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poppitron360 · 15 days

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*slides you a 20 [whatever currency you're using] bill* now tell me about how you got to ship valzhang and what you like most about it, along with your headcanons and scenarios

...please<3

THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVE YOU.

Okay sorry for taking long to reply I needed to schedule 3hrs out of my day to respond to this because I have a LOT of thoughts- Valzhang was my otp LONG before Valgrace. Be prepared for a lot of caps lock, keysmashes and exited ramblings.

We are phenomenally deprived of Valzhang fanart/fanfiction and that is a CRIME. They are so fun and cute to draw next to each other because they’re just so different- I love how Leo looks SO FUNKING TINY next to Frank.

But seriously, we are lacking. I searched up “Valzhang” on Pinterest earlier and there is NO JOKE only 5 pieces of fanart on there. We need to step up our game!

I’ve already posted this, but here is some Valzhang fanart I drew a while back-

So, how did I come to become the No.1 Valzhang Defender, you ask? Well…

Reading TLH was going slowly (bc of Spotify Audiobooks and their stupid listening hours feature), but I needed to shovel content into my brain like popcorn and so by the end of the first book I’d known all the spoilers and I knew that Frank and Leo would have a rivalry- and I was already SUPER attached to Leo, so I was prepared to HATE Frank.

So imagine my absolute frustration when I read SoN and found myself absolutely falling in love with this massive softie. I tried not to, I really did, but I couldn’t help it.

So, naturally, I was COMPLETELY on board with them becoming besties.

I was also all for their rivalry because it had so much potential for Leo angst- he’s already antagonising himself because of his powers, so someone else treating him like shit would only make him feel worse- thus I have more ways to cathart my own pain through fictional characters, so either way, it was a win-win for me.

But the blossoming bromance we got from it-

Oh my gods.

I already made a post about my feelings on Valzhang and how Caleo is just a shitty re-cycled version of them, but NO WAY was that all my thoughts, so here goes (and bear in mind I am only on HoH so this isn’t even their arc as a whole):

*Clears Throat*

*Shuffles note cards*

*Clears throat again*

*Deep Breath*

1. FRANK IS NO LONGER AFRAID OF FIRE BECAUSE OF LEO!!!!! I mean HOW CUTEE IS THAT!!!!!! He thought that there was nothing worse than fire, he was terrified of it, it was his biggest weakness. And then he met this tiny annoying hyperactive boy who is the MOST UNLIKELY OF FRIENDS- And he taught him to not be afraid. Like there is a moment where his trousers are literally ON FIRE and he doesn’t freak out because Leo taught him to not be afraid anymore. AND IT’S NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE POUCH!!!! Frank learns to trust Leo with his life- and there’s that moment in that scene where he’s faced with a choice to give him The Stick or not, and he chooses to trust Leo. He learns that fire (Leo) may seem scary and intimidating, but it can also be good and warm and wholesome and healing.

2. AND IT GOES BOTH WAYYYS!!!!! Leo was afraid of opening up to people, of letting down the mask and letting people see the real him. Sure, he did it a bit with Jason and Piper, but notice how in TLH, he only does it bc he didn’t have a choice. He used his fire powers to save them, and then Jason sort of just pieced together what happened the night Leo’s mom died. The first time he actually TELLS someone about it was when he tells Frank- someone who he thought was big and intimidating and so was putting his defences up with the jokes. To him, Frank looked just like someone who would’ve bullied him in the foster homes, he was the last person Leo thought he’d open up to. But he does, and Frank comforts him. They realise they’re not as different as they thought, and bonded over similar trauma and dead moms.

*Takes another deep breath*

3. LEO REALLY IS SO BRILLIANTLY TINY NEXT TO FRANK. IT. IS. SO. CUTE. Unlike Calypso and Leo, who were not planned out, Frank was WRITTEN to be Leo’s rival. They are exact opposites. The Yin and the Yang. The Sun and The Star (lol). They both juxtapose each other so beautifully- on the surface they contrast and clash but looking deeper they actually parallel each other but ultimately they compliment each other both in flaws and in strengths!!!! (*steadies myself on table* “Whoa, flashback to GCSE Eng Lit- using the same analysis structure. Are you proud of me, Miss Cox?”) But seriously, they initially are rivals because they look like complete opposites- tall/short, muscular/built like a twig, calm and careful/reckless and loud, animals/machines, Roman/Greek, Outwardly confident/Outwardly insecure, etc, etc.

4. But, as I said, looking deeper, they actually have a lot in common. Not just losing their moms, but Leo’s just as afraid of fire as Frank is. The only difference being that Frank’s afraid because of how it could hurt him, Leo’s afraid because of how it could hurt others, which directly contradicts Frank’s initial impression that Leo is self-centred and egotistic. Honey, that’s just an act. They’re also both very insecure, and both feel like the least useful member of the seven, and struggle to feel accepted. Because of how Leo felt threatened by Frank, he put his defences up and lashed out with his jokes, attacking Frank where he was most vulnerable, ridiculing him. They completely misjudged each other at first, and had an ANTI-meet-cute (Leo firing on New Rome) and it took a while for them to take down those walls that they’d built up, making it a lot more meaningful when they do open up.

And now we get onto specific hcs/scenarios I have, and I have a LOT of them:

1. Nico reveals to Leo that Frank’s mom is in Elysium because she gave her life in war to save others, whereas Leo’s mom is not, and instead is in Asphodel, despite all the little things she sacrificed in order to raise him, knowing he’d be important to the fate of the world. This causes a lot of resentment and jealously for Leo, as Frank has the one thing he desperately wants- a chance to see his mom again, make things right, get closure. Frank is annoyed by the fact that Leo is suddenly acting so cold and angry towards him, until Leo finally explains why.

2. Leo’s lactose-free mac n cheese is Frank’s favourite thing on earth. He has some sort of magic ingredient that makes the fake cheese not taste so plasticky, but he refuses to tell Frank what it is so Frank has to keep begging him to make it. Leo also makes it high in fibre and carbs, so it’s good workout food. Leo makes sure all his meals are Frank-Friendly.

3. I need to see them in battle together. Frank is incredibly anxious and overprotective of his tiny reckless bf/bff. Leo’s just a ball of freaking energy bouncing around going “ahahahbahjabkakdfkajkjaaa” and Frank’s like “Leo, no, those have teeth-“ He’s fine though.

4. As much as Frank acts like he hates Leo, he would risk his life for him in a heartbeat. I imagine Leo gets injured in battle and Frank drops whatever he’s doing and just fucking RUNS to help him. I can vividly picture him transforming into an elephant and scooping an unconscious Leo up in his trunk, and carrying him over to the medic tent. Yes, he’s currently being fired on by so many enemies, but nothing matters except getting Leo to safety.

5. Frank helps Leo with his machines. He can turn into small animals and get into tiny spaces, and he can become desert creatures, so the heat in the engine room doesn’t bother him.

6. Frank often finds Leo asleep on top of his blueprints, his welders-goggles askew, and he turns into a cat and curls up next to him to keep him company.

7. Also, when Leo skips meals because he’s spent too long working and he’s lost track of time, Frank makes sure to bring him food and water and his ADHD meds… and then he asks him to make him some mac n cheese.

8. Frank knows about PTSD from seeing his mom and her military friends, and so is often there to comfort Leo when he has flashbacks to the night his mom died, or one of the other miserable things that happened in his childhood.

9. All the things that used to freak Frank out about Leo (Leo making fun of his insecurities, Leo’s fire, the whole Sammy thing-) they are now 100% comfortable joking about together. Before, Frank would get upset when Leo ridiculed him, but now Leo does it as a sign of affection rather than as self-defence, and Frank can tell the difference. It is their love language.

10. When I write fanfiction, I often write important scenes when I think of them, and then write around them. Sometimes, it’s just one or two lines, for example I found this in my notes app the other day:

“I hate Hera,” Leo said, “She yeeted my dad off a cliff.”

“Yote,” Frank corrected.

And I had nothing written around it, nowhere to put it, it was just lying there. Anyway, that was important to share.

11. Also, I have this:

“I’m hugging you now,” Frank said, pulling Leo into an embrace and squeezing him tight.

“O- Okay, big guy,” Leo said, his voice muffled in Frank’s chest. His tiny body was practically swallowed in Frank’s bear-hug. He squirmed and fought and wriggled, but his weakling arms worked about as well as spaghetti against Frank’s brick-like build.

“No,” Frank insisted, “I will smother you with love and affection.”

“Get. Off.”

“No.”

“Let go of me, Zhang, or I’ll burn you.”

Frank let go. Leo rubbed his bruised arms.

12. I ship them platonically, but the joke-flirting is 1000% a thing they do. Hazel is the main pedaler of this, and often introduces them as “My boyfriend Frank, and Frank’s boyfriend Leo.”

13. Frank reluctantly admits to Leo that he likes Taylor Swift. Leo is obvs a swiftie, so absolutely goes MENTAL at this news, ofc ridicules him mercilessly for it, despite how hypocritical it makes him look (“This is not about me!”), but still insists they sit down with Hazel and make friendship bracelets (Frank no longer has the heart to tell him that he wasn’t actually a huge fan, just had a couple of her albums and liked her songs, unlike Leo who knows every word to every song, all the lore behind it, and Tay’s favourite colour, star sign, and shoe size.) AND I KNOW I HEADCANNON EVERYONE AS A SWIFTIE SHUT UP LET ME PROJECT.

14. Frank buys Leo fidget toys he think’s he’ll like. Sure, Leo can make his own, but it’s the sentiment that counts.

15. And they stay friends after the War. Frank frequently visits from New Rome University. They have long iris messages where they gossip and talk shit.

16. Leo becomes godfather to Frazel’s children. Absolutely SPOILS THEM ROTTEN (I also have a shit-tonne of hcs about Leo babysitting Percabeth’s kids, so lmk if you’d like to hear that.) Will visit the Zhang-Levesque household on the weekends, makes the kids gifts, teaches them how to safely use a fire extinguisher, helps them prank their dad.

17. I know Jason is meant to be Leo’s best friend BUT if Valgrace was cannon then that would leave room for Frank to be the BFF. NO BUT, YOUR HONOUR, YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND- They started out hating each other, but then became INSEPARABLE once they took the time to get to know each other and realised they were actually really cool people. It’s not enough for them to be friends, they need to be BEST FRIENDS. They need to be their ONE AND ONLY. They need to knock on each other’s cabin doors on the Argo II at 3am and have long discussions about Their Feelings. They need to be 100% comfortable with each other and tell each other everything. Yes, Leo is annoying but he is Frank’s annoyance. Yes, Frank is a goof but he’s Leo’s goof. BEST. FRIENDS.

They’re just such an unlikely pairing, I love them sm.

Thank you for sticking with me, I will not apologise for my ramblings, you were warned, but if you did make it to the end, here, have a sweet 🍬 You are clearly just as dedicated a Valzhang stan as I am (It is currently 00:54am where I live)

I will probably have a lot more Thoughts and Feelings coming your way soon, so don’t think for a second that I’ve got it all out of my system. I still haven’t finished the series yet, and I know that as soon as I post this I’ll think of something else that I should’ve added, but I hope this was enough for now.

(Also, I’m British, so I’d use a £20 (“twenty pound”) Note, in case you were curious.)

Again, thank you so much annon for the Ask- as you can see, I LOVE VALZHANG.

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monstersandmaw · 2 years

Text

Male ‘yautja inspired’ alien x gender neutral reader - Part Five (sfw)

Disclaimer which I’m including in all my works after plagiarism and theft has taken place: I do not give my consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted anywhere. They are copyrighted and belong to me.

___

Oops, I tripped over all your lovely comments from the last chapter and fell face-first into some plot. Sorry. Thank you for the sweet things you’ve said so far though. You’re absolutely wonderful people. Things move on a bit more in the next chapter, but there’s a reveal some of you have been waiting for in this one...

Aaaaand as I’ve said at the start of all of these chapters, this is NOT a yautja fanfic. Yes, they’re basically yautja to look at, but otherwise they’re just aliens I’ve made up that are inspired by all things predator. Don’t @ me with ‘corrections’ to the ‘lore’ - it’s my sandbox. I’m just making stuff up as usual.

Content: a bit of lore about Big Red and Croc’s species, a bit more about the aliens they’re hunting, and that reveal... Wordcount: 4804

Catch up here: Part One (sfw), Part Two (sfw), Part Three (sfw), Part Four (sfw)

The storm seemed to have cleared hours ago, and since the crashing of the ship had probably cleared all of the most vulnerable branches already, there was hardly any debris on the ground. A circle of bright blue sky showed above the pines, and the air that hit your lungs was fresh and clear and cold.

The clearing was muddy though, and at the centre of it like a little troll-mound in a mire, sat your faithful, military issue tent with a single golden leaf resting atop it like a rosette. “I’d give you Best in Show,” you muttered fondly to the sturdy canvas as you unzipped it, grateful that your field training had covered how to pitch a tent securely, even if you hadn’t needed any of the other things like basic weapons handling in the end. The loaded tranquiliser gun had remained securely in its holster inside the tent since your first night, and you hadn’t even had to unsheathe the machete for firewood, let alone for self-defence.

Croc was nowhere to be seen, and the clearing was otherwise silent. Big Red had remained behind in the crashed ship, tinkering with something in the crumpled bridge and comms area near the nose of the once ‘arrowhead shaped’ ship, and you left him there in case your awkward moment truly had made him uncomfortable. The memory of his hands on your skin, his arms wrapped tightly around you, the tease of his mandibles over your hair, the rumble of his breath, the solid presence of him pressed behind you in the dark… all of it swirled through you in a never-ending kaleidoscope of sense memories and you struggled to pull yourself back together.

When you’d been told to get close to the aliens, you were pretty sure that that mandate had not extended to sharing a bed with one of them and developing a sizable crush on him.

“Fuck.”

The idea of having to leave the next day made your stomach writhe, and the mood that morning in the camp was sombre. You had absolutely no intention of baring yourself to that frigid stream again so soon, so in the privacy of your tent, you freshened up with a few face wipes and mulled over everything you’d learned and everything that had happened.

During the course of the morning, Croc and Red continued to work together to pile up and sort out all the salvaged material from their ship, and while they worked, they chittered and clicked back and forth in quiet, private conversation. Croc, despite the loss of his entire left arm from the bicep down, barely seemed inconvenienced by it, and you marvelled again at the resilience of the species.

Sitting on a spare crate in the autumn sun, you took the opportunity to type up a load of notes on what you’d discovered of their species, and what they’d told you about their enemy here on Earth. The higher-ups would be particularly interested in that, you figured, so you made sure to get the details down as accurately as possible. The creatures were apparently highly aggressive, intelligent — though not as smart as their hunters or as humans — and their best guess at how they’d spread so very long ago was in the cargo bay of a mining ship that had travelled to one of the asteroids that the inhabitants of Secundus had once mined for ores and minerals. Much more recently, a rare swarm of hatchlings had decimated what Croc had called a ‘waystation’ — some kind of space hub — and had probably then hitch-hiked unnoticed on a scientific ship that had landed on Earth some ten years ago. Luckily, the creatures were relatively slow to reproduce, otherwise Earth could have been overrun before the hunters had even thought to check on it again.

“They’re not going to be pleased to know that your kind is responsible for them being here,” you muttered as you finished off another page.

Croc and Red shared a look, and Red nodded. “We have no solid proof that that’s how it happened. It is just a theory, but it’s why the High Council proposed that we extend aid to your planet in hunting them. So far, humans have reacted to our presence with… aggression, and it has been difficult to establish a stable contact between our species.”

“Until now,” you murmured, and they both nodded again. “You want me to take any particular message back then?” You doubted they were going to leave you with a direct number to call that led straight to this High Council, but it might represent the start of communications between species.

Big Red’s ship apparently had just such a communication stored in its data systems, but you had no way of transferring it to your phone. Human technology was apparently more ‘primitive’ than they’d anticipated, and it seemed like trying to copy a file from the cloud direct to a floppy disc. “I can play the audio from this —” he said, indicating his vambrace, “—and you can… record it,” he said with a nod at your phone. He regarded it like it was a fucking clay tablet, and you didn’t have the energy to argue with an alien over technology. Linguistics and communication was your strong suit, not tech.

“That should work,” you said. “Let’s try it.”

The quality of the audio was more than good enough, so you sat there and listened to it play out while he held his vambrace near enough to your phone that you could have reached out and touched his arm. The urge to do it — to let your fingers play over the textured marks, like cooling magma, on his shoulder and down his muscular arm towards his thick wrist — was enough to make your skin prickle. Instead, you focused on the words of the alien who was speaking on the recording.

“I am the Elder of the High Council,” the deep voice said, and you mouthed ‘female?’ at Red, who nodded. “You are receiving this communication because we have evidence that a dangerous, non-native, predatory creature has been sighted on your planet, and we wish to offer our assistance in exterminating it. For generations, we have hunted these creatures across space, and they are not easily defeated. Their saliva is corrosive, their venom lethal to almost every known species, their reactions are far quicker than even the fastest of your species can see, their stamina is unmatched by beast or machine, and their cruelty and delight in killing exceeds that of even the most dishonourable beings of the Great Species.”

At those last words, your brows pulled into a frown but Red shook his head to stop you interrupting with yet another question. Trusting that he would explain once you’d finished recording the audio, you sat tight and let it play out.

“We wish to send envoys to work with your people to eradicate these creatures before they take hold in your ecosystems. They cannot be destroyed by radiation. They cannot be poisoned or trapped. They can only be killed by the most skilled of warriors with the truest of aim and the deadliest weapons. The metals and alloys you currently use are insufficient to cause fatal damage to them. We will share our technology with you as a means of exterminating them. In return, we would ask that you cease hostile activities towards our ships and our people, release those you have captured, and return the bodies of those you have slain and stolen to desecrate by primitive investigative procedures. Allow our few fallen warriors the honour of a return to the elements, and we will assist you against this threat that will surely destroy you if you leave it unchecked. Send your response via any of the Ambassadors we have sent to your planet.”

You noted she didn't say that the creatures had thumbed a ride on one of their own spaceships, but you could see why she’d left that out. No need to antagonise the humans any more than necessary to start with. When Big Red tapped his vambrace and the recording fell silent, you stared at him for a long moment, questions spinning through your mind like dry autumn leaves.

“Great Species?” you asked, picking one at random as it swirled past.

Red jabbed his thumb absently against his chest. “We are one of five Great Species so far discovered that have intelligence that matches or exceeds our own. Your kind is one of them.”

“Oh,” you exhaled, then, “Five?”

“The other three have expressed little interest in humans, believing you primitive and unworthy of inclusion. You have barely begun to explore space while we have been travelling between systems for thousands of years already.”

“Right,” you exhaled. Fuck. “‘Ambassadors’?”

“Those of us who have come to your planet,” he explained. “There is a mothership waiting beyond your detection, but our… ‘commander’—” he said for want of a better translation, “— has sent down very few ships to the surface so far. We do not wish to overwhelm…” he said dryly. He waited while you let it all sink in, with his shoulders hunched and his mandibles soft around his jaw. It was a lot.

“You know the scientists back at base are going to kill me for not getting, like, tissue samples and blood work from you two. I haven’t even got a photo.”

Big Red cocked his head, and Croc looked up from where he’d been studying the screen on his own vambrace which he’d propped up on a crate instead of on his arm, presumably because it was designed to sit on his left arm, which he no longer had. “I’m not giving you any samples,” he grinned with a lascivious flare of his mouth that was oddly suggestive of a waggle of a human’s eyebrows, “And the Boss won’t either if he knows what’s good for him…” he added pointedly, “But you could take a photograph.”

“You wouldn’t mind?” you asked, looking back to Red.

He snorted and shook his head. “A few still images are not going to give away the secrets of our entire species. And we have hours of footage of you already,” he added, indicating his vambrace. “Anything my mask has seen of you is stored here.”

“Oh. That’s…” You weren’t sure exactly how you felt about that, but you figured if you were going to learn about each other, you’d both need some kind of data. “If I asked you to get rid of it, would you?”

They exchanged a look, and Red nodded slowly. Croc hissed at him, but Big Red stood firm and clicked his mandibles into a retort, at which Croc backed down, though only reluctantly. “Yes,” Red told you. “I would remove it.”

“Even if it meant disobeying direct orders,” Croc muttered as he got to his feet and stalked off in the direction of the ship.

“No, it’s fine,” you said quickly. “You can keep it. I trust you. So long as you didn’t record me naked in the stream…”

“I already removed that,” Big Red said carefully. “I had it set to thermal imaging, but you were hardly visible anyway because the water was so cold.”

Your heart skipped a beat, and you puffed the air out of your lungs and laughed quietly. “Ok… Well, thank you.” Then you asked about something that had snagged your attention and stuck there like a burr since you’d heard it. “Red, what did she mean when she talked about releasing captives and returning bodies?”

At that, Big Red tensed. “Surely you know?” he asked in a whisper.

Shaking your head, you stared between Red nearby and Croc beside the ship. “Know what? Secret government experiments on aliens is for tinfoil hat conspiracy theorists… right?”

He didn’t look like he’d understood any of that, but he said after a moment, “Not all of us who came to Earth have left again afterwards. In five years, several of your countries… have managed to take warriors before we could initiate our… self-destruct function here,” he said with another wiggle of his vambrace. “Two have been captured alive, and at least six of our fallen… have not been accounted for.”

“Shit,” you hissed, feeling sick. Of course governments were studying them. God, you were naive to have thought otherwise even for a second, and another question left your lips before you could stop it. “Do you know which countries? Which… governments?”

He nodded.

“Ours?”

Again, he nodded. “Yours has two fallen and one living warrior that we know of.”

“Shit.” You swallowed and then reached for his arm at last, squeezing his hard muscles as tightly as you could. “Red, I don’t know how much I can help, but I swear I’ll do what I can to get them safely back to you. I swear it.”

With a soft, crooning chitter, he raised his other hand and cupped your face with his huge, rough palm. The pads of his fingers against your skin were textured like tiny ripples in the sand. His touch was careful and gentle, and he cradled your jaw and stroked his thumb across your cheek with a tenderness that left you aching inside and out as he keened softly and purred.

Your eyes fluttered closed and you leaned into the contact unconsciously.

When Big Red spoke next, his voice was low and gravelly, and the clicking of his tusks over the words made something spark deep inside you. “You are kind, and honourable. I… believe you will do as you say.”

“I will, Red,” you growled. “I promise.”

Even Croc, who was quick to crack a crass joke when things got heavy, stood and watched you for a long time before gently clicking something at his boss, who laughed quietly, almost sadly, and nodded. He stood and said, “Come. Take your photograph?”

It took a moment for you to gather yourself after such an open display of tenderness, but when you had rallied, you asked them to stand in front of the hole in the ship, side by side beneath the tarpaulin. They did, and after you’d taken one or two with them just standing there, Croc suddenly wrapped his arm around Big Red’s waist, pulled him close, opened his mandibles wide, and stuck his long, dark green tongue under the edge of Red’s mask.

Somehow you captured the exact moment his tongue touched Big Red, and you kept clicking as Red rounded on him in surprised disgust, looming right over him with his own mouth flared wide. He kicked Croc’s knees out from under him and Croc went down like a felled tree, though you could see that Red made sure he landed on his good side.

“You can’t even stand for a photo without causing trouble, Croc!” you called and he raised his head to look up at you, then flared his mouth with a horrible shriek, and collapsed theatrically back down to spread-eagle himself on the ground like he was making a snow angel. Luckily the rain hadn’t touched that part of the clearing because of the tarpaulin overhead and the way the ground sloped away from the ship, and when Big Red had hauled Croc back up to his feet, he brushed pine needles from his friend’s mottled back and thick ‘braids’, slapping him once on the backside a little too hard.

Croc snickered something in Red’s direction that sounded like the universal ‘I’ll get you for that later’. Big Red just shook his head, the motion making his long, thin ‘braids’ sway across the bare, ochre and black skin of his broad, muscular back. It struck you yet again how beautiful you found him, and you swallowed thickly as a choking mix of disappointment and anxiety boiled up your throat and threatened to smother you. You wanted to stay here in the woods with them just a few days longer, but it was simply impossible. You were almost out of food for one, and for another, their rescuers would arrive the following day.

As perceptive as ever, the two friends both paused as one and looked at you, quirking their heads in perfect synchrony to one side. It was so sweet you almost cried. “It’s nothing,” you croaked and turned back to your crate to continue making notes. “Thank you for the photos.” And for the best few days of my life.

Your emotions began to settle somewhat as the day wore on, and sometime in the late afternoon, Croc came over and startled the life out of you by tapping you on the arm with the back of his right hand. You looked up sheepishly from your work and smiled at him, and he cocked his head to the side. “You did not hear me? I called your name.”

“Sorry,” you said, closing the app and locking your phone. “I can get kind of lost in what I’m doing. Did you want something?”

“Come and join us again?” He looked over his shoulder and you discovered that they’d rekindled the little campfire, and Red was now sitting on a metal crate, cleaning a rifle that matched the blaster that Croc had serviced the previous day.

His focus seemed completely locked into the task and you smiled. “Looks like I’m not the only one who gets fixated on something,” you muttered and Croc grinned with his mouth flared wide again to reveal the pinkish, inner flesh of the stretching membrane between the mandibles. It looked so delicate, so at odds with the rest of his tough, solid body.

Staring at Big Red while he worked, you found another question crystallising on your tongue. “You said that you and Red are from different planets,” you began quietly. “Are you different species too? You’re just so different, that’s all,” you added to try and clarify a little.

“Yes,” he said. “We are different. Boss’ — Big Red’s — kind are very rare.”

“He said he comes from a desert environment…”

Croc inclined his head and crouched down beside you so that you didn’t have to crick your neck up to look at him from your crate. “Yes. Most of our kind who live on Secundus left the desert generations ago. Not many can survive those conditions now. The light is too strong for our eyes.”

“Is that why he wears a mask that covers them?”

“Yes,” he said, continuing in his faltering way as he struggled to articulate the human speech around his delicate mandibles. He was already much more fluent than he had been just a day or so ago though. “They hunt at night, so their heat-sensing abilities… are much more accurate than ours… but their ability to detect the rest of the spectrum… is poor. Boss is also shy about his face though,” he added with a snickering chitter of his mandibles.

“He is? Why? You’re not…” you said, indicating his spiny, mottled face looking up at you mere feet from your own.

“Desert species are tough and ugly,” Croc said matter-of-factly. “That’s why no one wants to breed with them, and why no one wants to see what’s under their masks,” he went on, and when your face showed open shock at his callous tone, he laughed. “I like him,” he said in the same way that someone might say ‘the face only a mother could love’, “But even the humans we’ve met before think he’s ugly. To be fair, they said the same… of me too,” he added, scowling as though their judgement was very poor indeed for that.

“You’ve met humans before?” you asked, gears spinning.

He nodded. “They did not speak your language, but I had learned theirs. We came to this part of the world afterwards to study the differences.”

“So you’re like a science mission?” Like Star Trek, you mused, but didn’t say it.

Croc clicked out the sequence of sounds that made up the name of their fallen squad-mate, and then continued, “— was what you’d call the scientist... He had only a little combat training. Always a very bad fighter… We were to protect him while he studied the humans in these parts.”

You got the impression that actually all three of them had been an odd bunch of misfits, like nerds in the school yard, and it endeared them to you even more. Croc clearly missed his fallen lover dearly, though he was keeping his grief private. “But there are no humans in these parts,” you croaked, chest aching for them and the loss of their friend.

At that, Croc scoffed loudly enough that Red paused in his work at last and looked up. You both glanced over at him but he soon dipped his attention back down to the blaster. “We didn’t mean to stop here,” he said with exasperation in his rough, rasping voice. “One of your missiles got a lucky shot… hit us over the ocean and… we came down here…”

You stayed quiet, still mentally scrambling in silence.

Red didn’t want to show you his face because the last human who had seen it had thought him hideous, and even his own kind found him unattractive. He was gorgeous though, in his rough-hewn, primal way, and he had been so tender and so kind to you ever since that single display of strength when he’d thought you a threat to his squad-mate. How could anyone find him unattractive?

Setting your phone down on the crate, you stood and reached for Croc’s shoulder while he was still crouched — the one that wasn’t still healing — and you squeezed his neck gently. “Thanks, Croc. I’m so sorry about your squad mate. Red told me you were all… close; that you grew up together.”

He chuffed something and nuzzled his cheek affectionately against your arm.

The moment passed and you strode determinedly over to Red, who was deliberately not looking in your direction. He was also very obviously done with the rifle, though he still fiddled and futzed about with it. “Mind if I join you?”

He shook his head and you plonked yourself down beside him on the spare box where Croc had been sitting, and looked across at the vambrace that covered Red’s left wrist. He tracked your gaze and then looked away again. After a while, when he showed no sign of starting up a conversation, you brought your fingertips to the cold metal and ran them along the border of the small, dark screen. It flared to life, showing the red, cuneiform markings of their language, and you paused.

“What else does this do?” you asked, thinking back to the recording it had played a few hours earlier.

He did look at you then and opened his mandibles a little in a gesture that you’d come to associate with a human’s eyebrow raise: softly amused surprise. “It… It interfaces with our helmets…” he said, and when you looked expectantly at him, he sighed and tapped it. “This is the control for some of our weapons guidance systems. This,” he said, tapping it a few more times with his black-clawed finger to make a different series of marks appear on the screen, “Changes the… the ‘projection’… that the mask shows me. It will play back footage, or show me different wavelengths in real time.”

You nodded slowly. “So when you showed me that scene of the enemy in the jungle… you chose wavelengths that I could make sense of?” Your tongue stalled at the memory of that creepy, black outline in the trees and the violent delight it had taken in stabbing one of Big Red’s kind to death in the forest of Prime. “That wasn’t how you saw it at the time?”

He inclined his head. “Exactly.”

“Could you show me how you see the world? With the mask, I mean?”

Big Red went very still, and for a moment you thought you’d pushed it too far, but then he said, “Close your eyes.”

You obeyed, and a few seconds later, the vaguely familiar feel of the mask pressed against your face. It obviously didn't fit you the way it did him, but your skin still tingled, and even though your eyes remained shut, an image showed before you and you gasped.

It was Red, but not as you recognised him.

The thermal imaging rendered the outlines and details of his body blurred, like a painting in mostly primary colours, and after holding up your own arm for reference — appearing in bright orange and yellows — you looked across to study him properly. His ‘dreads’ were a cool blue, and his indistinct face was a mix of greens, yellows, and blues, with deep eye sockets and a much narrower skull than Croc. The white points of his eyes in the blue of the sockets were the warmest part of him.

You looked in open fascination until he raised his arm and held out his hand, clearly demanding it back, and you let him draw the mask off you, all with your eyes still closed. After all, he’d allowed you the same courtesy when you’d felt vulnerable and naked in the waterfall. Was this really so different?

He purred something when he clearly discovered that you were still not looking directly at him, and he surprised you by trailing his knuckles sweetly along your jawline from the hinge near your ear down to your chin. “You can look,” he rasped.

Opening your eyes slowly, you discovered that he had not replaced the mask.

Your jaw slackened and your breath caught at your first proper sight of him.

Calling him ‘Red’ was even more fitting than you’d first thought now that you could actually see his face. He had a thick, softly-blurred, crimson stripe down the centre of his large, brown and ochre head, and a series of horizontal, ripple-like patterns led down like the rungs of a ladder between his deep-set eyes to the pits above his mouth that looked like nostrils. His lips were non-existent — any flesh there was pulled back by the way his mandibles sat neatly on either side of his narrow jaws to expose his bony, pink gums. Four chunky, jagged teeth that looked perfect for ripping out throats whole lined the front of his upper and lower jaws.

His eyes, rimmed with delicate, black skin that was vaguely reminiscent of smudged eyeliner, were small, tapered, and almond-shaped, but they sat angled in his skull so that they were almost vertical where a human’s were horizontal, and his irises were a gorgeous, magma orange with a small, black pupil and the hint of black sclera around the edges. He stared at you, unblinking, while you drank in the sight of him with your lips softly parted. Occasionally, his mandibles twitched, reminding you of a human nervously chewing on their lips.

“Red,” you breathed. “You’re… stunning.”

His chest rose and fell in rapid, shallow pants, and his wheezy way of breathing felt tighter and more apprehensive. He kept his body tense and still, as though expecting a blow he didn't intend to fend off.

“Croc —” you cleared the lump out of your throat and started again. “Croc said it’s an honour to see one of you without a mask,” you said carefully.

Big Red still didn’t move.

“Thank you, Red.”

Finally, he gave a huge, rolling sigh. The tension drained from him, and he shook his head slightly as if he couldn’t quite believe what he’d just done. Slowly, he replaced the mask over his face. “Now you know,” he said.

You frowned.

He sounded dejected.

He sounded like he regretted showing you his face.

You reached quickly for his left forearm and squeezed the solid muscle. For the first time, you noticed that he had a black dew claw on his thick wrist, almost hidden by a little nick that had been styled out of the vambrace to accommodate it. Your thumb caressed the nail bed around the base of it and he shivered slightly. “Thank you, Red,” you said again as you released your hold on his arm. “Thank you for trusting me.”

With yet another sigh, he shook his head again and twittered his mandibles into a disbelieving little laugh. “You are strange… human,” he snorted, standing up abruptly.

“You’re not the first to say so,” you mumbled.

Sensing he needed space again, you fought down a tide of disappointment that he was leaving immediately, and stayed put beside the fire.

When you looked around, you discovered that Croc was watching you in perfect stillness on the other side of the clearing, his expression tense and unreadable.

Hope that wasn’t too boring and lore-heavy. Things move on a bit more with the next one, I promise. Thanks for sticking with it, and your comments/asks/reblogs/tags are giving me life at the moment, you have no idea.

Next chapter -->

If you happen to have a couple of bucks spare, you could always drop a tip on my Ko-fi, but reblogs are just as welcome and just as helpful! I look forward to your reactions to this, and I hope you’re just as keen for part six!

| Masterlist | Ko-fi (tip jar)

#yautja #yautja inspired #yautja x human #male yautja #male yautja x reader #yautja x reader #gender neutral reader #gn reader #male monster #exophilia #alien boyfriend #monster boyfriend #monster lover #alien x reader #alien x human #predator x human #feral predator inspired #feral predator

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myfandomrealitea · 6 months

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"Understanding that fiction is not reality. It does not create victims."

I don't know if I can agree with that, there definitely have been instances where shipping has created victims, real people shipping to be exact.

Both Harry Styles & Lois Tomlinson from One Direction and Camila Cabello & Lauren Jauregui from Fifth Harmony have publicly spoken about how fans shipping them put a major strain on their respective friendships and how they would like fans to stop.

Ofc most ships will never reach the amount of popularity needed to actually become a real life problem, but it is possible.

Fiction does not create real victims in that if I write about someone being raped, nobody is actually getting raped. Nobody is a victim of what happens within my fanfiction.

Just like the very legal defence of how thoughts are not actual crimes. I can think about overthrowing the government. But it only becomes an actual crime if I prepare to, or try to.

Likewise, I can write about all the murder I want. It doesn't make me an actual murderer.

Fiction does not create real victims.

Fanfiction itself is not to blame for how actual, real people, interact with and expose content to other real people. It wasn't people writing fanfiction who made those celebrities uncomfortable. It was the actions of the people who bombarded them with inappropriate content and interactions.

Mark Fischbach and Sean McLoughlin are a prime example of this. They knew people shipped them. They knew people wrote explicit fanfiction and drew explicit fanart. They didn't care. It was a separate part of their fandom they did not involve themselves in.

It only began to cause, as you say, real life problems when certain people began to harass their real life partners over it, began to tag them in or send them explicit content, and began to try forcing Mark and Sean to actually fanservice them.

Mark and Sean didn't ask people to stop shipping them. They asked people to stop forcing the ship on them in real life. They asked people not to harass their partners, not to send them explicit pornography, and not to force them to change how they behave in order to make it easier to construe it as romantic or sexual.

What people do with content will always be more inherently harmful than the actual content itself.

That is, again, why respect is such a huge part of proshipping and the RPF community. Why there are certain rules we follow and processes we follow in order to not be those people. The heavy emphasis on why things like tagging are so important is not only for our sakes, but for the sakes of the people we are using creatively. The only way they can avoid certain content is if we religiously give them the tools and meet the criteria they need us to in order to be able to.

#sephiroth speaks #myfandomrealitea #reality #fandom #not discourse #or is this bordering on discourse #proshipping #proship #fanfiction #fanart #there's this weird trend between modern social media censoring things into oblivion #and fans somehow becoming even more disrespectful of real people

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gothimp · 23 days

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Book Recommendation Tag Game 📚

The last book I read:

The Greatest Hits of Harlan Ellison (edition with the foreward by Neil Gaiman and Cassandra Khaw). With the random online resurgence of I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (and some of the worst takes I’ve ever had the misfortune of seeing) I had to re-read some Ellison to assure myself we’d read the same material… but yeah. Highly recommend. 👍👍

A book I recommend

Pretty much everything in this post, but specifically this year I’ve gotten like four of my friends to read The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. It’s an easy read sci fi with so much heart, easily one of my new favorites.

A book I couldn’t put down

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid. I read it last year in one sitting and still think about it like once a week. The love interest really resonated with me and this book genuinely made me feel sick to my stomach from how well some of the content was portrayed.

A book I’ve read twice (or more)

I am not typically a re-reader but I have an extensive collection of John Keats and Percy Shelley, a lot of their works I have read and re-read and own several versions of.

A book on my TBR

Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees! I actually added this to my TBR because of a video Tim Downie made a while back and I just haven’t gotten to it yet because I’ve limited my new books until we make our cross-country move.

A book/series I’ve put down

Too many to count, I’m a notorious DNF-er. Finishing a book/series I’m fairly sure I’ll dislike usually just feels like a waste of time to me when there’s so many books I want to read. Here’s just a short list of recent ones, no offense if this is anyone’s favorite: The Dresden Files (hate Jim Butcher’s self insert and don’t like the mash of lazy lore he uses), Everything SJM (read her when I was in HS but she continually ruins the only characters I like and the author is just in general not a good person), Iron Flame (I hated fourth wing, rated it 2 stars, don’t know why I even tried other than it just being absolutely everywhere)

A book on my wishlist

The Djinn Waits A Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan and Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia have both been on my list for a while and as soon as we move they’ll be some of the first I grab physical copies of

A favorite book from childhood

HOLES BY LOUIS SACHAR 📢📢📢 my childhood copy was so well loved that it was missing its front and back cover I love this book so much. Also a shoutout to two of my other childhood favorites: Howl’s Moving Castle and Maximum Ride.

A book you would give to a friend

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb. I love the liveship trilogy so much that I always keep two copies of Ship of Magic. One is my personal copy of the first edition cover that matches the rest of my trilogy, the other has the newer cover and I lend that one out to friends.

A book of poetry or lyrics you own

I have several collections of John Keats and Percy Shelley. A personal favorite is my copy that has my annotated “A Defence of Poetry”

A non-fiction book you own

My Philosophy of Religion anthology that has my Kierkegaard annotations

What are you currently reading

One for my Enemy by Olivie Blake, I needed a palate cleanser after Ellison

What do you plan to read next

Bridgerton has me in the mood for romance and I have A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft and Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater unpacked from my physical TBR right now for summer reads. If my romance mood ends before then I’ll finally start Chlorine by Jade Song

tagged by @rosenfey thank you for giving me an excuse to ramble about books! 🩵📚✨

tag list (add/remove post in pinned): @nokstella @rindemption @katsigian @lestatlioncunt @mapeslyrup

@feykiller @werewolfspatula @archonfurina @haarleps @razz-berry

@elvves @estevnys @dragonologist-phd @superhaught

@avallachs @leopardmuffinxo @devilbrakers @pitchmoss @dekarios

#tag games #nes.txt

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inevitably-johnlocked · 3 months

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Not a BBC Sherlock fan anymore, but absolutely love Sherlock Holmes and Holmes/Watson content in other adaptations.

So, alas, blacklisting the BBC Sherlock tag doesn't really help, because I am still interested in Sherlock Holmes, and not everyone tags their posts as BBC Sherlock specifically when they post something related to it (not blaming anyone for that - I get how tiring it can be to tag the whole thing everytime you post/reblog something - but still.)

I can't even filter the johnlock tag (despite not shipping johnlock in the show anymore) because even people who post Holmes/Watson posts in other adaptations, they tag those as johnlock too (like granada johnlock, etc.) and I don't want to be missing out on them.

I'm not really going anywhere with this hehe. Just a rambling. I still seeing my old friends from the BBC Sherlock fandom (you included) on my dash.

Have a good day!

Hey Nonny *hugs*

Ugh, I'm sorry that searching has become harder for you. I can understand the frustration you're having... perhaps instead you need to filter further NOT by ship tags but by relationships?

If you go to AO3's search page start narrowing it down by Fandom:

This example I just typed Sherlock, so you could choose the specific fandom or various fandom (you can select multiple ones, it will show up with an "x" next to it, then just start typing another one).

THEN, scroll down a bit more, and select from the "Relationship" section:

The "/" means romantic ship (a "slash ship") and the "&" is a platonic / friendship ship (note that some "pre-slash" fics tag them with the ampersand). That should help narrow down your search a lot more than just typing in tags.

In fairness, a LOT of authors use "Sherlock Holmes and Related Fandoms" tag BECAUSE it is an umbrella fandom, so you HAVE to narrow it down more to the specific adaptation you're looking for fics for. Using both seems to work better, I find.

And in defence of authors, Johnlock is the most-known ship tag for them, so you WILL get everything from everywhere. You're best off to make SURE you're using the relationship filter to narrow it down rather than just typing in "Johnlock" as a general tag search.

Unless of course this is ALL already what you're doing then I'm just a fool who can't read LOL 🙃

That all said, I am sorry you're having a hard time finding what you need (and to be fair, my blog isn't the best place to find non-BBC Johnlock fics, LOL) BUT I do really appreciate you still enjoying my content enough to follow me although BBCS isn't your jam anymore <3

I hope I helped a BIT, and it's totally okay to come here and ramble. Surely there are other kindred spirits and maybe your ask helped them find what they're looking for <3

Have a fantastic day, Nonny *hugs*

#steph replies #my tutorials #ao3 things #ao3 #chatting with nonnies #you're always welcome to vent here nonny #fandom life #fandom things

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septima-severa · 3 months

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I finished reading Thrawn...

Oh my God.

Don't give Eli Vanto a cigarette, give him a full shipping container of them instead.

What the heck have I just read? This story is... very interesting, to say the least. I have fallen down the Thrawn rabbit hole deeper than I had anticipated, and well, curiosity killed the cat as they say. Before this, I knew only a few things: he is a Chiss, he held the rank of Senior Captain with the Chiss Expansionary Defence Fleet (for that I have to thank my rather shallow digging on Tumblr, not the Ascendancy books that I might or might not read sometime in the future), and the Empire found him exiled on some godforsaken planet. Except that this man claimed almost at the end of the book, while "negotiating" with the Nightswan on Batonn, that he hadn't been sent to exile by his own people in the first place. Now I can say that I don't understand a blasted thing here. So, had he been exiled, or was it a ploy to probe at the Empire's existence to deem whether sleazy Palpatine was a future threat to the Chiss Ascendancy, or what the heck is going on here?

Also, I got more than I bargained for. I guess sending Eli Vanto, whom Thrawn nurtured for bridge officer corps instead of Eli's dreamed career with some supply chain, to the Ascendancy made sense in a way. Right now, I still know nothing about the Chiss, but the whiff I caught around the internet tells me that they might be superior to the Empire also in the navy training... Well, I guess I'm fine with that.

But Arihnda Pryce. I've never watched Rebels, and I knew her only from some stories circling around. And I've never liked that woman. Then Zahn describes her as a badass who learned how to cheat politicians in the best school of life (by that I mean Coruscant, of course), and I liked that idea. Shows nicely that the Empire has the same plague going on in high places as the Republic. But then she pulls that crazy stunt at Batonn in the end? I hate her. And I take it very personally. How dare she? What will she gain from butchering a whole mine of people? Was her murdering the ISB agent the only motive necessary to detonate the explosives? Really, this was some arc I didn't anticipate.

It was almost laughable how Thrawn went through one court-martial after another, only to have the charges dropped and himself promoted. It might be hilarious to read the scenes of those court-martials themselves. Except there weren't any direct ones. What a pity.

And tell me, why was ISB Colonel Yularen satisfied with that simplistic explanation of Thrawn's? And did he eavesdrop to the entire conversation with Nightswan or not? It would be funnier if he held the blueberry man at the blaster point for some time longer. Like... Those about ten pages of this scene were the best of the whole story, to my opinion, and I would gladly have them framed on my wall if I wasn't bristling over the idea of destroying a book. That was some content giving me chills and laugh of my recent life, both at the same time. And it also left me immensely hungry for another serving. I just need to know where this story will lead the reader to!

Frankly, not many books do this specific thing to me. Maybe because I generally avoid reading a series, because these started growing madly like mushrooms after the rain, and we know what some authors do to their readers: abuse their trust by postponing the next book, giving lame excuses (we are looking at you, G.R.R. Martin, you are the leading jerk of them) - or they write so quickly I can't read their rather sloppy story anymore. How lucky for me that this Thrawn trilogy has been published already. And it's not sloppy at all.

Let's go read some more!

Maybe I will then abandon my wish to play a round or two of Dejarik with this warlord mastermind.

#star wars #grand admiral thrawn #thrawn #book review

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enigmatictypos · 1 year

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My Very Own Blog!!!!!

Hiiii I'm Sara!! Sooooo after a world of contemplation i decided to finally start my own sickfic, hurt/comfort blog!!!!! Woohoo (i know that was cringey 😭 but in my defence I'm excited)

A special thanks to @pokemonispain for their amazing content and offering me my much needed inspiration and longing to be able to start this blog!

So starting off I mainly write emeto, fevers, faintings, injuries and stuff but I'm more than willing to delve into other genres and such! Feel free to put in your requests and I'll try my best to provide!!

Here's some of the fandoms and characters I'd be best at writing as per my current analysis of my capabilities!!

Genshin Impact :: Aether, Scaramouche, Tighnari, Kaveh, Kaeya, Ayato, Childe, Thoma, Venti, Xiao, Xingqiu, Al Haitham, Beidou, Ningguang, Sara and ostensibly more!!

Mo Dao Zu Shi :: Wei Ying, Jiang Cheng, Wen Ning, Lan Xichen, Nie Mingjue, Xiao Xingchen and I'm open to exploring more characters too!!

Heaven Official's Blessing :: Xie Lian, Feng Xin, Mu Qing, Hua Cheng, He Xuan, Shi Qingxuan

My Hero Academia :: Bakugou Katsuki, Todoroki Shoto, Kirishima Eijiro, Aizawa Shota, Jirou Kyoka, Todoroki Fuyumi, Dabi, Geten, Amajiki Tamaki and more!!

Haikyuu :: Oikawa Tooru, Sugawara Koushi, Yaku Morisuke, Semi Eita, Hinata Shoyo, Yahaba Shigeru and more!

Blue Lock (honestly a very high writing muse) :: Mikage Reo, Nagi Seishiro, Chigiri Hyouma, Bachira Meguru, Yukimiya Kenyu, Itoshi Sae, Itoshi Rin and more!!!

Sk8 :: Kyan Reki, Chinen Miya, Sakurayashiki Kaoru, Hasegawa Langa, Kikuchi Tadashi

Fate Anime Series : Tohsaka Rin, Shirou Emiya, Fujimaru Ritsuka, Gilgamesh, Enkidu, Kingu, Ishtar, Ereshkigal

Seraph of the End : Hiiragi Shinya, Ichinose Guren, Ferid Bathory, Hyakuya Mikaela, Sanguu Mitsuba, Jujo Mito

Free!! : Nanase Haruka, Serizawa Nao, Matsuoka Rin, Tachibana Makoto, Hazuki Nagisa, Ryugazaki Rei, Kirishima Natsuya, Kirishima Ikuya, Hiyori Toono and more!!!

(Red = Highest muse)

I write works for both romantic and platonic ships so feel free to request in any combination!! If I'm uncomfortable with writing anything I'll let you know!!

These are honestly just some of the ones I'm highest musing right now ajdhksjfj so please do drop requests for me to work on.

Feel free to text me whenever you wish and my inbox is always open for friendly faces!!

#sickfic #new blog #genshin impact #haikyū!!#free!!#blue lock #mo dao zu shi #tian guan ci fu #fate stay night #fate go #writing #my hero academia #boku no hero acedamia #sk8 anime #owari no seraph #seraph of the end #mxm romance #sara writes

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darkened-storm · 7 months

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Controversial post incoming.

This post is a long time coming, and unfortunately in response to more recent events of bullying and harassment in this fandom.

First off I’d like to start by reminding everyone that nobody owns the internet and you are contributing to a loud, but very small corner of it. That being said, there is more than enough room for all of us to coexist without rubbing each other the wrong way.

In that vein I suggest to you, if you see something that you don’t like, move along without comment, and if you feel the need to, go scream into a pillow rather than into the posters comment box or inbox. There are very few creators left in this community, and we need to value, respect and treasure their contributions in every aspect. Despite the age of this fandom, they have been loyal followers and contributors, some for over 20 years.

My next point being in defence of other OC content creators like myself. For many, many years, we have copped a large amount of hate, some warranted, but in most cases, completely uncalled for. A lot of that has to do with the characters that OCs are often paired with because it messes with a certain group of fans beloved ships. Again I remind you that the internet is a big place, there’s room for ALL of our content.

So many times, people have come to me and said they are afraid to post OC content because they don’t want to be flamed. To them I say, screw everyone and post what you want. No one has a right to tell you what you can and can’t post! And furthermore, flaming or harassing people for posting OC content is just plain childish - and considering that most of you like myself would be over 25, in the words of Obi-Wan Kenobi; you want to go home and rethink your life.

Lastly, since when has and OC content creator EVER stepped out of their lane and harrassed someone for posting another pairing? The majority of us that cop the hate and flack have never done anything more than post our own content. We keep to ourselves, post our content and leave the rest of the fandom to itself.

Peace out

#beyblade #beyblade fandom #childish behaviour #stay in your lane #go home and rethink your life #you don’t own the internet

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isaksbestpillow · 1 year

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Tag 9 people you want to get to know better

The lovely @summersinpuglia tagged me in this and I'm gonna do it now before I forget!

Three Ships

I can't choose??? I've written and posted and read fic in multiple fandoms. I just posted a Jim/Wen coda the other day because their circumstances resonate with me. I was in a relationship once where I wanted to get out for quite a while yet when I finally found the words to say it we still continued to live together for several months because it was such a long ending and oh it was bad. So what resonates with me isn't always just the positives.

First Ship

Does this mean the first ship I sought out fic in? Because I've been at this for a long time haha. It was Harry/Ron but in my defence I was 14 and going through my first gay crush on a friend.

Last Song

It's Okay to be Afraid of the Universe by Hammock followed by Koti (home) by Ultramariini (it's a niche finnish language song). I'm vibing with that song right now because it fits the Jimwen fic I wrote/want to write so well haha. (the lyrics go suunnitelmia toiveunia piirrustuksia / odotuksia tulevaisuus täynnä toivoa / kuvitelmia meistä kahdesta talon katolla / joka puolella samanlaisia rakennuksia / nyt koti on muuttunut vankilaksi / plans pipe dreams drawings / expectations the future full of hope / illusions of the two of us on the rooftop / similar buildings all around us / now home has become a prison)

Last Movie

Supernova

Currently Reading

I'm in the middle of five books right now, I need a less chaotic reading routine.

Currently Watching

Moonlight Chicken This show is the moment!! Showstopping spectacular etc. It was made specifically for me. I'm so impressed by how much queer content on Gmmtv has improved just in the past couple of years!!! 2gether was the first bl of theirs that I saw when it was huge but now it can't even hold a candle to most of the stuff they put out. I honestly don't get some of the hate Gmmtv gets. Yeah they have flaws but it's strange to me that some people are still bringing up the same old fetishization and queerbaiting accusations when we had two bls directed by two different trans women just in the past year and half of their directors and managers and writers are gay like what on earth are you talking about at this point.

My School President I just started this because people on tumblr told me to! I'm enjoying it so far! Previous argument still stands, Gmmtv has come so far.

Never Let Me Go I need to catch up!! I'm always and episode or two behind because Nüng keeps annoying me lol. But it's okay!! The scenes are so pretty and I do like the story. I think I'd appreciate it more if I were more familiar with the old Thai shows it's paying homage to, right now some of the nostalgia element is lost on me.

The Warp Effect I'm taking a break because I've had so many transvaginal ultrasounds this year the obgyn content has become triggering to me lol. I hope to get back to it soon!!

Currently Consuming

I am drinking rooibos tea while waiting for the washing machine to finish so I can go to bed.

Currently Craving

What don't I crave, now that'd be easier to list haha. I'm having really bad pms, I want to eat everything while banging my head onto a wall. In other cravings, I'm looking forward to warmer weather. May is my favourite month where I live and I hope I'll have regained my hormonal cycle by then. That's what I crave the most honestly. Hormonal balance!!! I remain optimistic because my condition has improved a lot even though I still get this dull pain. A couple of weeks ago I had to take a valium to calm down and I cried on the phone with my dad so compared to that I'm doing so much better.

Tagging everyone!!

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laviejaguardia · 10 months

Note

i'm like four days late for this but if you're still doing the WIP folder thing I'd love to know what EDM could be about!

Never too late!! thank you lovee <3

EDM is the doc where I keep everything Diabolik-related I've written! The name came from the kenzarelli ship Eva/Diabolik/Majid that came about in a server but now the doc also has my Diabolik/Eva fics

I write in it sporadically and just for myself/three more people but I really enjoy it! It's a very different experience than most stuff I've done and a good way to explore

here's a couple snippets if you want them :)

Eva/Diabolik

He can't believe it most days that she chooses to be with him. That she chooses a life of lairs and danger, hiding and fleeing over the life of leisure and relaxing he stole her from all those years ago. He might be a thief but it was her who stole his breath, his soul and his heart all at once. Il vero più grande colpo. Her chest rises and falls with her breathing, a soft content smile on her graceful lips, like even asleep she can feel his gaze on her. It is well into the morning, he's already had breakfast, worked out and got a mask done. Eva has slept. And in between tasks, Diabolik has slithered into their bedroom to steal glances of her. He just needed to make sure she was okay. She shuffles in her sleep, getting comfortable and her nightshift rises up her hip, baring satin and creamy skin.

Eva/Diabolik/Majid

When Diabolik and Eva return, much later and dressed to the nines as usual, he's on the living room couch watching MMA, twirling knife in hand. His movements have steadily lost their clumsiness and he can now do the basic ones with both his hands again. He needs to pace himself or he'll do more harm than good but it feels nice to get this part of his past back, as small and insignificant as it is. Eva's clicking heels reach him from a room away, which means she knows he's there and is letting him hear her. She's usually the one to give him that kindness, Diabolik not so much. Majid wonders sometimes if the man is even capable of making a sound as he moves or if he's trained himself out of it so well he can't find his way back. He flicks the knife with a sharp gesture that only marginally makes his tendons twinge and brings it back to the palm of his hand. The footsteps behind him stop. Too far away for Eva to be close to him so he turns around, confused. She's standing in the middle of the living room, like she stopped mid-step. Her eyes are bright and Majid feels a jostle at the sight. Before he can work out why that is, however, she blinks and her expression smooths to her usual pleased smile. Behind her, Diabolik takes a step and only then does Majid notice him. His dark suit blended with the shadows this time but Majid knows the effect would have been the same if he’d been wearing bright orange. “How was the gala?” he asks and turns on the couch to watch them come closer. Once upon a time he would have done it to avoid having them at his back, but now it’s due to a more nebulous reason. It has less to do with fear, paranoia or defence and more to do with the sinuous way they glide across space. Each movement radiates power, poise and danger, feeling far from intimidated . which is probably a testament of his idiocy, he’s sure - Majid doesn't want to miss a second of it. “Lovely,” Eva says, at the same time Diabolik grunts, “fruitful.” Majid’s lips twitch with a smile. When his gaze meets Eva’s he can see similar fond exasperation in it.

#asks #peachfinch #ask game #edm #wolf 2013 #diabolik

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justahawkinsgirl · 2 years

Text

Holly Jolly

Pairing: Steve x reader or Eddie x reader (I’m not sure yet)

Summary: After the new information you’d decided to meet again in the morning for Operation Mirkwood. You go to see if Jonathan’s okay and cross paths with a stressed Nancy who brings you on her search for Barb.

Tw: Swearing, bullying (Steve smashing Jonathan’s camera)

Word count: 2702

Author’s note: Mastermind is a game for two players. One makes a colour code and the other has about 10 or more chances to guess it.

edited : yes

~~~~~

‘We just tell our parents we have AV Club after school. That’ll give us at least a few hours for Operation Mirkwood.’ Mike looks at all of you as he explains the plan he thought up.

‘You seriously think that the weirdo knows where Will is?’ Lucas’s distrust drips from his voice.

‘Just trust me on this, okay?’ Mike looks at his friend until Lucas nods. ‘Did you get the supplies?’

‘yeah,’ Lucas turns around to grab his stuff from the chair between him and you. ‘Binoculars from ‘Nam. Army knife also from ‘Nam. Hammer, camouflage bandana and…’ he looks around a smug grin on his face. ‘the wrist rocket.’

‘You’re gonna take out the Demogorgon with a slingshot?’ Dustin questions Lucas’s choice of weapon.

‘First of all, it’s a wrist rocket.’ You can’t help but smile at Lucas’s quick defence. ‘And second of all, the Demogorgon’s not real. It’s made up.’

‘We don’t know that.’

‘You seriously believe all this?’ Lucas turns to you now.

‘Well, you saw El close the door with her mind. I mean, why wouldn’t you?’

‘Because it is made up.’ He carefully pronounces every word as if you won’t understand what he’s saying otherwise. ‘But if there is something out there, I’m gonna shoot it in the eye and blind it.’ He acts as if he’s actually shooting a rock at Dustin and the boy flinches away.

‘Okay, Dustin, what did you get?’ Mike sighs, addressing you two.

Dustin turns around to grab his backpack and turns it over to let the content of it fall on the table. All different kinds of candy, chocolate and chips fall out of it.

‘Well, alrighty. We’ve got Nutty Bars, Bazooka, Pez, Smarties, Pringles, Nilla Wafers, apple, Banana and trail mix.’ Dusting begins to list up everything he brought as you look over at the other boys who also glance at you and at each other.

‘Seriously?’ Lucas now questions Dustin’s view on “important supplies”.

``We need energy for our travels. For stamina.’ And the rolls turn. Now it is Dustin getting defensive. These kids never change. ‘And besides, why do we even need weapons anyway? We have her.’ He points at El who has been sitting on the couch since you’ve arrived.

‘She shut one door!’ Lucas exclaims in exhaustion at the mention of her powers.

‘With her mind!’ Dustin raises his voice back. ‘Are you kidding? That’s insane! Imagine all the other cool stuff she could do.’ Dustin walks away from the table and to El.

‘Dustin, what are you doing?’ You quickly follow him.

He grabs Mike’s Star Wars ship and tries to let El make it fly in the air. But the girl just stares at him without doing anything.

‘You can’t just expect her to do whatever you want.’ You say taking the ship from Dustin’s hand and laying it on the coffee table.

Before he can say anything back Mike’s mother calls. ‘Boys! Time for school!’

You sit down at the table as Mike crouches down in front of El.

‘Do you know those power lines? Behind my house. Meet us there, after school. 3:15.’ He gives her his watch so she can know when she’s supposed to come outside.

‘What are you going to do?’ Dustin taps your head to get your attention.

‘I’m staying here. My dad is going to the lab today and as usual was I forbidden to go with him.’

‘Oh, well, that’s good. You can try to get her to open up.’ He whispers looking over at El.

‘We shouldn’t force her.’

‘I would do it.’ He shrugs.

‘Oh, I know you would.’ You smile up at him. He grins back before following Lucas upstairs. Mike closely follows them.

You look over at El. ‘So, anything you would like to do?’

She looks at you. ‘Y/N, right?’

‘Yep, that’s me.’

‘Pretty.’

‘Thank you.’ You smile shyly. ‘So, you want to play a game? Eat? Talk? Watch TV?’

‘What is TV?’

‘You don’t-? Never mind. Come on!’ You stand up waving her over. You walk upstairs and she follows you.

She goes to sit on the chair where Mike’s father always sits as you turn on the TV. ‘I’m just going to go through the channels and you say if you see anything that appeals to you, okay?’

‘Yeah.’

It seems as if it was a commercial break everywhere. ‘We’ll have to wait until the commercial breaks are over.’ You say as you stop at a coca cola commercial.

El sits up and her eyes don’t leave the screen. ‘You like this? I guess it's one of the better commercials.’ You follow her with your eyes as she walks over to the TV and places a hand on the screen. For a moment it seems as if she’s back somewhere else.

‘El? You okay?’ You reach out to touch her shoulder but she snaps out of him and shuts the TV off. ‘Oh, okay. No TV, then.’ You shrug.

She stands up and goes upstairs to the bedrooms. ‘Uhm, El? Where are you going?’ You are quick to follow her. You find her standing in Nancy’s room looking at her pictures.

‘Friends?’ El touches the pictures of Nancy and Barb.

‘Yes, that’s her friend.’

‘You?’ She looks up at you.

‘I’m not really friends with her. I mean we can talk and it’s nice but I don’t know if she sees me as a friend.’

El turns around to face you. ‘Who are your friends?’

‘I’m more of a loner, really. But I could call the boys my friends and Jonathan. The brother of Will. And now you two.’

A small smile crosses her lips at your words. ‘Friends.’

You went back downstairs with her and played some games. You were playing Mastermind to pass time. You used to play this with Jonathan when you would be bored.

You hadn’t talked to him in a while. The last time you saw him was when You went with your father to the Byers after Will’s disappearance. Maybe there was some time to run to the school and see him before he was gone. It wouldn’t take long.

‘Hey, El.’ She was waiting for you to make your colour combination as she looked through one of Mike's comics. ‘I would like to check up on Jonathan. Is that okay?’

‘You’re leaving?’

‘No, no, I’ll come back. I just need to talk to him.’ She nods, turning her attention to the comic. You grab your jacket and call her goodbye before you’re off to the High School.

You waited for a few minutes, leaning against the wall, as the students came running out the building. You spotted Jonathan inside at the lockers. You straighten yourself and walk inside the school.

‘Hey.’ He flinches at the sudden voice next to him. ‘Sorry, ‘just me.’

‘Y/N, hey. What are you doing here?’ He greets you before turning back to his locker.

‘I never could tell you that I’m sorry about what happened. I mean, I can’t imagine how you and your mother must feel.’

He nods, taking the last books out and closing his locker. ‘Thank you.’ He turns around to you. ‘And?’

You feel caught as he smiles a little at your “deer-in-head-lights” look. ‘How did you know I was going to-‘

‘I’ve known you for a few years now. You wouldn’t just come to pity someone.’

‘You got me.’ You chuckle strained. ‘I was going to ask if anything strange has happened? Like anything at all.’

‘Why do you ask?’

‘Just to know. I’m kinda starting my own little investigation.’ As you realise how self-indulged that sounded you quickly add. ‘Because I really want to help but, well, you know my dad. He would rather send me off to Antarctica than have me get round up in all of this.’

Jonathan asks silently if you would follow him outside. You make way for him to pass and take your place at his side. ‘I understand. You don’t have to explain.’

‘Hey Jonathan!’ A voice calls a bit further from you. You both stop and turn around to see who called.

A boy, who you recognise as the king of Hawkins High “Steve Harrington”, is leaning against his car.

‘What’s going on?’ Jonathan asks as he steps closer but keeps his distance.

You cross your arms scanning the group of teens in front of you. Jonathan talked to you sometimes about them. First you have Steve Harrington. Rich family, confident, is only a jerk to the ones who hurt his loved ones. Carol Perkins, big mouth, too much fake confidence, thinks she’s better than the rest. And as the last one, Tommy Hagan, he honestly just creeps you out. It was something about his smile that looked not normal. It was so evil.

‘Nicole here was telling us about your work.’ You look at the second girl. She seemed nice but she looked like the kind that would kill to stay popular.

‘We’ve heard great things.’ Carol makes a chewing sound as she grins.

‘And we’d just love to take a look. You know as…connoisseurs of art.’ Steve shrugs.

You raise your brows at his use of words.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Jonathan awkwardly shifts his weight.

‘Oh no?’ Steve reaches out and grabs Jonathan’s bag.

‘Hey. Please, give me my bag.’ Jonathan tries to grab his back but Steve turns around lightly so he misses.

‘Are you deaf?’ You call him.

‘You have nothing to do with this. Go away.’ Steve tells you as you walk closer.

‘He told you to give him his bag.’ You reach your hand out. ‘Now.’

‘Or what?’ He holds his chin up. ‘You’re gonna get your dad?’

‘I don’t need my dad to accomplish things in life.’ Tommy slaps Steve’s shoulder at that.

‘That hits.’

‘Shut up.’ Steve glances at him. ‘Both of you.’ He looks back at you. He reaches into Jonathan's bag and holds out some pictures.

‘That’s what you want? Some stupid pictures.’ You scoff.

‘Oh, there are not stupid.’ Carol takes the pictures and turns them to you so you can see them. It’s them all in Steve’s pool. You look up at her with a question in your eyes. ‘What about this one.’ She shows the second picture. Steve’s window where Nancy’s standing. Only in her bra.

You glance at Jonathan. You don’t know what that was about but you know that Jonathan had a good explanation for this.

‘Now, she’s quiet.’ Steve scoffs at you.

‘I was looking for my brother.’ Jonathan defends himself.

‘No, no, this.’ Steve points at the pictures. ‘This is called stalking.’

‘What’s going on?’ Nancy’s voice calls from behind you. ‘Y/N, what are you doing here?’

‘Ah, there is the starring lady.’ Tommy cackles.

‘What?’ Nancy looks around the group of you.

‘This creep was spying on us last night.’

‘He was probably going to save this one for later.’ Carol holds out the picture of Nancy to Nancy herself.

‘See, that’s the thing about perverts,’ Steve hands the bag to Tommy who starts searching in it. ‘It’s hardwired into ‘em. You know, they just can’t help themselves. So, we’ll just have to take away his toy.’ Steve holds out his hands so Tommy can lay Jonathan’s camera in it.

‘Steve.’ Nancy tries to stop him.

‘You can’t be serious.’ You step even closer.

‘No, please, not the camera.’ Jonathan begs him.

‘Hey, it’s okay. Here you go, man.’ Steve hands the camera over to Jonathan but lets it fall out of hands a second before Jonathan can grab it.

You and Jonathan reach for it but it falls hard on the concrete ground. You look up at Steve. ‘You’re sick, man.’

‘Oh, I am?’ He asks glancing at the pictures and rips them in pieces.

‘Come on, let’s go. The game’s about to start.’ Tommy laughs, laying his arm around Carol as they leave.

You see Nancy grabbing some pieces as you help Jonathan gather his camera and the other pictures.

‘Hey Nance! Come on.’ Steve calls.

‘I’m sorry.’ She mumbles looking over at you and quickly gets up to join Steve.

You scoff. ‘How can she even be around them.’

‘You shouldn’t have done that.’ Jonathan says as you both stand up. ‘I deserved this. I shouldn’t have done it.’

‘Hey, you don’t deserve any of this. And the fact you already say that what you did was wrong is a sign that you regret doing it.’

You walk with him to his car. ‘About your question earlier.’ Jonathan breaks the silence. ‘Maybe you should talk to my mom. She’s been saying things about Will trying to communicate. I’m worried about her and I think maybe talking to someone other than me might make her leave the topic behind.’

You nod. ‘I’ll come by this evening.’

He nods. ‘Thanks. You need a ride?’ You’d arrived to his car by now.

‘Uhm, no thanks. I’ll walk.’

‘Okay, well, see ya.’

‘Yep.’ You wave as he drives off. You were going to put your headphones back on but stop mid-air as your name’s called.

‘Y/N, wait!’

‘Nancy?’ You turn around to see her waving at you from across the parking lot. She sees you looking and quickly walks over.

‘I’m sorry for what happened.’

‘It’s not to me who you should apologize to. And you also shouldn’t apologize. Your boyfriend has to.’

She nods, smiling a little. ‘Yeah, still I am sorry. Are you helping in the case of Will Byers?’

You were staring at her in shock. Where did that come from? Wasn’t she going to the game? And why does she want to know? ‘I think you don’t know my dad very well. I’m practically forbidden to interfere in it.’

‘But you’re searching for what happened, right?’

You narrow your eyes a little at her. ‘Maybe. Why?’

Nancy explained everything to you on the way to Steve’s house. About the party yesterday. About Barb cutting her hand, her wanting to go home and since then disappearing.

You were silent as she spoke. You could feel she needed to let it all out so you let her.

‘And when I called her parents they said they hadn’t seen her yet. So, that’s why I want to go back to Steve’s house. Maybe we’ll find something there that might help us find Barb.’

‘It has to be the same thing that happened to Will. It’s all too much of a coincidence.’

‘Exactly! I just, I feel like if I should’ve just gone with her she would still be here.’ Nancy cringes into herself.

‘Don’t think like that. Maybe, without knowing it, you saved your life. And if you were also taken who was going to help Barb?’

‘Yeah, maybe, but that doesn’t change that Barb might be in danger because I pushed her to come with me.’

‘Hey, Nance, that’s in the past. Don’t think about it. Only think that we’re trying to get her back.’

She nods, smiling up at you. ‘Thank you.’

‘Any time.’ You smile back.

You arrive at the Harrington’s residence and the first thing you see is a car parked a few meters away. ‘Is that-?’

‘Barb.’ Nancy runs to the car. She bents to look through the window. ‘Nothing.’ She turns to you shaking her head.

‘Come on.’ You walk to the backyard. ‘Maybe she waited here for you and then whatever happened took place.’

‘Why didn’t I hear anything?’

You shake your head as a silent answer. She walks to the woods as you look through the window inside. ‘Gotta admit that their house is fancy.’

‘Y/N?’ You turn around as Nancy calls you. She stands with her back to you, staring into the woods.

‘What?’

‘Come here.’ Worry settles at the sound of her voice. You walk over to her.

‘You’re starting to freak me out. What is it?’

‘I heard something.’

You feel your heart beating faster and your hands getting clammy. ‘In the woods?’ She nods. ‘Yeah, I’ve seen this in movies. We better get out of he-‘ You flinch and stumble backwards as something runs by a bit further away from you two. ‘What the fu-‘

Nancy grabs your hand. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

‘Don’t need to say twice.’

~~~~~

This is the game:

#stranger things #stranger things imagine #season 1 stranger things #holly jolly #y/n hopper #el #el hopper #nancy wheeler #mike wheeler #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #will byers #jonathan byers #steve harrington

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