#like come on marvel can we have more tommy? hes important too! you could do so much with him

[batcavescolony]

I think I remember Steve Orlando (current Scarlet Witch writer) saying that Tommy has a good relationship with Wanda? And I'm iffy on Leah Williams' take on the Maximoffs but they seemed close there. Like I genuinely think a large part of the problem is simply that writers forget he exists/ would rather do Billy-Wanda parallels. He moved back into & lovingly restored the house Wanda raised him and Billy in. I'm sick over it

Marvel definitely picks favorites when it comes to their Speedster/Magic twins and the Speedsters get the short stick. I'm sure Wanda loves her kids but I'd like to SEE IT for once. I don't think have to be much either, a photo in the background with Tommy, her mentioning him at all, any acknowledgment that he exists in her world. I'm just sick of Marvel ignoring my boy!

[simplepotatofarmer]

technoblade: a takedown - pt. 1

(not clickbait)

aka i go over every argument people make against c!techno one by one and determine whether they’re valid, false, or a mixture of both. i rewatched every single stream/video, including those on his alt channel, so i could approach this with the most information possible. i’ll be breaking this up into parts because there’s just too much otherwise. all about the characters unless stated.

techno believes in a ‘dog eat dog’ world - false

this is an argument i see used a lot when people discuss techno so i wanted to address it first. luckily, the stream in which he says this is only his fifth stream on the server. there’s one major reason why this argument falls apart and one minor reason that isn’t objective like the first.

first and most importantly: techno has never acted on this. even at the beginning - which is when this comment was made - he was helping his allies, from building railings to keep them from falling, making a potato farm, and all the gear he grinded for to equip his allies in pogtopia with. moving forward, he’s also helped out plenty of people: giving tommy a place to stay and items, telling phil to reach out to ranboo after doomsday, as well as giving both tommy and ranboo food when asked. there’s more, of course, but the point is he’s never once followed up on this statement. he teamed up with quackity to stop the egg. he spoke to niki about how he was giving anarchy a bad reputation because of the violence and wanted to take a different approach which he has.

when people use this argument to insist that techno is the villain, it doesn’t hold up because it’s merely taking one statement he made and upholding it as a main part of his character when his actions and later statements have shown that he doesn’t actually believe in this randian view point. objectively, i can’t see how this argument can extend beyond ‘well, he said it’. regardless of what he said during the pogtopia arc, he’s said the opposite later - wanting everyone to live free with no oppression or imperialism - and has never acted on it nor brought it up later. this take honestly seems disingenuous and was in fact the driving factor of this post.

second and not as critical, techno mentions multiple times during each of his first streams that he’s not sure who all is on his side. this is a reoccurring point for him. he makes the comment about wanting a dog eat dog world during the red festival stream, while speaking to bad and sam. the first part of the conversation is techno asking about state secrets since they’re (as far as techno knows) on manberg’s side. bad mentions schlatt killing cats and techno launches into a spiel about massive anarchy and the weak being huddled in fear, asking them how does that sound. bad says as long as there’s no cat murder, perhaps. bad then asks techno what his ‘single issue’ is and techno responds that he wants to destroy the government. to me, the context of the conversation, who he’s speaking to and what his opinion of those people is, is an important thing to consider.

techno’s ‘we’ll burn that bridge when we get to it’ comment means he was always going to betray pogtopia/l’manberg - valid but not how you think it is

i’ve seen people say that techno saying ‘we’ll burn that bridge when we get to it’ is a clear sign that he was always intending to betray pogtopia/l’manberg which, yeah? 

but i wouldn’t call it a betrayal. 

he says the ‘we’ll burn that bridge when we get to it’ line at the end of the ‘eve of revolution’ stream while he’s talking to quackity, ponk, and sam. the conversation is as follows:

techno, to quackity: i’m glad we could get to know each other. i heard you’re on our side now. i heard you betrayed schlatt.

quackity: yeah, that’s right. are you betraying anyone?

techno: no. i would never betray my personal ideals.

[some chatter from ponk and quackity]

sam: what does that mean? what if the people you’re fighting along [sic] have different ideals than you, though? doesn’t that mean you’d betray them?

techno: listen... we’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.

then techno states that he ‘said what he said’ when sam questions him about his choice of metaphor.

he actually uses the same malaphor at the beginning of the ‘revolution’ stream when they (quackity and tubbo) question him again and in that case techno definitely avoids the subject which isn’t a good thing but considering everyone was so worked up about the possible traitor, i can completely understand.

overall, techno is extremely upfront about his intentions. yes, there is definitely some miscommunication between all the parties because none of them were on the same page but that doesn’t make techno the bad guy here nor does it mean he betrayed anyone. he was upfront about his intentions from the start.

in his first two streams, he makes a joke that if they happen to set up a new government/president that he would just take that one down and it would be a never-ending cycle. over and over, he says that he wants to do destroy the government/manberg. when tommy mentions taking it back, techno says, ‘what do you mean, take it back?’ though this kind of gets lost in the middle of everything else - dsmp (lack of) communication strikes again. 

the takeaway that i see here a lot is that techno always intended to betray them because he knew tommy wanted to take back l’manberg and knew that he would go against them if they set up a new government. and this is true to an extent! he did know that tommy wanted l’manberg back and he did know that he would go against them if they set up a new government. but wilbur was also telling techno that he was on board with the whole anarchy thing. 

none of them were on the same page and that surely led to a big chunk of what happened and hurt feelings on both sides but that doesn’t mean techno betrayed anyone or that he was the bad guy for doing exactly what he said he would do from day one.

techno destroying (l’)manberg was wrong - it’s complicated

the first thing to address here is that for most anarchists, destroying a government isn’t a bad thing. in fact, taking down the government/state is basically our goal. now, i don’t speak for all anarchists, of course, but overall the general feeling is that violence in the name of overthrowing an oppressive government is not inherently bad. there’s no way to do a one-for-one here because it’s minecraft but the general sentiment remains. so while violence enacted against the state is a bad thing for people who aren’t anarchists, techno has no reason to and would not view it as inherently bad.  

but it did hurt people and techno himself acknowledges that fact. he’s acknowledged what he’s done when confronted about it. he hasn’t said he was wrong because understanding that it was hurtful doesn’t mean he believes he was wrong. to him, he wasn’t. destroying what he viewed as an oppressive system was the right thing to do, even if it hurt people.

(also this isn’t any kind of meta but i think it needs to be pointed out that wilbur had already set off the tnt and techno summoned two killable mobs which did plenty of damage but he didn’t say wilbur was the great who came before them for no reason.)

again, this is going to be the most controversial part of this post because i don’t believe destroying government is a bad thing and i don’t believe techno is wrong for believing that as well. there are better ways to address the problem and techno is adjusting his tactics but if another government was to be established, i don’t believe he would be in the wrong to destroy it because he’s an anarchist.

the tl;dr of this section honestly could just be summed up with ‘watch less marvel, read more ursula k. le guin’.

‘techno is the villain because he called tommy the hero’ - so very false 

this is a take i’ve seen that to this day i don’t understand.

techno calling tommy the hero does not mean he was setting himself up as the villain in any capacity. it was merely pointing out tommy’s habit of putting himself at the forefront of almost every conflict, trying to shoulder everything, no matter how it hurts tommy himself. the speech was directed at that and nothing else. it doesn’t mean techno is the villain, it doesn’t even mean there is a villain; there are more stories to be told than the classic hero-villain and the hero-villain narrative doesn’t always apply to stories. (i’d certainly argue that it doesn’t apply to the dream smp but that’s a different conversation.)

techno is to blame for tubbo’s death - false

i think this one has been done to death but what would a techno post be without it?

no, techno is not to blame.

he said over and over that he was outnumbered and believed that if he had done anything, everyone would’ve turned on him and ‘torn him to shreds’. even if that wasn’t the case, it is what techno believed. he had no reason to think that he could take the entire crowd out until he actually fired the rocket launcher. and remember, he tested the rocket launcher earlier during the festival on niki (who volunteered) and it didn’t kill her. when he realized the amount of splash damage it did, he gives a surprised laugh and then begins firing into the crowd. 

as for saying he was under ‘mild’ amounts of peer pressure, techno has a habit of minimizing. not just the things he’s done, but often situations that he’s been in that were stressful. he stated that he deals poorly with high stress situations and one of the cognitive distortions that can come with anxiety is minimization. techno doesn’t actually believe it was ‘mild’ peer pressure - it was a situation that caused him enough distress that he brings it up later at doomsday - but it’s easier to deal with a situation when you downplay it, it’s easier for techno to keep up that calm façade when he’s acting as if whatever happened wasn’t that big of a deal even if it was. again, the way he speaks about it on doomsday was clearly upset and emotional. 

the only person to blame for tubbo’s death is schlatt. he was the one pulling the trigger and techno was the gun.

if you made it this far, thank you for sticking it out! i spent so many hours rewatching all the streams, some of them multiple times, while taking notes to be able to do this. i’m extremely passionate about techno and i feel as if a lot of the arguments against him tend to miss the nuance of his character. this project is on-going and i’ll be going over the butcher army/retirement storylines next. feel free to submit any points you’d like to see addressed! 

[ray-ray-writings]

i don't really know how this thought came to me but consider a reader who's a pillager hybrid of their whole family are pillagers but the reader doesn't really... agree with their lifestyle so they run away and move to the Dream SMP and no one knows they're pillager origins until their family comes looking for them?? also i've been binging ur stuff, i love ur blog, this is my first time asking :)

I really really love this idea, I’m such a sucker for things like this hahahaha.

But yeah. So you’re born and raised in a Pillager tower, your mother was a human that your father fell in love with once he saw her being cruel to villagers. Growing up you were always taken on the raids when your parents would go on and you would watch as Villagers were slaughtered left and right with no mercy. It always made you feel sick to your stomach while many others were having the time of their lives. When the raid was over and won, you would go back to the tower and people would marvel in their victories, and you would pretend you were also excited, but those nights were always plagued with nightmares of the villagers’ screams and fire that destroyed the towns. As you grew up, you were able to make your own decisions. So you went on less raids, still going on some to please your parents, but the guilt grew more and more with each town destroyed. So when you finally turned 18, you decided to leave for good. You packed up everything that you could carry in your inventory and wrote a small note to your parents explaining that you had to leave, you couldn’t raid and pillage any longer. You left the note on your mother’s nightstand, pressing a small kiss to both of their foreheads before leaving the only place you’ve ever called home. 

You wander for the whole night, the mobs leaving you alone (after all, like kind recognizes like) and then for half the day once the sun comes up before you stumble into the SMP. From far off in the distance you can see multiple beacons of light coming from inside a really really big stone building. So like a moth, you’re drawn to the light and wander inside this castle. You stumble onto a wooden plank path that seems to go everywhere are the new town you have found. As you’re walking through the castle just looking around, you aren’t paying attention and you stumble, literally stumble, into someone. You catch yourself before you fall and you look to who you just ran into. You see a man with a green hoodie, a white smiley face mask with blonde tufts of hair poking out of the top. “Woah there… Who are you, I’ve never seen you before” he questions, his tone kind of harsh. You don’t blame him though, a complete stranger wandering into this new place uninvited, you’re honestly surprised you didn’t get an axe to the head. “Hi. Sorry, I’m Y/N. I’ve just… I’ve just left home and I saw this place. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. I’ll leave now!” You rush out, attempting to turn around and run out of the castle, but a hand catches your wrist. “Hey wait a minute,” he commands softly, turning you back around. “It’s okay. You’re okay. I was just surprised… You said you just left home?” You give the man a shy nod, “Yeah, my people were… doing some things I didn’t approve of and so I left as soon as I was able to… I can leave now if you want” The man doesn’t let go of your wrist, “You said you just left home?” You nod in confirmation, “Well, if you want, you could live here. Well not here in the castle, but here in the SMP. I’m Dream and this is my SMP. There are a lot of people here that are actually very nice. You can build your house in the SMP and live here. But if you want to keep wandering, that’s okay too” the man called Dream offers. You think about it for a moment, “Do you think you could show me around before I make my decision?” Dream gives you a quick nod before letting go of your wrist, “Of course. Do you want to go now?” “Sure!” So Dream shows you around the SMP and introduces you to a few new people who all give you waves and friendly smiles and welcome you to the new land. All throughout the tour, Dream subtly asks you about where you're from, but you brush off his questions and for once in his life he doesn’t push it. “So what do you think? You want to stay here?” You give a quick look around and think about everyone you met, “Yeah, I would thank you!” 

And so you stay. You build your house, something with light wood that doesn’t resemble a tower at all. You also make friends with everyone else on the SMP. Somehow you reveal that you’re really good at combat with an axe and a crossbow, probably while sparring with someone, maybe Tommy because we all know he would definitely challenge a new person to duel him and then call you a coward so you would duel him and win and claim you cheated, but it makes everyone stare at you in wonder for a little bit and become just a little more afraid of you. You never tell anyone where you’re from or that you’re part pillager and that your family is made up of pillagers. You don’t think it’s important. That’s in your past and the SMP is your family now so now your family is made up of even more hybrids and more diverse people. Your past remains in your past… Until it comes knocking at your front door… 

You wake one morning to a pounding on your front door. You of course are very confused because you weren’t expecting anyone. But you get out of bed and answer the door and you find  a panicked Tommy and Tubbo standing there. “Boys, what can I-” “There are a bunch of pillagers here. They’re asking about you. They’re threatening to burn everything down if we don’t bring you.” Tubbo rambles. “We won’t let them take you and we were told to keep you here, but we just thought we should let you know.” Tommy chimes in. Your blood runs cold. Why? Why is this happening? You don’t answer the boys and you ignore their ‘keep you here bs’ before you reach over and grab your axe and crossbow and run out of the house. Tubbo and Tommy yell after you, share a look before, and run after you. You run up and find a few people, Dream, Techno, Wilbur, Philza, Sapnap, Punz, (Ya know, the best fighters… foreshadowing lol) and standing opposite of them your parents with a few other pillagers behind them. The sound of your footsteps caused all heads to snap to you. Everyone from the SMP seemed shocked to see you and stared past you and glared at the two boys. “You were supposed to keep them home” Dream hisses to the children. “They took off before we could stop them” Tubbo pants, trying to catch his breath. “Y/N go home” Techno demands, but you don’t listen. All of your attention is focused on those you used to call your family. “What are you doing?” You ask exasperated. Your father smirks at you, “Oh my dear child we’re here to bring you home of course.” And you can feel all eyes snap to you. A wave of disappointment flooded you, they all knew now. “They know” you’d think to yourself, “They know what a horrible person you are and what terrible past you come from.” You take a deep breath before speaking again, “I’m not coming home. This is my home now. Go away, leave us alone.” Laughter bubbles from the group in front of you, “Oh silly silly child. You are not home, home is back at the tower. Come now.” Your mother says, beckoning you forward. “No. I’m not going.” The smirks and smiles turn into angry stares, “No? Oh, I see how it is” your mother speaks up. “Too bad you are coming with us.” Your father barks before lunging forward for you and attempts to grab you. Before you can even react, you’re being pulled back and you’re now being protected. The two most powerful people on the server, Dream and Techno, have formed a wall in front of you with their weapons pointed at the pillagars. “Now,” Techno begins, his monotone voice two octaves deeper and threatening, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Your father lunges forward once more, throwing his fist out, trying to punch Techno in the face. Techno simply caught your father’s wrist and smirked, “Alright, hard way it is” 

A full on brawl begins. 

Techno quickly takes your father while Dream takes your mother. Everyone else charges and begins fighting the rest of them. Fists are flying before arrows join the ranks in that as well. You begin fighting someone you barely recognize. Your whole energy and focus is on winning because you know if you lose it’s back to raiding and pillaging villages and you really don’t want to. You manage to down the person you’re fighting and you turn and see that all the other pillagers are either also downed or being fought by one of your friends. Your eyes catch Techno and Dream who were still fighting your father and mother respectively. You’re just about to approach when Techno gets your father in a chokehold and manages to completely debilitate him. “Call them off” Techno demands. Your father doesn’t say anything at first, his fingers desperately clawing at the arm around his throat. Techno squeezes tighter, “Did I hesitate? I said call them off” Finally your father comes to his senses, “Retreat!” He gasps out. Immediately all of the pillagers stop their fight and run back to where they were first gathered up. Techno lets go of your father and gives him a hard shove in the direction. Your father moves to stand next to your mother and all eyes fall on you again. “Leave. And never come back, or I won’t hesitate to let them kill you” your speak, your voice stone cold. You can tell your mother wants to protest, but your father catches her wrist and shakes his head no. Without another word, your father turns around and walks through the crowd and toward the direction of their tower. Confused and a little irritated all other pillagers turn too and follow your father back to where they came from. 

You and the rest stand there and watch them retreat until they are out of sight. And once again all eyes fall on you. You can’t help but look to the ground as tears form in your eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know they would come for me… I understand if you want me to leave forever… Now that you know what I truly am… A monster” you spit out the words as if their poison. It is quiet for a moment and you figure that they’re all silently agreeing. You’re about to speak again when a pair of arms wrap tightly around you, and then another, and another, and another, until you’re pretty sure everyone there, even Techno, is in the group hug. The tears that had welled up in your eyes were now freely falling down your cheeks. “Y/N,” Dream begins, “We never want you to leave. Why would you think that?” A pathetic sob escapes your lips, “Because I’m part pillager because I raided and destroyed villages. I’m a monster, Dream. I don’t deserve you guys.” Everyone seems about to jump in, but through blurry eyes you see Philza give them all a look. All of the arms let you go, except for one pair that holds you even tighter, “Y/N, you’re not a monster. What you did today and what you have done in the past proves it. Today you refused to go with them, you ran away from them, you didn’t want to be a part of their lifestyle. You’re not a monster hun, you never were and you never will be” Philza comforts. His words hit your heart. You’re not a monster, no one thinks you’re a monster. More sobs escape your lips, this time they’re sobs of relief. They don’t want you to leave. You’re safe here. Philza lets you cry in his arms, he holds you for as long as you need. After a few moments you compose yourself and slowly pull out of the blonde man’s arms. “Sorry about that” you apologize, clearing your throat. “Didn’t mean to lose my cool there” Everyone around you laughs. “It’s okay Y/N. You’ve just had a big emotional thing happen, and you were pulled right of bed to experience it. It’s okay that you’re a little emotional.” Wilbur comforts, taking a step forward and resting a warm hand on your back. You completely pull away from Phil and give the tall boy a quick hug. “Hey are we doing individual hugs, because I want a hug too!” Sapnap chimes, marching forward and flinging his arms open. You can’t help but giggle and pull away from Wilbur, “We can do individual hugs if you want too” You claim, falling into his open arms. He lets out a triumphant lap and swings you around in joy. “Alright hog, let them go we want hugs too” Sapnap, still holding on to you, looks over his shoulder before picking you up and running away with you. “Hey selfish! Get back here!” And soon everyone is chasing you and Sapnap around demanding hugs. This wasn’t how you planned to tell everyone about your past, you’re not sure if you ever were going to, but you wouldn’t change it for the world.

[parkersbliss]

request; If ur still doing request could u do one when the boys have a little sister and Tom comes home for the first time in ages and normally the sister would always cling onto Tom and basically not leave his side but she hangs out with Sam and Paddy instead and Tom gets jealous and gets like flashbacks off all the times their sister would cling to him?

Clingy | T. Holland

—

Tom loved his job, he’s dreamed of it since he was a kid.

But nothing is as glamorous as it seems, he learned that quickly. His dreams came true, he was a superhero, he was an actor, working with some of the biggest names in the industry. He got to travel the world, make friends and inspire young kids.

He couldn’t ask for anything more.

Except for time with his family.

Filming was a long process, and it always took him far from home. He was gone for almost half a year, on the other side of the world, sometimes even longer and sometimes even further. It wasn’t easy, but he thought it was worth it. He could call you guys, but the time zones and his schedule made it difficult. Sometimes he had one project lined up after the other and then he was never able to call.

He missed you guys, but it paid off in the end when he did get to come home. Sometimes he was even able to take one of you with him, but not always.

Not this time.

He had been gone for a while now, between filming for Marvel and a few other movies, he’d been in the states for almost ten months now.

When he was finally home, it felt like a relief. Everything seemed the same, nothing out of place and it was a comforting feeling.

His family runs up to him, hugging him tightly telling them how much he missed him. He, of course, returns the same feelings.

His brothers give him quick hugs, joking about, knowing that soon enough he’ll be gone again, so they take what they can get, inviting him to golf and lunch.

Then there’s you, you’re always excited to see your older brother, that’s a given and you hug him tightly. A bright smile on your face and Tom finally feels at home.

…

He wakes up the next day to a homemade breakfast and lots of laughter, the family explains how they’re going out to golf and getting lunch to celebrate. Tom’s ecstatic to finally be back and continue their routine. He knows what to expect, and he’s more than ready for it.

He readies his stance, gripping onto the club as he aims. He expects you to be right next to him, trying to mirror his poses, but instead, he finds no one, and you’re standing next to Sam, matching his stance.

Tom frowns at the thought, but he doesn’t linger on the thought. It’s not like you had favorites anyway, he swings his club watching the ball soar through the sky.

“How was filming?” His mother asked, taking her seat next to him at the restaurant.

Tom nods, swallowing his mouthful, “good.”

Harry takes the other seat next to him, Sam across from him.

You’re sat between Sam and Paddy, which is odd because the last time Tom could recall, you were always sat next to him.

“Did you meet any new famous people?” Paddy asked, you look to Tom expectantly but not with that same adoration in your eyes. It was more like a casual interest.

“Yeah, Ciara Bravo, she was cool.”

Tom vaguely remembers you mentioning her as one of your favorite actresses, so he waits for a response from you, but all he gets is a nod.

He watches as Sam leans over to whisper something in your ear and you begin laughing, you playfully hit Paddy’s shoulder, grabbing his attention and telling him the same thing as all three of you burst into laughter.

Tom feels lost, but no one else at the table does, they act like it’s perfectly normal and make light conversation over your laughter.

A thought crosses Tom’s mind, maybe this was normal. He hadn’t seen you in almost a year, you hadn’t seen him in almost a year. Things were bound to change.

And he was proven correct when it seemed over the next few weeks, you didn’t so much as bat an eyelash at Tom. Whenever he was about the house, you were with Sam and Paddy.

It hurt him a little because he always looked forward to coming home to see you, to have you cling to him and follow him wherever.

Like the first time, he came home,

Tom dropped his suitcase on the floor, the familiar feeling of being home resting on his shoulders. He could hear footsteps come running down the stairs and the sound of his family.

“Tommy!” You shouted, running up to him.

“Hey, you!” He said, picking you up in his arms and hugging you.

“Did you miss me?”

You nodded your head, tugging on his arm. “You should see my new room, and you have to tell me all about being a superhero. How many villains did you fight? What’s New York like, is it as pretty in person? Can we have a sleepover?”

Tom chuckles at all the questions that come tumbling out of your mouth, trying to keep up with most of them. He hadn’t been gone for too long, maybe a month or two, but it felt much longer to him and his family. It was the first time he had left, and you couldn’t quite understand it yet. All you cared about was him coming back home every time and asking if he brought any American treats back.

That was always the most important question.

Or the time he was home for Christmas,

You heard the door unlock, and your head snapped up at the noise. You weren’t sure who it could be, everyone was home right now. Maybe it was Harrison coming over to visit for a bit. He did that quite often. Sometimes he brought over his dog to keep Tessa company, but most of the time he didn’t come unannounced.

You stare curiously at the door until it opens till reveal none other than, your eldest brother. The one who wasn’t supposed to be home for another month.

“Tom!” You exclaimed, jumping off the couch, “You're home?”

“Surprise?” He said, opening up his arms.

You laugh, hugging him, you missed this feeling.

“Bring anything cool back?”

“Only a couple signatures from the Marvel cast and your favorite cookies from that one bakery.”

You gasp, eyes lighting up, “Really?”

“I thought they’d pair well with some hot cocoa.”

“You are the best brother.”

Tom laughs, as Harry comes strolling down the stairs, practically dropping his drink.

“Mum!” He shouts, looking over his shoulder, “Tom’s home!”

“WHAT?”

Or even his first movie as the lead,

It was so hot in L.A, you weren’t quite used to it just yet. The sun was blinding as you stepped out of the car to be with camera flashes in every direction. A red carpet was presented in front of you and your brothers, who looked just as surprised.

Except for Tom, he was beaming. The paparazzi was screaming, trying to get every shot possible of your brother. It was a weird thing for you, since to you he was just your brother.

You grabbed Tom’s hand, letting him lead you down the carpet as the paparazzi tried to get as many pictures of him with his family.

“Do you want to take one that’s just the two of us?” He asked.

You nod and Tom takes you further down the carpet, posing with you.

“You’re famous,” you said, squinting between all the camera flashes.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Tom hummed, “But you’ll always be my number one fan.”

—

“Hey,” you said, sitting next to Tom on the couch.

“Hey,” He replied, taking in your appearance. You had changed a lot in the year he’d been gone. Your hair was shorter, you had lost your baby face features and you seemed taller.

“It’s been a while,” you said, biting the inside of your cheek.

Tom nods, “Yeah, it has.”

You take out a game controller, handing one to Tom, “You still got it?”

Tom smiles, taking the controller from your hands, “only one way to find out.”

[atlabeth]

transferred part eleven - atla smau

masterlist | part ten | part twelve

there’s a time skip of about a month between this and the last chapter just so u know

summary: trying to run from your past is hard, but falling for your brother’s roommate is even harder. little do you know that he’s falling for you as well.

a/n: i am so sorry this took so long to come out. i’ve been really unmotivated to write in general plus i’ve been super busy with school. i also have been hating everything i write lately i rewrote this like 4 times before i was okay with it lmao. also realizing that i might’ve channeled my stress over school into this chapter. manifesting a tea date w zuko

wc: 1.9k 

warning(s): cursing, pining, some very stressed out college kids, a painfully awkward zuko after a fun realization

perm taglist: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin

transferred taglist: @ourbestfriend-mishacollins @lil-lex1 @xxshad0wxb1rdxx @zuko-is-the-sun @akiris @irohs-teapot @thatarthistorynerd @charlenasaxen @minninugget @marvel-ousnesss @count-thotticus @what-ye-egg @furblrwurblr @thesstuff @mariachiii @ietss @dizzy-miss-lizzieeeeee @xbarrjallenx @tommy-braccoli @dreamsluvrr @floofybread @thelovelylolly @lin-biefong-is-my-life @tiffanyy-21 @sistheselenophile @theincredibledeadlyviper​ 

“Take all the time you need, I can see that it’s a very busy day.” Your head shot up from below the counter when you heard the voice and a grin broke out on your face. 

“Zuko! What are you doing here?” You felt the heat rush to your cheeks as he smiled, which was something that seemed to occur every time you were around him. It wasn’t your fault he had a smile that could make anyone melt. 

“Zuko! What are you doing here?” You felt the heat rush to your cheeks as he smiled, which was something that seemed to occur every time you were around him. It wasn’t your fault he had a smile that could make anyone melt. 

“What, am I not allowed to just show up?” He joked as he pulled a chair out from a nearby table and sat down. 

“No, of course you are! This is actually the highlight of my day. It’s just, this is one of your rare days off, so I figured you would wanna spend it doing something better than, uh, coming to the place that you work.” You dropped the towel you had been using to clean on the counter and walked around the register, taking your own seat across from him and crossing one leg over the other. 

“Well.. you sounded really stressed in your texts, so I thought I would pay you a visit. It can’t be easy balancing all of your classes along with this job, and I figured I could try and help with some of that.” 

The grin from before came back and you rested your chin in the palm of your hand. “Zuko, that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me. You didn’t have to come all the way here just to hang out with me when we live together.” 

He seemed taken aback by that, surprisingly so. “How? I mean, you had a boyfriend, right?” Thankfully, you missed him visibly cringing at his choice of words as you looked away and passed it off with a laugh that only sounded slightly strained. 

“Keyword is had. I don’t really wanna get into details, but there’s a reason we broke up.” You opened your mouth to say something else in an attempt of changing to subject to anything that wasn’t your failed love life when you heard a familiar voice behind you. 

“I see that my only working employee is taking a break after her break?” You turned your head in a flash and your eyes widened slightly when you saw it was the one responsible for paying your bills.

“Oh, Iroh! I am so, so sorry. Blame your nephew for distracting me on the clock.” You immediately jumped out of your chair as Iroh came out from the back and he simply shook his head, giving you and Zuko a warm smile. 

“Please, do not worry. This is actually for the two of you.” He set the tray with a teapot and two cups on your table and the calming scent of jasmine immediately washed over you.

“Are you sure? I mean, you’re practically paying me to do nothing right now,” you asked, hesitantly settling back in your seat. 

“I have complete faith that you will be able to handle anything that comes your way — today has been a slow day anyways, so you will be fine.” 

“Don’t even try to stop my uncle once he’s made up his mind about something,” Zuko chuckled. Iroh gave his nephew a knowing look that made him blush as he continued walking towards the door.

“Enjoy your date!” He called as he exited the store. Zuko’s face somehow turned an even brighter shade of red and you bit down the smile growing on your lips. You wouldn’t mind if this was a date, of course, but you knew it wasn’t. It was just one of your best friends coming in to see you to help you wade through the endless sea of stress you had found yourself lost in. Definitely not a date. 

“Y/N?” Zuko’s voice snapped you out of your pondering and you nodded with a small laugh. 

“Sorry, just got lost there for a second.” You picked up the teapot and poured a decent amount into both of your cups. “Y’know, I’ve actually started to like tea since I started working here,” you mused, taking a small sip of your own once you finished. “That might have something to do with the fact that we get a discount, but you’d be amazed at the things I’ve grown to like just because they’re cheap.” 

Zuko responded with a laugh of his own, and from there, conversation flowed easily. You weren’t even aware of how much time had passed as the two of you traded stories — your classes, events from your childhoods, your high school experiences — about anything and everything. Your stress melted away a little bit more with each shared anecdote and cup of tea. 

You found yourself enthralled with everything Zuko said — it wasn’t so much the material as much as the way he just… was. The way his eyes sparkled when he talked about his passions, how he tapped his fingers against the ceramic cup when he got excited, and of course, that smile that made you melt. You hung onto every word he said, but you enjoyed him simply being there just as much, if not more. 

And as Zuko watched you talk animatedly, barely able to get through the story you were trying to tell without laughing every other word, he knew that he would do anything to keep that smile on your face. The million dollar smile that lit up every room you walked into and made his heart burst at the seams every time without fail. He wanted you to see yourself the way he saw you, and he would do anything to make you happy. 

It was at that moment that Zuko realized that he was crushing on his best friend’s sister. Hard. 

“Shit,” he muttered. Your story grinded to a halt, exaggerated hand gestures frozen in the air, as you fixed him with a questioning look. 

“Did you say something?”

“No, no— Just- it was nothing. Keep going,” he gave an encouraging smile and nodded for you to continue, which you happily obliged. 

“So, anyways, that was how my lab partner asking a question led to us setting our entire experiment on fire,” you finished with a chuckle. You hit your hands against the table a few times then stood up. “Thank you for this Zuko, really. I wish we could just stay here talking, but I’m not getting paid to do nothing. I gotta get back to work.” 

You waited for a response, but the faraway look in his eyes once again signalled that he wasn’t paying attention. You sighed and snapped your fingers in front of his face, and that seemed to get him out of his stupor. “Hello? Earth to Zuko? 

He blinked a couple times and you let your hand fall to the table, concern flickering across your face for a second. “Sorry! Just.. thinking.” 

“About what?” 

“Classes,” he blurted after a too-long pause. 

You could tell that he was hiding something — throughout your time spent together, you had picked up on how he would always pick at the skin on his right thumb whenever he was nervous — but you didn’t want to push him. 

“I take offense to that, Zuko. You think that your classes are more important than my very entertaining story about my chem lab, I’m just- I’m heartbroken,” you snickered. “I was just telling you that I enjoyed this, and I really appreciate the break, but I actually have to get back to what I’m being paid to do.”

“Right! I, uh- have to get to those.. classes I was talking about.” He laughed nervously and stood up as well, and the two of you bumped heads as you both reached for the tea tray in the middle. 

You let out an exasperated laugh and backed up, rubbing the heel of your hand against your forehead. “Zuko, please! This is my job, let me do this, okay?”

He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, looking like a fish out of water, as he stared at you with wide eyes. You nodded expectantly and raised your eyebrows and he was finally able to get something out. “Uh- right.” 

You chuckled as you picked up the tray and set the cups on it as well, but it was more than a touch concerned. “Is.. everything okay?” You asked, casting a glance back at him once you reached the register again. “Because I don’t mean to overstep, but you’ve been acting strange ever since I started talking about chemistry. Do you have a thing against molecules or something?” 

“Oh, no—it’s nothing you did! And I don’t have anything against chemistry,” he laughed. “I just.. I have a lot on my mind.” Zuko paused, letting his words linger in the air and causing more than a few questions to pop up in your head, but he broke the silence before you could ask. “I really enjoyed this, though.”

“Well, if you ever wanna talk about that stuff on your mind, then you know I’m here,” you smiled. “I had a great time too. And honestly, Zuko, you might be the only thing getting me through this week.” 

“Well, I’m happy to be of service,” he said, returning your smile. “Do you need me to pick you up after your shift?”

“That’s so sweet of you, but I can just catch a ride with Jin. She works at the dress shop across the street, and she actually lives pretty close to us!” You saw the slightest glimpse of disappointment flicker through his eyes and you stumbled over your words trying to explain. “It’s not that I don’t enjoy your company! I mean, obviously I do, we just talked for like, three hours— it’s just she offered, and I didn’t want to say no, plus she’s in my bio class, so I thought it would be good to get to know her—”

“Y/N, you don’t have to explain yourself to me,” he interrupted with a light laugh. “I don’t mind. I just wanted to make sure that you weren’t trying to get out of it because you didn’t want to make me feel bad or something. I know I’ve told you a million times, but I really don’t mind. You make my mornings brighter.” 

You averted your gaze with a small smile as you felt your cheeks heat up, and you bounced on the balls of your feet. “Cool. I’ll see you when I get home then?” 

“Yeah. Good luck with the rest of your shift, Y/N. I’m glad I could help with some of your stress.” The two of you exchanged waves and then Zuko was on his way. As soon as he left the shop you deflated and leaned against the counter, shaking your head and muttering to yourself. That man didn’t even know the effect he had on you. 

The rest of your shift went by much, much slower than your time with Zuko, but the conversations the two of you had during your break kept buzzing around in your head. And though things had started picking up with customers coming in for their lunch breaks or for a quick tea stop, making a lot of extra work for you, a small smile stayed on your lips for the rest of the day. And it was all thanks to Zuko. 

[geekwritersworld]

Then stay

Pairing: Finn Shelby x reader

warning : it’s long

Summary: Isaiah Jesus’s sister comes to small heath, and falls for Finn .

A/n: Firstly, @marvel-is-a-mood​ thank you so much for the idea 💖secondly, I am sooo sorry it took me so long to write and post this fic.

Everyone in Birmingham knew Isaiah Jesus as the blinder, Finn Shelby’s friend and the son of the preacher. 

And though Isaiah rarely ever spoke of her, small heath also knew he had a sister. But no one had seen her. She’d lived in London with her aunt her whole life. It was the safest decision for her , given her father and brothers involvement with the London gangsters.

Jeremiah and Isaiah visited her every few months, which again kept her out of Birmingham. 

But she’d decided to venture out on her own, for once. She decided to go visit her brother and father. Plus, a bit of change would do her good.

Heads turned and men whistled at the young woman who was clearly new to town. But she paid them no heed and continued walking towards the infamous pub she’d heard so much about from her brother. 

she slowly opened the door to the pub, the only light in there seemed to be from the sunlight outside, creeping in through the window.

“we don’t serve women” a man behind the counter eyed her curiously. His statement wasn’t harsh, it was more precautionary.

“no harry, but I do” a blonde woman said softly,  appearing from the storage room behind him. Her Irish accent instantly assured the young woman that the barmaid wasn’t from Birmingham. 

the older bartender sighed, turning around and continuing to wipe a glass.

“What can I get you?”

“gin , thank you”

“bit early isn’t it for plain gin?” she smiled, pouring some.

“well I’ve had a rather exhausting start to my day” 

“I'm grace”

“I'm  Anna, usually don’t go by a full name, but its anna Jesus if you will.” she raised her glass to her lips

“Jesus, as in Jeremiah Jesus’s daughter?” Grace inquired

“yes, have you seen him? or my brother Isaiah. I'm here to see them.”

something about the Irish barmaid didn’t sit right with Anna. She downed her gin in a go, clearing her throat at the burn .

“your brothers at the betting shop down the street.” Grace called after the woman making her way out.

*

She eyed the shops carefully while trying to find the betting shops. Once she did, she opened the door and stepped inside. “She’s in the wrong place isn’t she?” a man snickered somewhere. 

Anna turned her head towards the man, her eyebrows furrowing. But before she got a word out, a woman with short hair and a black coat walked towards her “you’re not here to bet are you?” cigarette dangling between her thin fingers.

“I- No , I’m looking for my brother “ she eyed the entire shop, trying to find her brother” a barmaid at the garrison told me he was here” a small panic had risen in her. Anna was starting to regret making the decision of looking for her brother and father. The faces of the many men staring at her , was making her beyond uncomfortable.

“who are you?” the woman inquired, she had a motherly look in her eyes, that was the only thing that calmed Anna’s nerves slightly.

“anna, Anna Jesus”

“course you are, come along ”she placed the cigarette between her lips “don’t worry boys, she’s no threat” the men instantly lowered their gazes and continued to holler numbers.

“um, who are you?” Anna asked following after the woman.

“I’m Polly, dear. Aunt Polly to 5 fucking nuisances”

towards the back of the shop, Anna saw her brother talking to a boy who seemed to be a few years younger. Maybe just by 2 or 3 years.

“Isaiah” she gasped, walking quickly to the boy who looked her way surprised.

“Anna” he walked to her and hugged her. He hugged her tight , and just didn’t let go for a few minutes.

“what the fuck are you doing here?” he let go . His question was more , again one filled with worry rather than anger. Which made Anna curious as to what went on in small heath that she was being sent silent warnings?

“I decided to come and visit you and Dad , instead of the other way around. plus i needed a bit of a fucking change” 

The boy Isaiah had been talking to cleared his throat. 

“right, Anna this is Finn Shelby, Finn this is my sister Anna” Isaiah introduced Anna to the boy who was starting to blush.

“nice to meet you , Finn” Anna couldn’t help but stare at Finn’s eyes. There was some sort of innocence in them , that seemed to draw her attention.

“Yeah, you too” he looked away.

“Right, Finn stay away from her, Anna , you come with me "Isaiah rolled his eyes.

“why the fuck’s everyone giving me these piteous looks?” Anna muttered walking next to her older brother.

“because this is small heath. Come on, dad’s over there”

Jeremiah Jesus had just walked out of what looked to be the main office, upon looking up, he saw his daughter walking towards him with her brother.

“anna?’ he walked to her.

“hi” she sprang and hugged him. The men in the shop paid the small family reunion no attention.

He watched the way she smiled and laughed while catching up with her father. Finn couldn’t help stare at the young woman he just met. He found it fascinating that she just walked into the betting shop without even knowing she was amongst a bunch of gangsters. She felt uncomfortable, he saw it on her face the moment he saw her behind Polly, but she’d come in further just to look for her brother.

He wanted to get to know her better, but Isaiah’s warning lingered in the back of his head.

******

“Alright, just come find me at least before going anywhere” Isaiah argued with his younger sister in their small home.

“Why , ‘saiah ?” Anna groaned.

“Alright look, don’t tell our father i told you, but small heath , its a fucking dangerous place alright. We-we’re involved in something and it could be dangerous for you”

“what the fuck are you talking about? involved in what?”

“Just this betting business can get quite out of hand at times , alright.”

“Alright, i wont go anywhere without letting you know-” “thank you” Isaiah rolled his eyes .

“let me finish saiah” Anna grumbled “ i won’t go anywhere without telling you , as long as you let me get to know Finn”

No sooner had Anna finished her sentence , had Isaiah sprang up from the chair, where he had sprawled out.

“what the fuck? why, No , I- his brother Tommy Shelby will kill you” Isaiah tried to fib his way. But he wasn’t one to lie and so naturally he failed miserably.

“Why the fuck will I kill your sister Isaiah ,eh?"

 Tommy Shelby’s figure loomed in the doorway. Of course no one had heard the London gangster walk in.

“I- Fuck sake. Anna that's Tommy” Isaiah didn’t bother telling Tommy this was Anna since eh clearly knew already.

“Um- Hello, Mr. Shelby.” Anna said awkwardly. she didn’t know the man, and on any other occasions he would’ve panicked had a random man walked in unheard, but since Isaiah seemed to know the man she was alright with it.

“Right, Isaiah, Telling your father we need him at the shop tonight. We’ve got some work.” His blue eyes turned to Isaiah, who had taken a seat on the counter. 

“Am I required to be there as well ?” he asked

“Why, have you got somewhere important to be for once , eh?” Tommy raised his eyebrow.

Anna snickered from her spot at the table .

“Fuck off Anna, and Tommy, well someone’s got to keep an eye on Anna, can’t be leaving her alone “

“Well I'm fucking sure Finn’s free” Tommy turned on his heels walking out.

Isaiah looked at Anna’s smug smile. ”fuck sake”

*******

Anna had now been at small heath for two months. The day when she would go back to London had come sooner than expected.. Anna had become quite close to Polly, Ada and Esme. Tommy was supposed to marry Grace the following afternoon . And though no one would tell Anna the details, she’d figured out that the woman had fucked up and yet Tommy was still going to marry her. But Anna never pressed for answers , knowing it wasn’t her place.

But Anna never really found herself wondering about grace anyway. Her mind was occupied by someone else. Someone who she’d grown extremely close to.

She and Finn had become close, too close for Isaiah’s liking. She found herself daydreaming of the youngest Shelby brother almost everyday. And the only time she didn’t daydream of him , was when she was with him. She had started to fall for him soon after she met him that day 2 months ago. 

She’d watch him from far while he talked to Isaiah, when he rode on his horse , Anna would find herself smiling at the look on his face.

“Anna!” She jerked up from her spot on the couch, looking up at Finn .

“Yeah” she attempted to act as though she wasn’t daydreaming of the boy standing in front of her.

“I asked you if you were ready to leave?” he laughed.

“yeah” she got up , grabbing her coat ‘so when’s the wedding starting?” She called after him, jogging to keep up her pace with him.

“In about an hour” He opened the door to the passenger side of the car.

“we’re going in one?” Anna asked. her stomach becoming a knot of nerves and butterflies at the same time.

“yeah, Isaiah had to leave slightly early with your father since Tommy needed them there earlier. Your brother looked fucking daggers at me for some reason at that”

“That’s Isaiah I suppose” Anna knew why. Isaiah had figured out that she liked Finn a month ago, the only reason he didn’t kill Finn was because he knew Finn was a good person, and he’d never say it loud , but a part of him was relieved that it was Finn his sister had taken a liking to. Rather Finn than any other boy.

On the car ride to the wedding hall, Finn had looked at Anna multiple times from the corner of his eye. He turned a few times to look at the way her hair blew back slightly because of the wind. 

She’d looked absolutely gorgeous in the maroon dress she’d worn for his brother’s wedding, and it took every bit of an effort for him to not blurt out and tell the young woman he was in love with her.

He helped her step out of the car , and walked behind her into the hall. She’d seen Esme and walked off to her. 

“are you ever going to tell her you like her or are you just going to fucking pine over her until she’s left?” Polly asked him, blowing out smoke from the cigarette.

“And why would you think she likes me back?” Finn asked his aunt.

“Because I'm fucking Aunt Polly. If you don’t tell her soon Finn, You’ll lose her” she said and walked away. Typical Aunt Pol.

**

After the wedding, at the dinner, the guests found themselves waiting patiently; The groom and bride were running late. Everyone at the table knew why but no one said anything.

“How long do you think they’ll be?” Anna leaned towards Finn’s ears and whispered “ hours or minutes?” she laughed.

Finn snorted his drink. Coughing and wiping his mouth.

“minutes apparently” he said gesturing his head towards the doorway, where Tommy and Grace had just entered.

Finn and Anna looked at each other and burst out laughing, earning some unimpressed looks from Polly and Ada, but John and Arthur on the other hand had smirks on their faces ,knowing exactly what the two were on about.

Soon one by one, after dinner was deemed over, each guest made their way to the large hall at Arrow house. 

Except Anna. She found herself forcing laughter and smiles halfway through dinner. Since, she’d in realized she’d be leaving for London in a day. She kept herself from tearing up every time she glanced at Finn during dinner. And so when everyone walked towards the hall, she walked outside, to get some air.

Looking up, Anna blinked away the tears. How she’d go back to living a normal life after having met Finn Shelby and fallen for him, she’d never know.

“I needed to talk to you but couldn’t find you inside” Anna whirled around.

“Finn, yeah, I needed a few minutes, there’s too many people in there” sshe gave a small laugh.

“Can I, can I , uh, tell you something?” Finn looked her in the eyes.

His breathe seemed to be caught in his throat, he could hear his heart beat in his ears , silencing the rest of the world, his hands got clumpy from sweat  and his ears were starting turn hot.

“Sure” Anna looked at him in a way that made Finn’s heart burst in pure adoration.

“I didn’t really know what it was, yeah, at first. But , um, I realized that-that I love you” he blurted out he las part. His eyes widening because he meant to say he liked her, he was terrified now, that he’d scared Anna away , by telling her he loved her. His heart dropped when he saw Anna’s eyes widening.

“I mean I-” but whatever it was that he meant to say next got muffled by Anna’s lips on his. His heart pounding, his hands made their way to the back of Anna’s head.

She felt as though they were the only two in the entire universe, in that moment. She couldn’t think of anyone else besides him. His hands . his lips and his hands.

He touched every part of her soul with that one kiss. 

“Finn , I love you too” she held back her tears “ But I’m leaving tomorrow for London. And I’m not quite sure when I’ll be back, that’s if I come back” she looked at him with tears in her eyes, he kissed her forehead.

“stay, for me” 

[awake-dearheart]

it took me a couple days but here’s a rundown of things sebastian said during the zoom call with his trainer don saladino and the march challenge group. he was on for an hour and three minutes total. keep in mind this challenge was fitness oriented so most of the questions revolve around that. this will also be LONG.

first of all he had trouble unmuting himself which was hilarious

he had a carboard cutout of the falcon with him which made everyone laugh

he loved being able to support ronald mcdonald house and he was sad they couldn’t go this year. sweet baby

when he was asked what he struggles with in his fitness he immediately said body dysmorphia. like no hesitation. he said he felt like he could stand to be less hard on himself.

he prefers cardio over other kinds of workouts.

he mentioned a role he’s getting ready for that’s “a lot different” but he laughed it off and said he couldn’t talk about it. i’m thinking it might have been tommy lee?

he tries to workout even just a little before he goes to set even when his schedule is crazy.

when he started training he had NO idea what he was doing. it took him a while to get into a routine and figure it out. he credited don with working a lot with him and finding a routine that works for him.

he feels better when he can do something physical every day. he said it really helps him mentally because the two go hand in hand for him.

someone said they were learning romanian and asked him for phrases to learn in romanian he said (in romanian) “oh my GOD why would you do that?” he also said he thinks people learning romanian because of him is “one of the sweetest things.”

he was asked how he balances training to look good vs training to feel good and he said if he’s training to look good he’s never 100% satisfied. training to feel good and setting short term goals has been better for him. 

don praised him for working hard to pivot his focus on the overall vs the day to day. seb said it was a lot harder when he started than it is now.

someone asked him if the workouts or the nutrition was harder and he immediately started talking about pizza and how much he loves a good cheat meal. the chat blew up talking about his cheat day video for men’s health. 

seb asked don his favorite cheat meal and they went on a tangent about burgers and fries and vodka that had us cracking up. seb said he went through a period where he was eating some kind of chocolate every day.

someone asked if he found it mentally difficult to go from one body type to another for roles and he said absolutely. he said if he has a shirtless scene to do then a month before he cuts out ALL sugar. fruits, carbs, everything and he turns into a very irritable person for about two weeks.

he was asked how the pandemic has changed his training and he said of course it has. him and don worked together to create a program for him to do from home with dumbbells and they had to get inventive. he’s been running a lot too.

someone asked the strangest item he’s used for weights and he said he’d go to the grocery store by himself without uber or anything. he tried to do one big shopping trip to last him for a week and half and he’d be laden with bags and it took him an hour and a half to walk home.

he told a story about using a towel and a bar in his house and he said “you probably know it because some “super fans” love to leak my address. so kind. lovely people.” the chat became v enraged.

he’s never had to get in shape on super short notice. marvel usually gives him about a 2 month heads up before he has to shoot things.

someone asked if he was a dog person. he said he loves dogs and he’d love to have one but he travels too much to give one the right kind of attention. he said if he could have a dog he’d have a bulldog or a husky.

he was asked his favorite nyc cheat meal and his first answer was “seeing all of you there” and we all cracked up. his real answer was a pizza place called rubirosa. he specifically likes their white pizza. (who wants to go to new york and get pizza with me?)

who would win in an iso squat challenge? him or don? (iso squats are when you drop into a squat and you hold it. it’s been the most hated exercise throughout the challenge). his face was HORRIFIED when he remembered what they are and he said don would definitely win. “don you have thighs of glory” the group is contemplating making shirts.

he played some sports in school but he wasn’t a super athletic kid. he struggled in school a bit because he had an accent and people were picking on him. it took a long time for his confidence to build.

celebrate victories where you can. he talked about when he posted that shirtless picture from the gym as an example. he said it’s more for motivation and pride in his achievements than about showing off.

he mentioned the documentary “the weight of gold” as something he watched recently. he said it’s a good example of people who are gold medal olympians struggling with the same things as everyone else when it comes to fitness. he comes back several times to not being too hard on yourself. 

he hasn’t lifted any weights in about a month and a half but he’s been running. he’s surprised at the amount of muscle he still has because he thought he’d lose a lot of it.

taking breaks when you’re working on fitness is so important. he says taking a week off sometimes is ok if that’s what you need.

they have talked about pizza at least 5 times at this point (32 minutes in) and it’s HILAROUS honestly.

he hates leg day. he knows how important it is because you need strong legs but he prefers doing arms and chest. “the squats can be so annoying UGH.”

someone asked him his advice for people who are starting an acting career and he laughed and said “quit all social media.” he walked it back and said you have to find a way to quiet the noise. 

this mfer went to theatre camp when he was 15 and he did MUSICALS. we tired to get him to sing. it didn’t work.

“you gotta do you. you cannot lose you as you’re going. and you cannot care what people think.”

he talked about imposter syndrome in terms of getting reviews and stuff. he said when he gets bad reviews it hurts but sometimes when he gets good reviews he can think “oh my god they made a mistake” or “oh my god i have to deliver like this every time.” he said if you’re starting out ask yourself why you want to do this and make sure this is what you want to do day in a day out. make sure when you face rejection and obstacles you have the energy to push you to get back up and say “fuck you i’m doing me.”

recommended the book “the subtle art of not giving a fuck” as something he loves.

“there’s creativity in everything. you don’t have to be a pianist or an actor or a writer. there’s creativity in all functions. as people we’re all creative.”

he went back to instagram for a minute and said to use it for the right things and follow the things that you like or are inspired by. he loves that social media can be used to reach people but you have to filter through the negative stuff.

someone asked the meanest thing don’t ever said during training and he said don’s never been mean but he’s always been inspiring and motivating for him. cute lil bromance moment.

he was asked if it’s harder to get into shape physically for the winter soldier or mentally. he said now it’s more of a head thing than it was in the beginning. the physically part was challenging for him in the beginning because he wanted to feel strong to build his confidence. he felt he couldn’t be bucky without being strong. 

civil war was his real hair but when they started filming it wasn’t long enough so he had extensions. by the end of the shoot it was long enough to cut the extensions out. 

the line between overtraining and not being motivated to train enough is hard for him sometimes. things tend to come all at once or not at all and it can be a struggle. 

he meditates and does some kind of physical activity every day at the start of his day. it makes him able to do the things he needs to do for the rest of the day better.

he thanked everyone for their support of tfaws and “making us look pretty good.” he’s very grateful for the turnout.

don says falcon weird. that’s not important but i wanted to mention it.

running is his go to thing. he feels like it’s a good meditative thing for him.  his go to pandemic workout was 100 pull ups, 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats and alternating with running. we all panicked and were like “100 PULL UPS AT ONCE??” and he was like no no no no no no no no space that shit out during the day.

he loves breakfast but he doesn’t eat it at breakfast time. he joked he was going to eat breakfast after the call (which ended at 7PM). he likes anything with eggs and avocado. 

there are still directors he wants to work with that he can’t get to see him for parts. he did three audition tapes, two in person auditions, and a screen test to get bucky.

he just recently learned what “thirst pics” are (he figured out from the chat it’s thirst traps). when someone told him that picture from the gym was a thirst trap he was like “oh great well that sounds terrible.” men’s health didn’t call him until after that pic. he had reached out to them before that but that was the thing that made them call.

“make fun of yourself. you have to not take yourself too seriously.”

they both talked about how being able to do things like this is a privilege. there are always days when seb or don or anyone walks into a gym and doesn’t want to be there.

this is the part that made me emotional as FUCK. he’s had days where he’s gone to set and been like “what the fuck am i doing?” he says every time that happens he thinks “this is the time they’re gonna realize i can’t do this. this is when they’re all gonna know i’ve never been good at this.” he said in those moments you can’t just say “no no no i’m the best.” he said sometimes affirmations work and they can be as simple as “i’m gonna try to have a good day today” and it doesn’t have to be “i have to be the best version of myself.” it can just be “i wanna have a good day today” but on the days when you don’t feel good about things and don’t know what you’re doing he said you have to go there and say “ok i don’t know what the fuck i’m doing. fuck everything.” be in the thing that’s happening to you and give yourself permission to be down for a minute. find a compromise with yourself. if you can’t run the same three miles you’ve run all week and you just don’t want to, maybe you go for a walk instead. (his example not mine i DO NOT run). when he’s been in those moments of defeat accepting it had lead him to things he didn’t plan for and he finds those moments to be gifts in a way. accepting it and saying “today is that day” your body and your mind can start moving into finding other little things to do.

he came back to pizza one more time. i love him.

he recognizes how lucky he is to have the life he has. he says it’s important to pay attention to give a fuck about things and to give a fuck about things that will help other people. 

watching him talk the whole time he seemed so happy and relaxed. he seems like such a light hearted and fun person and he laughed SO much

that’s the end y’all. thanks for sticking around and reading all my hastily typed notes

[lucysometimeswrites]

Hey can you please make a award season one but for a latina reader, if you would like you can keep the tom element. Sorry I'm asking again I accidentally deleted the last ask I made. I love your writing, you are amazing.❤️☺️

thank you thank you so much ur so sweet and of course! here you go and i hope you like it :) absolutely loved writing for latina!reader 

Awards Season (latina!reader)

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“Here to present the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, please welcome Meryl Streep!” the host announced. A roar came from the audience at the mention of her name, the very acclaimed actress welcoming the attention and making her way to the microphone.

“Oh, stop it” she said and waved them away, earning a laugh and even more cheering from the theatre. “If I’m honest, I really considered not presenting this award because it breaks me inside to give the Oscar to someone else when it’s rightfully mine” she said in a funny, raspy evil voice, resembling a witch, “But you know, sharing is caring or whatever. Alright let’s get to it.” she continued dejectedly, still joking.

“This year, we have been blessed with beautiful films and, along with them, incredible performances from beautiful and talented actresses. Viola Davis, your abilities to embody different characters and raise awareness to ongoing issues in society has always amazed us, and it does once again in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, Meryl announced, the camera going to Viola who was sitting about 10 seats to my left, the audience (including me) applauding and praising her. Literally all of her performances are incredible.

Could I still believe I was here? Definitely not, and not any time soon. From small skits to my big break with Tom Holland in a stupid rom-com that I didn’t even want to make, to now. Tom knows it’s nothing against him, it’s just that I haven’t learned to appreciate romantic comedies the way he has, but the thing I loved most from doing it was finishing it with Tom. He had become such an important person in my life since that moment, what with guiding me through the newfound world of fame and being there for me when I joined the Marvel franchise, it was just more than I could ever dream of. Now I sit here at the freaking Oscars, with Tom Holland as my date, and having done one of the greatest films ever, nothing could keep the smile off my face. Or the nerves.

 My leg kept bouncing up and down, a nervous action I often did and one that the guy beside me had caught on to real quick when we first met. His warm hand gently squeezed my thigh, and I turned to look at him a little surprised.

“Hey, it’s okay” he softly said, his gaze soft and comforting.

“I didn’t even realize I was doing it” I answered in the same tone, whispering a thank you and letting my hand rest on top of his, weirdly interlocking our fingers. 

Meryl turned to where Olivia Colman was sitting, “Your Majesty,” she started, referencing her portrayals of royalty and causing her to chuckle, “your moving performances have always left us wanting more, and I’m sure that is what I and everyone felt when we saw you in The Father” a big smile broke out on her face, and cheering ensued once more for our queen, or at least one of mine.

“Aging is some we all go through...unfortunately,” Meryl uttered into the mic, touching up her almost white hair, “and you, Cynthia Erivo, made us relate to your character this way with your brilliant acting in Reaching 39″, that woman is simply amazing, I thought as I clapped and cheered with the audience.

“My dear Kate,” the camera panned to Kate Winslet, who just stared fondly at the woman on the stage, “watching you grow as an actress has been one of the pleasures of my life and you reach new heights both professionally and literally in Misdemeanors”, she is such an icon, oh my.

Finally, Meryl Streep turned to look at me in the front row with a grin on her face, and I quickly got into “camera mode”, as I like to call it. I sat up straighter, looking at her with gentle eyes and smile. 

“Señorita Y/N Y/L,” she started with the heavily accented Spanish word for Ms., “with your entrance into the world of filmmaking, you have set new expectations for all of us to reach. Even though this is your first nomination, I feel in my heart it won’t be the last, and we can’t wait to see more of you like we saw with your extraordinary performance in Paraíso” she finished, bringing a big smile to my face at her words. Turning to the camera, I became a bit shy and gave a small wave, feeling Tom squeeze my hand in comfort and another hand on my shoulder from behind. I turned to see Salma Hayek, one of my co-stars in the film, who gave me a strong nod and smile, loudly saying “Eso!” as a cheer for me.

“And the Oscar goes too...” ayyyyy no ay no que nervios que nervios que nervios me muero- all of this going through my head repeatedly but having to put on a smile and a calm façade for the camera was exhausting. Tranquila, tranquila, si no ganas está bien igual solo el hecho de estar aquí ya es lo más-

“Y/N Y/L, Paraíso!” Meryl announced, and all I heard were screams and loud clapping from around me. 

Shocked, I looked up with wide eyes and my jaw going slack a little. I felt a buzz fill my body and the idol on the stage beckoned me up, when I realized I hadn’t moved. I slowly stood up and instantly turned to Tom who quickly pulled me into his arms with a strong hug and whispering in my year, “I knew it! I knew you would do it darling. I’m so so proud of you babe, go get your award!” not giving me a chance to answer as he gave me a quick kiss and turned me around in the direction of the stage. Still in a bit of a daze, I didn’t see Salma, Eugenio (Derbez), and Benicio (del Toro) make their way to me, ambushing me in a group hug as they started jumping around and sort of with me, chanting “EH! EH! EH!” like Latinos at a party and causing me to laugh and come back to my senses. I hugged them all and continued to the stairs, stopping to hug my directors Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón. 

I lifted my dress as I ascended the steps, and in true nervous fashion, stumbled and almost face planted in front of thousands of people. 

“Uy, mierda” I chuckled to myself, and accepted the help of none other than Chris Evans who lent his arm for the remaining steps. I thanked him with a smile and after his Congrats!, I made my way to Meryl who held the famous award in her hands. She handed it to me and pulled me into her embrace, saying “Beautiful job, sweetheart, you’re amazing”, and all I could answer was “Oh my, thank you so much, you’re the amazing one”, sharing a laugh with her and standing in front of the mic.

I looked out into the audience, who were still giving me a standing ovation. Almost like a camera in my head, I tried to ingrain this moment in my mind and took a deep breath, starting my speech.

“God, I really hope I don’t forget any words in English right now” I said with a breathless laugh, inciting one from the people below me. “Thank you so much. Thank you to...um...so many people. To the Academy for this great, great honor. To my fellow nominees for inspiring me every single day. Being in the same room as you is already insane, let alone being nominated with you, it’s just- it’s truly out of this world. Viola, Olivia, Kate, Cynthia, you are my literal idols and if I could physically cut this Oscar into five pieces,” I said as I made a motion of cutting the award and humoured the audience, “I would give a piece to all of you. Um, thank you to my team, my agent, Victoria, te adoro y te agradezco for believing in me and helping me live out my dream. Sorry, I’m probably gonna switch between languages during this.” I said with a laugh. 

“Paraíso was a project that, for me, came out of nowhere. But for my extraordinary directors los señores Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón, it was a life’s work so to you, gracias por darme la oportunidad de darle vida a Marielos and for giving me the experience of a lifetime. Salma, Eugenio, Benicio, Gael, and all the cast and crew, thank you for becoming my second family and supporting me every step of the way. It has been my honor to work with you” I said with a hand on my chest, showing that I was speaking from my heart and smiling at the kisses and cheers sent to me from them, hearing a crazed Te amamos! from Eugenio. It eased the tension in my body which I was incredibly thankful for. 

“I also want to thank-” I stopped, getting a little choked up, “ha, sorry, it’s my family that couldn’t be here” I said, a wave of claps and cheering in comfort came from the audience. Quickly composing myself, I continued, “Ya, okay. All the way back home, lo hice! Familia, les dije que no les iba a agradecer si me ganaba un Oscar algún día por no creer en mi y hoy es ese día, pero no me lo perdonaría si no les agradezco. Gracias por apoyarme a pesar de que yo sé que les dio un ataque que quisiera ser actriz. Gracias por siempre estar ahí para mi, por quererme incondicionalmente y por enseñarme que trabajando duro todo se puede lograr. Los amo infinitamente.” I finished, with tears threatening to roll down my eyes. I tilted my head to the sky to prevent them from falling, and with a deep breath I turned to Tom who had his hands in a prayer stance while looking intently at me, the same smile from before still gracing his face.

“Tommy...” I started, and the audience audibly awed at the nickname, “Oh, you don’t even know what I’m gonna say to him” I said with narrowed eyes, but my gaze found my love once more.

“Thank you so much for being my rock ever since we met. I’m beyond thankful for you and all you do for me, baby. You make me the happiest and thank you for pushing me to do things that scare me. For being there for me in case I fall and for being my person. Te amo, amor.” I blowed him a kiss which he caught and jokingly used to wipe his tears, making me and the other celebrities laugh.

Please wrap up, I read from the screen, and let out and “Ay, perdón! I gotta wrap up sorry sorry” hurriedly finishing up my speech. 

“Lastly, this award goes out to all the Latina girls out there with big dreams. Nunca se den por vencidas. No dejen que nadie les diga que no porque de que se puede, se puede. Querer es poder! I love you guys, my fans oh my gosh, thank you thank you, gracias!” I rushed out, raising the award to the air with one last big smile as Meryl guided me backstage to answer some questions. Just before I was off sight, I turned and looked out to the stage once more.

Lo logré...

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once again, disclaimer, movie names are mostly fictitious. feedback and requests always welcome!

[ufuckingpastry]

Where Gods and Monsters Meet

AO3 Link

Disclaimer: This fic is based on the characters in the Dream SMP, not the content creators. Any views expressed in this fic are not a reflection of the content creators in any shape or form.

Summary: They stood in silence, their backs to the walls as they faced each other. If one took a step in one direction, the other followed in suit, effectively circling each other. As Technoblade looked over his old partner, his grin faded the longer he looked. He could read Dream easily, guess his next steps, gauge his reactions, and even guess his expression beneath that cracked mask. Technoblade realized with growing concern that isolation was affecting Dream more than expected.

Technoblade gazed up at the prison. The design was elegant, pristine, foreboding. Darkness resided there, amongst the obsidian and marble. He remembered Tommy’s retelling of his visit. More rivers of lava in one place than they saw in all of the Nether. A spot of hell above ground, held together by cold and unfeeling black. Techno pressed his lips together, hiked up the axe resting on his shoulder, and strode forward. He found Sam behind his desk, a book open on the lectern awaiting his signature and promise to behave.

“What is your relationship with the prisoner?” Sam’s voice brought him up away from the voices buzzing in his skull. Technoblade blinked at Sam, then raised his gaze to the ceiling stories high above his head as if he’d find the words hidden in the cracks and shadows. His relationship with Dream was… complicated to say the least. He respected him, with all that happened in the past. Though, recently, that had been called into question. He did not particularly like him. Well… No, yes, that was correct. But Dream and his goals had aligned in the past. He pressed his lips together as his gaze flicked back down to Sam, who was waiting patiently for his answer.

“We were business partners for a while, but after… L’Manberg, we were not. Would I like to kill him? Potentially, yes, I would. But not today.”

“Do you believe he was rightfully imprisoned?”

“Yes,” Technoblade replied with little consideration and little hesitation. Once the questions were complete and the book agreed to and signed, Technoblade ducked into locker one. He removed his armor, his weapons, his potions, and other such gear. He stored the keycard in his enderchest without even a cursory glance over it. As he walked out, Sam gestured to his crown. Technoblade shot back a challenging look.

“The crown stays with me. You can check it for traps, but it stays with me.” He offered Sam the crown for inspection. He took it with a soft huff and searched it for traps or hidden mechanisms. Finding none, he handed it back with a satisfied nod. The physical search was much the same: uneventful. The trip through security felt as though it should have been building up to something. Something important. A confrontation of sorts. But as he passed through the wall of lava, honey blocks squishing uncomfortably under his hooves, he found his destination less and less important. His reasons for coming, to satisfy his own curiosity and another’s fears, seemed anticlimactic. Even as he signed his lives away should something go wrong, it didn’t feel as monumental as it should have been. Though, perhaps, that was how things like this went.

“Does he know we’re coming?” Technoblade asked as he handed the last two signed books over.

“He will be able to tell someone is coming, but not who.” Sam frowned briefly, then searched through his pockets. “There’s something I needed to give him, but since you’re visiting,” he pulled out a clock and held it out to Technoblade. “Can I trust you to give it to him?” Technoblade glanced down at the clock and took it carefully.

“Sure.” He looked it over as he waited for the lava to fall, his weight on one foot. When the ceiling was visible, he took a few moments to marvel at the engineering of the prison before his gaze landed on the man in the prison cell. Even from this distance, even with the mask concealing his expressions, Technoblade could read his surprise from his stance. A smug smirk cracked across his face and he shifted his weight on his other foot, cocking his hip out. Dream had backed up, obviously thrown off by Technoblade’s appearance. Good. When the stone started moving across, he easily kept up with it. He strode across the lava, his smirk spreading into a grin. Technoblade’s blood sang with the voices in his head, their buzzing growing to a roar. Dream kept his distance as he approached, taking a few steps back from the netherite wall. He knew a dangerous animal when he saw one. His steps echoed around the small chamber. It was strange that the obsidian was cold, even as heat bloomed behind him as the lava dripped back down. When the netherite wall lowered, Technoblade stepped in, turned on his hooves, and grinned at Dream.

They stood in silence, their backs to the walls as they faced each other. If one took a step in one direction, the other followed in suit, effectively circling each other. As Technoblade looked over his old partner, his grin faded the longer he looked. Dream’s movements were less controlled, he noted. He could read Dream easily, guess his next steps, gauge his reactions, and even guess his expression beneath that cracked mask. Technoblade realized with growing concern that isolation was affecting Dream more than expected.

Dream eyed Technoblade, chewing his lip as they stood in silence. He discarded questions and tactics, already thrown off just from seeing Technoblade show up at all. The pigman didn’t strike him as someone who wanted to visit. Of all the times Dream visited him in the past, he hadn’t liked him around, hadn’t liked him just showing up out of nowhere. He tongued his teeth, pressing his lips together behind his mask, then casually shoved his hands in his sweater pockets. He tilted his head at Technoblade.

“Why are you here?” he asked bluntly, a twinge of annoyance sneaking into his voice. Technoblade snickered, enough to break the otherwise blank stare. “What?” Dream hissed, his teeth bared unseen.

“So straightforward!” Technoblade laughed some more before he regained his composure. His smile returned, at least briefly. “It looks like you’re losing your touch, being trapped in here. No quick wit and no bite.” He exaggerated the word, snapping his teeth together and flashing his tusks. The subtle tilt in Dream’s head told him that he was eyeing his tusks. There no fear scent—he’d never known one from Dream—but his caution was potent in the small space.

The two of them had faced off before many times over. The memories of each time left Technoblade’s blood roaring, the voices chanting, begging for more. It left him exhilarated. There was no creature, in the Nether nor Overworld, that was as dangerous as Dream. There was very little that could rival him, stand toe-to-toe with him and still have a chance to dare to be a victor. Tommy and Tubbo were lucky. They were infinitely lucky that near everyone they knew came to save them. There was only one person who could match Dream, had matched and exceeded him.

And he now stood in front of him.

“Well?” Dream prompted him. Technoblade hummed in acknowledgement, but didn’t answer. A low growl slipped out from behind Dream’s mask before he could stop it. The growl made Technoblade straighten, though he tried to play it off by shifting his weight to the other foot. “Why are you here?” Dream repeated, barely holding in his snarl.

“Oh, you know. To chat.” There was a pause, then he dug into a pocket and pulled out a clock. “Sam said to give you this too.” Dream eyed him, stepping forward to take the clock. He frowned at it as he turned it over in his hands. Why give him this? He glanced back at his other—

Oh. Right.

In a fit of sudden rage, he had thrown both the clock and one of the “novels” Tommy had ordered him to write into the lava. Sam had been… busy and was unable to get him another one for… a week? More? Time was already hard to tell in this world, let alone in the dark unchanging of the prison. Dream’s hands gripped the clock tightly, so tightly they began to shake. The gold and glass creaked as his fingers curved like claws. All his attention narrowed, focused on the clock. His rage boiled again, a snarl ripping through as his tight hold on himself loosened—

Hooved hands settled over his, interrupting his thoughts. Dream could feel Technoblade close, his chest rising and falling in slow breaths close to his face. Dream’s mouth was still bared in a snarl, his eyes wide and breath panting. Technoblade waited. Dream closed his eyes, allowing his breath to slow, his hands to settle. His mouth relaxed, hiding his teeth again behind his lips. His anger didn’t die out, but it settled. For now, he was settled.

“Allow me,” Techno whispered, taking the clock from Dream. There were holes in the gold where Dream’s claws had deformed it, but it seemed to still work fine. He hung it up, checking with Dream to make sure it was in the right spot. Afterwards, he stepped close to Dream again. Dream lifted his face up to Techno, afraid for the question that was sure to be on his tongue, but silently begging for him to ask.

“Take off your mask, Dream,” he said. Dream closed his eyes and started to step back. Techno let him, watched him move.

“No, no, Techno, you know I…” His hands clenched into fists, shaking again. “You know why I wear this, right? You haven’t forgotten that, right?”

“Intimidation?” Technoblade guessed, half a joke on his face. At Dream’s expression, he continued. “I know, Dream. So, you should know why I asked you that.” Dream tilted his head away, discarding responses and retorts. Finally, he undid the straps and removed the mask. The hair on the back of Technoblade’s neck raised at the sight of his eyes. They were always to first to turn when he removed his mask. Unnaturally green, the pupils thin and beaded like lizards he found in the jungle sometimes. He shifted his weight, his face blank as he watched Dream set the mask aside. He looked… not small, but vulnerable. Dream wouldn’t hide himself here, not in his presence.

Technoblade leaned in close, giving Dream a smirk. He kept his weight ready to jump back in case Dream snapped. He wouldn’t put it past him. He had done it before. Dream eyed him with his strange eyes, his expressions more open and readable now without the mask. Unnerving as all hell, though.

"There," Technoblade said with a small bit of mirth. "Now everyone can see your ugly mug."

Dream's eyes narrowed at him and he straightened. His lip lifted into almost a snarl, but then cool, collected Dream returned. He bounced back and forth on his heels, a slow smile forming. "With your face," he started, reaching up carefully. Technoblade watched his hand, waiting for the rest of his response. When Dream snatched the crown off Techno's head, he twitched in response. Dream glanced at it as he twirled it in his hand. "I think I'm just fine."

"You got a problem with piglins?" Technoblade growled, reaching to take the crown back. Dream flashstepped back half a step, just out of Technoblade’s searching hand.

"Nah. Just you." Dream rested the crown on his head and took a full step back. He twirled around on his toe, tilting his head with a grin at Techno. Technoblade could see his teeth turning now too, sharpening and filling his mouth too full. Finally, things were getting exciting. Dream stuck out his tongue, the fork in it more obvious now as the color changed to match his eyes. "Fitting, don't you think? I'd love to see you bow to me, for a change," he said, a snicker on his breath. Technoblade's gaze snapped up from Dream's mouth to the crown. The voices started buzzing in his skull again, sparked by desire blooming in his core.

"Bow? To you?" Technoblade threw his head back as he laughed. When he looked back at Dream, he found his gaze intense. Technoblade’s voice dropped into a threatening growl. "Not a fucking chance."

Dream hyperfocused on Techno, his eyes bright and grinning as he poked and prodded the tiger in its cage. He wanted to sink his teeth into Techno's flesh, taste the golden blood that sang to him, join his voice to the thousands filling Techno's skull until he reigned supreme.

The only noise in the cell was their breathing, their panting, each tasting the air to determine who was threat and who was fear. Who was predator and who was prey. Who would be king and who would be slave. Technoblade stepped forward and Dream echoed the step back. Another step forward and another step back, a dance each partner knew intimately. A giving of ground, a giving of trust. Dream felt the cold obsidian on his back, warming slowly outside in as lava dripped and popped around them. But still, he wore the crown.

“So,” Dream started, breathless as he tongued his fangs. “What was that about my bite?” Techno gazed down at him, his eyes glowing with a faint hint of red. Dream knew that look. And it took all his willpower to not drop to his knees and offer his own blood as sacrament. Technoblade tilted his head, gaze back on Dream’s mouth. He opened his jaws wide to show him. He knew Techno loved to see his mouth open, loved the teeth.

“Are those things even sharp enough to break skin yet?” Techno asked, not sounding convinced. The insult made Dream burn and he snapped his mouth closed, loud enough the sound echoed around the walls and back into his own ears.

“You want to find out?”

Dream saw his challenge alight something in Techno. He grabbed Dream’s chin and forced him to look up at his snarl. When he kissed him, it felt like a hurricane crashed into him. A giggly keen bubbled out of his chest as his lips caught and tore on Techno’s fangs. Dark blood smeared across their mouths and Dream felt his eyes roll back in delight. His hands clutched at Techno’s clothes, holding on as if it was the last thing grounding him to this plane. Techno’s tongue snaked past ruined lips, just under his teeth. Dream closed his jaw, the threat of a bite pressing down on the intruding presence. But Techno opened him up, exposing him for his pleasure. His tongue slid over ancient fangs that longed to sink into flesh, flesh with heart still beating, bloody, and struggling.

It felt like ages passed before they parted. When Technoblade moved away, Dream followed with a whimper. Dream watched, pupils blown wide from the dark depths of his desire, as Techno licked the dark blood from his lips. The intensity of Dream’s stare followed down his throat to watch his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.

“It’s been a while since I last tasted your teeth,” he said, breathless from the kiss as well. Dream’s hands tugged Techno’s shirt free and burrowed beneath to warm against his skin. Techno’s breath hitched. Dream took this chance to urge him closer.

“More,” he whispered, he begged.

“Needy,” Techno teased with a laugh. He obliged and kissed him again, the hunger and voracity returning in full force. It had been. So long. Since he had touched someone else. Technoblade felt real, a grounding force that he had missed. The teeth in his flesh, the hands pinning his wrists to the floor, Technoblade’s breath labored above him. It was real. And Dream never wanted to let go.

But all things must come to an end.

Technoblade released his shoulder with an annoyed grunt, tilting his head to the side. Dream blinked his eyes open and gazed up at his partner. He heard the crackling static of someone talking to Techno.

“Yeah? Bruh, come o—” he growled softly, then continued in a calmer tone. “Alright, Sam. Give me a few more minutes, then I’ll be ready.”

Sam. Dream’s claws clenched around Techno’s sides, his body stiffening. Techno was leaving. He was leaving and Dream would be alone in the dark with his clock and his novels. Maybe for days. Or weeks. Or longer. A horrifying thought occurred to him, one that left him cold and shaking. Technoblade might never come back. Maybe this was a one-time thing. A last fling before he left him alone forever. Technoblade hissed in pain, flinching back from him.

“Dream,” he said, trying to pull him arm back. Dream’s claws went tight like a vice, breaking skin. “Dream!” Technoblade shouted.

“You’re not leaving!” Dream snarled, the second set of jaws falling in place. Technoblade snapped his fingers in front of Dream’s face, snatching his hand back before he lost it to Dream’s jaws. “You’re not-!”

“Dream,” Techno called again, softer this time. He cupped Dream’s cheek and waited until his strange eyes focused on him again. “I will come back. I promise. When I can get away, I will come and visit you. But you have to behave for the time being. If you claw me up, Sam might not let me back in. So please,” he motioned to the claws in his arm. Dream stared at him, panting, whining, then slowly retracted his claws. His gaze dropped away from Technoblade, guilt beginning to eat away at him.

“Hey, look at me.”

Technoblade watched as his partner lifted his gaze up. Dream’s hair was mussed up, his strange, strange eyes blinking openly at him. His mouth was closed and Technoblade could tell Dream was trying to hide his features again. Couldn’t let Sam see. He rubbed his thumb on Dream’s cheek, allowing a rarely soft expression to show on his face. “Beloathed,” he said. Dream’s tension softened a touch at the pet name. Technoblade knew he liked hearing it, liked being called those things. Technoblade had thought it stupid the first time Dream asked, but it grew on him over time. “I will come back. I promise.” He stood up and reached for Dream’s mask. He handed it back to Dream, coaxing him up to a sitting position. Dream hesitantly reattached the mask back on his face, then lifted his face up towards Techno.

Technoblade nodded with a firm nod, hid his arm in his robe, and called Sam. As he walked back across the lava, he glanced back at Dream. He was watching him, sitting just against the wall. Waiting for his next visit.

[cocos-cocoapuffsarenotforsale]

His Little Witch~~Part 9

MASTERLIST

Part 8

Main Pairing: Tom Riddle x Reader

Background Pairings: Harry Potter x Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley x Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood x Neville Longbottom, James Potter x Lily Potter, Draco Malfoy x Pansy Parkinson

Tags: Swearing, Controlling!Tom Riddle, Controlling Relationship, Canon-Typical Violence, Possessive Tom Riddle, Soulmates, AU, CANON DIVERGENCE, Minister of Magic Tom Riddle, Out of Character Tom Riddle, nice Tom Riddle, Dumbledore and Tom get along, sane Tom Riddle

Taglist: @chewymoustachio, @peachsnyder138, @marvelous-glims, @ingeniouscollectionthing, @thedarkshiningknight

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“Little Witch! Are you ready yet?” Tom calls from his study.

“In a minute babe!” You call back, peeking your head out of your bedroom.

“Love, we need to get going, it’s the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. The Minister of Magic cannot be late.” He repeats for what had to be the tenth time that morning as he walks back into your bedroom, where you’re finishing getting ready.

“Tommy relax. They aren’t going to start without you. And anyway it’s not even 10:30 yet, the task doesn’t start until noon.” You remind him gently. He was already stressed out about baby Grindelwald and it was the morning of the first task of a tournament that hadn’t been held in 20 years. 

But to be honest you think that he is more worried about you being out in public with Grindelwald on the loose. You hadn’t left the house in a week and you were going stir crazy. You had to beg Tom to let you go with to the first task and he finally relented after your incessant teasing last night. 

“You’re right, sorry, I’m just nervous.” He apologizes, pacing back and forth in front of the bed, running his hands down his face.

“It’s all going to be fine babe,” you say softly standing up and stepping in front of him, taking his hands in yours.

“You don’t know that. A million things could go wrong a student could be injured, Grindelwald could show up, you could be hurt-“ he started rambling.

“Babe, it’s going to be ok. Just breathe,” you try to soothe him but you know it’s hopeless. No matter what you say or do he will still be a bundle of nerves. 

“You’re right love, of course, you’re right,” he says after taking a deep breath, he forces a small smile trying to ease your concern for him. But you know it’s fake, Tom is still panicking no matter how much he tries to hide it from you.

“Hey, I love you, Riddle,” you whisper, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. He reciprocates, finally letting his shields down a little.

“I love you too my Little Witch,” he replies after you break apart. “Are you ready yet?” He asks, causing you to chuckle.

“Yes my love, we can go now, though we are going to be incredibly early.” You tease taking his hand in yours as the two of you walk to his study. 

“Better to be early than late. I am the Minister of Magic, after all, I do have a reputation to uphold,” he says as the two of you step into the fireplace together and Tom grabs a handful of Floo powder before shouting, “Dumbledore’s office!”

The fire flares up around you and sucks the two of you in before quickly depositing you in Dumbledore’s fireplace. The headmaster glances up from his position behind the desk, and a small smile creeping upon his face.

“Ahhh, Tom, Ms. Y/l/n, lovely to see the two of you again. Excited for the first task?” Dumbledore asks as the two of you step out of the fireplace and dust off your robes.

“Very! I am so excited to see Harry compete today! Though not as much as James and Sirius I’m sure.” You reply, your smile stretching from ear to ear. There was a small part of you that was worried about Harry’s safety but you knew that with Tom, Sirius, James, and Dumbledore there he wasn’t in any real danger. 

“Yes, I’m sure James and Sirius are thrilled about Harry competing. And you Tom? Are you excited?” Dumbledore asks carefully, his eyes twinkling with concern.

“Oh yes, I’m so thrilled that we are hosting a deadly tournament with barely legal wizards competing in. It’s not like this isn’t an international incident waiting to happen or anything,” he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Don’t mind him, Professor. He’s just a worrier, deep down I’m sure he’s excited.” You cut in, shooting Tom a look that says behave. 

“I completely understand Ms. Y/l/n, Tom has always been one to worry. Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman shall be arriving shortly and then we can discuss final details about the tournament and the tasks.” Dumbledore says and you take that as your cue to leave. But of course, Tom refuses to relinquish his hold on you. His arm stays firmly in place around your shoulders and he shoots you a confused look.

“Where do you think you’re going Little Witch?” He asks, worry clouding his features.

“I was going to give you all some privacy to discuss tournament matters and find my friends. I wanted to wish Harry good luck.” You explained, patiently. You should have known he would question you. Tom was ridiculously overprotective and he hated not having you by his side.

“Alright, but I want James and Sirius to escort you. Albus, could you send them a message?” He asks, still keeping you tucked into his side.

“Of course Tom,” Dumbledore replied indulgently. He quickly summons his patronus and asks it to find James and Sirius and tell them to come to his office. While the three of you are waiting Dumbledore makes up some phony excuse about needing to check up on Fawkes, in order to give you and Tom some privacy. Dumbledore quickly shuffles off into his private chambers, just off of his office, as soon as the door closes Tom crushes you against him in a bone-crushing hug.

“Tom, it’s only for a little while, I’ll see you at the task.” You try to reassure him, though you know it’s pointless.

“I know love, but with Grindelwald out there I’m on high alert. This is the perfect opportunity for him to attack and I can’t have you caught in the crossfire. Promise me you will stay with James and Sirius until I come and collect you for the tournament?” 

“Ohh, I get to sit with the Minister of Magic?” You tease and he just glares at you waiting for you to answer his question.

“Of course love,” you promise knowing there is no point in arguing. Especially considering all the begging you had to do to even be allowed to come today.

“Thank you Little Witch,” he replies before capturing your mouth in a hard, possessive kiss. Only a few moments later however you are interrupted by a knock on the door that causes the two of you to pull apart. Sirius and James walk in with big smirks on their faces, Merlin will those two ever grow up?

“Hope we weren’t interrupting anything,” Sirius teases with a giant smirk on his face. 

“Sod off Black,” Tom growls in response.

“Touchy, touchy,” James tutts.

“Do you two want to be unemployed?” Tom hisses, his face turning slightly pink at their teasing. 

“Let’s go guys before you get yourselves fired.” You say, giving Tom’s hand a quick squeeze before heading for the door.

“You two keep her safe,” Tom commands as the three of you walk towards the door.

“Yes Minister,” they both reply, any tone of teasing gone from their voices. 

The three of you walk down in relative silence, feeling slightly awkward due to the lack of conversation you ask the one question that’s been on your mind all morning.

“How’s Lily doing?”

“She’s ready to lock Harry in a tower and throw away the key,” James replies, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

“I can’t believe she hasn’t done it yet,” Sirius says.

“What about you two?” You asked you knew that no matter how crazy and chill these two might appear, they were secretly just as overprotective as Tom.

“I’m excited for him, but part of me just wants to put my foot down and tell him he can’t compete. I know it’s important to him but this tournament...it’s so dangerous.” James answers, his face hardening at the thought of his son in danger.

“Yeah, I know he’s a great wizard but to me, he’s still just a chubby, clumsy baby.” Sirius jokes, but you can see the tension behind his forced smile.

“He’s gonna do great guys,” you try to reassure them, they both offer you smiles but you can tell they are still freaking out on the inside.

Once you reach the Quidditch Pitch which had been altered to accommodate a dragon’s nest, you rush over to Harry and the others. James and Sirius stay back to give you guys some time on your own, though they stay close enough to keep an eye on you and to protect you if the need should arise.

“Hey, guys!” You greet them with a smile and pull Harry into a big hug. “Good luck out there Harry. You’re gonna do great.” 

Once you break away from Harry you take in the looks on everyone’s faces. Harry looks slightly nervous but mostly excited, Ginny looks like she’s going to be sick, Ron looks enthusiastic yet slightly jealous, and Hermione looks disgusted at the prospect of students fighting dragons. 

“Thanks, Y/n/n,” he says with a soft smile. He puts an arm around Ginny who was shaking like a leaf to try and steady her. 

“It’s gonna be fine Gin,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“Champions to the tent please!” McGonagall’s voice announces over the loudspeakers. Harry gives you all one last wave before heading over to the champions’ tent.

“He’s gonna be alright Ginny,” you try to reassure her as you place an arm around her shoulders.

“Yeah, Harry’s a great wizard sis, he’ll be fine.” Ron agrees, trying to quell his sister’s worries.

“Y/n, I think someone is looking for you,” Hermione remarks, pointing over to where Tom is searching the crowd with a concerned expression.

“Oh, thanks ‘Mione. I’ll see you guys later,” you say before rushing over to his side.

“There you are Little Witch,” he greets you and you can see the tension fade from his face. Damn this man needs some calming drought, you think to yourself. He gives James and Sirius a nod, dismissing them from babysitting duty, at least for now.

“Hi Tom, how was the meeting?” You ask curiously. He wraps his arm around you and the two of you walk over to the teacher’s box. 

“Boring, it was just tying up some loose ends and making sure the French and Bulgarian Ministries were part of the task development process. We need to cover our bases and ensure a fair competition.” He explains as the two of you enter the teacher’s box and he guides you to your seats. You were sitting in the front row next to Dumbledore and the other headmasters. It was a little awkward being with all the teachers, instead of the other students. But you were just going to have to get used to it, being the Minister’s mate and all.

The task was incredibly high pace and very interesting to watch. Though it was also slightly terrifying to see your fellow students go up against a dragon and try to capture their egg. Harry ended up scoring the highest and getting to his egg the fastest, which placed him in the lead. He made sure to use his natural skills to his advantage, summoning his broomstick and then getting the dragon to fly after him in order to get it away from the egg so he could then swoop in and grab it. 

“I’m gonna go congratulate Harry,” you whisper to Tom right as he was being bombarded by reporters, all asking questions about the tournament. You knew he would be furious at you for wandering off on your own but you would deal with that later.

“Congratulations Harry!” You shouted giving him a big hug. His mom and Ginny were smiling but you could see the terror in their eyes. Sirius and James were off collecting money from their bets and Remus had his arm wrapped around Lily’s shoulder stabilizing her. Ron was going on and on about how incredible Harry was and Hermione was ranting to anyone who would listen about how absolutely barbaric the tournament was.

“Hey, guys party in the common room after dinner!” Seamus shouted, he and Dean both had faces full of Gryffindor colored face paint.

“Sweet!” Ron exclaims, he was always ready to party.

“Are you coming Y/n?” Hermione asks quietly.

“I wish, there is no way Tom will let me go without him and I don’t think it would be a ton of fun with the Minister of Magic chaperoning us.” You grumble slightly annoyed. You loved Tom but sometimes it sucked not being able to just hang out or party with your friends.

“There you are Little Witch,” Tom growled, looking absolutely furious with your little disappearing act.

“Hey babe,” you greet shyly, nervous for his reaction. 

“Ready to go home?” He phrases it like a question but you know better. Fuck, you were in so much trouble when you got home.

“Sure, bye guys!” You call over your shoulder as Tom leads you back to the castle. The entire trip back to Dumbledore’s office is silent and you decide it’s best to keep it that way until you get home. Once you are in Dumbledore’s office the two of you walk straight to the fireplace and Tom grabs a handful of Floo powder before shouting, “Riddle Manor!” The fire swirls around the two of you again before depositing you both in the fireplace in Tom’s study. Tom marches you towards your room before he slams the door closed and turns to give you his signature glare.

“Care to explain Little Witch?” He asks, the fury practically dripping from his voice.

Fuck, you were in trouble now.

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Part 10

[littlefoxwithbighat]

Hi! This is talking about the plot of the dream smp in a meta sense and its a bit negative. The person behind this blog wants to remind you that you can skip if it's not for you and they still love the SMP. :)

ALL DISCUSSION IS ABOUT CHARACTERS. DON'T ATTACK CCS OR I WILL STEAL YOUR KNEECAPS.

I can't lie; I'm really annoyed and worried at the way the writers are handling Tommys character at the moment, and am increasingly concerned about it messing up the plot.

I wasn't very happy with the finale. I don't think that means all is lost, I think they can pull it back but it's going to take some work. I was worried about the way that things were handled before but the green festival was actually very well handled, so my worries were mostly assuaged. But yesterday? I don't know.

The fact nobody lost a cannon death is kind of disappointing. The weight of blowing up an entire city/ (country?) brutally is somewhat lost if there is no human loss. Nobody was hurt physically and the only people this had a big mental impact on was Tommy and Tubbo, everyone else wasn't very attached to L'manburg or had gone rogue, or were detatched from the while situation. And maybe it's the fact it's happened to them before or that they still have each other or that it seems odd/ frustrating that they still care so much about this place or that it was always a losing battle and they knew it, but I dont find myself really pitying them like I probably should. And I think that comes down to character growth or lack thereof, which I'll discuss later.

Niki and Fundy have started a villain arc, or at least a violent nihilism arc, and I actually don't mind it, in fact I'm a fan but it wasnt really foreshadowed, or really just showing them cracking as much as it should have been. I would guess this has mostly been started for both of them to tie Niki into the plot and I can't blame her for wanting that. Fundys acting is very good, and I REALLY hope the writers handle this well. For Fundy, regarding the fact that his father is going to be resurrected and that Fundy is following in his footsteps... If the writers don't realise that connection and make this a big step in Fundys narrative I will scream. Also Funboo bros are very interesting character foils and I hope their relationship is maintained so that they can play of off each other and also man I just really want them to keep being friends, it's a generally positive healthy relationship that makes both characters sympathetic and we need that right now. As for Niki, her character motivations seem to be mostly centered around Tommy and on the one hand I'm like ehhhh, because Tommy's character already gets a disproportionate amount of attention in terms of narrative, and I get it, but recently he's been a bit TOO much of the protagonist for a multi-person POV improve server... and I'm apprehensive. However on the other hand this has potential for a nice confrontation between Tommy and Niki. If that happens I want Tommy to be aware that this is going to happen and not talk over Niki, and I don't want it to be brushed over. I think it would be best if it was just the two of them. This also gives a nice chance for Tommy to examine his trauma with Dream and explain his motivations and Niki to get her anger out. I also want it to end positively, because it absolutely can and lack of communication when the viewer knows how to fix it is OK as a plot device sometimes but incredibly frustrating if it keeps happening (cough, Tommy and Techno).

Ranboo is reacting to the plot amazingly and I have as usual only praise for him, go, you funky enderman boy, go.

Wilbur is getting resurrected which is a thousand percent because Will wants the plot back and honestly I don't really mind, I think he'll do a good job. However I really hope he speaks to everybody about their characters, particularly Fundy, Ranboo and Niki because I don't want their characterisation and arcs to be thrown away.

Tubbo is doing very well, and I don't have many complaints to be honest. I hope he continues to get in with the acting with no shame, because he's an amazing VA when he wants to be, but sometimes he undercuts serious moments a little too much by laughing. Same criticism for Phil actually. But both are doing good.

On the theme of that, while I don't mind tension relievers or humour in serious moments there are sometimes too many. It was a lot worse about a month back and it was improving, but it seems to be creeping back in and ehhh. It's kind of Marvel-esque and not in a good way? I think it has a lot to do with bloopers and for some reason there are loads at the moment? Like Wilburs arc had almost none and this arc there's at least 2 every moment. Which isn't always their fault but maybe they need to take more steps to prevent them.

Techno is doing OK, he's quite a meta character so I'm not too mad about him undercutting serious moments but sometimes he does do it too much or in the wrong place. Like making jokes about Connor completely over the top of Tommy and Tubbos reunion, you know an event which has been foreshadowed for yoinks, prevented them from getting a proper flow going and kind of ruined it. And that made the reunion really dissapointing, which is a shame because it could have been so cool. However his characterisation is consistent and dedicated, his goals and relationships are clear and he's getting humanised more which is nice, and his monologues are great. I'm curious to see what he does now NL'M is gone but I have total faith in him.

Now Tommy. Oh Tommy. His character is such a mess at the moment, which is a shame because there were moments I saw people doubting his character choices and I was behind him.

Firstly the relationship with Techno fell apart. That was inevitable. Tommy didn't care about anarchy and Techno didn't care about the discs and both of their goals would impede the others. But the way Tommy talks about Techno is so... No? And now I understand that Tommy is going to have a biased perspective on the whole situation, and that's fine and good, but his character is so wrong about Techno it feels weird and painful? Like even from his perspective it went down differently to how he talks about it. They don't listen to each other and it's like watching two people scream at a wall.

The issue is the relationship was fairly well developed. I struggle to see Tommy saying he saw Techno as a friend but Techno never saw him as a friend because hold on, what? Techno, here's a respiration helmet because of that one of thing you told me about your trauma, a disc because those make you happy, plus top tier armour and weaponry, plus I'm going to spend time with you, calm you down from panic attacks, hide you and protect you from Dream, let you wander around L'manburg and achieve your own goals and help you plan things out Techno and Tommy didn't get ANYTHING from that? Plus after Techno opens up about his goals and his trauma, do the one thing that would hurt him the most, (use and then betray him) and then directly oppose his goals after he helped me? Ugh. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I know he would never let Tubbo get hurt and thats fine, but there were ways around that. If you're framing this character as the protagonist, then he needs to be sympathetic or at least grow and Tommy using Techno again without remorse and then refusing to listen to his perspective or show any gratitude for anything makes it difficult for viewers to empathise with him in my opinion. Have him betray Techno and then listen to Techno when he explains why Tommys betrayal hurt him and apologise, fine. Have him listen to Techno and try and find a way to keep Tubbo safe regardless, fine. Have him betray Techno but apologetically and still trying to avoid Techo getting crushed or killed, fine. But THIS? Im sympathetic towards Tommys character but this throws away so much potential character development for Tommy, where at least he saw Techno as a person, and not only that but a nice person who despite everything has set aside everything to help him? And then for him to be exactly where he was at the end of season 1, both literally, and emotionally ? I understand this is a child soldier with trauma but this is supposed to be our protagonist and if he doesn't grow, and isn't sympathetic and destroys someone we care about, how can we root for him?

Now all of this could be forgivable, not great, but forgivable, if Tommy had moved on from the discs. The Goddamn Discs™. And the worse part is all the dominoes were lined up to suggest he had! We had his moment of "he watched me" where he realised Dream was the villain and controlling him, "I've become worse than everyone I hated" good, amazing, I see where this is going, "The discs were worth more than you ever were!" and then he retracts and apologises and you think horray! Tommy has realised the discs were being used to control him and if he doesn't care about them, they hold no value! Now he's going to realise that his friends are more important and he's going to stop going after the discs. His new character motivation can be killing Dream and protecting his friends, especially Tubbo. It's clearly angled this way, and this way the plot progresses and Tommy with it. What marvellous character development. Look at him go.

And THEN, after everything that's happened he says the most important thing is the disc and I want them back!?!? EH !!? Why... Who... Who gave the OK on that writing decision? That's so static and boring and unsympathetic! And then he's back to asking people do fight for L'manburg? What?

I'll be honest I was kind go hoping either Tommy or Tubbo would die with L'manburg. I didn't mind it they didn't, there are a thousand ways to make the plot work without them dying, but this was not a great one.

PLEASE let Tommy have some growth. Yes he's had some from not caring about L'manburg to fighting for it in season one, but that was ages ago and he doesnt seem to have changed since then in any way that really counts. And I know this is harsh and he's traumatised but you have to understand I am talking about this in a sense of characters and narrative and NOT in terms of real life. Tommy needs to be better and dynamic because he is a charcacter and I want him to be a good one.

Having said all that, here are my thoughts on the future of the SMP.

Firstly, I am worried that becuse it is such a good source of content, especially for Tommy that they will never ever kill his character and leave him fighting with Dream for eternity. And I love the Dream SMP but I've seen stories that get dragged out for plot or content, and however much you think you want it to never end, let me tell you, yes you do. It will get stale and repetitive and I want the dream smp, or at least Tommys arc to go out with a beautiful and brilliant and fabulous plot ending instead of being dragged into the dirt. And then maybe new characters take the spotlight. Just please god give it a goode ending.

I also really hope they don't throw other things away to make Tommy the centre of attention, especially if it's destructive to the plot, or kind of weird and obnoxious.

Secondly, I am intrigued about the prison and Schlatts book to Dream and Technos favour and the egg and what that entails and I hope they really think through those plot points carefully and make them work, and don't forget them or throw them away.

Thirdly, I am intrigued for Wilburs return and hope that he manages to fix it cohesively without too crazy a change of pace and style and keeping characters (especially Ranboo and Fundy and Niki) consistent.

I hope they prep for the future and think things thought and communicate with each other.

It might be interesting to see other countries finally discussed but I don't know how much that would intefere with other plot points so we'll see.

That's all! Reminder that this is about characters and plot and this is just a few criticisms. I love the dream smp, but there are somethings I wanted to get of my chest. Please be respectful and feel free to discuss in the notes. Also, again, no hate to any CCs!

[inkribbon796]

The Marvelous Misadventures of One: S. Marvin Argentum Ch. 3: In the Pit

Summary: Marvin realizes he’s in a bit too deep as the time continues to tick on.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4

Techno seemed to notice Thompson was in the club and instantly raced from the club and up the stairs, almost shouldering past people to get to the Sheriff.

“Sherman! Sherman!”

“Tech,” the huge burly man grumbled, crossing his arms in front of him. “I thought I saw yeh[1] slipping inta[2] town. What brings yah[1] over here?”

“I found a legate and it was awful!” Techno lamented, basically ignoring him, the two of them basically the same towering height.

Sherman rolled his eyes, “Let me guess, the fight lasted five seconds?”

“There wasn’t even a fight,” Techno complained. “I mean, bruhhh, he barely could defend himself. A dead leaf would have been a more satisfying fight.”

“So he’s dead?” Thompson asked.

“No, it would have been like killing a newborn puppy,” Techno huffed. “Come on, get in the pit so I can have a good fight.”

“Nah, I’m good,” Thompson scoffed and pushed Ghostbur towards the front. “Just bringin’ yer brother to yeh.”[3]

Techno looked annoyed, “Ghostbur, what are you doing here?”

“I’m helping my friends,” Ghostbur smiled.

“I’ve seen what your “help” does,” Techno rolled his eyes. “You here for Phil then?”

Ghostbur looked nervous, “I . . . uh . . . I would like to see him but I don’t know.”

“Did you bring some of the heroes with you?” Techno was looking at Marvin.

“Yah[1] know, we’ll go, we just caught yeh[1] at a bad moment,” Marvin tried to intervene.

“What are you three even doin’[4] here?” Techno leaned against the balcony railing, another fight starting up in absence of Techno.

“We were gonna[5] pick a fight with the Legionnaires’ Guildmaster, but Ghostbur here took us ta[6] see the Sheriff o’er[7] here. So we’ll just go.” Marvin jabbed his thumb at the exit.

“Taking ‘em[8] on, huh? ‘Bout[9] time someone did.” Techno hummed. Then he looked at Ghostbur and nudged him towards the other side of the balcony where the VIP area was. “Hey Ghostbur, why don’t you go say hi to Phil. He’s probably seen you already, so just head on over.”

“Wait a second,” Marvin moved to follow Ghostbur who was already moving to the VIP area.

Techno summoned and axe and moved in-between Ghostbur and Marvin.

“Look, you two make one wrong move against Phil and I’ll take your heads off,” Techno threatened.

“Not lookin’ fer a fight, I want ta get out ‘a here with Ghostbur an’ take care ‘a the hunters up north,”[10] Marvin told him firmly.

Techno braced his axe on his shoulder, “Just watch yourself.”

Ghostbur rushed over to the door and Marvin followed him, Techno opened the door for them.

“Phil!” Techno called out over the loud music. “We got company.”

Philza reached for the remote and turned the music down to a low whisper.

“Techno!” the little girl called out.

“Hey sis,” Techno smiled, walking over to her and kneeling down so the two of them could bump foreheads. “Enjoy the show?”

“You murdered them dead!” She screamed. “Blood for the Blood God!”

“That’s right, good job kid,” Techno smiled.

“Hey Ghostbur,” Philza greeted tensely. “Where’s Tommy?”

“Oh, he’s still in Brighton,” Ghostbur smiled. “He and Tubbo are having so much fun.”

“Right,” Phil kicked his feet up and stood. “Good fer[11] them.”

“You might wanna[12] know, Quackity’s here,” Techno told Philza, “I saw him when I was in the pit.”

“Okay,” Phil remarked as if he really didn’t care either way.

“I think I saw Fundy and that one slime guy with him,” Techno added.

Phil’s good wing puffed up, “Shit! Shit!”

Ghostbur gasped, clearly ecstatic, “What? Fundy? He’s here?”

Phil raced across the room and hit the intercom button, “Fundy! You furball, get yer[13] ass up here this instant! I wanna[12] know where you are!”

“Oh, Marv, have you met Fundy?” Ghostbur was floating a bit off the ground. “You have to meet him. He’s my son.”

“I think I have,” Marvin answered, more than a little surprised by that information.

Techno loudly cleared his throat. “So while we’re waiting for Fundy and probably Quackity to show up, you mind tell me what brings you to Arizona? Last I checked, Egoton was in Chicago, or something like that.”

“We were gonna[5] deal with the Legionnaires, but Ghostbur said he knew someone so we took a detour,” Marvin explained. “Really we should’a[14] stopped at the station, but we’ll go.”

“You needed allies, you two are alone,” Phil said in a way that made Marvin feel like the avian was staring through his very soul. “Why go fer[11] ‘em[15] now? The hunters have been bigger problems before?”

Marvin weighed his options. “Cause they’re workin’ with the CIA an’ Dark’s nemesis. An’ they’re gonna crash a weddin’.”[16]

Techno started bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking like a small child that had been gifted a full sized robot suit for Christmas.

Phil, however, let out an indignant, insulted huff, “Oi![17] Did that fooker[18] replace me an’[19] Tech with some other bastard? How dare he‽”

“Man, is there anyone Dark hasn’t pissed off?” Marvin chuckled.

“Seems ta[6] be a much shorter list ‘a[20] who he hasn’t,” Phil smiled. “Phantom taught him really well in that regard.”

“Huh,” Marvin commented. He realized that for being two demons of roughly the same age, supposedly, and being the same type of demon that Philza and Dark were kinda opposites. “So yeh[1] on the same hatin’[21] human trend as he is, never met a demon that was particularly nice.”

“Nah,” Phil smiled. “I love humans, they make the best things like anime, an’[19] memes, an’[19] the word: “fuck”. So I love humans.”

“How old are you?” Taylor asked.

The avian demon shrugged, “I don’t count keep anymore. 350? Almost 400? I don’t know.”

At that moment the door opened and Marvin stepped out of the line of fire as Fundy walked in, Quackity and Slime right behind him.

Quackity stiffened nervously when he locked eyes with Techno,

“Fundy,” Ghostbur smiled as he started to advance. “My little champion. How are you?”

Fundy hissed, all the hair on his head and ears standing on edge. “You touch me, and I bite you.”

“Hey, chill out fer[11] five seconds will yeh[1]?” Marvin snapped back. “He hasn’t done anythin’ ta yeh.”[22]

“Oh, he’s done more than enough,” Fundy snapped.

Techno spoke up, “Where’s Tubbo? This gonna[5] be a butcher’s army 2.0?”

“No, I just came here ta[6] catch up with some contacts, didn’t even know you two were in town,” Quackity denied, taking a step back as he glanced at Techno.

“Sides we’d need Ranboo for that,” Fundy muttered a bit too loud.

“Oi![17] You watch yerself,[23] Ranboo can do no wrong!” Phil shouted at his grandson.

“Are you kidding me?” Fundy shouted back, devolving into a series of frustrated, incoherent grumbling noises.

“Looks like a pretty important meeting up here?” Quackity smiled, looking around. “You all having fun?”

“Bruhh, these two wanna[12] take on the Legionnaires and the government,” Techno declared. “And I’m helping.”

“Wait what?” Marvin demanded before his brain could tell him that looking a gift horse in the mouth was a bad idea. “Since when have yeh[1] been in on this?”

“Since you told me that you were taking on the CIA,” Technoblade grinned. “That type of stuff is literally all I do.”

The hunter spoke up, they’d been mostly quiet up until now, mostly watching the situation fly wildly out of control, but now they interjected, “I’m going to duel the Guildmaster, take over the Guild and take them back on track to what our Guild was meant to be, protecting people and not making deals with people who are literally worse than demons.”

“So you’re saying that if you’re in control you’ll go against the government?” Technoblade said.

“If that means protecting people like we’re supposed to be doing from the start, then yes,” Taylor told him.

“Now that’s the type of thing I like to hear,” Techno grinned. “But if you back out on that, I will take care of you.”

“Right,” the hunter didn’t break eye contact.

“So, yer[24] gonna[5] help us fight them then?” Marvin asked.

“Heh,” Techno grinned. “Taking down the self-entitled discount Spanish Inquisition, and the government? You’d have to fight me not to come.”

“Get rid of the Legionnaires?” Quackity smiled. “Count me in, wish I had brought Sam and Sap, they would’a[25] made this a breeze.”

Then the casino owner turned to his two companions, “Fundy, Slime, if you two aren’t up for it, yeh[1] can go back to the hotel.”

Fundy seemed to have a fire burning in his eyes, “I can do it, I want in.”

Slime gave a huge, lopsided grin, “I will also come with Quackity from Las Nevadas.”

“You wanna[12] stay on your retirement couch, Ol’[26] Man?” Techno prodded, smiling at Phil.

“Shut!” Philza snapped, rolling his eyes when Techno laughed at him.

“I wanna[12] come with,” Techno’s little sister told them.

“No!” Thompson and Techno both told her. She pouted and deflated a little bit.

“I’ll take her back an’[19] meet you all there,” Thompson told them.

“So, kitty, you got a plan?” Quackity gave him a sharp grin.

Marvin paused for a second, “Yeah, I think I got one.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Accessibility Translations:

1. you

2. into

3. Just bringing your brother to you.

4. doing

5. going to

6. to

7. over

8. them

9. About

10. Not looking for a fight, I want to get out of here with Ghostbur and take care of the hunters up north

11. for

12. want to

13. your

14. should have

15. them

16. Because they’re working with the CIA and Dark’s nemesis. And they’re going to crash a wedding.

17. Hey! (or: Wait a second!)

18. fucker

19. and

20. of

21. hating

22. He hasn’t done anything to you.

23. yourself

24. you’re

25. would have

26. Old

[theshadowedqueen82]

Wandavision Ep 4

I have no people in my house to scream about this with and thus I shall be liveblogging my watching experience. Spoilers ahead, please only read once you’ve watched the episode!

oh? are we finally acknowledging the fact that the snap would have drastically changed the world? looking at that trauma now are we?

I already miss the Wandavision intro. superior to the marvel one by FAR

SWORD HQ looks like a train station. Or the JLA hall from young Justice

they went thru the effort to remove the security clearance from everybody who was dusted haha

my girl Monica getting some recognition in the house! Yes appreciate her!

hmm so SWORD was around before the snap? Working before IW on a space program? It makes sense that their funding was slashed and the program stopped but this could have Implications for world tech

The more I see Monica the more I love her? “I was the only choice” “I wasn’t going to say it” QUEEN

LET HER GO TO SPACE COWARDS

she does not need more time! Like any proper Marvel character she does her grieving through fighting aliens!

THE MAGIC TRICK COP FROM ANT MAN AND THE WASP

this witness seems VERY protected if even their family has forgotten them

“No such place!” Wish I had the confidence of this guy standing in front of the Westview sign proclaiming it doesn’t exist

the helicopter! now we’re getting somewhere

“Careful Rambeau!” don’t worry she comes from a long line of experts in touching weird energy fields

DARCY MY GIRL

astrophysics? a step up from poly sci I congratulate you!

“Dr Lewis” you tell him girl wow I’m proud of her she’s done so well

as an actual astrophysics student I Will be judging the science

Interesting using microwaves. This probably indicates that she does most of her work with radiowaves. Astrophysics is very familiar with all EMR but as far as I’m aware more spectral analysis is done with radiowaves than microwaves, but they’re right next to each other so easy for her to recognize

Analog system of delivering a television signal over radio waves! It’s legit although a little weird they didn’t mention radio waves by name

hello mr beekeeper. methinks this mission will not go as planned

So sitcom laugh tracks sound pretty creepy in a military base

oh I know this show! This is a good episode

...technically all radiation dates back to the Big Bang that’s not important information

the universe knows that this sitcom is literally all we want from the world

so are the credit names all in universe characters who are important? Or is that a massive fourth wall break?

fandom levels of analysis happening here

Hey! It looks like they got more episodes than we did! release the tapes marvel. where’s the missing wandavision eps

unsure why they made Darcy an astrophysicist at this point. She appears to be tracking down people and doing stuff with wavelength emission which there are regular physicists who do that stuff too? astrophysics is more for stuff like, yknow STARS. of the non television sort

So they’re also getting the commercial breaks? I hope they’re analyzing the heck out of those with a therapist as well as scientists

how long has this poor man been crawling through the sewers?

They’re all as invested as I am in watching Wanda and Vision be cute, this makes me very happy

“you want any” HE THOUGHT SHE MEANT BABIES I’M DYING

wow they’re really not getting any of the same creepy stuff we get huh? dang that editing

full anti Mr Rogers moment here

so this is the first time we’ve seen Wanda using her powers in the form of red lightning again isn’t it?

Also like. Full sympathy for Monica but I cannot help but cheer for Wanda. You go girl, one woman neighborhood watch, evict that outsider

she just wants to be happy with her family guys! Just leave her alone!

OH GOSH OH NO THE IW FLASHBACKS ARE HERE

well it is final. This couple will kill me. Wanda’s literally keeping Vision alive through the power of sheer will and created an AU to keep him safe and give them a place where they can be happy

“It’s all Wanda.” Yeah that’s right, this is what happens when your most powerful Avenger is given literally the worst hand of cards ever and no therapy!

Also can’t believe it’s canon that Wanda’s a better writer than all of Marvel

Wanda and Vision and Billy and Tommy on the couch together! A happy perfect family!

Final thoughts: although I enjoyed getting to see Monica and Darcy and Jimmy I cannot help but be sad Wanda and Vision did not get as much screen time (heh)

I am torn between wanting SWORD to rescue the missing town and just. letting Wanda live her life geez people

Also is the beekeeper gone? what happened to him? Did he get shot back into the sewers? Is this why the time period keeps changing?

Stay tuned for next Friday I guess as we receive more answers and questions! I love this show

[youeverfeelcursed]

On The Narrative of The Last of Us 2 (1 of 2?)

I am impressed by how many people are hating on this game and its narrative when I’m finding it how amazing its written even though it broke my heart in so many pieces I’m not sure I’ll be able to stick them together for a while. Reading most of the arguments against the game it feels like people are simplyfying the story of both game to worrisome levels.

This is going to be a long text, and obviously, it’s going to be FULL of spoilers so: SPOILERS AHEAD.

Let’s start by going back a bit and into the Last of Us.

Naughty Dog and the importance of being human: The Redemption of Joel

I think before we start we need to talk about the most important detail of The Last of Us franchise - onwards TLoU -  and that is that its never been about zombies, or survival, or Joel or Ellie but about humanity, or better yet, about what is being human and what makes us human. It doesn’t matter if its Part 1 or Part 2 but keep in mind that this concept is the driving force of this story, subtly hiding in our protagonists and their friends stories. You wont find easy blacks or whites in their storytelling, because being human is not that simple.

Now that we have that clear, keep in your mind too the word monster.

With TLoU - Part 1, we get in the skin of Joel Miller, an assholish smuggler based in Boston. From the beginning we can see that Joel is not a good person and through the whole game is heavily implied that he’s been less that nice to humans to survive. The player can “easily” forgive these flaws of him because we can empathize with the lost of his daughter during The Outbreak but even if we empathize we can’t just ignore that Joel is not a hero, he’s just a broken survivor.

Many people think that TLoU is all about the connection of Joel and Ellie, but in the end it’s all about Joel and his “redemption”, his coming back up from being a murderer, a smuggler, a shitty person to a human with feelings again, with so many feelings he makes the worst decision for the survival of humanity: he saves Ellie. He saves Ellie because he cares, because he learnt to care so much  that he put his own selfishness above humanity’s well being. He’s battled thousand of zombies along the way but we know they are mostly not aware of their actions anymore, they can’t choose to hurt people, they just do it because it’s what they do but Joel made a conscious decision. A horrible decision.

And after, he lies to Ellie. He takes the chance of deciding about her own life only because he desires to keep her alive. And this is what it is about, how beautiful can it be to be human, and how horrible can it turn into.

TLoU Part 2, the death of Joel and the descent of Ellie.

We begin Part 2 with Joel narrating what happened in the hospital to a flabbergasted Tommy. I’m not sure how most people felt during this sequence but during it I felt shitty for actually being happy that he saved Ellie, which was alleviated by Tommy’s acceptance of it (”I can’t say I’d have done different”). I’m not sure if I were to be Tommy I would have reacted the same way, but props to him for forgiving his brother.

So times passes and we land on Ellie. This is where everything begins.

The transformation of Ellie is like a trainwreck, you know it’s going to end badly but you cannot stop looking.

When we get control of Ellie we get our old Ellie back, maybe a little less cheerful but it’s normal, she’s already 18 and she’s been hit hard by life, multiple times. Still we can see that underneath all that tough and grumpy behaviour (I mean seriously, she’s just like Joel) there’s the Ellie we loved from the first part.

Up to the point Joel is killed.

Oh how I fucking hated that moment and it’s not because it felt stupid - it truly didn’t to me - but because I was at the same time expecting it, and not expecting it. Because that’s how death gets to you and I found the setting horribly marvelous.

Many people think that his dead was stupid, that he didn’t go in a grand way but just simply got his face smashed by Abby. I hated it, because the whole scene I was like Ellie hoping for Joel to pull through and save himself, I couldn’t believe he would die in the first 3 hours of the game!! Naughty Dog what the fuck!?

But you know. That’s it. That’s the point. Things come and go and most of the time we don’t really expect what happens. And it’s traumatizing, it’s unbelievable, it’s shitty. But it’s life. One night I was saying goodnight to my dad, the next day he was dead. It happens. Death is not grand, death is not heroic most of the time, it just is.

And that’s the feeling that they manage to convey, that it’s not real. We are feeling the same feelings as Ellie, thinking that somehow, in some crazy way he’ll be back to come back. But he won’t. There’s a grave. And yet the feeling is there. If Joel’s death had been shown differently, we - as players - could find some closure, but this way? This way we are stuck. Just like Ellie.

Just like the beginning of the end of Ellie. Because the next part is all about losing yourself. We can see it in tiny details like Ellie’s hair. In Jackson, she’s got a tight bun, controlled and when she and Dina are getting to Detroit, part of that bun is loose as an analogy of her slow demise, how she slowly loses control. It’s also represented by the weather, with one of the most ruthless scenes happening during the huge storm of Detroit: Mel’s death. 

It would be easy to just blame this turning into a monster on Joel’s death, but there’s multiple factors affecting Ellie during this time, apart from the trauma from watching Joel be killed in front of her own eyes. 

The first one is that she was forced to miss the chance of being useful, useful as a cure for the whole world, for her life to have meaning. It must be really hard to love someone so much - Joel - and hate them at the same time, and plus to all of that, you dont get the chance to forgive them because it was ripped from your own hands.

Next is what she deems as a betrayal from Dina, her pregnancy. This is where the queer theme comes strong, because who hasn’t been in a situation in which we feel we will lose our loved one to the straight ex? The feeling of being powerless specially because Jesse is her friend. She loves him, she loves them both. But it’s obvious she doesn’t feel worthy of Dina, and when the pregnancy comes, it just pulls at her strings. She starts to go alone on missions, reckless crazy missions distancing herself from both of them to the point she crashes hard and makes Nora talk. 

Ellie much to our liking and hate, grew up under the care of Joel, a sweet and wonderful man with his own troubles but a great problem of sharing his feelings, something I feel was passed to Ellie. She doesn’t speak of her feelings, she keeps them inside until they break her apart, so this descent wasn’t caused by just one simple happening, it was a collective of shitty feelings. And we could argue, “but its obvious Dina likes her!”. Well yeah, it’s obvious to us, but for someone that lost so much so fast, how obvious can it be?

Finding Abby is not just about revenge, is about having control over her life. That’s something she can do, she can find Abby kill her and get revenge for Joel. It keeps her grounded while slowly plummeling her into turning a monster. Because sometimes we hold onto the most stupid things just for the sake of being grounded, even if that thing destroys what’s left of us.

I know many people were angry at how a LGTB+ was treated but I personally don’t think this demise would be as hardcore if it had been a straight white girl. If this representation is good or bad its up to everyone’s opinion but I personally think Naughty Dog did a good job in here. I know people are tired of traumatic stories, but there’s a lot to chew in this game to just reduce it to “sad gay story”. For the instance, Ellie is consciously destroying her own life, personally I think because she felt she should be dead plus everything mentioned beforehand. When she leaves Jesse behind to go get Abby instead of saving Tommy that’s the point of no return.

Well, there’s more to unravel but I feel this post is long enough already and we still have Dina, Tommy, Jesse and Abby to talk about. So I’ll take a breather and keep writing later. Sorry for typos and keep safe.

[margseliserobbie]

[card written in present day, hidden in a drawer which is found by Seb 25 years later]:

Dearest Roo,

I’m not quite sure when you’ll find this card.. whether it be today, tomorrow, or fifty years from now. Typically, I’m always far too excited to give you gifts and cards and can never seem to wait. I think of a surprise for you or buy you a gift and immediately text, call, or just tell you “I got a surprise for you!” It’s because I always have and always will love spoiling you. I always love putting a smile on your face and constantly reminding you just how much you mean to me. I figured I’d try something different for a change and see how long it takes for you to find and read this. Very daring of me, I know.

Currently, the year is 2021. Our card tradition is quite new. (All thanks to our breakup last year and me drunkenly picking out a Christmas greeting card in October to apologize for calling you a fuckboy.) We’re secretly married, and the world doesn’t know yet. Soon. Right now, it’s just you, me, and Axel but we’re hoping to grow our family any day now. We’re trying (wishing and hoping). Oh and we can’t forget our pups: Boo, Belle, and Buckbeak. What else? Well, we’re considering settling down.. Axel really helped us to realize it’s okay to slow down a bit. Who would have thought we’d ever slow down our work schedules? Okay, to be fair.. we haven’t slowed down quite yet, haha. But we know we will soon. We’re in the beginning stages of building our forever dream home in Australia. We decided that’s where we’re going to really settle down. So far, we decided we need a tennis court, a big pool, a biiiig bath tub for all our bubble baths, a huge washing room with at least two sets of washers and dryers for all the laundry we’re sure to have with the amount of kids we want. Our forever dream home will have enough rooms for all our babies, plus a room for your mum, plus a couple of guest bedrooms. When did we get so over the top?! Haha.

If you’re opening this card tomorrow... sorry. I suck at hiding and need to work on my skills, haha. I’m hoping you find this in at least five years from now. I hope you’re reading this with that adorable smile on your face and reminiscing. I hope you’re able to read this card with no interruptions from our 10,000 kids ;) haha. Okay, if it’s five years? Maybe three kids. Four total, for sure. Should I do this? Should I guess what life is like as you’re reading this five plus years from now? Maybe ten? Maybe more? I won’t put a limit on it, because I really don’t know!

Okay, I imagine you’re an Emmy winner, thanks to the Tommy Lee project and then some. Oscar winner. Two time Oscar winner. Golden Globes, BAFTAs to match. Full sweep, baby. I imagine you’ve made history as the longest running Marvel actor, playing Bucky in films that broke box office records. You’re still and always will be handsome as can be. I know I’m still wondering how on earth did I get so lucky to call you my husband. You’re currently laughing and shaking your head as you blush, reading this. Still not good at taking compliments, are we? Some things never change! You’ve started producing because you realized you have a talent for it. Our dream of doing projects in Australia has come true more than once. We’ve done more children’s films/shows because we want our babies to see our work. Children films/shows have equally become our passion because family is so important to us. Our family.. well, I know for sure we at least have one girl and she’s an absolute daddy’s girl. She has you wrapped around her little finger and you can’t even deny it. You’re extremely happy we made that agreement in 2020 that I’ll be the strict one for the girls, and you’re the strict parent for the boys because you could never say no to our baby girl. Like I said, three or four kids total. Maybe five.. we never were good with birth control. Axel is all grown up and cooler, chiller than ever. He still has his Aussie laid back attitude and absolutely loves living in Australia. He’s in his element. He looks JUST like daddy still, and still admires you more than anyone. In my mind, he’s still our best friend and thinks we’re the coolest parents ever, haha. We’ve renewed our vows a couple of times over the years because we just can’t help ourselves. Our love knows no bounds and we’re still incredibly cheesy and mushy. We’re still leaving each other silly inappropriately timed cards for every occasion: big or small. Our “rules” are still going strong. ;) Maybe we even added some fun ones in there. We still can’t cook for shit, no matter how hard we try and technology? We could never keep up. The one thing I not only imagine, but I KNOW? No matter how far into the future you’re reading this card, we’re still ridiculously in love. Just as in love, if not more (is that possible?), as the moment I’m writing this card. And let me tell you, we’re really, ridiculously, insanely in love as I write this card. We’re pretty much obsessed with one another, haha.

I’m writing this card in 2021, but I know I’m probably still a rambling mess when it comes to expressing my love for you in the future. You’re probably laughing, realizing some things never change. 

I love you so much, Mr. Stan. I love our life together now and forever. I know this letter will be proof that we never have and never will want to do life without one another. 

I love you to the furthst moon and back,

Margot

@sebasstan

[oddaodd]

Hello I’m the person who requested “I Don't Go In For Sweets” and...just let me begin by saying thank you from the bottom of my heart, thank you for dedicating your time and your energy to write it, it was absolutely perfect and everything I wanted! I sent you this request the day before a huge exam (yes, instead of studying but that’s another story lol) and surprisingly, you posted the fic a day after I got my results and saw that I passed so it felt a bit like some reward and yeah I know you didn’t do it on purpose but still, it was amazing! Now let’s dive into a deeper analysis (I like to do this but it’s quite long, don’t feel forced to read it, no pressure!)

First, the very beginning: Polly and Tommy’s talk and how can I say this? It was so good, so well written I was actually seeing the scene as clearly as if I was watching the last episode of s3, I could actually hear them talk and see them move and it was too good to even feel like reading! I’m also so grateful you had the idea to bring the impact of Tommy’s mother’s death on him because...it’s not something we see a lot in the show but I’ve always been convinced that he had always been very affected by it and he would never want the same for his son.

Now, the wedding day: “The fact that everything about this wedding was so obscenely different from his first did soothe his guilt a bit” this kind of sums up a lot: Tommy compares all of this situation to what he had and rejoices over the fact it’s not as perfect, as beautiful, as great as what he had with Grace because it makes him feel slightly better, he isn’t betraying her as much as if he was enjoying marrying a new woman but then...she arrives and he can’t help it but find her pretty.

You perfectly showed this inner conflict of always having Grace in mind, always reminding himself of her and how better she was, this is not something he’s doing because he enjoys it but because it’s the best solution.

And of course he makes sure his opinion is known, he doesn’t smile back at the the altar, the big wedding kiss he gave to Grace is here, a simple, almost nonexistent brush on the lips, he doesn’t try to get to know his wife, on their way home, he has this revelatory lapsus “I've already asked the maids to take them up to your-our room” because deep down, it’s not his room or their room, it will only be hers because he won’t sleep in it much and he shows it a moment later when he doesn’t even sleep in the same room as her on their wedding night! I mean the scene where she’s waiting for him all nervous and giggly because she knows what happens...or at least she thinks she knows but then she wakes up alone in the morning, no “husband” in sight. Then comes breakfast, Tommy introduces her to Charlie (who wasn’t even at the wedding!!!) like he would present his new nanny because in a way...that’s what she is. He didn’t marry that girl because he wanted it but because it was something he knew his son needed. I really loved the fact you didn’t make Charlie love reader instantly because as kind hearted as he may be, he’s still a child who suddenly lives with an unknown woman his dad doesn’t even seem to like but one little discussion is enough to make him warm up to her and yeah I liked seeing this, it was very well done!

Then we get to see Tommy couldn’t care less about his wife and a thing kind of stroke me: reader has insomnia sometimes and Tommy doesn’t seem to worry or even think about it, he just sees it as more occasion for her to talk to him and ugh please no! And it shows how detached he can be which is so so in character! Afterwards you wrote about how he didn’t invite her to family meetings and stuff which I think was important to mention and maybe you didn’t think it this way but he keeps her away of very important part of his life: the business and the local bar he spends time with his family which is quite a...special place because that’s where he met Grace, that’s where their story began and family meetings? Inviting her would mean she’s part of their family, they trust her enough to welcome her but 1) he doesn’t really care about her enough to trust her and 2) would grace really have been invited to these meetings? Considering what she did? Definitely not so in not inviting his new wife, he doesn’t give her an advantage of being more welcomed in the family than grace was because, again, she’ll never be enough, she’ll never be grace. And it was so important to show this and you did it so beautifully, so subtly, wow!

The birthday party is also a great way to show that reader has a great relationship with everyone except her own husband and their convo in the office afterwards bluntly stated that. Tommy is so heartless, so cold, so...awful towards the woman he married! I really hated him in this moment because clearly she’s trying, she wants to make things alright but he will not let it, he will push her away no matter how harsh he has to be. And there is no apology, no compassion, nothing, he doesn’t care. He knows how bad his words hurt but he owes nothing to her.

And even when he’s awful to her, she still offer her time and her attention. He comes home completely drunk and considering the way he treated her, she could let him deal with his terrible state alone but she won’t, he’s her husband after all...I really loved how you turned that scene, we can see some of reader’s... I don’t know what to call it but so far, she let him have his space and now, when he rejects her help, she still gives him a hand. And then he compliments her, out of the blue and yeah he’s completely drunk but it feels true. And even better, he apologizes and explains his awful behavior and it was essential to have this! It was essential for reader to hear it from him that she didn’t do anything bad, it wasn’t her fault or anything, he just struggled with understanding what her place was. Even better, she reminds him she doesn’t want to take Grace’s place.

It was everything he needed to understand because right after this, he allows himself to let go a bit and then...a little bit more and again...some more until finally the stables scenes arrives! And my oh my! How much more beautiful could this story get? The fact they bond over something Tommy loves is just...amazing! It allows reader to see a gentle side of him because we all know how Tommy gets whenever he sees a horse, it could and will make any woman fall in love with him. And this scene holds so much...power and emotion, she trusts him enough to let him guide the horse even though she doesn’t know how to ride it and he assures her he won’t let her fall which is so important because he accepts the fact that she trusts him and he want to be worthy of that trust which is a big step because it means he cares. And they have the loveliest moment, just the two of them, no grace clouding his mind, no hatred, no unnecessary talk, just a husband and a wife enjoying the nice weather. He helps her off of the horse and he grabs her waist but he doesn’t feel the need to take off his hand and it shows progress, it shows he enjoys having her close and he looks at her, it’s the first thing that came to his mind, her beauty and now he doesn’t feel guilty about it. He stares at her, he enjoys it and he doesn’t want to stop. And finally because well, this story couldn’t just stop there, it reached a whole new peak in beauty: their real, true first kiss. It doesn’t mean we have a fairytale and happily ever after but it feels like a true promise of better things coming up, the kiss he gave her on their wedding day (as a way to seal their wedding vows) was given...reluctantly to say the least but now, he was promising her to be better in the future and truly respect those vows and it’s just the most perfect ending this story could have! It was just a magnificent, so beautifully well written story I don’t even know what to say anymore (and I think I’ve already said way more than I should be allowed to!) than it was perfect, you’re so talented and I’m so thankful you agreed to write this! I hope I haven’t killed you with my pages of review lol! Have a wonderful day <3

Ps. I didn’t proof read this so sorry for mistakes and nonsensical sentences :)

Hello!

First of all, thank you so much for writing me to tell me how much you appreciated your fic. I really like knowing that the person who requested a specific fic enjoyed it so, It means the world!

And just look at that! I certainly didn’t know anything about your exam, but what a marvelous most serendipitious coincidence! It makes everything seem much more magical, don’t you think? The universe never ceases to amaze me! 🥰

Also, thank you for the analysis. I always like to write things so that they go beyond words in order to convey feelings and stir deeper emotions and I’m so glad you not only perceived them but also liked what I was trying to project!

I too, feel in my bones that Tommy’s mother’s death affected him a lot. Maybe it’s not something that keeps him awake at night (or all nights) but I definitely feel like it is one of the thoughts he keeps on the back of his mind and is constantly nagging him. And polly of course is one of if not the only one who can see it.

As for the wedding and their marriage in general, I did want to show Tommy having this conflict because as we know, our man doesn’t let go of things easily. And like Tatiana Petrovna once said, his fear is freedom. Im not saying that Grace stopped him from being free, but he insisted on staying in the past, and when the reader comes up she’s basically carrying with her this humongous banner that reads FUTURE.

He does think the reader is pretty and he knows that his family accepts her and his son loves her but he doesn’t want to give in, he’s almost afraid of doing it, so what is the easiest thing to do? Push her away. And still when he’s awful to her she helps him because I want to believe she can also look behind the walls he so desperately put up around him. In the end I didn’t want to make it like *poof! They magically fell in love! * but like you said, I wanted it to end with a promise of better things to come.

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to write. I enjoyed analyzing Tommy’s mind with you and I hope you have a lovely day as well!

P.S: Congratulations on your exam results! 🤍💐