#i love my characters and i could put them in dozens of scenarios that would be very funny for them to deal with

[carcarrot]

old man yells at cloud about constant sequels

[yusume-the-writer]

Double Confession

Carpaccio Luo-Yang x Finn Ames

This request was made by @mysticalpersonpoetry I hope you like it and forgive me for my delay.

This is my first time writing about two canon characters so I don't know if it's like my other writings I hope you like it

Warning: This fanfic is Canon x Canon, if you don't like this type of content I recommend skipping it

Genre: Mild angst about unrequited feelings but happy ending, fluff

Summary: During Valentine's month Finn decides to confess his feelings to Carpaccio without knowing what would happen

This month was February....the same month as Valentine's Day, so of course there would be people confessing their love to their romantic interests

This was something Finn knew and experienced every year and this was no different.

Lemon gave Mash a bag decorated with red, pink and purple hearts that contained a large portion of profiteroles and a small profiterole doll for him.

Tom and Lance had their desks filled with letters, chocolates and confessional gifts from secret admirers or from girls who had the courage to give them to him.

Surprisingly Dot got a love letter along with a chocolate which he was bragging about to anyone who could hear (Finn could see that Lance looked like his ears were slightly pink while Dot said that if she knew who he was he would ask her in affair)

However Finn didn't get anything on Valentine's Day...

But he wanted to give someone a gift that day

After Carpaccio lost and he was forced to lose an excuse to him, Finn and him started to get along well.

And of course there were moments when Finn got scared, but that went away with time as they got to know each other better.

Finn, without realizing it, began to notice the smallest details about Carpaccio

How every time he was focused he would pout, or when his eyes seemed to glow like a child when he talked about his research, or when he looked like a squirrel when he put a large amount of berries in his mouth

Finn couldn't deny that maybe he had fallen in love and now he understood why girls liked him so much.

So here Finn was staring at a box with a yellow tint and a black ribbon that he made as a gift for Carpaccio.

The problem was he was nervous

'What if Carpaccio denies this? What if he doesn't accept the confession and doesn't want to be my friend? What if he yells at me? What if...' Finn created dozens of scenarios that showed Carpaccio denying the gift and the confession of love

'....But what if he accepts...?' Suddenly a little voice inside Finn says making him realize something

There's a 50/50 chance Carpaccio could deny or accept

Without realizing it Finn thought 'What would Carpaccio look like blushing?'

Would his cheeks blush red or pink? Or would he become shy and stutter like Abyss stutters when a girl talks to him?

Finn snorted and put his hand over his mouth to hide his laughter as he imagined Carpaccio stuttering like Abyss.

"Finn?" Suddenly a voice appears behind him making him startled.

"AHHHHH!" Finn screams as he turns around and comes face to face with the person he was thinking about.

Luo-Yang Carpaccio

"Sorry for scaring you" Carpaccio says as Finn calms down from his scare

"Oh no! It's okay, I was in the moon world too much that I didn't even notice him" Finn states while scratching his cheek

Then Finn notices a box in Carpaccio's hand

Ah... So someone was faster....

"You have someone...?" Finn trying to hide his disappointment that the negative thoughts were right he asks while pointing to the box in Carpaccio's hand

Suddenly Carpaccio has a slightly pink tone on his cheeks that couldn't be noticed but unfortunately Finn noticed

Finn felt like an idiot for thinking that Carpaccio would like someone like him or a boy like him.

Unfortunately his negative thoughts were right once again-

"And for you..." Suddenly Carpaccio says as he raises his hand with the box in front of Finn

Carpaccio then looked at him with pink cheeks and he looked at him with hope for Finn's response "Finn... I have feelings for you, could I take you on a date?" He asks

...

...

...

...

'.....Eh?......' Finn tries to process the information given to him 'And for me?' he finally processed the information

Suddenly Finn's face turned a red that could compare to Dot's hair.

This worries Carpaccio, as he did not expect this reaction from Finn.

"And... f-for me?" Finn stutters as he realizes his positive thoughts were right.

"Yes... if you don't want to accept my feelings I'm fine w-" Before Carpaccio finished Finn bowed while showing his box

"I have feelings for you too!!!" Finn screams which was probably heard by the whole school, but he didn't care

"Serious!" Carpaccio says in a surprised tone

Then Finn returns to his position while still holding the box extended.

Carpaccio looked at him with great surprise in his eyes his cheeks were now red which could also be compared to Dot's hair

It was a lovely sight for Finn

"Y-yes! I would agree to go on a date with you!" Finn smiles as he accepts the box of Carpaccio and places his in his hand.

"....Okay...." Carpaccio didn't look like it but he felt inside like a child who had just won something that he had wanted for a long time

But it was true that he gained something he had wanted for a long time, Finn's love.

With a few more confirmations Finn and Carpaccio head towards the school exit for their meeting

𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒖𝒔

"....And that's what happened" Finn says while staring at his friends expression

Dot was looking at him with wide eyes, Lemon had both hands over her mouth to contain her scream of happiness, Mash was eating a profiterole, Lance had his eyebrows raised with a monotonous expression on his face and Tom was just smiling at him.

"Congratulations Finn! May your relationship be as strong and tough as bamboo!!" Tom says while giving Finn a thumbs up

"I'm so happy for you Finn!" Lemon says while holding Finn's hands

"I'm glad you guys got along well" Mash says as soon as he takes the profiterole out of his mouth

"WHY IS NOBODY SAYING THAT HE'S DATING CARPACCIO?!?!?!??" Dot screams when she realizes that everyone seemed to forget that Carpaccio was a crazy guy for wanting to feel pain

"No one cares about your stupid opinion" Lance says as he turns to face Dot who glares at him

"I DIDN'T ASK YOU THE PRETTY BOY!!!" Dot says ready to fight Lance

Lance also looks ready to fight Dot, as he pulls out his wand.

"FIGHT OUTSIDE!!!" Finn shouts at both of them

It would be another normal day for the group with the information about Finn and Carpaccio's relationship

[twilight-deviant]

Do you have any fiskmatt headcanon?

Thank you for asking. ♥ I guess my answer is... kinda?

It's difficult to say because anytime I think of a FiskMatt scenario for fics, or art, or just for fun, the conditions will always be a little different. How I think they'd behave in one universe can differ wildly from how I think they'd behave in another.

Maybe I can still answer by breaking it up into a few categories.

By the way, if any other FiskMatt shippers out there [insert Arrested Development "There are dozens of us" gif] wanna share some headcanons, I'm all ears. 👂

Realistic Relationship

Maybe I should start with a disclaimer that, despite the name of this category, there is no "realistic relationship." And despite fandom wishes and my own shipping behavior, I do believe that canon Matt Murdock is straight as an arrow. (Waiting for any evidence to the contrary.) Fisk less so, but women are still his preference to the point I have some difficulty imagining him with another man. So aside from the fact they hate each other, I don't think they ever would "realistically" be together. Gonna ship em anyway.

I think my primary headcanon for a universe where Fisk and Matt ever get together is... it's temporary. There's so much UST between these two characters that wild impulse could, ya know, maybe lead to aggressive makeouts. Like any villain/hero ship, the forbidden nature of it would excite them both into exploring something they know they shouldn't. That's the appeal. But they are both too stubborn to give an inch in any other aspect of their lives, and the incompatibility of those lives would inevitably lead to them breaking it off. Maybe amicably, probably violently. Unfortunately, they have to live with the memories.

The inherent secrecy of a clandestine relationship is also intriguing. Matt would rather die than tell Foggy or Karen he is dating/not-dating Wilson Fisk. Besides, it's just a temporary lapse in sanity. It wouldn't be worth the fallout with friends when he's probably ending things next week. Depending how long they're together though, Matt could become complacent over time, sloppy. Maybe he takes a call from Fisk without thinking about the fact Foggy's in the room. Maybe he accepts a ride home in Fisk's car because it's raining, but Karen happens to see him. So on...

On Fisk's side of things (regarding above), I don't think he'd have a problem telling Wesley eventually. Wesley doesn't trust it/Matt/Daredevil though. The relationship doesn't exactly get his blessing, but he supports Fisk having something he wants. He does increase surveillance and checks on Matt Murdock, waiting for something incriminating. But Wesley is the only person in Fisk's life who can know. He has too many enemies to let any of them think there's a weakness to exploit. (Side note: How good would it be if someone did try to threaten him with Matt's safety, and Fisk makes the decision that his business matters more? Eh, hopefully Matt will get himself out of the situation. They're definitely broken up now though.) But between Matt's friends and Fisk's enemies, they are more than content to keep the whole thing on the down low.

So long as Fisk doesn't know Matt is Daredevil, he admires, respects, and maybe even crushes on him. And that's basically canon imo. In the series, even after Matt put him in jail, Fisk still liked him and had no plans for revenge. (Not until Matt threatened Vanessa. Dummy.) Because he respected the idea that Matt acted with honest integrity, not antagonistic retribution, only doing what he thought was right. I love thinking about Fisk's opinion of Matt sans the alter-ego reveal.

Going along with above, a Daredevil-oblivious Fisk could be interested in dating Matt-- if hesitant that his life might taint Matt's perceived purity. And given the reputable, philanthropic public profile he has, he doesn't understand why Matt turns him down. And it is a heavy emotional blow. He also still has feelings™.

To give Matt a little angst, maybe in his weaker moments he acknowledges the tragedy of Wilson Fisk. Here is a man that can truly understand him like no other. No one loves the city like them, to obsession and possessiveness. They can agree on just as many things as they disagree on. There is compatibility in areas that matter. But the lives that led them to feel the same about these things took them to different conclusions on how to fix them. And that's the tragedy, the fact Matt does understand Fisk. He just hates what he does.

Again this is basically canon, but I love the idea of them obsessing over each other so much that it ruins their other relationships and lives as a whole. (In the comics, Vanessa resented their all-consuming rivalry so much, she tried having them killed. And Fisk's fallout from the Born Again arc is he's so obsessed with Matt he doesn't realize he's lost everything until he does. Likewise in instances like S3, Matt wants to burn all his relationships to be Daredevil and fight Fisk, only really coming around when he acknowledges he needs help doing that.)

In Love Established Relationship

(Basically lovers in it for the long-haul. Married?)

It is mildly difficult to determine what arrangement they decided on to be together, regarding their moral disparity. I will change it by varying degrees based on what works best for individual plots. At the very least, Fisk has to dial back the depths of his villainy. No killing of innocents, etc. In this situation, they have an understood rule that Matt won't ask for any details and Fisk won't tell. It is not a very stable agreement and comes with the risk that Matt will eventually resent him no matter what. But in other situations, if Matt has him especially wrapped around his finger, Fisk is forced to shutter his enterprise entirely.

And on the flip-side of above, Fisk does not like seeing Matt kill himself. He worries. He knows one day he will find Matt dead-- not if but when. So in another ultimatum tier... If Fisk is forced to not hurt innocents, Matt is forced to not taking unnecessarily stupid risks. If a situation is too dangerous for one man, call for backup: police, another vigilante, or maybe Fisk's own henchmen. And then the final tier being that Matt is forced to retire Daredevil for good. Just like Fisk quitting crime, it is not an easy decision.

I like they both have very humble roots in Hell's Kitchen. (With Fisk's family being even more impoverished growing up. RIP Benjamin Franklin the mouse.) But after his rise to the top, we see that Fisk indulges in the finer things as a display of wealth and probably just because he can. And while Matt is better off than he was as a child, he still lives a fairly simple life. What I'm saying is I enjoy the occasional image of him, say, combating fancy restaurants with dragging Fisk to a hotdog cart instead. It's the sort of thing the man left behind a lifetime ago, but there is something charming about Matt reminding him of simpler things from simpler times. Get humbled, Wilson.

One thing I think is fun is that, per series canon, Fisk sleeps on the right side of the bed and Matt sleeps on the left. They're already compatible. Cool. But how come whenever I picture it in my mind, the positions are reversed? lol.

They both have insomnia because their minds won't stop thinking at night. They still try to go to sleep. Fisk thinks so loud (increased heart rate and breathing), however, Matt tells him to shut up.

In the series, Fisk routinely wakes up before dawn, and Matt's alarm is set for 7am. So either Matt (light sleeper) becomes an earlier riser, or Fisk has to stay in bed an extra hour or so. He still has to shut up.

Given Fisk's interest in Chinese and Japanese culture, I like to imagine small touches in a domestic life. Matt starts drinking more tea instead of coffee, for instance. And then maybe I'm seeing it wrong or maybe it is a little nod to his Asian influence, but the fabric, length, and cut of the robe Fisk wears in the series looks more like a Japanese yukata than something explicitly western. Anyway, I like to imagine he gets one for Matt too.

Whenever they did finally move in together (took a long time), Matt had difficulty letting go of his apartment. He continued paying the rent for a long time. Because it was impossible to believe a relationship with Wilson Fisk would really last, and he wanted to have a home to return to after the inevitable. He threw money away keeping his name on the lease for several months. And optional, maybe the only thing that finally convinced him to let go was the suggestion Fisk give up his place too and they get a new one together.

Kid/Pregnancy Relationship

(Maybe good, maybe bad, they share a kid.)

Mpreg/kidfic scenario: I prefer them having a son together. (Also probably the greater odd since both of Fisk's biological children are male, and Matt's child in the 50-year anniversary comic was also a boy.) They both have such tremendous daddy issues, I find it more poignant that they prove they can be a good father to a son. (I'm not saying Jack was a bad father; he was good as could be for his situation, but sometimes being there is just as important.) Fisk is lowkey afraid he'll be cruel or cold to his son without meaning to. It can be difficult to break that cycle of abuse, especially without a good role model.

More mpreg headcanon. This time mommy issues edition. I like whump, so the idea of Matt suffering from PPD (post-partum depression) the same way his mother did with him (or even just fearing that he will) is good stuff. But the big catch about Matt bottling up what he's feeling is that Fisk can't tell if it's PPD or just Matt's normal, emotionally-stunted behavior.

Um, this is sort of the basis for one crack-treated-seriously wip fic I have. Taking the "Catholics multiply like rabbits" stereotype but then combining it with the fact that Fisk and Matt are both only children. (Ignoring the existence of Mike.) And given that they both had a difficult and lonely childhood (being bullied, neither making a real friend until adulthood) it's reasonable to say they each may have wanted a sibling growing up. Now that they have a family of their own, they want that for their child. And considering Fisk has more than enough money to provide and buy a large apartment, they can have as many children as they want. (In the referenced fic, they are on #10, but again, this is crack treated seriously. You might think it's ridiculous, but I swear I make it work. But it is still basically crack. Also, btw, their two twin boys got the devil in em.)

Darker mpreg headcanon: Matt's reaction when they're not in a happy relationship. It is, in fact, the result of a lapse in good judgment on Matt's part. But he's pregnant, and to spare himself and future child, he wants to keep Fisk from finding out by any means. That can mean dropping out of the public eye and Fisk's radar, or leaving New York entirely. Obviously, Fisk is going to find out eventually. And maybe he's understanding of Matt's concern. Maybe not. (I have multiple wips with this theme that are... a gamut of outcomes.)

The End?

I'm sure I have lots of other headcanons I just can't think of right now. And honestly, this post is already kind of long. But if you want to be more specific, I'm sure I probably have an opinion of how they'd behave in most situations. o(*￣▽￣*)ブ

And again, if people have FiskMatt headcanons, lemme hear them. Send me anon asks if you gotta.

[atiyasnake]

Yall, I gotta ask, exactly just how normal is it for you for stories to be on your mind 24/7?

Like for me, it what I think about always. I'm thinking about this fic, that fic, and a possible new fic. I'm thinking about a prompt or rough outline I created a doc for almost 2 years ago or 2 weeks ago.

I'm thinking about what the next chapter is about or how I want the plot to progress. Or that one moment I've been gnawing on like a dog with a bone.

I drive to work and while making sure it's safe to switch lanes, I think about how X character will deal with the next situation I'll put them in.

In-between work phone calls and tasks, I'm itching to open my doc and write a few lines. Reread my outline, maybe rewrite a draft. Even though I only have access to them on my phone and I can't type on that, cause it honest to God has caused me pain in my hands and -like I said- I'm at work.

Even right now, I'm at work. It's an hour until we close and I'm the only one working the front desk hoping no one calls cause I've having a good time daydreaming about how I want one of my stories to go.

In my jumbled up mess inside my head, I'm twisting and turning around all the components of a story. What POV will it be, how the dialogue will go, and what is the next thing I need to write? I'm switching bullet points and little snippets of notes I've written on a sticky note or typed on my phone.

I'm trying to piece it all together into something I can and want to write. It's all I think about.

It's not just fanfiction either. I have my own original stuff. Stories I'd love to write, would love to read.

I think about rewriting short stories I've written in writing club in my notebook or typed up on my computer. I imagine scenarios to put characters I haven't even created in.

I don't know their names or the color of their eyes, but I know they'll fight with a smile and blood staining their teeth. I'll know that their friend will run their fingers through their hair. I'll know that they don't like it when people yell and are bad at cooking.

When I go to sleep, I would basically tell myself a story. It used to just be scenarios with some unknown character, but now it is filled with my brainstorming, wondering how things could go in my stories.

Especially my fics, since those are stories I know people actually read. It's crazy to think about.

There's a person, more than one, who read something I wrote. Who decided they liked it and would like to continue reading. It's absolutely mind boggling to even think of one, nevermind a dozen, a hundred, a thousand people have read something I wrote.

I think about them.

I wonder what they think of the words I strung together. What image comes into their head when they read them? I wonder what my words have made them feel.

I honestly can't describe just how much stories mean to me. I think about them all the time. From the moment I wake up till the moment I go to bed.

They're all I ever think about.

I don't know how someone can talk to me about stories without feeling as if their chest was about to burst. As if they're scrambling to find the proper words and could only yell and shake their hands with how it makes them feel.

How can you not want to scream, laugh, and cry when you think about stories and all that they are, all that they could be?

How can I just go on about my day knowing I have access to thousands of stories, am sharing a few of my own, but also will never know thousands of other ones that have yet to be created?

I honestly think I live for stories. Whether it was to read them, write them, or just think about them. I think they might be one of the reasons I'm still alive today.

Which funnily enough, is a story of its own.

[electronicwitchcollection]

Hey. So, I read accidental mate in the bleach tag and I wanted to tell you you’re insanely awesome. I have never in my life read a Y/N fic because it’s not my thing but you’re phenomenal. I’ve been visiting your page daily to see if you’ve been updating and saw your post which said you’d been too occupied by too many ideas which I completely understand and relate to so I’m waiting patiently for the day you decide to upload the rest of the chapters. They’re worth it. Like that scene when you understood that Grimmjow hadn’t kissed anyone ever and she adapts her kiss to suit him. What kind of genius was that? It was wonderful to read. Also, your Y/N is soooo not annoying. I always expect the MC to be too innocent or unaware but honestly I kinda love her and wish her and grimmjow a happy life at this point. I’ve been thinking about messaging you for a week but yeah. You’re a wonderful writer. Very engaging. Every character, particularly female, you write them superbly well. I’m in love. Thank you for writing. I can kinda see just why it’s necessary for people to write what they want because if you hadn’t published it I’d never have read it and that kinda makes me sad. So, yeah.

So I have read this about a dozen times, and I’m still yet to come up with any combinations of words to accurately describe how this has made me feel. All I can really say is thank you, thank you for your kind words and support. I’m literally blown away with your praise, I haven’t been able to take this grin off my face for the past two hours.

Honestly, I never imagined the amount of people this story would reach, and how many of those would love it as much as I do. I’m aware I’ve indulged heavily on Grimmjow’s more animalistic/hollow part of his personality, but I’ve seen so many amazing fan fiction that didn’t delve into it, that I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Reader figuring out Grimmjow had never kissed before was one of my personal favourites, but when I take the time to think about it, of corse he has never kissed anyone like that. He has been driven by his primal survival instincts for as long as he could remember, when would he have indulged in the practices of humans?

I once saw someone compare him to beast from beauty and the beast, and while it made for an interesting read, I could t associate the character with Grimmjow. The beast was a human, a prince. Grown up human and then transformed into a best. But he still has a man’s heart, his human brain. Grimmjow IS a beast. He has a hunters mind, a survivors heart, he’s only now learning about humans and their customs and adapting through it.

I also sometimes struggle with female OC’s / YN. Only because so many of them are either absolutely useless damsels in distress or some incredibly over powered, bad ass that it no longer makes sense with the fandom. So thank you, for realising how much effort I put into making a believable YN, someone who I hope most readers could associate with on some level. Is she so amazingly strong that she could take down Aizen with the snap of her fingers? No, of corse not, but that doesn't mean she doesn’t have her own strengths. Does she have flaws? Absolutely. Doesn’t mean she is powerless to help herself and others.

I actually loosely base all the female character off myself, as I find it easiest to put myself into the scenarios and decide how I would act. So the fact others are reading this loose representation of me, and like it! Finding her funny, relatable, kind and everything else, it honestly makes my heart want to burst.

Thank you again for reaching out, for making me so incredibly happy and proud of what I’m writing. Thank you to everyone who takes time out of their life to read what I write, to like share and comment on it. I love interacting with everyone and hearing what you love and other takes you have on the situation. I’m eager to write some more accidental mate tonight, encouraged by your love for the story. thank you 💜

[princeescaluswords]

I can't get this post out of my head.

There's a reason that every time I see someone argue "well, the answer is to curate your own experiences!" I have to shake my head, because they are always, always, always missing the point.

There's a writer that I stumbled across over a year ago who tends to write what others might call dark fiction but I call exploitative fiction. In this writing, they make it a point to have Peter and Stiles (sometimes with other accomplices) murder Scott McCall and/or Alan Deaton. Sometimes there is humiliation or degradation involved. I've never seen any story where the victims are capable of defending themselves, let alone a serious threat. This writer has written this particular scenario dozens and dozens of times within a very narrow range of scenarios. It's obvious that the point of these stories isn't exploring dark themes. It's obviously revenge porn generated because a television show did not make the white male serial killer the main character.

I can say this because the victims of these stories are always Scott McCall and Alan Deaton, though recently they've expanded to include Melissa McCall, because of the way they treated the Hale Pack, by which they mean Peter Hale. It's revenge for denying Peter his legacy, rejecting his philosophy of killing your enemies, or refusing to submit. Though strangely, I've never encountered any stories where Peter and Stiles murder Derek for stealing the alpha power from Peter, they never humiliate the Sheriff or Parrish before slaughtering them for objecting to Peter's murder spree, and they never degrade Isaac before killing him for abandoning the Hale Pack.

Of course, these stories are never tagged appropriately; I didn't seek them out. I finally had to get in the habit of excluding that particular author specifically when searching for Teen Wolf fanfiction, because they come out with a story once a week. Their works are very popular; I won't include the name here, but I will share it in DMs if you want. The worst part is the subject isn't really unique; hundreds of other writers do the same thing of punishing characters for not bowing to white men. What's unique about this author is their volume and their attitude: they have a habit of putting a note a the end of their stories: "I write for stress relief, so I won't take criticism." Oh, is that why you write racist, pornographic violence?

The answer from many well-meaning people is "curate your own experiences!" In other words, let this writer and their followers have their own little corner of the internet and concentrate on avoiding them, which is possible, though it is easier said than done. But this admonition strikes me as galling in its tone deafness every time.

Why do I think this? Let's perform a thought experiment:

You walk into an auditorium to talk about something you love with 100 strangers you don't know and who don't know you. One person stands up and says "My life is filled with stress, so in order to cope, I repeatedly imagine black and brown people being murdered." You would probably try to move your chair a little further away from them, wouldn't you? But that's not the worst part. The worst part is that 92 other people start clapping for them. They appreciate having this content available. You become upset, because you find this behavior repulsive. (Everyone should find it repulsive). When you act in response, some positive soul turns to you and says "You could just have not come in here!" or "You could just leave!"

No one is stopping you from leaving and never coming back, but that wouldn't erase the fact that you know that there's a person out there who loves to imagine brown and black characters being killed in order to feel better about themselves, and there there are people who celebrate this person and reward them with their time and attention. All the "curating experience" won't erase the fact that this person is out there, still writing these stories, still finding 'relief' in writing a wrong because a television show decided that in this instance, a Latino teenager would be the good guy and the rich white male serial-killing con artist would be the bad guy.

I don't see how it could, and I'm going to say so.

[dandylion-virtual-adventurer]

My Outer Worlds posts aren’t getting much attention, but I’m still hyper focused on it (and the Vicar) so I thought I’d get my thoughts out about the game! Lots of words under the cut lol

I was interested when it was first revealed, but didn’t play it because I generally do not want to play in first person perspective. Without a toggle for third person, I pretty much checked out and didn't pay attention to anything about the game for a long time. I had tried it (years ago) during a game pass trial but did not make it into Edgewater. If I had, I firmly believe I would have played it so much sooner.

I picked it up for less than $10 a few months ago and finally played it this month. Boom. It’s my new obsession and it’s very, very sad to be so in love with something that no one seems to talk about anymore.

But anyway, here’s my thoughts on the game, admittedly rambly and not well put together:

First of all, I think it’s important to know that I have not played Fallout: New Vegas. In fact, I’ve only played Fallout 4. I became pretty obsessed with that game when I played it as well. But even still, not to the level that I am now with the Outer Worlds. I write all that to say that I wasn’t comparing this game to New Vegas, as so many other players were. I was, however, comparing it very much to Starfield.

This blog of mine sees me post a lot of Starfield photography and a lot of Sam Coe. But to be honest, the game was overall very disappointing to me. And I don't even actually like Sam that much. In fact, there are aspects about him I actively dislike lol. But he seemed to be the only option for me to romance in the game. (Barrett was my beloved gay uncle idk what to tell you lol).

I think The Outer Worlds succeeded in a lot of ways that Starfield failed. The most obvious way being the tightly crafted world. Starfield's randomly generated areas have nothing on the hand crafted environments of smaller titles, and feel so hollow in comparison. TOW was such a delight to explore in that way. It was always so exciting to land on a new planet or explore a new city. The scale is so much smaller, and I do wish it was bigger...more. But what is there, satisfied that itch of what I wanted adventuring into new alien worlds. It also offered up a better attempt at creating a new universe, in my opinion. I appreciate that Bethesda was trying to create something slightly more serious with their title, but I prefer the dark humor of Obsidian's new lore and more whimsical art direction, even if I feel the former wasn't nearly fleshed out enough. I deeply wish we knew more about other colonies and about the Earth our Captain left behind.

Gameplay wise, I never really did get over the first person thing. Since the game is relatively short compared to other open world RPG’s, at least half a dozen times a play session, I found myself attempting to toggle to a third person view. The persistent problem of the forced first person perspective throughout the entire experience was a constant grating annoyance. I simply do not like it. Especially in a world like this. It is so important for me to be able to see my character and it hugely took away from my experience that I could not. It's incredibly baffling that they included a character creator at all. Even more irritating, is that there are multiple quests about clothing, dressing up, and disguises. Sure would be nice to actually see yourself in that context, wouldn't it?? I also found it frustrating that the developers clearly understood people would want to take pictures in the world they created, but did not, and have never included a photo mode. It's written right there on the option to turn off the HUD. But no, no photo mode.

I don't have much to say about combat. I played on the easiest difficulty, again not being overly familiar with fps, and didn't have many issues. I enjoyed the companion commands and found them way more useful in combat scenarios than many other titles with followers. And how refreshing to be able to have more than one at a time! Their banter reminded me more of Dragon Age than Bethesda titles where it can feel somewhat lonely with a single follower. The dialogue between the Unreliable crew was a delight, but it seems to be the only real time you will get to see their personalities playing off one another, as there are very few moments where the whole cast is together. Admittedly, I still sometimes go out with just the Vicar ;)

And oh how that Vicar so quickly became beloved! I've never read fanfiction in my life, but here I am now. I just turned 30 last year and I'm scouring the internet for fics and fanart of this man. Lamenting the complete lack of merch. Is it any wonder? I definitely feel he's the most well explored character in the game. It's a pity I couldn't explore his body. Not only do I find him attractive and fun to have around, but by the end of his quest I felt a deeper connection to him, as I saw my own journey with deconstructing religion reflected in his story. Frankly, I felt most of the other characters' quests felt like afterthoughts in comparison, and I was hoping for a little more.

There are some other rough edges to the game for me as well. I was greatly aggravated by the level cap being sat at 36. I'm playing the og version with DLC installed. I had no idea it was coming and was frustrated I couldn't tweak the characters further. And of course, combat became a waste of time as it was no longer rewarding by mid to late game. I essentially played the entirety of Peril on Gorgon and the last few missions of the main campaign without earning a single shred of xp. I appreciate that I can take certain companions to boost my skills that I'm weak at, but preferred to take companions I liked and let my clothing do the supplemental work for us. Unfortunately this was a very tedious task without a load out system or any way to sort the armor by affect. One wonderful perk I must sing the praises of, however, is the ability to travel while over-encumbered! If only the map itself weren't so darn cumbersome! I never took on any flaws in my first playthrough, and think I'll save that for my low intelligence run, so I can't comment on that system. It did not look appealing to me while playing on easy.

One last thought before I sum up my opinions here. The DLC. Peril on Gorgon was fine. I'm disappointed I didn't get an Archibald Excelsior outfit for Max, but it's fine. I think it was a mistake to play it after Murder on Eridanos though... because I LOVED Murder on Eridanos. It felt bigger, more exciting. Different. It was such a blast to play and I think it stuck out to me more than any other part of the game.

The biggest complaints one can have with The Outer Worlds somewhat slink away when you remember the limited time and budget Obsidian had. I wanted more places to explore. I wanted more fleshed out world building and companions. I wanted a longer third act. A more satisfying conclusion. I admit, I hate that the crew drifted a part. Most of these things could be addressed in the sequel, but the fact that we won't get them for the Halcyon Colony and the Unreliable Crew saddens me to my core. If they add romance in the sequel, that would be wonderful. But if I won't be romancing Vicar Max then what's the point... *sigh*

Hey, maybe we can get a game where the Unreliable crew is reunited to solve another murder mystery?

Eh, it could happen.

[cursedvibes]

Kenjaku and Yuuji for the blorbo bingo!

Thanks!💗

My faves!!

Kenjaku

I almost got a bingo, but Pretty Privilege doesn't quite apply because I think a big reason for why they're so underappreciated is because they're "just a brain" or seen as Geto 2.0. There's also a lot of mischaracterization going around and I don't know how many more times I will have to see the take that they're a curse...I really wish people would appreciate them more for who they are. Applies to in-universe too. Everyone would be much better off, if they took Kenjaku a little more seriously. I think you might've noticed my Kenjaku brainrot on this blog hehe "actively plotting their demise" is me constantly mulling over a dozen scenarios for how Kenjaku's death could be executed in a meaningful way, that does their character justice and ties up loose ends. It has to be done by Yuuji and the merger needs to happen in some way, shape or form, but there are so many possibilities for how to execute that.

Yuuji

Been a while since I loved a (shonen) mc this much. He's just so well written. No matter what little gripes I might have at times with jjk, I can always rely on Gege putting all their braincells into giving Yuuji the best and most nuanced writing. Unfortunately, he's often misunderstood or overlooked because people see this story as something else than it actually is. He doesn't have to be the most powerful character clapping enemies left and right, he doesn't have to become jujutsu hokage/president/king to justify his place in the story. The story is clearly about him and his struggles to find meaning in life and death in a world that constantly wants him dead. As harsh as it is, that's also why I enjoy seeing him in situations that challenge his morals, world view and convictions. I do want to put him in situations!

Love everything about him from his family background, his angsty middle school years, his gradual breakdown through Mahito and Sukuna and his continued character development now that Sukuna's not there anymore to give him an easy justification for death.

[caelumsnuff]

After the last quinn video I'm definitely... underwhelmed. I guess it's supposed to be a power moment that darlin gets to beat up quinn but like he's literally going to be tied to a chair, where are the stakes?

It also seems that there's a hesitancy to give these characters different relationship dynamics? Like oh he's a vampire so the not wanting to bite is of course a barrier he needs to overcome, they're dating a vampire so of course they need to be seeking that out- one of the most intriguing things about sam to me was that he is still uncomfortable with his vampirism and he's still figuring out his own way of coming to terms with that, plus the two of them not incorporating biting into their relationship would be another way to explore the vampire/non vampire relationship! It just feels like they're being pushed onto the same narrative track as vincent and lovely with 1. Nonvampire unexpectedly runs into vampire on solaire territory, 2. They start dating, 3. They address the trauma surrounding biting, 4. Inevitable biting indicating growth, 5. Nonvampire becomes immortal so they can live happily ever after

Like I didn't really have a problem with that being vincent and lovely's story it just feels like we already HAD that arc? And i felt like this was supposed to be a different story

(Also this is smaller but it strikes me as weird that it mentions in the video how darlin would continue to ask sam to bite them after he already explained how traumatic that experience had been for him in the past given that the entire foundation of their relationship is built on understanding and respecting each other's boundaries and being willing to wait for the other to be ready?)

Anyway sorry for the ranting i have just been looking forward to this arc for so long and I'm just kind of disappointed that all the stakes are gone and that it seems like the whole point didn't even really NEED quinn to be part of it since darlin could have told people that stuff at any point in time

You, me, and about at least a dozen other people apparently anon! Im so upset over it for real.

After all of this, it doesn't feel like a power moment. It feels condescending, having the fucking magical cops catch the man you wanted to catch and then going "^-^ oh but we'll tie him down to a chair and you can maim him before he gets his head chopped off" LIKE?????? why? what would be the point???

I feel like their story does mirror Vincent's and Lovely's, but not even in a good way. It's not a foil, its just a fucking mirror. But one of those wacky fun house mirrors that distort how you look.

Redacted very much does hesitate to give characters different dynamics, i mean. Again, look at Vincent and Lovely. Having Lovely be turned by Vincent was SUCH a good opportunity to explore a drastic dynamic change, but instead he had William magic away his power to 1) invoke and 2) lie. But those choices themselves could have had some kind of backlash with Lovely struggling through their turning, but they literally glided right through it. It would have been nice to have some kind of scenario with Lovely doing something batshit insane and having Vincent either 1) have to invoke them (in a universe in which he didnt magic that ability away) or 2) not have the ability to invoke them, and have to struggle through that situation without that power to lean back on. But here we are!!!! Nothing changed!!!! Just like Sam and Darlin.

I think its slightly strange that they keep asking, but you can't really know when someone's boundaries have changed if you don't ask again yanno?? Its not something i necessarily have a big problem with its just...... its been so long, Sammy, have some development.

Thank you for the ask, and dont worry about the ranting! I was very disappointed as well. I was so looking forward to this, it could have been so good and yet.

Im gonna put my thoughts about how this could have gone below the cut :3

Darlin wanted to catch and kill him themself, and they should have gotten the chance. Like.... it was well established that they wouldn't have been able to take him on their own, but isn't it great that theres the Solaire clan and the Shaw pack to help them now? That would have been a better conclusion to come from all those "Love Conquers All ❤️" speeches that Darlin had to endure.

We could have had Sweetheart catch wind of him somewhere, and instead of reporting it to the department, they report it to David and word spreads to Sam and then to Darlin and so on and so forth. Maybe along the way he ends up catching and killing one of the human mates, or maybe even Sweetheart themself?, just a few minutes after they report him to the pack. That'd be interesting, or at least heavily injure one of them. Or both.

We get Sam running off just ahead of Darlin to go and try to catch him. Sam gets incapacitated by Quinn, at which point we get the (sexy slutty) little villain monologue from him about Darlin. Darlin shows up right behind Sam as Quinn is spillin tea to him, and they hear everything as he airs out their dirty laundry, about how he's been right behind them, he knows that Sam hasn't bitten them, yaddah yaddah. Darlin shifts, embarrassed and tears in their eyes, and attempts to kill him, failing miserably. Perhaps he breaks one of their legs, maybe even rips it off. Both Sam and Darlin are on the ground, bleeding, heavily injured and about to die at the hands of Quinn when slowly the whole Shaw pack and some members of the Solaire clan show up (including William!!!). They surround him and prevent him from escaping, they attack him and injure him enough that he doesn't have a chance to get away. Every body passes him off to Sam and Darlin, the former holding him (he's already heavily injured and pretty much immobilized), and Darlin rips his head clean the fuck off, crushing it in their maw and spitting it on the ground like trash.

Afterwards, when they're healed enough to not die, Darlin and Sam finally have an actual talk like similar to how they did in the third video, but this time it's like. Warranted. They have a talk about Darlin's blood and biting kink isn't actually bad, and they and Sam can work through getting up to a point where he can give that to them, because he wants to as well. They also deal with the consequences of being heavily injured, maybe they actually lose that leg i talked about (credit to one of my former anons about the losing a limb thing, they were also galaxy brain about the idea of magical prosthetics and medical tech :3). Darling deals with some emotional turmoil over finally reaching this goal that they've been chasing after for over a year now, feeling a little aimless without it. Sam feeling some type of way about not being able to do anything else for his progeny now that Quinn's dead. And then they work through that shit together!!!

[wfagamerants]

As I mentioned from the start, while this blog won’t be entirely Mario/DK/Yoshi/Wario focused, this particular universe will be the main thing I like talking about, so I figured it would be fun to look back on everything Marioverse that has happened this year and give a opinion on it.

Gonna go step by step and then give a final opinion on the year as a whole. Compared to the Paper Mario essay, this isn’t gonna be analytical in nature, just some quick thoughts on everything wahoo.

Mario Kart Tour

This year actually did offer me a surprising amount of things I like. Petey returning as a driver, the Dr. Mario stuff and Wario’s Shipyard are all stuff I would love to see in a regular Mario Kart. That is also a key word though.

I don’t play Tour and this year hasn’t convinced me to do so either. Compared to what other mobile games like Fire Emblem Heroes, Sonic Forces Speed Battle or Puyo Puyo Quest do, I simply don’t find Tour’s content impressive. Games like these tend to offer a huge amount of content from their franchises’ history to entice you and to me, are a compensation for putting up with mobile game annoyances.

Tour offers more than average for a Mario spin-off, but that’s not enough for me to give into checking out a mobile game and while I do like a lot of alts, it’s flooded so much with alts of the same characters again and again, that I wouldn’t have fun going for that. I like Mario, but one of his dozens of alts could have gone to DK or Wario or Waluigi and I would be a bit more intrigued. Variety is the spice of life and GACHA temptations (I know the GACHA is gone).

Also, quite a number of Daisy alts this year, but no Classic Daisy. I am not pleased.

Wario Cup

Get It Together’s Wario Cup ran for most of the year, concluding around the time of the game’s first anniversary.

The concept of an online competitive leaderboard mode is genuinely brilliant and something I hope comes back in future games. There were plenty of pretty chill Cups that were fun to go for the highest rank for and it had a lot of cool ideas for unique challenges. While it didn’t compensate for a proper online multiplayer, Wario Cup at it’s best was a great addition.

That said, there were also a number of bad Cups and I can’t lie, those were nasty. Putting the most limited characters into the worst kind of situations for them, with little room for error, just doesn’t make for a fun experience and instead turned into an exercise in frustration.

The first 9-Volt, Kat and Ana Cup was so bad it even made me reconsider my opinion on the character gimmick. That did go away when I replayed the regular stages and never had the same issues, but it does bring forth the worst case scenarios of how character balancing is handled in this game.

On the whole I still went out of Wario Cup more positive than not and GiT remains my new favorite WarioWare, but the mode does really show off things that future games need to address.

Wario’s 30th Anniversary

Nintendo didn’t acknowledge it.

Didn’t expect anything else, would have just been cool to be proven wrong.

Mario Kart Booster Course Pass

To put that one simply: I feel like I got precisely what I paid for.

The tracks do feel cheap, but the price and quantity make me perfectly comfortable to consider these tracks a bonus, ala’ the Super Mario Kart tracks in Super Circuit. Getting to experience some of these Tour exclusive tracks and remakes is something I genuinely get a kick out of, even if they could be presented in a nicer way and used the anti-gravity more.

While Wave 2 and 3 have the better selection on the whole and the Custom Item option is a surprisingly big addition to suddenly drop, Wave 1 still has my personal biggest highlight in Ninja Hideaway. This is one Tour track I always wanted to try and I am amazed by how good it is, like you could tell me it was made for a normal Mario Kart from the start and I’d believe it.

In the end though, this is still Mario Kart 8. Still a phenomenal game and I am enjoying the new stuff, but I have also been playing this game since it released on the Wii U, so my revisits aren’t that long-lived. 

Mario Strikers Battle League

I feel comfortable talking about this game now, but if the next update changes my opinions in any way, I’ll do a quick follow-up.

BL is a bit of an unfortunate case, I really can’t say I don’t like the game, because so much about it does land for me.

- The core gameplay is fun, even more so in multiplayer. I do miss some of the insanity of Charged, but at the same time, that never felt entirely intentional to me.

- The animation work is still fantastic and full of character. Sucks that there is only three post-goal animations per character and two of them you will see a ton, but it does make up for that with the huge amount of animation work elsewhere, especially in-field.

- The music’s good. It still has a visual identity. I like the Gear system (not so much grinding for coins). The updates are making the roster slowly come together. The online is….as functional as Nintendo Online can be for now, that all checks out.

That stuff is all good, but it is held back by an aspect I was really worried about, the update practice.

I’m not kidding when I say the game at launch felt incomplete and even now it still doesn’t feel like it’s all there. Strikers was never the most content dense series, in fact, BL still beats out the first game in content quantity, but even then you get this constant sense something is missing.

In particular, I dearly hope a stage hazard toggle will get added next update. Stadium gimmicks really helped Charged’s staying power, by changing how to play in each of them. Be it a muddy field that makes you slide like crazy or Thwomps that threaten to crush the players.

BL just has nothing like that and it also leads to the gimmick of combining two stadium halves feeling undercooked and unfinished. It could lead to a lot of crazy combinations, if each half had its own hazards, but as it is now, it’s only purpose is to show off how you made your half look in the Strikers Club.

BL is still getting at least one more update, possibly more, given the timeline only listed them as updates for 2022 specifically and I hope those add something substantial. The game needs it.

(Hey, the new update was announced an hour after I posted this!....they didn’t do anything big and it’s the last one. Sucks.)

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

This one was oddly the one where I had to collect my thoughts the most, despite my opinion being the most straight forward.

On the whole, I have a hard time telling which of the two games I prefer. Sparks of Hope to me manages to carry on every strength of the original save for one little thing and it makes for a great experience.

Between the cartoony, charming presentation, the music and general personality of the game, everything has been left intact how I liked it in the first game. I was also happy to see what kind of gameplay possibilities the free movement, instead of using tiles, enables. I was skeptical, but was won over as early as the tutorial.

The game in those areas really does nothing  but expand. Far more freedom with what team to build. The overworld gameplay has been greatly expanded upon. More interacting with NPCs. More mechanics. Actual involvement of Mario mooks in battles. All this stuff is wonderful and I was surprised by how much this game genuinely scratched my itch for new Mario RPG content.

The one thing about the game I am bit lukewarm on is, possibly ironically, the Mario content.

There is stuff there for sure, I mentioned Mario mooks now taking art in battles. Yah also got Sparks and a Spoiler character we all saw coming. Bowser being playable now is of course also a delight, then again I have no issue with how anyone in the game is portrayed.

Thing is, at many points, it feels like the Mario stuff takes a backseat, especially compared to the first game.

- The Toad and Toadette escort missions are gone, with both only making minor appearances now.

- All the Spark Hunters are Rabbids and all the important NPCs you meet are Rabbids.

- You don’t get stuff like Rabbid Kong, Bwario or Bwaluigi here. Yoshi and Jr are also MIA.

- None of the stuff from the Season Pass is headlined by a Mario character, unlike the first game, which had a Donkey Kong campaign. The new antagonist for the second part of the Pass is also another Rabbid.

- You have 5 playable Rabbids and only 4 playable Mario characters. I was genuinely a bit shocked that SPOILER wasn’t unlockable in any way shape or form.

Don’t get me wrong, everything that’s here is fantastic and I enjoyed myself all the way through. The Rabbids are still the best they have ever been and I really love them now and the Rayman(!) announcement is one of the most hype things for me in quite some time. All this is great, I just feel this crossover is on the uneven side and that feeling gradually snuck up on me.

Time will tell what the Season Pass holds in full. It does promise more characters in plural, so I strongly assume SPOILER is being saved for that.

Mario Movie

After a long time of not knowing what to expect, we finally got a look at the movie and yeah, it’s gooooood.

It’s visually stunning, the characters are great, the DK love is insane and it is so purely, proudly, Mario.

I have more to say on this one, but I am saving it for another write-up I got planned.

On the whole, a solid year even with ‘’only’’ two new games released. The Mario movie and Sparks of Hope do a lot of heavy lifting here, but there was a lot for me to enjoy.

The one main thing I feel was missing was highlight on the multiplayer spin-off front, so to speak. The Mario Kart stuff is nice to have, but not mind blowing and Strikers is a highlight in many areas, that just doesn’t come fully together, because of its content problems.

I am disappointed by the lack of Mario Party DLC. I like Superstars, but it has things about it (eh minigame selection, lack of minigame modes, tiny roster, etc) that DLC would do a lot to fix. Ideally the game was testing ground and they are working on a new game already, that builds on Superstars’ reception. With how the game relies on old content and 52 of the minigames were already in Top 100, it does feel like it was made for that kind of purpose.

That aside, I do feel this was a fine year for Mario, now I’m just curious what’s next. The well of established and recurring series is running dry. Maybe Baseball is next? Maybe something new? How about that rumored Donkey Kong game? Wario Land anyone?

Time will tell.

[salami-dono]

Edgy OC asks for Dr. Jester!! 2, 4, 10, 22, 23, 24, 25.

>w> aaaand 13 n 7

Thank you for sending some questions. It took a while to answer.

2. What's something about your OC that people wouldn't expect just from looking at them?

This will be hard to answer, because what I’ve observed about Dr. Jester seems normal to me. Hm, I could think of a few things. 1) He thinks he’s cute. He’s very confident. 2) He likes dinosaurs. 3) He can speak to the small animals Sonic rescued in the classic games. He took a liking to a bird called Chicky (like the Flicky.) Instant friendship.

4. When scared, does your OC fight, flee, freeze or fawn?

When I read this question, I didn’t know what it meant by fawn? I looked it up and I still don’t get it. Anyway, he usually fled when confronted directly. I don’t know if that’s true fear, or if he’s just avoiding unnecessary damage by retreating. Fighting is Saturn’s job… Why should he be scared of a dozen super-powered children?

(Send in the minions so you can escape. Predictable.)

Knuckles blasted through the windshield of his flying machine and he responded by lunging at him. He simply accepted his demise when the Egg Carrier failed catastrophically. Do you think he was scared then?  

Back when I first revisited the story in August of 2022, I wanted Eggman to punish what he saw as disloyalty from Dr. Jester, and destroy him. I thought they'd fight since Dr. Jester had a chaos emerald, but that didn't go anywhere. Now I think he would freeze. Sure, he’s used underhanded tricks when he thought Eggman had wronged him, but he’d never kill him. He had been holding on to the friendship they had long ago. I guess freeze is the answer?

He is not immune to sentimentality.

10. What's an AU that would be interesting to explore with your OC?

He’s already from an alternate universe. My sibling suggested an alternate storyline where Dr. Jester gets to the Dark Emerald first and frees Chaos. He doesn't like things he can't control.

I think Dr. Jester should be in a vampire AU! 

22. What character alignment would you consider your OC to be?

Neutral Evil.

23. What emotion is the hardest for your OC to process? How about express?

I think the answer is surprise, or fear. 

He can express anger just fine. He’s been dejected, elated… He's animated.

24. What is an alternative life path your OC might have gone down? How different would their life be if they'd made those decisions?

I’ve thought about this before. No matter what, he would have been interested in synthetic body parts. He could’ve been a prosthetist (one who makes and fits prosthetics), or developed very reliable pacemakers. What if he didn’t take it too far? He could’ve been a generous doctor that helped a lot of people live full lives--highly recommended! Such a shame.

25. What is your favorite thing about your OC?

He’s so funny. 

13. If you met your OC, would the two of you get along?

He can be civil. That doesn't mean he’d like me. However, he’d gain nothing from hurting me. That’s good for me, I guess. 

Dr. Jester did meet a version of me in the story. He ignored me! I cared about him a lot! As a kid, I avoided writing/showing scenes in which he got hurt. Isn't that love?

Since it’s still fresh on my mind, he would’ve offered to save my cat. Or, maybe he’d put it as “extending her life indefinitely.” No matter how good his designs are, he will never make a robot that looks, sounds, and feels like a real cat. He wouldn’t understand this. He's so detached. He’d take it personally. 

7. What's one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them? 

He used to be alive. That’s the biggest change. I had an old drawing of him that kinda felt like a “what-if?” scenario. I drew two Dr. Jesters, one of them was NOT a robot. He looked so friendly! What happened to him? I spent so much time keeping his design the same, so appearance-wise, little has changed. At least he has a bit of a background now.

[mimzy-writing-online]

You probably know this by now, I don't know if you keep up with Whumptober, but one of the prompts this year includes "blindness". I'm not blind but based on your posts about writing blind characters, and based on how I would feel if one of my disabilities were used as a whump prompt, I'm not super comfortable with it. I was wondering what your thoughts are on blindness being a Whumptober prompt.

(unironically and with feeling) thanks, I hate it.

Yes, I’m familiar with Whumptober, but I’ve never participated myself and I haven’t seen this year’s prompts.

Edit: I later did see the prompts and check out the blog. I think it's a good set of prompts and I look forward to all the promising content, especially since some of my favorite tropes are there. To be clear before you read this, I have no problem with Whumptober2021 or whump in general. This is not the first time blindness has been included for a list of whump prompts, and it won't be the last.

This post directed at the concept of "blindness" as a whump prompt and why I think it's a bad idea. The intended audience is individual writers thinking about future projects.

The timing of this is almost too perfect because I read a fanfic earlier this week that would meet that prompt exactly. Tags included whump, blindness, and angst with a happy ending. Now whump, hurt/comfort, and angst with a happy ending are tags I enjoy reading, but blindness as whump has a specific message to it.

To explain that message, I want to discuss what whump is. Many readers are already familiar with the genre, but I think taking the specific definitions and picking apart what it means and what expectations we carry when reading whump fanfiction

Urban Dictionary defines it as: taking a character and putting them through physical and/or mental torment and is typically followed by the same character being treated for their traumas. To indicate the characters place in the situation they’d typically be called a whumpee (the character being hurt/comforted), the whumper (the character that causes harm and trauma), and the caretaker (the character designated the helping/healing/comforting the whumpee).

Fanlore has a page for whump that explains it in depth, including where it started in fanfiction, examples of whump, and even a list of “popular targets” in different fandoms. (Warning: you might find yourself called out on the popular targets list)

“The term whump (or whumping) generally refers to a form of Hurt/Comfort that is heavy on the hurt and is often found in gen stories. The exact definition varies and has evolved over time. Essentially, whump involves taking a canon character, and placing them in physically painful or psychologically-damaging scenarios. Often this character is a fan favorite…”

To add to that, I think an important detail is the distinction Fanlore makes between hurt/comfort and whump:

“While some communities and fandoms may use whump as a synonym for hurt/comfort, there is still a recognition that whump refers to darker and more extreme scenarios. And there are still whump fics been written that have very little, or no comfort at the end of the story.”

The big appeal of hurt/comfort is getting to both explore the darker sides of pain and then experience the catharsis of being taken care of, of being supported by your loved ones as you recover from the trauma. The character is the proxy for experiencing those highs and lows while you yourself are safe at home.

I personally don’t read much/any whump without some h/c involved, but I’m happy there are stories out there for people who do enjoy it. I’m not here to judge what you like reading or what you do to your characters.

What I want is to express how blindness, my disability, used as a whump prompt personally makes me feel and what message it sends to me, to others, and how that message affects my daily life.

Whump undeniably involves watching a character suffer through something painful and traumatic.

My use of the word “suffer” is what I want you to focus on.

Vision loss can be painful and traumatic. I personally developed an anxiety disorder in response to vision loss. Others experience depression. For some it might result in relapsing into old, maladaptive coping mechanisms like drug use, self harm, or eating disorders.

A big part of my anxiety was how people reacted to my vision loss. It was a cause of their stress. They were worried because they genuinely believed I would never live a happy life without normal vision, and that my life would only be struggle and pain.

I recently saw an old friend who hadn’t heard about my vision loss. The conversation was awkward, but the worst part was how they reacted as though I had experienced an insurmountable tragedy. And even when I assured them I’m happy with my life, they clearly didn’t believe me. They acted like I was just lying or in denial.

I love that people want to empathize with my situation and ask themselves what they would do in my situation, but I hate when the conclusion they come to is something along the lines of “I could never do that, I’d be too miserable thinking about everything I lost, I’d never be able to do anything I enjoyed ever again.” But I did go blind. And I’m not miserable, I’m actually happy with the direction my life is going, and I still enjoy my hobbies, even if I engage with them differently.

I’m not suffering. My life didn’t end with vision loss. It’s not ruined, broken, or worthless.

I read a fanfic that was tagged with whump, blindness, and angst with a happy ending. A general synopsis of the plot: the whumpee had gone blind due to a curse. It was true love’s kiss that broke the curse. Even from the summary I knew it was going to end with whumpee being cured somehow and that I’d leave that fanfic vaguely dissatisfied no matter how good the rest of the fanfic was.

I can say this for the fanfic: the whumpee had already accepted that they would likely be blind for the rest of their life, but everyone around them was treating it as a tragedy that needed to be fixed, working tirelessly for a cure despite the whumpee’s protests that they didn’t have to.

It actually hit home to my personal experience.

I still left it dissatisfied with the ending. I might love curse fics in that fandom, and I love the “true love’s kiss” trope, but it wasn’t enough to distract me from the fact that: an actual person out in the world thought the best happy ending, maybe the only happy ending, would be if the character got their sight back.

(note: I clicked kudos and exited out of the story's page because no fanfic writer deserves unsolicited critique or hate, especially for content I consumed for free and at my own volition.)

Why read a story I knew would disappoint me?

Because blindness representation is so damn rare that I feel like I’m wandering in a desert, dying from thirst and desperate for that oasis. But sometimes that oasis is a mirage and the author is unintentionally telling you that your life is actually awful and you’ll never be fully happy like this. And that is a shit mentality to walk through life with.

I don’t appreciate blindness being a whump plot. I hate it. Hundreds (thousands?) of fanfictions featuring blind characters are about to enter the internet and the overall message is going to be “You poor thing! You must be in so much pain, you must be miserable! Who’s going to save you? Who’s going to comfort you? Wouldn’t it be terrible if there was no one in your life to take care of you? You poor helpless thing!”

And I feel objectified. I feel trivialized. The mirage in the desert is going to become a starch, empty room filled with dozens of water bottles, almost all of them poisoned. My representation is going to hurt me personally, and it’s going to reinforce that idea strangers have about how awful my life must be.

(I returned to school this past month, and every day I’m hesitant to tell someone I’m visually impaired because I don’t want to be treated differently. If I’ve managed to pass as sighted this whole time and then suddenly reveal “oh yeah, I’m visually impaired” I feel this instant silence, this pause of awkwardness as people suddenly question how they’re supposed to treat me. They treated me like a person, and now I’m something strange and unfamiliar.)

I’ve worked so hard to improve representation for blind people, to give internet strangers the exposure to a blind person they need to normalize blindness because I hope that if they’re ever so lucky as to meet a blind person, they’ll treat that person with respect. That hope that another person in the blind community will find a friend they feel comfortable and accepted with. I hope that I’ll meet people who accept my blindness as just another aspect of me (like being bisexual or gender fluid or a writer or a cat lover).

Please don’t turn me and my community into a caricature. Don’t erase everything I’ve worked for with this blog.

To be clear, this is not just me saying "I hate the cure trope" again. This is me saying "the purpose of whump is to painfully hurt your favorite character, and I hate that your idea of pain and suffering is my daily (wonderful) life."

[agentrouka-blog]

I doubt George intended this to be a parallel, but what Falia did to her half sisters reminds me of what Joffrey did to Sansa in the throne room when he had her stripped.

In both scenarios, you have bastards (one aware of their status, the other in the dark) using their new position to cruelly humiliate a captive (sansa/the Hewett girls) and believing they are justified. I'm going to sidetrack and say I understand Falias resentment towards her half sister's and Joffrey should be worried about Robb winning these battles, but the way they reacted is inexcusable. In the end both characters meet a horrible, painful end when they had thought they had won. Joffrey thought the war was won, he ended up dying in his mother's arms at his wedding. Falia thought Euron was going to give her the world, and instead... well.

Falia... I want to feel bad for her, but also...

A pretty, buxom girl of seventeen or eighteen years was in his lap, barefoot and disheveled, her arms around his neck.(...)   "Good ladies," he called out to his highborn serving women, "Falia is concerned for your fine gowns. She would not have them stained with grease and wine and dirty groping fingers, since I have promised that she may choose her own clothes from your wardrobes after the feast. So you had best disrobe."  (AFFC, The Reaver)

She is older than Jon, but has all the petty spite of a young Cersei. And she is so utterly stupid. In that way, you could say she mirrors Joffrey.

But really, she mirrors anyone who uses disproportionate retribution, who arrogantly assumes that they - out of everyone - are special enough to wield a viciously violent power over others to make up for what they may have suffered in the past. 

Being stripped isn't all that happens to Falia's sisters that evening, unfortunately. Not only does rape enter the picture (I'm not going to quote that part from AFFC, The Reaver), but later so does the murder of the entire family.

So whatever unfairness she felt she experienced from her father, who is forced to watch the proceedings bound and gagged, or her sisters, it is absurdly worse than they had ever treated her.

Ironically, as a mere servant girl she could have escaped some of the cruel fate that befell her family, but by insisting on joining their enemy to lord over them, she ends up with the same and worse. 

They dragged him up more steps, down a torchlit gallery, and into a bleak stone hall where a dozen bodies were hanging from the rafters, turning and swaying. (...) "Who are these dead?" Aeron commanded. (...) "The lord that held this castle, with his kin." (TWOW, The Forsaken)

Lord Hewett and his family are all murdered. By that time, Falia has become a victim herself, tongue cut out, and she joins Aeron being bound to the prow of the Silence.

She's very young, so I won't go so far as to say she deserves any of what happens to her, but her stupity and hypocrisy are absolutely highlighted:

"My sisters used to make me wait on them at table, but Euron made them serve the whole hall naked! Why should he do that, except for love of me?" She put a hand on her belly and smoothed down the fabric of her gown. "I'm going to give him sons. So many sons…" "He has sons." "Baseborn boys and mongrels, Euron says. My sons will come before them, he has sworn, sworn by your own Drowned God!"

She is angry because she was treated as lower status compared to her trueborn half-siblings, but in the very next breath she dismisses Euron's "baseborn" children and "mongrels" and rejoices in her future children's superior status.

She is no better than them, inside. She is worse.

In the end, what she thought would be her source of power, Euron, turns against her.  She thought she would finally receive all she was due. Instead, it consumes her. Euron is not making her his wife. She is naked when she is bound to the prow, stripped of those fine gowns she got, her child means nothing, her life means nothing but what it might buy Euron. 

Cersei suffered the fate of her late grandfather’s mistress after she tried to weaponize the misogyny of their society and the Faith against Margaery.

Same with Dany. First it was Drogo, then it was the dragons: she believes she is in control of them and they will gain her what she longs for, but she cannot control the destruction that is inherent in what they represent. It ends up consuming her. She becomes what she hated.

I can’t help but also feel reminded of the dark mentor relationships of the Starkling children Arya and Bran and Sansa. They need to reject what their mentor offers because it can never give them what they are looking for. It can only destroy them and turn them into monsters. 

[blog-of-ramen]

Obey Me! |Taking you on dates

Scenario: A few of the Obey Me! Boys and how they would take you out on dates.

Characters: Barbatos, Beelzebub, Belphegor, Diavolo, Simeon

Warnings: none

‎ ‎ ‎

! Requests are open !

‎ ‎ ‎

𝔹𝕒𝕣𝕓𝕒𝕥𝕠𝕤

✦He would invite you over to the Demon Lord's Castle to help him prepare a meal for Diavolo.

✦I think especially with the first few dates he wouldn't invite you on an 'official' date.

✦But in all honesty it's just an excuse to spend time alone with you.

✦Depending on your skill in the kitchen he would let you help him cook or teach you a thing or two.

✦He'd definitely make you try the dishes and ask for your opinion- definitely taking it to heart and into consideration. He trusts your opinion.

✦Expect a lot of casual touches. His hand on your shoulder or back when passing to get something on the other side of the kitchen. Small corrections of how you hold something. The touches would last just a little bit longer than normal.

✦He will make sure you are not bored and involve you in a lot of lighthearted conversation.

✦Even though it isn't 'official' dates, theh will definitely have this special vibe. He just manages to make every time you spend time together feel like it is the most important one.

✦He will definitely send you home with a ton of food you two cooked that day. It's way too much, even for a whole army of Beels. It would probably dawn on you then that his excuses of "preparing a meal for Diavolo" aren't at all why he actually invited you over.

✦He is very busy though, always being around Diavolo. So most of your other dates would consist of drinking tea together or going on small walks together.

✦Even though I can see Diavolo setting up the most random dates for the two of you sometimes- but if that's the price to pay for spending time with him? Totally worth it.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

𝔹𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕫𝕖𝕓𝕦𝕓

❂ Obviously with Beel his go-to dates are dinner dates, just enjoying some nice food together.

❂A big plus is if you two cook the dinner together. It would probably be a bit chaotic but that just makes it more fun.

❂Often he feels like those dinner dates aren't special enough. He gets to eat or cook with you every day, it's not as special as he'd like it to be sometimes.

❂So once in a while he will take you out to all kinds of dates. He always tries to make it a bit original.

❂He always makes sure you enjoy the kind of date and mostly just plans them with you.

❂He isn't all too fond of the idea of a date as a surprising event. The date in itself is so much more fun if it was planned together in his opinion. No stress, no worries.

❂He really likes to go on trips with you for a day or two.

❂One of his favourite type is going on a hike with you. The two of you can spend lots of time together, have fun and enjoy the beautiful nature around.

❂ Also, if you like to work out, he would definitely take you to the gym. He doesn't see it as a date in particular but he enjoys it more than a normal activity.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━ 

𝔹𝕖𝕝𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕘𝕠𝕣

✷ Most dates with him would just consist of him going over to your room, the attic or inviting you to his shared room with Beel.

✷If you're not the most comfortable with touch, he'd probably make you- I don't mean he would force you but you would probably grow comfortable with it over time.

✷Most dates would probably consist of big cuddling sessions. He just loves to curl up with you and laze around.

✷He prefers dates at home like for example a movie marathon.

✷He just doesn't like when many people are around. He likes to spend time with you alone. Even though he doesn't mind Beel spending time with you two.

✷There is one thing he really enjoys doing with you. He likes to sit down under the clear night sky with you and stargaze.

✷The stars are absolutely beautiful and then there is you. In his opinion looking at you, the stars being reflected in your eyes, nothing can compare to the beauty of that image to him.

✷He just feels a very deep connection to you while watching the stars together. He doesn't like to do it too often though. He wants it to stay something special between the two of you.

✷If you want to have a more active date, he's unlikely to say no to you. You may need some convincing though depending on the kind of date you want to go on.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

𝔻𝕚𝕒𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕠

✾Let's not count all the times you had to pretend to be this demon's lover just so he could get a discount at various places-

✾He would probably take you on dates that are super over the top.

✾I mean if he has the possibility to spoil you, why wouldn't he take it?

✾He would either invite you through fancy means like an elegant letter sent by an extravagant bird or he would just nearly kidnap you without a warning to take you on a date.

✾He is unpredictable and every time he sees an article about a fun date idea, be sure he will take you on that date- but with the special Diavolo spice. If you're not much of an adventurous person, he will definitely do his best to not overstep your limits and stay within the range of your comfort zone.

✾But if you're open for it, he will take you on every kind of date you can think of, from fancy dinner dates and walks in the park over taking you on a small roadtrip visiting amusement parks all the way to taking you to a beach to swim with sharks.

✾No matter what kind of date he will take you on, one thing is for sure: You will have fun, fun and more fun.

✾Going on a date with the future King of Devildom of course will draw lots and lots of attention to the two of you. That's something not even he can change.

✾Most of your dates will probably end up on dozens of blogs. But on the upside of that, everyone loves to see the two of you together. And they would never dare to intervene in any of your dates actively.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

𝕊𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕠𝕟

✢Most of the time it is probably hard to tell if he is inviting you to hang out or if he is inviting you on a date.

✢He never establishes beforehand that a date is a date or hanging out is just hanging out. He kind of thinks you just know. Either way he just loves to spend time with you.

✢You often get invited to Purgatory Hall just to hang out. Luke really likes to have you around so naturally you would spend a lot of time with him around too.

✢But Simeon really likes to invite you over on an actual date to Purgatory Hall too when the others are out. That's what really makes it hard to tell if it's a date sometimes. But either way you have a nice time.

✢Because of Luke's love for baking there is also always some cookies or pastries around to enjoy with a cup of tea.

✢What he loves most when inviting you on a date, is enjoying your presence and the talks he has with you. You will close to never see him without a smile on his face when you are around.

✢He also really likes to take walks with you. You two would prepare some sandwiches and some tea together and pack some of Luke's Cookies to enjoy a nice picnic together.

✢Sometimes I can see him totally surprise you though. He will take you on a date to an aquarium or a surprise trip to a new place that just opened.

✢For him it doesn't ever matter if you're on a date or not. He doesn't care what you two do. He is just happy getting to spend time with you.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

My first attempt of writing something for obey me, I think next time I'll rather go for a OneShot instead of this headcanon format. I'm not sure yet though because I am really unhappy with this one lmao. I feel so trippy today. Tell me what you think!

Feel free to request something you'd like to read! (I promise I'll put more effort into it T-T)

-Kite ٩( 'ω' )و

[daydreams-magic01]

Fake love to real love: Part One

(James Fleamont Potter x gender neutral reader)

(Not my gifs, credit goes to the creators)

Main Masterlist

Requested by: Anon

Fandom: Harry Potter (Marauders Era)

Request: ‘ Hii! Could you do a James Potter fic where James fake dates reader to make Lily jealous, but then actually falls for the reader?? Just gimme all the fluff pleaseeee.’

I love James so much, and this request is everything. Is it okay if I split it into three or four parts? Like them slowly falling in love and then confessing? This part is him asking them.

Warnings: Swearing and some innuendos, but mostly fluff.

Words: 1.8K

Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction, all other characters but (Y/n) belong to JK Rowling. The scenarios, the reader, and the dialogue are all mine.

This should only be found on my blog.

Author is always me on this blog: @daydreams-magic01​ .

A/N: Please do not copy or plagiarise this, or put it in your own book, etc. It should only be found here. Also, please mention if I should make a taglist and if you wanted to be added. I also tried by best at being British.

Thank you.

:)

“(L/Nnnnnn),” a familiar voice rings out.

(Y/n) loudly groans, clutching the book that they just grabbed to their chest, slamming their forehead against the shelves. 

“Ow, baby, that must have hurt,” the Gryffindor rings out, leaning next to them. “Do you want me to kiss it better?”

With great struggle, they hold back a gag. Sighing, they barely glance at him before turning around and heading back to the table.

Some people think that Lily hates Potter the most, which is incredibly wrong because they have never met (Y/n) (L/n). They call it taste. They don’t know why, well apart from the several reasons like him being a Tosser, but he does give them a feeling in their stomach.

A feeling, that clouds over the butterflies.

James Potter can’t stop himself from taking them in; there is no denying that they are attractive, the school uniform shaping their figure perfectly. Oh, and kind e/c eyes. If he wasn’t mad for his Lily-flower, he would. 

Shaking his head, he stands tall and follows after them. 

Their table is a quiet one found in the corner of The Library, hidden away by tight aisles beside the Forbidden Section. They enjoy their silence and the secluded table with only a few dozen names carved into the table, mostly around the sides. They hope that one day, they can carve their name in too. Feeling goosebumps, they begin to walk faster. Maybe, sitting down with signal enough that he can fuck off.

It does not.

“Bugger off!” They clench their teeth and with a quill in hand, they open the book with their other.

“Look - I could have helped you get that book down - I need a favour,” James Potter does not ask for things, but in this case, he needs help from the fiery woman.

“Why?” Now, (Y/n) is a nice person who does not hold back from helping those who need or deserve it, even bloody Potter. For the first time in their somewhat conversation, more like stalking, they make eye contact with the boy. 

Bloody hell, his hazel eyes are striking.

Their shoulders tense as they get a feeling in their stomach.

They must be coming down with something.

“Awwww. Who knew I can get such a reaction out of you,” the boy smirks, leaning on his arm, “do I make you feel -”

“How can I help?” they ask sarcastically.

“You know my Lily-pad?”

“Ugh!” They groan, rolling their eyes as they throw their head back. ‘Lily this’, ‘Lily that’, well why doesn’t he ‘Lily - shut the fuck up.’ 

That makes no sense.

“Hey!” He shoots up, hardening his usual calm gaze into a glare. “Don’t talk about her like that.”

“I’m not talking about her like anything, I am talking about you,” they exaggerate the last part, bit by bit, hardening their gaze into a glare. “At least she’s my friend.”

“Shut up. At least I'm not short.”

(Y/n) needs peace, something which Potter deflects. So, they happily begin to pack up their belongings into their bag.

“What are you doing?”

“At least I’m not a beanstalk,” they joke, “what will Lily have to do to kiss you? Climb you like a tree?” Smiling softly, although still angry, they throw their bag over their shoulder and clutch the book to their chest. “Now, please fuck off from my chillout spot.”

With that, they walk away to Madam Pince’s desks, Potter watching them as they leave.

“That’s what I want!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~Please do not copy ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Potter wasted no time in approaching (Y/n) once again.

The next day, as they were waiting by their friends for the next carriage, he waltzed over there, leaving behind other Marauders for the time being.

“Hello, (L/n).” 

They attempt to hold back a groan as they spin on their heels. Maybe their woolly hat can disguise their face and, they can pretend that he has approached the wrong person. Crossing their arms, they raise a brow.

“Why are you harassing me?” 

Potter frowns, shoving his hands in his jeans. “I am not harassing you.”

“Is this how Lily feels like each and every day?” Their smirk widens and their friends laugh softly behind them.

“Oh shove -,” biting his lip, he deeply inhales, “please, can we talk in private.”

“’ Course we can.” 

Potter loosely wraps his hand around the bare skin of their wrist, giving them the feeling in their stomach again. Their cheeks unintentionally flush whereas he doesn’t feel anything out of the normal. Tripping over their own feet, they laugh nervously as they stop at a corner in the courtyard. “So, how can I help?” They laugh nervously again, pulling their arm away, which makes their heart sinks slightly. Potter seems to notice their bizarre behaviour, and he raises a brow and asks.

“I’m just scared of what you might say,” smiling, they cross their arms again, hoping that this can hide them away, preferably forever. They really must be coming down with something; so, like a normal person, they ask him to check their temperature, and when the back of his cold hand touches their forehead gently, their heart leaps. They have no temperature which can only mean a heart problem as their heart then sinks as he removes his hand.

“I was just wondering if you wanted to go out with me?” He smirks knowingly, leaning his hand against the wall as he looks down at them.

“No.” They gasp and slam their hand over their mouth as they realise what they just said, “I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so rude.”

Potter looks starched, mouth gaping wide open, and his glasses fallen slightly askew. He has never asked out another girl but Lily, as he is a one-woman kind of guy, and she has always rejected him. Girls, of course, have always whispered whenever he is near and giggled to each other but maybe the reason why Lily always says no is actually because of him, not Snivellus!

Nah.

(L/n) is stubborn and everyone knows that.

Standing tall, he straightens the collar of his woollen coat before fumbling his hands into his pockets. He flashes a smile reassuringly. 

“Not genuinely.” Saying that out loud, he realises now that it does not sound that nice.

“Excuse me? Have some respect, just because I have never dated anyone, and don’t want to, doesn’t mean that I am not worthy of a relationship! You complete and utter arsehole.”

Flashing him the reversed peace sign, they begin to walk away.

“Wait!”

Flashing him the bird from behind, they continues onwards.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~Please do not copy ~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Guess who is now your charms partner for the rest of the year?”

Almost two weeks after the incident, (Y/n) finds themself attempting not to groan again. They would usually provide a sarcastic response, but they are that fed up with him.

“I switched with my Lily-flower for you.”

“Stop ignoring me.”

“It’s rude.”

Sighing, they turn to him, raising a brow. “Aren’t you worried Lily is going to fancy Sirius instead?”

Potter scoffs, rolling his eyes, “no. Are you?” 

He gasps. “Do you like Padfoot?”

Rolling their eyes again, they shake their head. “No. I don’t fancy anyone.”

“Perfect. Will you go on a date with me?” 

Rolling their neck, they bite their lip again. Potter is making it harder and harder for (Y/n) to stand him at all.

“No, and I also deserve to be more than a rebound, oh, and Lily is my friend. My best friend.” They begin to scrawl down what is on the board, trying to focus on Professor Flitwick’s words. Unlike stupid Potter and his gang of marauders, although they are smart, they need to pay attention to the lesson and what is going on. “I don’t fancy you either, no offence.”

There is no denying that he is attractive, but he, unfortunately, lacks the ability to not hex anyone who radiates the possibility of being a death eater or is even curious of the dark arts and being interested isn’t the same as doing something. Now (y/n) thinks blood supremacy is daft and death eaters are stupid inbred fools but Potter loves duelling.

“Well, I don’t fancy you.”

“Ouch.”

Potter does not handle rejection well, but he keeps telling himself that he doesn’t fancy them a tiny bit anyway.

“I need you to fake date me so that I can get my Lily-flower to confess her undying love for me.” He wistfully sighs, staring up to the ceiling. After a second, he looks back down at them, twirling the quill between his fingers.”

No, she doesn’t like you mate.” They are right, which makes Potter’s smile instantly fall.

“She does, she doesn’t realise it yet.”

“I think she knows her own feelings.”

“Yes – but – well, I –.”

“Cat got your tongue. Finally!” They smirk, letting out a long-awaited exaggerated sigh.

“(Title) (L/n)?” Professor Flitwick asks as everyone in the class turns to face the two of them, causing (Y/n’s) cheeks to flush.

“Sorry.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~Please do not copy ~~~~~~~~~~~~

There is an unpleasant storm in their gut as they watch James Potter wistfully lean against the bookshelves in the library, book clutched against his chest, watching the girl opposite them.

Their best friend Lily Evans.

Loosening their tie, they huff. 

They aren’t sat in (Y/n’s) secret secluded box but instead by a small group of tables behind some bookshelves and by the window. The two chairs at this table mean that Potter can’t join them, which is a huge relief for both of them. Lily is relieved because she is fed up with him and (Y/n) because they are upset.

(Y/n) has caught many of the students looking at them and flirting with them, but they’ve never dated anyone and, what Potter said has made them rather self-conscious.

Will anyone ever want to date them?

They can't deny that their eyes well a bit, but they blink it back, simply like they do with everything.

Throwing their quill down, they push their chair back. 

Lily looks up in alarm whilst Potter is still in a daze, not noticing at all.

Storming over to Potter, they stop in front of him, finally getting his attention as they barely have an inch between them.

“At least pretend you fancy me,” they whisper harshly, fed-up, before saying the next bit loud enough for Lily to hear, “yes, I will go on a date with you.”

They weren’t doing this to get to Lily, or because they are ashamed.

They know that there is someone for them, but in the end, Potter needs their help, and this could make Lily happy.

All anger and hurt vanish as his shoulders sag, and he smiles, a smile they recognise.

“Huh. I’ve only seen you smile like that around your mates.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~Please do not copy ~~~~~~~~~~~~

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

Civilian

Character: Jason Todd x Fem!Reader

Summary: Jason Todd is used to saving the innocent. But he’s not used to them saving him. 

Word Count: 3,100 – One Shot

“Fuck me,” Jason groaned as he stumbled across the rooftops.

How he was able to even walk right now was beyond him.

He had Slade on the ropes. Just one more punch to put him off balance and Jason would’ve shoved a knife into his jugular and be done with him. But Slade had a few more tricks up his sleeve and decided to flee instead of finish a losing battle, so he ran like a coward. 

It left Jason utterly irritated and with a huge gash in his side, amongst other various injuries. 

He could’ve called one his “friends” or someone in his “family.” But he was stubborn. He wanted to be stronger than that. He wanted to prove that he didn’t need any of them. He was better than that. He was the best. And he’d risk bleeding out to prove it to them – or really…himself.

But his body wasn’t on the same page.

And it finally had enough.

Jason stumbled to his knees on a rooftop. He groaned as his vision became hazy.

His helmet had a protective system in place so no one could take it off if he was unconscious. They’d get a nice little shock if they tried. His identity would be safe even if someone stumbled upon his injured body… or corpse.

Jason managed to roll onto his back and was met with the smoggy Gotham sky.

“Get the fuck up,” he told himself aloud.

He blinked, trying to straighten and clear his vision.

But it was useless.

The last thing Jason remember seeing was the Bat signal reflecting off of the cloudy sky. Somewhere in the city, there was more crime to fight and he’d just be another asshole who thought he could put a stop to it.

Dying didn’t scare Jason anymore. He’d done it once before, and he could do it again. What did it matter now anyway?

But Jason didn’t die.

He woke up on a couch. Well, if one could even call it that. His 6’4 frame could barely fit on the thing. His legs were hanging off the end, not able to comfortably fit on the thing.

His head felt like it was having the worse hangover of his life. When he opened his eyes, he blinked at the incoming sunlight. Then he realized he wasn’t looking through the programming of his Red Hood helmet.

Then he touched his face to realize that his backup domino mask had also been removed, leaving his identity exposed. 

His eyes widened in slight panic as he looked around.

He appeared to be a in a small apartment – normal, no threats detected.

Then Jason looked down to realize he wasn’t in his uniform. In fact, his chest was bare and he was only in his black briefs. His autopsy scars on full display.

But just half a foot away from him, his clothes were neatly folded into a pile on the edge of the coffee table. His two guns were sitting right next to them.

Whoever had brought him here clearly didn’t see him as a threat. Stupid on their part. There were about two dozen other weapons hiding in the crevices of his clothes too.

But the more concerning thing was that Jason didn’t have a single wound on his body. The giant gash to his side that had made him faint and nearly die from blood loss was nowhere to be found. After all these years, Jason was still figuring out the side effects from being dumped into the Lazarus pit. But this couldn’t be related, could it?

Suddenly there was the sound of the apartment door opening.

On instinct alone, Jason shot up, grabbed one of his guns, and found his target.

What he wasn’t expecting to find was a beautiful woman, probably only just a little bit younger than him, standing with a coffees in a carrier tray and a bag in the other hand. She had earbuds in, further disorienting her from such a welcome. Her eyes went wide and the rest of her body was completely frozen.

After a few seconds, she slowly tugged her headphones out.

“Is the gun really necessary?” She asked.

But Jason could tell from her body language that she was scared.

“Who the hell are you?”

She had enough courage to glare at his tone. “I’m the person who saved your life, asshole.”

“Yeah? And how exactly did you do that?”

She seemed to be getting less scared and more angry with every sentence Jason said.

“If you put the fucking gun down, I’ll tell you.”

Jason hesitated before finally putting it down. Then his behavior caught up to him. Here was this stranger, who was clearly innocent and had helped him…and his first thought was to point a gun at the poor thing.

“Sorry,” he finally gasped. “It’s…a habit.”

She just eyed him, neither rejecting or accepting his apology.

She sat on the love seat opposite of the couch that he’d taken over.

With an innocent look, she slowly put a coffee cup on the table and the bag.

“I’m not much of a cook… so I picked up breakfast. It’s just a black coffee. I figured you didn’t like anything fancy.” 

“T-Thank you,” he stuttered out, trying his best not to sound harsh.

Those words were strange coming out of his mouth. And Jason couldn’t figure out if it was because he’d completely lost his manners or there wasn’t anything someone had done for him lately that warranted any sort of thanks.

“I’m sorry about taking off your clothes,” she suddenly said. “I would’ve given you something. But…well…I don’t have anything even close to your size. Even my oversized clothing wouldn’t have fit.”

Jason was about to tell her it was OK, but she continued.

“Not that I would’ve even been able to put it on you. I hardly got your clothes off.”

Jason smirked at that. “Speaking of which, how the hell did you get my helmet off.”

“Yeah…I managed to get you to come to for a minute or so.” Then she shifted in her seat, clutching her coffee tighter as if it was a security blanket. “I honestly just asked you very nicely. I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone what you looked like. You were kind of just…a zombie or something and…took it off.”

Then he took her stature in. Jason knew he was a big guy. He was bigger than the majority of men. He’d only met a few women in his life that were taller than him, and they were all either Amazons or aliens.

This young woman was neither of those things.

“How did you get me off that roof?”

She laughed, seeing that he was trying to add it up in his head. “I’m definitely no Superman. My neighbor doesn’t have any other hobbies besides going to the gym. He owed me a favor.” Then her eyes widened. “Don’t worry, he didn’t see you without your helmet. He’s also sworn to secrecy.”

Jason shrugged. “It’s fine if he did. I can just kill him later.”

He saw her whole body tense up at that.

“Relax. I’m kidding.”

Her tension was released, but she didn’t find his joke very funny.

Then her eyes locked to the floor.

Jason took this chance to study her. 

Her hair was a bit of a mess. But there was still a halo around it as the sun shined from behind her. Her jeans were a bit baggy, but purposely so. She was wearing a band t-shirt that was so worn that there were a few holes in it.

Jason had to acknowledge that she was beautiful. But he had made note of that as soon as he’d pointed a gun at her.

“I ended last night with a life-threatening injury…amongst other things,” Jason said as he looked down at his body. “I woke up with not even a scratch on me. So why don’t you tell me how the hell that’s possible?”

She finally raised her gaze from the floor to him. Then she swallowed and clenched her jaw. It was clear she had been hoping for a scenario where Jason didn’t ask any questions, where he would just give his thanks and move on.

But she wasn’t that lucky. 

“Hey,” he said gently. “You’ve seen my face. You know who I am now. Whatever it is you’re scared to tell me, we’ll be even.”

She stared at him a bit longer before taking in a shaky breath. “I…umm…can do this thing.”

“Uh huh,” he encouraged.

“I can heal people by…umm…touching them?”

Jason sat back, letting the information settle. “Huh,” he said with small nod.

“I saved your life,” she told him. “All I ask in return is that you keep my secret.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” he told her.

She nodded nervously, but didn’t seem fully convinced.

“What’s your name?” He asked her softly.

She looked unsure if she should tell him.

“I’m Jason. Jason Todd.” He offered to even the playing field.

She tilted her head, probably because she heard that name before. Everyone in Gotham had at some point. The tragic death of Bruce Wayne’s second adopted son. And then the dead son who had somehow come back, his death misidentified. There were hundreds of rumors about what really happened. But they all sounded ridiculous to her.

“Y/N,” she finally told him.

“Thank you for saving my life, Y/N.” He scratched the back of his neck. “But I have to ask why you did.”

After all, the neighborhood she lived in was weary of Gotham’s vigilantes. Some believed they were keeping them safe, while others thought they were just making things worse. It led to a general distrust of the masked heroes.

“They say the Red Hood used to be Robin,” she told him quietly.

“I don’t pay attention to what people say…”

Y/N leaned forward. “But is it true? Were you Robin back then?”

Jason ground his teeth together. “That was a lifetime ago.”

She watched him for a minute, working out whether she wanted to share something or not. 

“When I was a little girl, I was at the bank with my mom when a robbery went down. Things went bad and quick. They panicked, decided a little girl was the best hostage to grab. We barely got a few blocks away before Batman intervened. I was terrified, even of him. But Robin was with him…and he could tell I was scared. He wasn’t that much older than me, but he was so much braver. He held my hand until the police came. But even then I wouldn’t let go of him. So, he stayed with me until my mom got there.” She took in a deep and shaky breath. “It meant a lot to me.”

Jason controlled his expression, but he knew what she was talking about. He remembered that night. How he did was beyond him. But it didn’t feel long ago. He remembered thinking the little girl was pretty. 

Jason didn’t have a lot of friends back then. He came from the streets but lived in a mansion. He couldn’t figure out who he was back then. And it was hard to relate to other children. 

Back then, it was the most intimate interaction he had with someone his age. 

“Would you still have saved me last night even if I hadn’t been Robin?” 

This was all Y/N would get in terms of Jason admitting that he had been Robin that night.

Y/N shrugged and nodded. Then she cleared her throat. “The only thing saving this shit hole of a city is people doing the right thing.”

Jason stood.

The motion startled Y/N and she followed his action without even meaning to.

Now that he was standing on his own two feet, she truly understood just how absolutely massive he was. She was by no means short and she still felt like she was looking at a giant.

However, Jason misread her gawking for something else. “You don’t have to be scared of me, kid. I’m not going to hurt you,” he told her quietly.

“I’m not scared of you,” she said as her face suddenly felt hot.

Y/N didn’t know what she had expected to see under that red helmet last night. But she definitely wasn’t expecting a man handsome enough to be a model.

But then her brow scrunched, “And I’m not a kid.” Jason smiled – like, genuinely smiled. The muscles on his face forgot what that felt like.

He eyed the band t-shirt she was wearing: Fleetwood Mac – the Rumors album, to be precise.

“You’ve got good taste in music,” Jason complimented.

“Thank you,” Y/N mumbled.

A new tension filled the air.

Something neither of them have felt in awhile – if at all.

Y/N cleared her throat again, starting to feel too close to this large and beautiful man who was only standing in his briefs.

“You can use the shower if you want.”

Jason smirked. “Thanks, but I should get out of your hair. You’ve already done enough for me.”

He took a step toward her, realizing that he seemed to like seeing her reaction to his presence.

She stayed in place, but shifted her weight.

Jason lowered his head a bit. “Your secret is safe with me, Y/N. Thank you again…you saved my life.”

——————

Y/N and Jason couldn’t stop thinking about one another since that morning.

Jason had trust issues. And because of those trust issues, he learned not to rely on others. He refused to be anything besides independent. But those flaws were also the reason it was so hard for him to get close to anyone. He kept people at a distance so he could never be rejected or get his heart broken. It was problematic, but that was how he survived.

But Y/N had shown him kindness and then expected absolutely nothing in return. She just hoped he wouldn’t shoot her brains out when he finally came to.

Meanwhile, Y/N couldn’t remember the last time a man looked at her the way Jason had. Just thinking about the looks he gave her caused goosebumps to shiver across her skin. She’d seen the scars across his skin and knew he’d lived a rough life. And that wasn’t even including the scars his mind and heart held. She wondered who was the last person to help him or to just show him that they cared whether he lived or died.

It had been a few weeks and Y/N still couldn’t get Jason Todd out of her mind. Even now, as she sat on the rooftop of her building once again, eating a pizza she’d just picked up and washing it down with cheap red wine.

She almost spilled said wine all over herself when she jumped from the sound of someone dropping onto the roof from behind her.

Y/N whipped around to see Red Hood walking steadily toward her.

“Sorry. I tried to be loud so I wouldn’t scare you.” His voice sounded different from the helmet distorting it.

“Well, most people use doors and stairs…so I think the effort is pretty useless.”

Jason ignored her joke and pulled out a thick envelope that had been tucked on the inside of his leather jacket. 

He handed it to her.

Y/N was confused, but took it from his grasp anyway.

She opened it to find two tickets to see Fleetwood Mac on their reunion tour at Gotham City Stadium.

Her gaze shot up to Jason’s and then she did a double take at the tickets, making sure she wasn’t seeing things.

“How - What - Why?” She finally sputtered out the right question.

Jason just shrugged. “I owed you.”

“T-This is too much. I can’t accept this. These tickets must’ve cost a fortune,” she told him as she tried to hand the envelop back to him.

But he wasn’t having it and simply shook his head.

Y/N knew they cost a fortune because she had looked up tickets. Her heart had broken when she saw how far out of her budget the lowest prices were.

“Take them, Y/N. Please.”

She knew there was no point in arguing.

But she slowly looked up at him. “Would…ummm… Would you like to go with me?”

Jason blinked at the offer. “Seriously?”

Y/N laughed at his surprise. “Yeah, I mean, clearly you’re a fan, too.” Then she shrugged, now self conscious that she’d been too forward. “I don’t know. When was the last time you did something fun?”

Jason was shocked at how right she was.

“Oh, my God!” Y/N suddenly yelped.

Jason immediately jumped into action, grabbing both of his guns and stepping to Y/N in a protective stance.

“Jason, you’re bleeding!” She cried out, not realizing that he had just used his body as a human shield for her to defend an attack that wasn’t even happening.

He relaxed and followed her gaze to his forearm – the small patch of skin between his gloves and the rolled up sleeve of his leather jacket. He had been sliced by a knife. He probably needed to clean it before it got infected and stitch it up. 

“Y/N, it’s just a scratch.”

“Shut up,” she snapped. “Come here.”

Then he let her dragged him to the two fold-out chairs she kept on the roof.

Jason realized suddenly that he didn’t mind being bossed around by this woman. In fact, he kind of enjoyed it.

Without asking for permission, Y/N put her palm over his cut.

Jason watched as he felt a comforting warmth wash over the area of skin that she was touching. Within seconds, his cut was completely gone.

Y/N gave it a satisfied smile. No matter how many injuries she healed, the pride and relief never went away.

“You’re fucking amazing, you know that?” Jason was relieved his helmet hid the dumbstruck look that was surely on his face. 

Y/N didn’t seem to take the compliment very well and slightly folded into herself.

“So, will you?” She changed the subject quickly.

“Will I what?” But as Jason asked for clarification, he knew that he’d probably do anything Y/N would ask of him.

“Will you go to the concert with me?”

He nodded.

The nonverbal answer was enough for Y/N because she gave him a beaming smile.

In that moment, Jason wondered how he could ever push Y/N away like he had done with everyone else in his life. 

And for once, he allowed himself to feel happy.

Maybe he could keep letting himself be happy, as long as it included Y/N. 

---------------------------

Really, really loving writing for Jason Todd. I was a little exhausted with Marvel fandom.  Let me know what you think!