#i've had this in the drafts for a while sorry anon i even feel like u sent this last month or something sorry

[fraugwinska]

I've seen fanfics about Alastor × deaf reader

But what about.. blind reader? Maybe they lost sight in some battle

How they would be confused meeting Alastor at first: did someone turn the radio on- oh, thats a demon talking!

And how confused would be Alastor as his feelings started to grow towards the reader: he just enjoys their company! What else can he do when they like to listen to him spilling the tea and just rambling about everything because of his soothing voice? His favourite listener

Then.. their relationships get a bit different as in another one relaxing evening together Alastor asks if they want to see him..

And on their confused silence he answers bringing their hands to his face for them to "read" his apperience..

Just thought it would be hella fun to read! Not good enough at english, sorry for mistakes

I love your writtings! 💕Stay hydrated and don't dare to overwork yourself ☝

Hiya lovely Anon! <3 I put my own little spin on your idea! I love fics like those, and this one sat in my drafts for ages - I hope the wait was worth it! Thank you so much for this ask! <3 Warning: Contains depictions of attempted SA, please read with caution - MINORS DNI!

The bookstore was always quiet in the evenings. Well, it was quiet almost always.

Hell wasn't the most... appreciative place for tombs and books that didn't have porn or egregious murder in them, so your shop wasn't really frequented much. Occasionally, a new sinner would find their way in, not yet taken by the unpunished excessiveness Pentagram City had to offer, and would buy a book or two, never to be seen again. The rest of your clientele were loyal regulars, mostly elderly demons and imps getting books for their masters in other rings. It wasn't much, but enough for you to get by, live a simple, modest life. Your shop was mundane enough as to not attract the more dangerous ones the city had to offer, yet held the beauty that only an antique bookstore could, with a reading room like atmosphere, mismatched armchairs scattered in between the high bookshelves and an old radio on the counter playing in the background.

That didn't mean there weren't moments you'd have to get yourself out of some serious situations. On rare occasions, the patrons of your bookstore became too demanding or rough with you, thinking they could intimidate or screw you over because of your... handicap. After all, how would you see the hand reaching in the register, or the little spell book slipping into the inside pocket of a jacket. The blindness you were born with on earth hadn't left you in your death, but the enhanced sensitivity of your other senses made things easier for you. You had learned to take your losses, unwilling to let these moments ruin your confidence in your work or diminish your spirits.

You navigated through the little store with ease, putting laid-out books back into their designated places - feeling the backs of the books like it spelled their names, and motion memory guiding you through the maze of furniture and shelves - your plain, long felt skirt softly brushing this edge and that wood panel. What you wore wasn't fancy, modern or stylish attire, but it was comfortable enough. And who were you kidding? At the end of the day, nobody cared for your less-than-ordinary appearance, but yourself.

Your mind had been drifting around between random topics for a while until, on your last trip back to the front desk, your round ears picked up the bell on your door and the faint sound of staticy talking, coming from the direction of the counter. A customer, at this hour no less! But you were sure you had turned off the radio hours ago... maybe the old thing was finally breaking down, you thought with a little sadness. You hurried to it, still hung back in your thoughts and babbling as you turned the desk to shut the little device off so your customer wasn't disturbed.

"Hello, I'm terribly sorry if you're bothered by the radio, I should have turned it off. Feel free to browse through-" you paused mid-sentence as the air shifted slightly. You had turned the familiar knob but the filtered voice didn't stop talking. Your ears moved around, as if the source was everywhere and nowhere at the same time, trying to determine its source, when the other occupant of the store laughed at the surprise written on your face.

"Apologies aren't necessary my dear, but that wasn't the little device here but me, asking for service. Although I'm quite fond of a little old fashioned tune - comes with the title of the Radio Demon, you see." He talked with amusement, or something in his tone seemed powerful and dangerous. As his words started to make sense to you, you held a sharp breath, struggling not to take a step back. Of course you've heard of Alastor, the Radio Demon, but you've never had the honor (or dread) of meeting him in person. Rumors had spread around in hell a long time before you'd even gotten here, stories of a powerful overlord who'd broadcasted the screams and torments of his victims, spreading fear to everyone, from sinner, to lesser demons, to even other overlords themselves.

"W-welcome to my store, sir! What can I help you with today?" You smiled pleasantly, hoping that showing him respect and going out of your way for a courteous interaction could possibly keep you from being torn to pieces. You heard the ruffling of fabric - a hand reaching into a pocket, wrapping it's fingers around a thick piece of paper, along a low, distorted chuckle. "A good friend of mine recommended your store to me, I am looking for a few... unusual books, hopefully to be found here."

You waited into the silence, one second, two, three. When he said nothing, only static noise slowly increasing in volume, you decided to speak again. "May you tell me the titles, sir?"

"If you'd take the list, little mouse, everything I need is on it." His voice had an edge of annoyance to it now. You didn't know when his presence had approached so close to where you stood, and couldn't decide if that was a good sign or not. You sighed, pulling the darkened glasses off you wore day in, day out, revealing the white irises that gave your blindness away. After a sound like a record scratch, you managed a helpless smile. "I fear if it's not in braille, it won't do much to hand me that."

The other demon was silent again, but the crackling static had dropped, and before you had time to add something that wouldn't get you gutted, he'd barked a laugh, sounding genuinely amused and entertained.

"My, isn't that a bit cliché, my dear? A blind mouse? Any chance you have two siblings?"

That joke was new. You dared to husk out a little laugh, too, your hands gently resting on the counter top. "I hate to disappoint, but no. I even have my tail still, no farmers wife with a knife."

There was a change in his stance, his coat sweeping the air as you heard the list was laid on the wooden surface in front of you, surprisingly not crushed or crumbling under the power of his hand. Coldness swept like waves of fog over the front desk and your hands, you pulled them away with a shudder, confused, but your patron just hummed.

"There, that should've done the trick. I'd rather not want to read my little.... requests aloud, they're a rather curious bunch, I believe. Very useful, though, especially those for more creative types in cooking."

You reached for the paper and thumbed through the braille letters one after the other, feeling a long list of more... taboo tomes you were sure wouldn't have even been mentioned in any respectable catalogue. Luckily, you were a glutton for oddities and curiosities, and with a small smile of pride you found that you had every book on the list on hand. Maybe it was this pride thatgave you the confidence so that you didn't reply and instead swiftly jumped ahead, bustling through the rows and pillars of bookshelves. Every step was calculated, from the short staircase to the tiny nook where you stored spell books and tombs of dark magic, navigating past all the tables and furniture to the particular bookcase containing ritualistic cookbooks. Once you had a feeling where a book would be located, you searched the titles by stroking the backs with the pads of your fingers, tapping quickly and analyzing the material and little bumps and nicks of the spines. Once found, you traced the edges of the piece and drew up a mental image in your mind to check it wasn't bent, dirty, torn or had any parts missing. Your fingers were your eyes, and they were keen.

As you carried the rather heavy stack back, the Radio Demon hadn't moved an inch from where you'd left him, as far as you could tell. It had been hard not to acknowledge him throughout the ordeal while your brain just went on autopilot after realizing he didn't mean to kill you, at least for the moment. On one hand, that was comforting; on the other hand, it was absolutely horrifying.

"Here you go, sir. Please, feel free to check if they are up to your standards." You set the books down carefully, counting the number of thick covers in the stack to be sure and your fingers brushed sharp talons as apparently the Radio Demon reached out to inspect the books as you offered. With a sharp inhale and a heated face you quickly drew back, stammering apologies. He only chuckled faintly, the static surrounding him crackling as if it, too, was amused.

You stood silently behind the counter and listened to him flipping through the pages, turning the books around to read their contents, humming here and there. He seemed content with the lot and you were sure that once he'd paid, he would leave, hopefully sparing your meager existence and not leaving any destruction behind.

"Very well! These will do perfectly, little mouse. And, I have to say, you have a very interesting collection. The quality of your inventory exceeds what Zestial promised. You might expect a few more visits from me in the future, if you don't mind."

The last sentence wasn't a question. It was a statement, underlined with the sound of a heavy stack of bills placed on your counter. Your hands confirmed what your ears already suspected - your patron well overpaid you.

"Not at all, sir, but you gave me too much mon...."

But the air shifted again, and a chime and a thud later you knew he had already walked out, his laughter the last thing you heard before the door clicked shut.

“...ey.”

What a peculiar man, you thought, still processing the entire experience. His voice had been darling, no wonder he chose radio as his medium. You were sure his smile you've heard so many demons whisper about was wide and predatory, but he had been so polite. Even the nickname he'd given you had been charming, compared to the names and remarks you've had thrown at you by lesser demons, and you shook your head at the ridiculousness of your face flushing at the memory.

'Little mouse.'

After a long moment, you finally counted the money and put the amount he tipped you aside in your hidden safe, making a note to yourself that you would give it back to him when he'd return. If he'd return.

Weeks passed and the Radio Demon had kept his promise and visited again. And again. And again.

The first time he came back and you, already flustered, offered to give back the surplus money he'd paid you, he was baffled before he heartily laughed and ignored your attempts to return it to him, instead buying three more books and leaving you with even more undeserved cash in your hands.

Almost once a week he'd return to your store, sometimes he'd have a whole list of books he'd want to buy, and he almost never left your store with empty hands. Sometimes he'd sit down in one of the many chairs to peruse a tomb you set aside for him, predicting he'd find interest in it as you learned his tastes in literature, and he'd hum almost happily when you found a new curiosity or a grimoire that was especially hard to come by. And sometimes he just came in for a quick visit, not even intending to buy a book but just to chat a bit. With every encounter your initial apprehension shifted into appreciation, so much so that you'd grow to eagerly await his return, the sound the bell made when he enthusiastically swung the door open or the slight distortion of your radio when he changed the station to one that suited his mood better.

You were a bit enchanted with him, if you were honest. Not only had every interaction been intriguing and entertaining, he'd been one of the rare visitors who hadn't maliciously mocked or threatened you, or worse. And you found that you enjoyed the small banters you could have with him, the fact that he treated you no differently than anyone else. It was refreshing, and each of his visits put a spring in your step for days, no matter how hard you tried not to think about him.

By the time several months had passed, he became your favorite client and he seemed to have an everlasting interest in your inventory as well as yourself. You learned that he was quite a wealthy demon with a seemingly insatiable appetite for entertainment, and always with an eye for quality, which you vowed yourself to provide in return, if only to keep him coming back. You found you could spend hours with only him at the store over freshly made coffee, discussing various literary concepts and historical events he used as references, and it was a delight to laugh together about some particularly odd rituals in books like 'Old Spells to Cure Thievery' or 'Blood Rituals of the Flaying Kink'.

Sometimes, when you'd hand him a new find or a heavy tomb, his hands would lightly brush yours and his voice would drop and become a bit softer, quieter as he cooed his nickname for you - 'Little Mouse'. With your lack of vision, you didn't know how his face looked nor how his expression would've surely changed - but his voice took on a tone that would be fitting for a date, and the touches made you shiver lightly and tingle and you felt heat spread all over your chest and the pit of your stomach when he did. If your body betrayed those reactions on your face, he wouldn't tease you for them. At least, you never noticed if he did. Maybe he had the grace to simply not remark on them, you thought, for once grateful for your blindness so you wouldn't have to see your own - surely ridiculously dumbstruck - expression reflected in the windows of your storefront. But the physical contact between you became more frequent, more deliberately made, and you'd caught his own quiet sigh every now and again when he lingered for just a moment longer before the doorbell chimed and he'd leave again.

One evening, as you were cleaning up and preparing for tomorrow's customers, a soft knock on the already locked door pulled you out of the haze of your radio's gentle tune. Turning around, you moved slowly towards the sound of the interruption, adjusting your dark glasses.

"My apologies, but we're closed for tonight, please come back tomorrow."

There was no reply, no sound of footsteps and your ears strained to catch a whisper of a sound, to find a new hint as to who was outside. Another knock, harder now, sounded and this time it took all your courage to approach. Your hair stood at its roots as your hands rested at the wooden door, your senses tingling that you better not open - that danger stood in front of your store.

"Please go, we'll be open again tomorrow."

Your reflexes, acting faster than your brain, made you stumble back as the glass of your front doors shattered into a million pieces. In a panic you tumbled to the floor, hands over your face as the pieces broke apart on impact. There were voices, rough and foreign sounding, that accompanied the stomping of boots. You shuffled back on the ground, trying to get out of the way before being stepped or kicked upon, reaching to the walls and bookshelves to find some stability to guide you in getting away from what was coming towards you.

"T-take what you want, please, I won't stop you. Just... just take it and leave."

Your words were shaking in fear and the little hope that a verbal warning and submission would placate the robbers. To your horror the voices - two, if your panicked mind didn't fool you - erupted into raspy laughter and you realized then that money might not be the only thing these demons were after.

"You were right, Hank. This is going to be easier than I thought, look at how helpless the bitch is."

"Told 'ya, Tommy Boy. An' the best part..." supposedly the one called Hank said deviously, and you were yanked up at your wrists and thrown over what must've been your counter, your glasses slipping and breaking at the impact and your eyes dwelling with hot tears. You recognized this voice… just a few days ago this demon had come into the shop, just as Alastor was about to leave, lingering around the shop and leaving quickly mumbling a half-asses excuse without buying anything after you asked if you could help him find something and Alastor's static crackled dangerously. The same smell of sharp sweat and wet tobacco lingered around him, making your stomach turn. "... she can't tell anyone who we are. Hoh, look, her eyes are some freaky shit, 'n you bet her tits 're freaky, too. S'not even our damn birthday but looks like we got ourselves a gift. 'Ya wanna go first?"

"You know me - Don't mind if I do."

With a heart beating out of your chest and shallow breaths, you tried to feel with your only free hand for something, anything, to defend yourself with. You had to defend yourself. Anything would be better than what horrific thing they were about to do. There was only the flat, leather bound accounting book close by, but it was better than nothing, and in a motion of impulse and fear you slashed with it into the general direction you felt the weight of Tommy settle onto the counter top above you. His complice bellowed angrily, making your ears ring, and Tommy snatched the weapon from your hand to throw it away. His breath smelled of filth and cold ash, the skin of your throat burned when he wrapped his calloused hands around it.

"We're gonna show ya your fucking place, worthless blind cum-chunk bitch, an' when we're done with ya..."

There was a sudden, instant sound of feedback, a wet splatter and a horrified scream and hasty, fleeing footsteps before a wave of relief washed over you as your neck fell free from the intruders grasp and you heard a familiar voice.

"Oh, my dear fellow, do go on. I'd love to hear the end of that sentence." A low, distorted chuckle followed. Alastor sounded different - menacing. Bone-chilling. If those words would've been directed at you, you would've been mortified. But it sounded like honey in your ears, knowing who the recipient was. "Ah, how silly of me - surely it's much harder to speak without vocal chords."

Your teeth sank into your bottom lip as the sounds of violence became ever more gruesome. A whipping sound, a wail and a choked gasp and two stomach-churning thuds of something hitting the floor.

"Well that's not handy at all - you can't even sign your pathetic pleas now. How unfortunate to be in such a vulnerable position, isn't it?"

A thud, then another - your stomach turned as the room got flooded with a different type of warmth. Your lungs and chest stung from the stench of iron and decay and your throat hurt as you realized one aura had vanished from the store and Tommy was most likely reduced to a fleshy pile on the ground. Suddenly you felt a sharp but warm, strangely long but familar hand cradling the back of your skull, pressing your cheek against a broad, angled shoulder, another wrapped tightly around your shoulders, resting under your ears. It was quiet, now - you could only hear your staggered breathing and Alastors static that had gone down a notch or two. You thought his breathing had become more labored, too, when he slowly, gently, let go and straightened you to bring you to a standing position, his hands shifting into their usual shape as they came to rest lightly on your upper arms.

"Are you alright, dear?" His voice was almost back to the tone you were so fond of - almost. There still was an undertone, a dangerous sharpness. Your fingertips instinctively grasped and searched until they met with the familiar texture of his clothing and you nodded.

"Y-yes... I think so, yes. What - what happened to the other one?"

There was a deep laugh, one you haven't heard yet from him. "Oh, my dear, no need to fret over that. I'll deal with that pest later. I should've dealt with him the moment he stepped into your store. An oversight I intend to shortly redeem."

It should have frightened you - should've made the situation so, so much worse, hearing that Alastor planned more torture for that vile creature, probably even an equally gruesome death like the one his friend got. But his words only calmed you. Made you feel... safer. Your fingers lingered on his suit longer than you expected, tracing the detailed seams of his lapels, smoothing out invisible wrinkles on the fabric, feeling the details of the cool, metallic buttons. And he let you. He stood still, allowing your hands to see what your eyes couldn't.

"I can't decide if it's a blessing or a shame that you can't see the carnage I caused. Although I am pleased that you didn't have to look at the ugly faces of those cretins who tried to defile you." He took your hands from his coat and placed them softly on his face. "But maybe… you can try to envision what your savior looks like, hm?"

His hands left yours again, though you found the sensation and feeling of his touch remained where he placed them. Your heart fluttered as you couldn't keep yourself from running your palms and fingertips over his skin, cautiously tracing his angular jaw, making out the distinct feeling and sharp lines of a toothy grin. Then you pushed further, fingers running along a slight bow and over the indent where his brows arched, his cheekbones prominent enough you felt the warmth of blood flushing under the skin as the mental image of his face got clearer.

You were in awe that you could do this, that he encouraged it even, but he allowed you the tender moment, making a muffled humming sound and exhaling quietly under your soft, curious touch. You realized at last that his eyes were closed for you, the skin there slightly pliant and firm at the same time. With the tips of your fingers, you followed the firm, straight bridge of his nose down the length of it and he inhaled sharply when you brushed his lips. The familiar sound of static increased just enough for you to realize there had been complete silence aside from your soft and his steady breathing. He opened his eyes again, slowly taking your hands away to leave a feathery light, lingering kiss on your knuckles as he hummed thoughtfully.

"Now, let me clean up this mess, we don't want you stumble over any... unpleasant bits." You heard a snap and felt the air whirring around you, filling with a thick, fog-like sensation as you heard your floors creaking, wood mending and cracking and tiny bits of glass swirling around you, piecing itself together and returning into their frame. Not even a minute later the shop felt normal again, the unpleasant smell gone as well, and with it the overall apprehension the threat had caused.

"Thank you, Alastor. Truly, I don't know what would've happened if you weren't..." you started, pausing as his hands wandered gently around your face to put on your miraculously repaired glasses. He laughed softly, tapping a gentle, slender finger on the tip of your nose.

"Luckily we didn't find out, did we? Ah, but, unfortunately, I'd say the night has been spoiled for us, given that there's another vermin to take care of." He walked behind you, carefully setting the accounting book you had used as an attempted weapon into your hands, his taloned fingers curling gently around yours as if to make sure you had a proper hold on it.

"You lock up when I'm gone, little mouse. And who knows - Maybe we'll continue to see each other... tomorrow night."

And then you felt another gentle peck, this time on your flushed cheek, and the door opened with the bell ringing, the faint crackle of a radio fading and his heavy, signature scent of burned wood and bourbon lingering around you as you hurried to bolt the doors shut, heart racing painfully in your chest at the prospect of adding even more parts of the Radio Demon to the image in your mind.

[pikahlua]

OK, I'm someone who's been gunning for the "Katsuki's villain foil is All For One" probably longer than anyone, been theorising this for over a year, and I have dozens of drafts abt it (I just turned on anon, my MHA account isn't my main anyway so...) and I never posted because it was getting too long. I think I had these since Bakugo died? If I had posted them with me saying "Bakugo will fight AFO at the end of this!", y'all would've called me crazy. Y'all could've called me a madlad, but noooo, it happened LOL

I think a few people have already noticed parallels, as there are some parallels in Yoichi and AFO's interactions Bakudeku in Ch 193. I noticed them too, and there were a few posts going around abt it, never realising the implications (since it would mean that AFO is the villain foil as he's the only one who had such similarities to Bakugo).

I mean chapter kept putting Yoichi and Midoriya together, obviously connecting the two. But where does that put AFO?

Bakudeku can be considered "siblings" since they knew each other for as long as they can remember. One was gifted and strong, while the other was quirkless. The gifted one telling the other that since they're quirkless, they can't achieve their dreams (Compare Ch 1 Bakugo to AFO's statement about Yoichi).

Yes, people are saying that AFO is terrible and Bakugo shouldn't be compared. But I think that's exactly what makes them foils. Horikoshi described Bakugo as the "light that would never surrenders to the dark", and AFO is the complete opposite, someone I would describe as "the darkness that never comes to the light".

They're the ultimate representation of "good vs evil", and that's why Horikoshi had pitted them against each other.

And AFO being Bakugo's foil makes sense as it goes in line with something Best Jeanist has said in the past. "What makes the difference between Heroes and Villains?" The villain foil theme actually started with Bakugo.

What makes AFO and Bakugo mirror each other? Look at how AFO looks down on the weak, calling them all "extras", the way he called Bakugo a "pebble in his path" the same way Bakugo did.

Rather than motivations and origins, it's through their behaviour especially towards others. AFO is more extreme, but he calls and views others that are "weaker" as "extras", he looked down on the person "closest" to him for his weakness. He once believed that "might makes right" and acts upon it. He view himself as "God". (Remember how Bakugo's hero name has "God" in it??? Hehe..)

And I feel that there would be more parallels between them once we get to see more of how AFO views Kudou, because he seems to be angered or even "threatened" by him in a similar sense to how Bakugo was to Midoriya. He is the extreme representation of Bakugo's past.

Katsuki means "victory over the self". Of course, the best way to finish your character arc is to beat up a character that represents your past LMAO

All through his arc, he had to see his weakness, and even through foils like Endeavor to face his mistakes. All For One is the final step.

Of course, for Bakugo to fight unwaveringly, he had to get his "rising" moment and also apologize to Midoriya. So that he can truly become the light that opposes the dark. To truly distinguish himself from the villain, like what Best Jeanist told him.

(Sorry if I got anything wrong, I was inactive around MHA for a while, so I could be misremembering, but hell yeahhh, this is what I've been waiting for lets gooooo!!!!)

I think you've got a lot of good stuff here, and yet... My apologies, anon, normally I wouldn't lead with this point I'm about to address, but I must address it first or else no one will read past this point and instead run to dogpile me in my askbox.

While I understand where you're coming from, it's just not tenable to argue the relationship between Izuku and Katsuki is akin to that of siblings.

Some people would make this argument from what may seem like a shipping standpoint, but I'm going to make it from a cultural one. At no point in the manga are Izuku and Katsuki ever referred to as nor behave as nor speak like they're family. There are important hierarchical and social expectations present in Japan for siblings that are different from what's expected of friends (note that even twins are still distinguished as the older and younger brother). Izuku and Katsuki treat each other as peers, social equals, NOT as a big brother-little brother dynamic. Their dynamic is best described as that of childhood friends. Childhood friends is an important trope in Japan, and one can't just gloss over it and pretend like siblings and childhood friends are equivalent or that they work the same as with western story dynamics. They're not and they don't.

And the social distance between Izuku and Katsuki is VITAL to the way their characters and relationship work. Izuku has to be unrelated to Katsuki--a "pebble in his path," some random extra--for Izuku's heart to shake Katsuki so badly, for the "meddling where you don't need to" theme to apply to Izuku rescuing Katsuki, for Izuku reaching out to be so offensive to Katsuki. So for reference, you can accurately describe this relationship parallel with Yoichi and AFO as "they knew each other since childhood," "they don't remember ever not knowing each other," "they have always been a part of each other's lives," etc. But I must stress the trope you're invoking here is childhood friends. It's okay, you don't NEED BakuDeku to be "like siblings" to make these parallels work. They grew up together, and that's sufficient.

Sorry to nitpick on that.

Anyways, I do think that there is something intentional on Horikoshi's part about Katsuki "Self-Victory" Bakugou facing off against All For One as if AFO is implied to be one of Katsuki's "selves" for him to defeat, particularly his old self he's already basically defeated in every sense except somehow fighting it out physically.

Can I tell you a secret though?

I'm not convinced MHA ends after Katsuki vs AFO and Izuku vs Tomura.

No, I don't mean like a falling action epilogue. I just mean...

Heroes Rising didn't end when Izuku and Katsuki sucker-punched Nine. It didn't end when Nine had been bested in fair combat. It ended after Nine employed a desperate gambit to win no matter the cost and became a giant purple butterfly rage monster.

What I'm saying is...I kinda think AFO will successfully transplant his quirk into Tomura or something.

[authorxxxxxx]

Cool Girl | Erling Haaland x shy&short!reader\Jack Grealish's sister

Summary : The reader is the youngest sister of football player Jack Grealish . She decided to surprise her brother by going to watch his match and meets her celebrity crush - the behemoth himself - Erling Braut Haaland .

Tw : shyness , annoying big brother , mentions of sexual assault , fighting but in general fluff .

Thanks everyone for requesting this but mainly my best friend , because I wanted to write something for Erling x shy&short!reader - and because this had been sitting in my drafts for a really long time - . And thank you to that one anon who had the idea , for the reader to be Jack Grealish's sister .

Ps . I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR THE UNDYING SUPPORT YOU'VE GIVEN ME THIS PAST COUPLE DAYS . I REALLY APPRECIATE IT . < 3

English isn't my first language , so if you spot any mistakes , just bare with me .

12.488 words : |

Hope you enjoy ; )

______________________________________________________________

Reader's Pov

" What is it this time ? " I heard Jack asking me through the phone .

" I know and I'm sorry for disturbing you , but I really need you to tell me which way you take to go to the stadium . " I asked him trying keep this as a surprise .

I've decided to surprise Jack since I haven't seen him since September back at home for his birthday . It's been nearly 8 months and I kinda miss him . Studying Psychology in Rome wasn't easy and I really had the need to go and see my brother . I even missed him annoying me all the time .

" Why do you need to know how to come the stadium ? You're in Rome . Wait - Are you home right now ? Have you eaten breakfast ? " He asked me once again .

I've had enough .

" Yes I'm home and yes I have eaten breakfast . " I lied to him knowing full damn well that I'm sitting in his couch at his apartment eating his favourite chips .

" Fine I'm just gonna go by myself you're stupid anyways . " I said quietly trying to irritate him .

" What did you just said to me you little shit ? " He screamed at me while laughing .

" I got to go now . Talk to you later . Bye . " I said to him and hung up .

" He is going to get so mad knowing that I eat his last bag of favourite chips . " I said to myself while sitting up to get ready .

_____

" I don't even know what to do right now . " I say to myself .

How did I got lost ?

I swear to God I followed the roads that the Google Maps app was telling me .

I need to ask someone for help , but at the same time I don't want to .

" Overstep your fears Y/N . That's what Jack would do . " I say to myself once again .

I go to a nearby coffee shop and I enter it to ask the cashier for some directions .

" Hello . What can I get for you today ? " The cashier asked me with a warm smile .

" Hi . I um wanted to ask for help - I mean for some - I just want directions of how to get to the Manchester City stadium . " I said while cursing myself .

" Oh you mean the Etihad Stadium ? The Sky's Blue's home ? Yeah it's just down this road . " He said to me and turned around to continue with his work .

I feel so stupid . Its was literally right in front of me .

I say a little thank you and step out of the coffe shop heading for the stadium .

_____

I enter the stadium with my VIP pass and head straight to the training area .

I came across eleven people in teams passing each other a ball and laughing with each other .

Where is my brother ?

" Pass the ball you idiot . " I heard him screaming .

Ahh - there he is .

" Y/N is that you ? " I heard someone calling my name .

I turned around to a Pep Guardiola looking down at me with a bright smile . " I'm the coach of the team . We've heard a lot about you . Jack really can't keep his mouth shut . "

" Jack some say Hi to your sister . " He scream and the whole team turned to our direction .

" AHHHHHH WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE ? " Jack screamed like a little boy while running to me .

Great .

Everyone is looking at me .

Jack crushed my thoughts embarrassing me in his tight hug .

" Stoooooop everybody is looking . " I said to him while hugging him back .

" I missed you big idiot . " I said to him and he grabbed my hand .

" Come with me to meet with the others . " He said with a smile , but I quickly decided against it by saying a small " What . No . "

" You are a little , short , cute shy angel do you know - " He said to me but before he could complete his sentence he came running towards us .

Erling Braut Haaland . . .

Erling Haaland . . .

Erling Haaland was coming at our direction .

I quickly hide behind my brothers back grabbing his shirt .

Jack stiffened by my sudden move , but his muscle memory stepped into the game and he pushed me further back with a few steps .

" Wow . Is everything ok ? Did I do something wrong ? " The behemoth of a man asked with a hint of worry in his voice as he saw the girl hiding behind her brothers back .

Y/N was so panicked that she couldn't understand how worried Erling was .

" Everything is okay man , it's just that Y/N is shy and you know she has a little crush on you since - " Jack said but before he could mustered anything else he let out a quiet whimper as you pinched him .

" Oh well . . . " Erling couldn't even say a word after what Jack just told him .

Jack had a lot of pictures with Y/N in his phone and always showed them to the rest of the team and Erling couldn't help but form a secret crush on the girl .

Jack finally decided to ease the situation by leading you both on the locker room .

" I - we gotta go man . See you later . " He said to Erling before he stormed away with you .

_____

" I can't believe that you told him that he is my crush . What kind of brother are you ? " I asked my brother back in his apartment .

" Well I can't believe you ate my last back of chips . What kind of sister are you ? " He asked back .

" Are you kidding me right now ? " I snapped back at him getting ready for a fight and he just . . . laughed at me .

" Why are you laughing ? This isn't funny at all . " I said to him being serious .

" Why are you so shy with the team ? Everybody knows about you and they've always wanted to meet you . I'm telling them good things about you . " He said and I looked at him with pure anger in my eyes .

And he just kept laughing at me .

I got up from the couch heading to the kitchen to try and talk some sense into him .

" What are you going to do ? Hit me ? You can't even reach my shoulder . " He said to me while laughing .

I quickly punch him in the arm and he let out a grant .

" Why did you do that ? " He asked while grabbing his arm .

" What are you gonna do huh ? Tell mom and dad while you always did when we were kids ? " I snapped back at him feeling proud of myself .

" All I'm telling you is that you don't have a reason to be shy with everyone . That's why your coming with me at the after match party in Friday . "

" What ? " I asked him while he was laughing at me and running away.

" Come back here . I need an explanation . " I screamed at him following him in the house .

After a while we were both laying in the living room's floor looking at the sealing .

" You really don't have to be so shy . Look all I'm trying to say is that you are a wonderful and amazing person and you have nothing to be worried about . " Jack said to me trying to convince me to go with him at the party .

" I know that you want what's best for and I love you for that , but you are gonna be celebrating with your teammates , because I know you'll win , you have good players . " I say thinking about a certain big , tall male with blue eyes .

" Stop thinking about Erling . " He said now staring at me .

" What matters is that you'll leave me alone at the party and I'll be standing in the corner of the entrance by myself and people are gonna think that I'm some type of host . " I say to him remembering him what happened at the last party I wnt with him .

" I swear to God I will be with you . I won't leave you alone . I swear . " Jack promised me .

_____

It is Friday night .

I am standing in the corner besides the club's main entrance .

All by myself .

I do not even know were Jack is .

He promised that he would be with me the whole night .

I checked the time in my phone .

We've arrived here five minutes ago and he must be already drunk , sitting in a big table with his friends laughing about stupid things .

" Hey you . Such a fine little thing and you're all alone . Whys that ? " A man asked me sliding his hand in my waist and trapping in the wall .

No , no , no , no , no . . .

A drunk man .

A stranger who wants to get laid .

The ones who are looking for a one night stand .

" I am not interested . Just let me go . " I said to him trying to push him away , but he didn't even moved .

I tried pushing him harder with all my strength , but nothing happened .

These are type of men that do not understand the meaning of the word No .

Suddenly he was being pulled away from me .

Erling had just grabbed him by the back of his shirt .

" She said she wasn't interested and you didn't let her go . " Erling said while looking angrily at the man .

" Do I need to make you go with the easy way or the hard way ? " Erling ironically asked the man , knowing that what ever answer he is gonna get , he is still gonna kill the man .

" Yo man I didn't do anything . " The man said and before he could protest Erling was pushing you out of the club .

" Are you okay ? " He asked while placing his palm on your shoulder .

" Yes . Thank you so much . I don't even want to imagine what would happen if you weren't there . " You answered kindly .

Trying to make you feel more comfortable , Erling suggested that you could walk in the area , since you are both alone and staying at the club was pointless .

" So you have a little crush on me ? " Erling asked making freeze immediately .

Despite your shyness , you took a deep breath and answerd to him .

" Well yeah . Kinda . I mean yes I do have a crush on you . " You said to him and looked down at the pavement trying to avoid his gaze .

" That's good because I have a crush on you too . "

" What ? Since when ? " You asked him while looking up at him shocked .

Wow . . . he really is tall . Taller than you thought .

" Since Jack started showing some pictures and videos with you both. And I find you really cute . " He said smiling .

" You are scary . " You said quietly hoping that he wouldn't have heard you .

" Really ? Why ? Did I scared you the other time ? I swear I didn't do it on purpose . "

" I'm so sorry , I didn't mean it that way , it's just that you are like really tall , like really taller that most of the whole population of the planet , and your kinda big - " I said to him trying to save the situation until he reached forward and crashed his lips into mine .

I immediately kissed him back , and standed on my tippy toes trying to help with the size difference , but he still was much taller that me .

After a few seconds he broke the kiss .

" I really want to kiss you again , but - " I interrupted him by stepping up on the stairs of a house so I could be at least a little higher so that I could kiss him .

I grabbed him be his neck and crashed my lips on his again .

_____

I was in the stadium to watch another football game .

Sitting in the VIP section was one of the best things . One , you have a great view of the whole stadium , second there are not a lot of cameras near so it's much more comfortable and third , I and Erling can keep kissing without being afraid that the fans are gonna see us .

" When are you going back ? "

" In one week . "

" We can make this work . "

We said to each other while kissing .

" Yes , we can make this work . " I said to him smiling and then kissed him again .

After a couple of seconds our tongues and lips parted to catch our breaths before kissing again .

_____

" I didn't know that Y/N and Erling are together . When did this happened ? " Phil Foden asked Jack while preparing for the game .

" What do you mean ? " Jack asked back confused .

" Yeah , look they're over there kissing . " Phil said while Jack was in utterly disbelief .

His little shy sister was kissing with that behemoth of a man .

" OI GET YOUR TONGUE OUT OF MY SISTERS MOUTH ! " Jack screamed while running towards you .

" I messed up again . Phil said running behind Jack .

_____

@unimportantbabymilksharkte

@sora-777-romanoff

[eoieopda]

the one with seokjin, soju, and all the stars in the sky

Requested by Anon: Kim Seokjin got really drunk on a members-night-out, so his fiancée has to pick his cute, clingy ass up. ft. late-night wake-ups, gn!reader, and a lot of feelings about science. A/N: I accidentally deleted the draft associated with this ask, so now it's a separate post. Sorry for the wait, anon!

When Seokjin left for the evening, he'd placed a kiss on your forehead and a new book in your hands.

The novel in question was some obscure, independently published thing Namjoon had recommended. You'd mentioned it to Seokjin in passing — weeks ago — but hadn't had the downtime to seek it out since. Even if you had somehow carved out a moment to scour the local bookshops, you wouldn't have had the spare hours to immerse yourself in it the way you'd want to.

Not enough to meaningfully discuss its themes with Namjoon, anyway.

But Seokjin was Seokjin. He'd made some secret, mental note about what you said; hunted down that old single-edition book; and come up with a reason to spend his Saturday night elsewhere. He and his friends would get dinner and drinks — you'd get an overdue bubble bath and the solitude necessary to study for your unofficial, impromptu, two-member book club.

And that's precisely how you'd spent your night before tucking yourself into bed at the beautifully reasonable hour of half-past nine.

When your phone went off four hours later, you thought you were dreaming. You squinted at the screen for so long, trying to wrap your brain around the contact information blaring into your bleary eyes, that you almost failed to answer.

"Namjoon?" You croaked, throwing an arm over your eyes to hide from the offensive lamp light beaming off your bedside table. "I'm gonna need, like, a liter of coffee before I can wax poetic about the —"

"Hey, noona, it's Namjoon-ah!" He cut you off before you could finish. If the delayed, rhyming introduction didn't tip you off, the snorting, self-inflicted laughter would have.

Kim Namjoon, the designated dad of the friend group, was irrefutably ripped, zipped, and zooted.

You scrubbed your hand over your face in a futile attempt to stop your forming grin in its tracks. "Your picture popping up on my phone told me as much," You chuckled through your exhaustion, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this wake-up call?"

You heard him shout geonbae and gulp down some sort of shot before he provided you with an answer.

"Sojin has entered the chat," He announced with an absurd, deepened voice. Immediately, he cackled, "Get it? It's a portmanteau of soju and Seokjin, who is shitfaced — anyways, can you come get your man?"

It took you five minutes to throw on clothes and shuffle out the door to your car. The drive to the bar took only slightly longer, though it was the traffic lights and not the distance that slowed you down.

Unfortunately, twenty years came and went while you tackled the dreaded, subsequent task: parallel fucking parking.

The stress of it all nearly had you sweating by the time you entered the bar — you'd be hearing all that judgmental honking in your sleep, once you got back to it — but it all evaporated the second you saw Seokjin.

Off in the far corner, he sat on the outer half of a bench. Trapped inside that booth, visibly waiting for the sweet release of death, was Min Yoongi. You couldn't make out the details of that predominantly one-sided conversation, but you could tell by Seokjin's wild gesticulating and pink-tipped ears that he was ranting about something.

Bits and pieces fell into place as you made your away over, but no part of the overheard conversation made much sense to you.

Seokjin hiccupped, "I've said it once and I'll s-say it again —"

"— Hyung, I guarantee you've said it way more than once —" Yoongi attempted to interject, but he was quickly silenced by more of Seokjin's animated hand-waving.

"— Magic. It's magic, Yoongi. I'm tell — I'm telling you, man. There's just — hic — Science is stupid. I don't care about it, you know? And do you want — you wanna know why, Yoongi? Well, I'll t-tell you why —"

As he blinked emphatically at Yoongi, Seokjin must've somehow sensed you across the bar. He stopped dead in the middle of his unsolicited dissertation, wide-eyed with his jaw dropped, and gasped, "Baby!"

Before you could physically brace yourself for impact, he'd launched his clumsy frame out of his seat and collected you in his arms. Within seconds, without time to blink, his warm cheek was smushed against yours. Plush lips fluttered near your ear as he mumbled, "I missed you."

Of course, it'd only been a few hours since he last saw you, but he held you like you'd just returned from years at sea. Breathing deeply and contentedly, likely taking in the scent of your shampoo. Gently clutching the fabric of your jacket in his hands as if you'd float away otherwise. You had no desire whatsoever to burst that perfect, loving bubble, so you simply squeezed him tighter and told him that you'd missed him more.

Over his shoulder, you saw relief wash over Yoongi's face. No longer held hostage, he scooted himself out of the booth and immediately twisted in place to crack his back.

How long had he been stuck in there?

"Thank fuck," Yoongi sighed as he proceeded to crack his neck. He rolled his shoulders while answered the question you were about to ask, "Twenty entire minutes. Barely paused long enough to breathe, so I thought, shit — what if he dies here? I was scared I'd have to spend the rest of my days in this booth."

Seokjin, who still hadn't untangled himself from you, simply giggled. With his cheek remaining flush to yours, you could feel him grinning. He offered nothing whatsoever in his own defense, so Yoongi waved at you and turned to head off towards the restrooms.

You called out after him, prompting him to turn around. "What's so stupid about science?"

Yoongi's mouth stretched into a straight line across the entire bottom half of his face; his eyes narrowed to match. He heaved yet another sigh, gestured languidly to the half-cut fiancée clinging to you like a vest, and smirked, "He's convinced you hung the stars in the sky."

You would've melted into a puddle on the spot, but then Seokjin piped up and promptly shot your unsuspecting, lovestruck heart over the moon instead.

Abruptly changing the subject, he whispered — suddenly serious, as if it was the most important question in the world:

"Did you like the book, baby?"

[carriesthewind]

Love your coverage of NY's worst lawyer, ChatGPT, Esq.! Also interesting for another reason. I work in a healthcare-adjacent industry where physicians have to sign off on lots of things and are considered responsible for the things they sign... but in practice, 95% of the time they're just signing without reading a word. In fact, they're SO bad at reading these things that support staff (inc. myself) have an actual term for setting up e-forms and covering paper forms in sticky notes [1/3]

so that it's as close to impossible as, well, possible for physicians to fill out their paperwork incorrectly (sign on the date field but don't date the form, etc.). So you end up having these situations where physicians are submitting documentation that's all been drafted by support personnel who may or may not know what they're talking about. I've seen it come back to bite people! [2/3]

So while this case is obviously egregious, I'm just wondering - is this really that large a departure from industry norms, or might there be some lawyers out there feeling a bit of discomfort about how much they sign off on without reading? [3/3]

Oops! Same anon that just talked about physicians - I saw that you posted a response to a nearly-identical question further back than I had read :) Sorry!

No, thank you for the interesting question!

I have to caveat my answer somewhat by saying that there are a wide variety of lawyers doing a wide variety of work. Personally, I do trial-level public interest work, so the experience of a personal injury lawyer like LoDuca et al. will be very different from what I do, and a biglaw corporate attorney will likewise be very different from both of us, and so on. With that said...no, in my experience, it's not normal to submit something without reading it. Do people cut corners and make mistakes? Absolutely. But normally it's on the level of things like what the Professional Responsibility attorneys did, where they accidentally submitted their memorandum with the fake cases included in the table of authorities (which they then later caught and corrected). Or even, more seriously, people pulling from legal research and writing someone else has done and submitting it without double-checking all the cases themselves because it all looks right, so it's probably fine (which can and does come back to bite people).

As I said in response to the ask that you referenced, even though corner-cutting and skimming definitely happens, the real problem happened once they received the defendant's reply and the court order and doubled down. I don't know much about healthcare-adjacent industries, but from what you've said, I imagine that if one of those physicians got a letter from a regulatory agency saying, "hey it looks like you've been prescribing a bunch of made up drugs," they would take it seriously and not just give it back to the same support staff who wrote the prescription!

(I hope!)

[noellewrxtes]

why no more of tupelo blues snippet?

hi anon! thank you for asking! unfortunately, i have very little free time in my personal life at the moment and not a whole lot of spare time left for writing. i also have a bunch of different wips i'm juggling so when i do have time to write i'm not necessarily working on tupelo blues.

all of that said, i'm really happy that you were interested enough to ask and it's been a while since i've posted a snippet anyway so i dug through my drafts and found this flashback scene that i like a lot and i hope you do as well! <3

Itachi crept in just after three o'clock, more than an hour after the funeral had ended and Shisui had locked himself away to be miserable in peace. He cracked the door open and knocked softly on the door frame to announce his presence, eyes watching Shisui warily like he wasn't sure if he was entirely welcome and Shisui kind of hated himself for even making it a question. 

He sighed and pushed himself into a sitting position. "Hey, what's up?" 

"Should I leave?" 

Guilt reared up within Shisui's chest, though he knew that wasn't Itachi's intention. It lingered there nonetheless, tinging his words with weariness as he answered, "No, you don't have to." 

"But should I?" 

Another wave of guilt crashed over him, this one stronger. "No," Shisui promised, exhaling his exhaustion into the air between them. "No, you shouldn't."  

Itachi's brows pulled together just slightly and his gaze watched Shisui in concern, but he stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind him, the handle making a soft click as the door settled into its frame. Itachi leaned back against it, leaving an entire room full of space between them but, god, if it didn't feel like more and, god, if Shisui wouldn't give his right arm to know how to close that gap. He didn't know. He didn't feel like he knew much of anything right then, but he knew he wanted Itachi to stop looking at him like he might bite if he wasn't careful.

Shisui held out a hand for him and looked up with tired eyes. "Come here?" 

There was a moment, brief as it was, where Itachi gazed at him with caution in his eyes and Shisui thought he was going to say no and it was going to absolutely fuck him up when he did. But he didn't--he nodded his head and pushed himself up from the door, crossed the room carefully until he was within reach and Shisui could draw him slowly, ever so gently, into a loose embrace. Itachi stood above him, running a hand through his curls, and he didn't ask Shisui where he had been or why he hadn't responded to any of his texts and that kind of made it all worse. 

In all honesty, Shisui wasn't really sure he had an explanation to give, anyway. Instead he looked up at Itachi from his seat with sad eyes and said, "I'm sorry." 

Itachi, determined to prove yet again that he was a better person than Shisui deserved, hummed and pulled Shisui's head into his stomach comfortingly. "Don't be." 

And Shisui buried his face into the fabric of Itachi's shirt and squeezed him tight and didn't cry. 

[wetcatspellcaster]

Hi. So sorry if this is weird but.

Can I just say I’m so proud of you for going out of your comfort zone and writing an explicit sex scene?? An amazing sex scene I might add. So character driven. So packed with Meaning. So hot. It’s what they deserve. Also Rosalie’s use of a pet name did not go unnoticed and was even more touching than I thought it would be. This all feels like a part of a very satisfying resolution of all the Horrors they’ve been through.

Again so sorry if this is weird. And thank you 🖤

oh, it's not weird, anon! it feels a bit strange to receive a handshake for writing sex on the sex-writing website, when other people are doing it so much better than me, but it's not weird to send this to me... it's nice!

so, thank you! I was very nervous and sort-of out of my comfort zone lmao, but not for the reasons you think! while i definitely have Irrational Feelings about the flaws in my own writing and lack of smut being one of them, and also opinions on how my writing style doesn't really fit super well with that mode the way others' does, I mostly just felt nervous bc... it was sex, but it's not smut. I say at the beginning of the chapter, it's not smut! if it was smut, I'd have changed the rating to E! If it was smut, the orgasms would be better! I know that much, at least!!

I've answered your ask first bc you called it a sex scene, and that's exactly what it was intended as! It was a scene I decided I wanted to include lmao. I could've faded to black at any moment - in the first draft, it faded after Rosalie admitted to what she was into: it was designed to be a parallel when the Ascendent tries to cater to a praise kink in Chapter 7 and she immediately shoots it down, because she knows it's got nothing to do with making her feel good and everything to do with shaming her and putting her into a script.

but alongside writing this fic, I have had a lot of thoughts about the decision Larian made to fade to black in the Spawn!Ending and not in Ascendent. I completely get their logic, and I even like it as an artistic decision, but it does mean there's this weird equation between 'sexy -> evil', when in fact... you are allowed to desire your partner, and your vampire boyfriend. the more I thought about it, the more I realised that there is this weird dynamic in Pieces where Rosalie often represses the hell out of herself and then the plot makes that into a good decision. And basically... no. that's not right! She's incredibly lonely, and unhappy, and she's also not allowed to admit what she likes or what she wants or what she's into bc it's not a safe place in which to do that. That's all that's going on there! once the situation is right, she's allowed to want things!

So in the end I decided fade to black wasn't the right call. The things that happen in Chapter 26 all reference back to when Rosalie was consensually with the Ascendent, and anything that was non-consensual is quickly changed. Then the Second Chance got me, and it became awkward. I thought of all the ways an Ascendent smut scene would probably be incredibly fucking hot and near perfect but also feel um... not to pun... soulless, and so what ended up happening is that we got something that isn't well-choreographed and has these moments where both of them are haunted by what has come before, but it's selling point is that it feels genuine.

maybe I'll write actual smut one day, but this was honestly just a scene I felt the plot needed! and i'm really happy you enjoyed it and that it felt character driven and that you found it sexy. I found it sexy. it is what they deserve.

[msmargaretmurry]

do you think tkachuk/drai/mcdavid (or 2 of the 3) would have been anything if matthew was drafted to edmonton instead of jesse puljujarvi?

hello anon! it says something about how uncaffeinated i was when i first read this ask that at first i thought you meant like, as a line, and i was like "well someone would have to learn to play left wing and it would probably be smarter to spread that firepower out over two lines" and then i had one (1) sip of coffee and was like OOOOooohhh you mean in a hrpf way. (i assume. sorry if you actually wanted lineup analysis.) and then i got briefly distracted thinking about a beautiful world where poor jesse puljujärvi never had to endure the dickings around of the oilers management. and THEN i got briefly distracted thinking about how having all three of them would make the oilers' cap situation even more funny. BUT ANYWAY.

short answer: yes. long answer:

so like, on the mcdavid front, hrpf nation has been exploring the mortifying ordeal of being connor mcdavid since before he was drafted. if matthew was drafted to his team people would be interested by default. if the oilers had him, drai, AND matthew, for marketing purposes they would have packaged those three all together like eberle/hall/nuge 2.0 and people would have loved it. matthew would have been giving nonstop quotes about playing with these special players and learning so much from them and whatever the fuck. matthew cares very very deeply about being a Good Teammate. he would have become connor's guard dog the same way he did for auston matthews in the ntdp. folks absolutely would have latched onto it. plus the added dimension of matthew being a Legacy Kid while connor has had Legacy Thrust Upon him would have been like rpf narrative catnip.

also, in addition to the legacy kid thing making him already a person of interest, if matthew had been drafted to the other side of the battle of alberta he would have been exactly as rambunctious and annoying and divisive and shit-stirring and fun to watch, just on the other side of the battle, and manyof us would have still gotten weird and wild about him. imho!!

i think it's a really interesting thought experiment to ponder how being in the shadow of mcdavid (and doing his shenanigans in what might be perceived as in service of the mcdavid experiment) might have possibly changed perpections/portrayals of him, and also how being drafted to a team where he knew he would never, in the eyes of the hockey zeitgeist, be the best player, might have changed matthew's own approach to his career and developing his game. because he's such a family-oriented guy i do still think he would have gotten homesick in edmonton the same way he got homesick in calgary, but i'm really curious if the concept of Playing With McDavid would have been enough to pressure him into sticking it out in the great white north. also, back to the cap crunch of it all — it feels so unlikely that the oilers would be able to afford to keep all three of them, and i wonder, if matthew was there, if drai would be the one to go. and that would have provided some RICH hrpf narratives.

on the draisaitl front, hrpf nation has been info him since he was drafted being he's hot, lmao. (laying these foundations just because if a guy is on the rpf radar it's much more likely for pairing with him to being a Thing(tm).) if matthew had been drafted to the oilers, mattdrai as we know it would absolutely not exist (and que tragique!!). it just wouldn't have that antagonism! i've always said that if leon and matthew were on the same team from the beginning, they would have been fast friends. they would have had a great time terrorizing people together. the things about matthew that pissed leon off so much wouldn't be pissing him off if they weren't being used against him!! so the dynamic that drew so many people into mattdrai wouldn't be there, and it would definitely be a very different thing, but i do think it would still be a thing.

honestly from what i know about hrpf, i feel like if we lived in the matthew-to-the-oilers universe, connor/matthew would be the big ship, with connor/leon and matthew/leon as rarer pairs on the side (and of course connor/matthew/leon hanging out there too). what a world!! i would read a million versions of the au though.

[sofoulandfairaday]

What do you think about Bella’s relationship with Narcissa/how it changed after her return from Azkaban?

I am so sorry, anon, I completely forgot about this post. I had started answering, then saved it in my drafts and only found it today (months later) when I opened them. Forgive me.

Great question!

I used to love Narcissa as a character but lately, I've started disliking her a little. I think most of the fandom sees her (wrongly) as a victim, even of Bellatrix, when actually the most Bella does to her is be a little rude to her husband and son. The worst Narcissa does to Bellatrix is indirectly causing her death. One of my worst pet peeves is when people write her as cruel to Narcissa in fanfictions when, in canon, it's almost always the opposite.

In the series they only have two interactions: in the first one, she goes behind Voldemort's back (!!!), accompanying her to Spinner's End to protect her (from herself, possibly Voldemort and even Snape), and Narcissa physically attacks her. In the second, she thinks that the Cup has been stolen (which will promptly cause Voldemort to kill all of them if he comes) which makes for a snappy exchange. And still, she doesn't curse Lucius' head off when he puts his hands on her.

Based on these interactions and the fact that they are respectively the eldest and the youngest sibling, I think Bella was always very protective of Narcissa. I always headcanon Bella as closest to Andromeda growing up (thirty years later, she still calls her sister) but Bellatrix's defining trait, contrary to popular belief, is - just like Cissy - her loyalty to her family. It's as much a part of her character as her love/obsession with Voldemort. It's tragic that Narcissa doesn't extend the same devotion to her. Draco and Lucius are very much her priorities while Bella loves her above everyone else but Voldemort. Andy's betrayal probably brought them close together.

I can see them being close during the First War, or at least trying to be, while everything pulls them apart - most of all, themselves and their personal aspirations: Cissy marries Lucius and gives him a son, Bella becomes a terrorist (and while my hc is that she likes Rodolphus and has a good relationship with him, nothing supports that in the text; maybe they fucking hate each other, or are indifferent to each other and Bella outright refuses to give him a child; after a certain while, the sisters had little in common). One can come up with a hundred different headcanons for this period, but I have noticed that a tendency with new mothers is to surround themselves with other new mothers. Bella probably didn't fit in with this crowd, maybe was even hurt and jealous that she was now quite far down her sister's priority list.

After Azkaban? Narcissa doesn't look very happy to have her traumatized sister, fresh from a horror-filled, decade-and-a-half-long reclusion in her home. (Bella was probably hurt by this.) Bellatrix, on the other hand, is very contemptuous of Lucius and doesn't respect his authority at all, especially after the DoM fiasco. From the way Narcissa admonishes her in Spinner's end (“Don’t you dare — don’t you dare blame my husband!” said Narcissa, in a low and deadly voice, looking up at her sister.) we can infer that this was probably a common disagreement between the two.

I don't think Narcissa liked Bellatrix at all, after Azkaban. If I want to believe the best of her, I think she felt guilty for wishing she had stayed locked up. After fifteen years, I think Narcissa had already mourned her, she was as good as dead to her. Seeing this new, unstable version of Bella probably made her feel things she didn't want to feel: guilt, shame, love, and everything in between. The peculiar mix of profound love but also dislike you can only feel for a sibling.

As I have said before, the Black Sisters likely loved each other, viscerally, but didn't really understand each other, or each other's life choices. And both Narcissa and Andromeda strike me as very selfish people.

Not to continuously quote Succession, but when Shiv tells Kendall: I love you, but I cannot fucking stomach you? Yeah. That.

[wymgreenteam]

https://www.tumblr.com/zeegras/730882872879267840

Can I tempt you with a Nico Hischier Baker!AU ?!?!

source

anon when i tell you i've been losing my mind over these images since yun sent me them yesterday, i mean it wholeheartedly... i had to go unearth the old cooking au i had buried in my drafts because of this new development... it's more of a celebrity chef nico and celebrity NOT chef jack au than a baker nico au specifically, but there is baking in there, i promise!! so no tempting needed haha :)

excerpts under the cut!

“This is a bad idea,” Cole says for the third time.

“Fuck you, this is a fantastic idea!” Trevor points a pinkie at him, the rest of the fingers on his hand preoccupied with holding his beer. “It’s like Worst Cooks In America but for celebrities!”

Jack’s smile drops. “It’s like what?”

“It’s one of the shows Jimmy likes to watch—“

“He’s not even American, Z, what the fuck?”

Quinn pinches the bridge of his nose. “Sorry, the fact that Jamie’s not American is the problem you have with this concept?”

“But I can cook!” Jack protests. Silence and four flat stares greet him. “I can! Guys, come on!”

“That,” Quinn starts, leaning back in his seat, “Is one thing I think we all can disagree with you on.”

Jack throws a wadded up napkin across the table at him, but it misses when Quinn ducks. Whatever.

————

“I don’t like how this started as cooking lessons but has slowly devolved into me being the fire safety marshal while you try and look at an egg without setting the smoke alarms off,” Nico muses, clearly trying to keep the smile off his face for the sake of Jack’s already fragile pride as he peeks over Jack’s shoulder.

“This is exactly how it was before you showed up… just minus the precautions,” Jack comments, looking forlornly at the egg that’s no more than a smoldering pile of crisp stuck to the bottom of the frying pan. He pokes at it sadly with a spatula, a pout making its way onto his lips. “There’s no hope for me.”

“And I’m beginning to think you might be right about that,” Nico mutters, shaking his head as he rolls up his sleeves. Before Jack can protest, he pats Jack's hip gently and says, “Move over and I’ll show you again, yeah? Try and pay attention this time.”

————

Jack heaves the door open, not thinking as he kicks off his shoes and they land next to a pair of sneakers that fit much larger feet than his own. He doesn’t notice the familiar, worn brown leather jacket hung up on the usually-empty hook as he shucks his suit jacket and loops it over his arm as he shuffles down the hallway into the kitchen. Frowning, he loosens his tie. He’d swear he turned these lights off before he left. It also smells really good, which is weird, because he hasn’t even ordered his takeout yet, and—

“There you are.”

Jack jumps, turning to see Nico standing in his kitchen, a towel tossed over his shoulder, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, smiling. “Nico?”

“It’s Wednesday,” Nico says, tilting his head to the pan on the stove that’s simmering with something thick and red-brown. That’s what smells so amazing.

“Oh, fuck, sorry, I—” Jack feels so frazzled all of a sudden, his days jumbling up in his head. How could he forget that it’s Wednesday? “I had a work thing and it ran late… I didn’t mean to leave you waiting, sorry.”

Nico shrugs. “No worries, things happen,” he says, turning back to the stove to stir the sauce. “You look nice, though.”

Jack feels his face heat through eight increasingly deep shades of red. He has to duck his head hastily, grateful that Nico’s back is still turned. “Uh— Thanks? You too?”

Nico just chuckles. It sounds so good, all warm and deep. Jack kind of wants to roll over and die.

————

Nico peeks up at Jack from his position between his legs, making deliberate eye contact as he bends one of Jack’s knees until it touches his chest, leaning forward to lick the line of honey from his sensitive inner thigh. Jack has to choke back an incredibly embarrassing sound when Nico stops to nibble a bruise at the juncture of his hip. He feels so deliciously stretched out and exposed, wrists still obediently pressed to the mattress above his head, and it doesn’t help that Nico’s looking at him like he wants to eat Jack alive.

[americas1suiteheart]

(im the anon who asked if requests were open) ooh okok is it okay if i request headcanons with mr atlas bioshock who has an s/o (they/them pronouns please if you're using pronouns) who's incredibly shy, doesn't know how to initiate physical affection without being awkward? they try to do it but after past experiences it just doesn't feel right to them. though, throughout the relationship they grow a bit more confident to ask atlas if they can hold hands or kiss his cheek? just some pure fluff with this dublin man

please take your time with this request, thank you so much!! ♡

Ooh, yes! I absolutely love that (and can write it easily as I'm the same way,) thank you for this!

Atlas x Shy! Reader Headcannons [WIP]

[Atlas (Bioshock 1) x GN! Reader]

[Notes; So, I had a little more trouble writing this and it looks kinda bad as its been a while since I've written a bioshock fanfic and played bioshock 1 (oops) but regardless, its done🤭]

[Warnings; Its a Bioshock fanfic, you know what you're getting yourself into]

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

When you first begin dating him, he realizes how distant you are and how you always try to awkwardly push off showing affection in physical ways, maybe even with how you talk as well.

So what does he do? He's confused obviously, so he asks you whats wrong. You explain that some other time you can explain and tell him.

So he doesn't push you to tell him or anything of the such, (what a gentleman, right?) But he does try to make you comfortable when you two are together.

Eventually afterwards you'll partially explain why you're being so distant with him and say you'll try and be better about it, but he reassures you to take your time. So you do.

You get more comfortable to him complimenting you and telling you that he loves you more quickly than you would've thought, he's just really charming and kind, how could you not.

So after a while you then go to hold his hand, its definitely awkward for you but I can just imagine that Atlas is absolutely beaming with happiness.

He's oh so patient with you, like a complete different person when he's with you. He's just much more soft and relaxed when he's with you.

Eventually when you get used to every other form of affection, hugs, holding hands, cuddling(?), you finally get the confidence to kiss him.

Needless to say its a little awkward the first time. I'm talking hes so surprised by the fact that he take a little longer to respond to it and kiss you back, leaving you to believe he didn't enjoy it.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

I posted just for some content and because I need to clear my drafts, so I sorry its not finished but I most likely won't finish it.

[not-poignant]

Hi there! I absolutely love your works and, having followed you for a while now, I also really admire you as a person and an author in general. Every update on AO3 and Tumblr is always such a delight. I'm sorry if this ask is coming out of the blue or if it's something you've been asked before, but how did you take the plunge from writing predominantly fanfic to posting original fiction in serial form and also self-publishing novels? I'm currently in the process of drafting two original works after writing/posting fanfic regularly for years, and I'm just lost as to how to set everything up. I have a general idea (post chapter-by-chapter on AO3 and offer early access and some exclusive content on patreon or some other subscription service), but it all feels so daunting right now. Any bit of info or advice on how you got started would be immensely appreciated <3

Hi anon,

Tbh, I went from writing fanfic to original fiction because I had original characters in my fanfiction and readers asked me about them.

I had no kind of...dreams of being an original author in this way, I was published via other pathways already, and fanfiction was really an escape for me, a chance to break with all the conventions of standard writing and just do what I wanted.

But I needed a broader cast than what the movie gave me re: my first fanfics, and I added my own OCs, and left them in the background as much as possible, but even back while writing that fanfic, even the OCs were getting fanart. Sometimes readers would send me anons about them, or ask me more details about them.

Finally, I decided to write some hatesex between them, just something to kind of...idk get it out of my system? Answer what the readers were looking for?

The flow through therefore felt natural. Game Theory flows very naturally on from From the Darkness We Rise & Into Shadows We Fall. And from there, moving into other original works has been easy, in part, because I've often being doing alternate universes from a core of original characters.

If I want to introduce new original characters, I introduce them in stories where pre-existing original characters have already been established.

I didn't even start writing original works with a view to making money off that. In fact I thought it was a very foolish thing to do. A lot of people on AO3 don't want to read original works on AO3 and refuse to do it or only do it if it's PWP / pornography.

I started my Patreon account because readers asked me to. I got asks from very very generous people who wanted to know my Paypal, or asked if I'd start a Ko-Fi, and finally a few people just asked if I'd start a Patreon. I said I didn't think it was a good idea, and they said it was up to them if they wanted to pay me or not, but I should at least consider giving them the choice.

From there, I found it all very overwhelming. I made lots of mistakes. I had to go on hiatus for a year because I promised too much and couldn't deliver on many of those rewards. And for many years I only offered one early access chapter per week for one story, and my main stories were never early access (and still aren't, Underline the Black goes up for everyone at the same time - and while that may change in the future, it's definitely unconventional).

I've always been transparent with my readers that with very few exceptions, if they just wait, they eventually get everything for free. But if they want to support this kind of writing and/or enjoy it, and can comfortably afford to send some dollars my way, they can ensure that I can keep writing this way.

I have for a long time offered no exclusive content at all, I believe that can do well, but it's not my preferred way of doing things.

This career has been incredibly reader driven, anon. I would not personally attempt it cold, without a really fantastic readerbase who encouraged me every step of the way in the first place, because I am a cautious, insecure writer who doesn't like to take risks. So I can't give you advice on how to build this career without the support of the readers there in the first place, and I believe the only reason why I had their support was, in part, because of the actual strength of the writing itself. Which isn't to say it's the best, it's not, it's what I needed at the time and it's what a few other people needed, and that's basically how this works.

If you turn up with the writing, and the audience comes, and they want the story, you have the career.

In terms of practical advice - you can introduce original characters in fanfiction, just be aware that readers tend to be hostile by default if they pull any significant 'screen time' away from the fandom characters (and readers are extremely savvy to authors trying to build a financial business through AO3)

It IS daunting, but the good news is you can do a soft launch. You can open a Patreon or Ream account tomorrow and tell no one. You can mess with your graphics and your tier rewards to your heart's content when you don't have any subscribers. Build a buffer of early access/chapters, and make sure you don't overpromise on anything. Whatever you think you can realistically deliver to readers, cut it in half, because the stress of chapter update deadlines every month can really add up and it's a very different landscape to novel releases.

You can take your time, you can build interest slowly.

Remember you can never ever mention any kind of site where you're getting paid inadvertently, sneakily, or directly on AO3. You can't mention Ream, you can't mention Patreon, you can't mention Ko-Fi, you can't go 'learn more about my writing here' and link to those places. You can't mention buy links. You can only mention sites like Tumblr, Linktree, Twitter etc. Places where the point of sale isn't happening. Not doing so risks AO3's Not For Profit status and risks your entire account, and it's not worth it.

I did an interview with Subscriptions for Authors where I actually talk about many of these things so you can watch (or listen to) the podcast here if you're inclined! It also talks about the importance of community-building, gratitude to the readers, and generosity.

I am here because my readers wanted me to be. So I'm very concerned with making sure I can give them the best writing possible within my abilities. This makes me not very suited to offering 'how to start in this career' advice because it was a happy accident. It's hard to teach something I have never done your way myself, anon, because I worry I'd give bad advice. My writing had people turning up, but I'm not sure anything else I did, added much! I think responding to Tumblr asks and replying to every comment helped too! But...I don't know for sure.

But this career path does make me pretty well suited to offering 'how to keep this going' advice, because I've been doing this for ten years. <3333

[oleander-nin]

Okay continuation now lmao

"How'd you find it wasn't my name? Did you look it up or smth? I'm just curious lol."

Nope! Just heard people (and yourself) call you Ollie and never once call you Oleander, so I just assumed. Also part of it is because I didn't know Oleander was an actual name until now. Damn that is a sick name.

"Uhhhhh Mikey would keep a snake if he could. He seems like a snake guy to me."

WAIT I can see that! I don't think he'd like feeding them live mice or anything though, he'd probably get one with a different diet.

I may be thinking a little too hard here but he would ALSO get one that's low maintenance. Or at least he should. In that scrapped episode "T-hex" splinter alludes to Mikey having electronic pets before and I remember hearing SOMEWHERE that Mikey always ends up forgetting to take care of them after the initial excitement dies down? I don't remember where I heard that or if it was another person just theorizing but either way that seems in character lol.

WAIT ANALYSIS TIME maybe Mikey wouldn't like the idea of a super low maintenance pet? Because maybe if he DID have to pay attention to caring for one it would give him a sense of purpose and responsibility that he feels robbed of being so babied all the time. I think he'd be a little sick of being too taken care of all the time and maybe he'd want to provide that for a pet to even that out and make him feel independent. (even if he's bad at it. He really doesn't mean to be).

Or maybe I'm projecting. Idk I'm always nervous that maybe my "analysis" for characters is entirely wrong but WHATEVER I'm anon so I fear nothing (lying)

"Twoal Donnie is into botany, actually! He grows all the flowers he sends. I've had it planned like this for a long time lol, and he'll show off his garden a lot in later chapters(once I get to writing them-)"

YESS I KNEW IT >:D MAN I WANT HIM TO RAMBLE PROUDLY ABOUT HIS GARDEN TO MC SO BADLY <3

Imagining MC looking over everything and thinking: "Hey this guy grows a lot of the same flowers that I happen to receive from Von Ryan... Hm... Eh it's probably a coincidence, they're popular flowers."

"THANK YOU FOR NOTICING THE FLOWER THING. I think you're the first person on Tumblr to point it out so far and I'm giddy. When I re-write it for the final time once I finish this draft, I'm gonna try and integrate more flowers."

OF COURSE I NOTICED THE FLOWER THING <33 I WAS SHOCKED NO ONE ELSE HAD

I was checking the notes like "Anyone else seeing this?? No?? Okay well I'M going to be crazy about it then." I was pulling up Google to search all the flower meanings chapter by chapter and would freak out a little every time hdjdjshsj

Sorry for long asks again. These are always longer than I want them to be lmao. Have a nice day Ollie! I am sending you good vibes. You have no choice. There is no escape from them <3

- ☄️

Ah, that makes sense lol. I think I've only had two people ever call me Oleander on the server.

Ooo, I like your analysis! I forgot snakes were high-maintenance pets. If I'm honest, I just liked the mental image of Mikey laying on the floor w/ a snake coiled on his back. I agree w/ the 'he'd like taking care of something for once' idea though.

heheh this is making me want to finish this draft of TWOAL so y'all can see what I have planned.

Yeah, I think only Wattpad noticed the flowers so far. Someone commented what the flowers mean on every chapter, and it's been great fun watching them dissect it lol. Very glad to hear you caught it too!

Long asks are completely fine! I really don't mind, it just took me a while to answer this once because I got a bit busy. Thanks for the good vibes, I needed them. Have a swell day, and I hope yesterday was good to you. Thank you for the ask!

[the-cookie-of-doom]

hello~~~ i'm your secret saturn for the jeffffffffest event!

i have a couple of ideas for your gift, but first i want to ask a couple of clarifying questions so i can be sure we're on the same page:

In the Ghost MV, the Jeff we see as the soldier - in my head i've always called him the General, and have him marked as such in my notes. Is there a name you prefer for him, or will i stick with the General?

I know you left the DNW section blank, has anything come up that you think you would *not* want in it? if you do think of anything even after this, feel free to just sort of throw a post on the dash and i'll keep an eye out for it 😆

(btw in the middle of writing this i had a sudden lightbulb moment and now im so freaking excited to write this!!!!!!!!)

-🪐

ANON DARLING IM SO SORRY I FORGOT!!! I got this while I was in class and I kept trying to answer, but I was afraid of someone looking over my shoulder :' ) It got eaten by my drafts

I don't have any particular name for that character; I think I tend to call him Commander bc I like the sound of it, but honestly? I have no idea what his actual position is supposed to be?? I've also used Scientist, Officer, and straight up just Husband lmao, so whatever works for you, works for me!

I have no idea what to put for a broad DNW @_@ Honestly, I can be into anything if the writing is convincing enough/makes sense within the universe! I know that's not particularly helpful, but if you had specific concerns you could always ask about those? I also haven't formed too strong of opinions about the characters yet, the way I do for ships like KimChay. So I would say skim my ao3 for the kinds of things I tend to write, and that might give you a better idea? I will say I don't love first person PoV, unless it's an epistolary-style sections, like a letter or a diary.

I'm so excited to see whatever it is you've come up with, and again, I'm so sorry for not responding!!

Edit: actually, since you specifically mentioned the Ghost MV - don't make the Wife a jealous harpy? I'm fine with her being cold/morally gray/straight up evil, given she is a seemingly willing participant of the unethical experimentation going on. And I love playing with the dynamics that could exist between all three of them, jealousy included. But I guess I don't want to see her as an obstacle to the ship/made into a caricature. Idk how to explain it, but just. The thing that tends to happen to female characters when they "get in the way" of a ship, y'know? Whatever else happens between them all, she loved them, and they loved her. It was just ComplicatedTM

[manonamora-if]

i dont know if u feel up for it to answer but like... how do u handle negative comments and ratings and just people being negative about ur stuff? bc i have someone just being rude in comments or like notes and game folders on itch and its making me want to just delete everything and never show anyone anything anymore. or even have an acocunt on itch either.

Hi Anon,

I'm sorry you've been dealing with this, and that it took me so long to answer. I've been thinking about this for a while honestly. I've been writing a bunch of drafts for this one, because my answer seems to change with the day or my mood. Some of my stuff have had some strange interactions lately that's made me question whether I should stay on itch myself. I mean, I don't think I'll ever leave... there are too many fun jams I want to participate and, you know, to force people to play my weird stuff. But I've been more anxious about new stuff or updates I share recently.

I don't blame you for wanting an out. Some users will poison one's experience of a platform, that even opening the site would give them anxiety. It doesn't take much to have events or projects soured. Often, just a few rude words is enough to make accounts disappear without a word. And many platform don't have good safety nets (blocking, moderation, reports) to temper or avoid these situations. Many will have half-ass solutions that, at the end of the day, still allows interactions from blocked users. It's easy to wonder if all of this is worth it...

Anyway, the very boring and short answer to your question: it depends.

The probably as boring and long one is a bit of a ramble:

It depends on the day, or the mood I have. It's easier to deal with comments when I'm confident and things are going find; but I'd feel more hurt or have a harder time dealing with them when I'm a bit more morose (I think most people feel this way). I'll disregard any (even barely) negative points some days, only to take it into consideration a few days later. <- this especially during jam/comps time, just need time to digest criticism of any kind.

It also depends on the content of the comment, their tone, and intent of the commenter. Not all negative comments are on the same level. I've had negative comments in the past where the commenter was genuine, and really gave my stuff a shot, bringing interesting points or important concerns. And though it hurt a bit, because being told you made a mistake sucks, those helped me grow. But those are the good kinds of comments...

On the other hand, I try to disregard the trolls, and the abusive comments (towards my work or me), the ones where the engagement was clearly not done in good faith... you know, the ones who will literally tell me I've made the world worse by uploading my games on itch. Doesn't mean that it doesn't affect me at all*. Some of them really hurt or made me angry and frustrated, some have lingered for hours or days in my mind, a few made me close to delete stuff as well. Words are not just empty things without meaning... *I've had to block a few people both here and other places recently because of it, they had become so insistent on wanting to engage with me while bashing most of my work, my values or the few aspects of my identity that I've shared online.

It would be easy to say I just don't give them the time of day or any of my energy, or that I pretend they don't exist, because, if I do, then the trolls win. But that would be lying. Obviously.

Screaming to the void/a pillow or ranting to friends have helped get rid of my anger and frustration. I've laughed with others about some comments I got (usually the bad faith ones, some of them are funny in how sad/bad they were). I think what worked best for me was just turn off the computer and go outside for a bit. Or turned off the internet and play silly games on my phone. Or picked up a book. Or watch a movie. Essentially, any activity that would distract me from it and force me to take a break. And when none of this worked, because some trolls are just that insistent, blocking/deleting stuff*. *unfortunately, it's not always possible, see second paragraph again.

It does suck that you're kinda forced to grow a thicker skin to enjoy or even exist in those spaces, and I wish those would be friendlier... but I don't think social platforms/the internet is going in that direction anytime soon.

Maybe not super helpful to your decision, but borogove.io hosts IF games (without ratings or comments, though people can download the files), so does the IFDB through the IFArchive (but there are ratings/reviews there, also can be downloadable). I've seen other peeps host their stuff on neocities (no ratings/comments). None of those platforms are like itch, in the positives or the negative. Or just be old school, and email stuff.

[tamelee]

thanks for that delicious read tamalee! You ate with that!🤭

No disrespect to that anon, but their entire vibe gives off a Sakura fan in disguise. Cause ain’t no way they truly believe 90% of the fandom dislike her simply because she “rejected” Naruto for sasuke lmaoo. Canonically it was Naruto who rejected her ass ( even if she was fake confessing) like the king he is. Ignoring how shitty she was for that, let’s talk about how her character was written to be unlikeable. How are they shocked that the readers reacted how the author expected/wanted them to react to her? Also, why do people get so obsessively defensive over her? She never had anything good going on for her. One of the first introductions to her character was her hating on a kid for being an orphan to another orphan. And she never truly changed. Ask yourselves if how she reacts and treats Naruto and Sasuke is okay/acceptable why don’t Naruto and sasuke treat each other the same? Why do they literally do opposite of what she does every time? and in the end she gets away with it all without improving and becoming a better character and yet y’all still think she’s a victim. Be so for real!

sorry for the long post. I hate Sakura apologists who love to act like everything we know of her character is just collective delusions, but all their lies and fantasies about her character is who she truly is. Honestly quite impressive how even after almost a decade they’re still fighting tooth and nail for a character whose own creator dislikes. And he is so loud about it too💀

<this?> aaah~ glad you think so Nonee, I have so many posts in my drafts, but I've been typing way too much getting off topic for majority of them because I feel like rambling, but I don't want to spam posts all day.

idk if it was 'fan-in-disguise' tbh, I thought I was good at recognizing them, but maybe not xD I think Sakura has some really great moments. I think in general things would go differently in the fandom if her fans focused on highlighting these few selfless moments. For example, when she showed a genuine interest in Sai's drawings, or when she tried to help him understand the complex relationship with his brother. Or her act of sacrifice for Chiyo a woman she just met. Which raises the question: how do her physical feats, like punching, or arguing whether she's pretty or not even compare to that?

These good moments have little to do with her 'badass strength' or her idealistic 'love' for Sasuke, which are often used as points of argument. The fans you talk about seem preoccupied with defending her character against the widely acknowledged criticisms shaping Sakura into a character she isn't, all the while overlooking her flaws or attributing them solely to the writing. Selective reading we call that and it doesn't help the intention to make her look better one bit.