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tolkiendefiled · 10 days

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Season 2 Episode 2

I think this show might actually break me. It’s testing my patience because the showrunners and writers wrote themselves into a corner, and I don’t know what’s worse - that they didn’t stop or that they actually managed to go in further. This show gives new meaning to the phrase “dig deeper.”

Now, it’s not all bad. I’ve got to admit the VFX for the show are absolutely stellar. The opening sequence with the camera moving to Khazad-dûm? That was brilliant. It’s so good that I can’t tell if it’s CGI or a miniature or both, and the transition to the real set was spot on. The wide shots of Eregion look way better than the first season, but the set for the exterior of the building still looks like a set, at least in daylight. The night time shots look much better, which makes me think I’m right about the lighting needing more contrast because the shots in Lindon look great and they have more contrast. The chef’s kiss is Celebrimbor’s forge. This shot right here (see below) is amazing. They built the set. They built two floors, and massive pillars, and lit this bad boy, and it’s huge. It’s really fucking cool. Whatever this is, I want more of this.

But that’s not going to make up for the absolute mess that is this story. I’m not even going to review this in chronological order. I’m going to work my way from the good to the bad, to the “oh my god, what the fuck were they thinking.”

The episode opens with the Dwarves, and their storyline is the best part of the episode. It doesn’t feel like it’s part of the same story, which is another recurring problem with the show - these disconnected storylines, but it actually does work when the clunky dialogue isn’t getting in the way. What happens is that the darkness spreads from Mordor, causing earthquakes in Khazad-dûm. The quakes collapse the light shafts, throwing the city into darkness and preventing them from growing crops underground. Disa and her singers try to find the light by singing, but this only collapses the last remaining light shaft. Basically, unless the Dwarves reach out for help, they’re screwed. However, that was ruined in the last season when the king booted Elrond out of the realm and stripped Durin of his title for giving the mithril to Elrond, and father and son refuse to be the first to make amends. This storyline works fine, even though it doesn’t feel like it’s connected to the rest of the show. In the first season, there wasn’t much crossover with the Dwarves and the rest of the main plot about the rings, so their sections always felt like they could be removed and it wouldn’t change anything. That actually happened with the first episode. They weren’t in it and you really don’t notice.

What you might notice, however, are the bearded women. Yes, after getting roasted into oblivion for not giving Dwarf-women beards, now the women have them. Well, not all the women. Only the extras have them. The Dwarf-women with speaking roles have these dopey sideburns that look like shaved pubes.

Another funny thing about the Dwarves is that they seem to hate Durin for being a rich kid. When he goes to work in the mines, they make fun of him for getting blisters and bully him like he’s a little kid. I don’t remember anything from the first season that hinted at any of them resenting Durin either because of his status or his friendship with Elrond, but that’s what happens in the show. Everything I’ve summarized up to this point was the good part.

Then we get to the boring part with the Stranger and the Hobbits. As they make their way across the desert, Poppy finds a shortcut that will take them across this open plain in the blistering heat. At first, Nori and the Stranger reject the shortcut, but then they get discovered by Xerxe’s extras sent by the dark wizard to kill them, and then they hide. These guys apparently don’t notice the Hobbits hiding in a crack in the rock behind this obvious piece of cloth. Clearly, this is supposed to be a callback to Frodo and Sam hiding under the Elven cloak at the Black Gate, but that scene made sense because the cloak was designed to hide people whereas this piece of cloth wouldn’t fool anyone at close range because there’s no other vegetation hanging off of the rocks. Hell, the Hobbits are hiding in something that looks like a damn cubby hole. I don’t buy that this guy wouldn’t check it. I also don’t buy that they didn’t find the Stranger’s big ass just laying on the ground. Are you actually going to look for them, or what? Well, yes, just not here.

The men follow the trio’s trail, which technically ends at the camp, but they wander off in another direction. The trio then decide to get away by crossing an open desert plain with nary a hiding spot in sight. However will these men find two pale Hobbits and a tall ass man in this wide open valley? Nobody wanted to CGI in some rocks or some Joshua trees into the shot? No, just let them wander around in the wide open.

But then it gets sillier because, somehow, they come across a well in the middle of this desert that they didn’t notice when they had the high ground. The Stranger passes out from heat exhaustion, so Poppy brings him water, but totally ignores when the bucket falls back into the well and the ball end starts ringing the bell above the well. Xerxe’s men show up, and the Stranger spots a staff that looks like the one from his dreams. He conjures up a tornado but can’t control it, and Xerxe’s men and the Hobbits get swept away. The staff winds up broken. This is just a nitpick, but the wizards can use their powers without a staff, so this whole thing about him searching for a staff is kind of silly. In fact, the idea of him having amnesia is kind of silly. How is he supposed to help anyone if he doesn’t know who he is and can’t control his powers?

Speaking of not making sense, we get to the not good - the dark wizard. He’s the one who sent out Xerxe’s men and he’s in charge of the witches from the first season. He summons one of the witches using moths and blood magic. She tells him about the Stranger and the Hobbits. She failed to catch them, so the dark wizard let’s Xerxe’s men hunt them instead. I’m genuinely at a loss for what this show is even attempting to do here because there are only five Istari (wizards) in Arda - Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast, and the two blue wizards who went east and south. My first guess was that this was Saruman because he’s got the look, but the scene makes that very unlikely because he’s in charge of the witches from the first season and Saruman isn’t supposed to turn evil until the Third Age. The only other canonical option is that he, and possibly the Stranger, is one of the blue wizards. However, there’s a problem. The blue wizards are supposed to stop Sauron’s efforts in the East and South. In letter 211, Tolkien did imply that the blue wizards may have turned evil.

“What success they had I do not know; but I fear that they failed, as Saruman did, though doubtless in different ways; and I suspect they were founders or beginners of secret cults and ‘magic’ traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron.” - Letter 211 to Rhona Beare

But in the Peoples of Middle-earth, he revised this, saying instead:

“Their task was to circumvent Sauron: to bring help to the few tribes of Men that he rebelled from Melkor-worship, to stir up rebellion ... and after his first fall to search out his hiding (in which they failed) and to cause [dissension and disarray] among the dark East … They must have had a very great influence on the history of the Second Age and Third Age in weakening and disarraying the forces of East … who would both in the Second Age and Third Age otherwise have … outnumbered the West.” - Chapter 3: “The Istari”

So, if the show followed canon, this dark wizard shouldn’t be one of the Istari, but since no one on the show can spell canon - let alone follow it, it is possible that the dark wizard and the Stranger could be the blue wizards. That’d be a drastic deviation from Tolkien’s intent, but that’s never stopped this show.

Case in point, Celebrimbor the gullible. Like I’ve said for months, by having Celebrimbor create the Three Elven Rings first, the showrunners and writers wrote themselves into a corner because now they have to explain how in the hell Annatar convinces Celebrimbor to forge more rings now that Celebrimbor should know not to trust Halbrand, aka Sauron, aka Annatar. I knew the explanation would be ridiculous and bad because there’s no way it can’t be. Celebrimbor would have to be incredibly gullible to get conned by Sauron for this to work, but I didn’t expect it to be this dumb. When I realized where they were going with this, I giggled through the whole scene because it’s so stupid that if you tried this in person, you’d get cussed out by the guy you were trying to con for thinking he’d be dumb enough to fall for this.

Before we get into that, we’ve got to talk about the shortest Elf ever (pictured below). Elves are supposed to be tall and live. My six-year old son is taller than this woman. You didn’t have some heels she could put on, or some stilts? You’re really going to have Polly Pocket show up to treat with Sauron? Seriously? It’s nothing against the actress. It’s just that I don’t get why the show is casting regular looking people as Elves. I know it’s hard to find tons of tall gorgeous people, but it’s not impossible.

Anyway, she tells Sauron that Celebrimbor won’t let him in, and Sauron says he’ll wait and turns around so she can see his wounds from the torture. She tells this to Celebrimbor, but he still refuses to let Sauron in. However, later that night, he creates Ithildin, which can only be seen on moonlight, and notices Sauron is still waiting. It starts to rain and Celebrimbor goes to tell Sauron that he can treat with him no longer, and Sauron replies, “But she said you’d say that,” and Celebrimbor buys this. Sauron asks if Galadriel’s there. Celebrimbor says she’s not, and Sauron says, “Well, I guess you don’t know what happened.” Of course Celebrimbor doesn’t know what happened because someone killed the messengers. For whatever reason, Celebrimbor doesn’t send out his own people to find out if the rings worked. So, Sauron uses this to claim that Gil-galad and Galadriel used the rings, took credit for Celebrimbor’s work, and then forgot about him, and this is why Celebrimbor lets Sauron in - because he thinks his friends aren’t giving him due credit, all from a guy he was told not to trust and didn’t trust up until five seconds ago. It literally takes one minute and 45 seconds to convince this dude to ignore Galadriel’s warning just by ever so lightly hitting his ego. No proof anything Sauron says is true. No, this fool has such a fragile ego that even a hint of a change that it could be true makes him fold.

But wait, it gets dumber because, once inside, Sauron tells Celebrimbor that the rings work and then says that he wants Celebrimbor to make more rings for Men and Dwarves because they’ll be the last means of stopping the coming darkness. In short, the return of Sauron - a being known for changing his shape, and here you have this guy who Galadriel told Celebrimbor not to trust because he’s not who he claimed to be; and does Celebrimbor find Sauron’s admission, directly to him, that he’s not who he claimed to be in any way suspicious? Yeah, for like a fraction of a second. Celebrimbor refuses to make the rings for Men because they can be easily corrupted, so Sauron gives him some spiel about being sent by a higher power, which Celebrimbor also doubts, so Sauron goes full Jesus mode and this is what convinces Celebrimbor.

I just laughed my ass off for two reasons: 1.) because this shot (see below) is going to upset all the right people who are going to claim it’s blasphemous and anti-Christian, even though this is technically in line with what Tolkien wrote since the Maiar are essentially angelic beings and the whole god race thing isn’t unique to Christianity, predates the religion by thousands of years, and was something the Christians co-opted from the Romans and the Greeks; and 2.) because this shit works. Celebrimbor, after being warned not to trust Halbrand and being fully aware about Adar and that Sauron is potentially wandering around, this fool buys this shit without question. But he knows that Sauron is a Maia who’s fully capable of changing his form. Sauron just told him that Galadriel pushed him away after she found out the truth, which he claims is that he was sent by the Valar, and Celebrimbor is like, “Sounds right to me.” Really? It sounds plausible to you that Galadriel found out that Halbrand was sent by the Valar to aid in the fight against Sauron and she rejected him? The woman, who hunted Sauron for centuries, rejected help from the gods to stop the man she’s hunting? This makes sense to you? This is dumb. Why would he buy this when it’s completely out of character for this woman? And now Celebrimbor is going to make more Rings of Power so he can be, as Sauron - excuse me, Annatar - calls him, the Lord of the Rings. That’s that bullshit right there. That doesn’t make any sense. None. He has no reason to believe any of this and damn sure no reason to believe it this quick.

In the books, Celebrimbor is eager to learn from Annatar and ignores Galadriel’s warning because Annatar hasn’t done anything wrong or suspicious. That makes Celebrimbor and the Elves who trust Annatar naive, since they have no proof that the Valar sent Annatar. The Rings of Power, however, makes Celebrimbor look stupid because he has every reason not to believe Halbrand’s claim after Galadriel’s warning, the rise of Adar, and the knowledge that Sauron is out and about, and that he can change shape. Again, how does it happen this fast? Celebrimbor trusts this dude in less than two minutes, after admitting that the High King’s messengers hadn’t shown up, but this guy who fled and he was told not to trust just randomly reappears.

Oh, but that’s not the one. This plotline with Galadriel is the one where you have to go, “What the fuck were they thinking?” She gets a vision of Celebrimbor getting skewered on a tree, chanting the Rings of Power poem. Apparently, the vision is an effect of her ring Nenya, which is news to me because the Three Rings have nothing to do with visions. Galadriel claims that this is because the rings allow the bearers to see the Unseen, but that’s the power of the One Ring, the Seven, and the Nine because they were created by Sauron. The Three Rings preserve things and slowly stop the decay of time. This is why Rivendell and Lothlórien appear to be caught in perpetual seasons. The Ring of Fire Narya also has the ability to inspire people, to light a fire in their will. But none of them are said to cause visions. The visions the Elves have are part of their natural abilities as Eldar, and even then, the visions aren’t limited to Elves. Men can have visions too. But the show changes this.

Galadriel tells the High King about her vision, saying that Sauron means to rule over people’s minds using the Rings of Power, meaning Sauron’s plan is to corrupt people by giving them rings under the guise of pretending to try to stop himself. I know that sounds stupid, so I’ll say it again. Sauron’s plan is to corrupt people by giving them Rings of Power under the guise of pretending that the rings will help people stop him. I have a question. Why are they adding a step? The original plan was simple, elegant, and perfect. Sauron takes on a beautiful form, pretends to be a friend sent by the Valar, helps Celebrimbor create Rings of Power which they give to Men and Dwarves to help those people lead - or, really control their people, and then Sauron creates a Master Ring to control all the others. There’s no need for the extra pretense of “I’m helping you stop evil from rising.” “I’m your friend sent by the gods. Here’s a gift” is all the pretense you need. Now instead, Sauron’s a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude.

But wait, it still gets dumber. The show treats these visions as if it’s the power of Sauron’s influence on the Three Rings. Galadriel’s getting them. Gil-galad’s getting them. And they both agree that the rings are obviously dangerous, which is why - in the books - the Elves took the rings off for this very reason, but not in this show. Oh no, “this isn’t that kind of show.” In this show, they realize Sauron might be influencing them, and keep the rings on because of the power he grants them. Later on, Círdan says this as he manipulates fish using the ring. The Elves will use the rings to do good, even though the enemy seems to have some effect on them. This is the polar opposite of Tolkien’s writings and his intent. The whole point was that the rings were unsullied, so as long as Sauron didn’t have the One Ring, the Three Elven Rings were fine to use. They were not corrupted. They were not dangerous. They did not affect the Elves in any negative way. They did, however, prevent manipulative bullshit like visions. The rings prevented the wearers from being seen from afar except by the One Ring. Even with a palantir they couldn’t be perceived, presumably unless the bearers wanted to be seen. It’s like the showrunners and writers wanted the Elves to be tempted by the One Ring, but that would completely break the story, so they’re half-assing it with the Elven Rings. If they wanted to tell a story of the Elves being corrupted and greedy, they should have told the story of the Silmarils.

Speaking of half-assing things, Gil-galad claims that Sauron can control the minds of those he deceived, making Galadriel susceptible to his power, so when she wants to go and check on Celebrimbor, Gil-galad refuses to send her. Again, this is news to me because I don’t know of that being a thing, and it’s not what actually happened in the show. Sauron didn’t play with her mind. He told a basic lie that was harmless up until he revealed he was Sauron. That makes Galadriel the dumbest person in the world, but not susceptible to psychic deception. Now, I do give the show credit for letting Elrond call out Galadriel for being the dumbest person in the world. However, this completely breaks Galadriel’s character.

One of her chief abilities is her intuitive insight into other people’s minds. She reads her uncle Fëanor and sees that there’s something off about him, so when he asks for one of her hairs to make the Silmarils, she refuses him three times. She perceives something’s off about Annatar without even meeting him, and warns Elrond and Gil-galad not to trust him. We see this ability in the Lord of the Rings when she reads the Fellowship and sees right through Boromir. This is partly why she’s counted among the wisest of all beings and is probably the wisest of the Elves living in Middle-earth. This is not someone who would be easily deceived, but the show trashes this. Instead of her being able to perceive Annatar’s deception outright, she’s too stupid to realize she’s standing right next to him for weeks, and now she’s so supposedly enthralled by his power that she can’t be trusted to deal with Sauron alone, which she admits. This completely ruins Galadriel’s character.

I don’t know why the writers and showrunners thought this was a good idea. The best I would come up with is that they thought it would make her more complex, but it doesn’t. It makes her a fool. This is what you do to one of the wisest beings in Middle-earth? You make her an idiot? You make her a collaborator, like Elrond says, because she’s still using the ring even though she knows it’s messing with her? The same people who, in the book, took the rings off the moment they sense Sauron are, in the show, continuing to wear them even though they suspect the rings are messing with them.

Now try to figure out how this show is going to get this character to the place she’s supposed to be in in the Lord of the Rings. How do you course correct any of this? It’s a total mess, and I’m only two episodes in. I haven’t even gotten to whatever they’re doing in Númenor, or this nonsense with the Entwife, or Tom Bombadil. How do they connect this to the Lord of the Rings when they’re changing basic elements of the story - things that need to stay the way they were written for the events of the Lord of the Rings to even happen? Like I said, this show might actually break me. It’s testing my patience to the limit, which is why I’m pacing these reviews. For the people who claim to be Tolkien fans and to like this show, I don’t believe you. Either you’re not a fan of Tolkien’s works, or you don’t like the show. There is no amount of double thinking that would make it possible to be a fan of this man and like this show. I. Don’t. Believe. You.

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nolafleurdelit · 2 years

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2022 Reads

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Rating Explanation:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A favorite. LOVED IT.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ It was really good!

⭐⭐⭐ It was good, but not for me. Still recommend!

⭐⭐ It wasn't good. Would not recommend. Likely problematic in some way.

⭐ Hated it (extremely rare, don't think I've ever given 1 star).

LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS BY RYKA AOKI ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ARC - It's really hard to pull off aliens, demons, violins, AND donuts, plus intense content AND hopefulness, but this book does it. *chef's kiss* TW: transphobia, racism, child abuse, serial assault, deadnaming, rape, self harm

THE CITY INSIDE BY SAMIT BASU ⭐⭐⭐

ARC/BOUND MANUSCRIPT - Had to put this one down a few times because it was immersive & horrifying & SO realistic. Hard for me to read in current times. Superbly written, good for lovers of literary leaning sci-fi like Station Eleven.

MASTER OF POISONS BY ANDREA HAIRSTON ⭐⭐⭐

ARC - Superb prose, beautiful book. Character driven. I did get bored in the middle, but overall really appreciate that this book exists. Great for lovers of prose and character over plot.

DEAD SILENCE BY S.A. BARNES ⭐⭐⭐⭐

ARC - Great neurodiverse rep, super spooky, ragtag found family, unreliable narrator. Had a LOT of fun with this one! TW: Death, suicide, blood, body horror, gore, forced institutionalization

HENCH BY NATALIE ZINA WALSCHOTS ⭐⭐⭐⭐

PAPERBACK - Really enjoyed this creative take on the superhero genre! Good neurodiverse & queer rep. If you like The Boys, you'll probably like this, too. TW: Body horror, medical trauma, PTSD/anxiety/panic attacks, confinement, torture

JADE CITY BY FONDA LEE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

AUDIOBOOK - Legitimately one of my favorite books ever. And Andrew Kishino KILLS the audiobook. Think Hong Kong gangsters but with MAGIC. Fascinating worldbuilding, politics, & society. Compelling plot & prose. Amazing characters. This book has it all!

NETTLE & BONE BY T. KINGFISHER ⭐⭐⭐⭐

ARC - A fairytale (like the dark Grimm fairytales of old), & it's basically if NPCs/side characters went on the main quest. There's a bone dog, a demon chicken, a goblin market, a third princess, and fairy godmothers, and it's just lovely.

CREMA BY JOHNNIE CHRISTMAS & DANTE LUIZ ⭐⭐⭐⭐

PAPERBACK - A graphic novel lesbian love story with ghosts & LOTS of coffee. Beautiful visuals exploring Brazilian culture created by Dante Luiz, a Brazilian artist!

LEGENDS & LATTES BY TRAVIS BALDREE ⭐⭐⭐⭐

PAPERBACK (Self Published Version) - Cozy fantasy with a lesbian love story, found family, lots of coffee & pastries, & extremely accurate depictions of what it's like to build a business. A lovely, nice, cozy story to be enjoyed with coffee, of course.

JADE WAR BY FONDA LEE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

AUDIOBOOK - JUST AS GOOD AS THE FIRST ONE

THE LEAST WE CAN DO BY JOSH COOK ⭐⭐⭐⭐

PAPERBACK - Well thought out & informative look at bookstores, white supremacy, & free speech.

JADE LEGACY BY FONDA LEE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

AUDIOBOOK - Fonda Lee NAILS the ending of this beautiful trilogy. The only time I've ever cried because a series is over. This has jumped to my #1 favorite series EVER. READ IT. Also Andrew Kishino is amazing & I'd like him to read me to sleep every night.

IRON WIDOW BY XIRAN JAY ZHAO ⭐⭐⭐⭐

HARDCOVER - Really enjoyed this book! Super fun, & a lot more intense than I expected. Give me bisexuals & disabled folk abolishing gender roles any day.

HOW TO KEEP HOUSE WHILE DROWNING BY KC DAVIS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

AUDIOBOOK - This book is SO HELPFUL for anyone who is not neurotypical. Although it talks about care tasks, the advice can be used in any number of ways. It's short & to the point, & I'll be trying my best to incorporate the tips into my life!

NONA THE NINTH BY TAMSYN MUIR ⭐⭐⭐⭐

ARC - Can't say much since I read the ARC, but this was by far my favorite of this series so far. Nona is pure & a blorbo & you will absolutely love her. It's weird & wonderful & I will fiercely protect Nona & Noodle with my life.

LAZINESS DOES NOT EXIST BY DEVON PRICE ⭐⭐⭐

AUDIOBOOK - I really vibed with the first half of the book. For the second half of the book, I agreed with the general ideas & concepts, but I disagreed with a lot of the advice the author gives. I do still think this book is absolutely worth reading!

TREAD OF ANGELS BY REBECCA ROANHORSE ⭐⭐⭐⭐

ARC - I really liked this murder mystery historical fantasy novella! Roanhorse's Catholic school & religious studies/theology background really shines in her take on Virtues, demons, Orders, & Fallen. A fun, quick read!

A MARVELLOUS LIGHT BY FREYA MARSKE ⭐⭐⭐⭐

ARC - I've been unbusheled! If you've always wished Downton Abbey was SUPER GAY & also had MAGIC, this is the book for you!

THE EMPRESS OF SALT & FORTUNE BY NGHI VO ⭐⭐⭐⭐

PAPERBACK - A beautifully written gut punch that you don't realize until it's over about the power of story, resistance, resilience, & friendship. Just what I needed right now.

THE JADE SETTER OF JANLOON BY FONDA LEE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

AUDIOBOOK - Really loved returning to Janloon in this novella! And it gave me the appearances of some old friends, which was great! And as always, Andrew Kishino kills the audiobook.

ACES WILD BY AMANDA DEWITT ⭐⭐⭐.5

ARC - Despite the marketing, this isn't a heist book. This is a YA story featuring a cast of asexual characters. We need SO MUCH MORE of this! I loved the found family & how this book takes internet friends seriously. The voice is strong & the book is fun overall!

P.S. There were some ableist issues with the ARC that have been corrected in the final published version, so I left that out of my review.

HEARTSTOPPER V. 1 BY ALICE OSEMAN ⭐⭐⭐⭐

PAPERBACK - Watched the TV show so had to read the comic. So sweet! The show did a really good job adapting it!

BURNOUT BY EMILY & AMELIA NAGOSKI ⭐⭐⭐⭐

AUDIOBOOK - Geared towards women but useful to any gender, this book goes into the science of burnout & how to deal with it. It's practical & introduced me to many useful concepts. Recommended if you're feeling burned out!

THE UNDERTAKING OF HART & MERCY BY MEGAN BANNEN ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ARC - This is going to be my favorite rec for folks who loved House in the Cerulean Sea. Romance with ZOMBIES & talking animals & DEATH & gods & demigods. Grumpy/sunshine, rugged cowboy, sexy penpals. Sobbing in a good way. A great getaway!

PAPER GIRLS V. 1-6 BY BRIAN K. VAUGHAN ⭐⭐⭐⭐

E-BOOK - Rereading while watching the new show. Love this comic, & the show is pretty well done! 80s kids on bikes + time travel.

Added Note: I'm SO MAD this show got canceled! UGH

PATRICIA WANTS TO CUDDLE BY SAMANTHA ALLEN ⭐⭐⭐

AUDIOBOOK - I don't know how I feel about this one. Listened to the audiobook & readers were great! But I didn't find the story as funny or compelling as others seem to. It wasn't bad though, just maybe not my thing.

A RESTLESS TRUTH BY FREYA MARSKE ⭐⭐⭐⭐

ARC - Excellent followup to Marvellous Light. 1900s lesbians on a boat solving murders! With magic!

SISTER, MAIDEN, MONSTER BY LUCY A. SNYDER ⭐⭐⭐⭐

ARC/BOUND MANUSCRIPT - I've never said WTF so many times. It was genuinely the grossest, weirdest, most revolting book I've ever read. Folks who are really into cosmic & body horror will have their socks knocked off. It will be haunting my nightmares for years to come.

THE OLEANDER SWORD BY TASHA SURI ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

AUDIOBOOK - Better than The Jasmine Throne, and I LOVED that book. More sword lesbians. More magic. More love. Taking the story in a whole new direction. SO MUCH EMOTIONAL DAMAGE. I got to "Epilogue" & literally screamed. WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME?? Anyway everyone should read it.

BEETLE & THE HOLLOWBONES BY ALIZA LANE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

PAPERBACK - Loved this adorable queer graphic novel about goblins & witches & blob ghosts in malls. Perfect for the season!

THE BALLAD OF PERILOUS GRAVES BY ALEX JENNINGS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

AUDIOBOOK - Legit the most NOLA book I've ever read. Also one of the most imaginative. The audiobook is AMAZING. I live in NOLA, & this book made me miss it anyway. Beyond happy for Alex and can't wait for he does next!

A PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE VAMPIRE UPRISING BY RAYMOND A. VILLAREAL ⭐⭐⭐⭐

AUDIOBOOK - Listened to the audiobook bc some of my favorite readers did it. I enjoyed it! It did feel like it ended in the middle, but it was fun & the readers are phenomenal.

BLOODMARKED BY TRACY DEONN ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ARC - AHHH definitely just as good, if not better, than Legendborn. Love the way the author challenges systems & how Bree really comes into her own. And if you ask if I'm team Nick or Sel, I will say BOTH this deserves polyamory, they all love each other.

ARC - This novella packs an emotional punch! It's about love and obsession and the entwining of the two. With large birds and manticores. But who are the monsters really?

UNTETHERED SKY BY FONDA LEE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

EVEN THOUGH I KNEW THE END BY C.L. POLK ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ARC - Another emotional & entertaining gut punch of a sapphic, magical novella with the most perfect final line: "I'd be grateful, even though I knew the end." 😭 Perfect winter read with a nice cup of tea & warm blanket.

#booksbooksbooks #book review #books

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jennagrinsoverml · 3 years

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I just read You Can’t Run From Love and it was so amazing.

It made me want more! Do you have recs for more Chat Blanc fics? Like Ladybug is in love with her partner but is afraid- commence the yearning?

Is this too specific of an ask? Like if the only one that fits the bill is your fic I’ll just go read it again it was that good.

So first of all, thank you!!! I'm so happy you enjoyed my fic! (For anyone else that wants to read, You Can Run From Love, rated M) For my first little bit of writing in this fandom, I pretty much ignored Chat Blanc, since it complicates things and I just wanted my straight forward fluffy reveals lol but it does have some delicious angst potential, and there's definitely some great fics making the most of it out there!

These are specifically fics dealing with the emotional fallout of Chat Blanc, and NOT fics set during the episode, since I see those as two very different categories. If anyone has any other post-Chat Blanc fics they want to chime in with, feel free to do so in reblogs or replies!

Sad Hour by @komorebirei

The building stress of superhero life was enough of a burden without heartache to sap the last ounce of her resilience. Marinette was so frustrated the slightest stimulus probably would have sent her running to the bathroom to cry.

Judging from the way Adrien had barely moved for the past hour, his cheek propped lackadaisically on his palm and jotting down a word every so often instead of his usual industrious note-taking, he was in a similar mood.

Which meant, they were probably due for one of their Sad Hours.

One-shot. I absolutely love this post-reveal dynamic between Adrien and Marinette, where they’re just so comfortable with each other (except, of course, for the one thing Marinette’s still keeping secret.) It’s truly beautiful and you really feel how much they care about each other, and their solid friendship (with a solid undercurrent of mutual pining *chef’s kiss*).

Angry Hour by @kasienda

Marinette was angry. Adrien felt it buzzing on his skin just being in the same hallway as her, and she wasn’t even near him. “Marinette! What happened?” he asked.

She pulled away again, her fists clenching at her sides. “Lila and I have been suspended! Damocles said I responded to her threat inappropriately. Inappropriately, Adrien!”

“What did she do?”

“Why is it always my responsibility to be the bigger person?” she demanded as if he hadn’t said anything. “Why do I have to hold the city, the world even, on my shoulders, and still be the perfect student and daughter and role model?! I’m sick of it!”

He cringed that his first thought was that she could be akumatized like this. She pulled away, reached up to her ears, and pulled out the earrings, and handed them to him.

He hated that she thought to do that. Just in case.

“It’s not fair!” she cried, pounding her fists into his chest. He just took the physical onslaught. She needed an outlet and he knew he was the only person she could confide in about everything. “I just want to be selfish.”

“Then be selfish,” he urged her.

One-shot. Unofficial sequel to Sad Hour above. Marinette’s been holding back on her feelings because of Chat Blanc, but on a bad day, Adrien giving her permission to be selfish is just the push she needs. There’s so many messy emotions here, on both sides, and they’re dealt with masterfully. And then the end is EXTREMELY satisfying!

Feline Green by @trashcatontherooftop

Set after the end of Season 3 (SPOILERS). Plagg gets disastrously ill, and with Master Fu gone, Ladybug is the only one who can make him better. Can Adrien find her without figuring out her identity?

Multi-chapter. This fic isn’t just about the fallout from Chat Blanc, though that definitely comes up, but really it deals with almost all of the plot threads from season 3 and weaves them into a truly amazing story that feels so complex and realistic. And so much happens in this fic! I don’t want to spoil because there’s a lot, but it’s so good, please read it.

Star Crossed by @thelibraryloser

Ladybug tells Chat Noir she can't love him. He misunderstands her meaning.

Series. (3 parts but it’s only 5.5k. Description taken from the first fic.) It starts with this gap between what Ladybug says and what Chat understands. She eventually tells him about Chat Blanc in the most bittersweet original way I’ve seen yet. And then carries through Hawkmoth’s defeat and the aftermath. The whole thing is just really beautiful. But the end is PERFECT.

What the future holds, we'll never know by @emsylcatac

Marinette didn't know what the future was made of—but the glimpse of the one featuring her akumatised partner she had seen taught her one thing: she and Chat Noir should never be together.

Which currently wasn't really a problem considering that she was in love with Adrien, and that they had been getting closer lately.

One-shot. This fic is so heartbreaking and lovely, and the nonlinear narrative is used absolutely perfectly. It’s so rare to see a fic where they’re happy and together pre-reveal and then the reveal changes things, and it’s done so well here and ah, just my hearrrrrrttttttttt!

“Do You Trust Me?” by @authenticcadence18

When Chat Noir becomes trapped in the midst of an akuma attack, Marinette insists on freeing him herself with the help of his staff.

And when Adrien Agreste is having an awful week, Ladybug arrives to cheer him up with a gentle smile and an invitation to experience the sights of Paris.

These events wouldn't be connected at all, except for four little words Adrien can't help but notice sound strangely familiar...

"...do you trust me?"

(this fic was originally written for Love Square Fluff Week 2020 for the prompts "Trust" and "Reveal", and it is inspired by a few of my favorite scenes in Aladdin!!!)

Two-shot. This fic was just such a delight to read. I loved the Marichat in the first chapter, with Marinette being her BAMF self, and then the Ladrien in the second chapter with Adrien hoping. And then an identity reveal and some Chat Blanc angst, but it all works out in the end. This is just so much fun.

#miraculous ladybug #ml fic rec #ml fanfic #identity reveal #ladynoir #adrienette #adrinette #marichat #ladrien #ml love square #ml lovesquare #chat blanc #ep: chat blanc #jennarecsml #ml chat blanc

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theroomofreq · 3 years

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can you give me muggle jily recs pleaaseeee <3 :D

HOW MANY HIGH-QUALITY MUGGLE JILY FICS ARE THERE?? TOO MANY TO COUNT. *cracks knuckles* BUT I am here for the challenge. Jily AUs are my JAM.

Again, shoutout to our amazing @jilyarchive friends who tag every wonderful muggle jily au they come across. here is the link that will take you to their tags page. You'll find links to specific tropes and AUs :')

I've searched through my own AO3 bookmarks and history tabs, and I present to you 28 jily muggle fics that I LOVE. I am THRILLED thinking about all the good things in store for those that read these wonderful stories. This list took me ages to make because I went through and reread most of these brilliant fics. Happy reading !! xx

properly improper by @lizardcookie

“Marry me,” Mr. Potter repeats, closing the distance between them by striding back up towards the sofa, only to stop and crouch to one knee right there at her feet, looking up at her. Burning. “Pick me,” he elaborates. “Pick me, choose me, love me instead.”

- this fic is the reason why I comment the way that I do (spoiler it's because it's amazing)

The Wedding Ring by @mppmaraudergirl

What is undeniably worse than attending your sister's wedding looking as desolate and forgotten as a wilted houseplant? Drunkenly ringing your ex-boyfriend and asking him to be your date.

- SOBS UNCONTROLLABLY AT THE PERFECTION

Oh my god, they were ROOMMATES by @magic-girl-in-a-muggle-world

Silly one-shot, Muggle AU with Fem!Jily as pining roommates and Marlene as their matchmaker.

- the fic that brought me back to jily and inspired my deep obsession of fem!jily

Swipe Right, Swing Left by @downn-in-flames

The unspoken rule of using dating apps in D.C. is that you always start with where you work.

James Potter, it seems, never picked up on that one.

- giddy just thinking about this gem

'Tis the Damn Season by @petalstofish

It doesn't feel like Christmas for Lily Evans, not after losing her parents to COVID before the Holiday season. She anticipates spending Christmas all alone until a boy from her past shows up and offers her a mutually benefiting deal that has her calling him 'babe' just for the weekend. 'Tis the damn season, after all.

- cries in respect for lyrical writing

Watch Me Unwind by @maraudersftw

Lily Evans hates her job, hates the bigoted customers she has to serve as a bartender at the richest club in the city. But the one person who makes bearing all of it worth it has someone else in his arms tonight. (Rated: M)

- obsessed with the way the plot jumps around the time line in this

oil be there for you by @abby10fanfic

Texting/Social Media AU: Lily and James haven't spoken for 2 years. But that's all about to change thanks to Peter and his involvement in an essential oil pyramid scheme. Featuring boss babes, toxin-free lifestyles, binding contracts, and a very oily journey.

- YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE HOW FAB THIS IS

a matchmaking mission by @downn-in-flames

James Potter has a mission: get Sirius Black and Remus Lupin to finally admit that they both fancy the pants off each other by Valentine's Day.

His partner in crime? Lily Evans, Remus' flatmate, who he also happens to be slightly in love with

- DOUBLE the amount of pining idiots in love :")

about time by @jilyss

'sure, yeah, I can accompany you to that black tie event for your work tonight. wait. why are we on a red carpet?'

- this is my emotional comfort fic, your honor

whiskey business by @elanev91

Sirius Black has a (bad?) habit of picking up hobbies that take over his and James' flat -- this most recent one? Homemade vodka that James now has to try and peddle to everyone in the building.

- hysterical! must read!

Fashion Disaster by @maraudersftw

James Potter is roped into an awful dare by his best-mate, which involves him wearing atrocious pieces of clothing for all days until Christmas as dictated by Sirius. If this wasn't terrible enough, he now has to contend with his maddening crush on the beautiful saleswoman at the clothing store.

- classic hijinks that I live for

it wasn't a pity invite by @elanev91

Part of the December "Winter Tropes" Jily challenge. Prompt: my family invites you to join our holiday meal as an obvious setup and omG i’m so sorry

- awkward Christmas date that owns my heart

spice and honey by @clare-with-no-i

tagging along with her food reporter sister to profile James Potter, London's hottest young chef, is not how Lily Evans pictured her Monday going - especially if he's anything like Petunia’s described.

needless to say, she's in for a whirlwind at Chez Maraudeur.

- I'm one re-read away from printing this out and putting it on my bookshelf.

Waffle Wars by @elanev91

There's only one waffle maker in the dining hall and it literally always breaks. So, naturally, the only reasonable course of action is to meticulously map out when it's working and, ultimately, do a heist.

- the witty narration in this fic can not be matched

You Can Hear It In The Silence by @alrightginger

Lily is non-verbal and deaf in a world where the things your soulmate says about you end up written on your skin. She has known about her soulmate since she was seven, but knows they don't have a clue she exists and possibly never will.

- exquisite, cue me sobbing forever

out the window by @displayheartcode

A new family moves to Ottery St Catchpole.

- everything I could ever want in a fic, forever in my mind rent free

The Christmas Guest by @thegodmachine

An Evans Family Christmas: Petunia is bringing her fiancé and Lily is bringing her…Friend…

- petunia pov that gives me WINGS

Football, Calculus, and Cappuccinos by @moonawrites

At eighteen years old, James Potter has a lot going on. He's a rising star navigating the politics of professional football, the pitfalls of sudden fame, the fallout from choosing his dream over his father's company... and a serious crush on the red headed new barista at his favourite coffee shop.

- I'm still working my way through this fic, but trust me when I say its a GEM

if u like pina coladas by @zephyrcove

Lily is desperate for a date to Petunia's wedding, James has been pining, and their friends meddle ;)

- explain to me how characters can be so perfect via texting fics?

Shelf Awareness by @ghostofbambifanfiction

It's too far out of her way and she's wasting so much money, but Lily can't help but return to the bookstore every weekend, where her passion for good literature has, perhaps, been unexpectedly reignited by the messy-haired, pun-making, rather handsome bloke who works there.

- you absolutely must know that I binge read this and then immediately REREAD it

How to win a witch in 10 days by @adenei

“She’s going to find some unsuspecting wizard, get him to fall for her, and then do all the things that turn men away to get him to break things off! Won’t it be the best way to see what witches do that drives men crazy?” But what happens when the man in question is a blast from Lily Evans's past? A Jily Magical AU based on the romantic comedy "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days."

- fic based off of a rom com? YES PLZ :’)

The Fight Before Christmas by @ghostofbambifanfiction

The heartwarming Christmas tale of Lily Evans and James Potter - two plucky kids who hated one other, until the day they really, really didn't.

- complete sucker for this one

All This Time by @thejilyship

James and Lily grew up next door to one another. Their bedroom windows giving them glimpses into the others life, and also offering prime opportunities to argue with each other over every little thing. They never figured out how to be friends when they were kids, but now that they've graduated from college and are home for the summer, they have a second chance to get things right.

- one of my favvvv tropes

Let Me Love You by @thejilyship

With only a month until she's set to take the throne of Gryffindor, Lily is informed that she'll have to get married or choose to give up her throne. She never thought she'd have to even entertain the idea of an arranged marriage. Enter, James Potter.

- cries in princess diares AU

The Fabulous Baker Brothers by @frustratedpoetwrites

Lily walks a different route home from work and stumbles upon a cute little Bakery with an even cuter baker in the window.

- yes yes yes to embarrassed pining.

Marigold Mornings by @mppmaraudergirl

This is a fun game she thinks, as she removes her hand from his side and reaches up to run it down his chest. He catches her hand in his own, takes a step forward so that her nose nearly brushes against his shirt. She can feel the heat radiating off of him—or maybe it’s from her. He licks his lips and her eyes are drawn to the motion. She knows it is a bad idea, absolutely knows it.

- incredible storytelling featuring dynamic characters :') a favvv

Welcome to Pettyville by@women-inthe-sequel @alrightginger

When Lily Evans accidentally sends a text to the wrong number, she isn’t expecting to find the right person behind it. She can’t stop talking to Prongs. The only thing is, Prongs can’t stop talking about the girl in his class. What could go wrong, other than the number?

- LOVE SQUARE ANYONE

The Kiss a Stranger Project by @alrightginger

“What’s your name, then?” she asks, realizing they haven’t even properly introduced themselves yet. She nervously crosses her arms.

You shouldn’t kiss a guy without knowing his name first.

Right?

- THIS ONE WILL LIVE IN MY MIND FOREVER

#ror reqs #jily fic #mugge fic recs #jily fic rec list

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beetthereet · 3 years

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an analysis on alice oseman’s writing in radio silence (only radio silence since i’ve yet to read any of her other books) because wow this human can wRITE:

(this will contain spoilers so don’t blame me if i did spoil you<3)

this will just be split up to sections because i have a lot to say and this is how i organize my thoughts best.

The way she writes first person P.O.V;

The entirety of ‘Radio Silence’ is written from the perspective of our main character, Fraces Janvier, speaking from a future stand. The entire story is written in a past tense from the perspective of an older Frances who knows what will end up happening, who knows everything.

From someone who enjoys writing, first person point of view is sO HARD TO WRITE. I was honestly mesmerized by the way Oseman wrote this book. Another thing about the writing is that the first-person point of view, truly made the story feel genuine and real. I don’t know what was Alice Oseman’s age while writing this book but it honestly feels like such a true experience of a 17-18 year old who goes a huge change in her life and doesn’t really know what to do with herself, and then finds something she’s passionate about. Truly passionate. It just really feels genuine and true and so I wanted to point it out.

The way the plot builds up;

I think, one of the main reasons Radio Silence is a comforting and fun book that many people enjoy reading _and _rereading, is because of the way the plot is built. Because the book is written in the point of view of Frances, in first person, she describes the plot of the book like she experienced it. It was getting to know someone from ‘saving his drunk ass in a pub’ to ‘this is my very close friend that I truly cherish and don’t want to lose’. And because of that, the entire feel to the plot up to when the universe city fandom figures out that Frances is Toulouse and through that, that Aled is the person behind the anonymous podcast, is so... organic in a way.

The way this book is written truly makes you feel like you’re a little speck of dust in the air, looking down at these two absolute nerds slowly become so close. You have fun with them, you laugh with them, you get shocked with them, you feel with them. You feel with Frances throughout the book in its entirety. Feeling with these characters as they slowly build their friendship is what makes the big blow when tumblr (and the internet) find out Aled’s identity. An identity he wanted to keep secret. He needed to keep that secret. Because there he could be anyone he wanted. He didn’t need to think of what X, Y or Z would think about him after he said this or that. It was his space. And through Frances, we learn that. And we learn how much it matters to him. And like Frances, we want Aled to have this space. To have this bubble.

And as the plot moves forward from that big blow of that tumblr post revealing who Radio is (aka, Aled), we feel with Frances and for her. Because after the action of some anonymous user on the internet, she lost her closest friend at the time. She lost a person she cared so much for. And that is emphasized so well when Aled snaps at Frances outside the pub. When he yells and shouts and says things until Raine takes Frances away. And we feel so bad, with Frances. Because Aled lost his bubble, Frances lost her friend and her safe space, and everyone lost something from the situation.

This is brilliantly brought to light even more with the ‘Childhood Kisses’ episode, where we finally see Daniel talking. We see how bad and heartbroken he feels, and we feel so bad for him because he doesn’t deserve this. None of the main cast of characters did.

And so, Alice Oseman made us feel for her characters. From Aled, to Frances, to Daniel, to Crays, to Raine. We feel for the characters because we care for them.

The stakes;

The stakes in Radio Silence are directly tied into my last point — the way that the plot was built up. Because, if we hadn’t seen Frances and Aled build their friendship like we did we would’ve never cared about how Aled snapped at Frances. We wouldn’t have had any connection to him, and I mean yeah, losing a friend is hard, but if we hadn’t seen that the personal level of empathy to both Frances and Aled would’ve been lacked in this situation.

This is also very well seen in both the time Aled was struggling to keep his identity a secret and the time Carol almost took Aled with her on the train from uni (at the very end). We know Aled and we know how important it is for him to 1) have universe city, 2) be able to keep universe city a secret from the world and his mom specifically, and 3) not go “home” with her because that’s dangerous for him. If we hadn’t seen Aled and Frances grow close (as I’ve mentioned before), these situations would have had no emotional affect on the reader because you wouldn’t have known Aled.

Basically Alice did an amazing job, I’m in awe<33

Alice Oseman will have you falling for each and every one of her plot twists;

In the entirety of the book Alice has planted multiple little ‘traps’ for you, the reader. These ‘traps’ are just pieces of information that are never confirmed to be true, but are assumed to be based on what we know from Frances and the story so far.

Examples; the whole ‘who is February Friday ordeal’, wtf is going on with Aled and Daniel’s relationship, what’s going to be Frances and Alex’s relationship status, whether Aled was going home or not, and so much more because she is good with this shit.

Using the correct tone to convey whatever she wants to, Alice Oseman managed to keep the reader at the edge of their seat, making them think “oh this is so obvious! I know this!” thinking they had figured it out when she is ten steps ahead of you the entire time. That’s such a smart way of keeping your readers interested and invested and she did it in a way that didn’t feel annoying or ‘ugh i didn’t get this right as well damn it’ but in a interesting and enticing way because the clues — and the solution — to the actual answer were and are right in front of you the whole time.

More on the tone of the whole book;

This book can pride itself on correct tone usage with its writing. Something I personally love to look for while looking at writing critically is the tone of the writing. Does the writing feel like this or that, specifically in dialogue or first person point of view. Does it actually feel like different characters speaking or thinking or narrating, if it’s one person, is the narrating consistent? And with radio silence I can say it just checked all of the boxes.

With every chapter I can feel the exact tone Fraces would say this in if this was spoken, I can understand exactly why it’s her speaking and when she’s speaking to her mother, or Aled, or Raine or Daniel I know who’s she’s talking to and why. There’s so much personality splattered through their words both while speaking (and in Fraces’s case) while narrating honestly it was so brilliantly done I was just having so much fun the entire time.

A little conclusion since I tend to ramble;

In her book, ‘Radio Silence’, Alice Oseman tackles the first person point of view as if it’s a piece of cake, builds the plot brilliantly in a way that makes you connect to the characters and feel like they’re just chatting and enjoying their time together while actually building a plot so nicely, and when it comes into play it’s so well executed, not out of the blue, just *chef’s kiss*.

Through the first part of her book, Alice creates stakes to further conflicts so well and so smoothly it’s honestly mesmerizing, and plants little traps, tricking you into thinking one thing without confirming it while the answer is right under your nose. It’s just so well done I’m gonna sob smh.

+ the tone usage of the entire book was superb.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed my ramble. Have a good day babes <3

#radio silence #frances janvier #aled last #raine sengupta #daniel jun #crays last #febuary #alice oseman #osemanverse #writing analysis #holy fuck i finished radio silence-#alice oseman c a n w r i t e #so well-#radio silence spoilers #alice oseman writing analysis

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monsterfuneral · 4 years

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just peachy | the lost boys

Relationship: Poly!The Lost Boys x Gender Neutral!Reader

Request: Can I send in a request because your writing is *chef's kiss*? I'm just having a rough day and I'm tired of having a stupid accent. I'm from Georgia and my friends always tease me about saying certain words. Could you maybe write something about the boys' so is tired of them teasing her but she doesn't say anything because she doesn't want to seem weak or something. But she starts teaching herself how to talk "correctly" and then the boys realize her accent is basically gone and then try to make her feel better? 💛

Words: 2.1k

Warnings/Tags: Angst with a happy ending, changing yourself in order to satisfy your partner(s), insecurity, *Bo Burnham voice* prolonged eye contact, and some sexual tension for absolutely no reason

Author’s Note: Ah finally, someone else in this fandom that also lives in this hell state (I’m assuming you mean the USA Georgia). As someone who literally did this as a child, thus resulting in me not having an accent anymore unless I jokingly put one on, I felt like this request so hard.

I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time right now dude, and I’m sorry it took me this long to write out but I wanted to make it as good as possible for you <3

Also thank you so much for the compliment on my writing that truly means so much.

Anywho I’ll shut up now, I hope this turned out okay and you enjoy the story!

REQUESTS OPEN

(please read my “I do NOT write” section before sending in anything <3)

---

You moved to Santa Carla at the beginning of spring, focusing on better job opportunities and using it as an excuse to explore a new place away from the south. Living in Georgia could be tiring, seeing the same thing over and over again, looking at the same buildings, driving through the same towns. Sure it was where you grew up, but it was slowly feeling less like a home. So the second you saw the opportunity to leave and live somewhere else, you took it. There were things to do, people to meet, interesting jobs that actually appealed to you.

It was nearing winter now. Sure you missed the yellowing leaves and crisp fall air that could hang around until noon. That was a sacrifice you were willing to make though, if it meant you could continue to work on the boardwalk right next to the beach. Where it was lively and something new was happening every night, keeping you interested.

You leaned over the railing, looking out at the sparkling water and over to the live concert that had packed the beach for the night. Your shift at the boardwalk’s thrift store had just ended, giving you time to catch the last song that the opening band was playing.

Arms encircled around your waist, making you snap out of your music induced daze. “Hey there sweet thing.” Paul muttered against the shell of your ear before nuzzling his nose against your neck.

The rest of the boys slowly joined, caging both you and Paul in as they looked down at the beach to the show that was still going on. David leaned his back against the railing and looked at you, winking with a cigarette burning between his lips where one corner of his lips turned upwards in a smirk. You gave him a sweet smile, pulling Paul’s arms tighter around your waist.

“Y’all are a little late tonight.” You mused, looking at Marko who leaned forward against the railing with his arms. Paul squeezed you a little tighter with a soft chuckle brushing against your ear. The boys all had a smile on their lips when they heard you talk.

You had met the boys not even a week after you had touched down in the bustling city. The four bikers, clad in leather with cocky attitudes radiating off of them staring you down. They could probably tell you were new in town, seeing how your doe eyes would stare at the boardwalk attractions in amazement. After all, the only times you had actually been any amusement parks in Georgia was when they’d open up seasonally. Even then it was rare since at the time you had a busy job to keep up with and sometimes it would get too humid to bother going anyway. Your innocent curiosity of a new location drew them in, putting up a front that they could show you around some time. After all, it was uncommon for a southerner to grace Santa Carla with their presence, so color them curious.

The boys had always assumed that people from the south tended to keep to themselves in their small towns, going to church, and gripping their racial biases tight. Plus, it had also been well over four decades since they’d been to the south, their last visit being less than stellar. So when they first met you they were weary, not knowing exactly what was in store and what direction the conversation was going to go, and if you would end up being food by the end of the night.

Luckily for all of you the conversation had actually gone very well, and the thrift store slowly started to become a spot they would drop by more frequently. They found you adorable, the accent and the way you talked, it was all just so different from what they were used to. Not long into knowing you, they started inviting you out with them, wanting to actually get to know you past where you were from and where you worked. From there your relationship blossomed into what it was now.

“Had to get a little snack before dropping by.” Marko smirked, poking Paul’s bicep “Someone had the stomach rumbles bad.”

“Ugh stop.” Paul groaned “I was hungry.”

“Well maybe you should have eaten more last night.” Dwayne chuckled softly, bumping his shoulder with Paul’s teasingly.

“I tried!” Paul argued “Michael was being a total blood hog!” All the boys collectively sent a silencing ‘shut up’ glare to the rowdy blonde.

You chuckled softly “Well next time you just gotta butt his ass out of the way.”

It was a whole two months into knowing the boys before their little fanged secret was revealed. Granted it was by accident but whatever.

It had been getting close to nightfall by the time you walked into the cave unannounced, planning on surprising them. But they were nowhere to be found so you decided to wait it out on the couch, mindlessly flipping through an old comic from Marko’s stash. When the sun had finally dropped behind the water, the boys all came flying out of a hole at the top of the cave flying in circles around the ceiling whooping and hollering, playfully chasing each other before hearing you gasp.

The conversation you all had after that lasted all night. David tried insisting that you had to turn now that you knew, while Dwayne and Marko protested, knowing that they no longer had to enforce that rule with Max being dead. Either way, six months later and it was safe to say you knew pretty much everything when it came to their lives as vampires.

From then on things had been pretty smooth sailing.

Well until recently.

Of course you knew the boys weren’t perfect, they did in fact kill people for food, so you weren’t exactly expecting to have boyfriend’s sent down from god himself. But by being with them it made you notice some things about yourself that you never really did before. Sure you knew they probably meant well, but picking at the way you said things made you feel a little insecure, in fact you were growing to dislike your accent because of it. And as a result you started to change your speech and the way you talked. The lingering thought of ‘maybe they’ll be happier like this’ in the back of your head just kept chewing away, and as a way to not come off as weak, you remained silent about the problem you had with their teasing.

If they noticed they never said anything. Not commenting on the way your speech smoothed out into something you assumed they would find more tolerable. At first you had done it just as an experiment to see if you could even do it without them noticing. Which, to you, had seemed to be the case.

Seemed to be.

Little did you know they were a lot more observant than you gave them credit for. Especially David. He had been the first to notice how you were using some words less and less, you had seemed closed off from them in general. The other boys slowly started to realize it too, noticing the almost subtle way your accent seemed to just go away after months of them hearing it. It was confusing to say the least.

Some of them- mainly Paul- had chalked it up to being around them for so long, but they knew that wasn’t the case. If it were, Dwayne’s own accent would have been long gone by now.

“Is something wrong?” David chimed out of nowhere, blowing smoke towards the stars. All eyes turned to him and you furrowed your brows in, confused. “You’re suppressing your accent. Why?”

You felt your cheeks heat up, not having expected this conversation so soon “Um… I don’t know what you’re talking about?” You tried playing dumb, hoping he would just drop the subject. But this was David and you knew that was very unlikely.

He let out a deep chuckle before sliding himself in front of you, blocking out your view of the show on the beach, and trapping you between himself and Paul. He lifted your chin with his thumb and index finger, the leather of his glove brushing against your bottom lip softly, keeping your head in place so he could look into your eyes. You felt like he was staring into your soul, reading you, attempting to pry the secrets from your brain.

“Don’t lie sweetheart.” He tilted his head, challenging you to argue back “I’ve been around for a long, long time. It’s not hard to notice a change as simple as an accent. Especially when it comes to our mate.”

Mate. This was the first time you heard him actually use the word himself. It made your heart pick up pace in your chest, and you were sure they could all hear it. He brought himself closer, not exactly caring about the public’s prying eyes at your current predicament. He cupped your jaw and brought his face closer to yours, your noses brushing against each other before he teasingly kissed the corner of your mouth. He was toying with you, making you drop your guard.

“Answer the question baby.” Paul whispered against the shell of your ear, making you shiver.

Marko and Dwayne were both leaning on the railing on either side of the three of you, looking out at the ocean as if this wasn’t even happening. Well, with the occasional side eye in your direction.

David pulled away, and you subconsciously chased after him, seeking more contact. You let out a quiet whine, glaring at him as he took yet another drag from his cigarette.

“Well?”

“Fuck- Okay fine.” You mutter in defeat, no longer seeing a use in trying to fight them when they already suspected the truth. “I didn’t want to say anythin’, I mean it’s really not anything to get worked up over. It’s just that I’m tired of being teased for how I say stuff.” The accent slowly melded into your words, slight slip ups that had been harder to tame with the little time you’ve been training yourself to speak more ‘correctly’. “So uh- I thought I’d try and talk a little more normally.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Dwayne asked, his attention now fully on you.

You shrugged, slightly embarrassed “I don’t know. I mean it wasn’t your problem, and I thought it might be a little less annoying to hear me talk, y’know like-”

“Like Paul?” Marko interrupted, receiving a punch in the shoulder from the wild haired blonde.

Paul shook his head softly like a disappointed parent “No cool man.”

A laugh left your lips, glad that they were being at least a little light hearted about it. “No. I guess I just kinda assumed you guys didn’t like it. So I just thought- well you know.”

The conversation went silent, all of them staring at you before looking at each other. Dwayne was the first to crack from his stony expression and smile at you, his cool hand coming to smooth over your warm cheek. He caressed your skin gently with his thumb, silently admiring you for a second.

“All you had to do was talk to us. I could’ve told Paul and Marko to shut the hell up for you.” He joked, making you smile with him before laughing. “You don’t have to change yourself to please us. That’s not something we expect from you.”

Paul let go of you, spinning you around and catching you before you tripped over your own feet. “Yeah! You could have totally said something! You’re not gonna hurt our feelings or anything babe.” He brought you to his chest, giving your cheek an overly wet kiss, trying his best to lighten your mood. David’s hand smoothed up from your shoulder blade to your shoulder, the cool leather welcome against the heat on your neck. He brought himself closer, trapping you against himself and Paul once again, if not bringing himself closer this time.

Marko smirked at the way your eyes clouded over slightly, “Yeah I mean… If anything I think it’s kinda hot.” He said, tracing the lapel of the leather jacket you wore, twirling the dark purple squid lures he had gifted you around his index finger. His eyes were lidded when he looked at you, a cocky smirk on his lips.

You wanted so badly to tell him to fuck off, but oddly enough the reassurance did help. Realizing that you in fact did not have to change in order to please them, and that’s not what they wanted from you was like a breath of fresh air. It lifted a weight from your shoulders and you were thankful for it, leaving you wishing you had said something sooner. You loved them, and while being in Santa Carla was a huge change in your life, you wouldn’t want to experience it with anyone else other than them.

#dwayne the lost boys #david the lost boys #paul the lost boys #marko the lost boys #marko #paul #david #dwayne #The Lost Boys 1987 #the lost boys #the lost boys imagines #the lost boys imagine #tlb imagine #tlb 1987 #poly tlb #tlb #monster writes

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falsegoodnight · 4 years

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these are the fics I read or reread and enjoyed this month! like last time, i’m separating it into different sections: main list, podfics, wips, and non-1d. rereads will be included in the main list and marked with *.

*note: this list encompasses the fics i’ve read from the 1st to the 25th and any fics read after will be included in next month’s fic rec list because otherwise this is going to be obnoxiously long.

—

main list ~

✰ black cherries and chocolate by @harryanthus | NR | 666 (intense and jarring in the best way. this leaves you with that heart-racing feeling and panic crawling up your throat)

There is something or well, someone in the walls.

✰ keep secrets just to keep you by @hadestyles | T | 1k (loved this so much!! and need 1000000 more royalty abos from rori immediately)

“With the elements as my witness, I take you to be my husband. My heartbeat begins with you and ends with you, Louis Tomlinson.” Louis sinks to his knees as well, salty tears mixing with the pure rainwater. “And I take you as mine. My heart beats for you and with you.”

✰ bitter coffee and sweet love by @dontfuckwithmyotp | G | 1k (so cute and sweet!! proud of you ari for getting your first fic out and excited to see what you do next!)

“Hello! Welcome to The Busy Bean! Are you new?” Louis blinked in surprise at the voice and looked around to find the source. “Behind you,” The person tapped his shoulder once and he whirled around at the unexpected touch.

“Hey! Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to interrupt a person—” His rant stopped when he finally faced them. It was a guy—Harry Styles, according to his small black name tag. His eyes widened in embarrassment.

✰ turn your mic off, baby by @vogueharrystan | E | 2k (i love when lilli writes harry’s pov. this was so hot!)

Louis walks around the house naked all day and ignores Harry to play video games instead. Harry gets tired of it.

✰ This Could Be Love by mulletharry | G | 2k (such a cute and perfect little valentine’s day fic! put the biggest smile on my face <3)

Harry and Louis have been together for four months. They spend their first Valentine’s Day together.

✰ you appear as my soul by @hadestyles | T | 2k (so gorgeous and raw)

He aches — not as much as Louis, he could never imagine all that he bears quietly — and as cruel as it sounds, it keeps reminding him of how fragile they are.

✰ the energy from your body by sweetielouis | E | 3k (hilarious, hot, and cute!)

Harry and his friends have a popular podcast, for the Valentines Day special they get a bit drunk and talk a bit too comfortably about their friends arses.

It's a good thing Louis doesn't mind it all that much.

✰ look how i remember by @harryanthus | M | 4k (this left me speechless and aching)

He hates it, he wants to scream and tell Harry as much. Kiss me like you mean it. Kiss me as if we are in love. Kiss me like you will never do it again. Kiss me with so much hatred that it turns back to love.

✰ Things Unsaid by @londonfoginacup | G | 5k (so so cute and funny!!)

"That chunky oversized sweater is like a clown outfit made for winter."

It feels like time slows down.

Those words echo in his mind, familiar. Why are they familiar? The— the sweater he saw last week. The one with all the knit squares.

The train slows to a stop and Louis just— he doesn’t move. He feels frozen in place as people surge around him. Suddenly everyone is moving too fast and then just as suddenly the car is near empty, taking off again.

The man is gone.

His soulmate is gone.

✰ reckless serenade by @thepolourryexpress | E | 4k (adorable and funny and amazing!)

Harry's Google search history may or may not look like 'my girlfriend doesn't know we're dating.'

✰ dancing in the moonlight by @outropeace | E | 5k (need 100k more of this immediately, thanks. so wonderful)

Louis’ fuck buddy gets a date for Valentine’s day and he discovers that denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.

✰ The truth is, the stars are falling by larrysbeanies | E | 5k (hot!!! walking-in trope that i love so much)

Harry knows Louis is gay. Hell, he came out to Harry exactly two months ago (when the dreadful dry spell started) because it was becoming increasingly hard to hide the fact that his one night stands were men. And, you know, they’re best friends so there aren’t supposed to be secrets and all that.

Thing is, Louis told Harry he’s gay ergo, Harry is aware that Louis likes men. Why the fuck did he act so normal while fingering him three days ago, then? Is this something straight guys do to their gay best friends in Harry’s world?

Louis would really like to know.

✰ to be used and to be in love by @thelesserneptune | E | 5k (blessed that this is a series. really hot and cute!)

Louis doesn't know why his filthy best friend turned into a vanilla boyfriend and thinks of the perfect birthday present to solve that problem.

✰ on the borderline by @princelouisau | E | 8k (the way danielle writes... poetry. this broke me down and then stitched me back up <3)

Louis makes his choice.

✰ One Step Closer by agrinwithouthiscat | G | 12k (reading asexual hl fics is instant comfort and this was lovely)

The one fake relationship AU where they don't end up together.

✰ i glow pink in the night by @raspberryoatss | E | 12k (hybrid louis perfection, beautiful writing, characters, and story as always!)

Harry reads a lot of articles about hybrids and Louis is determined to prove them wrong.

✰ The Thinker of Tender Thoughts by @speakingwithink | G | 13k (asexual hl again! this one made me cry)

Louis sits on his hands to stop them from shaking as he adds, ‘and I’m ace.’ If only he had glitter, he thinks. Coming out deserves a bit of sparkle.

✰ Kiss Me Once, Kiss Me Twice by @harriblou | M | 13k (enemies with benefits to lovers goodness! so hot and entertaining)

“You’re a fucking brat, you know that,” Harry muttered through clenched teeth, bones already burning with the pure desire and hatred mixing in his body. It was an intoxicating rush of adrenaline and something else that probably came with fucking Louis Tomlinson. He squeezed his neck just a little tighter. “I can’t stand it.”

Their lips were brushing against each other, just moving with the ragged movements of their mouths and harsh breathing.

“You’re a lying piece of shit dickhead,” Louis muttered right back. That was all he did, challenge and nag. He loved to have the last word and Harry let him because he used all his energy to fuck him mindless.

✰ hold onto your stars by vashtaneradas | NR | 16k (this writer’s atmosphere/prose draws me in every time. such a lovely story)

Harry's in the army, Louis' back home, and ninety days is a lifetime.

✰ The Future is Now by @jacaranda-bloom | E | 16k (love fics in this five times format and this one was so unique and cool!! and the friends to lovers aspect = chef’s kiss)

Five times Louis follows the fortunes to seek out his true love, and the one time he realises that what he's been searching for might've been right in front of him the whole time.

✰ Visceral Heat & Carnal Highs by @theisolatedlily | E | 18k (the prose in this... gorgeous. so fucking good and addicting. delighted that there’s going to be a sequel and excited for whatever lily does next!)

Louis is a demon at a house party prowling for a meal, indulging in horrendous sins to satisfy his hunger. Harry is the talk of the night, beckoning all eyes on him and the reason why Louis’s plan goes awry.

✰ deFENCEless by @solvetheminourdreams | T | 27k (this was so cute and so funny and i had the biggest smile on my face the entire time. not surprised since stef always evokes that in me with her writing)

When Louis butts heads with his new neighbor who loves to garden a little too much, all he can do to protect his yard (and heart), is keep on building up his fence(s).

✰ darling, you give love a bad name by snowcaplou | M | 29k (been waiting for this one since summer and i wasn’t disappointed! so wonderful and real!)

Louis’ has been best friends with Gemma all his life in this stupid little town he’s grown to hate. What happens when, after one night together with his best friend’s brother, he falls pregnant? Surrounded by small minds and conservative cultures, Louis has to deal with parents that demand they do the “right” thing. Get married before anybody finds out.

✰ The Haunting of Louis Tomlinson* by @helloamhere | T | 31k (will never not be an all-time favorite. louis’ character is my absolute favorite - gothic heroine indeed - and harry is the best dramatic gay ghost ever <3)

Louis is a plucky Gothic Heroine, Harry is a Mournful Spirit, and Big Country Houses are full of mystery and suspense, as Big Country Houses ever are!

✰ begged and borrowed time by @bottomlwt | M | 40k (this concept was so unique and so cool!! loved the medieval setting and the time travel and how everything fit together in the end!!)

“It wasn’t until 1568 that it became time for Prince Harry to find a queen and prepare to rule. However, the day he was set to choose his bride-to-be, he mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again despite the multiple search parties that went on through the years. To this day, historians still do not know what happened with the infamous Prince Styles case..."

✰ Lidocaine and Palm Trees.* by @daddyharrie | E | 45k (definition of ris comfort read - on nth reread and still love it wholly. makes me miss la which is an astonishing feat in itself)

Heat, fake tans and lots of traffic.

Harry never expected to earn his living this way when he moved to LA.

Louis didn't think he could ever be the same after his divorce.

A lighthearted story about two guys trying to find themselves in the vibrant, sprawling city of Los Angeles, with a side of technical porn industry stuff.

✰ haunted by the ghost of you* by @missandrogyny | E | 49k (perhaps my favorite fic of all time? the humor, the characters, the angst?!?! all the britney spears!! and pink ouija boards and wikihow!!)

He’s tall—that’s the first thing that registers in Louis’ head when he spots him, standing with his hands behind his back. Tall, with curly hair, staring at them with the widest, greenest eyes Louis has ever seen. And wait, are those dimples? Louis didn’t know ghosts could have dimples.

Because he’s definitely a ghost, this boy. At first glance he looks normal, standing there pigeon-toed in a band shirt (The Ramones, Louis can’t help but note incredulously), dark jeans, and some boots, with rings on both hands, and tattoos littering his left arm—a sleeve made of anchors and names and roses and other completely unrelated things. But he’s also a little bit translucent; if Louis focuses, he can see the outline of the furniture, the design of the wallpaper through him.

“Hi,” the boy—the ghost—says to Louis. His face shifts; somehow his dimples dig deeper into his cheeks. His eyes flit from Louis, to Niall, to Liam, and finally to Zayn, and his face goes from shocked to elated. “I’m Harry.”

At in that exact moment, standing between three of his best friends and staring at a (quite handsome) ghost, Louis can only think one thing.

Nick Grimshaw was right.

✰ like real people do by @eeveelou | E | 64k (this was... so amazing. the characters were so wonderfully written and so was the journey of healing and growth that louis undertakes over the story :’) loved the contrast between l and h’s lives and how they fit into each other still so perfectly)

Jessica Jones AU in which the dead stay where they belong, featuring Zayn as the high-powered lawyer with a hopeless crush on his assistant Liam, Niall as the constantly stoned but strangely insightful neighbor, Harry as Manhattan’s media darling, and Louis as the never-was hero who’s just trying to pick up the pieces.

✰ Black With Autumn Rain by whimsicule | T | 93k (i actually can’t remember if i’ve read this before??? either way - it was wonderful! loved the setting and atmosphere and the supernatural elements! i was so intrigued from the first sentence onwards)

Harry is a journalist, Louis has lots of secrets and the moors aren’t exactly the ideal place to rekindle a lost romance.

podfics ~

✰ tall stories on the page by @soldouthaz & read by @softlouislove | T (hannah’s voice is so lovely and perfect for reading aloud - and ofc the fic itself is amazing)

Harry's tired of being interviewed by people that only care about the same pointless gossip. Louis is a nice change of pace.

wips ~

✰ Truth Behind Golden Eyes by @lwtisloved | E | 60k | 6/16 (just caught up fully today but i’m really enjoying everything! this is everything i’ve ever wanted in a fantasy fic)

Louis is a royal servant born with magic in a kingdom where his sole existence is outlawed with a war he has no idea he has a part in upon him. Harry is the prince on whom the burden of mending a broken kingdom falls upon and he might be willing to risk it all for a simple servant if only he admitted it to himself.

✰ ‘cause all our tomorrows lead the way by @loubellies | E | 39k | 3/10 (having a blast reading this one!! i’ve never seen the bachelor in my life but in fic-format, it’s so fun!)

So maybe Louis’ in over his head.

He had signed up for the Bachelor on a whim after his second bottle of wine and well, here he is. He’s just been announced as the twenty-sixth Bachelor and his ass is sweating. Like, literally sweating. He’s positive that if he was to turn around, the entirety of Bachelor Nation would get a nice peek of his ass sweat.

✰ The Night Still Whispers Sins of Old by @toomanydreamers | E | 6k | 2/? (loving this so much, as expected. can’t wait to see how everything unfolds)

Two and a half years have passed since the fateful day when Louis and Harry were crowned Triwizard champions. Confronted with misunderstandings, wounded pride and heartache, Louis stumbled away from the possibility of a future relationship with Harry. Instead, he buried himself into relentless work as a junior Auror and refused to let himself be vulnerable with another person. Circumstances change that force Louis to confront his feelings - and Harry. Stolen glances, picnics at sunrise, thrilling adventures, original spellwork, midnight feasts, soft lips and cautious second chances culminate in an unforgettable mission - but will it be enough to mend their relationship?

non-1d ~

✰ like a bullet needs a gun by @millsxwriting | T | 21k | wilds au (despite me having no context, mills still got me to fall in love with toni and shelby. this was so cute and lovely!!)

Toni doesn’t expect to fall for anyone in her senior year. Least of all for Shelby Goodkind, the new girl that arrived in town just before the end of summer. In fact, Toni can’t even look at her for longer than two seconds, or listen to more than three sentences coming out of her mouth without wanting to accidentally push her off a cliff.

Cue a group project and endless bickering, and suddenly Toni finds herself with an unbearable crush.

If you read any of these beautiful works of art, remember to leave kudos and comment to show your appreciation!

*if i made any errors, please let me know :)

enjoy!

#fic recs #my fic recs #28th appreciation #february recs #2021 recs #february 2021 recs #scheduled

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combat-wombatus · 4 years

Text

Hot Cocoa

Pairing: Iida Tenya x gn!reader

Warnings: brief cursing (mostly just bakugou being bakugou), some suggestive humor (m*neta is involved too)

Genre: fluff (a lil bit of crack bc why not)

WC: a bit over 8k? went slightly overboard with this idea and not entirely happy with the ending but i already rewrote it like 5 times so it is what it is-

(A/N): heya! so this is my first fic and i was kinda nervous about posting it...

it started out as an idea on @todorkihoe’s discord server but then it evolved into this monstrous nightmare so...it took me like a whole week to hash everything out and the logistics of the secret santa thing was an absolute nightmare. but it was worth it!!

It was the holiday season. Most people were taking time off of work to hang out with their friends and family. You had wanted nothing more than to relax in your hot tub with a glass of sparkling cranberry juice and scrumptious holiday cookies, but being a pro-hero meant sacrifices.

You were signed on as a sidekick in the UA Hero Agency’s Tokyo branch. The UA Hero Agency was exactly that: a hero agency formed by the most illustrious graduating class at UA. Not everyone from their class eventually went into the agency, but they were a large agency, with around 36 pro-heroes working full-time. This meant that they had several branches. You, a recent graduate from UA, knew these heroes who were a year above you at UA. They were special. When you started at UA, there were already whispers about “the Class of Legends”. Every single person who graduated the year after had been through enormous trauma during their years at UA. You thought that they were true heroes: strong, unbending even in the face of overwhelming adversity. They were only in their first year when they had been attacked by villains: twice. One of them had even been kidnapped. You couldn’t even begin to fathom how hard they must have worked to get to where they were today. They were resilient, and it showed. The UA Hero Agency is now one of the top Hero Agencies in not only Japan, but also the world. In fact, with their combined power, you wouldn’t be surprised if they happened to make an international branch. You knew that some of the heroes at your agency, Can’t Stop Sparkling and Pony, wanted to start something overseas but didn’t yet have the manpower to make it happen. You were sure that within a few years, their ranks bolstered by new graduates, they would take UA to the international stage.

So it was Christmas Eve. Even though you wanted the chance to chill out at home with some relaxing instrumental jazz and freshly baked sweets, you were out patrolling Tokyo’s vibrant shopping sector instead, on the lookout for villains who wished to ruin everyone else’s holiday fun. The mall was abuzz with shoppers, some hanging out in the verandas with cup of hot cocoa in their hands, others hurrying through, their arms loaded with shopping bags, searching for last-minute gifts they had previously forgotten to purchase. It was definitely not the worst patrol ever. The cozy atmosphere almost had you sighing in contentment, before you heard a voice shout, “thief!”

Of course a villain had to ruin the fun. They had a tendency to do that. You weren’t very comfortable using your quirk in such a loud, crowded area, but you bet that you could catch a small-time shoplifter without it anyways. You raced through the crowd, tracing the voice that had called out moments earlier. You saw a tuft of orange hair weaving unnaturally through the crowd of shoppers, and sprinted forwards, your eyes locked on the target. You followed the path they had created unknowingly for you, trying not to draw attention to yourself. It would only slow you down and light a fire under the criminal, which was exactly what you didn’t need.

Within moments, you caught up to them. Sneaking up behind them, you snatched their wrist and smacked your quirk-suppressing cuffs on it.

“Fuck!” He swore. How did he get caught so quickly? He could have sworn that there was no one chasing him. Pesky heroes. Relying on the comparative lack of heroes patrolling during the holidays, as well as the customary holiday shopping rush, was a sound strategy. He had done the same in previous years without getting caught. If only that damned, nosy civilian hadn’t shouted…

“Please do not resist arrest. It will be easier for all parties involved. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. There are eyewitnesses to your crime. Please drop your bags and hold out your other wrist.” You said calmly. You had a beautiful voice. It was calming and had a lilt to it that was a byproduct of your quirk. The villain did as you said, knowing that there would be no escape.

You sighed. Pressing a button on the comms situated in your ear, you reported the situation back to your office. You then called the nearest detective station and waited until their patrol car got here so you could hand the man over. Glancing at your watch, you realized your patrol was almost over. You did one last sweep of the premises, then headed back to the agency.

Today, the agency was the emptiest you had ever seen it. It was a large building, with 20 above-ground floors. In fact, it was essentially a mini-city. There was a heated indoor pool, a sauna, an elite gym that would make fitness junkies drool, a massage and spa, three verandas, and a rooftop greenhouse. It had a café reminiscent of the UA cafeteria, and all types of cuisines were available. In fact, Lunch Rush’s niece was working in the café, and the food was always heavenly. Sometimes, heroes from other agencies would drop off at the UA Hero Agency just for a bite of food after a long patrol. It was the unofficial headquarters of all the hero agencies in Japan, and it certainly lived up to its reputation.

Thinking about the café, you were suddenly hungry for some pad thai. Arriving at the door, you dropped off your comms and cloak at the door to your office and headed down to the café for some food.

“(Y/N)!!! You’re back!” Your friend squealed.

“Yeah Mina, just got off of patrol. Arrested this shoplifter trying to take advantage of the holiday chaos.” Spying her coat in her hands, you realized she was on her way out.

“Cool! You’re always so efficient with your arrests. Anyhow, I’m going to head home. My parents and I are getting some dinner together. I’ll be back for the party, yeah? Don’t open any presents without me!” Mina waved, a grin on her face. You assured her that you would make sure everyone waited for her to celebrate. You wanted to see your parents too, but they were currently on an international tour. They were famous singers, pioneers of a new genre of music. It was a sort of lullaby, but it wasn’t meant to put people to sleep. It was more of an enchanting, calming kind of music present only in fantasy books before your mother brought it to life. She was wildly popular, and your father was only too happy to support her. Speaking of which, your phone rang in your pocket. You took it out and accepted the video call.

“(Y/N)! It’s so nice to see you baby! How’s it going? I know you had patrols today but I forgot about the time difference and your father had to stop me before I called you and distracted you during patrols! He’s always so paranoid you’ll hurt yourself, sweetie. Stay safe, okay?” Your mother was always cheerful.

“Yeah mom, I know. I’m doing pretty well, actually. I arrested a shoplifter today,” you replied, recounting the same story you just told Mina. “Everything’s pretty calm here. How’s your tour going? I missed you,” you asked her.

“That’s good to hear sweetie!” You mom smiled. “The tour is amazing. I’ve never had such an international turnout before! Maybe I need to start considering singing in other languages! Everyone’s always so supportive.” You smiled at her, happy that she was enjoying herself.

“You deserve it Mom. I’m glad that your music is appealing to an international audience. You always work so hard. It’s nice to see that people appreciate all that you’ve done.”

“Thanks sweetie. Here, I’ll let your dad talk to you for a bit.” There was a bit of shuffling on her end as she handed the phone over to your father.

“Hey sweetheart,” your father’s voice boomed through the phone. You held your phone away from your ear, wincing a bit. Quickly dialing the volume down, you responded.

“Hey Papa. Mom said the tour was going well.”

“Yeah, it is. How’s the holidays going for you?” You heard the slight sadness in his voice. You knew that he wanted Mom to take a break in the middle of the tour and spend Christmas with you, but Mom was adamant about it. It was a holiday tour, after all, and tickets had already been booked. Some people were going to see her concerts as a way of celebrating, and she wouldn’t let them down.

“I’m doing good. It’s pretty peaceful here. No big missions or anything,” you say, in an attempt to comfort him.

“Ok, that’s good to hear sweetheart. We miss you.”

“I miss you too, Papa. Don’t worry though, I’ll be here when you guys get back. Have fun in Paris!” You replied, suddenly feeling sad. “Bye Papa! Bye Mom! I’ll see you guys soon!” You blew a kiss to the camera and hung up. Sighing a little, you trotted towards Emiko, the revered chef.

“Can I have a pad thai please?” You asked, putting your phone back in your pocket.

“One pad thai, coming right up!” Emiko beamed. “So, I hear there’s a party tonight. Should I make anything special?”

You thought about it for a bit, then shook your head. “No, you don’t have to. It’s mostly just for the presents. We already have the booze covered. I think Momo is ordering some special hors d’œuvres already and Sato is taking care of the cookies. Are you coming?”

Emiko shook her head. “I’m spending the night with my family and my boyfriend. I think I might make you guys some tiramisu though. I have all the ingredients and I don’t want them to spoil since I’ll be gone for a few days. Desserts are my specialty anyways,” she added. Then, with a knowing smirk, she prodded your arm. “Do you have anyone on your mind? You know, Mina and Ochaco hung some mistletoe up before they left…”

You blushed. Of course they did. Your friends knew all about your one-sided crush. You also knew that he would still be working here. He was always working. You were pretty sure that he had the mind of a robot, focused only on his work and his legacy. With those hand motions he made, you weren’t surprised if he actually was one. You shook your head to get rid of these thoughts. Emiko didn’t know. At least, you didn’t think she knew. You really regretted telling Mina about your little crush. With her tendency to run her mouth, you wouldn’t be surprised if the entire agency knew already. With the exception of your actual crush, of course. He was simply too socially dense to see the signs and too uninterested to pry.

Taking your pad thai, you scurried away from a smug Emiko and plopped yourself down at a table. You dug into your noodles and sighed in contentment. Maybe working during the holidays wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t like you had friends who weren’t as busy as you were anyways.

You finished the last of your noodles, then got up and took your tray to the recycling area. Heading up to your office, you paused by Ingenium’s office. His door was cracked open, and you peeked inside. You had to muffle your giggles at the sight.

He was wrapping presents with such a focused look on his face that you found absolutely adorable. His brows were furrowed, the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth. He had a spool of ribbons laying on the floor next to him, as well as elegant white-and-gold wrapping paper and a roll of tape. What really amused you was the pile of paper, ribbons, and tape that was bunched together and tossed aside, obviously a result of trial and error. Iida looked frustrated. He had already put his presents in boxes so that they were almost uniform in size and easier to wrap, but he was clearly struggling. You estimated that he had forty boxes littering the floor, but he only had five wrapped. You watched as he ripped off the wrapping on the newest box he had started on, muttering about how hard it was to get straight edges with the wrapping paper. Knocking lightly on his door, you stuck your head around the doorway.

“Need some help?” You asked.

Iida looked up from unspooling more wrapping paper. His face brightened at your offer.

“Yes please, (Y/L/N)-san! I would greatly appreciate your aid. I seem to be having trouble folding the paper and trying to tape it together without it sliding from its position. If you could hold the paper in place while I tape, that would be wonderful!” He looked so excited, almost like a puppy.

You smiled at his eagerness. “Of course, I’d be happy to help.”

You sat down across from him and held the wrapping paper in place while he tore off a piece of tape. The two of you worked in tandem for around an hour, until you finished wrapping all the presents. You sat back, face flushed, and surveyed your work. All forty presents, wrapped with elegant paper and tied up prettily with a gold organza ribbon, were laid out neatly on the floor. It was a satisfying sight. Rolling out your back and cracking your knuckles, you got up from the floor.

“Those were a lot of presents, Iida-san,” you yawned, stretching your arms back like a cat. “Do you want to go down and get some hot cocoa? Emiko already left, but I can make us some.”

Iida got up too. His glasses were slightly askew on his face, and he had a dazed look about him. “That would be greatly appreciated, (Y/L/N)-san. Thank you very much for helping me wrap my presents. It was irresponsible of me to leave them until the last minute.”

“Of course, Iida-san,” you replied. “We were all so busy before the holidays I’m surprised you wanted to wrap everything as fancy as you did. I know that I just stuck my presents in bags, covered them with tissue paper, and called it a day! You didn’t even buy those sticky bows, you tied them with real ribbons. That’s dedication!”

Iida blushed furiously at your compliments. It’s the perfect time to confess to her, he thought. We’re alone, and there’s no one here to see if she rejects me. He took in a deep breath, trying to muster the courage to say something to you, but before he could, you grabbed his hand and dragged him down the hallway for some much-desired peppermint hot cocoa.

Humming lightly to yourself as you lead Iida down the halls, you entered the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. Releasing his hand, you clasped your hands behind your back, hoping he wouldn’t notice how they were shaking slightly. Wow, you thought. I really did that. I really just snatched his hand like that. Ugh, he probably hated it every second of the way, he’s just too polite to say anything. God, my palms are so sweaty. Why did I do this to myself?

Unbeknownst to you, Iida was having a mental freak-out of his own. Ahh! She grabbed my hand! And she didn’t seem to hate it! Does this mean she really doesn’t mind my company? Maybe I actually do have a chance with her! No, stop, he told himself. She was probably just tired of how I was staring at her and decided to do something about it. Ugh, I was staring at her, wasn’t I? God, I’m such a creep. Iida wiped his palms on his slacks, then reached up and adjusted his glasses, trying to hide the obvious blush on his face.

“Ding!”

The elevator stopped at the ground floor, and the two of you stepped out into the lobby. The decorations had been up for two weeks already, but it still took your breath away every time you saw it. There were garlands of lights strung high all over the ceiling, and dainty little ornaments hung from the chandeliers. There was a huge Christmas tree next to the fireplace, the floor around it coated in snowy fuzz. You had to resist the temptation to jump in on multiple occasions. You couldn’t help yourself! It just looked so fuzzy and comfortable, like clouds of cotton candy…

The Christmas tree was decorated tastefully. There was a surprising lack of hero-themed ornaments, mostly due to Momo’s elegant decorating. You had all been in agreement when you refused to let Kaminari or Mineta even touch the tree.

Making your way to the kitchen, you relaxed a little when you breathed in the apple-scented candles. It was a surprising choice for a holiday scent. Usually, pine or cinnamon were much more popular scents. You had gotten the privilege to choose the candles though, and although you almost fainted sniffing at every single scent in the candle store, you decided on apple. It was nice and refreshing, with just a subtle touch towards the holiday season. You liked the change of pace from the usual holiday scents, and it seemed it was growing on everyone else too. You stopped at the cabinets that contained the hot cocoa bombs. Emiko had seen these as an online trend with the food community, and she had made dozens of them “as an experiment”. Everyone fell in love with them (because heroes are allowed to be childish!) and they stuck. Now, the agency had an entire cabinet in the kitchen dedicated to the delightful goodies.

“Oat or regular?” You asked Iida.

Iida had, unfortunately, spaced out again. He was thinking about how cute you looked, standing on your tiptoes to reach the cabinet.

“Hello? Earth to Iida-san,” you turned around and waved a hand in front of his face. “You okay there?”

Iida blinked and had to recompose himself again. He kept getting distracted. This was not good. Not good at all.

“Regular is fine,” he replied, his face flushing once again. He really needed to stop daydreaming.

You poured out some milk into a jug and heated it. Then, you placed a hot cocoa bomb in each mug, licking some sprinkles off your fingers as you did so. Once the milk was ready, you filled each mug to the brim, careful not to spill any. It smelled absolutely delectable. Taking a spoon from the cabinets, you stirred both cups slowly, letting the chocolate melt at an even pace.

Iida was watching all of this, and he was still having an internal debate over when to confess. Would it be better to wait until you both finished the hot cocoa? Should he even confess to you on Christmas? What if his confession ruined your holidays? He began to sweat a little, his anxiety rising with each thought. Before he could come up with an excuse to escape, you stuffed a mug into his large hands.

“All done!” You exclaimed, taking a sip of your own cocoa, careful not to burn yourself.

Iida was not so lucky. Distracted by his thoughts, he raised the mug to his lips and gulped.

“Shit!” Iida swore. You blinked at him, a little shocked since he never swore, then immediately put your mug down and raced to the refrigerator to collect some ice cubes. Iida promptly put his offensive mug of cocoa on the counter, glaring at it like it just murdered his dog. Dumping some ice cubes in a glass, you hurried back towards Iida and popped one in his mouth.

“You really should be more careful next time, Iida-san,” you chided. “I just made it! You shouldn’t take such large swigs of a piping hot drink!”

“Sorry, I got distracted.” Iida replied absentmindedly.

“Distracted? By what?” Your curiosity was now piqued.

Iida’s face turned ever redder than before. He averted his eyes and mumbled out some quiet words that you couldn’t quite catch.

“Sorry, what was that?” You gazed up at him. “I couldn’t hear what you said.”

Iida’s hands were stuck to his thighs to prevent himself from freaking you out with aggressive hand gestures, and he didn’t think he’d ever been more nervous in his entire life. He cleared his throat. “I said that I got distracted by you.”

Now it was your turn to blush. “Really?” Your voice was quiet, almost a whisper. You weren’t sure if you heard that right, and your heart was beating so fast you were afraid that he’d hear it.

Iida finally looked at you. “Really,” he confirmed.

You wrung your hands and stepped towards him. Raising your eyes to meet his, your voice a half-whisper, you gulped before your next words.

“I like you.”

Blinking twice, Iida unclasped his hands and pinched his forearm. He winced in pain, then blinked again. You laughed at his antics, then clapped a hand playfully on his bicep.

“I’m real, Iida-san. I’m right here!”

Slowly, a grin crept up Iida’s face. “Really?” He mumbled, obviously still not entirely convinced he wasn’t dreaming.

You chuckled at how you had just asked the same thing moments earlier, but then you grabbed his large hand with your smaller one and squeezed.

“Really.” You smiled bashfully.

The two of you stood in silence for a while, then Iida spoke up.

“I like you too, (Y/L/N)-san.” Feeling bold now that he knew his feelings were reciprocated, he drew his other arm across your shoulders and drew you into a tight hug. You sighed, feeling comfortable and safe in his arms. A part of you wanted to stay like this forever and never wanted him to let go.

“Would you like to go on a date with me on Saturday afternoon at 3?” Iida’s voice rumbled in your ear.

You were bursting with excitement. A date! A real, formal, date! “I’d love to, but why so specific?” You giggled.

“Ahh, well, my patrol ends at 2:30, so I thought-”

Of course Iida volunteered for patrols the weekend after Christmas. Did this man ever take a break?

“No problem at all, Iida-san. That sounds lovely.”

Iida released you from the hug and rubbed lightly at the back of his neck. “You can… you can call me Tenya, if you’d like.”

You were smiling so big that you feared your face would split. “I’d love that, Tenya.” His eyes crinkled when you called him by his first name. “And you can call me (Y/N).”

Iida nodded his head. “(Y/N). I like that,” he said to himself. He muttered your name a few times, getting used to the way it rolled off his tongue. You blushed and hugged him again, pressing your nose into his chest. He was just too adorable.

You wanted to stay like that, but your phone dinging incessantly in your pocket made it uncomfortable.

Mina

(Y/N)!!! my parents ordered this WHOLE-ASS TURKEY for dinner with JUST THE 3 OF US!!! how we gon finish it all?!?

Mina

*burps* we did it. we finished all of it. the whole turkey. (Y/N). we. finished. a. whole. fucking. turkey. pls send help i can’t walk (Y/NNNNNNNN)!!!

(Y/N)

want me to call u an uber … mina mina MINA MINA DID U PASS OUT im calling an uber mina istg

Quickly sending an Uber to the restaurant Mina was at, you put your phone back in your pocket and looked up at Tenya.

“Hey. Do you wanna get your presents and put them under the tree?” You asked.

Tenya quickly straightened up. “Thank you for reminding me, (Y/N). I had almost forgotten about them!”

“No problem!” You chirped. “Let’s go!” You took his hand in yours again and lead the way to the elevator. As the elevator chimed, the two of you waltzed in, hands still clasped together.

Humming a little tune to yourself, you stepped out of the elevator. You and Tenya entered his office, and each returned with an armful of presents, carefully stacked as to avoid damaging the delicate ribbons the two of you had spent so much time tying.

It was a tradition in the agency to get everyone something small. However, you participated in gift exchanges every year. This year, it was a Secret Santa-type exchange, but the UA Hero Agency did Secret Santa’s a bit differently. Instead of giving your partner the gift on Christmas Eve, the gifts were labeled with typed name tags in generic Times New Roman font. Then, there was the guessing portion. Everyone got 3 guesses at the party when they first open it, and after that, they get one guess per week. Whoever held out the longest (avoided being guessed) would win a batch of Sato’s homemade cookies, a week of free food from Emiko, and two patrol coupons (basically the adult version of homework passes). This year, you had drawn Bakugo as your partner. You’d decided to get him a ¥4,000 gift card to his favorite ramen restaurant, as well as a high-quality leather jacket. The gifts were pretty generic, and you thought that you had a chance at the prize. You chuckled to yourself when you remembered that last year, Momo had been so frustrated when she hadn’t figured out who had given her a pretty earring and necklace set after two months that she’d used Creation to make fingerprint dust and swiped it all over the box. It had turned out to be Todoroki. Needless to say, he’d won the prize that year.

The two of you made a few more trips, carrying gifts from his office to the tree. Checking the time, you saw that it had been an hour since Ochaco’s patrol ended. Right as you were about to call her, the front door to the lobby burst open.

“(Y/N)!!!” Your friend screeched, holding up a kitten with fur the color of cinnamon. “Look what I found on my patrol! I had to take her to the vet really quickly to make sure she wasn’t hurt, and she didn’t seem to have an owner. Just look at her!”

You beamed. The kitten was absolutely ADORABLE. And not only was Ochaco safe, she brought a kitten back with her!

“Can I hold her?” You asked.

“Duh!” Ochaco passed the kitten from her arms to yours. Behind her, you saw Bakugou walking sullenly, arms drawn tight across his chest. You stifled a giggle at the sight. He obviously wanted a turn with the kitten too, but his pride wouldn’t let him as for it.

“We were coming back from patrols and I saw this little one stuck in a tree! And when I floated up to take her down, she just looked so sad. There wasn’t a collar on her or anything, so we took her to the vet. It seems like she was abandoned,” Ochaco pouted. “And so we asked the vet to vaccinate her and everything, and we brought her back here! Can we keep her? Mr. Grumpy over there already said yes.”

Tenya looked like he was about to object, seeing as this building had a no-pets policy, but then he saw how your face lit up and the idea and changed his mind. Maybe having a pet on the premises wouldn’t be too bad, he conceded. It’s not like there were other people sharing the building with them anyways.

“Of course we can keep her!” You squealed. Bakugou huffed a sigh. He’d have to deal with all these idiots fawning over the kitten for weeks, and he wasn’t happy about that, but there was no denying that the thing was cute. He’d mellowed out since his high school days and seeing a therapist for anger management classes certainly helped.

The kitten felt warm and fuzzy in your arms, and when you stroked it down its back with the palm of your hand, it let out a satisfied purr.

“What should we name her?” Ochaco asked.

You thought about it for a moment. “Well, since you found her, and her fur is brownish, why not Coco?”

“Coco! I love it!” She beamed. Coco purred again. “It looks like she likes it too!”

You smiled and looked down on the kitty. “Coco,” You murmured. “Welcome to the family.”

Just then, Mina burst through the doors, brimming with energy and not looking at all as if she’d fainted from turkey overconsumption.

“Mina!” You ran towards her. “I thought you fainted or something!” You accused, poking her in the chest. “You didn’t even leave me on read!! You just LEFT!”

“Chill, chill, girly, I’m alive and kicking! Just had to take a quick nap because of my digestive woes,” She flashed you a big thumbs-up. “And what’s this I see? Do we have an agency pet now? Did Shinso sneak it in his pocket from the cat cafe?”

“Shinso what?”

“Cat cafe?”

“I KNEW there was something fishy about his jacket the other day!”

You, Tenya, and Ochaco said at the same time.

Mina stared at all of you, then shook her head. “Never mind.”

Turning around, you looked at Ochaco. “I wanna hear about this later, you hear?”

“Alright, alright!” Mina shouted. “Change into your holiday gear! Let’s get this rolling!”

You had made a sweater especially for tonight. Knitting was a great way to relax, and huddling up in a cozy armchair with the soft yarn, some hot cocoa, and your favorite book, you had finished your holiday-themed sweater in two weeks. Now, you would finally get the chance to wear it. The sweater you made was white, a soft gold-and-silver threading woven through in the pattern of snowflakes. It was a basic winter pattern, but you were proud of your work.

Setting Coco down on the couch, you headed into the locker rooms to change into your sweater and some flannel pajama bottoms. Walking out, you noticed Tenya was still in his business attire, which looked pretty uncomfortable by your standards, although it did fit him nicely.

“Tenya,” you called out. “Are you wearing that to the party?”

He turned around at your voice, looking slightly taken aback. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. Why?”

“Nothing, just wondering,” you replied. Good thing that your present to him was a nice, cozy, hand-knit sweater. You may or may not have thought about making him a matching one, but then you’d decided that it was too forward.

“You look…” Tenya stared at you. “You look…cute,” he said, with a small blush on his face.

Blushing at his compliment, you smiled and ducked your head. “Thanks.”

“Your sweater…it looks nice,” he added.

Playing with the hems of your sleeves, you smiled up at him bashfully. “Thanks. I made it myself. I really like knitting. It’s kind of therapeutic.”

“Oh, wow. You are truly very talented, (Y/N)!” Tenya praised.

“Thanks.” You rubbed the back of your neck. It seemed like you had lost the ability to say anything else. Why did you suck so much at making small talk?

Just then, Mina stepped out from the locker room and saved you from any further embarrassment.

“Hey, has Yaomomo come down yet?” Mina asked.

“No, she hasn’t. Do you want me to go get her?” You answered.

“Nah, it’s alright, I’ll just text her real quick.” Mina pulled out her phone, fingers dancing rapidly across the screen, then put it back in her pocket. Minutes later, Momo stepped out of the elevator, already dressed in a red sweater and white jeans. She always looked so put-together. You were sure that she had a second quirk.

“Yaomomo!” Mina screeched, running up to her friend. “You’ll never guess what I ate for dinner!”

You groaned as Mina recounted her dining disaster. You loved Mina, but her tendency to tell her experiences to everyone multiple times could sometimes get a little annoying. Trying your best to tune her out, you tapped Tenya’s shoulder and moved to settle on the couch with Coco.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” Mina shouted. “Come here!”

Begrudgingly, you stood up again, having just sat down moments earlier. “What is it, Mina?”

“We forgot to introduce Coco! Yaomomo hasn’t seen her yet!”

Oh right. You did forget. You lifted Coco with both hands, then scurried over to where Ochaco, Mina, and Momo huddled. Momo let out a quiet “aww” when she saw the kitty and lifted her manicured hands in a silent invitation to hold her.

You gently placed Coco in her outstretched arms and was about to turn and leave when Mina grabbed your elbow. “Not so fast, (Y/N),” she scolded you sternly. “Picture time!”

Mina took out her phone and swiped open the camera app. You girls all huddled together as she snapped a picture for the fans.

Settling back down with Coco on the couch, surrounded by your friends, you didn’t think that you had ever felt happier. One by one, more of your friends and coworkers began to trickle in, until finally, when a disgruntled Jirou arrived with a protesting Kaminari in tow, Mina stood up.

“Alright! Everyone’s here now, so let’s get this party rolling!”

She bounced off to the kitchen to grab plates for everyone. You could smell Sato’s freshly-baked cookies from here, and your stomach growled in response. Remembering the tiramisu that Emiko had made, you followed Mina into the kitchen.

Mina held a stack of plates that covered half her face. It was wobbling slightly, the entire thing almost toppling over multiple times. You had gotten out the fancier cake platter and was currently in hyper-focus mode, carefully moving the tiramisu from its cake mold onto the crystal platter. You breathed out a sigh of relief as the process was finally completed and the cake hadn’t been ruined.

Holding the crystal tray with both hands, you stepped out into the lobby, marched over to the coffee table in the center, and slowly set the tray down.

“Hey guys, Emiko made us some tiramisu,” You called out. “Come here if you want some.” You held a cake knife in your hand and began serving everyone.

Tenya watched all of this with barely-hidden admiration. You were just so competent. So hard-working, so kind, and so wonderfully skilled at everything you do. Even the things that you weren’t good at, you tried your hardest to learn and to improve. He was definitely in deep, and to be honest, he didn’t mind a single bit. You were worthy of being admired, and he vowed that he would let you know in all the ways he could.

As you served the last slice of tiramisu to Ojiro, you carried the cake platter back to the kitchen and sat down next to Shinsou, who was, not surprisingly, hogging all of Coco’s attention. Seeing you, Coco scrambled over Shinsou’s lap and faceplanted into yours. You laughed at her enthusiasm and snorted when you heard Shinsou mutter “traitor” underneath his breath.

“So Shinsou,” you started casually. “What’s this I hear about you stealing cats from the cat café?”

Shinsou’s face immediately turned a tomato red. He put his hands up defensively. “No, wait, you have it all wrong- I swear- who told you about it anyways? Never mind,” he stopped his waving motions. You snickered. You were definitely getting the full story out of him later. For now, you had things to do.

Strolling over casually to Tenya with Coco still in your arms, you very sneakily dropped her, front paws landing gracefully, onto Bakugou’s head.

“Hey! What’s this damn cat doing here!” Bakugou yelped. Coco also yelped, and it came to you that dropping her on Bakugou’s spikey hair was probably not the best idea ever. However, as Coco quickly scampered down and curled up on Bakugou’s shoulder, and Kirishima was sitting next to him to make sure he didn’t kill the cat, you felt a sense of triumph. Bakugo was smiling. Not smirking, not grinning maniacally as he beat someone up, but genuinely smiling. You gave yourself an internal high five as you moved onto your next goal.

You walked hesitantly towards Tenya, and when he turned his head towards you, about to ask what you were doing, you quickly linked your hand with his and started leading him towards the rest of the group.

“(Y-Y/N) ?” Tenya sputtered. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” You replied cheekily. “I want to hold hands with you!”

“B-but, do they know?” Tenya gestured nervously with his free hand.

“Nope, but they’re about to,” you grimaced, thinking about all the teasing you’d have to endure from your friends later. Better to just get this over with during the party, when everyone had the attention span of a goldfish and any embarrassing moments would hopefully be forgotten moments later when more exciting things came along, such as Mineta’s annual lingerie gift. Whatever the powers that be were doing, they were definitely not doing the world any favors when they let Mineta draw a girl for the Secret Santa every single year. But, for all the bad things you could say about Mineta, he definitely consumes enough material to have at least semi-decent taste in lingerie. Surprising, and sometimes gross, but not entirely unwelcomed if you could manage to forget who gifted it. The most disturbing thing was he knew all the girls’ sizes. You tried your hardest to not think about that. It’s not like you could erase his memory anyways.

You settled down with Tenya on a vacant couch, inwardly counting the minutes until someone noticed your position. Tenya looked vaguely uncomfortable, his posture ramrod straight, and you squeezed his hand in reassurance.

“No one’s going to judge or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about,” you whispered into his ear. “And besides, at least half the girls already knew I had a crush on you, so this won’t entirely come as news to them.”

Tenya relaxed slightly at that, then stiffened again when he noticed a pair of eyes glancing his way.

Midoriya had been excited at seeing Ochaco for the first part of the evening, but then had wondered where his other friend had gone. He knew Tsu was in southern Japan, as she couldn’t stand the cold and was operating in the warm coastal areas instead, but Iida being absent was strange. He had searched around the lobby, and when his eyes descended upon you and Iida cuddling on the couch, he was intrigued, to say the least.

He stared at the two of you for a solid minute, not wanting to disturb your peace. Slowly, he turned back to Ochaco, thinking that it wasn’t his place to draw attention to the two of you.

Ochaco, however, had no such qualms. Noticing how Deku began to space out during their conversation, she followed his line of vision to the two of you, blinked twice to check if she was seeing it right, then immediately let out a squeal.

Heads turned at the sound, and in moments, everyone was staring at you and Tenya curiously. You hadn’t noticed the attention yet, but Tenya had, and he grew stiffer and stiffer until you finally looked up at his face with furrowed brows.

“Tenya, what’s wrong?” You whispered. “Do you not enjoy cuddling? I can stop if you’d like,” your lips were pressed together in concern.

“I-it’s not that,” Tenya whispered back. “Look.”

You finally raised your head from his chest and saw thirty pairs of eyes staring back. After a few moments of silence, the room erupted.

“Iida-kun! Why didn’t you tell us?” Midoriya was the first to raise a question.

“(Y/NNNNNN)!!!!!!!!!!!” Mina practically screamed as she ran towards you. She clasped her hands dramatically over her heart. “YOU DID IT YOU DID IT YOU DID IT OMG YOU GUYS ARE SO ADORABLE EEEEE!!!!!!”

Half the room winced at her loud tone, and you quickly moved Coco from your lap to save her from the incoming bear hug.

Mina launched herself in your arms, then stepped back and shook your shoulders until you felt your brain rattling around in your skull like soupy mush.

“(Y/N)! What did I say, huh? Bitch I TOLD you that he liked you too, and you wait three goddamn months to finally make a move!?! Honey-”

Your face flushed red. Gently, you pushed her away. “Mina, stop,” you whispered, horrified that she was making a scene. It was too late. Ochaco and Hagakure rushed towards you, Momo trailing more slowly behind them. The boys were stunned for a bit, since you had always seemed so quiet and shy, much less Iida’s feelings towards you. As their initial shock wore off, Midoriya trailed after Momo to approach Iida.

“Congratulations, Iida-kun!” He held up his arms in front of his chest. “You and (Y/N) are really cute together!”

“Yeah bro! That’s so manly that you finally confessed!” Kirishima added, with a quirk of his lips and a thumbs-up.

“Tch. Fucking coward. Took you idiots three fucking months to confess, huh.” Bakugou smirked, but you could tell he wasn’t really annoyed. You actually somewhat got along with him, due to all the times Mina would drag you to hang out with her friends.

You struggled vainly against the arms of your friends encasing you. “Guys,” you pleaded. “Let me out, please.”

Reluctantly, the girls let go, and you immediately tried to redirect their attention. “Shouldn’t we start opening presents?” You asked hopefully.

“Oh, you sneaky little thing,” Mina wagged her finger in your face. “Don’t think we’ll forget about this, (Y/N), but you’re right, we should start opening presents or we’ll be here all night.”

“We’ll be here all night anyways,” Todoroki pointed out.

“You knew what I meant,” Mina sighed.

Mina enlisted the help of Ojiro and Shoji to pass out the Secret Santa presents; you’d all open the rest of your personal presents later.

The best way to go about this, after years of trial and error, was for everyone to open their presents at the same time. It would simply take too long for everyone to open theirs one by one, and you’d all realized that the people who opened theirs first had a significant disadvantage when it came to guessing who their partner was, as the ones who opened theirs later had the benefit of some options already being eliminated. When you opened your present, you tried your hardest to hold back a squeal. It was a limited-edition album from your favorite artist! You hugged it close to your chest, and immediately knew who gave it to you. Jirou. Her parents were musicians too, and you had bonded over your love of this artist. It was a thoughtful gift, and you were glad that she had given it to you, even though it immediately gave her away.

The rest of your friends opened their presents. Poor Momo. No wonder Mineta had looked so gleeful earlier. He had been her Secret Santa and had gotten her a lacy black lingerie set. Her face was so red you were beginning to get scared that she would hyperventilate, but you had to admit that it was a pretty nice set. Mineta was basically drooling at this point, and Jirou was trying to comfort her while sending a death glare towards Mineta. Mineta, meanwhile, had received a new video game. Sero had received a large pack of farmer’s market coupons, as well as some homemade mochi from Ochaco, who had blushed and apologized profusely for not being able to afford something better for him. Sero just grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, saying that it was completely okay and that he appreciated her effort into gift-giving. She had brightened up a bit at that.

Koda had received a new hamster wheel along with some toys for his various pets. Shoji had been gifted a comfortable-looking poncho, as well as three pairs of matching gloves. Ochaco had received a generous sum of money, Midoriya had gotten a new set of comic books, and Iida had received a beanie and a multiflavored pack of tea. Aoyama had received a makeup set, and had gifted a makeup set as well, evidenced by his inability to contain himself and pounced on Hagakure, asking if she liked it. Hagakure was ecstatic, babbling about how she could finally show her face and how she’d never really been able to afford a full set before and how Aoyama was so considerate.

Sato had received a new baking pan, as well as cute mittens and a trending recipe book. He had given Setsuna a batch of cookies, as well as a gallon of frozen cookie dough with instructions on how to make it. There wasn’t really a point in him trying to win the contest, since he would be one of the people providing the prize. Mina had gotten fuzzy socks and a blanket, Kirishima had received a new pair of tennis shoes, and Jirou had been gifted a new pair of headphones. Ojiro had received some sort of custom tail armor with spikes along with an Amazon gift card, and Todoroki had gotten a hand-made red-and-white sweater with a red reindeer nose smack in the middle, along with a gift card to a hair salon, tucked into a bouquet of red-and-white candy canes. The only person you could think of that would go so far into the color scheme was Hagakure, who seemed like just the type to make an ugly sweater for fun. Shinsou had received earmuffs, a silk eye mask with a note (“to help you sleep”), and some gourmet coffee beans (“in case you still can’t”). Mina had seen the little notes that came with his gifts and started teasing him relentlessly about how sweet his Secret Santa was and how it was so cute that he had a secret admirer. Shinsou looked very nonchalant about it all and grumbled about how he just wanted to pet Coco and then go to bed.

Finally, Kaminari received some Pokémon cards to add to his collection (yes, he collected Pokémon cards, what was wrong with that?) along with another Pikachu plush, as per usual. It was an unspoken tradition that whoever drew Kaminari for their Secret Santa would get him a Pikachu plush along with whatever else they decided to give him. He had about twenty, collected over various years from birthdays and holidays. If this kept up, he’d be able to fill an entire closet with them once he retired.

As the chatter slowly died down, you snuggled into Tenya again. At some point during the present exchange, Shinsou had stolen Coco from the couch you occupied. Stifling a yawn, you pulled out a bag and handed it to Tenya.

“What’s this?” He asked, a slight smile on his face.

“It’s your gift, silly,” you booped him on the nose with your index finger.

“Ah, I see,” he replied, still smiling. “Do you want me to open it?”

“Duh,” you giggled into his chest. “What else would you do with it?”

Chuckling lightly, Tenya removed the tissue paper from the top of the bag. He stuck his hand inside, then pulled out a sweater. The sweater that you’d knitted for him. It was navy, the color of the yarn matching his hair, with gold and white snowflake detailing. His heart skipped a beat when he realized that you had made this especially for him, with your own hands. Putting the sweater down beside him, he wrapped his arms around you and pressed his face to your hair.

“Thank you, (Y/N),” he whispered. “I love it.”

You flushed, but you hugged him back. “You’d better,” you teased. “I spent two weeks on that.”

“Well, I appreciate it.” Tenya ruffled your hair.

The two of you stayed like that for a while, just soaking in the pleasant atmosphere. Yawning, you stretched out your arms, careful not to hit Tenya in the face. You gently pushed his arm off of your torso and got up to go to the bathroom.

When you came back, Tenya was nowhere to be seen. You searched around the common area and stepped briefly into the kitchen, but he wasn’t there. Sighing, you grabbed your parka and padded outside.

“Tenya?” You called out as you stuck your head around the doorframe. He was with Kirishima and Todoroki, clearing the entryway of the building of snow. You leaned back along the handrails of the stairs and watched. Your friends were all just so nice. So caring, so wonderful, so kind. As Todoroki evaporated the last bit of snow, you stepped aside to let them all head back in. As Tenya reached you, he paused briefly, looking up.

“What?” You tilted your head up also, curious to see what he was staring at. Oh. So this was where Mina and Ochaco had decided to hang the mistletoe. If Tenya hadn’t looked up, you would’ve missed its existence entirely. You looked back down at Tenya to gauge his reaction.

He gulped, and softly taking your chin into his hand, he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss on your lips. You leaned up to meet him, rising slightly on your toes and wrapping your arms around his neck. The kiss was long and sweet, and you were both a bit breathless when you let go.

You smiled sweetly up at him and took his strong hand in yours. Standing on your tiptoes again, you pressed another soft kiss to his cheek.

“Merry Christmas.”

Masterlist

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sorryandxiexie · 4 years

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So I really want to talk about this scene right here, but because I’m on my phone and tumblr mobile is a hellsite, I couldn’t gif this scene and give it justice.

Will that stop me? Absolutely not.

I know that we, as a fandom, love giving Wei Wuxian so much shit for being peak dumbass and being completely oblivious to Lan Wangji’s feelings for him.

And I will continue to do so, right after this.

Look there are so many great scenes in the drama, that aren’t in the novel, that suggest a deeper relationship between my two boys pre-resurrection. And it’s so great, I love this drama with my whole heart, I’ve watched it seven (7!) times now, and I love the relationship building they did.

But this is one of those moments where it first hit me that maybe Wei Wuxian isn’t as blind to Lan Wangji’s devotion as he pretends. I’ve seen so many great metas and posts about why he is so oblivious, especially this one which I read today and *chef kisses*.

I know a lot of people read this moment as Wei Wuxian slowly starting to realise his own feelings, (as well as perhaps some trepidation over the implications of him wielding a flute again) and yes I’m quite sure there’s a lot of that too.

But just watch this boy watch his old classmate, turned friend, turned soulmate confidant, turned enemy and then friend?? again. Watch Wei Wuxian watch Lan Wangji save him from Jiang Cheng and Zidian, bring him back to Gusu, travel with him and the sword ghost to Qinghe, trust him with Jin Ling at the Sword Shrine and to not run away again, carry him on his back when he saw that he was injured, served him alcohol in front of Nie Huaisang and then trusted him to interrogate him, before carrying him back to their room only to pick up the flute Wei Wuxian used to call forth Wen Ning, and fix it for him - because for whatever reason, Lan Wangji, who fought him at Nightless City, trusts him.

Despite everything Lan Wangji knows he’s capable of, he trusts Wei Wuxian, and in this moment Wei Wuxian is finally starting to realise it. And even this little thing must not seem like a big deal, but following all the things Lan Wangji has done for him since he woke up, as well as his little epiphany while watching Lan Wangji on the bridge (not to mention the significance of Lan Wangji handing him a tool to control resentful energy and/or spirits after spending the entirety of the Sunshot Campaign and the followings months trying to talk Wei Wuxian into giving up the flute for Suibian again) it definitely hits Wei Wuxian differently.

I mean just look at his face, look at his heart eyes, it’s all just so soft.

But what really sells it for me, is his sudden change of expression before saying this...

The mental olympics this boy will go through to dodge his own feelings, and to make light of Lan Wangji’s feelings also, is amazing. Obviously he knows that Lan Wangji is just doing a thing for him, a nice and thoughtful thing, but he chooses to flip it around and make it seem like Lan Wangji is serving his own interests here. Because he’s not ready to admit it yet, and you can see the moment he decides to actively avoid having to decipher just what the hell it means when he gets this freaking touched over a flute.

#the untamed #wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji #the untamed meta #honestly this has probably already been done #and you can tell I lost traction towards the end there #but it’s nearly 1am and I’m too exhausted to deal with it and there’s really no going back now

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nalgenewhore · 4 years

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Slipping Through My Fingers - Two

masterlist - ao3 - last chapter - next chapter

warnings: none

an: this chapter’s a lil shorter than usual

Elide woke up alone, sprawled across her bed.

Groaning softly into the skin of her upper arm, she stretched and rolled over, blinking her eyes at sunny skies behind her side-by-side windows, sixth paned with rounded tops. Her gaze travelled to the canopy-esque set up she had above her bed, a simple wooden-pole square that she hung a multitude of plants from.

Lorcan was gone, and she was grateful for that. It was always awkward, waiting around for a hook-up to leave so she could get on with her day.

But Lorcan was… great. Really, he was. The sex had been amazing and he was gorgeous, truly beautiful, but it wasn’t just that. They got along well, when they were just lying in her bed, when she was sitting on her kitchen table and they were eating cereal. It was easy to laugh with him, to talk and banter with him. Elide groaned again and rolled over onto her stomach. You do not have the time for this, she reminded herself.

She huffed and got out of bed, feeling that old familiar ache between her legs and on the bruises sucked onto her skin as she shuffled into the bathroom and turned on her shower.

As the water warmed up, Elide shrugged on her fluffy bathrobe and went out to check her phone, opening the message from Nehemia, one of her new teacher colleagues. After Elide had moved from Perranth to Orynth, her sister Aelin had introduced her to her closest friends. They had all hit it off almost instantaneously and it was like they’d known each other all their lives.

She was a little less freaked out by her new job now that she knew she’d have at least one friend there.

NY: still down for brunch with the girlies?

EL: you know it

EL: 11?

NY: see you then! i’m going shopping for classroom stuff later, wanna join?

EL: gods yes - completely forgot about that whoops

Plans for the day made, Elide turned on her music and hopped in the shower, the warm stream washing away the last night and the feeling of disappointment that she couldn’t quite place.

After her shower, Elide dried and curled her hair, throwing on the red wrap dress that Aelin had made for her - it was from her newest collection and all of her friends often got the throwaways, not that there was ever anything wrong with them. Elide paired it with simple white sneakers and dropped her wallet, phone, keys, and a reusable bag into a white cross-body purse before she left her apartment complex.

It was beautiful outside, a perfect late-August day so she decided to walk the short-ish distance to the Faliq family bakery, where Nesryn worked as a pastry chef alongside her father.

+*+*+*+*+*+*

Elide walked into the air conditioned bakery to find Nesryn precariously balancing trays of mouth-watering, decadent pastries. She quickly moved, saving a plate of mille feuilles with pastry cream and strawberries from crashing to the floor. “Hey, Nes.”

Nesryn grinned, “El, thank the gods.” She blew a flyaway strand of hair that had escaped her half-up, half-down bun do. “Cute dress.” She herself was wearing a pair of flour covered overalls and a black crop top, a pair of slip-on sneakers on her feet. They walked out to the patio to their normal table, where their friends were already sitting.

“Thanks, Ae gave it to me. I’m liking the overalls look,” Elide said, setting down the tray and taking her seat beside her sister. “Gods, these look fucking amazing, Nes.” Lysandra passed her a glass filled with ice coffee as Nesryn sat down next to her fiancée and blushed under the praise.

They dug in, catching up on each other’s lives. Nesryn and Lysandra had just returned from a vacation in Eyllwe and Nehemia lamented about missing home, but Elide knew she would never actually go through with forgetting everything and moving back. The wedding band on her finger and the matching one on Fenrys’ told a different tale. Their eloping was the best decision either of them had ever made.

Elide commented on how happy Aelin looked, despite being awake and coherent before noon and her sister shyly shared she’d been seeing someone, a man named Rowan. Nehemia smiled, it seemed as though Rowan was a good friend of Fenrys’ and Fenrys had actually introduced the two of them. Aelin looked absolutely smitten and they were all so happy for her. She deserved a happy love, after her parents, after Sam…

When Elide reached for the jam, her wrap top shifted and exposed one of the dark marks on the curve of her breast. Aelin squawked and Elide flushed, sitting back down, a hand over her chest as she watched her sister splutter. “Yes, Aelin?”

“Wha- what- what is that?” The blonde reached over and used the tip of her index finger to pull back the neckline of Elide’s dress, baring the mark and the countless others on her pale skin. Elide slapped her sister’s hand away, preferring that she didn’t expose her in public. “Elide!”

Everyone else gasped, intrigued as Elide relented. “Fine! I may have met a man at Emrys’ and hooked up with him… in the alley.”

Her friends’ eyes widened as Aelin’s jaw dropped and soon enough they were congratulating her, pestering her for extremely intimate details she refused to give until they finally dropped the subject and went back to eating.

“But was he any damn good?”

Elide hummed and sipped from her cold drink, “He was pretty any damn good.”

An hour later, they helped Nesryn clear the table and carried everything into the kitchen, saying hello to her father and mother. Sayed, her father, refused to let them leave without bags or boxes, depending on the choice, of their personal favourites. He claimed they were just laying around and they played along, but they knew better.

Elide climbed into Nehemia’s car and they were off to the nearest craft and office supplies store. There was a sale and they thanked the gods. The school paid for… not enough and if they wanted their classes to be adequately decorated, they would have to pay out of pocket for a lot of it.

Nehemia taught seventh grade at their school, while Elide taught kindergarten, so her class was much more brightly coloured.

Currently, she was comparing a pack of Mr. Sketch Markers and regular old Crayolas. Nehemia glanced over at the packs, “Mr. Sketch are way better. I swear, they’ve never bled and they smell good.”

She laughed and dropped the Mr. Sketch into her cart, checking off markers on her list. “Alright… I just need some… sticker paper for desk labels.”

Nehemia nodded, “Sounds good. I really hope my stuff is hip enough.” Elide laughed again and she insisted, “Do you know how scary seventh grade girls are? I can’t have them dissing my class!”

“I think you’ll be fine, Mi,” she said dryly, shaking her head a bit. “If I had you as my seventh grade teacher, I would’ve been in love with you, 100%.”

“Aw, really?”

“Totally!”

“That’s so sweet!” Nehemia dropped a packet of thumbtacks into her basket and sighed, “Alright, I think I’m done for now. What about you?”

“Just the sticker paper and then I’ll be good to go.”

They quickly located the paper and Elide got a few packs before they made their way to the registry. She looked up as she was bagging her things in the cotton bag she’d brought, eyes landing on a tall man with dark hair thrown up in a messy bun.

She almost called out ‘Lorcan’, but he turned and she didn’t recognize him. A weird feeling sunk into the pit of her stomach. Maybe she did regret only knowing him for one night, but it’s not like she could do anything about it.

Slightly deflated, she remained mostly silent as Nehemia dropped her off. “El, are you alright? You seem a little bit…”

Elide waved her off, “No, yeah, ‘m fine. I think I’m just tired. Hot today.”

Nehemia didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t press the subject as Elide kissed her cheek and hopped out, waving when she unlocked the door of her building and slipped inside.

Sleeping with Lorcan wasn’t a mistake, she didn’t regret that, but now that she thought about it… she would’ve liked to have seen him sleeping beside her in the morning. Would’ve liked to know how he took his coffee and how he kissed her good-bye.

Making a disgusted sound in the back of her throat, Elide unlocked the door to her studio apartment and leaned back against the door in the dark, just staring at the empty space.

There was something rumpled on the floor and she dropped her bags, walking towards it. It was her dress, somehow not ripped even though they hadn’t exactly been patient when they got to her apartment.

With another groan, Elide changed aggressively in an old hoodie and sweats, ruining her curls by throwing her hair into a sloppy bun and plopped down on her bed, using the remote to turn on the TV mounted on the opposite wall.

Feeling peckish, Elide stood up from bed and walked over to the kitchen. She grabbed the box of pastries Sayed had given her, opening it up to find an Earl Grey and honey-flavoured St. Honoré, which was a layer of puff pastry that served as a base for the large cream puffs dipped in caramel, filled with Earl Grey and honey infused pastry cream, and topped with whipped cream.

Her mood lifted slightly as she cut herself a slice and read the note that Nesryn had left, letting her know that she’d been tweaking with the recipe and asking Elide to let her know what she thought.

Elide took herself and her pasty back to bed after turning on her kettle and putting a scoop of loose tea into her diffuser-ball and dropping it in a mug.

She sighed as she navigated to Netflix and clicked on a movie, already calling Aelin. Aelin didn’t get a word in before Elide was saying: “Clueless?”

Her sister agreed immediately, “Clueless.”

+*+*+*+*+*+*

@mythicaitt @tinywolfofeyllwe @schmlip-scribble @the-regal-warrior @westofmoon @empire-of-wildfire @rhysands-highlady @city-of-fae @shyvioletcat @alifletcher2012 @tangledraysofsunshine @ttakeitbacknoww @tswaney17 @ourbooksuniverse @flora-and-fae @thesirenwashere @queenofxhearts @maastrash @mynewdreamwasyou @cursebreaker29 @superspiritfestival @empress-ofbloodshed @queen-of-glass @sleeping-and-books @beccasophia95 @exersize-me-i-dare-u @thewayshedreamed @hizqueen4life

#slipping through my fingers #stmf chapter two #elorcan #elide x lorcan #elide lochan #lorcan salvaterre #kohana tangaroa-salvaterre #isa writes #nalgenewhore

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nerdingz-obsessed · 4 years

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An Analysis of Castlevania (Netflix)

In response to mean words from a fren.

My dearest Castlevania simps, it is time to rise up.

My friend (who I will be attacking :)) was dissing Castlevania (szns 1-3) after my recent Trevor Badass Belmont post, so now I must indulge myself with a rant on how much I absolutely love this series. This is a five four part thing, sorta long (Sorry? but if you read then you’ll understand why I love it my friend is wrong) it has minor spoilers throughout, but it's been out for a while so, proceed with caution ig.

TL:DR at the bottom folks.

One: The Nostalgia

When I was a (small) kid, my uncle was a senior in high school. (I think, I don’t exactly remember.) He loved video games and he’s part of the reason I love them today. Mostly I only ever watched him play things like Halo, but one day he was playing this 2-D, fight game, killing monsters and kicking butt. (as he described it.) And later he let me take a turn, and I couldn’t exactly tell you I knew what I was doing, but I remember how awesome I felt as some 7 year old kicking vampire arse. Now, I get to see those characters again as a young adult and it brings me back, especially the kicking monster butt parts, which brings me to...

Two: The Fight Scenes

(Light Spoilers) HOLY MOTHER OF GOODNESS, if you would have told 7 year old me, “this is going to be a badass anime one day and you’re going to squeal with excitement,” I would have laughed in your face. But I’m not laughing now. If you’ve watched it then you just know. From Sypha and MAGIC (I stan so hard lemme tell you) And Trevor WITH THE WHIPSSS (Szn 3 Episode 9 THAT SCENE Ashshishgishguhsi) And Alucard WITH MAGIC AND MAGIC SWORD (YES) And just Isaac (Whom we love to hate and hate to love) And all of the Vamps and their kool little fighting quirks. I just love love love how amazing, fast paced, and epic the fight scenes are. And it never felt incorrect. i.e. yeah Cypher uses magic and she always seems to never never run out of stamina, but to me it made sense, she’s trained for her whole life, always on the road and there are times when she does look appropriately winded. @ my friend Or Isaac, he’s powerful yes absolutely, but we still see his human weakness. @ my friend(I think this goes for all humans when compared to the Vamps and Monsters tho...)

Three: The Animation

Can I just say that this is one of the most aesthetically beautiful anime I’ve seen in a while. Like the fight scenes, for instance, when fire engulfs a lot of the screen it looks beautiful. Okay that wasn’t very specific, here, in fight scenes, the lines change. If you look, you’ll notice in intense fight scenes the lines getting harder, intenser I suppose, it therefore adds that intensity. (Especially by season 3.{Szn 3 episode 9, dual whips got me drippin fam XD}) But it was also so smooth and elegant (Hi I really love the fight scenes in this show. :)) On small details: the details in Dracula's castle and Alucard's hold under Gre- that city whose name I cannot spell. Not only that, but the scenery, my particular favorite: When Isaac is ‘forging’ his first set of monsters when he’s out on his own. I’m a sucker for the way from a distance those red flames (flames?) shot up into the sky, it was just *chef’s kiss* in the scenery department, just ahhhh :

Oh, speaking of Isaac, it’s time to get on to important, meatier things...

Four: Characters

First off, the villains/antagonists are not just evil to be evil. (Unless you’re Carmilla... :| ... I mean ig she thinks she’s justified bc hello, she’s fighting for her peoples... and I mean, she’s badass, but I sorta have to side with humans? idk) Big Daddy Baddy Drac isn’t just “I vant to suck your blood,” his pain is real. I mean, losing the only person you ever truly loved? Heartbreak. Isaac and Hector both have totally a plausible and low-key understandable reasons for their actions. Okay it’s not an excuse for their bad behavior, but the way they respond to Drac. And, back to Carmilla, can we just stan the four Queens that rule. The four ruler thing they have going is Genius! It’s brilliant, they share their acquired and unique skills and there’s no mans to ruin plans. @ my friend

Edit: Yo I didn't even touch on our two sibling bastards from szn 3. Lol. They are great manipulators, you can feel the betrayal hurt just as bad. They're the jerks that you LoVE to HATE >:(

And The side characters and minor antagonist give the story life. They aren't just blown off characters who don't promote the plot @ my friend. They add depth, perspective, atmosphere and life into the story. Some may not be particularly necessary, or may not need all the character building they were given, but none of it felt forced. It made sense with the story and the interactions they had with other characters flowed and was natural. Yeah, that was brief, but ya get the point.

And importantly, our protagonists.

Trevor Belmont, technically the main protagonist and center for the for the entire story. His character instantly pops of the page as a reluctant hero, but one that is so damn good at his job. His emotions are believable, it's fairly easy to sympathize with him and he is a vibrant character that you can easily follow along with. See the badass Belmont post ✨ here ✨

Sypha Belnades has easily become one of my most favorite heroines. Her personality, physicality and entire character are so vivid and colorful. She is a believably strong character who does not deserve the resentment she gets from @ my friend. I admire the steps that her character has gotten to take in the story and I am so excited for more Sypha. Also ✨ M a g i c ✨

Lastly, Alucard, our troubled, half vampire son who deserves the world and a hug. He is introduced as the badass immortal that we love to see, but seeing how he has to deal with well, everything, is why I so love the writers. They gave us a dynamic in which we get to see someone, who at first didn't care or need for interaction with others slowly realize how much he needed it. And you can see the stages of his development through each episode. It's lovely. He also doesn't deserve the hate my friend gives him. Also, ✨ Tiddies ✨ (I'm so sorry omg)

And Extra ! Extra ! they are all attractive, like have you even seen an unattractive face in any of the characters with surplus screen time? Sure they may not be your type (@ my friend) but they each have their good looking qualities.

Five(ish): Dynamics/Relationships

I'm lazy and can't write another paragraph lol, but point is. Everything in the amazing show flows together so well. Nothing feels awkward or forced, and more importantly everything has a cause and effect factor for other things. Maybe not directly, but it's there. And everything will come crashing together soon, can't ya feel it? As for relationships b/t characters, well, what can I say, they work so well, are unakward, and have me begging for more.

TL:DR:

This show is beautiful and amazing, both in animation and writing quality. Characters pop of the screen as do the scenes. Fight scenes = Epic. Villains = Important + Badass. Characters = Relatable. Writing = Good. Scenes = Pretty. Hotel = Trivago.

And I didn't even get into the details. Smh.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk, I hope you had a good time @ my friend

#castlevania s3 #castlevania #rant #it's so good i could rant for hours #im so sorry this is long lolol #trevor belmont #sypha belnades #dracula #alucard #adrien tepes #blood tw #monster blood but hey i gotchu

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cara-terra-pace · 4 years

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Rich Neighbors Au Part 3: Bye Bye Miss Parisian Pie

Part 1 Part 2 The Gabrieling Procrastination Art Rich Neighbors Vine Animatic

-Oh my watermelon kids

-they are finally in America!!!

-First stop: Trash City!

-oops sorry NYC, sorry, they just sound the same when I say them out loud so I get them confused sometimes :)

-(I’m kidding New Yorkers don’t kill me please)

-okay, okay, getting off topic.

-so they’re in New York

-they’re just kind of wandering and they end up running into the Elmos.

-Mari was almost pulled into a hug with one and Felix had to drag her out of the way, saving her from the creep

-they then immediately booked it to a restaurant, hoping that would give them a bit of a reprieve.

-Hard Rock Cafe was the one they picked, Nino’s choice, obviously.

-Marinette gushed over the mini milkshakes for like ten minutes.

-someone ended up recognizing them. They took a picture, posted it on twitter and now BOOM

-every single one of their fans and customers know exactly where they are.

-but ANYWAY

-they’re in nyc, why not go to a broadway show?

-Six. They go to see Six. Don’t @ me, I like six and I thought Marinette and Nino would both enjoy it

-Mari is LIVING for their outfits.

-Nino is also loving every minute.

-They’re in the front and Nino is basically grinning the whole show but during Heart of Stone you can see him tear up a bit.

-Felix actually enjoys it. He shoves all the thoughts of historical inaccuracies out of his head and mostly just listens to Mari ramble about the outfits.

-Adrien vibes with Seymour honestly. And Parr. And basically all the queens.

-Nathalie likes the show too, mostly because it’s a nice break for her and the songs are pretty catchy too

-for Mega Six, Mari is filming and all the queens look directly into her camera

-they also take it and dance on stage with her phone, filming everything

-Mari is about to faint. Doesn’t matter that she’s technically famous, she is DEAD

-they don’t see her face when they take and give back the phone so when she comes backstage afterwards with the gang, at first they just recognize her hair and see her as the girl who was filming the Mega Six

-then they see her face and the costume designer is trying so hard not to squeal, oblivious to the fact that she’s doing the exact same thing.

-Mari is absolutely gushing to them about how great the show was

-She tells Parr that her song was what kept her going in school, since she’s listened to the Broadway and West End soundtracks about a billion times. (Pretend like the broadway one is already out time is a construct with rich people)

-side note, they post the pictures and video and suddenly A BUNCH of Six fans are now following Mari and now Mari is designing outfits inspired by the queens because AH THE COSTUMES ARE GORGEOUS I COULD TALK ABOUT THEM FOR DAYS I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

-fun fact, they are all wearing a “If Found, Please Return to Nathalie” shirt

-Felix is adorable and bought Mari some hair pins with watermelons because Watermelon Kids

-yes Nathalie has a shirt that says “I’m Nathalie”

-they actually did lose Adrien and these two girls were able to return him to Nathalie and they all took a pic with them and followed the two on Twitter

-they don’t know what else to do in New York, so they just make their way down to...

-New Jersey!

-Seaside Boardwalk!!

-they mostly stick to the arcades, Mari sticking to casino pier, and them getting fries and lemonade as a snack.

-they spend the night at the boardwalk, going on a few rides like Moby Dick, and Pirate’s Cove.

-they spend the night at a house of a friend of Tom Dupain’s and the next day, they go to the Ocean County mall because it was close to the house.

-Adrien complained a bit about going to “the least cool mall in the state” but stopped when he found a five below at the plaza.

-five below is his weakness.

-mall, fun, yada yada yada

-bath and body works is inside? Mari’s in heaven.

-Friendly’s for lunch! Ice cream all around my friends!

-that afternoon they go to laser tag and completely dominated.

-Twins on one team, Watermelon Kids on the other.

-for some reason (the reason is called because I said so) they decide to go down to another boardwalk further south.

-on the way they go to lobster house for lunch (lobster house is amazing I don’t even really like it for the food it’s just the VIBES. they are. immaculate.)

-they go to Wildwood and ohhh

-Nino and Adrien are living it up on the rides

-rollercoaster, log flume, submarine ride slash game thingy!

-they’re doing it all

-and Felix and Mari are being so cute and domestic winning each other things at the games

-and then the arcade, where Felix is hopeless at Skeeball and ends up slipping and Mari helps him up while trying not to laugh

-can I just say that I think Mari is probably really good at claw machines?

-she has some weird sort of luck when she’s playing and she’ll always end up winning a prize

-they spend the night at a cute little hotel and the next day they go mini golfing

-now this is where Felix for some reason shines

-Mari keeps losing her golf ball and having to go search for it

-Adrien and Nino are both mediocre at it.

-Adrien got a hole in one and he and Nino screamed and Nino picked him up and spun him around

-they also got ice cream at said mini golf place

-Khor’s is just...*chefs kiss*. They all got the orange and vanilla swirl because I said so and it’s a Khor’s classic

-Felix picks an Italian place for dinner that night. It’s called Little Italy and it’s pretty good.

-and, that’s a wrap for New Jersey! Next...

-alllll the way down to.... North Carolina!

-they spend only a day in North Carolina, but they do go to these caves.

-and also, this place with food that’s mainly made of... alligator?

-basically, it’s a rest day.

-Mari gets SUPER inspired and buys fabric to make a jacket inspired by the caves and honestly it’s gorgeous because she used not only the tan of the rocks, but the beautiful blues of the water.

-NATHALIE BREAK

-she’s so tired but she’s having so much fun with her boys!!!

-she actually feels pretty well rested a few days into the trip.

-Nathalie can’t help but fuss over the kids

-and coo at their cuteness when they do cute things

-She and Mari always share a room

-and the three boys share a room

-Nathalie helps Mari do complicated braids because she’s super good at those and Mari can only do a basic braid.

-next!

-South Carolina!

-specifically Charleston.

-ghost tout ghost tour ghost tour

-“and this is the building where a dude saw the ship that held all his crops sink. He then proceeded to-“

-it gets graphic in that moment and Marinette is having fun but also isn’t a fan of thinking of... uh, head not being on body???

-pirates!!! They go into this cave thingy and see piratey stuff, which is entertaining for everyone because it’s creepy in the cave, which Mari enjoys, PIRATES, which Adrino enjoys, and history for the grumpy Felix

-it’s quiet and everyone’s happy, which Nathalie is living for.

-they mostly just walk around looking at pretty things the next day

-rainbow row rainbow row

-Mari is so inspired that she buys a cheap sketchbook from target just so she can get all these ideas down

-she desperately wants to sew but she has to wait since they don’t have access to a sewing machine.

-so, they eat at a sandwich shop before hitting the road.

-they make a quick stop in Georgia, laugh at a sign that lists the marvel movies made in Georgia, then leave.

-(sorry Georgia. I’m sure you’re a very nice state but I’ve had limited interaction with the state besides passing through and sometimes stopping to eat lunch.)

-this is the thing they’re very excited for!!!

-Florida!

-specifically, Orlando

-that’s right, DISNEY WORLD.

-they are spending a whole week here.

-that’s right, 7 days of fun.

-day 1, animal kingdom because they get there in the afternoon and there isn’t as much they want to see in animal kingdom. They have loads of fun though and are planning on dropping by another day for the first half of the day.

-next day is Magic Kingdom

-they go on so many rides.

-small world is Adrien’s favorite ride, don’t @ me.

-Casey’s Corner is where they get lunch because Mari loves the aesthetic.

-MINNIE EARS ALL AROUND

-Marinette has a different one for every outfit

-Aristocats ears!!!

-she can’t explain why she loves it, she just DOES.

-for their last day (yeah this is out of order but who cares) they park hop, ending in magic kingdom and staying for the fireworks. Our favorite designer wears these lovely light up ears

-when they went to animal kingdom on the first day you KNOW Mari had some cute ears

-shh don’t tell the boys and Nathalie but Felix actually asked Mari to be his girlfriend when they were in Hollywood studios

-they walked off together, and sat on a bench somewhere sharing a snack

-our extra boy asked if she could be his girlfriend with matching beauty and the beast rings

-Mari said yes and she smiled soooo much.

-it’s kind of hard to explain everything so let’s just talk about the interesting stuff!!

-Marinette VIBES with the princesses oh my god

-TIANA INSPIRED OUTFIT PLEASE

-Disney is V fun but... sorry boys, it’s time for Marinette to get some sewing done! (Also I’m kind of bored of writing Disney this took several weeks bc I would write like a sentence a day lol)

-CALIFORNIA TIME

-they do go for one day in Disneyland but most of it’s spent going to get some inspiration for Mari.

-fabric stores fabric stores.

-that girl is sketching and coming up with ideas like her life DEPENDS ON IT

-inspiration explosion

-also some normal Knick knack shopping, so Mari gets some time away from staring down at her tablet and sketchbook.

-resting and just going to try all different sorts of normal, causal restaurants

-living the life

-also, Felix and Mari go on their first date. I say first date Very Loosely because it’s actually them sitting in Mari’s hotel room eating pizza and watching a movie and though they both consider it a date, they want to have a cute, cliche first date when they back home.

-Speaking of home...

-They are about to fly back to Paris when they get a message from Jess, one of the girls who found Adrien in NY.

-It was a message from her asking if she could check her latest tweet.

-it was a recording of Jess playing guitar, the song (an instrumental version of Miraculous but slightly modified) being wonderfully sweet. Aeon, the other girl, was also in the video, humming along to Jess. At the end, Jess dedicated the video the them and they both gushed about how nice they were in person and that both of them had waited until they had the arrangement ready before they posted it on social media.

-it thawed even Felix’s icy heart.

-and as they flew back to Paris, Nathalie couldn’t help but think of what a perfectly wonderful trip it had been. Minus... the accidents.

-But there’s no need to talk about that here.

-They reach Paris safe and sound, and Marinette takes a long, long nap right before she goes into creative mode and sews all the outfits she had sketched. Advantages of being rich, you know? You don’t have to worry about fabric price.

-While Mari was sewing, everyone else was also slowing down.

-And gearing up to go back to school

-*dramatic music*

-What will happen next? Even I have no idea!

.......

It’s almost like.... I exist??? Haha, but seriously, sorry for sort of going MIA??? I finally finished this, mostly by getting lazy towards the end. Yes, before you say it, I don’t hate NYC. It’s cool there, I just love making fun of it and the fact the special cam eout a few days ago is just pure irony. All of those links should work, so you can actually buy the Disney things I’m talking about! If they aren’t, please tell me so I can fix them. Next up is the Nathalie mentioned “Accidents”. That should take way less time because I’m going to go with the tried and true method of “Make stuff up and hope it makes sense”. I say should because you never know with me, I’m a mess ❤️❤️❤️

Tag list: @bigpicklebananatree @kris-pines04 @animegirlweeb @akana-sama @insomniac-nerd-posts-things @virgolioness @goblinwhoships @toastlover21 @buginetye

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