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yarameijer · 2 months

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Hello it’s me again 🤭

It’s literally 4am for me right now and I was trying to sleep since I have to be up early tomorrow. But like, I can’t sleep without overthinking something, when I thought of this.

I for one absolutely hated how Shindou and Tsurugi didn’t help Tenma with Inazuma Japan, but instead made his life harder by not being willing to at least trying to adapt to what’s happening since it’s out of their control.

And who knows, maybe tenma doesn’t see the issue and doesn’t think there’s anything to forgive, Tenma is after all, a sweetheart.

But I’d like to think that he did see the issue and that he does hold some kind of resentment towards them because of it.

I’d also like to think that he does confront them about it at some point after they’re Back from space and everything calmed down a bit.

I mean, I for one would definitely talk to my friends and make them promise me to support me and have my back if something like that happened again if I was in his position.

So what do you think? Did tenma ever confront them about it? And if so how did they react?

By the way, I love your work and sense of humor and your take on the characters. Good luck with uni!!

Well, to answer simply: yes.

I've been working for quite a while on a one-shot set in the AR universe, one that's part of a larger arc (I posted another part of it before) focusing specifically on this topic, and I think you'd enjoy a preview of it.

Now, important to note is that this is written from Tsurugi's perspective rather than Tenma's, and Tenma has been bottling up a lot of things for a long time. He will likely seem very OOC here because of this - but it will (hopefully) not be as odd once the entire arc is published!

——— Accidental Reverse: Limits I

Kyousuke has never seen Tenma and Shindou like this.

He’d thought it was the worst it would get at the start of the Grand Celesta Galaxy, when they could barely have a conversation without one of them stepping on the other’s toes.

He was wrong.

‘’This isn’t working, Tenma,’’ Shindou moves with a purpose as he follows behind the young captain, his features twisted into a frown. ‘’And I think you know it too.’’

And that’s- that’s what stands out, to Kyousuke. Because this is how they've handled all team-related issues ever since Tenma became captain, it's no different from how it has been for nearly half a year now and yet he’s never seen his two friends behave like this. It seems that the only thing they can do lately is get on each other’s nerves.

What happened to their instinctive teamwork?

It’s Tenma, this time. He’s refusing to look at his strategist, eyes downcast and arms crossed as if he’s shielding himself from something. In response to the words, he just gives a half-hearted shrug.

Kyousuke winces when he sees Shindou’s eyes narrow.

‘’You could answer me, you know.’’

It’s as if he’s watching a movie with the script right in front of him; Kyousuke can see the exact moment where it goes wrong, and it’s with a quiet resignation that he takes note of Tenma’s eyes flashing. The brunet looks ready to speak in his own defense, but then his face falls. He stays silent.

And that, too, has become familiar in a way that leaves a bitter taste in Kyousuke’s mouth.

When has Tenma started feeling like he can’t talk to them?

(Kyousuke doesn't know.

He knows when he first noticed it, though - that odd phone call, all those months ago.)

They’re interrupted by the door sliding open, all three of them looking up at the new arrivals. It’s Kirino, Nishiki and Sangoku, the former two looking relieved when they spot the trio. ‘’There you are!’’ Nishiki says. ‘’We’ve been looking all over for you.’’

It’s no wonder they couldn’t find them. When Tenma stormed off the field, he didn’t go to any of the usual spots like the clubroom, instead navigating through the hallways of the soccer building until they found him in the guest team changing room.

As if he didn’t want to be found.

The thought leaves a sour taste in Kyousuke's mouth.

‘’What’s going on here?’’ Sangoku asks, expression sharp and voice sharper. He’s watching them carefully, taking in Shindou’s obvious frustration and Tenma’s odd hesitance, the younger brunet having turned away from the rest of the room.

When it becomes clear the captain won’t answer, Shindou lets out a sigh. ‘’We were talking about the new training regime for after the holidays,’’ he says, casting a glance at Tenma. At least the strategist seems to have cooled down a bit with the arrival of the others. ‘’Trying to, at least.’’

‘’Shindou-san,’’ Kyousuke interjects sharply.

The game maker sets his jaw and truthfully, at this point, part of Kyousuke could cry. Why are they all so stubborn? It’s one of Raimon’s best qualities as a team, but not if they’re fighting with each other.

‘’I’m only telling it how it is,’’ Shindou retorts, daring Kyousuke to go against him again. ‘’I can’t have a conversation with someone who refuses to even look at me.’’

What really strikes Kyousuke is that the game maker doesn’t sound mad. He sounds frustrated, sure, but it doesn’t seem to be about the training regime – honestly, the striker doubts Shindou even really cares about that.

They both know Tenma.

And it’s clear as day that something is upsetting him.

But getting Tenma to talk about his problems is like pulling teeth; he shuts down and refuses to say a word, covering it up with a smile and a clever distraction instead. And if it’s already driving Kyousuke crazy, he can’t think of how it must be for Shindou.

Because Shindou is Tenma’s go-to person whenever he needs advice, or support, or even just a hug. The two of them have always had their own subtle way of communicating that’s become a bit of a running joke in the team – it always fills them with fond amusement, to see the two brunets who used to disagree simply by being in the same room back when the team first started out, now only needing to glance at each other to know what they have in mind. It’s a great addition during matches, and outside of that it’s just kind of cute to see Tenma following their strategist around like a lost puppy and Shindou trying not to show how much he really depends on the younger’s general cheerfulness.

And now Tenma’s refusing to talk to Shindou.

Because Shindou is the problem, and the strategist is smart enough to realize it too.

‘’I think we all need a break,’’ Kirino interferes, shooting his best friend an encouraging smile. ‘’We don’t have any matches anymore until January, so maybe we should take it easy with training and do something fun.’’ He looks around, trying to find some support.

Nishiki’s nodding along. ‘’Sounds good to me, we’ve been at it for a while already. Let’s go get ramen!’’

For a long minute, Shindou doesn’t back down. He’s silent, gaze flitting between Kirino, Nishiki and Tenma, thinking it over before he finally nods. ‘’Alright. Sounds fun.’’ He doesn’t sound excited at all but that doesn’t matter; at least the situation is defused for now.

Maybe it really is that simple. The winter holidays are just around the corner, and from the moment Earth Eleven returned from space their normal school lives continued. The Winter Road is starting soon as well and they’ve been both training for that and having friendly matches with other teams each week, so maybe it really is just the case of the two brunets needing some time to relax and wind down. They’d been discussing a new training regime for the Winter Road when this disagreement started, after all.

‘’Is everyone coming?’’ Shindou asks, correctly assuming Kirino already planned for this earlier.

‘’Yup, no more practice for today. Coach Endou already agreed to it.’’

And that could’ve been the end of it, would’ve been the end of it – because the tension in Shindou’s expression is fading and Sangoku is starting to smile, and even Tenma, still turned away from them all, seems to slump in relief – if Shindou didn’t say, ‘’let’s hope we’re all more rational about this tomorrow.’’

Admittedly, it’s a poor attempt at a joke and the game maker knows it too, smiling sheepishly.

As it is, no one is prepared for the soft sound that escapes their captain.

Kyousuke doesn’t care about the alarm clear in his voice when he asks, ‘’Tenma?’’ because he can’t see his best friend’s face from here and that sounded suspiciously like he’s about to cry.

He’s seen Tenma cry maybe twice before, but it’s never fun when it happens. He thinks it’s because the brunet doesn’t want to bother them with it, and it leaves him all the more worried, because when it happens it means Tenma’s truly at his limit.

The senpai have frozen, just as taken aback by the sudden change as the forward. Shindou has taken half a step forward, reacting physically before his mind really catches up, but unsure of how to continue now. ‘’Tenma?’’ he asks, and that’s what sets him off.

Tenma whips around at breakneck speed, eyes red but dry. He looks furious. ‘’If all you’re going to do is question my judgement, why did you choose me to be captain?’’ he snaps, words directed at Shindou, but his misery is betrayed by his wavering voice. ‘’I can’t do anything right in your eyes anymore!’’

‘’I-‘’ the older brunet stares at him, lost for words for a few seconds. ‘’Pardon?’’

Kyousuke would flinch if he wasn’t still so stunned by Tenma’s sudden outburst – Shindou resorting to formal language with any of them is never a good sign.

‘’All you’ve been doing is telling me how I’m wrong! Well, I’m sorry for not living up to your standards!’’

‘’Matsukaze Tenma!’’ Sangoku snaps. ‘’You don’t talk to your elders like that!’’

And never, never has Tenma raised his voice against Sangoku – he respects the keeper, possibly more than he respects anyone else on the team, but right now he doesn’t seem to care at all. ‘’But he does get to talk to me like this?’’ he retorts sharply, shoulders drawn so tight it seems physically uncomfortable. ‘’How is that fair!’’

‘’Don’t talk about me like I’m not here,’’ Shindou suddenly interferes, having found his voice again, and Tenma crosses his arms as he looks away, refusing to meet the strategist’s gaze. At that, Kyousuke really does flinch, and for good reason – because it takes their elder friend a mere second to break out of his shock and lash out. ‘’So now you’re going back to ignoring me? Real mature, Matsukaze.’’

Kyousuke has always been thankful for their former captain’s sharp tongue. This might be the first time he’s anything but.

Why did their smartest member also need to possess such a short fuse?

From the corner of his eye, he sees Nishiki wince, and Kirino roll his eyes – and then sees their expression fall into shock, no doubt mirroring his own, as Tenma suddenly gives a humorless laugh.

‘’You want to talk about maturity, Shindou-san?’’ grey eyes are ablaze with both fury and hurt, the brunet gripping his arms so tightly his tanned skin is drained of blood. None of them have ever heard such venom in his voice before. ‘’At least I don’t bully others because of a childish grudge! Grow up already, senpai.’’

For a second, Shindou’s face falls, although his expression hardens again immediately afterwards.

Instead of the angry shout from before, this time he sounds clipped and cold as he says, ‘’I don’t think I’m the one here who needs to grow up. Why do you think I question your judgement when you behave like this?’’ It seems like he wants to add more, but Kirino’s hand on his arm stops him. The defender mutely shakes his head when angry brown eyes find his own, and after a moment, Shindou sighs.

Kyousuke barely notices that, though. His attention is trained on Tenma, mind racing with questions.

It’s why he sees how Tenma angrily averts his gaze from the interaction between his two senpai, why the young captain suddenly notices his attention. It’s why he sees him waver, for just a moment, before his shoulders draw up defensively again and his face hardens as he stares unwaveringly at the forward. A challenge, if he’d ever seen one.

Kyousuke doesn’t understand why.

And he’s always used his words sparingly, but that doesn’t mean he’s afraid to speak his mind. It’s why he dares to ask, ‘’What’s wrong with you?’’

He tried to make his voice sound a bit softer, because his intention wasn’t to attack – this is his best friend, his first friend, why would he ever want to hurt him? – but Yuuichi has always told him to practice his people skills and suddenly he understands why.

‘’Are you serious?’’ Tenma asks, and then he shakes his head and turns away without saying anything else.

The forward finds himself at a loss for words – just what has made the brunet so upset? And what do he and Shindou have to do with it? Because it’s becoming more and more obvious that Tenma isn’t only shutting their elder friend out.

He’s pushing Kyousuke away too.

‘’Tenma,’’ Sangoku says, and he sounds stern enough that it gets the captain to look at him. ‘’Shindou.’’ He crosses his arms and gives both brunets a sharp look. ‘’I don’t know what’s got the both of you so upset with each other, but you need to talk it out. It’s messing up the team, and,’’ he stresses the last word when he notices their captain averting his gaze again, ‘’it’s hurting you both. Don’t let your stubbornness ruin your friendship.’’

At least it seems Shindou is considering his words, however miffed he may still look.

But, again, it’s Tenma who is frowning, who is refusing to look at any of them. Instead he keeps his eyes trained on the floor and asks, ‘’May I be excused?’’ and despite his polite words, he sounds strained.

Sangoku shares a troubled look with Kirino and Nishiki, but then he sighs and gives the go-ahead. The next second, their young captain is brushing past them all and disappearing through the door, leaving them to stare at his retreating back.

For a few moments, silence falls between the remaining players, no one quite knowing what to say. Sure, Kyousuke has noticed signs of this weeks ago already – maybe even before that – but it’s never been this bad.

He huffs, and shakes his head. Leave it to Tenma to get inside his head like this, to get them all so wound up for some unknown reason.

And yet, even as Kyousuke and the others begin to make their way back to the clubroom, he can’t ignore the dread settling in the back of his throat.

No matter how hard he tries to ignore it, he can’t get the furious look on Tenma’s face out of his mind.

————

I hope you enjoyed it! It doesn't quite answer your questions, sorry for that, but this is only a sneak peek of a larger series of one-shots - titled ''Limits'' - that I will hopefully post one day soon! This is directly related to Tenma's interactions with Shindou (and in part Tsurugi) during Galaxy - and beyond that, to the very start of the anime.

Remember how Raimon wasn't exactly the greatest team in the first few episodes? Yeah, Tenma does too.

Which is interesting because he doesn't seem like the person to hold a grudge, instead bottling it all up - until he's pushed to the limit and, well, the above happens.

I know it's not a complete answer, but I hope you're satisfied with this!

#inazuma eleven go #inazuma eleven #ie11 #ina11 #ie go #ina11 go #inazuma 11 go #fanfic #accidental reverse #matsukaze tenma #tsurugi kyousuke #shindou takuto #raimon

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magicalmischel · 3 months

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WIP TAG GAME 🌿

rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have wips

thanks for tagging me @regulusrules ! 💖

I have a lot of wips too 😂 most of these are for BBC Merlin, a few are for classic who. I hope I don't forget anything, I keep a list but I haven't updated it in like a year 😂

BBC MERLIN WIPS

The Crystal Hunters; 45k

a canon era time travel fic with merthur and morgwen, set during the Great Purge. There's lots of plot, magic, crystals, old castles and running.

Layers of Dusk; 17k

a darker fic where Arthur dies and so Merlin tries his hand at necromancy

Give Me Your Hand, I'll Give You Mine; 1300 words

canon era, merthur, magical injuries caused by the great purge and a magic reveal.

"the medieval roommates valentine fic" (untitled); 2500 words

merlin is forced to stay in arthur's chambers 24/7 bc of plot. Not sure if I'll ever finish this one tbh

Rhythm of Love; ??k

glastonbury festival fic where arthur returns + musician!merlin. I have no idea how many years ago I started this, definitely pre-2018 though. Idek if I still have the draft somewhere ;-;

Suddenly Flames Everywhere; 77k

;-; i think abt this fic every day and try to work on it at least once a week ;-; i wanted to post it for acbb 2023 but i ran out of time, and then once the deadline was gone, so was most of my motivation 😂 it's a merthur enemies to lovers dragon!merlin soulmate canon au that I care about very very much. pls ask me abt it if you want maybe it'll kick me into working on it more 😂

The Light of Knowledge; ?????k

oof this is an old one. started it way back in 2014 and I'm honestly not sure if I still have the draft saved somewhere. All I remember is a big maze, lots of bad poems that I wrote in like the 9th grade and merthur 😂

Falling into Empty Space (??); 400 words lmao

basically a s1!merlin vs s5!merlin epic fight with time travel to 1x08 bc obviously killing kid!mordred is wrong, right? Right??

"ghost!merlin canon au fic" (untitled); 9k

exactly what it says in the title. damn i need to return to this ;-;

"cat!merlin fic" (untitled), 1000 words

canon era, merthur, magic reveal. Merlin transforms himself into a cat bc of course that is the absolute best way to get arthur to accept magic. it only makes sense in his head lmao

Burn Us Away (But Keep Me in Your Heart); 11.8k

canon soulmate au with a LOT of angst and a magic reveal

"the bird!merlin fic"; 1000 words

first written for merlin bingo 2021 but I never finished it ;-;

No Doubt in My Mind Where You Belong; 12k

a canon era trans!merlin fic with established relationship merthur

"cuddle fic" (untitled); 1300 words

written for fluffalooza 2023 but never finished ;-;

"one bed fic" (untitled); 1900 words

also written for fluffalooza but never finished bc it felt too ridiculous/cracky/ooc, but it might be worth reworking

"the weird tarot crack fic" (untitled); 2.8k

written for tarot fest 2023 but abandoned bc i came up with a better idea for the fest. I remember it was very cracky, I might return to it. Canon era merthur.

i might be forgetting some tbh, I've written a lot of drabbles that I later wanted to expand but never did ;-;

CLASSIC DOCTOR WHO WIPS

"jamie/10 + 11 fic" (untitled); 3.5k

the 10th doctor visits all his companions before regenerating into 11 including jamie <3

"twojamie war games "make it worse" fic" (untitled); 849 words

this is theoretically a fix-it but also i make it much worse first lmao, and i'm not sure yet how it ends either, so is it really a fix-it??

ok and I think that's it!! ;-; i did write a little something for each of the titles but hopefully not too much so if anyone sees this and wants to know more feel free to dm me

i'm not gonna tag 18 people though that's way too many 😂 I'll tag @insane-ohwhyfandoms (good luck) @lair-of-the-dragon @lesbianlefay @invisibility-superiority @queerofthedagger @wolfiery @haventacluewhatimdoing and @twojamie-o-clock <3

absolutely no pressure to do this though of course! 💖

#tag game #fandom #wip #fanfiction

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thrandilf · 4 months

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I'm willing to read most shadowpeach fics even if they are pretty ooc (I have a limit of ooc, but it's pretty wide) but fics I can't read are ones where macaque is just now in modern times meeting wukong. Like I'm sorry, but macaque would be a completely different person if he never met wukong. So wildly different that a macaque acting like macaque breaks my suspension of belief, and a macaque acting like he should in that scenario isn't my macaque anymore by any metric (might as well be an OC)

I sat here for a bit wondering how to say that I haven't actually found any Shadowpeach fics I like that I haven't written myself without sounding horridly self absorbed/picky but it's where I'm at

To be clear, I've only been in fandom for a few months and I haven't looked all that hard, I'm sure out of the 8k or so on ao3 there are absolute gems, just haven't found em. I'm open to recs! but I'm in fandom for characterization and specific dynamics which drew me to the characters in the first place, so you've got the biggest lead on me for not being picky/coming off as judgy, anon hahaha

In that circumstance you laid out I'd also wonder who Wukong would even be. He's influenced by his past relationships just as much, even if he isn't as overt about it as Macaque/he's had a wider range of influence since Macaque is more Wukong centered than vice versa, it would still be Different.

Fic of them in early or pre brotherhood would be really interesting! Or in this AU- a Macaque full out reincarnation would be fascinating if LBD hadn't brought him back. Like, that could be interesting, but their history is such a core part, even as obscured as some of it is to us right now, that I'd have a hard time trying to untangle it and make it feel like them. It would still have to be History on Wukong's end for me or too many pieces are gone from the jenga tower yfm

I'm also someone who writes canon compliant or adjacent stuff Most of the time, where I like to extrapolate and kind of take the edges of the picture and expand, like a degree removed from canon/plausible, but not putting people in totally different worlds or altering major canon events. Hell, I don't even make OCs for fics unless my arm is twisted by necessity (my novel length tdp fic has some OCs because I needed more characters for the mains to meet in the world/filling in vacuums left by foreign leaders being killed, said OCs are still as minor as I can make them while being hopefully interesting and serving their purpose)

However, I know that a majority of fandom really loves totally new AUs in other worlds/making OCs (LMK fandom is especially OC heavy which was a surprise to me) and that's its own writing exercise/source of fun, it's just one I've never had a desire to read or write. Canon for me is fun to explore more of canon potential, not to fuel something seemingly unrelated

As I said, I'm picky. I typically don't even read modern AUs for fantasy characters, it just so happens that LMK works so well that I love the futuristic world and get my magic meets technology kicks in canon, otherwise I wouldn't have anything written in remotely modern day within the past few years. LMK got me back into it

So I hear you about characterization/I probably sound like I live a stifled existence but I just thrive by being as close to canon as I can while playing with it, my most fun is different from others on the fan spectrum

And all this isn't to say that I feel like an expert in characterizing Macaque and Wukong- they're tough cases to crack. They're challenging. They both have their facades and levels of jadedness and sincerity. LMK requires flat out studying to really nail anyone I've found, even characters I feel more confident in writing- and that challenge is part of the draw for me too!

#long post #i have many thoughts. and god help me i want good shadowpeach fic but im characterization first and foremost #i also swerve anything where wukong is mk's parental figure so thats like half of fic i just dont read i dont see it at all. thats Pigsy.#ask

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skypied · 2 years

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sorry this is from a few days ago but i still wanna do the ask meme ;3

🤡✨🧠🎢

(I love the perpetual 3-5 business days ADHD delay on both our sides<3) read moreing bc I refuse to shut up<3

🤡 What’s a line, scene, or exchange you’ve written that made you laugh?

A lot! A lot of the time writing is providing entertainment for myself, and I often make myself laugh tbh! But I have no clue if anyone else finds it funny, mostly bc what feedback I get on things being funny often differ from what I laugh at 🥴 the one I can point to (and will again later in this post) is the goat-wrestling scene in always be this close. I also think all the banter in Morning Routines is funny. There's a shit ton of fun stuff in my wips, but I'm coming back to those.

(unrelated, I just discovered I've on two different occasions, months apart, written the exact same line of dialogue, which is Alberto saying "stop complaining and put your dick in my mouth". The more you know)

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

ouhhhhh uhhhhhh I think I'd say dialogue is one of my strong suits... I think? It's what drives most of my writing, and, while I feel like I'm always making the boys more and more OOC with every iteration, I guess that's one of the things that makes people find my fics in character. Maybe??? I dunno??? (honestly this is the worst kind of question bc for all I know I'm WAY off base). When I first am able to suppress my shame, I think the porn I write is fun and hot (but, y'know, it's 100% self-indulgent and to my tastes since it's a drop in the ocean from my personal spank bank, so again, nervous to state it for a fact)

🧠 Pick a character, and I’ll tell you my favorite headcanon for them.

given how I've rotated these blorbos so relentlessly in an endless drier for 14 months, there are sooooo many, and very few that are fixed in stone tbh. I more go through phases with headcanons, tbh! and I'm getting sleepy, maybe I'll come back and do a separate post if I remember anything special 😴

I can share that one of my current headcanon obsessions is Alberto in a skin tight short tennis dress though. I have this one in mind, bc that was the one that inspired it when a friend of a friend borrowed it to wear and he's a short'n'stout king who's dummy thicc and looked absolutely incredible wearing it. Hopefully I might draw and at some point post ... maybe in a sketch dump along with the two-three other pieces that are just "Alberto on his knees, thighs spread, soft lil tummy out, in cute outfits" hehe

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

I think always be this close with the Alberto almost getting himself severely damaged in a goat-wrestling match is the wildest. The rest of my fics are either just shameless porn or shameless fluff or writing-for-writing-practice's sake - I rarely write any plots or scenes that get wild. Honestly babe my wildest rides are still wips 😭 and I can't decide on just one so this is almost a ranking

#1 is probably the "discovering Luca's dick glows under the blacklight when they're getting nasty in a club bathroom" which also includes Alberto joking about Luca being into scat (or maybe it's on the cutting room floor) and jokes about dolphins being depraved creatures and Luca's dick trying to fuck Alberto's ear and Luca having a laughing fit over Alberto looking like he's playing a flute while sucking his dick and Luca delighted to discover Alberto likes having his mouth stuffed with his tail. this fic is honestly like 80% done and has been for almost a year, I'm just eternally struggling but I did my once-every-four-month casual perusing and re-discovered that it's a lot of fun and I wanna finish it

the also-80%-done "Luca tries casting himself in a porn" fic. It got away from me and now includes smut and is, oops, 12k. It's not as overtly wild, but I think it's funny, I think it'll be finished soon-ish, and I hope y'all will find it funny, too. If nothing else, laugh at me pls<3

the one doc just titled "train wrecks" which is 3am, Luca in the club spotting Alberto and going

Luca pretends he's so blackout drunk he's forgotten where he lives so Alberto will take him home, and the rest honestly is just the dumbest banter. Highlights include likening Alberto's dick to a Christmas present, joking about Luca time travelling to groom Alberto to give him even more daddy issues, Alberto calling Luca a bird furry for leaving old food bits in his mouth during makeouts, and a lot more that'd take too much context to explain. but besides being a lot of dumb funny shit what I like about it is exploring the kind of surprising honesty and delightful rudeness you get with complete strangers. I think my fav moment is them small talking to get to know each other more, Luca talks some about his mom being overbearing and a pain in the ass, then when Alberto talks about his parental situation Luca just goes "fuck you, you can’t let me complain about all that stupid shit and then tell me that" and, after Alberto tells details about his dad and Luca offers sympathies, Alberto in return goes "no, fuck you, that sympathy is for your own bad conscience, not me". This one is a lot less finished, due to being mostly dialogue, and needing three sex scenes (and counting maybe???) written out lmao

sandbox is pretty much eternally on hold, but some out of context highlights include:

Alberto's literal "anyways, here's Wonderwall" moment

everyone calling Luca a slut

Giulia calling Alberto "young dumb and full of cum

Luca repeatedly having to tell Alberto off for quoting memes in bed

Alberto's graphic Shrek t-shirt collection

Luca skipping class to suck a guy off during a matiné showing of a war drama

Lorenzo giving Daniela chlamydia when they were young

Luca accusing his parents of being in a swingers arrangement with Giulia's parents

Alberto: recites Luca's Starbucks order - Luca:

(that's not a joke btw it's literal actual canon)

okay I'm done will sleep now ty for letting me ramble @ u ! 🥰

#skypieposts #skypiechats

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anyi-arts · 3 years

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I noticed you were looking for prompts… and also that Ox cart meeting is your comfort episode… and at the end of the novel XL seems to have his own ox and cart so have you considered writing/drawing Hualian going into town in their own ox cart, fall back in swing and it’s like they’re back at the beginning but in a new way? I hope that’s something for you

Wonderful thank you :3c

I only hope I can do the idea justice, got a bit carried away with the lovey dovey stuff lmao

(also i'd like to say i absolutely love all your fics, they're so good)

------

Xie Lian glanced beside him at his husband (his husband!) who was leaning back on the seat, his eyes closed with a peaceful look on his face.

He couldn't help but to smile at the sight, the early light from the rising sun making him look even more beautiful than usual.

He was glad San Lang was comfortable enough to show his original form around him more often than not now, and it was something they were working on together, to get him to view himself more highly.

"Yes, your highness?"

He blushed, looking away and gently snapped the reins just enough to encourage the ox to continue its path, taking in the rest of the scenery.

The leaves were varying shades of orange, red, brown, and yellow, some of the trees being nearly empty of leaves while others were still quite full. Fall was always one of the most gorgeous seasons.

He glanced back beside him when he heard quiet laughter and the shifting of fabric.

"San Lang? Was there anything you might want from the town?

He watched the other shrug, sitting upright now. "Gege's already provided anything I could need."

He smiled, shaking his head slightly. "Even still, I'm sure there's something."

San Lang was quiet for a moment, then, "I need some new needles, but nothing else."

"Sure." His smile widened slightly and he moved to lean against him. "If they don't have some already made I'm sure we could ask the smith. Speaking of, I hope he's doing better now, he'd burned himself badly last I'd heard. Ah, we should bring something for them, what do you think?"

"If that's what gege would like to do, then this one shall be happy to provide."

Xie Lian hummed, thinking. "Maybe they could use more baskets? Or we could bring some food, I'm sure they'd appreciate that, maybe some pickling pots too?"

"Whatever it is, I'm sure they'll like it very much."

"I hope so, it wouldn't be very good to give them something they wouldn't like. Could San Lang help me pick some things out?"

He nodded, arm around Xie Lian pulling him closer. "I don't think I'll need to help too much though, gege has such good taste after-all."

"Ah San Lang, you're such a flatterer."

"And how could I not be, in the presence of one as grand as you? My beloved husband? My xingan?"

Xie Lian let out a quiet noise, hands coming up to cover his burning face. He was sure he could have burst into flames just from the tone San Lang spoke with, so full of love and affection and devotion, he could hardly bear it.

It was still difficult for him to fully believe and feel that someone truly cares for and loves him so much, despite having been around him for so long, despite having known what he's done, and what he hasn't. Truly, what had he done to deserve someone like his San Lang?

And besides that, to be someone's beloved...

He was almost embarrassed by how thoroughly and easily he got flustered, but then, this was his husband, so he supposed it was alright.

He kept his tone light if a bit whiny, hands lowering as he leaned closer to him. "San Lang, you really can't say such things to an old man like me."

"And why not? It's only the truth, and his highness deserves nothing less than the truth."

...

He supposes they both needed to work on seeing themselves in a better way, .

"I suppose, but the same goes for you, San Lang. You mean so much to me, and I love you so much, more than anything else in this world. Ah, when we get home I'm going to spoil you so much, until I make you feel just as loved as you make me."

This time it was San Lang's turn to look away, a light blush dusting his cheeks, voice quiet. "Gege... that's hardly necessary, this one already feels loved just from you speaking to me."

"More loved then. Loved until he can't remember a time he wasn't."

A kiss, on his lips, on the corner of his mouth, on his cheek, "My San Lang, my husband, I love you so much, more than the stars love the night sky and the plants love this earth, and I don't want you feel loved any less than that."

San Lang was quiet for a moment, a smile appearing on his face a short bit after as he speaks, voice ever so slightly strained. "And gege calls me a flatterer. My words are nothing compared to yours."

He huffs a laugh at that, perking up slightly and pulling away just enough to direct the ox to the proper path to head into town.

He mentally added a few more things to his list of what they had to get, intent on spoiling them both. They deserved it after everything.

#slight disclaimer: i've only gotten as far as the donghua so some stuff might be a bit off lmao #this is also the first time i've written them so hopefully it's not too ooc ^^#tgcf #tian quan ci fu #天官赐福 #heaven official's blessing #heavens official blessing #hualian #xie lian #hua cheng #anyi writes #i hope i got the use of Xīngān right v embarrassing if not

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sherereadssthemanuscript · 3 years

Text

Hotshot (Clarice x Jason)

Pairing: Clarice Stokes x Jason Kolchek (The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes)

Words: 5251

Warnings: Swearing, slight NSFW, mentions of body horror, slight OOC

A/N 1: Content for my crack ship? Fine I'll do it myself. Lol it's been months since I've written anything and YEARS since I've written anything and posted it on Tumblr so hopefully I'm not too rusty.

A/N 2: Set in an AU where the team spends a week at the base before the raid because it's bullshit that they didn't get time to bond. Also an AU where Clarice doesn't die because her death being inevitable was also complete bullshit!! But I do love that then flirting in the game is pretty much canon I feel validated yee yee.

~~~~~~~

Thousands of feet above ground, Doctor Clarice Stokes quietly pondered on how she ended up here, how years upon years of her tireless work led to assisting on a mission in a country which saw devastating amounts of active warfare mere weeks ago.

She tried not to dwell on it much. After all, when Eric King asks for your assistance and involvement, you curtsey and comply. Having known the man for years - she learned the hard way.

Clarice hated violence, therefore wasn't a huge fan of war, but then again, who was? She was more of a lover than a fighter.

Well, a lover isn't exactly how she'd identify herself either, considering the success ratio of her dating history while knocking at 30's door but "lover" was still a far better way to describe her when compared to "fighter".

The woman looked at the helicopter seat opposite hers, where the Colonel thoughtfully gritted his teeth, a blank expression on his face.

He always tended to do that. No wonder his jaw could sink the Titanic.

"Well someone's beaming with excitement." She said sarcastically, popping her gum, loud enough to startle him.

Eric snapped out of it, turning to his assistant.

"Just thinking about how I'm going to… explain all this to my wife."

Clarice pouted jokingly, fixing the cap that was on her short head of hair.

"She's a big girl, she can take it."

That seemed to force something resembling a smile out of the tense man.

"Hope you're right."

Not long after, they arrived at their destination, the base of Rachel King's team, which seemed to be right in the Iraqi leader's domain. Quite the low blow.

Eric hurried out of the helicopter as soon as it touched the ground, it seems, while Clarice took her time collecting her stuff.

She rolled her eyes at the Colonel's urgency. Didn't even help the lady out. Rude.

Nonetheless, she followed the man out and towards the Iraqi "castle".

Just as she approached the two men conversing at the entrance, Eric handed the soldier in front of him the order from CENTCOM about the change of command.

Clarice smirked. "Didn't you hear? There's a new King in the Castle." She said, proud of her glorious wordplay.

"Looks that way." The soldier said.

She put down the case of equipment and considered the man, immediately noticing his almost boyish good looks that contrasted those muscular inked arms of his.

She leaned her weight on one leg, swaying where she stood a bit.

His attention shifted to her.

"And you are?"

She was about to answer when Eric decided to scold her on how she treated the equipment.

"Careful, Clarice! That's valuable research."

"Yes Siree…" She replied mockingly, rolling her eyes as soon as he looked away.

Turning back to the soldier, she introduced herself with a sheepish smile.

"Doctor Stokes… At your service." She added warmly.

"First Lieutenant Jason Kolchek." He greeted.

Hello there, lieutenant… she thought.

Eric looked between them momentarily.

"Well! The briefing room."

Jason nodded and threw a quick glance Clarice's way before gesturing the two of them towards the door.

Colonel King went ahead while Clarice grabbed the equipment.

"Is he always this much of a dick?" The lieutenant asked, unimpressed.

She didn't immediately realize he was talking to her but chuckled nonetheless.

"Ha! So many dick levels. This is like a two. Wait till he turns it up to eleven." Clarice commented before walking in and the man's gaze followed her as she did.

~~~

Inside, Clarice was trailing behind the two men while inspecting the lavish if not… beaten up mansion.

"You'll have to excuse the noise and disorder. We're just getting the base set up." He put his hands on each side. "Blows my mind. Only a few weeks ago Saddam was living it up out here. Chowing down on candy bars while some… poor bastard clipped his toenails!"

Clarice raised an eyebrow at him.

"Nice image…"

"If only he could see the state of this place now. Makes me smile." He added before getting ahead.

Well, there's someone with a passion for war. Or a passionate hatred against the enemy. Same thing really.

They moved along, running into a soldier working out on the way.

Him and Jason exchanged a few words before the older man turned to Dr. Stokes.

"Maybe missy here would like to watch me get my sweat on, huh? Wanna spot me, little lady?"

Clarice cringed internally, and so did everyone else in the general vicinity.

"I can see you just fine from here, thanks."

She could have said worse. Much worse. Could have made the man wish there was a sinkhole in here somewhere. But decided against it.

Jason turned to her with an apologetic smile.

"Ignore Corporal Merwin, he lacks social skills."

Eventually they found themselves in an office set up where, after a brief quarrel, Jason got Eric a full site access.

Ooooh, her hour was nearing, she could feel it.

Jason held up the letter from CENTCOM.

"I'm telling you when the Queen Bitch finds out about this, she's gonna flip her shit."

Eric frowned.

"That's my wife you're talking about." He spat angrily before pushing past the lieutenant.

Oof… Clarice thought.

"I-I had no idea, I'm sorry."

Oh he's dumb. Cute, but dumb… She noted. Urgh does that mean her whole "King" pun went over his head? What a waste.

She couldn't resist a sassy remark as she passed him, though it earned her his eye roll.

"Nice work, hotshot."

They reached a busy hall of some sort, with a circular ceiling, ones you see in churches or mosques and as Clarice set down her equipment, she could hear Jason stutter some apology and the Colonel didn't seem to hold the rude comment about his wife against the Lieutenant.

"If it helps, we like to think of it as a term of endearment."

She snort-laughed under her breath as she busied herself with her computer.

A few minutes passed when Jason approached her.

"Right. Let's get you set up."

She eyed him and smiled.

"I hope the bandwidth can cope with the data."

Clarice could basically hear the gears turning in his head as she said that.

"I'll leave the techy stuff to you."

She turned to him, eyes stopping on his arms.

"And I'll leave the heavy lifting to you."

She flirted.

He smiled, his dimples sinking.

"We got a deal, lady."

She felt a flutter in her stomach as she changed the subject.

"What is this place, anyway? Looks like an old ballroom."

Jason nodded.

"That's exactly what it is. I guess Saddam liked to get down on the dancefloor." He joked.

Clarice chuckled, eyes on her monitor now.

"Do you think if his dance partner stepped on his foot it'd be an instant "off with her head"?"

He laughed heartily.

"It wouldn't surprise me."

She straightened and looked him up and down, subtly biting her lower lip.

"Maybe when we're done, I'll let you spin me around a little." She said suggestively, without much thinking, hoping a guy like him wouldn't have cold feet from a direct woman.

Jason's eyes widened from her forwardness, but slowly a knowing smirk crept onto his face.

"As long as you don't step on my foot." He replied playfully before leaving her side.

Clarice stared after him before returning to her work.

After some time, Eric held his briefing, addressing the results of his research and development of the "Caelus" thermal satellite that had supposedly discovered Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons silo.

He also explained that CENTCOM was going to give them full authorization to raid and search the area, but the approval would take some time. A week at most. Thank God for this base, then.

Great. A week surrounded by the trouble-in-paradise duo and a whole lot of misogynistic soldiers. Fantastic.

Well, at least Jason was there to hopefully keep her some… pleasant company.

~~~

Hours passed and just as Clarice was getting into the flow of her work she was suddenly… Pretty much done with it.

Done with the data export, supply check, even did a head count while she was at it.

She was just sitting in the office set up from before, communicating and helping with the recon specialists scattered in the area.

This was going to be a slow week, she could tell.

Just then, a now familiar face was passing by and decided to peek his head in.

"Miss Stokes." Jason greeted her.

She wanted to correct him, but decided against it, biting the tip of the pencil she was holding.

"Lieutenant."

"Jason is fine. Or Kolchek. Whatever floats your boat."

Clarice exhaled.

"Says the man who called me Miss Stokes."

He smirked.

"I take it you prefer - Doctor Stokes." He said, flipping a chair and sitting on it backwards.

She laughed.

"That's a whole 'nother question. Clarice is just fine."

He considered her.

"So what's a girl like you doing, playing a boy's game, huh, Clarice?"

Her eyes widened at his nerve.

"Something's telling me you wouldn't dare ask Rachel the same question." She challenged.

"Nah." Jason shook his head. "Love her or hate her, Rachel is built for this."

"What makes you think I'm not?" She asked, almost offended.

He shrugged.

"Just don't strike me as the type, is all."

Clarice clicked her tongue.

"Let's just say… It's an excuse to see the world. And end it there."

He snorted.

"Because an Iraqi war front is such a dream destination…"

She laughed and leaned back in her seat, boldly lifting her leg up on the table.

"Yeah, no, not exactly my ideal vacation spot."

"What is?"

"Huh?"

"Your ideal vacation spot. What is it?"

"Dunno. Haven't really thought about it." She shrugged. "I guess ultimately anywhere is better than here."

He shrugged right back.

"The weather's nice sometimes."

Clarice groaned.

"As if. It's hot as all fuck. Speaking of…" she stood up. "Be a dear and help me get this off." She said playfully, implying the tactical vest she had on.

Jason was baffled by her request, but complied anyway, helping with all the clamps, zippers and Velcro straps of the vest, easing it right off her slender shoulders.

He threw it over his forearm.

"Doesn't seem like something you couldn't have done by yourself."

"It isn't." Clarice confirmed. "Thanks, hotshot."

"Don't tell me that's gonna stick."

She smiled.

"Your fate was sealed the second I got here."

Closing the distance between them to retrieve the pack of gum she stuck in one of the many pockets of the vest.

"Got it." She whispered, popping one of the bubblegum strips in her mouth. "Want one?"

He smiled and took a piece of it as well.

"Sure."

The woman blew a big bubble and popped it instantly before returning to her seat, the curves of her torso now more obvious without the bulky vest.

"And what about you?"

Jason stared at her in a trance for a second before snapping out of it.

"What? Dream vacation spot?"

"Naaah, that one's super obvious just looking at you, probably some outdoor retreat to… Wyoming or some shit." She mocked.

"Hey! Yellowstone is a great place for a trip!" He defended, only half-joking.

She returned to her question.

"I meant what got you here."

"Whaddya think?"

"Mmm.." She hummed thoughtfully. "You probably come from a line of soldiers. Dreamed of this all your life. Saluted the next door neighbors since you were 3." She joked. "First word was probably lieutenant."

Jason smiled sadly.

"Not even close, unfortunately."

Her eyes widened.

"Oh? So what's your story?"

The man tensed. The sudden change in his demeanor let her know he didn't want to talk about it.

"Right." She got up and went to take the vest from him. "I probably held you up here for longer than necessary. Thanks for the help with this ol' thing."

He flashed her a friendly smile, heading for the door.

"Anytime, lady."

"...Seriously?"

He pointed at her.

"Takes two to tango."

~~~

That evening, almost everyone was escorted to small remote areas which… COULD be referred to as bedrooms. By someone who has never seen a bedroom in their life.

There were of course legitimate bedrooms in Hussein's castle that were, of course, hogged by the higher ups. The CO, the ex-CO. The two are fucking married yet still took separate ones. Lieutenant Kolchek got a nice one as well. And Clarice couldn't really complain about her little sleeping area either.

Freed from the military appropriate attire, Doctor Stokes remained in her undergarments as well as an undershirt and a grey button up shirt that covered her up to her thighs.

She seemed to have jinxed the hot weather earlier because at night it was definitely a lot more chilly. She deduced that climbing under the blanket will help.

Clarice was about to call it a night when a firm and deliberate knock on the door startled her.

"Jesus-…"

She cautiously opened the door, only slightly, who knew what some of those soldiers were capable of.

The woman relaxed when she saw the lieutenant.

"Jason, hey."She noted the rifle in his hand.

"Can't sleep without your lucky gun?"��

He smirked.

"Just a quick sweep of the perimeter before bed, ma'am. You doing alright?"

Clarice opened the door wider and Jason's eyes almost immediately fled to her legs.

"Eyes up here, soldier." She teased.

He cleared his throat.

"Sorry." He said sincerely. "Just make sure to not go out during the night."

"Why? Does Merwin sleepwalk commando?" She joked.

Jason grimaced.

"Thanks for putting that in my head."

"You're quite welcome."

"But, thank God, no. There's just a lot of open air areas. Who knows what the hell gets in and out at night."

"I can handle a few creepy crawlies."

"Didn't say you couldn't. Just warning ya."

She laughed.

"If anything, I'll make sure to put on my best damsel in distress performance just for you."

"Appreciate it." He joked back.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, feeling the chill air hit her exposed legs.

"Do you mind..?"

"Of course not. G'night, Miss Stokes."

"Night, hotshot." She said before shutting the door.

~~~

Hectically, 2 days passed. No one seemed to notice how. A lot of work piled on ahead of the raid, but everyone seemed to make it out of that whirlpool of work, once again enjoying a slow day. The calm before the storm, so to speak.

Doctor Stokes hardly got to interact with anyone. Especially considering she mostly worked with earphones in. But she made sure to spare some time for a flirtatious remark or two towards the handsome soldier.

Clarice wouldn't want to lose the attention of Lieutenant Hotshot.

She smirked to herself at the thought of the nickname as she set up the computers in the ballroom, first thing in the morning.

Clarice searched for one of the main hard drives containing the operation info, but soon realized she couldn't find it.

"Where the fuck-... Shit!" She hurried towards the office only to come face to face with Jason.

"Whoa, what's the hurry, lady?"

"Not now, Kolchek, I need to find-"

Suddenly he held up the hard drive she was looking for.

"-Exactly that." She snatched it right out of his hands. "Oh, thank God, I would have been fucked with a pipe sideways if I lost this."

He snorted.

"Didn't take you for the clumsy type."

Clarice rolled her eyes.

"Everyone was moving shit, must have fell." She complained.

"You're always welcome, ma'am." He added nonchalantly.

She smiled reluctantly.

"Thank you."

The woman walked past him back towards the computers, shoving the earbuds back in, now deaf to the outside world.

A minute passed. Two. Five.

And she didn't even notice that he was just standing around, leaning against a supply crate and looking at her the whole time until she turned around.

Her eyes widened.

"Uh… Penny for your thoughts?"

Jason just stared at her, head tilted, hands resting on either side of him on the crate.

"Earth to Jason?" She urged.

"Are you up for that spin, lady?"

A tight knot formed in her abdomen as he said that.

Clarice turned her back to him slowly, tucking her earphones away.

"What spin?" She asked, pretending she didn't know what he was talking about.

"I do recall you saying you'd let me… Spin you around when we're done." There was something less… Restrained about the tone of his voice… and she liked it.

"Does it look like we're even remotely done?" She teased.

He got off the crate, walking towards her confidently.

"I've followed all my orders. Not doing anything of importance right now. Are you?"

She stared at him for a long moment, closing her computer and shoving the equipment on the table aside with her forearm without breaking eye contact with him.

"Not really."

Jason flashed a confident smile.

"Then what do you say I spin you around a little, right here, right now, Doctor."

Clarice didn't take long to consider, despite the sudden offer. She closed the distance between them almost immediately, smashing her lips against his desperately.

And he wasted no time in kissing back, cupping her face in his hands while he deepened the kiss.

She groaned loudly against his lips, reaching a hand up and knocking off his cap before tangling her fingers in his dark brown hair. Eliciting a surprised yet pleased noise from him as she tugged at the strands.

Her other hand settled on the back of his neck while his hands ventured lower, impatiently grasping her thighs, ushering her to wrap her legs around him.

Which she did, got her legs around his waist with a quick jump.

Jason carried her onto the table before shifting his attention from her lips to her jaw and neck, gently biting and sucking on the sensitive skin while she gasped and helplessly grasped his tactical vest.

She struggled with it for a minute before pushing him away in frustration.

"Couldn't have gotten this off before you got here?" She complained.

He chuckled and tugged at the choker around her neck that was getting in the way of his kisses.

"This thing's harder to take off than the vest."

Clarice clicked her tongue, pushing him off her entirely.

"Get rid of that." She almost ordered, pulling the choker up and over her head.

He smirked.

"Yes, ma'am."

The woman set aside her accessory, watching him fumble with the vest before finally getting it off a minute or so later.

She reached her hand out and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him back in for another kiss.

Jason parted her lips with his tongue, while his hands moved lower, grabbing the hem of her dark gray shirt and pulling it up and over her head. Though it was warm out, she shivered at the sudden sensation of the air against her torso as she was left only in her white sports bra.

He dipped his head and started kissing her shoulder and collarbone.

She noticed his hands fleeing towards his pants as he hurried to undo the buttons and zipper.

Someone's in a rush…

Though she'd prefer to take it slower, she didn't mind his approach.

"Give me my backpack." She said, pointing at the bag beside their feet.

He complied and Clarice started searching the smaller compartments. Not long after she found the pack of condoms that she packed.

Jason laughed at the find.

"What an important thing to pack during a war mission, right?"

"Hey! Condoms are useful for many things."

"Like..?"

She giggled and bit her lip.

"Fucking hot lieutenants."

Jason smiled and kissed her again, now busying himself with removing her jeans.

She moaned as he gently stroked down her lower abdomen to her pelvic area. While she impatiently reached out and pulled his shirt off. Very fond of what she saw, she ran a quick hand down his toned torso.

The man quickly yanked her sports bra up, making the fabric bunch up just below her collarbone before pressing himself against her again, exposed chest to chest.

He pulled her short strands of black hair, attacking her neck with his tongue again.

Clarice clawed gently at his back, getting quite impatient as well.

"Fuck-... Jason…"

Both of their trousers now bunched up around their thighs, Jason pulled her lower half closer towards him, dry humping her while his hand searched for the condoms she left on the table.

All of a sudden someone cleared their throat behind them, making both of them jump.

Rachel stood by the entrance angrily, staring off to the side, to avoid looking at them, a file in her hand.

"Shit…" Jason whispered, getting off Clarice and pulling his pants up.

The Doctor's face burned a bright red as she got off the table, covering herself with her shirt.

"Doctor Stokes, before you proceed with screwing my lieutenant, could you please type this file out, Eric needs a digital copy."

Rachel requested, still avoiding looking at them.

"O-of course." She mumbled, taking the file from the woman who turned and stomped out of the ballroom immediately.

"F-fuck…" Clarice cursed under her breath, mortified after the encounter.

"Clarice, I'm sorr-"

"No! No I'm sorry, this was absolutely out of line. We shouldn't have." She admitted.

He cleared his throat, disappointed.

"I-"

She threw her shirt on and gathered her stuff, deciding to work elsewhere.

"If you'll excuse me, lieutenant."

~~~

Within the next few days Clarice couldn't quite shake off the embarrassment of being busted with Jason by Rachel. Her only hope was the abrasive woman didn't immediately gossip with Eric about it, surely she'd lose all of his respect.

Furthermore, she couldn't even look the lieutenant in the eye after that.

Fuck, she didn't remember the last time she was so embarrassed, she wasn't the shyest person on earth but that was just… awful.

But as her embarrassment faltered, her frustration of the sexual kind resurfaced again.

But with it being the night before the raid, she shook off all desires to have sex with the man.

After all, they might not see each other ever again after that, might as well bury the embarrassment with her.

She basically barricaded herself in her quarters after dark, the sooner she calls it a night, the sooner they'll raid the silo, the sooner she'll get back home.

That's it.

That was basically the plan when she laid down… But she couldn't sleep.

"Goddammit…" She whispered to herself.

She laid restlessly for some time when she heard slow footsteps just outside her door.

In the back of her mind she knew exactly who it was, so without thinking she rushed to open the door, before the visitor could even knock.

Just as she suspected, she came face to face with Jason.

"Hey…" He greeted her cautiously.

Clarice sighed.

"Hey yourself."

They stared at each other for a while before Jason dared to break the silence.

"Look, I-"

But before he could say much, Clarice yanked him into the room by his shirt, crashing her lips against his while he made sure to close the door after them.

Both of them realized this could be their last opportunity to sleep together and there wasn't much to lose. They both wanted it. So why fight it?

And it didn't take long for them to ditch the effort to be quiet, the occasional pleasured moan ringing out in the corridors of the Iraqi castle.

~~~

The next morning, just before the raid, there was a certain bounce in Clarice's step.

She was energetically helping gather equipment when she eavesdropped on Merwin's sleazy conversation.

"I swear I was right below them, shit was like a fucking stampede. I guess Colonel pretty boy and wife dearest were patching up their marriage last night, for good luck."

"Nah, man, that's impossible." Nick said angrily.

"It's okay, buddy, live in your denial." The older man said, hand on Nick's shoulder.

Clarice's eyes widened. Yeah, no, both of them were wrong.

She searched in that crowd of soldiers, locking eyes with Jason who winked at her knowingly.

The woman laughed to herself. They better bet their asses that it was good luck.

Suddenly Jason approached her with a friendly smile on his face.

She smiled flirtatiously.

"Morning, lieutenant."

"G'morning." He shifted uncomfortably.

"Something on your mind?" She asked in a whisper.

Jason tilted his head thoughtfully.

"Maybe when this shit is all over we could… Grab a drink back in the ol' U. S. Of A."

"Are you asking me out, hotshot?" She asked with a smirk.

"Depends on the answer, Miss Stokes."

Clarice considered his offer.

"Sure. I'd like that."

He seemed almost surprised that she agreed but was glad nonetheless.

"Great."

#house of ashes #the dark pictures #the dark pictures house of ashes #the dark pictures anthology #the dark pictures fanfiction #house of ashes fanfiction #jason kolchek #clarice stokes

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highway-in-the-sky · 2 years

Text

With the first ark of the idw comic I wanna take a breather and go over it all. Give some more in depth thoughts, I will start to do the same at the end of issues for IDW as well as archie when it gets more actually serious, as well as talk about arks when they end.

The idw sonic comic starts on such a high note, This first ark feels exactly how a sonic story should, great characterization of the main crew, fun action set pieces and quick pacing. It doesn't get too bogged down or doesn't stay for too long. Right off the bat it nails the characterization of sonic and most of his crew which, to me at least, is the most important thing about this comic. I could watch sonic and friends to anything from the extreme to the mundane as long as they are written well. It was also very exciting to see neo metal sonic and metal overlord again. I loved the mr. tinker plot even if I wish we got to spend more time on it and all the original characters introduced slapped.

Rough and Tumble are you usual mooks, the duo that can take a punch but ultimately will get beaten in the end without too much issue. However they are such cool designs (especially a fan of rough's) and are played goofy enough that it's just fun when they show up. They also got that team rock intro and people make fun of them for it. It's a bit I will always love every time.

Tangle is great, it's nice to have a solely action oriented female character who can party alongside sonic. Sure amy is there but amy has more responsibility as well as has a lot of baggage through her history in the franchise, plus you have to worry about romance shenanigans which is kinda exhausting with those two (I have been jerked around with this ship for so fucking long with the will they won't they, just say they if they will or won't already). Tangle is just here to fucking party and I'm super here for it.

Whisper needs a hug, While we are missing most the pieces currently (I'll get into more with the tangle and whisper mini series), she is already a super fun character. She's super cool and I love her design a lot, I can't say much though without talking about the mini series

and Starline my favorite, It's just fun to see a character who's diehard loyal to eggman but not blindly so. While we haven't seen much yet so I won't get too into it, I love how even when starline goes under eggman's nose it's not to double cross or backstab but to hopefully bring him along with him. Sure in litteral outcome this does end up similarly to backstabbing but the context makes it so much more interesting then just "I'm going to stab the main villain in the back."

However it's not all sunshine and rainbows I do have some complaints, Namely with you guessed it Shadow, and trust me I'll have more to complain about as this goes on but for where we currently are I'll say this, he's not totally terrible, his first appearance is actually pretty enjoyable, sonic and his moral conflict feels very in character even if shadows stubbornness to the extreme it's shown feels ooc. However his lack of willingness to actually work with anyone and listen to plans is just so frustrating and contradicts how he acts in other games, like heroes and 06 (I know 06 isn't canon but god damn shadow's characterization is on point and I think looking at it for reference is fine). Now I know that this isn't entirely the writers fault, this is obvious when you look at Even Stanley and compare her writing of shadow in her personal sonic fan comic to the idw comic and it becomes obvious. I've also heard good things about shadows writing on Ians Archie run so it stands for him as well. A lot of the problems can be laid at segas feet as they want him to be this standoffish lone wolf kinda edgy rivil to sonic who cares for nothing but a good fight and that's just not really shadow. It ignores that shadow has made connections with team dark and has this strong mutual respect with sonic. It just makes me dread seeing my favorite character instead of excited. I will say while mandates are the major point of blame here I will say some of this can be layed at the Ian Flynns feet as he's not perfect. This becomes clear as Evan Stanley's writing of shadow is much much better (even if still restrained in this confine of the mandates) Shadow in the Chao race ark is much better than the battle for angle island ark and def metal virus. I'm getting ahead of myself but what I will say is this is my biggest complaint so far with the writing. So far Ian Flynn has done a great job aside from this and it doesn't prevent me from enjoying the comic

also so far all the artist do an amazing job the art in this comic is exilant!

#my idw ramblings #idw issue overview #idw sonic #issue 12 #long post #sth #sonic idw comics

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hazel-light · 3 years

Text

Chapter Word Count: ~7,500

Total Fic Word Count: ~30,000

Genre: (Wedding) Fake Dating, Friends to Lovers, lots of bed sharing and every self indulgent fluffy trope possible.

Warnings: None? Lots of fluff? Occasional cussing? Some suggestive themes, moments, and jokes I guess. No smut or anything!

Disclaimer: I am not Daniel Sharman, and I do not pretend to know how he would act, speak, etc. This is fiction okay, there’s a lot of creative license, and potential to be OOC. Ricky isn't mentioned because I started writing this before we knew he existed, so apologies for that. Also, if you’re DShar himself, please do us both a favor and don’t read this, okay???? Same if you know him 🙈

Title taken from the song Yellow Lights by Harry Hudson which suits this story quite a bit!

A/N: Okay okay here it is— the wedding fic I’ve been writing for literally six and a half months! I'm nervous and excited... this is the first fic I've written and posted in maybe 8? years. I asked you, and guys said you preferred chapters, so that's how I'll be posting. This first chapter is mostly exposition and fluff, the good stuff is coming I promise! I will be posting a part every day since the whole thing is already written. If you would like to be tagged, let me know. I would like to thank Rowena @heyrowena for being such a good friend and motivating me to be brave and get back into writing. Without you, this probably wouldn’t exist. Your motivation whenever I hit a roadblock or plot crisis was fundamental in helping the ending come together. I would also like to thank Tori @cavillsharman who spent countless hours talking out plots with me. Henry & Claire would not exist if it wasn’t for you! Thank you for bringing them to life with me. Thank you BOTH for helping me figure out how the heck to write kissing and ~romantic scenes. I think I hopefully found my way in the end. TLDR; Thank you Rowena and Tori, thanks for believing in me and helping this fic become a reality. ALSO! Thank you to my bestie Becka @kirklandhouse for giving all 100 pages of this a final proof/beta read with me to make it as smooth and shiny as possible. I love you! Okay. No more notes. I hope you enjoy it. Bye <3

—-

I sit in Daniel’s apartment, watching some new indie movie on Netflix. When he’s in town, we dedicate Wednesday nights to watching Netflix and playing some kind of card game together. It started originally as a group thing with board games, but eventually our friends' schedules fell apart, leaving it to just us most of the time.

My phone lights up and starts playing the typical FaceTime music, and I look down to see my cousin Ryan calling me; I decline the call. Daniel looks at me over his cards, knowingly.

“Is that your cousin? We can pause it,” he nods towards the TV.

Ryan and I are a good decade apart in age but really close. When I had to move across the country for work, I was heartbroken. Ryan was like the little brother I never had, and I’d lived with him, his mom — my Auntie Kim — and his sister Rachel nearly my whole life. I was worried the distance would change things between the two of us. Thankfully, it hadn’t.

I shake my head, watching the “missed call” light up on my lockscreen.

“No, it’s fine… I can call him later. He’s calling about his sister’s wedding.”

“Oh right, Rachel’s getting married this summer.”

I smile that he remembers, granted it would be hard not to. I have a tendency to talk about my family a lot, some might say too much.

“That’s coming up this summer, isn’t it? When is it — July?”

“Yeah, only two—” I’m cut off by my phone lighting up again, Ryan’s face once again on the screen. “God, he needs to stop. Sorry — let me text him.” I decline the call and start texting him, but before I can hit send, FaceTime is ringing again.

Daniel laughs, “I really think you should answer. He’s rather persistent.”

I shake my head, “Sorry.” I apologize before reluctantly answering the call, “Ryan, why are you—”

“Lauren!”

“Yes, hello.”

“I have been trying to reach you.” I look up at Daniel who has an amused smile on his face.

“I realize that, yes. I am doing something though, so is this an emergency, or...?”

“I was talking with Rachel and my mom, I guess the final guest count was due today.”

“Okay? That’s... nice. Is that… it?”

“Don’t worry, I told her you made a mistake on your RSVP; I fixed it just in time.”

I frown. “What do you mean? How did I make a mistake?”

Ryan rolls his eyes, and looks like he’s trying — and failing — not to look smug.

“You forgot to put that you were bringing a plus one.”

I laugh at that, “Yeah, I didn’t forget that, I don’t have a plus one.”

“I know.”

Silence.

“If you know that, why did you tell her I did? Your mom is going to be really mad if they pay for a plate of food for someone who doesn’t exist.”

Daniel’s fidgeting with his cards, but looking at me curiously.

“Because, Lauren. you need to find a plus one.”

“Uh —”

“No, no, no… listen. I’m bringing my girlfriend, and Rachel, who’s younger than you, by the way, is getting married. You’re, what? In your late twenties?” He takes a deep breath, “It’s time to find a mate.”

I visibly cringe at the messed up teenage boy logic. Daniel strategically places a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing, and I feel my cheeks start to heat up.

“A mate? Ryan, this is. Okay. That is, first of all, a really weird word choice. Second of all, thank you so much for your input. I really appreciate it, but —”

“No, Lauren. Listen. If you show up to this wedding without a date, you owe me fifty bucks.”

“That is NOT —”

“But, if you show up with a date, I will give you a hundred bucks, PLUS my mom won’t be mad at you.”

“Ryan. Seriously. This is not cool — do you even have a hundred bucks?” I feel the panic setting in, and the secondhand embarrassment of this occurring in front of, arguably, the most good-looking man on the planet. Daniel wouldn’t have any idea what it was like to be made fun of by your entire family for never having a boyfriend — or even a date to anything. I feel my face getting hot, and I know anxious tears are in my future. I take a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves, to try to calmly explain to my cousin, yet again, that I couldn’t just make someone enter my life by sheer will, nevermind someone who would be willing to fly across the country with me in less than two months. “Plus, Ryan, I don’t know how to tell you this, but —”

I feel a hand on my arm and look up to see Daniel looking at me so seriously, I stop midway through my sentence.

“Lauren? Tell me what?”

I’m still looking at Daniel who shakes his head ‘no.’ Confused, I make the mistake of asking out loud, “What?”

“Lauren? Who are you talking to?”

I look back at Daniel who is still trying to tell me something with his expression, something I didn’t understand. “Sorry, Ry, I was just —”

“Can I talk to him?” Daniel asks softly, but definitely loud enough for Ryan to hear.

I watch Ryan’s face go through shock, “You’re with a guy right now? Was that an accent? You’re with a guy with an accent?” He starts laughing, but I’m no longer paying attention, I’m still looking at Daniel who is looking at me expectantly, a half smile on his face.

“Sure? Ryan, hold on.” I say, handing the phone over to him with blind trust. I watch as Daniel smiles and waves at the screen.

“Hey Ryan, nice to meet you. I’m Daniel… Lauren talks about you all the time.”

“Uh, hi?”

“Hey. I know this is weird and sudden, but there hasn’t been a good time to really tell you this— Lauren and I are dating,” I feel my eyes widen in shock, but Daniel just glances at me and smiles. “I asked her not to tell anyone — I’m actually an actor, and — ”

“Wait a second, you were in that show! She’s mentioned you before, she said you guys were just friends…” Ryan interrupts skeptically.

“I know, I know, and to be honest, we were friends first. I just didn’t want her to say anything to anyone until...” He pauses, taking a deep breath, and I watch, bemused at this performance. “Until we knew things were really serious, and that they’d work out.”

“Uh huh. Well, I have a lot of questions about that —”

“I’m sure —”

“But the first one is, if you guys are really dating, are you going to be her plus one to the wedding? Or are things not ‘serious’ enough for you yet?”

I roll my eyes; even in his skepticism, Ryan is still as overprotective as ever.

“No, no, I — I had to check my filming schedule first, but I actually don’t fly out to film my next project until the end of August, so. This works out nicely, and I’m excited to meet you, and everyone, in person.”

It’s quiet a second, and I can almost hear the wheels in Ryan’s head turning.

“Are you covering for her so you get my 100 bucks? You really have to be dating, if you come as her friend it doesn’t count—”

“I know. Trust me. I’m not in this for the money.” He grins, finally looking at me to gauge my reaction which is still one of perplexed fascination. He picks up my hand and kisses the back of it, turning back to Ryan. “You’ll see.”

—-

Daniel and Ryan have a bit of a relaxed chat before Daniel finally gives the phone back to me. Pleasantries firmly pushed aside, Ryan asks me why I didn’t tell him sooner and I double down on the story that Daniel had come up with. I’m a little worried that I look guilty — my face usually betrays me — but if I do, it seems like Ryan just assumes it was guilt from keeping a “secret” from him. When we go to hang up, he smiles at me and says he’s happy for me, and that he hopes I enjoy the rest of my night, winking playfully before hanging up. Once again my cheeks are flushed red.

I let the hand holding the phone fall into my lap, turning my head against the couch to look at Daniel. Not knowing what to say, I shake my head.

He smiles, “Are you mad at me?”

I laugh, “Why would I be mad… are you mad, in the head? Are you really going to fly back to Massachusetts with me?”

He shrugs, smirking, “I do have a lot of miles to use.”

I shake my head, “This isn’t just... this is a commitment, though. If you thought Ryan had questions, wait until you see the rest of my family.” I frown. “They’re going to ask to take pictures with you to post on Facebook.”

“Are they?” he muses, “You think they’ll recognize me?”

“Well, to be honest, they might not… but if you tell them what you do, it won’t even matter. It’s like….” I struggle to find the words. “Clout chasing.”

He shrugs, “Okay.”

“Okay? That doesn’t bother you?”

“I mean, we are friends, we’ve been seen together before, I think it will be fine. Plus, I’ll be on my best behavior.” He puts on a mock serious tone. “No PR scandals.”

I laugh, “Right, because that’s my real concern here.” I pause, thinking it over in silence.

“Why’d you do it?” I don’t need to explain what ‘it’ is. He looks at me for a second before fidgeting with his cards he had previously discarded to talk to Ryan.

“You, uh, get really upset — I know you joke about it, being ‘undateable’ but…” He trails off and after a moment he starts again. “You looked really upset. And if I could help, I wanted to, I guess.”

I scoff. “You didn’t have to volunteer to be my fake boyfriend because you felt bad for me.”

He gives me his signature cheek: “For the record, I’m an actor. I’m a fake boyfriend professionally.”

I laugh, fueled by nerves. “I never thought about it like that.”

“It’ll be fun to meet your family.”

I bite my lip. “Well, get ready, I guess, because this may be your hardest role yet!”

He pretends to weigh the idea in his head, tilting his head to the side. “Mmm, somehow I don’t think so, but don’t worry, we can hold extra rehearsals just in case.”

“Alright. You let me know what that entails.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

We smile at each other. All of a sudden, I realize that the movie’s still playing, and neither of us have paid any attention to it for the better part of an hour. I check the time on my phone.

“We’re going to have to start this movie over next Wednesday. We missed the whole first half, and it’s getting late. I should probably get going.”

“Oh, okay. You know you’re welcome to stay here as long as you like, but I know you have an early morning.”

I get up and start gathering my things, moving towards the door. “You’re sweet. Thanks.”

I move to hug him goodbye.

“What are fake boyfriends for?”

I feel myself blush again. “Well. You’re sweet for even agreeing to be my fake boyfriend. I forgot to say thank you.” I look him in the eyes, hoping he can sense the sincerity. “Thank you.”

He smiles softly, “You’re welcome. It’ll be fun. I’m looking forward to it.”

—-

The following Wednesday, Daniel has some Skype meetings about the project he’s starting in August and our schedules don’t align for the rest of the week. We still text here and there, and I don’t know if or when we’re going to talk about the wedding. He seemed so nonchalant about the whole thing, but I’m still nervous, and I have a lot of questions swarming in my head. I’m sure I could have texted them to him, but I don’t know how to word things, and I figure it’s best just to discuss in person, where I can read him better.

I knock on his door, pizza box in my hand. A moment passes before Daniel opens the door, looking particularly cozy in an oversized sweater.

“Hey,” he smiles, pushing hair out of his face. “Come on in, sorry — I got a bit caught up in the script my agent just sent over.” He leads me over to the couch, where I see lots of printed pages scattered across the coffee table. He starts piling them together, making room for me to put the box down.

“That’s okay, no worries. Is it a good project? One you’re interested in, I mean?”

It’s no secret that Daniel is sent more projects than he bothers to audition for. At this stage of his career, he’s particular about the projects he signs on for. The character and the premise have to be something he believes in, something he cares about.

He glances up at me from where he’s organizing the pages.

“Yeah, I think so. There’s a lot of... sort of psychological conflict in this one, which I like.” He picks up the last of the pages before putting them in a folder and walking off in the direction of the kitchen. “Let me just put this away and then I’ll get plates and napkins — do you want anything to drink?”

“Water is fine,” I call after him, finally placing the box down on the table, sitting down in my usual place on the couch and shrugging my bag off my shoulder.

He comes back into the room carrying two glasses and two plates, a piece of notebook paper tucked between his fingers.

“So, uh, I hope it’s okay, but I put together a list.”

My eyebrows furrow in confusion. “A list for what?”

“Things we’ll need answers for, for your family. Like character backstory… things like when we started dating — so our answers match.” He says it very matter-of-fact, like this was just everyday conversation and not something I’ve been silently obsessing over for the better part of a week.

“Oh! That’s really thoughtful,” I smile. “Good idea.”

He shrugs, handing me a plate and opening the pizza box, “I do it for every role.”

“Right,” I nod. We take a few minutes to eat and talk over our week, and then he wipes his hands on his napkin and picks up his list again.

“Alright, so, how we met, I figure we can keep the truth, that’s fine.”

“Yup, you came to see your friend in the community play, which I also happened to be in, you came to dinner with us after the show, and our friend group melded shortly after that.”

He gestures to the pizza box, “And now we’re having dinners of our own.”

I laugh, “We are.”

“So that’s when we met, but when did things change?”

I sit thinking, and Daniel does the same.

I’ve probably had a crush on Daniel since I saw him that first night; he’s the kind of person it’s hard not to feel drawn to right away. He has a way of making people feel seen, and his comments on the show were so thoughtful. I valued his compliments before I even knew he was an actor professionally. I wonder if I could say the truth out loud in a way that was nonchalant, make it seem like a concept that wasn’t based on real experience.

“Well,” I begin, clearing my throat. “I probably liked you from the word go, but I wouldn’t have done anything about it. So that would have had to come from you.”

“Huh,” he scratches his chin. “Leaving it all up to me. No pressure.” He chuckles. “I— hmm. I would need to know, or at least think you liked me before doing anything.”

“Oh, so you decide who to date based on who likes you, I see,” I tease.

“Fuck off, obviously I like you— would like you if I was going to date you, but I mean. I don’t want to be one of those guys creeping on his friends who aren’t interested.”

“Sure, Sharman, sure. So…?”

“Alright. Well, realistically, how long could you have been hiding this from your family? You talk to them all the time.” I roll my eyes but know he’s right. “So a month, maybe? That brings us back to April… . Got it— my birthday.”

“Happy birthday, I’m your girlfriend now!” I fake cheer.

He looks me dead in the eyes, replying with mock sincerity. “The best present I could have ever asked for.”

“Oh, shut up! So ridiculous. What happened on your birthday? What changed, as you say?”

I watch him think, curiously, thinking back to his birthday myself. It was a low key get together at his house with a bunch of his friends, some of whom were our mutual friends. He was grinning the whole night, and I loved to see him so carefree and happy.

“When you brought out the cake,” he starts, still staring off into space, “your face was all lit up by the candles, and everyone was singing, but all I could think about was how beautiful you looked. I realized I had to tell you how I felt, so I did. I pulled you aside at the end of the night and we talked, and then I kissed you.” He looks up at me. “What do you think?”

“That’s beautiful,” I compliment, trying not to think about how much I wish that really happened, that he really thought that when I brought out his birthday cake. “Who knew you were such a romantic deep down?”

He laughs bashfully. “I think you knew.”

“Maybe I had an inkling,” I smile. “What’s next on the list?”

He looks down at his list. “Have we said the big L word yet?”

“For sure. That same night.”

Daniel laughs and gives me a strange look. “You were ready for that one.”

“Well, I don’t know— you don’t confess to ‘kind of like someone’ when you’ve already been friends as long as we have.”

He smirks. “Right, well, when you say it like that, who could argue?”

—-

It’s another Friday when I’m lying down on Daniel’s couch with my eyes closed, when I feel him come and sit next to me, perching on the edge of the cushion. He laughs quietly to himself before I feel him start twirling one of my rogue curls around his finger. I open my eyes to see him smiling down at me, newly topped off drink in his hand. We’ve been playing a drinking game to one of his old favorite movies, and we’re both sufficiently tipsy.

“Hi,” I say, looking up at him.

“Oh hello.” He stops playing with my hair, smoothing it back into place. “Fancy meeting you here.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re always so funny, have I told you that?”

“Mmm,” he pretends to think. “Probably, but I always love when you remind me.”

“I aim to please,” I say, pulling myself halfway up to lean back against the couch cushion. We look at each other for a minute before I feel self-conscious and look away, reaching for my glass of water on the table. “What’re you thinking about?”

He watches me take a sip and says nothing. I quirk an eyebrow up at him, and put my glass back on the table. “Hello?”

“Just trying to figure out if now’s a good time.”

I frown. “Good time for what?”

He says nothing again, still looking at me. I narrow my eyes at him. “Just a reminder, I have anxiety, so if you could hurry up, that would be so very excellent.”

He laughs at that, taking a sip of his drink. He pulls a face after he swallows and leans forward to put the glass on the table.“Bad mix, that.”

“Sharman, honestly. Focus, please.”

“Sorry, sorry. Alright.”

I look at him expectantly.

“There’s one thing we haven’t really talked about— for the wedding.”

My stomach turns, as I try to think of what we could have missed. “What is it?”

“The, uh. Like, the physicality of it.”

I don’t say anything for a moment, the words slowly processing in my head through the fog of liquor.

“That sounds… very technical. Please elaborate.”

He runs a hand through his hair and I can’t tell if he’s nervous or exasperated. “Like kissing, holding hands— that sort of thing. I just thought, maybe it would be less awkward? To talk about this, uh, slightly inebriated... for you, I mean.”

“Uh huh, for me. I see.”

“Well,” I see the playfulness in his eyes. “You are the self-proclaimed nervous one.”

I bump my shoulder against his. “And I don’t kiss people for a living.”

“Mmm, I don’t think that’s my entire job, but,” he smirks, “lucky for you, I have had lots of practice.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

It’s quiet for a minute.

“Anyways, I was going to say — we should practice. Kissing, I mean. If the first time we kiss is in front of your family, that could be problematic. And extremely uncomfortable.”

I laugh, blushing, and blurt out the first thing I think of: “Oh, so you got me drunk not to talk about kissing me, but to actually kiss me.”

He shrugs, “I didn't want you to overthink it.”

“Mmmm,” I muse. “How thoughtful.”

He smiles at me. “Well,” he says, bringing up a hand as if he’s brushing hair behind my ear and keeping it there. “As your fake boyfriend, I have to be, don’t I?”

I smile, not saying anything. I feel him shift closer, and my heart starts pounding in my chest. “Can I kiss you now?” he whispers.

I nod, my heart still pounding.

He gently presses his soft lips to mine before pulling back for a second. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I whisper, my hand gently moving up his bicep as he leans back in. This time I follow his lead as our lips slowly move together. He kisses me more purposefully and my breath catches in my throat, my hand wandering to his chest. I feel his hand move to my hip, his fingers mindlessly reaching just under the hem of my shirt. His hand is cold, but his touch burns my skin and sends a shiver up my spine.

“C’mere,” he murmurs against my mouth, maneuvering me into his lap effortlessly. I don’t even have time to feel self-conscious about it because his hands, his huge, warm hands, are holding my face tenderly as he kisses me like I’m his prized possession.

His tongue glides along my bottom lip, subtly asking to be let in. Almost too eagerly, I open my mouth, and he hums low in his throat, deepening the kiss. While I don’t want to think about it, I force myself to remember that while this is something I’ve dreamed about, Daniel’s an actor— and he’s acting.

I savor the moment before we pull apart, both breathing heavily. Daniel’s eyes are still closed, his face flushed, lips a warm pink. I admire the freckles sprinkled on his cheeks and feel myself begin to blush furiously. I tuck my head into his neck as I feel one of his hands stroke my hair.

His voice is soft and slightly hoarse as he asks, “You alright?”

I nod, breathing him in deeply before pulling back to look him in the eyes.

“Yeah, are you?”

“Yeah,” he bites his lip. “I think… I think we have that down.”

I can’t help but laugh from nerves, and then he laughs too. Flustered, I smooth my hands over his shirt where it wrinkled when he placed me in his lap. I carefully get off of him, his hands falling to his sides as I resume my spot next to him on the couch. I already miss his warmth and I have no clue what to do with my hands now.

I can feel Daniel’s eyes on me, so I look back at him. His face is unreadable; I shoot him a reassuring smile, and after a moment he seems to snap back to reality and he smiles back at me.

I wonder how I’m supposed to go back to just being his friend when this is all over when I now know how it feels to be desired by him, wanted by him, even if it’s all just for show.

“So!” Daniel says, clapping his hand on his knees. “What time am I meeting you tomorrow? Or are you coming here first? Do you need me to pick you up?”

I laugh again. “We never decided! Do you want to carpool? Because we definitely can.”

“Yeah, let’s do that so I can control the music—”

“Excuse you—”

“Besides, we’re going to my stylist, so I know how to get there.”

“For your suit. I told you I can just get a dress at the mall —”

“But that’s unnecessary since we’re going to match, and we’re going to my stylist already. I already had Alicia grab a bunch of dresses for you to try.”

“Which are probably going to be approximately eight million dollars —”

“No. They aren’t. And if they are —”

“—If they are, I am going to buy a dress at the mall.”

“—Then either I can pay for part of it, or I can have her pull some other options —”

“You’re not going to pay for it, I’m serious —”

“—It’s not a big deal, Laur, you need to relax.”

“That’s annoying, don’t tell me to relax.”

“Okay, sorry…”

I sigh dramatically as I swipe my phone open to get an Uber home, and he bumps his shoulder into mine to get my attention.

“But seriously, what time?”

“What time did you tell Alicia we would be there?”

“2:30, I think?”

“Okay, then if we aren’t going to the mall first —” Daniel grins triumphantly. “— then do you want to grab me at like 1:45?”

“For you, I can do that.” he smirks as my phone chimes, alerting me that my ride is approaching.

I stand up to gather my things as Daniel follows me to the door.

“Lauren,” Daniel calls, lightly grabbing my wrist as I go to step out. I turn to face him only to be greeted by his lips on mine. As soon as they’re there, they’re gone.

Daniel keeps his face an inch from mine as he says, “You’re going to have to get used to that.” He smirks. “Text me when you get home safe.”

I shake my head. “See you tomorrow.” And this time, I catch him off guard, kissing him quickly before I turn around, walking out of his place to the sound of his laughter.

—-

I climb into the passenger seat of Daniel’s car, finding him snapping his gum, one hand on the steering wheel and sunglasses on. He looks good.

“Good morning LaurLaur,” he grins.

“Good morning to you too,” I laugh. “You’re in a good mood.”

He shrugs, pulling away from the curb. “Am I? Just pleased you’ve given up on going to the mall. It’s bloody awful over there.”

“Are you sure Alicia is okay with styling me? She’s not my stylist.”

He laughs, “Are you kidding? She was over the moon. Says styling me is boring, and girls are much more fun.”

“Ironic, since she’s your stylist. This seems so fancy for one wedding.”

I can’t see it, but I know he’s rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses. “It’s really so much easier. Plus this way we’ll match, and be cute and shit.”

“Oh yeah, ‘cute and shit,’ that’s us.”

Daniel grins, reaching over to thread his fingers through mine. “Not yet, but it’s going to be, darling.”

My stomach dips at the nickname even though I know he’s just teasing me.

I roll my eyes and try not to blush, turning to look out the window, trying to ignore the way his thumb traces the back of my hand.

When we walk into Alicia’s studio, we’re surrounded by mirrors and good music.

Alicia lights up right away when she spots us.

“Well, well, well, look who it is. Daniel Sharman and his lovely mystery guest.”

I shoot Daniel a look and he rolls his eyes. Alicia must see the exchange because she laughs.

“I’m teasing, he told me you were coming. I just was starting to think I’d never see the day I got to style Sharman and a lady friend.”

“Alicia, I don’t pay you to embarrass me,” Daniel jokes, leaning in to give her a hug.

“Yeah, because I do that for free.” She winks at me.

“I’m Lauren, it’s nice to meet you,” I reach out to shake her hand, but she pulls me into a tight, warm hug.

“We’re huggers around here, especially since you’re letting me style you on this guy's dollar—”

“Oh no,” I interject, “I’ll be paying for all of my things—”

“No can do, chica, this guy’s already made me promise to send him the bill.”

I turn and glare at Daniel. “Daniel Sharman, you promised me—”

He waves me off. “It’s easier this way. Can we just worry about that later? Let’s see what Alicia put together for us, shall we?”

I cross my arms, vowing to get back to the subject once we’re back in the car, and turn back to Alicia, who’s walking us over to some racks and tables she has set up.

“Okay, well, Daniel didn’t really give me a lot of details as to what colors or styles you like, but he did show me your Instagram, so I got an idea of your coloring and made some guesses as to your sizes. You’re so pretty in person, by the way—”

“I, uh— thank you.” I stammer, unsure if it’s a compliment or a suggestion that I don’t photograph well.

“So I kind of compared your coloring with his, and I figured you guys could have either a blue moment, or we could have Daniel in grey and accent one of these other colors I pulled for you.”

I look over the table and see some green, some pink, and some purple.

“I have a bunch of styles too, not sure if you wanted sleeves, strapless… I figured you could try some on and we could go from there.”

“Okay,” I say, feeling slightly overwhelmed. “Thank you.”

“No problem, honey! Daniel, I obviously have suits for you to try, too. Let me go get those.”

She wanders away for a minute and I turn to Daniel. “This seems way more focused on me than you— also, still extremely annoyed about that paying-for-everything stunt you pulled.”

“I told you that guy fashion is boring, and really, you can just Venmo me after, it’s not a—”

We both hush as Alicia returns, wheeling out another rack with gray and navy blue suits on it.

“Alright, so Daniel, you know where the fitting room is if you want to look through these and take some options with you. Lauren, I’m just going to do some quick measurements on you if that’s okay, so I can narrow down your dress size.”

“Oh, um, sure.”

As Daniel leaves the room, Alicia leads me to a circular pedestal in front of a three tiered mirror. She takes out her measuring tape and takes a few different measurements, writing some things down on a notepad.

Once we finish, Alicia walks over to her table and the dress rack, reviewing her options. I stand there quietly watching her pick up dresses and fabric swatches, look at me, and either put them down or add them to an empty rack. Daniel comes waltzing back into the room in a light grey suit. It sits a little wide through his torso, and the sleeves are a little too long, but he still wears it well.

“Thoughts on this one, ladies?”

Alicia gives him a quick once over.

“I was hoping you’d like that one! The grey will be nice and cool for the summer, but I want to tailor it in some. Make it a bit more fitted.”

I smirk. “Make sure he has enough wiggle room to dance.”

Alicia laughs. “That I can absolutely do.”

Daniel looks at me expectantly.

I smile. “You look really good, D.”

He nods at me and smiles back.

“Have you tried any dresses on yet?”

“Not yet, Alicia was just pulling the ones she wants me to try.”

Daniel walks over to the table, looking at the pieces Alicia has hung up on the rack.

“These jewel tones are going to look lovely on you.”

“Oh, thank you.” I blush, not missing the slight elbow that Alicia gives Daniel. Alicia walks over to me, three dresses in hand.

“Why don’t you try these three on and we’ll go from there.”

She shows me over to a changing room and hangs up the dresses for me, telling me to come out and show them when I’m done.

I take a second to admire my options. The first dress I pick up is a deep ocean blue green in a soft, silky material. It dips down into a modest V in the front, with a flared skirt.

The second is a muted bubblegum pink, strapless and fitted in the bodice, with a thin tulle skirt that brushes the floor.

The last is a periwinkle with lavender undertones, and is a bit more flowy with ruched fabric coming over the shoulder and defining the bodice in a deeper V-neck — but still respectable for a family wedding. Alicia knows her stuff.

I decide to try the blue-green dress first, as I’m drawn to the color right away. It’s maybe the simplest of the options, but that’s what I like about it. I’m a bit surprised that it seems to fit so effortlessly. It seems like I’d be able to wear it all day, dance and not have to fidget too much. I smooth my hands over it and peek out of the dressing room, where Daniel and Alicia are waiting.

“Okay, option number one,” I announce.

“It might be one and done,” Alicia shakes her head. “That looks really gorgeous on you.”

“Beautiful,” Daniel chimes in from next to her.

I smile. “Thank you. I really like this one.”

“Try on the other two just for fun,” Alicia suggests, and I nod, heading back to try on the pink dress.

The chest on the pink dress is a little big on me for a strapless, but I hold it up as I head back out to show them.

Alicia narrows her eyes. “A little big in the bust… I could bring that in. I think it might look a little more prom-y on than I anticipated. We could take the skirt up, but I don’t know. I don’t like it as much as the first.”

Daniel hums from next to her, and I look at him expectantly.

“It’s up to you two, but I agree. That first dress is going to be tough to beat.”

We laugh and I head back in to try on the last dress. This one is extremely elegant, and I feel very glamorous. I like it much more than I thought that I would. I step out to show them, and Alicia whistles.

“Okay miss thing, where're you going? The red carpet?”

Daniel smirks and nods. “I really like that on you.”

“I like it more than I thought I would. It’s probably between this and the first one for me.”

Alicia nods. “I have more options, but since we have two we like, I don’t see the sense in complicating the decision more.”

“I’m going to need you guys to help me choose.”

Daniel looks at Alicia, who thinks for a moment before pulling her phone out of her pocket.

“Let me take a picture, and then can you put the first dress on again?”

“Sure.” I smile as she takes the picture, before quickly changing into the ocean-colored dress again. I twirl in front of them playfully while we deliberate.

Daniel speaks first. “I like this one. It’s just… you. You seem comfortable in it, and the color looks amazing on you.”

I blush and look at Alicia, who’s nodding in agreement. “I agree. The other one is very pretty— you look like a star, but I think for the wedding, this is the way to go.”

“I think so, too. This one is just… easy, but still pretty.” I turn to Daniel. “You didn’t try on the other suits— are you sold on the grey one?” He looks down, like he forgot he was wearing it. “Yeah, I think so, especially with your dress. I wouldn’t want to wear navy with it.”

“All very good points,” I nod.

Daniel turns to Alicia, who’s writing something down in her notebook. “Do you have ties or something that would match her dress?”

Alicia raises an eyebrow. “Going for the matching look, huh?”

Daniel looks at me, smirking. “Yeah, we have to be cute.”

I roll my eyes at him and Alicia snorts.

“I did pull some accessories for you, so let me look.”

Alicia wanders off in search of a tie and a pocket square and Daniel grins at me.

“This?” he gestures between us, still in our outfits. “Cute as shit.”

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

feedback welcome!

tagged; @rogershoe

#daniel sharman fanfiction #daniel sharman fanfic #daniel sharman fic #daniel sharman imagine #daniel sharman x oc #daniel sharman fluff #yellow lights

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shortmage · 3 years

Text

2021 Fic Year in Review

Total # of Completed Works: 8! which is a little mind-blowing

Total Word Count: if just completed works it's 62,723 but if including wips, i ended the year with 73,998 words in total

Fandoms I've Written In: The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett

Looking Back, Did You Write More Fic Than You Thought You Would This Year, Less, Or About What You’d Expected?: well considering this was the first year i wrote fic in about 7 or so years, uh, i'd have to say i wrote a lot more than i expected, lol

What's Your Own Favorite Story: you know i'm not entirely sure, i really enjoyed writing all of them but i think if i had to pick it would have to be the one that started it all and got me back into writing which would be Relief in Sharp Lines

Did You Take Any Writing Risks This Year?: oh i dont really think so? like i said this was me writing for the first time in several years after a, uh, unfortunate experience being made fun of for my writing so just writing again at all was a risk! (but also now that i think of it the, ah, few nsfw fics i wrote could be called a risk cause i had legit never ever written nsfw before)

Do You Have Any Fanfic Or Profic Goals For The New Year?: ah! just to write and to get things finished and not let them sit for forever. but to also not get mad at myself when things do take some time. having to write a lot for school/work is something i have to realize makes it hard to write for fun and balancing the two. but ALSO to get the western au to a point where i can start publishing chapters!

Most Popular Story Of The Year?: oh that was definitely I Want Us to Eat Well! that fic is my most well-performing for being one of my shortest fics. (i'm hoping to do a follow-up to it for the bobadin valentine's event. hopefully!)

Story Of Mine Most Under-Appreciated By The Universe, In My Opinion: oh i don't know, im always trying to not overthink how much my fic gets read or gets kudos and just enjoy the process. (but also maaaaybe A Marshal of Restraint cause i put way too much effort into writing that one and i KNOW there's too much exposition for a nsfw fic but)

Most Fun Story To Write: again, i don't know. i really enjoyed writing all of them! but i think the one i really had fun with and let it flow as it wanted was The Maker Won't Mind. it was very self indulgent and sometimes i worry it's too ooc but i just want the boys to have soft things

Most Unintentionally Telling Story: Baatir! no doubts about that one. i gave all of my chronic pain and mental health issues to boba and din and really went 'if i dont have someone to take care of me then at least the boys fucking will'

Biggest Disappointment: i'd say either not being able to get a fic out for each day of the bobadin weeks/events or not getting the western au to a good point, it's kind of stagnated but i love the idea so much and really want to work on it

Biggest Surprise: writing again AT ALL! im so thankful for everyone in the bobadin server who was so kind and helpful and cheered me on while i was starting to write again and all the lovely people who beta read for me and yeah, it's been wonderful.

many thanks, love, and hugs to @coffeequill for the tag

and a few no-pressure tags!: @maderilien @jaigeye @mandaloria314 @eavangeek

#long post #carak writing

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fightingmonsterswithwords · 5 years

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I've been reading your Guzma story and oh my god. I tried to keep going beyond chapter 10, and I've read some of them, but they're so different and something is obviously missing. Besides with your "do not read behind chapter 10" I feel bad doing so, but omg I'm loving this so much. I haven't gotten around writing comments yet because omg I must really process the feelings. Sometimes I feel like I could scream out if joy, tension, passion, frustration or cry out of dull sadness. I adore it.

So I just wanted to tell you, before I go back with processed emotions and a cold enough head to actually write the comments (and a night’s sleep, I have barely slept for two days, two hours in more than 48 hours and it’s all your fault), that I sincerely vehemently thank you for writing and sharing this with us, and doing so with such a great and obvious care. It’s so well written, and one can see the love for the characters you have. I haven’t felt like this reading something a long time.

—————————————————————————————————-

(i took the liberty to merge the the two parts into one)

First things first: thank you so much for this message! I saw it first thing in the morning and you painted a huge smile on my face. I myself have suffered the “there will be no rest until i finish reading this fic” syndrome many times and feel so flattered - and guilty - reading your confession. I hope you could sleep soundly after that!

I only added the aggressive “don’t read past this chapter” sign in the summary after receiving too many comments saying they had read the twenty-odd chapters and felt confused because there was obviously something weird with the story. Guzma’s anime debut brought a ton of new readers and I clearly miscalculated by thinking the warnings in the tags and the author’s note would be enough. I didn’t expect to still be working on the fic - but least of all did I expect people to be interested on it, and even less to be so invested on it, after all this time!

Anyway, I’m genuinely moved that my silly story made you feel so many things and that you think it’s well-written. That means the world to me. It’s the project that basically pushed me to write again, and I know it’s just a fic but it’s very important to me on a personal level. At this point, seeing it through is a labour of love and sheer stubbornness.

I tried - and keep trying - to do justice to all characters, though I know there probably are moments in which they come across as a bit OOC. Mainly because Pokémon is a juvenile franchise and sometimes I tend to drag it to a more adult/serious ground without really noticing.

Good news. You have just arrived at the right moment because I’m adding the finishing touches to the new chapter, the one that’s missing, and hopefully will publish it at some point between today and tomorrow. I’ll also update the Author’s Note, because it’s been a while.

SbbT is still alive and improving thanks to all of you, so thank you from the bottom of my heart! ❤ ❤ ❤

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eyecicles · 6 years

Note

hmm this is gonna be weird but can you tell me why the whole fandom likes the Those fic? can u like, make me read it? without spoiling a lot. and why is it so long? i've been trying to get myself to read it but it's kind of too weird?? L seems kinda ooc? i bet the writing is great and I'd probably love it like everyone else but I can't start it for some reason. it's the longest fic I've ever seen. and is it still on going? i am scared but willing

Well, I hope you don’t feel forced to read it because it’s totally fine if you don’t like it. No matter how beloved a story is, it’s always also a matter of personal preference if it’s something for you or not. …But I also know that a lot of people only started to fall in love with the story after, like, three or four chapters.

Anyway, I can definitely tell you why I like so much (I think I talked about this before somewhere, but oh well):

It’s incredibly well-written

That’s just a fact. Not only is the story really engaging and filled with so many details that you feel like you know every character personally, it also has a very consistent, unique and - for me - addicting writing style. It’s certainly not everybody’s taste, but I don’t think anyone could deny that the technique that is used is at the very least very solid. (You need to be pretty skilled to make a first-person narrative work, imo.) I’m a bit of a book nerd (snob? hopefully not) and I have no problem with admitting that the quality of “Those” is higher than a lot of actual published writing I came across. It doesn’t only stand out when it comes to fanfics, but when it comes to literature in general.

It’s incredibly long, yes, and I love it

I can’t tell you why exactly, obviously (because I’m not the author) (you can ask her that and other questions yourself if you want, her username on tumblr is @youcannotrelight) (I think the fic was originally meant to be a lot shorter) but I’d say that’s actually one of the reasons I’m so in love with that story. You just start to feel so close to the characters, especially to Light and L, that it’s easy to get strongly attached to them. Also, what makes the story so long are especially two factors a) there’s just a lot of stuff going on all the time and b) Light loves his long-winded internal monologues. I hope you like them too, because that’s one of my favourite aspects of “Those”:

It is weird, yes

It is. In the best way possible. Like, the very concept of “Those” (which I’m sure you know by now) is so comical and unique, that I pretty much loved the story before I even read it. Don’t be afraid of the weirdness. Let it into your heart.

It’s hilarious

When it comes to slapstick humour especially, it’s one of the funniest stories I’ve ever read. Really, it might not seem like it at first but I can’t count how many times this story made me laugh almost hysterically. (Matt (”Jeevas”) is in there and one of the most amusing characters for sure!)

Certain characters might be OOC but

They’re still extremely well-written. I didn’t know what to make of Those!L at first either but the more you read, the more you start to think that that’s exactly how L would have turned out to be under different circumstances. He’s just… insatiable in a different kind of way, he has no Watari to spoil him and the nature of his job doesn’t allow him to isolate himself like he did in canon. Also, a few chapters in you’re starting to realise that he’s way more complex than you might think at first. Way more vulnerable, with an interesting backstory that explains even more.

The entire aesthetic

Another personal thing. I love politics, I love gritty, insane, mundane and mystery mixed into one giant cocktail, I love L’s dumb lawyer anecdotes. Just look at some of the art this fic inspired!

Light’s and L’s relationship

It’s like an accident you can’t bring yourself to look away from. It’s horrible and heart-wrenching, soul-crushing and… why do I even like their relationship? I can’t tell you exactly, but they deserve each other. This fic made me scared of the concept of soulmates because it’s just that intense. It’s like a love letter to how compatible and incompatible Lawlight is at the same time. But I don’t think you have to already ship Lawlight to get pulled in.

Also, “scared but willing” is exactly how I feel with every new chapter, so you’re already on the right path if you want to become a fan as well, haha. (And yes, it’s still going on)

#answered #anon #those who stand for nothing fall for anything #fics

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naruhearts · 5 years

Note

OKAY SO I've just spent the best part of an hour scrolling through your blog and reading a bunch of your destiel meta and I HAD to message you... I was one of the many people who STRONGLY believed destiel had a chance of being canon after season 8 (more like season gr8 am i right), but throughout the years I slowly lost all hope. However, S14 has made me 110% invested in the show again and YOUR META IS GIVING ME HOPE FOR DESTIEL, which is TERRIFYING. Your writing is wonderful and I'm STRESSED.

Got back from Washington late last night!

Oh my gosh @alovelikecas, your message really made my day and I’m SO glad you enjoy my meta xox (even when most of my meta looks like, to me, sloppy-ass writing, haha! I’ll probably make an end-season meta post after 14x20 — if I have the time — that touches upon SPN’s current and repeating themes since Season New Beginnings S12/Dabb Era, not to mention I have, like, some more unfinished meta in my drafts >.>)

Yeah I mean, I didn’t join Destiel land until Summer 2016, and before that, I was late to the Season 11 party, so I basically had no narrative context for anything, and I’ll copy-paste what I said here:

Looking back, one significant thing I recall? S11 gave me a sense of Destiel’s true narrative validity (as not a ‘fanon’ ship but organically developed in the canon) when I perceived it as a season that was ‘missing something’. Keep in mind I had no idea about Destiel yet while watching S11 at the time.

I was literally asking myself — repeatedly — why Dean/Amara seemed to contain odd narrative holes, considering A. Dean explicitly said that the non-consensual attraction he felt for Amara was NOT love and “it scares him”, B. Amara told Dean that ‘something stops you - keeps you from having it all’, C. Djinn!Amara stated that she can: ‘feel the love [Dean] feels, except it’s cloaked in shame,’ and D. Mildred’s iconic ‘You’re pining for someone’ —> which did not logically correlate with A and C, meaning: since Dean doesn’t freely love Amara and thus isn’t possibly pining for her — with female love interests as currently non-existent (I remember crossing off the dead/gone girls on a piece of paper lol) — who the hell was he pining for, then?

Originally posted by elizabethrobertajones

Obviously, without writing long-ass paragraphs of meta about it again in this post, S11 made sense as soon as I watched it within the Destiel context (especially after I read up on some grandiose pieces of Destiel meta (@charlie-minion was the very first person who inspired me to write meta; I followed her once I joined the fandom Oh my god, here we go, holy crap this subtext – I’m invested in this godforsaken ship because they’re in love with each other and I’m not getting off any time soon. The rest is history.

I’m aware that I do come off as positive (and I’m still Destiel-positive; whatever happens in 14x20 this week may or may not change that), but I hope you don’t mind if I use your lovely ask as an additional opportunity to clarify my meta standpoint: no one’s saying Destiel WILL become text.

The general Destiel meta community (all subfactions: Destiel-positive, -negative, -neutral, and in-between) is not the Most Holy Canon Word, and we aren’t SPN writers, and again, we can’t actually speak to the veracity of Destiel as guaranteed-gonna-go-textual, but we — a diverse pool of critical thinkers from all walks of life: particularly those who have some degree of experience in literary academia/English literature studies (fun fact: I was actually pursuing a Minor’s in English until I changed my mind - my first love’s Health Science/Biology, which I stuck with, but here I am doing lit-crit analysis on the side *wink*) — can speak to the veracity of Destiel as a real, palpable, and ever-substantial long-running romance narrative aka the love story between Dean and Cas IS THERE. I see it. We all see it. We didn’t pluck it out of the random ether one day. It naturally evolved across the show’s overarching narrative like some vast spiderweb, linked together by numerous character arc amalgamations of Dean Winchester and Castiel as separate individuals who were then brought together — who brought themselves together, by the sheer force of free will and choice — and are now inherent parts of the other’s story (and respective character progression).

I say this too many times to count: the entire point of writing meta? Personally, it enables me to appreciate the literary gorgeousness of Dean and Cas’ relationship as, first and foremost, a tentative alliance offset by the very moment Cas raised Dean from perdition (it’s a poetic beginning). Their alliance then inevitably proliferated into a rocky — at times, necessarily turbulent — friendship, then a deep profound bond…one that crossed platonic boundaries since S7/8 and is, ultimately, indelibly rooted in romance. Together, Dean and Cas build up each other’s strengths, complement each other’s flaws, and narratively motivate the other to self-introspect — to become the best version of themselves that they were always meant to be: self-actualized entities who let go of their painful, horrifying, psychologically/emotionally destitute pasts.

These above reasons and more are why I think Destiel belongs right up there on the shelf of Ye Olde Classics, similar to epics by John Milton, Shakespearian tragic dramas, Homeric characteristic cruxes, and the great Odyssey journey: a legendary journey, fraught with circumstance, that finally ended with Odysseus (now an enlightened man) returning to Penelope, the love of his life.

Channeling the scope of Homer’s Odyssey, Destiel is an incredible storytelling feat of obstacles, both internal and external, romance tropes, mirroring, foreshadowing, and visual cadence/emotion, enhancing SPN’s already character-driven main plot in that Dean and Cas try to make it back to one another; like Penelope, their love holds true despite everything. If Destiel were an M/F couple, we all know their love story would be absolutely undeniable to the GA.

I do understand the bitterness S14’s fostered in some viewers, though. I do understand that Dean and Cas seem distant (and yeah, it’s a noticeable difference compared to S12/S13), but I believe the Destiel subtext is still heavy and holds steady.

Right now, at this point, there remains multiple personal issues for the characters to solve, you know? Dean and Cas aren’t talking properly; their love languages stay mistranslated, although we’re persistently shown that they still understand each other on a certain level that no one else can, and the visual narrative keeps framing them as on-the-nose solid counterparts: a domestic-spousal romantic unit independent of Sam.

Originally posted by incatastrophicmind

They want to be there for the other. They need to quash the final remnants of their respective internal loathing (Dean’s self-worthiness, Cas’ self-expendability) before they’re able to give the other 100% of their time, efforts, attention, and love (as flawed and complicated but compellingly beautiful as it can possibly be). During the times Dean and Cas do try to talk shit out, extraneous issues continue to get between them.

As other friends/meta pals discussed with me, S14 is like S10 in that it’s confusing the cast/audiences. And exactly: S8, besides S11/S12/early S13, also belongs in the close-to-canon serious Destiel narrative transition! I can discuss the showrunning/writer problem of SBL (Singer + Bucklemming; @occamshipper hits the nail on the head) that tugs subtext – especially subtext linked to Destiel – back and forth, sometimes in the weirdest nonsensical ways, but I won’t go too far into it here. I agree, however, with the recent idea that Jensen does seem a bit confused as to where he should bring Dean emotionally this season (don’t get me wrong, I do NOT believe Dean is OOC; OOC is a completely different concept vs expected character behaviour). And if Dean’s consistently romance-coded past interactions with Cas are any indication, Jensen would also — in the same vein as all of us — want Dean and Cas to start getting their shit together. Long-running fictional characters like Dean and Cas, conceived over 10 years, are so well-written to the point where you, the author, can predict what they’ll do even if you just plop both of them inside a room and give them no direction, and I personally feel that nowadays Jensen is prevented from achieving Dean’s further internal growth/unsure how to act in the moment because of some dumb SBL scripts saying one thing while his character’s heart says another. Wank aside—

Season 15 should hopefully convey a much more logical subtextual perspective e.g. unbelievably amazingly cohesive Season Destiel 11 that aired after choppy S10. Not all hope is lost!! I also want to clarify that I personally LOVED Season 14 in general. It’s been mostly Emotion-centric constant, with Yockey, Berens, Perez, and Dabb usually making my top-rank SPN writer list.

Currently the narrative’s still allowing pretty significant (imho) wiggle room for the lovers to fracture apart and get back together, where their miscommunication comes to a dramatic head. We just saw Dean and Cas argue over Jack’s well-being in 14x18 and 19. Dean — besides putting Cas at the top of his You’re-Dead-to-Me-Because-You-Lied-but-I-Still-Love-You-Goddammit hitlist (for clear spousal-coded reasons) and taking Cas’ actions to heart (he’s the person he trusted the most who lied to him) — no doubt blamed himself for what happened, and Sam was, like I said, the mouthpiece of truth. TFW were all culpable. They all failed Jack in some way, shape, or form.

I’m not expecting anything for 14x20, but I’m nervous either way! Thanks for sticking with my long answer

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