#First Time Actually Writing this Down

[bigsoftmarshmallow]

Priest and Eldritch/Cleric and Paladin

So the story between these two doesn't come from a specific universe/fandom. They have names, but they rather go by their nicknames now bc they have no meaning in their old mortal names.

Priest and Eldritch were once siblings, Priest being a Cleric in the name of the Church, and Eldritch a Paladin for the same Church. They were loyal to the Religion, and loyal to each other. Some questioned about which loyalty was stronger, but in the end, they would learn. (For simplicity, Priest will be referred as Cleric and Eldritch as Paladin)

Cleric is the older sibling, a mortal woman who cared over her flock with gentleness. Paladin was a rather sickly human, but by becoming a Paladin, was made semi healthy by the power of the Church. They defended each other and the area until a religious war broke out. They demanded all Paladins to come to join the fight, to defend the religion and Church. Cleric begged to shield Paladin from the order, but despite her pull and pleas, Paladin was dragged off.

The next time Cleric saw her beloved younger sibling, Paladin was dying. A wound filled with fatal poison was slowly spreading through their body, and there was no cure.

Cleric could not lose the only person that she was loyal to, the only family she had left.

Clerics in this world are trained to fight against all demons and other religions, thus they are allowed access to dark scriptures and rituals. By studying them, they could fight against them, find weaknesses, bring the darkness to light.

Cleric knew of a ritual that would save her beloved sibling. It would cost everything. She would give everything.

The next morning, when her loyal flock came into their church, they expected a sermon and memorial for those lost to the war. The flock were quickly slaughtered, fuel for the dark ritual Cleric needed to give her sibling a chance of life. She dragged the bodies to the basement, where Paladin laid on a table, breathing heavily. The bodies piled up, the blood leaked everywhere. Cleric's face was a mess of tears and panic as she quickly set things in place.

"Sister?"

"Shh sweetheart... Save your strength."

"If this doesn't work-"

"Have faith-"

"I love you, sister."

"I love you more than anything."

Dagger in hand, Cleric raised up the blade, trembling and praying, chanting the scripture as she cut Paladin's wrist and drank from it. Garbled words of darkened faith split from bloody lips as she drank, before she cut her own wrists and fed it to Paladin. The dying being blindly trusted her older sister, drinking the blood fed from a trembling wrist. Once filled, Cleric let out a sob, summoning her strength once more.

"If this fails, I pray you forgive me, El." "If this fails, we will be together, Al."

With that, Cleric let out a scream and plunged the dagger into Paladin's chest, the area growing darker as she chanted a forbidden hymn. The air felt suffocating, the metallic smell filled the air. As she pulled out the dagger, she licked the blood, smearing it on her skin.

"Thus, I find new meaning and a new existence. Thus, I birth a new god. Thus, I become their Acolyte!"

With those words, she plunged the dagger into her own chest, and the world heard a gargled scream.

[thekittyokat]

you ever just have a lot, a LOT of feelings all at once about a character and not even remotely enough words or brainpower to FORM the words to describe everything you're feeling. so it feels like you may explode. yeah

[reaping-the-benefits]

Part 1

Part 2 to my omegaverse au

MDNI!!!! Content warning: omegaverse, alpha Simon, omega reader, mentions of knotting and cock-warming, p in v, reader has a vagina, doggy style, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it, folks), return of the shitty ex (sorry if your name is Devin)

Your heat ends three days sooner than you had expected. Maybe it’s because you finally have an alpha to help take care of it. Maybe you’re pregnant. Who knows? These are thoughts for later. Right now, you’re just ecstatic to have an alpha, especially one as wonderful as Simon.

Speaking of the devil…

Simon groans softly, rocking his hips into yours. “What’s got you squeezin’ like that?” he mumbles into your ear, still a little groggy from sleep.

You must’ve fallen asleep last night with his knot still inside you, cockwarming him all night. The thought must make you clench around him again, because Simon’s groaning into your ear, rolling you onto your stomach. 

“Hips up, love,” he commands. He doesn’t wait for you to follow the demand, already lifting your hips and shoving a pillow underneath them. 

The pillow really doesn’t help much when Simon presses his body against yours, the weight of him pressing you into the mattress. His thrusts are slow, almost lazy, as if he’s got all the time in the world. Between his weight on top of you, and his cock rearranging your insides, it’s almost impossible to get out anything besides a whiney moan, struggling to get any air into your lungs. It makes your head spin, and Simon groans in your ear, dipping his head into the crook of your neck to trail kisses along your bare skin.

“Needy fuckin’ thing, ain’t ya?” he groans into your ear, his hips gradually picking up the pace. “Kept you full all night, and it still wasn’t enough.”

You whine in response, trying to push your hips back against his. You dig your hands into the sheets, hoping to find some leverage to help you, but Simon tuts softly, leaning back onto his knees. He grabs both of your wrists in one hand, twisting your arms back. The new position makes you arch your back, face pressed into the sheets. It also gives Simon a better angle to drive himself into you, each thrust hitting that spot that makes you see stars.

“S-simon,” you stutter out, eyes rolling into the back of your head. The pleasure is so good, the kind that has your toes curling, and that all too familiar feeling builds up in your abdomen. 

Simon’s free hand snakes around your waist, the touch almost scorching as it trails down your stomach and between your thighs. You must still be sensitive from the previous night, because he just barely swipes his fingers over your clit and you’re cumming, pussy clamping down on his cock. Your whole body shakes, vision blank for a moment as you cry into the sheets.

Simon doesn’t slow down, hips rocking into yours, fucking you through your orgasm and into his own. His thrusting gets sloppy, until he lets go of your hands to drape himself over your back, his face buried into the crook of your neck once more, letting out a rough groan as his hips finally still, shooting his load into you.

It takes both of you a second to come down from that wonderful little high, chests heaving. Simon peppers kisses along your neck and shoulders, nipping teasingly across your bare shoulders. “So fuckin’ pretty, baby,” he murmurs into your skin. 

You can’t help the whine that you let you, when he slips out of you. There’s an ache in your hips, one that’s been building up over the last few days. Simon just huffs a laugh, pressing a kiss between your shoulders before he leaves the bed.

He comes back a few minutes later with a towel, murmuring soft apologies as he carefully cleans you up. One hand gently rubs over your hips, and you scrunch your face up for a moment, muttering out, “You’re too fucking big, Si.”

“Don’t remember you complain’ yesterday,” he huffs out in response, but there’s amusement in his voice, and it makes you smile in response. “Think you can get up?”

You flop onto your back, eyes narrowing as you think about it for a moment. Technically, yes, you probably could. But walking is a whole different task, and with the ache in your hips and the jelly feeling in your legs, you highly doubt you’d make it out of the bedroom.

“Mmm… no. Carry me?”

Simon rolls his eyes, pretending to be annoyed with the request. But there’s no hiding the smug feeling in his chest, the smirk on his lips, when he scoops you out of the bed, carrying you bridal style out of the bedroom.

***

You’re in a good mood, as you step out of the apartment, wearing shorts and one of Simon’s shirts. It hangs loose on you, one shoulder visible as the neckline keeps trying to slip off. You have no idea how these shirts always look so tight on Simon, but are so loose on you. 

You had been planning on going to the mailroom. A plan short lived, because your ex is stepping out of his apartment at the same time. You hadn’t really thought about Devin over the last week, far too occupied with your heat and Simon. And Simon’s hands, and tongue, and… well, you get the idea.

Devin stares at you, his eyes narrow for a moment. You can practically feel his gaze, as you turn, still planning on heading to the mailroom. Subconsciously, you pick up the pace, trying to get away from him as quickly as possible.

But Devin’s taller, and he easily catches up to you.

“What? No hello?” he asks, grabbing onto your arm to stop you.

You yank your arm away from him, hissing as if his touch physically pains you. There’s nothing you have to say to him, nothing meaningful at least. Really, if it were up to you, you’d never speak to your ex again. He’d been demeaning your entire relationship, and you had been ready to leave far earlier than now.

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” you reply curtly.

Devin steps closer to you, a dark look flashing on his face. “Is that any way to speak to your alpha?” he growls at you.

“You’re not my alpha,” you spit back.

Devin snarls, reaching out for you, but he hesitates, his eyes drawn to your neck. To your bond mark. Something akin to anger flashes across his face, and he hisses at you, “Are you fucking kidding me? I knew you were fucking cheating on me, you little-”

He doesn’t get a chance to finish. Not when Simon scruffs him like a kitten, yanking him back by the back of his shirt. While your ex had been tall, Simon is practically a giant, towering over Devin with a dark look on his face. Simon leans down to snarl something into Devin’s ear, too quiet for you to hear. But based on the fear on Devin’s face, it’s probably a threat. 

Simon shoves him away, sends him stumbling off down the hallway, back to his own apartment, before turning his attention to you. You’d just watch him get aggressive, but he’s so gentle with you, hands reaching out to cradle your face.

“You okay, lovie?” Simon asks, voice soft and gentle. 

You nuzzle your face into his hands, smiling sweetly. Maybe you should be a little scared, with how easy it was for Simon to manhandle another person around. But you’re not scared of Simon, not when he looks at you with such a softness in his eyes.

“I’m okay.”

He nods, hands dropping away from your face, only for him to wrap an arm around you, tugging you closer to him. “Where we going?”

“To check the mail,” you reply, letting him tuck you into his side, feeling safe and sound.

[teddybeartoji]

dazai and soft touches. his fingers are like feathers on your skin, ever so lightly brushing over the apple of your cheek as you ramble about your day. he's staring at you with a lovesick smile (one that would surely make kunikida vomit his heart out)(he is happy that dazai has you now though)(he just wishes he didn't have to see it).

he traces your freckles and birthmarks before pushing a strand of hair behind your ear. you're trying really hard to not show him how much of an effect he has on you but it's hard – you keep stumbling over your words and he thinks you're absolutely adorable.

whenever you have a bad headache, he makes you lay down on his lap. he tells you to close your eyes with a whisper and you do. he drags his slender fingers across your nose, massaging the skin so, so gently. he puts just a tad more pressure into the strokes as he moves down from between your furrowed brows. it works. he can see and feel you relax into him, your fingers loosening their grip on the hem of his sweater.

he then focuses solely on your brows. he pushes up and over them, quite literally smoothing away the pain. he listens to your soft breaths, he observes the way the corner of your lips twitch every once in a while. he loves it when you melt into him, when you allow yourself to relax in his hold. he takes pride in being able to make you feel better with the simplest touches.

ok but if we're talking about pre-relationship dazai... he's just a little more reserved. he's holding back. a lot. moving through a crowd, he doesn't hold your hand – he just links your fingers, or maybe even just your pinkies. and it somehow feels even more intimate than actually holding hands. neither of you comment on it though. he's holding onto you so gently, the tug is almost non-existent and it just feels right.

saw a post abt him fidgeting a lot and i haven't stopped thinking about it. he does it with yout hand, too. you're just standing in a line, waiting to order a cup of coffee when you suddenly feel him taking your smaller hand into his. you don't ask, only merely eyeing him quietly. he hums to himself as he holds it; he compares the sizes but his face doesn't change, doesn't show whether he liked the difference or not. he traces the lines on your palm and tries to count them all. he isn't startled when you take a step forward as the line moves up, he just steps alongside you without ever raising his eyes. you let him do his thing.

i also think he likes to twirl a strand of your hair between his fingers a lot. he seems to be doing this very mindlessly aswell. seems. he literally never says anything about it, he just does it.

ALSO!! seemingly random and accidental touches!!!! he hands you a cup of coffee and his fingers brush over yours, he swipes an eyelash from your cheek with a smile, he boops your nose as he teases you. and whenever he passes by you, his hands linger on your waist or on your lower back. he acts like all of these are not intentional, that they just happened but he knows exactly what he's doing. he's just a little touch starved, okay?? but he doesn't really know how to voice it yet:((((((((

[tinyetoile]

I drew this for a timeline thing for my original zelda story but TBH that's coming along pretty slowly and this is funny enough to post on its own.

[s0fter-sin]

one of my favourite aspects of supernatural that you very rarely see in paranormal shows is that sam and dean are already versed in the world they live in. there’s no sudden discovery of ghosts and demons and now they have to learn about them along with the audience; they are born into it and already know all about it. it allows the audience to follow their personal story instead of also trying to figure out this new world and its rules

the first season is full of knowledge we never see them learn; “w*ndigoes are in the minnesota woods or- or northern michigan. i’ve never even heard of one this far west.” […] “great. well then this [his gun] is useless.” (1x02), “you don’t break a curse. you get the hell out of its way.” (1x08), d: “it’s a god. a pagan god, anyway.” […] “the annual cycle of its killings? and the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. like some kind of fertility right.” […] s: “the last meal. given to sacrificial victims. d: “yeah, i’m thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some pagan god.” (1x11)

almost every episode in the first season is a monster they’ve faced before that they then explain to the audience in a way that should feel patronising; like it’s the same speech given over and over again but instead, the audience almost feels included in the knowledge. it’s stated with such an innate confidence and comfort in said knowledge that it feels like we already knew it too; “spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. if they want inside, they just go through the walls.” […] “the claws, the speed that it moves; could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog.” (1x02), “it's biblical numerology. you know noah's ark, it rained for forty days. the number means death.” (1x04), “no no no, not the reaper, a reaper. there's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on earth, it goes by 100 different names.” […] “you said it yourself that the clock stopped, right? reapers stop time. and you can only see 'em when they're coming at you which is why i could see it and you couldn't.” (1x12)

they already know and, at least in the first season, already have what they need to kill whatever they’re hunting; already know to salt and burn bones for spirits, fire for a w*ndigo, exorcisms for demons, a silver bullet to the heart for shapeshifters. there’s only three times in the entire first season that they run into something new to them; 1x14 when sam gets his first vision that leads him to another psychic, 1x16 when dean calls caleb for help on the sigil he put together and he tells him about daevas, and 1x20 when they find out vampires are real- and they only don’t know that bc john thought they were hunted to extinction and not worth mentioning

(there’s also technically two half instances if you count one of them knowing something the other doesn’t - sam figuring out the tulpa in 1x17 and dean already knowing about the shtriga in 1x18 - but those still rely on sam and dean having prior knowledge)

even when they’re uncertain about facing something, it’s not bc they don’t know what it is; it’s precisely bc they know what it is and acknowledge that it’ll be a difficult hunt (“i don't know, man. this isn't our normal gig. i mean, demons, they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. this is big. and i wish dad was here.” 1x04)

so much of the tension in paranormal shows typically comes from the main character(s) not knowing what is happening to them/the people around them and having to find out how to resolve it. supernatural is unique in that it operates more like a police procedural. the tension comes from solving the clues and identifying patterns to figure out who (what) the killer is and intercepting before they can take another victim

it’s such a different tone to go for when compared to other shows that came both before, during, and after its run. it sets sam and dean on even footing with each other since they both have the same knowledge going in, and it puts them in a place of authority usually reserved for an outside character

the shows i compare spn to most is charmed, buffy and teen wolf; every main character in those shows are brought into the paranormal world knowing nothing, putting them on the same level as the audience, and they have their mc interact with others already knowledgeable about that world in order to overcome their problem/monster of the week. the audience organically learns about this new world as the characters learn about it. it’s a sound writing strategy that prevents “as we already know”-style exposition but something that complicates it is if your world building isn’t unique or intriguing enough, this slow introduction can become boring

we’ve seen shows like these before; sitting through the same tropes of characters learning to use their powers, struggling with no longer feeling normal/relating to the regular world around them, and not knowing how much they can trust the people already involved in this new world gets repetitive. all three shows eventually reach the same level of comfort with their new world that spn starts with but if the characters aren’t enough to draw you in, you can end up dropping it before they reach that point (and often, before the overarching plot can really kick in and evolve the show beyond the villain of the week format)

it’s the superhero origin movie in tv format; dragged out and overplayed. dropping the audience into an established world of course comes with its own problems but you also have the benefit of pre-existing established character dynamics that let the audience slot in like they’ve always been there instead of just getting to know all the characters while the characters also get to know each other

sam and dean already knowing about the supernatural lets the audience immediately get to the core of the story; the conflict between sam and dean, the search for their father, and the mystery of what killed their mother

[scrawnyghstts]

do any of you ever lay awake at night thinking about how Kremy gifted Gideon a comb even though, obviously, lizardfolk don't have any hair.

because that means that Kremy went out of his way to get Gid this gift. A comb isn't just something an alligator would have or just collect somewhere to have it for later, Kremy likely never needed or thought of having anything of the sort.

But Kremy noticed how roughed up Gideon was, how he didn't have anything on him to take care of himself and Kremy came up with the idea and then spent time and possibly money (or he just swiped it but still) to find a nice comb just for Gideon and then gave it to him.

Nikkie described it so beautifully that it was the first time someone saw Gideom as his own man and that also makes my heart ache so much. But I just can't stop thinking about how freaking Kremy Lecroux, went out of his way, to get a thing he likely never even thought of getting, just to give it to his partner (in crime). Like yeah sure we can talk about how Kremy wouldn't want to travel with someone unkept but I don't think it's that. He'd get Gideom a bath and a haircut or something at an inn and done, issue solved. But no, Kremy specifically wanted to get a thing for Gideon, he wanted him to have something that's just for him, something to help him get his sense of self back, his looks and help him find his confidence.

It was thoughtful gift from Kremy who probably is the last person to do thoughtful gifts to just some people. But he made that gesture for Gideon.

like do you ever just lay there and think about all that and how they both must have felt almost an instant bond forming between them, doesn't matter if it's platonic or romantic, like do you just-- yeah.

[typing-catastrophe]

I have been so cooked for this man lately that I need to talk about him— I genuinely think that with a ADHD/autism/AuDHD partner Ford takes notes on your stims and quirks, even before any serious relationship. Just little things like “waves hands when excited :)” and “prefers baggy sweaters” just like a little way of understanding you better 🥺💖

yesss definitely! as an AuDHDer who stims a lot myself, this is everything!! jfskhfshsk

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

"Aaaahhhhh oh myy-" the rest of what you were saying was incomprehensible because the words slurred together in an excited squeal. A gleeful expression upon your face, you waved and shook your hands in front of your body, then pressed them over your mouth, to stifle another squeal.

Ford smiled to himself as he watched you from the other side of the room, where he propped his notebook open to scribble something down.

"Heeyyyyy Grunkle Ford, watcha got there?" Mabel's voice rang out right beside him.

He snapped the book shut and whipped his head around.

"Mabel!"

"Waves hands when excited." she cited what she had just read, "Were you talking about-"

"No, I was certainly not!" Ford said, while his cheeks started to turn a deep red colour.

"Are you suuuure? Because to me it looks like you diiiid." she said, a cheeky grin on her face and dragging some of the vowels.

"You are mistaken, dear child. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do." he excused himself and stood up, holding the notebook close to him.

Without letting her get another word in, he moved past her and made his way into his study.

There, he propped open the notebook to the page he'd just added a new note onto.

- likes to hum when no one is around - seems to prefer more loose fitting clothes. possibly because the don't restrict movement as much - will subconsciously play and fidget with any jewellery they're wearing - sorts and eats their food in a particular order - would rather not eat at all than something not appealing - skin irritating clothing causes great discomfort. remove tags!! - wants to talk but holds back. encouraging them has positive effect - avoids eye contact but will look at faces when the person isn't looking at them - do not touch without warning and do not force contact! expressed great discomfort to me after being forced to physical contact by someone else - repeating phrases and noises (quite endearing) - easily startled by sudden and loud noises, as well as irritated by high pitched ones, almost too quiet to hear - shows behaviours similar to felines. has stated that they would be delighted to posses the ability to purr (he would be delighted too)

Ford smiled as he looked up and leaned back. He really hoped Mabel hadn't seen too much, otherwise she might figure out how interested in you he really was. And we wasn't sure if he was ready for that.

For now he would be very much content continuing to dreamily gaze over at you and notice all the little things, so he could understand you better.

Maybe one day he could work up the courage to ask you out.

-------------------------------------------------- thank you for reading <3 reblogs are appreciated

[love-fireflysong]

I'm just saying you guys, if you're a fanfic author and you're going through a rough period where you keep feeling like your writing is shit and awful and just absolute garbage, just reread your own work.

You don't even have to look at the comments if you're going through a particularly nasty patch where you're convinced everyone is just lying and was only saying nice things to spare your feelings. Just reread the fic itself. It'll change your mind so quick I promise.

There's seriously nothing quite like clicking on what is *your* most popular fic and going 'Oh. I get it now. I think I understand why other people actually like this one so much holy shit'.

[pokimoko]

To Walk Over Your Grave - A Gravity Falls Fic

Written by pokimoko

Chapters: 7/7

Final Word Count: ~60K

Fandom: Gravity Falls

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Ford Pines & Stan Pines, Dipper Pines & Ford Pines & Mabel Pines & Stan Pines, Fiddleford H. McGucket & Ford Pines, Bill Cipher & Ford Pines

Characters: Ford Pines, Stan Pines, Dipper Pines, Mabel Pines, Fiddleford H. McGucket, Bill Cipher, Background & Cameo Characters

Summary:

This is not the world you think you know Though it starts in the same winter snow And ends in the same place as before: In a town of cryptids and folklore Where a man must set his mind aflame To bring an end to a god's cursed game That's the thing about branches of time However they diverge, they will rhyme But diverge they did, with one mistake One wrong number is all it can take To keep a man away from his twin And to change all of what might have been How cruel, how strange, that a change so small Could make so many dominoes fall But still, every choice must have its cost And in this world, he must pay with frost

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe, Cryogenics, Suspended Animation, Young Ford Pines, 80s Ford in 2012, Ford Pines Has Issues, Ford Pines Needs a Hug, POV Ford Pines, Ford Pines-centric, Psychological Trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Ford Pines Has PTSD, Memory Loss, Amnesia, Repressed Memories, Horror Elements, Mystery, Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Canonical Character Death, (just…not quite in the canonical order of events), Haunting, Dreamscapes, Unreliable Narrator, Reconciliation, Memory Alteration, Grief/Mourning, Metafiction, Pre-Portal Incident Ford | Early 1980s Era Ford Pines, Implied Autistic Ford Pines, Alternate Universe - Ford Pines Never Went Through The Portal, and let's just say that changes a lot of things, Brotherly Love, Brotherly Angst, Wait if I'm haunting the narrative and you're haunting the narrative then who's driving?, TLDR: instead of portal adventures Ford gets frozen for 30 odd years and is still not having a good time, my boy is out here young dumb and broken

[kilgarraghforever]

I am genuinely really enjoying seeing people who have clearly never read the Odyssey before reacting to EPIC's Ithaca saga. I haven't listened to EPIC myself (yet) but people keep saying stuff like "Odyseeus built their palace around an olive tree he carved into his and Penelope's marriage bed that's so symbolic" and "He really just murdered all the suitors wouldn't that piss off their parents?" Which are observations and questions that the Odyssey makes incredibly blatantly clear as to the symbolism or the answer because it's a really old poem and subtlety wasn't really Homer's strong suit.

There's something really endearing about seeing people interact with the Odyssey through the same way the Ancient Greeks did - a bard singing the story of Odyseus' nostos.

(I gather the details have changed a little, but that's what happens with oral storytelling, and that's how the Odyssey got created in the first place)

Also as congratulations have my favourite ancient depiction of Odysseus surfing with two amphemorae having stolen Poseidon's trident, being sped along by Boreas, stark naked except for a cloak he's holding onto.

[i-dare-say]

You know what I love about Binghe's character? His role in the story and the way it changes our perception of him through the narrative.

We first meet him as this poor boy and we, just like Shen Qingqiu, get swept by the image of the white lotus. He's a teenager, and we're told that at this age he didn't have any of the darkness that would reign over his life after the Abyss. We're only shown an obedient and sweet Luo Binghe. He is the "young and innocent protagonist".

But we know about his future. Shen Qingqiu tells us so many times that the Abyss will corrupt him irreversebly, that he will come back and take his revenge on the scum villain. The problem is that we see the story through Shen Qingqiu's point of view, he is our protagonist, making Binghe our villain. So we read about the disciple days with the constant thought that this boy will one day become the antagonist.

And see, there's a slight difference between villain and antagonist. A villain is perceived as someone with bad intentions, while an antagonist is just someone who opposes the protagonist.

When Luo Binghe comes back from the Abyss, he is both villain and antagonist. He goes against Shen Qingqiu (antagonist), and the story tells us he wants to kill him like the original PIDW (villain).

Then it's revealed that it may not be exactly like that. First, we're shown that Binghe has romantic feelings for Shen Qingqiu (which, yeah, it's obvious to everyone but him, but still), giving Binghe a new possible role in the story: love interest. This immediately reduces the perceived danger of his actions. It brings him closer, it makes him a safer character.

Yes, there are stories with villainous love interests that do horrible shit, but we're dealing with the most common way narratives treat this type of character: generally, the love interest is good. And so, the moment this role is put upon Luo Binghe by the narrative itself, it also influences the reader.

But Shen Qingqiu, and consequently we, don't lower our guard. Despite being the love interest now, we also know that Luo Binghe has conspired to take down his master and organized the sower plague. He's attacked Huan Hua Palace, killed Gongyi Xiao and many others, putting the blame on Shen Qingqiu. By the end of book 2 he's villain, antagonist and love interest.

But it all gets proven wrong. That almost everything that happened to Shen Qingqiu was not because of Luo Binghe. We discover that there are other villains in the shadows.

The sower plague and the the attack at Huan Hua Palace was caused by Tianlang-Jun and Zhuzhi-Lang. Qiu Haitang's involvement and Shen Qingqiu's imprisonment was one of the Old Palace Master's schemes. All of this destroys Binghe's role as villain and antagonist.

This is the moment Shen Qingqiu decides to trust Binghe, pushing the reader to do the same. Because he's just "love interest" now and by the standard conventions, he's good. We trust him to be. Shen Qingqiu himself starts to project onto him that same image of white lotus. Since our image of Luo Binghe was so bad previously, this makes it jump way higher. It lulls us into this much better perception of his character.

The Old Palace Master was a villain and he died, as villains are often destined to. The only obstacle remains Tianlang-Jun, who doesn't harm Shen Qingqiu because of Zhuzhi-Lang's wishes (not an antagonist), but also wants to merge the realms (villain).

So our protagonist and love interest move toward the action, the big battle against the final boss. The villains get defeated easily and after the truth of what happened to Su Xiyan, Tianlang-Jun gives up his plan. His role as villain ends there. But the story has more antagonists to reveal.

Luo Binghe has never stopped being one. The narrative only hid his real motivations and let him cover himself with the role of love interest. And at this moment, he drops the mask and lets all of his feelings out, everything he didn't tell Shen Qingqiu nor the readers. He becomes the final antagonist, the one we've had since the very beginning.

The thing that saves him is his status as love interest, because no, he's not the only one to blame for what is happening. There's Xin Mo, who has fed on his insecurities and negative feelings, and Shen Qingqiu himself. He is the one who has constantly pushed Binghe to the side, believing himself to do the right thing, first by giving Binghe his death and then by trying to keep him "protected" from his father.

In the end, Luo Binghe wasn't a villain. Shen Qingqiu was, and he dies. But since he's not a real villain, he's allowed to come back.

When everything is over, their story comes to an end. The narrative itself leaves them free, to be whoever they want to be.

[coquelicoq]

adsfkj i have dusted off the cql folder on my computer for the first time since 2021 and i just found a bunch of fic snippets so short i can't even tell what they were supposed to be about. except this one in which i apparently had the lan sect invent hash functions, all so that there could be a dramatic reveal that jiang cheng had never removed wei wuxian from the yunmeng jiang sect records??

Wei Wuxian sighed and slumped back on his heels. It wasn't that he was incapable of being patient, he just didn't want to. Here was an array that could tell a sect if a prospective initiate was currently on another sect's rolls, without actually giving any sect access to the records of another sect. How was it doing that? The applications for this technology were potentially enormous. Wei Wuxian couldn't wait to get his grubby little hands all over the design.

there's also a more extended passage from a different "wei wuxian finds out he's still a member of ymj" concept (feat. jin ling!) which includes the paragraph

"He can't join the Lan sect!" Jin Ling was exclaiming. "He's already in a sect, technically, and you can only be on the official roster for one sect at a time. I should know, my elders have only been hounding me about it since before I could even say the words 'conflict of interest.'"

but the rest of them are just single sentence one-offs like

'Hey‚' Wei Wuxian protests weakly. 'It’s not my fault. I’ve been dead for quite some time.'

and

After customer service‚ there isn’t much an unearthly shriek can do to phase a person.

and then there's this sentence fragment:

The leader of the Jiang Sect‚ who looks like a Sect Leader‚ is dressed like a Sect Leader‚ and‚ most importantly‚ is not stuck in a hole like an idiot‚ therefore behaving with the dignity of a Sect Leader‚

dying to know where i was going with this. and who was the narrator? whoever it is, they are definitely comparing someone unfavorably to jiang cheng. some idiot has fallen in a hole and jiang cheng comes along and the narrator is like now that's what i'm talking about. maybe the narrator is the idiot in question? maybe wei wuxian is the idiot. but then i don't know why i would have been leaning on the sect leader thing since wei wuxian is not a sect leader. 2021 was a long time ago apparently because i have no memory of this.

[mylove-thresher]

there might be a spider somewhere and that’s enough for me to be paranoid

[rustyisacowboy]

brusty breakup arc will always get to me because even when brock gets back with doc in season 6, you can tell things arent the same anymore. brock doesnt care. he is trying so desperately to care but he cant anymore. doc really fucked it with not ever doing anything for brock, and between ORB and The family that slays together stays together part 2 brock had enough of not being taken seriously and he just never came back from that

[oetscop]

this is kinda old and i almost didnt post it. i kinda gave up on making a full rainer ref like i did with daniel soooo take this ^}^

this is after 1997 and before 2000 when he went missing for good.