#he literally checks all my boxes for my favorite tropes

[hellothereiplaygames]

Some thoughts on Asra's route...

Replaying Asra's route after having played Muriel's really hits different...

In one of the other routes Asra and Muriel appear to start a romantic relationship, and in Asra's route it's very clear that Muriel cares very deeply for Asra and dislikes the Apprentice. He mentions in one of the paid? dream scenes that he's worried about Asra and the Apprentice fading into their own world and leaving everyone else behind (again, apparently), and that he's determined to stop this from happening. His concern for Asra and initial hostility toward the Apprentice may be rooted in jealousy, not only because his oldest (and only) friend was more or less taken from him, but perhaps with romantic connotations as well.

In Book XI: Justice, Asra and Julian stage a mock trial by combat against Muriel. Though he apparently agreed to participate and is implied to have returned to the Coliseum of his own volition, presumably out of concern for Asra, who has been accused of being Julian's accomplice... he is still more or less backed into a corner and forced to play along with Asra and Julian's plan to stage a fight.

Now, to be fair to Asra, he states after everything goes wrong that it wasn't supposed to end this way, and it appeared that he was attempting to not only exonerate himself and Julian from their charges but somehow help Muriel overcome his past (he does disintegrate Muriel's chains during the fight no matter what choices you make). There was a point during this that I thought I could guess what Asra's plan was regarding Muriel's past, but being refreshed on how it actually pans out, I can't remember it now. Something about making the people of Vesuvia realize how barbaric the Coliseum was under Lucio.

The thing that stands out to me throughout this whole ordeal is that Asra knows about Muriel's trauma. He knows he was enslaved to Lucio and forced to fight and execute people in the Coliseum. He knows that Muriel is terrified of hurting other people, especially those he cares about. In Asra's route, the only person Muriel cares about is Asra, so hurting him is triggering for him. He literally is in a stupor after the board he was using as a weapon splinters off and hits Asra in the mouth, making him bleed. This is clearly meant to make the reader worried about Asra, but Muriel reacts as well, and appears hypnotized by the blood. I remember the first time I read this I thought he was going to have some crazy berserker-Hulk sort of reaction, but having read his route, it's way more tragic.

Though Muriel did seem to return to the Coliseum of his own volition, it does seem that Asra took this as a sign that he was coming to terms with his trauma. He was willing to exploit Muriel's care for him in order to save his own skin so he can be with the Apprentice. Though I recognize Asra's other toxic traits to some degree, I also have similar ones myself so they don't really stand out to me. This, however, where he more or less disregards Muriel's feelings on the matter, is actually really crushing. In Muriel's route, his whole thing is that he DOES NOT want to fight, he DOES NOT want to even spar with the Apprentice with blunt sticks out of fear of hurting them, so why would he willingly go along with this unless he was more or less in the same position Lucio put him in? Fight in the arena, or something bad will happen to Asra.

Asra knows this, and puts him through it regardless. During the whole fight, Julian's actions are written so as to make it seem like he's the one messing things up--he takes the "finishing blow" that Muriel was going to deal to Asra and gets knocked unconscious. Asra spends most of the entire time doing flashy, dramatic magic tricks that get the crowd cheering for him. After he "wins", he and the Apprentice are carried out of the Coliseum like heroes. Though Asra will try to soothe Muriel if the Apprentice so chooses right before the end, and he does look for Muriel in the crowd, he seems otherwise unbothered or unaware of the impact this may be having on his oldest friend. Which is pretty shitty.

Of course, Asra, Julian, and Muriel are all playing characters during their fight--Asra is the flashy magician, Julian is the rogueish BDSM dagger guy, and Muriel is the Scourge. Asra obviously can't show his concern even if he wanted to because he's supposed to be fighting Muriel. But putting his bro into this situation in the first place says a lot about his character. Though Julian is the one whose route is based around self-loathing because he believes he hurts everyone around him, Asra is the only one who gets what he wants out of this ordeal, and he even says so right before the chapter ends. Muriel was forced to relive his trauma and didn't get the resolution that was intended, and Julian gets KOed by a punch that literally sent him flying across the arena (though he probably enjoyed it tbh, he's a nasty little man like that lmao).

I wonder if this dynamic between Asra and Muriel was intentionally written this way in order to further amplify his tunnel vision when it comes to the Apprentice. Is this is how he acted in the past, causing Muriel to hate the Apprentice as he does and remark that he won't allow it to happen again? Maybe (probably) I'm reading too much into it, but as a survivor of abuse and trauma it rubs me the wrong way much more than Asra's obsessive, clingy nature. Of all of the reversed ends, Asra's is the one that actually scared me and kind of haunted me, because it hits a little too close to home.

These are all just thoughts that I wanted to spill out because I thought it was interesting and I wasn't sure if anyone else has talked about it before.

[humdinky]

hey all! i just wanted to take a minute to stand on my little soap box and tell you about a manga i picked up last december. it has gotten much more attention since then, but i'd still like to throw my thoughts into the mix.

on the surface, the summer hikaru died explores a pretty common horror trope: what if a person you loved changed into something unrecognizable? do you reject them, or try to connect to the person that they have become? of course, this fear is twisted into something more threatening in a supernatural horror format. what if they literally died and came back as something else that could potentially harm you and your family?

we follow two teenage boys: yoshiki and his best friend (and one sided crush) hikaru, who goes missing in the mountains for a week and miraculously reappears unscathed. he looks the same as ever, but yoshiki can tell that what came back is no longer the hikaru that he once knew. now, yoshiki must come to grips with the fact that something sinister has taken over his friend’s body - and that it has a strong attachment to him.

that's the basic premise, but this manga is still ongoing and there are plenty of different directions it could take. if you haven't read it yet, it's worth experiencing firsthand. beyond the body horror are themes of grief and repressed homosexuality, as well as subtext to read into. i'm not going to be spoiling any explicit plot details, but i'd encourage you to stop reading this and go check it out if a bl manga with gorgeous art, toxic but engaging romance, and body horror sounds appealing to you.

the first thing you'll notice about this manga is that *chef's kiss* gorgeous art! it is uncanny, as you would expect, but it is drawn with so much care. the heavily detailed background art and visual horror create a rather oppressive atmosphere. the author also really excels at conveying character emotions through facial expressions, and there's a lot of very subtle bits of information that you can pick up from them.

being a body horror manga, this aspect is of course given extra care. when it gets supernatural, it takes on an oddly surreal quality. i'd even say that the transformations of hikaru take on an air of eroticism. that sounds out of place, but the author understands that the line between fear and attraction is thin. there is one scene in particular that would be very sexual if not for the absolute nightmare scenario unfolding before my eyes.

one of my favorite things about this manga is the confidence the author has in the reader. yoshiki having had feelings towards' the previous hikaru is never outright stated, it's just assumed that the reader will pick up on it. the village yoshiki lives in views homosexuality as some kind of curse, and the insecurity this creates in him is shown very subtly. the camera's gaze and the little things he says all convey this, like his apparent guilt over staring at hikaru shown through the shadow on his face. his fear of and attraction to hikaru's transformations also conveys this idea. he's also coping with grief in an unhealthy manner, and this is shown through the almost experimental way he's sometimes drawn. but yoshiki is not the only important character, and hikaru also has some depth. his character is harder to parse, but there's more to him lurking below the surface. he's more delicate than his outgoing demeanor would suggest. hell, it's understandable - being a literal monster means his position in yoshiki's life is extremely tenuous. our two main characters form a codependent relationship based on a fear of being alone, something very human and compelling in a messy sort of way.

something that i do not see being brought up quite as much is how tshd uses horror elements to discuss the fears around coming out and dealing with same-sex attraction. so much of hikaru’s internal struggle is such a wonderful metaphor. many of the moments between him and yoshiki serve as a dual narrative - the surface-level narrative but also this very delicate story about two boys from a rural village who realize they have feelings for one another. the whole story in fact is one giant metaphor for dealing with the anxiety losing who you thought you were and embracing concrete truths about sexuality and love.

overall it left me with some very strong first impressions. it is both an excellent horror manga and a nuanced exploration of loss and sexuality. i also find it very refreshing that their relationship isn’t built on any sort of deception or lies, and that yoshiki is aware that he’s an imposter, just not the extent of what exactly he is or what is happening in the town.

[x0401x]

Hello....Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

I've been asked my top 10 before, but never from all of the media I love and I've never been asked to elaborate on why I love them. Not to mention that the list changes as I watch/read new stuff, so it's good to update it. Then again, I don't watch live action that much, so I'm afraid it's gonna be all animanga/books, if you don't mind.

I must say, though, that it was impossible to decide on 10 this time around. So I resorted to listing my top 5. The list is in no particular order, by the way.

1. Kuchiki Rukia

So this one was an instant fave and I don't even think I need to explain much. Badass, kindhearted, A+ sense of humor. Just checks all the boxes. Also love her unique character design.

2. Gilbert Bougainvillea

I strictly mean the book version of him. Gil was one of the very few fictional characters to ever surprise me. I love how unapologetically emotional he is and how he's always making sure the people he holds dear get to live a happy life. The way he's such a "family and friends first" kinda guy and yet nobody seems to realize it simply because he looks like the aloof type is bitterly relatable for me. Also the way he acknowledges how unfair life is for him despite being brough up in an environment that, in theory, had everything to meet all his needs, and yet tries to make the best of it all. And my God, the amount of Respect Women Juice that this guy drinks. Goals as a human being, tbh. (Yes, the books are that different from the anime.)

3. Oikawa Tsurara

I normally don't vibe all that much with characters like Tsurara, but she quite literally opened new horizons for me in fandom. Imagine the dumb, clingy servant girl stereotype turned upside down. You start out fearing that she'll fit into the Mold TM, and before you realize it, she's risen to become an upper officer in command of two clans and is endgame with the protagonist (with three more guys pinning after her). Except this isn't a Cinderella kind of journey; she was always treated by her love interest as an equal and was always portrayed as having immense potential. Her jealousy of her rivals seems comical but is actually valid, as her suspicions always hit home. She's smart and strong and not at all delusional, and the story makes sure to give her a steady growth. She never becomes overpowered, but the protagonist only gets to that level because of her.

4. Takigawa Masaki

Again, book version. Motherfucker just be casually defying every god in existence because y'all can't just try to kill my disciple like that, what the actual fuck. The "Catch These Hands" priest, because he'll punch the shit outta whoever gets between him and the little bitch who tried to harm his students. And then he'll fuck into his shrine in the middle of the woods like nothing happened. His main occupation, however, is to be hot as hell. Truly an icon.

5. Sheryl Nome

Same as with Tsurara, I normally don't vibe much with characters like Sheryl, but holy fuck, the amount of respect I have for this woman. Macross is a franchise that specializes in taking archetypes and tropes and subverting them completely, and Frontier is my favorite because the character handling in this thing is good fucking food.

Sheryl has such an attitude but she can back it up. And she does it in ways that are charismatic, rather than annoying or bitchy. She absolutely never puts herself down and is never portrayed as actually fragile and inoffensive on the inside. The narrative gets points too for never going "she's amazing but she won't ever be as good as the protagonist". And she's cute, sure, but she's also dangerous and is out there to get what she wants. Yet there's so much heart to her. So much passion and admiration for all things alive and for connecting with them through music. She usually only does what she wants but is so ridiculously selfish with the people she cherishes. Easily one of the most extremely complex and absurdly cool femme fatales in animanga.

[cryiling]

Hi, crow! How are you doing? 😁

for the ship ask game: revalink (hehe), botw/totk zelink, and miphlink (i think that’s the correct ship name??)

(ask game from here)

omg hi iri!!! I'm doing well hru? imyy thank you for the ask 🥺🫶

revalink - ship

what made you ship it?

last february i was going through my zelda phase again and i was looking for fics to read. previously i had read a lot of sidlink fics so I was looking for something new, and I decided to check out revalink fics and. oh em gee. i got hooked 😭

I remember insisting I only liked it ironically but 💀 look where I am now. #1 revalink shipper oopsies 🤭 their dynamic really stood out to me, I've shipped a lot of rivals to lovers before so I guess once I started to consider it revalink just made sense to me. also revalink fics are devastatingly good, like there's a couple that I reread religiously 😫

what are your favorite things about the ship?

omg I LOVE THIS QUESTIONNN. saurr many things like. I mentioned it already but I love their dynamic, especially when you start to analyze it beyond the surface level. I love headcanons about why revali lashes out at link in the first place, especially in relation to the champion's ballad dlc and how revali's diary reveals that he's just really insecure about himself. I think they're such good character foils to each other and that makes their interactions, both as rivals and as lovers, so much richer than some of the other ships in the game. their relationship is so open to interpretation and that makes it one of the most satisfying ships to make content for SHFJDBF

is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

hmm not that I can think of! i post a lot of headcanons and stuff but I don't think they've ever been unpopular, maybe just unique. like my all the president's men au 💀 i still think abt that sometimes LOL

botw/totk zelink - don't ship

why don't you ship it?

aghhh ok ok hear me out. i don't ship them romantically BUT i do think they are peak queerplatonic vibes. it's just, the idea of knight x princess already feels like a weird dynamic to me, like I'm not a huge fan idk? ughh idk how to explain it. to me I've always preferred them to have more of a sibling dynamic. urgh I know I said hear me out but I'm not explaining it well. the voices told me not to ship it idk

what would have made you like it?

ok tbh I think zelink is cute in like every other game! just not these two 😭 so I guess if you put the two characters in literally any other game I would like them? aghhhh idk what it is about this one that makes me not want to ship it!! maybe in this game if they had a different backstory I would have shipped it. but tee bee ache link was so unhappy as a knight that I'm rooting for him to leave the whole royalty system behind and go live in the woods with his bird boyfriend idk 😭

despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

I literally think zelink makes the most sense as a ship, they're soulmates and they would go to the ends of the earth for each other, I'm sorry I feel so bad for not shipping them 😭 BUT on the other hand, I think all that can be true without having to be romantic yk? that's why I think they're a really good queerplatonic couple, they understand each other like no one else could, they always look out for each other and they can't imagine not being in the other's life. it's just not romantic. aughh I think they have such a good relationship but just not romantically 😣 maybe it's bc I'm also aspec

miphlink - don't ship

why don't you ship it?

I feel really bad but like mipha's crush was so clearly one-sided 😭 it's weird bc my absolute favorite trope is childhood friends to lovers, and they check the childhood friends box, but the ship just feels too vanilla/basic to me. I do think they're besties tho, because since they grew up together they'll be super close and know each other very well. but imo link doesn't see her like that and mipha eventually moves on

what would have made you like it?

I think a.) mipha's character should have been fleshed out more because she felt so one-dimensional and it kind of bothered me, her character had so much more potential and I love seeing fanon version of her where she actually has a personality. and b.) if there was a little more pining on both link's and mipha's parts. the best part of childhood friends to lovers is the pining!!

despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

I love mipha and I love link and I think they'll always look out for each other and be besties forever!! the end 😽

[thedroneranger]

The Drone Ranger's Be Kind Rewind ⏪ indynerdgirl Edition!

A rec reblog series dedicated to the fics that we love so much, we've re-read them!

@indynerdgirl's Rewind is here! I'll be taking a few recs off the list, and I hope you will, too!

While we continue to churn out amazing new content, let's be kind and rewind to look at some of the OG content we love! And don't forget to reblog when you re-read! Continue to show your comfort fics and favorite creators some love. It helps keep the fresh content coming :)

Let's keep this going throughout the summer, so if you're interested in participating in the Be Kind Rewind, message me. The more, the merrier!

If you want to know when a new Rewind drops, join the tag list, and check out previous Rewinds!

fics below the cut (listed in alphabetical order by title)

Flyboy, Jake Seresin, @kryptonitejelly This friends to lovers fic is just *chef’s kiss*. Jake is just so swoon worthy in this fic that everytime I reread it, I get just a little bit upset that he’s not real.

From The Ashes, Jake Seresin x Natasha Trace, @myshipsaresunk This Hannix rock star au will put you through the emotional ringer but it will be so worth it! I was lucky enough to beta read this one as it was being written and the endings of some of the chapters had me literally shouting at my computer screen due to some of the characters’ life choices.

Je te Laisserai Des Mots, Bradley Bradshaw, @jupitercomet This is an arranged marriage au but it’s also what I would call a period piece au. The writer says she was heavily inspired by Greta Gerwig’s Little Women but it also gives off some regency era vibes as well. Whatever era it’s supposed to be, this fic is another one that I wish never ended because I would love to stay in the world forever.

Mamma Mia, Bob Floyd/Jake Seresin/Bradley Bradshaw, @perpetuelledaydreaming Take the plot of Mamma Mia, set it in the world of Top Gun, and you have this absolutely amazing fic! And I love how it’s tied into TGM by having the reader run into all three of them again when they’re back at Top Gun for the special detachment.

My Girl, Jake Seresin, @ereardon This fic just hits all of the right spots for me when it comes to the single dad trope. And it’s also one of those fics that I wish just never ended because I just adore this little family.

Oh, Baby, Jake Seresin, @seresinhangmanjake This is the first in a super sweet series and the emotions that come through this one had me tearing up a few times the first time I read it.

Sugar and Spice, Jake Seresin, @wombtotombx This is a fantastic fic and the way SB describes things makes you feel like you’re right there in the fic with the characters. And with how knowledgeable she is when it comes to all things Navy, there are a ton of little things in this fic that just give it that extra touch. She also has a really fantastic dad!Jake series that I highly recommend!

That's a Problem?, Bradley Bradshaw, @archivallyfound09 Another super sweet fic that does the single parent trope well! Bug and his love of his ‘Ooster and Dino snacks will absolutely melt your heart!

the echo (or the answer), Jake Seresin, @anniesocsandgeneralstore I still can’t believe that I almost skipped over this werewolf au when if first showed up on my dash but I am so glad I decided to give it a go. It quickly became one of my favorites and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read it. 

The Princess and The Pilot, Jake Seresin, @perfectprettypisces I am a sucker for a good ‘dating the admiral’s daughter’ fic, especially when said daughter is the only girl with over protective brothers and this one ticks both of those boxes! And the sibling dynamics in this are top notch and very believable!

Creator's Own I Heard From The Heavens, Bradley Bradshaw Not only was this the very first Top Gun fic I ever wrote, but it was the first fic I had written in six years when I posted it last year. It’s also very personal to me. One of my younger brothers is a fighter pilot in the Air Force and while I am incredibly proud of him, I still can’t help but worry about him as an older sister is wont to do so this fic was me channeling those worries and fears I sometimes have in regards to my brother.

Tag list and friends: @petcr3 @desert-fern @Sagittarius-Lovewitch @mygyn @sweetwhispersofchaos @horseshoegirl @the-annoying-fan @dingochef @moon42flight @thecitysgraveyard @ereardon @roosterforme @cherrycola27 @galaxy-of-stories @taytaylala12 @malindacath @violyn20 @awildewit @potato-girl99981 @shanimallina87 @blue-aconite @djs8891 @linkpk88 @furiousladyking @daggerspare-standingby @princess76179 @jstarr86 @hecate-steps-on-me @darkheartcherry @soulmates8 @roosters-girl @dempy @roosterisdaddy36 @hangmanscoming @s-u-t @mavrellover91 @chicomonks @averyhotchner 

A kind reminder, this is a 18+ blog. While not all stories in the recommendation list are 18+, please respect boundaries and do not interact unless you are 18 years of age or older.

[dxncingwithastrxnger]

i want something just like this (Mileven)

A/N: Day 2 of Mileven week has arrived!!!! Guys, this story is my fluffiest yet and I also think it’s my best and favorite so far, I literally love it so much. Also, apparently I have a thing for domestic Mileven going on right now, so that’s fun, lmao. I hope you guys enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed writing it!!!! I’ve always been fascinated by the “main fanfic character dreams about original storyline/timeline” trope, tbh, so I was super excited to use it in here. (Spoiler alert, I guess? It’s mentioned like once, so it’s not a super big focus technically, lmao)

Pairing: Mike Wheeler x El Hopper

Summary: Have you ever dreamt up a story so compelling that you just had to share it? Such deep lore that you knew you couldn’t just let it disappear into your subconscious? Something so complete and deep that apart of you thinks that it must be apart of some other life, some other world, some other place that is not the one you’re currently in? What was it like?

Prompt: Day 2 - Stories

Tags: Fluff, soooo much fluff, guys. Absolute teeth-rotting fluff. Annndddd, lots of dialogue to make up for yesterday’s lack of dialogue 😂

Song Inspiration: Something Just Like This By The Chainsmokers + Coldplay

Word Count: 2,386

Not beta’d, all mistakes are my own.

[Day 1] [Day 2] [Day 3] [Day 4] [Day 5] [Day 6] [Day 7] || [Series Masterlist]

[Read on Quotev]

[Read on AO3]

[Read on Wattpad]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Daddy, daddy, can you read to me again tonight?" Daisy asks her dad hopefully. Mike smiles at his daughter. They had read stories to her when she was younger, but she had insisted they stopped doing so, that she didn't need nor want them anymore. But recently, she's wanted her stories back again, and Mike and El are very happy to oblige.

"Of course, pumpkin, what story do you wanna read tonight?" He asked her, walking over to her little blue bookshelf in the corner of the room.

"I wanna read chapter 3!!" She tells him excitedly. Mike chuckles and nods his head, grabbing the paperback book laying on top of her shelves and walking back over to Daisy's bed, sitting on it next to her and leaning back against the headboard. Daisy snuggles up to his side and leans her head on his arm, watching and waiting for him to start. Mike wraps an arm around her and opens the book, flipping through the pages until he finds the beginning of the third chapter. He clears his throat and begins.

"Mike was entirely intrigued by El. There was just something about her. Something he couldn't quite explain just yet. But he was completely determined to figure it out. It was like whatever it was, was right on the edge of his mine but it wasn't really in the spotlight yet. Like it was making a slow crawl from his subconscious mind to his conscious mind. Maybe today would help him bring it all the way over. For now, he just had to focus on the task at hand, his current plans for the morning. 1.) Eat breakfast. 2.) Go down and give El breakfast. 3.) Have El go ahead with the plan he came up with last night. Once that was all done, maybe then he could focus more on other things.

He goes downstairs after getting ready for the day and takes not just two, but three waffles out of the box, once he's checked that no one else is looking. He waits for them to toast and then quickly shoves one of them into his jacket pocket, putting the other two on a plate and taking them to the kitchen table, sitting down beside his sister Nancy as he does so. He starts eating his food quickly, wanting to make sure he had the few extra minutes needed to go downstairs to El.

"Slow down, Mike, that's disgusting!" His sister complains from beside him.

Mike rolls his eyes, then gets an idea. "Did you get a lot of studying done last night?" He asks sarcastically, his mouth still full of food as he turns to look at her-"

"Why didn't he at least swallow his food first? That's gross. Boys are gross." Daisy complains from beside him.

Mike chuckles. "What, even your brothers?" He asks her, knowing that she absolutely adores her two younger siblings.

Daisy sighs. "I guess they're not as gross as other boys." She says, acting aloof.

Mike shakes his head at her fondly and continues reading right where he left off.

"Yeah, actually, I did." Nancy tells Mike matter-of-factly.

"What was your test on again?" Mike asks, tilting his head to the side as if in thought. "Human anatomy?" He asks her. Nancy gasps, offended and annoyed, and aims a kick at Mike under the table. Mike returns her annoyance and kicks her back.

"Hey, what's going on!?" Their mother asks them.

"Nothing!" Both of them say at the same time. Their mother just sighs at them and continues what she was previously doing. After that, MIke just finishes up his breakfast, puts his plate in the sink, and rushes to get downstairs. When he gets down there, he sees El awake and fiddling with his supercomm.

"Oh, hey, you found my supercomm. Pretty cool, huh? I talk to my friends with it. Mostly Lucas 'cause he lives so close. Signal's pretty weak." He tells her. She looks at him but doesn't say anything, so he continues. "I brought you breakfast." He tells her, pulling the waffle out of his pocket and holding it out to her. She takes it tentatively and begins to eat it."

Mike's next words are cut off before they can even start by another interruption from Daisy.

"Why does Mike get two waffles but El only gets one?" She asks him, looking up at her dad.

Mike tilts his head to the side, thinking for a moment, before looking back down at her. "I'm actually not sure about that, pumpkin. Maybe he couldn't take too many from the box so he only thought one would be best." He suggests. He himself wasn't even sure why it was a thing. He just knows that it's exactly how things happened in his dream, so he put it on paper the same way. It never occurred to him that it was a little random. It was more of something a child would pay more attention to than an adult, in a way.

Daisy lips turned down in a pout. "I don't think that's very fair. El should've gotten two waffles." She insists.

Mike chuckles and kisses the top of her head. "I guess you're right. I'll keep that in mind for next time." He tells her.

"Good." She says, nodding to herself as she turns back to the book in Mike's hands.

"So listen," Mike started again. "This is gonna sound a little weird, but I just need you to go out there." He pointed towards the basement door leading out into the yard and El followed his gaze before looking back at him as he continued. "Then go to the front door and ring the doorbell. My mom will answer and you'll tell her that you're lost and that you need help. But whatever you do, you can't tell her about last night or that you know me. Understand?" He asked, hoping El would get what he meant. She gave him a strange look and he tried to reassure her. "Really, it's no big deal. We'll just pretend to meet each other again. And my mom, she'll know who to call." He told her.

"No." El speaks the word that seemed to be one of the only ones she actually knew.

"No?" Mike questions her, confused.

"No." She repeats without hesitation.

"No you don't want my mom to get help?" He asks El, starting to realize that there was something more going on with this girl than he originally thought. "You're in trouble, aren't you? Who-who are you in trouble with?" He stutters, uncertain now.

"Bad." She tells him, leaving him to more interpretation.

"Bad? Bad people? They want to hurt you? The bad people?" He asks, his anxiety rising higher with each question out of his mouth. He wasn't sure why, it was more of that unexplained thing he keeps feeling with El, but the thought of someone trying to hurt El didn't sit right with Mike at all. It made him feel scared, but also angry. It wasn't a feeling that he enjoyed at all.

El reached a hand up and held out two of her fingers pressed together with her thumb sticking up, pointing it in the direction of her own head. Like a gun, Mike realized. Like someone was pointing a gun at her head. She then reached out and made the same gesture but pointing at the middle of Mike's chest this time. Then, she put her hand back down in her lap. "Understand?" She asked him quietly.

Mike nodded, swallowing. But before he could respond to her outloud, his mom called for him from upstairs. "Michael, where are you? We're going to be late. Let's go!" She tells him.

Mike quickly starts getting up, a plan already forming in his mind. "All right, I'll be back. Just stay here, okay? Stay here!" He says to El urgently, suddenly filled with a strange fear that she would decide to leave once he left the room. But El just stared at him as he stood back up, not seeming to have any plans to go anywhere else, and so Mike turned around and quickly ran up the stairs, out of El's sight."

Mike continues to read to Daisy until they've finished the entire chapter, ending off right as El promises Mike that she's okay when he finally lets her out of the closet. Mike closes the book and sets it on her nightstand, getting up and tucking her in all the way with a promise to continue the story tomorrow night. He turns off her main light and flicks on her fairy lights, closing the door behind him as he leaves the room.

He sighs softly, a smile on his face, as he walks down the hallway towards the twins' room. Since Daisy was in school, she had a more set sleep schedule. Her 3-year-old brothers, however, do not. Though it's not for lack of trying. Last he'd seen El and the boys, they were in their room cleaning up their toys from that day's play and activities. Usually once Daisy's in bed, they try their best to get their boys settled down at the very least to just do some coloring or watch a movie or two so that they're not running around while their sister is trying to sleep and they usually get to sleep easier that way.

Mike pushes the cracked bedroom door open the rest of the way gently, careful not to make too much noise in case the boys are already asleep, taking in the dark of the room. When the door no longer obstructs his vision, his face softens into an expression filled with love and affection. His wife is sitting in the middle of Jackson's bed, one hand holding a tablet that seems to be playing a movie while the other hand rests on her stomach. On either side of her are their two sons, Jackson on her right and Henry on her left, and both of them are asleep, soft snores leaving them as they lean against their mother's arms.

El looks up as Mike enters the room and she smiles brightly at him, absolutely glowing. "Hey." She whispers in greeting.

"Hey." Mike whispers back, returning her smile as he walks over to stand beside the bed.

El giggles softly as she pauses the movie playing on the tablet. "They both fell asleep right around when Merida's mother first turned into a bear." She tells him, turning the screen to show the movie on the screen, Brave.

"Oh, sleepy little boys tonight." He says, surprised.

"Apparently so." She replies. She looks up at him. "Mind helping me out of this trap they've created?" She jokes.

Mike laughs softly and nods. "Why of course, I'll get right on that." He tells her, reaching down and gently pushing his arms under Henry's back and knees, picking him up as best he can without disturbing him too much. He turns and gently lays Henry in his own bed, pulling the blanket up over him. Henry snuggles into his bed, sighing in his sleep and then laying still again. Mike leans down and kisses his temple gently before turning back towards Jackson's bed. El has now gotten up and the two of them switch places, El kissing Henry's temple while Mike kisses Jackson's.

As Mike stands up, El grabs his hand and intertwines their fingers together and heads towards the door, Mike following her lead as they leave the room and close it gently behind them.They walk down the hallway together in silence, heading towards their bedroom to settle in for the night. Once in their bedroom, El flicks on the lights and Mike walks over to their dresser to get out his pajamas for the night, humming softly to himself as he does so.

"Do you think she'll like it here?" El asks him softly. Mike turns around and sees her standing in front of their full length mirror, having taken her shirt off.

He walks over to her and gently wraps his arms around her from behind, his hands resting on her stomach. Her hands automatically come up to settle over hers and she leans back against him, Mike's chin on her shoulder. He meets El's eyes in the mirror. "I think she's going to absolutely love it here." He looks down at El's stomach. "Isn't that right, Anabelle?" Right as he asks his question, there's a strong kick from the inside of El's abdomen, and El gasps.

Mike laughs and presses his face into the side of El's. "See, she even agrees with me." Mike says matter-of-factly. He was beaming, grinning from ear to ear, and he knew that El was doing the same.

"You're such a dork." She says. "Both of you are, I just know it." She teases, rubbing at the spot that the kick came from.

Mike snorts. "She is my child after all. If not, we would have some serious problems." He retorts.

El playfully smacks his arm lightly, laughing. "Oh hush, you know she's yours." She tells him. Mike just chuckles in response. They stay like that for awhile, just holding each other and their unborn baby, enjoying the noises of nighttime in their house in contented silence. Eventually, El leans more heavily against Mike and she turns her head to gently nuzzle her nose against Mike's cheek, Mike doing the same to her in return. Then they both turn slightly and their lips connect in a sweet, soft kiss.

"I love you." El tells Mike.

Mike closes his eyes and rests his head against hers. "I love you, too. So much." He says.

"Good." El tells him, her words full of meaning that only the two of them would truly understand. And everything was exactly as it should be.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: So what did you guys think?? Please, please let me know!!! I loved this one so much, it made my heart so happy!!!! All comments and feedback are very much appreciated!!!! Hope you’re having an incredible day/night!!!!! 💜💜💜

[negrowhat]

Bl confessions, don't know if they're really uncommon or not

- I don't like a good part of Japanese bls. School, workplace doesn't matter. The wigs and the death fish 'kissing' (don't do it if you're uncomfortable, they're annoying af) are a huge turn off. The only thing that I actually loved was KeyxYaku, the wonderfully queercoded series.

- I still don't understand the appeal of Colour rush. I didn't watch s2 and it's not on my watchlist. Not long ago I had to add the suicide (also if attempted) tw because basically no one told to that person about it and it's a thing you should know.

- After WoH I decided to not watch any new censored Chinese stuff. Unless it's heavy queercoded, they're banned in my watchlist.

Helloo Anon! Let's talk about your confessions point by point because they are all very interesting!

First the Japanese BLs. I do think they're evolving. I agree that a lot of the kisses don't really read across well on screen but I usually go off vibes on these series. Sometimes the overall physical chemistry outweighs the bad kissing or lack of kissing. Like give me a good meaningful hug and forehead peck and I'm G2G. But lately some of the more adult themed series have been checking all the boxes (Good plot, good pacing, leads have good chemistry, and the intimate scenes are top notch). What I usually do to decide if a series is worth my time is ask tumblr and also check out gifs. Tumblr will tell you if a series is not worth it and they'll do it in detail and I guarantee you if there is a kiss or a sex scene then it's in gif form somewhere. The gifs will tell you all you need to know about the physical chemistry. Recently I watched The End of the World With You and it was *chef's kiss*

Second Color Rush. I personally LOVED Color Rush (s1). It's one of my favorite Korean BLs. I'm all about a good soulmates plot and that one exploring the dark side of that trope really dragged me in. It was indeed triggering though when Yeon Woo attempts so I literally try to warn anyone who asks and I did post it in the tags when the series came out. I thought s1 was beautiful. S2 I don't acknowledge though. Hyunjun didn't return for s2 because he was bullied for doing s1. So instead of recasting the character they introduced a new love interest which I didn't like and from there they just kind of went off the rails.

Lastly censored Chinese romance. Have you just watched WoH? Or have you watched the other 2 pillars in the Chinese Bromance world? The Untamed and Guardian? I think everyone should watch the Big 3. It helps if you find out if the original novel is queer or not because it really helps pull the series together. The novel for The Untamed is SPICY! But also I agree. I have no desire to watch much of anything else in the department unless Heaven's Eternal Blessing actually comes out.

Does anyone else have any Random BL Confessions/Opinions/Thoughts they want to share?

[backalleysalesman]

What I got planned for fanfics:

Deadpool/Moon Knight:

For This Misadventures of Deadpool and Moon Knight

Depressed Wade stuff, dude is just sad and Steven comes over to check on him. Maybe Marc shows up idk. Jake does not cause Jake is a shit lord

Wade gets kidnapped and tortured and Jake saves him uwu

Then not paired with that series but still Deadpool/Moon Knight

ALSO!!!!! I’m stuck thinking about Wade getting blown up and having to regrow his body but Spider-Man is like “nah I can’t babysit you this week but I got a friend to help!” And that friend is Moon Knight (cuz why not)!!! Basically on occasion Wade’s body doesn’t grew things back correctly all the time. 👉👈 I’ve been trying to write it as a daddy kink thing as a joke since White Box keeps making daddy jokes in my other fics but I can’t do it. I’m taking too much physic damage. Imma keep trying but worse case, I will scrap the daddy bs sub plot line. This will either be a one-shot OR a mini series one-shot with how Marc, Steven, AND Jake “learning” about Wade’s new private bits LOL This isn’t a fetish thing, I’m literally trans. I could just make Wade trans for the story but where is the fun in that? I need more people to realize Deadpool/Moon Knight is such a great chaotic pairing. But I will do my best to fill the space until better writers come along. Or someone please help give me ideas.

SpideyPool:

I have a bunch of ideas. I normally don’t like writing fandom favorite pairings cause idk but when I do, I cater to myself more. Which means Peter is gonna be trans cause I’m trans LOLOL Also Peter will be 30 in every fic

Peter gets ghosted and cheated on and is big sad, Wade is a bro and is like “date me lol” and Peter is like “eh sure but I want a normal out of suit dating experience” and then they go on a date to all my favorite places as I cry as a single person

Peter gets a horrible head injury and is suffering from memory loss BUT THERES A PLOT TWIST

Peter retires as Spidey and moves far away and essentially becomes a travel blogger for some big company that is doing a multi-dimensional vacations idk in his universe there is no Deadpool and DP saves him a bunch of times cause Peter can’t use his powers cause that universe does have a Spider-Man

Isekai trope but make it Spider-Man???? (there’s a pattern, I really like multiverse stuff and I also don’t think 616 Spidey deserves Wade lol)

Wade finds an onlyfans for a spider-man cosplayer and it sounds a bit too close to the real spidey. Basically keeps shoving money at the guy to be his sugar daddy and Peter doesn’t really know it’s Wade. Spider-Man and Deadpool are best friends, DP still has his huge crush on Spidey but respects the fact that Spider-Man is not interested.

Apex Legends:

My duo and I roleplay a bit while playing the game LOL we mostly just say dumb shit that is very OOC for who we play as but it’s fun pairings would be

Seer/Mirage

Valkyrie/Loba

Bloodhound/Mirage

Crypto/Mirage

My friend plays as Mirage 99% of the time unless he is Loba or Caustic (We call him incel science man). And I really like playing as then intel gatherers... Sometimes we play Trios but our 3rd only plays Valkyrie. And then we just super goof around or get too serious. But I’ll start taking notes for some fanfics ideas uwu

Dead By Daylight:

Yui and Mikaela for my friend, I haven’t been playing much cause one I’m more of a killer main but also depression

maybe something with Felix cause he’s my favorite

Also Sadako/Ghostface sprinkle in Michael??? I have too much Sadako lore stored in me I used to own every Ringu manga, book, and movie before it vanished when I moved away

crack killers as a family trope idefk just something stupid and funny

All these will be rated M or E for different reasons but the main goal is they bump uglies (idefk I haven’t used Tumblr since the purge and I’m scared to use certain words). I’ll be focusing on Marvel stuff and Deadpool/Moon Knight and mostly write as Wade cause I suck at writing as Moon Knight.

[lokiprompts]

Worrywart - Loki x Fem Reader

Summary: A panicked Loki is literally my favorite trope so he worries over his little mortal like crazy. Super self indulgent since I just had my period...but super fluffy.

Warnings: Menstruation & Blood.

Words: ~3.5k

Your boyfriend Loki worried about you even during the best of days. Your relationship was relatively new, just a few months, but during that time you went from his little mortal to his little love. But as he fussed and doted on you, it was obvious that your mortality was always at the forefront of his mind.

Not that you minded the fussing, though. Honestly, you were downright spoiled, and you were soaking it up like a spoiled sponge. Every day he poured his affection on you with little thoughtful gifts, peppered kisses all over your face, romantic confessions of love, and his eyes…oh the way he looked at you! You were the light of his life, the center of his whole world and you bathed him in your love just as fiercely. Every day, your fingers combed through his hair as he read and, quite literally, purred, and he swore up and down that you made the most amazing meals for him. ‘A goddess of the kitchen’, your prince always said. But most of all, you always reminded him how loved he was and that he was worthy of that love. And the way that he clung to you every day, embracing you so tightly that you were almost smothered in his love, just told you that was exactly what he needed the most from you.

So, you let him fuss over you. Even on days when it felt a tad smothering; and frankly, ‘a tad’ is being overly generous.

“Darling, make sure you dress warm. It’s cold out there!”

“Have you eaten anything? You must keep your strength up!”

“Are you well rested? How have you been sleeping, my little love?”

Most of the time, you thought that his constant check ins were endearing. It showed he cared and that he wanted the best for you. But when he was worried? Oh, that’s another story. Thankfully, there weren’t too many instances where his worry went to ridiculous levels since you haven’t been officially a couple for very long. But those few instances were burned in your brain and now you wanted to make sure he never worried like that ever again.

First, it was when you were diagnosed with a gluten allergy. Stomach pains always plagued you and it took numerous doctors and tests to finally diagnose you. And when you shared that with Loki, all bets were off. Immediately, he darted to your cupboards and started to toss any offending foods into the trash. It was hours of him scouring the ingredients of every box of food and him directly asking you about non-packaged foods, over and over again.

“No, Loki, vegetables and fruits don’t have gluten in them. Those are safe!” He eyed you, and the bag of clementine’s in his hands with suspicion before placing them back in the refrigerator.

Then Thor offered you a cookie.

Everything happened in slow motion. Thor’s outstretched hand, holding the delicious gluten filled treat, and you reaching out for it. A stomachache would be worth it, you thought, as your mouth watered. Loki hadn’t let you cheat all since finding out and oh, did you miss those foods. Why did everything tasty have to contain gluten?!

In a flash, Loki was by your side, and unceremoniously smacking the cookie out of Thor’s hand and grabbing his older brother’s collar. Loki’s nose flared as his eyes burned with unparalleled anger. Even though you had explained to your sweet godly boyfriend that you were one of the lucky ones that didn’t have a life-threatening allergy, in Loki’s mind, Thor just endangered your life.

“Thor, you oaf! She is allergic! She can’t have that!” You just rolled your eyes and placed a gentle hand on the young prince’s bicep. Turning to you, his eyes immediately softened, and he released his older brother. The rest of the night was pretty much Thor profusely apologizing and you constantly reassuring him that the allergy wasn’t ‘that bad’.

Then there was the infamous nosebleed.

Dinner started so innocently. You were showing Loki around the kitchen, since being raised a pampered prince left his cooking skills seriously lacking. He desperately wanted to learn how to cook for you since you often cooked for him. The sweet thing, he is. You sat across from him at your little two-person bistro table, exchanging sweet smiles and easily flowing conversation like always until your eyes caught the look of utter horror on Loki’s face.

Immediately, you dropped your fork and reached for his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as you asked him what was wrong. All Loki heard was static as his eyes remained fixed on the trickle of blood that was dripping down your nose, almost touching your perfect lips. Frozen in panic, the once silver-tongued god was at a loss for words as his mind began to convince him that you were dying. Thankfully, you caught his gaze, and you wiped your nose with your napkin.

Your action seemed to snap him out his panicked state and he instantly went to your side, crouching down beside you and cradling your head between his large hands. Gentle caresses from his thumbs soothed your cheeks, as you got lost in his worry filled eyes.

“Darling, what’s wrong? Are you ill?” You placed your hands on top of his, and your own soft thumbs stroked over his calloused skin.

“Loki, I’m fine – I promise you. It’s – “ A scoff from your dear boyfriend cut you off and one of his hands moved from your cheeks to, quit firmly, grip your chin. Tilting your head every which way, he thoroughly examined your face with furrowed brows, trying to figure out what the Hel was going on with you. The look of pure dread and worry never left his face as you let him manhandle you in hopes it would ease his panic.

Surprise, surprise, it didn’t.

“Darling, I am going to insist that we see Dr. Banner. It is not good for mort-...” He stopped himself, and with a hard swallow he continued, “It’s not good for humans to spontaneously bleed like this. Something is wrong.”

Again, you took his hands in yours as you tried to explain to him that the dry air brought on by the recent cold weather affects your sinuses. Nothing a well-placed humidifier can’t fix. But this explanation only seemed to make him worry more.

“So, the air makes you bleed?!” His head swiveled around, looking about your small apartment in the Avenger’s Tower, at the ‘deadly’ air he couldn’t see or fight. You could see the dread swirling around in his eyes as he thought about how he can keep his little love safe from the unseen. It was your turn to grip his face and bring him back to reality. His eyes continued to dart about, until a gentle peck from you on the tip of his nose finally brought his focus back to you.

“Loki, love, as the human in this relationship, I am the expert here. Please trust me that this is normal for me and nothing a little humidity can’t fix. I am fine, I promise.” Loki seemed to be placated by this, albeit reluctantly. After that, your humidifier ran constantly in your little apartment and Loki diligently kept it clean and filled. And with a smile, you let him.

So, with his predisposition to insane amounts of worry, you didn’t put much of a fight when he insisted you take a nap after lunch. After sharing a quick meal, you both sat on the couch reading, but your eyes were growing heavy as exhaustion overtook you. It was very unlike you to get so tired mid-day and he knew that. But, with a cheeky wink, you blamed him keeping you up half the night worshipping your body to soothe any of his worries. It seemed to work, but really, you had a Hel of a time sleeping last night. Having insomnia was unlike you too, but you kept that little nugget to yourself as your schlepped back to your bed. Cocooning yourself in a pile of blankets, you fell into a deep sleep.

Hours later, Loki found you under the mountain of blankets. Crouching by your side, he gently placed a stray strand of hair behind your ear. He was always so careful to not jolt you awake. He was always so considerate; sometimes his sweetness would make you want to cry.

“Little love, it is time to wake up. You don’t want to sleep the day away.” He softly said, still gently caressing your hair. You only groaned and held your pillow tighter. Clearly, you were determined to stay in dreamland. A low chuckle rumbled in Loki’s chest as he took your resistance as a playful challenge.

“Wakey, wakey!” He said, his tone joyful and full of love for you. Carefully, he peeled away the covers from your body and your small frame shivered in retaliation at the loss of your cozy, warm burrow. Loki hated doing this, but he knew you sleeping the whole day wouldn’t be good for you. Still, you didn’t wake.

Loki stood, folding his arms as he looked down at you, trying to figure out a gentle and caring way to wake you. Shaking you awake was his last resort. As his eyes scanned over your body, his breathing hitched and then all breath left him.

Blood.

Your sheets and your pant bottoms were reminiscent of a murder scene. Sticky, red blood was everywhere. You hadn’t been expecting your period and thankfully, you hadn’t experienced one during the few months of dating Loki, sparing him the gore and worry of your normally very heavy periods. Getting the birth control shot routinely made your period pretty much non-existent, but your busy schedule made you miss your last dose. It totally slipped your mind, and if you were awake, you would have put the pieces together. You always had insomnia right before your period, followed by unrelenting exhaustion. All the signs were there, but you missed them all and any opportunity to pre-emptively warn your alien boyfriend who, to your knowledge, has no idea what a period is.

All tact left Loki as his panic drove him to grab your shoulders and promptly shake you awake. Seeing all this blood, and you sleeping so heavily, he assumed that you had lost so much blood that you were on the brink of death. He had to wake you!

“Darling! Darling! Wake up! Norns, please wake up!” His voice cracked, as his eyes started to well up. All he could think about was the fact that you were clearly bleeding out. How long have you been bleeding for? Who did this to you?! The young prince’s heart thudded in his chest as he held back a sob. He had to keep it together for you. He had to save you.

After a few shakes with his godly strength, you jolted awake, and you were greeted with Loki’s panicked face. His panic was contagious in your half-awake state. Your eyes widened and your face now mirrored his fear, which only terrified him more as you both got trapped in a mounting cyclone of panic and worry.

“What?! Is the tower under attack?!” You tried to even your breathing as you gripped tightly onto Loki’s forearms, his wild and worried eyes still bore into yours.

“No, it’s not, but who hurt you? Little love, who hurt you?!” His voice started to get louder as he thought about someone coming into your apartment and hurting you. While you were sleeping and helpless, no less! The pang of guilt briefly invaded his heart as he thought about the fact that he wasn’t there to protect you, but his rage won out. His rage always wins out.

“What are you talking about?” You said, now thoroughly confused, but still scared witless. “No one hurt me! I have been sleeping. Loki, what’s going on?!”

Now, his rage started to fade. The typically brave warrior, a fearless god, was now trembling in fear in front of you. Seeing him like this terrified you to no end. What is going on?!

“Darling, someone must have come and hurt you in your sleep.” He said, his voice shaking and dripping with fright as his hands ghosted over your body, careful not to hurt you any further, “You’re bleeding. But don’t worry! You will be fine. I will take care of you and have you healed in no time. “

Okay, now you were thoroughly confused. You felt fine, but his words were so laced with terror that you felt that he was not only trying to convince you that you were going to be fine, but he was also trying to convince himself. That was until you looked down and saw the murder scene that was your bed and pants.

Oh.

Immediately, you gripped Loki’s face between your hands in hopes of getting him to calm down and focus on you. The poor man looked on the brink of a break down.

“Loki, I promise you, I am fine. This is normal for female humans. No one hurt me.” Now, it was his turn to be confused as his brows furrowed and he removed your hands from his face. But his eyes soften when he saw you mirroring his bewilderment. Oh, his poor oblivious little love.

“Darling, you must have been sleeping so deep, you didn’t know someone hurt you. People are always after me, little love, and I am so sorry for putting you in harm’s way. But we must stop the bleeding,” His voice cracked, as he tried to keep himself together for your sake, “I can’t lose you.”

He leaned forward, likely to try and find the source of the bleeding, but you caught his hands in a feeble attempt to stop him. Shooting you a warning glance, he continued his noble pursuit and started to tug at your pants.

“Loki, seriously, stop!” You yelled, trying to shoo him away, but your mortal strength was no match for his godly power. That was until you started to cry.

This whole situation was horrifying for you. Not only were you embarrassed that this perfect, godly prince found you covered in your period blood, but you overall felt disgusting, and your hormones were raging like an unbridled, psychotic, bitch of a banshee. And now, your flawless boyfriend was trying to peel off your clothes and expose more of repulsive bleeding self and you just couldn’t take it anymore. The tears flowed down your cheeks like a waterfall and your body shook with sobs as you let your emotions overtake you. Gods, you felt like a train wreck.

Your tears stopped Loki in his tracks, and he gripped you tight and pulled you close to his chest. Tears were now flowing from his eyes as seeing yours shattered him Apparently, you both were at your breaking points.

“Little love, oh, everything will be okay. You are okay.” He cooed, peppering your face with kisses. Again, you weren’t sure if he was trying to convince you or himself.

“Loki, I need you to listen to me.” You pulled away from his chest, to look into his tear-filled eyes, “I promise you this is normal for human women. It is part of our reproductive cycle. When we don’t get pregnant, we bleed through our vaginas. It is messy and gross and super uncomfortable, but I assure you I am NOT dying.”

The god just shook his head, clearly unconvinced at your words when all he could see is the blood that stained the sheets. So, you did what you always did. You gripped his face with your two hands and forced him to look at you. Stubborn as he is, he screwed his eyes shut in retaliation.

“Loki, look at me,” Reluctantly, he opened his eyes and looked at you and you continued on, “You are the God of Mischief, and the God of Lies. Look at me and tell me if I am lying.”

Your tone left no room for argument and Loki did as you asked. He studied you long and hard and the silence between you two seemed to last an eternity, until he let out a shuttered breath.

“Fine. I will accept what you are telling me but seeing all this blood is very unsettling. Are you okay? What can I do?”

You couldn’t help but laugh as you looked back at the mess that was you and the sheets. The humor was lost on Loki as he kept his serious expression. He just wanted to help, and you found it so endearing. With his head still between your hands, you gently stroked his sharp cheekbones with the pads of your thumbs. He leaned into your touch and again, let out a long breath. Thankfully, he seemed to be calming down.

“I love you so much, Loki. Thank you for caring so much about me and making sure I am safe. Honestly, I just want a hot bath.”

Without hesitation, Loki scooped you up in his arms and started to carry you to your bathroom. Initially, you giggled at his princely actions, but then you remembered you were covered in blood and oh, gods, he’s touching you! As the realization and disgust overwhelmed you, you started to wiggle yourself out of his arms, but his firm grip held you in place.

“Loki, I am gross and disgusting and you’re touching me! Please, put me down.” Immediately, Loki stopped in his tracks and looked down at you in his arms.

“Little love, you are not gross or disgusting. Never talk about yourself in that way. Being able to touch you in anyway is an honor and privilege. So, let me help you.” Gods, you loved him so much. You leaned up, and kiss him, letting your lips convey how much you truly loved him. And he kissed you just as fiercely in return.

Then, he carried on and placed you on the edge of the tub as he filled it with hot water. With the wave of his hand, the water filled with Asgardian healing herbs. The smell was heavenly. After some convincing, yet again, that you weren’t in fact dying, he gave you a kiss on your forehead and left you to bathe in peace. The hot water and herbs were a balm on your increasingly achy body. The cramps were going to start soon; it was a shock they haven’t yet and so you enjoyed the relaxing waters as long as you could.

A gentle knock at the door pulled you from your relaxed state. Loki called through the door and said that dinner was ready and with a groan, you pulled yourself from the warmth of the bath. You saw a pair of fluffy pajamas waiting for you on the bathroom counter; a gift from Loki with the help of his seidr. You left the bathroom and was greeted by a simple dinner, not at the kitchen table but at your couch. Loki flashed his signature grin and lead you over to your couch, insisting you sit down and make yourself comfortable. He draped a blanket over your shoulders and placed a gentle kiss on your temple. It was clear that he wasn’t a master chef, but the dinner was unmistakably made with love, and it made your heart swell.

But just as you took a bite, a wicked cramp ripped through you, and you couldn’t help but wince. And of course, Loki saw it.

“What? Is the food bad?” He asked, his expression so unsure. And you could only look back at him with nothing, but adoration. He tries so hard.

“No, everything is perfect. I am just starting to get cramps. The painful part of having a period.” Then the next wave of cramps hit you and you groaned, gripping your abdomen. Great. You just calmed down your alien boyfriend after bleeding everywhere, and now he will think you’re dying again.

Out of the corner of your eye, you stole a peek at your sweet prince and just as you suspected, worry was etched all over his face. But, this time, he didn’t let the worry consume him. Instead, he let out a thoughtful hum and lifted one of his hands, green seidr sparking at his fingertips.

“I may be able to help. May I?” You weren’t sure what he was going to do, but you knew that anything he did was to help you. You trusted him more than anyone and anything, and so you nodded. Gently, he placed his hand on your belly and immediately, warmth radiated from it. It was like your own personal heating pad and it was incredible. You let out an involuntary contented sigh and Loki couldn’t help but let out a breathless laugh.

“This is amazing,” You simply said, closing your eyes and enjoying the love and care he was giving you.

“I may have done some reading on one of your electronic devices while you were in the bath. It said heat helps the pain.” Oh, how sweet.

“Well, it is amazing. I don’t know what I would do without you.” You leaned into his side, fully melting into him now, and Loki greedily enjoyed your clinginess. Worry and panic aside, he could get used to this.

“Little love, I would do anything for you.”

And you knew in. your heart and hearts, he always would.

[ggukkiereads]

Hi 💓

It is the month of Ramadan and I want to avoid reading any smutty/steamy fics for the month. Which is why I was wondering if you have any Jungkook or Taehyung non smut fic recs? It can be fluff or anything just no explicit sex scenes. Thank you for your recommendations you are literally my favorite page on this platform 💜✨

🌷 Hello @dhabatae101. First, I wish you and other followers a happy, safe, and blessed Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak! ✨

I decided to answer this right away so I tried compiling my reblogs (plus those fics I haven’t reviewed yet) and authors that “specialize” in fluff/angst. However, the list went on and on 🤭. So, I will split this post into two:

Part 1: authors that have more SFW content in their catalog (you are here)

Part 2: non-smut fics (my reblogs + other recs) - Taehyung | Jungkook

(Fluff/Angst) Smut-less Fics | Taehyung & Jungkook

🌷 Part 1 (Recommended Authors)

@jimlingss - Kina’s masterlist is just a dream. No two stories are the same and every fic is just memorable. A truly prolific and consistent writer. Usually witty, fluffy, and charming but the angsty fics are also deadly. I posted my fave JJK and KTH fics -  the Worshipers Series can be read independently but better if read sequentially to better understand the “universe”. The Slice of Life Series  is also a must, but you can read the KTH and JJK fics on their own but I seriously love ALL 💖.

Worshipers of the Sky - KTH | series [3/3] | 35k | God AU, Goddess!OC, Sacrifice!Taehyung, Worshipers Series | F, some A

Worshipers of the Sea - JJK | one shot | 16.3k | Pirate AU, Mermaid AU, God AU,  Worshipers Series  | F, A

President’s Son - KTH | series [20/20] | 80k | Bodyguard AU (reader), Slice of Life Sereis, Slow Burn | F

Sugar and Coffee - JJK | series [23/23] 101k | Patisserie School AU, Best Friend AU, Enemies to Lovers (slight), Slice of Life Series | F

Love So Shallow - KTH | series [3/3] | 34.8k | College AU, eventual Roommate AU, Best Friend AU, Humor | F, slight A  ⭐ #holygrailfic

Black Waltz -  KTH | two shot | Butler AU, Historical AU | F, A (ah I love Taehyung’s characterization here)

Moirai - KTH | series [8/8] | 46.9k | isekai au, fantasy au, reborn as a villain in a video game | F, A

Rent a Boyfriend - KTH | I noticed this is a crowd favorite, it might end up yours too =)

A Fairy Crime - KTH | one shot | Fairy godmother OC to grant someone a happy ever after  | F, A, crack

Date in a Box - JJK | one shot | 9.7k | Date Planner (like wedding planner but make it a service for dating) | F, F, F

His Name - JJK | series [8/8] | 52.4k | Multiple Personality AU, based on Kill Me, Heal Me (this is one of my favorite Korean drama series so I really enjoyed this fic series too) | A

A Piece of Moonlight - JJK | one shot | 22k | Warrior AU, Mulan AU | really angsty though

*didn’t include Chess of Ice (since this is in the Jungkook Jock AU list)

@inktae - If you’ve been following me I always rave about this author. Mostly her work is of fantasy genre but has a slice of life tone. Her fics are just masterpieces - just beautifully written and viscerally gripping. They remind me of Ghibli films for some reason (like the tone). You can check their fics here (just avoid those with M, usually with sexual content but honestly it’s not explicit). I love everything but if you want to start somewhere, you can try:

Blue Orchids, Moonlight, Home After Rain -  JJK Soulmate AU, Hanahaki AU, Angst  ⭐ #holygrailfic

First Light - KTH x R x JJK | raved about it here (angst)

Away From the Sun - KTH | soulmate AU

The train of lost souls - JJK, feat JHS | fantasy AU | A

The swirling Ways of Stars - JJK, fantasy | A, F

@gukyi - for your enemies to lovers needs. This is one of my favorite tropes so I just love that there is a writer that ‘specializes” in this. Please check their masterlist and take note of fics with (smut). Try:

Four Weeks - KTH, College AU, stuck in campus for four weeks during Christmas

Good Luck Charm - KTH, roommates, actor AU

Moonlight Melody + Part 2 - JJK, fake dating, orchestra AU | F, A

Coffee Shop Contract - JJK, fake dating, college AU | F

If I Told You - JJK, college, unrequited love/pining | F, A

Midas - JJK, magical realism | F, A

Love Project - JJK, comedy, photography assignment | F

@koorara - ugh I just adore their writing. Tooth-rotting fluff seems effortless with her drabbles/short stories. You can check their fics here. My faves:

Driving Me Wild - JJK, demon au, roommate au, ongoing drabble series but you can read it (not cliffhanger-ish), soulmate au | my review (tooth-rotting fluff)

His Dandelion - KTH, someone sent an ask about this you can read the description | A

Down and Down - JJK | MMA fighter, slight making out | A, F

The Pitter Patter of the Heart - skip the drabble with mature content, husband au, lecturer jungkook, this is super cuuuute | tooth-rotting fluff

@suhdays - it’s just amazing to find a writer with a non-smut catalog. Writing is just pure and focused on the plot and emotional/character development. Please give their masterlist lots of love. My faves:

Access Granted - I like hacker Jungkook. SMAU format

A Cinderella Story - JJK | also based on the movie | F, A

Wherever You Are - JJK | vampire, ceo (I love this) | A, F

Terms of Endearment - JJK | poet jjk x artist reader | F

Bucket List - JJK | friends to lovers (this is adorable! my review of this is still in the drafts like the rest of the fics 😥) | F, slight A

Camp Crush - KTH | brother’s best friend (this is funny like I was just smiling all throughout)

Made of Honor -  KTH | SMAU, recently completed! Like the movie

Baby I’m a Fool - JJK | Fake Dating, Co-worker AU, E2L | F, A

@vanaera - her Yoongi coworker E2L series is something I’m always waiting for and  I don’t think her other fics contain smut. Please check The Prince and His Rose (bestfriend AU, College AU, childhood friends, football player x writer!reader Jungkook, fluff/angst)

@namjoonchronicles - so I recently binged on this author’s writing (still bingeing on her other members’ fics). Their catalog has a lot of Domestic AUs which are beautiful slice of life pieces. It could be as simple as folding the laundry but it would be so meaningful. I said in one of my reviews that their domestic fics has same vibes as illustrator Puung’s Love is in Small Things. I would like to post my favorites here but I think I recently just reviewed/reblogged tons of their work (you can search my blog for the reviews). Please check their masterlist. Granite Glow is my ⭐ #holygrailfic

@rosaetae​ - if you like angst that hurts but it all makes sense why the situation had to be angsty, then her masterlist is something to binge on. Not all are angsty, just mind the tags for pure “fluff”. My favorites:

The Bedtime Contract - KTH, roommates, enemies to lovers, sort of cuddle buddy?, fluff but there’s slight angst | F, A

Dream a Little Dream of Me - KTH, soulmate au, could hear soulmate’s voice, waitress x songwriter | 

Lavender + Vanilla - KTH,  a story about a boy who had forgotten his memory of you

Chrysanthemum Effect - KTH (JJK has a side story too), Hanahaki AU

Among the Evergreen  - JJK, Christmas AU, E2L | F

Sweet Apple Biscuits - JJK, receives letter from their future self asking to save one boy ⭐ | A, slight F

Best Thing He Never Had 01 02 03 04 05 06  - JJK, bestfriends to lovers | A, F

Better Late Than Never - JJK drabble, exes AU, fake dating (I love this scenario, there’s one funny moment here with Jungkook saying his feelings through a door) | A, F

@justimajin - another favorite of mine - her fics actually try different genres/scenarios and are usually series. I find it fun to wait on episodes weekly. A consistent writer too. See masterlist here. Selected works:

Catching a Case of Doctor Blues - KTH, medical AU, enemies to lovers, slice of life

Swapped - JJK, body swap, really fluffy! I reviewed it before and screamed at how fluffy this is 😍 | tooth-rotting fluff

A Lone Wolf’s Howl - JJK, werewolf AU, sort of enemies/rivals, hunter AU, bestfriend. Note: there is a chapter with smut, you can skip that portion | A, F, S

@bubmyg​ - oh wow her works are just tooth-rotting fluffy goodness too (especially the Yoongi drabbles/one shots). But please check her fics for Tae and Koo. My picks:

Can’t Fake a Feeling - KTH, F2L, Fake Dating, College AU, Fuckboy (not smut)

Extra Cheese Sauce, Please - KTH, F2L, College, friends keep setting them up

Strawberry Boy - JJK, I just reblogged this weeks ago so you probably have read this | tooth-rotting fluff

Wonder - pool boy!jungkook x journalist!reader | F

Not a Date - JJK | one shot + drabble series, kinda E2L. cute |  tooth-rotting fluff

Dare to Begin - JJK | college au, idiots to lovers, broke college students |  tooth-rotting fluff

gcfguk + idcilh - a youtuber!jeongguk drabble series | F

you can check their masterlist for the other drabbles and fics I haven’t read/included

@cupofteaguk - a writer whose fics end up in my fic rec lists regularly. When I get asked about certain tropes, I always remember one or two of her fics. Their Reputation Series is binge-worthy but they also have plenty of scenarios/tropes to choose from. You can find a lot of KTH or JJK fluff-based fics here (or other members too):

the maze to you - KTH |  soulmate au | angst

along the boardwalk - KTH | skater boy/college au | fluff

it’s all fun & games - JJK | fake dating au | fluff

say you won’t let go - JJK | soulmate au | fluff

on the road (to you) - JJK |  road trip/strangers to lovers au | fluff

new romantics - JJK | hogwarts au, quidditch player, enemies to lovers | F, A

@crystaljins - another writer with fics that have well-developed plot, great angst and great endings. I recommend all (check other members’ fics here). Extra love for:

Take a Chance - JJK | series [7/7] | 63k | Hanahaki AU, Coworker AU, Boss!Reader, Wedding Planner AU | A, F | My review  ⭐ #holygrailfic

Schemes and Tricks to Win Her Heart - KTH | series [5/5] | 22.5k | Fake Dating, feat Chaebol/Rich Seokjin, Taehyung is Jin’s Little Brother, and OC is Tae’s bestfriend

I haven’t read the new Taehyung Christmas fic yet but give it a spin =)

@springbean - I love her story concepts and ideas! When I discovered her, I just binged on their work and I enjoy every new fic she releases. My personal favorites are listed below, but you can also check her masterlist here:

Onyx - JJK | cyberpunk AU, abo dynamics (it is sooo interesting to use abo dynamics this way. Usually abo is associated with werewolf aus but this is like a social classification system in this fic. It is still ongoing but it’s the type of story you can read and remember easily so in case it gets updated you can jump into the next chapter)  ongoing | A, F

Wolfsbane - KTH | Werewolf AU, college, soulmates (included in my KTH werewolf fic recs)

Cursed - JJK | Prince x Mage/Witch, Fantasy, Medieval, E2L, action (basically has all AUs I like) ongoing

Enshrined - JJK | this is new! fantasy, fae world, isekai, childhood friends, eventual smut (?) but since we’re not there yet you can still read it smut-less  ongoing

@army-author - another prolific writer with a catalog you can binge on. I recently reblogged/reviewed some of my favorites but believe me there are more (I am just lazy with reviewing and such). Personal faves:

Gamomania - JJK | childhood friends | tooth-rotting fluff, slight S

X and O - KTH | fake dating, single parent, teacher AU

A Monster Crush - KTH | childhood friends, angst, fluff, horror, implied S   ongoing

All This Stigma - KTH | fwb au, unplanned pregnancy, arranged marriage, divorce, really angsty but I love it!

The Village Idiots - JJK | soulmate au, childhood friends, they’re soulmate-less (or are they?) |  tooth-rotting fluff

The Alchemy of Amor - JJK | fantasy au, royalty au, enemies to lovers (new) | F

Fire and Ice - JJK | oh this is probably the first I’ve read from the author, E2L but make it fluffy rivals (he’s fire and she can yield ice), fantasy au, magic | F

Black and White Christmas - JJK | Office AU | F

@thedefinitionofbts - I love how emotionally invested I get when reading their fics. Most of their fics are smut-less but deeply rooted in emotions so I remember the story a lot even if I’ve read some years or months ago (I said in my werewolf fic rec list that there’s this Jungkook fic of theirs that’s really sad and I still imagine him waiting for OC.) Just powerful storytelling. You can check their masterlist and mind the fics with smut. I wanted to list my favorites here but I’ll end up listing everything. If you want to start a fic, I recommend:

A Story that We Paint - KTH x R x JJK | Sci-fi, College AU, Lucid Dreams AU | A, slight F

Our First and Last - JJK, VMIN | Soulmate AU, Sci-Fi | A, F

Kingdom of Crystal Snow - KTH | Christmas, Royalty (yay something purely fluffy)

Corner of the Universe - KTH | Reincarnation AU

other fics I like have S content or too sad

@threeletterslife - I love her fics because they make me dwell and ponder on things but themes are very heavy (I think she has one crack fic though). No smut and you can try all her works if you are in the mood for angst, some pondering, etc. Masterlist here. You can read the Love Chaser Series (though you have to read the Yoongi series first before reading Jungkook’s, it’s one universe).

Whipped with a Cherry on Top - KTH | friends to lovers, crack

The Time Traveler’s Playbook - KTH | time travel AU | F, A

Cuss Out - JJK | High school AU, crack | F

@artaefact - just feel good scenarios and I love her drabbles! I’ve reblogged and oohed aahed over the drabbles that are short but powerful scenarios.

incandesce + warmth drabble - JJK  (safe to say, you can read all their drabbles) | F

Aeturnal - KTH | fantasy au, royalty au (I loooove this. it has inexplicit S though, you can skip)

A Letter in Roses - KTH | husband au, valentine au

Calling You Mine - JJK | College AU, S2L, tooth-rotting fluff 

@augustbutwinter - a writer to watch out for. August delivers so much even with minimal word count; they can get you emotional (fluffy or angsty) and it is so easy to visualize the image she is trying to describe. Just wonderful. The words just flow easily too so the fics are not difficult to read/imagine. I recommend the ff:

My Tears Ricochet - KTH | ghost AU, roommate AU, fluff (sometimes angsty), drabble series ⭐⭐

Rose Coloured - JJK | post college AU, some sort of reunion with an old flame | F

@akinnie75 - What a wonderful storyteller. I would binge on her fics for their plot/storylines. Usually it feels as if you are reading a tale. Several of their fics ended up in my #holygrailfics (the namjoon and jimin ones). You can try:

Ghost Marriage - JJK | fantasy, idol au, kind of arranged marriage | A, F

Until Spring 1 | 2 - JJK | Romance, Fantasy, visited the Freesia Island for Spring but taken for Arranged Marriage instead | A, F

Moonchild - KTH | a tale about the legendary Moonchild, a mythical creature known for its ability to heal life of all sorts

🌷ggukkienote:

I’d also like to recommend checking the fics in each of the reading lists and Fic Recs by theme. You’ll find these lists in the NAVI page. Fics/Titles included per list are usually tagged for A/S/F content.

I will update this once I remember other authors that focus on A/F

Part 2 (Fic Recs) - linked top of this post

[shadynalittlesketchy]

A Guide to Vampire Media That Isn't Twilight, by Someone Who Consumes a Lot of It

I'm NOT here to bash Twilight, just provide some other fun bloodsucker media for y'all to enjoy :) if you have any recs of your own, hit me with those bad bois!

TV

Vampire Diaries- "a girl is torn between two vampires" is the plot for like 2 seasons but then it improves significantly. it's definitely very CW, but a lot of the vampire mythology is very very cool. and it doesnt hurt that the entire cast is ridiculously attractive. a great popcorn show! CW for blood and violence, parental death, and dub-con scenarios.

The Originals- a spinoff of TVD, but you don't really need to have seen TVD to watch this. It centers around the 4 original vampires (original as in like, the first vampires ever created) as they navigate vampire and other supernatural politics in New Orleans. Much less "teen angst" and much more "evil ancient vampires trying to be civil at dinner without murder" vibes. CW for blood and violence, and lots of spooky occult stuff taking place in graveyards.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer- literally my favorite TV show of all time. In addition to some killer vamps (team spike ftw!), there's weird demons, warlocks, werewolves- anything you can think of. it has great LGBTQ+ representation for its time, tackles social issues, and has a healthy dose of humor. CW for violence, supporting character deaths, vampire sex that destroys a building, and sexual assault.

What We Do in the Shadows- I don't usually rec comedies, but this one is too good not to. Loosely based off of the movie, it follows a group of vampire roomates in Staten Island. It is hilariously funny, and mocks just about every vampire trope out there. CW for copious amounts of blood, vomit, some pretty crass sexual humor, and dead raccoons.

True Blood- vampires in Louisiana, in a world where everyone knows vampires exist. it checks off all of my boxes for morally grey characters and weird supernatural happenings. it's an HBO show, so TW for blood/gore, violence, and soooo much sex and nudity.

Carmilla- technically a web series, not a TV show, but whatever. its lighthearted lesbian vampires, based off of the very old novella of the same name. great if you like vampires without the scare factor. and its free to watch on youtube!

Movies

What We Do in the Shadows- the movie the TV show is based off of. vampire roommates in New Zealand. also very funny, but less graphic violence/sexual references. created by and starring Taika Waititi, of Thor: Ragnarok fame.

The Lost Boys- awesomely cheesy 80's cult classic feat. Kiefer Sutherland with a bleach-blond mullet. it's fun and weird and has a cool aesthetic. it also has the same kind of vibe as the Goonies. TW for gore, and one icky scene with maggots.

Thirst

South Korean vampire drama with dark, aesthetically pleasing religious imagery. The mc returns from a mission trip with intense cravings for sex and blood and struggles to hold onto his humanity. super angsty and dramatic in the best ways. CW for copious blood and gore, spicy vampire sex, and sexual assault.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

a surprisingly good movie! has a fun, steampunk feel to it, and a pre-MCU Anthony Mackie, which is an added bonus. vampires kill honest abe's mother when hes a child, so he grows up to be an axe-swinging vampire slayer AND the president. this is not a movie to be taken seriously, but it is an awesome popcorn movie! CW for parental death, blood/gore, slavery (it is set during the civil war), and children in danger.

Interview With the Vampire

it is about as gay as a movie can get without the main characters actually being gay. it's a long, drawn-out story about a vampire and his life from when he's turned in the early days of america, until the present. the vampire is played by brad pitt, and he shares lots of longing glances and homoerotic blood drinking scenes with tom cruise. it is visually spectacular, even if the story is a little long. CW for blood/gore, child death, and sexual content.

Bram Stoker's Dracula

starring winona ryder and keanu reeves! it follows the book fairly closely, although it is a very 90s movie. it is WILD, but a classic and a lot of fun if you like vampires, or really any kind of supernatural shenanigans. CW for sexual content, and blood/violence.

Books

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

non-traditional vamp book, by holly black (the same one who wrote the cruel prince). vampires live in fancy quarantined cities called coldtowns, and the MC ends up in one inadvertently. its a more dystopian/sci-fi take on vampires, but it still has a lot of traditional vampire fun thrown in, too. plus the cover is just gorgeous. CW for sex and violence.

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

probably one of the weirdest vampire books ive ever read, but in a good way. its about a group of housewives who start a true-crime bookclub, but begin to suspect that their new neighbor is a vampire. its a really good female empowerment story, and it also explores white saviorism. CW for sexual assault, racism, violence, and forced pregnancy.

Lost Souls

Poppy Z. Brite's books are like a punk-rock, gayer version of Anne Rice. lost souls has great queer rep, and is funny and weird and heartbreaking all at the same time. it's about the lives of vampires in New Orleans, but it's very unique and unlike any other vampire story out there. CW for blood/violence, sexual content, and sexual assault.

Dark Lover

this book is the peak of smutty vampire romance novels. I usually read books like this just for fun, but its actually well-written and has a compelling story outside of the smut aspects. It's about a half-vampire woman who teams up with a vamp to kill the slayers that murdered his parents. just ignore the fact that the love interest is named Wrath. CW for tons of smut, and blood/violence.

The Beautiful

I would describe this as a classic vampire story- romance between a human and a vampire in victorian-era NOLA, complete with costume balls, mysterious murders, and a secret supernatural club. CW warning for mild sexual content, and violence. (It's YA, so there's nothing too graphic.)

Love in Vein

A collection of vampire short stories compiled by Poppy Z. Brite, but written by a variety of authors. there's some really different takes on the vampire myth, and it's interesting to see it played with in so many different ways. just an fyi- it gets weird af and pretty graphic. CW for body horror, blood/violence, sexual assault, and sexual content.

Bonus! Mini playlist

Bloodletting by Concrete Blonde

Black No. 1 by Type O Negative

Cure by Darling Violetta

Blood in the Cut by K. Flay

Holy Water by Bad Company

Decode by Paramore

Uninvited by Alanis Morissette

I Will Never Die by Delta Rae

Devil Inside by INXS

Death of Me by PVRIS

Hypnotic by Zella Day

Cold Blooded by the Pretty Reckless

Savior by St. Vincent

Psycho Killer by the Talking Heads

Transylvanian Concubine by Rasputina

Virgin State of Mind by Ks Choice

How Soon is Now? by the Smiths

Red Right Hand by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

[wolfieyoungblood]

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 | 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬𝐢

pairing: stiles stilinski x fem!reader

trope: best friends to lovers

summary: when stiles finds out how much you miss fireflies in beacon hills’ preserve, he takes you out on a surprise boat trip and quite literally lights up your world

word count: 3k

song: please and thank you by wildcat! wildcat!

a/n: hey guys, waddup, here’s my first fic on this blog. i’ve actually already posted this as a peter parker one shot on my main blog, but since i originally wrote this for stiles, i thought i might as well post the original on here:) enjoy!

* * *

Slamming the car door shut, you let your back fall against the Jeep while you hugged yourself tightly. Your gaze flitted across your surroundings as Stiles snatched the keys from the ignition and grabbed his backpack. He had refused to weigh you in on its content, keeping it just like the whole point of this spontaneous expedition a big mystery.

The fact that you could be snuggling in the warmth of your bed right now, made you groan and you had to resist the urge to bang your head against the nearest tree. Stiles, on the other hand, didn’t seem to share the same sentiment at all as he stopped at your side with a big grin plastered on his face.

“Stop smiling so devilishly,” you grunted, and he looked at you offended.

“How was that a devilish smile?” His arms fell to his side.

“It’s the glimmer in your eyes.” You deadpanned. “Like you’re about to meet with Satan for Sunday brunch or something.”

He rolled his eyes at your words, dangling the gloves he brought for you in front of your yearning eyes before stuffing them into his jacket with a smirk and walking off. He ignored your cry and kept his gaze at the small path leading into the woods. When you fell into step with him, you walked next to each other in silence, letting the leaves underneath your shoes have a conversation of their own. Your thoughts wandered, and you pondered once more why you were even here.

It was only 7 P.M. but considering it was late autumn, it wouldn’t take long until your bodies would be swallowed by the blanket of the evening. The awareness that tonight was a full moon didn’t necessarily calm your nerves either. Images of fangs and claws took form in front of your eyes, and you quickly shook off those terrifying notions.

Realizing that you had spent some time in silence now, your eyes darted to Stiles. Just like you, he had been in deep thoughts as his face was pulled into a slight frown. But when you were about to reach out, his scattered moles caught your attention, prompting your gaze to travel over each of them with captivation. Aware of your boring eyes on his face, the boy looked up and caught your gaze with a cocked brow. You quickly strapped a meek smile to your face to cover up your flustered state, which he luckily returned without any teasing comments.

Finally, the trees around you became more familiar and scarcer in number and soon you had arrived at the destination of the night.

A wide lake stretched out before you, reaching into the woods for miles. As predicted, there was no one around, leaving you to turn to Stiles with a quizzical look only to realize that his eyes were already settled on you. His lips curved into a smirk, and he let out a short chuckle, fog fleeing his lips for a second.

Before you could say anything, he grabbed your elbow and pulled you down to the dock. The white wood led you out to the glimmering water. Your eyes danced across the sight in front of you in awe, taking in the orange leaves as they framed the lake like a golden portal.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” You heard Stiles say behind you, and you could only find it in your to nod.

“Doesn’t matter how many times I’ve already been here…”, Stiles continued and you glanced over to where he was crouching and fiddling with a rope attached to the dock.

“It just never gets old,” you finished for him, glimpsing his way with a warm look on your face.

“Exactly.” He smiled and stepped to your side to wrap his arm around your shoulders.

He held the rope in the other hand and gestured to the fisher boat as it appeared to wait for you both in serenity. Bowing his head slightly, he gave you a dopey grin. “Ladies first.”

Shooting him a look, you settled into the boat and picked up the paddle. Glancing up at the boy, his feet were still planted at the same spot while his gaze was far off. You threw a glance over your shoulder to catch what he was staring at, but when you couldn’t see anything suspicious, you turned back around. “Did you send me in first to see if there were any water monsters?” His eyes snapped to you, and you could see the confusion edged on his face until he registered your words.

“You caught me, huh,” Stiles joked and jumped off the dock to land in the boat with a thud, making it whip wildly while your eyes grew wide from the motion. “I always force my friends to partake in human sacrifices,” he added with a wink before bopping your nose. Using the paddle to slap his side, he yelped in surprise and you shot a glare his way.

“No more jokes about dark and traumatizing events that actually happened in real life, remember? At least not for a week.” You shrugged before adding with a serious tone, “And on that note, if you plan on pushing me into the water again, I will perform a handmade vasectomy on your balls.”

Menace dripped off your words, but Stiles being Stiles, he only raised his eyebrows at you before pursing his lips.

“Sounds to me like you’re just offering me a handjob.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “And I would be an idiot to deny that, right?” He let his tongue run over his lip before cocking his head to the side. Scoffing at him, he stared back at you with the slightest hint of a smirk.

You blinked before throwing the paddle in the air to catch it with your hands positioned differently. Lancing it forward, the blade was now situated between Stiles’ thighs—pointing merely inches away at his junk.

Smiling sweetly, you mirrored his tilted head and asked with a stoic voice, “Still want that handjob, Stilinski?”

He gulped thickly. “How about a rain check?”

You didn’t move for a moment before reluctantly lowering the blade and casting it into the water.

“Brutal.” You heard him mutter before mirroring your action.

In light conversation, the two of you paddled toward the middle of the lake. Midway, you had handed Stiles your paddle to let him take over while you leaned back on your elbows to enjoy the view.

View meaning Stiles.

When you had reached the middle, he dropped the paddles and mirrored you, also leaning back and staring up at the cloudless sky. It was getting darker, and no birds nor planes were flying by. At that moment, it truly felt like Stiles and you were the only beings on this planet. You let your eyes flutter shut and took a moment to let your senses be flooded with the sounds of the vast forest. A small smile perched on your lips as you remembered the first time the boy across you had brought you this very location.

You had just moved to Beacon Hill and were ecstatic to find such a large and relatively solitary expanse to take refuge in. But you were even more psyched about the fact that your next-door neighbor and new friend was also into the quiet purity and sense of tranquility that nature offered. This corner of the preserve had easily become your guys’ little untouched hideaway.

Years passed and he had quickly become your favorite person. All it took for him to get you out here tonight was a soft knock on your window as you were sprawled out on your bed and conquering the mass of homework for the week. You were determined to stay, but one look at his puppy eyes and you were already sitting in his passenger seat while he was passionately going on about his newest topic of research. Sometimes it freaked you out how he had you right in the palm of his hands. He could ask you to conquer the world with him, and you wouldn’t even hesitate.

But at what cost came this willingness to do any possible thing for the painfully oblivious guy that you called your best friend?  

Desperate to know the answer, you lowered your gaze to look at Stiles, only to find much to your exasperation that he had already been staring at you with matched curiosity.

“What?” You whispered amused.

He opened his mouth only to clamp it shut again. His hands were clasping and releasing the wood bench he was sitting on, and it made you cast your gaze downward. You ran your hand along the cool wood surface, your fingers delicately dipping into the grooves carved in the past, your lips twitching upwards as you realized they made up a smiley face.

You didn’t notice how Stiles’ eyes were fixated on you, watching your fingers dance along the wood while your lips were slightly parted. Then, you snapped your eyes to him, catching his gaze with widened eyes before falling to your knees and pushing his mystery bag aside to search for something on the side of the boat’s interior.

You noticed his frantic gaze and enlightened briefly. “Do you remember how we carved something into the side of this thing a while ago?” Your fingertips glided over the wood blindly as it was now too dark to make out anything.

Staring at you with confusion, he soon realized what you were talking about and snatched up his bag. Rummaging through it, he let out a victorious “Aha!” when he found what he was looking for.

“Y/N, take this,” Stiles ordered, and you looked up just in time to catch the end of a fairy lights string. Ignoring your confused stare, he moved swiftly around the narrow boat and grabbed the box of batteries.

“Since when do you own fairy lights?” You asked baffled before changing your question to the bigger obscurity at hand, “Do you always carry fairy lights with you?”

He snorted, but when he grasped that you were serious, he shot you a deadpan look. “Oh, no worries. I just do freelance kidnapping.”

You narrowed your eyes at his sarcasm, but he kept going. “I hold my victims hostage with fairy lights while I sing them Christmas carols. You know, personal preference. For me, at least.”

Ignoring your eye roll, he put the batteries in the box and flicked the switch. Instantly, the boat lit up. Yellow fairy lights illuminated your surroundings and the dancing reflections on the water surface deprived you of any signs of annoyance.

“Yesterday, you mentioned how much it sucked that fireflies were no longer around to this season, so I bring you…” He trailed off and gesticulated wildly. “Fireflies straight from your garage!”

You let out a light laugh, grinning broadly at the boy as he gave you a proud but dazzling smile. Since he was too busy admiring the glimmer dancing in your eyes, he didn’t even notice that you were staring at each other a bit longer than necessary but when he did, he quickly averted his gaze and plopped to his knees. Flashing you a cheeky smile, you felt his breath fan over your face before he snapped his head to the side and imitated your movements from earlier—fingers dancing over the interior of the boat. You followed suit and searched the wood as well. Now that you could see, it didn’t take you long until you found what you were looking for.

Stiles had found it at the same time as you, reaching out for the carved letters and tracing the heart shape that encircled them in trance. Your fingertips moved along the line, shaping the letter “S” while Stiles did the same, trailing the letter on the left—your initial. Meeting in the middle to outline the plus sign, your fingers brushed and queasiness bloomed in your stomach. You chastely smiled at Stiles.

Dipping his head for a second, he stared at his lap before looking back up. With a more confident look in his eyes, he took your hand in his, and you felt your breath hitch. He sat down with crossed legs and began to fiddle with your fingers, letting them dangle onto his warm palm.

“I still remember the night we did that,” He said tenderly and nodded toward the carved initials. “Freshmen year. You were sad about not having a date to the winter ball, so we ditched and I took you out here.” His voice was soft, and you couldn’t help but hang onto every word that crossed his lips.

“My dad even made me wear that stupid suit.” He chuckled. “The sleeves were too long so I had to scrunch them up and you kept making terrible jokes about how I looked like I was the outcast of a mafia gang.”

A smile sprung to your lips at the memory. “Those weren’t jokes, by the way. You did look like the lost duckling of a mob gang,” you teased, and he gave you a pointed look before cracking a smile.

It was silent for a moment before he hesitantly settled your intertwined hands on his lap. His gaze held so much warmth and comfort that it rendered you speechless. All of a sudden, you felt something cold touch your wrist. Glancing down, you made out the shape of a bracelet that Stiles had slipped on. Gaping at it, your eyes flitted back and forth between your wrist and his anxious stare. He gnawed on his bottom lip while fidgeting with his hands. “Do you like it?” He spluttered, cheeks glowing a faint shade of pink.

You twisted your wrist carefully to admire the thin gold chain with its dangling charms. It kept slipping up and down since it still had to be adjusted, but you loved everything about it. 

At the sight of a Batman charm, you let out a laugh, filling the quietness with a melody that Stiles couldn’t get enough of. The boy dropped his hand from his neck and heaved a sigh of relief. “I love it.” You pouted and attacked him with a wild hug, not caring that you almost flipped over the whole boat. 

He didn’t hug you back at first, overwhelmed with the scent of your perfume, but then you felt him wrap his arms around your waist just as tightly. “Thank God.” He muttered into your hair and you giggled.

Pulling away with a grin, you let your arms drop to your side, feeling immediately how the bracelet slid from your wrist and dropped to the ground,  prompting you both to bend down at the same time. 

Both being dangerously clumsy, you bumped your foreheads and both let out a yelp. “Sorry, head-butting was not part of the gift,” Stiles cursed under his breath while rubbing his head.

You waved him off, intending to make a joke about concussions being great Christmas gifts, but instead, you froze. There were only paltry inches left between his nose and yours, and you could have easily counted each and every one of his lashes if you wanted to. Awkwardly aware of how close you two were, he flashed you a nervous smile.

“What’chu doing?” He said lightheartedly and you had to laugh.

“Living the dream,” you whispered while your eyes flickered to his lips.

“Yeah?” His tongue ran over his bottom lip. “Feels like it, doesn’t it?”

He gulped before leaning forward, lips hovering over yours.

“Your face is very close to mine,” Stiles observed, gaze flitting to your lips and back to your amused eyes. Slowly, his eyes fluttered shut and he leaned in. Lips brushing yours when he whispered. “And your lips are very soft.”

“Chapstick,” you replied mindlessly, enjoying his nervous chattering.

“The honey one?” His voice was barely audible.

You hummed while your fingers fiddled with the collar of his shirt.

“I like honey.”

Halting your movements, you opened your eyes and cocked a brow.

“Stilinski, stop talking and kiss me already.”

The corner of Stiles’ mouth curved into a broad grin as he cupped your cheek and finally brought you in for a passionate lip-lock. Your chest sparked with adoration as you slowly ran your fingers through his hair. He tugged you closer, one hand resting on your cheek while the other ran down your back and settled on the small of your back. Using it to press you closer to his chest, he leaned in further, not getting enough of your lips molding together. They moved in perfect synch. So much even that everything felt undoubtedly right and you forgot that you were on a boat.

Instead, you drowned yourself in Stiles’ touch. His touch was warm, igniting a trail of sparkles on your body and encasing both of your lips in a smile. You were the first to pull back, but your eyes remained closed. You were breathing heavily and just as you decided to take a peek, you found Stiles also fluttering his eyes open.

He beamed at you dopily, and you couldn’t help but steal another brief kiss.

And another.

And when you had leaned back for good, he couldn’t help but press yet another kiss at the corner of your lips. Shuffling backward, he propped himself against the wood bench of the boat and let your back lean against his chest. His arms wrapped tightly around your frame and you sunk further into his embrace.

Taking your wrist in his hand, he slipped the bracelet back on and adjusted the clasp before intertwining your hands together.

“Stiles?” You asked softly after a second of him tenderly pressing soft kisses on your knuckles.

“Yeah?” His voice was hoarse, and you tilted your head upward to meet his affectionate gaze.

“Stop breaking into my garage, you weirdo.”

* * *

aaaaaaand the end:) i hope you guys liked this one! it’s kind of a lot of fluff but welp. i write for the hopeless romantics so it’s fine lol if you want to get tagged in any of my future writing, just send me an ask! wishing you all a sweet day. stay hydrated x

masterlist

[queen0fm0nsterz]

*Slides a 5 dollar bill* So what are some of your ideas for those Little Nightmares fics?

OH BOY ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO KNOW.

Weeeell, I have various idea that I'm writing down all at the same time. I'll list the various AUs here.

The Gang! AU

Ok no this isn't some sort of Criminal AU, I literally didn't know what to name it JSKDKS

Anyway, I'm actually writing this along with a friend of mine. It's based on a rp we had and it's quite long. We're writing one chapter each, I'm currently finishing chapter five. It kinda follows the story of Little Nightmares 2, but at the same time is canon divergent. Does that make sense?

We added two of our kid OCs to travel with Mono and Six!

Their names are Zip and Emerald respectively, from left to right! Zip was made by my friend while Emerald is my kid. The art was done by me!

They're not the only OCs we made for this story; we also have five glitch kids, a couple of bullies and a patient from the Hospital.

Since it's long, we decided to split it into three parts. The first part takes place in the Pale City, the second part in the Maw and the third in a location made up by us that we're still crafting.

The good news: Mono doesn't get dropped and Runaway Kid is alive!

The bad news: everything else literally every single thing

It's gonna have a good ending, though. It's the least we can do after everything we put these kids through😭

Restaurant Maw! AU

Just the monsters of LN put in a modern setting! Not only that, it's Maw employees centric!

Basically in this AU the Maw is a very well-known restaurant and hotel, in a very similar fashion to the bathouse in Spirited Away. The Lady is obviously the boss, the Ferryman becomes the driver of the Maw's personal bus, Roger is the keeper, Bellhop is still a bellhop and also the maître d'hotel (aka the guy who makes sure the guests are comfortable etc.), the Chefs are still the Chefs - their names are Bruce and Bernard! And lastly, the Nomes are a bunch of waiters, bellhops and cooks.

Things are going very well for eveyone until one day the Chefs go outside for a smoking break and they find a baby in a box. They take her in and keep her hidden for a couple of days before the Lady invitably finds out.

She decides to let them keep her with the condition that they raise her on their own and take care of all of her needs wihout bothering her - which of course doesn't happen at all and eventually all the employees in the Maw grow attached to baby Sawako nicknamed Six.

This one has all my favorite tropes: slice of life, found family, and I'm hoping to achieve comedy (which is very complicated for me because I have a very dramatic style).

Plus the Chefs are italian because I'm italian and I claimed them, so if you want to see one of them teach the Lady how to swear in italian you came in the right place.

RCG and the Pretender Live! AU

And they lived! I started writing this immediately after I finished VLN but I was blinded by pain so it's a little messy. I have to edit it.

But basically the point is: they survived! But are stuck on land. The first to wake up is RCG, who I named Valeria, and she spots the Pretender a few feet from her and realizes that somehow they both managed to float ashore. Luckily for her, the Nest is now very far away, although they can still see it from the distance.

At first she wants to leave the Pretender there, but then decides to bring her along, tying her hands behind her back first. And so begins the girls voyage in the big wide world, trying to survive and becoming besties in the process.

Im debating wheter I want the Pretender to develop a little crush on RCG or not. Mhhhh. I'll let you guys know.

Mono Jumps in Time! AU

THIS ONE WAS INSPIRED BY THIS ADORABLE FANART BY @kelpermoosee !! Go check them out their art is adorable!!! This is also a Mono centric AU!

So basically! When Six is kidnapped by the Thin Man and Mono goes to save her, his high distress and strong, swirling emotions lead him to not only travel from a place to the next, but to also accidentally go back in time.

He jumps out from a TV but, surprise surprise, he's not in the Pale City anymore. He's landed right in front of the Pretender, who immediately takes a liking to him and wants him to be her new friend. Mono is extremely confused and at first and doesn't realize what happened, so obviously he tries to go back to the Pale City, but then he sees a girl in a yellow raincoat and immediately assumes she's Six.

He assumes that's where the Thin Man brought her, so he tries to run after her, but he's costantly hindered by either the Pretender or her staff. Will he ever get to "Six" and realize that he jumped in time? I'll decide, because this story is still under construction.

Six Forgets! AU

You know that quote from the comics?

"What's the last thing you remember? Tell me. If you don't tell us, you're sure to forget altogether."

Beautiful. And also what prompted me to come up with this AU.

Some things to clarify: the Eye is a collective conciousness that feeds off from negative emotions, the Thin Man lives but can't leave the Pale City, and The Lady is a grown up Six. The Maw kids from the comics are here! Plus a few OCs of mine.

And lastly: Six couldn't handle the guilt from dropping Mono and repressed all memories involving him altogheter, so she completely forgot about him.

Six gets on the Maw, but this time instead of waking up in a suitcase, she's brought to Roger adn the other children by the Ferryman. There, she befriends a few children but no one gets closer to her than the Runaway Kid. They both want to be free and plan an escape together.

In the meantime, Mono is still trapped in the Signal Tower, but he's convinced that Six let him slip by accident and that she'll come back for him. (The Eye is very frustated with him bc they be planning on feeding on his sadness and rage and then he has the audacity to be hopeful? The nerve!) That's until he gets a glimpse of his best friend and this unknown child through one of the TVs on the Maw, joking and playing with each other, and she confesses to this... no one, really, that he's the best friend she's ever had.

As you can imagine, Mono goes feral. The Eye couldn't be happier.

Chaos ensues! We got a lot of angst, violence, Monster!Mono and also some wholesome moments. Also out of context spoiler: RK and Six lead a revolution.

The Lost Ones

This one is just a bunch of quick drabbles that talk about the glitching remains. They all deserved better.

Hunter and Veronica

I was not gonna miss the occasion of writing simp hunter. Take it or leave it.

Based on my Hunter theory!

My beautiful terrible disaster of a man works on the Maw as a chef, but no one really knows why since he's not good at it. Fortunately, the vast majority of the Guests is just too hungry to care and the current Lady, a woman with a scarecrow mask, doesn't want to fire him. A few Guests have complains, though; for example, a Teacher who seemingly never blinks and a very massive Doctor, whom he befriends.

One day, a filming crew gets on the Maw and the Lady informs her staff that they will be staying for a while to film a commercial-documentary of the restaurant, which will bring more and more Guests. With the crew came a famous, very talented chef named Veronica who has her own extremely successful cooking show, who offers to help the current chef as a thank you for letting them stay without having to pay.

Initially the Hunter is not too happy about this. In his eyes he doesn't need the help, but they start getting closer and closer with time.

This will probably be wholesome but end in a very bad, tragic way. I'd say I'm sorry but I'm not lol

✓✓✓

And that's it for now. I have some other things planned with my monster OCs (btw y'all wanna see them?), but this is the whole thing. It may be updated in the future since I always seem to get more and more ideas!

[shijiujun]

NTTD is a masterpiece!!!! Spoilers below but combing through Casino Royale to No Time to Die

Q and Bond

Like we’ve all shipped 00q since Skyfall and for good reason - as Ben Whishaw said there’s affection even though between Q and 007 there’s irritation and annoyance, exasperation. And yes Q has a potential boyfriend in NTTD and ahhh still doesn’t stop me from shipping em both as an old 00q shipper.

They’re so consistent in every movie - I love Ben Whishaw’s Q and how they went from sitting in a museum looking at the painting of a sinking ship, of Q’s sassy and exasperated ‘Bond’s, and to the very last, panicked ‘James get out of there’. Although canon-wise we don’t get a lot of 00q moments but at the very least their friendship is profound and Q cares deeply for him. We don’t get to see it, going from Skyfall to Spectre to NTTD, but he must’ve been in Bond’s ears for years, and their very last hurrah together was fitting.

Q in Bond’s ears, the very last person to standing right at his back, yelling at him to get out of there, wanting to see him off the island safely and seeing probably his favorite and least favorite agent through on his last mission - that meant more to me throughout this entire franchise than anything else. Everything was just nice.

(Now time to go find all my fix-it fics and revisit some of my fave 00q ones)

Bond and Everyone Else 

Wish we had more badass Moneypenny but glad she was there nonetheless - Mallory as always playing the in between white and black, and Tanner being the flustered, stressed out admin that needs a break. Nomi, who stood equally next to Bond and accompanied him on his very last mission. And perhaps it was also fitting that Felix Leiter went out with him, earlier than he, but since the start they stood shoulder to shoulder, a man Bond was glad to call his friend.

And these five movies gave Bond the dysfunctional family he never wanted but had to some extent - after Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace he truly was, even if he thought he was, never alone. Quite an anti-thesis to the suave, solo Bond that seems to we had until Skyfall. And contrary to the belief that he would die alone without anyone to remember him, he does. He truly does. And they are the ones who count.

Bond and Madeleine + Matilde

I thought I’d hate this token wife and kid and happy ending thing but I don’t. I really don’t. I love the different side we got to see for Madeleine, and Matilde was hilariously cute in several ways. It didn’t feel forced, like Casino Royale’s kind offff did. I love that they gave her characterization and that she was always generous with her emotions - of her longing for Bond on the train, of her anger, of how tough she was, and at the end.

Bond + The Villain + Safin

The only thing that kind of gets me is that Safin kind of came out of nowhere, doesn’t actually have much beef with Bond, and I can’t really tell what his obsession with Madeleine and Matilde is. I guess the moral of the story is that it’s always the same old story with villains right and that there’s always another one of Safin, but it’s almost hilarious how Safin doesn’t really have it coming for Bond. Blofeld’s antics were... just antics, and it’s almost like there was no true villain for this entire story, which is almost poetic.

Pacing + Other Things

We’ve come full circle from Casino Royal, Quantum of Solace to Skyfall (where I feel like Daniel Craig’s Bond really flourished) and then Spectre and No Time to Die - The storytelling is consistent throughout 15 years of run time and I’m glad we went from the cacophony of betrayal and trust issues, emo sadass i’m-gonna-die-alone vibes in every movie.

To be honest I thought it was going to be drawn out and cliched and it was to some extent but in all the nice ways - Daniel Craig really sang his swan song with NTTD and we had it all - the sort of happy ending he got with the love of his life and leaving behind a child, a part of him, with a strange professional but the closest thing to a family he ever had with Mallory and Tanner and Moneypenny, Q. He had the hero’s shot in the sunset at his very last moments, and not wanting to die but realizing at the moment that it was, to some degree, the end he was waiting for if he had no other choice. 

He got to die as 007 - and it was never just a number to him, and I’m glad he got to die with it. He got to die after using up all his shiny gadgets from Q, after saying goodbye to the love of his life, after having at least one day and night as a normal, actual family with Madeleine and Matilde. 

Did I think his death was necessary? I think it was fitting. I’d loved for him to get the happy ending truly, but this was a fitting way to go and as one review said “this eliminates any possibility of him having to come back and do a role he’s been wanting to drop since forever”. It was so fitting. His death was almost a quiet, peaceful and calm one, but at the same time he literally did go out with a bang as he probably thought he always would - he had both, and he had regrets but it truly was time and he was content with that.

Humour was on point too - softened Bond around the edges, made him seem not so emo and destructive (like he was at the beginning of Skyfall) anymore. A good mellowing out. 

I also loved that they came back to the betrayal trope but didn’t go too much into it because we’ve had that for every single 007 movie so far. Loved that Ana de Armas came out as a hilariously anxious but also weirdly confident and exceptionally competent interjection to the whole movie - Bond gets to work with gorgeous women all the time and he’s almost slept with all so it’s so nice to see Paloma and Nomi like going ‘nopeeeeee gotta do ma job cool thanks’ - no standard Casino Royale situation.

(I’m still amused that he went to infiltrate the island with like a navy knit sweater and a thin white shirt damn man)

Plenty of regrets of course - if he didn’t let Madeleine go five years ago he would have gotten five more years of family time with her and Matilde but I suppose trouble would have come knocking sooner or later, and I’m glad he had some soft tender moments with the sunlight behind him - we didn’t get much or any of these in the first three movies. 

NTTD was softer in all the right ways and every single loose end was tied up. I’d have loved for some mention of Judy Dench M or that pitbull figurine thing, but every box was checked, from Vesper to Felix to everyone else.

[canonicallysoulmates]

No context provided recap of my reactions watching Manner of Death. Disclaimer: this will probably make no sense if you have never watched this show. 

Episode 1: OMG THIS IS A LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT LOVE STORY! I don't know what's happening even with subtitles but I am liking it! 

Episode 2: THIS IS MAKING ME SO ANXIOUS OMG BUN YOU ARE IN DANGER! BUN! BUN! OMG OMG I WAS GOING TO STOP WITH THIS EPISODE FOR THE NIGHT BUT I’M GONNA HAVE TO WATCH EPISODE 3 FUCK FUCK FUCK 

Episode 3: They are sharing a bed people! They are sharing a bed! 📢 THIS SHOW DID THE ONLY ONE BED TROPE! It is 2am and I am having a breakdown over these two, the sounds I am making are not human Tan x Bun are hitting everyone of my favorite tropes *screams in shipper*

Episode 4: AND NOW THEY’RE HITTING ME WITH THE DOMESTICITY?!?!?!?!?!?!?! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FOCUS ON A MURDER WHEN THESE TWO ARE BEING HUSBANDS?????

Episode 5: Is Sorn x That a thing I can ship?? I am shipping it. Tan the standards you are giving me for men are so sky high I’mma be single forever

Episode 6: AKA the episode where I gasped a lot. Also Tan omg you are such a goner for your man. Bless everyone who uploads this show with English subtitles, this ish too good. 

Episode 7: Is Tan Dam? Could Tan and Bun get more married? TAN IS DAM! 

Episode 8: BUN BABY I KNOW TAN LIED TO YOU BUT HE LOVES YOU 😭 WHY AM I SURPRISED BY ANY OF THESE REVEALS???!??!?! HE HAS NO BREAKS HE HAS NO BREAKS OMG OMG HE CRASHED! AAAAAHHHHHH TAN  SOMEBODY IS IN YOUR HOUSE SOMEBODY IS IN YOUR HOUSE WHY DID YOU NOT TAKE HIS HOOD OFF? WHY DID YOU GIVE HIM YOUR BACK? I KNEW THAT FUCKER WAS GONNA ATTACK HIM FROM THE BACK AND IT STILL MADE ME JUMP I AM LITERALLY SCREAMING  I GOTTA STOP SAYING IMMA WATCH JUST ONE MORE EPI BEFORE BED BECAUSE THIS IS RIDICULOUS

Episode 9: THEY ARE SOULMATES! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? IT’S NOT JUST LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, IT’S LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT WITH SOULMATES! TAAAAN! Y’ALL REMEMBER THE SPONGEBON EPI WITH THE CLAM AND THE MUSIC CAUSE I’M MR KRABS RIGHT NOW SCREAMING STOP WITH THE MUSIC! TAN BABY 😭 OMG THE TAN X BUN JAIL SCENE! THERE'S SOMEONE IN THE HOUSE WHY IS THERE SOMEONE IN THE HOUSE AGAIN! THEY ARE BEING SHOT AT! TAN WTF ARE YOU DOING???? THIS EPISODE MADE ME SCREAM A LOT.

Episode 10: Showering together! Seriously, these two tick all the boxes! When you love someone so much you don’t care they left you handcuffed for hours  😭  I AM TORN BETWEEN SCREAMING AT TAN NOT TO TOUCH ANYTHING OR TELLING HIM TO GET A WEAPON. IS THERE ANY EPISODE OF THIS SHOW THAT WONT MAKE ME SCREAM OR ANXIOUS AF. BUN BREAKING DOWN OVER TAN 😭 I need this episode to end so the next one can begin and I can understand this insanity- THAT YOU ARE LOCKED AND KIDNAPPED AND YOU ARE THINKING ABOUR SORN?!?!??!?!?!??!

Episode 11: I feel like I’mma need popcorn for this one brb *makes some popcorn* okay let’s continue 🍿 WHAT THE FUCK THERE IS SOMEONE AT THE HOSPITAL WHAT IS IT WITH THIS SHOW AND PEOPLE BEING PLACES! JESUS CHRIST SORN ALMOST KILLED ME APPEARING OUT OF NOWHERE! I KNEW FOR A FACT HE WASN’T DEAD YET BUN APPEARING OUT OF NOWHERE SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME. LEGIT MY REACTION:

This show has scared me and made me jump more times than any horror movie I’ve ever seen. I am so used to seeing him in uniform I did not recognize Inspector M for a minute. Tan and Bun are so cute always worried about each other but poor Inspector M he on the sidelines like ‘they forgot I’m here and we got a murder to solve’  😂 TAN AND BUN LOOKING AT SORN AND THAT LIKE TWO PARENTS THAT KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, SHOW YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME I'M A WEAK BITCH YOU CANT HIT ME WITH TWO CUTE COUPLES AND DOMESTICITY AND FOUND FAMILY FEELS AT THE SAME TIME! RUNG AND PEUD WERE A THING???? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? THIS EPISODE HAS ME GRIPPING THE EDGE OF MY SEAT AND IM NOT EVEN ON A CHAIR. WHY AM I SURPRISED BY ANY OF THIS WHEN I ALREADY SUSPECTED HER? 

Episode 12: The epi I prioritized over live watching the season finale of another series I’m watching. Peud sucks!. Bun you did not have to kick that poor man in the ribs! You and Tan acting like two parents who got caught doing something inappropriate 😂  Nah, this is too easy there are still two episodes left, you can’t pull the rug out from under me this time show I’m ahead of you, I know you hiding something. THE CACTUS THAT IS GENIOUS! I like M but should he really be trusted with such a big job? Flamingo? That should be the stupidest thing yet it works I am angry at the fact that line works. CHECK THE E-MAIL. SHOW YOU GOT ME AGAIN WITH THE TWISTS AND THE TURNS I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING

Episode 13: RUNG YOU DISGUSTING *censored* Those men are vile, her sister is even worse I can’t believe I ever even thought she was in the right, Peud I’m sorry I was wrong about you- I mean you still suck, but you’re not as bad as I thought you were. This might be one of the best episodes of tv I’ve ever seen, it is heavy af it left me feeling sick and crying but it is so marvelously done and other shows need to take note because this is how you use flashbacks and convey emotion. Writers, editors, directors, actors give yourselves a round of applause cause this was a masterpiece 👏

Episode 14: HOW TAN HOW ARE YOU GONNA SAVE HIM? YOU SET THE FIRE AND YOU RUN FFS! Who did he call-INSPECTOR M! YES! KICK HIS ASS INSPECTOR M! BUT DONT WASTE ALL YOUR BULLETS ON HIM! THIS DUMB BITCH UPLOADED THE VIDEO. UPLOAD ALL! UPLOAD ALL! DON’T GO THROUGH THEM JUST UPLOAD EVERYTHING! TAN GOT BITCH SLAPPED IN HIS OWN PROPOSAL 😂  THAT PROPOSAL WAS SO OVER THE TOP AND EXTRA AND YET FOR THEM IT IS SO PERFECT AND FITTING AND ROMANTIC I KNEW IN ADVANCE THEY WERE GONNA GET THEIR HAPPY ENDING BUT I’M STILL SO 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺😍😍😍😍😍😍😍