

“I am not a cow,”

The form spoke lowly.

“I am not some villain of the week”,

Frozen still, you did nothing but stare straight into his glare.

“I. Am. The Spot”.

Suddenly, you were dropped. For the second time today, your stomach dropped with you. Next thing you know you’re falling through another void, leading not into darkness, but through the city skyline. Seeing the ground get closer, you released your grappling hook and latched onto the nearest building.

As soon as your feet reached a solid surface, your legs buckled. Heaving, you failed to process what just took place, heart pounding in your ears.

“...the fuck was that?”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Miles received word of commotion taking place downtown, something to do with spots. He had hoped it wasn’t what he thought it was, and it was. It was, and was so much worse.

Dark spots littered a large manor, maniacal cackling emerging from its center. In the corner of his eye a familiar masked figure hunched over, breathing rapidly, staring straight ahead at the mess of spots.

(He paid it some mind.)

------------------------

Ppl that asked me to tag them!(thxx 4 the support!)

@nightshxdex

@itszzmoon

@blackcat-kittyblogs

@vxxxb

#miles morales x reader #atsv x you #atsv #reader insert #atsv x reader #atsv reader insert #spider-man: across the spider-verse #across the spiderverse #across the spiderverse x reader #black cat! reader #hobie brown x reader #gwen stacy x reader #pavitr prabhakar x reader #miguel ohara

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grimbanes · 2 years

Text

My Soulmate is Capitalism. (Kaz Brekker x GN!Reader)

Summary: "Of course I believe in soulmates - I have met mine. Capitalism is my mistress and I lay with her every night, I hold her close and she sings me promises of riches beyond any man's dreams." OR after a successful heist, everybody celebrates but kaz chooses to sit with the reader and they have a funny conversation.

WC: 2k

Genre: crack fic. pre-relationship, coming to terms with feelings, the rest of the crows being funny. you/your pov. kaz might be a lil ooc. reader and kaz are besties with a lot of tension.

A/N: i wanted to write something light hearted because my notifs are blown up rn, but this is gonna be a first part or prologue leading to confessions within a day or two. so stay tuned, i hope you enjoy this because there's more to come for this one. i wanted to try something more dialogue heavy for once. i forgot how funny kaz could be but i was reading chapter 2 of SOC again and my god hes so funny.

TW: violence, usual six of crow warnings, kaz laughing.

“So you admit that you’re the thief?”

The young man in chains wanted to laugh, he really did. It wasn’t in his nature to laugh at idiocy - if he made a habit of it, he’d be laughing permanently and that seemed rather tiring.

“I’m a vigilante, of sorts,” He replied smoothly, adjusting the shackles on his hands from where he let them rest between his legs, being sure not to touch his bad leg even when both were chained to the rickety, barely held together chair he was perched upon.

“You gonna give it to the poor?”

“I am the poor,” Kaz said. He had to egg him on. His entire plan was resting on the fact that the Stadwatch were full of the most kruge hungry, lazy, arrogant fools to ever be shoved from the womb of Ketterdam’s damp streets.

It earned him a fist to the face, cracking down against his scarred cheekbone and he felt dizzy - recoiling from the rising tides that filled his tight lungs, daring to attempt to drag him under the murky, corpse riddled depths. It was only a moment of touch, but a moment enough that it numbed the pain that should be blossoming through the nerves in his face.

“Filthy street rat,” The guard scoffed at him, shaking his hand to evidently ease the pain from hitting him. Soft bastards.

“Street rat, urchin, pickpocket, they’re all the same. You can think of something better now, can’t you? Let me give you a hand: I prefer the term businessman, opportunist or even idealist, on a good day, ” The young man in chains taunted, leaning back into his seat and making himself comfortable, only the weight of rusting metal clamped around his bare skin giving him any discomfort.

He needed the officer closer. Just that little bit closer.

He didn’t miss the slight hobble in the guard’s right foot, or the consistent shaking in both of his hands. Perhaps he had skipped a meal or was otherwise unwell, either way, it posed an opportunity for him that had the young man scheming. Like any skilled thief, he could take himself out of his chains in mere seconds with the gentle caress of cool metal, a flick of the wrist and a soft praise, the lock would bend to his will and snap open, but not yet. With guard in his space, he could set the rest of the plan into motion and trust in his schemes to carry the others to do their part too.

The Stadwatch officer reached to fist his hair and Kaz braced himself, tongue in cheek and eyes locked on the hand reeling back and preparing to be delivered swiftly into his nose. A single second window was all he had. So he counted. He waited three seconds, inhale, exhale, inhale, and with a loud clink, his wrists were free. Kaz lowered himself down, arms shooting out to wrap around the officer’s hips and he hoisted himself up to his full height, the chains on his feet clattering away and he was dropping the officer onto his back with a heavy thud, dust filling the air in the dark room.

He didn’t hesitate to grab his cane from where it was left propped against the wall and raised it with a confident grip, the weighted head connecting with a sickening crack to the side of the man’s head. Exhale.

“Can’t have this tarnishing my perfect record,” Kaz mumbled, taking an uneven step back and leaning heavily onto his cane, stoney eyes scanning the surrounding room. It was dark out, possibly. Around four hours he’d been sitting with his eyes closed, counting every second and minute that passed, as he’d been stripped of his hat, coat, gloves and cane. He pushed his bare hand through his hair, away from his face. Right about now they should be-

The door threw open, and expecting Jesper, Kaz opened his mouth the mutter a threat about almost being late but instead, he was met with the one person who managed to make him hold his tongue. The one person who had him on his toes, who encouraged his behaviour, the only other person who knew what it was like to be raised by Ketterdam. You. With your mischievous smile, dirt smudged against your cheek and eyes sparkling at him with so much mirth that it had him wanting to return the pure joy you always seemed to radiate. You were always at your best when your pockets were full of trinkets that didn’t belong to you.

“Where’s Jesper?” Kaz inquired instead, stepping past you and out of the door and he didn’t even want to think on why the soft scent of morning dew flowers even managed to stay clung to you in dangerous jobs like this. He hobbled down the narrow corridor, leaning majority of his weight into his cane as his leg began to ache, the cold chill of the room set deep into the broken bone - he’d definitely been sat still for too long, it was nearly unbearable.

“Covering Wylan’s escape,” Your voice chimed from behind him, quiet steps masked in time with his own uneven gait. He eyed you from the corner of his alert eyes and he thought you were possibly the most addicting thing he had ever laid his eyes upon, even in dim light, in the face of danger, the possibility of death still thick in the suffocatingly stagnant air.

Kaz couldn’t find it within himself to be mad that Jesper had gone against his explicit orders to stick to the plan, no detours, no changes. That only meant that you had done your best to adapt to the change, to do your part and still come for him, and you had done it well - he figured he owed you a drink. Or a necklace. Or a bullet between your enemy’s eyes. Whatever he could do, he would do it for you, just to show he valued your set of skills in his arsenal. The entire plan rested on Jesper breaking Kaz out of interrogation before the Stadwatch completed the paperwork and locked him in a cell for Ghezen knew how long.

┕━━━━━━━♔━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙

You collapsed into your seat with a sigh, head tipped back and the sound of the bottle of whiskey was already being passed around, glasses clinking and the unshakable adrenaline remained buzzing under everybody’s skin. Another successful heist meant another fifteen thousand kruge in your coffers. You heard the seat beside you be dragged out and the smell of dark coffee flooding your senses, warming your sinuses. Your eyes flickered open in the warm lighting, falling upon the familiar figure that seemed to always be in your shadow as of late.

Kaz slid a cup and saucer your way, bitter dark coffee swirling in the fine china and you felt yourself ease a little more. He had a way about him that always left you feeling a little recharged - maybe it was the fact he always brought you a cup of coffee when he made himself one, always waking you up and giving you the illusion that it was him doing it. Clever, really, the sly bastard. You held onto the little plate with a smile, fingers hooking into the handle as Kaz sat himself beside you, cane rested against the table and his usual coat and hat abandoned somewhere in the club.

“Boss will have our heads for being in the club after hours, you know,” You teased.

“I am the boss,” Kaz muttered in retort, his usual eyebrow quirk present as he stared.

“Oh yes, of course, my apologies, Master Brekker,” You pressed, giving him a little nudge with your elbow and not missing the slight quirk of his own lips, barely present other than the way only one side of his mouth raised.

The young man rolled his blued hyacinth eyes in his usual manner, his entire being just screaming familiarity and you felt comfortable. At ease. Brekker could handle himself in a gunfight, a fist fight and any game of wit. His tongue was sharper than most knives, his words the coldest bullet to explode your brains against your own floorboards and that was a comforting thing in the Barrel.

“Do you believe in soulmates?” You found yourself asking, swirling the dark coffee in its cup between your hands, holding it close to your face and studying the young man beside you.

"Of course I believe in soulmates - I have met mine. Capitalism is my mistress and I lay with her every night, I hold her close and she sings me promises of riches beyond any man's dreams,” Kaz spoke with utter sincerity, sipping his own coffee and studying down at the manifest in front of him, pen in his other hand.

“Geels was right, you do only talk in metaphors,” You mumbled with clear disappointment, eyes cast upon your friends across the room as they drank their alcohol and made merry, celebrating the night’s events.

Beside you, Kaz stopped writing. In fact, he set his pen down altogether and a sigh left through his nose. You didn’t want to turn to look at him, didn’t want to show your disappointment - it was very rare you ever got a real answer from him, one that wasn’t a deflection or some mirror of the reputation he spent so long building. Sometimes, you just wanted a conversation but you knew choosing Kaz for that was foolish to begin with.

“As I said to Geels, that wasn’t a metaphor,” Kaz offered the truce, rather than submitting to his usual silence whenever he had upset someone.

“Is this your way of telling me that you quite literally sleep with money in your bed?” You asked, perplexed and turning your head to fully look at the Barrel Boss’ side profile.

“Yes.” Kaz sipped his coffee, leaned back in his seat and tapped a gloved finger against the surface of the table between you, “Thousands of kruge make my pillow and keep me warm in the night.”

And you laughed. You laughed louder than you ever had, hand slamming against the table and full body tipping forward, coffee set aside as you nearly choked on it. Kaz Brekker had told a joke and it was devastatingly funny, the deadpan delivery more than enough for you to be sent into a room filled with giggles. It had the others across the room staring at you with perplexity, glancing between both you and Kaz and you didn’t miss the way his body shook just that little bit, a hint of a laugh in his body language and smile hidden beneath the cup of coffee he was sipping on.

“You are so lucky that I adore you so much else I would be sticking a bullet through your brain right about now,” You giggled, miming firing a gun at him with your fingers and you snorted again, gripping onto the edge of the table.

“Careful voicing your affections so loud, one might think you’re being sincere,” Kaz’s smile seemed to shine in his eyes, leaning a little closer to your space and it set you off again, your hand slamming against your hand in an effort to stop your little outburst.

***

“They flirt with violence?” Nina dared question, whiskey in hand and staring at the exchange with confusion fused with joy, knowing damn well she could use this against the both of them in future. I mean really, who could adore anyone with a haircut that bad? She shook her head, utterly flummoxed.

“I don’t know what’s more unsettling, seeing Kaz smile or seeing Kaz make someone just as bad as him laugh like that,” Wylan shuddered, yet unable to look away.

“I think it's sweet. It really shows that there is somebody out there for everyone,” Inej smiled, eyes softening as she studied the exchange and holding her hand above her heart.

“Demjin made somebody laugh, I think we should take them both to a medik,” Matthias grumbled, earning himself a shove from Nina.

“Well I think-” Jesper dropped into his seat, leaning into where they had huddled inwards and grinned. “It’s creepy. I mean c'mon, imagine if anything happened between them. He’d go absolutely feral. It's so human.. I don’t like it.”

#crack fic #kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker x you #six of crows #grishaverse

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skyfallslayer · 2 years

Text

A Stitch In Time - Masterlist

Main Masterlist

° Summary: A Time Heist mission goes wrong, and some of the Avengers end up in the 1950s. Desperately clinging to their lives, they wind up in a place subconsciously. And unfortunately for Steve, and especially to Bucky, they find themselves face to face with someone they wish not to see.

° Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Daughter!Reader; Steve Rogers x Teen!Reader.

° Rating: Teen (May Go Up)

° Warnings: At the beginning of each chapter.

° Word Count: 4,569

° Start Date: 7/20/23

° End Date: N/A

° A/N: I'm actually really excited for this one! I'm still editing out some of the kinks and I'll try to release the first chapter soon (and how many more will follow). I'll see you then!

-INDEX-

°Prologue: Memories Be Dammed Worried about how his mission my go, Bucky visits a 'touchy' place, and recalls the short life he had with you.

°Chapter 1: Salt In The Wound (Coming Soon) Dazed and confused, Steve drags an injured Bucky to a safe location, unaware subconsciously that this safe haven belonged to someone they once knew

°Chapter 2 (Coming Soon)

-Taglist Is Open-

@navs-bhat @liarasstuff @justmewoo @thed1v1n3

@luckyzipperscissorsbat @like-a-domino @kissesofdeadforme @superduckmilkshake @xxannyxx @delicatepersondinossaur @bisexuawolfsalt @thelaceygarden @kandis-mom

@redwolf1123 @claxre-bear @lillygwenstacy @whynobodylikeyellow @lovebugspots @searchn0tfound @feifei202

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tonyspank · 1 year

Text

shirt (the masterlist)

jenna ortega x g!p reader

IN WHICH

7 rings get lost around the globe and Tony Stark calls for your help.

Getting involved with Tony might have been a bad idea, but at the time it was your best option. You knew there would be risks but you were willing to take them. It's been two years since Tony introduced himself to you, and five years since you've been living with the consequences of your actions.

You have become one of the top spies for his organization. The rewards have been great, but the consequences have been even greater. You've learned that sometimes taking risks is necessary, but you have also learned to be more careful in the future.

Since the day Tony met you, he has been planning the world's biggest heist. If you could successfully locate and acquire all seven of the rings, everyone would make a fortune. But Tony and yourself knew you wouldn't be able to do this mission on your own, so he called in for help from another organization, owned by Victoria Keening. Victoria gladly sent in one of her best spies to help along for a cut of the profits.

What happens when that spy is revealed to be your ex-girlfriend?

Warnings: This story includes graphic scenes of violence, explicit sexual content (smut), strong language including profanity and mature themes.

status - ongoing.

prologue.

#reader insert #jenna ortega x reader #jenna ortega #wattpad #tonyspank #jenna marie ortega #jenna ortega x y/n #jenna ortega x you #jenna ortega x gn!reader #jenna ortega x g!p reader #jenna ortega x fem!reader #jenna ortega smut #jenna x g!p reader #jenna x y/n #jenna x reader #jenna ortega imagine #jenna ortega series #shirt

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minijenn · 21 days

Text

Universe Falls 2 Chapter List

Cut the chapter list down like I did for UF to cut out some of the fat. Mostly the same, but we get to the meat of things (aka Wanted) by like chapter 20, bless. And all in 85 chapters too! Impressive (still too damn many but whatever)

Chapter List:

Prologue: Overture

Chapter 1: Back to the Falls

Chapter 2: Journal 4

Chapter 3: Prior Engagement

Chapter 4: Normal Kideon

Chapter 5: Speed Demon

Chapter 6: Fusion Foretold

Chapter 7: Trust No One

Chapter 8: Back Into the Bunker

Chapter 9: Revenge Tour

Chapter 10: A Shoulder to Cry On

Chapter 11: Steven's Dream

Chapter 12: Adventures in Light Distortion

Chapter 13: Gem Heist

Chapter 14: That Will Be All

Chapter 15: The B Team

Chapter 16: Tie the Knot

Chapter 17: Alternate Ending

Chapter 18: Alone in the Woods

Chapter 19: Doug Out

Chapter 20: Brotherly Shove

Chapter 21: Are You My Dad

Chapter 22: I Am My Mom

Chapter 24: The Trial

Chapter 25: Wanted

Chapter 26: Within Without

Chapter 27: Gemcation

Chapter 28: Kevin Party

Chapter 29: Spaced Out

Chapter 30: Jungle Moon

Chapter 31: Sweater Sewing

Chapter 32: Mindless Education

Chapter 33: The Assassin

Chapter 34: The Mask

Chapter 35: Stonemason Unmasked (p1)

Chapter 36: Stonemason Unmasked (p2)

Chapter 37: Deep Cut

Chapter 38: Lullaby

Chapter 39: Puppet Strings

Chapter 40: Crash and Burn

Chapter 41: Forever Together

Chapter 42: A Final Farewell

Chapter 43: Hide and Seek

Chapter 44: Find the Key

Chapter 45: Break the Chain

Chapter 46: Yes, My Diamond

Chapter 47: The Golden Rule

Chapter 48: Your Mother and Mine

Chapter 49: Pool Hopping

Chapter 50: Raising the Barn

Chapter 51: Legend of the Dragowl

Chapter 52: Save the Light

Chapter 53: Knock, Knock

Chapter 54: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Chapter 55: Alone Forever

Chapter 56: Rifts and Memories

Chapter 57: Open the Door

Chapter 58: The One Who Watches

Chapter 60: Portholes

Chapter 61: Dimensional Duel

Chapter 62: Can't Go Back

Chapter 63: A Single Pale Rose

Chapter 64: Now We're Only Falling Apart

Chapter 65: Reconnect the Chain

Chapter 66: The Question

Chapter 67: Made of Honor

Chapter 68: Reunited

Chapter 69: Legs from Here to Homeworld

Chapter 70: Familiar

Chapter 71: Together Alone

Chapter 72: Battle of Heart and Mind

Chapter 73: Change Your Mind

Chapter 74: Glow Gem

Chapter 75: Meet the Pines

Chapter 76: Unleash the Light

Chapter 77: Without Within

Chapter 78: The Call

Chapter 79: The Unknown

Chapter 80: Ursa Minor

Chapter 81: Ursa Major

Chapter 82: Polaris

Chapter 83: Mystery and Magic

Epilogue: Encore

#ill elaborate on these some other time #uf2 gonna go crazy #jen rambles #universe falls #uf2

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inklings-challenge · 1 month

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Inklings Archive Dive: 2021 Secondary World

Welcome to the Inklings Archive Dive! Today, we’re exploring the secondary world stories written by the members of Team Tolkien during the very first Inklings Challenge. In 2021, writers used at least one of the following seven Christian themes in their stories: Incarnation, Stewardship, Sacrifice, Humility, Grace, Mystery, and Reconciliation. If you’d like to read some of the stories you might have missed, or revisit any favorites, you can check them out with the links below.

2021 Team Tolkien Secondary World Stories

An Important Assignment by @rosesnvines (unfinished): Chapter 1

Doorways to Fresh Bread by @smokeyloki

Fallen Flowers by @dimsilver

I’m Blue by @rosesnvines (unfinished): Chapter 1

On Wingéd Feet by @e-louise-bates

Starry Heist by @larissa-the-scribe (unfinished): Summary, Prologue, Scene 1

The Artisan of the Arch by @scarvenartist

The Blackberry Bushes by @isfjmel-phleg

Untitled by @olyia-stories (unfinished)

If you read and enjoy, let the author know with a reblog or a comment!

Now go forth and read!

#inklingschallenge #inklings archive dive #inklings challenge 2021 #team tolkien #genre: secondary world

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clare-875 · 2 months

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Until the End (Levi x Reader)- Chapter 1

[The Girl that wanted to fly]

_____

A/N: Posted on Wattpad (@CLARE_875) but also decided to post here :) The image above does NOT belong to me

Summary:

"You can push me away, but I will still fight by you, and I will still follow you… until the end."

The ever-so-stoic Levi Ackerman has only ever known the terrors that living in a cruel world could bring. This all changed one fateful day when he encountered [y/n]; a girl renowned for her looks and abnormal speed. As they escape the confines of the Underground together, they soon discover that freedom doesn't come easy in a world full of Titans. As they rise through the ranks, [y/n] becomes known as "Humanity's Angel", a beacon of hope to humanity as she melts the walls Levi had built around his heart. However, she has her secrets too, and a dark past that might just threaten to pull them apart.

The storyline and characters of Attack on Titan do NOT belong to me, but all to Hajime Isayama; however, I do own this story, and all that occurs disparate to that storyline.

[Series Masterlist] [Prologue] <--> [Chapter Two]

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Warnings: Some descriptions of Sexual Harassment

You sat, cleaning your ODM gear, covered with the grime from today's heist. Ever since you, Levi and Furlan had gotten your hands on the gear, everyday struggles were made so much easier. You could fly swiftly throughout the streets, far gone before people noticed that they had been robbed and too fast for those who noticed. It had been many years since your encounter with Levi, and as time passed, the trust between you grew along with your group. The both of you had met Furlan a few years prior, and though initially wary of a new face amongst you, it was soon forgotten as his natural charm and loyalty made him very easy to trust and befriend. Since then, everything has been history.

You and Furlan had a friendship that resembled a sibling relationship; you often bickered with each other but you trusted him with your life, and he was often overly protective. Sometimes to the point where it was irritating how he would always cover you in dangerous situations. It wasn't rare the number of times you had to reassure him that you were stronger than you looked. Though Levi often found your friendship loud and obnoxious, he also seemed to find it in him to trust in Furlan as he had slowly learnt to do with you. Soon, your little criminal gang seemed invisible and became famous in the Underground. "Tch," you turned and looked to Levi, who seemed to glare at the filth that permanently shrouded the table he sat at, tea forgotten as he muttered to himself about the filth that came with living in the Underground and a multitude of diseases, we could all get. Furlan was currently sorting the money we had gathered from today's heist, and both Levi and you noticed how he had given a much larger amount to Yan.

"You're too nice for your good, you know; you're not gonna have any money left for yourself if you keep giving it away so freely," you say to Furlan after Yan, and the others leave. He smiles down at you regretfully but with a sure look in his eyes. "Medicine's getting more expensive around here, and Yan's leg's getting worse. It's all I could do to give him a little more money." Furlan pats your head and looks outside the building that had been home to us for so long. "Still, I wonder how much more we'll need to get out of this dump." As Furlan wondered aloud the impossible task we had set ourselves, Levi meets your eyes briefly.

A familiar glance is exchanged as you recall your conversations about the dream of escaping the Underground. You had spent many spare moments, even before meeting Furlan, talking in the dark, you excitedly proclaiming all the things you would see and do above ground, and Levi speaking of the freshness the air would bring away from the grime of this place. They were some of your fondest memories, but they were still bittersweet as you both knew the task of getting the money required to get two, let alone three, people out of the Underground was everlasting. You give the raven-haired man a sparing smile as his usually stern eyes seem to briefly soften as he looks to you knowingly. However, before any words could be exchanged, you were interrupted by the slam of the door.

Suddenly, all three of you are up on your feet, knives drawn defensively as we look for the source of the noise; for any threat. Levi moves in front of you protectively as Furlan reaches for the door. However, when he cautiously opens the door, you are met with only a mess of auburn hair that lies at the feet of the entrance. "Huh? It's only a kid," he proclaims, looking down and meeting a pair of wide emerald eyes, narrowing at his proclamation. "I'm not a kid," the unknown girl huffs, standing to her feet. But indeed, by her appearance, she appeared young, pigtails swaying as she frowned. However, that's when you noticed she had been clutching something to her chest, protecting something despite it causing her to land face-first through our doorway. You move past Levi, who lets you do so once he figures that there is no threat after all. You look over at her hands leaning in.

"Hey, what's that you've got there?" You smile up at her gently, contrasting the still, weary glare of Levi as he looks at where we stand. She looks up at you, eyes widening at bright, kind [e/c] eyes, something she had rarely seen in such a dark place. She grins back at you, slightly battered hands clutched against her stomach. Just as she was about to open her mouth to say something, you were interrupted by noise approaching you again. Suddenly on high alert as muffled voices approach you, the boys push you behind them once again as you stand with the girl and realise that she had been followed.

"What's the plan?" Furlan asks Levi as they hear irritated voices muttering vulgar things. "Hey, any of you seen a filthy urchin come through here?" The girl's pursuers shout out to Levi and Furlan, who stand on either side of the doorway. "Yeah, sounds like every kid in this neighbourhood," Furlan states mockingly as he stares down the three men sharply. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop their pursuit as they come closer to the doorway, the men proclaiming how we must be the local thugs. "You're the thugs," you hear Farlan mutter, and you couldn't agree more. The filth of their appearance and disgusting intentions make you narrow your eyes as they seem like the type of men you see too often here in the Underground. However, as the man's eyes wander past Levi and Furlan, they find the girl who stands behind you.

"Hey, I found her," the man shouted to his two companions, but as their eyes looked up to meet yours, their smiles only widened. "And, lookie here, we found the gem of the Underground as well, lucky us." You frown further in disgust at the way they look at you as if trying to undress you with their eyes, but you stand strong, not breaking eye contact. At his words, both Furlan and Levi stood tense; you could see them restraining themselves from killing them right there, right now.

"Now, hand her over, and we'll be on our way. Girl tried to get past stair eleven without paying our fee understand? Now, she might have botched her attempt, but we're still not through with making an example out of her." They glared up at the girl who stood still, saying nothing as Levi and Furlan looked slightly surprised at their claim. "Now, if you guys shelter her, we'll have to do the same for you." The man looks up at you, grinning. "Though I wouldn't mind punishing you, sweetheart," You roll your eyes at his pathetic form, but before you can say anything, he is moving forward. "I'll just take her then if you don't mind," he goes to move past Levi, but by misfortune or mere stupidity, he places a hand on Levi.

Not even a second passed, and Levi had his knife in the air, already smeared with blood as the man was beaten ruthlessly. "Keep your filthy hands off of me. I don't need your filth smudging my shirt." Levi brings the man up by his shirt, glaring simply at his form, "And if you ever look at her like that again, I can promise you, you'll no longer be able to see anything with your shitty eyes " Levi kicks the man down the stairs from our doorway. Furlan grins stiffly, "Sorry about that, but we're clean freaks here; you probably shouldn't come back, but if you do, be sure to wash your hands." Levi stands, already wiping the blood and grime off his knife, as the men curse under their breath, walking off when they realise that they really weren't any match for Levi, let alone the three of us.

You turned your attention back to the girl who still stood next to you, staring in shock at Levi as he stood irritably by the doorway. You noticed her hands were still clutched to her chest; small movements enclosed within her grasp. "You know, whatever you're holding, you might wanna give it some air to breathe," you say gently, bringing her out of her stillness as she meets your eyes again. She blushes slightly under your warm gaze as she gasps, realizing she needs to open her hands. "Oh, uh, I was just trying to keep it warm," she grins, showing the three of us a small bird. "Wait, why do you have a bird?" Furlan asks, it was an uncommon sight but not unheard of to see wildlife, unfortunately, make their way down to the Underground. The girl goes on to explain how she had found it, hoping to get it back to the surface, thus leading to her trying to break through one of the stair tolls. "You did all of that, for a bird?" Furlan looks at her, bewildered by all the trouble a small girl would go through for an insignificant life that struggled on much like the rest of us.

"He hasn't been flying. I'm sure he'd rather do it under the sun than stuck down here," the girl explains as though it were the most logical thing in the world. "Hmm, you're not wrong, but it kinda looks there like its wings are hurt," you say to her, noticing the odd way the bird lay its wings by its body. "What?" the girl glances down and realizes that you might be right, as Furlan nods at your observation.

.....

"Wow, you are good at that," the girl exclaims as you find yourselves seated, Furlan having wrapped the bird's wings in a makeshift bandage. Her eyes shimmered in the dark haze of the world around us, too innocent and too cheerful you think, as you wonder how she has made it through so much of her life, and maintained her positive outlook. Or maybe she's like all of us, like the bird, like me, we all want our freedoms, we suffer silently and we hope dangerously.

Your thoughts are broken by another one of the girl's exclamations, "My name's Isabel, what's yours," she grins as she looks at the three of us. "Oh, well, I'm Furlan," Furlan states, giving her a slight smile. "I'm [y/n]," you say with a soft glance, "and this is Levi," you grin as you gesture towards him, and he gives Isabel his signature blank look. "Cool," Isabel states, "Levi and [y/n] huh? I think I'll call you 'big bro' and 'big sis,'" she grins at the two of us, eyes flickering in the dimly lit room. You glance at Levi and give him a shrug as he rolls his eyes at you. "I want in!" she shouts suddenly, causing Levi to stiffen, "You guys have the ODM gear, right? I've seen you flying around, as free as birds! Please let me fly too!" Freedom, that word again. You remember back to the first time you had tried the ODM gear, the feeling of being weightless, but powerful and in control. In a world so barren, so hopeless, was that freedom?

"Well?" she stares, gaze unfaltering at Levi. You give him a soft smile as he sighs slightly. "If you're gonna stay, you first learn how to clean." If possible, her smile grows wider as she thanks Levi profusely and hugs you out of excitement. Levi frowned, irritated, muttering something about how now she was just spreading her filth onto you, but you just smiled at her. Isabel looks at you, awestruck at your genuineness but you can't find yourself stopping, something told you this was the beginning of a new friendship.

.....

Many days passed after that. You all showed Isabel how to use the ODM gear, which inevitably turned out to be quite the hassle, but over time, she learned how to use it enough to pass by. With the flying lessons came the cleaning lessons, those of which she seemed to enjoy significantly less. All you could do was smile and laugh at Levi's cleaning attire mixed with his stoic gaze and stare amusedly at Isabel's glare as she cleaned with you all. You ate, and you laughed, you flew, and you shared your stories. You embraced the fleeting feeling of freedom together.

Soon, it was time to free the bird that had since been nursed back to health and you found a rare opening to the sunlight. Levi turns to you seeing how you bask in the sunlight, [s/c] skin and [h/c] hair shimmering under the lights. His cheeks turned a slight pink at your soft smile but you decided not to say anything about it; he seemed to embrace a brief happiness surrounded by his makeshift family. You watched as a lone feather fell to the floor and the bird took flight, reaching the skies above us, and you let yourself hope, just slightly, yet so stupidly, that these moments, with the four of you, would last forever.

#levixreader #untiltheened #series #aot #levi ackerman #levi aot #captain levi #levi x y/n #aot x reader #x reader #reader insert #fem reader

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bettyshoweduptotheparty · 2 months

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What is the ‘Thesis’ of Tortured Poets? (+ Fortnight Deep Dive)

After 4months of listening to TTPD I was recently wondering what the 'thesis statement' of this massive album is, if I had to give it one. Is it "Female rage: the musical" as Taylor has named the TTPD set on the Eras tour? Anger is certainly evident in the album a lot, but, no, I wouldn't say that's quite it (that's just the parts she's picked for the tour set). I would say it's more than that, and usually a good clue is the lead single and music video. Anti-Hero (and the mv), the lead single for Midnights, made it pretty clear what Taylor's main message for Midnights was: Taylor Swift™, you're the problem. Lover's lead single was Me! and then YNTCD, which for a lot of people seemed like a dumb choice when Cruel Summer was right there, but we know that for what that album SHOULD have been, it needed to be those two. That was the statement. So what is TTPD's statement? And what is Fortnight as the lead single telling us about it?

Fortnight single and music video

The first line of the first verse immediately connects to where Midnights left off: They were coming to get her to take her away in Hits Different and now she was supposed to get sent away but they forgot to come and get her. So we are still very much circling the same issue as Midnights: The duality of Taylor Swift. And I am now fairly certain that Post Malone is also portraying a different version of Taylor in the music video, just like the two Taylors from Anti Hero. When she wipes her face, the same face tattoos are revealed, they are both writing the music/poetry together and they face each other like a mirror image in the pile of papers that make up Taylor's silhouette.

Though while Taylor and Postie are writing together here (Postie perhaps as the 'male POV') and their creations join together, the two Taylors in the Anti-Hero mv are less unanimous, one creating the music and the other one destroying it. Otherwise I find these two scenes very similar:

The setting has also notably changed: She's not in her house anymore, she is in this government institution, kept chained in a cell and only allowed out when medicated to do her work. And there are other people there too, seemingly with the same fate. (A not so subtle hint at the music industry...) The first verse continues

I was a functioning alcoholic 'til nobody noticed my new aesthetic.

This strongly reminded me of the In Summation poem which comes with the album leaflet, but kind of like an epilogue rather than a prologue. And also the introduction post that Taylor posted with the album release.

Confirming yet again that this album, much like Midnights, is a debrief/a rewinding. And she even tells us for what reason: a warning. Are you afraid? You should be! (Yes I think that could easily have been the lead single too). And what is she reflecting on? A “fleeting and fatalistic moment in time”, a sensational, yet sorrowful one that led her to having to tell her saddest story to be finally free from it. So in this context, I think the line about new aesthetics and alcoholism is a throwback to the summer of 2019 and the failed Lover coming out/masters heist. A lot happened and had things gone differently she’d be an out queer woman now. It must feel like a strange parallel universe to still be closeted at 34 years old. And losing your life’s work and your relationship (at least temporarily) in the process I think qualifies as someone’s saddest story. If you’ve seen any of Taylor’s performances from July/August 2019 dressed in all black, you’ll probably agree that it felt like a woman at rock bottom. When she couldn't get out of bed (loml) but still did it with a broken heart. THAT is the context and thesis of TTPD: This twist of events that led to her still being in the closet five years later, and everything that she reflected on when she thought she'd lost everything. The regret, the anger, the heartbreak, even the resentment towards your family for the path they guided (pushed?) you down when you needed someone to fight your corner. "Blood is thick, but nothing like a payroll" is one fucked up thing to say and I'm still shocked seemingly everybody moved on from that so quickly. Those are sentiments that Taylor, the people pleaser, would never have put out into the world before, but this is a debrief, an exorcism even. She needs to get her ugliest truths out before she can move on.

The Fortnight pre-chorus continues with

All of this to say, I hope you're ok but you're the reason And no one here's to blame, but what about your quiet treason?

Now there's a 'you' coming into the picture, and I know there are varying opinions, and maybe multiple possible interpretations of who the you is. Remember, this is the lead single, the thesis song, so to speak. And in that context, I don't think the You is another person, it's another version of Taylor, perhaps the one from the Anti-Hero mv, or the one she hoped she'd be after 2019 if everything had gone to plan. You (brand Taylor) are the reason I'm feeling unstable and I don't blame you but you betrayed me by leaving me here in the closet (similar sentiment to Peter).

She goes on say how she and the 'you' were together for only a short time (a fortnight), the loss has turned all her days into depressing Mondays and that no "miracle move-on drug" can fix that. It sounds like her bemoaning the what could have been, the you being the public persona that she was hoping to merge her true self with by coming out. And I think, yet again, the music video supports that interpretation with Taylor and Postie being the same person but not looking the same. She could have easily played both parts herself, but she cast a different person, a man no less, to play this other side of her, maybe to highlight that she has to take a man's perspective (James/The Man, etc.) to express her true feelings.

Taylor and the You then go on to sing the line "I love you, it's ruining my life" to each other. So they're both feeling that way. And it is a very key sentiment, because it was also one of the first we ever read from the album during the roll out and it's written on the dress during the TTPD set on the Eras tour. The separate existence is ruining both of them. It then changes to "I touched you for only a fortnight" and these two sentences alternate through to the end of the song where we end on "But it won't start up till I touch (touch, touch) you". So, uniting with this other person/version seems to be the key to Taylor's happiness. And we've seen this before. It's exactly the same outcome as the Anti-Hero mv: As everybody is fighting, Taylor finally manages to make peace with the other versions of her and share a bottle of wine. Just like when Postie steps out of the phone box in the final scene and joins Taylor in the rain to touch her hand.

That's my interpretation anyway. as always, feel free to disagree or share your interpretation in the comments.

#fortnight #ttpd #tortured poets department #anti hero

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