#why did she become so 'famous' in the fandom anyways

[skylarbee]

hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems like a lot of people still don't know this. ashley reese, who met alex at that pool party and interviewed him like a year ago is treated by the fandom like she's some kind of angel and is very much loved (even though she did nothing special?) when she's... well, I'll let you decide.

she thinks miles is such a bad person that he shouldn't be allowed to have a dog (x)

she very much enjoys him getting a really bad review (x)

she's glad about him not joining am for 505 (x)

she calls out am fans who still like alex and alexa, even though she's the exact same ("when she gets comments like this all the time" girl, you're the one writing similar shit. she has other posts discussing alexa and alex, but they're old, like the ones from the last screenshot) (x, x, x, x, x)

[snowflakeanimelover]

A Misunderstanding That Leads To a Gift

Relationship: Doctor Stephen Strange x Female reader

Fandom: Marvel Universe, Doctor Strange, (Pre-movie)Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Warnings: Spoilers of beginning of the movie Doctor Strange: MoM, other than that nothing else of the movie is mentioned, a little angst, lots of backstory, cute, fluff, major fluff, kisses, Wong deserves a hug, fight, argument, jokes, hot doctor strange because yes, hugs, friends to lovers, kinda shy reader, nice reader, A LITTLE SPICY AT THE END

Summary: Reader has known Doctor Stephen Strange since medical school. She doesn’t know how she grew to be friends with him, despite his horrible personality, and even grew to like him. But as time passes, and the doctor comes back better than ever, especially as a hero, their relationship becomes more. But all hope and happiness can be changed quickly, all because of a misunderstanding. Reader starts to get tired of his many excuses of canceling their plans to hang out, but what happens when a little misunderstanding somehow brings them closer?

— — — —

Author note: Helllooo it has certainly been a long time since I’ve written a one-shot on here….very sorry! Will probably be writing more Doctor Strange stuff cause I am currently obsessed with him. Also write this one-shot in one go and my fingers burnnnn. Anyways, hope someone enjoys this just as much as I enjoyed writing it!

— — — —

— — — —

It was just for one night. (Y/n) had to remind herself that not only was this the fiftieth time he had canceled on her, but that he was also a hero and could be very busy. She couldn’t be mad at him. She understood his reasons, even though his reasons were quite stupid before he became a sorcerer.

(Y/N) knew Doctor Stephen Strange back in medical school. He was a cocky bastard who only cared about fame and money. He would turn down so many suffering patients, only because their problems weren’t interesting enough and didn’t improve his reputation as the best doctor around.

Why was she friends with a guy like him? You may ask. Well, only she knew the soft side that he kept hidden. She wasn’t sure how it happened, or doesn’t really remember how they met in medical school, but she knows him to be a soft character on the inside.

Back before he became a sorcerer and learned magic, he was a man who loved his job only because of the money and being the most popular doctor out there. (Y/N) found herself having peaceful and meaningful conversations with him quite often…that was his soft side. He joked, had witty comments, and was kind enough to give small gifts for her birthday or for major holidays. She even noticed the soft smiles he’d give her at the end of their conversations before they had to depart and take care of a patient.

But because he was so busy as a famous doctor, (Y/N) and Stephen never went out on friendly hangouts, like normal friends, as much as they’d liked. There were times where they celebrated, and Stephen asked (Y/N) out to a nice dinner. (Y/N) did her best to bring him out at times, too.

And he had said he enjoyed their time together outside of work.

Yet, deep down, (Y/N) knew he’d rather be with someone else than her. She knew Christine Palmer, a fellow and nice doctor, to be in his eyes at all times. (Y/N) always caught him staring at her from time to time, even while in the middle of a conversation, and as she stood at the end of the hallways.

It was hard on (Y/N). And being her usual caring self, she left it be and gave them space. She figured that she’d find someone else. As time passed, she didn’t find anyone to keep her company for the rest of her life, but she did become close once again with the famous Doctor. Although, now….he’s a hero.

“Magic…?” (Y/N) was appalled. Thrilled, even, by hearing what he could do now. He was gone for months and he comes back with some magical abilities and a new look. She had to admit the new look…looked rather good on him.

She also noticed the way he smiled more. The deep fame-craving demon inside of him so long ago has now disappeared and is replaced with adventure, curiosity, and maturity.

He had changed. And in a good way.

Stephen smiled briefly, one corner of his mouth tipping upwards, almost covered by his fancy mustache. “Yeah. Weird, isn’t it? Never thought I’d come back with…this,” he gestures to his new outfit. Ancient-like styled blue robes covered his body, as well as a vibrant red cloak hanging off of his shoulders. A gold oval case-like medallion was positioned on his chest, attached to his clothes.

(Y/N) had to admit that the outfit had her staring longingly at him more.

“That is…weird,” she says slowly, trying to gather her thoughts, “in a good way! Of course…I mean, it’s super cool.”

“You think so?” He starts, but puts a finger up as if to stop her from saying anything yet, “Wait, the outfit, or the magic?”

(Y/N) lets out a giggle, “Both, actually. Both are really cool. The outfit…I think it suits you.”

Stephen keeps his smile, “Well, at least I have that going for me. Your opinion means a lot.”

And since that encounter, they have gotten even closer. He tries to hang out with her as much as he can, when he isn’t trying to save innocent lives and the entire world or universe. At some point, it became a bit difficult for him to arrange any meetings, so he came to a conclusion.

“Visit the Sanctum?” (Y/N) could feel her jaw drop at the thought of being in such a sacred place. Well, she knew it wasn’t really sacred, but it was an important place for the sorcerers. She had never been there, and had only heard so much by the doctor himself and his companion, Wong. “I did…say it right, right?” The many vocabulary words spoken by the sorcerers is a bit much for her brain to handle.

Stephen chuckles at her last question, softly patting her hand. The soft wind in the park fought against the few black strands of his hair that had escaped his specific hairstyle. They sit on the bench, talking about their lives and what they missed.

“Yes, you said it right. And yes, you should visit. In fact, you can visit anytime. I’ll be there most of the time, anyway.”

The excitement (Y/N) felt of seeing him more often than not was almost overwhelming. She could tell he could see right through her, about ready to bounce off the walls with questions and happiness.

Since then, she had come by the Sanctum practically everyday, when she wasn’t busy. She felt as if she had no place but by Stephen’s side. Usually, on his most busy days, she sat and read a book, or asked Wong a few questions while Stephen worked and studied.

It came to a point where they set up a guest room just for her. In case she ended up staying far later than usual and she had a room to sleep in.

But not all things were to go as smoothly as she’d like.

The past few times of trying to go out to a meal, go for a walk, or anything else, Stephen had canceled on her. (Y/N), at first, didn’t mind at all. He was a busy man and had good reasons to cancel. Such as saving lives. (Y/N) even noticed how much he cared about her feelings when he canceled. She hadn’t ever heard him apologize so much in her life.

Then one night, he canceled on her once again. But this time, (Y/N) was very upset about it. She couldn’t do anything about it, though, as his reason was going to save the world once again.

In fact, she was so upset, she tried to avoid seeing the doctor as much as she could. She figured that stopping by the Sanctum one early morning to return a book she borrowed from Wong could help her not run into Stephen…but it was too difficult to say no to Wong when he offered her to stay for breakfast.

The tension in the room was heavy, (Y/N) noticed, as she quietly ate her breakfast. It was quite good, actually, and she always enjoyed the rare moments Wong made meals. She tried to keep her eyes trained anywhere but on Stephen, who sat at one end of the table, also eating his breakfast. His usual blue robes were on. His ‘work clothes’ he called them.

The silence was almost too much to stay in the presence of. (Y/N) tried to eat her breakfast quickly, without it being obvious, so she could leave. But Wong cleared his throat before she could shove the last few mouthfuls of her food, grabbing their attention.

“So…am I missing something, or did you two get in a fight?” The man finally asks, breaking the awkward silence.

They sure did get in a fight the night he canceled on her. She snapped at him over the phone on accident, but the deed was done and she actually felt good about saying something to him. It felt good to let out her frustrations once in a while, instead of holding them in. Since that phone call, they hadn’t really been talking to each other.

When the two didn’t respond to Wong, he decided to shrug his shoulders and leave it be. “I see. It’s none of my business,” he says, backing off, “Anyways, I heard Christine is having a wedding. Are you two going to go?”

(Y/N) remembers the invitation Christine sent her, and how happy she felt at seeing such exciting news. But her mood sours once again when Stephen nods. “Yes. Well…maybe. I don’t know yet,” he stumbles over his thoughts.

“Ah, well, I would assume so since you went to help her the other night. How did that go, by the way?” Wong asks innocently.

The loud clang of (Y/N)’s fork hitting the glass plate echoes throughout the room, causing the two men to freeze and look at her. She had never held such a mighty glare towards the man she loved. And she can tell it’s affecting him, by the way he flinched as soon as their eyes met.

Stephen helping Christine with her wedding wasn’t a big deal. Of course, it wasn’t, since they are close friends. But (Y/N) remembers Stephen being so busy lately, he hasn’t had a chance to hang out with her. So when in the hell did he have the time to help Christine?

“When was this?” She grits out past her teeth.

Wong leans back in his chair, slightly concerned by his friend's reaction. “Two nights ago, I believe?”

“You canceled our plans to go help Christine with her wedding?!” (Y/N) snaps, abruptly standing up from her chair.

Stephen jumped at her words and stood up, as well. “No, no!” He blurts out, his hands flinging up in some kind of surrender. “It’s not what it looks like-“

“Not what it looks like!” She scoffs, “Stephen! Those plans were important to me! I got a promotion for my dream job, something I have wanted for a long time, and we planned it! Way before your little date with Christine!”

He looked taken aback by her words, a little confused on why she called it a date when it wasn’t anything close to it. Hell, she’s getting married to another man. “Date? (Y/N), you need to calm down and let me explain-“

“Yeah, when pigs fly!” She huffs, but points a finger at him after she realizes what she said, “don’t even think about it.” Stephen nodded, fighting a smile at her random and aweful comeback. “What I mean is that you can think about what you did and apologize to me. That night was important to me, Stephen, and you lied to me about it! You said you were saving the world! …I thought we were friends…”

(Y/N) doesn’t give him time to respond as she walks out of the room, as fast as she possibly could without tripping and making a fool out of herself. She ignored the call of her name by the doctor as he ran after her.

“(Y/N), stop!” His raised voice almost startled her, if she weren’t so upset.

She didn’t stop, though. But suddenly, in a blink of an eye, she finds herself walking right through a sparkly portal and right behind Stephen. She was still in the same hallway, just transported farther back then she just was. “Don’t you dare use your magic on me!”

Stephen turns around and places a firm grip on (Y/N)’s upper arms before she could walk off past him. He looked annoyed more than anything as a heavy sigh leaves his lips, struggling just a little against her nudges of getting out of his grip.

“Would you just…listen?”

Realizing he wouldn’t let her go anytime soon, (Y/N) holds her breath and stays still, allowing him to continue. “Look, yes I canceled our plans to go help Christine with her wedding plans, but,” he pauses, his light blue-gray eyes looking right into (Y/N)’s, “Christine told me there was going to be a fireworks show at this restaurant in a couple of days. I wanted to ask you to move our dinner to that day, so we can properly celebrate your promotion…”

His voice was so soft, it was starting to get difficult for (Y/N) to be mad at him anymore. In fact, all she felt was guilty at hearing his words. He didn’t cancel their plans just to hang out with his past crush, he canceled because he wanted to make better plans.

“But you yelled at me over the phone before I could explain that… so, I’m sorry for not saying it earlier.”

“Oh, Stephen…” she gasps lightly, feeling her eyes burn as tears well up, “Oh my god…no, I’m sorry for not listening to you. I’m such a horrible friend…” she stresses. Her hands ring through her hair as she looks away, too embarrassed to look at him.

Stephen doesn’t say a word while he brings her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her back and softly rubbing it to comfort her. “It was just a misunderstanding. Nothing to worry about…I was trying to figure out how to tell you.”

A few tears slip down (Y/N)’s cheeks, her head resting against his chest. He rocked their bodies back and forth gently, soothing her to an extent. She could feel his chin resting on the top of her head. She felt so at home in his arms. “God…I’m so sorry, Stephen. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

A light chuckle escaped his lips, his chest rumbling at the action, “Yeah. Go to dinner with me. As a date.”

She couldn’t help but to gawk at him as soon as they separated, her eyes so wide the man smiled in triumph. “A…a date? As in, like…”

“A couple, yeah,” he concludes. His hands rub her shoulders from time to time, as if he didn’t want to let her go, “If you’ll have me…that is.”

It took (Y/N) a few moments to realize she was still holding her surprised expression, making the sweet moment a bit awkward. She quickly snaps her mouth shut, her head nodding as she tries to find the words. “U-uh, yes! I mean, yeah…of course, Stephen…”

The doctor smiled so wide, it was quite heartwarming for her to see. She smiled, too, at their new relationship. She didn’t know what to do next. Her body practically rocked on its own as she stood there, her eyes having a hard time looking into his. (Y/N) could feel her cheeks grow warm by how embarrassing this was.

Stephen took the liberty of moving his hands from her shoulders to cupping her cheeks, bringing her to look into his eyes. He slowly moved in, lips softly connecting with hers in a slow, heated kiss.

It felt as if it lasted for an hour, but it was only a few seconds. It was slow, passionate, sweet, and so warm, she didn’t want him to stop. Their eyes briefly open when their lips separate and their breaths fan over each other's faces as they try to regain what little air they lost.

Love is what (Y/N) saw in his eyes as they stared at each other. And she felt all the more connected with him. No words were spoken, too busy studying the face of the other. Studying what feelings they had for each other. And, soon, their lips lock once more.

This time was more heated than the last.

“I’ve always wanted to do that with you…” Stephen mumbles between kisses, unrelenting of letting her go.

(Y/N) giggles at his words, realizing how cheesy they were, “Me, too.”

— — — —

Bonus(Kinda spicy):

“So, uh…why did you lie to me? You know…why didn’t you say you were helping Christine?” (Y/N) decides to bring up later that night. Her body was snugged up under Stephens arm as they read some books together. A quiet, perfect moment, to cuddle and for Stephen to work.

She could feel the man go tense under her body, and he smoothly rubbed her arm with the arm that was hanging on her shoulders. “I…uh…panicked,” he says slowly, turning a page in his book.

“Panicked?” she repeats, scooting herself back a little to look at his face. He met her eyes before he raises his eyebrows in question, “Doctor Stephen Strange…panicked? Never thought I’d see the day…” she mumbles, turning back to her book.

He scoffs, wrapping his arm over her shoulder once more, “Really? It was difficult to say the truth when you were yelling at me for canceling again. Figured it’d make things worse…”

(Y/N) hums, her head finally leaning back against his chest as she read, “You deserved that, by the way.”

“Are you trying to stir something up?” he sighs, faking to sound annoyed. She could feel his breath against her neck as he closes in, his warm and soft lips touching her skin as he softly kisses the spot, “‘cause it’s best not to start something if you think you can’t finish it.”

A giggle escapes her lips when he carefully takes the book from her hands, his body leaning more and more onto her and against the couch, trapping her under him. “You think I can’t finish something I started?” her lips touch his in a quick, passionate kiss, “because I’m ready to prove you wrong.”

[basmathgirl]

Hi!

Due to personal reasons I wasn’t able to watch the 60th DW anniversary episodes when they aired. But now I’m caught up on everything and I have some thoughts and questions(?) about the Doctor and Donna’s famous platonic relationship.

And I think I need a bit of clarification first. Everyone likes to talk about their friendship, their platonic relationship, about them being platonic soulmates… And yes that is true, especially after the 60th anniversary. However I always assumed, when they met the second time (s4e1), Donna tried to find the Doctor, not just because she wanted to go on an adventure, but also because she was somewhat attracted to him as well.???

But I guess I read her character and the situation in e1 of s4 completely wrong, because I used to think her saying that he is an alien streak of nothing and she would never consider him in a romantic manner, especially in the moment immediately after him stating he just wants a friend, was more a way to protect herself and her feelings than anything else.

Don’t get me wrong I love their friendship and I’m glad she didn’t pine for him like some other companions did. But saying it was platonic from the very start for both of them always seemed wrong to me.?🤔

As I mentioned I just finished watching the anniversary episodes and although I loooved them, a part of me is a tiny bit annoyed that the fandom (not the DW fandom overall, but the Donna x Doctor fans) readily embraced the “they are just friends” scenario. I mean in truth there is nothing to complain about really, we got a happy ending and I never expected them to become canon in the first place. (The Doctor rarely has real romantic relationships in canon anyway, except when he does...🙄) But even people who shipped them before, are now just basking in this platonic setting they presented us, and push the Donna x Doctor idea away. At least it seems like this to me.

And I know their relationship is super special nonetheless. They are soulmates! But I guess I wanted more for Donna... She always seemed like a very passionate person. Someone who deserved something special in every area of her life. Someone who would have or would want to have passion, something special and meaningful when it comes to their love life as well. And her relationship with Shaun just doesn’t look like it is something like this. But of course we only witnessed a small part of their life and they are already married for 15 years. Plus relationships don’t have to be loud, dramatic and flashy to be happy and fulfilled. But the words Donna used to talk about Shaun and their marriage are somewhat telling in my opinion. Moreover I would dare to argue that it is very obvious that he loves her a lot more than she loves him…

I just know if they had set up the relationship between the Doctor and Donna differently from the very beginning, gave it more room for interpretation, this whole arc, where they are separated for over a decade and then found each other again could have been a great love story. I mean it is, a great love story, but you know what I’m getting at.

In the end it is probably the best to remind myself that DW isn’t about sappy love stories anyway...🤷‍♀️

Sorry you didn’t get to watch the 60th specials until recently, as there’s always a buzz to watching stuff sort of along with other people.

Ah, the ‘platonic relationship’ that many non-shippers refer to; which is their right to do so, but you won’t find me thinking that way. Donna was not immune to the Doctor’s looks, she just chose to ignore the issue. After all, why did she react with a knee-jerk panic when he mentioned wanting a mate? It certainly hit a nerve, caused by past experience, or secretly liking the look of him. “They fell for each other” David Tennant said about the Doctor and Donna at the end of The Runaway Bride so it is perfectly valid to assume she wasn’t just seeking a quick trip in the TARDIS when she sought him out. I mean, a whole year? For someone you aren’t attracted to? That’s a long time to look for someone you’re just after a job/experience from.

She called him a long streak of nothing to stop him thinking she fancied him, because she didn’t want to embarrass herself by being rejected. She wanted a meaningful relationship, not a quick bunk up.

During the 50th anniversary celebrations, they interviewed some of the past Doctors about how they felt about the romantic angle that occurs in nu!Who. Apart from the general disgust romance was included, Peter Davison said an interesting thing. He felt certain that, if Donna had been given another series with the Doctor, they’d have ended up in a physical non-platonic relationship (shall we say). But DT did state once that the Doctor is asexual, so take from that what you will.

The biggest obstacle for TenxDonna shippers where the Fourteenth Doctor is concerned is Shaun Temple. Do you condone  adultery and ship them, kick Shaun out of the way somehow, or leave them as platonic best friends? It’s a conundrum, but most of the shippers I know have decided the marriage between Donna and Shaun had ended long ago and they are hanging on to their tepid relationship by the skin of their teeth, just because of Rose Temple. In RL this would be true; so I’m perfectly happy to go along with it.

I completely agree with you: Shaun loves Donna a lot more than she loves him. You don’t describe your husband as merely ‘nice’; and she only said “I love you” to his face to get him to take Rose to safety. As Wilf said in the café, she was making do, and her chat with Sylvia about missing someone underlines that fact.

RTD wrote The Runaway Bride as a romcom gone wrong. There are even aspects of that in Partners In Crime. The companion in S4 was supposed to be the love of the Doctor’s lives; and when CT was cast that plan was ditched and Rose Tyler was promoted into that spot, for a while. Hmm. Makes you think, eh? Because all that has been sort of reversed thanks to the 60th anniversary specials. Their reunion could have been a great love story, but under the supervision of RTD it was never going to be that, let’s be honest here. He has always had an ulterior agenda to shoehorn Rose into everything, and he managed it through the metacrisis resolution.

Just remind yourself, love, that although Doctor Who has never been about sappy love stories (can’t upset the watching sexist dads, can we), the fanfiction has ALWAYS been dominated by sappy love stories; and long may it continue to do so! 😉☺️

[n3ptoonz]

'At Your Service'

Pairing: Beidou/Ningguang

Fandom: Genshin Impact

Warnings/tags: Smut, fluff elements, cunnilingus, drunk ningguang, slight overstim, shoutout lesbians gotta be my fav gender

Word count: 2k+

Explicit content under the cut

Alas, Beidou had been seeking to sail the familiar feeling of the salty seas rocking her ship back and forth in jubilee. It's been a while since she's toured the roaring waters, so she figured why not schedule it when her crew gets back from their daily lives with their families?

"Ya know, it's been forever. Why don't we set sail as soon as we can, yeah? Get the boys and girls back together for some stormy fun, eh?!"

The remaining boat mates that stick around to help out with maintenance cheer on as their Captain never fails to get them hyped up for a long trip to God-knows-where.

"How 'bout this Friday? I say we get ahead while we can, huh?"

More cheers of agreement fill Liyue's famous bar from the rest.

"Hey, Captain? You've been summoned by the Tianquan."

Beidou's laughter comes to an abrupt stop upon hearing Ningguang's official title. It's not unlikely that she gets summoned, but it hasn't happened in a long time. Ningguang has only done this twice and both were for help in picking an outfit for an important event she had to be in. There hasn't been one in ages. So, what could it be this time?

"Did she say when?"

"It seems urgent. The teller said she told her, and I quote, 'Tell her I need her right now more than ever'"

With that, Beidou turned to everybody sitting at the table, "We'll talk about the details later. Meeting adjourned!"

She paid the tab and nearly ran out of the door with her coat halfway on her body.

-

After a 20 minute brisk walk and teleportation device to the Jade Chamber, the guards nodded at her well known face and let her right into the hallway that leads to Ningguang's room. Although, Beidou did wonder how "serious" this was as she overheard one of the guards behind her say "Who gave her that Shōchū anyway?"

As Beidou gets closer to the most well designed door she remembers that her girlfriend, the great Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing, is a lightweight. She chuckles to herself imagining Ningguang messily sobbing about dropping her expensive lipstick on an easily washable handkerchief for 30 minutes straight.

Finally what felt like a long journey has come to an end. Beidou's coat in her arm started to become heavy. Why was she suddenly nervous? Probably because like she thought before, she hasn't been formally summoned in a while. She was about to knock when she heard noises on the other side of the door. Soft, repeated sounds, though irregular, every few seconds. Some gasps and sighs here and there too.

"My love..."

It was clearly Ningguang's voice with the way she slurred the words that were barely discernible

"Beidou...please..."

Knock knock

Beidou heard a gasp and shuffling behind the door before opening it herself, rightfully assuming it would be unlocked seeing as she was called here personally.

"Ning-"

"Hiiii I misfed you so mush~" Ningguang says as she jumps at Beidou with her arms around her neck, her words slurring together even more and her voice muffled in Beidou's coat. Clearly taken aback, as Beidou hugs her lover back she immediately takes notice that Ningguang is in fact completely naked with nothing but a robe on. Her hair seemed to be down for a while seeing as her hair jewelry was messily thrown onto her vanity table.

"Love, why are you naked?" Beidou says as she tries to pry the other off her so she can make sense of all this. Ningguang lets out sounds of protest before she comes to face to face with a very confused Beidou

"I missed you..."

"I heard that part, but is that all?" The brunette's concern was slowly melting as she comes to realize Ningguang was definitely touching herself to the thought of Beidou this whole time. Her cocky personality came crawling back as she lets her eyes rake over her nude body lazily covered by a long gold satin robe hanging off one of her shoulders.

"...You were thinking of me touching you, weren't you?" Ningguang instinctively rubbed her bare thighs together, now looking down at her hands. The now very apparent blush spread across her face.

Beidou was holding back the canned laughter when she watches the unfolding scene of Ningguang bare naked but getting shy when Beidou brings her classic smooth talk back. Increasing her unbreakable game, she lifts her chin and gets close enough to her face where their noses lightly brush each other.

"I need an answer-"

****"Fuck me"

Beidou's eyes widen as she can't help but laugh in response out of surprise. Then again, Ningguang gets 10 times as bold after half a bottle. Ningguang gasped and put a hand over her mouth as she was genuinely shocked at what she let slip in a moment of welcomed overwhelm, turning around and putting her face in her palms out of pure embarrassment.

"You are quite the bold one," Beidou says wiping a fake tear from her eye, wrapping her arms around the other with her hand dangerously close to her warmth, "But if it's what you wish...," Beidou plants a slow, meaningful kiss on her neck, "I am at your service."

Ningguang whines and guides Beidou's closer down below when Beidou speaks up again

"Did you summon me before or after you got drunk?," in other words, "Were you thinking of me under the influence or not?" The last thing she would ever do is take advantage of her while drunk. Luckily though, Ningguang is starting to clearly sober up.

"Before...Why?"

"Just had to make sure. Do I have full permission to ravish you, ***my love? To do what I so please with your precious and delicate body?," as she spoke she caressed Ningguang's hips, giving them a light squeeze in adornment.

She turned around and kissed the brunette, "Whatever you so please, my liege," she replies as she takes Beidou's coat off and pulled her by the collar to deliver another kiss but this time longer and more passionate. Beidou ends up laying in between her legs all while stripping half naked to match. With both hands on the sides of Ningguang's head, Beidou hovers over her and says,

*****"Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing, what will my first order of personal service be?"

Ningguang lightly chuckles and responds, "Hmm...surely I couldn't let you leave with an empty stomach. I order a feast on your royal lover."

"You got into character mighty fast. Have you been waiting for something like this to happen?"

"Since I first laid eyes on you," she responds looking Beidou dead in the eyes. The boldness makes its comeback it seems

"Hm. As you wish," Beidou ends her sentence with a peck on the lips, but keeps the trail going down the body. From the cheek to the neck, collar bones to ribs, and the small pooch that only Beidou gets to see -- she silently celebrates in her head.

She closes her lips over Ningguang's warmth. Her hot breath creating almost mocking patterns. Beidou grips the flesh of Ningguang's thighs in between her fingers, damn near tearing up at the beautiful sight of such grace, splayed out in front of her so desperately, but elegantly.

She places not only kisses, but bites and even some hickeys on the top part of her inner thigh. She's well aware that Ningguang still wears dresses that show a little leg, so she's considerate while showcasing her clear possessiveness.

This drives Ningguang across galaxies.

The other squirms under her touch, just ready to get ate already by her definite future wife.

"I know, I know. I'm getting there." Beidou softly reassured her

She licks a quick but firm stripe to elicit a reaction and boy, did that work. Her tongue felt like it was on fire, but the kind of fire that immediately sparked something in Ningguang from that simple and short gesture.

Beidou says nothing and licks again, this time attaching her mouth to Ningguang's clit to going back and forth between the sweet and salty taste of her folds.

A few licks in and Beidou's already pussy-drunk. She was already completely aware that her relationship with Ningguang was to be kept under wraps until she was ready, which is fine because Beidou travels a lot anyway. But man oh man did she miss this. She missed the late nights she got to hang out and hold Ningguang until the crack of dawn. This didn't happen so much, but it was just enough given the time. Though, it's pretty obvious they're in love with each other by now. They just think they're slick.

Beidou had to keep herself grounded by kneading her thighs in between her fingers. The collection of Ningguang's moans of approval, to her light jolts from every time her tongue swept over her bud, to the millisecond she placed her hand on the back of her head to keep her steady. Her vision was getting fuzzy -- metaphorically -- as she remembered how much pleasure she gets from others feeling good from something she's done. Something about the pure bliss from other people due to her actions or words makes her pride and ego put shooting stars to shame.

Ningguang's thighs started shaking as she tried to close them, ultimately failing, and nearly getting ready to cry from how good she feels. This is likely why she got drunk. She didn't have the courage to ask for something like this unless it was a third party resource increasing her social skills. Her own fingers or custom made toys could never come even a minuscule close to Beidou. Too many nights she went to sleep only satisfied for 10 minutes before rolling over and dreaming of Liyue's favorite pirate.

Beidou didn't care that she was losing oxygen even a little. As long as the job gets done, her job is fulfilled.

Ningguang's cries of pleasure grow louder -- luckily her room is around a more closed off area -- causing Beidou to lick faster and messier, unable to control the absolute fascination. A few rocks of Ningguang's hips sent herself into overdrive, bringing her to the long awaited climax she's needed for quite a long time now.

Oh, but Beidou didn't stop. What kind of service would she be if she bailed out at the earliest opportunity? Pish posh.

Don't think Ningguang didn't notice Beidou so nicely letting her ride out her much needed high on her tongue and her tongue only. It always made Ningguang wonder if Beidou's mouth was a magic relic sent from heaven.

She backed up slowly as the other finally opened her shaking thighs again. The brunette licked up the remnants on her lips and chin, super impressed with how barely any cum got on Ningguang's thighs and mostly on her lips.

Perfection.

Ningguang wasted no time pulling Beidou up again for a deep kiss. She really does love her and she must know that this instant.

Beidou pulls away, brushing the parts of her bangs sticking to her forehead already.

"I have an idea, but with your grant of course," Beidou always did love role play.

Ningguang just nods and rubs Beidou's cheek with her thumb.

"You remember that glowy, vibrating strap I bought you? I know you haven't used it, waiting for me to come back," Beidou pauses to see if she would interject, but they both knew how that would end. What appears to be out of nowhere, Beidou pulls it out and waves it around between her middle finger and thumb, a smug look creeping upon her face.

Ningguang just stares in awe, "How did you find-"

"It was literally standing up on your vanity table. I thought, 'I surely see where this night is about to go.' You ready, madame?"

"Born ready. I am more than ready, I'm so ready I cou-," she gasped and bit hard on her bottom lip, trying not to yell out in immediate pleasure. In one swift motion Beidou ties it around her and puts it inside her with the remote in her left hand. Somehow her other clothes came off in the process too. She turns it on the first setting, wraps Ningguang's legs around her waist and hovers over her, saying,

"Get ready for the night of your life."

[secretlystephaniebrown]

Was it ever established how Barbara as Oracle was able to pay for the Clocktower/other headquarters, her gear, and transport and such for the Birds? I don't seem to recall her ever having a day job after becoming Oracle (unless she got paid for her Suicide Squad work, which is unlikely).

Oh this was a fun question.

So generally, Babs got her "start" as Oracle with a grant fromt he Wayne Foundation, and then managed to do some early-internet investing which gave her a certain amount of independent capital.

Batman Chronicles (1995-2000) #5 "Oracle: Year One"

Probably her most famous source of income in fandom, however, is her "Sin tax", where she steals money from wealthy villains who make their money off crime. She most notably did this to Blockbuster, to the point that she became the target of his wrath, kicking off the "Hunt for Oracle" storyline.

Nightwing (1996-2009) #44

Her final source of major income is Ted Kord, AKA Blue Beetle II. Ted was her friend (... sometimes more), who used the funds from his company to buy the Birds equipment, including their jet, and generally was a major sponsor.

Countdown to Infinite Crisis (2005)

After Ted's death in Infinite... Babs... kind of took control of Ted's company. Which, like, could be potentially okay, since she was close with Ted, and Ted clearly enjoyed helping her... but also, Babs' icing him out during Countdown arguably contributed to Ted's death... and then, during Hunt for Oracle, she ended up leaving Booster (Ted's best friend and sort-of-boyfriend) in the lurch while faking her own death in a tower that she built using Ted's money. Anyways! This is why in the later part of the preboot, she's based out of Kord Tower.

Birds of Prey (2010-2011) #5

[likeastars]

Pss, hey! Ya got any of that *looks around* band au?

- totally not Not incorrect_nevermore why would you think that?

Omg hi Totally Not incorrect_nevermore!!!! I'm always happy to see new people in the fandom

ANYWAY YOU WANT SOME BAND AU UR GONNA GET UR BAND AU

We're gonna do 💫backstories💫 today

Annabel and Lenore are both from very very very very rich families

Like

Ceo levels

Lenore comes out tho and she gets cut off (and this is the MAX of angst I'll go with this we have enough in the comic itself) and this is when she meets Annie!!!!

Because.

Lenore's father asked her to be a straight good influence on her deviant daughter. (I lied. This is is the max angst lol) Yay!!!!!

But Annabel isn't all that straight so not so yay

She discovers it while she hangs out with Lenore and she goes "oh this will be a problem"

I feel Annabel's internalised homophobia would make them separate up and have a big fight but this is all in the past alright? The gays have done their drama we doth not care they are together they are dumbasses right now

When did all of this happen???? No idea. Zero. College? High school? No-one knows.

Annabel's parents support her music career but they're also in control of it at the beginning, so the more famous she gets the more power she strips fro mher parents and this point they're not even a problem

Wanting her own manager is one of the first liberties she takes and so her parents hire Ada as almost a joke because she has no prior experience but she's surprisingly competent????? Also one of Annabel's first fans

Prospero has always been her bf so the second he meets Ada he goes "lat me handle finance" and Ada falls instantly in love bc she thinks he's a gentleman but Prospero just doesn't trust her with money. Or math (sorry Ada wove u but ur too gay 4 dis)

Annabel currently also wants to become the owner of their company and Lenore is having Big Bad Thoughts about her gf in a suit and bossing ppl around but we'll skip over that

The Spectreless become famous a while after The White Lady but they BLOW UP.

I feel like Annabel would do a bit more mainstream music (always imagining her as Ariana Grande-esque) while Lenore more indie-rock this kind of stuff??? Like sir chloe but more dynamic

Theo taught her to play the guitar!!!! So she associated the guitar with good times and her brother (WHO IS ALIVE AND TRAUMATISED AT THE NEWS SHE'S FUCKING A BRIT WE'RE KEEPING THEO IN THIS) and the piano with coercion from her parents.

But also whatever she plays Annabel sings with her so she's learned to love them both at last.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

Montresor also plays the guitar and Lenore always makes the same joke that "the only time any woman will say that he's skilled with his hands is when he plays the guitar" lol

Will is the tired assistant that runs around him

[masterghandalf]

Embers by Vathara: A Too-Long Review

Embers is one of the most famous – perhaps the most famous – fanfics in the entire Avatar: The Last Airbender fandom. It’s also one of the most controversial, prone to creating very strong, very polarized opinions among its readers. The fic’s fans call it an incredible piece of worldbuilding that turns aspects of the original show on its head and enriches others with a darker, more morally complex plotline and sophisticated themes. Detractors call it blatant Fire Nation propaganda that worships at Zuko’s feet and demonizes everyone who ever slightly disagreed with him. The fact that both sides of the debate can get very… heated, to put it mildly, only furthers the controversy. At the risk of igniting old flame wars (pun very much intended😉) I thought I’d step in and offer my own thoughts on things. In brief, I think there’s a lot of positive things to be said about Embers, and I can see why it has the fandom it does… but at the same time, for a number of I reasons, some major, some nitpicky, I personally cannot bring myself to embrace it. Let’s take a look behind the cut to talk about why!

What is Embers?

First off… what’s this about, anyway? Embers is an Avatar: The Last Airbender AU fic, diverging from canon early in Book Two, written by Vathara (a rather famous fanfic writer active in multiple fandoms, and IIRC has also published original fiction under her own name) from 2009-2014. Its basic premise involves Zuko, while on the run with Iroh in the Earth Kingdom, rediscovering, based on things his mother had taught him, a lost firebending technique- fire-healing. From there it snowballs massively as Zuko gets caught up in spirit shenanigans, becomes a yaoren (two-element bender) who can also bend water, wrestles with his own legacy, and ultimately explores finds himself caught up in an ancient struggle involving spirits and dragons with more at stake than anyone has realized. The story begins in a one-shot, “Theft Absolute,” and then continues in Embers proper, and it is long – 91 chapters (not counting “Theft Absolute”) and more than 700,000 words even discounting author notes, making it longer than the entirety of The Lord of the Rings (even if you include The Hobbit too), longer than freaking War and Peace, and roughly comparable to all three volumes of Brandon Sanderson’s original Mistborn trilogy together. Woof. In other words, there’s a lot to dig into here. Though the fic itself (at least the FF.net version) does not internally divide itself in any way other than chapters, its TVTropes page splits it up into twelve discrete story arcs, which I may bring up occasionally for ease of reference. Anyway, the sheer size and complexity of the fic means there’s a lot to discuss, so with the basic intro out of the way, let’s get to it.

What’s Good About Embers?

Before we begin, I’d like to say that while my ultimate feelings about the fic are largely negative, I can absolutely see why it got popular and why its fandom has generally been so devoted to it (and since I will be talking about a lot of negative things, I did want to go ahead and put this part first, to make it clear that I do have aspects I like, and the things I don’t like should be understood in that context). For one, it’s very long, very detailed, and as of 2014 it’s complete. As a fic writer myself who has written some very long fics (none this long, though!) I have an inkling of how difficult a feat this is to pull off and can absolutely salute Vathara for the achievement. As for the writing itself, I wouldn’t call Vathara a great wordsmith, but she is, generally speaking, a solid one, with prose that feels professional-novel-quality; considering what a lot of fic (especially from a fandom that skews young, particularly at the time of the show’s original airing and the time Embers got started) is like, that’s yet another breath of fresh air. While I have some issues with the plot itself (more on that later) it nonetheless has a clear plot, one with lots of moving parts, and pulls it together generally well. In short, as a literary achievement Embers is already head-and-shoulders above a lot of fic, and not a few published novels. It also uses a lot of tropes and plot points that have a lot of appeal in the fandom. Zuko is the hero! Multi-element benders who aren’t the Avatar! Fire healing! Zuko is the reincarnation of an important historical figure! Aang’s Fire Nation friend Kuzon is an important historical figure! Ty Lee is a secret airbender! Koh the Face-Stealer is the big bad and was all along! Spirit stuff! Dragons! Any of these are things the Avatar fandom tends to eat up; Embers has all of them. At the same time, it also avoids a lot of the common pitfalls; in particular, it mostly doesn’t focus on issues of romance at all and thus neatly sidesteps the fandom’s infamous shipping wars, which is both rare and a relief, especially for a Zuko-centric story. It also has a lot of worldbuilding of Vathara’s own devising that’s extremely complex and detailed; said worldbuilding is controversial, and I can say I’m one it doesn’t really work for (again, more on that later) but there clearly was a lot of effort put into it, Vathara did her homework, and if you do like it, it’s one of the fic’s major selling points. She also includes a number of OCs from various walks of life that offer different perspectives and flesh things out more. And, of course, deconstruction fics that seek to problematize the canon and/or offer darker, more “mature” takes on the source material are always going to have a following in any fandom. Regardless of what you think, it makes you think (as the fact that I felt compelled to write this review, something I don’t normally do, should attest… I certainly wouldn’t put this level of thought and effort into a fic I just thought was bad). In short, I can absolutely respect Embers as a piece of writing and as a rare achievement in fandom, and I can also see a lot of reasons why it has the appeal it does for people.

But in the end, the story doesn’t work for me. Some of the reasons why are obvious; some are more subtle; some are more nitpicky issues of personal taste. But I’d like to take a while to discuss why, despite everything I do think there is to like or appreciate about the fic, it rubs me the wrong way. First off, I think it’s best before anything else to discuss the lion-turtle in the room.

Is Embers Fire Nation Apologism?

This is perhaps the most common accusation levelled at the fic by its detractors; that Vathara loves the Fire Nation, presents them as being in the right and the war as justified and everyone who opposes them as being evil. In fact, Embers’s tropes page used to (it’s since been removed) compare the fic directly to The Last Ringbearer, an (in)famous LotR fic (actually a published novel in Russian, its original language, but a free fanfic in English) that flipped the tale’s original morality, presenting the elves and wizards as evil, Gondor and Rohan as their dupes, and Mordor and Umbar as innocent victims of bigoted imperialism. The fic’s fans, meanwhile, says that this is a surface-level reading that completely misses the story’s nuances and ignores its actual messages. So, what’s my take? Is Embers pro-Fire Nation apologism? My answer is… no. And also, yes. Let me explain.

First off, the fic’s reputation as Fire Nation apologism has undeniably been exaggerated by its hatedom. It presents the Hundred-Year War as being wrong. The genocide of the Air Nomads was wrong. Characters like Ozai and Azula (and, posthumously, Sozin and Zhao) who were villainous in canon remain villainous in Embers. Stopping the War and overthrowing Ozai remains a goal of all sympathetic characters in the story. That Last Ringbearer comparison is, I think, unfair (and, honestly, regardless of my issues with Embers, I think it’s a superior work to Last Ringbearer in every way… but that’s beyond the scope of this review). Vathara does not try to paint Hundred Year War-era Fire Nation as being in the right or “the real good guys.”

But. But.

Embers doesn’t try to paint the Fire Nation under Ozai as heroic, true enough. What Embers does do, however, is prioritize Fire Nation POVs and Fire Nation concerns. You might argue that this is a natural side-effect of the fic’s POV centering on Zuko, but I think it goes beyond that. Cultural clash is a major theme in the fic, and this is where a lot of Vathara’s worldbuilding goes is in exploring the worldviews and practices of the four nations in much more depth than the show does (more on that in the next section). But practically any time a Fire Nation character gets into an argument with a person from another nation, the Fire Nation character’s POV gets prioritized and they’re the one the narrative wants us to side with. Characters are frequently lambasted for not understanding the Fire Nation and Fire Nation values, and if they don’t that’s their fault, but the reverse is almost never true, with almost any conflict presenting the Fire Nation character as being in the right. The Fire Nation are literally descended from dragons, it’s eventually revealed (all Fire Nationals seem to have a little dragon ancestry; a few have a lot of it); none of the other nations have anything like this going on. Fire is consistently treated as a “special” element unlike any of the others, and firebenders get to do things like keep volcanoes from erupting to protect everyone else in the world and no other nation has anything comparable going on; we also get a lot of info on how unique the Fire Nation ecology is and the specialized management it requires. The war is mostly understood through the lens of how it affects the Fire Nation, with a lot more time given to how it’s warped Fire Nation culture than the harm they’ve done to the rest of the world (indeed, a big deal is made at various points about how once the Fire Nation conquers territory, they view it as just another part of the Fire Nation and its people as their people, to be treated as such, and those who don’t follow that ideal are presented as aberrations, which is… not how empires actually work). And so on.

But the biggest issue… Kyoshi. Embershas a really weird take on Kyoshi and her role in the Fire Nation’s history that hangs over the entire fic, and not in a good way. See, in Embers-verse the Fire Nation in Kyoshi’s time was a bunch of independent islands ruled by feudal lords (who fought each other all the time but apparently never tried to take more territory than they could control or unify the islands because they knew they couldn’t hold it, because that’s clearly how aggressive warlords think *rolls eyes*). But the Earth Kingdom was attacked by Fire Nation pirates, and none of the local “Great Names” could stop them because hey, the pirates weren’t their subjects. So Kyoshi committed genocide on half the Fire Nation and forced the survivors to swear allegiance to the Fire Lord, and in Embers if you swear loyalty to a firebender, you can’t break it without dying or nearly dying (more on that when we get to the worldbuilding). So, yeah, the political structure of the Fire Nation is presented as being an unnatural imposition and it’s all the Avatar’s fault, with the war being a direct consequence of this. Yeesh. This backstory ends up pervading the Fire Nation’s characterization, providing justification for why no firebender will ever trust the Avatar and why they’re convinced the other nations want to wipe them out and will if the war turns against them or if they try to make peace. It doesn’t justify the war… but it is used to present the imperialist conquerors as victims themselves, doing something they’d never have done if an outside force hadn’t mauled them and rearranged their political system first (all that pent up aggression they used to work out fighting each other had to go somewhere, apparently…). And that… really makes me uncomfortable, not least because of how it takes the onus for starting the conflict off the Fire Nation and puts it on someone else (not the only way the fic does this, as Ozai ends up overshadowed by the real villains too) while also creating a scenario where it feels like the world revolves around the Fire Nation and the Fire Nation’s issues, with the rest of the world as supporting players. In short, while it doesn’t try to justify the Fire Nation’s actions in the present, it goes to great length to make sure those actions are understandable and Fire Nation voices and Fire Nation concerns are prioritized by the narrative while those of other nations are generally marginalized.

 It gets especially obvious when you see the treatment Vathara gives the other nations. So, let’s take a look at the fic’s worldbuilding in general.

The Worldbuilding of Embers

One of the most talked about aspects of Embers is its worldbuilding; Vathara takes what’s established in canon and adds a lot of detail and complexity to it. Like most aspects of the fic, however, said worldbuilding can be very controversial; fans love how detailed it is and how it reframes their understanding of canon, while critics tend to think it doesn’t fit well with what canon establishes about the world. Personally, I tend to fall into “the worldbuilding is really interesting and compelling, but I’d like it a lot better if it was an original setting rather than trying to shoehorn it into the Avatar world,” but there are a few cases where I do think it has very profound issues of its own. So, let’s dig into it, shall we?

Bending: I’m going to address Vathara’s take on bending first, because it influences almost everything else she does with the setting. Bending in Embers works quite differently from how it does in canon. Most obviously, not only does every element have its own sub-school of healing (instead of just water), but every element has mind control powers of a different sort. Yes, really. I’ll discuss each of them in turn as I get to each nation specifically, but in general for a fic that prides itself on realistic consequences for actions and well-researched worldbuilding it's a rather... striking choice to throw in “but literal mind control” as an explanation for peoples’ actions. Also, benders (and non-benders, to a lesser degree) are often depicted as being under their element’s direct influence much more obviously than in canon, to the extent that it’s treated as genuinely surprising when someone does something opposed to their element’s philosophy; despite the work Vathara does to flesh out her various cultures, this ends up making them feel rather “planet of hats-y” at times. Ultimately, I kind of like Vathara’s bending as a magic system, creepy stuff and all, but I do think she adds so many elemental bells and whistles to things that the basic idea of magical elemental martial arts gets kind of muddled.

The Fire Nation (and dragons): I’m going to start with the Fire Nation, because it’s clearly Vathara’s favorite culture and the one where the dragon’s share of the worldbuilding goes to. And, okay, I’m a bit torn. Because on the one hand, Vathara’s Fire Nation is genuinely interesting. On the other hand, it ends up diverging significantly from the show’s Fire Nation, to a level beyond what I think Vathara intended or realized; for another, I think there’s some very problematic aspects of this society that go uninterrogated because Vathara is too busy squeeing over how awesome they are. I’m also including dragons in this section because they’re intimately (in some cases very intimately) tied with the Fire Nation, and because Vathara clearly really likes them and changes them significantly from canon.

To start with, let’s look at the political system. I’m honestly not sure Vathara realizes this because she doesn’t really discuss in in her author notes, but she somehow ends up giving the Fire Nation an entirely different form of government than they had in canon. The canon Fire Nation is clearly a centralized absolute monarchy; everything we see seems to be run by a centralized bureaucracy, its military force is a centralized, professional military, and the chain of command for both culminates in the Fire Lord, who has absolute legal, military and (implicitly) religious authority over everyone. Vathara’s Fire Nation is still a monarchy, but instead of a top-down absolute monarchy it's a bottom-up feudal monarchy where, instead of one centralized country, it’s made up of a bunch of local fiefdoms where people are loyal first and foremost to whoever their local “Great Name” is, that person has authority over the domain and then in turn swears loyalty to the Fire Lord. Needless to say, this is a completely different form of government and would produce a completely different social and especially military structure from the one we see in the show. Indeed, in the fic said social structure is greatly explored and becomes plot-critical, but it doesn’t really jive with other aspects ported over from the show’s version (such as why Embers’s Fire Nation still has a centralized professional military instead of each domain providing their own troops separately when called on, as would be the case in an actual feudal system). Unfortunately, I think a lot of the detail also comes at the expense of the other nations, with a lot of aspects of Vathara’s Fire Nation being held up as unusually awesome in-universe, whether explicitly or implicitly. Most obviously, Great Names (which, considering the Fire Nation’s Japanese influences, is a pretty clear equivalent of historical daimyo) and their heirs are awesome and Vathara really, really wants to make sure we know that. The fic makes it clear that to be a Great Name you have to be a badass, and you have to hold yourself to certain standards of behavior (even a Great Name as tyrannical as Ozai seems to have to have some standards at least where his subjects – ie, the Caldera specifically in his case – are concerned) and have to keep all the volcanoes in their territory under control so everyone should be grateful to them, and have their special court language based on Sanskrit that only they speak, and if you’re a real Great Name everyone will respect you and think you’re wonderful because you’re just. That. Awesome. Even Earth Kingdom characters are impressed when realizing that Zuko (or "Lee”) is probably a Great Name’s son and think that must make him a badass! It gets a little wearying after a while, to be honest, especially since the other nations have nothing comparable (titled Earth Kingdom nobles don’t get nearly as much focus, with a few exceptions, and the Water Tribes and Air Nomads obviously have completely different systems). At the same time, the Fire Nation is also apparently the only country that regularly fields female soldiers (this one does have some basis in canon – they certainly seem to have more of them, at the very least) and also the only country where a commoner can become a high-ranking officer, even though the sorts of feudal societies Vathara’s Fire Nation is modeled on tend to not have much room for social mobility, to put it mildly (military aristocrats are an elitist bunch, as a rule, and tend to guard their prerogatives jealously!).

Oh, and this is all held together by the Fire Nation’s version of mind control – loyalty. Basically, anyone who swears allegiance to a firebender can’t break it without resulting in severe illness or death, and powerful firebenders can even attract the loyalty of people around them and make them want to serve them, even if said people don’t want to or even know what’s happening (in some cases, like Azula with the Dai Li, even if they’re not Fire Nation!). Every Fire Nation citizen (except exiles) owe loyalty to someone, and again, can’t break it or disobey an order without potentially fatal consequences. And this is where I have my real problem with Vathara’s Fire Nation. This system as a whole is never criticized or problematized. Oh, sure, loyalty to the Fire Lord specifically is a bad thing… because it was imposed from outside by Kyoshi. In the natural state of things, every domain would be independent – but still under the control of their Great Name, still with their own little loyalty pyramid, just without the Fire Lord at the top over everyone. And, indeed, at the end of the fic, the solution to the war is… to dissolve the Fire Lord’s throne and return every domain to self-rule but keeping the Great Name/loyalty system intact. This is uncritically presented as a good thing, because this way the Fire Nation will police itself by means of domains fighting each other (and it’s made clear Fire Nationals always want to fight, and it’s a dreadful imposition to try and make them live peacefully) keeping any one of them from getting too powerful. What’s never addressed is the way this would logically lock a quarter of the world into perpetual conflict with itself, driven by the personal honor of feudal warlords whose people are essentially powerless to disobey them (and again, it’s made clear Fire Nation clans have to have conflict; we’re explicitly told Sozin’s father trying to mediate them all was doomed to failure and drove him to die young, and this was crucial for shaping Sozin’s outlook on life, his resentment of the Avatar, and his desire to redirect his people’s aggression outward). And despite Vathara’s insistence that a proper Great Name doesn’t take more territory than they know they can hold, I’m still not sure what’s stopping a particularly ambitious lord from conquering neighboring domains, forcing their lords to swear loyalty, and eventually building up enough of a powerbase to start the whole mess over again. I don’t think Vathara’s intention was for her Fire Nation to be read this dystopian, but personally, I find it very hard to read it any other way (it doesn’t help that almost all our major Fire Nation POVs are nobility, military, or both; we don’t really get the common person’s take on all this, but I somehow doubt they’re all that enthused). It does remind me a bit of PC Hodgell’s Kencyrath series (enough that I wonder if Vathara’s read it…) where the Kencyr also have a feudal society driven by magically binding loyalty to the ruling class and strict, arcane codes of honorable behavior, except that society is portrayed as deeply, profoundly messed up in ways that Vathara’s Fire Nation isn’t. Also, one last word on the concept of loyalty… it pretty much creates a society where the “I was just following orders!” defense is actually valid (yes, you can disobey orders in Vathara’s Fire Nation, but the consequences are bad enough it’s clear people generally don’t, and Fire Nationals in-fic tend to treat “I had orders” as a justification for most things) and… I really, really hope that was unintentional. Because if not… damn.

In hindsight, this may have sounded harsher than I meant it to. I really do find the concept of Vathara’s Fire Nation interesting, and “decadent empire run by corrupt, backstabbing sorcerer-aristocrats” is one of my favorite setting types, but I really wish she’d taken the very problematic aspects of this society and, well, problematized them instead of going all in on “clans and domains are awesome and Great Names are awesome and everyone wants a good Great Name to pledge loyalty to.” It’s not that Vathara’s Fire Nation doesn’t have problems, but said problems are mostly presented as being imposed from outside (the entire office of the Fire Lord, for one…) and the ideal solution is to essentially revert back to the pre-Kyoshi status quo. It plays into the overall theme, which I’ll get to at the end of the review, that yes, the war is wrong, and Ozai was wrong… but the Fire Nation itself is the real victim here instead of the people they were, you know, trying to conquer, or at least as much of a victim as they are. And, well, I don’t like the implications of that very much (and I’m less sympathetic to this sort of thing than usual this past year, considering certain current events), especially when you consider Vathara’s takes on the other nations.

Before we go on, one last word I’d like to have is on dragons. Vathara clearly likes dragons a lot. I don’t blame her – I went through a big phase of dragon-loving in my teenage years, and they still remain one of my favorite fictional creatures. In a broad sense, I really like Vathara’s take on dragons. Unfortunately, she’s shoehorned them into a setting where they don’t fit, and it makes a mess. Canon’s dragons are “the original firebenders,” fire’s equivalent to sky bison for air or badgermoles for earth. They’re powerful, wise, ancient creatures, sure, but still essentially animals. And I really think Vathara didn’t like that, because her dragons are sapient, nigh-immortal shapeshifters who can and do often interbreed with humans. On its own, none of that’s bad – I like most of those traits in dragons, and there’s mythological basis for most of it. But where Vathara tries to jam them into the place of canon’s dragons is where it gets awkward. In particular, she seems to have an axe to grind with canon’s take on dragons, at several points actively mocking how dragons are often considered animals by humans, people who don’t realize dragons are sapient, or how they are regarded as no more than sky bison (which in canon I’d say is no insult at all, but, well, I don’t think Vathara likes sky bison very much). That “can breed with humans” bit becomes particularly important, because it turns out all Fire Nation people are descended from dragons. Most of them very distantly, of course, but some much more closely, including (of course) Zuko. And we get treated to a lot of exposition on how this directly influences Fire Nation people’s psychology and culture and makes them different from other humans, especially “dragon-children” with close draconic ancestry. So basically, what it boils down to is Vathara’s favorite nation having literally superhuman ancestry (I count “being a dragon” as superhuman) something none of the other nations do (it also adds another layer to fic!Fire Nation’s persecution complex, since they think if the other nations find out they’d consider them subhuman). Normally, I’d love to read about a culture of dragon-people, but it’s just so incredibly out of place in the Avatarverse that I can’t really connect with it there, especially since I feel like it just serves to underscore that Vathara’s favorite culture is special, everyone!

Basically, there’s a lot I find conceptually interesting in Vathara’s Fire Nation, but I don’t like it as written. Personally, I’d emphasize the self-destructive nature of their feudal honor culture more, play loyalty for horror in general (not just if you’ve got a bad lord), and move it out of the Avatarverse entirely into another setting where the dragon stuff could be made to actually fit, or at least into a fic where it’s a full AU from the start in a sort of “Avatar: The Last Airbender reimagined, ultimate universe style” rather than a canon divergence AU that still accepts large swaths of the show as having happened. This is something I’ll be coming back to quite a bit, actually, since I think Vathara’s Fire Nation really highlights how much of this stuff I’d find much more palatable as original fic (or, again, full AU) rather than fanfic.

The Air Nomads: Okay, this is where I think real problems lie. Because even if I unironically loved everything else about the fic… I still wouldn’t be able to rec it unreservedly if it had Vathara’s take on the Air Nomads in it. Whereas most of my other issues with the fic are about context and execution, its take on the Air Nomads is something I find inherently irresponsible and indefensible on its own merits. Vathara’s Air Nomads disturb me – not their activities in the fic, but the meta fact that this portrayal exists at all.  What am I talking about, you ask? Well, first off, there’s a running theme that starts in the fic early any time the Air Nomad genocide is mentioned talking about how it actually makes perfect sense that everyone in the world secretly hated and resented the Air Nomads and weren’t that sad to see them go. To the point that it starts getting uncomfortably victim-blamey. Then we later learn that in the distant past the Air Nomads used to be Mongol-like warlike conquerors. Okay, that’s not as bonkers as it seems on the surface (real-world Tibet did have its imperial age, and there are some interesting historical connections between Tibet and Mongolia) but considering the earlier portrayal, I still side-eye it. And then, we get the big reveal – the Air Nomads, or at least the Air Monk elders, were evil. See, the airbenders’ version of mind control is something called “Harmonious Accord” that is never really explained in detail but is apparently just flat-out brainwashing. And the Temple Elders used it to force all their people to agree on everything and to use the Air Nuns as baby factories then force them to give up their children to be raised communally. Anyone who dissented, and anyone who wasn’t a bender (canonically, all Air Nomads were benders, but clearly Vathara knows better) were kicked out and forced to live among the other nations, which boiled down to the Air Nomads inflicting their criminals on everyone else. Since they were all conditioned to not be attached to anything, the Air Nomads wandered around the world, causing disruption and refusing to deal with the consequences of their actions. Oh, and little things like “compassion” were brainwashed away too, apparently (which is, like, the antithesis of actual Buddhist belief – hey, Vathara, compassion’s the whole point). And it turns out that their pacifism was a hypocritical sham, forced on them by one bitter old monk (who started the temple system) who was jealous of the warlords and seized power during a power vacuum and remade the whole culture in his image (and apparently by forcing the airbenders to be peaceful, he somehow locked them out of most of their powers, including healing… somehow). Yeah, so basically, Vathara’s Air Nomads were a literal brainwashing cult created by an evil old man bitter because he wasn’t a good warrior as a form of revenge, and everything Aang knew about his people was a lie! I can get trying to grey up the Air Nomads a bit, break a few of Aang’s pedestals, but this is just excessive. And, sort of as the antithesis of how it seems like nobody can ever get a word in edgewise arguing with a Fire Nation character, any time Aang tries to defend his people, he’s met with evidence of some new horrible thing they did.

Now, like I said, Embers doesn’t try to justify the genocide itself. The mass murder is clearly portrayed as wrong (though it also has some of the edge taken off – a lot of the kids got out, with help, and there are enclaves of surviving airbenders around the world, including in the Fire Nation, so Aang’s not really the Last Airbender). But at the same time, the destruction of the Temples themselves and the culture that was based there… Vathara seems to think that was good, or at least necessary? She even has Gyatso, or at least his ghost, seem to agree with her on that. And, okay, I hate it. I hate that Vathara took a peaceful, monastic people from canon and turned them into evil baby stealers, for reasons I’m not entirely sure on (partially, I feel this may be to punish Aang specifically – more on that when we get to characters – but I also can’t help but wonder if a Buddhist monk wronged Vathara somehow in real life, because it’s sort of… weirdly personal). But I especially hate it because the Air Nomads are a stand-in for people groups who have faced genocide in real life – Tibetan Buddhists most obviously, of course, but others as well. And while Vathara did say in some of her ANs that she wanted to engage with the sort of propaganda that makes genocide possible… what she honestly ended up doing, IMO, was creating a culture where that propaganda is true (they’re not like us! They don’t think like us! They don’t value our culture! They don’t care about family or loyalty! Peaceful coexistence with them just isn’t possible!). And, well, by about the dozenth chapter where I feel like I’m being treated to the Protocols of the Air Temple Elders (seriously, the only thing that saves the fic from flat-out slandering the Air Nomads with blood libel is that they don’t seem to steal other nations’ children – though honestly, I wouldn’t put it past Embers’s Air Nomads) I just feel angry. Even Yangchen gets reduced to having been a brainwashed nun who had to be saved by the yaoren before she could realize her destiny as the Avatar. I just… am deeply disturbed Vathara thought going this far was okay, and desperately hope the unfortunate implications here were unintentional. Desperately.

The Water Tribes: Vathara’s take on the Water Tribes has me torn. On the one hand, she does go into a lot of detail about what the lives and customs of an actual Arctic tribal people might entail, in particular how their wars and raiding work, how their chiefs lead and gain honor, the role of women elders in the tribe as peacemakers, negotiators and sources of wisdom and authority, etc. I like all that stuff a lot. But there’s also some problems. The biggest problem, as I’ll get to when we talk about characters, is Katara. Vathara openly hates Katara, and a lot of what we learn about the Water Tribes is filtered through her take on Katara, which ends up painting a lot of it in a bad light. Furthermore, a lot of the comments Vathara makes about the research she did for the worldbuilding here comes across as, well, pretty condescending in the way she explains how “tribes” have to prioritize survival above all else (as if “tribes” are some sort of unified phenomenon), using the “E word” unironically when talking about real-life Inuit peoples, and the hopefully unintentional implication that anyone who lives in the Arctic is definitionally driven insane by the lack of a regular day-night cycle. Ultimately, this ends up painting a picture of the Water Tribes (especially the Southern Tribe; the Northern and Foggy Swamp tribes don’t get as much focus) as backwards and parochial, focused on their own communities above all else and not really caring about the rest of the world except as it affects them; also, they’re seemingly obsessed with revenge, to the point that it’s treated as fact that if a Water Tribe Avatar is born while the Hundred Years’ War is still ongoing, it will almost certainly end with said Avatar leading their people to commit genocide on the Fire Nation as “enemies of the tribe” (which also serves to feed the fic’s ideas about Fire Nation victimhood, and is part of a general trend where the fic equates “the desire to see the Fire Nation as a state and military power defeated” with “virulent racism against the Fire Nation as a people”). Also, Vathara’s waterbenders have the power to control other peoples’ emotions and bind them together towards common attitudes and goals; it’s very telling that unlike Fire Nation loyalty, this is called out as being creepy and dangerous, and Katara gets portrayed as a terrible person for doing it, albeit subconsciously. It’s not all bad – Water Tribe warriors, including Sokka, Hakoda, and Bato, tend to get fairly sympathetic portrayals (even though they do sometimes need other characters to explain things to them that I really think they shouldn’t) but then you also get weird asides like the implication that Gran Gran is apparently into murder and eugenics(!) on rather spurious reasoning. So, all in all, it’s a mixed bag, with some genuinely interesting worldbuilding I actually really like, that unfortunately often gets filtered through a seeming need to make Katara look bad that negatively impacts the portrayal of the whole culture.

The Earth Kingdom: This will be the shortest section, as Vathara’s Earth Kingdom feels very close to the canon Earth Kingdom. Even earthbenders’ form of mind control apparently just involves binding people to honor contracts and agreements, which is pretty straightforward and doesn’t get much focus. The biggest issue is the Dai Li. Honestly, I think Vathara gives the Dai Li more overt whitewashing than she does the Fire Nation. Vathara’s Dai Li are actually supposed to be an order of badass spirit-fighters, protecting the people from dangerous spirit world threats, which they apparently still do most of the time, with the whole "secret police” thing being more of a sideline. While Long Feng is still presented as evil, the overall vibe is more that the Dai Li are only corrupt because he’s in charge, rather than the whole organization being rotten (and we’re treated to a number of sympathetic Dai Li characters, most obviously Shirong, while the Gaang get called out for assuming the Dai Li are evil, even though none of their interactions with them have given them any reason to think otherwise). And even Long Feng gets a war hero backstory he didn’t have in canon. I assume this is more of Vathara’s desire to add moral greyness to the setting, but, well, I don’t think that the creepy authoritarian secret police were a group that really needed a sympathetic POV showing that they’re mostly a bunch of honorable men who just want what’s best for their city and it’s just the guy in charge who’s a bad apple, honest! She also gives Kuei a bunch of superpowers for being Earth King, which I’ll discuss when I get to the fic’s themes since I view it as part of a larger trend.

Spirits: Embers uses spirits a lot; it also really plays up the blue and orange morality of spirits in a way I genuinely like and appreciate (though Vathara seems weirdly defensive about this, like she expects her readers to assume that all spirits must be “good guys” and she has to defend a different portrayal, despite the fact that in my experience most of the Avatar fandom considers spirits to be assholes and thinks the world would be better off without them). I do have one particular issue, though. Maybe no one else cares, but as a grad student in religious studies it bugs me so much. That’s Vathara’s use of real-world deities. Agni as the Fire Nation’s patron god has some slight basis in canon, since Fire Nation honor duels are called Agni Kais (Agni is the name of the Vedic fire god… but it’s also literally just the word for “fire” in Vedic Sanskrit) but then out of nowhere partway through the fic she throws in Guanyin as a deity worshipped in the Earh Kingdom, and Tengri as the deity of the Air Nomads. Tengri, in real life, is the chief deity of Tengrism, a traditional religion of Mongolia (which ties back to the connection between the historical Air Nomads as fantasy Mongols from the fic’s history) while Guanyin is indeed venerated in China – but she’s a Buddhist bodhisattva, which is especially weird because the Earth Kingdom isn’t really coded Buddhist in either the show or Embers (shouldn’t the Air Nomads be the ones revering a bodhisattva? And this one really gets me in particular; for some reason, likely Guanyin’s comparative real-life prominence, it feels as immersion-breaking as if it turned out one of the Air Temples was now home to a sect of Christian or Manichaean monks). It’s especially jarring because the Water Tribes still revere the Moon and Ocean Spirits rather than real-world deities (and Vathara gets their names backwards – the Moon is Tui and the Ocean is La, but she flips them for some reason). Honestly, I wouldn’t use real-world deities in the Avatarverse in the first place (I have referenced Agni in some of my old fanfics, following fanon at the time, and I now consider that something of an old shame, fwiw) and if I did, I’d stick with a unified theme of Vedic deities (going off of Agni) rather than taking a grab bag of different traditions and trying to weld them into one cosmology.

The Avatar and Yaoren: Vathara’s take on the Avatar is… interesting. On the one hand, she does have a running theme of each Avatar having to wrestle with their predecessor’s mistakes which I like, and which basically became canon as we got more stories focused on different Avatars (though I do think Vathara sometimes takes it a bit too far, making it seem like the Avatar has caused more problems than they’ve solved; seriously, what did Kyoshi do to you?). On the other hand, she for some reason feels the need to retcon that the Avatar is not actually the reincarnation of their predecessors, but the World Spirit (this fic being mostly written before the introduction of Raava) choosing a new, different human host each time. And I absolutely don’t get the point to this (conceptually, the Avatar is basically a cross between the Dalai Lama and the Avatars of Vishnu, and in traditional interpretations that’s not how either of those work) and it mostly just seems to be thrown in to give Aang something else to be wrong about. Yaoren, on the other hand, Vathara loves; they’re her own creation and as two-element benders are basically mini-avatars (though they’re actually older than the Avatar) and of course Zuko gets to be one. And while the fic goes into a lot of detail about how traumatic the experience of becoming a yaoren is, the way it also lays on thick how important yaoren are and how the Avatar needs them as advisors and how the world falling out of balance is partially due to their decline and how her yaoren characters (especially Langxue) seem to have a better idea of what’s going on and how to fix it than everyone else just oftentimes makes it feel like she’s really laying it on thick regarding how amazing this creation of hers is, with the traumatic aspect being more about milking more sympathy for Zuko than something that actually affects the plot (ie, being a yaoren supposedly cuts Zuko out of the line of succession for good, since he’s now technically a waterbender… but that ends up not mattering because the position of Fire Lord is abolished anyway, and it doesn’t stop him from becoming the Great Name of Dragons’ Wings once it’s established).

Well, this is all getting a little long, so I think I’ll stop here for now and split my overall review into two parts (at least). I hope you’ll join us next time, as we dig into characters, plot, theme, and the fic’s relationship to canon. And if you’re reading this and do like Embers, please keep in mind that I’m not trying to attack you for liking it, and all of this is just my own opinion, no more, and no less. Otherwise, see you soon (fingers crossed!) for part two!

[whatstruthgottodowithit]

The Girl He Left Behind [Part Six]

Fandom: American Actor, RPF, Elvis Presley, Elvis Movie 2022

Pairing: Elvis Presley x Original Female Character

Characters: Elvis Presley, Addison Goodwin, Gladys Presley, Vernon Presley, Minnie May ‘Dodger’ Presley, Red West, Sonny West, Gene Smith, Billy Smith, Original Female Characters, Colonel Tom Parker, Billy Smith, Marci Cunningham, Steve Cunningham, Jerry Schilling, Mary Jenkins, Alan Fortas, Marty Lacker, Original Male Characters, Mona Goodwin, Joe Goodwin

Word Count: 4802 // Rating: Mature

Summary: When Elvis returns home to Graceland from the Army he’s followed by the headlines ‘The Girl He Left Behind’ but what the media don’t know is that Priscilla wasn’t the first. No, that title belongs to someone Elvis will never forget.

Tags/ Warnings: Angst, Fluff, Graceland, Poverty, Friends to Lovers, 1950s Elvis, Bad Parenting, Surprise Surprise the Colonel Is a Colossal Prick, Parental Loss, Grief, Fun Fairs, Kissing, Vaginal Sex, Oral Sex, Movie Nights, Arguing, Tension, Denial of Feelings, Age Gap Romance, Underage, Addison is 17 Elvis is 22, Guilt, Betrayal, Extortion, Blackmail, Jealous, Army Elvis, American Draft, US Army, Lying, Time Shift with Elvis moving to Memphis, Flashbacks, Caught

Notes: HE GAVE HER HIS LAST ROLO its true love

LINK TO ALL PARTS // AO3 LINK // PINTEREST LINK

TAGS - @girlblogger2002 @sania562​ 

​Elvis chewed on the idea of the dance for a few days. Addison seemed to have put it out of her mind and was back on normal terms with him come the morning, but he just couldn’t let it go. He needed to know what the problem was. He just didn’t know how to get the intel and that was something that was throwing him for a loop. Since he had become famous it had become quite easy to get what he wanted. People usually gave him whatever he was after or he could charm it from them, but Addison seemed to be a law unto herself. As he pondered it he realised that his only options lay within Memphis Catholic High, not that he could go there outright and start asking questions. And if he started asking the likes of Marci it would surely get back to Addison. However, he did have a man on the inside. Jerry.   But he had to think about it. So, he came up with the perfect plan, one that was put into motion as Addison walked into the kitchen where he was sipping on a cup of coffee. His heart thudded against his chest as she came in, her hair tied back in a ponytail, her uniform on. She looked at him as she went to the toaster popping some bread inside before she leaned back on the counter.   ‘Wow, am I missing something?’ she smirked, ‘what are you doing up before noon?’ ‘It’s been known to happen,’ he smiled back as she raised an eyebrow, ‘okay not often but it does.’ ‘So, what are you doing up?’ she asked turning around to the toast that had popped up with Elvis watching her closely. ‘I thought I might take ya to school this morning,’ he said watching as she turned around to eye him. ‘Why?’ she said suspiciously. ‘Why not?’ he said, ‘I’m up and I don’t mind.’ ‘Neither does the bus driver,’ she said taking a bite. ‘Yeah, but you don’t have to catch the bus,’ he said, ‘I really don’t mind.’ ‘No, but Marci will when I leave her high and dry,’ she said mid-mouthful. Elvis cursed inwardly. He’d been so focused on getting her to school in the hopes he’d see Jerry he’d forgotten that minor detail. As she continued to eat he rethought his options. She wasn’t stupid and if he continued to insist she’d no doubt catch onto what he was up to.   ‘How about I pick ya up then?’ he asked. ‘Sure,’ she said, turning away from him so she could dust the toast crumbs off of her uniform and the counter. ‘Great,’ he said setting his cup on the counter which Addison immediately tidied away with a roll of her eyes that for some reason made that thudding come back into his chest. ‘Yeah, Marci’s not getting the bus tonight anyway,’ she said, ‘and I think you were right about her and Jerry.’ ‘Oh yeah?’ he asked, his interest piqued. ‘Yeah,’ she said, coming to stand beside him, the pair of them leaning against the counter, ‘he’s the reason she’s not getting the bus. She says it’s because her mama wants Steve to bring her home but it’s definitely so she can sit and ogle him through football practice.’ ‘Jerry’s got football practice?’ Elvis said as casually as he could muster. Not a thing was going his way today. ‘Yeah, seems like all your afternoons down at Guthrie Park scored him a place on the team,’ she said, ‘hence Marci’s new interest in football.’ ‘Well, how’s about we help them?’ he asked, making her look up at him, confusion awash over her face. Elvis smirked and continued, ‘how about you suggest they come along to the Memphian tonight post-practice.’ ‘Elvis Presley are you suggesting we meddle in the love lives of our friends,’ she giggled. Elvis leaned in toward her, so their faces were inches apart. ‘Honey, just call me Cupid,’ he smirked.   ✵✵✵   ‘So the whole thing is-’ ‘Ours,’ Addison said watching as Marci looked around the movie theatre in awe. She didn’t blame her friend as it had taken her a hot minute to get use to the fact that Elvis made sure that any movie they saw was done without any other spectators. Of course they weren’t completely alone. Apart from Addison and Elvis there was Marci, Jerry and Steve as well as the rest of his entourage and a few female faces Addison didn’t know. ‘That’s crazy,’ Marci said. ‘That’s Elvis,’ Addison giggled. Elvis turned around from the counter he was standing at upon hearing their giggling and looked at them with narrowed eyes. Addison smirked at him but said nothing, forcing him to turn back to where the guy behind the counter was hanging on for the rest of his order, looking entirely bored. Elvis smiled at him though it wasn’t returned.   ‘Anything else?’ he said with an insincere smile. ‘That’s it right?’ Red said looking at the various tubs of popcorn, sodas and candies on the counter. Elvis glanced back at Addison who was chatting to Marci. She looked at him when he turned around but didn’t say anything to insinuate she might want to add anything more to the order, too busy talking about something Elvis couldn’t quite hear. He was going to tell the man that was it yet as he turned back he spotted something on the back counter. A confectionary stand jam packed with various packets and boxes of candies but at the front something that sparked a memory.   ‘She belongs with me!’ ‘Well she ain’t belonged with you for the past two weeks while you’ve been God knows where,’ Gladys said with her hands on her hips. She was glaring at the woman standing by the door. Mona, Addison’s mother. Elvis didn’t know Mona well but what he did know he didn’t like. Even as a ten-year-old he knew that she was no good. This time she’d been gone for two weeks. With his dad and Joe working nights Addison had been staying with them for just as long. Joe hadn’t wanted to leave her but they, like the Presleys, needed the money, so Gladys had offered to watch her as needed. ‘I’ve been busy,’ Mona said folding her arms across her. ‘Yeah, and so have I, watching your damn kid,’ Gladys challenged matching her stance. Elvis stood beside his mother watching her steely gaze taking in Mona who seemed to be scrambling for her excuses, like she always did when she came knocking, but as he watched them in a stand off his gaze meandered beyond them and he spotted Addison behind a crack in the door watching them nervously. As Mona started to retaliate he slipped past them, unnoticed, and into the adjoining room, closing the door quietly. Addison watched him quietly, her hazel eyes lighting up the dark room.   ‘You’re supposed to be in bed lil lady,’ he said gesturing for her to climb up onto the small bed that had been made up for her in the corner of his bedroom. She nodded and toddled towards it climbing inside with him close behind her. ‘Is my mama here?’ she asked watching him as he pulled the bed clothes over her and perched by her legs on top of them. Her face was hopeful but he didn’t miss the sadness behind her eyes. Even at five years old she knew all about Mona. Though it wasn’t enough to spark out the hope. ‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘her and mama are just talking.’ ‘About me?’ she said. Elvis nodded. Addison chewed on her lip seemingly trying to figure out what they could be saying. Elvis could hear the argument continuing outside the door, but the women’s voices were distorted, their words unintelligible. After a beat she looked up at him and said in barely more than a whisper, ‘do I have to go with mama?’   Elvis paused, looking at the door as if the women were sure to burst in at any moment. He didn’t know what to say. He loved having Addison around. Even with the difference in age they were the best of friends, and he liked the way his Mama lit up around her. She loved him, he knew that, but he was sure that somewhere inside her she wanted another kid. Maybe it was losing Jesse that put her off having another one of her own. Maybe it was the fact his Daddy wasn’t around a lot because he was always working and he was stepping into that man of the house role that made her cherish having a kid in the house. Either way she had become a welcome fixture in all of their lives.   ‘I don’t know,’ he said honestly earning a nod in return before he added, ‘I s’pose you don’t have to go right now.’ ‘But in the morning?’ she said. Elvis’ stomach knotted. He didn’t want to tell her the truth. If he was being honest with himself, he knew that her staying here wasn’t going to last much longer now that Mona was back from wherever she had been. She’d take Addison home like she always did. Joe would listen to her excuses or bury his head in the sand and their life would continue as if she’d never been away. Well, until she caught wind of another good time or fancy man and then Addison and Joe would be back alone. The amount of time she spent at the Presley’s would increase until she was practically back to the same situation. But he couldn’t tell her that. So instead, he moved off the bed and went to his chest of drawers, pulling the top one open and rooting around inside.   ‘Elvis,’ she said but he held his finger up to his mouth as if to shush her. She fell back against her pillows with a giggle. He grabbed something out of the drawer and slid it closed with his hip before he came back to the bed and gestured for her to shuffle over so he could climb in beside her, though on top of the covers. ‘What are you doing?’ she asked in a whisper, looking up at him with those wide eyes. ‘Promise you won’t tell?’ he said. Addison nodded enthusiastically. He held out in front of him a bar of chocolate. Addison squealed with excitement, ‘damn it Addie do you want to get us busted?’ ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘Now,’ he said peeling the paper off the chocolate, ‘mama says we ain’t allowed sweets after dinner…but what mama don’t know won’t hurt her ‘kay?’ ‘Okay,’ she said holding her hand out and allowing him to drop two chocolates into her small palm. She took one and popped it into her mouth, smiling at him as she did. ‘I like it,’ she said as he threw a couple in his mouth. ‘Dodger got ‘em for me. I just hide ‘em in here because mama likes to sneak chocolate when she thinks me and daddy ain’t lookin’,’ he smirked. Addison nodded and chomped down on the other. His distraction seemed to have worked. Well, until the faint sounds of arguing became the only thing they could hear in the quiet. Addison dropped her gaze to the next chocolate he handed her, trying hard to block out the noise. Elvis wanted to go and scream at them to knock it off but he supposed that was asking for a tanned hide. Though as he watched her, he couldn’t think of any other distractions. And all of a sudden a question was burning on the tip of his tongue.   ‘Addie,’ he said watching as she looked at him, chocolate in the corners of her mouth which made him smile, ‘can I ask you something?’ ‘What?’ she asked. ‘Do you want to go with your mama?’ he said quietly. Addison looked at him and then shook her head. He could feel his heart aching in his chest. He supposed he was lucky. His home life wasn’t perfect but his parents loved one another and him dearly. Even when times were hard, he always had them. ‘I wanna stay here,’ she said, ‘with you. And your mama and daddy. And my daddy.’ ‘Just not your mama?’ he said trying not to bait her into saying what he wanted to hear. ‘Mama always leaves,’ she said, ‘and that makes daddy sad. I don’t like it when he’s sad.’ ‘Wouldn’t he be sad if your mama didn’t live with you at all?’ he asked. ‘No because we could live here all the time,’ she said as if it were obvious, ‘our daddies could work and we could all live here. He’s not sad when we’re here.’ ‘And you?’ he said watching her young face as it watched her hands fiddling with the chocolate wrapper. ‘I love it here,’ she said with a smile, ‘you’re my best friend.’ ‘And you’re mine kiddo,’ he said with a smile. She rolled her eyes as he called her ‘kiddo’ and then reached to grab the last chocolate out of the packet. He made little effort to stop her as she took it off him and threw it in her mouth but as soon as she had he leaned in and started tickling her making her shriek with laughter.   ‘Elvis!’ she squealed, ‘get off me! No fair!’   As she became breathless from laughing Elvis pulled back, laughing at her. She stuck her tongue out at him as he let go and started helping get her back settled in bed. Just as she was straightened up the door clicked open and he found his mother standing outside it looking stern. She eyed him as he leapt of the bed, her gaze going to Addison who now looked angelic, the chocolate wiped from her face and the bed clothes up to her neck as if she was just a moment from sleep.   ‘You should be asleep,’ she said to Addison who nodded and squeezed her eyes shut earning a chuckle from Elvis which died as he took in his mama’s expression. She nodded for him to come outside which he did, shutting the door quietly behind him. As he walked into the living room he noted that Mona was now gone but before he could say anything his mother spoke.   ‘Pack Addie’s things up will you,’ she said. ‘Mama-’ he said but she shook her head. ‘As soon as her daddy’s back she’s going home. For good,’ she said. ‘But she doesn’t want to go home. She likes staying with us,’ he said as his mother took a drink of whiskey and sat down at the kitchen table. He hovered by the door. He didn’t want to argue with his mother but he felt as though he had to try on Addison’s behalf. ‘I don’t want her to go either Boobie,’ she said taking another swig, ‘but Mona is her mama. Well, when she chooses to be. And she wants her back home with her and Joe. And if there’s someone at the house whilst Joe’s working there ain’t a reason for her to be here.’ ‘Not even if she wants to be?’ Elvis asked. Gladys sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. ‘We don’t always get what we want baby,’ she said with a sad smile, ‘now, wait till she drops off and go and do as I say. They’ll be back by dawn.’   As Elvis pulled out at the memory he felt his heart aching. He’d forgotten how tumultuous Addison’s life had been in those early days. When Addie was on the younger side Mona took off every month or so but was back within a few days. As she’d gotten older those days turned to weeks and then months and though it was hard for Addison to be without her mom it became easier for Joe and the Presleys to keep some normality in her life. She had more routine. She learned how to cope with it just being her and her dad most of the time because she had friends to fall back on if needed. He wondered how long normality lasted after they’d left. The pair of them had been heartbroken to have to part ways when Vernon went to prison but at the time he’d been blinded by figuring out his own problems that he hadn’t thought about what that had meant for Addie. How long after they’d gone had her mama took off for good? How had they managed without their friends? Elvis shook his head trying to push that thought from his mind. He reminded himself that he couldn’t change that now, but he could help. He was helping. At least he hoped so. And as he looked back at Addison, laughing and joking with her friend at a movie theatre like any other teenager he couldn’t help but feel he was.   He looked back to the cashier and pointed towards that chocolate bar on the confectionary stand, ‘a packet of Rolos please.’   The guy behind the counter sighed and grabbed them, placing them down in front of him. Elvis took the packet and slipped it into his pocket as Red handed over the cash. Then he grabbed a popcorn and a coke off the counter as Red handed out the rest before they headed into the movie screen. As he walked in he assessed where everyone was sitting and then he nudged Addison who looked out to find Jerry and Steve sitting in a row, near enough to the boys but not dead centre of the gang. She nodded as if catching his drift and led Marci into the row they were in. Marci moved down until she was sitting next to Jerry, a small blush on her face, as Addison slipped into the seat beside her with Elvis and Red close behind.   Whilst they got situated the movie started making silence fell amongst them. The boys kept chatter to a minimum as they knew that Elvis didn’t like talking when he was trying to watch, well unless he was the one talking. He assessed every single film, appreciating the acting talent in front of him as he hoped one day that he could match his heroes of the screen. Addison watched him throughout, though she tried to keep her focus on the movie. She listened to him as he explained little nuances of film making that he had learned out in Hollywood or how he spoke in awe about some of the film stars he’d worked with. She couldn’t believe how endearing he was to watch acting like he was just a boy from Memphis watching stars of Hollywood as if he wasn’t one himself.   As the credits rolled people started heading out to the lobby to get more refreshments or use the toilet Elvis looked to Addison who was chatting to Marci and said, ‘you girls like it?’ ‘Oh it was great,’ Marci said with a beaming smile. Elvis looked to Addison. ‘I liked it,’ she said with a smile. ‘You wanna watch another?’ he asked. ‘We can do that?’ Marci said with surprise. ‘Sure we can,’ he said turning to Red, ‘see if they’ve got that Harry Belafonte one we watched a way back.’ ‘Sure thing boss,’ Red said getting up to leave. Addison stood too. ‘Where are you going?’ Elvis asked a little too quickly. ‘To use the bathroom if that’s okay with you,’ she said sarcastically. Elvis rolled his eyes and watched as she gestured for Marci to follow her. They shimmied past him and he watched as they walked towards the back of the theatre in heavy whispered conversation. When they disappeared out of the auditorium he looked around he noticed Jerry sitting by himself. He’d been having such a good time he’d forgotten that speaking to him was his main intention. Fearing he wouldn’t have much time before the girls came back he hastily climbed out of his seat and threw himself down in the one next to Jerry who watched him wide-eyed though he tried to act cool as Elvis greeted him.   ‘Hey man,’ Elvis said as he looked at the younger boy. ‘Hey EP,’ Jerry said, ‘you like the movie?’ ‘It was alright. The next one should be better though,’ Elvis shrugged. Jerry nodded. Elvis could see the boys mind working overtime trying to think of what to say. Elvis was doing the same, not that he didn’t know what to say he just didn’t know how to approach it. He wanted to ask him about this dance but he wanted to do it in a way that would seem as if he was interested. Or even worse he didn’t want to make it such a talking point that Jerry might relay it to the girls. Just as Jerry seemed to have thought of something a way in came into Elvis’ mind, ‘not that Marci will spend much time watching it though.’ ‘What do you mean?’ Jerry said taken off guard. ‘Well, I expect she’ll spend most of her time watching you like she has been,’ Elvis shrugged looking away from Jerry. He could feel the excitement rolling off him and he knew if he looked at him he’d crack up. ‘Watching me?’ Jerry said. ‘Yeah,’ he said looking back, ‘she seems quite taken with you.’ ‘Nah,’ Jerry said waving him off. ‘I don’t know,’ Elvis shrugged. ‘I’m a grade behind her,’ Jerry said, ‘she ain’t gonna be interested in me.’ ‘Maybe but I didn’t see her attending football practice for any other guy now did you?’ Elvis said. He watched as the words processed through Jerry’s young mind, a smile coming onto his face. Elvis seized his opportunity, ‘hell maybe she’d even want you to take her to this dance they’re throwing.’ ‘Dance?’ Jerry said looking at him with his brow furrowed. ‘Yeah, Addie said something about a dance or whatever,’ he said, ‘Marci’s going but she’s not.’ ‘You mean the Senior Ball?’ Jerry said. ‘That’s the one,’ Elvis said with his best poker face. Jerry shrugged, ‘I don’t know it’s not really a date kinda scene.’ ‘It’s not?’ Elvis asked with interest. ‘Nah,’ he said, ‘I mean sure people go together for the dance part but it’s not like prom or anything.’ ‘What is it?’ Elvis said his true interest unable to stay at bay any longer. Jerry seemed to notice the shift in conversation but he didn’t complain. If anything he seemed happy to be the one to have the information Elvis needed.   ‘Honestly, it’s kinda lame,’ Jerry started, ‘it’s the school’s way of presenting the senior class. Like ‘look at how good we are to have made all these perfect students’ or whatever. There’s a ceremony at the chapel with friends and family and then they hold a dance after.’ ‘Do you think that’s why Addie doesn’t wanna go? I mean we’ve been to church. I mean it’s bound to be a lil different but we’re not savages,’ Elvis said scratching his chin as he pondered. ‘Maybe,’ Jerry said before an idea flashed across his face. Elvis caught it immediately. ‘What?’ ‘Nuthin’,’ Jerry said sighing as Elvis raised his eyebrows, ‘there might be another reason Addison doesn’t wanna go.’ ‘What is it?’ Elvis said. ‘Well, I mean I know y’all would be fine. And she’s got friends and whatever…’ Jerry said before he looked over his shoulder checking she was nowhere near, ‘I mean I can’t imagine it’s much fun being the only one whose parents won’t be there. I know she has you guys…but the girls get presented by their dads. Like a debutant thing.’ ‘And Addie’s Dad isn’t here,’ he said flatly. ‘Yeah, I mean she’s not the only one in that situation,’ Jerry said, ‘but it’s not fun.’ ‘Yeah, you’re right,’ Elvis said offering the boy a sympathetic smile as he recalled he was in a similar boat to Addison. Jerry shifted awkwardly in his seat before he looked away. Elvis looked away too, thankful the younger man was too lost in his own thoughts to notice him pondering the dance. It hadn’t been what he had expected but he was glad he knew. Even if it wasn’t some big event he still felt bad that Addison had to miss it. Her life had had so much upheaval. He wanted her to have some semblance of normalcy. So much so he wanted to do something about this dance. As he was contemplating his options she reappeared, though she was now without Marci.   ‘You two cosy enough there?’ she said standing by the seat she had been in before but not sitting down as if waiting for him to move back to where he should be. ‘Jerry was lonesome,’ he grinned, ‘I was keeping him company. Where’s Marci?’ ‘She wanted another soda,’ Addison said, ‘actually Steve was asking about you Jer if you wanna go and pick something.’ ‘Okay cool,’ Jerry said quickly climbing out of his seat and heading up the aisle evidently still feeling a little bashful. Elvis stood so they could switch places and se stepped around him, her chest flush against his as she did. Elvis tried to ignore the way his pants got a little tighter as she moved around him before she dropped gracefully into her seat and he sat down beside her trying to position himself in a way that didn’t show his little problem.   ‘You want another soda or anything?’ he asked trying to get out of his head and shift his focus. Addison shook her head, ‘nah I’ve still got a little bit left.’ ‘Enough to see you through the film?’ he asked. ‘Yes Elvis,’ she said, ‘you know I’m a big girl, right? I can get something if I want?’ ‘Okay, okay,’ he smirked, ‘I was offering to foot the bill but ya can buy your own.’ ‘Oh no how will I ever financially recover,’ she chuckled. ‘Well I guess I’ll just take the candy I bought you back,’ he said turning his nose up in fake peevishness. ‘Ooh candy?’ she said peering around him, ‘now you’re talking.’ ‘No, no, it’s fine,’ he said, ‘I’ll just have to have these by myself.’ ‘Oh come on,’ she said leaning into him with a coy smile. Elvis looked down at her. Her hazel eyes were bright even in the low lighting and her smile made his heart beat a little quicker. He watched as her hand started feeling around him in his seat tapping his pockets as she looked for candy.   ‘Jesus woman do you always maul people like a bear when you want something?’ he chuckled trying to ignore the way his trousers got even tighter. ‘You should know never to come between me and candy,’ she said her eyebrows raising as she felt something in his top pocket. He placed his hand over hers stopping her from taking it out. They stared at one another as if in a standoff. ‘Now,’ he said leaning in so their faces were inches apart, ‘are you gonna let me take it out myself or am I gonna lose my hand?’ ‘If you promise it’s mine I’ll let ya do what you want,’ she said. ‘I bought it for you,’ he said rolling his eyes as he let go of her hand allowing her to drop it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the tube of Rolos he had stashed in there before, handing them to her. Her gaze stayed on it for a moment before she looked up her eyes unreadable.   ‘You alright?’ Elvis asked trying to push the panic from his voice. She nodded as she fell back into her chair, not looking at him, ‘I thought you might like ‘em. I don’t know if you remember-’ ‘I do,’ she said looking at him with a small smile, ‘thanks Elvis.’ ‘You’re welcome,’ he said feeling bewildered. She didn’t say anything else as she rested back in her seat, tearing the chocolate open. As she offered him one the lights started to dim causing a flurry of people to rush back into the theatre but he wasn’t paying attention to them. He wasn’t even paying attention to the film as it started. He was watching Addison. Trying to figure out what was going on in that head of hers. Was she upset? Was that memory not a fond one for her? Questions rattled around in his brain as the movie rolled through.   He didn’t want to upset her. If anything he wanted to protect her now as he had done when he was ten years old. That feeling grew stronger as the film rolled on and he felt her put her head on his shoulder. When he glanced down at her she seemed to still be awake, though sleepy. He glanced around. No one had seemed to notice. Even if they had he didn’t care. He doubted he’d even be able to force himself to stop smiling if anyone looked over. In that moment, it was just them. Him and his best friend.

[aetherknit]

i feel bad spamming but talking my ass off helps me so some asks are under the read more

agree agree. AH fandom was past its prime at the time anyway so its more of a struggle to say whether itll shake out in repercussions. i will say i do not think george and sapnap will denounce dream no matter what but we'll see.

welcome to the first stage of grief :sob:

im trying very hard not to be copium but also take care of myself like realistically this is a hiatus at best. unfortunately i will continue to follow this story obsessively probably but like im trying to exercise healthiness LOL. (im crying at this p.s.)

im not joking when i say this is the best fandom experience of my life. i will genuinely miss this community so terribly i just dont know. hopefully we will all meet again in other interests

foot in mouth but i genuinely did not think the stuff from yesterday was that serious and now we have 2022 evidence and its like jesus im nauseous

listen i get it. and im not gonna be the one to say we all have to move on because its beating a dead horse and i dont know that its what we need right now. but you will find a new routine, you will find a new interest eventually. my hyperfixations have never been this long lasting so like. i get your struggle

thank you anon :,) good luck with your studies, i def think that's for the best. im gonna try to do the same and maybe just spend a lot of time with friends. much love to you

i feel like i should have reached this point so long ago like damn the parasocialism demons really DID get me

i know i think its why im answering asks rn like despite my best efforts this has become my habit and my downtime happiness so it just really sucks it feels like there's nowhere to turn. i hope all of you are okay as well and ill miss dtblr like hell

i wasnt sure if i should post this but like ill just say im worried about her case if she keeps up like i was already worried because dream is a man and rich and famous and assuming everything shes saying is true i hope she gets legal advice asap :sob:

[caddy-crystal-queen]

Okay on tonight's episode of who in the GoT/HoTD Fandom need to be slapped, I'm gonna address two issues cause I'm pissed and honestly it deserves mentioning.

Gonna start with the most recent thing I heard. Wtf is with Fandoms driving people off of social media with their nonsensical bullshit?! Not to drag another Fandom into this but Star Wars is notorious for this bullshit, and I seriously thought we moved past this! Clearly not!

Can Fandoms just stop doing this? The most recent victim of this nonsense is apparently the actor playing Young Alicent Hightower, Emily Carey.

*WHACK*

STOP. BULLYING. PEOPLE!

Be. A. Nice. Human!

Holy tap dancing Horus! She's an actress literally just doing her job and giving her perspective on her character! This ties in to these actors being people at the end of the day! You don't bully someone for simply stating an opinion, an opinion which doesn't harm anyone. First off that's just rude as fuck, you can disagree with someone and still believe they have a right to their opinion! Miss Carey has literally done nothing wrong except...apparently saying her character isn't a villain? Um...when did this become a crime? When did this become one of the worst things apparently you can do?

Holy shit there should be a support group for all these actor chased off social media but Fandom entitled fuckwits who can't see in front of their faces or think with their brains!

Now this is not being a support of the character Alicent Hightower. I've read Fire and Blood, I know what happens. But this isn't even about the character, this is about the actress. Like the rest of us she's allowed to have her opinion and state it. All YOU have to do, if you disagree, is ignore the tweet, walk the other way, and leave it the fuck alone. Anyone who bullies people, not just famous people, off the internet for a harmless (notice I said harmless, meaning they aren't saying something deeply troubling about real life issues) opinion deserves a swift kick in the ass and a sharp slap to the face!

Fuck. You. All!

Now, the second thing I'm going to address has actually been a problem since casting for the show was announced. People, what kind of piece of shit sits there and talks shit about another person's appearance?!

Yeah, I'm mad yall mother fuckers got me defending Matt Smith up in this bitch.

Again.

*WHACK!*

Quit. With the high school. Bullying. TACTICS!!!!!

Like I said how fucking hard is it just to be a decent human being?! Like what has to go so wrong in your life that you decided to just take your bullshit out on someone you don't even know? And going for their appearance? That's just fucking low.

I'm gonna just get this out of the way: I'm not a fan of the guy. I never really have been. I don't think he's ugly, like everyone seems to be saying, but he just doesn't do it for me personally, and it's absolutely nothing against him. I'm sure Matt Smith is an awesome dude IRL, and he seems pretty chill as far as I know. I respect the guy for his acting ability and his passion but that's about it. I see why a lot of people find him appealing but he doesn't do it for me.

That being said, I am so sick of seeing comments like "Oh, well he looks like he's the product of incest anyway!". Like dude...that is not cool and no one should be saying that about anyone. I may not find him attractive personally but I'm not sitting here behind a phone screen bashing the appearance of a dude I don't know. Nothing, not a thing, gives anyone the right to say things like that and bully someone for something they literally have no control over.

It's seriously some petty ass bullshit and it needs to stop. Maybe he doesn't need me to defend him but goddamn yall are just doing too damn much and being a POS about it. Your insults, name calling, and bullying are completely uncalled for!

Stop. Your. Bullshit!

Be. A nice. Human!!!!

It literally costs nothing!

Fucking assholes...

[nancydrewwouldnever]

I don't know much about Jenny Slate (I don't find her comedy funny, but she doesn't really bother me) - so what made that whole thing such a dumpster fire?

Oh Anon, such a small question... so much me having to rein myself in to stop from writing a novel in response, lol. I'll try to do three large categories, but there's a lot of other issues about that relationship that could be discussed that made it all such a hellish fandom time.

First, the constant rewriting of the relationship timeline she did to try both to cover up what looked like infidelity, and to excuse her stepping out of her marriage. She wrote not one but TWO books rewriting her "marriage break-up". But hey, we could still see real time that Dean her ex-husband was blindsided by events, so apparently she didn't dialogue with him at all that they had problems, she just decided to go hop on more famous dick. (And, btw, she even had a tweet a year before she got cast in Gifted about how much she wanted to suck Captain America's [and Thor's] dick. So, incriminating.)

Second, all her horrible tweets. Once it become known they were officially together, the fandom had a look-see at her tweets. Oh, BOY: transphobia, fat shaming and general degradation of people (especially women) she deemed unattractive, some weird comments about wanting to erase people's memories so she could look at their dicks (sounded rather... non-consensual) and all her constant me-me-ME attention seeking narrative. It was exhausting and really made you question why Chris would want to be with someone with that type of character.

Third, the trolling. My god, the TROLLING. Jenny was the QUEEN TROLL. People these days complain about the Portu-trio trolling? Honey, their brains would have exploded like that movie Scanners if they were in the fandom in 2016. Just one example: Jen or her best friend created a twitter sock puppet account to apologize to Jenny for the behavior of the Cevans fandom while she was in Australia with Chris. Because I guess she had nothing better to do?

Anyway, there's so much more than just those things. 2016-me all year long was like:

[humanwheatleyslefttoenail]

why do you ship chell and glados if glados is basically her mom

Okay this is actually a pretty common misconception in the fandom that unfortunately a lot of people have taken as canon, but I’m feeling nice so I’ll answer your question.

Basically, anon is referencing a theory from around 2012 that Caroline is Chell’s mom. The evidence for the theory is as follows:

- The turret opera calls Chell “bambina”, which means “little girl” in Italian

- Chell’s name can be found on a Bring Your Daughter To Work Day science project

- GLaDOS references the possibility of Chell being adopted multiple times

- GLaDOS is significantly nicer to Chell after discovering she’s Caroline 

And, anon, you’re right, it does sound like a pretty good argument at first glance. The problem is that a lot of these points don’t actually hold up to scrutiny.

For example, although “bambina” literally translates to “little girl,” it’s often used in the same way “baby girl” is used in English - it can mean child, but contextually it’s usually a flirtatious term. (Source: Cambridge Dictionary)

For Chell’s science project, it doesn’t work as evidence for the theory because GLaDOS killed the scientists around 1998-ish, when Caroline had presumably been uploaded several years earlier and Cave was already dead. Also, Chell’s in her 20′s, and since we know from Lab Rat/Portal 2 that people don’t age in stasis, and that Doug put Chell at the top of the test subject list only weeks after the takeover, Chell was 28 at the time of the takeover. The science project is really only an Easter egg and doesn’t actually fit into the canon timeline let alone prove anything about Caroline and Cave. 

GLaDOS talking about Chell being adopted is a pretty strong point, I’ll admit, but also it’s important to remember that maybe half of what GLaDOS says is true. And even if we take what she says at face value, she also says there’s a man and a woman in stasis with Chell’s last name, which could not have been Cave and Caroline because they were already dead at that point. And the official book Final Hours Of Portal 2 confirms Cave and Caroline were not married and could not have shared the same name anyway. It was also the 50′s, an an unmarried couple of two likely famous people having a child would’ve been scandalous, and yet we see no hint of something like this affecting their company. 

Also, although GLaDOS is nicer to Chell after the Caroline reveal, that’s not necessarily indicative of a mother-daughter relationship, and neither is any of their interactions. It’s just. GLaDOS being friendlier. 

Finally, when this theory was made (and let’s be honest - it still is happening) Chell was constantly whitewashed to hell and back. 

Chell is Japanese-Brazilian, and Cave and Caroline are white, so it would be a near impossibility for her to be their biological child (and insisting otherwise is kinda. just. whitewashing). And although people will cry “adoption!”, based on what I’ve previously proven, that’s pretty much impossible. This theory that somehow she’s Cave and Caroline’s daughter erases an important part of her identity. [Disclaimer, I am white, but this is what I’ve heard from around the fandom]

With all that said, the idea that she’s the daughter of Cave and Caroline really doesn’t hold weight when you really analyze the canon. It’s surface level analysis that doesn’t hold up. And honestly? The idea kinda cheapens the story. It’s much more powerful that GLaDOS learns to care about Chell and becomes kinder than just. Oh, she remembered she’s related to Chell. 

But to actually answer your ask. 

Why do I ship them?

Well, they aren’t mother and daughter, I think that’s pretty obvious now. But if you actually look at a lot of subtext in Portal 2, without the lens of the mother theory, it’s actually pretty romantic! 

I know that sounds ridiculous, but bear with me!

Now - it’s totally okay if you don’t ship them. I get it. Their interactions in Portal 1 and the first half of Portal 2 are toxic if not outright well. Y’know. Murderous. I completely understand why that turns people off from shipping them, and ultimately, shipping is a personal thing. To each his own. 

But before you judge me, let me present my case.

Exhibit A: Portal 

Portal is kinda gay. No, really. Chell and GLaDOS are enemies in this game, but the entire focus is on their relationship (good or not) and the power struggle between them. They are opposites, two sides of the same coin, different representations of opposite ideologies. People have analyzed Portal as a relationship metaphor, or as a metaphor about women’s role in society - either way, the heart of Portal is the complicated dynamic between Chell and GLaDOS. 

That’s not necessarily enough to code a romance, but a lot of popular (and especially popular queer ones) ships begin with opposite ideologies, symbolic powers colliding. Portal cements their relationship as a toxic one, something on the verge of falling apart and hurting both parties in the end. The ending image, of Chell and GLaDOS side by side after the battle, reinforces the symbolic parallels between the two. 

The companion cube is also pretty symbolically important to this interpretation. It’s literally a representation of someone’s heart, and you are told to protect it and preserve it under GLaDOS’ orders, and then you have to destroy it regardless of how you actually feel about doing that. You are destroying GLaDOS’ heart, so to speak. 

There’s also the ending song, Still Alive. The lyrics speak for themselves.

They hint that GLaDOS’ feelings about Chell are more complicated than they may appear (if she’s not being sarcastic...) and she literally talks about Chell breaking her heart (also, think back to the companion cube. Yeah.). The entire song is structurally similar to many a breakup number, with the laments of “I’m glad it happened, but also leave.” 

At the end, we also see that the long promised cake GLaDOS was supposedly lying about was real the whole time. Before Portal 2 came out, it was mostly interpreted as a stinger ending (along with the nicer lyrics of Still Alive) to make you question GLaDOS’ true motives and intentions.

She actually did have a real cake waiting for you. (Side note - not really evidence, but in Argentina, “torta” means cake in Spanish. It’s also a slang term for lesbians. So. Do with that what you will). The cake is what GLaDOS offers you to lull you into the sense that she cares about you, so discovering that “the cake is a lie” wakes you up to the realization that she doesn’t. Except then the idea is subverted one last time, at the very end, showing that the cake is real and at least some of what she said she meant. 

You also see the companion cube. You know, GLaDOS’ symbolic heart?

Now, okay, you might be thinking I’m extrapolating a bit too much. And you might be right. But Portal is not the only game in the series, and if you’re asking me about Cave and Caroline you obviously know about Portal 2.

Exhibit B: Portal 2

If you thought Portal was gay, Portal 2 turns that up to 11.

Even before GLaDOS wakes up, you’re treated to some visual subtext. A few of Rattmann’s drawings representing the events of Portal 2 focus a lot on the relationship between GLaDOS and Chell, with more of the cake symbolism.

In this, you can see a face layered on top of GLaDOS. This could be foreshadowing about Caroline, and likely is, but also resembles his other drawing of Chell. It insists that Chell is a part of GLaDOS, or reinforces parallels between Chell and Caroline, hinting at something either way. 

In this picture, we also see Chell standing on top of GLaDOS, in the same position where the overlay of the feminine face was, again referencing the parallel. It also presents them as opposites, fundamental parts of the same thing and both connected to the same basis, but on opposing sides. 

When GLaDOS wakes up, she returns to her antagonistic role, but there are more hints to something deeper just like in Portal. 

Here, in her awakening lines, she references Chell not unlike an estranged ex. Also worth noting that GLaDOS is pretty much the personification of testing (in a sense, she is testing since she can control all of Aperture like an extension of her body), and insinuates that Chell loves to test. And that she reciprocates that feeling.

In test chamber 10, she says this:

It’s supposed to be threatening, but it does read as almost... sentimental. 

There’s also another chamber with companion cubes in Portal 2. I already talked about their symbolism in Portal, and the same pretty much applies to them here. However, GLaDOS says something interesting about them during this level:

Once again, meant to be intimidating, ends up coming off as “well, GLaDOS, why were you going to give Chell a heart shaped representation of yourself that says ‘I love you?’” And you might think I’m stretching the GLaDOS’ heart metaphor thing a little far here, and I might agree, if the companion cubes didn’t literally sing Cara Mia for you. 

Cara Mia is the turret opera from the end of the game, which is all about how much GLaDOS cares about Chell. More on that later. But the companion cubes play a song called Love as A Construct, and when you get close to them, they sing a specific part of the song that has the tune of Cara Mia. These things literally exist to sing about GLaDOS’ feelings. 

Which makes this line a lot more. For lack of a better term. Tsundere-ish.

Then, right before the escape, she starts talking about the confetti from her fake surprise. 

I really don’t have to explain this one. What else does GLaDOS consider an inconvenience but might miss anyway? Or, more aptly, who else?

Then, during the escape, she teases a (fake) final test chamber in front of you, and forms the panels in the shape of a heart. No, really. 

Up to this point, a lot of the points I’ve presented are interspersed with a fair amount of antagonization on GLaDOS’ behalf, more Foe Yay than anything actually hinting at something deeper than GLaDOS being conflicted about whether she loves or hates Chell. But things really ramp up after Wheatley’s betrayal, when the two of them are forced to team up. (I should also note here that “enemies to lovers” is a pretty classic queer romance trope.)

Here, GLaDOS is put on an equal level with Chell and they have to rely on each other if they want to survive. For the rest of the singleplayer campaign, GLaDOS becomes a lot nicer and even friendly to Chell. There comes a point where she starts referring to Chell as a teammate, calling them “we.” She begins to consider them one unit, two opposites unified. Here’s what she says after the lemon rant:

You can not only see her using we, but actively talking about how her and Chell are going to fight Wheatley together. There’s also that last line - “let’s explode with some dignity.” GLaDOS has fully accepted the very likely possibility that she and Chell might die together. That she might die on the same level, and the same team as Chell. And she seems... surprisingly okay with that, as long as she and Chell go together. 

It’s during the Old Aperture levels that Chell and GLaDOS also discover that they have a lot in common. This is the part of the game where GLaDOS figures out she’s Caroline, that she’s human. Or, that she’s like Chell. And Chell discovers (from what we can tell anyway) that Caroline is kind, that she’s funny and smart and so many of these things she never noticed about GLaDOS before. Now also with the knowledge she is fighting alongside another human being. 

You can also draw parallels between Chell and Caroline, both intelligent women ultimately betrayed by their seemingly innocuous male friends before being trapped in Aperture and forced to team up with one another in a way that will free both of them. We see that really, GLaDOS isn’t that different from Chell - she too has been imprisoned in this place against her will, but in a completely different way. Once again, the idea of two sides of the same coin applies here. 

I’ve written another meta about this before, but I also think the whole idea of repressing a part of your identity and hating it, before bonding with another woman and then realizing that it’s okay to be like her and to be on her side. It’s okay to be yourself and meeting her is what helps you discover this new part of yourself. Is kinda inherently gay. GLaDOS’ discovery of her own humanity just fits so well into a queer realization narrative, to me at least.

Then, Chell and GLaDOS escape Old Aperture and have to get through Wheatley’s tests. 

Here, GLaDOS isn’t just begrudgingly on Chell’s team. She’s actively helpful. She wants to help Chell solve tests, defends her from Wheatley’s insults, and makes jokes to lighten the mood. Things that can really only be explained by her caring about Chell, especially the part about the insults. See below.

After the two escape Wheatley’s testing track, right before the boss fight GLaDOS has a few other things to say.

GLaDOS is not going to betray Chell, because of some kind of conscience. But she could easily ignore that back in her body, and yet? Here she’s deciding not to, and for no good reason. She didn’t have to say that to Chell, but she did, because she cares and she wants Chell to live.

And then, moments before the fight:

The final lines imply that GLaDOS does not think of Chell as an enemy anymore, and that it doesn’t matter what Chell thinks because they are in this together and they are getting revenge together. It’s pretty heartwarming to be honest, to know that even in a fight that will almost certainly kill you, she is there rooting for you and caring about you, even if you don’t feel the same way about her. It no longer matters to GLaDOS whether you even reciprocate - you staying alive, you making it through is enough for her.

So Chell fights Wheatley and sends him into space, all well and good, and at this point, GLaDOS has the option to kill Chell. But not only does she not, she actively saves Chell, and holds her hand in the process. If you don’t believe me:

And not only that, but when Chell goes unconscious from her injuries, GLaDOS sits and waits for her to wake up. It’s also implied that GLaDOS carries her to the elevator, since it’s where she wakes up but not where she passed out. In the scene where Chell blacks out, you can also hear the part of Love As A Construct that sounds like Cara Mia. Yeah. Yeah.

If you think that this cannot possibly get any gayer, you are wrong again, because then GLaDOS makes her final speech. Which is really just a love confession, let’s be honest.

The “surge of emotion?” Do you mean love, GLaDOS? And the idea of GLaDOS considering Chell her best friend, despite everything these two have done to each other? The idea that GLaDOS, out of all people, forgives someone?

Except this isn’t even Chell’s final send-off. GLaDOS writes her an entire opera of turrets, that sing a literal love song. (Note what I said earlier about the use of the word “bambina”).

It really can’t get any more obvious than that. “My (affectionate romantic term here), my dear, I adore you.” How. Is. That. Heterosexual. In. Any. Way.

So Chell goes to the surface, set free by GLaDOS (think of the saying “if you love something, set it free), and you think that’s the end. Until GLaDOS gives you a companion cube so you aren’t alone on the journey, and from the burn marks, you know it’s your first companion cube. Her original heart, her first gift to you, a piece of her that she wants you to carry with you to remind you that she does care about you after everything. It also gives the lyrics to Still Alive a much more genuine meaning. 

Portal 2 ends, and then the ending song, another GLaDOS number plays. Just like Still Alive, Want You Gone is structurally a break up song and very obviously about GLaDOS missing Chell and “counting on” (read: caring about/loving) Chell’s tendencies and quirks. 

She’s accepted Chell completely, and yet also given Chell the one thing she wants most. Only wanting Chell gone can mean GLaDOS not wanting Chell in her life anymore, but can also mean she wants to give Chell the freedom she’s wanted for so, so long. It’s the best thing she can give.

In the co-op campaign, GLaDOS also references still caring about Chell.

And that’s the end of the Portal series. Except. Brace yourself. Despite the games being over, there is STILL more subtext somehow. It gets. Even gayer.

Exhibit C: Supplemental Evidence

Valve has made a lot of extra/cut content for the Portal series, and I’ll be looking at some of it below.

This official valentine from Valve shows GLaDOS offering a romantic partner cake, which as we’ve established before, is very symbolic of GLaDOS’ feelings about and/or relationship with Chell. 

There’s a lot of other concept art and official art that emphasizes their relationship too. See below.

There’s also some cut GLaDOS lines that are even gayer than the source material and again, sound like confessions or references to a breakup:

The idea of “discovering things about someone”... how much more obvious can it get?

The developers have even confirmed a lot of my commentary on Chell and GLaDOS’ relationship in The Final Hours Of Portal 2. See these quotes from the book/this post:

The devs literally describe it as a romance. They use terms like “cheating,” they wanted to write a romantic duet, JoCo purposefully wrote the endings like love songs. It is literally, blatantly said by the creators of the game that their relationship is interpreted romantically. By the creators of the game. 

And if Word of God confirmation isn’t enough for you, have a song written for a cut alternate ending by GLaDOS’ voice actress, Ellen McClain. The song is literally nothing but GLaDOS talking about caring about Chell, about not wanting her to die/leave GLaDOS alone, about wanting to bake a cake with Chell, about waiting for Chell to wake her up. It’s so genuinely sweet and sad, and really, really romantic in the most heartwrenching way possible. 

JoCo also came back for the Portal levels in Lego Dimensions, writing one final breakup song for GLaDOS to sing about Chell. It comes off as GLaDOS not wanting to admit she misses Chell even though she obviously does, trying to replace their relationship but failing, and even explicitly forgiving Chell/wanting her to come back.

Also, the “finally I understand,” as if only now GLaDOS understands just how deep her feelings for Chell are... What else can I say?

In Lego Dimensions, GLaDOS also outright rejects anyone who isn’t Chell.

In Conclusion:

Why do I ship Chell and GLaDOS? 

Well, ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether I ship them. 

Because I think it’s glaringly obvious Portal does.

[palbabor-writes]

Impetuous

Pairing: Gojo Satoru x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Adult language, SMUT/18+only, cunnilingus, switching, bratting, face-riding, Satoru being Satoru, so he’s chatty & in general the worst  

Words: 12,815

“Knock it off,” you huff, doing your best to ignore how your breasts press against the flat planes of his chest. Then his fingers are under your chin, gently tipping your head up and leaning so close that his lips are inches from your own. 

“But what if I don’t want to?” he teases, his voice falling into a lower, hushed pitch before he relaxes his hold, letting you slip from his hands.

Notes: this thing has been languishing in my drafts since like, January. because it was my first step away from BNHA i’ve sorta over analyzed it & edited it, likely to death. but anyway, without further ado, here is my first venture into the JJK fandom! thank you for edits & suggestions: @albinoburrito, @kugutsuu​, @kogo​ & everyone else that i’ve forced to look at this thing. love you all sm & ty for putting up with me!

& it’s gojo because of course it fucking is. 

Impetuous im·pet·u·ous /imˈpeCH(o͞o)əs/ adjective done quickly

“I hate to be a harbinger of bad news, and I can understand your frustration, but that’s what they asked me to do. Doesn’t matter what continent we’re on, elders are elders. Honestly, I’m a little shocked that this teaching pathway is even an option for him.” Although you speak softly, your voice seems to carry more in these close meeting rooms, clattering off the tatami mats and gleaming leather couches.   

Yaga massages the bridge of his nose and adjusts his dark sunglasses before lifting his eyes to yours. “I understand, but I still feel that he would be an asset to our school. As long as his motivations remain pure, that’s all I can ask for, at present.”

“Pure or not,” you continue, lacing your fingers as you cross one leg over the other. “It’s vital to see how he handles himself on these missions. What if he has a student with him? I’ve never seen his fighting style, but I’ve heard he can be reckless. How can he foster confidence and proper growth if he’s not measured on the basics? There’s the additional worry of taking him off of the higher ranked missions. Or, if you elect to keep sending him on them, can he handle both? Can he teach and still be a successful sorcerer and asset?”

“He’ll be expected to do both. He knows this,” Yaga sighs, reaching for his lukewarm cup of tea. “While he’s not known for his conventionality, I don’t think that will interfere with his teaching. As I said, some recent events at the school have helped to illuminate the importance of managing the coming generation. Satoru is confident, and I believe that will translate well to any future students. He’s already taken on some responsibility with young Fushiguro and the boy is doing well under his instruction.”

“Fushiguro?” you ponder. Your school administration and the head elders had given you a list of names, people who represented the top families among Japan’s sorcerers, but you don’t remember seeing a name like Fushiguro among the others.

“He’s related to the Zen’in family,” Yaga explains, spreading his vast hands open as he replaces his tea cup against the low table that rests between the two of you. “So, if I’m understanding correctly, your superiors in America have sent you to Japan to collect a series of reports. One is on the influence of curses and how our alumni comport themselves in the field. The other is the analysis of our teaching styles and to, how did you put it, ‘further diversify your own teaching abilities as a jujutsu educator.’ And, as if that wasn’t possibly enough, to observe our newest teaching candidate, Satoru Gojo.” 

“In a nutshell,” you confirm, a smile quirking the edge of your lips. “We’ve got some missions lined up, right?”

“Yes. You will enter the field with Satoru and one other returning alumna, Shoko Ieiri. She’s finished her medical degree and will join our research facilities in the coming weeks.”

“Oh! She’s the one who can use the reverse healing technique! I’ve heard of her.”

“Yes. She was in Satoru’s class. I realize your report is the main aim that you have here, but I would ask that you keep an open mind. While your report is of value to our school, it will not affect my decision on the matter.”

You lean against the stiff cushions of the couch and cock your head at Yaga’s impassive expression. “Of course,” you assure him, noting that nothing in his outward appearance shifts as you give him the response he was waiting for. “Should be an interesting week, at the very least.”

“Oh,” Yaga replies, finally cracking a less than reassuring grin. “Satoru will make sure of that.”

“Hey! (L/N)-san! The next report is up and they’re sending a manager for us, hurry up! Stop scribbling things in that little notebook. What are you writing anyway? Is it some kinda biography? Oooh! Is it on me? Is that why you keep looking at me? It is, isn’t it? Ahh, now I’m gonna feel self-conscious.”

You snap your notepad closed and slip it into your hip pouch, stepping toward the two fellow members of your team. “It’s just routine notes and you don’t need to call me (L/N)-san. I realize it’s likely force of habit, but please, just call me (Y/N).”

“Ahhh! We’re already on a first name basis! I’m blushing. I’ve never had a girl be this forward with me!” Satoru sighs, clapping his hands against his cheeks and leaning over you. “You’re so bold!”

“Ugh,” you scoff, rolling your eyes at him. “Liar, and stop that. I’m still the senior sorcerer in this party. I–”

“But you’re just a grade 1,” he interrupts, bracing his hands on his hips and exaggerating his stance, moving his face close to yours. As he looms ever nearer, you raise your chin and hold your ground. This invasion of personal space is a tactic he loves to use. 

At first, you’d figured he was just another one of those guys who weren’t aware how intimidating their sheer height and presence came off to others. However, as the days wore on, you noticed his intentional maneuvering. He would press at Shoko too, but she was better at ignoring him, so he soon turned his full attention to you.

“Yeah, I might only be a grade 1, but they have given me the command on all of our missions. It’s my job to file the reports, a task that you, as the technical ‘junior party’, aren’t trusted to do.”

“You’re so right! That’s a tremendous responsibility. How do you stand under all that pressure (Y/N)! The role of the pencil pusher is such a big job. I should act right! Or I’ll never be a real jujutsu sorcerer! God, look at this Shoko, we need to get our shit together! At this rate, we’ll never be able to file our own reports!”

“Now, now,” you tut, raising a finger in front of your face, forcing him to take a subconscious step backwards. “Watch what you say, after all, you’re wanting to become a teacher. So some part of the masochism of endless paperwork must appeal to you.” 

Satoru’s smooth lips raise into a broad smirk and pulls away, arching his arms behind his pale head. “Hmm, I’ll give you that one (Y/N). Mainly because of your choice of wording. Masochism. What a word for it. And why’d you have to say it so straight faced? Oh, that reminds me, what time is our next mission at?”

“Uh, why did masochism remind you of that?” you pause, lifting your wrist so you can check the time on your watch. “I think it’s in two hours, give or take traffic.”

“Hmm, and it’s in the Chiba district?”

“Yeah, that’s in Tokyo, right?”

“It is,” Shoko chimes in, twirling a lock of her long brown hair between two of her fingers. Her low voice reminds you, and you turn to face her. “Speaking of names, I never asked, would you prefer Shoko or Ieiri?”

“Doesn’t matter,” she replies, lifting her tawny eyes to yours, catching some of the bright sunlight as it fades into the deep circles under her eyelids. The contrast makes her skin look even more pallid. “First name, last name, whatever is easier.”

“Shoko okay with you then?”

“Sure,” she nods, the ghost of a smile lifting her lips. 

“Oi!” Satoru interrupts, slinging an arm over Shoko’s shoulder and fixing you with a pointed look. Or you assume he is, it’s hard to tell where he’s looking because of those white strips of cloth that obscure his eyes. “You know what’s in Chiba, don’t you?”

You blink at him, unsure if this is another one of his aimless questions or something genuine. “No. Should I?”

“You’re a tourist and you really don’t know what’s in–”

“We’ve already been over this Satoru; I am not a tourist,” you protest. “I’m here on official business from my administration to–”

“Yeah, yeah. Look, special, ‘top secret’ assignment or not, you’re still basically a tourist because it’s your first time to Japan. You’re honestly telling me you didn’t look up anything before you arrived?”

“Um,” you waver, eyes narrowing at the cheerful leer that’s drifting over Satoru’s angular features. “I looked up some basic things. I know about the Shinjuku and Roppongi districts. Oh, and Harajuku, that’s a big one too.”

“Mmhm, very good, my little tourist, but do you know what’s in the Chiba district?”

“Don’t call me that and stop screwing around Satoru. If this has nothing to do with the mission, then I’m not interested. I could care less what’s in the district–”

“Might just be rumors, but I’ve been hearing about an increase in cursed activity. Especially around that theme park. I’m sure you’ve heard of it,” he looks upward, pearlescent hair tumbling behind his wrappings. “I guess it’s not surprising that it’s a hot spot, what with all the people who are always checking it out. It’s pretty famous.” 

Tch. He’s not gonna tell you. 

You suck your teeth and twist your hand back to your hip pouch, digging for your phone. As you peer over the search results you can hear him rambling on about the notoriety of the unnamed place but as soon as you hit the second result, your head whips back up. 

There’s no way. 

Of course you’d heard of it, you’d even thought about it when the higher ups asked you to take on the assignment to Japan, but never, not in a million years, would you have figured that you’d have a chance to go. Not on this trip.

“Are you serious?” you breathe, blinking up at his smug face. Satoru doesn’t answer, just pops one hand under his chin and gives you a shit-eating grin. You look back at your phone and bite your lip, doing your best to contain your budding excitement, double checking the map for the district.

If he’s not pulling some kind of elaborate joke, it looks like Tokyo Disneyland is the location of your next mission.

“What… what the fuck is this, some kinda elaborate joke??” 

The gates to the amusement park are warped, and the paint is peeling; one side looks like it’s about to melt off of the frame, all twisted metal and faded rust. Just past the gates you can see what looks like an old merry-go-round, complete with lions, tigers, bears and several sets of horses. At the tip-top of the ride rest a star, and atop that star is a wraith like curse. It spindles around the flecks of gold and cool bronze, baring its teeth at the three of you and sputtering a long line of broken speech as it twists and turns. 

“Huh, still looks about the same. This place was enormous when I was a kid. Now it’s a trendy spot for ghost hunters and thrill seekers! I think five or six people died here last year.” Satoru grins, tucking his hands into his pockets as he strides forward. In seconds, he’s beside the curse on the merry-go-round, silencing chittering of its inane dialogue, letting an eerie quiet seep over the rest of the abandoned grounds.

“So stupid. I cannot believe I let him make me think we were going to Disneyland. You know what he’s like, Shoko! Why didn’t you tell me? He–”

“I honestly don’t listen to him. No idea he was making you think this was Tokyo Disney,” Shoko interrupts, already following the path Satoru took, tucking her brown hair behind her neck with a loose hair tie. “But since we’re here, could you lower the curtain and take care of those level 2 curses on the ticket booth?”

You let out a long sigh and toss her a quick affirmative, reciting the familiar incantation, watching as the darkening shield slopes its way down from the skies, sheltering the three of you within its haze.

The first set of curses are easy enough and you swiftly take care of them, unleashing your cursed technique and splicing them into faded dust. How ridiculous, you think, opening the door to the booth and dodging an ill timed lunge from a sneakier curse who was hiding inside. Satoru honestly had you thinking that you’d be going to the Disneyland theme park. On the way over, he’d even told you about the layout of the park and what potential curses might be lurking about. 

What a jerk. 

Still, you muse, turning toward another shrieking hulk of a curse that’s lumbering toward you, it’s impressive he’d led you on so easily. You make a mental note to get back at him later, for now you need to clear this area and focus on the task at hand. 

“I cannot believe that you led me on like that!” you pout, knocking back a small swig of beer.

“Pfft,” Satoru chuckles, wagging one long finger at you. “Didn’t ever say it was gonna be Disneyland, did I? You came to that conclusion all on your own.”

“Oh please! Making me look up what ‘famous tourist spots are in Chiba’ and then nodding each time I said I was excited to see some of the rides on the way over.”

“You could have really been into haunted carnivals. How was I supposed to know?”

“Ass,” you snap playfully, sticking your tongue out at his pleased smile. 

After the mission and spotting your peeved expression, Satoru had insisted that you let him take the two of you out for a drink. According to Shoko, the bar in this neighborhood was highly rated and had some of the best specials in the entire district. 

The place was packed; but somehow Shoko had secured three seats up at the bar top, ushering you to sit between her and Satoru, informing you there must always be a three foot buffer between her and ‘that loser’. The bartender seemed to know her and, before you could pull yourself into the worn leather seat, three foaming lagers were passed across the rough surface of the bar top, one for each of you. 

“Thanks,” you’d murmured, cupping your hands around the glass. On your right, Satoru pushed his lager toward you, raising two fingers at the distracted barkeep as he chatted with Shoko. “What’s wrong? Don’t like beer?” you’d asked, bemused by his disgruntled expression. 

“Nah,” he’d confirmed, wagging his digits a little faster, chin lifting as he let out a huffed exhale. “Messes with my eyes. I want something to eat, though. Hey! Shoko! Stop flirting with him and ask if they have anything sweet! Shokooo! Don’t ignore me!”

Shoko made a show of rolling her eyes but, a few minutes later, a plate of piping hot fried sweet buns appeared and he’d swiftly grabbed up one, popping it in his mouth and smacking it hungrily. You’d turned to ask Shoko what they were, but by the time you’d twisted back to Satoru over half of the cakes were gone. 

“Damn, you inhaled them,” you’d exhaled, a little shocked he could scarf them down that quickly.

“Well, they’re not bad and hit the spot, for now,” he’d grinned. “Want one?”

“I’m good. You might bite my finger if I get too close… mistake it for one of the buns…”

“Awe, what’s wrong? Think you wouldn’t taste good?”

“Yikes,” you laugh and Satoru hums, clearly pleased with your genuine mirth.

Shoko, who was soon engrossed in conversation with a few of the other patrons to the left of her, kept ordering rounds for the both of you. To keep up, you diligently sipped at each fresh beer, careful to keep abreast of the thrum of the alcohol with several responsible swigs of water. Satoru seemed content with his small order of sweets and peppered you with questions about life in America. He asked about what grade year you taught, the ins and outs of curses within the states and how you liked Japan. He kept things lively and made a point to throw in a few lighthearted jokes at you, beaming each time you laughed at his barbs. 

“So, what you’re saying is there’s no one in America quite like me?” he teases, stretching his long arms dramatically before leaning closer to you.

“Stop that! You’re gonna hit someone,” you grin, trying to shove at his side, watching as your hand freezes in midair, held off by his limitless technique. “Seriously? You’ve still got that on?”

“Mmhm,” Satoru intones. “24/7, 365!”

“You would,” you try to jostle him again, bemused by the fraying and shimmering sliver of infinity that rests between the two of you.

“It’s a tremendous strain on my brain, you know,” he bemoans, dropping his head and fixing a long frown over his lips.

“You deserve it.”

“Ack!” Satoru cries out, clutching at his heart. “Wow! No sympathy! You really gonna treat me like this? My senpai?”

“May I remind you - Tokyo Disneyland,” you intone, glaring at his haggard expression. 

“WOW. You’re never gonna let that go, huh?” Satoru cracks a face, arching his mouth and hollowing his cheeks, letting a high pitched, cracked voice leech from his lips. “Ahhh, that damned man! He deprived me of my dreams! The chance to see Tokyo Disneyland, one last time!”

“What is that? Me? But… old?”

“Pretty good, right?”

“No.”

“Well, I think it was uncanny!” he crows, nodding.

“What in your warped mind makes you think I’ll sound anything like that when I’m old?” you ask, pushing your empty beer pint forward as you purse your lips. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so excited over the idea of a theme park,” he ponders, tapping a bent index finger against his smooth chin. “Don’t you guys have them in the states? The Disney parks, I mean.”

“We do, we have two. But, since you made me think we were coming to Tokyo Disneyland, I looked up some rides,” you snatch your phone from the counter, scrolling through a few photos before you land on the right one. “Ah! Here it is! Look at this! See?” you chirp, pushing the gleaming screen of your phone toward him.

“Uh. What am I looking at?”

“It’s the Tower of Terror!”

“Which is… ummm… a ride?”

“Yeah? And look at it! It’s upside down! I don’t think the one in America does that,” your finger reaches toward your phone and you blow up the closest image, tapping at the bright colors. Satoru laughs and waves a hand up, attracting the bartender once more and gesturing for another beer for you. “Imma get you another drink, you’re fun like this, plus, you’re just too cute with that little smile.”

You miss his last comment, wholly focused on finding another set of images. “Oh my God! Look! During Halloween they have a night parade in front of it! And… ahhh! Satoru! There’s a green ghost at the top! It’s almost like that curse we saw tonight at the carnival!” 

His long fingers snatch up your bright device, and he yanks it away from your wide eyes. “Ok, that’s enough of that. I’m worried you might end up cursing me for not taking you.”

You give him a sour look and vainly try to grab your phone back, fingers unable to pass through his unseen barrier. “What? No fair! I still don’t understand how you can always have this up!”

“Practice,” he taunts, shaking his head at your determination and wandering touch, chuckling each time you bounce off of his cursed technique. “On another note,” he begins as your new lager is placed in front of you. “What’s in that report that you’re working on?”

You decide to ignore the fact that he’s still holding your phone and cautiously sip past the foam of your fresh beer, peering up at him, studying the lines of his white cloth. It doesn’t tell you much, so you look at his lips instead. They’re pale, but they’re held in a serious line, so you carefully construct your response. “What makes you think I have a report?”

“Why else would you be here?” Satoru counters, rapping his nails against the warped wood of the bar top. “I know you met with Yaga and you’re too cautious and overpowered to be sent on missions with Shoko and me. So you must be here for something else.”

“Officially,” you concede, “I’m here to observe the teaching techniques and skills of the alumni of your school. I’m sure this will come as no shock, but curses are getting more powerful, both here and overseas, and we’re doing our best to keep ahead of those changes. I’m supposed to pick up what tricks I can and bring them back home, to see how we can implement it.”

“Reasonable,” he allows, spreading his fingers before coiling them under his palms again. “But that’s not everything, is it?”

No, you think it’s not. 

You lower your beer and look over at him. He’s braced himself against the bar and his head is dipped so his chin is almost against his breastbone. He doesn’t exactly look dejected, but you can see that he’s thinking deeply and something about that openness makes your heart squeeze. He looks a bit like a kicked puppy. 

Ugh, he’s not a bad guy. He’s funny, and he knows what he’s doing, plus he has the confidence to get where he needs to go. In all honesty, he wouldn’t make a terrible teacher. Maybe not the best, but he certainly wouldn’t be the worst. 

“I–there… there’s some concern you’d be too divided - that it’s not practical to have you teach and go on missions. I also don’t think your own elders trust you much.”

“Ah-ha!” Satoru beams, springing upward and pointing two finger guns at you. “You are here to look in on me! Knew it!”

You can’t help but laugh at him. “Fine, fine, you got me. Let’s get this over with, huh? So we can get back to talking about things other than work, I liked that. What’s the most direct thing I can ask? Hmm, oh! I’ll start with something easy–Why do you want to teach?”

“That’s easy?” he whines, head falling again. 

“It’s straightforward,” you bargain, propping your chin on your fist, looking him over. 

“Sure, let’s pretend that’s not a deceptively loaded question! Alright, well, it’s the best way to change things.”

“Change things?”

“Yup. Like you mentioned, lately curses have become more powerful and lately it feels like I’m the only one who’s being sent on these high-level missions. Frankly, it’s stupid to rely on just me that much, you know? That’s not practical, or even realistic. So, to my mind, it’s vital I throw my support behind some of these up-and-coming kids. You know, foster the next generation and all that. I want reliable allies in the field and to have that, I’ve gotta make sure they’re taught right. Give them everything I know, make them better than me, stronger than me.” 

You’re quiet for a long breath, eyes wide, fingers frozen around your glass, which was midway to your lips. “Damn,” you smile, letting the word hang. “You know, that was actually a pretty good answer.”

Satoru clicks his tongue and curls his lips in a grimace. “Don’t sound so surprised.” 

“I mean,” you chuckle and look up at him, eyes bright. “Well, your attitude doesn’t always inspire confidence.” 

“Ahhhhhh,” he groans, thumping his covered forehead against the bar. “Such a low blow! Bartender! Another round for me!”

“Please,” you sigh, finally taking a sip of your beer. “Do not call your sweet buns ‘another round.’” He grins at you and leans across the bar top, shifting his weight toward your bent arm. The pressure of his shoulder is warm and you nudge at him a little, playfully. He tuts at you but continues to stare ahead, a faint smile teasing the edge of his lips. 

As the bartender slides the requested plate of sweets down, you suddenly realize that you’re touching him. Your eyes widen and you slowly turn your head toward his. He’s not looking at you, content with chewing on his sweet bread, but he’s still braced against you. It’s like all of your senses are finely tuned to that one spot of faint friction between the two of you. You can feel the lines of his muscled arm as he shifts and you involuntarily gulp, doing your best to ignore the abrupt thudding of your heart. 

He said he always kept it up, didn’t he? Something about 24/7 and all the days of the year, so why is he…

“Hey,” Shoko’s voice startles you and you instinctively slide closer to Satoru, arm dragging against his shoulder as you try to right yourself again. “I’m gonna go win this drinking contest these guys have started. You two sticking around for a bit?”

“Uh,” you begin, but Satoru cuts you off, draping an arm over the back of your chair. “Yeah, we’ll be here. What are the stakes?”

“Not sure. But the pot is likely against me, if you’re in a betting mood.”

“Sure, I’ll put 20,000 yen on you.”

“Is…” you start, but Shoko is already walking off, one arm pumped into the air as she shoulders her way to the long table that’s filled with five or six others, all of them holding a full pint glass of beer between their hands. You turn back to Satoru and let out a long breath. “Is that safe?”

“Huh?” he asks, face close to yours. You can smell his cologne from here and the heady scent of him and crisp patchouli fills your senses. “I mean Shoko, will she be ok?” you elaborate, eyes studying the space where his own would be, silently hoping that he’ll pull down the barrier that covers half of him from your curious gaze. 

“Ah,” he nods sagely, leaning back a little to look out at where Shoko is sitting, quietly waiting for the start of the game with her full beer. “She’s got a ridiculously high tolerance. Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s part of her cursed technique. She’ll be fine.”

“True, she likely knows the limits of the human body better than anyone else. But… I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so… excited?” you muse, sitting against your chair and running into the flat palm of Satoru’s hand. For a moment, you debate shifting away, but he’s not really doing anything, just letting the tips of his fingers rest against the curve of your spine, tapping a disjointed rhythm as he watches the start of the contest, that all too familiar smile still tugging at the corners of his lips. 

“She used to be a little more laid back, you know?” he replies, leaning a little harder into your side as he lowers his voice, keeping close to your ear so you can hear him. “She always looks so tired now and her whole outlook has changed, but I suppose four years of med school will do that to you. Although, I did hear that she cheated her way out.”

“No!” you gasp, eyebrows lifted in shock. Satoru laughs, and for once, you’re not thinking it might be at your expense. “Yeah! Just the word on the street. But I wouldn’t put it past her. Shoko’s always done her best to avoid things, namely confrontation or extra work, so it makes sense she’d jet outta med school as fast as she could too.”

“That’s crazy and frankly, terrifying.”

“Riiight?” he shivers, lips raising in an exaggerated wince. “But that’s our Shoko. I’ve got a feeling she’ll do well at the school and I’m grateful I’ll have time to work with her again. It’s been way too long…” Satoru trails off and you can feel his hand slip up your back, fingers ghosting over your shoulder blades.

“Stop that,” you scold, shaking him off with a quick jolt and twisting around to look at his roguish smirk. “What happened to always maintaining your barrier?”

“Awe” he groans, dunking his head against your shoulder with a thump. “Come on, I’ve gotta win you over somehow!”

“Are you serious?”

“Well, I mean, I want the job.”

“I’m gonna hit you,” you threaten, doing your best to keep your bubbling amusement contained. 

“Try it,” he taunts, lifting his head and keeping his face close. His nose is inches from yours and you can barely make out his sharp grin, but you can feel the drag and pull of his breath as it passes over you, leaving a lingering sweetness against your skin. Instantly, your hand lifts to him, fully intent on shoving him back, but you can’t move any closer, trapped by the sudden emergence of his infinity. 

“Ass,” you prickle, shaking your head at his antics. Another peal of laughter falls from his soft lips and you can’t help but smile back, caught up in his infectious joviality. “Tch. Don’t make me find more Tokyo Disney pictures.”

“You can’t,” he informs you, cocking his head at your confusion. “I still have your phone.”

“Hey! Give that back!” you gasp, snatching blindly at him. He shifts back into his seat and yanks your device out of his pocket, waggling it tauntingly in front of you. “Uh-uh! Gotta get past the barrier first!”

“That’s not fair!”

“Never said that I’d make this… oh! Shoko! How did it go? Win me something?”

You twist and spot Shoko’s dark head approaching the two of you. She pauses beside Satoru and flips a large stack of bills down on the bar top, a wide grin on her usually impassive face. “As expected, I won. Here’s your cut, Satoru. Don’t spend it all in one place or on another order of sweet buns, would you? Think you can do that for me?” 

She and Satoru bicker back and forth playfully as you unfold several of the notes, aimlessly organizing them on the countertop as their brisk conversation winds back down.

“So,” Shoko murmurs, pulling a pack of cigarettes from her back pocket and knocking one free from the carton. “You two gonna head out soon? I don’t really see a need to call one of the managers, the school’s close by and so is (Y/N)’s hotel.” 

“Yeah,” Satoru replies, finally passing your phone back as he collects the neatly stacked set of yen from you. “Figured, I’d see her back.”

“I can find it!” you protest, jamming your phone safely into your pouch once more.

“Sure,” he mocks, arching toward you as he braces an elbow against the bar. “You can barely speak Japanese and I know you can’t read much kanji, but sure thing, let’s let you loose in the city. See how far you make it before you’re calling one of us, hmm?”

“That’s not… I–”

“Yeah, yeah,” Satoru waves his hand back and forth and turns back to Shoko. “I’ll let her finish her drink and then we’ll head out. See you tomorrow?”

Shoko nods at his question and, for a moment, you think you spy a knowing look pass between the two of them, but before you can call out to her, Shoko is already making her way toward the door.

“What was that?” you ask, eyes narrowed as Satoru looks down at you, white hair gleaming under the low lights. “What?” he asks innocently, propping his chin onto his open palm. “That look that the two of you just gave each other.”

“No idea what you’re talking about. You sure that beer didn’t hit you a little too hard?”

“Ugh, shut up.”

Despite it being late August, a cool breeze greets the two of you when you step out of the bar. “It’s so nice out,” you comment, readjusting your boots as you hop onto the sidewalk. 

“Mmhm,” he agrees, bracing his arms behind his head as you make your way down the street. “So did you decide what you’re gonna write in your report?”

You glance up at him and make sure he can see you rolling your eyes. “Back to trying to butter me up?”

“Never! Just asking. If you wanna say I’m crazy and can’t be trusted, that’s fine. I can think of a few others who’d agree with you.” 

“Oh? Who?”

“Most people,” he laughs, stepping a little nearer and bumping against you, shocking you with the actual weight and warmth of his body again. As you continue on, you lift your hand to his arm and press the pad of your finger against his sleeve. This time, nothing bars your way so you run the digit slowly along his arm, smiling when he shivers and bats you away. 

“Stop that! Someone’s gonna see and think you’re taking advantage of me!”

The laugh that explodes from your chest at that mental image makes you stop dead in your tracks, arms lacing around your shaking stomach. Satoru scoffs at your bent figure and leans down, shaking his head at your guffawing.

 “The… the… fact that you… think that anyone… would think that… I–” 

“You’re lucky your laugh is so cute,” he muses, bracing his arms over your bent back, playfully pinning you down as he crosses his forearms.

“Hey!” you protest, squirming under his hold. “Let me up!”

“Tell me what you’ve written about me!” he threatens, chuckling as you squirm under him.

“I only said that Satoru Gojo is an absolute monster and shouldn’t be trusted with anyone’s future,” you cry out, overly pantomiming your overwrought expressions, peeking up at him from under his laced arms.

“Oh? Just that? Well, you’re right. So, fair is fair!” Satoru replies, slipping off of you so fast that you nearly tumble to the hard concrete. Half a beat later, he’s back in front of you and lifting you back to your full height, fingers soothing over your arms as he tugs you toward him. “Would it kill you to toss in a bit of praise? Talk about my undeniable prowess and skill? Wax poetic about my stunning efficiency? You know, make them think that I’ve won you over with my charms. After all, you can’t resist me, can you?”

“Knock it off,” you huff, doing your best to ignore how your breasts press against the flat planes of his chest. Then his fingers are under your chin, gently tipping your head up and leaning so close that his lips are inches from your own. 

“But what if I don’t want to?” he teases, his voice falling into a lower, hushed pitch before he relaxes his hold, letting you slip from his hands.

A distant quake dashes up your spine, but it’s not from the chill in the air. “Uh, you sure you didn’t sneak some shots under the table? The way you’re pawing at me, you’d think you were the one in the drinking contest.”  

“Nah, I told you, I don’t drink. Messes with my eyes.” Satoru pats his index finger against his white wrappings for emphasis.

“Mmm, the six eyes, right? Powerful ability, from what little I’ve heard of it.”

“Yeah,” he hums. “It’s a rare technique. Wanna see?”

You’d walked on, but once the question leaves his lips your feet swivel back, as if they have a mind of their own. He’s standing where he was, hands dug into the pockets of his pants, a lazy smile resting on his lips. The moonlight makes his hair shine, and the gleam is bright against the darkness of the street. The glow makes him look taller, imposing. He’s quiet as he waits for your answer and you take advantage of the extra time to mull over the strange man in front of you. 

He’s enigmatic; a force to be reckoned with, for curses and fellow sorcerers alike and, like most jujutsu users, a little crazy. Even knowing all of this, there’s something about him that’s drawing you in. It’s like the pull of a magnet. It tugs at the forefront of your mind and makes you step closer, wanting to see if you can unravel the puzzle that’s Satoru Gojo. 

“Fine,” you hear yourself reply, crossing your arms, steadfastly watching for his next move. “Go on. Let me see what all the hype is about.”

He grins and that mischievous look makes your heart beat race against your breastbone as yet another quake slips up your back. “Ready?” he asks, right thumb hooking under the fabric that covers his eyes. You nod once and the pad of his finger starts that short, upward, pull. 

He’s slow, painfully slow, in his unveiling. 

The smooth angle of his upper cheek peeks out, and he’s careful to roll up the white cloth as he goes. Then, right as he hits the groove of his lower eye, he stops, a frown pulling over his lips. “Mmm, I don’t know…” he contemplates, holding his thumb under his wrappings. “What if I don’t live up to your expectations? Can’t let you down. Not when you’ve been so patient. I know you’ve been wanting to ask, I can see it in your face. Every time we’d start an exorcism you’d look at me, like you were waiting, watching to see if I’d finally take off the coverings.”

Did you? 

Does it matter?

Do you want it to matter?

Flabbergasted by his all too true accusations and entirely eaten up with curiosity, you march up to him and wrap your fingers around his raised wrist, not noticing that you’re actually touching him and completely unaware of the alluring smile he flashes when your hand coils around his. “Ugh, come on! For once in your life, stop being such a tease! You’re never fair, always so… so pompous and… and–”

You’d shoved his hand upward as you began your preamble but as soon as the tightly wrapped cloth passed over his right eye you feel your breath leave your tensed body. 

His eyelashes are pale, the same ashen color as his hair, but they contrast beautifully with the lone eye that peers down. Beautiful? No, it’s more than that. It’s… it’s…

Truthfully, it’s indescribable and unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

It’s blue; but it’s not an ordinary shade. No, the color seems to meld and shift before your shocked gaze, drifting from hue to hue as the color deepens and lightens. Clouds. It’s like clouds passing over a summer sky. The brightness of the cerulean ensnares you, and you can feel your mouth go dry as you stare up at him. 

His eyes are stunning, perfect, and irresistible, hauntingly so.

“So, what do you think?” Satoru asks, pulling his wrist from your grasp and snatching your limp hand in his, twining his long fingers between your own. His skin is warm and you need to say something, anything, but your mind is stuttering, lagging miles behind as you fall headfirst into the overwhelming pull of his presence. 

Finally, you unstick part of your tongue. 

“They’re… uh… I don’t… ha… God…” You shake your head roughly and the familiarity of that motion slips out of the trance he’s placed you under. As soon as you can think again, you jerk your hand from his and blindly walk down the darkened street. Your heart feels like it’s about to fall out of your chest and you can’t stop nibbling on your lower lip. 

It’s not… this isn’t how this is supposed to go, you think, trying vainly to get the shine of Satoru’s eyes out of your mind.

“Never answered my question,” Satoru coos beside you, his long legs quickly catching up with you. “What’s wrong? You like em’ a little too much?… Or…” 

“They… they’re kinda creepy,” you blurt out, fingers curling into your palms. 

“Creepy!” he gasps, hopping in front of you and lifting up both sides of his wrappings, granting you a peek of both eyes. You do your best to avoid looking at him head on, turning and weaving from him, but he dances closer each time you shift. Damn it. His animated performance makes you exhale a quiet chuckle, and he takes your amusement as a sign to continue, constantly placing himself in your way with a broad grin. 

“Stop!” you plead, openly laughing at his sudden burst of silliness. “Now you’re acting like a creep! Satoru! Don’t! Stop showing them to me! You’re losing all of your appeal! Isn’t part of your charm the mystery? Actually, that’s likely all of your charm. Come on, stop it, there’s a cop on that street corner, he’s gonna think you’re drunk and harassing me!”

“Whaaat!” Satoru gulps, whipping his head around to look at the tired policemen that’s leaning against a dim street lamp. “Oh no! The police! Quick (Y/N), before he spots us!” His long fingers snatch up your pliant wrist and he tugs you into a dark alleyway. 

“Hey! Where are you taking me? Officer!” you call out playfully as you balefully follow him, dragging your feet along the dusty ground. “He’s over here! Help!”

“Oi! Knock it off! You wanna get me arrested?”

“Oh please, there’s no way that guy is about to follow–”

“Shit! Shhh, he’s coming this way! Come on!” The sheer force of his grip yanks you forward and you stumble after him. He takes the corner of the next alleyway and the pair of you dash along the wet patches that litter the broken concrete. He’s moving at a tremendous speed, but his feet barely make a noise as he glides over the grimy ground and it takes everything you’ve got to just hold on and keep up.  

A few twists and turns later, you can finally see the bright lights of the busy street that your hotel is on and you feel a heavy exhale of relief leave your burning lungs. Satoru skids to a halt right before he tumbles onto the safety of the sidewalk that rests a few paces ahead and pulls you beside him, grinning down at you as you try to catch your breath. 

“I think we lost him!” he beams and you suck your teeth as you bend over, hands bracing themselves against your knees. “There…there’s no… he wasn’t actually chasing us. Even if he was, I doubt he can catch up now….” your voice trails off as you hear a distant shout from the alleyway and the thud of heavy boots. 

No. There’s no way you think dumbly as you stare into the darkness, eyes searching for movement. 

“See? I told you he was on to us. He’ll see us if he comes this way. What if… Oooh, lemme try something,” Satoru’s broad hands grab at you and he swiftly maneuvers you against the damp brick of the nearest building, careful not to scrape your back as he pushes you against the rust colored siding. “Just play along, I doubt he’ll notice. Don’t give me that look, it’s your fault he’s following us!”

“My fault? I didn’t… oh–”

His lips are sleeker than you’d imagined. 

That first, teasing kiss he gives you already has you lifting your head, following the beguiling smoothness of his mouth, silently asking him for another caress. When he leans down your hands bunch into the dark fabric of his uniform and you can feel his smile against your slackened lips. He doesn’t touch you; his fingers don’t wander to the back of your jaw or the dip of your skull, instead he opts to flatten his angles against your curves, pressing until you can’t feel anything but him. 

The next kiss he gives you has a little more bite behind it, literally. 

His sharp nose bumps your cheek and his teeth worry against the plush swell of your lower lip, sucking and nipping until you’re snatching for his shoulders, searching for some kind of leverage. His mouth parts and right when you think he’s about to deepen his strokes and teasing pecks, he leans back and cocks his head at your flustered expression. “I’ve always wanted to try that,” he tells you, bracing one of his arms above your head. “It looks so fun in the movies.”

That cop could be right behind him, could be waiting for you both to stop your ridiculous routine and face the harsh gleam of reality, but you don’t care, not right now. 

Your hands had fallen from him when he pulled back, and the absence of his warmth makes you desperate to touch him again. But, when you snatch at the corners of his dark jacket, you’re met with that damned barrier. 

“Really?” you bemoan, licking at your kiss slick lips, trying again. “You’re the worst, you know that? You let me get used to the idea of having access to you and then just cut it–mmmph…” 

With a faint shudder of space, his barrier is lowered once more and his lips are back against yours. This time, his hands join in and he cups his fingers behind your ears, tilting you up as he glides his soft touch over you until you’re groaning. 

“Could have just told me you wanted more…” he rumbles in between his caresses, fingers tracing over the line of your jaw, your neck, and the slope of your shoulders. It’s like he can’t decide where he wants to go and you love the momentary burst of indecisiveness that’s broken over him. 

More, apparently, entails you asking him to come up to your room. 

He’d laughed when you’d mentioned it, your lips swollen and glassy from his attentions, and you’d almost taken it back, peeved by his genuine amusement at the idea, but then he’d plucked you into his arms and smoothed any lingering doubts with another flurry of nips and kisses. 

“This gonna make it into your report?” he grins, yanking his high collared jacket off and tossing it carelessly onto the floor. “I should,” you barb, pulling the long band of your hip pouch off, letting it clatter to the ground as your fingers work up the buttons of your own uniform. “Let them think that you’re abusing your status.” 

“Tch, me? Abuse my power? Never. Hey, I think you’re supposed to go slower with that. Don’t just yank all of your clothes off. You know, take your time, tease me a little,” Satoru chuckles, jerking his chin toward your busy hands.

“Oh? Wanting a show?” you ask, threading the last button and spreading the heavy material apart, revealing the thin shirt that’s obscuring his view of your breasts and stomach. “Well, that’s too bad, because taking all this gear off is never fun, or sexy for that matter…”

“Not with that attitude,” he hums, stepping closer, peeling his skin tight undershirt off and revealing the sleek planes of his rippled muscles. Most sorcerers are fit; and many boast beefier sets of pectorals and curving arches of biceps and triceps, but there’s something about the streamlined leanness of Satoru that’s making your hands itch. He’s not far, you could reach out for him, slip your fingers over the dips and beveled lines of his abdomen and follow that tempting strip of white that winds down the front of his pants, but that makes this too easy and there’s nothing about Satoru that’s easy.

“Mmm, that’s a new look.” His voice is distant to your ears, but the satisfied note that’s vibrating through his words makes you snap your head up, fingernails scraping against your palms. “You look like you wanna eat me (Y/N)… or maybe, taste is a better adjective. Awe, what’s the matter? Worried I won’t let you?”

You run your tongue over your lips and lift one hand, holding it steady and crooking your index finger at his brazen expression, pleased to see that cheeky smile of his falters a little. “Do me a favor, come here and take off that blindfold.”

“Ah-ha, so bossy,” he growls, voice sinking into that sinfully lower octave as he raises his broad hands to the back of his wrappings, unwinding the fabric and slowly advancing toward you. He stops when the tips of his toes are inches from your own, bracing his palms toward his face, holding the last strip across his eyes. “Wanna do the honors? Or are you expecting me to do all the work tonight?”

“As if. Besides…” you snicker, pulling two fingers to the remains of his blindfold and peeling it down, watching as his hair falls forward, slowly divulging the top of his forehead, pale eyebrows and that shock of avid blue that’s already gazing down at you. “I think you like when I tell you what to do, don’t you?”

“Ahh, looks like she figured me out,” Satoru groans, letting the ivory bindings fall to the floor, his hands already reaching for your waist. He doesn’t give you an opportunity to study him, but they’ll be time for that later, you reason, arms lacing around his chorded neck. 

This kiss is hungrier and his tongue immediately dances along the seam of your lips, pressing until you give in. It’s an awkward angle, but he expertly adjusts himself to you, slotting a warm palm against the small of your back and raising the other to curl into your hair, lifting you until it’s perfect. 

He’s greedy, devouring every inch you give him with a ravenous edge, but when you suck on his lower lip, he slips into something that’s clearly a little more unhinged. 

Suddenly, he’s the one who’s bending forward, trying to get as close to you as he physically can, hunching until you can trace your fingertips over the sharpness of his jaw. His teeth clink against yours as he snatches you up, and you can feel the sharp bulge of his length, the hardness grinding down your hips and stomach as he yanks you nearer. It’s hard to breathe, but he’s refusing to let you budge, lips avariciously seeking and pulling, leaving you with nothing else but the sheer enormity of his touch.  

“Fuck,” he gasps, finally letting you fall from his grasp, heaving out a few unsteady breaths. “You’ve got way too much on. Why do you still have so much on?” He plucks at your shirt but stops when he frees the edge from your pants, cerulean eyes bright in the moonlight. “Take it off,” he heaves, forehead pressing against yours, lifting his fingers from you. “Take it off for me, please?” 

You nod, a little taken aback by his sudden desperation, and he watches closely as you yank the thin material up, blue eyes shining as you unveil yourself. When the shirt passes over your breasts, he gives you a distracted kiss to the temple before he pulls away, freeing you to pull it over your head and sighing happily when it finally hits the floor, leaving you partially bare. As soon as your arms lower, he’s back against you, hands cupping at your hips, jerking you forward. “Whoa,” you gasp, bracing your palms against his chest. “Slow down. Let me get the rest of this–”

“No, no, no, no,” he chants, fingers smoothing up your spine. “Stop, for a second… just… just gimme a minute. You feel so nice. Your skin, it’s… it’s so warm and so fucking smooth, ahhh. Ohh, yes. A few more seconds (Y/N), just let me… It’s been so long since I’ve touched someone like this. I kinda forgot what it felt like and I don’t wanna let go, not yet.”

His head is bowed and that hauntingly blue gaze is covered by his winced eyelids, but he can’t seem to stop moving. Even as he asks you to hold still, to let him touch you, feel you, he keeps shifting his weight and burrowing his brow into the dip of your shoulder. 

“Can I take this off?” he asks, nails scritching at the clasp of your bra. “Please? Lemme take it off. Come on. I know you wanna touch me too, I saw how you were looking at me a minute ago. You’re so fucking cute, I can’t… ahaha, fuck, I sound insane. Look, I’ll slow down, I promise, just gimme a little more of you.”

When he mischievously snaps the strap of your bra against your shoulder blade, you can’t help but laugh at his infectious exuberance. His head lifts from you and he turns his attention to your neck, soft lips sucking and nipping at you until you’re wriggling in his hold. “Alright, alright! Just step back, Satoru! I’ll take it off,” you placate, knocking him away and huffing at the long face he gives you in return. “Here,” your fingers unhook the two pronged clasp and the delicate lace slips from your shoulders, falling to the carpeted floor with a hush. “Okay, that’s everything on the top half. Now what are–Ah! Satoru!” 

He takes full advantage of his superior speed and before you can blurt out a proper retort, he’s against you. 

His teeth worry at your earlobe and he immediately hoists you upward, seizing the lush curve of your ass and pulling you into his powerful arms, urging your legs to wrap around his trim waist. When you shakily oblige, he cups one lean arm under you, but the other drags you forward, scraping your newly bared breasts and stiffened nipples against the planes of his powerful pectorals. When he walks, you jostle in his grasp and coil your fingers around his neck, smiling when he moans contentedly at your reliance on his firm hold. “Damn,” he grunts, cocking his head so he can lick a wet circle into your pulse. “You feel fucking good (Y/N). So damn smooth, how are you so soft? God, I want more, I wanna feel everything.”

The front of his shins hit the edge of your bed and he tumbles you down, a dark grin spreading over his face as he watches you stretch out teasingly. He plants a knee into the soft bedding and braces both arms beside your head, leering over you. 

For a long breath, both of you study each other, eyes whisking over gleaming skin and the curves of your faces. Without the added heft of that blindfold Satoru’s snowy hair hangs loosely over his face, straight tendrils clinging to his brow, making him look younger, mellower, and so very handsome. Opting to take advantage of this lull, you reach up and thread your fingers into the silken strands.

When you reach the edge of his temple, you scrape your nails against his scalp, grinning as he lets a heavy exhale fall between his lips, cerulean eyes falling to a pleased half mast. “You’re trying to distract me,” he accuses, gliding a wide palm up your side. You shake your head and keep twirling his hair across your fingertips, marveling at his own softness. “No. I just like your hair.”

“That’s a first,” he snorts, cupping a palm underneath one of your breasts and pulling his thumb over the swelling bud of your nipple. “Here I am, trying to feel you up, and you’re too distracted by my hair to appreciate it. How rude.”

“Shut up,” you gasp out, arching into his hand as he tweaks and plucks at your pebbled tip. “You’re lucky I’m even… mmm… letting you do this.”

“Please. It was your idea, remember?”

Satoru lowers one of his braced arms, letting his weight fall heavily to one side as he keeps his deepening ministrations up. Your fingers are still buried in his hair when he drops his lips to your breast. You feel the flick of his tongue first, and the light tap has you bowing your back, gasping out a faint cry as his rough appendage continues to swipe and twirl over your sensitive flesh. Instinctively, your hands tug at his pearlescent strands and he tilts his head up, fixing you with a lazy stare. “That’s better, looks like I just need to refocus you, huh?” he muses, his words half garbled as he sucks your plump breast into his mouth. He keeps flicking his tongue over you as he suckles, lapping and nipping until you’re writhing under him. 

Once he’s satisfied, his free hand lowers to your grinding hips, forcing you to lay flat against the bed, switching his attention to the neglected twin, sucking and pressing open mouthed bites to your damp, shaking skin. 

A tight heat is coiling in your core and your thighs rub against each other, trying to cool the sharp pricks of arousal that are coursing through you. As soon as your hands fall from his head, Satoru picks up his pace, licking his sloppy tongue under your breasts and nibbling his way down your quivering stomach. “You’re still wearing way too much,” he scolds, fingers toying with the gold clasp of your pants. 

“It’s… oh… difficult to take things off when you… ah–won’t let me move more than two feet from you.” You’d meant it to sound a little firmer, but his constant touch is wearing down your focus, distracting you with brilliant flashes of his luminescent blues and whites. 

“Awe, (Y/N),” he whines, popping his hand against your hip, long fingers digging into your swelled curves. “That’s not fair. I told you, I always have my barrier up. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve touched someone, anyone? I mean really touched them?”

“Daw,” you sigh, propping yourself up on your elbows and peering down at him. “You poor thing. The all powerful Satoru Gojo, too honed and practiced with his neutral technique that he can’t even hold anyone’s hand.” 

“Ha, such a jerk,” he laughs, exaggerating a wounded frown. “I bare my soul to you and this is how I’m treated?” 

“Stop being so dramatic,” you scoff, yanking your legs from under him and popping up on your knees, hands reaching for him, curling under his jaw and urging him upwards. His eyes lock onto yours and the grin that tweaks the corner of his lips gives you an idea. “You said you wanted to touch more of me, right?”

As you wait for your answer, you scoot backwards, making him follow you across the bed, finally luring all of his sprawling form onto the cool sheets. “Mmhm,” he grunts, doing his best to keep close, teasing fingers inches from your skin at all times, always ready to stroke and cup each time you pause. When you hit the headboard you stop, studying his features, admiring the growing hunger that’s screaming its way out of his wide eyes.  

“You ever eaten a girl out?”

The question hangs for half a second and you can see his pupils dilate, the black threatening to swallow up the sky streaked blue of his eyes. Then, right when you’re about to tease him for his gaping mouth and flushed cheeks, he’s bowling past you, splaying out against the mattress and pulling you on top of him. 

“Fuck, that’s by far the best thing I’ve heard all day. Hell, all month. I’ll likely go to my grave thinking about that question. Ouch! Stop squirming, you’re kneeing me in the ribs.” 

“I wouldn’t… Satoru! I can’t breathe if you hold me like that!” His arms are like cables, all tensed muscle and raw strength as he pins you against his heaving chest, lips kissing and nipping at any part of you he can reach.

“Whatever,” he grumbles, sucking a bruise into your arched collarbone. “Hurry up and take your pants off. And don’t say you can’t do it like this, you’re a grade 1 sorcerer, you can do anything you put your mind to.”

“Is that going to be part of your teaching regime?” you smart, bucking your hips up so you can unclasp and wiggle your pants down your legs.

“Oooh, you’re right, that sounds good. Damn, I gotta start writing this shit down. That way I can have a whole list of euphemisms. Can you imagine? Molding young minds and helping them to stand up to all the bullshit that those so-called elders make everyone suffer under. All those rules and regulations, the stupid ins and outs they make us all jump through–”

“Hmm,” your voice falls to a gentle hum as you snatch at his chin, stilling his chatter with a single finger against his lips. “That sounds ambitious, but why don’t we take things a little slower, give that mind of yours something else to focus on?”

“Oh?” Satoru smirks, arching an ashen eyebrow at you. “Then you better get up here, before I get distracted again.”

“Don’t you mean down?”

“Huh, down? Ah, I see where the confusion is. Nah, I want you to ride my tongue, baby, so hurry up.” His long arms help him jerk you upward, easily lifting and enticing you forward. That early impatience is peeking out once more, and he pops his head up, nostrils flaring as your uncovered cunt drifts nearer. “Ah, God, I bet you’re so fucking wet. I can smell you from here. Come on, grab onto the headboard and let me get to it.”

Your legs shake as you plant them beside his head and you do your best to steady your pounding heart, pulling a thin stream of air through your parted lips. As soon as you touch the wood of the headboard, he’s gripping your thighs so tightly you’re sure he’s going to leave bruises behind. The tip of his nose is the first thing you feel, and it’s so close to your pulsing clit that you inadvertently cant your hips forward. “Ooh, sensitive, are we?” he crows, nestling himself under you, his breath hot against your dampened folds and wet curls. 

The following slick slurp of his tongue and the slow pass of his lips make your head tip back. He’s surprisingly gentle, slowly licking his way along your labia, pulling and sucking as he goes, teasing closer to that tight bud that’s waiting, just a little bit higher. 

At first, you worry about crushing him, too caught up in the placement of your weight to fall into the haze his mouth is begging you to slip into. But then his lips latch onto you, careful to mouth in time with the thud of your clit, suckling and squeezing until you can’t help but grind down, earning yourself a sharp groan that reverberates against your trembling skin. Using the weight of the headboard as leverage, you roll your hips over him, shifting in time with his well-placed rhythm. 

He’s good, but even the great Satoru Gojo isn’t perfect, not all the time.

When he nips at you a little too hard you shift back, depriving him of your wet heat, loving the petulant sighs and moans he gives you when you do. “Ah, sorry. Gimme a little more time,” he bargains, fingers sinking into the voluptuous curve of your ass, tying to urge you back over his glistening lips. “I’ll do better, (Y/N). Besides, I want you to cum for me. You taste so fucking good and I want it, I want all of it. Hey! Don’t be like that! I said I’d do better. Come back here.”

God, he’s such a brat. 

Every time you shift away he’s got another string of exasperated pleas ready, twitching his fingers and shaking his pale head at your impudence. “Less talking,” you moan, shivering as he delves his tongue into you, feeling his grin as your cunt squeezes around his intrusion. “Ok, ok,” he growls, using his brute strength to overpower your tensed legs. “Mmm, yes baby, ah–just relax, I’ll take care of you.”

Fuck, you think as you sink your fingers into his hair, spurring him on, this feels way too good.

When he captures your clit between his teeth and tweaks the tip of his tongue against you, you can’t help but fall to pieces. Your orgasm hits you like a battering ram, seizing hold of your muscles as it rolls through you and scattering a faint spark of spots across your vision. Satoru’s arms wrap around your blindly pistoning hips, helping you to sink closer, ravenously slurping and swallowing down each wave of arousal that hits his gluttonous lips. 

You’re still shaking when he pulls out from under you, flipping you bonelessly under him as his hands finally rid himself of his clearly tented and damp pants. Your eyes are just clearing when you catch sight of him, studiously following that trail of white curls to his impressive length. His cock is long, curving proudly toward his chiseled stomach and bubbling a clear string of pre-cum from the flushed tip. You do your best to sit up, but as soon as he catches sight of your movement, his broad palm is pressing you back. “Ah-ah,” he taunts, stroking a hand over his swollen cock and wiping the last of your slick from his face against his shoulder. “Keep still for me, ‘kay?’” 

His wide palms spread your legs apart, and he soothes his fingertips along your skin as he tugs a few heady groans from himself. “Fuck, you look so good. You’re so goddamn pretty. When you were sitting there at the bar and you looked so fucking happy I couldn’t take my eyes off you, you just looked so nice. Haven’t even known you a week, and I’m already obsessed with hearing that laugh of yours. You put some kinda spell on me, huh? That what this is?”

“Ugh, stop talking, Satoru,” you threaten, watching the steady ebb and flow of his clenched fist. His cock looks so smooth and you’re desperate to reach for it, to take hold of velvety flesh and see how long it would take for the world’s strongest sorcerer to be putty in your hands. 

He arches a pale brow at your blatant stare. “You want it?”

“I want you,” you correct, and the smile that breaks across his handsome face makes your heart squeeze. 

“Awe, how can I possibly say no to that?” he asks, gleefully lining himself up with your slit. Despite his early eagerness, he’s taking his time with this part, running the bulbous head of his cock over you, gathering up some of your gossamer strands, slicking himself with your dripping arousal. “Sorry,” he amends when he makes another pass along your folds. “It’s been awhile and I want to take it all in. I don’t wanna rush this.”

“It’s fine,” you smile, lifting your hands to pass them over his stomach, watching as his muscles ripple under your delicate touch. “Just don’t take too long or you’re not going to be on top for much longer.”

“That a threat or a promise, baby?” Satoru leers, finally slipping his tip past that first, tight ring of your entrance. Despite his bravado, his lips curl over his teeth and he lets out a low hiss as he sinks into you, inch by shallow inch. The pressure of his cock makes you arch, legs automatically wrapping around his waist, heels digging into the small of his back. He bows his head and his ethereal gaze falls behind his shaking eyelids as he thrusts forward, edging himself along until he bottoms out within you. Fuck, you feel so full.

The stretch of him makes you shake and you’re grateful he’s taking his time when he stills, lips smacking distracted kisses over your heated cheeks and parted lips, giving you time to adjust to him, and he to you. After a few steadying breaths, his teeth bite at the hollow of your throat and he pulls his hips back, grinning as your hands grasp into the sheets, a sharp whine escaping you. He echoes your sentiment, letting a gasping string of curses tumble from his shaking lips as he ruts forward again, one hand gripping at your right leg, prying you from his waist and slinging the trembling limb over his shoulder.

This angle has him pressing against something wonderful and sharp, and you can’t help but gasp out his name as he starts to methodically ram into it, over and over. You can feel him swell at the sound of your pleading moans and you savor the feel of his cock throbbing against your tender walls. “More,” you shudder, fingers trying to hurry his steady hips as he diligently cants into you. 

“In a minute,” he grunts, biting at your pliant skin, arms coiling under your back. “This feels too fucking good. Let me just… ah… fuck…” 

He slows, moving at a pace that sets your teeth on edge, and you thrash under him. Although his cock is digging against that aching place that’s sending dots and stars across your eyes, it’s not enough pressure. Licking your lips, you worm one of your hands between the two of you and pinch and roll your fingers over your clit, easing some of the tingling bittersweetness that’s pulsing over you. 

“Alright, alright, point taken,” Satoru chuckles, releasing your leg from his tight grip and re-lacing it around his hips. “How do you want it, baby? You want it fast? Or do you want it hard? Tell me.”

“I don’t know,” you murmur, peeking up at his enthralling cerulean, willingly ensnaring yourself in the intensity of his gaze. “I just want more of you.”

“Tch,” he hums, cupping a hand against your warm cheek. “Don’t say shit like that, I might end up falling for you.”

The laugh that echoes from your lips is swiftly cut off by a gasp as he abruptly ups the pace of his thrusts. He’s quick, but he’s still listening and watching for what you like. When you moan he’s right there with you, steadying his rhythm, and when you call out his name, he digs a little harder. 

It’s too much. It feels raw, like you’re scratching at a cut. Like there’s some itch that you just can’t reach. 

All of it, the feel of his meaty balls slapping against the sticky plushness of your ass, and those breathy moans makes your head spin. The intensity of the moment slips your fingers from your clit, but he makes up for their loss by grinding down each time he sinks into your cunt, scraping the hard edge of his pelvic bone against your throbbing bud. 

He’s good. Fuck.

You can feel the hazy slope of your orgasm approaching and you blindly arch up each time he careens downward, ensuring that he’s hitting right where you need him to. His movements start to hit a lull as he slips into his own fog of lingering pleasure, dipping his head to your neck and sighing contentedly when you kiss at his temple. But the tenderness of your touch must knock him out of his own whirring thoughts and he rewards you with another set of rapid fire thrusts, his lips pulling from your neck to seek out yours, kissing and nipping until you’re gasping for air. 

“Mmmm,” he moans, breath hot against your skin. “You feel so good and you’re getting so fucking tight. You gonna’ cum for me? One more time?”

You do your best to gulp out a reply, but the abrupt press of his calloused thumb against your clit makes you shake instead, a tingling rush of heady arousal racing its way up your spine. Smiling down at your awed expression, he lifts his fingers away and uncoils your legs from his waist, flinging them both over his broad shoulders, his knees settling forward as he continues to roughly thrusts his hips forward, driving you quivering body into the soft sheets. 

“You like that? Does it feel good? Does it? Fuck baby, I’m begging you, give it to me one more time. Can you do that for me? Can you cum for me? I want you to cum on my dick, ah, come on (Y/N), just once more, that’s all I’m asking. You can do it, can’t you?”

He’s rasping his questions against the shell of your ear, hands cupping at the side of your face, keeping you close as he races toward his own end, voice lifting into a frantic plea as he hurtles closer, desperate to feel your satisfaction rippling around him before he completely looses himself to the aching pleasure of your body. 

“I–” you choke out, arms lacing around his back, nails pressing half moons into his skin. He moans at the bite of your touch and tilts your hips upward, seeking more of you. 

That change is all it takes. 

The tip of his cock presses down, lifts, and then suddenly you’re seeing stars. 

“I’m… yes! Oh, fuck. Satoru, just like that. Don’t… don’t stop!” For once, he doesn’t tease. He just smiles, his face flushed, pale cheeks dusted a pleased pink and repeats the motion, careful to keep everything absolutely steady. The repeated push and pull, the warmth of your cunt, the feel of your skin, it’s making his cock throb and his heart race, but he’s determined to see you break. 

There. There it is. Fuck, you’re so pretty.

On an outward pull of his hips, your back arches and your thighs tense and he lets out a long growl, quickly breaking his fastidious rhythm and sinking back into you, gasping as you flutter around him. A new flush of wetness leaks out of your cunt and squelches between your pinned legs, dripping over the cleft of your ass.

He only lasts a few extra ruts, but the feel of him swelling and pulsing inside your tender pussy almost topples you over the edge again and you cling to him in the aftermath of his release, your heaving breasts catching against his flat pectorals. 

With a quick peck, he slowly lowers your legs and eases himself out of you, blue eyes widening at the sight of his softening hardness leaving your leaking pussy. “I don’t know which I like better,” he contemplates, leaning back on his haunches and slicking his index finger up the pooling dribble you’ve both left behind, spreading the spidery traces across his hand. “You wet and dripping for me or filled to the brim with my cum.” His lewd comment makes you huff out a low groan of exasperation and you roll off of the bed, shaking your head as you steady yourself and walk toward the bathroom. 

After a brisk rinse in the shower, you pad back into the darkened room, fully expecting to see an empty bed. You’re not sure why that’s your first thought, but something about Satoru doesn’t scream: I’m the kind of guy who likes post coitus cuddles. So the sight of him, bundled under your sheets, white hair poking just above the edge of the blankets, is a surprise.

“Oh,” you pause, dropping your towel on the floor as you openly gape at him. “You’re still here… I, well, I figured you’d take off.”

“Huh?” Satoru croaks, popping his head up, his face comically askew. “What kinda guy do you think I am?”

“Apparently the kind that stays over,” you snicker, digging around for your discarded bra and panties. 

He lets out a mock gasp, popping a hand against his cheek. “How could you say that! And after I gallantly brought you back here?”

“And fucked me,” you remind him, slipping your lacy underwear back on and re-adjusting the clasp of your bra.

“That too!” he qualifies, arching a pale eyebrow at your impassive face. “I’d say I was pretty generous. You did cum twice after all.”

“Oh my God,” you sigh, crossing your arms across your chest and perching beside the edge of the bed, shaking your head at the sprawling man under your covers.

“Come on, you wouldn’t seriously make me walk all the way back to the school at this hour. What if something happens to me? How could you live with yourself, knowing you kicked me out into the cold?”

“It’s summer,” you point out, rolling your eyes. “And you’re… what six foot three… and you have the legendary six eyes… I mean, I think you’ll be ok.”

“(Y/N),” Satoru begins, narrowing those bright blue eyes at you.

“Yeah?”

“Is it your habit to sleep with helpless guys and then kick them out? You’re so cruel.”

“Stop it,” you warn, snatching at the sheets and yanking them off of his naked form.

“No!” he protests, fingers clutching vainly at the thin cover. “Your bed is so nice! Come on, I’ll be good and I don’t snore. Well, not that I know of anyway…”

“Ugh, fine. I don’t have the energy for this and we have to be up in four hours. Just shush and scoot over.”

“Oh? Do you not have the energy because I fucked it out of you?”

“I’m sorry, were you wanting to stay the night?” 

“Alright, alright,” he splays his hands up in supplication and makes room for you, watching closely as you curl up beside him, a smile playing over his lips. “Hey,” he asks once you’ve closed your eyes, leaning close to your reposed form. 

“What?” you groan, cracking an eye open.

“Can I be the little spoon?”

“Satoru…”

“Mmhm?”

“Shut up.”

notes: hehe. i feel like he’d be so freaking chatty in bed. plus, how could i not make him a little touched starved? stop making me like characters that just wanna be held universe, gosh :3c

[nxpz]

Understanding Sephiroth

Some backstory for those who are new to fandom and don’t intend on playing crisis core or just want to inhale the info asap

needless to say SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT TW: v1olence, su1c1de, ch1ld abus3

I’ve been in the FF7 fandom for over a decade and sometimes fanon bleeds in, sorry in advance

PRE CRISIS CORE EVENTS Sephiroth was conceived by Lucretia Crescent, a biotechnologist working for Shinra, the project was aided by Hojo (known extremely hateable person ahem I mean scientist) and Gast Faremis. Together they injected her and her unborn son with JENOVA cells, an extra-terrestrial they had mistaken for a species of ‘ancient humans’ called Cetra who had lived on the planet ages past and were alleged to be able to ‘speak to the planet’ and perform miracles. Why would Shinra want this? Because they believed the Cetra had access to ‘the promised land’ where they believed resources were abundant. ‘The oils running out WE NEED TO OPEN A PORTAL TO THE OIL DIMENSION.’ -President Shinra

aNYWAY that did not pan out, what they got instead was a super soldier  ‘SEND HIM STRAIGHT TO WAR, AS SOON AS HE CAN WALK!’ -pRESIDENT sHINRA  Back to Lucretia, she had been having horrible visions of the atrocities future Sephiroth would commit, but she still carried the child to term despite the visions and the bouts of intense pain she suffered, only for that fucker Hojo (aforementioned hateable person) to take Sephiroth away as soon as he was born (likely with Shinra clout to back up their potential oil dimension whisperer’s future as a mindless corporate zombie). Stricken with grief (and maybe realising this was a very horrible idea from the get go) Lucretia disappears (ahem she tries to kill herself but only succeeds in becoming a sentient fossil...)

So Sephiroth grows up presumably in a lab environment and is trained to be a soldier for The Shinra Corporation. Meanwhile on a farm or something Professor Hollander(major soy energy)

is working on making his own oil whisperer lab children. The 2 children are Genesis(zesty douchebag with mad fashion and a lot of resentment) and Angeal(ultimate strongguy dependable dude with lots of honour and dEPRESSION). Problem is Professor Hollander ISNT THAT SMART and he fucks up on the Genesis project ): ah well, he’ll live long enough to be a good child soldier? probably?

Part 3!! Sephiroth goes to war! (at the behest of the corpo Shinra) Sephiroth is presumably a CHILD when Shinra sends him to Wutai in a war of conquest for their sweet OIL I mean Mako, the war lasted a just under a decade and completely devastated Wutai, a fan theory is that Masamune (Sephiroth’s iconic blade) is from Wutai. During this time it would have become evident that Sephiroth is very strong (Genesis angrily weeping moment) and it isn’t long before he’s famous, with Shinra likely pumping out propaganda faster than they can suck the planet dry.

CRISIS CORE Enter scene, Sephiroth doesn’t know how to human good and his now friend (Genesis kinda hates him but Sephiroth smiles when Genesis reads him poetry so, go watch genesis vs angeal vs sephiroth cutscene for Sephiroth maximum zesty kitty eyes) ahem and his friend Genesis has a cut ): but he’s tsundere af and won’t let Sephiroth put a band aid on it, so Sephiroth stands there and his emotional constipation levels increase, Angeal consoles Genesis when the cut mysteriously won’t heal and Sephiroth isn’t allowed to help, so his emotional constipation levels increase eVEN mORE.(gosh he radiates 3rd wheel energy SO HARD) During this time where Genesis SEEMS TO BE DYING AND IT’S SEPHIROTH’S FAULT KINDA MAYBE (no it isn’t but look at his sad face ): he looks like he blames himself) Zack, new excitable puppy, tries to befriend Sephiroth in a monumental move that everyone else was too busy shitting themselves to even contemplate, Sephiroth stares at him like someone whose thought of human interaction but never tried it, miraculously it works and they exchange numbers and become kinda friends, more like fb friends. Sephiroth is fond of Zack but remains distant due to his inability to say many words and his loyalty to his corpo brainwashing. 

 ‘THIS IS FINE’ -Sephiroth Genesis, is becoming WITHERED! at an EXTREME RATE! Professor Hollander, man who is actually useless is unable to cure him so he tells Genesis to defect from Shinra and become a terrorist (: which will improve the situation. probably. (it doesn’t) he makes a bunch of clones of Genesis so there is more suffering (:  Sephiroth is ON THE VERGE OF TEARS but he holds it toge- Angeal forces Zack to kill him bc he believe he is an abomination and an insult against god... Zack got a BUSTER SWORD! wow! Sephiroth probably copes by working extra hard, he seems like the type. Now Zack also has depression ): Sephiroth just sees his dead friend when he looks at him holding the buster sword. (ok i’m projecting but it’s obvious)

Sephiroth is quite jaded, both with his inability to help either of his friends and Shinra’s involvement in their suffering when he’s sent to the Bavarian Alps I mean Nibelheim to fix a leaky pipe in a very sussy mission just because it’s such a lame one. They also send Zack (now SOLDIER 1st class) to help him bc thos pipes are treacherous. Sephiroth gets into the leaky pipe zone and GENESIS IS THERE he offers him an apple but Sephiroth only likes pears, affronted Genesis tells him he should help him to not die (like Sephiroth wanted to in the beginning) but Sephiroth tells him to fuck off and WITHER FASTER bc Genesis hurt his feelings so bad pensiveyeehaw Genesis drops a truth bomb on him that his mom is WEIRD and Sephiroth starts sweating nervously but leaves and goes to nearby SPOOKY MANSION where he finds loads of records about the JENOVA Project. He doesn’t sleep at all and locks himself in the library reading Hojo’s creepy scientifically inaccurate fanfics about how Jenova is super cool and humans are stinky and evil.

‘something devilish has been brewing within me for years on end that will only escape through means of physical violence’ -Sephiroth

Then he SnAps and just kills eVERYONE in the village by the leaky pipe. ever lost faith in humanity? joker moment u wouldn’t get it...

Also ahem, but believing the planet was occupied by Cetra (he thinks Jenova is Cetra AND HIS MOTHER bc of Hojo’s fanfics) until they were driven to extinction by humans? Sephiroth having grown up used by humans to destroy and pollute the planet for the greed of others, used to complying with orders to kill, never being given his own freedom, discovering this and making his first radical choice not determined by Shinra? Maybe he believes it’s his choice but he exchanges one master for another, perhaps Jenova tells him that he must kill the humans that wronged her (he feels so very wronged) and he is so tired, gives up his will and follows hers, euphoric in the idea that he is loved and that he can help Jenova when he was unable to help his friends. Prolly a bit of that and a lot of mental break. The exact details of what happened in Sephiroth’s mind are not explained, it’s come to ur own conclusions time aw yeah.

reminder that I do not endorse killing people at the behest of an alien :) be a reasonable person like Cloud, join a perfectly good eco terrorist group, much healthier way of letting out your pent up rage against the SYSTEM /jk

ALSO SIDE NOTE I’m sorry if some things are out of order timeline wise, this was a ramble from my highly reliable ~memory~

[oopsitsstella]

May I please request a fic where Thor and his s/o are snuggled together comfortably on a coach, sharing a blanket while watching a movie? 😭

You can absolutely request this! You are speaking my language here, this is good! Thank you for requesting, I hope you like it!

Movie Night

Thor Odinson x Reader

Fandom: The MCU

Summary: A snowstorm and a busted heater isn’t going to stop Thor and Y/N from having their movie nights

A/N: Takes place in the middle of winter because….idk🤷🏼‍♀️

Y/N was thankful for Thor for a lot of reasons. He was kind, he was funny, he was sweet, but right now, she was most thankful for the fact that he was practically a walking oven. It was December, a brutal snowstorm was falling down on the Avengers Compound, and of course, Tony chose this time to mess up in his lab and bust the heater.

You’d think, in such a fancy, high tech place, the heater would be a bit tougher, especially if it was Tony Stark's place of operation. He should be able to make and maintain a high quality heater, right?

Apparently not.

Ever since the heater busted, Y/N had been stealing a lot of Thor’s sweaters. Well, more than usual, anyway. He ran so hot, so his sweaters were warmer than hers. Another bonus is that they smelled like him.

However this might had been colder than the previous, the storm hitting even harder, and so Thor and Y/N chose to distract themselves from the sinking temperature and worsening storm by having a movie night.

Since they started dating, it had become custom for Thor and Y/N to have a movie night together once a week if they could. Of course, two Avengers dating, one being a literal god, sometimes it didn’t work out, but every missed night was always made up for.

Y/N had made them both hot cocoa, with more on standby ready to be made, Thor had carried all the blankets to the couch, and they both settled under the biggest, warmest blanket with their drinks and a plate of cookies, ready for the film.

“What’s on the list tonight, my love?” Thor asked, one of his strong arms wrapping around her shoulder.

Y/N being quite the movie lover, and Thor not being too well versed in Midgardian culture, they were watching through a list of classic, famous or popular movies, as well as some of Y/N’s personal favorites.

“The Lord of the Rings.” Y/N said with a smile. “They’re some of my favorites. With how long we’ve been together, and I haven't shown them to you yet… it’s bad.”

At her serious tone and deadpan expression, Thor couldn’t help but laugh, which immediately made Y/N smile. His laugh was her favorite sound.

“Then I say we should begin!” He said enthusiastically. “Is this one movie, or is it several?”

“It’s a series, it’s three movies long, but they are very long movies.” Y/N explained, pulling the first movie up on the TV. “Just based on the environment the movies are set in, I think you’ll feel quite at home. I think you’re gonna like them.”

Almost 4 hours later, it turned out Y/N had been correct. Thor loved the first movie, and despite both of them wanting to keep watching the second one, they were far too tired to do so. The movies were long as is, watching the extended edition certainly didn’t help.

“So what did you think?” Y/N asked as they moved to lay rather than sit on the couch.

“I can see why you speak so highly of them, it was fantastic.” Thor said, his arms wrapping more securely around Y/N’s waist. “If we can, I think we should watch at least one more tomorrow.”

“Well, the weather forecast says the storm is gonna last for a bit longer, so I think we can.” Y/N smiled up at him.

“Wonderful.” Thor smiled back, pressing a kiss to Y/N’s forehead. “But for now I think we should sleep, it’s rather late.”

“But I don’t wanna move.” Y/N whined, snuggling deeper into her boyfriends embrace. “It’s comfy here.”

“Then we can sleep here, can’t we?” Thor asked.

“That’s true, we can.”

“Excellent.”

Y/N yelped when Thor unexpectedly hoisted her up to lay practically on top of him, and smacked his arm.

“Give me a warning next time, please!” She said, and Thor laughed.

“I’m sorry, my love.” He said. “But you said you were tired, I thought you’d be too exhausted to change positions.”

Y/N rolled her eyes at his teasing tone, and Thor laughed again.

“Why do I put up with you?” She asked, an affectionate smile spreading on her face.

“Because you love me.” Thor replied.

“I suppose that reason will suffice.” Y/N teased him, and now it was Thor’s turn to roll his eyes.

A comfortable silence filled the room, Y/N bringing the blanket up to cover them both more, and Thor started humming the melody to what Y/N knew was an Asgardian lullaby. Thor’s mother used to sing it for him and his brother when they were younger, he’d told her, and it always brought him comfort, and a warm feeling of nostalgia.

Y/N let a obnoxiously loud yawn escape her, Thor and herself both chuckling afterwards at the volume of said yawn.

“Go to sleep, my love.” Thor said softly, pressing another kiss to her forehead. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

[sineala]

Tony Stark and Arthuriana

Coming to you by special request, a very long post about 616 Tony's interest in Arthuriana, with a focus on all of Tony's run-ins with Morgan le Fay!

I feel like I should disclaim the extent of my knowledge here, which is that I still haven't managed to read anywhere near every issue of Iron Man -- at least, not yet, anyway -- so I'm just going by the things I know I've read, and Morgan le Fay's Marvel wiki entry is frustratingly under-cited, so it's very possible I've missed something relevant, but I'm pretty sure I've got the big stuff down. My other disclaimer here is that I'm not as big an Arthurian nerd as Tony is, which is to say that most of my familiarity comes from modern retellings -- T. H. White's The Once and Future King, Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon, Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave, Rosemary Sutcliff's Sword at Sunset -- and not so much the usual classic sources on the Matter of Britain, though I've read bits and pieces of them.

(This is because I wanted to read versions of them that were as close to the original as possible but so far have not ended up finishing any of them because, well, that's hard. So I've never read the Mabinogion because I do not know Welsh. I've got the Norton Critical Edition of Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, which is probably the best student edition if you're looking for something without modernized spellings, as I was. I've also got -- well, okay, it's my wife's but I'm borrowing it -- a relatively recent Boydell & Brewer edition (ed. Reeve, tr. Wright) of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), which is, you guessed it, in Latin with a facing English translation. I haven't gotten very far in it because, in case you didn't know this about Latin texts, the beginning is pretty much always the hardest, so I gave up and read some Plautus adaptations instead. Anyway, if for some reason you too want to read Geoffrey of Monmouth in the original Latin I'd recommend that one, but I can't recommend any particular English translations because I've never read one by itself. I bet you didn't think you'd be getting Latin prose recommendations in this post. I mean, maybe you did; it is me, after all.)

Okay. Right. King Arthur. Here we go.

We've got:

Flashbacks to Tony's childhood in late Iron Man volume 1

A brief discussion of Morgan's origin story and Avengers #187

Iron Man vol 1 #149-150: Doomquest

What If vol 1 #33: What if Iron Man was trapped in the time of King Arthur?

Iron Man vol 1 #249-250: Recurring Knightmare

Iron Man: Legacy of Doom #1-4

Avengers vol 3 #1-4: The Morgan Conquest

Civil War: The Confession

Mighty Avengers vol 1 #9-11: Time Is On No One's Side

In terms of universe-internal chronology, we know from Iron Man #287, from 1992, that Tony has been a fan of King Arthur since childhood. This is an issue of a fandom-favorite arc which features Tony having a lot of childhood flashbacks, including the famous "Stark men are made of iron" line (in #286) that for some reason MCU fandom decided it loved; I mean, seriously, I've seen that quoted in way more MCU fic than 616 fic. But slightly later, in #287, we get an entire page devoted to Tony's love of King Arthur.

The narration reads: "Over the next few years, I learned as my father intended. Discipline of body. Strength of character. But in what free time I was allowed, I worked my way through the school's library. At thirteen, I discovered Mallory [sic], who showed me a whole new world. A world of dedication to a cause greater than oneself. Of chivalry and honor. And the fantastic deeds -- of armored heroes."

The art shows Tony as a child sitting under a tree, reading a book labeled Mort D'Arthur by Mallory [sic] -- no, don't ask me why nobody at Marvel checked how to spell either the name of the book or its author -- and daydreaming of King Arthur, the Sword in the Stone, knights, et cetera. Just in case you somehow missed the extremely blatant hint that we are meant to understand that Tony's knight obsession heavily influenced him becoming Iron Man as an adult, we see one of his armors mixed in with all the drawings of knights. So, yes, canonically Tony is Iron Man at least partly because he's a giant King Arthur nerd, which I think is so very sweet. I love him. He's such a dork!

(This issue is currently in print in the Iron Man Epic Collection War Machine, should you need your own copy.)

This isn't actually the only reference to Tony as a King Arthur fanboy in this era of canon, either; a little later, in IM #298, we see that one of Tony's passwords is actually "Mallory." (Yeah, no, they still couldn't spell. But it's cute.)

But in terms of actual publication order, this is definitely not the first time we have seen in canon that Tony is into Arthuriana, as I'm sure you all know. I would assume, in fact, that giving Tony a childhood interest in Arthuriana is because Doomquest is one of the most beloved Iron Man story arcs of all time, and that all started at least a decade before IM #287 here was published.

The villain of Doomquest -- the one who isn't Doctor Doom, at least -- is Morgan le Fay. Yes, that Morgan le Fay. Yes, Arthur's evil half-sister Morgan le Fay. Yes, all of this King Arthur stuff is canonically real history on Earth-616. Morgan's first appearance in Marvel, per the wiki, was in Black Knight #1 (1955), which I have not read, and judging by the summary I feel like this is probably just supposed to be a straight-up comic retelling of Arthurian legends for kids; I don't think Marvel really had the whole Marvel Universe in mind as a concept in 1955, so I'm not sure this was meant to connect to anything else. I feel like this is another one of those instances of Marvel discovering that they can write comics about characters in the public domain for free -- like, I'm pretty sure that's how we also ended up with, like, Norse, Greek, and Roman mythology wedged into 616.

As far as I can tell from the wiki, the first time Morgan tangled with the Avengers (or indeed the larger 616 universe) in any way actually predated Doomquest -- it was in an early arc in Spider-Woman (#2-6) and then Avengers #187, which came out in 1979, actually right when Demon in a Bottle was happening over in Iron Man comics. If you read #187, Iron Man is not in it because he's off the team due to his drinking problem and also his accidentally murdering the Carnelian ambassador problem. So Wonder Man's filling in instead. This issue is part of Michelinie's rather sporadic Avengers run, which makes sense, I guess, considering where we see Morgan next.

Anyway, Avengers #187 is the classic issue where Wanda is possessed by Chthon, but what you may not remember from Chthon's backstory (I sure didn't!) is that he was summoned by Morgan le Fay because she was the first person who tried to wield the Darkhold to summon him. As you can imagine, this did not work out especially well for her and her followers and they had to seal Chthon away in Wundagore Mountain, which was where Wanda found him. (The Spider-Woman stuff is only slightly earlier and also appears to be about Morgan and the Darkhold; the Darkhold is not one of the areas of 616 canon I am especially conversant with, alas. It's on my to-read list.)

Doomquest, as you probably know, was a classic Iron Man two-parter in Layton & Michelinie's first Iron Man run that set up Tony and Doom as rivals; Doomquest itself was IM #149-150, in 1981, and then in their second IM run they came back and did a sequel in 1989, Recurring Knightmare (IM #249-250), and then the much later four-part sequel to that was the 2008 miniseries Iron Man: Legacy of Doom, which was also by Layton & Michelinie but generally does not seem to be as popular as the first two parts. They've all been reprinted, if you're looking for copies; I have a Doomquest hardcover that collects the first four issues and then a separate Legacy of Doom hardcover. Currently in the Iron Man Epic Collection line there's a volume called Doom, which confusingly only collects the 249-250 part of the storyline (as well as surrounding issues), because for some reason the first Layton & Michelinie run isn't in Epics yet but the second one is. So the beginning of Doomquest isn't currently in print, as far as I can tell. I'm sure you can find it anyway.

So what's Doomquest about? Okay, so you remember how Doctor Doom's mother's soul is stuck in hell for all eternity? Well, Doom's obviously interested in getting her back, and the strategy he has embarked on is to try to team up with other powerful magicians who can help him out, and he thinks Morgan le Fay would be a good choice, for, uh, his quest. Doom's quest. A Doomquest, if you will. (If you've ever read Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph & Torment, you're familiar with the part where he later ends up waylaying Strange for this and they go to hell together. And if you haven't read Triumph & Torment, you really should, because it's amazing.)

So Doom is off to his time machine to go team up with Morgan le Fay and Tony thinks Doom is up to something -- Doom has been stealing components for his time machine from a lot of people, including Tony -- and he follows him and it turns out one of Doom's lackeys has a grudge and wants to trap Doom in the past forever, and Tony gets caught up in it. Now they're both in Camelot. Surprise! #149 is actually all setup; they don't get to Camelot until #150.

IM #150 begins with Doom and Tony thrown back into the past; there's a fandom-famous splash page of them locked in combat, only to realize that they have found themselves in Camelot.

They are then discovered by knights; Doom would very much like to attack them, but Tony, who naturally would be happy to LARP Camelot forever, persuades him to play nice. Also Doom thinks Iron Man is only Tony's bodyguard so he keeps referring to him as "lackey," much to Tony's annoyance. Somehow everyone thinks they're sorcerers. Can't imagine why. The knights take them to meet King Arthur himself, and Tony has clearly had his introduction all ready to go, as he introduces himself in a timeline-appropriate manner, says he's here to apprehend Doom, and demonstrates his "magic" by levitating Arthur's throne. Doom's response is essentially "I'm the king of Latveria," which is, y'know, also valid. So they're guests at Camelot for the night while Arthur figures out what to do with them.

We then have a page devoted to Tony alone in his room, musing sadly about how alien he feels, how he doesn't know if he'll ever get home, how he could never fit in here without his beloved technology. Then a Sexy Lady shows up to keep him company for the night, and he decides maybe it's not all bad. Thanks, Marvel. I guess they can't all be winners.

Doom is using his evening much more productively; he compels one of the servants to tell him where Morgan's castle is, because he's still interested in having that team-up. Then he jets off. Literally. He has a jetpack.

The next morning Arthur's like "one of you is still here and one of you has punched a hole through the castle wall and flown off to join Morgan so I guess I know which of you is more trustworthy." He then explains to Tony who Morgan is, because Tony professes ignorance, because clearly we had not yet retconned in Tony's love of Arthuriana. Tony offers to go fight Doom and Morgan with Arthur; meanwhile, Morgan and Doom have teamed up and Morgan has offered to help get Doom's mother out of hell if he commands her undead armies against Arthur because for Reasons she can't command them herself anymore. So that's a thing that happens.

So, yes, it's Tony and Arthur versus Doom and Morgan. Fight fight fight!

Tony tries Doom first but then decides to hunt Morgan down, and in the ensuing fight we get what I think is Tony's first ever "I hate magic," a complaint that we all know he still makes even to this day.

Anyway, Tony freezes a dragon with Freon (mmm, technology) and Morgan gets upset and disappears, so the battle comes to an end, and of course Doom is extremely mad at Tony because he blames Tony for Morgan not sticking around to save Doom's mom, because I guess Doom trusted her to keep her word? Weird. (Like I said, for the next chapter of Doom saving his mother, go read Triumph & Torment.)

Doom says if he and Tony work together, the components in both of their armors can send them both home. So Tony has to trust Doom. Which he does, because he really has no other choice. They build a time machine and Tony makes Doom agree to a 24-hour truce when they get back, so they can both get home. So it all works out okay, and they end up in the present, and Doom tells him, ominously, that they will meet again. Okay, then. That concludes the original Doomquest. It's fun! You can see why fandom likes it.

So that's all well and good, but you might have noticed that Tony's ability to get home hinged on Doom actually being trustworthy. And Doom was. But what if Doom hadn't been? What if he'd just stranded Tony in Camelot forever As you may have surmised from the form of that question, that is in fact a question Marvel asked themselves, because, yes, there's a What If about this! What If v1 #33 is "What if Iron Man was trapped in the time of King Arthur?"

The divergence point from canon, as you can probably guess, is the very end of Doomquest. Instead of Doom bringing Tony home, he deceives him and leaves him in Camelot. And since Tony cannibalized a lot of the tech from his armor to make the time machine, he doesn't have a way to go home.

This is not a story where Tony comes up with a way to go home after all. He really doesn't get to go home. But instead of drowning his sorrows in mead -- because, remember, Demon in a Bottle has already happened and Tony is sober now -- he decides he might as well just play the hand he's dealt. So with what's left of his armor, he defeats some enemies that Morgan rounds up to send against Camelot. And for his services, he's knighted. He is now Sir Anthony.

Tony acknowledges that he is both living the dream and would also like very, very much to go home.

He does end up having some fun in Camelot; it's not all miserable. But he obviously doesn't want to be there.

So if you're at all familiar with King Arthur, you know how this goes, right? Arthur fights Mordred and Mordred kills him. And that does happen in this version. Except Tony is right there, and with his dying words, Arthur asks Tony to rule Camelot... and Tony agrees.

So, yes, Tony Stark becomes king of the Britons after Arthur's death and he never goes home again. The end. Man, I love What Ifs.

Heading back to main 616 continuity, there is still more of this arc to go. The original Doomquest was only two issues, yes, but it was popular enough that Layton & Michelinie did a sequel a hundred issues later, in their second run of Iron Man, and that's Iron Man #249-250, Recurring Knightmare. (In the intervening issues were Denny O'Neil's IM run, specifically the second drinking arc (#160-200), and then Layton & Michelinie came back and most famously gave us Armor Wars (#225-232). I would have to say that Armor Wars is definitely the standout fandom-favorite arc of their second IM run; for their first one, I think a lot of people would have a hard time choosing between Doomquest and Demon.) But anyway, yes. Recurring Knightmare.

Recurring Knightmare is... well, the best way I can describe it is "a trip." It is definitely a sequel to Doomquest, and it is also definitely not a sequel you  would ever have expected to see for Doomquest.

Much like #149, #249 is pretty much just setup. Fun setup, but the big action is in the next issue. We open with Doom in Latveria, on his throne, pondering which of his servants he should have disintegrated. Anyway, he's just hanging out there when a mysterious object appears. In California, Tony is suited up and entertaining the crowd at a mall opening when the same object also appears! He takes it to his lab. Please note that this is after the Kathy Dare incident, so Tony is still recovering and is walking with a cane. Doom sees on the news that Iron Man has found the same object, which cannot be carbon-dated, and he shows up at Tony's house. He criticizes Tony's taste in art.

Anyway, Doom basically orders Tony to work with him. Tony refuses, and then Doom sends some robots to attempt to steal Tony's version of the object because he thinks if he has them both he will be powerful. Doom manages to steal it, and when he puts the pieces together, both he and Tony disappear.

So where do they go, you might ask? Camelot?

Not exactly. The future! There is a great callback to the Doomquest splash page.

It turns out they are in London in 2093. Merlin brought them there. Tony still hates magic. And in the future, King Arthur is still there, except he is now a child, because he has been reborn. But he does remember Tony from Doomquest, at which point Tony kneels. Doom, of course, is not impressed. He asks why they have been brought to the future.

The answer is that things are going wrong in the future. If you do not personally remember United States politics in the 1980s, I need you to google the words "Strategic Defense Initiative" right now. I'll wait.

Back with me? Okay, so this is a future where Reagan's Star Wars program actually happened the way he wanted it to, and the satellites are still hanging around the Earth in the future and messing everything up, and Arthur and Merlin need Tony and Doom's help to stop them. Doom once again flies away with his jetpack, of course.

Tony is game to help, but he's not in an armor that can stay in space for long. This is when Merlin takes him and Arthur to the mall and Tony manages to get everything to upgrade his armor at Radio Shack. You see what I meant about this issue being weird.

Tony is out in space trying to disarm the SDI platform, which is where he runs into his future descendant, Andros Stark, who is in armor you will probably recognize from Iron Man 2020. He is referred to as "the resurrected spawn of Iron Man 2020" so I assume he's actually directly related to Arno rather than a direct descendant of Tony; Wiki confirms that Arno is his grandfather. This is all from way before Arno was contemporaneous with Tony in canon. Anyway, he's fighting Tony.

Oh, by the way, Future Doom exists. Future Doom would like to rule this future Earth and for some reason Andros would like to help him. Meanwhile, Present Doom finds out from Merlin that he can't leave except by magic and he can't leave without Tony, so he is reluctantly on Tony's side.

They need help from the Lady of the Lake, except the lake has been paved over and is now a parking lot. Merlin makes the lake come back and then of course they get Excalibur. Arthur is a kid, so he can't wield a longsword; Doom assumes he's going to take it because he is basically a king, and he's pretty grumpy when the sword picks Tony. Tony then uses Excalibur to destroy the space lasers, and I bet that is a sentence you never thought you would read. It's pretty cool. Tony concludes that magic has its good points. Tony stops Andros and Doom stops, uh, himself, and the world is saved and they get to go home. Also, Doom finds out Tony is Iron Man, but when Merlin sends them back he conveniently erases their memories, so neither of them remember anything about this and Tony's secret is still safe. And that's the sequel to Doomquest.

And if you think that's weird, wait until you see Legacy of Doom.

Iron Man: Legacy of Doom is a four-issue miniseries from 2008, also by Layton and Michelinie. Even though it's from 2008, it's set during a much more classic time in Iron Man, continuing on from where we left off in this Doomquest saga. We start with a framing story in 2008. Tony, who has Extremis now, is busy scrapping some of his older armors and reviewing his logs when he suddenly remembers that there was a whole thing with Doom that happened that he seems to have forgotten about until right now. So the whole thing is narrated by Tony in flashback.

Tony's in space fixing a satellite when a hologram of Doom shows up and summons him to Latveria. It's not really clear why Doom needs Tony's help in particular here, but Doom tells Tony that he's discovered that Mephisto would like to bring about the end of the world, which Doom finds, and I quote, "presumptive." So Doom has his Time Cube, and with it he takes Tony to hell.

(Yes, I promise this is relevant to Doomquest. There will be some Arthuriana shortly.)

Doom brings Tony to Mephisto, and it turns out it's a setup! Doom trades Tony for an item he wants from Mephisto, leaves, and Tony's going to be trapped in hell forever! Oh no! (I mean, he's not. But it's quite a cliffhanger.)

At the beginning of issue #2, we find out what the Arthurian connection is, which is that we learned that after the events of Doomquest, Morgan had been granted sanctuary by Mephisto in exchange for a shard of Excalibur that she had somehow stolen. Doom still wants Morgan's help with some magic -- he doesn't mention what it is here, but he says he needs someone of Pendragon blood, and that'd be her -- so he traded Tony to Mephisto in exchange for, I'm guessing, Morgan and the Excalibur shard.

I have probably mentioned this elsewhere, but Legacy of Doom #2 is one of my favorite issues of Iron Man ever, solely because of the next scene. We return to Tony in hell. Howard Stark is also in hell, and he is now a demon, and Tony has to fight him. Mephisto brings popcorn and watches. This is the one time in canon when Tony actually confronts his father, and okay, yes, it's a fistfight in hell and Howard is a demon, but that's comics for you. Howard spends several pages insulting Tony -- specifically insulting his masculinity, but that's a whole other essay -- until he finally insults Maria too, and that's when Tony fights back, because his mother taught him to be good. Honestly if you're a Tony fan I'd recommend this issue just for that scene.

Anyway, we go back to the Doom and Morgan plot, and Morgan casts the spell Doom wanted, which was fusing the Excalibur shard with Doom's armor. Then Doom sends her back to Camelot rather than hell, because he's still mad that she never helped him get his mom out of hell like she said she would.

Tony freezes Howard with Freon -- yes, the same trick he pulled on the dragon back in Doomquest -- and tells him, "You're no father of mine." It is immensely satisfying.

(I had been going to mention that I thought it was a shame that neither canon nor fandom seems to have really engaged with this confrontation, and I know canon never believes in narrative closure but fandom sure does -- and then, anyway, it occurred to me that since the framing story of Tony remembering this is set when Tony has Extremis, there's a very good chance that he no longer remembers remembering it. Goddammit, Marvel.)

(If I got to retcon one canon thing about Tony, I think "the entirety of World's Most Wanted" is up there. I mean, okay, a lot of things are up there, but WMW is definitely on the shortlist.)

Okay. Tony has now engineered his way out of hell, and he's back with Doom in Latveria. Doom has Excalibur. Doom would very much like to fight him. While wielding Excalibur. You get the sense that this is going to be bad. Another cliffhanger!

Legacy of Doom #3 opens with Tony destroying Doom's lab to buy time and running away from Doom and Excalibur. I should probably mention that Doom still doesn't know Tony is Iron Man (anymore), so he thinks he is dealing only with Iron Man, Tony Stark's lackey. Meanwhile, some scientists at SI think there's something weird going on with space. Meanwhile meanwhile, Tony is in a forest taking a breather when a mysterious old man walks up to him.

It's Merlin! Surprise! Merlin wants Tony's help to stop Doom from doing whatever he's doing with Excalibur. The sword makes you invincible and the scabbard makes you invulnerable, so Merlin sends Tony to Scotland on a fetch quest for the scabbard. Doom has now magically sent the sword in search of the scabbard, so the sword flies away to meet it and Doom follows. Turns out the thing that's wrong with space is a thing that's going to hit Earth at the exact place Tony and Doom are. What a coincidence! So Tony and Doom get trapped in a stone circle and fight some stone warriors and then Tony ends up with the scabbard. And by "ends up with," I mean it fuses to his armor. Next issue!

Legacy of Doom #4 is when things really, really get weird. A giant demon made of eyes (???) appears, and this demon is apparently what Doom had been preparing to fight (because it's mad that Doom stole one of its spellbooks), and now he can't, because the sword and the scabbard aren't together. Thanks, Shellhead.

That's when Merlin shows up and says all is not lost. They can defeat the demon... if they put the sword into the scabbard.

"But I'm the scabbard now!" Tony says, uncomprehending.

"Yes," Merlin says. "You are."

Then Tony gets it.

So, yes, Doom has to, um, penetrate Tony. With Excalibur. I love comics. I love comics so much.

So that's a thing that happens.

And then Tony flies off and, I guess, resolves to never, ever think about any of this again.

We head back to the framing story, in which Tony, now having remembered all of this, flies to Britain, buys the land the lake is on, and paves it over, presumably so it will be there for Merlin to bring back in Iron Man #250. The end.

Whew.

Okay, yeah, I know I didn't have to summarize the whole thing, but Legacy of Doom here really is one of my favorite Iron Man miniseries. And I just want to share the love. Please read it. It's great.

But the Arthuriana fun doesn't end there! In fact, now we get an Arthurian-themed arc that actually isn't in Iron Man comics. It's in Avengers! Iron Man is involved, though.

(There is also apparently a Morgan arc in Avengers #240. I actually haven't read it. It seems to be yet another Spider-Woman arc. I get the impression that this isn't really Arthuriana other than having Morgan in it fighting Jess, though, so it doesn't seem quite as relevant. Morgan also apparently has some appearances in FF, Journey into Mystery, and Marvel Team-Up, but those seem like more of just basic villainy. Also, probably not involving Tony.)

Kurt Busiek's 1998 Avengers run, volume 3, is in large part the kind of Avengers run that is a nostalgic love letter to older comics. Heroes are heroes and villains are villains and good triumphs over evil. The Avengers all live in the mansion and are BFFs. I love it. It does assume that you are already a fan of the Avengers, because it starts out by summoning pretty much everyone who has ever been an Avenger and is available to the mansion, and that is... a lot of people. Thirty-nine, by my count. Also, when the entire team is magically whisked away, we are treated to the following narration, as Steve disappears: "And Captain America's last thought, as the world goes white around him, and he with it -- is that Iron Man would hate this."

The narration doesn't tell you why Iron Man would hate this, or how Captain America would know that Iron Man hates this. This is not explained later on. But if you have read comics -- or if you have read the above summary of Doomquest -- you know that Tony is absolutely, one hundred percent, thinking, "I hate magic." And Steve knows it.

The reference is not relevant to the plot; if you don't get it, you'll be fine. But that's what I mean when I say this is a nostalgia run. There are definitely Easter eggs for people who have read a bunch of comics. Busiek does this a whole lot in his work -- there's a reason you can buy an annotated edition of Marvels -- and, yeah, it happens here too. Just know that there will be references you're not getting, if you're new to comics.

Anyway. So Busiek's run actually starts out with an Arthurian arc, #1-4, "The Morgan Conquest." The name is a dead giveaway. Yes, Morgan le Fay is back. Again. For once, Doom is not involved.

The Avengers are all back from their sojourn on Counter-Earth after fighting Onslaught -- don't worry about it -- and mysterious things are happening. There are a lot of monster attacks. So pretty much everyone who has ever been an Avenger is summoned to the mansion, at which point we learn from Thor about some mystical artifacts that are being stolen. (They are the Norn Stones and also the Twilight Sword. That sounds like something from a Zelda game, doesn't it?) The Avengers go to try to stop this, end up in Tintagel, and then they run into Mordred. He wants to capture Wanda, presumably for Magic Reasons. Morgan le Fay casts a spell on all of them, reshaping reality. Yes, all of them. Surprise!

So now all the Avengers are living in a medieval castle and/or town; Morgan is their queen, and thanks to the power of mind-control they are all basically living in Ye Olden Times. The Avengers are all some variety of knight, except for Wanda, who is chained up in the dungeon so Morgan can steal her magic and use it to fuel all this reality-warping.

Wanda calls for help, and that snaps Steve (Yeoman America!) out of the mind control (or altered reality or whatever you want to call it) pretty fast, because Steve's always been very good at resisting mind control, and then Steve promptly goes and snaps Clint out of it, because I guess Steve is also good at inspiring people to snap out of mind control. "Oh, man!" Clint says. "Not another alternate reality! Not again!" (I assume he's referring to Counter-Earth? Maybe?)

So Steve and Clint go around reassembling the Avengers and orienting them as to reality. They get Jan and Monica easily, but then Steve insists on trying to get Tony because, I guess, he likes Tony and would really like to hang around Tony, who is half-naked and asleep in his bedroom, and certainly I am reading nothing whatsoever into this. Clint tells Steve it's not going to work. Tony has historically been fairly susceptible to mind control; it was only pretty recently at this point that he'd been doing Kang's bidding in The Crossing. But the more serious impediment is that this is Tony Stark and he would obviously like to LARP being a knight forever and ever. Tony, therefore, does not believe Steve, and throws him and Clint out of his bedroom and into the barracks.

"Iron Man's a good guy, normally," Clint says. "But he's waaay too into his whole nobleman/lord of the manor trip. That spell musta hit him right where he lives!"

Clint speaks the truth, clearly.

Anyway, they go around and manage to make pretty much every Avenger in the room other than Tony snap out, and attempt to rebel against Morgan while Tony is stil fighting them because he is Still A Knight. There's a lot of punching, because some of the Avengers still aren't free; they weren't ones Steve found.

The day is saved when Wanda manages to channel Wonder Man and break free. This gives the Avengers a fighting chance against Morgan and the Avengers are all lending Wanda their power when Tony finally snaps out of it and is on the side of good. 

Then they take Morgan down, go home, and attempt to figure out which of these thirty-nine people should be on the active Avengers team. Hooray.

But that's not the end of Morgan le Fay showing up to screw around with Tony's life! There's more to come! Not much, but there is one that I know of, and at least one more memorable reference. 

(I haven't read all her appearances or anything, but one of them definitely involves Tony; I can't swear that he doesn't appear in any of the other books Morgan shows up in, but it'd be a cameo for him, because I only know of one more arc that she's in in a book that Tony stars in.)

In a few more years, we have now entered the part of Marvel Comics history where Brian Michael Bendis writes all the Avengers books at the same time for, like, seven years running. It was sure A Time. There were a lot of word bubbles.

And the thing about Bendis is, Bendis looooooves Doomquest. If you're familiar with the very end of his tenure at Marvel where he made Doom be Iron Man after Tony got knocked into a coma in Civil War II, you have probably figured out already that he likes Doom. But he also likes Doomquest, specifically.

I mean, if nothing else, the giant splash page in The Confession where Maleev redrew the climactic Doomquest fight while Bendis had Tony talk about how deeply meaningful to his understanding of the world this all was -- and how it allowed him to predict Civil War -- was probably a big clue, right?

As far as I am aware, Morgan le Fay makes exactly one more appearance in Tony's life. And that's in Mighty Avengers vol 1 #9-11. Only one of those issues is named, so I'm going to assume the arc is named after it: Time Is On No One's Side.

You remember Mighty Avengers, right? The deal with the Avengers books at the time was that after Bendis exploded the mansion and made the team disband in Avengers Disassembled, the main Avengers book was no longer called just Avengers. Instead, the main Avengers book was New Avengers, and that was the only Avengers book. Then Civil War happened, Steve got killed, and New Avengers became the book about what was left of the SHRA resistance (i.e., Steve's side) after the war. So about halfway through New Avengers, Mighty Avengers starts up, and Mighty Avengers is about an extremely fucked-up and grief-stricken Tony Stark trying to run the official government-sanctioned Avengers team, with Carol's help. This is the comic with the arc where Tony turned into naked girl Ultron. You remember.

So, anyway, there's this Mighty Avengers arc where Doom is Up To Something (there are symbiotes and a satellite involved) and somehow Tony and the Avengers end up in Latveria, punching Doom. Also, by the way, Doom is visiting Morgan in the past because he likes her. The Avengers attacking his castle made him have to come back to the present, so he's kind of cranky. And he fights Tony, and in the course of the fight, his time platform explodes and sends Doom and Tony and also the Sentry to... the past.

This is one of those times where you should definitely look up the comics if possible because the way the past is visually indicated here is that it's colored with halftone dots the way you would expect old comics to be colored, although they have modern shading and color palettes. It's very charmingly retro.

So the three of them are stuck in New York in the past, and naturally they would like to leave. There's one person in this time who has a time machine and it is, of course, Reed Richards. Doom and Tony have a lot of banter in this arc; I think it's entertaining.

Sentry has to be the one to break them all into the Baxter Building because of that power he has where no one will remember him. So they do that, travel forward in time, and end up in Latveria in the present again except Doom is gone and also things are currently exploding where they are.

Doom, of course, has made a side trip to visit Morgan again and he asks her to help him build an army, because I guess this is what their relationship is like. So the rest of the Avengers are captured by what look to me like Mindless Ones and are in a cave in magic bondage, because comics. Jess comments that at least they aren't naked, because she too is remembering that memorable New Avengers trip to the Savage Land. Doom threatens Carol in some creepy sexist ways and eventually it turns out that Tony and the Sentry are fine and everyone kicks Doom's ass. Business as usual.

And the last page of the arc is Morgan alone, wondering where Doom is. So technically Morgan and Tony don't come face to face here, but I think she counts as being at least partially responsible for ruining Tony's day here. And then Secret Invasion happens and Tony has a very, very bad day.

There are a few more Morgan appearances after this, but, as I said, I don't think any of them involve Tony. She shows up in Dark Avengers, apparently, which was one of the post-Civil War Avengers titles I didn't read, and I know that recently, on the X-Men side of things, she's been in Tini Howard's Excalibur one, which I have only read a little of. No Tony there. Just a lot of Morgan and Betsy Braddock and Brian Braddock and the Otherworld.

If you are interested in Morgan's other appearances, you might like this Marvel listicle that is Morgan le Fay's six most malicious acts. I pulled some of the Darkhold backstory from their discussion, but it's not really focused on Morgan and Tony.

So there you have it! That's everything I know about Tony's love for King Arthur and every run-in I know about that he's had with Morgan le Fay! One of two terrible people in Tony's life named Morgan! Actually, I don't think we've seen Morgan Stark in a while. I wonder if he's alive. There should be a Morgan & Morgan team-up. I should probably stop typing and post this.

The tl;dr point is that you should all read Doomquest and its sequels, especially Legacy of Doom. They're great!