#also it's like keeps jumping from one plot to another but it somehow moves at a snail's pace. how.

[creatureprofessor]

i'm at that stage of MA thesis writing where i'm doing all sorts of Activities that is NOT writing my thesis. in other news i started watching Rings of Power

[corameiwrites]

𖦹 i want somebody to want 𖦹

pair: jason todd x gn!reader

plot: When you turn 21, the name of your soulmate appears on your forearm. Not everyone is born with a soulmate, and Jason Todd never thought he would have one. 

wc: 2k

authors note: I remember reading in a fic somewhere about the Wayne Scholarship, and I forgot who/where I read it exactly, so credit to them whoever they are. Also, some characters may seem a little ooc and tbh I don't really care. I had fun writing this which is all that matters, and I hope you have fun reading it!

pt. 2

The place Dick had dragged Jason to wasn’t all that bad, considering it was located in Blüdhaven. Unless it was near the University area, there was always something sinister and more corrupt happening under the alcohol, vomit, and blood-stained floors of Gotham bars. Normally no amount of bribery or guilting could make him voluntarily dress up and go out drinking with his older brother, but today was not normal. 

It was his twenty-first birthday. 

Meaning that by 11:59 tonight, if a name didn’t appear somewhere on one of his arms, he was destined to be alone. Not everyone is born with a soulmate, and realistically, after all the shit he’s been through, Jason Todd never thought he would have one. Despite that, there was some sort of dread slowly filling his body the more he thought about it. Maybe it was that small flame of the little boy he used to be—before Robin and the Bat and the Joker—igniting at the chance of finally having one. It was the same boy who would trace his parents’ names on their wrist, asking them to tell him once more how they met, what they felt seeing the names appear on their skin. Unfortunately, that little boy would be let down yet again by the end of the night. 

His plans had originally been to stay in his main apartment (the one where he stored all his books and indulged in a comfy couch), buy a 6-pack of the cheapest beer and get drunk alone. That was ruined, however, when he received multiple annoying texts from Dick, begging to go out for drinks tonight, specifying multiple times that it would be on him. Jason told himself the only reason he agreed was for the free drinks and to keep himself from checking his forearm every five goddamn seconds (a night out with Richard Grayson was known to be entertaining and unpredictable).

If it was Dicks plan to get Jason blackout drunk, he was doing a pretty good job of it. After agreeing he would be the designated driver, Dick had laid back on the drinks and only taken 3 of the five rounds of shots they had already ordered. Jason was opening up bit by bit, reminiscing on their childhood together. By his fifth shot, smiling seemed to come easier to Jason. 

Currently, they were both watching the flatscreen hung behind the bar showing a news channel covering Batman and Robin putting an end to another bank robbery. 

Dick pointed at the screen. “Damian learned that move from me.” 

“No, I taught him that.” 

“I��m the one who taught you that move when you were younger, big dummy,” Dick teased. 

“Oh, I forgot.” Jason's tone lost its joking edge, and Dick looked over at him. “You know,” he continued almost somberly. “Ever since coming back, I seem to forget a lot of things.” 

His eyes were glued to the screen, watching as Batman jumped out a window in pursuit of the bad guy. Robin shouted after him.

“You’ve been through hell and back, Todd. Normal people wouldn’t have been able to handle it the way you did.” 

“No, you see, that's the thing.” Jason's voice was frustrated, his previous smiles gone. His brows furrowed the longer he ranted. “I’m not normal. I cycle through apartments and bunkers like crazy to help me lay low. I sleep in until 3 pm and I put a helmet on to chase down crazy guys with guns for hours at night. The public knows me as some traumatized kid who somehow survived a terrorist attack.” He pauses to take a gulp of beer, slamming the glass onto the bar, lifting his arm to wipe his mouth. Dick watched his jacket slip down his arm.

“Jason–”

“I don’t have a home, I don’t have a stable routine, I don’t even have life insurance!” Dick had somehow managed to get the former deceased and outlaw brother of his drunk and ranting about life. And the worst part? Nobody was ever going to believe him.

“Jason,” Dick puts a hand on his younger brother's shoulder, gripping him like a vice. His eyes never left his arm. “Your soulmate.”

Both of them are silent for a moment. Jason sighs, shaking his head. 

“Damn, you're good at this.Yeah, it's about the soulmate thing.”

“You fucking idiot,” Dick slaps him on the back of his head. “Look at your arm!” 

Dick watched as Jason stared him in the eyes, his brain clearly trying to catch up with what his brother was insinuating. When he finally looked down, it was comedic the way his eyes bulged at the fresh ink on his left arm. Dick tried his best to keep his excitement at bay, biting back his proud smile. His grumpy, tough, and borderline psychotic little brother had a soulmate. After a couple more seconds of silence, Jason cursed under his breath.

“I’m too sober for this,” Jason mumbled, chugging down the rest of his beer.  

Dick laughs, waving the bartender over and handing him a card to close their tab. Jason slams the empty cup down, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular. “I have a soulmate.”

“Yeah man, congratulations!” Dick pats his brother on the back, but recoils at Jason turning abruptly and staring him dead in the eye. 

“I have a soulmate.”

“I…yeah, you do bud.”

“...I have a soulmate.” He repeats, annunciating each word, as if he can’t believe it. “I need to find them,” Jason says, standing and walking towards the exit of the bar. 

“Woah, Jason–” Dick hurriedly stands, apologetically yelling for the bartender and grabbing his card. Rushing outside, he sees Jason recklessly crossing the street to the parking lot. “Slow down!” 

Jason stands awkwardly next to Richard Grayson's blue convertible, clambering over the door and into the passenger seat. Dick watches from across the street, shaking his head with a smile, making his way to the car. He couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed with Jasons drunken behavior. 

Hopping in the driver's seat, Dick puts the keys into the ignition. “Alright loverboy, where are we going?”

“The mansion,” Jason struggles to get his seatbelt on (Dick intervenes). “The Batcave’s computer can find anyone.”

“Huh. That’s actually really smart considering you're drunk.” 

“I’m not. Just shut up and drive.”

Dick laughs, hitting the gas pedal and doing as he was told.

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩  ♡  ✩˚｡⋆𖦹｡°⋆✮ 

Bruce was home early, having quickly left the bank robbers tied up as Gordons responsibility. Currently, he was sitting in the library going over a case file. Damian had already gone to bed when he had gotten an alert of a vehicle coming up the manor's driveway. He checked the security cameras in the garage and was shocked to see his eldest rushing to the passenger side of the car to stop his sluggish brother from falling out. At first, Bruce had thought that he was poisoned or impaired in some way. He called for Alfred, asking him to prepare the medical rooms to tend to Jason. A few short minutes later, he heard faint voices approaching. 

“I used to live here before I died, I know where I’m going.”

“Clearly not, we passed the entrance already.”

“The old man has a sensor on that door. We need to take the entrance in one of the bookshelves, they don’t notify him when someone enters.”  No one but Alfred was supposed to know that. 

“I doubt it’ll matter, he’s out fighting crime with—oh shit!” Bruce watched through his freakish peripheral vision as two figures hurriedly backed away from the doorway of the library. “Code Bat! Code Bat!” Dicks voice had dropped to a whisper, though not so quiet that Bruce couldn’t hear. 

“B’s here?” A head with a white streak of hair popped through the doorway before quickly vanishing. “Oh no.” 

“It’s only 11:45, what is he doing lounging around?”

Bruce chuckled quietly, now coming to the realization that they weren’t drugged or in danger; they were just drunk. Jason especially, which made sense. Quietly, he sent Alfred a message telling him to disregard the request. He feigned ignorance to their presence, going as far as flipping pages of the case file in his lap while they bickered, attempting to formulate a plan. Listening in to their not very secretive conversation, Bruce deduced that they had come to find Jason's soulmate on the Bat computer. It was his 21st afterall, and why else would he come drunkenly to the home he tried so hard to stay away from? Bruce found himself smiling for the boy. He had been through so much, and he deserved to have some good in his life. He only hoped that whoever they were, they took care of him in places where Bruce failed. 

Sighing exaggeratedly, he stood, stretched and slowly made his way to the doorway, listening as the two brothers hushed. He allowed himself one last second of respite before wiping the smile off his face and walking out into the dark hallway. Dick stood alone, leaning against the wall and whistling. He turned his head, seeing Bruce standing, observing him. 

“Oh, hey Bruce! I’ve been looking for you.” Dick pushed off the wall, going to stand next to his Father. “I thought I’d visit, wait for you to get home, but you’re here!”

“What do you need?” 

“Oh nothing much,” taking Bruce's arm, he began to drag him in the opposite direction, past the library. “I just got nostalgic, and wanted to take a trip down memory lane with my Pops.” 

“You smell like alcohol.”

“Like I said, I was feeling nostalgic!”

Dick rattled on, leading him down the dark halls, and Bruce noticed Jason slipping into the library. He smiled, turning his attention back to his eldest. He couldn’t find himself to be angry about his sons keeping secrets from him. If he felt anything about tonight's endeavor, it was disappointment. Bruce Wayne had taught his sons to be sneakier than they had been tonight. 

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩  ♡  ✩˚｡⋆𖦹｡°⋆✮

Jason, in his drunken haste, had almost tripped down the short flight of steps leading to the massive computer. He couldn't really blame the alcohol though—it was his fault for looking down at his arm every couple seconds, as though the black ink would fade away before he ever found out who you were. Even if it did, he had already committed the name to memory.

He knew how many letters were in your name, the number of syllables in the different parts of it. Despite this, he hadn’t yet spoken it out loud. For the last 30 minutes of his life, every breath he took held a certain weight to it, and the beating of his heart had persisted to be about 120 beats per minute.

He blamed it on the alcohol, but logically he knew the reason.

 That little boy—the one he thought was dead and buried—was coming back to life, crawling his way out of the depths of Jason and settling into his gut. 

His hand shook as he typed the name, every click of the keyboard ringing dully in his skull. Inhaling deeply, Jason hesitated for only a moment before clicking enter. Your name popped up surprisingly quickly, specifically registered under the “Wayne Scholarship” file.

His hand moved by its own volition and the link was clicked, a government ID popping up on the display. 

Staring up at the photo of you in awe, his eyes flickered to the name and back to the photo, unbelieving that this was you. Your simple beauty was evident even through the low quality government ID.

He stared for a while, just taking in you. It was a little odd looking at the huge screen, knowing that you two were made for each other. The thought only made his heart speed up even more. 

Digging into your file, he finds that you’re 20 and won’t be turning 21 for another seven months. The knowledge that he knows and you don’t makes him nauseous.

Clenching the edge of the table, he remembers that the reason he found you so quick was due to the Wayne Scholarship. You moved to Gotham for your third year of college to attend Gotham University, with most of the tuition paid for as long as you agree to stay away from any and all crime. Suddenly, he had found another reason to be thankful that Bruce was filthy rich. Your current residence was an old apartment complex in the University area, which was for the most part, free of crime. The more information he got from Bruce Wayne's files, the more his stomach fluttered. 

That little boy was practically jumping up and down inside of him, chanting over and over again, “I knew it! I knew we would have a soulmate!”. As the information sunk in, he began to shake more violently, and he felt like his legs were barely holding his weight. In fear of throwing up or collapsing on the floor (or both), he fell backwards into Bruce's chair. A tear slid down Jason’s cheek, and then another, and another. 

For the first time in a long time, Jason Todd sobbed.

[devilish-cherry]

choso relationship headcanons pt 2 ♡

ᨳ♡₊➳ choso x reader

ᨳ♡₊➳ crack, fluff

ᨳ♡₊➳ part one

ᨳ♡₊➳ me, not posting content for months: 🛌💤

also me the second choso crosses my mind: 🧍‍♀️💻🔥

i abandoned you all for two months but crawled out from under my rock at the call of my choso thirst alone. brand consistency is on point. nature is healing. please accept these headcanons as a humble offering before i crawl back into my hole. 😌🖤

₊⊹. choso's idea of waking you up gently is hovering over your sleeping form silently, staring until your soul feels his presence, and you wake up in sheer terror. "good morning," he deadpans, genuinely puzzled by your startled gasp. "were you dreaming badly?"

₊⊹. choso insists on watching those overly dramatic soap operas with you because his memories vaguely recall his vessel's grandma watching them. now he's deeply invested in the plot. you find him dramatically yelling at the tv, "do not give him the rose, mari! he betrayed your trust!" if you miss an episode, he's like, "i have updates. you will not believe who betrayed who."

₊⊹. he's surprisingly good at video games once he learns them, but is personally betrayed whenever your animal crossing villagers move out. you find him softly murmuring to your switch, "was my hospitality inadequate?"

₊⊹. choso discovered cooking tutorials on youtube exactly once and now he's committed to mastering japanese cuisine. unfortunately, it usually ends up with rice burnt to the bottom of your favorite pan. he always looks so earnestly distressed, blinking at the scorched remains, "this isn’t how chef kenichi said it would turn out…"

₊⊹. once he found out houseplants increase serotonin, your apartment basically turned into a botanical garden. he gets emotionally attached to each plant. you swear you've caught him softly reassuring a succulent, "you are doing well. keep photosynthesizing."

₊⊹. he knows how to use chopsticks, shake hands, and make a dentist appointment, all thanks to his vessel, but he has never emotionally processed any of those things. he does them like he’s cosplaying a civilian. that’s why he answers the door for the delivery driver by simply saying, “greetings.” and then doesn’t move to take the bag. just stares. the driver glances at the food, at choso, back at the food, like maybe this is a very elaborate mugging. you quickly jump in and handle the transaction while choso whispers to you, “they were unusually tense. suspicious?”

₊⊹. choso genuinely thinks the "don't talk to me until i've had my coffee" mugs you bought ironically mean you require silence in the morning. so every dawn, he sits in complete silence next to you, handing you coffee with reverence like you’re some ancient deity who must not be angered.

₊⊹. he knows how laundry works, in theory. but the first time you ask him to handle it, he somehow ends up washing your whites with a vibrant red hoodie. now everything you own is pink. he looks at you, tilting his head slightly. "pink suits you. i improved your wardrobe."

₊⊹. he doesn’t fully get sarcasm, so when you joke, "wow, love that for us," after you both spectacularly burn dinner, he nods sincerely, "i also appreciate our unified failure." he eventually adopts your sarcastic sense of humor but misses the delivery entirely, resulting in gems like, "oh great, another sunny day. precisely what we needed." completely serious, staring at a cloudless sky.

₊⊹. he tries to cheer you up by sending animal videos he discovers online but sends you bizarrely intense wildlife survival clips instead. "look, love. it's a meerkat narrowly escaping death. inspiring, isn't it?"

₊⊹. your first time visiting a pet cafe was his personal awakening. now, whenever he's stressed, you inevitably end up at the local cat café watching him silently commune with the cats. "they understand," he assures you while cradling a grumpy-looking cat named 'pancake'. "we should consider joint custody of this cat."

₊⊹. he knows what a “joke” is. he even knows the formula. set up → punchline → laughter. but when he tries to tell one, it’s like watching someone who read about humor but has never experienced it. he also always forgets the punchline halfway through and solemnly finishes, "i'm sorry. this was supposed to be humorous."

₊⊹. choso likes to hold hands, but doesn't quite understand when it’s socially acceptable. you once ended up awkwardly holding his hand while explaining to your landlord why the sink was broken, choso calmly beside you, fingers entwined, giving zero context.

₊⊹. choso tries texting you once, but doesn't understand emojis. you receive an ominous message: "Come home. 🔪🍅" and spend the entire day convinced something horrifying awaits you. turns out, he just wanted help cutting tomatoes.

₊⊹. choso believes firmly in quality cuddle sessions. he doesn't ask; he merely strategically drapes himself nearby until you notice and concede. you finally ask why he doesn't just say he wants cuddles, and he blinks slowly. "that seems aggressive."

₊⊹. choso finds diy tutorials online and tries them secretly to surprise you. spoiler alert: he’s hilariously bad at them. you've come home to questionable-looking clay mugs, half-painted canvases, and one very strange knitted... something. he presents each with absolute sincerity, "it is handmade. by me."

₊⊹. he randomly gives you head pats but doesn’t understand the social nuance, sometimes patting your head gently during serious conversations. "this is comfort." he declares, clearly satisfied with himself.

₊⊹. you once sarcastically called him “my strong little man” after he carried a heavy grocery bag. this man did not talk for an hour. he was processing. he sat down with a glass of water and said, “i am not little. but i am... yours.” you almost choked.

₊⊹. choso is basically your shadow in public places because he learned from his vessel's memories that partners stay close. sometimes so close he accidentally steps on your heel repeatedly. if you ever ask him for more space, he just blinks, totally deadpan. "i am ensuring your safety."

₊⊹. one day, you jokingly said, "ugh, i’d marry whoever does the dishes tonight," and you've never seen choso move so fast in his life. the plates nearly shattered from his enthusiasm alone.

₊⊹. if you ask him to pass you a towel while showering, he reaches into the bathroom with his eyes dramatically shut tight. his determination to respect your privacy while also being helpful is ridiculously endearing.

₊⊹. despite his perpetual resting bored face, choso genuinely believes everything you do is incredibly cool. you open a tricky jar? "incredible strength." you manage to fix the wifi router? "unmatched technological prowess." he looks at you like you're simultaneously beyoncé and albert einstein incarnate. it’s honestly adorable.

₊⊹. sometimes, he stares at your shared life, photos, plants, mugs, and mutters to himself, “i never thought i’d have this.”

[kryannoy]

Hello hello!! I Hope your day is good ^^ could I request Sakura and Suo w a reader with ‘nerdier’ interests and collections whos kind of avoided by her/their classmates for it? (Nerdy as in Anime figures, aliens, that kinda stuff!!) I’m not sure if your requests are open or not so if not, my apologies!!

THE "WEIRD" KID IN SCHOOL

genre: fluff, sfw

characters: sakura, suo

a/n: some parts in suo makes me feel contradicting and sad because of how delusional it sounded. the part where they talking about fictional characters when suo himself is fictional 😔

SAKURA HARUKA

Doesn't understand why you like those stuff.

Doesn't understand why you waste your money on figurines and be left in the open that take up space and collect dust.

Doesn't understand why you keep them in the first place.

He would just look at them in confusion with the happy, dancing figurines star back at him.

He doesn't touch them but does take a close look while leaning down with his hands on his knees and ask why.

"Because!" You pause. "Because they look cool and give some vibes to my room."

'Uh huh, yeah, very,' he thought as he looked around your room full of posters of the same kind and a bookshelf full of manga with more trinkets. He doesn't want to sound rude so he decided staying quiet was best. 'Looks just like Kiryu's place.'

After all, who is he to have a say on what your room looked like.

He'll ask you the name of some characters that he somehow has seen before, "Who's this?" He points to a Genshin character as he looks over his shoulder.

"That's Xiao. Did he catch your eye as well?" You grin.

"Not really. He looks the familiar with the one I saw in Kiryu's room."

That was his first experience visiting your room though.

Other days, he'll sit there and listen to you ramble on about a game or anime characters. Or even the newly released episode. Or the plot of an anime or game. Sometimes he'll stuff his face with food, but still pay attention to you, while you waste your saliva.

He'll get confused at first but if you keep talking or following up to the next update, he gets used to it and will comment on his perspective.

One time you watch an action anime with Sakura, he gets frustrated most of the time when the main character gets a hit. Or say the villain is weak if the main character kicks their butt.

DO NOT let him watch ANY anime or show where the main character is weak. It gets to his nerves and you have to hear him complaining instead.

When you're ready to login to a game, he'll ask you, "Are you going to play that game from last time?"

He wants to watch you play the game that you started with him. He wants to know the plot too.

Loves to watch you play Final Fantasy.

Cheers you on beside you during battle and gets frustrated with you when you lose. Breathes a sigh of relief with you when you clear the boss level with a red HP bar.

SUO HAYATO

Does not care if you ramble all day about the things you like.

He loves actually. It's because you have that charm when you talk about them. You're always so passionate and expressive when you talk about the new anime/manga you caught up, or a game you just bought.

He's also another one who happens to be the "Don't look at me with those eyes!" "What eyes?" scenario.

He watches you admiringly as you talk a mile a minute. It's because he knows you don't get to talk about your interests at school that much so he'll lend you his ears.

You showed him a game one time that lets you customize your character. "Look! I made you! You're in the game now," you say as you move the character in a circle and zoom in to his face to give the real Suo a closer look.

He holds back the cuteness aggression he's having.

He was beaming when you proudly showed him your creation. "Wow! You even got the same earrings."

Immediately sits next to you and kisses your temple and then watches you play.

He's still holding back the cuteness aggression when you made the character jump around from how happy you are. He feels so included it touched him.

Definitely watched Link Click and Ne Zha with you. He likes it but laughs even more to see you getting giddy every time the two main characters of Link Click come up on screen.

To be honest, he feels a little jealous to see how in love you are with those two fictional characters or any male characters you fangirl about.

Because you already have him, why let out a pterodactyl scream into the pillow every time the character gets only two seconds of screen time?

But being the mature gentleman he is, he won't be petty. After all, they're not real. And they can't hold you or kiss you like he can. Some of the characters can't even protect you like he can.

"You know, your boyfriend is sitting next to you and holding your hand but you still have the audacity to fangirl about other non-existing guys?" He spoke so softly but the venom pierced through you is unbearable. He only wanted to see your reaction, he doesn't want to hurt any of your feelings.

Now how the heck are you going to answer him?

[danieyells]

What do you think will happen after in-game 3 months? Not like the game is ending, and seems far too early for an apocalypse. Also if everything continues normally, what will happen to the third years?

for the PC I imagine one of three things will happen.

The ghouls will somehow find the Kyklos. The Kyklos will either be captured or killed, or Haku will remove the PC's curse. The PC will subsequently be cured. However the PC will choose to stay.

The ring will keep the curse at bay and they won't change yet, or their transformation will be slower or they'll have some control over it.

The PC will be isolated and turn into the Kyklos. They'll be killed afterwards or kept for experimentation or one of the ghouls will mercy kill them or release them. Nonetheless their death or transformation will trigger a time loop and things will reset. The PC will remember this time due to the ring, and have to try and help the ghouls get their shit together or find the Kyklos sooner to prevent this from happening again.

Following any of these the PC will be focused on being Inspector and fixing the ghouls' relationships, as this will ultimately be what the Tree needs, for everyone to be able to work together and get along a little better. However the Institute itself's plot will start to arise.

As for the third years, while I think it would be cool if we got to explore what it's like with everyone's internships and go around between Darkwick and various Institute locations on missions with the ghouls, I can't imagine that's what's going to happen.

If the Kyklos is found and the PC's curse is lifted, the pre-prologue scene may happen at the Gala as a result. That's a whole load of speculation as for what happens there--could trigger a time loop, could get resolved, it really depends on what exactly is causing that situation. Based on Ed's pre-prologue dialogue, jumping from the balcony is some sort of sacrifice to stop whatever's happening below or something.

The ghouls' handling of the Kyklos situation will disqualify them from graduation, causing every single third year to need to repeat the year, keeping them at Darkwick.

Something else happens at the Gala, causing them to not be allowed to leave for now. Perhaps the return of the fourth year ghouls causes them to lock down the island to keep the ghouls there because they believe it will prevent the great calamity. Perhaps there will be another koudan or some other prediction that causes them to need to stay.

Somehow they'll realize the PC is the Champion, not the ghouls. However the PC is defenseless without the ghouls. Their internship is thus moved to keep them in Darkwick doing missions and helping staff and keeping the PC safe so that the calamity is kept at bay, at least until the calamity passes or whatever

Jin's father and sister, not wanting Jin to get in their way, will require the ghouls to stay at Darkwick for their internships so they can continue to study the PC and the ring's power. Or maybe Hyde will. Or something will, someone in the higher-ups.

Very very VERY slim chance that the third years are allowed to go on their internships and the PC is sent out to them on their missions and we learn more about other Institute facilities and functions around Japan(and the poor girl is worked ragged running around Japan and still having to go to class or on missions with the DW ghouls when she gets back U: )

In any case I think there'll be more involvement with the Institute or at least Darkwick Higher-ups sometime after the three months pass. Because the spy situation will probably tie in to that, or at least Jin and Tohma's plots at minimum will relate to the Institute staff. I assume 'taking action against Darkwick, Darkwick's higher-ups, and the Institute' will be the next thing we start leading into after "what the fuck happened during the Clash and how do we move forward from it"/the spy plot

[mimi-creates]

HTTYD Fan Fic Idea

A Time-Travel Not! Fix-It

Uh, basically (I don’t know the cause but SOMEHOW) post-RTTE but pre-Drago Hiccup wakes up 3-4 years in the past in his 15 year-old body about a week before the day he shot down Toothless.

Cue in panicked attempts to figure out how that even HAPPENED and Hiccup trying to find a way back to his own time, while also knowing the raid that caused him and Toothless to meet and changed his life is fast approaching and “what if I can’t find a way back to my own time, what if I’m stuck here and what if I never see Toothless again if I don’t shoot him down like last time, I don’t want to hurt him, what if something WORSE HAPPENS TO HIM IF I DONT–“

And then he shoots the bola, afraid of the result, regardless of which one it ends up being.

And he misses.

And now he’s stuck without Toothless and trying to figure out how to fight the Red Death without his bud but also without putting anyone else in unnecessary danger, meaning he can’t just go around training dragons because his dad will do what he did last time–

So he tries to be discreet in the beginning.

Eventually he gets caught by someone from the gang for sneaking into the dragon arena after training hours and actually walking OUT of where the DRAGONS are. (I’m like 75% sure I’m gonna go with Snotlout.)

One thing leads to another, Hiccup connects the gang with their dragons. But also they’re left wondering “Okay, but where’s your dragon? How do you know so much and yet you never fly on one of your own?”

Cue in Hiccup missing Toothless and struggling to give them even a vague explanation to the situation and them not really getting it and trying to get his spirits up and pushing him to find a new dragon partner.

I’m not sure what happens next but I want a random chance encounter between Toothless and Hiccup at some point after this. And Hiccup is just standing there, SO happy to see his best friend and missing him SO much because he know Toothless hasn’t the slightest idea who he is.

But then maybe dragon hunters come after Toothless and when Hiccup hears about it he runs to the rescue and jumps in to protect Toothless (maybe even gets a little hurt in the process, don’t we like drama in this house).

Roughly around that time he finally tells the gang that he’s technically from the future? Because “Hiccup, WHY are you so obsessed with that dragon???” I have a little snipped of him and Astrid talking some time after the reveal.

Toothless is very confused by Hiccup’s behaviour but eventually decides to trust him and when Hiccup ends up in danger instead, Toothless moves in to protect him.

And that’s how they manage to find their way to each other!

I have no idea if I want to keep going with this plot in a way that it just settles back into canon to some extent, or if I want to let Hiccup go back to his own time eventually.

I would have to figure out if I wanna make the time travel make sense first or not. XD

But if it DOES end up making sense, I can see it as like young Hiccup and older Hiccup having switched places in time until one of them finds the solution and reverses their places.

Uuuuuh… typing that out made a lot of ideas flood into my brain. Ideas that may require of me to move some plot points around.

Oh yeah, for extra angst, of course I considered the option for older Hiccup to have been post-Drago Hiccup. Because him interacting with Stoick in the past would be… yeah.

But then like, that would imply he knows about his mom and the Sanctuary, and I kinda didn’t want him to because he could just fly there, meet his mom and then the whole fic turns into him trying to help the dragons by trying to get his parents to just MEET.

… which would be an interesting fic that I wouldn’t mind reading either, but my focus here is different. XD

Also, in the case of a switch, I didn’t wanna put young Hiccup through the pain of finding out his dad is dead and he’s chief now.

…

So that was a long rant.

I guess I’m dropping this off here because as many fanfic ideas as I do have, I write them out impossibly slowly. So I just have snippets of this thing. Not a single even half-way done chapter.

And it would be sad if this never sees the light of day, you know? I need more “Hiccup and Toothless would die for each other” centric fanfics in my life.

[lemonmaid]

Can I request poly relationship with eren and reiner with a male s/o that's a prodigy with odm gear like others would practice hard moves with it for hours but he would be able to do it just by watching them (also sub plot they try to get his attention by trying to impress him or trying to get him to teach them how to do such advanced moves)

Warnings: Training Corps Arc, Fluff no smut.

You know what it was like to wake up between two men? Sweaty.

(Name) cringe at the blanket sticking to the three of them, 'disgusting'.

It was still dark outside which ment no one has seen the three of them in bed together, which wasn't suspicious at all.

Eren came first, claiming to have a nightmare. Since, (Name) was already childhood friends with Eren didn't really see a problem with it. But Reiner, he just claimed he was cold.

(Name) sighed at the two, deciding to get up and get a head start on practice and a bath.

"Cadet! What are you doing this early"

(Name) jumped at the comanding voice that came from the captain, standing in position, saluting, "Sorry sir! I just wanted to practice more on my ODM gear sir!"

Shadis started at the young man, "Proceed Cadet but remember, you're almost at Ackerman's level, keep up the good work and you'll be in the military police".

(Name) beamed and nodded, hurrying to his post.

A few hours went by fast, the sun already beeming, Reiner was the first one awake to meet up with (Name).

"You're balance looks off"

"Nuh uh, it just feels better this way".

"Okay but it doesn't matter, you'll lose control that way, here let me show you".

Reiner came behind (Name) grabbing the man's hips and positioning them straight.

"There, doesn't that feel better?".

"No, it feels awkward."

Reiner chuckled, "Well you'll get used to it. Training is-"

"(NAME)!".

(Name) looked over and saw Eren running towards them, full ODM gear on.

Eren panted, "(Name)- let's- get the real deal training!".

(Name) was confused, "what do you mean?".

"Yeah, What do you mean Eren? Last time I checked you couldn't even stay balanced in your ODM gear".

Eren glared at Reiner, "Well, I saw that there is a another training ground in the forest-"

(Name) shooked his head, "Eren, no offense but-"

"No (Name) hear me out! You're always talking about wanting to advance and I feel, personally, this will be great and better for you! Think about it! Real platforms!".

(Name) thought about it for a second, the pros and cons of doing that, "Okay, but how will we even go to that training ground?"

Eren looked at Reiner and smiled.

...

"This is stupid".

It was the dead of night, the three snuck out into the wilderness.

Reiner sighed as he hooked a lantern on a tree, "it's cold, so hurry up you two".

Reiner agreed to watch them practice along as they were only doing one path, from the start of the forest where Reiner was in a tree. Starting down at them, they were like ants.

"Come on (Name)! Race you there!"

Eren shot up through the air, only for his ODM gear to stop pulling mid way, leaving him dangling in the air. (Name) took this as a running start opportunity, shooting himself up into the air.

'Remember to balance' he thought to himself. (Name) was zoning out as they twist and turned, releasing CO² as he danced with the trees. Coming out of his thoughts to Reiner cheering him on, (Name) smiled, feeling accomplished.

"Look out!!".

Eren somehow got his line caught onto (Name)'s line pulling him quickly into (Name)'s back, the two screamed as they got tangled up.

Reiner sighed, putting his gear back on, "I'm coming hold on".

...

The three were in the bathhouse, steam filling the room, "I swear Eren you need to be more careful" (Name) nagged.

"I was careful!" Eren yelped as (Name) tighten his bandaged.

Reiner huffed, "yeah sure, anyways, once again (Name) you were great. Maybe you should-".

The door slammed open, Jean and Connie coming in. "There you three are, I was wondering why I didn't see y'all at dinner" Jean smiled, "y'all were with barrack bunny".

"Dont call him that" Eren screamed.

"What are you going to do about it hothead?!".

"I'll show you horse-face!".

"You little-".

Reiner, (Name), and Connie stared at the two fighting, "should we-"

"I'm not touching them-"

"Yeah of course not but-"

"Let them fight it out-"

Reiner looked at (Name), "You need to rest. You've been training hard recently." Render grabbed (Name)'s clothing, "go to bed, we'll catch up".

...

As (Name) laid in bed, he thought about his training. Sure he did practice hard today but did he do enough? (Name) thought about it more, remembering how Eren was do quick to try and show him a new move while Reiner was more taking on the mentor role.

'Goof ball' (Name) thought about Eren, how he was so quick to try and impress them while (Name) felt like he didn't need to be impressed because he was already impressed by both of their improvements. Look at how far they've came.

[yannisdesk]

Just saw someone say that making Caitlyn feel all-consuming misery over her actions is "misery p0rn" but her not being held accountable for her actions at the hands of any sort of justice due to how Piltover is structured is realistic.

Okay.

The last part is true. I don't expect Caitlyn to be thrown to whatever the Runeterra version of the ICC is (there is none) by the new council she just reinstated that only has its power back because she surrendered her power. I personally have never argued that. I don't even want Caitlyn to serve time in prison or die in battle. By being held accountable I mean held by the people she's personally hurt, such as Vi. Face some tangible consequences from the people of Zaun, who she gassed and oppressed for nearly an entire year. Idk, something.

Maddie doesn't count. Caitlyn never did anything wrong to Maddie to deserve that specific betrayal; it was made kind of obvious that she'd been under Ambessa's yoke from the beginning. Also, that was not "holding her accountable" - that was a spy doing what a spy does, or a jilted lover getting petty revenge if you want to interpret it that way. For all we know, Caitlyn could've rejected Ambessa's offer to becoming the leader of Piltover, and Maddie would've either been placed as a plant to whoever ended up taking that position, or still sent by Ambessa to somehow undermine whatever plans Caitlyn would've ended up having at that point.

But her feeling all-consuming guilt is unrealistic "misery p0rn"? Frankly, that's a load of bullshit. People who commit atrocities like that should feel bad about doing those things. When you become the head of a military dictatorship, co-sign locking up masses of civilians on trumped up charges, and engage in chemical warfare, the realization of what you've done should shock you to your core. You should feel like shit. Coping with what you've done should be difficult. That's a part of growing as a person and anyone that has ever had to face the fact that they've done something to seriously hurt another person, me included, recognizes this. The argument that she should get to walk away self-righteously patting herself on the back because she freed Jinx and sacrificed her eye is absurd, and not even something Caitlyn as a character would agree with.

Am I personally saying there's no way for Caitlyn to move forward? No, I was fully expecting to her to come out of her dictator era, and to have some sort of well-done redemption arc that would make sense and add depth to her as character. But much like Vi, her character just wasn't given that space because it was a lot of moving from one plot point to the other without being given time to breathe.

This isn't even about disliking or liking Caitlyn as a character, I personally have always been fond of her and even identified with her to an extent; it's really about not agreeing with how her arc was handled and the greater implications of it.

Sidebar: And let's keep this a buck-fifty - y'all only make this argument because you like Caitlyn or identify with her in some way. Other characters simply do not get that same grace. A lot of you who make this argument are the same ones that pop blood vessels over Ambessa to the point where people can't even express interest in Ambessa as a character without you jumping down their throats.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Headcanons for Mark, Jonah, and Adam and an S/O who has a bunch of vita carnis Mimics as "helpers."

What would the three of them think of someone who can somehow "tame" these things and just keeps them around as house pets? They just hang out in their home and on their little plot of land (that I'd imagine is isolated because people moved tf away when the rumors started spreading) and keep any threats away. Reader doesn't actively do anything to sate their diet though. Although they aren't opposed to the Mimics stomping out any would-be troublemakers or those who piss them off... They still get their food themselves but use reader's home as a place of refuge.

Maybe the way the three of them meet their S/O was finding out that Alternates were being warded off from there. Idk, I haven't had a chance to get fully invested in MC but the idea just sounds really interesting. Also, I have the mental image of a Mimic putting away the dishes and someone's immediate reaction is screaming "What the FUCK is that?!?!" And just getting this whole explanation of what it is and that this one and all the others are friendly despite it needing to be reminded that the human in front of them is not food.

I LOVE that mental image you described. Mimics just doing chores and human things, only to see an actual human look at them absolutely HORRIFIED

........

Mark

He was relieved to get away from the Alternate-populated Mandela County for a while.

But when you answer the door while preparing dinner, you called out for James (one of the male Mimics you named) to stay in the kitchen...

Without realizing how extremely suspicious that sounded until you saw the look on Mark's face. "Who's James?"

"Oh! He's uh...can you wait here while I-?"

"Is he your new roommate or something?" He jumps to conclusions immediately, thinking you're cheating on him as you never told him you lived with another person.

In anger he storms past you to confront this "James" you were apparently being so secretive about....

Before you could stop him, he sees the Mimic and freaks out, causing it to drop the plate it was holding and screams right back at him.

You're quick to disperse the situation before it becomes a bloodbath, but by then it's too late. Mark was thoroughly traumatized.

When you mentioned living with creatures who kept the local Alternate population out of your town..he didn't think they'd be be skinless humans.

He locked himself in your bathroom, trying to stave off a panic attack as he recites his prayers, convinced there was "evil" hanging over your house.

Eventually he lets you in and you help him calm down, reassuring him that wasn't the case at all before explaining the Mimics and their role in your household, answering whatever questions he had (which were a LOT).

"Even if they're not demons....why would God make something like that?"

"Maybe..it's the same reason he made the platypus."

"......that's not the same, s/o."

"I know, I'm just trying to help."

Jonah

He's made jokes about the Mimics before.

But he didn't think they were real living and breathing creatures you were coexisting with.

He swears he was smoking something when he saw one wearing your clothes and sweeping the floor with a broom like any ordinary person would.

At first he tries to be chill about it as to not freak you out..

Until he goes into your pantry for a snack and finds shelves with jars filled to the brim with Crawl sticks.

As well as a Mimic curled up on the highest shelf, asleep.

Next thing you know, Jonah's dry heaving over the nearest trash can.

"Babe for the love of GOD please tell me that I'm on some weird ass trip because I can't handle this rn"

"...well maybe if you didn't brush off my research, you wouldn't be as scared." You pat his back before glaring at the Mimic who was just seconds away from lunging at your boyfriend at his most vulnerable moment.

"Jonah, sweetie..rule number one is to never turn your back on a Mimic unless you're running away from it." You make him turn around to face it, and they stare at each other before it eventually calms down and leaves.

Even after you explained how you "tamed" the Mimics, he's too scared to leave your side or be alone in the same room with one.

Their permanent smiles and wide eyes just...give him the chills. Even if they're just staring with curiosity, he always insists it's a look of hunger.

They are aware he's dating you and will playfully threaten to eat him, but never actually go through with it bc you'd probably kick them out and leave them without food.

Adam

(gonna make this post-Catalyst)

He's having a tough time keeping the relationship alive and coping with being an Alternate--a secret he only recently shared with you.

Despite him being the first one you've ever encountered, you're not all that afraid. Just surprised.

You confess to having your own secret to share, taking him to your home where you could talk about it more.

He keeps asking how you could trust him with anything when he looked like a hideous monster. But you reassured him he'll understand soon enough.

After you arrive, he sees the Crawl trees behind your house, but thinks nothing of it until you bring him inside.

You whistle and a Baby Mimic comes skittering towards you on all fours, climbing onto you like a koala bear before you turn back to your boyfriend, smiling.

It takes him a second to connect the dots. "....wait, that's a....Vita Carnis...i-it's a real thing??"

"They've always have been."

"Wow, this is...one hell of a secret. D-Does..that Mimic know what I am?"

"The adults can usually tell, but this little bugger thinks you're tasty food." You scratch the baby Mimic's chin, hearing it coo sweetly as it nibbled on your jacket strings. "But you see why I'm not scared of you? Because I've made peace with these "hideous monsters", just like I've made peace with what you told me."

He tears up at your sweet and kind words, though he listens as you introduce him to the "helpers" of your household aka the adult Mimics who wore your clothing and were doing different tasks.

They all kinda stared at Adam as he awkwardly greeted them, but didn't do anything more.

It's strangely comforting that they perceive him as a human.

At the same time, he feels lucky to not look appetizing to them.

[okminer07]

Nuna Pt 3

Sorry for the shorter part. I plan to hopefully continue this but am going to think out the plot a bit further and also work on some other projects.

Taglist: @alserm @mirror2thespirit @muppenthings

Let me know if anyone else would like to be tagged in this series or anything else.

She waited for the mer to somehow reciprocate his part of this human custom, but she probably shouldn’t have expected much since he couldn’t seem to speak. Yet he held quite still and didn’t make any indication of moving even after several long and silent seconds ticked by. 

Okay, is that all he wanted?  

She let go of his claw and pulled her hand away. As she did the mer’s finger twitched and straightened out towards her, like an outstretched arm. An uncomfortable awkward feeling rose in her as the silence continued. Breaking it, she cleared her throat and straightened herself, “W-well uh… nice to meet you but I… I really should be going, s-so I think I’ll do that." Every minute she stayed here was giving the humans more time to catch up with her, ready with their nets and shock sticks and all other manner of things, “So…. bye.”  

Going against what her high-strung instincts were telling her; she turned her back on the colossal mer and began to swim away. Honestly, she wasn’t entirely sure where she hoped to go or hoped to find. Getting far away from here though was the most important task at hand. After that, perhaps she could-  

The water rippled around her and her gills stood upright at attention. She turned and let out a startled yelp. The mer’s face filled her entire vision, the tip of his nose only a foot or so away. He was still staring at her, nearly going cross-eyed to keep her in his line of sight.  

Nuna’s forehead creased, and her eyes narrowed at the mer. She slowly turned and swam a little ways further. When she spun back around, it was like Deja vu. He was still right behind her. 

“L-look, I don’t know what it is you want, but I can’t stay here to figure that out. So, goodbye.” she turned and began hurriedly swimming away. When she heard the mer still behind her, she quickened the pace, but he instantly matched it. She went even faster, but he still kept right on her tail.  

She groaned, running her hands down her face as she turned, “Stop it!” she snapped. The mer froze, “I don’t have time for this! Don’t you get it? They’re probably already on their way!” He gave her a puzzled look and let out a short rumble, “Wha- humans! I’m talking about hu-”  

She froze. Up above, there was a faint yet unnatural hum that was slowly growing in volume. It felt as if arctic water had replaced her blood as the familiar sound rang in her ears. No, no no no no no!  

The faint hum was quickly turning into a roar. Nuna felt every muscle in her body tense and her brain screamed and begged for her to get away, but she couldn’t. Her heart was hammering against her ribs, she felt like throwing up, and yet she couldn’t move. Her vision began to blur. None of her other senses other than hearing seemed to work, the only thing her brain was taking in was that sound.   

Images began to cloud her mind, one after another. The boat, the net, hands around her waist, the murky water’s surface, the ropes entangled in her hair and tail being yanked away, the inside of a cool white box.  

She nearly jumped out of her skin when something warm made contact with her back and wrapped itself around her. The world around her faded into darkness and the roar of the boat’s motor was covered up by a long rumble that vibrated all around her. She shook her head, her mind resurfacing from its depths and taking in her surroundings. It reminded her a bit of being in that cramped tank, only a bit roomier and the surface beneath and around her radiated warmth.   

Gulping down the bile rising in her throat, she touched one of the walls surrounding her. It was leathery and gave slightly as she pressed her hand against it. Another low rumble vibrated around her and beneath her hand, and she suddenly realized where she was.  

She clutched at her pounding chest and backed into one of the soft walls, shaking all over. Her vision began to adjust, and she could make out pillar-like fingers arching over her, one of their clawed tips poking through.    

The hand surrounding her shifted as the mer seemed to be moving. She could hear the muffled sound of his tail swishing as well as the motor of the boat reducing back to a hum. Nevertheless, she covered her ears and closed her eyes.   

It wasn’t clear how long she stayed like that, but it couldn’t have been for long. The sound of the mer’s tail had slowed and the only sound she heard was her own heartbeat. Suddenly, the space around her shifted, causing her to tumble around and for a moment not be able to differentiate between up and down.   

While in her daze, the hand around her opened and two of its fingers carefully pinched around her waist. She winced as the memory of two hands clasped around it flashed once again in her mind’s eye. The fingers around her instantly released her and she drifted down until landing atop a sandy seafloor.  

She hugged herself and rubbed both her arms as she looked up. Surrounding her and obscuring her view of anything past it, was a wall of green scales. Her eyes traveled the length of the gargantuan tail, lingering on the multiple shimmering fins adorning it. It seemed like it would go on forever until she finally spotted the fan-like end.   

Goosebumps erupted all over her skin when she heard a deep and low rumble behind her. She turned to find the giant mer’s face hovering mere feet away. He looked all tense and possibly even…. Worried? His frayed ears were twitching endlessly, and his eyes were wide with his eyebrows furrowed above them.   

When she met his gaze, he let out another low rumble and ever so slightly leaned in closer. She tensed and looked up to the water’s surface. Did he actually just grab me?! W-where did he take me? W-was it far? F-far enough? D-did…. Could they have followed?! W-what if they’re still nearby what if they are- 

She froze; something had nudged her in the small of her back.  Peering over her shoulder, she saw the mer’s face, closer than ever. Her eyes widened when he moved and the tip of his nose smushed into her. This time though, he didn’t pull away. Instead, he closed his eyes and seemed to relax.  

Nuna was about to scootch away when she felt something. The green flesh against her began to lightly vibrate and she could hear faintly, what sounded like a broken-up hum. Her eyes widened and she stared in disbelief at the mer before something began to wash over her, a… a sense of calm. The vibrations from the mer seeped into her body and urged her to release the tension plaguing her. She did. Her muscles relaxed and she leaned against the mer’s nose, even resting her head upon it.   

She wasn’t sure what had come over her, but whatever this mer was doing it… it felt good. It felt like something she had needed.  

Her hand came up and she began to slowly drag it up and down the bridge of the mer’s nose. She didn't know why, it just felt right. His eyes cracked open at her touch before his mouth formed into a soft smile and they fluttered closed. Nuna’s did as well.

[onceuponastory]

dangerous.

Plot: Alone and on her first proper mission with Bucky, Y/N tries to ignore the uneasy feeling in her gut. Because she's perfectly safe. Bucky is perfectly safe. ...Isn't he? Warnings: 18+ only please! No minors. This is a dark!Bucky fic. Mentions of death/murder, weapons (mainly guns), shooting, blood, injury and violence. Also Bucky Barnes because he's a warning in this. Notes: This is my piece for @pupandkisasaesthetics challenge, hosted by @sgt-seabass and @rookthorne. I got the pic of the forest I used in this moodboard as my inspo, but I'll also attach it at the end.

Not beta'd, so any mistakes are my own.

Walking through the forest, Y/N looks around, checking for anything that seems wrong or out of place. The air is fresh, with a chill breeze blowing. And everything is silent, there’s not even a bird singing. Y/N shivers, wrapping her jacket closer around her. Honestly, it's pretty uneasy. She advances further into the undergrowth, keeping her wits about her as she hunts for the target that she and Bucky are tracking. Her steps are as quiet as possible, and calculated. Even though this is her first proper mission, and she’s feeling incredibly out of her depth, she knows Bucky trusts her to do a good job. After all, it’s why he chose her for this mission.

Although… being here with Bucky still feels crazy. Or at least, there's something odd about it, a feeling deep in her gut that she can’t shift, no matter how much she tries to reassure herself that everything is fine. Because she just can’t understand why Bucky, of all people, wants her here. Usually, he barely says a word to her. In fact, she can count the number of missions she’s been with him for on one hand. Or rather, one finger. And that was with the others, part of an enormous group. She’s never spent any one on one time with Bucky before today. But this time, he insisted that she accompany him on the mission, over more experienced people like Steve, Sam, and Natasha. Somehow, he wants her. And she doesn’t know why.

Yet, she won’t deny herself time spent with the handsome super soldier. She’s wanted to get to know him for a while, and although tracking a criminal is a pretty unorthodox way to get closer to one another, at least now she has a chance. That is, if she can find him again. He told her they should split up and reconvene, and although she would rather not be alone whilst tracking an incredibly dangerous criminal, Bucky has years more experience than she does, so what he says goes.

But even then, she can’t deny how uneasy she feels about this whole situation. She tries to bury the feeling, putting it down to first time nerves. She’s safe, she knows she is. She’s an Avenger for god’s sake, and she’s out here with one of the most experienced ones on the team. She’s perfectly safe. But even then, the feeling still won’t go away.

Y/N moves further into the woods, keeping an ear out for anybody or anything around her. The forest surrounding her is silent, but she knows the enemy could be hiding everywhere. Step. Another step. All she can register is the increase in her heartbeat. 

Suddenly, a twig snaps from behind her, the sound almost making her jump. Quickly, she scrambles to her side, trying to grab her weapon. But before she can, something strikes her in the leg. Crying out in pain, she falls to the ground. As footsteps approach, she turns, kicking her good leg out wildly to strike her assailant. When another cry of pain fills the air, rather than relief, Y/N’s blood chills. Because she immediately recognises who it belongs to.

“Bucky?” He stares down at her, his gun pointed right at her forehead. 

“Funny how we should end up like this, huh?” He smirks.

“What the hell are you doing?” She pants. “We’re supposed to be looking for the enemy!” But Bucky doesn’t move, or react to the blood beginning to flow from her leg. Her mind races, adrenaline pulsing through her. “Did he shoot me? No… he couldn’t have. He wouldn’t.”

“You still don’t get it, do you? There is no enemy, doll. It’s just us out here.” Her brow furrows, and her mouth drops open in confusion.

“What are you talking about? Steve said there was someone hiding out here, remember?” She tries to scramble up, but the pain in her leg stops her. She bites down hard on her tongue, crying out as the white hot pain sears through her. She expects Bucky to help her up, or to at least call for a medic. But he just stands there, watching her. The uneasy feeling in her gut returns, this time stronger than ever. So intense it could consume her. Every fibre of her being, every piece of training she had, is telling her that this situation isn’t safe, that Bucky isn’t safe, and to get away as quickly as she can. But she still can’t will herself to move, or believe that the man in front of her is anything but safe. 

Even when he’s pointing a gun at her.

“Steve? Oh, that geriatric idiot would believe anything I told him, especially when I said I needed you to come with me.” He scoffs, and she laughs in disbelief, thinking this is some kind of sick joke. When Bucky still doesn’t move, her survival instinct kicks in. Get away. Fight him. She tries to move, but he lifts his foot, pressing his boot down on her injured leg. She cries out in pain, but he presses down harder, only intensifying her screams. “Shut up.” He hisses.

“Get off of me!” She orders, trying to kick him again, using every inch of her training. But he only presses down even more. “Bucky, stop it, please.” She begs, tears streaming down her cheeks as she racks her brain for something, anything she could’ve done to justify this, being shot by her partner on a mission. “Whatever I did or m-may have done, I’m sorry, okay!” 

“I said, shut up.” Thankfully, he lifts his foot slightly, and Y/N pants, feeling her leg burning. She grasps at her leg, trying to stem the blood in any way she can and save herself. “That’s not going to help you, Y/N. I told you, there is nobody else out here.” He repeats. “Just me and you.”

Back when she was first in training to become an Avenger, Y/N was taught how to defend herself, and reminded how much danger she was putting herself in, and how common death is in this line of work. It was probably supposed to scare her away, but instead she saw it as a challenge, spurring her on to save the world. But she always thought it would be supervillains and megalomaniacs she’d face. She never thought she’d die like this, at the hands of a fellow Avenger, by Bucky Barnes of all people.

“Why are you doing this to me?!” she whimpers. Bucky shrugs, keeping the gun pointed right at her. “A-Are you….”

“The Winter Soldier? No.” He smirks. “I haven’t been that for a long time. But, when you go through something like that, and are around death for so long… it stays with you, you know?” He muses, looking down at the weapon in his hands. “They’ve tried to take it out of me, their programming… but it didn’t work. And after a while, I thought, why try and hide it, or be ashamed? Why not embrace it? Be the monster they trained me to be. So here we are.” He chuckles. “Just us, all alone. And what a perfect sacrificial lamb you are.” He grins, a sick grin that strikes fear into her heart. He planned this whole thing. She had hoped he wanted to be her friend, but he just brought her out here to die.

“Bucky, please.” She begs, her body trembling. Whether with fear or because of the gaping wound in her leg, she doesn’t know. But she does know this is her last chance for survival. “I promise you I won’t say anything to anyone. I'll just say I got shot by the enemy. Just let me go, please.” But he still stands there, staring at her. 

“Oh, I'll tell them you got shot by the enemy, alright." He smirks, the casual nature of his tone when discussing her impending murder frightening her even more. "But I’m sorry, doll, I just can’t take the risk of letting you go.” 

“Please Bucky. I don’t want to die.” She continues to beg, screaming and crying out for her life, for a chance to make things right. But Bucky ignores her, and he aims the gun at her once more. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll tell them you went out heroically, and you put up a good fight, but it just wasn’t enough. Sadly, there really was nothing I could do.”

And then, he pulls the trigger, and a shot rings out in the air. And silence falls once more.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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[roseofithaca]

Witch Cub

Some fluff without plot set sometime after Broken Home, in @idiotwithanipad 's Gore AU, post her fic Stolen.

-

A low grizzle rumbles out between crooked teeth as he crouches in the low grass, knees bent as low as can be, knuckles pressed deep against the earth. The pose of a true predator, eyes fixed, unblinking, on his prey.

She hums idily to herself as she skips ahead. Twenty five feet away. Twenty six. Twenty seven.

His hackles raise as he waits for his moment.

Twenty eight. Twenty nine.

She giggles as she takes one last spirited step and twirls around, her pink skirt and loose overshirt flowing in the early morning breeze.

Thirty.

Ready or not, here he comes.

The ancient creature roars as he pounces, rushing forward at full speed, motivating himself by imagining a big black bear ghost or pack of dead wolves stampeding towards the target as well, knowing he MUST get there before the others. She hears him let out his animalistic cry, yet she doesn't run. Of course she doesn't, that's the point.

Instead, she spins. She laughs, she raises her arms up as the morning mist gathers around her skinny, pale figure. He's not holding back. Faster, he pushes himself, he's nearly on her.

Stretching out his arms, he leaps.

And he falls through her.

Embarrassingly, he practically lands on his face in a heap of fur and scarred flesh. The cloud of mist that he'd leapt through swirls above and around, the giggles still somehow audible, before it reforms beside him, solidifying back into the figure of a nineteen year old Pagan with a constant nosebleed and milk white eyes.

Cub squeals and jumps, clapping in triumph.

"Haha, I did it! I did it!" Her grin stretches even wider, somehow.

The creature sits up, rubbing his head and grunting.

'Fiftieth Time Charm' He communicates, reaching forward to write into her wrist.

"Hehehe, come on, it didn't take me THAT many...did it?" She asks, having stopped keeping count a few hours ago.

A huff of denial.

'Only forty three'.

Silver giggles again; "Oh well, at least we got there in the end, haha. Thanks so much for helping me practice. Mummy is gonna be SO proud of me, haha!"

The creature allows himself to feel a swell of pride, mostly in Cub for how strong she is becoming with her powers, but also being able to help her in his own way. Even when living, he hadn't known much about the Wise Elders teachings of magic their tribe was aware of, magic that still had a potent presence on this land, even after thousands of years. After meeting the Witch, Cub's mother, he hadn't attempted to understand how her spells worked. And he still hasn't got much of a clue.

But Cub seemed to have her own grasp on how her strange mist and water spells worked and how to summon them, she just needed help in mastering how and when to access them. Training herself to be able to teleport away from danger before it could sink its claws into her seemed like a vital skill.

And will prepare to be able to escape if you lose your mind again.

He shakes that fear out of his mind, huffing wearily. No, not again. Never again.

"Are you okay, Mr. Fluff?" Happy Cub asks, a hint of concern beneath her perkiness.

The creature nods, at the same time tapping their sign for 'yes' on her hand.

Silver tilted her head, a droplet of blood sliding down from her nostril.

"You would tell me if your head was feeling sore again, wouldn't you? Hehehe."

He rolls his eyes, as if being fussed over by a worrisome mother, tapping her again.

'Yes! Cub no fret!' He tells her, punctuating his sentence with a prod to the spot beneath her ribs with his fingers.

It's supposed to be his job to worry about her, not other way around!

Cub lets out another squeal before turning into mist again so she can move back even quicker.

Hey! Surely that cheating.

The corner of his mouth twitches with the phantom of a smile as he watches her reform, still giggling away. They'd recently developed a form of shorthand, a mix of her now somehow inheriting his second daughter's understanding of his primal speech, combined with more simplified signs and text scribbled onto her arm. It certainly had improved their communication compared to those first years after she arrived.

It had become something of a challenge for both of them, a man who was practically mute being able to 'speak' to a blind girl, someone who couldn't see him sign like the Witch and dark haired cub. But after several months, they'd managed it.

Cub's ears prick up as the birds begin to sing in the treetops.

"Ooh, hear that, Mr. Fluff? Lady Artemis must be off to bed and her brother, Apollo, is coming to start his shift in the sky, hehe!" She realises, wistfully.

Rogh raises his eyes to see the shades of light blue and pink begin to taint the great dome above.

Oh no.

"Time for me to go back to Mummy, hehe." She laughs, though there's no hiding the shimmer of sadness in her eyes; "Oh I was having so much fun, the night just flashed past, haha! Always the way, ain't it?"

He let's out a bittersweet huff as he rubs his chest. It does seem way too quick. Hadn't Cub just got here?

"Sorry for keeping you up all night with my practicing, hahaha. You must be ever so tired."

True, he is...but also isn't.

Part of him is eager to keep playing with Cub more. Would be willing to chase, to seek, to listen to her chatter about anything she wants, from how to dress one of her spell candles to the freaky music she enjoyed before she died.

Only thing he doesn't want is to see her using her powers to summon more 'memories'. She had offered, asking if he wanted her to show a memory of Lyssie when they were happy, or maybe his tribe? But he'd shaken his head.

Can't look back, Cub. Onwards. Ever onwards.

That's what he'd told her.

But right now, he didn't want to go on. Going on with today meant saying goodbye to Cub for another month, barring the three days that the Witch permitted him to visit her during her restless sleep on the new moon. Going on meant back to pacing 'his side' of the land in boring loneliness, at least until dark haired cub sneaks out to pay him a visit.

"No worries! We'll have lots of fun next month, hehe!"

When she goes to turn, he reaches a paw out, catching the end of her shirt on one of his fingernails.

Cub pauses and turns; "Oh, Mr. Fluff, don't tell me you're actually going to miss me! Hehehe."

The creature lets go and gives an indignant huff. Don't make him admit it out loud.

She gets down onto her knees, close to him.

"I forget how much longer it seems for you. To me it's only another sleep but you, Mummy and Ames have to wait all that time to play with me again! Haha, it makes me feel special that you all look forward to it, at least."

He takes her hand.

'Cub big special.'

"Aww, you're sweet! C'mere."

He immediately regrets being so open when she puts her arms around him. Not quite as tight and intrusive as before, at least she seems self aware that she does it to annoy him.

A quick tickle to her sides gets her to release him again, then miss her warmth as soon as she lets go. Story of his...death.

"You promise to be nice to all the animals, won't you, hehe? And let them be your friend?"

He nods. Yes, that's a mantle he's taken back up recently. Something to keep him occupied between Cub's visits. Not a grumpy, distant protector like he was back in the old days...back before Lyssie Cub. More like how she was. A kindly guardian to the lost animal critters who found themselves haunting these woods, even if they were far fewer and smaller than they once were.

"You should talk to them too, when your head starts to hurt. Anything is better than bottling it all up, haha. And if it gets really bad...you can always ask Mummy-."

"No." He speaks one of the few words in his vocabulary.

Silver sighs, "Mr. Fluff, she does still want to make sure you're okay..."

"No." He says again, almost pleadingly.

'No want mess with head anymore.'

The Witch's gift of making him 'forget' had always taken away the pain...for a time. A temporary resolve. But like an old bandaid, it would eventually fall off and the wound would be exposed anew. And then he would ask to forget again. A constant cycle without any chance of growing.

He wonders if that's why it took so long for him to bond with Cub. Every time her piercing laughter would cause his mind to crack, Mistress would smooth it over, only for the next time she rose for him to be irritating as if it were for the first time.

Mistress probably had no idea she was hindering their bond rather than helping it. She'd always tried to encourage him to help care for Cub, like he was a sort of co parent. To think that if he'd only allowed himself to open his heart to begin with...things might not be as they are now.

True, he'd gained a Cub. But he'd lost Mistress. And he wondered if that rift hurt her as much as it did him....or whether she still hated him for what he - supposedly - did.

A hand reaches out to rub his mane.

"Yeah, hehe, I get that. I still let Mummy cast her magic to bring me dresses and dragons, but I'm always a bit weary of letting her go too deep...Given what she tried to do to me and Ames without our consent. Very naughty of her, hahaha." Silver thinks.

He shuffles nearer and decides to confide in her. Something he'd been hesitant to before, not wanting to worry her too much. Just a little cub.

'Am afraid...she burn too much again...might change me back. Make me mean to Cub again...'

The blind cub chuckles at that and squeezes his paw; "Bless your heart! I wouldn't let her do that. I'd put up a big misty wall around your head to protect you, hehe....Hey! There's an idea...."

He grunts, tilting his head, curious.

"I've been trying to think of a way my magic can help you like Mummy's. But not as....labotomic, hahaha." She grins, "My false daddy used to have lots of headaches before his brain crapped out on him like mine. But something did used to help. You know what a steam room is, Mr. Fluff?"

"No." Of course he doesn't, he's barely been in many 'rooms' of any sort.

Cub giggles and raises her hands.

"Want me to try? I promise no memory slicing, haha."

He's a little bit hesitant, given how she's still experimenting with what her water and air powers are capable of. Surely the worst she can do is drown his brain by flooding his skull? Or freeze it? Both of those are pretty bad, but...

The creature sits before her. She only wants to help. So much like Kya cub, crafting her little crowns of sticks and flowers, placing herbs and gemstones within to enchant them with magic, based on Wise Elder's teachings.

Humming, the white eyed cub waves her hands around his head, summoning a cloud of mist, then seeming to heat it up with her own breath. The steam swirls around him, fading her out of his vision a little as he inhales the warm, soothing aroma.

All the anxiety about getting through the following month, of having to deal with his constant headaches and tormented memories alone, seem to fade into the background. Not ignored, not forgetting....Just....not that big a deal. There's only Cub's humming and the sensation of being fully relaxed...

Like when Lyssie Cub used to sing. Or when the Big Lady would play her flute and let him lay in her lap.

Why do all these sweet souls show him so much kindness when he's so clearly monstrous?

Cub should hate him. He doesn't remember what he did but from what dark haired cub said....It must have been so scary for both of them. How can they forgive him? How on earth did Lyssie Cub forgive him?

"Oh no, I'm sorry, hehe. Am I making it worse? Hades damnit, Silver!"

What? He grunts. No. No, he's enjoying it...

It takes a second for him to realise his eyes are leaking. It's not just sweat from the steam. He wipes his face and chuckles lightly. The steam fades away as she comes back into his sight, looking rather adorably confused.

He tugs her close.

'Happy tears, silly Cub.'

"Oh, really? Haha. I couldn't see them, I just smelled the salt and heard you sniffle, hehe."

'Cub smell getting good. Would be good huntress'.

"Haha, no way, I love animals too much to kill them, I'd rather starve, hehe."

He rolls his eyes. Of course she would.

"Why were you happy crying, Mr. Fluff?"

He grunts; 'Wish could say sorry to Lyssie Cub. Me know she forgive...that make happy but...missed chance...'

"She's knows, Mr. Fluff. I'm sure that's why she wanted me to know the truth. So we'd get a second chance. And we're both doing well, aren't we? Hehe."

The creature huffs and bumps his forehead against her shoulder.

'Cub not squeeze breath out of me till eyes burst out like Friend Cub.'

"Haha, and you've only pretended to try to bite me once!"

He huffs again and grizzles. 'Can make it two if want?'

"You'd have to catch me first, haha!"

They're both ready for another round of tag, along with further practice for Silver testing her powers, before a familiar voice drifts across the field.

"Darling girl. Thou must returns to Mummy now."

Silver's arms drop to her sides. No more drawing it out.

The creature doesn't reach for her again. Padding close, he nudges her again with his head, this time to encourage her to go.

He's lucky that Mistress even allows this time alone with...'her' daughter, after what happened. Must never be so foolish to delude himself that she's his. But he knows that if he tried to overstep his time for a single minute, she'd be on him in all her flaming wraith form, and have him writhing in burning agony for every remaining second of his afterlife. And worse, he'd never get to see Cub again.

Silver gives him one last hug, which he responds to, slipping a paw around her shoulders.

"See you next moon, hehe. Love you bunches." She giggles, and he lets her squeeze as tight as she likes.

When she dissolves into a swirl of mist, to make her way back to her mother's woods far quicker than her feet would allow, he sits with the hollow emptiness of being cubless once again.

Then a song drifts past his ears, left as a departing gift in the drops of water on the air.

"We shall fly where the sun meets the shore, dilly tilly."

He smiles to himself, not afraid to look back for this one moment, just to remind himself that- even without being dependent on Mistress - he was loved. Is loved.

Sleep well in stars, Lyssie Cub. Guardian is okay.

[a-vampire-culturelover]

An Warrior Cats Au Idea

So I came across an au that swapped the Fire scene from Po3 with Mapleshade and a flood, and thought to myself to make my own take on that kind of au!

-Mapleshade's secret ends up coming out a moon after the kits are born, with Oakstar being the heartless prick he is and exiling her and the kits out of thunderclan. While Mapleshade somehow manages to get the kits across the river to Riverclan territory, she herself is swept up into the currents of the waters and drifted off to the barn, presumed missing/dead by the clans while she recovers.

-The kits end up in Riverclan with Reedshine, who's already bearing kits from Appledusk, and Appledusk barely knows the kits are his, only knowing one slighlty resembles him and another resembles Mapleshade, although he had ensured to himself he'd much rather keep his reputation as loyal in riverclan than ever come clean of his forbidden relationship, moving on with Reedshine. The kits can't clearly remember Mapleshade save for a few moments they cherished of when they were in the Thunderclan nursery, but get accustomed to Riverclan life. They get renamed of course since Riverclan doesn't know what they're names are;

Petalkit -> Bluebellkit, Patchkit -> Maplekit, and Larchkit - Carpkit. Maplekit was named this by Appledusk due to looking similar to his mother, although the rest of the clan see this as a coincidence. Appledusk begins to catch on and is aware by the time of their apprenticeship that they are indeed Mapleshade and his' kits, but never tells the rest of the clan. Eventually Reedshine does have her kits, which the older three treat well and care about the rest of the clan like family.

-Meanwhile, Mapleshade has been recovering in the barn, having found out her kits were alive and well but in Riverclan. Chalking it up to Appledusk caring for them, she sees nothing wrong with it, not knowing until later about Reedshine. She assumes that when the time is right she could just walk right over to Riverclan, greet her children, and nothing would be wrong would it...?

-She inevitably finds out about Appledusk moving on and starting new with Reedshine, angering Mapleshade to a boiling point. she plots her vengeance as she realizes her kits dont even remember her, treating Reedshine like their mother and Reedshine's kits like their siblings.

-Of course her kits are oblivious, and inevitably get their warrior names, save for Carppaw who became a medicine cat aprentice.

Carppaw -> Carpsnap, Maplepaw -> Mapledusk, and Bluebellpetal.

_On their first gathering, everything goes well until a flood blocks the three and Appledusks halfway into going home, Mapleshade having jumped to confront Appledusk. After some bickering Appledusk is left no choice but to tell the three that him and mapleshade are their parents, much to their own shock.Mapleshade had tried coaxing her children to her side once more, but was met with cold glares and sad looks, as she fled and eventually died before the three could see her again. Mapleshade still ends up in the Dark Forest, planning on destroying the clans for ruining her perfect life with her kits all those moons ago.

-Carpsnap, Mapledusk, and Bluebellpetal are all confused and upset, telling riverclan and being shunned for a while until eventually being forgiven, as their heritage was originally unknown and was never their fault to begin with.

-Mapleshade actually replaces Ashfur's role later on TBC as its main antagonist, possessing Mistystar to first break and dissolve Riverclan as vengeance for the clan having taking care of her kits when SHE should have, and maybe her kits come back as reccurring characters in the arc to communicate with Rootspring alongside Mistystar to stop what's going on.

Ashfur also ends up being swapped with killing similar to how Mapleshade did in canon, although he never manages to kill but one cat. Angered and displeased with how she had chosen Brambleclaw over him, he had taken advice from Mapleshade to get vegeance by killing cats close to her.

-he first had killed Sandstorm, killing her in a skirmish outside camp so that he would not be the first to come to mind. Thunderclan mourned her loss and never looked close at the grey fur left in Sandstorm's claws from struggling to fight back, something Leafpool notices.

-he then attempts to kill Brambleclaw via deathberries, knowing he would be flattened and killed in a landslide but the bigger and stronger deputy. However due to it being noticsble and treated in time, his life was saved in the medicine den much to Ashfur's disappointment and bitterness. Leafpool noted of how Brambleclaw mentioned on the side how the squirrel with the berries had been offered to him by someone..

-Finally, he attempts to kill Leafpool after failing to kill Brambleclaw, hoping to break her heart the way his was. During what would have been the fire scene, it was instead Leafpool trying to run as Ashfur attempting to push her into the fires below to burn to death, although he had been stopped by Squirrelflight and The Three. Unlike in canon, Squirrelflight tells the truth to the Three but tells them that she loves and cares for them despite not being her actual kits, and lets them know they're Leafpool's. They're still heartbroken and taken aback, but this nonetheless eases the harsh road downhill for them all later. Ashfur, a bit shocked by these relevations, decides to take his chance and attempts to kill Squirrelflight while her back is turned, but falls to the firey depths of the camp below and dies, going to the Dark Forest. While he was there, wallowing in his misery of not winning Squirrelflight's love, Mapleshade had convinced him with her plan, which would lead to very different events in TBC later on.

[tayfabe75]

Speaking of the IILWY mv… It’s interesting that the songs — IILWY and COH — are not linked, but the mvs are. The same goes for cardigan and willow. COH and cardigan end with the protagonist alone and IILWY and willow are about reuniting with the lost lover. Also the invisible string in the willow mv appears to be music!

It's not just IILWY or ACOH, anon! Matty brings back the clown for the beginning of the 'Somebody Else' video as well as the end of 'Sincerity is Scary', even describing clowns as a "motif", heh!

Anon, I love that take about 'Cardigan'! I interpret it in a very similar way, though slightly different. But before I get into it, I want to stress, yet again, to anyone who might be reading this… that Matty Healy is the muse of 'Cardigan', confirmed by Taylor, herself! This rarely happens!

"I've never named names, so I feel like I still have a sense of power over what people say."

I've noticed that most fans completely ignore this bombshell because, rather than explore 'Cardigan' from a new, exciting angle or trust their favorite popstar not to get seduced by or romantically entangled with a "literal monster", they'd rather jump on the bandwagon and believe a 280-character gross misrepresentation of him on Twitter. Boo!

But... I digress! Anyway, as we take this journey, just please remember that Matty is who she is singing about all throughout 'Cardigan'… and keep him in mind as she purposefully ties various songs together with these "plot devices" (more on that in a bit!)

In 'Cardigan', we see how Taylor accesses that golden thread through music (the piano), and the way it is tied not just to this enchanted, magical place (memories from the past, I'm thinking), but by continuing to follow that thread, she ends up in a precarious position - in the middle of dark, turbulent waves during a thunderstorm (very reminiscent of 'Clean'). As the camera pans out, we see just how massive the body of water is. In nothing but a nightgown and totally unprepared to suddenly find herself in this giant ocean… Taylor luckily finds her piano floating on the surface, clinging onto it for dear life. The piano, or the music, is the only thing that saves Taylor from drowning in that abyss - the golden thread luring her to, instead, immerse herself in music once more. Through the piano, or through music, she is able to return to safety and ground herself again, even finding comfort in having taken the journey, because in it, she found a lot of strength and resilience.

Gosh, that sure sounds familiar… doesn't it? Here is where it gets even more interesting! Yes, the beginning of 'Willow' is a continuation of the end of 'Cardigan'. Taylor described the golden thread as a "plot device", which is a "technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward". Taylor is suggesting that there is a plot.

So, let's check out what the Vevo Footnotes video for 'Cardigan' has to say (found on Taylor's official YouTube channel - so, it's as good as "official" to me):

"Returning to the cabin signifies returning to a sense of self after experiencing love lost. However, Taylor's clothes remain soaking wet to represent that she was changed by the journey but has discovered who she always was. I view folklore as wistful and full of escapism. Sad, beautiful, tragic. Like a photo album full of imagery and all the stories behind that imagery."

It's a bit subtle, but the ending of 'Cardigan' is just another iteration on the same story we've already seen elsewhere in Taylor's work. The two that immediately spring to mind are these:

Out of the Woods: She lost him. But she found herself. And somehow that was everything. I Knew You Were Trouble: I don't know if you know you who are until you lose who you are.

And of course, Taylor is directly referencing another song from Red, this time by name: 'Sad Beautiful Tragic' (by the way… I strongly suggest listening to that one back to back with 'Bigger Than The Whole Sky'!)

Taylor suggests that she uses various scenes in 'Willow' to represent the songs 'Seven', 'Exile', 'Mirrorball', and 'Mad Woman'. By the way… 'Mirrorball' is a song that shares sonic similarities with The 1975's 'About You' and 'Medicine' (click the links for fun mashups that help showcase those similarities!)

In the Folklore foreward, Taylor alludes to 'Cardigan' again by describing "lovestruck kids wandering up and down the evergreen High Line" - does that remind you of anything? It sure reminds me of:

"Slut!": Got love-struck, went straight to my head Superman: I'm far away, but I never let you go, I'm love-struck and looking out the window

So, we have a connection to a song that we know Matty helped co-write a different version of… as well as a song that he, himself, hearkens back to via the Superman shirt he chose to wear in the music video for 'Me & You Together Song', as well as lyrically in 'About You'… for some, reading parallels is better, for others, listening is better, so here goes both:

Superman: Don't forget, don't forget about me About You: Do you think I have forgotten? Do you think I have forgotten… About you?

Even the golden thread in 'Cardigan' and 'Willow' is reminiscent of the pixie dust from Peter Pan! Just another connection to Matty, who has not only compared himself to Peter Pan about half a dozen times in interviews throughout the years (slowly adding all instances to this blog), but in one of them, he even talks about Wendy!:

"For me, the Peter Pan analogy of him not wanting to grow up because his… Captain Hook is his only example of a grown-up and he has Wendy, who's a conservative lady who wants to grow up and get married, but he has Tinker Bell who titillates him and she's like pornography, she's like all these… it's like, of course you get like um, titillated by the absence of a domestic reality. You don't live anywhere. You're doing something for other people, although it's yours, you know. You eventually find solace in relationships, like I have done."

Of course, I get it - that this could all be "accidental", but upon studying Taylor's techniques and listening to countless interviews where she says storytelling is the most important aspect of her work… I just don't see coincidence being the most likely conclusion, here. Forgive me, anon... I can get a bit carried away 😅

Thanks for the ask! ♥

[leclsrc]

Your writing is capable of making me cry, laugh, jump for joy. Truly, I didn’t know what it meant to love writing and want to hold it close to your heart till I read your work. I want to ask how you achieve this. How do you write so well? I would love to write like you, and I just want to hear some words of advise, maybe, if you’re willing to give them? 

do u have writing tips for aspiring authors :> how did u get into writing? and get good at it asw?

i will never not feel like i’m the wrong person to ask for writing advice but this ask is so incredibly sweet, and it was one of several asking for advice, and i want to give you anons a bit of what you’re all asking for so i tried my best not to sound too redundant… some of my ideas under the cut :)

i got into writing at a youngish age and probably just got better at it via practice and reading, like many others! writing is definitely a romantic thing for me—not just in the sense that i write romance, but in the sense that for me, writing is and should always come from a place of love. i think all of it should in some way trace back to how we love… i always always try to include a bit of that, and more often i draw from my own experiences and habits, or the people i love and how they speak of/treat/experience love.

in the same vein my experiences always come into play when i write. my love of crosswords, my city, my experiences with boys, female friendships, moving, loneliness, etc—whatever it is, i like drawing from life because it’s an emotion i know and can write the grit of out, narratively speaking

i treat writing like my work is one big vision board… i always scrap and add things at will. i have to suss out passages i know won’t work (and maybe save them for another piece) and add some necessary ones that i find boring to write sometimes.

i love to play with time (this is soo clear i think) i love a non-linear plot, little jumps of time in between as you move forward. on a pragmatic level it works as a context device; on a more emotional level it’s kind of a metaphor for being constantly drawn back to memories that can either encourage the character’s, or keep them from, moving forward — same reason why i like not closing endings. it gives you the opportunity to sit with what you read. AND same reason why i don’t usually do sequels

i am not an outline girl! i’ve tried the schtick a few times, it worked for me until it didn’t. if i do make one, it’s in the middle of writing when i’m faced with a plethora of material that i just need to organize somehow, and i make a rough outline to iron everything out for myself. otherwise i don’t

probably the thing i pay most attention to when i write is dialogue… i like things to sound fluid (esp non-smut because i think with smut u can get away with more suspension of belief haha) and natural and lovely and real, so i take extra time to write stutters/rephrases mid-sentence/um/uh because as opposed to film, u won’t hear them, so i need to convey the emotions somehow! i also love writing out how people talk at the same time, it feels less like a one-on-one, feels realer

if i’m short of inspo i read, i walk, and i listen to music especially movie scores. so impt: i rely more on the instrumental of a song > lyrics when i write. i always imagine: what would i want to play in the background if this scene was happening in a film? i also use pinterest to suss out what an outfit might look like so i can write its description better, a city, a hug, etc

i sincerely hope this was helpful. reading it back, it sounds like an idea dump but i hope it suffices anyway! i’m sorry if i wasn’t more technical!

[lunae-lucis]

This.

Soo...

I knew I was right when I said I was scared of being disappointed, I don't even know if it's the update's fault or mine, to be fair.

My update started with me running to the village, trying to not get distracted by talking to Jel, but I saw Hekla waiting outside the library and I failed. Who else failed too? Yeah, the game. I actually made a useless post asking for help, but immediately decided to close the game afterwards. The thing is I tried to talk to her but the "chat menu" didn't even show up, no dialogue box no nothing, just a robot staring into my soul while I was getting increasingly anxious knowing time kept going on.

I had to waste time closing and opening the game again and GUESS WHAT. I got distracted once again trying to talk with Sifuu at the Inn AND GOT PUNISHED FOR THAT. I don't know if this is a general bug or a me thing but it keeps happening every single time I try to talk with someone and only, ONLY works after pressing every single button possible, even moving the joystick, and even then there's lag.

Talking about lag? I wanted to change the human's clothing and hair before showing up to the Maji Market, it was TERRIBLE to say the least. There's absolutely no one besides me in my plot, I don't need being online to check some pants, THEN WHY IS THIS HAPPENING???

The general menu also takes longer to show up now, when I try to open the map it doesn't work at first. Oh, and the mail isn't working properly either.

I showed up to the Maji Market around 1 AM, maybe? The new location is really good and I'd love to have it as a regular place BUT IT'S SOOO FAR FROM THE PLOT *cries* I usually have the running option on but even that was slow, not even running + jumping made a difference. How am I supposed to enjoy an event that lasts a few in-game hours, for only 7 irl days, once an irl month, when it takes me at least 2 in-game hours to get there (inluding getting distracted on my way) AND I have to battle against the lag and battery?

I don't know, it may also be a me thing.

The Maji Market...

Ignoring the fact that I had to go twice to actually take a proper look at everything, I'm so lost. I don't even know where to begin.

There's... nothing to do there??

I saw a while ago something about a secret involving the drums, I played all of them... Nothing happened?

I tried to read some signs... Nothing happened??

I kept hearing explosion sounds... BUT NOTHING WAS HAPPENING?

A timer and some score thingies THAT I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH?

No character giving you a quick, annoying and random tutorial nor a tour around? No warning of any type for the supposed games??

The claw machine... OH, THE CLAW MACHINE, DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THAT ONE. I GENUINELY THOUGHT I'D BE ABLE TO USE IT FOR FREE OR MAYBE EVEN HAVE A FREE TRIAL FOR THE FIRST TIME. NO!!

I can't play any games, I can't get any tickets (besides the ones Zeki gave me) THEN HOW AM I GONNA GET ANY PLUSHIES?? *cries even harder*

Claw machines have been an important and special thing for me since I was a child and seeing that I couldn't do anything with them, other than just blankly stare at them, made me really upset. I would have been happy with even just trying it out once for free.

Another thing I was REALLY excited about on this update was the supposed Halloween items. I must be blind because I didn't see anything like that, I even went around the same shops? like 2 or 3 more times. Maybe people were talking about other future update??

The chapaa items shop made me feel weird, somehow. I have the feeling I actually have the mug and considering I've never been at the Maji Market before, doesn't that make the whole thing useless in a way? I may be wrong but that would mean the items aren't "exclusive" to this event (please tell me if I am wrong)

I saw this morning a video showing the different locations of the secret boxes? (I can't even remember the actual name wtf is this now why am I so dumb), which is great, but I'm pretty sure you need the flying thing to get 2 or so. I don't have it yet.

There's probably more stuff I'm forgetting about now, but overall it felt really chaotic and rushed to me, it made me feel so lost that it keeps me wondering if perhaps I am the problem and not the event on its own. I always feel lost and it's definitely one of the things I hate the most, I don't even know if it made me feel this way because it was my first time and I didn't really know what to do there (it was probably way more easy and simple than I'm making it to be) or if I was actually supposed to.

...Oh, the game also closed on its own when I came back to my plot, after talking with the characters that were waiting there.

(...)

After all this non sense and rambling, I'll stop it here, if anyone decides to take their time to read all of it (thank you!) please tell me your thoughts about it!

Fall is back and so am I. But will I fall from the hyperfixation train again?

...

Do you get it? Fall as in-

Nevermind.

Sorry.