#(This Story Arc Called Me Out Hard & HITS TOO h A R D)

[cowboypossume]

so i reread keeper of the lost cities and here’s my fresh input:

a note before we begin: you know how people fake throw up at things on tik tok? this book is the reason i now unironically do that.

dex and fitz really have the enemies to lovers troupe going for them and i’m ok with it. i really am.

so do sophie and biana at the beginning but it fizzes out so a better description is enimies to friends to lovers

marhella and stina give me such power top energy i cannot express how much i think that contributes to people not liking them

speaking of stina i wish sophie didn’t just immediately hop onto the bandwagon of “oh she’s evil” without investing further, especially with how much she is written as a ‘good’ person (which i can and will defend to the day i die that good people don’t exist but that’s for a different day).

there’s way too much heteronormativity and Patriarchical Ideas mushed into the book. like three hole pages of a 488 page book of teenagers being like “oooooo girls like guys and guys like girls” only for della to join in. not to mention the amount of times keefe is the reason for those ideas because he’s teasing like “oh fitz has a girlfriend”

keefe and fitz didn’t have as many bonding moments™️ in this book as i remember, but they stil know each other really well, have comfortability around each other, and would make a 10/10 best friends to lovers troupe.

oh my god s o many crushes i swear. like two teenagers of the opposite gender really can’t not like each other apperantly

i miss read a line and really thought there was cannon sexism for me to do a whole ass rant about in the notes part of my analyzation but n o p e

but we do have classism, sexist stereotypes, and the fact that there’s been SO many characters who’ve spoken and ✨🌺far too many of them are white🌺✨

oh also: no ones disabled. which annoys me because their society is described as ‘euptopic’ almost implying that it’s something that makes people problematic, which,,,, no

ok a side note on the society, i understand that the story’s message (kinda) is that things that seem perfect are probably deeply flawed, but something tergan said stuck with me. on a page i can’t remember at the moment he says something like “[the black swan exists] in a society that doesn’t have rebels”, which it suck with me bc that’s boarderline dystopic if it’s not there already. it’s one thing for laws not to be broken, but when you think your society is so perfect despite it having obvious flaws and you think that no one rebels, then i really hate to break it to you, you have a massive rebellion about to occur; it’s just scented as foul under your resplendent nose.

please stop flirting. i get its part of teenagers being teens but i swear if i read “s/he realeased a breath” or “their heart fluttered” or literally ANYTHING like that god no.

yall. i missed dex. he actually has more role in this book than ‘you can gadget and we need one’ and oh boy i really missed him. he’s a BEAN and deserves better.

hole’s said everyone deserves better and i absolutely agree so we’re adding that note here.

if you do what i did and read this book out loud to one of your best friends who has no clue anything about this weird fandom and give fitz a really deep voice for no reason it’s comdy GOLD.

i really think i’m reading too much into this point but iggy seems,,,, symbolic to me?

like ok with humans, sophie didn’t ‘fit in’, right? like she grew up hearing things like “why can’t you be normal like your sister” (which i can do a whole other rant about how that will affect her for the rest of her life just a s k)

not to mention looking really different from her family and graduating high school at age twelve 

but you know who never judged her?

m a r t y

so anyway sophie meets this teal-eyed, movie star smiled wonder boy who takes away her entire knowledge of everything she’s known while taking away her family too

and it turns out even in a place of weirdos she still manages to be the exception to everything

and she doesn’t have the comfort to hear what people are really thinking about her anymore (which as i said before say the word and i’ll deadass write a whole speech about how everything she heard will completely fuck up every relationship she has) which unfortunately means that she grew used to confirming people didn’t like her but now she doesn’t have that

she has to adapt to this new space and feel like she’s always felt, like an outcast in a place that was accepting, but yet again, she the exception to everything

but about halfway through the book she starts to become more comfortable around grady and edaline and that’s when iggy comes in

she finds him while cleaning garbage, and grady compliments her. they have a bonding moment and it’s because of this t h i n g. and then sophie actually feels proud not only does she take up a room, but she did something

and her new parents are proud of her

so she finally feels like she BELONGS because she helped out at the place where she lives/they work

to me it seems iggy is kinda a manifesto of the world building and character development that happens in this book

i think the plot/character arc is fixated a little too much on how different sophie is. like, i get it, she’s exception to everything, but the plot really didn’t need her to be that quirky. yes, she’s different, but there’s a lot more to the plot and her character than how different she is.

also, i had to reread pages a lot bc i needed an exact paragraph number and,,,, it’s really paced like a fanfic

some questions i have about the society is:

it’s established that they use books, physical papers, etc., and the only thing i remember about trees is the speech alden gave her about how she doesn’t know the name of their most popular tree, and the fact that people become trees when they die. even then i don’t think the second one is in this book. never o n c e do i remember something about planting trees that aren’t dead elf’s, so do they feel the affects of deforestation and that jazz?? like if they use trees, will they run out of them? can they??? and do they use the coffins of elf’s for paper??

this is more of a rant than a question, but here it goes anyway. in foxfire, students have a testing system very similar to the one in america: a huge test at the end of the year determines the future of a student. that in of itself doesn’t sound too drastic, right? well,,,,, not necessarily. several studies have shown that tests in general, but especially these types, don’t work. despite how good or bad of a teacher i think my past and current teachers have been, every single one of them hates this system that we have in place. they know it’s an unfair assessment that does it’s damnist to make you fail, and they’re trying so hard to denounce it. however, that doesn’t happen at all in the lost cities. in fact, most of the teachers pride themselves on failing students. so if elf’s are in such an advanced society, why do tests still exist? especially in an environment where the consequences are far greater than just staying back a grade. 

so sophie’s figuring out that major problems exist in the world the elf’s created, right? i wonder if more society structured problems exist more than ‘oh bad people do things and the law justifies which is what’. like, as i’ve previously stated, there’s sexist stereotypes presented (like girls like dresses and guys don’t), but does sexism still exist? does racism exist? it’s established that poverty isn’t a thing because of the fund elf’s have at birth and their limited usage of money (which if you understand please explain bc i don’t really get how they buy stuff but still don’t use money) but if someone gets shipped off to exile, do they lose their money? is it possible for elf’s to starve to death because they can’t afford food? do they pay for food?? if they did starve who would they call? because someone on this website, who’s post i tried to find but i couldn’t so if y’all know what i’m talking about please link it, brought up a good point that elwin is a school physician, he shouldn’t be dealing with the near-death experiences sophie has, so who would they turn to? especially if they don’t have access to foxfire because they got exciled??

is therapy a thing in this world? sophie and dex could really benefit from it, yet mental health has only been brought up when someone went insane, which REALLY shows how little they think about it.

that perfectly transitions into my next point: sophie and dex’s trauma. i really don’t get the vibe that there was much thought going into their kidnapping, other than sophie needed something to trigger her inflecting ability and establish the black swan are on the good side, which really sucks because wow trauma doesn’t happen lightly. and the fact that it happened seems rushed to me, but i’ll come back to that. but anyway, their trauma doesn’t get developed that deeply in this book because it wasn’t given the space to. they were beaten, tortured, starved, gagged, and who even knows what else for t e n d a y s, only for them to find them again, repeat the process, but someone saves them and dumps them into an illegal city and they both nearly die from dehydration, coldness, and lack of concentration, and you’re telling me after three days of conscious of bed rest sophie wants to get her failing out of school over with? ma’am, it takes more time than that to adjust to THAT alone, not to mention the realization that “hey your entire life is fake because people genetically altered you to be their weapon in a war so much bigger than yourself” that was recently dumped on her. like,,,, you really expect me to think that three days is what made her feel prepared and CONFIDENT? no sir. i don’t buy it.

coming back to it being rushed: the book starts out slow and then really hits the ground running and doesn’t stop. so much more stuff happens in the second half of the book than the first and it never gets fully developed it feels like. in the first half sophie moves away but gets a new family and struggles a bit but adapts, fires maybe but hey don’t worry about it, dex hates fitz, fitz is ✨d r e a m y ✨ but our main girl doesn’t like him like that, right?, stina’s a bitch, and sophie is a quirky girl and telepath but can’t tell anyone. pretty basic stuff, not too plot intensive. the second half though: sophie almost fails her midterms but doesn’t, grady and elaine want to unadopt her (which that’s never really explained as to why they do that but ok) fires exist in san degio but they’re fine but they’re actually a rebel elf so..., sophie accidentally breaks a law but it was an accident so it’s fine, update on the fires: sophie burns herself trying to get the evidence that it’s a rebel elf and it works, she’s the moon lark and basically a weapon bc no one knows her well enough to evaluate her safety, sophie and dex get kidnapped but fitz can now transmit to her and she has two new abilities so it’s all good, trauma doesn’t exist except for nightmare you can fix with sedatives, sophie doesn’t fail out of school, and yayyy her family doesn’t want her remove their adoption. there’s probably a lot more that i missed, it’s just that’s a LOT of stuff crammed into a little bit further than the second half of the book that really could have been devolped or explore further instead of forcing into less than 244 pages, ya know?

fitz’s eyes are mentioned seven times, the first time being on page TWO of the novel

his smile is mentioned three times

alden says “no reason to worry” five times, he writes it once, and sophie points out he says it a lot so he chances it slightly to something like ‘don’t stress about it’ so i didn’t count those though i should have

speaking of alden, in this book he’s absolutely creepy, but something that stands out to me is how much he calls sophie girl. i didn’t count it, but he said “that’s a good girl” to sophie too many times for it to be normal especially when you consider how he doesn’t do it to anyone else.

i kinda forgot i was annotating for sophie’s anxious habit of pulling out her eyelashes so i got she did it twice, but i highly doubt that number

but i will keep adding to this when i actually do the words with my annotations.

[thesecondcircleofkel]

NSFW Alphabet, Kenpachi A-Z

Reposting all of these together for convenience and to save space. Alphabet requests are still open, but remember, I don't accept requests to do the entire alphabet for someone all at once. You have to stick to the guidelines of 1 character per ask, and 5 letters per ask, and once I finish the alphabet for a character with requests like that, I will repost it all together.

A: Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

He’s pretty chill afterwards. If you need something he’ll get it, but he’d prefer to stay in bed and ‘cuddle’ with you (he would never call it that, but that’s totally what it is). He likes for you to lay on top of him as he drifts off for at least a catnap, and once he wakes up, he’ll drag you into a bath with him (which will result in another round, but that’s a story for a different day).

B: Body Part (Their favorite body part of theirs and also their partners)

Kenpachi seems like he’d be a butt guy. Like, every time he sees his you, his hands are going to drift to your ass, whether that’s a quick smack or a grope (does not care if the two of you are in public, either, and no one has the balls to call him out on it). He also really loves to squeeze your ass to hold you in place during sex. Not to be too out of left field here, but I bet he likes his partner’s arms, as well, especially if they’re a fighter. He likes thinking of all the power that those arms contain as you slash your way through a battlefield or beat the hell out of somebody for getting on your bad side. He’s a simple man.

C: Cum (Anything to do with cum)

Cums a lot. A. Lot. There’s going to be a mess, so you might as well try to prepare for it. For the love of all that is good and holy, put some towels down or something, because whether he comes on you or inside of you, it’s going to get everywhere (he does prefer to come inside of you, though). If you can manage to give this guy a blow job, he’ll love it if you let him cum in your mouth, but be warned, it will not taste great. You can try to get him to change his diet so it tastes better, but not even that does too much good. It’s pretty viscous, too, so swallowing will be a challenge.

D: Dirty Secret

He hardly gets embarrassed enough by anything to have a dirty secret, but there’s one things that he wants that he doesn’t mention a whole lot. He would totally be down for a threesome with Unohana, one where she mainly has her way with you and then he has a turn with you. If you haven’t read the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc, this may seem a bit random, but trust me, there’s history there, and he wants to see what she’s all about in the bedroom before he reminds you why he’s better.

E: Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

He knows what he’s doing. He was fighting his way through Rukongai, not fucking his way through it, but he still had a few dalliances here and there when the urge hit. If you want to do something real kinky, you’ll have to teach him about it, because he mostly just follows his instincts and doesn’t delve too far into stuff like that.

F: Favorite Position

He’s a fan of any position that gives him a good view of your ass, so Doggy Style is pretty high on his list.

He also likes to just lay back and let you ride him sometimes, so regular Cowgirl and Reverse Cowgirl (especially the latter, because ass).

He likes showing off his strength, even in the bedroom, so positions where he gets to hold you up and support your whole body weight (Seesaw, Olympus) really get his jollies going.          

G: Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc.)

He’s generally more serious during sex since he’s focused on making you forget your name with his dick, but he’s not against laughing if something humorous happens. He’s not exactly going to go out of his way to make you laugh during sex, though.

H: Hair (How well-groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

The carpet certainly matches the drapes, and he absolutely does not care to keep everything trimmed. To be fair, he’s not naturally that hairy, so there isn’t a lot of maintenance needed anyways. He also doesn’t care what your lawn maintenance situation is; you could be completely bare or have an entire Amazonian rainforest down there, he’ll work with it.

I: Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

You’d think he’d be all hard, wild fucks, but he’s really not. That really only happens about 70% of the time, and the other 30% is reserved for extremely intimate love making. He’ll take his time with you, making lots of eye contact as he slowly drives you to ecstasy. And the way that he holds you afterwards is just…wooh…to die for.

J: Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

He doesn’t masturbate at all when he has a partner. He’d rather just drag you off for a quick round, but if for some reason it’s impossible for him to have sex with you and he can’t hold back anymore, he’ll get himself off real quick just to be done with it. He doesn’t really see the appeal in masturbation, unless he’s watching you do it.

K: Kink (One or more of their kinks)

He not really into being dominated (although he’s not against letting you dominate him every once in a while), but he does like it when you take charge and be upfront about what you what. Like, just go up to him and shove your hand down his pants and tell him that you want to fuck him right then, he’ll lose his freakin’ mind.

You’d think Pain Play would be here, but I don’t actually think he’d care to hurt someone that he loved while having sex with them.

I’m not sure that Shower/Bath Sex is really a kink, but he really, really loves it, and it’s going to happen a lot. If he walks into your shared living space and hears that you’re in the shower, he’s got an instant boner, and you won’t be alone in there for long.

Again, he really just follows his basic instincts when it comes to sex, but he’s willing to try any kink that you throw out there.

L: Location (Favorite places to do the do)

He will take you anywhere he pleases. The only reason he refrains himself in public is for your sake. If he only got to pick one favorite location for sex, it’d be his desk. It doesn’t get any other use, and there’s something so satisfying about fucking you on top of something that is supposed to be so formal and professional. His bed is a close second since he can do pretty anything to you there and he doesn’t have to worry about anyone bitching at him for it.

M: Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Watching you fight. More specifically, seeing you beat the hell out of someone and seeing you covered in sweat and someone else’s blood. That’s the main way that his love for battle plays into the bedroom, so be ready to get railed if he catches you fighting or sparring with anyone.

Bend over in front of him and see how fast you get dragged away from prying eyes.

He also just really loves seeing you take control, like ordering people around or taking control of situation that’s gotten chaotic. It makes him really proud to see you do something like that, and that pride will very quickly turn into desire.

N: NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Fighting may be his passion, but he will never hurt you during sex. It’s one thing if you end up getting hurt sparring with him or something, but for him, pain stays on the battlefield. Even if you want him to hurt you a little bit, he won’t do it. The most you’ll get out of him is a few spanks here and there, but beyond that, sex with him is a pain-free experience.

O: Oral (Preference in giving and or receiving, skills, etc.)

Prefers giving, and he is an absolute oral fiend. But before we get to that, he knows that he may be a bit big for a full-on blowjob, so he’s perfectly fine with it if you just your tongue to tease him. He generally doesn’t want to cum before the main event anyways, but on the occasion that he does, he’ll love it if you let him cum in your mouth. As for his oral skills…wooh. Oral sex is Kenpachi’s main form of foreplay, and he’s a master at it. He will practically take up residence between your legs, making you cum multiple times to prepare you for his dick. His tongue is absolutely wicked, too, and given how long it is, you can bet money that he’ll tongue-fuck you with it. His oral skills are just as good if you’re a male, too, but since the refractory period is a thing, this is one of the few occasions that he will take the time to tease you by giving you one really long oral session and not letting you cum for a while.

P: Pace (Are they fats and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

He generally keeps a pretty fast and rough pace, but he definitely does slow and sensual when he’s making love to you. He’s also very compliant if you ask him to change his pace since he knows that his normal pace isn’t for everyone and that some people don’t like getting fucked liked that all of the time.

Q: Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Unless he’s in the mood to make love to you, he’s down for a quickie any time. His rough and fast style of fucking really works well with quickies, too, but I hope you’re in a really secluded spot, because he will have you screaming with pleasure in no time, regardless of where you are.

R: Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Even though he doesn’t care to delve into any kinks himself, he’s down to experiment if you want to try something. Just make sure you give him a good rundown beforehand. His middle name is risk, and as stated in the L section, the only reason he doesn’t fuck you in public is for your sake, so if you want to fuck in a public or semi-public space, he’s more than willing to fulfill that wish and he won’t care who sees the two of you.

S: Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

He can go for however long he wants, really. His rounds are a good 15-20 minutes, which is impressive given his usual pace, and he can go for as many rounds as you want, but he might need a quick nap after 3 or 4.

T: Toys (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

He doesn’t own any, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he wasn’t aware of their existence. He wouldn’t mind watching you use some on yourself a few times, but beyond that he’s rather indifferent towards them and would prefer to fuck you himself.

U: Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He isn’t really that much of a tease. One of the few instances that he would be a tease is listed in the section above, but beyond that, he doesn’t really hold back on you for long. If he’s feeling really playful, he might tease you by pretending that he’s about to enter you and pulling away at the last second, but that’s about it, though, and it only happens on rare occasions.

V: Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

L. O. U. D. He gives absolutely no fucks if anyone hears him having sex. He wants to make you scream if possible, because he wants the whole world to know who’s fucking you and how good of a job he’s doing at it. He’s mainly a grunter, but once he gets close to his orgasm he’ll groan a few times. If you get him really into it, he might just growl, which is a terrifying experience for everyone else around that can hear it, but for you, it lets you know that you’re about to be fucked within an inch of your life.

W: Wild Card

He wants to sneak into Byakuya’s estate and have sex there at least once, just for the sake of messing with the noble. It’s not going to be a quick screw, either. He’s going to completely wreck that place, so bad that Byakuya has to have it completely sanitized before he even goes within ten feet of it. It may seem rude, but Kenny thinks it’d be hilarious, plus he’d probably get a good fight with Byakuya out of it.

X: X-Ray (let’s see what’s going on in those pants)

…Do I need to say it? He’s definitely got one of the biggest dicks in the Seireitei, and he damn well knows it, too. 7-7 ½ inches long easily, and he’s a shower, not a grower. As for his girth…don’t try to measure it, you’ll just scare yourself. His girth is well above average, and you’d have to have some hella long fingers to be able to wrap them around it.

Y: Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Y’all are going to have sex a lot. A. Lot. It’s not that he has a high sex drive, but it’s more or less that fighting is his biggest turn-on, and big daddy fights a lot, so…have fun.

Z: ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Unless you really need him to go get something for you, he’ll fall asleep pretty quickly. Once he’s got you settled against his chest, he’ll slowly fall asleep as he rubs his hand along your arm or back.

[dontcallmecarrie]

I just binge read TWiFFON, and its sidefic and almost everything that's here about this universe and sadgkjhakjg you're amazing and this is amazing and I love you and this is one of the best fics (out of MCU fics especially) I've ever read. IM1 is one of my favorite movies ever, I love Tony very much and it hurts to see what they're doing to him in MCU (and what they're doing with all the characters, really), and I love your portrayal of him so much, because that's real Tony. (1/4)

Competent, genius Tony, owner of the huge company, the man, who, without the suit, is still the person who’s built this suit. From scraps. In a cave. In Afghanistan. While being tortured. Revolutionizing science on the way. I’m looking at you, Mr. I-Saw-The-Footage(And-Made-My-Judgment-Before-Actually-Meeting-You-And-Decided-You-Suck). Yeah, you can see how I just -love- Steve in this moment in “Avengers”. (2/4)

I always wondered what footage he saw, btw. From before-Afghanistan? From the IM2 Senate hearing? From the disastrous IM2 b-day party? Even if the scepter amplified their feelings, those feelings had to be there in the first place. And AoU and CW just make me go Hulk, so most of the time I pretend they didn’t happen and don’t exist unless we’re talking about -consequences-. It’s been years and I’m still bitter and salty as the Dead Sea. (¾)

Um. Anyways, I love you and your awesome fic, thank you so much for your writing

Glad you’re liking it so far, and thanks! 

Also: same. [the rest is under the cut because surprise meta’s apparently a thing, as are major spoilers, and I get very rambly, RIP mobile users otherwise.]

I got into the MCU when it first kicked off, and my favorite movie’s a toss-up between IM1 and The Avengers [though, due to recent events, I’m really leaning towards the former nowadays]. I love all the characters, and if I had a heart [because no, I don’t, nope, nothing’s ever made me tear up nope heart of stone right here], it’d be hurting because of the turn the MCU’s taken lately, and the level of character assassination I’ve seen is….the best comparison I can think of include the way Naruto ended [specifically, Sakura], or…well, you get the picture.

Just…the turn canon took, after Phase 1, left a bitter taste in my mouth. Tony’s my favorite character, and seeing how the world’s done its level best to break him when his origin story is literally him forging his armor from the guns that would’ve killed him otherwise is something that I have very strong feelings about. Add to that my spite after seeing the turn the fandom took after Civil War, and I couldn’t not write the fic where he actually [albeit accidentally] took over the world, by taking him back to his roots. 

[aka TWiFFON’s basically me venting passive-aggressively about the issues I have with the MCU]

As for my take on Steve? 

Even if it doesn’t look it, I kinda liked his character, early on. The way his character was mangled by the writers is another thing entirely, however, and after Phase 1 my enthusiasm didn’t wane so much as it tanked, especially after Age of Ultron. [ditto as to Civil War.]

But early on? I actually liked his character. My headcanon/take on his approach during the first Avengers movie was him being adrift in a world that’s moved on without him, so of course he’s clinging to what he remembers. 

That ended up being something that SHIELD/HYDRA took advantage of, though, and while Fury tried to help, the HYDRA guys did their level best to sabotage him, which succeeded in ways that don’t show up until later on. For instance, while Fury’s crew was the one to break the news of ‘so you slept 70 years, welcome to the future’, it was a HYDRA contingent that were the ones to ‘ease’ him into it, and so his briefings on history and whatnot were basically sabotaged. 

As in, they made sure to focus on the shitty parts of the past century, and glossed over the progress, and did their best to be subtle about it so that when Fury came around, he thought it was ‘okay Steve’s still settling in and hurting’ rather than ‘Steve’s hurting and everywhere he looks only makes it worse’. I mean, it wouldn’t even have been hard; breaking the news would’ve been dicey enough as is, but I can guarantee that HYDRA would’ve pulled no punches in painting everything to be as shitty as they could. 

I mean, even if they were trying to help, it would’ve been hard enough: because good luck updating the guy who literally did a suicide run to prevent his home country from being bombed about the Manhattan Project. 

That alone would’ve been messy enough, but also going through Korea and Vietnam and the list just goes on, while also trying to go ‘we’re the good guys’, and I’m pretty sure Steve’s faith in humanity would’ve taken a hit somewhere in there. And that’s if it was SHIELD who was doing it; if it was HYDRA instead? Just…yikes.

And Tony has a lot of fodder that could be used against him. 

He’s a powerhouse, a loose cannon, and is very visibly anti-establishment when it comes to some things, so when Steve’s trying to cling to a vestige of the past, it’s so, very easy for a HYDRA technician to pull some clips of Tony’s messing around and gloss over ‘yeah he’s also a genius and built a suit somewhere along the way’ while doing their level best to make sure that Steve does not like Tony, because if those two got along it would not end well for HYDRA so best nip that in the bud. [I’ve got a fic idea that plays with that premise, actually, but…rambling again, oops.]

Doesn’t help that people’s values have changed, either; nowadays, we’re a lot more cynical as to what’s going down in Congress, for instance, or the military-industrial complex, so just right there’s some culture clash. Iirc, pre-Nixon, people viewed what happened in DC differently than they do now, and I don’t think Clinton helped any, either. And that’s just one example.

tl;dr: I headcanon that HYDRA sabotaged Steve’s possible relationship with Tony, among other things. 

Now, when it comes to the world domination thing…

You can probably tell I’m having a lot of fun with it. It’s part of what helps keep the tone of TWiFFON fun for me to write, and I’m choosing to go the cracky route instead of the grimdark serious one because this fic’s self-indulgence at its finest, and my life is stressful enough as is. 

Because, I mean, for me it’s either laugh or cry, and I can’t afford to cry, when it comes to the tire fire that’s going on. I can laugh or cry, so I’d rather go for deadpan ‘so apparently this shit’s more plausible than some of what I’m seeing in the news’ rather than get even more gray hair stressing out over stuff I have no control over. [Playing with power dynamics in a fictional universe where there’s magic and aliens is very good stress relief, is what I’m saying.] Plus, y’know, it gives me an outlet for whenever I see yet another ‘Tony Stark was the villain!’ post. 

You probably know that originally, TWiFFON was supposed to be way darker [and shorter]. However, thanks to…life, I decided to go for broke and went ‘screw it, this is stress relief so might as well go for broke’, and since I love the Accidental World Domination trope…[getting rambly again, oops] 

Thus, why it’s going to take a literal Destroyer of Worlds to break it to Tony that yes, he took over the world. Oops. 

However, since apparently I can’t help but be pedantic about power dynamics and politics and whatnot: it’s probably more low-key than some of my readers are expecting. Here, it’s not going to really show until we reach the Final Battle arc, but I’m trying my best to avoid imperialistic tones where that part’s concerned. 

Like, yes, the fic’s going to devolve to crack by then, but the world domination part’s going to end up being due to basically [heads up for major fic spoilers]:

The world: so 

The world: you have Skynet in your pocket. A horde of them, even.

Tony: guys, you are so grounded why’d you pull that stunt I told you—

JARVIS: *is unrepentant*

FRIDAY: *is also unrepentant*

JOCASTA: *is shamelessly using her full capabilities to help clean up the battlefield*

Tony: JARVIS, you were supposed to the the role model, not the bad influenc—

Tony: wait what do you mean you want me to take them offline

Tony: okay you know what? Fight me

on top of everything else. But the above being the main motivation for Tony’s not stepping down after the Final Battle, and I intend to go into more detail when the matter comes up. [Hopefully I do it right.]

But for the most part?

It’s not like he can put it on his shelf to collect dust or anything, no way does he want to rule the world! Tony’s got more than enough power as is, and he’s happy enough being the Head of R&D. Hell, he’s got more than enough as his plate as is, why the fuck would he want to add to his workload?! Strange, stop laughin—Rhodey, why are you giving Hope money? Thor, you too—what do you mean ‘you lost a bet’? JARVIS, you are so grounded!

aka his life is s u f f e r i n g because he didn’t sign up for any of this, thank you very much, how is this his life, where did he go wrong in his life choices?

Strange, you can stop laughing any time now. Any time. 

…screw it, might as well roll with it. Anyone mind if they call themselves the Federation if any other aliens come around? Or would that violate some copyright law? 

meanwhile, elsewhere: 

everyone at Stark Industries is scratching their heads and wondering where the miscommunication happened before shrugging and carrying along because business as usual now includes world domination, oops

Pepper’s in Maui finally getting her vacation. 

JARVIS doesn’t really mind, as it simply means he has less variables to control for to help keep Tony safe and happy, so he’s completely and utterly shameless about it all. Even if he’s so, very grounded for pulling the stunts he did during the Final Battle arc. 

Fury is in an unspecified location, laughing at Tony while also feeling very proud of him because this is the opposite of a problem and free entertainment at its finest, yes, this was worth it. Not what he’d expected, but most definitely worth the headache.

[just putting it out there to hopefully give an idea of what I’m aiming for, at the end of the fic.] Hopefully it gets across right. Just…world domination, but with a kinda relaxed take on things.

Kinda sorry for the spoilers, but that moment’s one of the ones I’ve been really looking forward to and it’s been the better part of a year and this fic just keeps growing.

[whifferdills]

“The Doctor Falls” quicktakes:

the cybermen scarecrows both make no sense and tie into so totally and terrifyingly into the overall theme of 'normalized horror' that if anyone is nitpicking based on Logic im gonna have to ask if you've ever enjoyed a piece of fiction, ever

Bill holding 12 is Iconic. the dark mirror of that one photoshoot where Sophie Aldred is carrying Sylvester McCoy. Companions Carrying Around Dr Who Forever

"how many times have you died?" "how many different ways?" like o.k. might be revealing too much of myself but this scene was hotttt

NARDOLE running away with purpose. that face

"oh, am i a woman now?" "well, kind of" "kiss me" "make me" "would you like to be alone?" im....fuckin. yeah

"which would mean more than it usually does" i n n u e n d o

that SONG what are they dancing to. if i remember to edit this i'll try and shazaam it

"old school, nice for a change," Simm!Master says while stroking his beard

Simm remains the slimiest of all Masters and the continuing sense of Missy playing along either to impress him or to play him or...these TWO

"Round??" "It's a little bit" "Shut up" THIS TIME LORD OK

shades of...what's that one where Simm pushes 10 around. Simm v much wants the Dr under his total control, but i think Missy would hugely prefer informed consent

confirming all origins of the Cybermen while dissing Trump and pulling off an unlikely plan: dr who in a nutshell

like even if what happens at the end did not happen, in an ideal world where narrative tropes are equally distributed, this is precisely how you'd do a conversion-type story. the emphasis on the character reacting against the monster they've become. having Bill be human!Bill for the most part really, really works

and the Dr being the only one who sees her, shades of "Last Christmas"

PCap going hard in the paint, dang

"Knock yourself out", and she does. nice

"Seriously, I need to know, is that true?" oh there's so much here and they're so close and it's just. how she looks at her hand after the dr lets it go, and rubs her face, and everything gets weird when dealing with touch telepaths

BILL MY GIRL GO GET EM

"the Doctor's dead, told me he hated you" "yeah heard you the first time" new dynamic: master/missy/nardole

the whole...dangerous person everyone is afraid of has a particular weight, when portrayed as a black lesbian. it's both kind of hinky and is getting at a really deep emotion, there. like sure it's not ideal but for Bill, dunno. this just seems like it rams in hard into her fears in an empathetic way

once again i do believe the Bill & Thete comparisons are deliberate

Bill looking into the mirror like...dang dude

Jelly baby?

aw the quiet whump, 12 is already broken and about to get more broken and. MY BOY. NO

they're so quiet, both of them. this scene is so heartbreakingly underplayed until the "i'm FINE" im

Bill yes i love you and support you

"why can't I be angry" ohhhhh that's a loaded line. maybe not played out so great but. yes. ask this question more, in your fiction

Nardole goes native once again. i love how him being a Computer Genius was woven into the series so he could save the day. nice organic arc, that

Bill & 12 brotp tho oh jeez these two

fuck off Simm!Master. so good at being slimy, and i love it, but a decade on am once again prepared to side-eye anyone who finds him Cute or Hot. he's a fuckboy, right

12's about to do a "Caves of Androzani" please no

Bill realizing 12 can't save her fuckin...fuck

"as my friend...i don't want to live if i can't be me anymore" and instead of "OH but i can SAVE THE DAY" the dr just says "...yeah. i gotchu. but - maybe?" and it's. thank.

 s o n i c  u m b r e l l a

is Simm!Master now sufficiently obviously gross enough for people to not write fluffy uwu fanfic

BILL MY GIRL

"Is the future gonna be all girl?" "We can only hope" CHINBALLS ARE U LISTENING

aw them three together pointing their sonics while Simm yells "kILL ITT" "well done, genius twins"

Nardole and his new girl...yknow, im happy for them. i like them. best of luck, godspeed

 "is it wrong that I... "yes, very" HOLY SHIT AKDIPAHFFHPIAFHPIAWk0R-RY*@%@

kind of a Night of the Hunter vibe here

and a "Listen" vibe

Nardole was found on a doorstep

god the Dr's desperation here, how they just want to be kind even if it kills them. this is My Dr Who, right here. and aw Pcap stop making me tear up

"just to the end, just be kind" thank you murray gold and etc for shutting up, this scene really benefits from a lack of music, can u imagine how much a standard Gold riff would ruin this (sorry i uhhh. like i enjoy gold in broader stories and sometimes he nails it but im not hugely a fan)

and how Missy almost, almost stays

and dR WHO please PLEASE oh god ohgodohgodoh

Them RTD Cyberman Noises

t h e  a p p l e  o f  d i s c o r d

like...okay this was not my dream ending for Twelvedole but the 'fuck off i'm a criminal im gonna ruin this so' and the 'you're stronger' and the.....fuck dude. and Nardole sort of saying goodbye at the tomb/elevator and then going on to live his life...it's bittersweet but i can deal

"You sure?" "You know i am" Aoufqurgo3qrq69r5674248148rfyhwekjs9d8f2q9(((((((((*^

"I need you to be big, and I need you to be brave, and I need you to follow me" NARDOLE

"Now that? was very really nicely done" i'm gonna fling myself into the sun

the Dr won't ever know that she meant to stand by their side and it's so them but it hurts ok

"You know how I go for girls and people my own age" and you're expecting like, oh god, not again, not another companion with a crush on the Dr, but then she says 'no hetero' and the dr's like 'yeh' and they blow themselves up together platonically. friendship goals

my headcanons about Koschei regenerating into Missy on Gallifrey are now kaput but i love, love love love, that they both shot each other in the back while giggling

remember that any character on this show is dead only until someone wants to bring them back

the dr won't ever know that missy would have stood by them and that's so...so them, and it hurts, but it feels right

12 naming off all the times Cybermen fucked shit up. here is where Murray Gold is good

"Let it go" im, i cant

when heather came back is when i outright started crying

BILL LIVES. in a different way. BUT FOREVER AND ALWAYS

but plus 1 to all of us who called heather coming back may they travel thru time and space happily, good luck and godspeed

hit or miss on that dude playing One but rn am erring on the side of it working for me

the Xmas special is gonna destroy me

am genuinely surprised there was no 13 here but i can deffo live with that

"i can fly anything, even you" oooHHHH

OOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH

nice

Bill's the Dr now

woo-ee-ooooh oh dogg was that a riff on Clara's theme just fuck me up fam

tbh i feel like 12's earned their 'i don't want to go' more than ten like it's just that they want to stop more than anything

again the xmas special will ruin me

but yeh i liked this story ok

[artificervaldi]

A to Z (call me curious and only if you want to :3 ;))

Oh boy, under the cut bc this is gonna get long:

A - Ships that you currently like a lot.

Shinjiro/Theodore, Minato/Akihiko, Mitsuru/Fuuka, Ann/Haru, Yusuke/Goro/Akira. Metis+Shinjiro BROTP, Minato+Minako BROTP. A lot more but that’s good for now.

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

I’m not sure I can think of one? Maybe uhm….??? Himuro/Hanamiya from KNB actually.

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will.

FeMC/Shinji tbh. Also Nico/Maki from Love Live! and Haruka/Makoto from Free!

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

A lot of the popular M/F ships for both Minato and Minako tbh. I just don’t like them, and wish I could see why others love them a lot? But I guess I’m in Minato/Akihiko and my crack ship Minako/Teddie hell so (shrug emoji). Hell, not just the popular now that I think about it. I don’t think I really ship Minato with any girls?

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

Do. Do my ships count? If not maybe the oneshot I wrote about Metis thinking Shinji is cool?

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

Probably Mass Effect? Got into it as a young Bella and I’m still into it. That or KNB probably? But Persona has a chance of being the longest if time if given.

G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?

My first OTP was like... Inuyasha/Kagome tbh

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?

Games and books/anime probably?

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

Yes, a lot of fandoms bc :) ooooh boy toxic.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr.

Overwatch probably? I don’t know much about it at all, but I’ve heard good things and it’s all over so!

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

I liked Ken and Akihiko’s a lot tbh? Metis slowly remembering who she was was super nice too!

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves.

Let’s go w/ a character I’m neutral to - Ryuji is a good kid to his mom, which is nice.

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

I don’t know what this means, but like. If it means a character I’d love to give to a friend I’d love to give Minato to @moonlit-dancer

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

Since Persona is my main fandom let’s go with: More variety in ships – rare pairs and crack ships are good and fun to think about, more for ignored characters like Metis, more love for fic authors but that’s me w/ all fandoms

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

After scrolling through my YT History I couldn’t find any that aren’t embarrassing orz

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

I have an AU for P3 that’s based in a hospital, with certain characters being stuck in there due to illnesses and such. I could make a post about it if anyone’s interested?

Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

Dragon Age -- Someone in my past ruined it for me.

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

I like the P3 third years friendship a lot!!

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

Metis and Shinjiro could be great friends if they met, Metis would find Shinji to be cool.

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

Too many to count/list here tbh.

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

Shinjiro - He just hits all my favorite checkmarks. Don’t let me go on I’ll go on for an hour

Himuro - OG fave that I love with all my heart, he’s pretty and sad.

Ashley Williams - I will defend her from the fandom, her story is so nice.

V - Which character do you relate to most?

Fuuka from P3 or Hanayo from Love Live! tbh

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

A/B/O is the grossest thing to me. I have yet to see any form of it that doesn’t gross me out.

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

Friends to Lovers, Fake Dating, Soulmates, etc

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

Overwatch, some other games and animes I guess?

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

Persona 3′s cast is close in a way the other casts aren’t? Like. They have a friendship not dictated by the MC being there to make them be friends. They have their own issues and relationships outside of each other and it’s so interesting to me