#This one is so little plot wise but it means a lot to me

[kakusu-shipping]

(Same anon)

hfgjshskfhdjakafk oh my god yes!!! :O please talk about your s/I and Nightmare Fredbear!!!!!! 👀👀

THANKYOU SO MUCH FOR THE AAAAASK!!! Nothing brings me more joy than being asked about my Self Inserts <3

This S/I I've had for a while now sense I finally toughened up and watched Markiplier's playthroughs of FNaF despite my fear of them, I just never talked about it because I don't know how to talk about it, sense it's the very first Kin self insert I've ever had.

Usually when I ~Vibe~ with a character I'll call it Kin, but this was a very different feeling and it took a while to figure it out. Once I did I kinda fell into imposter syndrome about the whole Kin thing sense I'd seen a lot of people take it a lot more seriously than I ever did, so I just.. quietly added the Nightmares to my F/O list and left it at that.

But now I'm finally here to say!!! I am the Crying Child!!

This Self Ship's funny to me because even in the FNaF Universe the Nightmare animatronics aren't Real so Nightmare Fredbear is still a Fictional Other fkgjfdkg

The entirety of the self ship happens while in a coma after the bite of '83, which you all know as FNaF 4. It's wasn't actually as scary as the game made it out to be... Well I guess at first is was.

The whole thing takes place in my house, but wrong. Like, my room has two doors and they won't latch, and all my toys look weird, and it's always night, and my head hurts all the time, and of course, there's animatronics in the hallways.

For a really long time I was super scared, I thought they were gonna eat me! But I spent a long long time with them and eventually became less scared. And then not scared at all eventually!

Sometimes I'd hear my dad or brother talking, but it'd be echoey and distant. Fredbear told me not worry about it too much. He's my best friend, so I trust him of course.

And, I mean.. That's it. It's not a very interesting self ship, just a child slowing succumbing to his wounds, comforted by the nightmares he had for years and years before.

The Ghost version is the thing that that Haunts the Narrative. It's as real as the Nightmares, and only Micheal and my Dad ever see it. I don't know what it is either, I just know it looks like me to them.

[kettlefire]

It's not you, it's me. (DPxDC)

Long post, but short plot info or progression wise!

Danny loves his parents, don't get him wrong. They weren't perfect by any means, but they tried. As hard as it was for him to come to terms with, it's okay. Really.

It's okay that Jazz had been the one to raise him. It's okay that his parents talked about wanting to rip him apart during mealtime. It's okay they didn't notice the way ghostly things attached to Danny. It's okay that they never paid enough attention to put his secret together.

It's okay because they weren't bad parents. Not as bad as they could be. Yes, they could be a little reckless. Yes, they had their problems. But the good times were there.

Saturday morning fudge cooking with Jack. Late night self-defense class with Maddie. Tinkering in the lab with both of them. Even the normal embarrassing moments were good.

Because his parents are awesome. They are absolutely cool, and they did their best. As best as they could.

That's why it hurt so much to leave.

It hurt to leave Amity Park, but it hurt more to leave his family. He felt it deep in his core, the pain of having to separate from those he loves. Those he needed to protect.

But it was time. If Danny wanted to protect them, he needed to leave. So, he did. He almost didn't say goodbye. Almost didn't want to face it all.

His friends were easy to say goodbye to, but it still hurt just as much. Sam and Tucker, they understood why he had to go. Same with Jazz. There were talks about other ideas and plans so that Danny didn't need to leave. But he had to. There was no other option.

But Danny needed to tell his parents everything. Tell them about his accident, tell them that he was Phantom. He couldn't just say bye and leave with no explanation. So he bit the bullet and did it.

It went well. Better than good, it was amazing. And Danny wished he could stick around to see the changes in his parents' work because of it.

Danny has cried enough times this past week than he was sure he cried his whole life. He had his fill, he doubt he could cry again soon.

For everyone's safety, Danny Fenton left Amity Park. Phantom had vanished from the streets. Amity Park was safe. The Anti-Ecto laws, the GIW, all of it. They wouldn't target Amity Park anymore.

It was a lot of work to get the other ghosts on board. But after Clockwork confirmed everything, it all set into motions. The world was free of ghosts, but Danny wasn't sure how long the others could stay away.

He needed a plan, needed to get the government to understand ghosts. But there was nothing Danny could truly do. He was just a kid.

He is just a kid. Just a kid leaving in a small apartment right by a place nicknames crime alley. But Danny liked it. Gotham had enough noise and ambient ectoplasm to keep him safe. It would be hard for anyone to find him.

He was safe. Safe for once. But Danny knew it wouldn't last long.

The problem here? Danny was all alone. He didn't have his team to contact. Didn't have Sam or Jazz to tell him that a plan was downright stupid. Didn't have Tucker to back up the stupid plans that could actually work.

That's how he ended up in space.

Danny loves space, and he wished he was visiting in better circumstances. Thankfully, the vacuum of space had no impact on Danny's ghost form. It was harder than he expected to find what he was looking for.

God, Danny wished Tucker was here. The techno-nerd was a wiz with the computer. Amazing at hacking and tracking in a way Danny couldn't understand.

But Danny didn't have Tucker. He didn't have anyone right now. He couldn't have anyone right now.

Even so, Danny found it. Found the secret space base for the Justice League. It was a struggle, but he found it. And for once, his luck was on his side.

The whole team was there. Well, the main ones you see on the news and in the paper. All sitting around a giant table, a whole meeting was happening.

Danny took one shuddering breath in before phasing into the Watchtower invisibly. He was honestly surprised when no alarms went off. No defenses were triggered. He made a mental note to give them some ghost detection equipment if things go well.

Except things didn't go well. At least not the way Danny had been hoping.

He silently made his way to the table, standing a bit of a distance from them. Just in case he needed to run. His eyes jumped between the different heroes.

Danny steeled his nerves, at least tried to. He stood directly across from Batman, in the perfect spot to be noticed instantly. Then he dropped his invisibility.

All eyes were on him in an instance. Danny never felt so terrified in his life. Not like this. His attempt at steeling his nerves failed immediately.

Maybe the anxiety and fear was clear on his face. Maybe it's because he is a child, despite glowing and being someplace he shouldn't be. But Danny vaguely heard a soft, gentle voice speak to him.

He couldn't make it out, not really. His ears were filled with the sounds of his rushing ectoplasm. A tremble settled in his hands, and Danny knew he needed to hurry up. He needed to speak before he lost all his cool.

"I... Sorry, I know I shouldn't be here... But, uh, my name's Phantom... And I... I..."

The words stumbled and spilled from Danny in a less than elegant and confident way. The shaking in his hands got worse the more he tried to speak. His voice shaky and waivering, even when he tried to sound strong.

And Danny couldn't pull his gaze away from Batman. The cape crusader stood unmoving, unphased, and completely silent. The other heroes had a mixed of expression, but Danny couldn't read Batman.

That unnerved the teen so much. In that moment, he regretted ever coming here. He regretted leaving Amity Park. He regretted telling his parents. He regretted ever stepping foot in that damn portal to begin with.

Then something snap inside of Danny. The dam that was holding everything in just suddenly broke. In a split second, his vision grew blurry with tears.

Even though he didn't need to breathe, his breathing started to pick up. Fast and short. He could feel the phantom feeling of a heart beating rapidly in his chest. Or maybe it was his core warning him of the sudden wave of emotions rocking through him.

"I... I... Help."

The single word, the single plea, spilled from Danny in a pathetic whimper. Before he suddenly dropped to his knees. He curled in on himself. Arms wrapped tightly around himself, head bowed and white hair curtaining his face. Tears fell fast down his cheeks, leaving droplets on the floor, as choked sobs left him.

In that moment, Danny didn't feel like a hero. Didn't feel like Phantom. Didn't feel like the ghostly hero that was in charge of fixing everything.

In that moment, Danny felt like a scared little kid. A kid who was given too much too fast, with no real guidance. A kid that had to grow up fast and had people depending on him. A kid who was exhausted and terrified. A kid that wanted nothing more than to run home. To be wrapped up in a Jack Fenton Bear Hug. To feel his mother's hand combing through his hair as she whispered gentle reassuring words to him.

In the end, Danny Fenton was still just a kid. And it seemed the Justice League could see that.

Danny couldn't focus on the words he heard spoken around him. He couldn't focus on the moments either. He couldn't focus on anything.

Until suddenly, arms were wrapped around him in a gentle and warm embrace. He felt something draped over his back. Danny blinked the blurriness in his vision just enough to make out who was in front of him.

Batman. The hero that scared Danny the most seconds ago.

Except this time, even through the cowl, Batman looked softer. The man looked human and understanding. It made Danny's mind flash to his parents once again. Which only made him cry harder.

A glowing kid was wrapped up in Batman's arms, the two kneeling on the ground. Batman's cape wrapped around the trembling, sobbing form. The kid clinging to Batman like a lifeline. The rest of the Justice League stood around the two.

Nobody quite knowing what the hell they were supposed to do. Or what was really going on.

All those heroes needed to know was simple enough. There was a kid who went through all this trouble to end up in the Watchtower. A kid that's so hurt and exhausted, pleading for help. And helping was the Justice League's specialty.

[harrietvane]

So, in Busman’s Homeymoon, Lord Peter buys Harriet Vane a mink cloak worth 950 pounds (according to the Dowager Duchess’ journal entry), but he buys Tallboys for “only” 650 pounds.

Even bearing in mind that real estate really did used to be cheaper, do you understand how that is possible? Or how to find out more about relative purchasing power? I used an online calculator website which gave me some figures, but it still seems insane that one could buy an entire Elizabethan farmhouse for 2/3 the price of a garment! Very curious to learn from others who understand this better than I do.

Ah, I see my esteemed colleague @oldshrewsburyian has also had some interesting thoughts on this, so I'll link that here as well before I begin.

So, it's a legitmate question, and there's no catch-all simple answer (in the gotcha sense of 'why didn't i know that bit of cultural Truth'), but there are mitigating factors that take it from a ridiculous price comparison, to merely outlandish. Even taking into account that the coat is quoted in guineas, not pounds, and that PW says the bank valued Talboys at £800 via a mortgage (the paid price was a discount, for paying in cash quickly, which is Plot Relevant), it gets us to roughly the same place, value-wise. Or shall we say PRICE-wise, rather than value, as I'll get into below. There's several factors at play here - they mainly relate to class, and spending power:

-The house is Not That Great, in terms of the kind of property that PW would usually be buying. I mean it is still a large-ish house, big enough to have 2 adults and small children in, but it's not what would be on his radar normally. The only reason they know about it, it that it's near a place where HARRIET grew up as a child. It's not getting any high marks in particular Beauty, Convenience, or Quality - the main reason HV's drawn to it is sentiment, rather than anything else. They both know that they will have to significantly add to it, and alter it, in order for it to be a comfortable home. That would usually be out-of-budget for someone in Harriet's position, who would expect to buy something that meets her needs 'as-is'. Most people looking at buying that house would be Harriets not Peters, so it might be a tough sell.

-The house has no power, and limited plumbing: There's dark references to DRAINS by the dowager duchess, it's entirely possible that this house has no modern plumbing at all - they make the comparison that the huge palace the Wimseys grew up in wasn't plumbed until recently, but then again they do have about 800 servants, whereas Talboys is just a regular house: they will have Bunter alone (at first), with an assist from Mrs Ruddle. There's mention of "a cistern" with some basic valves, but the scullery is mentioned as having a copper, from which hot water is "scooped into a large bath-can" - a copper being, simply, a large metal basin over a fire, in effect. No running hot water, maybe no flushable loos - it's a factor. They also talk specifially about having to electrify Talboys themselves - it's candles and lamps until then. It's fancy camping. By the mid-1930s, a lot of middle-class buyers would expect a little more convenience in both water and wiring, unless they had significant support staff, which Talboys would not be expected to house.

-There's probably no farm! It's a farm house - not a wider land purchase. People like PW's brother the Duke are wealthy primarily because they own land, not because of the big palace they have (which eats money, rather than generates it). The land is what gives them spending power, because other people are paying them rent to live on it, farm on it, or both. PW's own personal 'younger sibling' wealth is also mentioned somewhere to be primarily in real estate (assumed to be in London) - sad to say: he's a landlord, and that's why he's rich. Talboys, on the other hand, as a purchase, would not, in almost any way, be expected to generate revenue through either farming, agriculture, or charging rent. Until they invent house flipping in 80 years, or until the motorway goes through in 40 years, there's not much expectation that Talboys would increase all that much in value.

-Lastly, there's a massive disparity in what The Market Will Bear when we compare a basic residence vs a luxury item (like a mink coat) in the mid-1930s. This is not particular to that time, though. Like any first-year economics student will tell you, the price of something is not it's intrinsic value, it's what someone is WILLING to pay for it. If someone is willing to pay such a price, that's the price it will be. So, we're not comapring Objects, we're comparing Buyers: the the main purchasers of a slightly run-down farmhouse located nowhere special are Harriets, and main purchasers of mink coats are Peters. Talboys is priced for Harriets. The mink coat is priced for Peters.

Compare for example, a contemporary parallel: the Hermes Birkin bag. It's a leather handbag with a starting retail price of about USD 11,400. Just for the bag. Then, you have fancier versions of the fancy bag, eg wikipedia tells me one version sold at auction for USD 380,000 in Hong Kong in 2017. Now, the Harriets of today are not buying a Hermes Birkin handbag, but they are probably trying to buy slightly run-down houses outside urban centers for (one hopes) slightly less than 380k. The Wimseys of the worlds are clearly buying Birkin bags. In that way, it's actually pretty easy to get to a place where Person A might buy a single luxury item for X pounds, and Person B might buy a whole residence for X pounds, and neither feel like they'd done something insane. The key here is in a Wimsey/Vane marriage, they run up against this concept immediately, and repeatedly.

There's a good reason the first epistolary section of the novel is almost entirely taken up with money chat - the ring, the purchase of shirts from Burlington Arcade, the marriage settlement, the gift from the bride to the groom, the mink coat, the bitchy exchange between Helen and Harriet about HV being allowed "six free copies of her book" to distribute. These people come from 2 fundamentally different experiences of the world. They might have gotten engaged using the word 'Magistra', specifically to emphasise their fundamental equality (in the context of learning and the mind, to begin with), but it can't be denied: there's gaps that need to be bridged. They both know parts of their married life will be spent in attempting to do that, hopefully to their mutual satisfaction. Mention of a mink coat for 950 guineas is a nice, neat shorthand for illustrating what's still at play between them here.

[anghraine]

On the one hand, I absolutely love the high tragedy of Denethor's arc in the book, think it's amazingly well-written, and that he is one of the most complex and fascinating characters that Tolkien ever wrote.

On the other, there's part of me that's also a little frustrated by how much it has to happen because Tolkien kind of wrote himself into a corner with the Ruling Stewards. He's insistent on a few things about them:

Their initial rise to power as perma-regents of Gondor was squeaky-clean. Mardil was a paragon of virtue, he tried to prevent Eärnur from getting himself killed, there were no clear successors, and retaining the regency prevented another Kinstrife and created a stable institution that would hold Gondor together for 900+ years after the failure of the kings.

They are a high Númenórean family descended from Elendil, even if they're not formally of the line of Elendil (for unknown reasons, but most likely because they're descended through women).

Denethor is notably very similar to Aragorn, in intellect, wisdom, stature, ability, even appearance. He is a towering and respected figure, and he and his sons are highly popular with their people (even with children).

Denethor's military tactics in the book are very good, and UT says Sauron hoped Denethor would be less prepared than he actually was.

Denethor is proud, unbending, and personally dislikes and distrusts Aragorn. He thinks Gandalf is using him against Sauron for now while planning for Aragorn to take power later (this is filtered through his pride but ... um, is he wrong?).

Faramir, now Denethor's last heir, is a fantastic if reluctant warrior and captain, a super special Númenórean throwback, and a thoughtful, intelligent, and wise person who is humbler than Denethor, but also established as wary about Aragorn.

Gondor formally rejected the claim of Aragorn's family before the Ruling Stewardship even existed.

What all this means is that Denethor, if alive, is someone who will never willingly give way to Aragorn. Denethor has legal precedent on his side, he is himself a perfectly good ruler from a long-standing, stable, legitimate ruling family and a highly capable military leader in war, he is liked by his people, and he even has a viable heir regardless of the personal strain between him and Faramir.

There's just no reason for Aragorn to take power that Denethor, as written, would find remotely persuasive. But Denethor is also too noble and capable and special for a power grab on Aragorn's side to feel right, esp given how destructive it would be in the middle of a war (as Aragorn acknowledges!). Despite the sparkly kingliness and mystical airs, this is fundamentally a dynastic dispute between two different houses descended from Elendil, based on the minutia of Gondorian and Númenórean law and precedent, and a fight over that is ... not the kind of story this is.

Denethor has to be driven to self-destruction by the plot so that Aragorn's rise can happen. It simply would not occur if Denethor was alive and in his right mind. Faramir has to be mystically healed by Aragorn so that his reservations will dissolve and he will voluntarily remove himself from the picture in a way that doesn't feel bad.

And both scenes are fantastic, and make sense for the characters. But I do feel that they kind of get steamrollered by the plot to make way for Aragorn.

The thing that makes that doubly fascinating, though, is that Tolkien didn't have to prop the House of the Stewards up so thoroughly. He could have written a version where the Stewards are inadequate or really sketchy or simply can't be compared to Aragorn's greatness and it's clear why they should be replaced by him and his house. Tolkien could have made this a lot easier for himself! And I do respect the more difficult and nuanced approach Tolkien took with the Stewards by making them genuinely impressive and noble and capable in their own right and not just cardboard-cutouts for Aragorn to kick over.

But, well.

[comicaurora]

Non comic related ask,

A while ago you were asked about Jujutsu Kaisen and said something to the effect of you didn't like the direction it seemed to be headed in. At the time only the first season of the anime was around and I thought it was pretty nifty at the time.

Now that the second season is concluded and it's at least as far as I'm concerned it's suffering in tone plot and pacing your words have come back as best I can remember them anyway.

So the question as it were, what were the clues that tipped you off to this? I respect your well earned media literacy skills, but even with your statement I would not have thought it was going to turn out this way.

Huh, interesting!

Since I haven't been keeping up with it I don't know what the recent developments are, and it has been a hot minute since I watched the first season, but from what I recall I just realized pretty quickly that JJK was aiming to purposefully subvert a lot of shonen action anime tropes, starting with the Superpowered Evil Side and going from there. Vibes-wise, the power and combat system was pretty visceral - most of the characters had to do pretty gross or unpleasant things to get their powers working, which wasn't really my speed from the outset, so I was already wibbling a little on how invested I wanted to get.

And when the darkness ramped up with that one major character death - the one who was in the anime intro having lovely downtime with all the heroes in a peace he never actually got to experience because instead he died horribly - I got the impression that the underlying theme that was playing out was "our hero thought being a shonen action protagonist would mean the world around him played along to the classical narrative beats, and he has just learned that this is not true." It essentially ties in with my thoughts on Tone Armor: the story was playing with a familiar space of shonen anime tropes in such a way as to make the audience and characters expect one thing, suddenly experience something much worse than anticipated, and thus feel unsafe in the world it was establishing. Kind of similar energy to Madoka's sudden reveal of What The Story Actually Is the first time a magical girl gets her head bitten off.

I didn't think this was bad, it was pulling off everything it wanted to accomplish very effectively - it just didn't really play to my tastes at the time, so I fell off of it and haven't heard anything to get me reinvested.

[violetasteracademic]

I mean, I love Lucien so much but it’s obvious that he’s not that excited about the mating bond. It feels like it was something that was imposed on him, not something that makes him happy (as it was the case for Rhys and Cassian). He even used the world “shackled”. What can be worse than that? After a while, he didn’t even care about living someplace else and not seeing her often. He knows they’re a bad match and it’s possibly questioning the Cauldron.

I love both of them and they deserve better. Sometimes I wonder if the people that believe that Elain has to be with Lucien because he’s her mate, also believe that women should stay in unhappy, miserable marriages because they see divorce as a “sin”

Hello lovely anon!

Looooong post ahead, we are gonna get into it! I agree with you completely on this. I am a pro L/cien Elriel, and always have been. My first Tumblr post was a dissertation about Vassien for goodness sake, and my excitement for their story is genuinely second to Elriel! The secret Spell-Cleaver's son and the cursed queen, the bird of flame and lord of fire, there is so much I love about them. I did an entire breakdown on the possibilities of Vassien's story using Sarah's usual book structures and all of the information we have on them, because there is so much driving them plot wise and thematically it's actually crazy.

I think that sometimes it can be really easy to miss theme while reading these books, but it is something SJM puts a lot of work into and threads throughout her stories.

I spend a LOT of time talking about my girl Elain, and even though I love the boys they are just kinda there for me as cute little accessories for our ladies. So I appreciate this opportunity to talk more about who is right for whom from the mens perspective based on the themes woven throughout the books with a focus on L/ucien and Azriel, and whether or not Elain fits into those themes. In my opinion, these are the strongest indicators of what ultimately is being subliminally pushed by authors on the road to happiness for our characters.

I'm gonna nerd out about writing for a sec, but good writing has clean character arcs. Good romance shows the blind spots or flaws of the lead characters, and how their romantic interest will balance or push the character to growth. If there are multiple love interests, one of the love interests will undoubtedly leave the main character stagnant, or perhaps fulfill some external ideals rather than following their own heart.

Here are some examples of themes when it comes to Elain and Azriel, and I'm pushing myself to focus on Azriel here and not my girlie 🌸

Here we are being introduced to the areas where Azriel has blind spots to his own personal happiness. It is nearly impossible to get Azriel to take any time for himself that doesn't't involve work or training. He rips himself to shreds for mistakes, his perfectionism bordering on sadistic.

The time he spends with Elain is a direct foil to Azriel's inability to do anything other than work or train without being pushed to the extreme by his loved ones. He chooses to sit with Elain in the garden. He chooses to stay up until three am listening to her design plans. He chooses to rest in the sunlight with her. This is a direct tie of the author stating what this character needs, and then blatantly showing who is giving it to him.

G/wyn also trains hard and is competitive and perfectionistic. It makes total sense to me that people think this is cute, however, theme wise, it is a representation of a stagnant arc. The idea that training is a foundational element to an Az and G's potential relationship actually directly parallels Azriel's greatest obstacle to happiness- which is that he cannot allow himself to rest and *not* train.

Feyre and Rhys had to teach each other to share burdens, though it was extremely difficult. Cassian had to teach Nesta how to forgive herself and believe she was worthy of love. What Azriel needs is someone to help him believe he is worthy of rest and mistakes. These themes are tied to Elain.

There is also the issue of his hands and physical touch, and his feelings of worthiness.

Again, we discover that even if Morrigan, the woman he has supposedly been madly in love with for 500 years, stripped naked in front of Azriel, he still wouldn't touch her. We've also seen Morrigan cringe away from his hands. Meanwhile, Elain called his scarred hands beautiful. Elain initiated every act of touch in the bonus chapter. Elain moved so that his hand was covering her neck, and she wanted it.

Azriel fought against his feelings of disgust over his hands. He experienced intrusive thoughts about how he shouldn't be touching her with the things he has done. And yet, his feelings for her, and the feeling of touching her, was powerful enough to override the loop of self hate that tells him he is unworthy of being wanted.

So if Azriel's two themes that need to be challenged in his romantic relationship is lack of rest and lack of touch, Elain has already been pushing growth in those areas over multiple books. With G/wyn, whom he has not touched because of the strict line of professionalism with the priestesses and the only time they spent together training (which is also the thing Azriel uses to distract himself and push himself to the brink of exhaustion) thematically, for Azriel's specific needs in romantic growth, we are stagnant.

Moving on to L/cien, because there is a lot here for him as well and I believe we are being shown how Elain is also thematically the opposite of what L/cien needs.

Unlike Azriel, L/cien has experienced true, authentic, deep, consensual love. And the first thing he does when he meets Elain is compare her to the woman he loves, and frankly, he's not really understanding how someone like Elain could be his mate because she is so different from Jesminda.

L/cien is attracted to wildness, mischief and laughter. Someone who loved him not because of his status or stature, but choosing him for who he was. This is never going to be possible with Elain. L/cien's status as a High Lord's son plays a huge role in Rhys not wanting Azriel to interfere with their relationship. At this point, even if Azriel never pursues Elain again, that is the reason why. The Blood Duel, and L/ucien's status as a High Lord's son. If L/ucien were not these things, Rhys never would have interrupted their kiss. So even if Elain *chooses* L/cien in the end, it will never have been without question. It will never be untangled with this status as a High Lord's son, and it will never be because they weren't mates first before falling in love. In Lucien's monologue about Jesminda, we learn that the mating bond is not the ideal way for L/cien to fall in love either. With all his trauma and abuse and lack of choice in his own life, he both wants and deserves to be loved without question. This will absolutely never be true with Elain, no matter how their story develops.

Lucien desires to be chosen away from High Fae culture and societal expectations. We also see how he is drawn to things wild and free, who says to hell with all of it. I'm choosing who I love and how I show up in this world.

And then we meet the human queen Vassa.

A foul mouthed, foul tempered queen who Lucien warns Feyre of right away that she will corner her to ask for help breaking her curse (which she absolutely does 🤣)

In the same book where Lucien can't help but compare Elain to the fiery love of his life, and feel Elain was thrown at him, he winds up on an adventure with a literal firebird queen with the attitude and energy to match. Perhaps someone who could taunt and tease Lucien within an inch of his life?

Thematically, Lucien has also struggled with the concept of home. He has bounced from court to court, facing different forms of abuse and control. He has never been truly free or comfortable anywhere he has lived. And he doesn't feel truly free or comfortable in Velaris. In fact, he can't stand it.

This is similar to what happened with Jesminda and the Autumn court. Her people no longer welcome Lucien because they believe he is responsible for what happened to her. Lucien doesn't want to return to Tamlin, but Spring was his home, and now he can't return there either because those outside of the high lords manor hate him for believing him being complicit.

Lucien and Vassa are also tied thematically through themes of manipulation and two faced people selling them out.

Which again, brings us full circle to L/ucien's theme of passivity. He believes he did not protect Jesminda. That her death was a betrayal of trust. This is a deep wound that needs healing.

Meanwhile, when it comes to Elain, he has maintained a passive stance. He is always telling others to get her back, or take her here, or do this. But if something were to happen to her, he never would have been the one to step in and stop it. He is repeating his passive behavior with Elain, beyond simply staying away from her. The theme is rooted much more deeply than that. It is tied to his past traumas and failures.

Meanwhile, when it comes to Vassa, he stares out to sea and sets a target on Koschei.

Elain is not going to be the one to shake L/ucien out of passivity and into action. Vassa is. And my understanding is that even E/ucien's believe this is true, they just assume Elain will be required for some reason. But what the E/ucien version of saving Vassa lacks is thematic resolution. Character arc and growth. L/cien's love interest being the foil to his passivity. Forcing Elain into the saving Vassa storyline makes it less of an emotional growth arc for all characters involved.

So no, I don't think Elain is right for L/cien, and I don't think L/cien thinks she is either. He is going to have to step up and fight for his woman. He has to face ghosts haunting him, and the fact that he didn't protect the woman he loves in the past. He is showing no protective, proactive behavior towards Elain. He *is* showing protective, proactive behavior with Vassa.

Azriel is not showing the ability to find peace and rest and breaks from work and training with G/wyn. He *is* showing the ability to find peace and rest and breaks from training with Elain. He is not showing an ability to let his hands touch someone's skin and work through the traumatic feelings that can bring up with G/wyn. He *is* experiencing that with Elain.

Obviously Elain's choice is theme, and we all know where that is headed. But it IS worthwhile to (occasionally 😝) pay attention to the men and their deeper traumas, threads and themes, and look at where the work of storytelling is already healing those things as opposed to putting the emotional labor on the women of the story to magically fix their men in their future books.

Phew, this wound up being a lot longer than I intended for it to be! I also agree that there are a lot of women projecting an incredible amount of internalized misogyny and frankly the least woman first takes I have ever seen in this fandom. It's disheartening and bizarre, especially when there is so much fantasy written by men where women solely exist to get r/aped or fill the needs of men. We should be celebrating stories written by women and for women, and appreciate authors who push against the societal norms of the roles women play in fantasy books and in real life.

[oddeyecir-cle]

 ✶ ˖  ࣪  📹 .  ぅ

lee donghyuck enemies to lovers fic ideas (all fics are haechan × reader)

haechan who is your rival coworker + secretly deadpool

for the sake of this story, lets assume deadpool does hide his identity. he works at a tech company and is constantly beefing with his coworker that he's lowkey attracted to. and the plot could maybe be something like you accidentally finding out his identity and then using that information to slightly/ kind of/ in a non-toxic way to blackmail him. eg: making him run errands for you, asking to tag along on his quests as deadpool. then the pair gets closer through all the time they spend together etc etc.

✶ note : hyuck HAS to be the sassiest, funniest, most sarcastic, cocky human being ever. also include some spidermark maybe

haechan as the prince of the neighbouring kingdom

historical au. very basic ik but hear me out. your kingdom's glory and power is gradually draining and it's threatened by multiple rivaling kingdoms. that is when your mother, the queen, tells you there is no choice but to turn to hyuck's kingdom for help. you hate the idea but you know everyone's counting on you so you go through with it anyways. (this is historical so there could be a very cool scene of the reader riding on a horse in battle armour to neighbouring kingdom's palace themself but whatever). they're good, kind people so they agree to help you. they send over a part of their military along with some weapons and of course haechan himself, their most prized possession who, like you, is skilled with a sword and is a wise leader. there's lots of quarrels between the both of you when it comes to the topic of which one has more power over the other and about who should be leading the troops. but you soon put your animosity aside when you realize that you have to work as a team to win. (insert dramatic battle sequence with swords and arrows flying around. at one point, you and haechan lock eyes and suddenly he drops to the ground. the world starts to blur around you when you realize he's been stabbed in his back. you frantically rush to his aid but he falls limp in your arms. its now upto the writer to kill him there itself and end the story. very angsty, i love. or they could also save him somehow and give main characters the happy ending they deserve).

 ✶ note : sloooooowwwww buuuurn. i mean this should be a long ass series with 7k+ words per chapter. should be so heavy on the angst and the hate that it makes you wonder if they do actually end up loving each other in the end. please include sword fighting scenes with sexual tension i beg you. (im big on bollywood, can u tell).

haechan as a stranger/ tour guide you meet on a family trip

you've just gotten out of a 3 year long relationship after your boyfriend cheated on you with your best friend. things get worse when your family, unaware of your breakup, forces you on a 2 week trip to *insert cute, small country" . here you meet the annoying, sarcastic, a-little-too-happy-for-his-own-good donghyuck. he is with the group your family is touring with (him being the tour guide is a pretty cute plot too but it could kind of complicate things later) and instantly wins everyone over with his charm, except you of course. in classic hyuck fashion, he tries to keep getting your attention and eventually succeeds. his company helps ease the pain of the heartbreak he didn't even know about. its bittersweet when it's time to part ways. you realise after you come back to your college dorm that you never exchanged phone numbers and you fail to find him on social media as well. but fate has strange ways of bringing people together. which is why you cant stop smiling when crash into a certain someone during a regular grocery run.

✶ note : more on the fluff and less on the angst for this one. and maybe a dash of slice of life as well.

haechan as captain of the football team.

there is no actual plot for this other than the fact that you're a cheerleader and also his academic rival (there is no trope i love more than this). my vision for this is very 2000s romcom. ik this isn't a lot to work with but there could be some sub trope like fake dating mostly.

✶ note: nothing much just make it cute

+i have a few more ideas, will probably make a part 2

++if in the future, by some miracle, people do find these interesting enough to use, please dont forget to credit me!!

[kitthepurplepotato]

Chapter 8 - Fooling Around with Pro Hero Deku?!

(18+ but half of it can be read by everyone!)

Summary: Sharing a hot tub with the person you love the most can go two ways; it can get really emotional or really hot. This one was both.

Important note: This chapter has 18+ parts but there is a note written in red when the cheekyness starts and then there is a green note where it ends. The chapter has some important information and plot so please read the “safe” bits even if you skip the “action”. Thank you!

Warnings: Sexual content, swear words

First Chapter Master List

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

“Are you ready to have a splash with me?” Izuku mutters cheekily as he leads you towards his car. Your whole face becomes a big flashing red sign.

“Your mom is still watching.” You giggle to yourself, as you wave to Izuku’s family for the last time before you sit into Izuku’s badass sports car to be taken home.

“Mom would be thrilled about my evening plans, she’s been bugging me to do something fun for ages.” Deku answers like he’s talking about the weather and not about you two getting naked in a hot tub like two random characters in a bad Hollywood movie.

“You are surprisingly chill about this.” You mumble with your face still red. Izuku only giggles at that.

“Well, we have a common changing room in the agency and it was the same in UA, so I’m not… well, a lot of people had seen me naked. I’m also in a lot of underwear ads. I have no reason to be ashamed of my body as you’ve seen the most of it already. I’m just excited to share this intimate moment with you, get to know you a bit more… yeah. I’m just happy to spend some time with you. I know I’m not the most perfect person body-wise, I have a lot of scars and a lot of freckles and most of them were photoshopped out of the pictures, but I know you won’t judge me. I trust you.” Izuku smiles as he turns right with perfect precision. “Okay, that’s a lie, I am a little bit ashamed and a tiny bit worried, I mean, I have a lot of freckles on my bum and…”

“Oh my god, Izu! Shut the fuck up!” You yell, mortified, but also, somehow amused. Honestly, Izuku having a freckled bum was one of your head canons so you are more than happy to hear it’s actually true; back when you accidentally took a peak at him from your window you didn’t have time to actually access his bits and bobs properly, plus it would’ve been inappropriate to do so back then so you missed this tiny detail.

“Your freckled bum sounds adorable.” You mutter under your nose with a mischievous smile.

“Yeah?” He mutters back, face red as a lobster. “Okay, now I’m a little bit nervous.”

You can’t help but giggle at that.

“You are so cute.”

~•🥦•~

“So how do you want to do this?” You mumble under your nose with a tiny blush on your face. Izuku’s smile is so full of fondness it makes your heart flutter in your chest; he looks so fucking innocent right now, wrapped in a massive All Might towel like a big burrito while you are still in your clothes, way too ashamed to take them off yet.

“Well… maybe you should get in first. I won’t peek!” He sits up straight, like a good schoolboy. “Then you close your eyes and I come in too. Then we can decide on the rest later. The hot tub makes a lot of bubbles so we won’t see anything unless we want to. Which is fine by me by the way. If you… want to look.” You are not the only one shying away from this now but Izuku tries his best to keep himself determined. You both want to get closer to each other, that’s true, but even as an adult, getting naked in front of someone for the first time is always a bit… well… awkward.

And okay, fuck’s sake, Midoriya Izuku looks like a fucking Greek god, while you are literally a nicely shaped potato. It’s not just about being awkward, it’s about the massive difference between you two. You don’t have a six pack. You don’t have nicely sculpted body, you are just… normal. Not bad, not ugly, but nothing compared to Izuku’s perfect body.

Fuck, you are stressing over nothing. He doesn’t care about that. He never did. You are being stupid…

“Sweets, we don’t need to do this if you are not ready.” Izuku grabs your hand, his finger drawing circles on your skin, his eyes full of worry.

“It’s not that, Izu. I just want… I want you to like me. But you work with all those heroes and they all look so…”

“Stop that. Right now.” Izuku reprimands, his eyes dark and protective. “You don’t know how much I…” He shakes his head to clear his thoughts and the darkness from his eyes. “I thought about you… so much. Every time I touch you, I try to imagine how you look like under all the layers and I think I have a slight idea already… this sounds so creepy but isn’t it normal? Thinking about this stuff when you love someone? Wanting to see them without all the covers, see them raw so you can love every single flaw, every single detail just as much as you love their soul?” Izuku’s hand makes it’s way to your waist, then under your shirt, caressing your side, moving his thumb over your soft skin, mapping out the area with nothing but wonder in his sparkly eyes. “I’m obsessed with you, Sweet Pea. I’ve always been. From the first time I saw you. I’m even obsessed with the way you sleep, with the way you draw, I love your shapes I love your colors… I love you.”

“Izu…” Your whole face is red. His words, his touches… they are scorching hot, they make you burn with desire, the flames licking at your skin as his fingers wander around your sides. You put your hand on his under your shirt and his movement stutters; he looks at you with nothing but worry, like he did something wrong but it’s actually quite the opposite; you move his hand to the middle of your chest to make him feel your heart thudding like a maniac, just after those few words. “This is what you do to me. Can you feel it?”

Izuku only nods, his fingers splayed out completely, assessing, studying the undiscovered area. His touch feels amazing, like tiny sparks of lighting going through your veins with every minuscule motion. The tips of his fingers aren’t soft, they are full of callouses, rough and broken, but they are Izuku’s so it still feels pleasant.

“Can I… ask you for a favor, Sweet Pea?” Izuku mutters, eyes full with want.

“Anything, love.” You whisper, completely entranced.

“Today… I only want to see you. And touch you. Get to know you. Nothing else.” He admits. “If I go too far, can you stop me? Even if… even if it’s good, even if it’s okay with you… I always wanted to do this. To just… be vulnerable with someone, be naked and enjoy each others company without uhm… ending up in the bed. I know it sounds weird, but…”

“No, I understand. I will stop you. But only because you asked me to.” You admit, not able to keep eye contact with him. Damn, it’s not going to be easy to say no when he looks at you with eyes this hungry but if this is what he wants…

“Can you start now? Because I’m really struggling.” Izuku giggles while he nuzzles your tummy. You both start laughing like two idiots while your hand finds its way into Izuku’s curls to play around. It’s not that his words doesn’t uhm… make you feel things but he said that with such an adorable tone you just can’t stop smiling.

“You close your eyes, calm down, then see you in the hot tub, yeah?”

“How am I supposed to calm down when I know what you’re about to do?!” Izuku legitimately whines into your face, his voice needy and so so honest it makes your heart hurt. He’s finally himself right now, just him being a silly and a uhm… horny nerd, not the hero, not the famous guy from the headboards, just Izuku, the young geek from the neighborhood. You absolutely love when Izuku goes all unhinged because it’s so fucking rare to see him like that.

Maybe, after this, he will be able to be like this more and more until all his insecurities fade away completely - That’s what you think about as you shed your clothes right by the hot tub, leaving the clothing nicely folded on the bench next to it.

Okay. You can do this. You have your towel in an arms length, in case you feel like it’s too much. By the look of it, Izuku won’t be able to see too much while the hot tub is on, the bubbles are way too frequent for him to take a good look.

You just need to sit in and wait for your godly boyfriend to join you and make sure he doesn’t… uhm… do anything he doesn’t really want to as per his instructions. Easy.

“I’m coming in!” Izuku announces himself, still in his All Might towel. He makes his way over with big, confident steps but stutters as he takes in the sight in front of him; your naked body hidden by nothing but the bubbles, your arms around your naked chest for extra safety, cheeks ruddy from embarrassment. Izuku swallows hard, his whole face red as he comes closer and sits down on the side of the hot tub, still in his towel. “Hi, Sweets.” Izuku drops his eyes to the floor with a shy smile on his face. He pops his legs into the water, splashing around like a child.

“Hi.” You mutter with a tiny smile. “Want to join me?” You reach out for him, but Izuku starts muttering random, incoherent stuff, clearly about to combust and you can’t help but laugh at that, all your embarrassment gone just from the sight of him.

“Uhm, yeah, I will, I swear I will it’s just uhm… you are… naked… and pretty and uhm… I don’t think I thought this through, oh my god…”

“Izu, just come in. It’s too late to run away now.” You giggle, forcing him to take your hand.

“Stop pulling me!” Izuku yells, his eyes terrified. Did you just attempt to pull the guy into the water? Yes, you just did. “Let me put my towel down, oh my god, Y/N!” Izuku stumbles and falls into the tub, water splashing all over, the sound of it louder than the happy giggles coming from you. “How will I get out now?! I have no towel, Sweets!!!” Izuku yelps, his voice high pitched, his face facing the other way out of embarrassment.

“We can share mine…” You purr into his ear while you snake your arms around his waist to pull him closer. Your breasts bounce back a bit as you push yourself into his back and you swear you can see smoke coming out of Izuku’s ears.

“Sweets, your… your bosom… is touching my back.” Izuku mutters as the blood explodes out of his nose, like in those stupid animes.

“I thought you want to get to know me better…” you mutter back, a little bit embarrassed now that the adrenaline is wearing off. “Sorry, I’ll stop bullying you.” You finally give the poor guy some peace. Izuku takes a deep breath and before you have time to get a good look at his beautiful back muscles, this absolute maniac tears the towel off himself under the water, and throws it to the other side of the garden, almost down into the street.

“Well, I wanted to show you my tattoo properly without flashing anything you don’t want to see yet, but now you missed your chance to see it.” Izuku grumbles with a red face, fake-offended.

“I don’t mind seeing your peachy ass, Izu.” You tease him but apparently, it doesn’t work anymore; Izuku only rolls his eyes with a fond smile on his face.

“Are you sure you can handle the sight? Even Kacchan admitted that my ass is juicy. I’m quite sure Calvin Klein likes my ass more than they like my personality.” The green head sighs. He’s in a sassy mood. You absolutely adore Izuku in a sassy mood. “They have all those fancy suits and shirts and cool trousers yet all I get is underwear. I’m offended.”

“Are you trying to show off, love?” You snicker, slowly sneaking closer your boyfriend, hoping for a cheeky cuddle. He doesn’t lean towards you yet, probably still a bit shy, but that’s fine.

“Maybe? I mean my butt is probably the only part of me that’s not full of scars…” Izuku looks away with eyes full of sadness. You hate when he does that, but you’ll make sure to change his way of seeing himself as soon as you can.

“I love your scars though.” You caress the massive scar around Izuku’s elbow; it’s the biggest one of them all, sprawled through half of his arm. It’s the one he got when he was only 14 years old. “One day, I want you to tell me the story behind all of them while I kiss them all. That’s one of my dreams, really. To do that. I want to kiss your insecurities away because you are the most beautiful human being in the whole wide word, Midoriya Izuku.” You stretch yourself to give your favorite person a kiss, absolutely unaware that your boobs are out of the water now.

(Warning: mention of nipples, boob touching)

Izuku yelps into your kiss and covers them with his hand right away; again, silly mistake, because just as his rough palm touches your sensitive nipple you can’t help but make a surprised noise, something between a moan and a yelp. Izuku moves his hand away with a high pitched “sorry” but you are not having any of that; you take his hand into yours and put them back where they were. “You can touch. If you want. You wanted to get to know my body, so… just… do it.” You stutter, half terrified and half… well… excited.

I mean, fucking Midoriya Izuku, your favorite hero is fondling your fucking boobies in a hot tub, of course you are excited, who wouldn’t be?

“Oh…Kay… thank you, Sweet Pea. I’ll be careful.” The tension in the air is… well… there is uhm… tension. Okay, where did your brain go?! Hello?! Words?! What’s going on?! Who is this?! Where are you?! Why is it so hot in here?!

(You okay to read along for a bit.)

“You okay, love?” Suddenly, Izuku’s hand leaves your chest and caresses your cheek; he pushes some stray hairs out of your face with a gentle smile on his face.

“I think I got overexcited and left this universe for a second, sorry.” You admit sheepishly. “You know, I’m kinda sharing a hot tub with pro hero Deku and we are both naked… my fangirl self is yelling in my head.”

Izuku next laugh is so free and careless it makes your heart melt completely.

“What does your fangirl-self want to do about it?” Izuku teases you back. You can’t help but yelp at how stupid your last sentence was.

“Nothing! Really! Nothing! I’m okay like this! Chilling in the hot tub!” You whine, red faced.

“You want to touch me? Want to feel me up, Baby?” Izuku’s face is right by your ears, his voice deep and husky, his shenanigans followed by a cheeky, innocent giggle.

“Stop teasing me, Mr. Perfect Muscles!” You full on yell into Izuku’s face now, absolutely mortified. He can’t just grumble into your ears like that, even as a joke! Oh my god, that went straight to places where nothing was supposed to go today. That’s just not fair.

“Sorry, I’ll stop. I swear.” Izuku giggles. “Except if you don’t want me too, my favorite little fangirl.” He grumbles again, making a flirty face which looks absolutely like Hawks’s.

“That’s how you wanna play this game, hot stuff? Take this, you flirty little chicken.” Your arms reach towards Izuku’s armpits. He doesn’t have time to defend himself before you start to tickle him menacingly, right where it tickles the most.

“Chicken?! Sweets, stop… haha… oh my god, stop… haha… please I beg you I’m sorry!” Izuku laughs, his eyes pleading but you are on a mission here; you need to show Izuku who wears the pants here! “Okay, if… haha… you don’t stop, I’ll stop… haha… you myself.” Izuku grabs your waist and sends you flying in the air; now needless to say the nerd didn’t think this action through at all because first of all, THIS IS TOO FUCKING HIGH, and second of all… well. You are still naked.

It takes Izuku a few seconds to realize his mistake and he catches you as quickly as he can, even with his eyes closed out of respect; he puts you in his lap, and mumbles sorry then takes a deep breath to calm himself down.

“Stupid nerd…” you grumble, your red face hidden in the crook of his neck. You try to make yourself comfortable, but Izuku puts his hands on your shoulders, his face just as red as yours.

“Sweets, don’t move… I made a mistake.” He mutters; he makes such a constipated face you can barely stop yourself from laughing.

“What…” Something twitches right under your… uhm… well… that. “Oh.”

Warning: 18+ for a bit, scroll down to the green writing to continue, there are important bits there!

“Sorry…”

“No, it’s fine, I’ll…” You try to carefully move away but the friction is just enough for the both of you to feel the pleasure of it. You’ll never forget Izuku’s face when your folds touched his half-hard member; his eyes are dark and clouded, almost watery and he’s biting his lips to not make a sound, to not show how much he liked it, but it’s all in vein; his face says it all as he can’t stop looking into your eyes, he can’t stop drinking the sight in front of him, he grabs your waist to stop you from moving away too far, desperate to feel you, desperate to be touched… “Izu…” You whisper as your body slowly goes back to its original place, right on top of Izuku’s laying member. “You don’t want this, remember?” You mutter into his mouth as you leave open mouthed kisses on his lips. His grips gets stronger, his restraint so close to snapping, but Izuku fights against the urges, even as another wave of pleasure goes through his spine when you straddle the hero’s hips and sit back down.

“I love you. I respect you. You are my everything, Sweet Pea. I would die for you.” You are not sure if Izuku is even conscious by the way he mutters nonsense into your ear; his hips snap forward, the length of his member shimming between your folds without any kind of penetration but the feelings of something so soft yet hard rubbing against your core makes you moan out loud; you look up at your boyfriend, into his eyes full of tears and terror and you stop your movements completely; something is wrong, something is not right, something is…

“Izuku, it’s fine. We don’t need to do anything. But we can also just… uhm… do this? It feels nice, isn’t it? It’s okay to want to feel nice, Izuku. It’s not a sin to have desires. I love you. And I want to see your face all scrunched up from how good it feels. I want to make you happy.” You try to smile at him, your hand caressing his cheeks to soothe him.

“This is so dirty, Sweets. You deserve better than this. I want to cherish you. I want to earn this. I want…” You can’t help but sigh at that. It’s a sweet thought but it’s also so silly; you don’t feel like you are being used for pleasure right now, it’s actually quite the opposite; this position is so intimate, so special, it’s just you and him surrounded by nothing but warmth, holding into each other, loving each other, helping each other to wind down after a stressful week…

“Izuku, what part of this is dirty to you? We love each other, don’t we? Is it a sin to feel each other? To enjoy this closeness? Do I look offended? Look into my eyes and tell me what you see.” You try your best to ignore his twitching member laying under you for a second to prove your point.

“Well, your pupils are really wide. Your eyes shine really beautifully. Your cheeks are flushed. Your lips look really tasty… I mean healthy. You look really beautiful. I love you.” He stares into your eyes like you are the one who hung the starts in the sky. You absolutely love the way he looks at you right now, it actually makes you believe this is real, not just a fleeting dream you are having every night to get away from the reality. You might be a creative person but you would never be able to come up with such a beautiful piece of art as Izuku’s face is right now.

“That’s… not what I asked.” You giggle into his neck shyly. “Can you tell me why you think this is wrong? I want to understand you.” You stop your shenanigans, trying your best to not touch in those places, but even without realizing it, Izuku pushes you right back. You decide not to comment on it and to school your face when the pleasure hits you.

“It’s… it’s dirty. You are so pure, so perfect, I… I don’t want to ruin this with my filthy desires. You are so much more than that to me. I don’t want to use you…” Izuku mutters while his hands caress your sides soothingly, the touch full of love and care.

Green zone, also, this bit is important.

“Izu, do you want to tell me what happened to you… before me?” You move your hand to the man’s cheeks, slowly caressing his ruddy cheek to calm him down a bit. Izuku visibly tenses at the mention, but sighs into the space between you, his muscles relaxing once more. Izuku has a lot of freckles on his shoulders, probably from the sunny weather and it makes his bulky figure loose it’s menacing edge; he’s just a boy, a young guy, lost in his own head, lost in his memories, a young guy full of insecurities etched into his heart by someone in the past who certainly does not matter anymore.

“There was one person. A person I thought I loved but… I don’t think I did. She certainly didn’t love me but it took me months to realize that. Everyone knew, everyone tried to tell me but I didn’t listen. I was too happy to feel needed, to not be a “Deku” for once.” Izuku tenses again so you decide to hug him tight, or as tight as you can hug a person sitting in a hot tub. You touch in a lot of places, but it doesn’t make you feel desire anymore; Izuku’s mental health is so much more important than a few minutes of pleasure. “I’ve always been a bit behind when it came to anything sexual, I was too focused on my hero work, on my notes, on my research to even think about uhm… trying stuff, even alone. This person… didn’t care about me feeling this way and I was too scared to say no but even though it felt nice I felt… dirty. I felt used. I felt like that but I still did it, every time she asked me to but with every single time I hated myself more and more for being so weird about this and she started to make me feel small and useless after a while and it wasn’t just about sex, it was about everything; my clothes, my scars, my body; my legs being too muscly, my freckles, my hair, I was too soft, too boyish…” Needless to say you are halfway between yelling and crying your heart out as you listen to his story. “It took me several months and Katsuki’s constant begging for me to finally realize she doesn’t love me, she just loves the money and my name. I was nothing but a stepping stone for her. We had an ugly break up. She said a lot of things I will never forget. It took me a long time to even be able to look into the mirror without frowning. I thought I’ll die alone. Then you came into my life.” Izuku pushes you a bit further so he can look into your teary eyes with nothing but love. “You turned my life upside down in the best way possible. I still have insecurities, clearly but… they are fading away. You are healing me. Thank you.” Izuku leaves a tiny kiss on your lips and pulls you closer once again, his body flush against yours.

“So what we just… did… well, almost… reminded you of this? I’m sorry for being so pushy… I didn’t mean any harm, Izu…” You finally let go of your tears, let yourself be the vulnerable one.

“No… I mean yes but it’s not your fault. I thought I am being the one using you this time, not the other way around. I see how stupid I was now that my head is clear. I’m sorry for ruining our hot tub date.” Izuku mutters into your hair while his arms tighten around your middle.

“You didn’t ruin anything, love.” You smile. “We got to know each other, didn’t we? We even played around a little bit and it was really nice. You told me something important. I learnt something new. It was a good date, Izu.”

“I don’t deserve you.” Izuku plays with your hair with a lovesick gaze in his eyes, his hips moving just a tiny bit under you.

“Oh, you do. You are perfect. Just what I always wanted.” You mumble into his hair, enjoying the way his curls tickle your cheek.

“I mean, I am the hero you are obsessed with…” Izuku teases, finally back to his old self.

“Hey! That’s not what I meant at all and you know that!” You giggle into his hair then move to his ear to give it a little, reprimanding bite.

“Sweets, uhm…” Izu pushes you away again to look at you. “How… much did I ruin the mood? Would you be uhm… interested in continuing?”

The look Izuku gives you while he says that goes right to your… well.

“Are you sure? We don’t need to. I can wait.” You try to reassure him but Izuku only shakes his head at that.

“Haha, I think… I think I want to fool around with the person I love the most. It’s my off-day. I can do whatever I want.” He says giddily, moving you down again. This time, you don’t try to fake nonchalance.

Warning: 18+ until the end, sexual content, (NO penetration), I don’t know how to tag this?!

“Uhm.” Izuku swallows around nothing, his face scrunched from pleasure already. You move your hips tentatively, shimmy yourself to the side of his length and for the first time since you two have been together, Izuku makes the sweetest voice, high pitched and so-so hot it makes you feel things down there, way past the pleasure of the friction. You try it again, and again, the movement more and more deliberate; your folds hug the length of him as you move from the tip to the end, without penetration, just you massaging his member by moving back and forth on the skin, giving yourself pleasure just as much as you give pleasure to him. “Sweets… that feels really good…” Izuku moves his hips up to help with the friction and you can’t help but choke on your next words, not even sure what they were supposed to be in the first place. “Is it nice for you too, love?

Ahh, Izuku is a guy who needs reassurance and talks a lot. You are not surprised by this revelation.

“Really nice, I love how close I am to you. Can we sleep naked tonight?”

Izuku only giggles at that which becomes a moan as he snaps his hips up again.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea but I can sleep in my underwear again?” You make another move, and another and another, getting closer and closer to your climax with every slide. “Can you sleep without a shirt? I loved the feeling of your… uhm… bouncy bits.” Izuku gets redder and redder as the time goes by, his movements under you careful, soft and so-so loving it hurts your heart. Your hands are in Izuku’s hair now, the curls bouncy under your palm. It might be only your imagination but you swear there are tiny, green sparkles around Midoriya, they look like the sparks of One For All acting out from all the pleasure Izuku’s getting from your shenanigans. You decide to move a bit quicker, with less hesitance, chasing your own sparks that erupt inside you with every move and every touch.

“You can touch them if you want.” You mumble, absolutely out of it and Izuku indeed goes for it; he moves his head towards your chest, leaves tiny kisses around your breast, then pops your bud into his mouth, only for a second and you see stars right away; your grip on his hair tightens and Izuku moans into your breast, needy and impatient as he snaps himself up again, chasing his climax while his mouth wanders from your chest to your neck then up to your lips. The kiss you get next is nothing like the ones you’ve got before; this one is scorching hot, dripping from desire, needy but somehow so full of emotions and unsaid words - Izuku talks to you even when he’s not, every movement full of words he’s too shy to say.

“We should stop, I’m gonna…” Izuku pants into your ear and licks into it, the smallest of moans coming out of his mouth as his movements become more sporadic. It’s absolutely ridiculous how you didn’t even really do anything yet it feels like the best sex you’ve ever had in your life.

“Too late.” You whine, your words followed by a deep kiss and that’s when it hits you; something snaps inside you, makes you feel cold and hot at the same time, your moan muffled by Izuku’s mouth; it takes Izuku a few seconds to understand what just happened and it doesn’t take him long to follow; one look at your blissed out face was all he needed to come, his grip tight on your sides as he comes down from his high together with you.

“This is the cheekiest thing I’ve ever done, Sweets.” Izuku pants with a massive, shit-eating grin on his face. You’ll never forget his blissed out face. Never. Fucking hell, you would absolutely be thrilled to have a second round like… right now. The pink cheeks, the half-lidded eyes, the sparks dancing around his whole body, even under water…

“Do you want to hear something even cheekier?” You whisper into his ear, barely able to conceal your giggles.

“Tell me.”

“We need to clean the whole hot tub. Today.” You finally let your laugh out and Izuku snorts.

“Worth it.”

“Absolutely.”

Spoiler: Both of you almost change your mind about that after cleaning the fucking hot tub for two whole hours.

… Next Chapter!

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Potato ramble:

- Honestly? I have no idea how this happened but it felt so right for these two that I decided to keep it even if it feels a bit cringe. Izuku definitely have some issues to sort out, but we love him.

- Also, I didn’t forget about the secret room! I have it planned in already but the reveal is going to happen in the last plot!

- I hope you enjoyed this part, please send me your thoughts! 🥦

TL: @garfieldthomas @porusuniverse @stickygumchewer @sixxze @mily-moo @aei-sedai-moiraine @aymasakusa @katsuari @kenzie-deadly @shiviwrites07 @lukerycyja-reblogs @cloroxisadelectabletreat @coffeent @kisskissshutmydoor @bobcar1 @yazminetrahan @cringefan @ronimacaroni77 @thekookiecorner @dangerousluv1 @emperatris-rinaka @shotos-angelic-whore @angelsdemonsmonsters @norvacaine @rei165 @unofficialmuilover @yao-ai

[hardlyinteresting]

Favourite Hotch Centered episode

Day 11 of the #MarchHotchness event. Find the other days HERE Thank you to @hotchfiles for creating this event 💕

As always Request here! | Masterlist

I am incredibly behind. I'm sorry.

For me, a centred episode is an episode where you see character development, so my top three Hotch episodes are as follows: 

4. The Tribe. It’s the first time we see Hotch butting heads with someone else. It shows us his ability to respect a person he’s in apparent competition with. We watch his attitude change and his perspective shift as he’s given new information to consider and insight into life experiences beyond his own. By the end, they’ve formed a solid bond. The episode is also just structured like a classic buddy cop comedy, and it’s endlessly amusing to me. I truly love the line where Spencer begins answering a question in the classroom and without missing a beat, Hotch calls him out like a parent/teacher. I think the episode also shows Hotch’s dedication to doing the right thing, and seeking the truth despite there being easier paths, involving money, etc. The BAU can’t be bought or manipulated. And this theme comes up a lot around Hotch. 

3. L.D.S.K. I think this episode is an amazing showcase of how clever Hotch really is, and how well he can read a situation and adapt. His ability to gain favour, and create a rapport between himself and the UNSUB is impressive. He utilizes the profile and thinks quickly. He creates a game plan. We also get bits and pieces of information about the teams he was on before he joined the BAU. Also, his apologising to Spencer afterwards is precious. I love their relationship so much. 

2. Pleasure Is My Business is one of my favourites because I think it showcases a lot of Hotch’s moral compass. He’s interested in justice regardless of what that means. He also has a great deal of compassion where others might not. I think a lot of his true character is on display here. Also, plot-wise I think this episode is unique compared to a lot of the others, and the whole “how am I a whore?” dialogue is brilliant. I love that whole conversation. I just like this episode point blank.  

1. Omnivore has always been one of my favourite episodes, period. When I think of criminal minds I think of Omnivore. To me, it is the pinnacle of what criminal minds is. But for Hotch specifically, we see how dedicated he is, and how driven he is as well. This is the case that has haunted him for years, and little does he know at this point will continue to alter his life in ways he never could have anticipated. We see Hotch get vulnerable in conversation with Rossi, we see him for the first time unsure, and blaming himself. But, we also see his determination, and we return to his moral code. He doesn’t make deals with guys like the Reaper, even when it would make the problem “go away”. 

[steamberrystudio]

07/07/2024 Tumblr Devlog

Hallo everyone!  Time for the tumblr update! Whii~iich I think I may have skipped a couple - it looks like I did that annoying thing where I wrote up an update and *forgot to post it*. 

Sorry about that! 

So what have I been doing lately? Well. Lemme tell ya.

I wrote 23,000 words this week, for one. I am ded. ┗( T﹏T )┛

But let's jump into the details because in the most recent update I see, I was still revising chapter 10.

Summary:

Finished revising, proofreading, and formatting chapter 10

Revised Asher ending sequence

Revised Daaz ending sequence

Finished drafting Kav's endings sequence

Finished drafting Noel's ending sequence

Finished drafting Raif's endings sequence

Worked on a ton of UI changes and improvements

Worked on some sprite tweaks

Received some new BG art!

Writing:

So as you can see, lots of writing progress since my last update. 

I finished revising chapter 10 and coding it. It turned out to be 88,000 words coded.

I revised and formatted Asher and Daaz's ending sequences into the game. Those two were already drafted and just needed to be cleaned up and put into Renpy.

The remaining four character still needed to be drafted but I had paused to revise the entire script so I could make some necessary plot fixes before I tried to draft the remaining endings. 

With that done, I've moved into finishing up the draft.

Currently I have Kav, Noel, and Raif drafted and Yren in progress.

And that will be all the main game content complete!

The current un-coded word count amount is 625,000 words. 💪

Art:

So I have completed some CG work since my last update but the main thing I've been working on art-wise is UI updates and changes. 

A lot of small changes to the general aesthetic as well as implementing a lot of small additions I've been contemplating for a while as QoL improvements.

Such as a little indicator that shows when you are in a "character branch" and things like that.

I've also made a few small tweaks to some of the sprites - mostly just making their expressions a little more dramatic since they were reading a bit flat to me. And, of course, adding new outfits. Always new outfits. LoL

And of course, new BGs from both artists.

Background are around 76% complete currently.

Other Stuff:

I guess UI goes in here too since in addition to the "art" aspect, there's the implementation aspect as well.

Once you change the look of something that has to be coded in, of course. 

I ended up deciding that I want to experiment with moving the sprites around a bit more - mostly moving them a bit closer and then further away depending on the scene, what's happening, and how many characters are on screen in a given moment.

There are several benefits to this including keeping the screen from being static for long periods but also, there are a couple of characters that the player will really benefit from being able to see their faces up close (mostly Raif and Yren).

So yeah - in addition to redesigning some of the screens, I have also been implementing those changes bit by bit.

The game definitely looks quite different now. I recently saw a playthrough of the current prototype that's on Itch and was astonished because I forgot how it looked when it was first released. Ha ha. It's gone through a lot of changes. 

Noel no longer matches the ceiling, for one! Amazing.

Upcoming Weeks:

I will be working on finishing up Yren's ending sequence and hope to get that done in the upcoming week - which means another heavy writing week. 

As I've said elsewhere, I have been calling them "ending sequences" but in reality this is the last three chapters of each route which is about 20,000 words total for each character. I have about 3000 words of Yren's done and I'm actually only shooting for about 15,000 for the rough draft because I invariable add dialogue and variations when I edit, which means I have to undershoot the draft so I don't overshoot the word count during revision.

So yeah, I'll be completing Yren's final three chapters, then revising Kav, Noel, Raif, and Yren and formatting them into the game, which will give me the "final" word count for the project.

And then I will be "done" with the writing (in quotes because...you're never done with the writing until it releases. LoL

I should definitely be done with drafting and revising by my next update here but I can't really say what I'll be working on by that point. Probably...UI and CGs. Not sure.

We'll find out in the future I suppose! See you then!

[fragmentofmemories]

Unnamed Touhou Fanwork Old Dream Glissando Update 3/Summary

(AKA Mentally preparing myself for the upcoming work ahead, also my longest update yet~)

Previous update

(March 2024. A snippet of Reimu, Marisa and Satsuki's designs for ODG)

Lots of good things in general here! Actually lots of things, period.

First of all: The title is up now!

I did lie about the "unnamed" a bit, considering I had Old Dream Glissando for a while (lol). I had other ones before, but I feel this one's both the shortest and the most meaningful for the plot...

...So, what is Old Dream Glissando about?

In summary, Old Dream Glissando is an action/adventure web manga series based on the Touhou Project franchise.

Set between TH5 and 6, it tells the story of main characters Reimu and Marisa, as they investigate the cause behind the recent drop in youkai sightings.

Their first clue: a human girl with the ability to heal through her erhu...

What to expect from ODG?

A bigger focus on the PC-98 era, which includes characters, abilities, locations and so on from TH1 to 5. Genre-wise, expect plenty of action too.

Windows Era characters most likely won't make an appearance, unless there is a logical or "lore-friendly" explanation to their earlier appearance.

Talking about lore: The story leans more toward PC-98 canon. That is to say, in ODG, most of what's said in PC-98 takes precedence over what's said in Windows.

However, this does not mean it will completely disregard everything the Windows era established.

My goal is not 100% accuracy — Rin Satsuki and all — but to nevertheless respect the later lore as much as the PC-98 era allows it. Marisa still knows who Rinnosuke is because she's known him since childhood, as one example...

Where will it be available?

On Tumblr and Pixiv alike! I talked a little about the posting process in the previous update, so to make it short:

I will first post the sketch versions of various pages as I work on the current chapter. This has various purposes: First, to gauge interest. Two, to tease what's about to happen next. And Three, for potential feedback as not everything is set in stone yet.

After completing the chapter, each page will be posted on bulks of 20, as that is the limit one can post at a time on this site.

All of this will be done not here, but rather in a blog dedicated to ODG! Said blog is still on the works, as I'm making sure non-Tumblr users get easy access to it. However, I will link to it as soon as it's ready.

On Pixiv, only the full version will be posted there. Although, there it will be all in one, single post given the larger amount of images one can upload at once (up to 200).

Lastly, for the Update part of this post: Chapter 1's storyboard is done!

And with it comes a slightly more bittersweet part: It's 72 pages long, which is even higher than the standard 50-60 pages most first chapters have.

Am I discouraged by this? Nah, not really! It's why I mentioned the posting process: So as to avoid leaving this project in the dark for too long.

Later chapters won't be as long either — limiting myself to up to 30 pages for those.

And so, I come in knowing I will spend the remainder of this year working on this chapter — posting updates while I also iron out the rest of the story.

I'm not setting myself any unrealistic deadlines (like of course I'm not doing this in a week lol), and I'm very aware this is a long term project. So the way I see it: Old Dream Glissando is a project I'll be chipping away day by day until it's finished.

Current thoughts on this project:

I'm having plenty of fun with it! Being a webcomic, it's pushing me into learning many new things, as well as exercising what I already know as an artist.

Likewise, limiting myself to Pre-Windows era Touhou means I get to play around with PC-98's quirks (No spellcards, Reimu can't fly and is more airheaded, etc...). As such, I made sure to add plenty of details about said era — some more obscure than others.

Once more updates begin rolling in, I hope people have fun finding said details, as I had fun writing them into the story...

Tl;Dr:

I'm making a Touhou manga set between PC-98 and Windows; It's a long-term project; It will be posted chapter-by-chapter on Tumblr (in its own blog) and Pixiv; Chapter 1's storyboard (script & panelling) is done; It's too long though, so I'll be posting WIP pages as I work the rest of the year on it.

Next update probably won't happen in a while, so see you next time!

[foxgirlbeans]

A Ninja's Guide to Eorzea: Part 1

I'm currently working on my relic weapon for ninja, and that means I'm suffering I'm going into a lot of dungeons solo as a ninja. And it got me thinking about stealth. Rogues and ninjas have a Hide feature that, aside from a few job quests, usually goes completely overlooked. you can usually run from any overworld enemies, dungeons mean you have to hang out with at least two people who can't hide from enemies, and you can't even try to hide from dungeon bosses.

So the ninja sadly doesn't get many opportunities to live out the classic ninja fantasy of striking from the shadows. But by soloing a dungeon at a higher level, you can sneak from boss room to boss room for the same effect. And since I'm going through so many dungeons right now, I thought I'd write down my thoughts on how well each one lets you live out that fantasy.

1. Sastasha

This is the dungeon I'll be comparing all others to. not just because it's the first, but it's one of the best. stealing a glance at the pirate's password and breaking into their base both happen in relatively secluded areas, so you can ignore all enemies right up until the first boss.

Thing get a little hairier when you first meet the pirates, mostly because their guard dogs can see through your sneaking. Which makes a lot of sense when you think about it, right? They live right next door to the bloody Rogues Guild, obviously they'd have ways of dealing with rogues.

This only really adds one extra fight to the list- the second dog and his master are mandatory to grab a key, and the third is in a wide open area that gives you space to avoid it. if you remember it's there, unlike me.

This dungeon is the quintessential "breaking into a base" fantasy, and it plays that part beautifully with realistic threats to keep you on your toes. also it's pirates vs. ninjas which was a big to-do during the lolsorandom years.

I'm also giving it bonus points bc despite having dogs that can spot you, you can open multiple doors without the door guards ever catching wise.

look at them. morons. A+

2. The Tam-Tara Deepcroft

I'm not going to lie, this one's 100% bias speaking. The sneaking works fine, and you can get to bosses completely unmolested, it's just... almost every "boss" here is just some random guy. it doesn't really strike the right chord like Sastasha did. I'll give it a C+/B-, it's sneakable, but it doesn't feel like a ninja.

3. Copperbell Mines

This one's got plot coupons stuck in enemies up the wazoo, so it's definitely not sneaky. On top of that, the dust bunnies in this place all have tremorsense, so you can't sneak past them, and every part of the dungeon is a narrow walkway so you can't even sneak past the old fashioned way.

If that wasn't bad enough, there's multiple moments where hecatoncheirs appear out of walls, instantly breaking your stealth and forcing you into a fight. Sneaking does get you past the worst of the final room, but by then it's too little, too late. D

3. Halatali

Not gonna lie, I 100% thought this one would turn out like Copperbell Mines when I first thought about it. I've never been happier to be wrong though!

The first and third parts of the dungeon are predictably not an issue whatsoever, you sneak past the trash mobs and fight the boss, no problem. The middle portion is where things get spicy- you see, there's several winches in the area you have to pull to open the door at the end, but pulling them breaks your stealth. Further complicating things, pulling each winch has a chance to drop a monster on your head, which I just spent two paragraphs complaining about!

However, because these winches only get pulled when you want them to be, it feels more like you're disarming a trap than anything else. Waiting for the crowd of monsters around you to wander off, setting off booby traps, and dealing with the consequences actually makes the whole experience very fun. Exploring an abandoned ruin definitely falls more on the rogue side of things than ninja, but it was fun enough that I'll let it slide. B+

4. The Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak

Hard F. You have to defeat every monster in an area before you move on, so hiding here actively slows down your progress when you have to u-turn and hunt down whatever you snuck past in the first place.

5. Haukke Manor

Another dungeon that surprised me with out sneakable it is. All of the manor's keys are either located in a boss you have to kill anyway, or on the ground. this means you can sneak into rooms, nab the key from right under the monsters' noses, and sneak back out leaving them none the wiser. Adding in the patrolling succubi that just so happen to give you just enough time to grab certain keys and hide again before they turn around gives a stealth game vibe to the whole experience like in Halatali. Plus you're sneaking into a mansion to kill a corrupt noble, which is a totally ninja thing to do! Another solid B+

6. Brayflox's Longstop

I was surprised to learn Colibri can see through ninja invisibility, but I guess that explains why Captain Madison had one. The starting room has a couple you pretty much have to fight, but aside from that it doesn't do anything special. It also doesn't really fit the ninja vibe what with you fighting random wildlife, but it has fewer filler bosses and fighting a dragon is always cool, so. B-.

[weirdowithaquill]

Ships? But Sir, They're Trains!

It's Valentine's Day, and to celebrate, I thought I'd break my usual streak of not shipping the talking trains together and share the pairings that I like the best! But only of the original 11, and a few other RWS-related friends (and maybe a bonus or two from the TVS).

Also known as: local weirdo decides trains can kiss, but only on Valentine's Day.

Let's get into the ships... er... trains.

Thomas:

Almost chronically single. I'm sorry Thomas, but you're not very good at the dating thing. Maybe Hank if I swallowed my pride and went to watch Season 12 - just because Hank's calm and friendly personality would naturally balance out Thomas. But also because they are the epitome of 'gentle giant' and 'tank engine terror'. Also, Thomas blushes in this episode:

(Sorry for the Season 12 image, but it's the only Season Hank was in!)

Edward:

This engine has options! Or more to the point - this engine has suitors. Not all make sense to the poor engine - but that's the pain of being the one everyone looks up to. I would put him with BoCo, but I must admit I had a phase where I read EdwardxJames fanfics. So... nostalgia wins (that and Edward needs someone with a fiery personality to boost his confidence sometimes, and James needs a cooler head all the time).

(Look at the smile on James' face! He's ecstatic to see his engine.)

Henry:

Bear. The answer is Bear. I'm sorry, but that Hymek has it bad for Henry, and Henry fought for Bear to stay on Sodor. And after the early days when every engine fought, Henry has no interest in getting tangled up with them again, only this time romantically. Besides, the youthful energy and eagerness Bear has will only benefit Henry, who can be a bit of an old grump.

(Bear, I can't tell if you're looking into Henry's eyes or not...)

Gordon:

Hoo boy... Gordon, oh Gordon. What to do with you? Henry and James are taken, Edward and Thomas are more siblings than romantic interests - and engines 6 through 11 are just not close enough. But how about BoCo? (Yes, this is why I didn't pair him up with Edward). BoCo is calm and polite where Gordon is loud and brash - and Gordon does see BoCo as his saviour. It would probably be the plot of a b-list romantic movie, but I can see these two getting together, with Gordon being the jock and BoCo being the 'kid' of Edward.

(Look at that little smile Gordon has! This engine is smitten.)

James:

He's with Edward, thank you. More than that, he doesn't really fit well with the other RWS cast romance-wise. Thomas is something of a rival and friend, while he wants Gordon and Henry to acknowledge him and Percy is something of a little brother/annoyance to James. Edward and he have a lot to work out (mostly James groveling) but they got a lot of coding in the series from what I remember. Plus Edward saved him - so we've ticked the cliche box.

(Yes, this means Edward is the knight in shining armour. James is a diva anyway.)

Percy:

Has about as much luck as Thomas does, if we're honest. Young, childish Percy has no chance, while older, grumpier Percy is more interesting to consider. The Percy of Seasons 5 and 6 I could see bagging Harold. But then, we could also consider the absolute insanity of Percy and Diesel 10. Imagine the shock, imagine the story! (I'm a writer, let me dream about how I'd write this lot). Diesel 10 would be the delinquent who is soft for Percy and Percy only. It would also lead to an epic fight between the helicopter and the engine with a giant claw.

(Um, is Percy... blushing?! What are these faces?! I have questions.)

Toby:

Is married to Henrietta. They are old couple goals. Percy and Thomas are extremely jealous.

(Toby is grinning cause he knows his wife - that poor manager...)

Duck and Donald:

I considered Percy for Duck, but I feel like what Duck needs is an engine who can really bring out the playful side in Duck - the engine who helps him be more than just the railway he used to work for. That engine is Donald. When they ended up playing pranks on each other in Donald's Duck to the point where Duck stooped to putting a literal duck in Donald's tender knowing Donald would find it funny really says it all about these two.

(Look at him, so excited to play his little prank! His driver is wheezing!)

Douglas and Oliver:

These two practically have a kid in Toad already (or an advice-giving uncle. One of the two). Douglas saved Oliver, and that sort of thing has a lasting impact - especially because it's also the most likely relationship to actually happen. Both Douglas and Oliver are known for sticking it to authority, being a bit hot-headed and being led a bit more by spirit and the heart than by their heads. They have Toad for critical thinking. They live and work together too - and it would be hilarious to watch Duck blast his safety valve off when he finds out.

(Ah yes, let me just stare into your eyes for half an episode.)

Mavis and Daisy:

These two are disaster lesbians, and we love them for it. It's also the femme fatale (or as femme fatale as a diesel railcar can be) and the butch (she works in a quarry - this girl wears overalls) tropes - and they're disasters. Need I remind anyone that Daisy was the one who encouraged Mavis to ignore Toby? It would also be hilarious purely for how much Thomas and Percy would grumble about being single, while Daisy and Mavis rub their relationship in the pair's faces. Which would lead to that one memorable incident where Thomas tried to flirt with a very unamused and confused Bertie.

(Mavis, sweetie - don't listen to Daisy's advice. I know you're distracted but ple-- and she's gone.)

Annie and Clarabel:

Are wine aunts and siblings. And no, neither of them are interested in Thomas, so you can stop thinking that.

(These coaches are Thomas' wine aunts and best friends - and he loves them too.)

Bill and Ben:

Are children! Edward's children! That he has with BoCo (sort of) leading to the brilliant moments where Gordon has to 'babysit' them - which is mostly done with a lot of grimacing and begging BoCo to just hand this lot over to Edward and James - no seriously, please stop letting these two just randomly adopt you as their parent. They're evil, and they wanted to throw me in the sea, remember? No, I don't care that James doesn't like them, I don't like them! BoCo!

(He's petrified of them, but he wants to be nice for BoCo's sake...)

Emily:

Does not need a man, thank you. But she is entranced sometimes by Caitlin's streamlining (yes, I have seen some CGI - I am not a true purist, I am sorry Awdry). Then again, sometimes Emily likes Hiro - and then there was that one time where she was just so upset that Mavis wouldn't notice her. Emily doesn't need no man - but she's also not exactly got the best selection of potential candidates at her shed...

(She's got an amazing poker face. Caitlin however...)

So... that was a thing I did. Somewhere around Percy's entry, this gained a coherent plot in my mind - probably a High School AU? - and now I'm just thinking of Diesel 10 towering over Percy, blushing and trying to give him flowers (with his claw???) while Harold seethes. Clearly, being a single pringle has driven me insane.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone, I hope you enjoyed this wild idea and if people want expansions on these ships (still trains) and why I like the idea of them, please go ahead and ask!

If people really like this, I will take on the Narrow Gauge engines.

[chaifootsteps]

other pointer for anons who come in saying 'could you even discuss with someone who disagrees with you'

someone being critical of the hellaverse shows is not a free pass to be rude, condescending or dismissive to that person. coming into someone's inbox with that kind of tone just means no one will want to speak about the show with someone like that

as hbomb wisely said while he was criticizing RWBY: 'If you have a point but you're an asshole about it, no one will want to listen to you.'

also, sometimes people who are critical of the show want the same thing fans want: a community of people to vibe with. not everyone who criticizes the show is interested in having a fan slide into their DMs to debate them and change their mind. it's kind of presumptuous to assume that's the case

for me the show is some of the worst writing I've ever seen. I doubt anyone's ability to change my mind. And while I don't understand the perspective of people who still like or love the show, I don't begrudge them that. honestly I wish I could still like the show, but I doubt it's even possible for it to win me back at this point. and I don't think I'm alone in that, going by the way the view counts keep dropping

for some of us, trying to like the show would mean ignoring too many things or using headcanons to patch up too many holes or problems. even asusming someone critical would be open to discuss/debate about it, it's again a little presumptuous to assume a fan could counter argue every point as if people who criticize the show haven't already considered different angles that could work and why they don't.

just getting into plot holes and inconsistencies in HB or HH alone this post would become twice as long - this attitude that critical viewers just want to hate the show and are being stubborn for some reason is so strange to me when most critical viewers just talk endlessly about how frustrating the wasted potential is and how much they wanted to like it or would like it if more care was put in

tl:dr but if it bothers fans of the show so much to see people criticize it they should avoid critical spaces for their own sake, rather than marching into someone's inbox to talk down to them or act like they aren't aware other people still like the show

Repeating this part because I feel it's so important, and something a lot of Viv stans either don't or refuse to understand, but it's really at the heart of all of this all.

Sometimes people who are critical of the show want the same thing fans want: a community of people to vibe with.

[samthetrekkie]

I feel like I've abundantly established that I don't think the tos movies are the best ones ever made and this one was especially wild to me, but I still do have a soft spot for all of them. I never leave thinking "oh, I didn't like that", even if there were entire scenes were I was like ??? and/or second hand embarrassed. (think, uhura dancing naked, them thinking the alien on the planet is literally god). but then sybok asking when the pain began and spock goes "this is the scene of my birth" was way too funny to me (sorry spock). and the turbo boots scene in the jeffries tube was also really entertaining in a slapsticky way.

the general plot was a bit strange, but it actually reminded me of og tos episodes. at the same time, that's not necessarily a good thing… I liked the shore leave scenes, even though they were a bit long considering how short the movie was. it also reminded me of those old, unauthorized tos books (even though I've never actually read any of those) where they recycle typical tos episodes, but make it a little larger and filled with some non-canon info, like the random pairings. I do think scotty and uhura are kind of cute though! it came out of nowhere, but it kind of makes sense to me. (why do they call each other by their last names though?) and then cut to chekov and sulu in the woods bickering like a couple. makes sense as well. but why are these people serving on the same ship in the same positions again after they've become really high ranking officers? I think it actually made a lot of sense in wrath of khan that e.g. chekov was a first officer on a different ship and spock captain. but considering this, it makes a lot of sense that some (all) of them are bound to date each other at some point. it's like going to class with the same people for 8 years.

I surprisingly liked spock leaning more into his human side and being emotional than usual. it makes sense in my head that, after he was reborn, he kind of saw how short life was and that there was no need to keep up a facade at all times, but still not lose his identity. similar to seven in picard, I am always worried about autistic-coded characters changing their personality heavily after a while, but with spock it feels quite natural and it even worked with seven in the later picard seasons. I just think it's all about the balance. like I enjoy those characters being more comfortable, especially around friends and loved ones, but they shouldn't change entirely how they are and still seem "reserved". and I think leonard nimoy especially did well in that, even if this script gave him some out of character lines I think (like the "damn you, sir!"). have I already mentioned I think leonard nimoy is the best actor in tos…?

speaking of spock's rebirth and rethinking, I do see him being more open with kirk (I almost wrote jim, but that feels weird) and they had very much a married couple vibe in this movie. even the little maritial crisis in the brig was there. so I'd like to think kirk finally made a commitment :) and while there were not too many one on one scenes with these two, the next to last scene was more than one could wish for, spirk-wise. their intense eye contact and "please captain, not in front of the klingons" while standing extremely close to one another and kirk grabbing spock. like I've seen so many posts that shatner denies there was anything between kirk and spock, but the way he played kirk, I mean come on. I'm sure there wasn't a direction in the script that said "kirk stares lovingly up at spock". but he fully did in this scene! we have proof! and kirk holding on for dear life to spock as he rescues him with the turbo boots in the jeffries tube was also something. I mean of course you need to hold on, but kirk was embracing spock with a closeness different than mccoy did. (but then there is this strange thing with mccoy, where I keep thinking: is he third wheeling or is this a three way relationship? I somehow can't see mccoy fitting in with kirk and spock's romantic vibe and I don't see him in an erotic way in general but… tumblr is giving me ideas...)

a very long winded post to say: superfluous, but overall enjoyable movie. while watching, I also suddenly had flashbacks that this was the first (!) piece of star trek that I had ever (consciously) watched. it was on tv when I was like 10 and I kept zapping away and was surprised when it was still going and was like: isn't this supposed to be a tv show? and my dad, who grew up watching tos, had no memory of there ever being star trek movies in the 80s. he also had never heard of pretty much any star trek shows after tos at that point, so he was living under a rock, apparently. anyway, some of the scenes of this movie were really etched into my mind and I honestly think one of the subconscious reasons I wanted to watch tos was to get context to these scenes! (of course besides me wanting to watch all of star trek from the beginning.)

[wvyld]

tgcf; Hua Cheng finds Fangxin Guoshi!Xie Lian before the massacre happens AU

it's been two, three years since the kidnapping attempt? Xie Lian's position in court is, ah, stable? his reputation as a mysterious and wise immortal master cultivator guy has settled, at least — who would have thought hiring that one very random street preformer to be Guoshi would work out so well!

someone paints a picture of the sword Fangxin Guoshi carries. Hua Cheng sees it and thinks; oh

if dianxia wants to raise the Yong'an crown prince, then dianxia is going to raise the Yong'an crown prince, no interruptions

Hua Cheng joins the Yong'an court by the way of money, forms a spy network through similar means, and becomes the good friend of Fangxin Guoshi because he really, really wants to and Xie Lian is very, very lonely

they spar a lot! it's very impressive. Lang Qianqiu finds it very cool

the entire court gossips about them. Xie Lian pretends not to know

Xie Lian finds out Hua Cheng is a ghost from Xianle which serves as a temporary explanation for what, exactly, is a ghost king doing hanging out in Yong'an.

they have a date in Ghost City — it ends with a scene with Xie Lian taking off his Fangxin Guoshi mask & Hua Cheng showing him his true form

Hua Cheng is like. Lang Qianqiu's uncle. he warms up to the kid, like, eventually, a little — he's not saying he likes him —

they have a Qi Rong fieldtrip! fun is not the way to describe it

Lang Qianqiu ascends

VERSION 1.

Lang Qianqiu ascends alone and, later, has a very awkward conversation with his Guoshi about maybe choosing his master (and uncle Hua Cheng) as a Middle Court officials...? Guoshi? uh. why not?

XL: yeah so im a banished god. twice banished. for reasons! don't worry about it

HC: it might be possibly more awkard if you make me a Middle Court official

VERSION 2.

the three of them ascend together — the event is very destructive! Heaven ah. breaks? a little! but there's three of them, so that's. that's an explanation. for that.

it's a such lovely story — the crown prince of Yong'an, has ascended together with his two mentors after defeating the Green Ghost Qi Rong!

Xie Lian does not take off the mask. he just. doesn't! he means to, he thinks about it, he intends to do it, but enough time passes that it becomes awkward — Feng Xin and Mu Qing have introduced themselves to him! it would be just weird at this point...

Hua Cheng supports this wholly. Feng Xin and Mu Qing have no idea why this one guy in red hates them — well, there is that one guy in red who hates them, but there's no way in hell he ascended to Heaven!

Jun Wu does not know who Hua Cheng is. Xie Lian doesn't tell him. it's funnier this way

Jun Wu realizes who Xie Lian is imidateley. he and Xie Lian have a conversation in which he agrees to allow for Xie Lian's stay in Heaven to remain anonymous — though he is a little preoccupied with stopping Heaven from falling down to really have time for plotting

a great opportunity for fun logistics-of-how-was-heaven-made-actually worldbuilding!

He Xuan does know who, exactly, has ascended (again) and struggles not to laugh. he is one of the very few people well-informed enough to know how fucking hilarous this is

there are now three Calamities is Heaven

Lang Qianqiu is just happy his two mentors have ascended with him, really! very happy. Heaven seems to have been a little. uh. damaged. he'd hate to need to deal with it on his own!

the golden palace of lies collapses in some hilarous way as our heroes try to stop Heaven from falling down due to structual damage. Jun Wu's reveal speedrun

VERSION 3.

the three of them ascend together, but but it's known who Xie Lian & Hua Cheng are

divergence happens during the Qi Rong thing — Lang Qianqiu finds out about the stuff because Qi Rong figures it out

there's a whole scene — Xie Lian takes of his mask, all; yeah I'm the crown prince of Xianle, don't listen to my idiot cousin he's just terrible, he's always, been terrible, your life isn't a lie — there are just shitty people in the world, sometimes, and, look, we stopped the tragedy, didn't we? — because in this AU they did; Hua Cheng has spies, the plot is over before it even begins, the massacre doesn't happen, Xie Lian does not kill Lang Qianqiu's father...

Qi Rong points out there is a fucking Devastation right there isn't he plotting things also?

Hua Cheng magic girl transformation into ghost king regalia, says some things about Xianle/Yong'an relations, and being a soldier while he was alive that mostly boil down to listen to what your Guoshi teaches, he's a wonderful amazing person the best in the world, the smartest, the most beautiful —

Lang Qianqiu finds that reassuring because that's just how Hua Cheng normaly acts, see, he's clearly here because he has a crush on Guoshi! it's not about revange or Yong'an at all, the man is just in love

Lang Qianqiu has some sort of a hero speech, very serious vow to be a good king and a good person and follow Guoshi's teachings! Xie Lian is very proud

they defeat Qi Rong with the power of friendship — and then the three of them fucking ascend

Xie Lian, no mask — Hua Cheng in ghost king regalia — Lang Qianqiu also there being the objectivley least interesting person in the room

every god in Heaven freakes the fuck out

it's a disaster, it's hilarous. He Xuan contacts Hua Cheng asking what the fuck he is doing. Hua Cheng just laughs

Xie Lian wants to leave, so bad — it feels like this situation would become a whole lot simpler if he and Hua Cheng weren't there, but he can't just leave Lang Qianqiu to this mess....

if Xie Lian leaves, so will Lang Qianqiu, really, if Heaven is to good for such an honorabile and good and just person as his Guoshi then maybe there is something wrong with Heaven (Hua Cheng is so proud)

HC: this is my second ascenshion and Guoshi's third ascenshion, so don't you worry, kid, we're old hands at this business

LQQ: I am worried for this reason exactly

Xie Lian has a whole thing trying to convince Lang Qianqiu to stay in Heaven even if they two do get kicked out for structual damage all I know it sucks but you're a prince, it would be very rude to tell the Emperor to fuck off —

LQQ: okay, so, how about this; if you two leave I cannot stay because your combined power wrecked Heaven so bad it might fall off the sky and I am not shouldering that debt on my own

XL: oh fuck I forgot about that

somewhere in this there is a scene of Feng Xin snd Mu Qing trying to rescue Xie Lian & Lang Qianqiu from evil Hua Cheng's cluthes

plot happens: heaven might fall down so we should deal with that! dealing with that is mostly a logistics thing. also, a war between realms might be around the corner.