#i. WE ALL GO A LITTLE MAD SOMETIMES » … character study.

[junnieverse]

— TAEHYUN AS YOUR BOYFRIEND ! 💭

➙ boyfriend taehyun thoughts

pairings: kang taehyun x gn!reader

genre: fluff

request: " Hello <3. Kang Taehyun as boyfriend ? Don't overwork yourself pls "

warnings: lowercase intended, not proofread

a/n: hi anon, thanks for this request and cute message, make sure you follow it too. this got much longer than I intended but we all need some tae in our lives, what an angel <3

he would be such a dreamy boyfriend

but then again this just may be me projecting but who wouldn't be completely smitten over taehyun

he's smart, funny, kind, talented, stunning and the best of all, he can cook!

definitely the type of boyfriend to prefer stay in dates because he wants to cook for and/or with you

gatekeeps how he does his magic tricks but he shows you a few of the easy ones he knows

all of his FULLY shirtless pictures he takes go straight to you and then he crops them to post for fans (sobs hysterically)

taehyun remembers every little thing and detail about you that you've told him, he's like a (y/n)-pedia, sometimes he even remembers things that you forgot

massages

just thinking about it has me screaming into a pillow swinging my feet

taehyun will give you a massage whenever and wherever you need one

was slouching the entire day studying? he's going to massage your back and shoulders

had to walk in heels the entire day? not only will he carry sneakers or flat shoes for you but he will also give you a piggy back ride and then massage the tension away in your feet

where do I order my own kang taehyun?

not overly affectionate in the sense of giving especially in public but he loves receiving it from you

hug him, cuddle with him, kiss him all over, doesn't admit it much but he loves it

if he's not holding your hand then his arm is around your waist

he loves head scratches :((

so whenever he sees you relaxing he'll join you and lay his head on your lap and your hand automatically plays with his hair

definition of 'ask and you shall receive'

if you ever so mention something you've been wanting or you thought it looked cute, best believe he is going to get it for you even if you didn't actively ask for it

tyun is very much dominant and a provider sort of man in my opinion, in that aspect of wanting to take care of you and get you whatever you want

all he wants in return is your love, he will do everything else to shower you with his love in every way that he can

he almost never actually gets mad at you

he does that cute little thing where he puffs out his chest and has his hands on his waist and playfully scolds you acting all serious

because you find it so cute, you end up laughing and he breaks character

but in the rare cases where he is upset or you both do fight, he is definitely the type to talk it out because neither of you can go to sleep angry

if you do try to leave angry at him and tell him you're sleeping on the couch, well best believe he will sleep on that couch with you

if you both have similar music tastes then there's definitely multiple shared playlists you have and you always recommend new songs the other should listen to

girlfriend privileges are real

let's you win during play fights and when you catch on he lies claiming you won fair and square so you get bragging rights that you're stronger than him

oh new txt album and songs coming out? you've heard them even before they were released

he will carry your shopping bags, all you have to do is buy whatever you want to your heart's content and he will carry everything and pay for it too

he always goes out his way to show his love to you with big and small gestures but he brushes it off like it's nothing

bf who listens and maybe the s/o who talks alot trope?

genuinely such a great listener and support system

he makes sure to listen to all your vents or just be a shoulder to cry on when you're feeling down

quite sentimental with the gifts he picks out for you so it'll often times be something that holds a certain memory or it just reminds him of you

"Just saw this and picked it up along the way." he would say as if it were nothing special

despite seeming tough around everyone else, that is your squishy marshmallow

tyun gets so soft around you

his favourite way of kissing you would be cupping your face in his hands before he leans in to kiss you

the most obvious one, the best girlfriend privilege of dating kang taehyun, he sings to you all the time

[starlight-bread-blog]

Katara is More Patient Then We Give Her Credit for

Katara has been getting a lot of flak for supposedly being hot headed and getting angry at very minor things. Even those who love Katara seem to accept this as the truth. But it's not. In reality, Katara is simply a female character who owns her rage. And I feel like there are two main components that debunk this notion.

Warning: Long, long post.

1. In the instances where Katara is angry it's either justified or makes sense in context.

The Waterbending Scroll

Katara stole, wouldn't you know it, a waterbending scroll. She practices before giving it to Aang, and fails hard. Then Aang who she's supposed to be teaching, gets it right and explains how to do it. Katara has an outburst.

Katara: Will you please shut your air-hole! Believe it or not your infunite wisdom gets a little old sometimes. Why don't we just throw the scroll away since you're so naturally gifted!

Why is Katara that mad here? Why did she have an outburst? Because she was carrying the burden of being the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe her whole life. Because her waterbending is the reason Kya died. Because she have been independently studying waterbending her whole life. And now her student is having it all easy and is trying to teach her.

And wouldn't you know it, she realized what she did immediatly. Literally, a second later.

Katara: Oh my gosh Aang. I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me. But you know what, it won't happen again. Here [the scroll] is yours. I don't wanna have anything to do with it anymore.

She even apologized to Momo. Katara had an isecurity rooted in trauma and pressure. When Aang try to teach her she hit a breaking point and lashed out. And not one second later she's already apologizing.

The Waterbending Master

Katara and Aang are going to see Pakku, the waterbending master. But when Pakku sees she's a girl, he says he won't teach her. This is why Katara gets angry. She flew across seas just to get rejected due Pakku is being a sexist freak. I think we can all agree that being denied something because of sexism is a good reason to get angry. And when Katara realized Pakku won't teach Aang if she'll keep insisting, she drops it abd tells Aang to drop it too.

However, that doesn't mean she won't study in secret. She deserved to learn waterbending and she knew it. She took the consequences into consideration and decided to not make a fuss.

But of course, they both get caught. Pakku says he will no longer teach Aang, the Avatar who absolutly needs to study and still refuses to teach Katara because he's still sexist. Only then Katara challenges him to a duel. Only when they have nothing to lose. She challenged a sexist prick to a duel, one who shamelessly denied her oppretunity because of her gender.

The Chase

At the start of the episode Katara gently hints Toph to help unpack a camp for the night. This is when she's not tired yet, and shows patience.

Katara: So Toph, usually when setting up camp, we try to divide up the work.

Toph: Hey, don't worry about me. I'm good to go.

Katara (still calmly): Well, actually, what I'm trying to say is, some of us might fetch water while someone else might set up the fire pit or put up the tent. *smiles* Even Momo does his fair share.

Toph (slightly irritated): Katara, I'm fine. I can carry my own weight. I don't need a fire. I've already collected my own food. And look. *earth bends a tent* My tent's all set up.

Katara: Well, that's great for you but we still need to finish-

Toph (loudly): I don't understand. What's the problem here??

Katara: Never mind.

Katara then goes to apologize. While also attempting to make sure her and Toph are on good terms by having her acknoledge that she wasn't 100 absolutly in the right.

Katara: Hey Toph, I wanted to apologize for earlier. I think we're all just a little tired and getting on each other's nerves.

Toph: Yeah, you do seem pretty tired.

Katara (slightly irrutated): I meant all of us.

Toph: Well, good night.

Katara: Good night.

By all means, Toph is in the wrong for the sheer refusal for communication. At first Katara calmly explained to her what was needed without even spelling it out. Toph was being passive, so she dropped it. And then she apologizes after doing nothing wrong just so they could be on good terms. Toph was the one being passive agressive. And Katara pretty much let it slide.

This is Katara. The patience she showed right here is her natural, normal self. The rest of the episode is under the context of sleep deprivation and how it's making them all hostile to each other. Including the pacifist Aang. Who's outburst leads Toph to leave. After she does, both Aang and Katara express remorse.

(Side note: I heard people take issue with the line "The stars sure are beautiful tonight, too bad you can't see them, Toph". It's been interpreted as Katara making fun of Toph for being blind, but it's just another instance in the recurring joke of the Gaang forgetting Toph is blind, and listed as such in the official A:TLA Youtube channel).

The Runaway

Update: This section, especially, is majorly outdated.

The episode has a silly opening where Aang is trained by Toph and Katara. Toph misses and accidently hits Katara with a big rock. After Toph doesn't apologize, it leads into a fight which is absolutly not to be taken seriously, that ends with Aang pointing out that it was supposed to be training.

It doesn't work as an exapmle for supposed hot-headedness because the reason this whole thing started because Toph hit Katara with a rock and refused to apologize.

But moving on to the real conflict of these episode, Toph scammed someone and Katara makes it clear that they shouldn't do it again, it'll draw attention to them. Aang promises her it won't happen again but.. um.. you know what happened.

Katara, being responsible, told them to quit because they'd potentially get exposed. Toph didn't reach well, telling her to lighten up. Katara rightfully gets angry, because they really might get exposed and Toph is dismissing her like her concerns are nothing. They have a short argument and Toph storms out.

This is why Katara was angry this episode. Her reasoning for being upset is the Gaang potentially exposing themselves for easy money. That's the conflict.

The Painted Lady

In this episode Katara sees a starving Fire Nation village but Sokka won't allow them to stay due to time limits. So she faked a disease for Appa so they could. Sokka confronts her. At first, she gives up and packs to leave. But since she destroyed the factory that's been polluting the villages water and taking their medicine, the people in charge assumed it was the civilians, and were coming to attack. Sokka and Katara get into a small but intense argument. Important to note, that she doesn't react intensively until Sokka does.

Katara: Well, what was I supposed to do?

Sokka: Leave! Do nothing.

Katara: No! I will never, ever turn my back on people who need me.

Her anger here doesn't highlight hot-headedness, it highlights compassion. Compassion is one of Katara's core traits. She's angry because she's being angrily demanded to see people suffer and stand by. And she will not tolerate it. She will never, ever turn her back on people who need her.

2. In reality, Katara is defined by her patience and compassion.

What I did here was listing off times where Katara did get angry. But Katara is generally a caring, kind person. Rather if it's cheering up Sokka, going shopping with him after he admitted to feeling useless; if it's pulling Aang out of the Avatar state, putting herself at risk when he's out of control; if it's helping deliver a baby of a stranger; or if it's freeing prisoners of the Fire Nation. She demonstrates impressive patience throughout the show.

The Deserter

In this episode Aang was asked to just control fire. Aang gets irrutated himself at this, but Katara assured him that it's probably for a good reaso. But when his master left, he firebent. He was being extremely careless with his new found Fire Bending and burned Katara's hands.

Did she...

A. splashed some water at him.

B. Yelled at him.

C. Ran away crying.

Yeah, she didn't express anger at all. Sokka was who's angry at Aang.

The Desert

The sand benders stole Appa and the Gaang is suck in a desert. Katara demonstrates her patience a lot this episode.

Toph and Aang are arguing about Toph not stopping them.

Aang: You just didn't care! You never liked Appa! You wanted him gone.

Katara: Aang, stop it. You know Toph did all she could. She saved our lives.

Sokka: Who's gonna save our lives now? We'll never make itout of here.

Aang: That's all any of you guys care about, yourselves. You don't care whether Appa is okay or not.

Katara: We're all concerned, but we can't afford to be fighting now.

Aang accused the Gaang of something horrible. Katara told him to stop, but still understood his anger and calmly explained to him that it's important not to fight in a life threatening situation.

Aang then storms out to look for Appa. Katara's response?

Katara: We'd better start walking. We're the only people who know about the solar eclipse. We have to get that information to Ba Sing Se.

She didn't get angry, she was rational and thought about the greater good.

After Aang comes back, Katara suggest they should try sleeping, gives the Gaang all of her bending water without drinking herself. And then finds a way to get to Ba Sing Se using the locations of star systems.

The Gaang spots a cloud and mistakes it for Appa. But Katara realizes the potential in a cloud. She tells Aang to fly and bend the water from the cloud so they could drink.

Katara (disappoibted): Wow, there's hardly any in here.

Aang (intensively): I'm sorry, okay? It's a desert cloud, I did all I could. What's anyone else doing? *Points at Katara* What are you doing?

After dealing with everyone's tireness, Sokka's high nonsense and Aang's attitude, carrying everyone, thinking of possible solutions to ensure they'd all survive, how did she react to Aang accusing her of not doing enough?

Katara: Trying to keep everyone together. Let's just get moving. We need to head this direction.

And after everything she did for everyone, she pulls Aang out of the Avatar state when he's raging, out of control.

Katara is not so hot headed.

She's sweet, nurturing and caring. She demonstrated incredible patience and perhaps even saved the Gang's life in The Desert with her resilience. Katara's compassion is her defining trait.

But that doesn't mean she's not a human being – she's allowed to be flawed, and in the moments where she does, she's very remorseful. And in the moments where she doesn't, people will still hold her accoutable for simply feeling a justified emotion.

Does it make you oh-so-hot headed to stand up to a sexist denying her opportunity? To make sure your friends don't destroy your chances to win a war? To not tolerate being told to see people in need and do nothing in a middle if an argument she didn't start? Of course it doesn't.

And other characters are allowed to express anger, to be flawed, in ways that are way worse than Katara without being labelled annoying hot headed by the fandom.

Katara is widly known to be irrational, letting her anger get the better of her, but it's simply not true.

[carcarcraziiv2]

Heartsteel Sett Boyfriend HCs

~Sett is love, Sett is LIFE. Don't get me wrong, I am barking and on all fours for all of these men but Sett holds a special place in my little heart~

P.S. Asks are open! I am open to requests! P.S.S. I am also open to other League characters, Arcane AU, etc. Just hmu :3

TW: Floof. So much floof. Pet names. You get the picture right? As always, enter at your own risk!

Sett is a l o v e r. PDA overload. Hugs? Always, without question, is up for that. Kisses? You bet your ass he will. Any second, no matter where you are, you could lean in for one and he will squeeze you up against him, and kiss you like his life depends on it. If anyone appears to be giving you some extra attention that he doesn't like, all this big guy has to do is walk up next to you (as if he isn't there already lol) and usually the person doing the thing is smart enough to know better than to continue. "Hey baby, come here. What, can't I kiss you? Let me kiss you. That's my good b/g."

Sett is second only to Ezreal in his joking capabilities. This man can JOKE, and although he is trying to joke with and or at you, he unfortunately tends to make a fool of himself because he is a massive dork. If you pull jokes on him, he doesn't really get upset or offended, but he will pretend to be. His goofy demeanor means he will put a hand to his chest acting all flabbergasted, then tackle you into a hug or onto the bed while calling you a dork. "Haha! You're so funny, but you know I've got skin of steel baby. Oh, you meant it? Yeah right! Comere!"

Sett is an absolute SUCKER for attention. He will eat it up, and if you aren't paying attention to him? You might as well be. He will pester you, throw you over his shoulder, basically DEMAND your attention. Since this is just how he is, you never have to be desperate for his attention either. If for some reason you do feel neglected, he will feel very bad about it. He will make it up to you no matter what that means. "I'm sorry I've been at the gym so much this week, band stuff has just been stressing me out. Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you go with me?!"

Kisses, hugs, and everything fun= SETT. He is a fiend. He is insatiable. He will grab you up and kiss you, no matter where you are. His kisses can be goofy, fun, or downright sensual. Sometimes, when Sett is feeling serious for once, he will take his time with you. Touching you sweetly- he is so strong sometimes he is scared he will hurt you by accident. But man, it's all worth it as soon as his lips touch yours. Sett grabs your wrist, pulling you flush against him. You have to tilt your head to see him, and as he gazes back down at you he tilts his head and studies your face. "You're everything, baby. Everything." He leans down, kissing you gently, before releasing your lips and hugging you even closer.

Sett doesn't like arguing. He gets so pent up sometimes, you fear for the guy he goes up against at his boxing matches. Most of the time, when it's petty little arguments, he will figure out some way to get your mind off of it. Every once in awhile when you actually feel upset about the situation, Sett will take his time to sit down and talk it out with you. He will grab your hands, nod while you explain your side, and carefully display his own. By the end of it, the two of you are usually kissing... and by the end of that- well... "I get where you're coming from, baby. I just think we could have approached the situation differently, is all. Promise you're not mad at me? Thank the Gods. Come on, I wanna make it up to you in the bedroom hehe," He says, grabbing you by the waist and tugging you toward your room.

Sett will be very sad when you leave, or when he has to leave. He is like a little puppy dog who cries when you go (although he doesn't actually cry). He will pout, however, and his irresistible face almost makes you quit everything and stay home just to appease him. When he leaves, he will ask you a thousand questions trying to egg on a reason to stay, but you know he has to get to band practice so that Yone doesn't come pounding down your door, so you usually just give him a reason to be excited to come home later. "I miss you already, baby! Please don't make me go. Nah, look Yone loves me! He won't be that mad... Comeonnnn. Fine, but later we are getting dinner, and you are going to be desert."

[visionsofmagic]

pick one pick fav.

heimdall x reader, & kratos x reader

× explanation: so, today (or tomorrow I don't know when I published this) is my birthday and I wanted to make a little and special thing for it. I created this little game in which anons picked characters and an option from three (headcanon, icon/wallpaper, and imagine) for me to write or edit and three of them were about god of war characters; heimdall and kratos. so, here we are! please enjoy!

|| heimdall

warning!: mature content. do not read if you are a minor! touching, pet names, sub!heimdall vibes, heimdall being a lapdog, bossy!reader, explicit language.

note: I saw an art of heimdall, him having a necklace that has lapdog name on it, and I imagined how a goddess would have that necklace. so that art is my inspiration for this image. thanks to its owner! and why the air become so hotter - oh, right - because of this imagination ^^

imagine...

• odin wants you to give him a protection from dangers such as specific figures like freya, and mimir. you, as a powerful goddess, decided not to help him because of thinking his motives weren't enough to make you give him a special protection. however, this deal changed when he saw how your eyes traveled the asgard's one of the biggest garden but stopped where heimdall stood. he was sitting on a beast with his one leg hanging out from one side and other one resting on the beast, giving a cocky posture even from this distant. he was making some jokes about how einherjars couldn't fight good, telling them how they weren't ready to get odin's bless, gaining power of bifrost. odin saw how you studied his right hand man, son. you were liking heimdall. odin was a wise god and from the shiny starts in your eyes, he could tell how you wanted to give heimdall a good punishment. odin could give you warning about it, not allowing you to think like this about his son, right hand man but he didn't. instead, he gave you a smile, saying he can give you heimdall as company for a month if you accept the deal.

• you firstly try to look like you had no idea about it at all but itching to give this cocky son of odin makes you to accept his offer after a long time of pause, thinking it's consequences; taking heimdall will give you just pure satisfaction, nothing else. but this one was an enough to take the offer. so, you said yes eventually, going back to your realm and castle with your all glory, waiting odin to send heimdall.

•  the moment he visited the realm, you could see that he wasn't happy, not in slightest. he was so mad, he was feeling so humiliated. being lapdog of odin made him to do every order he give. this one might be the most humiliated one he got, being your own toy to play. you had no bad intentions, well, not that much. you just wanted to know his place, not looking others from above.

• as he made his way to your personal study room, still looking so angry, he said, "who do you think you are sunshine? and what made you think I will be your toy for a month? I am heimdall, I am the protector of -", not letting him finish his sentence you say, "and when did I give you permission to speak, heimdall?".

• and this was the start of your relationship with him; him being cocky and angry because of your attitude to him, and you enjoying every time you are with him.

• in the beginning, you two didn't get along at all. he was feeling so humiliated to being your now right hand man because even if he was like your right hand man, you wanted him to do a little thing. instead giving him jobs, you just had spent time with him, looking at his eyes, making him to feel hot (yes, this couldn't escape from the sight of you. how it could? his pink cheeks were there, looking so cute). also, with time, he has began to feel more secure around you, like he was enjoying this whole thing too. he wasn't giving opposite statements to your wishes. he began to listen you more and more with time.

• wishes, you wanted him to do, were simple. sometimes your wish was taking a massage, making him touch your body. he felt so shy firstly, then, he began to do that with his own wanting. sometimes you just wanted him to tell stories about other realms, the things he saw, the things he heard. you listened all of them with intense love because you enjoyed hearing his voice.

• apart from his cocky behavior, he was really a broken soul. the first time you asked him to open up his memories to you, telling what he likes or dislikes, what a person he really is, he looked like you were an enemy, taking advantage of his memories to attack odin or him. however, he knew it wasn't right, he could see your intentions. then, with using his brain as you recommended again and again, he realized you just wanted his company.

• yes, in the first place your all purpose of wanting him was to show how arrogant and annoying he was. you wanted to show him how someone powerful than him could make him a lapdog, someone who would make him feel humiliated the way how he did for others. and yes, you did those well. every day, and every night, you joked about his disability in fighting, thinking and acting. you showed him how he needed a well training for both his strength and personality.

• in the end, this whole thing turned out to be something he enjoyed too. he began to train. he really began to train; firstly, with a hidden way, not wanting you to feel proud of your jokes. then, he began to train with you. every time you trained, there was something intense about it. the fight was normal, just a training but the feelings were odd. you both began to feel intensity again and again. and in the last training, the one you two stayed in a special training room all alone with some swords and other supplies, you sat down on his abdomen, him being on the ground, a sword's surface right on his neck from left to right, alerting him to hold your hand on the sword to prevent it to cut his flesh. on the other hand, you just looked at him.

• you looked at him for a really long time and he began to wonder what you were thinking. and then, when he looked into your eyes, reaching your soul from there, he saw it. he saw what you wanted to do to him and - and he liked it. he wanted it. he wanted you to make him those things, without questioning anything at all because his body already began to act on its own.

• the moment he moved his hips, you felt his hardened cock on your clothed core, making you begin to taking rapid breaths, feeling so shocked, you said, "what are you doing?"

• he smirked, looking a little shy but confident at the same time. his purple eyes were moving too fast to make you feel dizzy. "isn't this what you want sunshine?"

• as you realized what he was talking about, it was your turn to smirk, "indeed, it is. but is it what you want, sunshine?" mocking him made his cock twitch. he hesitated for a second but then, he just nodded in agreement.

• after that, remaining time you had with heimdall began to flow so fast. it wasn't just joking with him around. he was taking a special place in your heart, soul and body. especially, body. because of being a powerful goddess, you wanted him to beg you. and indeed, he did. in so many nights he was nearly begging to you, wanting you to allow him to eat you, filling you, and fucking you. he wasn't submissive at all, to his statement, he was just feeling so hot when you were in charge to allow him things he wanted to do to you.

•  with a great passion, you allowed him to do them but sometimes you just played with him, saying, "tell me heimdall, do you deserve it?" touching his delicate face, playing with his hair while he was kneeling in front of you with shining purple eyes, ready to eat your pussy, making you come to his face and mouth, licking every bit of it, you looked wonderful to him. he would nod every time, saying you how he would eat you so good that you would see starts. and every time, he made those promises come true.

• he was touching every part of your body within your soul. he was being humiliated still, but this time, you were allowing him to enter your bed. and he was feeling so good about the whole situation. he didn't know how you made him feel these things but he didn't complain. he just waited there, for your answer, for you letting him.

• other people from realm didn't know anything about your relationship with heimdall, not even all father. it was a secret, everything you did was a secret for you to hold for an eternity.

• heimdall, he was the only one who was giving you so much pleasure in or out bed. especially in bed. he was skilled, he was good a reading you, and with his mind reading ability, he could see what you wanted him to do.

• placing his head between your thighs, eating your pussy, looking at you with his purple eyes to see how you enjoyed it, enjoyed his tongue and fingers. he loved how you held his hair, pulling it, telling him how a good and pretty boy he is. he loved every bit of it. then, he would drink juice, enjoying tasting you. he then would begin to beg you to enter, to fill that pussy of your, looking all wet because of only him. he would look above, your naught and bossy face, saying "please, let me."

• holding his necklace that you gave, pulling his face closer to yours, you would tell him to do better than this. asking him if he deserved it or not. he would begin to give reasons to you how you would feel so satisfied after you let him to go further.

• the moment you let him, he would really do things as he promised, fucking you against a wall, a bed or a table. listening every voice you made, doing every order your gave him to do, and finally when he is close, finding pure lust because of you. you would give him permission to cum inside you after his cries, "please - y/n," he would say, "let me. let me fill you!"

• you would caress his face, smiling, "then cum my pretty boy, fill me up."

• and with a moan, he would come.

• these intimacy moments were coming to an end, making you have these moments as much as possible, not wanting to waste any time.

• and then, the day he had to go back came. actually, you were feeling sad but happy at the same time. he was going back, yes, but from his eyes, you could see how he would come back to this realm, to you.

• so, you gave him a smile, kissing his lips for a moment. then, you held his necklace which was only visible to your eyes, pulling him closer, kneeling to his ears, "don't worry my pretty boy." you said in a low tone, only him to hear, "you will be on your knees again, begging to eat me."

• you could see how he wanted to stay but in the end, he left, looking back to you 'till disappearing from your sight. he only left you to come back again. and when he came back, you gave him a new necklace which had 'my pretty boy' name on it.

|| kratos [1]

warnings!: fluff, lots of fluff. Between gow: 4 and ragnarok.

note: he needs so much love.

imagine...

· you are the only one who can calm down kratos.

· kratos, famous god of war, can get angry or mad so easily. everything can irritate him. especially his son, atreus. mimir, also, make him annoyed because of his silly jokes.

· being beloved lover of him, you are the one responsible for calming this huge masculine god in order to help mimir and atreus escape from his rage, and helping kratos to feel secure.

· he normally doesn’t show his anger that much. he doesn’t go to your place, wants you to take care of him. Instead telling you he is angry or mad, he just go hunting. and when he does that, you, the one who trully understand him and share a bond with him, go to where he is hunting, waiting for him to notice you and acknowledge your presence. then, without saying anything, he just nods at you. getting the gesture of nods’ meaning, you walk towards him, finding a clear ground to sit on. then, you wait for him to sit beside you.

· no, he is not a type of showing any need for affection but you knew from the heart that he needs it, he deserves it. he deserves all love and affection. the man has a great pain under his skin and you promised to yourself that you will give him what he deserves.

· after sitting side by side, you begin to touch his strong arm, pointing him your legs in the fetal position for him to put his head on. slowly, he put his head on your not too powerful but not too weak legs, not giving his entire weight on them. he allow you to touch his face, his chest, his arms; whatever you like to touch, to make him feel calmer and better. while touching his skin, gracefully like a drizzle gently coursing through the body, you begin to murmur a traditional tale from your realm; a tale that has a powerful but broken man like kratos. you tell him the story, how the man find true peace and love in the end. you make him close his eyes as you murmur the tale and touching his body from head to abdomen slowly, delicately.

· he then opens his eyes to see your face full with beauty he didn’t see in entire realms (including his past ones). he looks so peaceful, because he really feels peace thanks to your presence. then, finally, he touches your face with a hand with the warmest and safest skin in the world, even though it's full of roughness and cold. he caresses your hair, kisses shoulder, then neck, then every corner of your face, making you question if the man is god of war or love. for you, he is both.

· finally, after your long moment of calming down and finding peace within love in each other’s company, he stand ups, offering his larger hand to you, helping you to stand up too. he wants to walk with you, finding it joyful to discover the realms beside your side. feeling safe and happy to be in his side, you take his offer with pleasure.

· while discovering the realm, he makes sure no danger will come closer to you. he knows how you can keep yourself safe but when he is around, when he is with you, you don’t need to think about it at all. he wants you to think about only him. he likes being your the only one in entire realms even if he will not say it aloud.

· he gives you his back to climb higher points, he gives you fresh food and water, he gives you so many gazes from corner of his eyes or evidently with a great love on them, making you feel the luckiest person of all realms. he gives you his heart and soul. in return, he doesn’t want anything but you – you give him everything. because he deserves all of it.

· as you make your way to home, where atreus and mimir stays, you both feel grateful. you both feel being loved entirely, with pure intentions. and this is why you love being kratos’ calming potion.

|| kratos [2]

warnings!: fluff, angst (a little bit), odin being a manipulator, mortal!reader, protective!kratos

headcanon

• odin, all father, and enemy of kratos, wants to take you from him by using his manipulation techniques. he tries it over and over again, making kratos take an action about it.

•  you are a mortal, but because of being weakness spot of kratos in odin’s eyes, you become the target of his plan. however, you are not kratos’ weakness at all, you are his strength. he trusts you. he gains power thanks to your trust in him too.

• when odin visits you again, expecting you to wash clothes in a lake, he just sees kratos’ himself, standing right in front of you with his huge body, preventing odin to see you at all.

• you don’t mind them, letting kratos having his way to deal with odin. having no intentions betray kratos or make him disappointed, you refuse odin’s heart warming and good deals, not wanting to be part of this whole situation. you just want to protect atreus and kratos even if you has no power because of being a mortal.

• kratos let odin speak first while you wash fruits and vegetables in clean water of the lake to prepare a dinner for kratos, atreus, mimir and yourself.

• “oh, kratos!” odin says, acting like he is happy to see kratos, “how good to see you!”

• kratos just ‘hmm’s like always and you find it cute, trying not to smile to him.

• odin continues, “I just wanted to speak young lady here, as a friend.” he looks at you. you don’t look him back, you just pick food and stand up. saying you will go and prepare dinner to kratos, you leave them alone. Knowing very well that kratos will not want you to hear what he will say to odin, you decide to give him alone moment with odin. while leaving, you look at odin who waits for you to leave as well, wishing it will be the last time seeing his face.

• the moment you leave them, kratos says, “leave her alone.”

• odin looks taken back from it, touching his chest like kratos said something so mean, “no, no, kratos. I have no bad intentions. I am just here to give this young lady a friendly visit as I said before. can she not have a friend other than you?”

• kratos keeps his calm, “you are not a friend of her. I will not repeat myself.”

• “well, you see,” odin tries to say but kratos now increasing anger stops him to speak any further, “I said what I said.”

• kratos then picks up woods he cut for the fire, positioning it on his left shoulder, he begin to leave odin alone, not glancing him once more. he believes he said enough but no, odin doesn’t agree.

• “a mortal?” he asks, “do you really think a god and a mortal can be a – thing?”

• kratos knows him well enough to see how he tries to manipulate him, using your limited time to play with his mind, holding his biggest pain in the light, right in front of his eyes.

• “believing this bond you share will not last will bring you pain kratos.” he says again, walking closer to kratos, while one of the ravens he has lands on his shoulder, “she will die. maybe now, maybe later. but eventually, she will die, on your arms.” he adds, “I can fix that. I can give her an eternal life to spend it with you, kratos.”

• kratos is not angry. he is just feeling a great pain in his chest. he doesn’t want to leave you, he doesn’t want you to leave him. he is selfish yes, but he is in love, that’s all. he knows how odin says the truth. however, he will not give him any satisfaction. he will not accept his offer. he will not take your freedom from you even if he will feel so much pain.

• “then, I will spend my time with her rather than listening your non-sense.”

• after finishing his sentence, he leaves odin. as he makes his way to where you cook dinner, odin disappears by leaving raven’s flapping of wings’ sounds.

• when you see kratos, you don’t ask him what they talked, what odin said to him. you know how he will not tell and you respect that, so, you just let him put the wood a side, then, you hug him with your smaller body. your hands find their places on his neck, standing on tiptoe, you say, “it’s okay.” kissing his cheek, you left his body as his arms leave your waist slowly. you take his hand, “come,” you smile, “I prepared a beautiful dinner for you!”

• yes, one day, you will day. but in the rest of his life, kratos will remember the moments you had together over and over again. you will leave the world but not his soul.

thanks for reading! I hope you liked each of them. I don’t do headcanon or imagines that much but I hope I did well. ^^ thanks for your birthday messages too, you really make me so happy! have a good day and life. ^^

taglist: taglist: @iinterdimensionals , @Konigdi1ks0ck , @onlydeas​ , @hayleethefrog​ , @tartagliasrighthand​ , @whywouldiknowsstuff , @importantvoidpolice​ , @itsnat-bitch​ , @armanibxtch​ , @dott-up​ , @chiyausu​ , @lokigirlszendaya​ , @potentplant​ , @milf-to-be-anny​ 

<3

[melbatron5000]

The confines of a story

Any time you play a game, you need to know the rules. A puzzle has a border, you can't smash the pieces into a spot they don't fit with a hammer (I mean, you can, but it won't look right when you're done), etc.

My mental assumptions are that we are following the rules of stories as told in both novel form and video form. I'm not going to list ALL the rules associated with storytelling in both forms, because whole books and classes have been written about them and the parameters are way too big.

How do I know these rules? Well, I write novels, too. I'm not Neil Gaiman, (and I'm not going to go so far as to say I'm anywhere near his level, looking at you, Magic Trick OP), but the people who've read my books say they like them, so I think I do okay? I never went to school for any of it, but the library was and is my best friend, and I've read as many books and taken as many workshops as I can on this topic. Am I an expert? Nah. I know some stuff. There's always more to know.

So anyhow, some rules:

Rule one: the story has to be generally satisfying and not make people feel betrayed or angry. Hurt is fine, angry at the characters is fine, tricked is fine, but the reader can't feel betrayed or totally let down by the author at the end of the story. It's impossible to avoid this entirely, but most people in general have to agree that the story isn't a betrayal of the reader. The author needs to keep faith with their reader as best they can.

Rule two: in mysteries, all the cards need to be on the table at some point. Misdirection or downplaying of important information or use of double-meaning words are totally fair tactics, but the answer has to be there to be sussed out by a clever observer. (I got really mad when I tried to read murder mysteries for a little while. I figured this rule out very quickly on my own, and I could always spot the killer by the end of the second chapter. I gave up on murder mysteries. HOWEVER, another author I admire wrote a classic murder mystery-style book, and when I spotted the killer in chapter two like always, she had arranged matters so that the killer's motive was shrouded in deep mystery. I burned through that book to find out WHY he dunnit, and when the main character helped the killer escape at the end, I was troubled but satisfied.) But mah point is, all the pieces to the puzzle need to come in the box.

Rule three: (which isn't really a rule so much as an observation and something I myself struggle with), writing fiction can be very hard because people are naturally not good at knowing that other people do not know what they know. You know? Psychological studies have shown that when a person knows something, like where an object is, they develop this sort of assumption that the object's location is OBVIOUS, or that other people also know where the object is or can easily guess it, no matter how hard a time they had guessing it themselves before they were told. So not only do newer writers sometimes struggle to maintain what various characters do and don't know at different times in a story, readers can also struggle with the same thing. Gotta keep your eyes peeled for what information each character actually has, and also keep in mind how easy it is to be fooled when you think you have all the facts. I notice Neil and John taking advantage of this in Good Omens a lot -- the lies that Crowley and Aziraphale tell to the other angels and demons seem really obvious -- but that's because we know they are lying and what they're lying about. When we are lied to, we fall for it as easily as those angels and demons, because we assume we know what's going on. Watch out!

Rule four: you can't break the rules. If you're going to make a wild, avant garde, ground-breaking story, that's pretty much the whole point of the entire story. Twists are fine, emphasizing or de-emphasizing expected tropes or ideas is fine, subverting a trope is fine. Otherwise, you have to stick to ideas, formats, plots, structures, etc., that have come before. For example, just as I started seeing metas about the POV characters in Good Omens 2 jumping around, I had remembered an episode of the X-Files from way back where an "alien landing" is told from three characters' perspectives. When told from the POV of the alien conspiracy-believing kid, the story gets really weird with all kinds of wild things happening. When told from doubting Scully's perspective, it gets very boring and mundane. POV jumping is nothing ground-breakingly new. There won't be anything ground-breakingly new.

Rule five: it has to make sense. Mark Twain once said, "Of course truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense." Once upon a time, a friend of mine who liked to embellish stories told me all about his new fiancee, who he'd met and proposed to all in a few months, who was head over heels for him, a gorgeous red-head, one of triplets. I never met this mystery woman, and then one day he called me to tell me she had died very suddenly and dramatically. I had my suspicions that she wasn't even real in the first place, so I made consoling noises and asked him when and where the funeral was so I could be there for him. I expected to be put off, told some crazy reason why there wouldn't be a funeral or it hadn't been planned yet and I would somehow mysteriously not hear about it until it was over. Instead, he gave me a date and location immediately. I was taken aback. I was even more taken aback when I arrived at the funeral to meet this woman's family, including the remaining red-headed pair from her triplet set, and hear all about what a whirlwind romance she'd had with my friend. If that had been a novel, I would have shut the book and told the author to give me a break. Books and TV and movies and plays can't push the consumers' credulity too much. Readers have to maintain their willingness to suspend their disbelief. It can't get too crazy. What's too crazy? Hard to say, it's kind a of a "I'll know it if I see it" sort of thing. And some people are certainly more willing to go along with something wild than others. The author can only try their best to maintain faith. To tell a story that can be believed.

Anyhow, I dunno if that's helpful at all, but it's sort of the litmus test I'm using to gage all my questions and theories. And what I'm using to shuffle in the metas and theories I like from others.

[hungharrington]

maybe unpopular opinions under the cut… read at ur own discretion but sorta just mad at tumblr lol

i’ve been trying to figure out like my beef with the x reader smut scene is cos usually if i’m annoyed about something it would eventually just go away but this is persistent. like i am continually annoyed with the x reader smut scene on tumblr and i think i may have figured out why.

it’s sorta to do with tumblr’s awful tagging system and sorta to do with blanket-tags.

tumblr’s tags— picture this; you hate car smut. you never want to read it. you know that you’ll never want to! cos thats your preference! but seeing it more when you know you don’t like it makes you dislike it even further.

currently, while you can hide it, you can see how prolific it is in the tag, hidden beneath the worlds most enticing button.

imagine, ao3 style, you filter out those results altogether. not even shown. greater searching, less seeing what you don’t wanna see! this is what tumblr lacks at the moment and as such, you have one giant stream of everything, tagged with as much shit people can think of for so-called ‘reach’.

which brings me to the blanket-tag.

every scope of smut possible files under one main tag ‘character x reader smut’. that’s it. we all use the same one, regardless of how different the pieces may be.

some people write smut for smuts sake and it’s au’s or genderbend’s or aged!up or noncon or whatever filthy thing you can think of — and all of that is valid, delicious smut. there are also people who write with the character in mind and it’s closer to a character study, in the medium of smut. also delicious, also valid smut.

i was pondering why i don’t have these issues with character x character smut — and it’s because they have the PWP tag. porn without plot. the whatever filthy shit they can think of! it’s right there in the tag! this is pure porn and that’s the point of it!

x reader does not have an equivalent tag.

this is what bugs me, the persistent annoyance i can’t shake. sometimes i’m in the mood for just well written porn where i ignore the fact that position would totally ruin my knees or whatever. sometimes i’m in the mood for a whole set up of going from enemies to lovers and ending in a tender show of trust by sleeping together. both are GREAT — but i want to be able to differentiate.

x reader needs a tag to filter between smut for smut’s sake (SFSS anyone?) and something a little more story-orientated. this is so much longer than i expected but please tell me if anyone else feels this 😭

[the-biggest-simp-in-the-land]

Obey me brothers in bed part 4 out of 7

Minors DNI

Satan

We all knew this was coming… PET PLAY, I'm one of the believers that satan is into pet play, it doesn't matter if you are bratty or submissive, you will be a kitty to him. 

He has both a collar and a day day collar for you to use. The collar is black with a small bell that giggles with and the day collar is a pretty golden necklace with an emerald, both have a small lock and I think he isn't the only one who is into it. I will delve into it later in the series.

He made you drink a potion that turned you into a human-cat hybrid.

He loves both praising you and degrading you.

He is another one that thinks you look adorable when you cry, but and other two characters love when it's  painful to you.

Rage fucking is something that happens quite often, let me explain, he takes his anger out on you/uses like a ragdoll .

He sometimes makes you read out loud erotic novels while he fucks you and if you start to get words wrong or stuble on them you will get punished.

I think he is a hard dom (there are a lot of hard dom hcs, for fucks sake, shit…)

He likes the aftermath, seeing the way you look after the deed is done. He loves the way you are marked by him, your puffy eyes, the way your ass is red, etc…

All of the brothers when having their first time with you , they are either sweet or… awkward( I'M TALKING ABOUT YOU LEVI!)

An other character who likes the thrill of the chase, but this time he is more open about his desires.

Roleplay with him is a must, depending on the character you two are playing he will be so… soft, on the contrary of what you normally expect him to be.

He can be so prince-like, but also a beast, he can be romantic outside, giving you flowers, chocolate, soft kisses, hand holding and soft study sessions (that sometimes turn into intercourse).

Talking about study sessions, you two have a specific way to work, you two usually study in his room, as I believe he isn't an exhibitionist, he makes you wear a small vibrator on your clit, if you get the answer right he will let you cum, if not he will simply turn of the little thing when you are close to cumming.

He may be a voyeur… but I'm not really sure about that one.

He has a magical fleashlight that when he uses it you can feel it.

He read the kamasutra.

Here we go… ways to tease Satan:

Meow at him, discuss with him, play dumb when flirting with him, use his clothes, wear a sweater ( idk why i just feel he thinks you look so… fuckeble in them) and TALK TO LUCIFER (it makes him so mad if you  spend a big chunk of your day with LUCIFER instead of him).

Thank you for reading this.

From: your dear author <3

[callofdudes]

Really love the one with ghost so so much,

He’s the biggest comfort character to me right now and reading the head canon made me so so happy (like just imagine being best friends with him)

If it’s not too much trouble could I leave another headcanon request.

Same as ghost but with soap this time

Please and thank you

You're so welcome! He's one of my comfort characters as well so I get it. I'm glad I was able to make you happy 😊

On to Soap!

Platonic! Soap x Reader headcanons

Golden retriever energy.

Johnny is a very eccentric person but I think, like all of us, he'd be a little nervous his first day. He was a buzzing ball of nerves when he stepped foot onto those training grounds. If was a whole new world, new things to explore, people to meet. He was overwhelmed by all the things going on around him.

Trying to make friends hasn't been an overly hard task for Johnny. In fact, he's yet to meet a person who hasn't taken a keen liking to him.

You two meet during the classic lunch room scene. He was eating alone when he noticed you were struggling to find somewhere to sit that wasn't to full. He waved over to you and the rest in history.

"Hey, we're in the same bunk aren't we?" And the two of you started to talk about your new drill sergeant and what you were looking forward to learning.

Johnny learned very quickly that not everyone wants to be his friend. He thought he'd known this reality but after someone made fun of the way you were throwing your punches, he stepped in. And being on the smaller side he was also made fun of. The classic, "Getting your boyfriend to stand up for you? How cute." Tease and taunt. Johnny was mad. You had been nothing but kind to him since you'd met, how could they be so mean?

Needless to say whatever little skill he did have he used on them. They attempted to fight back but he managed to punch them into the ground with all the fury of Scotland.

Everyone got in trouble that day. Johnny was put in charge of cleanup for the rest of the year including the toilets, bunks and mess hall. You tried to apologize but Johnny immediately brushed it off with a smile. "I'm just glad you're ok. Hopefully they won't try that again." You just rolled your eyes and said you'd help him bandage his battered fists.

For the next year Johnny always brushed off how you tried to apologize. When he would stay behind to clean up trash or wash the walls. He hosed down the dusty training grounds and eventually earned his call name Soap for just how fast he was at cleaning. He wanted to prove that his punishment was nothing for helping you out.

You two also took to studying together. Johnny had a smaller notebook at the time that he wrote notes and training moves in, and sometimes after hours you'd sneak out to train. And inevitably your giggling, bumbling selves would get caught by a drill sergeant or a hall tenant. But you were never in too much trouble. Eventually they had to start giving the two of you separate punishments because nothing would get done with you both in a room.

It was all very lighthearted for you two. That was until the two of you were promoted and sent on your first field mission. It got messy and the enemy managed to run off with you. You had tried to get away but they were much more skilled and much bigger than you. They tied you up and hauled you into a truck.

Johnny has never been so quiet in his life. When they got back he cussed his team out for not listening and letting that happen. He was mad and scared. He talked to a lieutenant and begged them so send him out again so he could get you.

"Please! My friend is out there probably scared and being interrogated or hurt or worse! Please, I can't stand by and let it happen!"

A more skilled missions team was sent out and you were brought back in good health. When you jumped out of the helicopter with two lieutenant's Johnny ran over to make sure you were alright. "What happened? Did they touch you? Damn them if they hurt you!"

"Johnny. Johnny- I'm ok." He sighed and hugged you tightly. "I thought you were going to get seriously hurt. If I had been paying attention-" You slapped his back. "Are you crying? You goon." He scoffed. "Sorry for caring dumbass." You had a couple bruises but Johnny was just glad to see you alive.

When you two recieved your first set of medals Johnny can't stop looking at it. You just roll your eyes as he takes your and compares them. "Hey! You're is bigger than mine!" He cried in disbelief. "I got rewarded for something else Johnny." He paused. "Oh yeah."

When the two of you were promoted and recognized as the two overtly skilled sergeant's on your listing, you caught the eye of Captain John Price. You two were a giggling mess when you found out you were being recruited into the 141 Task Force. You couldn't stop talking about it for weeks.

You told Johnny you wouldn't go if he wouldn't. You wanted to be on the same Task Force as him. He reassured you that he was going to follow you everywhere. Who else would eternally bug the crap out of you eh?

When you got to meet Lieutenant Simon Ghost Riley you both knew you were going to team up and crack him down. Of course, you enjoyed Ghost's silent nature and didn't realize just how loud Johnny really was.

You were a bit jealous at first when you met Gaz considering the two men clicked like puzzle pieces. But your spirits lifted when Johnny eagerly introduced you and Gaz was soon accepted into the group.

When Johnny gets his new journal to replace the old one, the first drawing he puts in there is you. Of course he has to put stickers and sparkles all over it with the big words BEST FRIENDS FOREVER all over it as well.

He grows his hair out at one point and you jokingly braided it. He wore it with pride and didn't take it out until he was forced to wash his hair.

There are times when Johnny puts the giggles away though. And one of those times was when you were with another Task Force group and one of the recruits started eagerly hitting on you. And you didn't look very comfortable. So he'd pull you into a side hug and smile. "I know! Isn't Y/N the most amazing person you've ever met." You chuckle and pat his arm, but he stays on guard. If there are any unwanted advances this little man will bark. Scotland's fire reign if someone obviously making you uncomfortable attempts to make a move.

However, if you are comfortable with the advances Johnny will kindly watch. He doesn't want to be annoying or put anyone off, so he'll make sure he's on standby just in case.

When either one of you does get a partner, Johnny is the type to try and annoy the shit out of you two. You're trying to kiss? Johnny will put his head between you two and hug your shoulders. "Hi guys, what're you doing?" In a playfully obvious tone.

He's like a big (or little) brother. Even though you and said person are official he still exists and he'll make sure you're safe throughout.

He'll pull your S/O aside and smile kindly. "Hi, I'm John MacTavish, see this right here?" Pointing to very obvious C4 charges and a very large grenade launcher. And he just smiles. " Don't make a wrong move. Ok? Alright, glad we had this talk." And he'll walk off and start talking to you like nothing happened while your S/O is peeing their pants.

Johnny is protective in his own way. When you and him get stranded with Ghost in Las Almas Soap has Ghost promise to check in on your location twice for every time he talks to Soap.

When the two of you go on leave Soap goes back home to Scotland while you rejoin your family. And every night before bed you made a promise to talk on the phone for at least a half hour. Just because.

I love this boy with all my heart. I can't even tell you.

[laiqualaurelote]

star emoji (i'm on pc) for all the men and women merely players?

thank you for this ask for fanfiction director's cut! any director's commentary for all the men and women merely players is going to be insufferably long, especially as it involves literal directors, but I'm going to focus on one of my favourite parts to write, the Hamlet chapter.

stop! Hamlet time

The first thing to know about me is that I am a massive Hamlet nerd. I've studied it academically and watched it multiple times onscreen and onstage, in multiple languages, including Chinese and Lithuanian (I do not speak Lithuanian). Hamlet is a pivotal play in the structure of this fic - it is the "turn" in the magic trick of the "pledge, turn and prestige".

There are seven past/potential Hamlets in this fic: Nate, Isaac, Colin, Dani, Sam, Jamie and Roy. Even though Nate is the one who ends up actually playing Hamlet, what I wanted to set out here is that every single one of them could have been Hamlet, a very different kind of Hamlet, and it's rather a question of when in their lives they could have played this role. Hamlet is one of those paradoxical roles where you need a ton of experience to do it well, yet by the time you gain that experience you might be considered too old (textual clues indicate Hamlet is in his 30s). There are exceptions, of course: Ben Whishaw played Hamlet at 23, Ian McKellen at 84. I imagine Roy played Hamlet before he was ready, when he did not fully understand the role; Sam, similarly, is too young here and Jamie too immature. This is why the role eventually goes to Nate, who intrinsically understands Hamlet best of anyone in the company because of his own existential self-hatred. The one thing he lacks - and that Roy and Jamie have in abundance - is the main character syndrome that Hamlet possesses. He gains this in later chapters, but his insecurity around it leads to disaster. Anyway, my point is that there is no such thing as a single perfect Hamlet because all the Hamlets are valid.

The title of this chapter is "a little more than kin, and less than kind", which is the first line Hamlet speaks in the play. He's using it as a veiled insult of his mother's abrupt marriage to his uncle so soon after his father's death. This chapter deals very heavily with kin - in the sense of family ties, especially parental ones - and kind, in the sense of kindness but also in the sense of being like one another, of the same kind. I think a lot about how Shakespeare is performed, and what kinds of people get to perform Shakespeare, and this chapter explores that.

We open with Nate's dream of playing Anita in West Side Story (a nod to show canon), mixed with his memory of what he perceives as his father's rejection of him. (This is one of the earliest scenes I wrote for this fic, before we got more of an insight into Nate's actual relationship with his father, which was a lot less antagonistic than many of us anticipated). The epigraph to this chapter is from Gertrude to Hamlet: "Do not for ever with thy vailed lids/ Seek for thy noble father in the dust". This is what Nate is doing in this fic, and Ted, and Trent, and Jamie - whether they intend to or not, they've all got their heads down, seeking their fathers in the dust.

Used to be I didn’t know fuck-all about Shakespeare. Where I come from, if you talked about shit like that, they’d rip the piss out of you. I’d have done it myself. I got into a lot of fights back then. Someone’s trying to vex me, I beat the shit out of them. Sometimes I just get so mad and I don’t know where to make it go. You know? Nah, you don’t. Not by the looks of you. I’d probably have beat the shit out of you back then, if I’m honest. 

This is Monologue No. 5, Isaac's (the monologues are numbered after the number each player wears in the show). The difference between a monologue and a soliloquy is that a monologue is a speech by a single character, but there may be others onstage; in a soliloquy that character is alone. ('To be or not to be' is strictly speaking not a soliloquy but a monologue, as there are other characters eavesdropping on Hamlet). The four monologues in this chapter all allude to Trent as the invisible, silent listener. In contrast, Jamie delivers Soliloquy No. 9 because he is truly alone.

Cry ‘Havoc’, and let slip the dogs of war. Well that’s fucking epic, Miss Jameela, I said. Well why don’t you take a look at the rest of it, she said. And when I spoke the words out loud it was like something I could pour my rage into. Nothing fancy about it. It were right on. Turned all that anger into something to lend your ears to.

Isaac's entry point to Shakespeare is Antony's speech in Julius Caesar. This was a parallel I had initially intended to give to Roy, who has a clear affinity for Shakespeare's soldier characters, but after Isaac's captain speech in Sunflowers, I realised it should go to him. Isaac, like Roy, has rage issues, which he learns to channel into his acting; like Roy, he comes from a working-class background (I imagine them both being from council estates in South London) and came to acting through community theatre, which is under threat in the UK today because of funding cuts (Christopher Eccleston wrote movingly about this after the closure of the Oldham Coliseum, which was where actors like Bernard Cribbins got their start).

I’m no orator, yeah? Just a plain blunt man that loves his friends.

This is nearly word-for-word what Antony says in his speech at Caesar's funeral, which ironically demonstrates that he is a skilled orator - he deliberately casts himself as "plain" and "blunt" against Brutus' sophistry and succeeds in alienating his opponent in the audience's eyes. This leadership quality of Antony's is reflective of Isaac's own captaincy style - he's a "plain blunt man that loves his friends", even if he can't bring himself to tell them in so many words, and that is how he keeps his team together.

Nate contemplates this. It’s not exactly that they’re short on skulls in the apocalypse. Probably be easier than making one out of papier-mâché, which he’s had to do for a lot of their less scavengeable props, and which is a bit trickier when you have to make your own glue. The problem, of course, is getting the flesh off. How long would you have to boil human bone to get it clean? Beard probably knows. Nate should check with him.

This is morbid - but also, I assure you, a completely accurate depiction of how single-minded props people can be.

Colin strikes a pose with his imaginary skull. “Alas poor Yorick! I knew his fellatio.”

This was an actual piece of graffiti I once saw etched above a fly floor.

I only figured it out when we did Twelfth Night in sixth form. It was an all boys’ school, so some of us had to do the girl roles. I got Viola, the lead. Thought that was tidy. Only at the end I had to kiss the boy playing Orsino. 

Colin's monologue is based on a real anecdote, but in reverse; I knew someone who played Orsino in a mixed school, so he had to make out repeatedly with the girl playing Viola and it did absolutely nothing for him and that was how he discovered he was gay.

It’s funny that we’re doing this now. You a journalist, and me telling you all this. I fantasised about it sometimes, you know, telling everyone. I had nightmares about it. Could’ve gone on not saying anything after the world ended, but then I figured, if I might die any moment, I want to die having lived as a whole person.

I did not think I could top Colin's coming-out scene in the show, so I chose to let it have already happened in this AU. (I then retroactively decided it took place during the one and only time the Richmond Players performed Chekhov.) In contrast, it's implied that Trent still hadn't come out prior to the apocalypse, and that he is inspired to do so to Colin here.

“If he’d just made up his mind earlier it could all have been over by Act Two,” Roy is saying. “Macbeth would’ve done it. Othello would’ve done it. Fuck, even Romeo would’ve knocked Claudius off before making a puppet show about it.” “But that’s why they’re tragedies, you see,” Trent argues. “They’re all in the wrong story. Hamlet wouldn’t have killed Desdemona, or assumed Juliet was dead based on hearsay.”

I am quite fond of "the tropes are hungry and the hero is in the wrong goddamn story" discourse. There's no point complaining that Hamlet the play is too long and the hero needs to make up his mind. He can't, because he's Hamlet! that's the tragedy.

When I was a boy, there was this travelling theatre company that went around the vecindades, and they performed Shakespeare in the courtyards. We sat on our doorsteps and watched them. In the last scene they threw a big party, and they knocked on all the neighbours’ doors and brought them out to dance. I thought, if this is what theatre is like, then theatre is life!

The play in Dani's monologue is based on the vecindades staging of Othello by Arturo Ramírez and Martín López Cruz (an anachronistic reference, since it took place in Mexico City in 1988, meaning that Dani would not actually have been alive to see it). I'm fascinated by this particular site-specific staging because it was so calibrated for the vecindades, literally bringing the action to their doorstep - it was a staging that drew on the sense of community in these multi-family dwellings but also implicated said community in the tragedy, because they all ended up witnesses to Desdemona's murder. (A headcanon for this AU is that Dani played Desdemona opposite Sharon in the Richmond Players's gender-bent version of Othello).

On the one hand, Dani is the least likely candidate among the seven, because he is fundamentally too cheerful to play Hamlet. On the other hand, I think he would have turned the entire thing into a telenovela, which I for one would have loved to see.

“If your director, your lead actor and your stage manager are in a burning house right before your show is about to start, who do you save first?” Trent hazards: “The lead actor?” “Exactamundo, Aureliano Segundo! By the time the show’s about to go on, you don’t need the director any more, and your stage manager can take care of themself, or they wouldn’t be your stage manager.”

Again, a joke I've heard among production managers (who are always joking about disasters because a big part of their job is crisis prevention) but one that also reveals how what Ted views as a show of confidence might be interpreted by Nate as hurtful neglect. Also, a One Hundred Years of Solitude reference! No reason, I just always have Aureliano Segundo on the mind.

Did you know that the first recorded performance of Hamlet took place in Africa? English sailors performed it off the coast of Sierra Leone. Some people don’t believe this.

The earliest recorded performance of Hamlet was allegedly in 1607 on board an East India Company ship, The Dragon, lying off the coast of Sierra Leone, though the authenticity of the record has been called into question by some scholars. It would, however, have been performed at the Globe earlier in the 1600s. It's just interesting to think of the already-global nature of the play, even in its infancy, and of Shakespeare as a cultural accessory to colonialism.

I thought you have to sound British when you do Shakespeare, so I tried to do this RP accent, like I heard on BBC. And it was so bad. My father was helping me film the tape and he had this look on his face. I said “Daddy, I got to do it like this. They got to know I can play their roles the way they want.” And he said, “No, Samuel. You got to let them know that the way they want is your way.” So I did the monologue in my own accent, and we sent in that tape. And I got in.

Accent work in theatre is a sensitive subject that is quite close to my heart (though I live in the UK, I'm not British and don't have an English accent, which is something I'm always conscious of). Also: what does a decolonial approach to Shakespeare look like? Is it even possible? Is that what Sam's doing here? Questions, questions.

The fandom discourse around accents was also at the forefront of my mind when I was working on this chapter, because of an ask I had received about writing Jamie's POV - the asker was (rightly) concerned about how I would be depicting the Mancunian accent, as many in fandom were phoneticising it, which is considered offensive. This chapter contains five distinct character voices and for each one I listened to/read multiple sources to find subtle ways to depict the unique elements of that voice accurately and respectfully.

People always assume I want to play Othello. And I mean it is a great role, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t want to do Othello. I don’t want to do Aaron. I want the roles that everyone is up for. I want to do Hamlet. I want to do Romeo. I want to do Lear.

This is, IRL, what Toheeb Jimoh is doing! He's played Romeo, he's playing Hal in Henry IV, I can't wait to see what he takes on next.

This is also a complete coincidence (I conceptualised this chapter before S3E7 aired) but Nonso Anozie, who plays Sam's father Ola, holds the Guinness World Record for the youngest actor to play King Lear professionally, aged 23 in a 2002 RSC production. That's why I made Lear the favourite play of Ola in this AU, and had Sam make the (otherwise quite off-beat) choice of Cordelia's monologue for his RADA audition tape.

You know, when Orlando first comes onstage, he is talking about his father, who is dead. I don’t know if you could tell, the first night when you saw me in the role, but I almost could not do it. I almost could not speak those lines, because I do not know if they are true.

While it is left open-ended in the fic if Sam's parents are still alive, I like to think that they are. I like to think that he makes it back to Nigeria eventually - perhaps even soon after his successful run as Hamlet in the fic's epilogue, when international ship travel is revealed to be back on the cards - and that he sees them again.

“Am I a coward?” says Nate softly. [...] “Who calls me villain?” It is as if Nate is outside himself, his mouth speaking words unbidden, his nerveless fingers letting the book fall. “Breaks my pate across? Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face? Tweaks me by the nose? Gives me the lie i' the throat, as deep as to the lungs – who does me this?”

When I was watching Nate's villain arc in S2, these lines from Hamlet blazed across my mind, and from that moment on I always subconsciously associated Nate with Hamlet, but a Hamlet who loathes himself to a nigh paralysing degree. Nate may fancy himself a villain of Richard III's ilk, but he simply does not have the evil chops. He's just insecure, indecisive, prone to seeing insult when there is none.

He’s watching himself now. He’s standing across from himself as he delivers the lines seared into his brain, fascinated and horrified. He watches his own throat work, sees the spit fly, feels it strike beneath his eye and roll down his cheek like a tear.

Mirrors are significant in Hamlet - it is, after all, the play that gave rise to the idea of art holding a mirror up to nature - and I wanted to find a parallel for Nate's ritual of spitting at his reflection, which was hard, because mirrors are not abundant in a post-apocalyptic AU. I found the answer in a stage direction from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, in which Hamlet spits at the audience, then wipes his face as if his spit has been blown back at him by the wind.

Nate's flashback to what really happened with his parents fills in the blanks for the reader - his father pushing him away wasn't rejection, but his last act of love for Nate. And Nate knows rationally that there was nothing he could have done to save them, but he will always be haunted by having been the one to walk away.

A terrible emotion swamps Nate's chest. A little more than hope, and less than fear. “The play’s the thing,” he says.

"A little more than hope, and less than fear" is a callback to the chapter title "a little more than kin, and less than kind".

The full line that Hamlet says is "The play's the thing/ Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king." He's conceived a play-within-a-play to prove Claudius' guilt and provide him with the impetus to actualise this revenge business.

Throughout this chapter, the question of whether a play is "real" or "not real" comes up repeatedly - Colin: "I was scared of what it meant if it wasn’t acting. If it was real"; Dani: "And they say, but that is not true. Theatre is only pretend"; Sam: "Maybe one day I will see him again. And all this will only have been lines in a play". And of course a play isn't real, a play is only pretend. Ted Lasso isn't real. This fic isn't real. But that's not to say they're not holding up a mirror to our reality, the reflections in which have the power to affect us and shape us and change us in very real ways. That's the thing about plays. The play's the thing.

[made-this-cause-why-not]

Quick rant about ATYD because, the slander just does not make sense to me. It's not a perfect fic and people are allowed to not like it but some of the reasons for people not liking it are just so weird to me. Like- people don't like it because Sirius is sexist.... Sirius is a teenage boy. Do the people that say that hang out with teenage boys IRL? They are sexist and sometimes racists, pieces of shit- especially around their guy friends or girl they think 'are cool with it'. Also, it was the 70's. Like, do people not realize that a white, rich (like fully out of touch with reality, Billionaire with money dating back to the 15th century Rich), SEVERLY TRAUMATIZED cis guy from the 70's would be a piece of shit as a child. Like, as Sirius got older he would grow to regret all the fucked up stuff he said an take the time to actually apologize and stuff but we never saw that because he was 21 when he was imprisoned. He never even left his frat boy era. And then I have seen others be mad because they made Dorcas white. This is a complaint I have only seen from white people and as a Black mauraders fan, it literally does not matter. Like- Dorcas meadows is a character mentioned less than five times in the entire series, with her race being nothing more than a token black person that J.K shoved in The Order to prove it wasn't all white and that the HP world has diversity. Her being made white changes nothing in the plot. People also say that wolfstar is toxic in it, like this isn't a fic about two deeply traumatized boys with no role models or healthy relationships or base their own off of, other than Effie and Fleamont which they don't meet until they are like 13. Like, of course they are going to be toxic and fucked up- their entire lives have been fucked up. The only valid critique I have seen is the fact that the G word is used to describe the wolf packs. Granted, I didn't know that was a slur until 2021 or so, it's still a fucked up term to use. But yeah, I feel like people often say it's a bad work, which is fine if you just don't vibe with it, but the reasoning for not liking it makes me pause a little because 'what?'.

Edit: Forgot to say this but people also hate the characterization of Mary because she is oversexualized, to which I say: so is Sirius. Like, they are both sooooo fucking slutty and sleep around a bunch, the fact that people only talk about Mary in this light can be attributed to one of two things. Either A: grasping at straws, or B: Putting the weight on Remus's narration. Him being inexperienced for alot of his time as hogwarts would allow for any kiss or hookup seem like the end of the world for in his eyes and by reading with the grain I can understand that- but even then don't slut shame the black women and not the Black. "but mary lost her virginity at 14"- people get their sexual urges right as they hit puberty. Teens are horny. In the 7th grade my middleschool took an all day trip that used to be over night until two students got caught fucking in a cabin. 13 year old 7th graders. I am not saying it is right to loose your virginity at such a young age but it isn't unheard of.

Edit 2: Last edit I swear, but I just saw some one's post saying they didn't like how remus having a learning disability was for shits and gigs or that he did drugs and joined a gang. Firstly, remus having a learning disability is a beautiful metaphor for his lycanthropy and class. He is studying along side his friends, completely confused and just playing along to not give anything away. It doubles onto how isolated Remus must have felt and his whole problem with opening up to others. Also, the fact that Remus had to push himself so hard academically just to get the same grades as his rich friends who coast by on their name and the fact that they have been learning latin and french from tutors since they could walk- I mean, it's just chef's kiss. And, do people not realize that people in the real world do drugs? That a lot of people struggle with addiction and are more prone to said struggle when they grow up in a shitty environment with out learning proper ways to cope with the traumatic events? Remus was in a gang because he was surrounded by people who were in a gang- people who understood him more than James or Sirius did.

Like, I know that I can't really say this because I am a legal adult ranting on tumblr, but all of the slander just makes me want to tell people to go outside. Make friends irl- not mutuals. Touch grass, hand out with people you age. Like yes atyd isn't perfect but it was very much accurate to how real people would have been in the 70's and I personally prefer that to the babygirl-ification of every male character in Harry Potter to the points where they are almost caricatures of themselves

[eldritch-spouse]

Thank you for answering my ask about lust monsters so detailed! I hope it didn't come off as judgemental to others who enjoy lust monsters (I just wanted to say how I enjoyed your work which is new for me).

I really like monster-loving for exploring "forbidden" topics. People who are interested in things outside what is considered "acceptable" are often mobster-ised so it makes sense that we enjoy monster loving. (Especially since monster loving has often historically been about autonomy and/or the ostracised loving and being loved)

I find your universe really interesting, especially the idea that certain more powerful monsters (I forgot what you called them, I think it started with V?) Like Krulu and Hummuna Mama exist.

It's an interesting take on our pursuit for an "all powerful" boss at the top of the proverbial pyramid. Th fact that there are those considered gods that are of the same species but not necessarily the same "pantheon". They all have different interests and goals but it isn't portrayed as a "war of evil vs good" - it's less black and white in a way that humanists them while being consistent to the fact that they're disturbingly inhuman. It creates an interesting dynamic.

There being different types of powerful monsters & monster power structures as well (the icons of the rings of hell > demons of the rings > imps, the scientifically created monsters, the clergy structure) makes a mismatch of cultures in a way that makes the world more bustling and rich. It's kind of a paganistic/pan approach that I really love!!

Real life doesn't follow a simple a > b > c pipeline and is more messy so the wonder/wildness in your stories that allow escapism and exploration of weird ideas/topics isn't overshadowed by a sense of being lost in the senseless madness that's trying too hard to be mad. (Idk if that makes sense)

Stories often use "rules" and "laws" within the world (sort of a "okay, this ridiculous thing can happen because of this explanation behind it, but because of that this other can never happen because that would be ridiculous"). And I love how different writers approach it but sometimes it can be restricting and easy to forget there are always exceptions to the rules. It can be daunting.

Are there any aspects of your world that you feel exceptionally proud of? Or any that you put a different line of thought behind? I always like hearing about the thought process of authors who write monsters & fantasy

[Once more, most of it under the read more.]

I don't really dwell on the "why"s of monsterfucking. There's always some level of psychology behind it -And I know this sounds ridiculous, but you could make a pretty interesting sociological study about certain aspects of this philia- Everyone has their own reasons as to why they developed this, and I don't really take "pride" in it in the sense that I feel special for being a monsterfucker or that I revel in my own perceived "otherness".

This kink is for those who fit in and those who do not, which makes it a little weird when I see one or two rare instances of people making a weird sort of gaslight gatekeep girlboss situation out of it. Again, it's not too often I find this.

The monster species you're talking about are "siadar" (the longer designation being "astsar siadar"). It's hard for me to create all-powerful figures. For an all powerful character to succeed, they need to be used very carefully and scarcely, because the more of them you expose, the more you risk showing flaws in their design and supposed omnipotence. That's why I made it a point to not do that. Siadar are considered gods, but in reality they're just another species, with their own defined natures.

I leave a lot of loose and undefined ends in this narrative on purpose, and this is so that I can always pick and pluck at new sides and aspects of what I've already built, effectively never running out of potential content to explore. I can one day start chipping at siadar culture harder. I can go into the period of time where Hell was governed by the betrayer (which I intend to do something with, something that is already beginning but you can't tell yet). I can poke at all kinds of things.

I don't think the rules I've made thus far are restricting, but let's be honest, I'm leaving a lot of things vague on purpose specifically to allow myself a looser leash when creating pieces.

I wouldn't really say there's something I'm particularly proud of, so to say?

I liked incorporating the idea of Heaven and Hell not as "black and white" systems of "good and evil". Heaven is not a place where you go to when you die and have been good, nor is Hell a place you get dragged into post-death because you were a piece of shit in life. They're their own areas with a lot of history behind them, the general perception of which having been distorted somewhat with time, both by outsiders and insiders.

I like the way I've built religions in this universe, even if it would take me a long while to explain how each annex to "the surface" is perceived and why that's the case.

In fact, I like the origin behind monsters I concocted too, even if it's not exactly the most original.

Dorem's relationship with undead is also something I enjoyed thinking out, because most people assume a figure like him would revel in the chaos undead entities make, when Dorem is only a soulkeeper being constantly worn down by the shackles of his own work, constantly faced with what he perceives as his mistakes- Who, as the final nail in the coffin of his dignity, worship him as if he intentionally created them.

I like a lot of things about my narrative, but I'm not going to sit here and write paragraphs of what essentially amounts to petting my own ass.

The input was nice though! :v

[troublemakingrebel]

Fanfic Tag Game

Ayyy, @krankittoeleven, thanks for tagging! Love these little lists!

1. How many fics do you have on AO3?

34! (I used to write in two languages, but for this game i count only the English ones)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

295,814... (~1.5 times more words than "Fellowship of the Ring" by JRR Tolkien *sweating*)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Totally obsessed with Assassin's Creed (Valhalla in particular), but also have some WIPs for Cyberpunk 2077.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Right Behind You (Witcher 3), a piece about epic friendship & love between Geralt of Rivia and the absolute husband material Emiel Regis

10 years apart, no more (AC Valhalla), a fix-it for the fLicKEriNg flame nonsense (if you know you know...)

Shall We? (AC Syndicate), another fix-it that makes Maxwell Roth survive the fire as there's no fire at all

The Truth (The Wolf Among Us), about shaky relationship between the Big Bad Wolf and the Woodsman (i'm so surprised it made it to the top-5!!)

In the Belly of the Beast (AC Valhalla), about Ivarr Ragnarsson eating the forbidden Saxon fruit while no one is watching hehe

5. Do you respond to comments?

Of course! Can't leave them hanging there in silence!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Usually, I don't do sad endings, but the most bitter-sweet one is Pebble (Dragon Age: Inquisition) about a kossith who cuts his massive horns off to look more like a human so he could follow his lover to the city where kossith race isn't welcome :c Although I don't think his lover would let him go there anyway......

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Haha every other one :D But Sun, Rum and Gunpowder (AC Black Flag) has the happiest and the most carefree vibes whatsoever!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not on the fics, but the ships! I just delete those because why is it an author's problem suddenly that some people don't know how filters work??

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh, I sure do ;> It's not extremely explicit (no holes in sight, but dicks and balls can be spotted) and is mostly focused on emotions and dialogues.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Nope, but I write AUs sometimes to spice things up! Modern days AUs are the bane of my existence, and still... somehow... I keep making them...

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, but I noticed my lines and phrases in the stories of fellow writers. I appreciate it!!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah!! Out of all possible fics, it was The Remnants of a Ruined Past, a Mad Max (the game!) story translated into Polish. Love it lots!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Never as i am incapable to work in groups haha. I did some challenges though, such as picking a theme and writing something small with a fren to compare the results later. It's very fun and helps to keep your brain gears spinning!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Like, the one and only ship that I could bring along if I was stuck on a desert island? Or the one I don't even write for anymore but carry in my heart daily? The former would be Hawke x Varric (Dragon Age 2) because they're a comfort ship with many possibilities for plots. The latter is Ezio x Leonardo (AC II + Brotherhood + Revelations) and Arthur x Eames (Inception) because they started it all hehe.

15. What’s a fic you’d like to finish but don’t think you ever will?

It's a compilation of drabbles written for a very niche CGI Resident Evil movie (Damnation) & very rare pair that i was planning to continue for as long as the planet keeps spinning, but got overwhelmed with the amount of ideas I had in mind :c

16. What are your writing strengths?

Humor and dialogues!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Everything el– 🥲 Deep character studies, believable politics and fights.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

A big yes from me, it ads depth and character when used correctly. Also, it's very interesting to keep an evening reading about the language you're planning to use, even it's for a few simple words.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

It was an attempt to mimic Marie Corelli and write a ficlet for her novel "The Sorrows of Satan". And then Assassin's Creed took my soul and I've never seen it since! Kinda ironic, huh...

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I'm gonna cheat bc I'm quite proud about Beautiful Decline, a series of four fics written for Assassin's Creed Valhalla. It's an enormous project that was never meant to break out from its confinements and produce three more stories lmao.

Tagging @firefly-partyn and @krankittoeleven if you wanna join!

[zangetsubornhollow]

Mixed Feelings

I'm not totally sure how I feel about this book. I was actually completely enamored by the book when I first picked it up. But, nearing the middle towards the end, it completely fell off for me.

Spoilers for The Magicians by Lev Grossman below

I don't know if I felt bitter that my ship didn't become canon ( Eliot x Quentin) or if I just didn't like the Alice x Quentin pairing, but the romance aspect of the book just didn't sit with me.

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Alice

I think it was dragged on and on. I really liked Alice's strong abilities and her being sure of them. But her character fell flat after they got together. She didn't bring anything except romantic drama afterwards. (I know she was the main hero in defeating Martin Chatwin, but still she was usually just a quiet bystander only appearing in scenes so Quentin could express some kind of emotion about her). I hated the whole Quentin cheating debacle and then he held very little accountability "Janet intentionally ruined a perfectly healthy relationship just to get at Alice [or whatever]"

I think I would have been happier if they had to get in a relationship that it ended after they graduated or no relationship at all. I would have been satisfied with a found family dynamic in the end.

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

Eliot

... I can't be the only one who felt dragged along hoping for a glimpse of him. I was so sure he'd have a stronger impact on the story and on Quentin.

I found spoilers for the next books of him getting more scenes, but i wanted more of him in this book.

I felt like I was being teased by the prospect of a stronger bond between him and Quentin. Even if they did go out and party after graduation together and they felt they both need Fillory to find a purpose to their post-Brakebill's lives, their dynamic just wasn't fleshed out. I feel like we were told of their bond, but not showed.

Eliot had such an entrance and I'm not mad that when school started he wasn't a big presence in Quentin's story as he's focusing on school. But I'm surprised Quentin went home every break. I thought he would stay behind, knowing that Eliot stayed and did more bonding. Other characters would mention how it was strange that Quentin is on good terms with the Eliot and the he must be one of Eliot's. But even after getting in the Physical kids' cottage, they didn't really interact. Yes, you got a closer glimpse of Eliot's personality, but they never got closer.

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Quentin

I thought he started as a compelling character as a High School Senior who is secretly wishing that world was a bit more colorful and magical than the the black and white mundane life that he was living.

As a High Schooler

As a graduated college student. He got so whiny. Alice calls him out multiple times that he is miserable because he doesn't want to try to be happy because he chooses to be miserable. He kind of did a gifted kid spiral and never got back on his feet. It was so taxing to read about how miserable his home life was. How drained he was at the school. How he wasn't as driven as the other students. How he didn't excel at magic ( like he was at the top of his class and then went a year ahead. wtf is this guy on) I feel like we didn't really touch on magic either. Then after all the training went on we jumped into romantic woes, then the magic learning part completely disappeared.

(Also: I wished they got a clean breakup so bad

Which I don't even know if they liked each other because of their proximity and lack of other prospects or if they found something in one another that they were drawn to. In they end, they would have been happier pursuing their separate lives. )

The Magicians is seen through Quentin's eyes, so we have to deal with so much horniness. His eyes wandered everywhere and I didn't care that sometimes he was losing his focus on studying and wanted to just stare at his professor's breast. I really did not need to read that.

Also this made me so confused on who he wanted to get close to: Julia because he wanted her so bad, and she should have learned magic after all ???

The paramedic because she was pretty and mysteriously gave him the book and entrance to Brakebill?

Eliot because he was cool and liked boys, but never tried to get with him?

Alice because she was talented and pretty, but didn't want to get close to anyone?

Anaïs because she was hot and everyone else though so too??

Janet because she was hot and exciting?

As someone who did not finish the book, I don't know if he ever found closure and started to look within himself for happiness. But from outside sources (i.e. good reads, tumblr, and the magicians wiki) I am guessing definitely not!

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**Extra notes because I am a certified hater

Do I lack comprehension skills or did Quentin looking for Josh have no impact? Like Quentin was super worried about him in the moment, but never really showed his care for others like he did in that scene. Like ever again.

The whole 3some debacle ....wtf.....

i don't know why, but I wanted more from the original bar cast. Especially the bear.

Why was the fact that Eliot was a token gay brought up almost every time people talked about him?

I was so sad there wasn't more magical networking and communities. If they were briefly mentioned, they didn't really seem all that relevant.

What was the Plover story that he wasn't ready for?

Why did Alice not get an invite, but was accepted in?

Julia??? (I know she appears in later books, but still)

I wanted more interactions with other students.

[imadhatt3r]

I feel like Clawdeen is suffering from main character syndrome.

That's not to say that she's a bad character, or that there's no way to make her more interesting. Also, I'm talking strictly about the currently running nickelodeon cartoon.

I feel like the biggest flaw in how she's being written is that, well, everyone has their thing.

Draculaura is a fearleader and a student bloody president, a daughter of Dracula, who seems to be one of the most popular and powerful in-universe monsters, plus she's studying to be a witch in secret and she's a perfectionist who wants everything done flawlessly. Frankie is completely new to absolutely everything, plus they have the whole mad scientist shtick, and their brain is made up of bits and pieces of other characters from the universe's past. Cleo has the quasi-mean girl persona (though it's just a persona) and her inferiority complex towards Nefera. Lagoona is kind of a more comedic than the rest, but she's just so endearingly weird that it's kinda enough? Plus she has to keep up the facade of an aggressive oddball, but she's shown to be sensitive and emotional.

And Clawdeen? Well... She had her casketball team...? She's looking for her mom...? She's allegedly a monster fangirl...?

What I'm saying is that I just feel like Clawdeen doesn't have enough quirks and "personality" compared to the rest of the cast. She's supposed to be the "everyman", the character people indentify with, but she appears to know almost everything about what's going on, how monster high works, and any ins and outs of monster culture or entertainment.

One thing that kinda annoyed me is that Clawdeen just kinda knew everything about how being a werewolf feels or works? There was no adjustment period. Wouldn't it be interesting to have these werewolf abilities be awkward/uncomfortable sometimes? Maybe her strong sense of smell gives her headaches or makes her dizzy? Maybe she howls when she's happy/excited and she feels embarrassed about it because she can't control it (she does that in the cartoon but she just fully accepts it) or maybe she eats much more and uses her hands, licks the plate clean and in general is a messy eater? Maybe she breaks things with her super strength, or doesn't land all her jumps? It reminds me of how Twilight in my little pony needed some time to adjust to having wings. I know that there's the episode where she meets Howleen and the other werewolves, but I feel like they should be used more and shown teaching Clawdeen more about being a werewolf. Now that Clawd was added to the cast, maybe he could teach Clawdeen about being a werewolf while she teaches him about the human world?

The monster fangirl thing is underplayed too, because Clawdeen, other then in the first episode, doesn't really show any excitement or interest in other monsters on like a reasercher level? I guess they didn't want her to know everything instantly, but I think that they could've given it a twist kinda like they did in the owl house- Luz came to the Boiling Isles a big fantasy nerd, so she should probably know everything about a magical setting, right? Well, no, because Luz's knowledge came from human fantasy books and lore, and while the Boiling Isles have things like magic or griffins or monsters they work much differently than she thinks. Maybe Clawdeen could be excited about other monsters and think she knows so much, but her knowledge comes from human lore any mythology, which is often wrong or at least misses the mark?

Maybe make her more traditionally geeky, show her excited about reaserch and learning, or have her be very knowledgable about some made up human fantasy series with monsters in it that baffles all the other students. We know that Lagoona likes sea monster telenovelas, so why can't Clawdeen like some fantasy show/book about a main character who's like her (a werewolf or a half human) with a cast of other monster characters?

Of course these are just one person's ideas and feel free to disagree with me, plus it's not like the writers won't be able to potentially make Clawdeen more interesting as the series goes on.

[whetstonefires]

20 Questions for Fic Writers Tag Game

@kiragecko tagged me in! (17 is missing, gecko, did it come that way or was that you?)

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

167 on my main account, plus the ones posted to my personal anon collection under a pseud so as to archive my ffdotnet juvenilia without spamming my nice subscribers with stuff from 2004. Also I think three E-rated fics on the account I made just for that, for similar reasons? So like. 190ish? idk

2. what’s your total AO3 word count?

1,306,169 + 115,249 + the anon fics like hell am i doing that math

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Actively, right now? Mostly mdzs, little scum villain. Idk I have developed a compulsion. Got open fics I'm still technically working on for Batman and ffvii, too.

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

All the Roofs of Uncertainty Jason-centric Batman fic from almost 10 years ago, complete

in the shadows an unimaginatively titled batman AU where Batman is basically the feral imaginary friend of Bruce Wayne, who died twenty years ago, which I'm still updating occasionally but it's told in standalone vignettes so it's basically a complete fic at any given time

and judgment is just like a cup that we share a Scum Villain identity reveal fic where the main conceit was subjecting Shen Qingqiu to having the plot explained to the other characters by a third party who didn't give a damn. complete.

The Till-Then From the Ever-Since a sort of batfam...mass time travel/deaging premise?? long on hiatus but technically not abandoned.

the tune without the words one of my first fics on a03, i think; jim gordon and jason todd and secret ID related dramatic irony. oneshot.

5. do you respond to comments?

Regularly! Not reliably though. Often I forget, or don't have the spoons, or I notice that I'm not making progress on my fic because I'm writing replies instead and well. Probably the readers would not prefer that, actually.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't know?? I'm not even a good judge of what an unhappy ending is because I like 'em wide open and a lot of readers disagree. It's been 20 years I've been at this idk idk.

Wait I do know. I didn't post it because I was worried people would be mad at me.

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Idk this either. I don't really classify them this way? The one I just finished, they keep the phoenix in a bamboo cage, is probably a contender? it ends on a note of laughter, with the canonical main pairing reunited, at home in their house, their relationship probably rather stronger for the trial it just went through, being affectionate, with no particular problems looming on the horizon.

8. do you get hate on fics?

Very rarely? There was memorably a person who went after me for mentioning in an author's note that, according to studies, having a gun present primes people toward violent solutions to problems, even solutions that don't utilize the gun, so having the hospital take Jason's guns away was psychologically important.

Mostly people just get weirdly condescending sometimes lmao.

9. do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Recently, yes! Uhm, kind, I don't know what classification system this is meant to refer to. I guess I write the kind of smut that uh, is invested in how desire intersects other forms to attachment and attraction to other people, and how communication works, or doesn't work???

Idk. I got into it in large part as a writing exercise because it requires describing physical positions in some detail without growing boring, and I've always been complimented on that in fight scenes and hugs and so on, so I wanted to see how far I could go.

10. do you write crossovers?

Occasionally? They're very hard to do to my own satisfaction, because the tonal and stylistic things that are normally easier to manage consistently in fic because you have a pattern to imitate all become freighted with choice.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of?? Uh, I think maybe some of my stuff showed up on one of those weird aggregator sites at one point, which I didn't like but don't qualify as stolen since they did leave my name on it, they just tried to imply I'd voluntarily posted it with them. Which is less stealing the fic to my mind than appropriating my fannish identity.

I did get some nice people telling me I might have an impersonator when I started crossposting fic to AO3 under a different pen name lmao.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have! Two batman fics into Chinese. I don't think they finished Roofs. I think there were a couple others but they're gone or not tagged as related works or something? Hm. Anyway very cool. Big fan.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not really. I have a couple I brainstormed with other people, and me and @husborth kind of worked together on the empress padme AU which was her idea, but we coordinated very badly and kept stepping on one another's plans and gave up.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I...by the wordcount it's gotta be wangxian, right? I don't normally ship at all really. I was very pleased with my Harley/Jokester mirror universe ship though; they were so married.

I guess that's what I like in a ship??? Ludicrous devotion? Yeah if people aren't life partner goals I don't even care.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

Um. The YuYuHakusho/Natsume Yuujinchou crossover. I did most of the brainstorming for that with my sister, who knows the natsume timeline better, and without her it was difficult to make satisfactory progress. I did try watching the anime but I have so much trouble watching that show in order. The continuity is so subtle.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I have a lot of these! Idk what they are right now. Feels awkward to try to isolate them.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Weirdly specific question lmao. Well, it all comes down to narrative distance, doesn't it? The effect you want.

An omniscient narrator is most likely to just report the content of a remark, and then add something about what language it was said in if relevant, but sometimes you want to create a sense of alienation between speaker and reader, and then the omniscient narrator would give a word-for-word report of what specifically was vocalized.

If you're riding a character for their point of view, how they report dialogue they don't understand becomes a characterization issue. Most people who don't speak a language are not going to pick up its syllables very cleanly; a person who does report words in an unknown language precisely is showing a lot about their capacities and attention. A character who attempts to note an approximation of the sounds they're hearing even though their phonetics are shaky and they can't identify the word breaks is different from one who just sums the unknown words up as 'incomprehensible,' unless the latter is a result of the narrative getting on with things because the specifics of the dialogue aren't important. And so forth.

There's probably not really a wrong way to approach this, just the right tool for the job.

Extended blocks of dialogue produced by google translate are probably rarely the right tool though.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Inuyasha lmao. Or maybe there was a spiderman fic before I knew what fic was?

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Dumb question, I refuse.

mmmmm tagging. I always forget everybody's tumblrs at moments like this. already tagged jd, who might not want to do it due to having deleted at least one account before so the numbers will be fake. @omokers @beatrice-otter @curlicuecal @brawltogethernow @audreycritter

[your-fave-adopted-you]

I've been thinking about this all day so here you go.

listen. Yuu, but make her Haruhi from Ouran highschool host club.

(Also don't mind the word "potion" showing up 100000 times)

Guardian! School Staff and a fem!MC that transforms into a guy daily, in order to attend school.

Characters : Crowley, Crewel, Trein, Ashton, Sam

TW : Crowley being questionable

afab! MC

Context : the NRC is an institution full of diversity! A place where people from all around the globe, with different social status and even people that aren't even human can study.

Not women tho.

For some reason, since you arrived there was no trace of female presence, not even within the school staff. This is a boys only school, ofc, the problem is that

you're not a boy.

Just the fact that you come from another world, and that the mirror didn't assign you to any dorm brought enough unwanted attention towards you.

Dire Crowley

The first one to know.

Because he was literally the first person you came across once you appeared.

Haha, sorry, but you can't stay here.

we don't even have girl uniforms!

but. you didn't choose to come here.

eventually, he gives in,

You can stay at Ramshackle and yadda yadda you know how it goes.

HOWEVER people shouldn't know about your true gender.

if it was known that a girl actually attended classes at Night Raven, then people would demand for more opportunities for female mages to study there!

but Crowley isn't planning on making it a co-ed any time soon.

He proposes that you take shapeshifting potions regularly, and live as boy, like everyone else.

At first you don't like this idea because, he's kinda conditioning you.

But you never actually cared that much about how others perceived you, gender-wise at least.

So you (reluctantly) accept this offer.

Also he will be your guardian in this world from now on, he's gotta keep an eye on you.

Even when everyone perceives you as a boy, he's very protective of you.

"Oh! y/n! my sweet little princess- PRINCE HAHA, YEAH i need another favor-"

stuff like this happens 20 times a day.

it doesn't matter if you're tall or petite, a tomboy or coquette. After week 1 he got VERY attached and now you're his sweet little princess.

mostly asks you to stay away from the leech bothers and some Savanaclaw students because he doesn't want to die of a heart attack.

Divus Crewel

ngl you got him fooled for a good few months.

he saw Crowley so eager to become your guardian for some reason... he couldn't let that happen

sometimes being exposed to other ✨Magic chemicals✨ and stuff like that during class can mess a little with the shapeshifting potion you took earlier.

Some days you'll look a little shorter, your voice will be a little higher, stuff like that.

it's not till you call in sick one day that he notices.

you were NOT expecting visits at Ramshackle so you didn't take your potion today.

It would be lunch break by now and Crewel decided to bring you something warm from the cafeteria so you didn't have to get up and cook.

when he gets to your room guided by the ghosts you're covered in blankets and he could only see half your face.

it's weird, your features look ...softer today.

then you noticed he was there, and the moment you opened your mouth-

"pup... are you alright? you sound a little weird toda-"

then he sees some empty bottles on the floor, turns out grim likes to play with them.

"Y/n, is there something you want to tell me?"

Well, you've been caught.

You tell him about what Crowley told you when you originally got here.

He's a little mad but he understands it.

However, he's PISSED at the fact that he hadn't noticed earlier.

After that day he doesn't treat you any different, but he teaches you how to make those kind of potions from scratch (even if they last less) just in case.

Mozus Trein

He didn't know what it was but there was something you were hiding from him.

he's not an old fashioned [ women should stay at the kitchen and take care of the children ] kind of man, but an old fashioned [ women and men are different, and excel at different subjects even if they can technically do anything they put their minds on ] kind.

So sometimes in history class he noticed that his words could get... reactions out of you.

even if it's something as subtle as rolling your eyes, frowning two seconds or subtly scratching your nose with your middle finger as you looked away.

But one day he said something that just got under your skin. Something about women being historically and factually worse at this specific subject...

Where you only got straight A's.

so you confronted him after the lesson ended.

"But why are you so upset, y/n? it's only common knowledge, one day you'll know what I'm talking about."

"Oh but i do know."

as he raised an eyebrow you told him to go over to Ramshackle for some tea later.

Once he showed up you served him tea, you also brought some old graded tests and projects.

"Ah, yes, as applied as always i see, is this the reason you wanted me to come?"

"Actually i just wanted to prove you wrong about earlier."

Before he could ask, the potion's effects wore off.

the old man was DUMBFOUNDED.

???????????????

since WHEN-

was this some kind of prank??? WAIT IT WASN'T???

he's speechless for a solid 3 minutes.

"I see... I understand now."

Just like Crewel he won't treat you any different.

But you will notice from now on how he puts more care into his own words.

Ashton Vargas

Just like Crewel, he didn't suspect a thing.

if fact it takes him even longer to find out the truth.

you weren't exactly the best at P.E but you were alright, and you had very decent grades in general.

However he's certain that you should be in a better shape by now...

He got you training 24/7 and yet there's little to no change on your appearance.

He's not expecting you to look like him or anything but

you should've built some muscle mass by now ????

what he didn't know was that, behind closed doors, your actual body showed a HUGE improvement

but any time you shapeshifted to your male self, it would always look the same, since it's just an illusion.

one day you were taking too long in the changing room and before he could come in to check, you texted him.

this was URGENT you needed him to get a certain bottle from Ramshackle and bring it back here, leaving it by the door.

He's PANICKING because the potion doesn't even have a label. so he jumps to the conclusion that it's some kind of medicine that you need but didn't tell him about.

he feels SO GUILTY after having you exercising everyday

he doesn't even remember that you wanted him to leave it by the door so he comes in and-

you had already changed to your regular uniform. But you looked different.

"Wh- why are you so small???"

your uniform looked so big on you.

you had no option but to explain the situation.

he stays silent for a while and then- "Okay, i understand, it's just like one of my favorite legends! it's so motivating!"

he then proceeds to tell you about the entire plot of Mulan.

He won't treat you differently after that, but makes sure you get enough iron for when it's ... necessary.

Sam

not a guardian

But is the second one ever to discover what's going on with you.

Crowley sent you to get your potions, since they're fairly cheap, he will take care of that.

You made sure to go while everyone else was in class.

When you stepped in, at first Sam didn't assume anything.

It's not uncommon for some students to have fairly feminine features, like Epel or Lilia.

However one can usually tell the moment their voice is revealed.

You asked him for a shapeshifting potion and he had lots of them.

There's the ones that merfolk use to get legs and humans to get a tail and fins...

There's others that keep your face neat and perfect for hours.

There were this ones, (fairly popular on campus) that may interest you, they're pricey but you only have to take a few of them and it changes you permanently, it doesn't only affect your appearance but also your hormones.

And finally there's this ones that only last for a few hours and they're just an illusion.

it can turn you into anything you want, but it's effects are a little weak . It can wear off fast depending on your metabolism.

You only need it for your body and voice so it's okay.

Since he knows your little secret whenever you come to buy anything with your friends he will drop some hints, not enough for them to suspect anything but he will have a laugh or two by teasing you.