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weixuldo · 1 year

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Unconditionally Ch 21 (pt 2)

Anakin X Reader

(I really cannot explain how much this story has meant to me, It may be a silly little AU about a space dad with lots of baggage, but its really been an outlet for me this semester. Whenever I get time (which has been coming less and less) I love to sit down and envelop myself in this world I created. I want to thank you all once more for sticking with me and for your support :) more notes will be at the end and I hope you enjoy!)

NSFW

It’s official. You are now a Skywalker :)

Warnings: smut, blowjobs, fingering, alcohol, cursing, sex, depiction of injury? did i mention sex?

___________________________________

The audience cheered as you kissed your new husband; waves of endorphins coursed through your system. This was truly the best day of your life.

You turned to face the crowd with a smile happily on your face; you were still holding one of Anakin’s stiff hands as he started to walk. Surprised, you turned to look at him. The two of you planned only for him to do the vows standing. You didn’t think he would be able to walk at the wedding. His face was focused but he still gave you an assuring smile.

Shakily, he made his way down the aisle with you supporting him from your side. The procession went slowly due to his noticeable limp, but you were just so shocked he was even doing it. You thought that he wasn’t making much progress in physio, especially after the surgery.

With a wide smile you turned to face him and asked, “Ani, how?”

He huffed out a laugh as he continued forward, “surprise..”

“Are you, ok? Does it hurt at all?”

He shut his eyes and shook his head, “No, it's ok. Just takes a bit of effort, but you're worth every ounce. I wanted to walk you down the aisle Y/N”

You squeezed his upper arm with a smile and continued towards the end of the path. With each step you were more and more proud of how well he was doing.

_____________________________________

The two of you planned, after the ceremony, you would get some time together to reflect before going to the reception.

You entered the private room with Anakin trailing behind you; their room was a decent size and decorated beautifully. The windows were frosted for privacy and there was a plush sofa in the middle of the room. Anakin placed a stiff hand on the small of your back, a feeling you rather enjoyed.

“This is nice, I’m glad we arranged to have some time together,” he said, walking towards the couch. His gait was a little less noticeable than when he started down the aisle (he probably just needed some time to adjust); though, it obviously wasn’t perfectly natural.

“I wish you would have told me..’ you began as you gathered your gown to join him on the couch.

“I wanted to surprise you…are you upset?” his eyes became unsure as he gazed upon your glowing face.

“Of course not Ani, I’m so incredibly proud of you! I just wish I had known so I could have celebrated this milestone with you”

His expression relaxed and a soft smile graced his beautiful face; smile lines wrinkling at the ends of his blue eyes. He didn’t speak, instead, he gently pulled you closer to him; sometimes you didn’t need words to communicate with Anakin. That was something you loved about the two of you.

As you laid on his chest listening to his breathing– which was never fully restored to its full capabilities after the accident– your mind began to replay your relationship with him.

The anxiety you felt when you first came upon his huge house, walking up the marble steps, and meeting him for the first time. He was so intimidating, arrogant, and rude… but oh, was he handsome… You knew he still held some insecurities about his looks and disabilities– he worried that you missed or liked his body (and him) better when he was more physically capable. That notion couldn’t be further from the truth. You adored him for who he was and adored every part of him- no matter the body he inhibited.

You thought back to how bad he was at communicating feelings to you at the beginning and just how out of practice he was. If you were being honest, he was a huge dick. But now knowing how you ended up, you were glad you stuck around.

You remembered the slack-jawed look he gave you that time he called you in unexpectedly and you came in that little green dress. He was in awe. A small laugh escaped your lips as you nuzzled further into your lover.

“What’s gotten you so giddy, hmm?”

“Oh, nothing. Just reminiscing on your wonderful attitude when we first started out”

A harsh blush crept its way onto his cheeks, “oh…”

“You know, I actually debating quitting because I thought you hated me that much”

He huffed and for a moment you thought he was upset.

“Quite the contrary, Y/N”

Butterflies fluttered in your stomach as he guided you to sit on his lap and face him. Under the layers of the dress you felt the fabric of his dress pants against your thighs. His eyes were intense and glistening with a familiar gleam…one you craved.

“Ani..”

“If they didn’t know any better, they’d probably think we’re fucking” his low register sent shivers down your spine.

You gave him an enchanting stare, “well…that could be arranged” you whispered as you leaned in to nip at his ear.

Arousal pooled in your stomach as you listened to his breath hitch and the beautiful sounds he emitted as you grazed over the ever growing bulge right beneath you. You shivered as his stiff appendages traveled up your sides; one of his mechanical hands rested itself on the back of your neck, deepening the kiss.

He slid his tongue into your mouth and gently bit your lip as you pulled away. You slowly moved your hips back and forth on his clothed thigh, the slickness in your underwear became all the more apparent.

“Oh Anakin” you gasped as he brought his better functioning hand towards your front and squeezed one of your breasts as best as he could. Over time you had grown accustomed to his robotic touch, you liked the way the strong appendages slowly gripped around you.

The outline of his cock was extremely close to your clothed pussy. Just to be a tease, you grinded on him; the noise that escaped his throat was exhillerating.

“I’m all yours now Anakin. All yours…” You cooed, slowly palming him over his pants.

Something in him changed when you referred to yourself as “his” because his abs tensed and his hips bucked up.

“Mmhph! Ahh ahh” he stifled his moans as you quickened your pace, even opting to dive into his pants, below the waistband of his boxers.

His head flung back as you grazed over his tip, already wet with pre-cum. You didn’t even have to see it to know that it was definitely a blushing red and that the vein on the bottom side was bulging. As you ran your hands up and down his shaft, you could feel it throbbing and pulsing. For you.

He pressed a stiff hand on your shoulder to pull your attention to his face, “Y/N, If you continue doing t-that… I’m gonna..” He took a moment to take in a deep breath, “And I don’t wanna stain m-my..”

You slid yourself off of his lap and he shivered at the cool air against his warm member. Deviously, you lowered yourself onto your knees and leaned into his thighs, a polished hand on both of his legs.

“Good thing we have an extra suit for the reception” you smiled.

Before he could register and agree, you had sucked him down so far that all he could do was moan. His upper thighs tensed with every bob of your head.

Ambitiously, you took all of him in your mouth, your nose met his naval; one of your hands gripped his side and one, the upper part of his thigh where his prosthetic stopped. So many beautiful noises escaped his mouth, you were amused by his feeble attempts of stifling them.

You came back up with a long drag of your tongue against his shaft. You met his face and smiled as he panted with the neediest look you had ever seen.

“Y-y/n…” he stuttered out.

“Yes, my love?” you deviously inquired.

“Y-you’re crazy”

Instead of answering him, you ran your hands through his hair and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

“Hey-” a sudden knock on the door startled both of you.

“Just wanted to let you know, the reception is starting in 45 minutes” the voice, which you recognized as Ahsoka, informed.

You slid a quick hand down to finish Anakin off. He jolted and tried to stop the guttural moan from leaving his mouth.

“Ok! We’ll be there soon!”

With one flick of your wrist, Anakin was cumming all over himself and your hand. His eyes rolled back and he tossed his head back, so you placed a gentle yet firm hand over his mouth.

“Thank you Ahsoka”

“No worries Sky gal! Can't wait to see your reception dress!”

Oh shit…

You forgot you had to change…

Your dress was pretty intricate; you would need help undressing and unbinding the laces but you didn’t know if Anakin would be able to help you.

When the coast was clear, you shifted off of his lap. He was gasping and you quickly fetched his inhaler. He took a few puffs and released a long exhale before turning to you.

“What the… fuck has gotten.. In to you?” he panted with a mesmerized look on his face.

You shrugged with a smirk and he joined with a laugh.

“We should probably get ready for the reception- I didn’t even realize how long we were in here.” You said, beginning to take off your dress until you would need Anakin’s help.

He glanced at the clock on the wall, “oh shit- yea we should” he exclaimed as he began to haul himself off the couch.

Before you could even ask, Anakin was already attempting to pull at the ribbons that laced up your dress, much to your surprise he was able to undo the ribbons fairly easily. You thanked him with a sweet peck on the lips before you began to help him out of his, now, cum stained suit.

Quickly, you helped him into the reception suit- he rested his mechanical forearms on your shoulders as you pulled his pants over his artificial legs. Soon you slipped on the shorter, more party-style dress and fixed up your makeup.

________________________________________

The reception hall was dimly lit, the warm glow of the candlelit centerpieces scattered around the venue; you made sure it was wheelchair accessible, with ramps and accommodations for Anakin's mobility. Many people mingled and shared small conversations. Anakin definitely spared no expense while planning the wedding; five star catering, an exclusive venue, quality decor, and live orchestral music, plus a band and DJ for later on in the night (more-so for you and your friends, you were quite a bit younger than him after all).

“The reception is supposed to start in less than three minutes, do they want to miss their own celebration?” Ben said, looking at his watch, before taking a sip of the champagne in his hand.

“Yea, well I have a feeling they were celebrating in a different way” Ahsoka quipped as she gulped down her drink.

“Oh. How…them” Ben chuckled.

Soon the doors of the venue hall were opened and you walked in with Anakin by your side, a large smile plastered on your face. You were so overjoyed that you were married and excited by all of your guests, that you didn’t even notice all Anakin was looking at was you.

How he admired you…. His beautiful Y/N.

The crowd cheered as you led Anakin to the center of the ballroom, seamlessly the ambient music changed into an orchestral version of the song the two of you chose. He placed a gentle hand on your waist and the other grabbed your hand as he started to sway with you; his blue eyes still so vibrant even in the dim lighting.

“Are you sure you can-” you whispered.

He nodded and calmed your worries, “Don’t worry my love, I’ve been practicing”.

You smiled and stepped closer to him as the music swelled. His dancing may not have been the most agile, but the familiar movements warmed your heart. All you cared about in this moment was that you were his and he was yours.

Before you knew it the crowd was clapping and Anakin tilted your chin up with his hand to draw you in for a passionate kiss.

_______________________________________

The dinner and speeches went well; many friends and family members spoke, though the sweetest one was Luke and Leia’s. They explained how excited they were that you were marrying their father and how long they had wanted to call you “mom”; honestly, they had you tearing up.

The night went on, lots of congratulations and more celebration. You walked off of the dance floor to look for your husband. Across the room you spotted him at the bar talking to some old friends; he was seated in his wheelchair once again and his suit coat had been discarded, leaving him just in his white button down.

You waited a moment before the band of guys saw you looking over; once you had been spotted, there was no stopping the group of buzzed men from calling you to come and join.

“Hey Hey, Y/N! It’s nice to finally meet ‘cha” A very drunk man exclaimed, extending a hand for a very firm handshake.

“Hello!” you smiled, slightly confused.

Anakin picked up on your confusion and butted in, “Are you going to introduce yourself or just be some random guy shaking her hand?” he said in a joking tone.

“OhhHH! I’m Rex! How ya doin’ miss?” he said, making a motion like he was tilting a cowboy hat, to which you laughed.

“Hi Rex” you giggled.

“You’ve gotta be a pretty special little lady to make this hard-ass soften up haha” Rex laughed, patting Anakin on the back.

Normally if anyone else dared touch him, he would have flipped out and gotten very agitated, but you could tell he was comfortable with this guy. Soon, Ahsoka stumbled up to you and gave you a very uncoordinated hug.

“y/nnnn! T-this is my favoriteee right h-hereee” she smiled hanging off of you.

“Haha, Hello to you too Ahsoka” you smiled, supporting her weight with your shoulder.

She blinked hard and once she opened her eyes again. It looked as if she were completely sober, “Anakin. I know I’ve known yo longer, but if you EVER fuck around with y/n. You will be facing me. She’s a good one, don’t mess it up.”

And just like that, she was right back to slurring her words; thankfully Ben stepped in and took her to sit in the less crowded part of the room, “Come-come Ahsoka, why don’t we sit you down? Maybe we should be done drinking for the night, hmm?”

You turned to face the group once more, but found only Anakin remained.

“Hey” he spoke sweetly as he gently took one of your hands into his.

“Hi” you smiled back at him.

_______________________________________

The party raged on into the early hours of the morning, older business associates of Ben and Anakin stumbled around just like your college age friends. Seems everyone had a good time. Anakin actually had not drunk much at all and you were pretty sober too. As the last few people trickled out and said their goodbyes, you walked over to where Anakin had seated himself; your heels discarded long ago.

“I think that was the last couple” you said, leaning down to kiss him.

“Now I can finally enjoy my wife in peace,” he teased with a grin.

“Well, I’m not quite tired enough to go to sleep and, I mean, we do need to consummate this…” you said, looking away and twirling your hair.

He exhaled and shook his head, “I love you so much Y/N”.

You smiled and gave him a wink as you went to fetch Ben and the kids to tell them the party was over. Earlier on in the night you laid the twins down to sleep in a secluded room further back in the hall, so that they wouldn’t be grumpy in the morning. After taking care of Ahsoka, Ben retired to that room to sleep as well, (Ahsoka being drunk was like taking care of the twins times 5). It worked out well though, The kids were going to spend the night with their uncle Ben or Auntie Ash.

After getting everything straightened out, you and Anakin finally headed back to the house. The drive back was the longest ride you had ever taken, the tension in the back was so thick, the desire burning in your chest. You needed him.

Instead of spending extra, the two of you decided to forgo the “honeymoon suite” and just “do it” at the house; not only was it cheaper, but it had all of Anakin’s supplies already available.

Once the two of you closed the door to the mansion, you were on his lap. Your legs handing over his arm rests and your hands in his sandy hair. The pristine walls echoed with your desire, every breath, every sigh, every moan… you could hear it all.

You loved the feeling of his stiff hands as they caressed your sides and his tongue down your throat. He still had his prosthetics on and you could feel the solid joint of his titanium knee pressing into your ass.

As you kissed him, the fact that his white button down was still on, became a nuisance to you; quickly, with swift and calculated motions, you undid each button and revealed his bare chest to you. He was absolutely magnificent, his core never really diminished even when he was bed-ridden in the beginning, it always remained a pretty prominent structure of his. Your eyes traced down his skin, mapping every dent and beauty mark on his spacious chest. God he was beautiful.

“Like what you see?” he breathed out, slightly wiping his bottom lip.

All you could do was nod.

“Let me see you” he asked in a gentle, yet demanding tone…and of course you complied.

You turned away from his chair and began to take off the thin silky dress you were wearing: skin collecting goosebumps from the cool air hitting your skin. Left in your lacy bra and panties, you turned back to see Anakin not in his chair, rather, he was standing at his full height; a forearm resting on the doorframe to the next room.

His piercing blue eyes wandered up and down your body hungrily as his breath became deeper.

“You’re perfect Y/N”

You blushed and walked towards your lover.

“You’re not too bad yourself” you smirked, pulling him down for a kiss; your mouth filled with the fresh taste of the mint gum he had been chewing earlier in the night.

You shuddered as one of his cool hands was placed at the small of your back. He deepened the kiss, using more tongue than the last time, before pulling away with a moan.

“We should take this to the room,” he said, pulling at the strap of your panties.

You could feel your arousal pooling and sliding against your folds as he tugged at your bottoms.

“Please Ani” you whimpered as you palmed his cock through his pants, causing his eyes to roll back as he exhaled a beautiful moan.

Soon the two of you busted through the doors to your room; you had unzipped Anakin’s trousers and his prominent bulge was on full display through his black boxers; beads of pre-cum dampening a small circle in the front. Once you reached the bed, he lightly pushed you down onto your back as he positioned himself in between your legs.

“Ani?” you panted, curious as to what he was doing.

Before you knew it, he had lowered himself so that his face was right at your entrance. He gently slid your lacy panties off with his teeth and returned to kiss your clit. You shivered at the sudden contact of his warm mouth; he placed his mechanical hands on both of your thighs and squeezed, causing you to throw your head back.

He began slowly, short licks and little kisses, but as your noises became more desperate he sped up. His skilled tongue was lapping at you as if you were the last thing he would ever eat.

“T-that f-feelss..” You could barely string your words together and your legs were quivering.

He ceased his work only to meet your eyes, “You taste so good, Y/N” he panted in a deep voice.

Quickly he went back to work, swirling his tongue around your sweet bud. You gasped as you felt something entering you, one of his mechanical fingers; fuckkk, the way it rhythmically curled felt euphoric.

“Oh my God Anakin!” you moaned as you felt his digits swirling inside of you as he marked your stomach with his teeth.

“I-I’m gonna.. I” you stammered as you felt the tight knot in your lower stomach burst and you saw a galaxy of stars. The sound that escaped you could only be explained as ethereal.

As you let the feeling wash over you, he stood himself up and sat on the edge of bed, panting. You heard his labored breathing and worried he overexerted himself.

“Ani? Are you-” you began as you sat up to attend to him, though, before you could finish you looked down to see that you weren't the only one who came from that ordeal. His stomach flexed as the last few waves of his orgasm shot through him and you blushed.

You wrapped your arms around him and the two of you sat there for a moment before he stood to take his underwear off. As he stood before you, you took a moment to take in his beauty, every scar, every scrape, every part of him told the story of the man you loved.

He fumbled with the waistband, so you swooped in to peel away his cum-stained boxers; he whimpered when they brushed over his semi-hard member. You stood and met his gaze, the two of you exchanging a knowing look. Soon you were back on the bed with your legs wrapped around his waist as he thrusted himself in and out of you.

The sounds of your combined moans ricochet off of the walls and the headboard of the bed thumped against the wall. This was the first time he had fucked you with his prosthetics on, a part of you worried about them rubbing too roughly against his stumps, but he assured you he was ok. This was also the first time since before the accident (so over half a year) that he had been on top; you forgot how good he was with his hips.

He fucked you with such vigor and passion that it had tears brimming at the corners of your eyes. He had taken off his left arm so he could feel you with his own, a sensation that made the experience all the better for him. As he used his mechanical knees as leverage, he buried himself so deep inside of you causing his eyes to roll back.

He laid his head in the crook of your neck and nipped at your ear, “I-I don’t…think..I-I” he cut himself off with a sharp breath as his tip kissed your cervix.

“L-last much l..ong-ger” he stuttered as his hips bucked wildly.

His warm body felt so good on top of you and his dick was definitely hitting all the right spots and as much as you wanted more, you were close too. So in one calculated motion, you pulled him towards you by the back of his neck and begged “I want you to cum for me”.

And he did.

With one last thrust from his hips his warm cum filled you up. The feeling was indescribable, you felt as if you had been transported to another world. Truly, that was the best sex you had ever shared with him; perhaps it is because it was your first as husband and wife, but damn, was that amazing.

You knew he was getting overstimulated by the way his jaw clenched and his brows knitted together. So you helped him gently ease himself out of you and laid him on his back. His chest rose and fell rapidly so you fetched his inhaler and administered it to him. Once his breathing evened he opened his blue eyes and looked at you.

“My beautiful wife, My Y/N” he said with a raspy voice as he brushed the side of your flushed cheek.

In return, you smiled at him and began to take off his prosthetics. Once you cleaned up and got everything situated you joined him in bed. It was now around 4 am, so you decided the shower could wait until “later in the morning”.

As you nestled up beside Anakin in your large bed, he turned to give you a sweet kiss on your forehead. You returned the gesture by tilting to kiss him on the lips with a smile.

The sounds of your breathing and the fan were the only noises in the room as the two of you began to drift to sleep. You ran your hand down his chest until you felt his necklace you had gotten for Christmas. You ran your thumb over the dates on the back.

“1..2..” you counted in your head as you logged the dates you had engraved, but what surprised you was a third. Quickly you sat up which made Anakin ask what was wrong.

“Can I turn on the light real quick?” you asked, already reaching for the lamp.

“Yea, what's wrong darling?” he said, blinking open his tired eyes.

You reached for his necklace once more and saw the third date shimmering on his gold pendant, your birthday. Once you met his eyes again, he had a contemptuous smile on his face.

“You’ll always be in my heart” was all he said before you clicked off the light again and engulfed him in a loving embrace.

You never expected him to etch your date into the gift you got him all that time ago… but he did.

As the two of you drifted off to sleep your heart was filled with nothing but love and joy.

Anakin was it, the last man you would be with.

The only man you would love,

Unconditionally.

***

a/n: Woooooww! I just want to say, thank you all so much for following my story, I never in a million years would have ever thought my writing would even be read at all haha. I truly do love this story and hope to write ones of its caliber and better in the future. I’ll make a post about the status of the other fics and upcoming ones hehe. Also I am planning to do an epilogue for this story in the future, if anyone would be interested :)

Taglist: @katsukiswrld , @wtf-andys , @angeelcoree , @jetiikote , @khaleesihavilliard , @sxoulchvn, @sakura-amethyst, @dottodottoo , @vader-is-hot , @circuloctm , @jellydodger , @shadowheads-shitshow

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1tarot1with1k1o · 1 year

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Hi!! I'm here for your mood board game 💖🫶🫶💖

So firstly, I did your wedding. To me, it feels very blue and gold. Like somewhat regal, somewhat beautifully wild. Maybe lots of wildflowers, beautiful atmosphere, maybe beach photos.

Then I also did your future spouse, and I have a lot more information based upon that one.

First thing I got was that your fs is a gambler in some aspects, they have somewhat of a poker face, they gamble with life. They have that somewhat odd, sexy aura of a gang boss who wins every game. Something like that, it's hard to describe. An aura of powerfulness, I started hearing the song "Achilles Come Down" by Gang of Youths, that type of power and drama. The pain of falling in love with someone you had no intention of loving. Dramatic and painful yet incredibly beautiful. Dark academia is their aesthetic and vibe for sure, as well as possibly old money but more...darker. like vampire-esque? If you know anything about mbti theyre like an intj or entj. Sorry for all of the extra info, I really had to say it & describe the way they came off to me.

As for my questions, I'd love a moodboard for my future spouse & one for my next lover/significant relationship (if theyre the same person somehow, my future house would be interesting!)

Thanks again for hosting this game! I had a lot of fun (I always love doing future spouse/love moodboards, can you tell? Lol)

Hello~~

So cool! The weeding sounds really nice!! And I personally do love the “navy blue and gold combo” so I feel like it could be a very accurate guess about the theme of the wedding.

That is by far the coolest way someone has described my fs hahah. Omggg I’m obsessed with the way you depicted him. It’s giving wattpad story with potential for a book series. And don’t apologize for the amount of info you gave me! If anything I should be thanking you for taking the time to give me so many cool insights!! I love that you included various things like types of aesthetics, MBTIs and even a song to describe his vibe. I truly LOVE this.

Your moodboards:

I felt like your fs might be an archaeologist, a museum curator (or generally work in museums), or a conservator-restorer. Very specific I know lol, but it was literally the first thing they decided to show me, for some reason… They’re very passionate about their job, and they will love to be able to welcome you into their world. I feel like they’ll proudly show you what they have been working on, or share with you new discoveries about their latest project. I feel so much excitement just by typing this, so they must be very enthusiastic about it haha, so cute 🥲

Your next partner gives me skater boy/girl/person vibes. Might not necessarily be a skater, but their style very much reminds me of it. Might be puppy love. Although your relationship might not last years and years, it will definitely leave a good memory. If you’re someone who’s on the more chill side, this person will manage to naturally bring out your playfulness.

The house that I showed you felt more like a “momentary” place. For example it could be your first house alone (if you still live with your parents), or it could be a place where you’ll live initially with your fs, or just a place where you’ll stay for a short while; either with friends, roommates, or one of your future partners. It might be that it’ll be a meaningful place to you, since they decided to show me this one house in particular.

I did all three the topics you were curious about because I felt like you put so much effort into giving me my reading, and I wanted to repay you. I’m glad you have fun doing moodboards!! 😌🫶

Thank you again for participating!! Take care <3

#klo #errorsincontact #tarot community #free readings #spirituality #intuitive game #closed game

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benonirosehouse · 1 year

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I don't really go for "beginner friendly" options. When I got my first dog, I drove two and a half hours to pick up the only free option on Craigslist, an unruly hound/pit mix with emotional baggage. It took him five years to learn recall. When I wanted a reliable car to daily drive and work on by myself? I bought a 20 year old European station wagon.

My fiancee loves a project too. And we're both hopeless romantics. So when we were ready to buy a house, the Zillow filters were brutal. Built before 1900? Not interested. Grey floored flips need not apply. Open floor plans? No thank you, I have art to hang and that requires walls. Give me rooms!

We went to an open house for an 1850s colonial Greek Revival in the northern part of the state. It was gorgeous, and had so much potential, but the commute was a drag and it needed... more than we were capable of. After months (years, really who am I kidding) of daydreaming, we looked at that house and realized there are DIY's that we aren't ready for.

We kept scanning MLS listings, and got a little nervous about whether we'd find something in our budget that fit our criteria. We met our mortgage broker-recommended realtor for the first time to see a 1920s Cape in the southern part of the state. (1920's, I know. We were really nervous for a second an threw our criteria out the window.) The location was amazing but the yard was tiny, and we would have needed a rehab loan. We realized this realtor wasn't terribly invested in our search. We didn't make an offer. We decided to recommit to waiting around for the house at our price point.

A good friend connected me with his best friend and realtor, Ron. We talked on the phone and Ron got it. He was unfazed by the fact that we didn't care which town we found a house in. It made perfect sense to him that we cared more about the property and the architecture. We talked about the difference between tacky brick Greek Revivals with huge pillars (not an option) and gorgeous wood Greek revivals with beautifully intricate details (totally an option). He got that we didn't care if it was a 1700s farmhouse or an 1870s gingerbread Victorian. Ron's brother is a contractor. His mother lovingly restores historic homes. We were on the same page. Ron was looking out for an old house that was a great example of whatever it was built to be. We had found our guy.

We didn't even get to go looking for houses with him. The day after our call, we saw a listing for an open house for an 1882 vernacular Victorian in an area we spend a lot of time in. We went to see it that Sunday while Ron was with other clients. We were immediately in love. There were so many couples coming in and out, and honestly we were certain we'd be outbid. It's hard to have hope when you park your legal-to-drink station wagon in a lot surrounded by late model year BMWs. The house was on the National Register. The house had a snippet on Wikipedia(!).

We left the open house and called Ron from a parking lot down the street. "We want this one!" Ron and I planned to go back together the next day, and after he saw it too, he gave his blessing for us to put in an offer.

In the year of our lord 2023, you probably think you know where this story is about to go. A bidding war, tears, anxiety!

Nope. Ron helped us craft our best possible offer, advising on non-monetary bonuses that could set us apart. We were going to need to find a subletter regardless, so could give the seller plenty of time until closing. We were unafraid of old plaster, lead, and asbestos, so we promised not to nitpick after inspection (well, we have a healthy respect for lead and asbestos, but it's not keeping us out of our dream home). Ron built a rapport with the sellers agents who were also incredibly easy to work with. And the BMW driving hordes of open house people? While we were looking at our dream home, they must have been looking at tiny bedrooms, a wildly dated kitchen, and some choice wallpaper decisions. Ours was the first offer, and it was accepted right away.

There's a lot of work to do! But I like things that need work.

#century home #benoni rose house #victorian house #house restoration

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dramaddict-and-proud-of-it · 1 year

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The Great Ruler / The Great Master

Year : 2020 | Country : CN | Nb of episodes: 48

My rate: 5/10

Synopsis :

Five thousand years ago, after being suppressed, the Evil Deity turned into Nine Evil Eyes, lurking in the world, waiting for the time of resurrection. Five thousand years later, Nine Evil Eyes is about to become a being. Young boy Mu Chen meets Luo Li, the goddess of the Luo God Clan, and is connected with Jiuyou Bird's blood in chance. They support each other and grow together. After the battle of Baima City, Mu Chen takes over the burden of revenge for the dragon people and fighting against the Evil Deity. Luo Li is promoted to be the Saintess. Finally, Mu Chen and Luo Li work together to defeat the Evil Deity and restore peace to the whole world.

Main cast :

Roy Wang as Mu Chen

Ouyang Nana as Luo Li

My thoughts on this drama :

I read some mixed reviews about this one. Some people said it was lacking because the actors were very young. Other said there was not enough martial arts fights to make it interesting. Well I watched the trailer and the CGI were so beautiful that I just started right away. Here is my conclusion after finishing it. Regarding the actors: yes they are young, the main cast was born in 2000. But they are not bad. I've seen actors with 10 years behind them doing worse than these "kids". The CGI: incredible, beautiful, magical, etheral. Superb, really. That was a feast for my eyes who are used to very poor special effects in wuxia dramas. The scenery and costumes: beautiful. Fantastically so. Again, a feast for the eyes. The cinematography and coloring are soft and beautiful, the editing was impressive. The OST: amazing. The story: quite predictable, but with some orignality, as it's a kind of "powers" that was pretty new in my own Wuxia universe. The plot remains quite deja-vu however, and as I said, predictable. The 5 points I removed really are cause by this predictability that made the story pretty boring at some point, with always the same tropes coming back. All in all, it's a beautifully made drama, and really pleasing on the eyes. I would not recommend it to people who are not absolute fans of Wuxia genre however, you might find it hard to get into the story. Once more, they made 48 episodes when 25-30 would have been enough.

A Favorite ?

#the great ruler #Roy Wang #Ouyang Nana

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early2000smovieimagines · 4 years

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Meeting and Dating Ahkmenrah

(Not my gif)(Requested by anonymous)

(This movie was my childhood. Brings back so many good memories ...and crushes.)

- You’d worked at quite a few museums in your day but none of them were quite like the Museum of Natural History; a fact you’d be made aware of very suddenly and without warning.

- You were somewhat new to the building, hired to do work on the exhibits since you were skilled in restoration and design. You weren’t a night worker, at least you weren’t supposed to be, but you’d accidentally dropped something as you were leaving your office and were forced to stay late to clean it up.

- After a few moments of sweeping, you’d heard a commotion upstairs and as you went to leave the museum; and investigate, you’d walked straight into the beautiful chaos of a night at the museum.

- Let’s just say that Larry had a lot to explain, all of which you took surprisingly well; though you didn’t have much of a choice now did you?

- Ahkmenrah spotted you from across the museum and watched as you made your way around the new magical world, staring at every person and thing in awe. He spied on you throughout the night and found that when he’d finally thought it appropriate to approach you, the sun was already beginning to rise.

- So the next day, he asks Larry about you, pretending as though he’s asking for no reason at all. Larry knowingly offers to introduce the two of you and the mummy drops the act, eagerly accepting.

“I’d like that very much, yes.”

- Larry approaches you with the sparkling pharaoh and is soon called away by someone else, leaving the two of you alone to speak. Ahkmenrah motions over to a bench nearby, commenting that it “must be a lot to get used to” as you both take a seat. You laugh in agreement and before you know it, the two of you are engaged in a conversation.

- Ahkmenrah’s sweet, he’s charming, he’s handsome, and he’s quite enamored with you; though you don’t know that just yet.

- Soon enough, it’s time for the sun to rise and he takes notice, begrudgingly standing and admitting that he “must say goodbye”. You respond with a somewhat disappointed goodbye yourself, watching as he begins to walk away before he turns and says “I should like to see you tomorrow ...to continue our conversation” to which you happily agree.

- The two of you become close fairly quickly. Anytime he spots you in a room, he makes a beeline towards you; both because he really likes you and because he’s somewhat awkward himself.

- He always likes being there for you, considering you’re new and not used to all that history coming to life stuff. He takes pride in being your guide and sort of likes the feeling of you depending on him a bit.

- Your “friendship” takes an obvious romantic turn, particularly; and outwardly, on his side; I say “friendship” because it was probably somewhat obvious from that he liked you more than that even from the beginning.

- He compliments you, oftentimes earnestly and quietly calling you beautiful, uses any excuse to touch you and your clothes, etc. He awes you with talks of Egypt and sweeps you off your feet quite easily. It’s really only a matter of time before the two of you get together.

- That “time” comes one day as you’re both sitting all alone. The room is dark and warmly lit and you’re sitting so close that his knees are touching yours. His hands hold yours as he speaks quietly to you and your face is leaned in close so that you can hear him.

- And then it just happens, your faces close in and you kiss, his grasp tightening around your hands.

- You’re interrupted by one of the others, most likely Larry who quickly apologizes and mentions something about the sun coming up before leaving the two of you be. Ahkmenrah turns back to you, saying something along the lines of “so we must once again say goodbye” with a small smile.

“It would appear so.” You respond, though you’re hesitant to move from your place. But alas, the sun has to rise and you have to go home.

“Tomorrow then,” He smiles at you, giving your hand one last squeeze. “...My queen.”

- You leave that morning, eager for the daylight to go and for you to be reunited with your newfound lover once more.

- Ahkmenrahs from ancient Egypt so I’m sure he isn’t particularly accustomed to “normal” Pda. That being said, he is somewhat dorky and practically has an entire hall to himself so he either just gives you innocent pda or the two of you go to his exhibit; and not have to worry about anyone seeing you.

- He’s been locked up in a sarcophagus for about fifty years; or more, so he’s arguably a bit touch starved. He’s always trying to touch you in some way and absolutely loves it whenever you touch him.

- He likes holding both your hands in his, occasionally bringing one of them to his lips. He just likes touching your hands in general if we’re being honest.

- Gentle caresses. He’s in love, leave him alone.

- Forehead and cheek kisses. He likes prolonging the amount of time his lips spend on your skin; a normal prolonged amount of time of course.

- Long, soft kisses.

- Loving makeout sessions. His hands roam your back and pull you in as close as they can whenever you have one.

- He likes laying between your legs and/or resting his head in your lap.

- Cuddling with your arms wrapped around each other and your head resting against his shoulder. He likes laying and talking with you, playing with the fingers that lay on his chest.

- Having his robes draped over and around you.

- He likes having you with him at all times, both because he’s protective of you and because he can’t bear to be away from you for more than a few hours.

- You’ll usually hang back and cling to his arm whenever you’re standing together. He likes feeling your presence at his side and the light grip you have on him.

- A bit clingy. He only gets to see you at night and has been alone for quite some time, of course he’s gonna want to be around you as much as possible.

- He always gets somewhat flustered when you give him gifts; particularly sweet things like flowers. You would have sworn you’d given him your underwear with the way he smiles and blushes in response.

- Ahkmenrah was the favorite son so he was a bit spoiled as a child. That being said, he’s surprisingly humble and sweet for a pharaoh that was given the best of everything.

- He’s probably teared up a little because of you at some point, whether it be your actions or just the fact that you’re there with him. He can get a bit emotional at times.

- Dancing together. We all saw how beautifully that man can move.

- Sneaking him out every once in a while. He really likes your apartment; even if you’re sort of embarrassed because he’s a literal pharaoh and lived in a temple when he was alive.

- Movie dates. They’re the easiest thing to do with him and he’s missed out on pretty much all of them so he’s got a lot of catching up to do.

- Listening to music together.

- Considering his time at Cambridge and just the way he is, he may or may not wax poetic about or at you on occasion. He gets a little embarrassed when he realizes that he’s doing it but it’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard/seen.

- Compliments and lots of them; usually paired with a term of endearment.

- He uses a lot of pet names on you, usually somewhat old fashioned ones. My dear, my sun, my queen, etc.

- He’s the cutest when posing for photos. He tries to look all regal in the beginning but it quickly dissolves into the adorable dorkiness that you know so well.

- The boy is lovestruck. He could sit and watch you do nothing with this look of unwavering love on his face for hours. Need to do some work? Thats totally fine. He’ll just sit there and love you.

- Please let him braid your hair. There’s just something that’s so relaxing and sweet about it to him.

- He has a hard time saying no to you. You’re his queen after all, you should have everything you could ever dream of; and he’s just too sweet to deny nearly anyone.

- Polite and respectful, Ahkmenrah is a gentleman with incredibly good manners. You’ll never be disappointed in his behavior.

- Helping Larry and him take care of the museum and tablet.

- Teaching him about all he’s missed.

- Always having a translator. He certainly comes in handy when you’re traveling around the museum and run into some “hostile” exhibits.

- Getting quietly and excitedly told a bunch of stories. He’s always so adorably eager to tell you about his life; whether it be about Ancient Egypt or more present times.

- He wants to introduce you to his parents so badly; though he’s somewhat embarrassed by them. Maybe you’ll transfer to the London museum for a bit?

- Getting bragged about. He always makes you sound cooler than you really are, though in your case, that’s just how he sees you.

- Stopping him from making morbid comments; oftentimes at the wrong time, or just giving him a look. He’s got a sort of different view on what’s exactly an acceptable thing to say.

“Too dark?”

- Sharing looks and making comments to each other.

- He’s always so gentle and caring with you; especially when you’re hurt or upset. He prides himself on being by your side and taking care of you.

- He’s a fairly patient person; especially with you. I mean, he’s had to wait a lot more than a few years to be let out of his sarcophagus so one can assume that he’d be good at that sort of thing.

- He’s not a terribly jealous person. Arguably, if you choose to be in a difficult relationship with a mummy, then you obviously want that relationship, right? He’s loyal and he expects you to be as well; that’s how it was in his times.

- That being said: if someone shows interest in you then he’ll get a bit jealous; though he’ll save his real jealousy for when he gets to see how you respond to them and how they respond to him making it known that you’re together.

- The museum can certainly get a bit dangerous at times; and he can only be there for you when you’re there, so of course he’ll be protective of and worry about you. He looks out for you and tells you to be careful every time you’re saying goodbye.

- The two of you hardly ever fight or argue, you’re just compatible with each other; and you rarely have the time to do so anyway. Plus, your pharaoh doesn’t have a mean bone in his body and lives to please you, so why would he try to fight with you?

- If he’s somehow done something; which is highly unlikely, he’ll apologize the minute that he realizes he’s upset you or thinks that he has. He’ll give you space if you want or need it and welcomes you back with open arms when you’re ready.

- If you’ve upset him then he’ll do his best to give you the silent treatment and act professional with you; not quite cold but not loving like he usually is. He’ll do so until you apologize and he cracks, shyly accepting your apology and reverting back to his sweet self.

- Lots of I love yous. You’re his queen, what do you expect?

- Your relationship is certainly going to be a bit challenging, but the happiness and love you feel with each other is worth it.

#ahkmenrah imagine #ahkmenrah headcanons #ahkmenrah headcanon #ahkmenrah imagines #night at the museum imagine #night at the museum headcanon #night at the museum imagines #night at the museum headcanons #early 2000s movie headcanon #early 2000s movie headcanons #early 2000s movie imagine #early 2000s movie imagines #rami malek imagine

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dizzydennis · 3 years

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Sonic x Cream & Cheese Cover Story - English Translation

Translator note: I am not fluent in Japanese. I did my best to bring these translations for Sonic fans to enjoy. Constructive criticism is absolutely welcomed, but please be kind. I hope you enjoy this sweet little story!

It’s the popping and colorful, “Music Plant.”

Tubes of brass instruments weave and wind around the bouncing path of a piano keyboard. This area is entertaining to anybody who listens to the music within it and it’s become somewhat of a famous attraction for some animals.

In such a cheerful place like the Music Plant, you can see two energetic shadows chasing after something. The blue hedgehog, "Sonic" was ahead of the other two with a large gap between them.

Just behind was the little rabbit girl, "Cream" and her chao friend, "Cheese.” Due to the Music Plant being full of various musical instruments and gadgets, even if they thought they had caught up, they'd be pulled elsewhere soon again. The race between these characters allowed the scales of music to play beautifully like a duet.

Looking back, Sonic couldn't see Cream. Sonic tried slowing to walk to assess the situation, but... Cream then came down softly from the sky and blocked his way.

“Mr. Sonic! Please let us go on an adventure together!”

Cream can fly through the sky by flopping her big ears. She could never beat Sonic in terms of foot speed, but she was always able to catch up with some clever shortcuts. Sonic smiled and sighed.

“Like I said, ‘that’s no good!’ The place I’m heading towards is pretty dangerous.”

Sonic carefully chose his words. As he continued on forward he gave a wink to express an all-too-simple: “I’m sorry.”

Sonic then slipped and said “...for a kid.”

Upon hearing this, Cream puffed out her cheeks in frustration and clenched her fists.

“Urgh, Mr. Sonic! Don’t treat me like a little kid! Hmph!”

“It’s not like that, Cream! It’s not that at all. It’s just a bit...”

-ZUUUUUUUUUN-

Just as Sonic tried to find the right words, a terrifying rumbling sound was heard from a distance that shook the Earth. Sonic gave a serious look. Apparently he had a bit of an idea of what that sound was.

“I gotta go fast! Cream, you get home safely, OK?”

“Ah, Mr. Sonic! Please wait!”

Sonic, who flew off at full speed this time, disappeared from Cream’s view as he ran towards the horizon.

For a few seconds, Cream stared at where Sonic had ran with a frazzled expression, but she soon got blown forward... or rather, she started walking again with a much more excited expression.

“Teehee, we should probably go check out that loud noise. It’ll surely shock Mr. Sonic!”

“Chao, chao?”

Cheese seemed to be questioning why Cream wants to keep up with Sonic so badly.

“Is it alright, Cheese? Wherever Sonic goes, there’s bound to be lots of fun adventures! Of course, there are times when our adventures get tough, but Sonic is strong, kind, and knows all about how to adventure. Everything will be just fine!”

“Chao! Chao, chao!”

Cheese seemed to agree and the two went off!

-BANG!!!-

The air shook from far away, and suddenly a loud roar broke through the air. A very large clump of iron flew towards them while it emitted a thick black smoke. It quickly slammed downwards.

CRASH! CRASH! The keyboard bridge and instruments around it were totaled and collapsed.

“Th-Thi- This is bad!”

It must have come from that dangerous place Sonic mentioned just before. Cream, who had fallen over due to the first impact had gotten up in the chaos of everything and saw the miserable, destroyed surroundings. She tried to dust herself off.

Crumbling bridges, animals fleeing for their lives... is this what constitutes as an adventure?

Meanwhile... on the other side of the Music Plant.

“You wanna play me a number? Heh, this is just a robot from Eggman’s Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park; I guess he won’t play.”

A mass-produced Death Egg Robot about the size of a small mountain had stopped moving and was leaning against a trumpet-like facility. It stopped with black smoke shooting out all over the place.

Through it all, Sonic was making a fool of himself while gleefully playing the trumpets.

The truth is, Sonic came here to take down this mass-produced Death Egg Robot when he had heard it was attacking here. The owner, Dr. Eggman, was nowhere to be seen as this seemed to be a “stray robot” that rampaged at complete random. Even so, it was still strong and dangerous. Sonic had to be careful getting Cream involved.

The robot was defeated without much trouble. Sonic was in a good mood because he had made sure the collateral damage was minimal. With this, fixing things back to normal would be fairly easy. The beautiful scenery of the Music Plant and the beautiful sounds that people loved would soon be restored.

Suddenly...

Sonic noticed black smoke rising from the overpass which was only a short distance away. It seemed like the last explosion from the destroyed Death Egg Robot may have caused a huge clump of debris to fly off. It must have flown far and struck that bridge.

“Oh no!”

There were probably many tourists there and Sonic felt it was the exact area where he split up from Cream. He ran with all of his might and had an absolutely serious look on his face.

Sonic traveled at the speed of sound as he overcame colorful hills, spin dashed through a tunnel of brass instruments, and more to arrive at the scene.

A group of animals seemed to be relaxing after having safely evacuated the dangerous bridge area. Cream and Cheese flew down as she flapped her ears.

“Cream!”

“Mr. Sonic!?”

Cream made an expression that shined brightly as she flew to Sonic. But in the shadows of her shining smile, she was tired... but still happy. She went to rescue the many animals and others who were too slow and left behind on the bridge. She took care of the children who had been separated from their parents.

Sonic talked for a while and noticed that Cream was safe, the damage to the surroundings was not as catastrophic as it first seemed, and there were no major injuries. Cream felt relieved and put her hand to her chest. However, Cream’s expression seemed off.

She then said, “I’m so glad that everybody is safe.”

Cream looked downward and continued to speak in a sweet voice.

“I really wanted to defeat that bad robot and go on an adventure with Sonic.”

Just then, Cream stomped on some pebbles at her feet and turned away from Sonic. She continued to look down at the ground. Sonic spoke softly to Cream with a gentle smile.

“That’s not it at all, Cream.”

Sonic stroke the back of Cream’s head and she slowly looked up. Sonic then took to one knee to be at Cream’s eye level.

“An adventure like today... well, it requires both ‘strength’ and ‘kindness.’ We gotta make sure we have both of them.”

“...?”

“Today, you helped me out entirely with your kindness. It was honestly a huge help if I do say so myself!”

“!?”

“Sure! I defeated the robot that was attacking the Music Plant, but half of this adventure was entirely you, Cream!”

“!!”

Like a soft breeze floating by, Cream’s heart shined.

There are times when things get really tough, but if you have strength and kindness, it will be okay. Isn't that the ideal form of an "adventure" for Cream? Today she had an adventure with Sonic!

For Cream, today’s excitement, her hard work, and the way things turned out are all a shining part of her adventures.

Happiness and pride filled Cream’s heart.

“I... really had an adventure?”

“Yeah!”

“I really used my kindness well?”

“Sure!”

“So... will you... take me on more adventures?”

Of course! Sonic gave a thumbs up as a promise, but as the sun started setting, he thought for a moment and answered:

“That’s fine by me, but... it’s getting late. Isn’t it time to go home? Your Mom must be worried. So, how’s tomorrow sound?”

“Hmph! Please don’t treat me like a kid again.”

Sonic ran off with an expression that showed he knew he hit a nerve. Cream and Cheese gave chase.

Music scales filled the air as they ran through the Music Plant; their performance echoing through the sky.

#Sonic the Hedgehog #Cream the Rabbit #Sonic Advance 2 #Sonic Heroes #Sonic Forces

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raeynbowboi · 4 years

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How Kipo Makes Great Villains

I stayed up all night binging the second season of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, and I’ll admit. Going into it, my expectations were a bit low. Season One had such a self-contained objective, I didn’t know what the show was going to do with itself with a second season. But the second season of Kipo blew me out of the water. So, now I’m going to rant about why Scarlemagne and Jamack are fantastic villains for Kipo to confront, and what Kipo teaches us about writing antagonists. Obviously, spoilers ahead, but if you’re caught up, prepare to gush over great villains. If you’re not, do yourself a favor and go away, experience the second season for yourself, and then come back and fangasm over how great it was.

JAMACK

Kipo’s first antagonist is a perfect character foil. That is to say, Jamack is the exact opposite of Kipo. When Jamack meets Kipo, they are in exact opposite situations. He’s in a group while she’s alone. Later, when Kipo finds friends and is no longer alone, Jamack is kicked out of his group, forcing him to survive on his own. Jamack is very focused on self-interest and self-preservation, belittling his underlings for minor mistakes. His outlook is cold, cynical, and jaded. On top of that, Jamack grew up in this crazy world where only the strong survive. He’s also a part of the Mob Frogs, which seem to be the only mute culture with internal hierarchy. Other groups have a leader, but only the Mob Frogs seem to have levels of rank within the organization, causing the Mob Frogs to be competitive, even among themselves. So it makes perfect sense why Jamack will stoop to pretty much anything to get what he wants. Because that’s the mentality that allows for upward mobility in Las Vista. Thus, when Kipo arrives and upends the status quo and proves Jamack’s way of living wrong, he lashes out. Initially seeing it as her stealing his life from him, Jamack begins to gradually change. Jamack is on a similar and reflected hero’s journey to Kipo, and as she grows, so too will he. It’s no surprise that Jamack will eventually become a genuine ally of Kipo, even if he’s still hiding behind a Tsundere mask.

SCARLEMAGNE

My god is this a fantastic villain. In the first season, he was genuinely creepy and intimidating, but in season 2, Hugo became incredibly sympathetic. As season 2 went on, I kept debating to myself who is more of the Zuko of this show: Jamack or Hugo. Scarlemagne serves the same narrative purpose as the Diamonds in Steven Universe, about how words and kindness can work through problems. But I think it’s done a little better here, since Hugo isn’t a world-destroying dictator. He’s done some damage, but nothing that was really lasting. His pheremones can wear off. The humans he’s enslaved can regain their freedom. So, Hugo’s actual damage as a villain is much smaller and thus much more forgivable than immortal galactic conquerors. Hugo shows this deeply in that he genuinely seems like he wants to make Kipo happy, but he’s been hurt for so long that he doesn’t understand how to. And this genuine care seems to come a lot more from his core personality, and not just Kipo making friendship speeches. Even Steven didn’t really change the minds of the Diamonds. He just kind of proved he was their sister/nephew, and they suddenly cared about what he had to say. With Hugo, it’s much easier to see that he’s not a monster, just a scared and confused man lashing out to maintain control in a barbaric world. It makes him a character who you don’t want to see succeed in his evil plans, but you don’t want to watch him fail and lose everything he's worked for. You simultaneously want to hug him, and also punch him. It’s that perfect balance that makes Scarlemagne so well-written. He’s officially on my list of top 10 tv cartoon villains. Also, it’s hysterical that Hugo is voiced by the live action Beast, and the second half of this season was honestly a better Beauty and the Beast story than the live action movie. Am I the only one who hears Dr. Animo from Ben 10 when Scarlemagne speaks though?

DR. EMILIA

Talk about bait and switch. I don’t know if it was their intention, but I assumed the woman in the bird mask was Song, Kipo’s mother. It was clear that she and her goons were wearing burrow jumpsuits, and as it seemed more and more like her mother wasn’t dead, so I assumed this had to be her. This was such a great misdirection. Assuming she’s the hero because of our opinions of Scarlemagne, it’s what gives this show such amazing rewatch potential as now you can go back and pay attention to her words and actions and realize what she’s genuinely like. But even on a character level, she’s a fantastic villain. Kipo is a master of Talk no Jutsu, a fan term from the Naruto fandom, as he had a knack for talking literally anyone into becoming his friend, even the ones actively trying to kill him. Steven Universe and Kipo seem to be the other two masters of this technique. But Dr. Emilia will likely be immune to this. She doesn’t strike me as the sit and talk things out type. Because there are times when words won’t stop people, but action will. Dr. Emilia is a villain Kipo can’t reason with, someone she can’t befriend with a good speech. But even on a philosophical level, Dr. Emilia is fantastic because while she’s clearly a villain, her goal isn’t inherently evil. She sees mutation as a bad thing and wants to restore mute DNA to their normal animal forms. Which is a large part of why humans need to live in burrows. She wants humans to not live in fear, and to restore animals to their genetic origins. At least in theory, it’s a benign enough goal. The problem comes when you consider that animal mutes have sentience. they can speak and express desires. Robbing them of that is akin to purposefully mentally disabling a group in order to be dominant over them, which adds to the great themes here because there’s a loose veil of animals as an enslaved species. Kept in cages or as pets, ruled over or hunted by man who views itself as the superior race, the same sort of thinking that white slave-owners used to rationalize their prejudice. Thus it’s also a loose allegory for Dr. Emilia wanting to return emancipated slaves back to their chains. This is why she’s such a good villain. At face value, her goal sounds sort of reasonable, but when you examine what she’s really doing, it’s incredibly dark and cruel. That level of detail and writing is amazing. Talk about a well-written villain. I’m sorry, I can’t stop gushing.

Kipo demonstrates three equally compelling types of villains, and handles all of them amazingly. Jamack is the hero’s villainous foil, on his own mirrored hero’s journey as hers. His situation is always an exact opposite of hers, as was his life experiences, which led to such a stark difference of ideas. Thus, why it takes her utterly alien character traits to kick start his character arc. Hugo is a beautifully flawed and tragic villain whose goal of bringing the mutes together under a single ruler is genuinely compelling, but you still don’t want him to succeed the wrong way. Yet, if he could achieve his goal in a less hostile and evil way, I doubt fans would be upset with him achieving this goal otherwise. It’s just his approach that’s problematic. Dr. Emilia seems reasonable enough on paper, but once you unpack what she’s really doing, you can read a really deep allegory for slavery and racial superiority into her character that really complicates the otherwise black-and-white opinion of her character. Each of these villains shows ways you can make a compelling antagonist, and if you read this without watching Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeats despite my spoiler warnings, do yourself a favor and watch it. You will not be disappointed.

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im-auntie-social · 3 years

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time for some fic recommendations!

The @jaime-brienne-fic-exchange wraps up in less than four hours so I’m getting these in just under the wire!

Disclaimer/warning/whatever: I did not read all 1.3 million words :( I really was going to try, but it started to feel like homework after a while and these 102 writers deserve a better audience. So I took a bit of a break and as a result I had to triage a bit, choosing to read more but shorter stories. Sorry prolific multichap writers! You’re amazing and I will get there soon! I’ll even try to comment on every chapter to make it up to you! I also still have a hangup when it comes to talking about smutfic (I’m working on it, because it’s kind of dumb, but midwestern quasi-puritan conditioning is a real pain) so there won’t be any of those in my recs. Again, sorry smut writers! You’re great! Also, this is only main-exchange recs, because I haven’t read any of the Lil’ Oathkeepers yet.

And finally, I am reccing a few stories that I’ve been speculated to have written (and I’m not reccing the one I *did* write), so I’m sorry if that gives away too much information? But see also: less than four hours until author reveals. (also can I just say I adore the handful of people who guessed me as a writer-- I don’t even know what my style is but it’s really cool to know that other people do!)

So here we go!

Part 1: Stories aimed directly at my face (mostly metaphorically)

First and probably most obviously: Queens of Love and Beauty (T, 6k, modern AU) is my gift and I love it! Brienne runs a body-positive portrait studio with vintage glamour vibes. The author even threw in a reference to my abiding love for the calming power of spreadsheets as a special treat for me. There’s a wonderful interplay between historical and modern that highlights the contrasts within and between characters that I absolutely adore. It’s all so warm and pretty and it makes me extremely happy. AND THERE’S CORSETS.

Then we have the modern AUs that I didn’t personally request but still hit so many of my favorite things. Funny Way of Showing It (T, 3.5k) features our heroes as academic scientists (be still my heart!), with a wonderful cast of supporting characters as their grad students. It’s told from Pod’s POV too, which is an absolute delight. Unrestrained Summer Fun (T, 4.7k) has them meeting as children when Genna and Cleos rent a vacation house next door to Selwyn and Brienne. I love Brienne and Cleos being friends before Jaime comes onto the scene, and I adore the dynamic between the three of them once he does. Cleos, my boy! The canon stuff is done really well (I laughed so hard at one bit in particular that I don’t want to spoil) and the childhood-summer vibes are pitch-perfect. The beginning of devotion (T, 11k) features Brienne inheriting a decrepit Evenfall Hall and deciding whether to keep and restore it, and as someone working on a project house at the moment, I found this one very relatable. But on top of that, the slowly-unfolding backstory between our heroes is so SO well done, and everything’s woven together in an incredibly satisfying way. And finally, Climbing Mountains (G, 3k) starts with a Mary Oliver quote so I’m already sold. But then it goes on to spin a beautiful story of Brienne’s approach to risk, and how that relates to Jaime, and I am entirely made of heart eyes.

Finally (for this part), a couple of my favorites from the bounty of space-themed fics. As an avowed and die-hard fan of this kind of AU I was so happy to see so much fun genre work this year! And I haven’t gotten to some of the longer ones, so I’m looking forward to that and will rec as needed. It is not in the stars (T, 3k) is a Dune AU that I just felt in my whole body. I haven’t read Dune in ages but it’s a huge part of my genre-childhood and this story really captured the atmosphere. I would have happily read 100k of it, yet at the same time there’s something really magical about the economical storytelling. Absolutely the best use of Brienne’s blue eyes I’ve ever seen in an AU. And finally, I have to shout about show me where my skin begins (E, 41k), one of the only 30k+ fics I’ve read and one of the only E-rated, but the giftee was so effusive about it (and I trust their judgement) so I loaded it up before my long car trip and holy shirtballs folks, it is incredible. I will say that it doesn’t become E-rated until the last chapter, but also the E-rated stuff is incredibly beautifully done. The story takes place in an original space/sci-fi setting and it blew my entire mind. So much creativity, so much fantastic character work, so atmospheric (no pun intended). (just a note: space and/or genre fics seem to be getting a bit less attention at the moment, and while it’s cool to have preferences, I’d really suggest giving them a shot this year!)

More to come in part 2, this time with THEMED SUBGROUPS!

#jaime x brienne #jaime x brienne fic exchange 2021 #fic rec

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catherdrashepard · 3 years

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Atlas au Raa

So, I finished Dark Age not that long ago and it came with so many brand new questions. And so many thoughts about the characters. But, as the title suggests, the character who has been at the forefront of my mind is Atlas au Raa. There’s just so little we know about him but there’s pieces there that I think just need to be put together. It will in no way reveal the full puzzle that is Mr. au Raa but I do hope that it can give some idea as to what he’s about. Spoilers ahead. This post is very long and a but rambly, apologies in advance.

What DO we know about Atlas au Raa? Shout out to @hyena-frog for helping me with this part. (Read: pretty much doing this part for me.) He’s a Rim Gold and brother to Romulus au Raa. He grew up in Octavia's court as a ward because she required each Rim family to send a kid to her as a hostage to prevent another rebellion. Apparently he was a favored student of hers. He mostly stuck to himself there but loved the library. Octavia forced him to have a child with Aja (Ajax, AKA the Core’s Storm Knight.) Atlas himself is the Fear Knight. He was best friends with Lysander’s parents, Brutus and Anastasia and, at some point after they died, he was sent to the Kuiper Belt to supposedly deal with the Ascomanni. Although, we’re pretty sure Octavia sent him there in order to eliminate him. He tortures people in order to kill enemies psychologically, preventing further deaths. He also controls Volsung and Xenophon. There is also the implication that he views the Rim as enemies and is more loyal to the Core. He makes meditation totems out of those who make him question his prejudices. Currently he has totems of (that we know of): Daedre, a Red woman. And a WIP Darrow.

The whole “question his prejudices” thing is really Interesting to me. Golds are taught that they are at the top, that they are the pinnacle of humanity (which they are but....that’s only because they MADE it that way) which definitely gives them some biases against the other Colors. I haven’t quite puzzled out if he counts these people as exceptions or if he realised that Color isn’t indicative to someone’s ability and he needs to remember to judge them based on individual ability. My money’s on the latter tbh because he doesn’t seem like the type of person to assume everyone is going to fit into the place they were assigned. As @hyena-frog beautifully put “He's learned not to let his biases blind him to how dangerous even LowColors can be.” But you know who doesn’t have the same critical thinking skills as Atlas? Lysander.

There’s also the question of his motivations, and what exactly he uses the Fear Knight persona for. Something specific that’s been nagging at me is the story about the Ascomanni that Pax told to Ephraim. I already mentioned it briefly in the first paragraph but I’d like to expand on why I think he was involved in what happened with the Ascomanni.

First, I’d like to go through the timeline. From what I got from the Wiki, some Obsidians escaped to the Kuiper Belt around Late 3rd Century PCE (Post Conquering Era) and approximately 736 years later, Atlas au Raa was banished to the Kuiper Belt by Octavia au Lune. 11 years after that in 747 PCE, Atlas returned to the Core to allegedly help fight against the Rising. In 754 PCE, 7 years after Atlas’ return, the Ascomanni attack the Pandora over Mars. Darrow enters the Institute 2 years prior to Atlas’ banishment. The majority of the first trilogy happens while Atlas is in the Kuiper Belt, including the entirety of Morning Star. So Atlas returns sometime in between the end of Morning Star and the beginning of Iron Gold. I’m not really finding any answers on how long it might have take Atlas to travel to the Kuiper Belt. Pardon some weird math for a second. Based on the Wiki: “the novels depict travel time between planets taking several weeks and often two or three months without layovers...” For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to assume it takes about 3 months to get from one planet to the next. I’m sure it will vary depending on distance between planets but...3 months is a good average. I’m also going to include the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. If Atlas was travelling from Luna to the Kuiper Belt, assuming he made no stops in between, my guess is it would have taken him probably about 2 years to get there. Theoretically then, Atlas would have spent 7 years in the Kuiper Belt doing whatever he was doing.

Something else that I’ve been thinking about is why Atlas joined the Core Golds and why Octavia appointed him as the Fear Knight. I don’t believe for a second that it would’ve been to foster peace between the Rim and Core Golds. Atlas’ parents were most likely alive during the First Moon Lord Rebellion considering their oldest child was born 9 years after it took place. We don’t really know a lot about Atlas’ parents but we have gotten little bits of information that I’ll do my best to analyse. Revus au Raa, Atlas’ father was said to be involved in the death of Lysander’s parents so that puts his death to sometime after 739 PCE and I believe before 742 PCE. I am not the cultural anthropologist that my sister, @saiikavon is so I got her opinion on Atlus’ potential motives for joining the Core. Her thoughts are that Atlas joined because he wants to understand the Core. The Rim Golds believe the Core is “barbaric and has corrupted itself with a sense of entitlement...” so it’s safe to say they have heavy prejudice against them. My sister mentioned that based on Atlas’ totems, he seems to be the type who would question the prejudices the Rim has against the Core and prefer to do his own research in person. From what little I know about Revus au Raa, I doubt he would have approved of his son’s choice.

Since I don’t know exactly when Atlas became the Fear Knight, I have to make guesses on which events he was on the Core for. I think it’s entirely possible that he was present for Eo’s song and her death. He also wasn’t sent to the Kuiper Belt until a year after Darrow finished at the Institute so I don’t think it’s farfetched to think that he witnessed all of what happened with that. He was also friends with Lysander’s parents, one of which who was planning a coup against Octavia. As we know, Lysander’s parents were killed because of this plan and, if Atlas was in on it as well, that could explain why he was sent to the Kuiper Belt. Octavia obviously didn’t want him to return from his exile, but she couldn’t outright kill him because that might have started a war between the Core and the Rim. And I don’t think Revus would have wanted to risk a war either had his son been able to succeed in the coup. Which would explain why he became involved in the death of Lysander’s parents and why he allowed his son to be sent away. Revus was then killed which I suppose could’ve been Octavia tying up loose ends.

This finally brings us to the Ascomanni. 736-738 (to account for Atlas’ travel time) years is a long time to be isolated in and beyond an asteroid belt. My guess is that they were incredibly far behind in technology until Atlas showed up. If we consider the above paragraph as canon, I suspect Atlas would have tried to recruit the Ascomanni to help him overthrow Octavia. If we take account the 3-4 years that it probably took for Atlas to reach the Kuiper belt, he spent about 7-8 years with the Ascomanni. We can only speculate (until Pierce Brown maybe tells us please) as to what happened between them but I feel like it’s safe to say that Atlas helped the Ascomanni obtain at least some of the technology they used during the attack on the Pandora. Also, because the Ascomanni didn’t arrive until 7 years after Atlas did, he had plenty of time to make plans and recruit Xenophon.

The only thing is, I think Atlas’ plans must have changed during that time, at least to some degree. In one of the previous paragraphs, I mentioned that Atlas returned to the Core sometime after the end of Morning Star. I’m sure that on his journey back, he learned that Octavia was killed and that Lysander was taken away by Cassius. Whether or not he knows WHO Cassius is is unknown. I think it’s possible depending on how closely he followed the events at the Institute. But as Cassius trained with Aja in 740, Atlas probably didn’t have a close relationship with him or know him all that well. This makes me think that it’s possible that Atlas assumed (like most people now that I think about it) that Lysander was dead.

Where does this leave Atlas then? Octavia is dead, Lysander is also presumed dead, and the Core has been taken over by a new group. I’m reluctant to say that he is entirely for restoring the Core back to how it was, but I imagine that he sees the Rising (and defeating the Rising) as a way to reshape the Core to be what he thinks it should be. I feel like his motives are similar to Lysander’s in that he wants to fix what he thought was broken about the Core. Although, Lysander’s (stupid) opinions on what’s broken and Atlas’ are probably different.

Anyway, I don’t really feel like I answered any questions about our beloved(?) Fear Knight but here are my thoughts. I really hope we get more of him in the next book.

#dark age spoilers #iron gold trilogy #dark age #atlas au raa

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solamancyzine · 3 years

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Welcome to our “get to know our team” series! We’ve got some organizers who are also creating content for the zine. Presenting...

Organizer/Author Spotlight: @crown-laurel

Role: Check-ins, financial management

What do you like or find compelling about Solas' character?

His character is just so incredibly written and so misunderstood. I honestly think that Solas has one of the best romances in DA. He’s definitely flawed, but imagine being bent on destroying the world, only to meet someone who changes your whole perspective of the world. You still feel the need to restore your people (who you yourself destroyed), but in the process, your worst fear of ending up alone becomes your reality because you’re willing to destroy your only chance of happiness in order to succeed. It’s so beautifully tragic, my heart can’t handle it. Also, Solas was the first character who really inspired me to be a fanfiction writer, and I'll be forever grateful to him for that.

What do you think is going to happen in DA4?

I truly believe that the veil is going to be torn down in DA4 no matter what choices were made in DAI. I also don't believe that Solas is going to be the ultimate enemy, I think it will be the Evanuris, and we may have to team up with Solas again to defeat them. I also don't think that Solas will canonically die in DA4. The "sacrifices self to save the world" trope is so overused, I will be beyond distraught if that's what happens.

What do you love about being a writer/artist/comic artist?

I absolutely love the ability to put the stories in my mind into writing. It brings me so much joy to see my work appreciated by others, and I am so encouraged by how supportive the DA community has been about my writing.

Link us/share with us one piece you want to show off (link to finished art/fic) and tell us why it's special to you

"A Dream to Remember" is basically just adorable Solavellan interactions. We didn't get enough Happy!Solas in game, and this was basically just my attempt at giving them both the love they so dearly wanted.

Read Work on AO3

#solamancy 2022 #organizer spotlight #author spotlight #crown-laurel

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inheritorofmemories-archive · 4 years

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Andromaquynh Tomb Raider AU

I keep seeing those Indiana Joe fics and Mummy au post for joe/nicky and they are all very nice and cool but you know which galaxy brain idea no one has explored yet? Tomb raider AU for andy/quynh. Luckily I have nothing but time on my hands so strap in.

I re-watched the first tomb raider the other day (yes, the 2001 movie. Yes it’s 20 years old.) and the Croft universe can actually fit pretty well with Andy and Quynh with some tweaks and changes. I’ll preface this post by saying that raiding tombs and any ancient place really is not ethical At All and stealing artifacts shouldn’t happen in any way and the black market for cultural goods is an enormous spider web with ramification all over the world that is actually incredibly nefast to pretty much everything from sciences to culture to human societies and economy (look it up, it’s way bigger than just a stolen vase sold in a small market) so I’ll refer to this AU as Tomb Raider but know that what I really mean is Andy and Quynh protecting ancient sites and relics from companies and museums and the likes.

Go under the cut to read the rest of my detailed idea of what it would look like.

As much as I like the sci-fi and magic elements of the series, I really think a more grounded feel for this AU would fit them better. So no gods or illuminates or magic relics, sorry. Instead, I see this as them being adventurers who decide to put their skillset to good use and protect sites and places and objects and cultures from capitalism, stealing, overexploitation, appropriation and destruction.

Andy is Lara Croft obviously. She’s the daughter of an archeologist who mysteriously died during an excursion and fueled her will to go in the same field as her parent. Because we like complex characters in this house, I want Andy to start by actually raiding and selling from ancient sites at the beginning of her career because she's young and never learned better before she comes up close to the direct consequences of that particular market and she decides she wants no part of it. It allows for an exploration of real-world issues but it also gives her a deeper backstory and a proactive choice in being the character she is because I’m a sucker for the idea that you are not born good but you chose to be. After that, she'll keep the exploring part of her job but instead of stealing relics she’ll find lost places and give the coordinates to scientists. Daytime she uses the fonds of her family to support initiatives to protect places and restore art and goods to their rightful owners, the rest of the time she goes on cool adventures all over the world to get her hands dirty when legal means cannot get it done.

This is where Quynh comes into the picture. She’s one of Andy’s associates but not really they're in love and married. In the series, Croft has numerous allies that help her out either by giving tips or identifying objects, etc... I can totally see Andy going to Quynh for information about a particular site or object and them sticking together for the rest of the adventure and not leaving each other. Or, even funnier, Quynh has her own little business of going in the field to get things done, they run into each other and then keep running together. I really want Quynh to be a marine biologist and environment activist that also has a background in law because I think she deserves the right to legally bankrupt assholes, as a treat. Andy is exploring an underwater temple when she runs into Quynh doing plant analysis right there, they realize the site and the entire ecosystem is endangered by X industrial complex throwing their waste in the water and they bring it down while flirting and then it takes a year of adventures together and Andy who keeps finding excuses to go seek Quynh's counsel before they get together. And then, power couple who by daytime do activist work and advocate for the protection of sites and the environment and who by night dress in black and go sabotage factories, steal info to leak as whistleblowers and give various object and art back to their owners.

As a side plot that (kinda) follows canon, one of their mission goes wrong and Quynh doesn't get out with them, she's missing and they cannot find any trace of her for months/a few years and they think she's dead until Lykon locates her and they find out she's in prison somewhere. They go break her out and there's angst because Quynh believes she was forgotten by them until they talk it out and also deal with the trauma by going to therapy and bringing down the corporation that had Quynh thrown in jail. Power of love and bombs baby. After that they are much more careful but they keep doing it because they believe in the good of their work.

Also, a thing you don’t see really in the movies but is very present in the game series, about half the story if not two-thirds is spent on resolving enigmas and mysteries, not action. Sure Croft knows how to shoot and is a good fighter but the most important part is her brain and knowledge and associate in various fields (and that she seeks the help of, she's not a mary sue she has limits and has people who assist her). She thinks more than she fights and I really want to see that on Andy and Quynh, them thoroughly researching a subject, planing their op, getting info on people, going to recover intel and tools and associates and also using legal means to get things done and only going to the illegal method in last resort, and even then I want to see stealth mission with no big fight like Sudan in the movie rather than going in with a boom. Basically, show how important their brains are to the overall plot.

I also really want to add Lykon to the mix because their dynamic seems really cool from what we've seen in the movie and also from fanon and he deserves nice things okay. So he’s the tech genius that comes in the team a few years later when they're well established but technology starts to evolve and they're not the best at navigating it but Lykon is, he's the best at electrical systems and robots, internet and all the new tech. He'll help them break into places and do recon op. And then they become this tight-knit family of multiple doctorates and scientists and activists that also have a side business no one knows about (except the world knows there are people protecting the environment and cultural goods from destruction and their nickname in news press totally is The Old Guards okay).

And to end it beautifully, Andy Quynh and Lykon are a badass team for 20 years until Lykon decides to have a family so he cannot keep getting in danger and he retires to teach (happy AU, no death) and Andy and Quynh at 40 and some years old stumbles upon Nile who is starting in the field of archeology and art history and they’ll work together, thus passing the torch down to the newest generation. And you can even have a crossover with Indiana Joe and Nicky doing their things in their corner and they met on one mission, Booker can be a forger they hire from time to time to get false papers, all of them can meet and work together to fight Big Bad Guy Merrick, the possibilities are endless really once you get into the Archeological Actions Cinematic Universe (which is a genre on its own apparently).

Maybe one day I'll get to write this who knows, but I really needed to get the idea out of my head so this post shall be enough for the time being. Feel free to write or draw something from this, there's never too much Andy/Quynh content. And also, add to this post! These are just my thoughts and ideas but I would love to hear more if you have them, consider this an open discussion board about this very specific AU that has been living in my head since late summer.

#andromaquynh #andy x quynh #immortal wives #andromache the scythian #quynh #lykon #tog #the old guard #tog au #the old guard au #andy & quynh & lykon #em speaks

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fanfoolishness · 5 years

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SUtM and what being a Diamond means for Steven

I’ve been trying to figure out how to contextualize the Steven Universe movie, now that we’re well into Steven Universe Future. What is its narrative importance? What does it mean for SUF? Because it’s a lovely story on its own, and many shows could have ended right there and called it good -- the good guys win again, balance is restored, villain redeemed, it’s all going to be all right. I was very curious to see where the Crewniverse would go from here and have a few thoughts rattling around my head.

Initially, I thought of the movie as a coda. It summarized the Gems’ character arcs beautifully, as well as calling back to Steven being unable to use his powers and then showing us what it looks like when he is able to fully control them (well, so we thought! Hi there Pink!Steven). It also served to say that happily ever after isn’t a fairy tale, it’s something that has to be worked on every day, which is a good and healthy message on the face of it.

Unfortunately, I think the healthy version -- life will always have challenges, but we can face them together -- is not exactly the message Steven came away with. I think what he came away with is this: He has to work on his future every day. He can’t sit around and dream of a gauzy happily ever after because that would be resting, that would be wrong. He understands that he can get through things with his friends, but more concerning, he came away with the idea that he, specifically he, Steven, can never stop.

In the movie, he learned that he could never rest. He had thought he was finally done, finally us, finally we -- finally free. I get the feeling that Steven had been running on fumes by the time he leaves the Diamonds to really return home, and had thought, If I can just see this through, then I can finally rest. Spinel’s attack shattered that thought.

He learned that he can make an effort, a change -- that he has to. He learned that while he can delegate to Connie and Alexandrite to save the town, that he can reach out for assistance from Bismuth and Lapis and Peridot, that ultimately, it all falls on his shoulders. He’s the one who has to climb the injector, he’s the one who has to talk to Spinel, who has to battle her, who has to show her another path. It’s up to him. And it always will be.

And part of that mindset, I think, is that he’s a Diamond.

All along we’ve seen signs of Steven’s incredible charisma, his abilities to lead and unify, as early as Coach Steven. Keep in mind this is before he developed any Diamond powers, so part of his charisma likely comes from his dad and his human side - he was always going to have the ability to be a charmer, gem or no. But it starts leveling up massively the better handle he gets on his powers.

We’ve seen his decisions more and more affect the lives of the Crystal Gems, his father (Mr. Greg, Steven’s Dream), and the residents of Beach City (no one more than Lars). We’ve seen the Gems start to defer to him, a pattern that was invisible to Steven until Bismuth called him out on it. By Change Your Mind, it’s clear that Steven’s force of will, even despite his lingering self-doubt, is a powerful thing, able to bring Gems out of a poofed state through fusion, able to convince Blue and Yellow and White of a better way.

We’ve also started to realize that this is characteristic of all Diamonds. We’d seen gems like Peridot, Holly Blue Agate, Jasper and the Zircons idolize their Diamonds, but remember too that Rose Quartz commanded an army of Gems she convinced to join her fight. Remember that she mesmerized humans. Remember that Volleyball refused to speak ill of Pink and that Spinel waited patiently in a garden for 6000 years for her. Diamonds hold sway over other Gems and beings, even unintentionally.

I’m not sure if Steven realizes it consciously, or if it’s still operating at a subconscious level, but he possesses that power. He’s used it to redirect White and Blue and Yellow. He says that Gems usually come to Little Homeschool when he talks to them in person. He says he doesn’t know why he wanted to take over Amethyst’s project for her. He’s doing the thing, he’s choosing to exert his will and his effort like a Diamond, and it’s working.

And this is where we see Steven in SUF painstakingly creating the entire curriculum and schedule for Little Homeschool, even though as former Homeworld Gems, people like Peridot, Lapis, Bismuth, Pearl and Garnet should really be running it. He’s never been to a school. He doesn’t know the first thing about it. But it’s his idea, and he can’t rest unless he exerts control over it. Excessive control. He’s still running around the galaxy individually recruiting Gems to join up. How many of these missions does he go on? Unleash the Light saw him visiting multiple colony worlds, talking to dozens of Gems. Multiply that over the past 2-3 years and there is so much work, so much effort, so much, so much, so much.

Happily ever after isn’t fixed, it’s something he’s going to chase, and he’s going to force it into existence for everyone.

But he’s stopped thinking about it for himself.

I keep thinking of what Yellow Diamond said so haltingly to White. We... W- We... We need to talk!... About us. I've conquered so many worlds for the sake of the empire. I do everything you ask, and I do it all perfectly. But your very high standards put us all under a lot of pressure. A Gem could crack under so much... pressure. We Diamonds may be hard, but we're also... brittle.

In Steven’s blind pursuit of happily ever after for others, he’s continuing to exert enormous amounts of will on others, and enormous pressure on himself. We see he’s shed previous joys and possibly friendships (where are the Beach City teens and Connie???) without gaining new ones. We see his existence revolve around rehabilitating Gems and running the school. We see a possible future where Steven literally collapses from self-pressure -- over something as simple as a safety seminar and a babysitting date! We see his relationships with the Gems grow distant. We see his own relationship with his feelings and his sleep suffer (Pink!Steven, biting his blanket, hiding his mother’s portrait, three mugs of peppermint tea on his bedside, having trouble getting up in the morning without a pep talk). We see him trying, so hard, to make a change.

He’s a Diamond. He’s going to make it happen. There’s no question there.

The question is, will he crack along the way?

#steven universe #steven universe future #steven universe meta #suf #suf meta #fanfoolishness su meta #kinda ran out of steam here haha but any thoughts would be appreciated!

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writeroutoftime · 4 years

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march fic recommendations

hello! so I think we all know that sometimes we don’t appreciate writers as much as we should here on tumblr. they are amazing people that write some wonderful stories for us (for free) and they put a lot of time and effort into doing so. to honor that, each month, I’m going to be posting a fic rec list with a whole bunch of stories I have recently read and loved, and that I want to share with you all. and if you find some you like? let that author know their work is appreciated!! (let’s all support authors more!)

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Hold My Girl by @captain-ariel-barnes - this one HURTS let me just tell you. it is absolutely beautiful and does a wonderful job at not only portraying bucky, but also the feeling that I'm sure a lot of couples who were split up because of wwii felt. like I said this story is amazing but it left me crying and my heart hurting - in the best way possible!

Soft by @chillingbucky - oh my goodness did this story hit home for me. for the most part, I’ve been pretty confident with my body but also have wanted to change to boost that confidence even more and then felt worse when I didn’t stick through with my new plan.this story perfectly encapsulates those feelings and it nearly brought me to tears over how incredible bucky was at comforting the reader. when I read this it was the first story I read that day and it put me in such a great mindset!!

Lifelong Love Song Series by @suz-123 - even though this is not a bucky x reader (it’s an oc), this story is beautiful and the way it portrays bucky just feels so right and so spot on. there is fluff, angst, hurt, comfort, love, everything in this story. you should definitely read this series!

The House by @softlybarnes - ahhhh!! that is what I have to say for this story because it is so darn cute! bucky just makes me swoon (as always) and there is a great relationship between him and the reader! also, now I really want to fall in love and buy a fixer-upper house with the guy I marry. overall, if you want something fluffy that is extremely well written, this is one of those stories.

Truth Hurts by @ussgallifreyfics - this story is so different than other fics that tackle this same topic, but it the best way possible! the beginning hurts, but slowly bucky starts to come into the story and it is so sweet. not only that, but there is a lot of power from within the reader, which is AWESOME! heck yeah we can rescue ourselves (but if Bucky wants to help as well, I won’t be mad lol)

Lemon Pie Series by @nacho-bucky - I have reread this series like three times already, and it is just perfection! not only do we get 40′s bucky, but we get a HAPPY BUCKY WHO SURVIVES THE WAR AND GETS TO START A FAMILY! Each chapter/snippet is just so beautifully written, and I get pulled into the story each and ever time. bucky just makes me want to swoon, and if I don’t find someone who treats me the way bucky treats the reader in this series, I do not what I will do. but, this and all cait’s stories are amazing so please go read this, it will make your day!

Thomas Shelby x Reader

If Only You Knew by @im-not-looking-for-forgiveness - while this is technically a tommy x reader story, it really focuses on the friendship between the reader and lizzie stark, which I absolutely loved! it is such a healthy change to see lizzie portrayed in a nice way instead of a bitch as she often is written in stories. we love girls supporting girls, which is this story!

My Dear Charlie by @kadwrites -again, another story that is technically tommy x reader, but focuses on a different relationship, and this time it is between the reader and charlie! what I love about this story is, it highlights the love that one can feel for a child that isn’t biologically theirs, which is just a reminder of how important it is to show our love to others and to demonstrate our appreciation to those who do love us. also, I love that this story focuses on an older charlie, which is something I haven’t really seen yet.

Matches by @rhxegals - now this one really does focus on tommy and the reader, and I adore it! we get to see the reader confront tommy and I love when the reader is his equal in the sense that neither of them stand for being lied to or being left out of things. not only that, but we also see a more vulnerable side of tommy, and we get to understand his protective side a bit more which I am also a fan of!

this drabble by @connerkennt - it is short and sweet but powerful! it really shows (again) how protective tommy is over those he loves and I adore protective tommy! (alfie also plays a role in this drabble, which is always a plus!)

John Shelby x Reader

Something Unexplained by @justauthoring - man do I love john shelby, and if you do too, this is the story for you. just the way that olivia describes how john loves the reader makes my heart absolutely gush! I don’t want to spoil anything, so you just have to read it! (and there are so many other wonderful stories on this blog to check out after you finish this one!)

Steve Rogers x Reader

Beauty and the Beast AU by @kayteewritessteve - I am so so glad I found this story when I did so that I can include it on this list! au’s are some of my favorite stories to read/write, and the fact that this is beauty and the beast and mob!steve is absolutely amazing!! kaytee does such a wonderful job with drawing you into the story and really making you feel the power and emotions of the scene! only the first few chapters are up now, but they are great!

Peter Parker x Reader

Moving On by @midtownpetey - my goodness, this one really hits right in the feels! I was tearing up throughout this entire story, because it is so beautifully written and really highlights the process of moving on when losing a loved one. it is not a graphic story, but the healing aspect, learning to move on when you feel like you can’t, that’s really what got me!

Harry Potter x Reader

Under the Stars by @lvmosity - this story is just pure fluff and it’s an actually harry potter story, which I feel like is so rare here on tumblr. anyway, I love how it’s just the reader and the golden trio worried about getting dates for the yule ball! there’s no underlying threat, just teens being teens, and harry being adorably awkward!

Scott Lang x Reader

Blue Dresses and Daises by @mypassionsarenysins - I just want to take this moment to appreciate the heck out of this story because it is absolutely amazing! not only is it a scott lang story (who is severely underappreciated! which why? he’s a dork and it’s paul rudd!) but this story is just filled with so much love that it makes me so happy and smiley. definitely a good one if you’re feeling down or you just want something extra fluffy!

Bonnie Gold x Reader

Ring Girl by @blinder-secrets - okay so I recently just got into bonnie gold stories, and man am I glad I did because this one is wonderful! bonnie is just so cute but he is also so protective over the reader, and it makes my heart swell! I love when you can feel how intense a relationship is through writing, and that’s what this is.

Roger Taylor x Reader

Hold Me Close Before I Go by @queenrogah - sobbing, just pure sobbing! well first of all, this story is slightly inspired by the song ‘so close’ from enchanted and I LOVE that song, so I was hooked from the beginning. but this story is very angsty but also mixes together so beautiful to tell this story of lost love between roger and the reader. it combines the past and the present so well, that truly tugs at your heartstrings for an emotional roller-coaster that is so worth it!

Long Distance by @dreamer821 - alright this is super long, but I promise it is so worth reading!! from the beginning, I was hooked and I got to witness this amazing story and all the love there is between roger and the reader. there is a bit of smut in this story, but the whole story really goes to show how powerful love is even when two people aren’t always near each other. it’s one of those stories that can restore your faith in love!

Laurie Laurence x Reader

Lost Love by @lotsoffandomimagines - ever since I saw little women in theaters, I have been looking for a laurie story, and this is the first one I found. oh my goodness, it is AMAZING, and I truly hope that there is a second part. but this story just draws you in and makes you fall for laurie, then comes there with that ending! I know I’m not describing this as best as I could, but trust me, the writing is beautiful and it wonderfully emotional. go read it! (also the gif of laurie is perfect!)

What I Wished I Said by @lillie-writes - do you want an angsty laurie story? well, here you go! this story is the form of the letter, and it made me tear up by the time I reached the end. it is so simple, but so heartbreaking. you can just feel how much laurie loves the reader and how much he wants to apologize, and I just wanted to find a way to hug him and comfort him. you will not be disappointed with this story!

Ransom Drysdale x Reader (Knives Out)

this drabble by @terry-perry- oh my goodness!! alright, first, I love knives out, and second, I love chris evans as ransom drysdale in that movie even though he is an asshole. however, this drabble does a wonderful job at showing a different side of ransom and how dedicated he and the reader are to their relationship!

Haunted by @et-lesailes = this is such a powerful story! now there is a trigger warning for this one so please be mindful of that but this story does a wonderful job at tackling such a difficult topic and how sometimes opening to another person can be exactly what you did. (and we also get to see more soft, non-asshole ransom which is always great!)

#march fic rec #fic rec #bucky barnes x reader #peaky blinders imagine #roger taylor x reader #peter parker x reader #laurie laurence x reader #marvel x reader #steve rogers x reader #scott lang x reader #ransom drysdale x reader #harry potter x reader

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oosteven-universe · 3 years

Text

Shazam #

Shazam #1 DC Comics 2021 Written by Tim Sheridan Illustrated by Clayton Henry Coloured by Marcelo Maiolo Lettered by Rob Leigh Billy Batson came to Titans Academy looking for answers. Why was the rest of his adopted family cut off from the power of Shazam? Why are his own powers becoming increasingly unreliable? The answers send Billy on an outrageous adventure that’ll not only change him but have an immense impact on the school and other students on Titans Island. The idea of Billy being a Titan is a good one actually considering how old he is and how his personality is the driving force behind Shazam’s adult body. Now I have never really been a huge fan of Shazam’s and I wasn’t initially going to read this but curiosity got the better of me. I found this to be highly entertaining, intriguing and with Billy at the school and classmates who well I am sure will tag along we’re going to see some sides of Shazam we’ve never seen before. So yeah I’m actually looking forward to seeing where this story arc goes and how his quest to find the Rock of Eternity plays out and if his powers can be restored properly again. I am really enjoying the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter continue to flesh them out as people magnificently. I love this side of Billy, the insecure afraid to face his family Billy. It just reinforces how young he really is without the wisdom of Solomon. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story we’re so engaged and so invested in what could and will happen. How we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge and grow, continue from Titans Academy as well. These avenues that are opened up and being explored as well as those newly presenting themselves contain the layers within the story and whether they work with the main arc or simply swirl around it they add depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is achieved incredibly well. The interiors here are pretty marvellous. They are pretty standard comic book style interiors but that fits with the whole vibe of the book for me. The linework is strong and I like how the varying weights are being utilised to create the detail work within the pages. That we see backgrounds utilised as we do is great, though more please I mean that hallway with the lockers is a great sensation to feeling cramped as they bump into each other. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a very talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is really extraordinary. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work are done so beautifully. I like the idea for this series and it’s the first time I can remember being this excited over anything Shazam or Captain Marvel related. That he’s at Titans Academy and is making few friends and has the opportunity here to make a solid core group of friends is something that I am looking forward to seeing. The potential here is unlimited and it would be interesting if Brick ended up in Hell with Billy as sometimes danger creates the oddest of bedfellows and it would definitely be something to see. This has some strong, interesting writing with sharp characterisation and absolutely delightful interiors and it finally for me blends the two worlds of Billy’s life.

#Comic Books #Comics Reviews #DC Comics

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tk-writer · 4 years

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Hello, I am back, again, for a part 2 to my rant cuz I read it again and while I gushed a lot before, I feel like I wasn’t specific enough with any of the things I wanted to compliment. I was too enthralled in just how much I loved (and still love) it.

Okay, first, Tsukki’s characterization. I love Yamaguchi, he’s my favorite character and you characterized him beautifully (so so so fricken well), but I feel like Tsukishima’s always been a bit more difficult. He’s more complex and nuanced, bless his annoying lil heart. And in a tickle fic, which is generally pretty fluffy and often a derivative of the actual characterization (to fit our Special Interest™), it’s pretty easy to make him immediately a lil OOC.

But you wrote him?? So perfectly?? (I’m using that word too much, I know, but I cannot think of a better one honestly) like the balance of this smothered affection and his external cool/aloof image is 👌🏼👌🏼 incredible. The way you describe his train of thought as he slowly loses the battle to his want to just go full Ler Mode sounds so well-characterized. And his TEASING. Taunting and teasing are such actual in-character components to Tsukishima as a character and the voice you wrote them in for him— I could hear it. Like, I know we’d never get a scene like this irl (😔) but the way his words taunt and pick at Yamaguchi with a specific accuracy to make him a little embarrassed and more sensitive, it sounds just like something he’d say. It didn’t once stray from a Tsukishima I could see in canon and I am just—floored honestly. Your Ler Tsukki is my prototype for him now. He is astounding.

The characterization in general too. This is a Tsukishima Yamaguchi story but down to Noya introducing the concept and Suga being a teeny bit chaotic and a tad mothering in his affection toward Yamaguchi. It just fits~

Also the concept. Lord knows a ‘coming to terms with liking it’ kinda tickle fic isn’t uncommon, but I just love the way this one progressed. Like, first of all, we get a dual lee/ler perspective, boo yah. Then, I dunno how to explain, but it’s like so natural? It flows. We live this experience personally so it’s very relatable and it doesn’t always turn out all butterflies and rainbows, but seeing shy lee Yamaguchi get acceptance and affection from his friends and emotionally constipated ler Tsukishima come to terms with wanting this type of affection and being comfortable enough in his relationship with Yamaguchi to pursue it? Then the mutual understanding that doesn’t come as a deep, adult conversation—because it wouldn’t be, not for these kids at this time in their life—but as Tsukki and Yama chilling together, observing, talking, and interacting like their long-lived friendship would have them do. Tsukki teases. Yama stammers. It’s the natural course of things and it goes on step by step until Tsukki is actually taking him apart and somehow I find myself wondering how this HASN’T happened yet in canon when it just flows so perfectly.

Not to mention the actual tickling which, as a member of the community and someone who’s written a fic or two occasionally, can get pretty repetitive and hard to describe after a while 😅 yet the way you described it was was so visceral. I wasn’t ever taken out of the scene due to an awkward description of body position or over repetitive description of the actual ticking. (Side note: the way you write the laughter-interspersed speech is adorable 10/10) Writing tickling is surprisingly difficult after awhile but I’d say from this that you’ve honed the craft quite nicely~

Okay, okay. That’s what I’ve got off the top of my head without having the fic beside me to analyze paragraph by paragraph so— In conclusion: talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping, spectacular— all that jazz and more. I absolutely adore your writing on these two, and if you ever decide to do another I will be your personal cheerleader through it all. Thank you so much~

i'm

i just

asfjdhs ok let me start over

honestly, i wasn't planning on coming back to this blog anytime soon, if ever. i was ready to leave fandom behind and quit fanfiction writing forever, for reason i'll elaborate on later. but today i got an email about this ask (along with your first one, which i accidentally deleted like a dumbass and i'm so sorry), and after reading it at least eighteen times while tearing up i had to log back in to answer it.

i have never received such detailed and utterly specific feedback for anything i've written. ever. not even for my non fandom related works. lately, i've been feeling really self conscious about what i've written as well, to the point where i can't reread anything cuz i hate it so much, so reading this restored a lot of that lost confidence i had.

the fact that you took the time to type all of this out and tell me about all the little details you noticed and loved... it means the world to me. i worry about all the things you mentioned: making sure the pacing is just right and not too slow or fast, maintaining the relationship dynamics, the laughter and speech patterns, creating a scene that could happen in canon, keeping characters in-character, etc. so to hear that i did all of that right is so reassuring.

i know i'm taking this more seriously than i probably should, cuz after all "ItS jUsT a TiCkLe FiC", but this is important to me! it's my one talent in life and blessed feedback like this is what makes me want to continue with it!

this fic in particular was extra challenging to write too. the two-role perspective is difficult to get right, so i wasn't sure i was gonna be able to do it. i was especially concerned that Tsukkiyama was believable. i'm SO happy that you enjoyed my take on him! i was really inspired after reading another fic with ler!suga and lee!yama so i wanted to include them too.

anyway, before this gets super long too: thank you, genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, for sharing your kind comments. it makes me want to keep writing and to give up on giving up. people like you remind me why i love creating content.

#asks #long post #i'm actually in tears #sorry to be dramatic on main #this month has been hell but this gave me the push i need to keep going #thank you #so much

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