#he's so much more than a corny villain

[earlgodwin]

the borgias is my favorite show and i think it's the best show ever made and all. however, there's just this one aspect that is genuinely hilarious to me and i mostly criticize the show for. the writers suddenly trying to make the viewers massively despise juan by turning against him and disingenuously writing him in his final moments so the watchers won't miss him or sympathize with him by making him a walking danger as an excuse to kill him off and prop up cesare's character. they wanted the audience to root for cesare at juan's expense and make his death seem necessary lol. they truly thought they served with this one, like maybe juan's character was shamefully abandoned by the writers (as well as his family except for rodrigo) but david oakes had many people sold with the way he played him to perfection, improvising and making juan remarkable, tremendous, and humane. the show is obviously a classic masterpiece, but in my opinion about the juan part, simply rushing the writing of a tragic dying character on a show for weak reasons is pure disrespect.

[rainbowresurrection]

I ended up reading The Price of the Phoenix and while it didn't make me want to bleach my eyes like Killing Time, I still didn't like it as much as I hoped I would. Don't get me wrong, the homoeroticism was intriguing to me, but the actual writing and storyline itself left me with a headache. I think I get my hopes up with these books, given all of the possibilities that the written word has for Trek, and it inevitably sets me up for disappointment lol

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Danny, at 17, did not have the best love life. This is partially because two of his must haves in a partner are " Will protect me with their life" and "Will commit unspeakable acts of violence for me" or at least beat someone up for his honor.

Naturally, this doesn't always result in the most stable of partners.

His first girlfriend, Valerie, became an anti-hero and broke up with him for his safety.

He finally got with Sam in sophomore year only for the feds to come into class one day to arrest her. To his surprise, her crimes had nothing to do with ghosts but rather an incident where she went too far and committed a few acts of economic terrorism. Danny and Tucker never really learned the specifics of the crimes, and her parents hushed up as many news outlets as they could, so there wasn't much info to go around. All they knew was that she saved thousands of lives by doing it.

In the end, she was sentenced to eight years, and she broke up with him so that he wouldn't wait around for her to get out.

His third partner was a guy named David who was really sweet. Unfortunately, Danny got kidnapped one day by David's arch nemesis, who was some villain with a corny edge lord name. Yeah. David had become a a super hero after they started dating.

And if you guessed that he freaked out and dumped Danny for his own protection, you'd deserve a cookie.

Danny was noticing a pattern here. One that continued with everyone he dated. They always became some kind of hero before dumping him for his own protection, and it was infuriating. Sure, danny could defend himself, but he was never deep enough into the relationship to reveal his phantom half, and frankly, his hero career was something he left behind when he left Amity and destroyed the portals.

He met Tim at a skatepark after Tim fell off his board cause of some jerk speeding out in front of him on his own board, forcing Tim to stop or else hit the guy. The guy was unrepentant and Tim calmed him down (this did not stop him from melting the guys wheels with an ectoblast when no one was looking).

Tim then asked him to coffee. Danny, noticing how cute Tim was, agreed.

Danny was up front with his parents being mad scientists in Illinois. He always was with all the people he dated. It was better not to hide these kinds of things or worse, wait until you're already attached and afraid of losing them. So he always told potential partners as early as possible. Tim seemed a bit put off by this but was calmer about it than most, and they continued chatting.

Tim didn't seem like the type to turn to heroism or anti heroism so he felt safe on their later dates. It was only after he had known Tim for a while that he put the pieces together.

Tim was always covered in bruises that he hid with his clothes and make up, he had complained about batman over the phone when he thought danny couldn't hear, he was rich, he knew how to fight as revealed by his stances and footwork dispite trying to pretend he didn't, and lastly he held a lot of political power and influence being Bruce Wayne's son. Power he had no reservations using when it suited him or he was just feeling petty (that pettiness was part of why danny was falling for him harder than he thought he could)

No wonder Tim was so okay with his parents being rouges.

Tim was a villain!

At least Tim wouldn't leave him like all his exes. Danny doesn't think he could handle it if he did. Another good thing about this is now he can talk more freely about the more villainous and morally gray ideas and inventions when he was alone with Tim.

Tim didn't see anything wrong with Danny's idea to use something similar to cloning pods to make synthetic meats like rump roasts and steaks as a way to end world hunger and was eager to add to the conversation.

[prismuffin]

Hey! I was wondering how you think the spiderverse characters would react to Male reader Spiderman that can jump really high because he was bit by a jumping spider? (I may or may not be asking this because the spiderverse oc I made was bit by a jumping spider. 😅)

I just asked for ATSV asks so thank you 😼anyways I think that-

Miles would probably find you cool rather quickly. In fact you probably saved his life the first time you met. You were called to Pavitrs earth by Jessica to accompany Gwen and you caught him after he glitched and fell. For a second he thought you were swinging but nope you were just jumping super high. “Can you just naturally jump this high?!” You laughed at his shock. Later on he definitely asks where you got those hops from cause he’s pretty sure that’s not a normal spider power.

Gwen was sent to another Spider-Man’s earth in order to help out but the threat was far more powerful than they thought so they sent backup to the backup. It was you and Hobie. Watching you hop around just saving civilians while Hobie dealt with the villain was honestly pretty cool and she definitely forgot where she was for a second. Eventually she’d snap back into it and start helping as well. Afterwards she introduces herself and asks about the jumping thing. Probably makes a corny ass joke about it. Finds it pretty sick honestly.

Pavitr was still pretty new to not only being Spider-Man but also the SpiderSociety so he was still meeting tons of new Spider-people. When he first met you, you were jumping around the spider society, “So are you jumping this high from some sort of limb enhancement or?” He’d ask while his head moved up and down as he watched you. When you tell him it’s because a jumping spider bit you- he finds it so cool. Pick him up and jump with him in your arms now. He finds it so fun and his giggles are so cute as you hop around the SpiderSociety with him.

You were introduced to Hobie through the SpiderSociety. His nonchalant rebellious behavior towards Miguel and his system drew you to him and you both started talking. When you brought up the fact that you could jump super high because you were bit by a jumping spider he jokingly doesn’t believe you, egging you on to “give it a go then,” just so he can see it in action. Finds your bouncing funny and compliments the ability. Probably gives you some silly jumping related nickname.

Miguel would’ve went to your dimension because of an anomaly, he’d be pleasantly surprised to see you holding your own and it would take him a minute to recognize that you were mostly jumping around and not swinging as much. Of course he’s met many spider people but none with the ability of super jumping. After capturing the anomaly he’d question you about the ability and you tell him it’s cause you got bit by a jumping spider. Sees your potential and probably recruits you based off of that alone, saying how the multiverse could use people like you.

Peter B would be shocked to say the least. I mean all spidermen can jump pretty high and move pretty fast but you’re jumping high. “Woah kid where’d you learn to jump like that?” He’d ask with a laugh as he witnessed you in action. When you tell him you were bitten by a jumping spider he just laughs. “Man why does everyone else always get the cool powers.” Unofficially adopts you for sure like you are his son now and you can’t fight it.

———

Directory

[kurogxrix]

hey! can i request some romantic headcanons for Gwen with a gender neutral? thank you sm :)

Gwen’s the type of lover that’s very closed off and reserved at the start of your relationship.

She’s a closed shell, hard to come by since she’s scared to lose you after what happened to Peter.

Even though it’s obvious that she’s hiding and keeping things from you, you refuse to give up on Gwen. She’s your girlfriend, and you believe that one day she’ll come around.

After a while, Gwen realizes that you’re not going anywhere. So she allows herself to open up to you, little by little.

She’ll definitely swing by as spiderwoman at night to leave little gifts by your window sill.

Her gifts are as cute as little wild flower bouquets that she made herself to random trinkets, but they’re a little weird to you at first because you don’t really know who’s leaving them there.

Don’t think she’s much of a fan of PDA, not even privately at the start of your relationship.

Once she gets comfortable though, she’s totally down for kisses and cuddling behind closed doors.

Once her spidey-secret is out the window, Gwen is somewhat shocked when you take it calmly.

You defo beg her to take you swinging on nights where she has no patrolling to do, and with an overexaggerated eye-roll from her, she finally brings you.

She was annoyed at first, and a little worried that she’d have to drop you somewhere random in case a villain did some unexpected entrance. Though she softened at the sound of you laughter as you both soared through the cool city air.

You know that she has a lot of frustration and anger to let off, so after the (many) times where she had come back from band practice still all wound up, you become her personal therapist.

Gwen defo snaps a you a couple of times when you both are having random little arguements. Though she’s quick to feel guilty and apologizes, she reminds you everytime how sorry she is for snapping and how much you mean to her.

Poor girl she’s just going through a lot.

Though you understand and never get too worked up when she raises her voice slightly.

When Gwen introduced you to her father, he was so happy that she had finally made a friend (little did he know).

Sometimes your dates can vary from having you laying all comfortably on her bed, earplugs in your ears as she blares a piece on her drum set.

Sometimes it could be having her (much reluctantly again) swinging you both to some abandoned building to explore.

She’ll defo use her spider powers to her advantage to try and scare you, and it works every time.

Sometimes your dates can be something as simple as sitting on the edge of her apartment roof, sharing a greasy meal together while she recalls her day as spider woman.

One day you wanted to try that corny upside-down spiderman kiss that you had seen in one of your comics. She groaned at the idea, but nevertheless agreed because you seemed so excited about it, plus it gave her an excuse to kiss you more.

So there she was, hanging upside down by your window as you lifted her mask up to kiss her like MJ had done with peter.

She defo ‘messes up’ her stance a couple of times whilst telling you that you gotta start all over again, just to get you to kiss her again.

Gwen trusts you with her entire life, you’re her partner, her lover. And even though she doesn’t show it all the time, she loves you more than her words can describe.

-

they’re rlly random but i hope you like them anon 😭🫶🏽

[croxot]

MORE Armored Core 6 Thoughts - The Corporate Military Leaders

After coming to the conclusion that Armored Core is my game of the year, I've been thinking needlessly deeply about many little bits of the game. I wanted to put some thoughts out there about the Corporate Military Leaders (V.II Snail & G1 Michigan). More specifically what makes them so different in how the player perceives them -- How their corny characterization makes them all the more engrossing. Spoilers to follow.

Michigan

• Massive blowhard military type, speaks with all the bravado of your stereotypical US army drill sergeant.

• Despite this, he is somewhat endearing. He's still a shill for Balam, but he has a clear level of respect for those under him, and grants even more respect where it's clearly deserved.

• Knows all his underlings by name.

• Will chastise his own men for not showing you enough respect on the mission where you are expected to kill him and his entire force. Seems to take it well despite what's happening.

• Despite his position placing him as one of the defcato villains, there is very little direct animosity to muster for him. By the point in the story where you can decide to kill him, Balam has already lost the race, and Michigan has shown very little ill will towards you personally (even if you've previously betrayed the Redguns).

---

(Quick note on V.I Freud: While Freud is Technically a higher rank than Snail, he's clearly turned over military leadership to Snail, which makes Snail more of the de-facto face of Arquebus. Freud's just an ace who shows up to have a good fight, and otherwise doesn't make much of a show. Which, yeah, that's fine.)

Snail

• The Immediate difference here is that Snail is consistently depicted as conceited and selfish. Where Michigan is on first-name basis with basic underlings, Snail is verbally disgusted with the thought of acknowledging anything or anyone that isn't directly and immediately beneficial to him.

• And that's great because this game ABSOLUTELY benefits from having someone that's so easy to hate. Snail treats everyone around him, including his ranked allies, and even Freud, like dirt.

• He's even worse to you in the sense that he's convinced his type of space-cyber-lobotomy is so much newer and shinier than yours and makes him objectively superior to you. Like calm down dude this isn't a brain damage contest.

• This makes the Liberator of Rubicon Ending immensely satisfying in a way the other 2 endings just don't compare to. The game has spent around 15-ish hours having this guy be a gigantic douche in nearly every line he speaks, and then he shows up to fight you when realistically he doesn't even have to considering the circumstances.

• And so with Rusty's theme blaring in the background, he has an angry breakdown while you send him and his Balteus 2: Scuffed Laser Edition™ directly to the shadow realm. It is the most satisfying boss kill in the game.

[inaflashimagine]

lo mejor (i)

pairing: miguel o'hara x gn!reader (can be read as reader being latine)

summary: nueva york had no shortage of places that sold empanadas. unfortunately, that didn’t equate to all of them being good.

but he continued to find himself going to your restaurant, a few of the other spider-people less than convinced that it's just for your food.

a/n: as a latina who also eats empanadas to cure their hanger, i just needed to get this off my chest. will be a multi-part fic!

3k wc. no warnings for this chapter, other than a litany of english + spanish curses

masterlist | one | two

–

“I’m in hiding. He’s angry at me…again…”

As much as the kid was growing on Jess, she sent an unimpressed look at the flickering hologram. “In other news, water is wet.”

“But seriously, how can he expect me to write a report only 5 minutes after I finish a mission? He’s worse than my AP Lit teacher, and Ms. O’Connor was—”

“Gwen, I’m gonna stop you right there. Because we’ve been through this before. You know how to fix this.”

Though her face was covered by her mask, the widening of her goggles before her shoulders sagged in defeat showed Jess that Gwen knew exactly what to do.

“But can’t you come with me? What if I mess up the order?”

“Are you kidding me right now? Didn’t you want me to ‘chill with the hovering’?”

Gwen sighed, already starting to swing her way through Nueva York to get to her destination. “I know, I know, I’ll go. Do you want anything?” 

“No need, it sounds like you might have to buy the whole store to be in his good graces again. Good luck.”

Her mentor logged off before hearing her star pupil groan in frustration—what was supposed to be an effortless day was quickly becoming a pain in her ass.

Like countless times before, Gwen quickly changed into her set of ‘futuristic’ civilian clothes to blend in with the rest of the long line at the tiny, but packed, restaurant. If it weren’t for the enticing smell of freshly baked dough, Gwen wondered if this would all be worth it. She’d have to cancel the jam session with Hobie if this plan didn’t work, lest she face the wrath of the villain of the week, Miguel O’Hara.

But when she finally saw a familiar smile and a warm pair of eyes greeting her behind the counter, she realized that Jess was right—she knew how to fix this.

Or rather, you did.

“Mi gringa favorita! It’s been a while. How many empanadas does el jefe need?”

–

Miguel was having a bad day. 

It started with the usual suspect: Peter B., un pendejo who believed that Miguel and Jess actually wanted to hear about his daughter’s bowel movements.

Not to mention the impromptu comedy club Miguel had to break down so everyone could get back to doing the jobs they forgot they signed up for. (Nothing was more irritating than being surrounded by unfunny people who genuinely thought their endless quips and corny jokes landed. Every. Single. Time.)

Then for the umpteenth time, he had to tell Gwen to turn in her reports on time. Yet that was nothing compared to her latest efforts in convincing Miguel to let Miles visit HQ and gently explain (gently because, “He doesn’t know any better!”) that he’s the biggest threat to the multi-verse. These poor attempts, unsurprisingly, fell flat. O’Hara warned Jess that the girl would be a liability, and each day he grew closer to sending the kid back to Earth-65 if she decided to pull any tricks. 

But the worst part of this dreadful day was when a nervous, slightly cowering Chef Spidey told his boss there were no more empanadas. 

“What?” Miguel’s brows furrowed in confusion, indifferent to the uncomfortable silence that enveloped the cafeteria at the sound of his incredulity. “What do you mean, there’s no more empanadas? Who ate the last one?”

“He promised me not to tell you!” 

And with that, Miguel stalked to his office where he was currently sulking in, seriously considering changing Peter B.’s portal watch to a day pass as punishment for apparently eating over a half dozen empanadas.

Just as he was about to give Lyla the command, his associate in the heart sunglasses suddenly appeared. “Gwen Stacy will be here in a minute, might want to start lowering your platform.”

“Maldita sea, didn’t I tell you to not let anyone in?” He pinched the bridge of his nose—he’d much prefer for his ears to be rattled with Peter B.‘s ramblings and even Ben Reilly’s moping over Gwen’s incessant whining about how crappy the current Spider Society establishment was. (She was spending way too much time with Hobie.)

“Hey pal, that’s not a nice word, and she comes bearing gifts that you’ll like.”

“Oh really?” he remarked dryly, arms crossed as he began his descent. “She finished the ten detailed reports she owes me?”

Yet Miguel caught the heavenly smell of beef empanadas before seeing Gwen’s sheepish face. And did he also catch a whiff of chorizo and cheese?

“Hi, Miguel. Heard you haven’t had lunch yet, sooooo…” Shaking off her nerves and avoiding that terrifying gaze, she held out the two large boxes as her apology. “And I’ll submit those reports by tonight, I promise.”

An eyebrow raised, he webbed the boxes toward himself and held them even more tightly when he saw where they came from. 

His eyes glossed over the mascot of Mama’s Empanadas, a smiling and waving empanada that almost seemed to assure him that his hanger would quickly be cured. But it was the words hurriedly scribbled at the bottom that displaced the rage he’s felt all day with a weird pang in his chest:

“Buen provecho, Jefe :)”

Miguel quickly turned away, hoping he seemed more composed than he actually felt. As the floor to his office slowly began to ascend, he said, “I’ll give you one more day to finish those reports. But don’t think it’s because this bribe worked.”

“Of course.” Gwen hoped the amusement wasn’t clear in her voice, smirking at the shoulders of the tall man lose their tension as he began eating the ‘bribe’. Would Hobie even believe her if she told him what just happened? 

“Thanks, Miguel. See you tomorrow!”

He didn’t even register her last words, eyes closed as he savored the explosive taste of smoked chorizo and finally allowed fond memories to flood his brain.

— 

Nueva York had no shortage of places that sold empanadas. Unfortunately, that didn’t equate to all of them being good.

It’s not that he didn’t know how to make them–he’s sure that he could follow his abuela’s recipes that his ma once gave him–but he just didn’t have time. After all, nothing was more convenient than cashing in the perks of the suit to cut a long line and grab free food. But once Lyla finished the goober she was working on (“It’s not a goober, Miguel, it’s a gizmo!”), he’d have even less time to do anything other than jump into different dimensions, some of which would certainly not sell empanadas.

This explained why after changing into sweats following a grueling shift, he found himself staring across the busy street at Mama’s Empanadas, the hunger in his growling stomach overwhelming. The small restaurant was engulfed by flashing neon lights and signs boasting the quality of their food in both Spanish and English. The place was always swarming with people whenever he swung by, but as closing time approached only a few stragglers remained. 

And so did you.

Miguel hoped that you were the owner of the shop rather than an overworked employee, considering that he couldn’t remember the last time someone else took your position behind the counter. But even from this distance, he could see your cheery smile while you welcomed new patrons and the regulars, almost as if you were genuinely happy to be serving them on a late Friday night. 

With all the running around he’s been doing lately, he couldn’t even remember the last time taking on the Spider-Man mantle gave him the same joy he spotted on your face miles away.

O’Hara felt his phone vibrate as he saw the latest message from Lyla illuminating his screen.

“Got some news to share! Might want to deliver the bad stuff in person though.”

“Que chingada,” Miguel cursed, rubbing tired eyes as he contemplated whether to reply. How could the news get even worse after Earth-1610 lost Peter Parker, their only Spider-Man?

Raising his head, he watched you approach the storefront to activate the electrified gates that would close the shop. 

And for reasons his brain would never be able to explain, he felt himself panic, almost as if his body jolted awake as he deftly weaved through honking cars and found himself in front of you, the only barrier being a pesky glass door that would take a millisecond for him to break.

Yet he was surprised to see you hold your ground, and even more shocked to see you flash him an annoyed look he’s never seen you give to any other customer. Shoulders tense, he was ready for you to begin berating him for being a nuisance and to leave the fuck off the premises. 

“Eres un idiota? ¡Casi te atropellan!”

Miguel blinked, not sure he heard you correctly. Sure, calling him an idiot is warranted, but he was not almost run over by those cars. Even if he did get hit–which, again, he wouldn’t–then the car would be hurt, not him. 

Instead of explaining himself without implicating his alter persona, or at the very least say something remotely coherent in English or Spanish, Miguel found himself even more gobsmacked when you opened the door and ushered him inside, frantically asking him questions in a random jumble of Spanglish as you tried inspecting a man seemingly twice your size for any injuries.

“¿No hablas español? Should I call 911, mierda, is this guy catatonic? Should I have moved him? Are you hurt?”

Feeling your hands shake his shoulders finally snapped him out of whatever funk he was in, confusion washing over him as he tried to piece together what just happened in the past minute. Heeding your obvious concern, he sighed and did his best to ignore the absolutely embarrassing predicament he put himself in.

“Estoy bien,” he assured you, his relief matching yours as you let go and immediately exhaled. “I really am fine, I just wanted to try the empanadas before closing.”

There was that exasperation again, your deadly expression sufficient in asking him ‘Are you serious?’ that your high-pitched words of “En serio?” were quite unnecessary, in his opinion.

“Was running across a congested street not serious enough?”

You scoffed before glaring at him for a few more seconds, though he could see the uncertain shift in your eyes. “This isn’t some twisted joke to rob me, right? Last thing I need is having Spider-Man beating you up and breaking my new glass counter.”

Miguel couldn’t hide the wry twist of his lips, fully aware that he could be thrown out at any minute but still curious to hear your opinion. “Not a Spider-Man fan?”

“As long as he doesn’t destroy my property, I wouldn’t even mind defending the dude on J. Jonah Jameson’s stupid podcast.“ You shrugged casually, already beginning to make your way behind the counter after deeming Miguel to be harmless, despite looking like he could crush you with his pinky. 

He didn’t know how to respond, still perplexed about why you hadn't kicked him out yet. 

He soon brushed those thoughts to the side when his mouth watered upon seeing you point at the remaining golden-brown pastries. “Well, these will be on the house, since you almost died in front of my restaurant. We only have 3 chicken left, 2 guava and cheese, and 1 chorizo with potato.”

Miguel felt his phone vibrate again–no doubt it was Lyla. 

And for the first time in a long time, he turned off his phone, not even bothering to view the message as he chose to look at you instead.

“I’ll take them all.”

–

When you first decided to take over your family’s restaurant, your tía taught you how to handle rude customers while also giving you advice on how to treat the nice ones so they always returned.

However, there was nothing in her playbook on how to treat the weird customers.

And Miguel O’Hara was the weirdest by far.

You took a light sip of your café con leche as you stole a glance at him starting his second empanada, the sight of such a quiet, large man sitting in a tiny seat and restraining his urge to inhale the food in one go quite comical. Much like how he ate the first one, he attempted to seem unaffected by the taste of the meaty filling. 

But after doing this for so many years, no one could ever hide their reaction from you. Especially the pure happiness one got from eating a toasty, savory empanada. 

And seeing the dark red-brown eyes of the intimidating man briefly widening and softening in amazement only made you want to find more ways to recapture that fleeting moment. To lengthen it and bask in its warmth, even if that meant countless hours of mincing, seasoning, kneading, and baking. 

“¿Entonces? The only thing you’ve said these past five minutes is your name. ¿Que dice el juez?” you teased, leaning back and smugly folding your arms as you already knew what his verdict would be. 

It was a choice you instantly regretted, almost falling out of your chair as he stopped looking at his half-finished empanada and focused all of his attention on you, a gaze so intense you briefly pondered if you left the oven on with the sudden swell of heat suffocating you.

He pursed his lips and rolled those impossibly broad shoulders, yet another action that made the room feel uncomfortably stuffy for no good reason. “It’s one of the best empanadas I’ve ever had in my life.”

Now it was your turn to be surprised, expecting to hear a ‘good’ or maybe even a ‘great’, but not the highest of praises. 

A pregnant pause ensued before a hearty laugh escaped you.

It was impossible to suspend your disbelief–all of this coming from one of the hottest guys you’ve ever seen enter this shop? Only when pigs fly, or as your abuela preferred to say, “Solo cuando los cerdos vuelan.”

“¡Mentiroso! Lo dices como si fuera la última Coca-Cola en el desierto.”

He had to know that his half-glare really was just him smoldering. There was no way this man was oblivious to the effects of that gaze. 

“I don’t think I’m a liar or particularly funny. Though I actually would appreciate a Coca, si la tienes.”

You desperately hoped that your immediate sigh sounded one stemming from annoyance rather than relief–having an excuse to get up and look for a can of soda rather than the brooding dude a mere foot away from you was the only way you’d stay sane through this strange night.

“I do appreciate the kind words,” you said after recollecting your composure, the cool air blasting from the fridge reminding you to retain at least some semblance of professionalism, “but these aren’t even the freshest batch. No way they’re the best you’ve had.”

Miguel raised an eyebrow as you handed him the can. “I didn’t say the best. And you don’t have any with a glass bottle?”

You rolled your eyes before plopping back into your seat. “If I did, I would’ve hit you in the head with it quite a while ago. And especially now, after your challenge.”

“It’s not meant to be taken as a challenge–”

“Ah, but I’ll take it as one because my family’s reputation is riding on this. Or else mi abuela, que en paz descanse”–you pointed to the framed picture of the sweet, old lady right above the cash register–“lanzará sus chanclas poderosas, and I don’t want to get hit by those, they’re stronger than that car that was about to run you over.”

The roll of his eyes was obnoxiously overt, but you barely caught a glimpse of the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, masterfully hidden by taking a sip of his coke. 

“How would this so-called challenge even work?”

“You’re asking the wrong question because that’s an easy answer. The next time you come, I’ll bake you a fresh batch of your favorite empanadas, no matter what kind and even if you come 5 minutes before closing.” Listing the types with each finger, it’s hard to contain your excitement. “Baked, fried, sweet, savory, you name it.”

“¿Y si no me gustan?”

“¡No seas tonto! Yet another dumb question, because you’ll not only like them, you’ll fucking love them. The right question is whether you’d think they’re the best.”

You swore he inched closer, the once faint smell of sandalwood from his cologne now overpowering your already-fried senses. “And what if they’re not the best?”

“I’ll get two more attempts afterward. If they still don’t meet your palate’s expectations, which honestly isn’t a worry of mine, then you’ll get free empanadas for the year.” It’s said without hesitation, with confidence you have no idea how you mustered all of a sudden. 

Out of all moments to be driven by pride, you choose to do so while tightrope walking on a straight razor.

And you wondered if Miguel read your mind because, for the first time, you heard his laugh. It’s a sardonic one, but its deep timbre was as attractive as his face and meshed well with his incredibly dry sense of humor.

Maybe the walk wouldn’t be as bad as you imagined.

“You’re either extremely arrogant in thinking you’ll win, or too trustful in people to believe they wouldn’t scam you with this deal.”

“But you’re not just some normal person,” you reply simply, amused to see his shoulders slightly stiffened, “and I believe you when you said you’re not a liar. Call it a gut feeling.”

“What do you even get out of this?” he asked, puzzled at how you just weren’t setting yourself up for failure. He didn’t need Lyla for him to visualize the thousands of ways you could lose.   

Your wolfish grin showed a lot more than your words. “Nothing, other than making my family proud. Anddd perhaps receiving a five-star review on Yelp wouldn’t hurt either.”

Running a hand through his hair, he shrugged before lifting his soda can toward you. “That’s the least I could do. But don’t think I’ll make this easy for you.” 

You gently clinked his can with your cup of coffee as your eyes locked with his, wondering what the hell you just got yourself into.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

–

translations (please lmk if you need more):

Mi gringa favorita - my favorite white girl

El jefe - the boss

Un pendejo - a dumbass

Maldita sea - goddamn it

Buen provecho, Jefe - Enjoy your meal, boss

Que chingada - what bullshit/wtf

Eres un idiota? ¡Casi te atropellan! - Are you an idiot? They almost ran you over!

No hablas espanol? - You don't speak Spanish

Estoy bien - I'm fine

Que dice el juez - What does the judge say?

¡Mentiroso! Lo dices como si fuera la última Coca-Cola en el desierto - Liar! You say it as if it was the last coca-cola in the desert

Una coca - A Coca Cola

Si la tienes - If you have it

Que en paza descanse - may she rip

Lanzarla las chanclas poderosas - she'll release her powerful flip-flops

Y si no me gustan? - And if I don't like it?

No seas tonto - Don't be silly/dumb

[thefiery-phoenix]

YANDERE KEIGO TAKAMI (HAWKS) HEADCANONS

This bird brain is a VERY obsessive and delusional yandere. The SECOND he sees you, expect him to say, ''Well, hello there Dove"

This chicken nuggets for brains is a HUGE flirt (I don't know WHO's a more huge flirt, Denki or Hawks). He thinks a day goes to waste if he doesn't compliment you and try asking you out with cheesy and corny pick up lines at least, oh, a DOZEN times in a day. And, he might make extremely suggestive gestures towards you

He believes that you both were DESTINED to be with each other. You both were MADE for each other and you both are soulmates. He thinks that you're just a little confused and shy about your feelings but... he'll make you realize soon that you belong to him

After Keigo first sees you, he wants to get to know more about you and so... like every other typical yandere, he ends up stalking you or 'looking after you'. Don't be surprised if he strikes up a conversation about your favorite book series or movie of whatever. The dude has spent SO much time stalking you, he knows you better than you know yourself no joke

Anything you like, he likes. Anything you don't like, he hates. Kinda silly at times. Got someone who's annoying the CRAP outta you? Well, you won't be hearing from them anytime soon

To Keigo, you're his angel, his babybird, songbird, dove, sweetheart and precious baby (Dude has like, a ZILLION nicknames for you)

He will do ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING to make you ONLY HIS and no one else's 

After Hawks gets to know more about you, don't be surprised if you wake up in his house or a fancy penthouse or something since he would kidnap you within like, a month or 2

He'll make sure your new room in your new house with him was just like your old one since he wants you to be comfortable and make sure you feel at home. It'll be weird if you enter a room which isn't yours but... at the same time LOOKS like your old one. Get what I'm sayin'?

After he starts talking to you and gets to more about you before the whole kidnapping fiasco, if by any chance you flirt back with him, oh boy.... you're gonna get kidnapped THAT very day and you won't be seeing daylight again. As soon as you show any sign or you returning his feelings, you're immediately swept away by him. And Hawks will make sure to keep the cops and other heroes off his trail. After all, he doesn't want anyone to cast their filthy look on HIS angel

If you try escaping, he'll be OUT of his mind with worry and heartbroken and devastated ALL at the same time. He has the emotional range of an ocean (Kinda like me lol) He's going to freak the freak out. What if you were hurt? What if someone had taken you away from him? What if you were scared and lost and lonely? But... he can't resist the chance to become your hero and he'll swoop in from nowhere and carry you back to your house, ignoring all your pleas and cries and he's yapping continuously that he was glad you were safe. Of course, all escape routes will be destroyed less than 24 hours and he'll ask the villains to watch over you like your personal bodyguards and the surveillance systems will be stronger than ever before 

Overall, he's sweet and kind and caring but... push him over the edge, he'll go feral and no one wants a feral pile of feathers attacking them now, do they?

[vqrtualheartss]

E42 Miles Morales x Black!Fem!Reader! - Across the Multiverse (might change it)

A/n : Soo, this is my first time publishing any of my writings online, although intended to be a oneshot, if all goes well a part two may come by. Feel free to give suggestions, requests, feedback. Next part here

Warnings : cheating/ profanity, miles (1610) cheating, angst, cursing (only 2 words I think) , implied sexual assault,GWILES,, (not very detailed) harm done to reader

Reader = blue, Miles (1610) = red, Gwen = pink, others = white, may get a colour though

Genre : Angst(?)

I am in no way, shape or form trying to villainize Gwen, everything is just for plot in fact I love Gwiles. My only point of interest is Miles G.

𝓘𝓷𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓭𝓾𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷| Every Saturday, my boyfriend -and Brooklyn's infamous Spider-Man- Miles Morales, would sit down and tell me the tea in the Spider-society. I've learnt about his encounters with other spider-people across the spider-verse and his relations with them. It was a silly little tradition but I loved it.

"Yea, so basically, the multiverse is a collection of all the universes there are, including this one. And that cow..villain thing, called The Spot has holes that can drag you anywhere across the multiverse or somewhere different in this one. I'll make sure to beat his ass next time he comes though so I can protect you from it"

I threw the pillow supporting my elbows at him, he webbed it to the wall "Corny ass"

He got up from his seat around the desk walking over to my place on the bed hovering over my frame.

"I don't care if I'm corny, I'll protect and love you in every universe there is, including this one"

We started giggling like little kids as the gap between our bodies closed in, he cradled my face in his hands before our lips met. We froze in the moment for about ten seconds before pulling back.

"I love you so, so much , and I don't ever want you to ever forget that."

He was clingy at times, but oh so adorable

"Ofcourse I know, you like to tell me everyday"

"And I'll never stop telling you"

He pecked my cheek. My hand rested onto his, caressing it

For about what seemed like hours but was just a few seconds we stared into the other's eyes, pure love and admiration in each set.

Who wouldn't fall in love again if someone looked at them like that?

"Even after two years I feel like I still have a crush on you-...Uahhh"

Taking a moment to process the events, Miles launched onto her

I held onto Miles as everything in the room including us started to levitate. He was more confused than scared since he's used to wierd stuff being Spider-Man and all. What shocked him was the blue.. portal thing that opened up in the ceiling. As it spread more, everything returned to it's position. From it a girl with blond, shoulder length hair and a right side-cut floated down on the bed beside us.

"Gwanda!, I missed you so much" huh?

"I missed you too Miles"

I stared at them blankly, separating themselves off each other, he cleared his throat.

"Y/n, this is Gwen, Gwen this is my girlfriend, y/n"

I awkwardly waved to her, to which she did back with almost the same energy. It was like looking at an inverted version of myself. My skin was a medium ebony, hers a snow white, I had coily 4c hair, her's was wavy, not to mention our clothing styles. Polar opposites.

"So why'd you call her Gwanda, and she like that?"

"It's an inside joke, you wouldn't get it"

Confused wasn't even the word for me right now. Miles scratched the back of his head, a nervous tactic of his

I shook my head to his statement. The silence got a bit awkward before she decided to break the ice

"Soo, how's everything since I left?"

Not wanting to disrupt their convo, I started scrolling through my feed

"The worst obviously"

I raised my eyebrows in shock at his confession. "obviously" What's that to mean? I had to bite at the inside of my cheek to stop myself from doing or saying anything irrational. I allowed myself to step out their convo, aimlessly browsing through social media, my focus was deep into my phone. However, my head swiftly moved when I heard their last few sentences

"Let's go patrolling, we still have a lot of catching up to do" Gwen's eyes widened, her blue irises scaring me a bit, they looked quite uncanny

"Does she know that you're-"

"Yeah, she does. You can trust her" Not sure if I can trust you or her right now.

"In that case, yeah, I'd like that"

My face stained with an inquisitive expression, both tones sounded a little too.. flirtatious for my liking, what exactly was so secretive that they had to talk it out in the city? I looked up at both persons as they put their suits on, waiting to see if neither would acknowledge my existence. Nope, they just got suited up and.. left. If there's a word to describe something to be more invisible than invisible then that was definitely how I felt. Not even my boyfriend could say goodbye.. humph

"It can't be that bad, they're just catching up.. yeah"

Trying every and anything to convince myself, I took up my belongings, letting myself outside his room then house. At first, I called out to his parents - "Mama Rio, Tio Jeff?" - hearing no response I left, locking the door using the key I got from Tiá Rio as a reminder that - I'm always welcome - I smiled at the memory.

I tried walking around the city to clear my mind, about halfway through my walk I saw two familiar suits gliding and having their best time in the sky, moving along the roofs of houses. That's some patrolling

"This is going to end badly isn't it?... Maybe I'm thinking of the worst, he loves me. He wouldn't replace me like that right?" Wrong.

Mood ruined, I cut my time short and headed straight home. Unlocking the door, I took my shoes off placing the beside the table. I would usually call out to my parents but they were away on a business trip. After getting some food, I took myself up to my bedroom. Taking a shower and changing into silk shorts and an oversized shirt (sleep clothes). But before heading to the bed I sat around my desk, admiring fairy lights adorned with pictures of Miles and I.. my boyfriend and I. I looked out my window only to see the two leaned against each other, back faced to my vision.

For the next few days it was all about Gwen. Gwen. Gwen. Gwen. Gwen. I felt as if he was dating her

"Wanna go on a date? Just you and me, it'd be fun" "Sorry I'm already with Gwen"

"Bonito, do you still want to go for ice-cream?" "Sorry princess, drawing with Gwen. Can you pick some up though? She loves vanilla."

"Can you buy that plush for me? I'll pay you back." "Sorry, spent all my money on Gwen"

(time-skip)

I tried so. so hard to keep positive, but I just couldn't. I changed, now it was gaslighting myself from crying to crying. "How's this even fair, he's supposed to be my boyfriend.. who is he even dating now" I felt like trash, disposable, he made me feel disposable. I thought I'd have to die before I see this era come. Clearly, I underestimated fate. I felt replaceable, disposable, and, jealous. I had completely let myself go, my eyes were always puffy, hair more tangled than usual, I looked a mess. I finally decided to talk with him, knowing this talk would only end one of two ways: good or bad.

I fixed myself up, it didn't take much really, I combed my hair, putting it in a nice high puff. Wore some cute clothes and that was it. Call me a narcissist, but I knew I was always pretty (bad lil bitch). I stared at my reflection in the mirror, smiling as I admired my features, taking a couple pics too , I finally headed out. My parents were out on another business trip, they always are, giving me another reason to visit the Morales - to visit my second family-.

Arriving at their residence, I knocked to acknowledge the presence of anyone that may be in the house. Miles' mother opened the door

"Tiá Rio! It's so good to see you" she pulled me into a hug before pulling back, both of us smiling

"Likewise mija.. oh dear, what happened? Your face is all sad-looking and-"

Your son is what happened

"it's nothing mama, I've just been tired, that's all"

It warmed my heart at how much she seemed to care for me, assuming she was referring to my puffy eyes I lied. - well that's one thing you can't rid in a day - whilst listening to me, she gestured for me to get inside, closing the door behind me as I took my shoes off

"If it's that boy stressing you out, I'll beat him for you, just let me know" I laughed at her suggestion

"No mama, it's not him, thank you for the offer though" I was still chuckling, then she joined in

"Anything for you. I'll get going though, I have something on the stove to attend to" I shook yes, heading towards his room

"Leave a plate for me?"

"Always " I smiled as I turned focus to Miles' bedroom door. I went in deciding to not knock

I don't even know if I wished I did or not. The scene behind the door was heartbreaking, but I couldn't look away. There he was.. my "boyfriend" kissing Gwen Stacy. He was looking at her with those eyes, the eyes of love he used to look at me with. Both of them looked at me like they've seen a ghost. The expression wasn't too far off, they did make me feel like a ghost, invisible. I shook away any tears starting to form, but my eyelids were like a broken dam, no way or use in controlling it. If anything, I wanted him to see how I felt, to see how much he hurt me, to feel guilt, sadness, anything.

"Cielo, don't cry. It's not what it looks like"

"How long ?" He started to stutter. "How long Miles?"

"2 weeks, listen.. please. We were caught up in a moment and we just-"

"Do you think that's helping?" I felt my words ball up, stuck in my throat, my stomach continuously dropping. It's as if I could feel the sadness in my body. I didn't like it

"No.." I looked over his shoulder, looking at Gwen as she turned her face away, his sweater and other belongings on her

"What happened to protecting and loving me in every universe? In this universe Miles. I don't care about any other universe, you had one job to do. Is loving me harder than being Spider-Man?" I shook my head side to side in disbelief

"Princessa-" Gwen hummed a timid response. Un-fucking-believeable

"Do not call me that, there's your princessa" I pointed over to Gwen that had her sweater still stuck over her body. The air quotes from myself added to the comedic effect and subtracted from the restraint I had to not laugh

I made a run for it when he turned his head in the direction of my finger before I broke down. I couldn't let him see me like this. I ran to the door, shoes in hand as I searched for my keys, unlocking it. Talking to Miles' mother in between quiet sobs as she rushed behind me, "I'm sorry tiá" I finally made my way onto the streets of Brooklyn running somewhere, anywhere far from their house. Once settled I tried putting on my shoes, who knew that such a simple task was hard when crying ?

Rio's p.o.v

What the hell is going on, more importantly, why is (y/n) crying. I looked up in the direction of Miles' room to see him run forward to the door, a girl that was definitely not her behind him, her lipstick smudged. What the actual- she looks old enough to vote ?! I stood in my position, putting 2 and 2 together.

"Miles Gonzalo Morales. Get. Here. Now."

(Y/n) p.o.v

Still, I was wandering around the city, just something I do to blow off steam. - The hell? - it's kinda wierd to see Brooklyn this empty, especially on a Saturday evening. I continued walking until I saw the reason for the lack of people, The Spot.

Could this day get any worse? I sighed, Yes unfortunately, mentally, I answered my question as I tried running opposite from the creature, my attempts to escape failed as it stretched it's hands to engulf me in its nothingness. As it took me in, I saw holes that spread randomly, seemingly having no start nor end.

I knew what they led into -a new universe-, but not where. Knowing there was no going back, I decided to leap into a random hole, accepting whatever fate it throws to me. Before making my decision, a hole randomly spawned underneath my legs, bringing me into any universe it leads to.

It was a hard fall to say the least but I got up. I landed in...Brooklyn? It was nothing like my Brooklyn but, sure it was pretty. The place was littered with multiple shades of dark purple and other hues, a black tint being evident on the atmosphere. Having nothing else to do, I did what I know best, wander. For about 10 minutes my eyes never left the buildings, neon signs or billboards, it was chaotic...but in a harmonious way. I was now more amused than scared. Then my thoughts hit me like a train

"Where will I stay?"

"Wouldn't I already live here?, I could be dead. SHIT I COULD BE DEAD"

"what should I do now?"

Lost in my own thoughts, I didn't seem to acknowledge the group of men (3) that stood, cat-calling me. I decided to ignore their existence, walking briskly

"Hey doll, come here. I don't bite"

"What's a pretty girl like you doing here?"

With their words slurred, I could only assume they were drunk, plugging my ears with my fingers.

"ohh, so you think you're better than us now?" The third man stated

"bitch"

I blame Miles Morales of earth 1610 for this

They started to run after me, I started to run from them. To make the situation worse on my part, before arming myself with even a rusty nail, one of the men held on my arm, forcefully dragging me into an alleyway and throwing my body against the wall. One thing happened after another, now they started to beat and bruise my body anyway and where they could. Whether it was by throwing glass at my face, kicking my chest, slapping my face, throwing my head back into the wall, stomping on my body they didn't stop. They stopped when I was at my weakest, my mouth was bleeding, slap marks imprinted on my face, glass shards in and around my body, blood dripping at a slow rate from my head, most of it got soaked up in my hair, making the coils look more like curls. They did all this while letting out a few remarks on their minds.

"That's what you get for resisting, you had a choice y'know"

"Think you're better than the rest of us huh?"

"cry all you want, there's no one here to save you"

Spitting out blood, and wiping my mouth with my sleeve I begged for some forgiveness - "Please" "Let me go" -

"Hmm, you see. I really can't do that doll but you can get something else"

"what?"

The man's mouth distorted into a smug smile before he tore my jacket in half from the seams. I tried to cover my chest with the hand covered in blood as the other men laughed. He tore away my hand, slamming my head once more into the wall. Hard. Getting rid of any consciousness I may have had left. I silently cried as I felt my soul slip from my body.

My eyes started to shut , vision doubling as I heard the sound of metal scraping against the wall, faint screams came from infront me, my body getting weak. I heard men shouting, slicing, punching, and, the splatter of something that heavily fell on my face and clothes. Finally, I felt the hand that had intentions of violating my body fall, its owner seemingly dropping to the floor.

Forcing myself to open my eyes I saw a suit with colours of purple and black step towards me, lifting my body up.

"It's all good now. You'll be fine" The voice sounded almost mechanical behind the mask, the demeanour of the wearer gradually softening as he reassured me. I closed my eyes trusting the stranger with my life. I can trust him afterall..right?

[briskunt]

ike eveland hero/villain voice pack: no-spoilers review

got my hands on this voice pack recently and figured it would be prime content LMAO. i’m going to write down basic observations and hopefully it’ll convince y’all to support our boy 🙏

⚠️ BLIND REACTIONS TO THE VOICE PACKS BELOW! ⚠️

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

hero pack

first off this is one of the longer (if not longest ⁉️) standalone voice pack i have in my collection. hell, it might be twice as long as some other vps i have

ike has a lower voice than usual here. very warm blanket

but also a rougher type of ike, i think. he’s still the sweet guy you expect, but with a little more weight and responsibility, you know? most of the time people default him to “cute ike” so this is a really nice look into “cool ike” as well as cute

CORNY SCHWORNY SOUND EFFECT

speaking of i would be doing the audio boy a disservice if i didn’t mention the audio quality. ike vps have excellent atmospheric sound design and when i compare this one to his past vps, you can tell he had fun picking out sfx and mixing them

i’m impressed how much worldbuilding there is and how naturally it’s been implemented. this is an immersive vp

if you like when ike gets assertive and speaks up you’ll be happy. and if you like when ike gets royal-flash levels of chuuni dork you’ll be happy

CORNY SCHWORNY SOUND EFFECT RETURNS

might be my editor brain being nitpicky but he uses the same phrase to transition twice in a row and it set me off

oh holy shit he calls you that?

oh this voice pack would do numbers with a demographic

easily one of my new favorite vps. i don’t have every ike vp so apologies if this doesn’t apply, but out of my collection this one hits a niche that none of the others do: a cool, nonchalant-badass, resolute typa ike. don’t misunderstand though, he’s still as dorky as ever. honestly i think this is the dorkiest i’ve seen him in a vp

this pack is less fanservice, more story. yep, there are moments that seem romantic, but it’s very easy to imagine the relationship between ike and the listener as something else. it’s versatile and i really enjoy that considering how many voice packs go into the whole heterosexual-romance thing. i wasn’t kidding about the worldbuilding. it’s simple but effective, and illustrates the setting excellently. close your eyes when you listen to this one, it’s a good experience. ike put a lot of detail and effort into the voice performance and sfx, and it shows

if you liked luca’s pampering/scolding voice, you might enjoy this one too. definitely recommending for anyone that loves when ike takes the lead, or anyone that appreciates an ambiguous relationship between liver and listener! honestly, this would be an incredibly safe buy for even folx hesitant on buying voices. ike flexes some aspects of his wide range not just as a voice actor but also as a writer and sound designer. if you’ve heard that quilldren get well-fed from ike voices then they’ll be FEASTING on this one

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

villain

the wallpaper is only included in the villain pack. this art WILL make you sick in the head. i really love the rendering and lighting. you can recognize a lot of elements from his 1.0 outfit like the pattern on the left of his mantle, the pins (?), and his book. i’m glad i’m not tempted to change my wallpaper, because in every wallpaper included in the pack, ike or shoichi’s face would always get cut off by the clock on my iphone’s lock screen. beautiful artwork stunted by how niji awkwardly cuts off wallpapers

okay fuck what i said earlier now THIS is the longest standalone voice pack i own. and it’s not even close. looks like someone outdid himself

again low voice ike tskr tskr whatever. it’s lower than the hero pack. i haven’t compared it to the halloween eki stream, but it’s basically a faster-paced, perkier(?) eki voice

(to be clear it’s not eki. this is villain!ike. i think. will not update if it actually is him, i ain’t spoiling that)

surprisingly domestic here

he says a lot of big words

it’s giving cyrus from pokémon. you understand.

oh my god the backstory

LESGOOOOO THE LAUGH

oh he’s a little fucked up in this one

just a heads up: i’m sure it was plain before but the villain pack has way darker themes than the hero one. do i think it’s intense? not really. but if you have #yandere blocked then you might want to skip this one

once again the relationship is ambiguous here but imo it sounds more romantic than the hero one. this might be an overstatement, but if you can’t handle dubcon in general i’d also skip this. again, nothing explicit happens but if you really can’t stand when the villain has a good guy in their clutches, skip this one

anyways. that rasp is worth the warnings 😳

this is definitely a voice pack for a demographic

and i also understand why my friend popped off in the gc about it LMMAOOOOO

look. it’s a sfw voice pack. but if you’re a kinky son of a bitch you’ll find something to enjoy here. he talks down on you a bit and the subject matter sure is the subject matter.

i think of this as a more intense version of the hero pack. the setting is completely different than what you get in the hero pack and feels a lot more visceral. for example the sound effects are a bit more “realistic”, and the listener is in a dangerous place without any backup. to be clear: the listener is not evil in the villain vp.

i worry that i’m being too heavy-handed about warnings but considering some folx’ boundaries online it bears repeating! if you can’t handle yandere or dubcon, be careful. but if it’s only a mild discomfort to you, it should be fine.

regardless i doubt there will be another one vp like this for a long time. if you soaked up the eki stream like a sponge? GET THIS! if you like ike being mean and deranged get this. if you’re down horrendous sure, get this i guess, and then follow it up with ike’s white day ex if you have it? i feel like that would be a good pairing.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

overall

if you’re into voice packs then i’d say getting one of these is a must-buy. if not for the romance, then for the story and worldbuilding. if. if not the story then because hero!ike is a darling and villain!ike is hot.

even if he’s not your oshi ike’s packs are always a delight! and these are some of the most fun i’ve had with one of his releases. idk what else to say. if you like the guy even a little, it’s worth listening to. he’s definitely in his wheelhouse on both hero and villain. if this is your first ike vp you may be surprised how high the production value is considering it’s all by one guy

get hero if you want a lighthearted conflict, immersion, and a connection to the listener that isn’t necessarily romantic. get villain if you want more drama, more danger, more… uh… i wouldn’t really call it degradation but he has his moments. there isn’t a connected story, so feel free to get both but don’t sweat it if you don’t!

[chelleztjs18]

Night Time Shenanigans (W.M)

Wanda Maximoff x Female!AvengersReader

Summary: A fun night time snack run with your girlfriend.

Warning: None. Just a fluffy one.

Requested: Yes

A/n: Knock knock! It's another fluff fic with Wanda here! Thank you Curious George anon for the help during the process of writing on this one especially the corny ideas. haha. Happy reading!

Main Masterlist

Pietro slowly parks the car at the parking spot of the store that you want to go to. “Okay, y/n, we are here. Are you sure you want to go inside? I don’t mind going and getting the snacks everybody wants.” His blue eyes look at you in the back seat through the mirror.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine. I’m okay. I can find all the snacks.” you answer drunkenly as you tap his shoulders then get out of the car.

“But, you are drunk, y/n.” you ignore Pietro’s disagreement despite you can hear it from the open window of his car. “Sestra, are you gonna let her go by herself?” He added the question towards her twin sister.

“Oh course not, Piet. I’ll go with her.” Wanda replies and gets out of the car to catch you up.

Surprisingly, the world has been in pretty good peace. No aliens nor villains attack whatsoever lately, so you and your teammates have been having chances to relax and spend time together. Tonight is movie night with some drinking of course and right now you are a little more buzzed than usual.

You scurry your steps while trying not to be obvious that you are searching for your balance at the same time. Your eyes actively search where the snacks aisle is because everybody craves potato chips which you don’t understand why they want salty snacks when they are drunk.

Unlike the others, you crave crackers and anything sweet. So when you find the crackers and cookies aisle, you definitely forget your main destination.

Meanwhile Wanda is looking for you as she pushes the shopping cart. She knows you very well by now from dating you for more than two years and she goes straight to where she is sure where you are at now.

“There you are. Detka, you didn’t wait for me. I was looking for you.” She says as soon as she finds you looking around for your favorite.

“Babe, we’re crack-a-lackin!” you exclaimed. You are a quiet person when you are sober but when you are drunk, not so much. Alcohol usually gives you more confidence and makes you more at ease. Caught off guard with your pretty loud pun at the silent store, it slows her brain down to process it. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a few seconds.

“Get it, babe? Crack-a-lackin? You know, cracker- lacking because they don’t have the crackers that I like.” you explained.

The brunette Avengers playfully rolls her eyes and holds a smile as soon as she understands what you were trying to say. “You and your puns.” she giggles.

“What about the crackers that I gave you two days ago, you liked that one.” your girlfriend suggests as she rubs your back gently. “Nope, they don’t have it either.” You continue walking through the aisle.

“How about your favorite chocolate cookies?” She pitches another piece of advice to you.

“No, Nada, zilch. I looked for that too. Is it a National crackers and cookies day or something? How come they don’t have the good stuff here, why did people buy them all?” You rambled and pouted at the same time.

“Well, we can try other brands of cookies or different flavors.” Wanda adds as her eyes try to find other cookies that you might like.

“How about this—” before even Wanda can finish her question, she gets interrupted with the fact that you are not there with her.

“Y/n?” With a deep sigh, she walks to find you.

_____

As luck would have it, you are only an aisle away from her. Her heart smiles when she sees you examining the sweets shelves with a bag of M&M chocolates in your hands.

“What you got there?” she asks.

“Oh M&M and you know what, Wands? I think I’m like M&M.” your hooded eyes look at her confused green eyes.

“And, why is that?” Wanda asks in bewilderment.

“Because I also melt in your hands.” you stated your corny lines with a wink as you put the bag of treats in the carts.

She instantly snorts a laugh. “Oh my god, y/n. That was so cheesy.” she shakes her head a little and follows where you are going.

Wanda stops to pick up some chocolaty goodies for herself. Then she hears some rushed steps only to find you run back to her and you hide both of your hands behind your back. All smiling like a proud little kid who has a surprise for you.

“What do you have in your hands, baby?” she asks shortly before you hand her a bag of Hershey's kisses. “Don’t ever say I never give you kisses.” you playfully declared.

Wanda can’t help herself to laugh and this time she laughs louder.

“Well then I would ask for some more right now.” Wanda excitedly demands with a teasing smirk followed by her index finger gently taps her lips. You lean to her, letting your face get closer. right when your lips get close enough to hers, you stop and say “Oh Wanda, of course you’ll get some more kisses, I can’t ever Reese-ist that.” You waggle your eyebrows in a frisky way.

Wanda lets out a pretend gasp as her cheeks slowly turn color to a rosie shade. She batted her eyebrows in disbelief followed by another laugh. “Oh–my–god, babe! Sometimes I forget how corny you are.”

You look at her, adoring her smile and every single feature of her face. Her laughter sounds like the most beautiful melody ever exists. “Gosh Wanda, you are so gorgeous.” it takes a second for your lips to reach hers. Both of you smile on each other's lips after the kiss.

“Y/n, sweetie. That was very lovely. As much as I love our kiss but we still have to get the snacks and chips for the others.” Her fingers fix your hair a little, she lovingly smiles. Helplessly, in love with you and your dorkiness.

“Ah, yeah, right. Snacks and chips. Oh take a look at this, Wands! I'll get this for Natasha." You agreed but a few steps after, you got distracted with something and it reminds you of your red haired best friend.

"Truffle? I don't know that Nat likes chocolate truffles." A line appears between her eyebrows, as she squints with confusion.

"I don't know if she likes them either. I'm getting this just so I can say 'I knew you were truffle when you walked in' to her when I give it to her later." You patch a smile talking about your plan with Wanda.

“Ouh yeah, that’s a good one. I wanna see Nat’s face when you do that. So yeah get that chocolate truffle babe.” Wanda looks as excited as you are now and she is fully on board with it and then the two of you wander around.

As both of you two reach the cereal aisle, without hesitation you turn your way in and your girlfriend patiently follows you. Her mind automatically put milk in her imaginary shopping list if you are getting some cereals as well.

Then suddenly you halt yourself. “Oooh, my love, look! This is so you!” You grab a box off the shelf.

“Honey Nut Cheerio? Why?” she tilts her head a little, her brain trying to solve your pun-puzzle like usual.

“Well, you are my Honey and sometimeeeess just sometimes you can be a little ‘Nuts’ or weird on certain thing BUT not in a bad way though. So you are my Honey Nut.” your fingers form an air quote at the word Nuts while you carefully explain what you mean on your joke.

Wanda laughs at your antics. “Ooookaaaay, that’s a funny nickname. I can live with that and you know what? that makes you my sweet corn-pun.”

“Excuse me? your what?” you playfully ask.

“My sweet is because I always call you that. Corn-pun is because your puns you gave me have been pretty corny and I love them.”

“Hey now, I’m not corny.” you pretend that you are slightly offended by showing the fake pout on your blushing face.

“Malyshka, I let you call me Nuts, so it will be only fair if you let me call you corny.” she giggles and winks at the same time.

“Ah, okay okay. Fair enough. Gosh your brother will make fun of me so bad if he knows you are calling me corny.” you agree in defeat.

“Oh trust me, y/n. He will.” Wanda tries to hold a laugh on the funny thoughts. With that the two of you proceed to the chips aisle.

You and Wanda grab the chips that everybody wants, you are sobering up a little and the cart starts to get full. You are glad that you went to the store with Wanda. Your girlfriend’s cheeks feel tired from smiling and laughing a lot because of your jokes and puns. It’s her reason why she loves you, you always make her laugh and smile no matter what. Both of you even forgot that Pietro is waiting in the car for so long already until the silver haired Sokovian calls his twin sister.

A call from Pietro and a few text conversations with Natasha later, Wanda can’t find you anywhere near her. Aisle after aisle, she searches for you. She keeps guessing where you would be but she has no luck finding you. She gives up and just right before Wanda decides to use her magic to find you, she remembers one last aisle that she is sure that’s where you are at now.

And, Wanda was right. She found you at the toy aisle, looking at two boxes of Lego sets on each of your hands. She noticed that you look as indecisive as you were when you tried to decide the matching tattoos you have with Wanda. She knows how much you love Lego and tattoos. You love them so much that you have too many choices to pick out.

“My sweet.” Wanda greets you as she smiles with such adoration.”

“Hm?” You answer knowingly it was her while you observe the two boxes in your hands. Your eyebrows furrowed, your gaze carefully bounced left and right.

“Getting yourself more legos? What are the choices this time?” Wanda asks as she stands closer to you and the boxes float in the air with her red magic tendrils around it so she can check out your dilemmas.

“Oh, I’m debating between these Bowser sets or the Electric Guitar one. Both of them will be so much fun to build but the Bowser one will take longer than the other one.” you explain and you start to pour a little.

“Aw pumpkin. Why don’t you get both of them? I have Tony’s card anyway.” Wanda casually pitches the idea.

“Well, it’s never really about the price, Wands. It’s more about how long it takes to get them done. Sometimes I want to finish it fast but not too fast either, you know.”

“But you like and you want both of them, right?” another question comes out of Wanda’s lips

“Uh, yes.”

“Well, in that case, we are getting you both of these sets. Take your time on building it and I will help you sometimes if you want, y/n. I love Legos too and you enjoy it when we are doing it together anyway.” Both boxes float away then gently land into the shopping cart.

“Let's start one of them tonight as soon as we get back at the compound.” Her face lights up with excitement. She is very much sure that you would love her idea.

“Oh yeah, that’s a great idea, Wanda. Sam and Bucky will pick the movie tonight and they always choose horror movies. You never like scary movies.” 

“Uh huh. So, let’s go. Before Pietro comes here looking for us and takes us to the car with his power.” Wanda grabs your hand and walks with you while her magic pushes the shopping cart around.

_____

“Your savior is here!” you exclaim as you walk in holding bags of snacks in one hand and your girlfriend’s hand in your other. All your teammates cheer for your arrival.

“Anyway, y/n and I decided to call it a night. We will just chill in our room.” Wanda announces with her obvious thick accent.

You hear them expressing their disappointment. “I know, I know but we don’t like scary movies and we know that Bucky and Sam will pick one plus I just got new legos.” You explain casually as you hand each of them their snacks and intentionally leave Nat’s snack as the last one to be handed out.

“Where’s mine, y/n?” Nat curiously peeks inside the bag then looks at you.

“Oh don’t worry Natty. Here you go.” you give her the snacks with a knowing smirk and being your best friend for years, she knows that you are up to no good. Even though you are a quiet person most of the time, you love joking around here and there especially with Natasha.

“What? What’s up with the smirk?” The red haired Avengers confidently shows her suspicions through her tone and question.

“Nothing. I got you some sweets too.” You pull out the chocolate truffles you got her and Wanda secretly excited to see how her reactions are going to be while internally holding her giggles.

“Awww, y/n, that’s so nice—” Natasha’s gratitude got interrupted by you.

“I knew you were truffles when you walked in, Nat.” you put them in her hand. Confused, Natasha’s gaze flicks between you and the truffles.

The team laughs at the same time with her finally realizing what your pun means.

“Haha. Very funny. You better run now Y/n, before I give you trouble and kick your ass!” Natasha plays along.

“Welp, gotta dash! Come on babe!” You grab Wanda’s hand then sprint to your room followed by Natasha.

Of course, your girlfriend came to the rescue. As she giggles at the situation, Wanda suddenly stops and uses her magic on Natasha. In a blink, Natasha floats and then lands on the couch as if she is held hostage.

“Wanda!! This is not fair! Let me kick your girlfriend’s ass!” You hear Natasha demand her freedom from Wanda’s magic.

“Sorry, Nat! Nobody can kick my Y/n. The magic will be gone in fifteen minutes.” Wanda answers from afar.

“What?? Oh come on! I can’t even eat my snacks and the freaking truffle for fifteen minutes?!” Natasha complains at the same time as the others laugh but you know she is far away from being upset with you, well you hope so.

“That was so funny. Come on detka, let’s build your legos.” Wanda laughs. She holds your hands and continues her power walk to your shared bedroom.

A/n: Welp, thats it for today! let me know what you think. Reblogs and comments are highly appreciated. Follow me for more. See you in next!

Cheerio!

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[writing-on-the-wahl]

Partner in Crime

For @thepenultimateword's Song-Story Writing Challenge Extravaganza

Song prompt submitted by @starry-night-author - I hope this does what you'd imagined justice!

(song info at the end, read the snippet first :)

Empty shadows and dim streetlights. 

A locked door and a pair of headlights. 

Henchman slid down further in the passenger seat of the dark sedan parked strategically across the street from her quarry as the pale lights pulled around the corner and the silence of the empty street was shattered. 

--already late, got to hurry. He might have already left and if I blow this job--

Crooked tires and a slamming door. 

--do I have all the supplies? Yes, you checked twice you numskull, the code, the code, don’t drop anything--

The figure fumbled over their bags until a single finger snaked out towards the shining metal buttons that stood out against the weathered side of the of the old brick mansion that took up half the block. 

--there we go, 64729, yes now the handle, no!--

A thick folder smacked against the ground, and the  crouched awkwardly with their laden arms to reclaim it, turning enough that the streetlight gleamed off the smooth cheeks of the fresh-faced hero. 

When the door finally slammed shut behind them, Henchman dropped her focus, and the chaotic thoughts faded into the quiet buzzing of a trapped fly. 

Four weeks of nightly surveillance, and she finally had the last code they needed. 

Her pen scratched across the inside of her wrist. 64729. 

As the minutes turned to hours, she let her eyes close and her mind wander. He wouldn’t want to wait, not with the XX approaching, Everything else was already in place. Tomorrow, the wait would be over. 

The sky was two shades lighter when the door finally opened again. 

The figure reimerged, hands empty, and darted to their car, head ducked and eyes scanning the shadows. 

The red tail lights were still visible when Henchman blinked, and he was beside her, the driver's door already clicking shut. 

His thoughts hummed, flying by like a bullet train, smooth and blurred like they always were. “You got it?” It was more a statement than a question, and Henchman pressed her lips together to keep from beaming at the unspoken praise. 

“I got it,” she confirmed, twisting her arm to show him the numbers on her wrist. 

This thoughts zoomed, as fast as he was, until the train slowed into a single track of a toy train running circles under a tree as he caught her hand and slowly kissed the inside of her wrist. 

Genius, brilliant talent, indispensable. 

Henchman was glad for the shadows that kept the heat in her cheeks hidden. 

When his mind raced, it was like a override channel, white noise she could focus on to tune out the chaos of the crowds around her. 

But she loved even more the rich texture of his mind when he slowed down and his thoughts turned to appreciation. His praises never failed to make her melt. 

“You’re incredible, H.” 

She barely stopped herself from responding with “No you are.” It would have been too corny, and unnecessary. Villain was a genius, and he knew it. 

His thoughts picked up again, flying by but at a pace she could follow. A silver keypad, a brick hallway, a gleaming brass safe. His forehead brushed her as his thoughts slowed to a stop as the safe swung open and revealed their treasure. 

She looked into his dark scheming eyes, so close to hers. 

“Tomorrow?” 

Villain smiled the wicked smile she loved so much, and, in her mind, he leaned forward an inch until their lips finally met. 

He sat back into his seat, already running through the plan again. 

“Tomorrow.” 

-------

Hurry, hurry we’re going to be late!

Two cappuccinos, one americano, one diet americano, three blacks, two chai-- no three? Was it two? Mia, Thomas, Mindy? Did she have one?? Who am I missing-- 

Four blocks down and take a left--

I should have picked the black shoes, I can already feel the blisters forming. 

Can I just quit and sell books online? I don’t want to people today… 

Get out of the way you moron it looks like rain twelve dozen is not enough cute dog there she is I want oh sorry they’re calling again now please sweaters work open mine stopmyturnclosebootslatepeopleparkwalkinggo--

“Henchman.”

Large hands dropped on her shoulders, and the flood of voices disappeared as the purring hum of thoughts wrapped around her. 

Villain slid one hand down her shaking arms to grasp her hand. 

“Henchman.” 

At the second time, she looked up at him. 

“You can do this. Twenty minutes and we will be back at base.” 

Base. Headquarters. Safety. Home. 

The sanctuary Villain had made for her where no other minds could drown out her own. 

Henchman turned back to the street crowded with light and people. So different from its quiet shadows of the night. 

“Henchman.” 

She pulled her eyes back to Villain. “Six minutes of focus, and then it will be over.” His hand on her shoulder tightened. “Six minutes, just like we practiced.” 

She forced a swallow and a nod. 

His mind ran through the plan once more, and she did her best to follow as the voices pressed against her. 

When Villain was satisfied she wasn’t going to fall apart, he released her and stepped back. 

“We’ll just walk down the street like a happy couple and slip inside.” 

The nod came easier this time. It was an image she often pictured. 

The hand that was still wrapped around hers shifted until their fingers were intertwined, and her heart stuttered as he pulled her out of the alley and into the stream of pedestrians. 

The warmth of it occupied her mind until Villain pulled her to an abrupt halt and before she’d registered they’d stopped, the door was open and they were slipping into the narrow brick hallway. 

Henchman lost track of the turns as Villain pulled her through the labyrinth of hallways. 

Using the humming of his thoughts as a buffer as she used her powers to avoid guards and patrons as he dragged her through the repurposed mansion. 

Three minutes and fourth two seconds since they left the safety of the alley, they came to a stop in front of a wide mahogany door. 

Villain picked the lock in the blink of an eye. His hand on the handle, he turned back to her. 

Henchman shook her head. 

No minds were present behind that door. 

The safe was covered by the painting behind the desk. A cheap imitation of a Monet that was worth less than the gaudy frame that held it. 

Henchman dropped into the leather desk chair with a sigh of relief as Villain went to work at the safe.

The whirring of the safe handle was the only sound as Henchman shuffled through the desk drawers, pocketing a golden hilted letter opener and a ruby crusted pennant ring. 

Leaning back in the chair, she enjoyed the pillowing cushion of silence that eased the pounding headache that was building behind her eyes. 

Through the window she heard a dog barking and the distant echo of a siren. 

Henchman sat up with a jolt as the final tumbler dropped into place and the door to the safe creaked open. 

“Wait!” 

A cloud of mist exploded from the safe; her warning too little, too late. 

Henchman doubled over as the tear gas burned her eyes. The door they’d closed behind them slammed open, and the flood of mind-voices returned like a tidal wave. 

A room that blocked out the thoughts of others. Oh how foolish she’d been. Villain had created for her just such a space. 

The voices crested with the throbbing in her head that had returned tenfold.  

The loudest of the voices was filled with derision. 

“Did you really think we were such fools?” 

A hand on her shoulder. 

She ignored the judgment in the hero’s question and looked up at her partner in crime. His eyes were creased with regret. 

Villain. 

It was as if he was the one reading her mind this time. 

His thoughts were a jumbled mess. A ten lane freeway rather than a bullet train. 

Analyzing all the possibilities. 

But Henchman already knew the answer. 

He’d come back for her. 

She lifted her hand to his on her shoulder. 

“Run.”

The song for this prompt was Partner in Crime by Madilyn Mai

Taglist:

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[o0katiekins0o]

Fans of Mark Gatiss know that he's a hardcore horror girly and his most formative experiences of the genre is with the high aesthetic atmospheric horror of the Hammer films.

Which makes the vibe of BBC Sherlock make all the more sense given that plot-wise it was effectively a police procedural/detective drama (to quote Honest Trailers "It's 'Law and Order' rules, folks!") But it never /feels/ like that while you're watching it.

It's because it borrows so much of the visual styling, story beats, and even sound design from atmospheric horror films of the 60s and 7Os while telling a modern version of a Victorian era character.

The mid-century aesthetics are almost like a stepping stone between the two time periods that helps it gel together.

BBC Sherlock isn't just a modern retelling of the Sherlock Holmes books- it's a horror retelling as well. And the ultimate proof of this concept lies in the only totally original regular character in the show: Molly Hooper.

If we could just start with the aesthetic of Molly Hooper...

Feminine colors in modest cuts- Fashionable in a very mid-century vintage way and in stark contrast to basically every other character. And it largely goes unnoticed at how differently Molly is styled because at the time "Twee" fashion was seeing a surge in popularity and Louise Brealey was already pretty much on the vanguard of that trend in her personal style before being cast on the show.

But costumes are choices, deliberate ones made by creators. I think this choice was meant to evoke a specific trope in all our minds.

Molly is indeed the only original character in a show the creators swore would not have any original characters. And why would they? How would they? Throw new characters into an adaptation that has a cult following that spans longer than a century?

What kind of original character could hold up against literal literary icons?!

One built on a classic trope, Mark Gatiss's very own favorite horror trope: The Final Girl.

We almost know her right away when we see her- the clever, resourceful, modest (brunette!) and almost as soon as she turns up, she's unwittingly used by the central villain to get close to Sherlock.

She aids Sherlock in his clandestine activities and seems to be his source for the body parts he experiments with and earns his trust enough to play a central role in faking his death. Then ultimately is trapped unknowingly in a SAW style house of horrors scenario wherein every other participant up to that point had been brutally killed.

She lived to tell the tale.

She ticks every box on the Final Girl check list, right down to the cardigan, high ponytail and tweed skirt of the smart one in a group of young campers who *doesn't* have shower sex while there's a mad killer on the loose.

If the story were told from her perspective, it would be a horror and she would be the final girl.

Her presence as a character cements the horror atmosphere and makes it feel natural instead of corny but also doesn't oversell it past the point of overshadowing the detective genre aesthetics.

In fact she blends in so well she, and everything she represents, almost slips passed the audience unnoticed- the way all final girls survive.

[kendrixtermina]

Another thing where Chibnall fucked up is that unlike previous showrunners, he never really tried to sell us on the companions as important deuteragonists who have cool stories in their own right.

I mean the classics sometimes had the problem that they would come up with cool character concepts but then under-utilize them / not think of anything better to with them than having the villains kidnap them again, but still it was attempted to have them be interesting & contrasting, for example they would follow up a sour snarky character with a cheerful one.

And in the pre-chibnall new series in particular, they've always had distinctive dynamics planned-out arcs. You couldn't swap one new series companion for another & still get the same episode. They were damn near the main characters.

With most of the companions we've had so far you could say what they'll do if you throw them at a given situation:

Donna would stay grounded & look for the common sense solution, Rose would usually comfort someone who's upset & discover crucial info that way, Martha would keep a cool head, start trying to puzzle things out and try to help, Clara would take charge & try to get the situation under control, Amy would just charge into it based on intuition, Rory would remain unfazed, tag along but also point out the danger, Bill would be curious and voice some unusual question or observation...

What do Yaz, Graham, Ryan or Dan do? Mostly just make corny jokes & follow the Doctor around, defaulting to whatever she does... You could swap 90% of their lines with none the wiser cause it exists mostly to prompt exposition while failing to imbue it with meaning & stakes..

They rarely ever act of their own accord, make important, plot-changing decisions or even react much to what happens to them. Nor do they really get one on one scenes with the Doctor or bond emotionally (except Ryan and Graham, sometimes, in the stiffest, corniest way possible), and no just having the characters TELL us they like each other is no substitute.

And if the characters don't seem to care, well, the viewers won't care either.

Even the Yaz having a lesbian crush thing which you'd think would be a really big aspect of her character, was apparently a suggestion by Mandip & Whittaker themselves, which means that Chibs had absolutely no plan for his characters expect just being... there, until it was time for them to go. So little plan he could just throw in a major thing like that. I mean I'm glad he did cause else it would have been ever blander, but still.

You'd think that with a big group of characters you could flesh them out by having them disagree about what to do, play different roles and react in contrasting ways, but that idea never occurred to Chibnall.

Let's compare the introduction of the "fam" to... not even the new series, but the very first serial from the 60s. Some aspects of it seem dated in hindsight, I could've done without the screaming & the Red Indian line, but still all four main characters are distinctly established & make meaningful decisions. The story would not turn out the same without any of them present:

Barbara is introduced as being worried about a student & shown to be responsible & intuitive. She decides that they should check on Susan, and later that they should save the caveman rather than just escape, more or less setting the story in motion.

Ian is introduced as brave, unflappable and inquisitive. He's the one who proposes taking bold action, moving the plot forward, but he is also more calm about it the whole time & continues to do so in a scary unfamiliar situation.

The First Doctor is introduced giving nonsense answers and trying to bullshit his way out of a situation. We see that he is quite cocky & guarded, but also tends to think his way out of situation. While he tends to respond to fear & pressure by bluffing, we see that he is still frightened underneath. (it is when he admits this that we get the first bonding moment between him & Barbara) His contributions to the plot are to take off with the teachers on board (half to avoid being discovered & half cause he's offended they don't believe he had a spaceship), and then later he solves the caveman murder.

Susan is shown to be quite smart, but also very timid, and she describes her time hiding out on earth as the happiest in her life, showing that she would maybe prefer a quieter, more stable life than the one she leads. She's probably the most passive character, seeing as she's the youngest, but since she likes and trusts both the teachers and the Doctor, she's essential to keep the group together until everyone else starts trusting each other.

Note that at no point does anyone say "Ian is brave & unflappable" or "Barbara is responsible & intuitive", rather we are shown, not told.

Now, what are we told about the fam, and just as important, how are we told?

Yaz wants more challenges than her job offers. We are told this because she just states it out loud.

Ryan & Graham don't get along, but Graham would like them to. We know this because Graham explicitly tells us.

Ryan is frustrated because despite ppl's encouragement, his disability presents real limits. We know because he tells us so.

..okay? Kinda unsubtle delivery, but it's a start. All of this could have potential if it's developed more, especially the last thing. You could make interesting characters with these basic points.

But what happens then?

The plot is advanced not by character decisions, but by a bunch of random coincidences: The Doctor just crashes into them, Ryan just happens upon the onion, Yaz just happens to be on duty when he calls etc.

The main characters learn that they've been implanted with bombs... and barely react. Ryan reacts more when his phone is erased for the sake of a "phone obssessed millenial" joke than to learning he's about to die.

Imagine if they had Ryan complain about how he'll die & that is yet another unfair thing in his life, or: Graham chooses at this moment to act protective on Ryan. Or: Yaz tries to keep a cool head & control the situation, maybe having some friction with the Doctor's attempts to do the same but also impressing her. Just gimme any character/emotion, Chris!

Notice how they show Ryan having a youtube channel... and it's the blandest, most generic thing ever. This was THE opportunity to characterize him: What videos does he watch, what videos does he make, does he have a distinct username? No, it's just his name with some numbers. They just wanted the video framing device, so he has a youtube, but they don't think about what it says about him.

Remember for example, how Clara picked 'Oswin' as an username (short for Oswald for the Win), & how this shows that she is confident and a bit vain.

Now imagine if they had Ryan pick something with a relatable downtrodden millenial vibe, or had him reference internet culture. Just anything that characterizes him in any way.

When we get character scenes at all they feel sort of tacked on & removed from the plot, like the plot stops 5 minutes for Ryan & Graham to have a scene, and while the plot is happening everyone becomes a plank of wood walking from location to location.

That's the worst thing to do, especially in sci fi when you have wild fantastic things happening! The plot and the characters should always be connected: The plot is made to challenge the characters, and the characters reactions give the plot weight.

Any time a Dalek showed up in RTD's run, everyone panicked, even the normally level-headed characters - and that's how they sold that these pepperpots are a big deal. Donna being needed to save the universe is designed as a counterpoint to her self-esteem issues. Martha has a problem with prioritizing herself, so the plot throws her in taxing situations untill she realizes that she can't keep doing this.

We care about River meeting the Doctor out of order because she emotes about it. We would care much less about the puddle person if she wasn't Bill's girlfriend trying to keep her promise. We wouldn't care as much about the timecrack if it hadn't eaten Amy's fiancé. As phantastical as the impossible girl thing is, on the character level it has a pretty simple meaning: The Doctor owes clara a debt & wants to thank her but is also suspiciou cause he's jaded from past losses, and we then explore how his character responds to this situation.

In Chibnall's writing, this connection is absent, and so neither the plot nor the characters manage to really land emotionally. So much ppl stopped watching cause it was just bland flavorless & not exciting anymore.

[eerna]

PLEASE READ SERPENT AND THE WINGS OF NIGHT FOR THE FMC'S VILLAIN FATHER THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS SOO INTRIGUING and 1000000x better than the main romance the existence and the relationship between oraya (the fmc) and raihn (the generic nice guy mmc / love interest) is theee most godawfully boring part of the books but honestly i really want to know your thoughts on vincent (the villain father in question)!!! and if you have enough of the mental capacity, read the 2nd book too just for vincent & oraya -- by enough mental capacity i mean if you have the strength to go through shitty prose and an absolute slog of the plot just for oraya and her morally awful dad. mind the extremely corny sex scenes though they're bad like really really bad

anyway yes you can very much draw parallels between this book and acotar its more like if acotar was better written (which is nawt saying much like at all) and if rhysand was the same face and name attached to abs and a **** except hes not a raging tyrant but even more generic and if feyre had a war criminal father lowkey like madoc but more willing to show tenderness now and then

WHOA OKAY a problematic parental figure is 100% my thing (and honestly that was the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the title, now I know why). However. I have to say I am severely rhysandphobic and read enough bad sex for a whole lifetime over the course of 2023 so if the rest of the book is indeed the way you've described it, I really don't have it in me to go through it, I am sorry

[avatarl0v3r]

White Widow - Track 1

Now Playing: By Design

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Warnings: cussing

Pairing: hobie x black! reader

Content: earth-65 scene

Notes: in this story specifically miguel is in his early 20s and looks at yn as a little sister while she looks at him as a older brother

Extra Notes: yall ima be so real, we DO NOT like gwen in this story, what so ever, she can kick rocks and throw pebbles. but in this chapter yn likes her for now...

you were standing to the side with jessica while lyla spoke to you, jessica and miguel “vulture is currently on earth-65, which mind you could ruin that universe if we don’t do something. like NOW!” miguel scowled and mumbled something in spanish you didn’t understand “i’ll be back” he said as he opened a portal looking back at you and jessica.

you looked at miguel before speaking “see ya later” you said with a smile and thumbs up, he nodded at you before walking through the portal. you turned to jess “shall we?” she laughed at you before before walking away you following right behind.

—

a few moments later lyla appeared on your watch "miguel needs back up" she said hiding a laugh "we'll be there soon" you said before she disappears.

you and jessica rush to grab her motorcycle her going into the portal along with you on the back. when earth-65 came into view jessica took her motorcycle and pushed him back just to pull him back in with her webs and spinning her wheel on his face, you jumped into action after her, jumping off her motorcycle and into the air and punching him to the ground below before swinging over to jessica and landing next to her after she did her dramatic entrance.

you landed next to her in a graceful manner before looking over to see this earths spider woman looking at you both with wide eyes "spider woman" "white widow or spider woman, whatever" the girl kept staring before finding her voice "me too."

"are you uh?" jess looked shocked before she remembered she was pregnant "oh this," as she put her hands on her now swollen belly "we dont know the sex yet my husband wants it to be a surprise. hes really corny. but SO hot." "will you adopt me," jess and you made eye contact immediately before saying at the same time "what?" "what? what?"

"guys, can we focus on the big, fire-breathing threat to time and space, please?!" all three of you look over and see miguel still fighting vulture "oh shit, right big medieval vulture villain" you said as you ran away right after jess.

you jumped on jessicas bike with her as she drove on the wall miguel joining the both of you as you watched the girl fight the man bird, "what about her?" "no" miguel deadpanned. you joined in "come on we need more spiders in the ss" "no" you started smiling under your mask finally taking your white and gold headphones off "is it because she called you all those names and let vulture pretty much beat your ass??" he glared at you "no." "do you say anything other than no" jess said annoyed "no-" you chimed in "yes he does."

"why not" he looked almost annoyed at her question "you know why." he said before you rolled your eyes and jumped from the motorcycle miguel following close behind you "ill help get people out" you shouted at him "ill get vulture" you swung to the ground grabbing people and helping them to the nearest exit. the next thing you knew the glass ceiling at the top of the building exploded and was coming down "oh shit heads up yall!!" before you went back to grabbing people "dont let him out, he'll disrupt the cannon" miguel said as he and vulture went out the once glass ceiling.

you didnt know what happened outside but you knew a helicopter was coming down into the building, you watched as the spider woman of this earth started making a large spiderweb as to sstop the copper from hitting the ground. you sprung into action.

you, miguel and jess ran over grabbing the helicopter with your webs trying to break the impact. your webs were burning your fingers with how tightly you were holding them and doing your best to go against gravity, fortunately the helicopter didnt hit the ground and everyone was safe.

you stood next to miguel as he grabbed vulture "thats what i was gonna do" you looked up at him "mhm sure you were, lets get the hell outta here, some of us have a warm bubble bath calling their name at home."

but before you could even turn to open the portal you heard yelling, you jogged over to see what was happening the girl took her mask off and the officer which you assumed was her dad because thats what he was calling her aimed his gun at her. out of instinct you grabbed the gun and pulled it away from him and miguel threw a device meant to trap anomalies to trap her father.

"hey. hey. hey just breath we got you right miguel?" he sighed "lyla, scan this mess" her scanned around you all "no further anomilies, canon remains intact." miguel pressed a few buttons on his watch opening a portal back to hq.

jess walked to miguel "we cant just leave her here, shes doing this on her own" miguel was silent "c'mon mig, if she stays here her pops will put her in jail, that could mess up the canon as it is" miguel looked at you before sighing deeply as he looked back at her "i dont know how to fix this" the girl said quietly as you looked back to miguel "yea well, join the club," he said throwing a watch at her.

you smiled at him "i knew you hadda heart somewhere under that cold demeanor" you said laughing. "zip it." he said sternly before walking into the portal you following behind "wowww mig, allat over what i said your so dramatic and for what."

jessica watched the interaction between the two of you she knew miguel cared deeply about you, hell he even looked at you like his little sister, she also knew hed do anything for you. the only time he showed even a flicker of emotion was when talking to you, but you on the other hand seen all his emotions and knew him better than most people in the ss.

she watched as the two of you walked through the portal miguel repeatedly telling you to "shut the hell up", she looked at the girl one last time before walking through the portal.

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