#I didn’t choose to fixate on these characters but now I have no choice

[area51-escapee]

My brain cannot settle on a single thing

[genshinlover101]

“when we were kids, i used to have the biggest crush on you.”

Characters: Yae Miko, Ningguang, Mona x gn!reader

Warnings: none

A/n: I initially planned on having Nilou on this cause I’m in love, but I’m so unconfident in writing for Sumeru characters

• Yae Miko had a crush on you before the war. Before things turned for the worst and she could focus on you. If she could turn back time before she had lost everything she would, but now she had bigger responsibilities and priorities. You were far from one of them.

• Your falling out started when Ei abandoned her nation during its all-time low. Miko’s hyper fixation on chasing Ei left her little choice but to forget you as Inazuma in its entirety lost hope for their Archon.

• Whenever you crossed paths with Miko it was like you never had a history together. When you two needed each other the most, when you two only had one another, you mutually refused acknowledgment. Your petty pride disguised itself as self-respect to avoid someone who wouldn’t choose you above her selfish leader.

Out of 500 years of no contact, on a random Tuesday night, you’re forced to break it outside the Narukami Shrine. You’re not fine, but you don’t mind. You want to run away, you can run away, it’s not like you’re confined- but you choose not to. You decide at this moment If it was her, she can break your heart over and over again, you don’t want to fear her any longer. “What did you say?” You asked with an annoyed tone to hide your desperation.

“When we were kids I used to have a crush on you.” She said with a straight face. You began regretting your efforts all these years to avoid the woman you loved. Maybe if you had just tried harder, “It’s nothing new really.”

You haven’t matured a bit, your knuckles turning white. Even biting your tongue at such an emotionally vulnerable moment for the both of you. Not willing to admit your own feelings for her just yet.

“I mean how dense can you be.” She rolled her eyes at your unresponsiveness, another habit that frustrated you about her. “It seemed like everyone knew except you. Even today- you don’t know. You will never know.”

“And how about now?” You asked, not wanting her to continue her demeaning tangent against you. Her eyebrows raised like she was asking you for clarification. “How do you feel about me now.”

“How unfair of you to ask me these questions, do I get nothing in return?” Her voice was laced with momentary amusement, a red devious glare in her eye. “Of course, I don’t feel the same.” Her smug smirk dropped at the same pace as your heart sinking to your stomach.

“But I won’t lie, I waited for you to reciprocate for a long time after situations tensed.” She seemed solemn, her ears flattened down low yet her demeanor at ease. Like a knot in her shoulders was finally coming undone. “That’s what I do, I wait for those who abandoned me. I waited for you. How pathetic of me wouldn’t you agree?”

“Then why didn’t you choose me.” You mumbled, your confidence lowering. You were here right now, standing beside her, while she was nowhere to be found. Even over the years when you didn’t talk, you still watched over her. She must’ve known… did she not?

You wanted to comfort her, but you felt like you couldn’t even lift a finger. A familiar wave of lethargy lingers over you. “You obviously don’t know the full story. I thought as much. Ei never trusted you enough and frankly, I don’t have the capacity to care” She teased a glowing purple chess piece in your face pulled from her pocket.

That was all you had to see as evidence that you were 500 years too late to reciprocate her feelings. Her confidence was just as wavering as yours as she didn’t even trust her own decisions, “all I have to do is focus for the one who entrusted me with Inazuma’s fate while she rests for eternity. That is my responsibility that I accepted willingly.”

• Ningguang had a crush on you when she could afford silly things like childish crushes. Although she was poor, she was happy with you blissfully unaware of her feelings. However as life got more serious she had to mature, you were simply a distraction to the bigger plan at stake.

• Your falling out wasn’t the worst. You two just grew up and matured. Little did you know Ningguang intentionally avoided you, knowing contact with you would put a wrench in her bigger goals. But you just assumed it was one of those things that as people grow older they lose contact.

• Occasionally, you’d run into Ningguang. The Tianquan was surprisingly hard to avoid. Catching up like old friends, your bond never as strong as it was before. Frankly, you were happy it wasn’t, knowing how awkward it would be if your feelings lingered even if you were in denial.

Something felt awkward about that night. Something along the lines of the burning silence as you watched the multitude of stars occupy the night sky, Usually you two would be chatting up a storm, but the atmosphere called for silence. Ningguang leaned against one of the Jade Chamber's supports, her signature pipe in hand as she exhaled a smoke cloud.

You stared at her a bit too intently, almost creepily. Lost in thought as you always found smoking an ugly habit, but when it touched her lips you couldn't help but find yourself in a beautiful trance. "You know staring is rude," she broke the silence. The smell of clear air discomforting, amplifying your distance. "And yet I find you still staring at me."

She sighed deeply, you could tell something equally as heavy crowded her mind. "When we were kids..." a brief pause before she decided it was necessary, "I used to have the biggest crush on you." Your ears perked at her impulsive confession.

You stare blankly at her, words couldn’t describe how you felt at that moment. Happy she confirmed your delusions, or sad at her use of past tense. "I apologize for putting you in such an awkward position," She shook her head in frustration mixed with immediate regret. "I should've never admitted such a thing to you."

You stuttered over your voice, not saying anything specific. Just a sad desperate attempt to get your voice out so she wouldn't be so shameful. You wanted to scream that it was mutual, that it still is. Your pride holding you back- because archons forbid what if it wasn't how she felt today? "I care for you still and I think I will forever, that was my part of the contract… But how the future of Liyue is looking, my priorities are clear.”

Your face flushed red in embarrassment that you thought you even held a candle to her ambiance in this great nation’s future. Of course, she has responsibilities, something of bigger than you. “How unlike me huh? I mean acting without proper fruition. Why else would I confess other than setting my selfish mind at ease. ” Your worst fear reincarnated. “You don’t have to say a word. I’ll even answer for you, because realistically I never wanted you to reciprocate such feelings.”

• When Mona had a crush on you she was still an apprentice under that old hag back in Fontaine. Her whole life was romanticized and she felt she ruled the world with you. However, when she found herself stuck in Mondstadt for an unknown time, she knew better than anyone that her feelings couldn’t carry over. She killed whatever she had felt for you.

• Your falling out was simple. You gave her one last tight hug before she left on her mission, expecting her to return within a month. But a month unknowingly turned to a year, a year without hearing anything from the astrologist.

• every night Mona would read your constellation in her scryglass. However two months after she settled down your fates quickly rerouted. For whatever reason you were no longer soulmates. She just as quickly betrayed you and found no reason to write to you as she prolonged her grudge against your dynamic fate without a proper reason.

You set out to meet Mona in Mondstadt from Fontaine, the locals worrying far too much for such a capable girl as herself. After you had your short reunion, you two stuck together like glue for the remainder of your stay. You seemed to mutually not address the animosity between you two despite it being the elephant in the room.

That was until your last day, however, your travel warrant expiring. “I’m gonna miss you when I leave Mona,” you said solemnly, going in for a tight but friendly hug as she walked you to the gate of Mondstadt. Mona being as affectionate as ever towards you and pressing her forehead against yours in return, her hand gripping the back of your head, intertwined between the locks of your hair.

“I’m not sure if I should admit this, but- when we were kids…” she seemed lost, biting her lip as her gaze trembled. “…I used to have the biggest crush on you.” Your head instinctually stumbled away from her hold in shock. Your hug still holding your bodies together like a vice.

“I’m sorry I waited so long to tell you,” she mumbled, the distance between you widening. You could tell from her tone of voice that she had already seen your constellations, and once she received an answer there was no changing her mind. “But you have to go back home. And it's my fate to stay here,” she sounded defeated.

She had so quickly forgotten that constellations read a forever-changing future, not emotions. Not once did you ever lose feelings for her. Yet her habit of jumping to conclusions had led to your doom. “I’ve had feelings for you for a long time too,” was all you could say in hopes you could change her mind. “I still do.”

While your pride crumbled, hers stood as stubborn as ever. You belong to Fontaine, while Mona was needed in Mondstadt for an unknown period of time. You both separated from your closely-knit hug. Your touch lingering on her loose hand. You couldn’t help but notice she never reaffirmed your feelings. The wound amplified as you knew it wasn’t reciprocated despite your courage.

“Right person wrong time as they say,” Mona said, her ears turning a bright red in embarrassment. She knew it was corny, but she needed something to break the silence.

Your gazes wouldn’t let each other go, but her words said otherwise. Yet you knew if she wanted you, she would’ve fought for your presence to remain. “Such silly expectations of mine huh? I’m sure in another life our constellations would’ve told a different story.”

[lilacxquartz]

Don't Make Me Feel Alive I Chapter 3

kenjaku x f!reader

plot: diagnosed at an early age with an illness that slowly deteriorated your body; you went from being a promising sorcerer to a retired husk of your once former self until he found you, offering you an opportunity to live instead—not that you had a choice to refuse.

chapter summary: you are taken out on a little field trip that could have ended better, despite not knowing exactly what you did wrong.

a/n: reminder, this is currently pre-shibuya arc, so some characters will still be present in his alliance. also more dubious sorcery up ahead.

< Previous Chapter • Next Chapter >

3. Outing

Come the next morning, he was already long awake before you woke up. His gaze fixated on the pendant that rested around your neck, finding its low pulsating hum to be quite soothing as it echoed through the otherwise quiet room.

“I adjusted it for you overnight,” he began, patiently waiting for you to fully awake before continuing, “this time it should use less energy for the things you actively do like walking, but the energy cost will remain the same should you choose to use your technique.”

You furrowed your brows in response, seeming a little confused, “So, I can’t use my technique in the end anyway because it uses up too much energy… or?”

“That’s not what I said,” he corrected you with a slight laugh, “we can train it, the better you get at harnessing your technique, the less energy it will drain.”

“But would that really work…?” you asked.

“Think of it like working out a muscle,” he explained, trying to compare it to something you could understand, “it’ll get easier to manage over time.”

He then stared at you for a long moment as he ensured you kept up with his explanation before having a different thought enter his mind.

Thinking of something new, he broke the silence again, changing up his neutral demeanour to something much more energetic, “I want to test your ability to keep up with me.”

“But,” you halted, feeling still so cautious, “what if it’s like last time?”

“Ah, but I don’t think it’ll be,” he replied, his tone filled with optimism, “besides, what good is it if I trial things on you without you testing them?”

“…Fair,” you sighed, choosing to trust him for now as you sat up from the bed, “So… keeping up with you?”

“I have a meeting of sorts today to oversee some plans in the future, I’d like for you to attend this with me and see how the battery is spent during social settings, if at all,” he explained calmly, his tone sounding suddenly a little clinical despite his relaxed demeanour.

You found him difficult to read as his tone often overrode the look he had in his eyes as well as the smile that he constantly wore. Something about this whole thing felt unsafe, but you had no choice but to go along, so you might as well go along with what was thrown at you.

Meanwhile, his intentions weren’t as terrible as he simply just had an idea to see if the battery drain was strictly physical or if mental stress negatively impacted it as well.

You slowly nodded in understanding, “Also… what do I call you exactly?”

“Anything you’d like,” he replied bluntly. He had so many identities at this point that he didn’t care. Regardless of what name you could conjure up for him, he’s likely lived under that identity for at least a little while.

“Okay, but really, what do you prefer?” you persisted, not quite accepting his answer.

A pause followed as his smile returned, finding the insistence amusing.

“You can call me Kenjaku.”

“And that’s your real name?” you asked.

He nodded in confirmation, “But you can call me anything, however, for the meeting,” he paused for just another moment, “Maybe it’s best for you to call me Geto, instead.”

“Wait, so your allies know you as something different…?” you asked, reading maybe too much into the suggestion.

“I will go as far to admit that this isn’t my true body, so feel free to interpret that as you will,” he continued to say, “I’d prefer if this particular alliance stays in the dark about it”

“Is there a reason why you’re lying to your allies?” you asked as though to recycle your question, unsure why he was avoiding giving you a proper answer. Maybe you shouldn’t have been asking somebody you didn’t really feel too safe around so many questions, but also you wanted to understand who exactly you were working with.

Kenjaku himself didn’t actually mind your relentless curiosity, as he always found people the most interesting when they want to learn more about what’s around them, rather than just accepting things at face value. The only time he felt that people, including sorcerers, were boring, was when they were a little too content with their position in life.

“The alliance is a group of special grade cursed spirits,” he spoke up again after a hot second, studying your reaction as he next considered his tone, “but being what they are, I can’t trust them.”

“Because they’re not human?” you asked once again, trying to keep up.

“That’s not the only reason, but it’s one of them,” Kenjaku confirmed, his expression remaining unreadable.

“So you don’t trust them but you trust me?” you asked, not following along again.

“Who said I trust you?” he smiled.

“D-do you?”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t truly trust anyone,” he replied in a sudden serious tone before it faded away immediately, a wide grin following after, “but that’s enough about me, you’re going to follow me along aren’t you?”

“You’re not giving me much of a choice,” you sulked. You could walk, but you didn’t feel great doing it.

“Correct, but you are free to fight back, you know,” Kenjaku teased, knowing you wouldn’t tempt it.

“Wouldn’t you just stop me?” you warily asked.

“Also correct, so why don’t you behave for now and follow me anyway, unless you’re prepared to find out what happens if you refuse to do so?” he sang almost, still wearing his smile.

Albeit reluctantly, you chose to go along with his request, pressured by what he was doing for you. His vague threat lingered in the back of your mind, reminding you that he wouldn’t let you refuse, wondering exactly what that had truly meant. While his threat remained empty, you couldn’t deny that there was danger behind his words and you weren’t in a shape to find out.

As you walked alongside him too, you couldn’t help but admit that there was a difference in your stride; the adjustments that he made proving seemingly beneficial.

The meet with his alliance proved however brief as he quickly determined that certain aspects of his plans shouldn’t be shared with you, wanting to keep you in the dark about the darker parts just to keep your willing participation—understanding that if you knew the true extent of it all, that you wouldn’t be so keen to help him.

Which would be a problem. For most things, he preferred a willing cooperation, which was what he was aiming to achieve by tricking his other allies too.

This was simply how Kenjaku worked though; he would be selective with his plans and how he chose to tell it and to whom. He told you that he would restore you in return for your cooperation and he told Mahito’s alliance that he’s on their side in exchange to bend them to his will.

Therefore, he decided that your role wasn’t to directly talk just yet. It was to be in the midst of a social setting, humans or cursed spirits be damned—either were draining enough, so he simply just kept you present as a shadowing ally knowing that the alliance wouldn’t care much to ask.

For now given your condition, your use was limited anyway. Even if you did return to your peak condition, he would likely just utilise you in combat regardless since that was his initial plan to exploit your technique.

As such while the discussion happened off to the side, your matters were turned elsewhere—towards a person that didn’t quite seem human but not like the cursed spirits up ahead either; seeking comfort within his company, feeling bored out of your mind.

Initially, Kenjaku paid very little attention towards your interactions with one of his creations, believing that your communication with him would be limited at best. However as you continued to speak with the death painting, he felt something stir deep within him that he didn’t quite like—let alone understand.

You continued your exchange with Choso either way, oblivious to his observations. You somehow got into the conversation about emotions with him.

“I’m sorry, I’m just curious,” the death painting mumbled, hoping to not scare you away—he liked humans and wanted to learn about them, but his opportunities were limited.

“You’re fine,” you tried to reassure, “I’m just a little lost on how to answer that question,” you added with a polite, albeit strained smile.

“Sorry,” he repeated again, his face looking at you with a sat yet fascinated gaze.

“I suppose that it feels a little chaotic, maybe?” you mused, considering his question with more thought. “I think humans tend to be emotionally driven, so maybe to be human is to be unpredictable.”

You paused, trying to determine if your words were even coherent.

“Does that make sense?”

Choso nodded as he processed your answer despite feeling still just a little confused by it—he also had emotions but he didn’t feel motivated by them but maybe he was also missing something.

“A little,” he replied.

He wanted to continue the conversation but the meeting seemed to have been concluded which meant that you were reunited soon with Kenjaku, who chose to move onto the objective of continuing the practice of your technique.

With surprising patience, he encouraged you to release small bursts of your technique as you learned to regain control of it, finding that there was progress to be seen already, causing him some relief as you continued to demonstrate what you were currently capable of, meaning come autumn, you probably could prove useful. With each controlled movement, you proved that the energy handled by the pendant was becoming more and more efficient, which is exactly what he wanted.

“I know you can do better than that” he teased you, wanting for you to increase your output.

You nodded as you then attempted to do just that, finding that you still didn’t have a proper handle of your technique as you were simply too out of practice. As a result, you ended up accidentally sending over a surge of energy far greater than anything you should have been capable of—at least currently.

Kenjaku’s eyes widened slightly in response while maintaining his relaxed posture as he watched you completely drain the pendant of energy once again but in a much greater amount, thinking that luckily you were stood over grass, since the fall wouldn’t be so bad this time.

And then, to his slight annoyance, Choso was the one who caught you mid-fall, leaving him confused as to why the death painting, usually so aloof and distant, suddenly seemed to intervene.

However, he didn’t let his annoyance show at all.

Not once.

He instead continued back with you completely alone, leaving the cursed spirit alliance to their own hideouts, wherever those currently were and even though they didn’t suspect a single thing, he still felt off about something to do with you.

Then there was you, who on the other hand, couldn’t quite shake the feeling that he acted strangely colder towards you as he guided you back, finding that despite his continued silence, there was something different about his overall demeanour.

Feeling confused and weary from what had happened overall, you reluctantly went off to sleep even though there was an unrelenting nagging confusion lurking in the back of your mind, failing to understand exactly why he treated you so well just yesterday ago and why you were now otherwise reduced to barely dirt.

Initially, you wondered if it was because the technique had failed you again.

However, you also found that after you had accomplished a full night’s sleep, that he seemed completely back to normal again.

In fact, he seemed to be over the top thrilled about something.

So what was that really?

[theficnavigator]

First up in the favourite tags series is Healing.

Be it physical, mental or emotional healing (are those last two the same thing? anyway) there’s so much to love about this element being included in fiction in general.

Do you, like me, have some kind of fixation with seeing the characters you love get hurt? Of course you do, that’s why the hurt/comfort tag is so damn popular. So why did I choose healing and not hurt/comfort you ask? I guess because “healing” implies a lot of hard work. The hardest part of getting hurt is not actually getting hurt, it’s having to pick yourself back up again. It’s something we all have to do in some form or another. So, it makes for some of the greatest stories.

I’m going to spend some time with this tag for the next however long and keep you updated. For now, here are a few fics I’ve already read with the healing tag:

there now, steady love (so few come and don't go) by we_are_the_same @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed​

harry styles/louis tomlinson, 42k

It becomes just another fact of life. The sky is blue. The grass is green. Louis sees when people are about to die.

This Multiplicity of Powers by HelloAmHere @helloamhere​

harry styles/louis tomlinson, 149k

Maybe in another universe he isn’t different. Maybe he hadn’t been given an impossible choice. Maybe he wouldn’t have lost everything and broken everything and then fallen impossibly, irrevocably in love with the first next thing that was kind. Maybe in that universe he doesn’t feel like he’s never breathing, always pretending, teaching the kids even though they all have to learn alone, trying hard not to read the headlines, and so afraid, every day, that he won’t be a good enough teammate to the superhero he can’t live without. He knows that love isn’t supposed to feel this way, slid secret under your skin like a surgical razor, an invisible war held close over the tender vein that keeps you alive. On the other hand, Louis wonders, had he ever known how to do it any other way?

Maybe there’s a universe where he doesn’t have to keep all his secrets on the inside.

But this isn’t that universe.

//an X-Men AU.

driving down a one way road (to something better) by we_are_the_same @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed

zayn malik/louis tomlinson, 26k

When Zayn breaks up with his boyfriend, he needs a place to stay. Louis wouldn't be Louis if he didn't immediately open his doors to him. Never mind the fact that he's been in love with him for two years. That's not important, right?

Stairway to Heaven by fleurdeliser @fleurdeliser, tuesdaysgone

frank iero/grant morrison/gerard way, 57k

Father Way accidentally taps into the memories of an angel, and stumbles into the middle of a millennia-long doomed romance.

helplessness blues by temerity (forsanethaec)

Niall Horan/Louis Tomlinson, 32k

Louis gets dumped and gives up on himself at the end of 2014. Niall steps in to help.

[daxieoclock]

Deja Vu Q&A

As an accompaniment to the last Deja Vu chapter of 2022, I’ve compiled a list of questions about the fic - and my process - from my friends, allies, compatriots, comrades and accomplices, and I will here be answering them. I hope you all enjoy.

Thanks to @lilyhoshikawa​ @superrabbittank​ @triskaidekaphilist​ and @mcpuliot​ for their assistance in compiling these.

Ralu: Since this is a really long story that has already celebrated some birthdays, and you have a lot of scenes/ideas already planned a long time since they appeared - I know you made some changes around the beginning, when the story started to form into what it is now (like the differences between Anachronism and our Ren), but what about things that have happened only recently, or are presumingly going to happen in the future? How much has the DV remained on track, and are there parts where it changed its route?

so as you mentioned, i included a lot of the early drafts of DV plans in the story as "here's what Anachronism fucked up in his iteration," tongue in cheek meta joke. For example, Ren not revealing about the parcels until October, partially because getting close with Haru and saving her father would necessarily have him tip his hand.

I'll also say Haru's father specifically and the entire idea of "the Thieves don't kill" is something I've very much changed my opinion on since I came up with DV. You can see that a bit in how Ren's own opinion changes, as the POV character and protag and half soapbox that he is in this story. He starts out telling Ohya that the Thieves want to act on "more than just vindication," and himself deciding that none of the Thieves wanted to be murderers. Yusuke and Makoto are both given full prerogative to kill their targets, and choose not to - in Yusuke's case, it was as close to a coin flip as Ann's decision in Kamoshida's Palace. Then things shift when we get to the Okumura arc.

Ren here offers Haru an opportunity to cause a mental shutdown in secret in order to preserve her reputation, and avoid having her abuse publicized. She chooses not to at the time out of moral obligation to the Thieves, with an implied "out of fear of becoming like the person who killed Futaba's mother." Then her decision to spare her father becomes not a default mercy, but something she does because it helps the other Thieves, because killing him would complicate things further. And because she gains nothing but satisfaction with his death. Then in the Empress at Dusk parcel letter, Anach!Haru states further that she is thankful to Anachronism for saving her father, because he ensured that her autonomy re:him was kept intact.

These themes come to a head during DV Redux's Kamoshida throne room scene, Haru's hot pot BBQ and the unposted Butterfly Effect "That Wears The Crown," between which the situation is spelled out clearly. Haru didn't kill her father because, like Kamoshida, there was more to gain with his confession. Death serves the purposes of satisfaction and silence, of keeping an abuser from ever talking about the abuse and providing direct and immediate catharsis.

Haru shuns Akechi (in a metatext standpoint, this is me also shunning Akechi stans who refuse to acknowledge their faults or treat abuse victims INCLUDING Akechi with much degree of compassion) not for attempting to kill someone who definitely deserves death, but for taking the choice away from her and for indirectly weaponizing her abuse against those she loves. If Haru's father died, as he did in canon, the results would be the revocation of Haru's autonomy over his fate, and it would throw the Thieves into disarray, in which they would fixate on Haru's abuser as a lynchpin of failure.

And in the hot pot, Ann doubles down on Ren's offer, making clear the similarities between her own situation and Haru's, and retroactively implies that if Kamoshida hadn't abused Ryuji and Shiho, she would have immolated him in a heartbeat. In a horrible ironic way, by entangling himself in the trauma of people she loves, he saved his own life. But since no other Thief has anything to gain or lose by Sugimura's death, Ann gives explicit permission for Haru to kill him if she chooses.

Rabbit: When did Haru realize she was a girl? How did she handle that realization?

I'm gonna wax poetic and silly and say Shakespeare. When she was in middle school drama club studying how old timey performances would often have actors crossdressing, and probably there was some sort of exercise where everyone switched their costumes and played each other's parts for fun, and it was this big goofy thing and for the first time, Haru is presented with the prospect that wearing a dress isn't something shameful or abhorrent, and that sort of clicks something for her.

And she probably asks to play a girl in the next performance. One thing leads to another, with a lot of fighting her father in between, and she gets her transition started by the Summer before high school, so she can enter Shujin as herself and not under her deadname.

Rabbit: In Ren's head, what's the first thing he's gonna do when this is all over? Has he even thought in terms of All This being over at some point?

He really hasn't. A lot of the epilogue is gonna be Ren trying to figur his life out now that he's lived past The Apocalypse At The End Of The Year that's been hanging over his head. I think there's still a part of himself that expects him to fail, that contextualizes "Ren" as "someone who fails," and is almost disappointed when he doesn't.

Rabbit: What are Ren and Haru and Ryuji going to name their dog?

CERBERUS. I've thought about this djfbgjb

Rabbit: What does Haru's ideal date look like? Ann's? Makoto's?

Haru: cooking together Ann: being out and about for a couple hours, windowshopping and sightseeing, and then having a relaxed romantic dinner Makoto: PJ movie night

Rabbit: Do Mishima and Haru have any kind of friendship?

FUCK, HOLY SHIT YOUR MIND. THEY REALLY SHOULD. Another part of the epilogue is gonna be Mishima (with her new name!!!) slowly getting incepted into the "extended Thieves" alongside Sumire, Sojiro and Shiho; and I already know that she and Futaba are going to get along like a peapod, but I think like. Mishima would be kinda smitten with Haru? Like "I'm infinitely jealous of you and I'm gonna be So Normal about it (lie)." And Haru throws a girl's night with her and Ann and Futaba and Kasumi and Mishima, and Mishima happy-cries so much.

Rabbit: Besides the characters who are trans, is there anyone else you considered blasting with the Gender Beam but decided not to?

Ryuji. I’ve definitely decided to do so, just haven't gotten around to it yet >:3c

[Jane addendum: If I may expand on the last answer, I think it’s also worth mentioning that vane initially planned for Akechi to be transmasc in DV, before we went the transfem angle, so that kinda counts]

Rabbit: In the pegoryuharu happily ever after, who takes whose last names, if any?

I'm not gonna canonize this yet cause I still want to figure out a balance between grounded and Best Case Dream Outcome for, ya know, moving forward logistics-wise with a polyamorous relationship. But if I decided tomorrow? Ren, Ryuji and Haru Sakura-Sakamoto. Because neither Amamiya nor Okumura deserve any place in a happy house.

Tura (by way of Rabbit): If every Persona game is about a concept (3 “death,” 4 “truth”, 5 “freedom”) does Deja Vu have a new word! Or does it have an alternate take on Freedom not covered in the base game!

OOOOOH good question. i think. hm hm.

"Rebirth."

but also, there's a bit of the idea of like. playing off freedom? it's the "Freedom (fear and hope)". cause everyone's psyched about the tiger escaping its cage yes yes yes the tiger is free. cause fuck yeah. and i bet the tiger's pretty psyched too. but there's also something to be said about like...longing for the cage. the way freedom can be overwhelming and difficult and frightening. it's vital, but it's also...big. and when you're born in a cage, it can be difficult to contextualize yourself outside of it. but also. you ARE outside of it. and the cage is broken now. you're never going back. to borrow dave’s favorite metaphor? the shell is cracked. you cannot put the chick back into the egg. it can only grow now.

Jane: Indulgence alley. What is ur favorite story addition or idea that Jane (me) has made

YES. OKAY. SO. FUCK.

g-d this is the hardest djfbgjb okay. okay uh. fuck djfgbjh. can i cheat and say "everything?" djfgbjdb cause. g-d. how do i even fucking PICK.

futaba's confidant arc?

the way she challenged me to sharpen empress at dusk into some of my strongest writing?

sumitaba?

the fact that just having her around to keep me acountable has pushed me to strive and make my writing better?

"A Little Faith?" "Get Some Therapy??" "Scorpions???" 

just djfbgjdbfg g-d. g-d. it's harder at this point to find a part of DV after the Kaneshiro arc that jane hasn't influenced, directly or indirectly.

but. Akechi. Freya motherfucking Akechi.

Yaldabaoth's false champion, the two-faced closeted transfem second detective prince groomed into assassination by an abuser they assumed they had power and control over, the unstable and scarred girl boy in the black mask, the unblinded justice, the false wild card who broke the rules of cognition by splintering their own true self in half,

who laughs involuntarily and barely sleeps and punishes herself to stay sharp because her own harm is the only one she can control, who hides a bloodstained pocket knife behind her detective badge, ren's pity project and rival and friend and most dangerous enemy and most trusted ally, Kasumi's oldest and most beloved friend, the thief who breaks the quo, the triple agent who finds the weak links that could make the thieves break and revels in that knowledge and then surrenders it and defends those weaknesses.

Akechi, who is fueled by love and scared of being loved. Everything Ren wants to be and nothing that he is. They would be a better leader than him, and that's why they never will be.

and i am. so fucking happy i didn't stick with the first draft dv akechi djfgbjhb like. dissatisfied transmasc, blind in one eye because he's destined to be disabled in tragically ironic ways for...choosing to be alive, eternally bickering to No Fucking End with ren and never getting better, being constantly proven wrong by overly moralizing dumbasses, repeatedly getting thrown under the metaphorical steam roller because The Plot Must Go On. goro with the silver tongue, all that wit and not a blade to be found. not sharp. not real.

i do not miss dv goro djfbgjhdb i just feel embarrassed ever thinking that was a better idea than canon

Rabbit: in the hypothetical pegoryuharu future, who proposes 👀 (assuming they get married)

Ren on accident. 1000%.

very like he's just thinking it through because "do i want to marry my partners" immediate yes. but "how do we get poly married" presents a more difficult question, so he sort of gets fixated on that and then is like "hey haru, ryuji, just to make sure, you wanna get married?"

and ryuji's like "YOU MEAN LIKE NOW???"

and haru's like "wait till spring"

and ryuji's like "SPRING IS IN THREE MONTHS ARE WE DOING IT THIS SPRING???"

and morgana laughs his little kitty head off.

like for one they definitely talk it through like logistically how would they do it, could they do some lavender marriage arrangement with ren and ryuji getting hitched while haru marries makoto and ann marries shiho, but then at some point haru's like "we're celebrities. let's just make a political push." (and I also just have not made a decision on what that logistical arrangement ends up being djgbfh)

Rabbit: what character or story element has gone through the most revisions or reworks? 

Akechi fhfhghg like by a long shot. Jane and Jae’s notes have been so so so incredible and influential. Like they’re a completely different character now and I absolutely adore what they’ve become. Makoto and Futaba and Mishima have changed a lot from my first draft idea, but definitely I think one of the biggest decisions I’ve made that doesn’t have to do with Akechi (even though it was still because of Jane) was. Refusing to allow the narrative to vindicate Ren’s bullshit.

Bc Ren is the protag and the POV character, I have this intuitive desire for his perspective to be unmarred, and end up feeling automatically kinda defensive when people (including my own better judgement) criticize him. Which shoots myself in the foot a lot because Ren IS extremely flawed. He’s a traumatized kid who is still figuring out how to be a human person and healing in a messy indirect way. And plans I had for the narrative to indulge his messiah complex or know better than any other character? Couldn’t last. And I’m so glad for Jane and Jae to keep me (and Ren) accountable.

Rabbit: what is each thief's favorite thing to eat. and in the case of haru, what's her favorite thing to cook?

YEAH so i actually djfbgjb iiii had converation with jane about this a while ago, you just reminded me so i delved into our chat archives to pull it out

Jane: I am a longtime advocate for Akechi actually being a big sweets fan and that not being just an act, but I also think they like black coffee to contrast the sweets. I also like the idea of Ann and Akechi taking each other to various favorite sweets places of theirs

I think Taba likes spicy foods, altho her usual favorite curry staple food probably isn’t spicy cuz her mom made it for her as a kid. We also know taba canonically has a very refined coffee palette and is a coffee snob

Kasumi definitely likes hearty foods for lots of gymnastics energy, I think she likes sweets as well but can’t keep up with Akechi and Ann dhdjfnf and I think she’s probably a big fan of pasta dishes, since they can be really filling and good after a big gymnastics event

Vane: I think for Ryuji it’s sabi’s ramen. Of course fgfgfg. Especially when Ren makes it, cause he’s a big ol sap.

Ren’s favorite probably changes day to day, depending on his mood, but he’s a big fan of food with happy memories associated. Like sojiro’s curry, sabi’s ramen, hot pot. Stuff like that.

Morgana loves tuna. We know this and we love him. Fhfhgh he is a cat and he loves him some fishies. Especially sushi tuna.

Ummm Yusuke I think enjoys the simple, few ingredient meals that he had as a child, something quiet and plain and cheap but made with love. Masumi probably makes them for him a lot, since they’re both struggling artists fhfhgh

Makoto loves street and fair food. Not a specific dish but she'd be in heaven in a farmer's market.

Haru….big hms on that. I know she loves to collect recipes and cook with people, food is something important to her. I thiiink she enjoys breakfast foods the most, cause those were always the ones made with the most love when she was young, since her father’s job started in the afternoon and he was always too tired to cook dinner. So breakfast time became sorta sacred, even though her father stopped showing up for it. And I think her favorite meal out of all the breakfast meals is a scramble. It’s sort of like cooking jazz to her, she just finds whatever vegetables she has left over from previous dinners and improvises a tasty mix, adds some protein maybe and lots of salt and spices and scrambles it all into some eggs. And it never tastes the same way twice.

Ralu: Do you think Haru has a favorite type of weather?

she loves the sun right after it rains. rainy days can be fun but a little too melancholic for her tastes

Jane: What is haru’s favorite movie

GOOD QUESTION hmmmmmm.... paranorman i think

Jane: In a word, what is haru’s feelings towards / relationship with each of the other thieves?

Ren: Dear Mona: Soft Ryuji: Gentle Ann: Bright Yusuke: Handy Makoto: Easy Futaba: Brave Kasumi: Rising Akechi: Sharp

Ralu: Does Haru like poetry? And if so, has she any preferred poems/poets/styles or eras?

yes and she would know how to answer that question but i don't djfgbjh haru probably has a list of her favorite poems and poets, but i couldn't tell you what they are. content wise she only cares about poems with something to say.

but she really loves when people can put words to complex / intense feelings

Rabbit: Ren and the babes on an ice cream date, what's Haru ordering? :Oc

if it's anywhere near artisanal, then lavender and/or honey. otherwise something with strawberry

Rabbit: Are there any bits of DV that ended up needing to be scrapped that you wish you'd been able to make work? I've had to "kill my darlings" so to speak a few times, have you had anything like that?

Yeah plenty!

I think I mentioned to a few people recently, in the newest chapter there’s a whole big double date scene I had to scrap for time / space, and then there’s like. Every single time I have a scene planned out in my head and go to write it, there’s some aspect or line or angle I need to cut.

I think what comes to mind for the like “biggest darling” I’ve had to kill, is Iwai’s confidant. Cause I keep having ideas of how to integrate it, to bring him and kaoru further into the story, but then I keep needing to cut those scenes and ideas out.

The most recent concept was Kaoru realizing Ren and Ryuji were phantom thieves and faking a kidnapping to get Ren alone and then criticizing his lack of contingency plans for something like this. Basically “if I wanted to hurt you, I could have. And there are people out there smarter than me who want your head. Start being safer, Thief.”

Rabbit: mistletoe! who sets it up, who gets got, how do they feel about it? 

I think. Sumire indulges in brief mischief and then sets it up for kasumi and Futaba, then goes about corralling them under said doorway. Only to find like. Shiho and Makoto making out under said mistletoe, before they both scurry off sheepishly, shiho snickering the whole time. At which point kasumi teasingly chastises Sumire and makes her promise to take down the mistletoe but then as soon as her back is turned, kasumi cups Futaba’s face and kisses her unbroken for like twenty seconds.

Also unrelated to the mistletoe but I think one thing that could be fun is like. Partway through some sort of holiday get together, shiho like. Wobbles out of a room and keeps like bumping her wheelchair into things, and her face and neck are covered in the comical amount of lipstick kiss marks. And Ryuji teases her about getting her holiday gift from ann early and Shiho’s like “uhhhhhhhh” and then haru silently walks by the both of them while reapplying her lipstick and sends a little sweet-devil smile at the pair

[thewritermuses]

Skyrim

Skryim - Bethesda Game Studios

8/10 I only finished playing this recently after playing on and off since release. The time I spent playing this game verges on the ridiculous. More ridiculous was my fixation on completing every facet of the game. Reflecting back on the game as a whole I must say that overall I found it good, great even in parts but not the fantastic game that it was lorded (and still is) to be. The main plot follows the return of dragons to the world as well as the Dragonborn (you) who are here to defeat them. This takes place on the backdrop of the civil war in Skyrim as the xenophobic Nords, seek to retake take their land, and leave the empire.

As you navigate your way through these two main storylines you meet many other people of note throughout Skyrim and also run across a number of the Daedric gods.

You have the opportunity to end up leading the Wizard's College; the Thieves Guild; the Dark Brotherhood assassin guild; and the Companions. And this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the people you meet and aid across the country. With so much to sink your teeth into it felt like this was a no-brainer 10/10. The problem was that it all felt a bit bland. I found that I ended up not being able to identify with any of the groups. So you end up as a lone wanderer, who can be a member or even leader of a group that they don't identify with. Even if you lean into the group's goals I felt that you either ended up having to do something that didn't sit right or it was a bit lack-luster.

The main quip I always hear is about the civil war - this is low-hanging fruit because the Nords are racist and you are encouraged to support them without knowing this at the start. You escape from execution by the empire - so why would you side with them?

The companions were a group I felt was much more interesting. While they do have the same - we love nords attitude - theirs is rooted in history. While their history does see them participate in wars they stand apart now and are more interested in personal choice and honor. What makes them very interesting is that they have a dark secret. They are infected with lycanthropy. Their story sees you join the head of their group in his quest to rid himself of the curse so he can enter the Nordic afterlife. What is great about this story is the player gets to choose whether they end up following this example or join others in the group who relish the hunt. Great stuff. But the problem I found is that it was a very quick quest line compared to the others. Gameplay itself was fun and allowed you to play whatever sort of character you liked. I enjoyed the skill development, especially the crafting skills. Allowed you to tinker and develop the types of items that you wanted to create. After all these years something still made me want to come back and finish it properly. And when I did I felt more relief than accomplishment.

So while there were some great parts and the gameplay worked well the thing I have to thank Skyrim for is making me realise that there is no need to 100% complete a game. Read the full article

[babyspacebatclone]

I was just thinking this weekend about a post I did a touch back, complaining about how up until the second last episode of the series Catra was still verbally complaining that everything was about Shadow Weaver.

And the entire “Well, she’s not a real person” thing came into my head.

And you know what?

That’s what makes me angry!

It’s the show that’s forcing the “fixation on an abusive mother figure” narrative into this mess. It’s the show that’s not letting Catra move on.

Until Catra’s fighting an entire alternate reality battle completely parallel and not actually interacting with Adora’s own climax.

Up until the show says Catra’s plotline is the only canon one now.

Because elsewhere, while Catra’s existential crisising over “Adora loves our mother figure more than she wants to bone me,” the show also remembers the actual plot!!!

Mara calls her out on it! Granted, poorly written to force in the tacked on “[romantic] love is the only thing that fixes things!” plot tumor Season 5 has, but still!!

Adora needs to learn she doesn’t need to sacrifice herself to have worth, that choices where she’s not the first martyr are worth exploring.

You know, the point Angella was trying to make two seasons ago. The point that kinda got muddled, what with the entire traumatizing Adora over Angella sacrificing herself issue.

And the show likes to pretend Catra can at least see the actual Adora climax plotline, over there in the distance.

But the relevant point here is that Catra doesn’t know why Adora is making the sacrifice.

She flip flops in this scene whether Adora is making a choice over all this, revealing the real thing she’s pissy about is that Adora didn’t “choose” Catra.

Why is Catra’s “redemption” supposed to be “Protect Adora from everyone else’s traumatic abusive decisions”??

And this is the text, it’s supposed to be symmetrical to the way Adora rescuing poor abused and traumatized Catra from being possessed and controlled and made the victim from Prime.

And anyone who thinks there is actual parallel between “Catra was mind controlled by the evil overlord she tried to girlboss herself into surviving under, and failed” and “Adora was traumatized by her mother figure for the explicit purpose of taking on the martyr role for the sake of those important to her, and Adora has not had the opportunity to let people deep enough in to fix that what with her second mother figure killing herself in front of Adora and one of her best friends getting corrupted in the depths of their own grief and the very real war they are still fighting”….

…..

Well, they weren’t watching the same Season 4 I’ve been getting recaps from.

(obligatory note: Catra trying to survive Prime and still having issues with SW’s manipulative treatment of her are valid. They’re just not compatible with Adora’s plotline and the character growth she had in previous seasons.)

No matter how much people age gonna scream '"you just can't handle problematic queer girls" at me, I still think SPOP did a steaming garbage job with Catra's arc.

And I'm so fucking tired of explaining that my displeasure for the show's writing regarding Catra's arc doesn't not mean I want my media pure and soft, hate lesbians, hate women, hate cats or whatever else you want to accuse me of.

[gffa]

Now that it’s been two weeks since I last shoved a bunch of STAR WARS recs at everyone and about that much time since the OBI-WAN KENOBI show finished, it’s time for me to cry about more fic with you guys, because that’s enough time that you all will have read them and need more recs, right? Right. Because is so much good stuff out there since this fandom is kind of nuts with how much quality they’re constantly putting out and how much fun it is in this corner, like, yessss, join us in Obi-Wan & Anakin feelings hell or join us in prequels fandom hell or just general Star Wars feelings hell. We may be a hell pit, but the fic is amazing. In particular this time around, I’ve been devouring a bunch of show-based fics to go with the usual prequels brain centric fixation, and they’ve really enhanced my enjoyment of the show, like, yeah, I already had feelings about it, but then fic comes along and just makes it that extra layer of satisfying, you know? Just a little longer with the events of this series and the effect on the characters, whether to make me cry a little more or have a little more hope and light to be found. So, here, join ussssss in the really good stuff this fandom has to offer! STAR WARS FIC RECS: OBI-WAN KENOBI RECS (SOME SPOILERS): ✦ dreams of old by treescape, obi-wan/vader, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, 2k    Obi-Wan surrenders to Vader on Jabiim in exchange for everyone else’s freedom. ✦ as the years go by by gigglesandfreckles, obi-wan & leia, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, 2.8k    Leia runs into an old friend on a mercy mission. ✦ clutch by CallToMuster, obi-wan & yoda & reva, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, 1.2k    During their walk through the Temple after Order 66, Obi-Wan and Yoda come across an initiate who has managed to stay alive. ✦ Guiding Light by SailorSol, obi-wan & leia, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, 1.1k    The pyre is mostly burned down by this point, melted and warped plastic the only things remaining. It’s a fitting end, she thinks, for someone also so warped. ✦ Hello there. by wannabe_someone, obi-wan & reva, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, 1.6k    Maybe she should stay here after all. If she had any hope of surviving, she needed to become a nobody, just like Obi-Wan had. Did. Was doing. ✦ Moment by TheSecondBreakfast, obi-wan & anakin & padme & leia, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, 2.2k    “Obi-Wan settled against a stack of crates, fully convinced he was too rattled to even feel tired, and fell asleep almost immediately. The nightmare started out pleasant. The worst ones always did.” ✦ a choice already made by wrennette, obi-wan & reva & tala, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, 3.2k    Reva chose mercy, then chose it again, even if she didn’t quite realize it the first time. ✦ Guiding Light by thedunesea, obi-wan & anakin & luke & leia & cast, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, 7.9k wip    Ben Kenobi doesn’t die aboard the Death Star. The future holds the promise of a better worlds, enbodied in the bright eyes of Anakin’s children, but the shadows of the past still stalk his every step. ✦ Cautiously Un-Pessimistic by mrv3000, obi-wan & vader & leia, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, 3.4k    Obi-Wan is captured at the end of Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 3, and while Obi-Wan and Vader dial up the angst, Leia is not impressed with the monologuing Sith. ✦ daybreak by elysianprince, obi-wan/anakin, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, 2k    Instead of clinging to his anger, Anakin chooses the Light. Instead of walking away, Obi-Wan chooses to stay. ✦ the burning by CeruleanTactician, reva, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, 1.5k    Reva, before and after Order 66. ✦ Her Own Path by agoldengalaxy, obi-wan & reva, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, 1.9k    She chooses not to kill the child. In doing so, Obi-Wan assures her that she gets to make her own path. By choosing mercy, she has honored her fallen family. By choosing mercy, she is free. ✦ hold fast, let go by treescape, obi-wan & quinlan, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, ~1k    Quinlan locates Obi-Wan on Tatooine. ✦ Ghosts by flythesail, obi-wan & leia (& anakin) & cast, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, 1.1k    After a moment, Leia nodded. “I didn’t forget you. Even after they said you were dead, I could still imagine you coming for me.” ✦ If Not Hope, Then What? by TheHatPotato, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, obi-wan & leia (& anakin), 1.1k    Obi-Wan tries to come to terms with Anakin being alive. Leia helps to comfort him about his old lost friend. ✦ the only place left on the map by victoria_p (musesfool), luke & leia & cast, obi wan kenobi spoilers, 1k    “We’ve all lost something or we wouldn’t be here. We just need to make sure it never happens again.” ✦ an ember of faith by wrennette, obi-wan & quinlan, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, ~1k    Just seeing his friend’s name was like a breath of warmth sweeping through Obi-Wan, little sparks of light dancing in his blood and swelling in his lungs. ✦ Safe Now by Anonymous, obi-wan & yoda & reva, obi-wan kenobi spoilers, 1k wip    Master Kenobi may not have saved them but he was here now. She was safe now. PREQUELS RECS: ✦ From the Mouths of Babes by gilestel, luke & ahsoka & ocs, 10.2k    Luke sets out on what was supposed to be a routine mission to track down a potential student and accidentally ends up kickstarting the search for Ezra in the process. ✦ The Quickest Way by SingManyFaces, anakin & ocs, 1.2k    They say the quickest way to person’s heart is through their stomach, something that holds true for the Jedi as well. ✦ I’m sick and tired of being afraid by acrossthestrs, obi-wan & anakin, 1.5k    Anakin is hurting but somehow only Obi-Wan knows. ✦ throw out the window all your common sense by maragny, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, 1.7k    Ahsoka stares at her master for a moment before an incredulous grin stretches across her face. “You’re telling me Obi-Wan Kenobi, High General of the Grand Army of the Republic and my grandmaster—who is always on your ass about recklessness—got himself into a bar fight?” ✦ A Master’s Mistake by AdaliaK, obi-wan & anakin & vokara, 3.6k    To make an omelet, you have to break some eggs. (And sometimes almost accidentally kill your padawan) ✦ In Which Anakin’s Soulmate is a Lot Like Him, But More, and Worse by phoenixyfriend, obi-wan/satine & anakin/bo-katan & padme/asajj, 6.9k    When you, a violent asshole, meet your soulmate, another violent asshole, and you both proceed to be violent assholes at each other, instead of together in a new direction. ✦ Jedi Ex Machina by mrv3000, obi-wan & anakin & luke & leia & ahsoka & cast, force ghosts, 2.5k    “All right. Hello, son. How are you today? Have you been eating your vegetables? Finished all your Jedi homework? I am not good because we lost Grogu!” ✦ Not You by Allwalkfree, obi-wan & anakin, 1.1k    Anakin wants to know if Obi-Wan plans to take on a new Padawan. ✦ holding to the ground as the ground keeps shifting by svitzian, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, 4k    Obi-Wan gets himself captured, intentionally. Ahsoka also gets captured, unintentionally. This complicates things. ✦ the ties that bind by CeruleanTactician, obi-wan & ahsoka (& anakin & cast), 2.1k    Obi-Wan takes Ahsoka to Dex’s Diner to get to know his new grandpadawan better, and Ahsoka learns some surprising facts about her Jedi lineage. ✦ Together by Rivulet027, obi-wan & anakin & depa & mace & kit & agen & jocasta, 2.4k    Depa suggests that Obi-Wan seek out support in teaching Anakin. Obi-Wan agrees. ✦ Always Too Slow by Pandora151, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, death fic, 1.1k    Anakin needed his help, and Obi-Wan would help him, because that was his responsibility—his promise. He would always help Anakin, no matter what. ✦ somewhere after midnight by wrennette, obi-wan/padme, 1.6k    When she noticed her heart racing or mind anxiously parading an endless stream of increasingly dire ‘what-if’s, Padmé forced herself to stillness, to thought exercises that demanded cool logic. She was valuable as a hostage. They would want to keep her in good condition to ensure that value didn’t lessen. ✦ exhaustion catching up by loosingletters, obi-wan & anakin & padme & ahsoka & cal, 1k    When the Jedi refuse to lead the war, Chancellor Palpatine orchestrates Order 66 while Anakin Skywalker is still recovering from the loss of his arm. ✦ new friends and new places to see by katierosefun, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & mace & cast, 2k    the case of missing flowers and apparently, whatever the heck is going on with master windu. OBI-WAN/ANAKIN RECS: ✦ I think I could love you more by Himboskywalker, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 10.7k    Anakin learns he loves taking his fingers more than anything in the whole galaxy, though his shielding needs some work since Obi-Wan is subjected to the experience…many times through the years. ✦ Vitrification by thedeadparrot, obi-wan/anakin/padme, 9.9k    Six places the Amidala-Kenobi-Skywalker family lives while on the run from the Empire. ✦ without strain by treescape, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 1.1k    Obi-Wan helps Anakin relax after he’s released from the Halls of Healing—by rimming him. ✦ Baby Teeth by stardies, obi-wan/anakin, omegeverse, 3.7k wip    During a mission, Anakin runs out of suppressants. Obi-wan Kenobi is called in to tend to his former padawan. ✦ Viridian afternoon by Tomicaleto, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 4k    Every ten years, the planet Achicor celebrates their main god Obi-Wan, who blesses them with bountiful crops and good weather. This year, Anakin is sent as part of the Jedi order. While he’s not completely convinced in taking part of the ritual, he’s plenty reassured he’s not expected to do too much during the celebration. ✦ Experiments In Oracular Ecstasy by Is0lde, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, dragon!obi-wan, fantasy au, 5.3k    After years of begging and pleading, Anakin Skywalker, the Goddess’s Oracle, had everything he could possibly want: the heart, and the cock, of his loyal protector and dragon, Obi-Wan Kenobi. ✦ Give him time by obiwanobi, obi-wan/anakin, death fic (sort of), 1.2k    When Obi-Wan finds him after the battle, his body is already cold. ✦ In Vino by Tenillypo, obi-wan/anakin & cast, NSFW, 21.9k    Near the end of the Clone Wars, a drunken encounter prompts Anakin and Obi-Wan to confront some long buried truths as they fight for their lives—and for each other. (aka, the one where Obi-Wan’s dick saves the galaxy) ✦ this is who he is now by obikinn, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 1.3k    Obi-Wan’s mind is all fizzy and incoherent, blending together the visions of Anakin and Vader until it’s just him, in all of his twisted glory. It has only ever been him. ✦ remember this by shatou, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 3.4k    In which Anakin seeks reassurance in retribution and Obi-Wan gives him everything. ✦ reason by the pulse by treescape, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, omegaverse, 1.9k    Anakin goes into a stress heat while Obi-Wan is away ✦ almost could have been strangers again by tennessoui, obi-wan/anakin, nsfw, modern au, 4.8k    Anakin’s home for a few months to pet-sit for his mom while she’s off exploring the world with Cliegg Lars. That’s all fine and good as far as Anakin’s concerned. Enter: Obi-Wan Kenobi, local veterinarian and teenage Anakin Skywalker’s sexual awakening. ✦ Moonlight on the soft brown earth by thedunesea, obi-wan/anakin, warning notes at the end, 1.5k    Their bond had shattered, the frayed ends of Obi-Wan’s mind hanging like tattered silk where they used to connect with Anakin’s, but following Anakin’s presence had never been easier. ✦ in all things, equivalence by loosingletters, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, role reversal, 4.1k    A Master learns as much from their Padawan as they teach their student, or so the saying goes. Anakin is pretty sure that his Padawan took this proverb to heart, seeming very insistent on teaching his Master a lesson. ✦ feel the tension escalate by decideophobia, obi-wan/anakin, modern au, 1.4k    the guy i fucked last night woke up this morning, disoriented and looked at me, and said “oh, you’re hot.” and went back to sleep. ✦ Crystal Clear by Shadaras, obi-wan/anakin, 1.2k    “We encountered an… anomaly.” The uncertainty in Obi-Wan’s voice was more concerning than the words he spoke. “You flew us straight into it. I assumed, from your confidence, that you knew what it was.” ✦ don’t like the cameras but i love it when you ogle by blahzarry, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, heed the tags, 4.4k    His Master just had a different, special way of showing his appreciation, his affection, his love for Anakin. ✦ Getting Kinda Used to Being Someone You Love by Anonymous, obi-wan/anakin & qui-gon & padme & cast, NSFW, omegaverse, 14.7k wip    Anakin loved Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan loved Anakin. But in a powerful crime family love is hardly a consideration. ✦ Diplomatic relations by Tenillypo, obi-wan/anakin/padme, NSFW, 6.2k    It was late when Padmé Amidala got home, and there was a Jedi sitting in her living room. ✦ Comes Out in the Wash by RagnarLothcat, obi-wan/anakin, nsfw, 9.6k    Obi-Wan and Anakin and the healing power of baths. ✦ The Same Cloth (in foreign stars) by Himboskywalker, obi-wan/anakin & quinlan & dooku & cody & rex & cast, historical au, 6.1k wip    Newly knighted Anakin finds himself thrown through a force anomaly and hurled into a foreign galaxy and an unknown planet. There he meets a group of men in strange dress running from soldiers in red. He just needs to find a communicator and a ship to get back to Coruscant but his protector has other ideas of keeping hidden and safe. ✦ homework break by Gwendolyn (storiesofchaos), obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 1.4k    “Anakin,” Obi-Wan scolds, digging his fingers into Anakin’s hips in warning. “Pay attention, you’re supposed to be finishing this essay.” Anakin’s eyelashes flutter, trying desperately to focus on the flimsiplast on the table in front of him when all he wants to do is arch his back and get lost in the pleasure he’s feeling. ✦ date night by RexIsMyCopilot, obi-wan/anakin &padme & quinlan, NSFW, modern au, 4.5k    Anakin and Obi-Wan find time just for themselves.    This is one of those fics that’s just pure softeness and a modern AU where they’ve worked a lot of things out so they can be really fluffy with each other, and that the sex is a mix of fun kink with Anakin wearing some very hot lingerie and being about the closeness ✦ to feel the glow of dawn by treescape, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 1.6k    “You might want a pillow for your knees,” Obi-Wan observed, sliding one boot against the hard floor to draw Vader’s attention to it. He was careful to keep his voice steady, relaxed, as if this wasn’t the first time Vader had asked to touch him like this. ✦ notches by blahzarry, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 2.1k    Anakin always looks gorgeous in the morning. ✦ How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Fandoozle by RexIsMyCopilot, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 1.6k    Anakin wrinkled his nose despite the gag, but took in a deep breath through his nose and forced the exhale through his gag. The paper end of the noisemaker (or “fandoozle” as Obi-Wan liked to call them to make Anakin laugh even more) unfurled and a loud honk filled the room. ✦ Tent by BrynneAgain, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, omegaverse, 2.4k    For Temple_Mistress, who likes a Jedi in a tent. Ahem. ✦ Anything You Need by Aureutr_Accoredge, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, dom/sub, 2.1k    Obi-Wan helps Anakin find restful calm in restless circumstances ✦ thursday, 8:30 by gignikinszz, obi-wan/anakin, modern au, 1k    Obi-Wan works at a store that sells fish. Anakin is trying to buy a fish. Can I make it any more obvious? FULL DETAILS + RECS HERE!

[tarysande]

Oh no, I've been thinking.

Okay, I can't stop thinking about something ending-related. I don't know this for certain, but based on previous statements and such, it feels like the writers were always aiming for a bittersweet ending. Like, no matter what else happened or how the story evolved, come hell (lol) or high water, that ending couldn't just be happy. For reasons. I guess.

Now, I don't mind a bittersweet ending ... if it makes sense for the ending to be bittersweet.

I critique stories for a living. I'm literally taking a break from the developmental edit of someone's novel to write this post. And the persistent thought that bugs me about the Rory setup is that it is so artificial. Time travel is a pain in the narrative ass. Time travel suddenly introduced in the sixth season of a show that has never touched on time travel? As an editor, I probably would've pointed out that time travel for the purpose of angst, especially time travel without rules that make sense ("I don't know anything about time travel! Except I do know you have to take the most painful path!"), seemingly introduced as a final ploy to make that bittersweet ending work ... well, to me, it breaks the narrative contract they established with the audience. Your audience is going to be confused. An editor's job is to alert the writer to any potential confusion so it can be fixed before the story goes to print, etc. Confused audiences get mad, annoyed, frustrated. They feel hurt. They put down the book and don't pick it up again. Usually, writers don't want that. But they're so close to their work that they need a completely outside perspective to say, "Hey, I'm not sure you realize this, but..."

I mean, I keep referring to Rory as "deus ex daughter" because in literary terms, she is a blatant deus ex machina. Rory is the god in the machine of the Bittersweet Ending.

Now, I loved a lot of S6. I did. My overall feeling about the season is not negative. But ... I can't stop thinking about why the things I didn't like REALLY didn't work for me.

I loved the emotional growth we saw in Lucifer and Chloe facilitated by the question of parenting and parental love. I did. And I would have loved to see a lot of those notes hit not with an angel kid out of nowhere ... but with the daughter already in the picture. Especially because it would have circumvented the icky idea that a child has to be one's flesh and blood to induce such feelings. I also understand that coronavirus and Scarlett's age and schedule made this difficult. But I just can't swallow that the only way to wrap up the story of this show--a show about found family, non-traditional family, friendship, connection, FREE WILL, love in all its many shapes and forms and colors ... was to introduce a brand new character via a device (time travel) that fails to make sense almost every time it's used, no matter the medium. (And then had only that brand new character be there when her mother died. Don't even get me started. Ugh.)

If time travel was always going to be on the table, couldn't we have found a more plausible way to use it with the characters we already knew, loved, and had spent four or five seasons with? A time-travelling older Trixie, say? If you're going to use the impossible device, just ... twist it another way to make it work.

Okay. Okay. So, leaving Trixie aside for now just like the show did, let's say we leave everything about the season the same, even Rory. Do you know what ending makes more narrative sense?

Future Rory sacrificing herself by NOT forcing Lucifer to make a cruel and impossible "choice" so the baby that might have been her grows up with a family that loves her. Chloe's already pregnant. That's not going to be undone. And this nonsense of a "closed time loop" falls apart if you side-eye it for even a few seconds. The Rory who came from the future never exists except in the memories of those she met when she came back from that future. Chloe and Lucifer lose that daughter even as they gain the new one whose existence is not a tool of unrelenting fate because wow this show has always been about free will what the heck happened there yikes. And a choice made under the duress Chloe and Lucifer were under, forced out of them, and forcing them to "choose" a life apart for *handwave* Reasons has nothing to do with free will. A "choice" made at gunpoint is not a real choice. Future Rory basically bullied them into ensuring she got to exist--something, quite frankly, neither her parents would have done.

Instead, how much more appropriately bittersweet is it if Chloe and Lucifer lose that child while gaining one who, because of that angry time-travelling version, will never suffer as she did.

Also as an editor: the groundwork for my version is already laid, by the way. It should have been Rory learning about the importance of free will over fate. The importance of personal sacrifice. The importance of not thinking your young self knows best ... because experience and therapy will help rid you of that self-centered world view. That's the contract the writers made with us with this show. And Chloe and Lucifer have already BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT. (See: the end of S4.)

Furthermore, this season finally HAD Chloe and Lucifer DEAL WITH the only thing that actually would have contributed to a narrative, characterization-based reason for Lucifer to disappear: His history of running and his putting Chloe on a pedestal. Once they really talked that out, his "disappearance" became a Rory-induced trauma of inexplicable fate that flies in the face of all the progress Lucifer made over six seasons. (I would rather have had more of that and less of mysterious disappearing oh no plot.)

And I'm sorry, the "Once you get to Hell you're going to work 24/7" excuse given for why Lucifer won't be around and why he can't make time for Chloe until she's DEAD(????!???) is ... it's lame. If AMENADIEL AS GOD can make time for his kid's birthday party, I refuse to believe Lucifer can't work out some Hell/Earth-work/life balance. Never mind that in the show about partnerships, the Bittersweet Ending just ... destroyed it. Chloe was planning on being God's consultant; she could have helped Lucifer solve Hell's Trauma Mysteries (it's what she did with Jimmy, setting up that yeah, Lucifer could do it alone like he accidentally did with Lee, but doing it with HIS TRUTHSEEKING PARTNER would be more effective). Just as Lucifer could have continued helping HER solve some of the problems within "that corrupt little organization" of hers.

tl;dr: I think the writers fixated so completely on their version of Bittersweet that they missed all the foreshadowing, groundwork, and clues that were right there, already built into the story, poised for a different kind of ending than the one they once imagined. That's why so many parts of it feel almost-but-not-quite right and why these aspects are so off-putting. That's why it's just not ... organic. It's something squeezed into a box it grew out of ages ago.

Ironically, certain elements of this season involved the writers insisting on the FATE they decided long ago instead of letting the story and the characters have the FREE WILL to choose a different, more fitting, more organic ending--one that had long-since evolved past that original flavor of Bittersweet.

[rafescoke]

hiiiii!!

Can I please request a rafe x reader based on that song need to know by doja cat.

Basically the reader heard rumors about the rafe’s and he’s past with his ex. Basically all saying how he was a 10/10 on bed. The reader is furious but sad and quickly confronts the rafe. You can choose the ending. Smut or fluff ending!!

Also pls post the rafe x reader, jj fic with the 19 chapters plsssss!!!! I beg you!

Need To Know ; Rafe Cameron

masterlist

#Part 1

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x reader

Summary: The reader confronts Rafe about his past

Warnings: Straight smut, hella angst, substance, swearing, Rafe being a total dick

A/N: this one shot’s too long but i hope you will love it. i poured all my love into this however this isn’t my best work and im sorry!! 

p.s, i’m always open for requests <3

“Hey! thanks for coming,” Topper smiled, hugging Rafe’s side before kissing (Y/N)’s cheeks. He ushered them both to the middle of the ongoing party, to the centre where all of Rafe’s friends were hanging out. 

(Y/N) is never a fan of parties, especially the ones that she will have to tug on Rafe’s collars for them to finally enjoy the night alone. However, she passed up the chance of watching netflix with her partner tonight to go to Topper’s birthday party, since, it was, well, Topper’s celebration. 

If it had not been for Topper, she wouldn’t even bat an eye to this party, especially when she knows the amount of girls silently crushing on her boyfriend of 6 months now. Rafe’s incredibly handsome, with his hair messily parted and his blue eyes shining everytime they’re exposed to the glowing sunlight of Obx. . .  (Y/N) couldn’t justify why he would even choose her. 

“What are you thinking?” Rafe playfully groaned, pulling his girlfriend’s waist near him. His fingers played with the hem of her dress, giggling when she hissed, swatting his hands away. “Seriously. You’ve been quiet since we got out of the car.”

“I just don’t like the attention’s you’re getting tonight,” she sighed, rolling her eyes when Rafe poked her, an amused expression plastered on his face. “I shouldn’t have told you that. Now you’re this proud prick.”

Rafe laughed, throwing his head back, his hands still around her waist. She waited for him to regain his posture before kissing his cheeks. 

“Go and find Topper. I know you want to kiss him.”

“Not as much as I want to kiss you,” Rafe replied, laughing again when (Y/N) stuck her tongue out at him before walking away to go and get some drinks for herself. In truth, Rafe doesn’t understand why she would feel so inferior towards other girls; she’s simply the most beautiful girl he’ve ever laid his eyes on. No one can ever compare to (Y/N), and that’s for sure.

(Y/N) muttered a thanks when someone handed her a beer, standing on her toes to search for her friends. When she couldn’t see any of them, she began making her way towards Rafe and Topper. She decided that instead of waiting alone in the resting area of the club while everybody else is socialising, she would rather listen to whatever Rafe and his friends were conversing, knowing that somehow she’ll find something interesting in the discussion.

That was when she bumped into a figure, causing the person to drop the drink they were holding onto her front dress. (Y/N) groaned, not liking how she was already ruining the branded new dress she bought with Rafe. The smell of strong alcohol wafted into her nostrils, causing her to scrunch her nose.

“Watch where you’re going,” the person said, and  (Y/N) rolled her eyes before finally leaving the scene, not wanting to stir any unnecessary drama. She knows it will always end up dirty and Rafe will have to calm her down in the car. 

(Y/N) pushed her way through the swarm of sweaty bodies as the dress reeked with alcohol clung onto her body, and she momentarily regretted her choice of wearing a skin tight short sequin dress to a club where dropping drinks on someone is just something that is bound to happen.

She sighed when she finally reached the bathroom, quickly washing her stains with the cheap toilet paper. It left some white bits on her dress when she finally removed them, and she groaned again before washing the fabric under the running water. Her day was going totally bad, and she dreamed of the night she could’ve spent with Rafe if only Topper wasn’t born on yesterday’s date 19 years ago. 

“That’s what I’m saying!” a loud voice shrieked, followed by group of shrill laughs. “God, I really wish I’m still with him.”

(Y/N) raised her brows at the familiar voice, but thought none of it. Topper wouldn’t invite Rafe’s ex, he knows what she did to him. There was no way she was allowed to be in the private part of the club, unless someone had brought her as their plus one. 

(Y/N) shook her head at the thought, trying to focus on the stains that seemed to be making everything hard for her.

“He has this habit of running his fingers through his hair when he’s receiving head,” the voice continued, and  (Y/N) stopped in her tracks.

That’s exactly Rafe. Whoever the voice was, she was talking about Rafe. Rafe has this habit of running his long fingers through his hair while he’s whimpering, and it always drives (Y/N) crazy. 

She thought nothing of it, thinking about the possibility of another guy doing the same thing. It’s a common thing anyways; she wasn’t going to pull the crazy jealous girlfriend card that night.

She turned to pull another tissue paper, her ears still intently listening to the group of friends who seemed to not mind receiving any attention from their bold topic. 

“Now he’s with that (Y/L/N) girl. I honestly don’t get why he would be with her. Oh and-” the voice squealed, “Do you know that Rafe called me when they were talking?” 

What?

“What?” her friends asked in disbelief, and  (Y/N) didn’t move a muscle. She pressed her back against the tiled walls, listening close. Her heartbeat beat faster, and she could feel her head getting lighter.

“Yes! It was like, the first month they started getting close? He told me he couldn’t get over me and that he tried everything including finding me in her.”

(Y/N) felt the walls closing in, and quickly got to her feet to splash some water onto her face. She felt like dying right then and right there, but she knew she had to at least hear more to, now identified, Rafe’s ex girlfriend.

“He drove to my house and we just talked, you know. . . and then he told me something, and I refused. He got mad, I guess, and we fought like always, and he left me to be with that girl until today. Kinda sucks to be her, you know? Like the second choice kind of thing?” she continued, an amused tone lacing in her voice.

At that point,  (Y/N) had heard enough. She walked towards the exit as fast as her heels could take her, not stopping to stay goodbye to her now approaching friends. She could feel her hot tears crashing down, but she didn’t feel like crying in the club and having random strangers coming up to her to soothe her down.

When the night breeze hit her square on the face as she finaly exited the suffocating club, she let out the hardest cry ever as she tried to find any available taxis through her tears. There were none, seeing that it was only 9 p.m. and people had just starting to arrive, so she decided to walk to nowhere until she finds any yellow vehicle.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” a voice called out from behind her, and she turned when a hand pulled her shoulder. “What the fuck? Are you okay? Where’s Rafe?”

“Kelce, I’m not feeling good. I just want to go home, okay? Please, oh my god. I can’t do this right now,” she cried, covering her eyes with her palm. Kelce pulled her into a side hug, allowing her tears on his new t-shirt. When she finally soothed down, he tried to find an answer in her face again.

“What happened?”

“I can’t tell you now, I just-” she took a deep breath, “I just can’t. Can you um, call a Uber for me, please? My phone’s with Rafe.”

“What? Why would your phone-” he sighed, taking out his own phone. “Borrow my phone. It’s safer this way. Call a Uber, get home, and don’t do anything stupid. Okay?”

(Y/N) nodded, kissing Kelce’s cheeks before ordering a Uber, waiting by the sidewalk impatiently. She was scared Rafe would come out to look for her, and she didn’t feel like talking to him. 

She felt like shooting him in his ribs until he’s begging for her to stop. 

When she got home, her fingers trembling and her dress now ruined, she stripped out of her clothes and got under her covers. Her mother tried asking her about why she had come home earlier than expected with a running mascara and a smudged lipstick, but decided to let it pass when she didn’t answer, knowing that something has indeed happened. 

She felt like screaming. She had trusted him so much, and he was even the first guy to take her virginity. Now she felt disgusted, thinking about how she had allowed herself to the sweet words he had given her before.

She couldn’t ignore the memory of the night she first experienced sex with him, and the whole sweet care he had provided after.

It was Friday the 13th, and Rafe decided it will be a good night to watch some type of a horror movie.  (Y/N) agreed, being a fan of horror, but until one point, she was bored with the super-slow plot and boring characters. 

She played with Rafe’s fingers, intertwining them with hers, before she got an idea midway of the female character’s scream that echoed throughout her bedroom. 

“Rafe,” she said, and Rafe hummed in response. His eyes were fixated to the screen, not paying any attention to her. She whined, “Rafe. . .”

“Yeah?” He finally looked down to her, and laughed when he saw the face she gave him. “What the hell is wrong with you? The best part’s coming up. Watch it, the guy’s going to- fuck.”

(Y/N) had slipped her hand into his basketball shorts, teasing the outline of his v-line. Rafe’s breath shuddered, and he grabbed her hands before things escalate.

“What the fuck are you doing?” He grunted.

“I just wanna try something,” she replied innocently, and Rafe swore he felt like his heart stopping right then and right there. She was that sweet girl, and he has never saw this side of her.

“Can I?” she asked, and with a tiny nod, she continued her movements as Rafe’s eyes stayed glued on the television screen, though his mind was already on cloud nine. 

She was so good, and Rafe couldn’t explain the feeling inside of him when he watched her palmed him, her mouth slightly open and her hair falling down to her shoulders. Rafe felt like attacking every inch of her, wanting to give anything that she desired. 

“Stop,” he said, closing his eyes. “Fuck, you’re gonna make me cum from just your hands.”

“I want you to,” she said, and Rafe cursed. He liked, scratch that, he loved and is obsessed with the way she did anything to him, with her innocent eyes and her teasing smile. He felt like fucking her numb every single time she purposely brushed her hands against his buldge in the restaurant or bumping her bottoms against him when playing golf.

And when she would deny her actions, god, he felt like giving his all to her until she couldn’t walk.

“Rafe,” she said again, with that gint in her eyes. She leaned onto him, and he shievered when he felt her lips brushing with his earlobes. 

“I want you to fuck me.”

Rafe groaned, not wanting to look her in the eyes, afraid that he would do things he will regret the next morning. He felt her fingers around his chin, forcing him to look at her. 

“Please.”

“You told me you wanted to wait,” he said softly.

“I’m done waiting,” she had said, and that was enough for Rafe to crash his lips against her soft ones, pushing her lightly to her queen sized bed. He felt her hands playing with the hem of his shorts, and being an impatience fuck like his dad, he guided her hands to his already hard penis, craving for her touch.

“Fuck,” he groaned, closing his eyes to the euphoric feeling starting to form in the pit of his stomach. His fingers fumbled with her shorts, trying to untie the waistband, and grunted when he couldn’t gues the knot.

(Y/N) giggled, untying the ribbon, sliding her shorts to the edge of her bed as Rafe waited with his eyes staring at her hands eagerly, like a prey waiting to attack. 

Once her shorts were off, Rafe didn’t waste anymore time to place kisses from her stomach down to the sides of her aching core.  (Y/N) couldn’t take it anymore, after so many nights of trying to picture this exact moment in her head whilst fingering herself, pretending like it has been Rafe’s fingers instead of herself, she wanted to feel him around her so bad. 

“Please, Rafe,” she begged, looking at him with the innocent eyes again. She moaned when he inserted his fingers in her, pleasuring her the way pornstars would from the many porn videos his cousin had taught him to watch since he was 10 before.

“Oh my god,” she screamed, not able to comprehend the strange feeling in her stomach. She tried to close her legs, only for Rafe to gripped them apart tightly, his eyebrows furrowing.

“Do that again and I’ll leave you hanging.”

It was the way he had said that that left  (Y/N) all red, pushing herself against him to reach her end. She felt a sudden feeling approaching, and gripped Rafe’s wrist to tell him. 

Rafe laughed when she had came around his dingers, feeling her juice soaking up his fingers and her bedsheet.  (Y/N) sighed, still heaving from her high, making a mental note in her head to love this other side of Rafe Cameron.

“Suck,” he said, placing his two soaked fingers in front of her face and watched her as she sucked on them like a little girl who’s licking off a lollipop that her mother had bought for her. He felt like cumming just from the sight of her face.

“I want you inside me,” she had said again, and Rafe groaned to look away, not wanting to be a regret she had made the next morning. He looked at her again when she sat on his lap, looking at him with puppy dog eyes.

“Please?” she whispered, and before he knew it, she licked his ear to the the side of his lip before placing a soft peck on his lips.

Rafe has never removed his basketball shorts as fast as he did that night, not even when he had felt an animal crawling in his pants in the pet shop when he was 8 that resulted Sarah into having a laughing fit when they found out that a hamster had gotten into his pants.

He positioned himself in front of her slit, waiting for any new demands for him to stop now that she had changed her mind. But there was nothing, only  (Y/N) demanding for him, and without wasting any more time, he slowly slided into her, strecthing her hole.

He grunted when she felt her closing in, knowing that if she kept doing that, he’ll finish straight away.  (Y/N) screamed as he fucked her with a quick pace, causing him to quickly pull her head close to him to whisper into her ear.

“Shut up, princess. Don’t want mummy and daddy to wake up, do we?”

(Y/N) shook her head, wanting to reach her end soon. She moaned against her mattress, smelling Rafe’s scent from it, and liking the way he would whimper when he hit her g-spot.

“I’m so close, baby, fuck-” he cursed, his pace getting sloppier. His fingers with his cold rings intertwined with hers as he slammed into her for good measure, and pulling out to aim on her face as she tried to regain her breath.

(Y/N)  felt a shot of hot load landing on her face as she finally looked up to him, his sweaty chest heaving from the ungodly practice they just did. Rafe groaned, feeling himself getting hard again from the sight of her with his load all over her, and quickly turned away to grab a clean towel to clean her up.

That night, with a soft lullaby playing from  (Y/N)’s record player that Rafe had bought for her in Italy, he ran his fingers through her hair as she snuggled close, watching the moonlight brightened the ocean.

Rafe sighed, now wrapping his arms around her, forcing himself to not touch her breast in any way. “I’m sorry if it wasn’t what you had pictured in your mind.”

“Are you kidding?” she turned to face him, “God, Rafe. That’s exactly how I wanted it with you.”

Rafe chuckled and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, “God. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Riing! Riing!

(Y/N) wiped her tears with her fingers before pressing on the green button, bringing the phone to her ears when she saw Topper’s name. She decided that he deserved an explanation after she had ran off from his birthday party.

“Tops?”

“Hey, baby, you didn’t pick up my call. I have to use Topper’s phone but, um-”  (Y/N) heard the crowd sang happy birthday, “But um, are you okay? Kelce told me you were crying and I-”

“I’m fine. You should sing happy birthday to Topper.”

“I’ll be there in a bit,” he said to a voice in the background, and tried to talk to her again. “What is it, baby? The line’s kinda shitty here. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay. I know you’re not. Can you please tell me what happened?”

“It’s nothing, Rafe. Go and enjoy yourself.”

“God,  (Y/N), don’t pull this shit on me,” he sighed, and she waited until the background noise lessen. “Okay, I’m at the smoking area. Can you please tell me what happened?”

“You used me.”

“I’m - what?” he asked, “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I heard her talking about how you drove to see her and you told her that you tried finding her in me,” she finaly confessed, her voice breaking. A tear slowly rolled down her red cheeks and she quickly wiped them away.

“Baby, it’s not how it sounds like.”

“Then what is it?” she yelled, clutching onto Kelce’s phone like it was her life support. “Fuck, Rafe, I gave you my everything.”

“Baby, I swear, it’s just-”  

(Y/N) waited for him to finish his sentence, and sucked in a breath when she heard the voice that had caused her this misery.

“Rafe! What are you doing here?”

“Fuck,  (Y/N), I’ll come by to your house, okay? Please, don’t do anything stupid, I’m coming back home-”

(Y/N) pressed the end call, letting go of the breath she was holding before finally throwing her head back against the pillow. 

#Part 2

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[cannoli-reader]

I would maybe think of it as atonement and/or manifestation of a tragic flaw.  I think as written by Jordan, there would be some sense of her traits of plunging ahead, damn the torpedoes catching up to her.  Like, she got away with pushing her Tel’Aran’Rhiod recuperation, so she never learned moderation, and now she goes too far, because she never learned the lesson.  I find it interesting that Sanderson maintains character traits of hers, but they have no narrative consummation.  For example, she is struck by the oddity of Aludra’s first priority upon her safe arrival after escaping Caemlyn, is seeing to her weapons and equipment before taking a break for much needed rest. But that is exactly the right habit and practice of A. anyone handling or operating dangerous substances or equipment, and B. anyone in the military with regard to their special equipment, from something as simple as a cavalryman with a horse, to a high-tech weapons system.  But it’s alien to Egwene.  Perrin would totally have got it.  So would Mat, or Elayne, whose stories focus on the detail work of their leadership roles.  But Egwene is more big picture and doesn’t think about that sort of thing.  

So the narrative sins I would say Egwene dies for would be her lucky streak of getting away with stuff that should have brought her down to earth at several earlier points in the series, suddenly ending at the last moment.  As for atonement, I think there is a lot of focus on her own ambition to the point that she embraces a bad cause.  Jordan didn’t just put in all those details about the buildings and furniture in Salidar falling apart or decaying because it would be realistic, it was to show what a poor genesis the whole movement has (in contrast to, say, the homes of the EF5 & Elayne).  They commissioned Bryne to begin building the army in the same novel where Rand’s first and last PoV appearances have him harping on the need for peace, and for humanity to stop fighting their own petty wars for power.  I think in RJ’s aMoL, Egwene was supposed to realize that Siuan has been leading her down a bad path of division, because Siuan is the other side of Elaida’s coin, blinded to their similarities and just as fixated on an old enmity, just as resentful over past wrongs.  Egwene was supposed to reject that path, and embrace unity among the Aes Sedai.  But Sanderson instead made it a personal rejection of Siuan for the rescue operation, because he doesn’t get that Salidar was doing something wrong, or his comprehension of Salidar’s wrongness is limited to their failure to hand the reins over to Egwene the day she was raised.  Her speech condemning the rebels at the end is completely accurate and a stunning piece of hypocrisy, considering she was the worst offender in the things for which she denounces them.  

But that’s also part of Egwene’s thing, is to leap from one mentor, institution or cause to another, advancing herself each time.  At some point, it has to catch up to her, or put her in a place where there are consequences to herself for that practice or to others, that she has to come to terms with. So I think her death should have been a conscious choice to sacrifice herself for the greater good, specifically in relation to how she got to the top, with some recognition that this is where she has to “pay for it” after a whole series of “take what you want,” and/or all her chickens coming home to roost, from the carelessness with which she moves for the next thing, or without putting in the time or service most people must to advance.  Allegorically, her status and position should be seen as a very high tower, that is not steady or strong, because she’s been building for height without worrying about a solid base, or that whole ‘burns bright and fast’ thing. Egwene’s doom is obvious in hindsight, depending on what aspect of her story you choose to focus on, but I get the feeling Sanderson just wrote her as dying because that was in RJ’s script and he didn’t feel like he could change the death of the most prominent character to fall.  I really don’t feel like the book does much to connect her death to her character.  So that’s what I mean by narrative sins. 

For the Aes Sedai as an institution, I think their deal was that they were on top and unchallenged.  The post TG world is going to be a whole other thing for them.  There will be the Black Tower for people to turn to, and Logain’s promised glory suggests it will not go quietly or meekly take second place to the White.  The Tower will have to compete with the Black Tower for their place in people’s hearts and minds, and there will be interactions with the Sea Folk and Wise Ones to keep them honest and the threat of the Seanchan to keep them in fighting trim.  Egwene’s role in that is, at most, to set an example with her death of either the end of their self-appointed supremacy, or of the sacrificial ideal the Servants of All should be aspiring to. She’s not really a builder type.  The change is going to come from the new initiates, who are sensible like Sharina or adventurous like Bode, and not put up with the old crap, and there are going to be a few old timers like Saerin (for my money, the one who came out of the Seanchan attack on the Tower most impressing with their leadership qualities) & Cadsuane to see just enough sense to not crush that out of them as would have been the case had either of them (or Egwene, for that matter) come to the Tower fifty years earlier.  And there is going to be Elayne, who will stand up to the Tower(s) regarding limits on the authority of channeling institutions, and Nynaeve, who will take Cadsuane’s place as the institutional gadfly, now that the original model has had her own narrative sins catch up to her and snare her in the political structure. 

What I mean: Egwene’s drive and ambition along with her sense of otherness in her hometown was really important for me to identify with growing up as a young teen in a conservative environment. Her choosing to set out on her goals and learning as much as she could resonated with me going into a STEM career as a woman. Seeing her carve out her own space and earn the respect of others was inspiring when I was often given the cold shoulder by my male counterparts for trying to participate in their traditionally masculine academic and recreational activities, even by those I would consider friends. While deaths were necessary in the Last Battle, having her die along with Siuan while others lived felt much like a narrative punishment for rising above her station, contrasting for example how Elayne’s position of power was secured through birthright and she survived. Overall she is my favourite character and very important to me, and while she is not perfect it’s hard to discuss her without others jumping to the worst conclusions.

What I say: haha ha Elayne bath ter’angreal goes brrrrr

[witch-hazels-musings]

It’s 🍪!

You have this ‘My Sunshine’ (?) fic where the reader is an absolute ball of sunshine and I LOVE it! Could you do a part two with Zhongli, Childe and Albedo please?

Mwah!

My Sunshine

( what an incredible choice of characters! Thank you for adding to one of my favorite fics!! ) 

Warning -> SFW, Fluff

Character X GN Reader | Anthology 

Includes: Albedo, Childe, Zhongli 

Albedo 

It was the way you greeted the world around you - with pleasant smiles, patient hands, caring and compassionate eyes. You saw the world for what it could be, the beauty of it and while Albedo searched for the answer in the universe, you already seemed to have found them 

He noticed you on his wanderings through the city. His hands were already moving to draw your expressions in a hope to capture everything that he possibly could - how could he capture the intensity of the sun itself, of a flower basking in the afternoon glow, or a firefly so vibrant that it burned orange and beautiful 

You were bouncing on your toes, smiling kindly at the people who walked by while you patiently waited for anyone to stop by. Not many people purchased flowers every single day, but you found it wasn’t hard to proposition people with your generous smile and pin-point compliments. 

“My! I have never seen something so beautiful in all my life.” You began, bending to rest your hands on your knees while catching the attention of a small young girl who had been glancing at the array of flowers at your side. She looked at you confused, a bit nervous but didn’t back away. 

Reaching for a small white flower, you trimmed the leaves and hummed a little tune before turning back to her. “A lovely flower like you must attract so much goodness. Even this daisy is impressed by your radiance!" She giggled and you continued, "Would you do me a favor?” You smiled at her, eyes showing only the purest of shine. The little girl nodded her head and you began again, “Could you carry this flower and help it grow? If it's you, I'm sure it'll turn just as beautiful?” 

The little girl wrapped her small fingers around the stem, her smile and giggle so powerful that Albedo was sure you cast a magic spell because as he watched her gallop away back to her parents, the flowers near you began to glisten and the sketch on his page came to life. 

He was unsure how to make a connection with you, so more often than not he would find himself purchasing flowers he didn’t really have the necessity for - but perhaps if he gathered enough up, he’d have a bouquet glorious enough to equal your soul 

“Mr. Albedo, pleasure seeing you again.” You brushed off your apron and turned to him. Your eyes closing and head tilting, a standard greeting of yours. “I have some rather rare flowers in stock today if you’d like to take a look.” 

“I am actually here to inquire if you had any Asters; the research institute has just run out.” 

“Hmm, let me check for you.” You bowed slightly before disappearing behind the many stalls and carriers of your wares. He scanned the flowers as he waited for your return. Gloved fingers inspecting the petals of flowers and, in his wandering thoughts, he began to investigate which one reminded him the most of you. “Mr. Albedo, I am sorry, it seems we are fresh out.” 

“I see …” 

“Ah! However, I needed to gather several other plants today. If you come back tomorrow I will set them aside for you.” You waved at the other worker as if to inform them of your intentions and quickly reached for the basket near the stall. 

“Actually, would it be too much of a bother if I were to travel with you?” 

You paused, staring at him with eyes wide and mouth slightly parted. What was this feeling in his chest, it hurt. “I would never pass up an opportunity to share in your company! What a splendid day this is turning out to be.” 

“Thank you, I will keep out of your way.” 

“Not too much I hope. So, Mr. Albedo, are you ready?” You turned to head toward the front gate and he followed after you. 

“Yes, and please, just Albedo is fine.” 

“Alrighty then, Albedo.” Ah, yes, that’s why his heart hurt. 

There you were, the wind wrapping around you as you stood in a field of flowers - the reflection of light difficult to pinpoint for as bright as the sun shined down onto the plane below, you were just as intense and, in fact, you may be the most luminous creature to ever exist -- how could he possibly reach something like you 

Childe

His world had never been bright -- from the snowy landscape that threatened every day to freeze the warm hearts that beat on its surface, to the dark void that he fought through as an adolescent, to the harsh and demanding ladder he climbed in service to his cause -- he’d never known the light … his had been seized so long ago 

So when he found a flicking candle, a small flame in his dark corridor, he walked to it - ran for it - and to see the glory reflected on the other side was something he fixated on until he could hold the candle safe in his arms 

He clenched his jaw and sighed. These boring briefings were never something he cared to participate in. He was more for action rather than words, so instead of listening to the updates from the short, purple-haired harbinger, he instead gazed out the open window at the city below. 

Liyue had shifted from a temporary destination into a permanent one as the tasks and duties continued to lengthen his stay. At least he didn’t mind the city, not like some of the other places he’d stay at. Just as he was about to drift back to the boring discussion, he heard a voice drift up to him. A lively, giddy voice that stole all of his attention and focus, but as soon as you entered into view his minimal interest piqued into desperation. 

“Wait up! You can’t tell me that this isn’t a beautiful day, just take it all in!” You spread your arms wide and spun with so much energy that the inertia made you stumble, luckily you caught yourself before running into some poor passerby. Childe smiled and rested his chin on his palm as he looked down at the loveliness that was your everything. 

You laughed, and the way your hands flew to your lips to cover the sound made him jealous of those fingers. You spoke, words falling off of your tongue like sugar and he grew antsy at the thought of not tasting it. You existed, and he needed a piece of it. 

Waving to his subordinate, he spoke in a hushed whisper, and while the meeting continued to drone on, he made his first step at capturing a star. 

The more information he gathered, the more interactions he had with you - the more he fell into your luster, the richer his feelings grew for you 

His actions were that of a child just looking for a comforting glow in their endless darkness, hands cupped to keep it alive, breathing held for fear of accidentally blowing it out - stay, please stay 

He called your name, the sound of his voice dissipating in the open space as he searched for any sign of you. 

“Hey there!” You called out to him, and when he looked up toward your voice, he smiled. Your legs dangled off the tree limb, your hands wrapping around the bark as you balanced there. 

“How is the view?” He asked, crossing his arms and staring at you from below. How did you get up there, he wondered. 

“Beautiful, I can see so much from up here. It’s like a whole different perspective.” You breathed in deeply and lifted your arms to reach for the sky above you. “How about you join me?” 

“I’m not sure I can, I don’t even know how you got up there.” 

“Sheer will and determination!” Giggling, he thought maybe you were actually a mythical creature in the fairytales he used to read as a kid. There was no way you could live in this world and be so positive, it had to be you were something beyond this world. “I’ll come down to you.” Twisting, you wiggled onto your stomach before letting yourself drop onto the ground below. It was further than you thought and as soon as your feet hit the earth, your body became off balance and tumbled backward. 

Childe easily caught you, his sturdy chest supporting you and arms extended so your hands could have something to grab onto. 

“Ooh, that was exhilarating.” Tilting your head, you turned to look at him and for a moment he felt his lips scream for yours. He wanted to let you go, but how could you when you fit so perfectly in his arms. “Childe?” 

“You’re something else.” This was dangerous, you were dangerous, and now that he knew what it was like to feel the brightness of the light, he would never let the dark creep back in. 

He needed you - it was apparent - and he hoped one day you’d realize you needed him too. A light like yours truly needed to shine in the darkness of places, so choose his, please choose his 

Zhongli 

There is no one in this world that would understand luster better than he - no one who could see the shine inside a being as clearly as one with eyes who’ve witnessed the birth and eventual death of the universe. The great Morax, the ruthless Rex Lapis, the gentle and patient Zhongli are one and the same, and the visions they’ve witnessed cannot be forgotten 

So, to see a person with purity so refined, that even the dullest observers could clearly recognize, he found it nearly impossible to look away 

He heard tell of a new performer joining the Pearl, someone who had shown great elegance and glorious promise at wowing the crowds. As a man who fancied the arts of all kinds, he was intrigued by the rumors and whispers. So, when the schedule showed the name of this new performer, he made his way to the boat drifting on the sea. 

His lips tasted the sweet flavor of tea but his eyes soaked in the delectable movements of your body. The graceful bow of your spin, the bending and twisting of your limbs as you moved just enough to tell your story on the swaying stage. He felt the history in your dance, the pride in your fluttering fan as you moved it across your face, the snap of truth as you forced it up toward the sky. He was transfixed, as he was sure all were. 

When you finished, you began to greet the many interested patrons eager to hear the sound of your voice. There was no way he could have known how transfixing you would be when he heard it. 

“What a stunning performance.” Zhongli mused, his head bowing, a mirror of your own gesture. 

“That is great praise from someone such as yourself.” You smiled and he was reminded of glaze lilies. 

“Pray tell, what was the inspiration for your dance?” 

“Ah, an insightful question, not unexpected I must say.” You laughed and moved your hands to your chest, elegant fingers resting over your heart as you answered his question. “The light of a soul has so much insight, don’t you think? If the soul is radiant, the vessel's beauty is so easily seen, and if there is beauty shining so brightly that it can communicate out to those who look, it may shift just the tides of the future.” You laughed again, a bit more unreserved than the last, and somehow more telling to your honesty. “I’m sorry, I hope that answered your question.” 

“Splendidly, and then some.” He found himself transfixed, captivated by a spirit shining before him. 

Spending time with you was as refreshing as standing in a mountain stream, as filling as a warm meal, as bright as the basking stars that littered the sky above and reflected in your eyes even in darkness 

“Zhongli, hello again.” He wandered into the garden, the gentle bubbling of the water as it fell along the rocks provided a lovely background to your visage. Carefully, you rested your fingers against the pages of your book as you looked up at him. The shadows of the shifting trees let highlights of the sun dance across your face and he couldn’t help but capture this image in his mind. 

“Good afternoon, you seem to be enjoying the day.” 

“As I always am. Nature has provided such elegant and lovely conditions that it would be a waste to not thank it, don’t you agree?” 

“Wholeheartedly.” He smiled, his hands gripping tighter around each other as they rested against the small of his back. It was incredible how nervous you made him; for a man who was a powerful as the mountains that looked down over the city, you made him feel like a tiny pebble in the stream begging to be touched by you. “May I join you?” 

“Absolutely, anything in this world can be improved by good company, and yours is always my favorite.”

“As yours is mine.” He sat on the stone bench next to you, his hands resting on his lap as he looked out across the scenery. You moved closer to him, your arms touching as you shared in the company of each other and, while his eyes drifted to your face, he watched how your smile and good nature made the flowers bloom. 

You were a compliment to his life. A perfect addition to the drift of time and as he looked at the future that stretched before him, he found your red wrapping perfectly around his amber 

--

tag list

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[ariaadagio]

Thoughts about S6

This is gonna be a little all over the place. Just me rambling, really. 

So, I went up to LA to watch the show with some fandom friends on Friday. We had an absolute blast. I loved the finale season of the show. LOVED. I had some quibbles, of course, but none worth lingering on at length. I know the ending was controversial for some, but not for me. It worked on all levels. 

I didn’t have much love for the end of 5B (I know, y’all are probably shocked, given some of the things I’ve written re: Lucifer becoming God or godlike) which is why I never really chimed in on the post-5B discussion. I just couldn’t muster much enthusiasm about it, and I didn’t want to froth about or hate on it when other people were having fun and gushing. 

But my main issues at the time involved: Lucifer suddenly wanting to become God felt poorly setup and unearned, and Chloe suddenly quitting the force to support Lucifer becoming God felt incredibly impulsive, perhaps almost out of character. 

S6 not only was perfect for me in its own right, it actually went back and fixed my S5B issues retrospectively. Lucifer suddenly wanting to become God felt poorly setup because it WAS poorly set up. On purpose. He never actually wanted to be God. It wasn’t his calling. And Chloe dropping her Detective job so suddenly WAS impulsive. On purpose. She really didn’t think that one through and ended up being bored out of her fucking mind without that job to engage her problem-solving brain. So ... kudos to the writers for that. I am so pleasantly surprised by that backtracking and never expected it.

As far as season 6 goes ... oh my gosh, what a brilliant roller coaster. Like @tarysande, I also spent a large portion of the season wondering what the evil trick was with Rory. I didn’t trust ANYTHING she said for many episodes. I kept waiting for a shoe to drop that never did. I really appreciate that Deckerstar did not get married—I never felt like a marriage was necessary for them given where they were in their life (a divorcee and a Devil who isn’t beholden to human constructs of law). I actively did not want a Deckerstar baby, but the show did it in a way I found absolutely lovely. Rather than using Rory as a magical “happily ever after” button as so many shows do, she was a tool to create massive character growth in Lucifer, and I am so on board with that. 

I cried during this season. Frequently. Which is something that rarely happens for me when watching or reading fiction. I am just ... so stupidly emotionally involved in these great characters. 

Some people may fixate on the separation between Lucifer and Chloe until her death, but to me ... it worked. Lucifer found a higher purpose and chose to fulfill it, to keep his promise to his daughter—to be a better father for Rory than his father was for him—and he does still ultimately get a “happily ever after” with his family and friends and dearest loved ones. It just starts a little later than planned. Chloe, meanwhile, gets to live her life knowing without doubt the love of her life is not only okay & pursuing his calling, he’s waiting for her on the flip side. They’ll have eternity together—ETERNITY, in exchange for a few decades apart. Bittersweet? Yes. Tragic? No. So I am okay with this. This is a level of certainty no real human ever gets—and as someone with zero certainty about the future whatsoever, I can’t express enough how much this foreknowledge alone would be a comfort in difficult times. It really resonates with me as a meaningful gift.

I do agree that there’s plenty of room for Lucifer to see Chloe without Rory’s knowledge, though I’m on the fence about how realistic this is. I think Dan called it, honestly. Having to watch and not participate is more torturous than not participating at all. And, as I said, he gets to see everybody eventually. He knows his daughter will understand—actively consents, even—and he knows their reunion will come.  He knows Chloe will come back to him, too, because he’s grown to trust and love her fully.

Along those lines, Lucifer showed amazing character development this year. Once this man figures out his feelings and commits, he is ALL IN. I was so proud of him, talking out his feelings, and saying I love you, and hugging people left and right. His goodbyes made me tear up, particularly the scene with Maze. Which. OMG. These two. That scene was a long time coming, and so heartfelt. i loved it. I also loved how comfortable in his own skin he finally seemed this season. He utilized his wings SO MUCH. And his devil face where appropriate. And there was zero angst about any of it.

Time travel is a trope that tends to break my brain, but ... I think Rory showing up is what enabled her own conception. Lucifer didn’t think he could have kids until he finds out he does in the future and then boom, suddenly he can conceive. He self-actualized working swimmers. I know this creates a chicken or the egg paradox—how could this loop ever even start if Rory hadn’t existed at least once on her own—buuut, I’ve definitely seen this trope used in other shows, such as Netflix’s Dark. So, imho, there was an added level to Lucifer’s sacrifice at the end—he wasn’t just trying to preserve his own epiphany via a promise to his daughter, he was actively choosing to save his daughter’s entire existence, and he was choosing to be different from his father.

People who think Lucifer was robbed of choice ... I beg to differ. For the reasons stated above, and also? He was the one who came up with the idea of returning to Hell. No one forced that on him. The only thing Rory did was speed up his time table. And I think there’s a beautiful kind of symmetry to the idea of him returning to Hell and choosing to reframe it as a place of healing, rather than eternal suffering. In a sense, he’s making his own Plan for himself. He’s defining his role in the universe: the Devil, not God. He’s defining his family: Chloe, Rory, Trixie, Dan, Maze, Eve, Linda, Amenadiel, Ella, and all the great friends he’s made. He’s defining his home: not a place, but where his heart is. For the first time in his life, the Devil decided who he is and what he wants to do with his life, instead of letting external forces do it for him.

And I fucking loved every minute of it.

A perfect ending for a long, thoughtful journey.

P.S. If you disagree with me, that’s fine. There’s no wrong way to interpret art and media. But please know I’m not really in the mindset for debate right now. I just want to live in my happy post-S6 bubble. I’d appreciate it if you let me :)

[aalbedo]

tartaglia x injured!reader

request: Hello! How about scenario where character offers help to injured!gn!reader, who is very mistrustful of and reluctant to accept it? I smh love the dynamic "no I don't want your help or anything to do with you but I don't really have a choice". And yeah, I feel like Tartaglia fits it well though you may choose whoever you feel like T v T

format: two-parter (part two here)

ship: tartaglia x reader

tags: reader is the traveler-ish (a completely separate character from aether and lumine, but still the traveler, does that make sense?)

warnings: blood, mildly graphic depiction of injury, stitches and needles

words: 1951

notes: this request awoke something in me, i feel like i could’ve written an entire 70k words fic on this if i had the energy. im sorry anon but i kinda went off the rails with this one hfjdkhfd i hope you still enjoy it. also yeah the header is mildly fucked up because i don’t have the energy to find a better png ok.

You fell to the ground, placing your hands right in a small puddle of your own blood, while a ruin hunter laid on the ground, defeated. Your legs had given in, as a sharp pain hit you through your entire left thigh. There was a large cut on your pants, through which you could see a long, bloody, wound on your skin left by the mechanical monstrosity. It wasn’t too deep, but damn if it hurt.

You squeezed your eyes closed, and let out a loud groan. Reaching a hand into your bag, you pulled out the antiseptic solution you always brought with you, and found out that the bottle was empty. You rummaged more through the bag, looking for a numbing cream, an analgesic potion, even just a remnant of a bandage, anything that could help. Nothing.

Panic started settling in your chest, you were completely alone, in the middle of Lisha, where Hilichurls could attack you at any moment, and you were injured just enough that you wouldn’t be able to walk, let alone run away or even fight. You laid down with your back to the ground and covered your face with your hands, as your palms suffocated another loud groan.

You would have to crawl all the way back to the city, or until you found someone willing to help you before fainting from the slow, but consistent, loss of blood. Or worse, dying from shock.

Suddenly, you heard a voice in the distance yell “hey!” Then a second time, with a clearly worried tone in their voice. The pain in your leg made it almost impossible for you to focus on recognizing who that voice belonged to, but it didn’t matter - you were about to finally get some help. You kept your eyes closed as you raised a hand and waved it, showing whoever your savior was where you were.

As you didn’t move from the ground, you heard steps, quickly getting closer to you, until you could feel the presence of someone right above you.

“Oh thank the Archons, I’m completely out of-” you opened your eyes and were met with two bright blue irises staring into yours, and all of the sudden you recognized the voice from before.

“Did that ruin hunter hit you?” Tartaglia was perched right next to your injured leg, already starting to open a backpack that you didn’t recognize as his. He moved his eyes to your thigh and reached out a hand towards it. You swiftly moved the leg away from him, forgetting that it would make it hurt even more, and whimpered when the pain grew.

“I don’t want help from a Harbinger, least of all you” you spat out as you slowly sat up and used your hands to back away from him.

“Stop moving, or you’ll make it worse,” he said plainly as he stood up and followed you, while you kept backing away ignoring the pain through your leg.

“I’ll lose a leg before I let the fatui help me.”

“Alright then, I guess I’ll just watch you crawl all the way back to the Harbor.” He crossed his arms. Oh, he thought he was being funny?

You kept backing away with your arms, until you felt something hard hit your back. A rather large rock was blocking your way, and you would have to crawl around it, and the young man laughed, slowly walking towards you as he took his gloves off and put them in a pocket. You tried moving sideways, but he was quick to crouch down and grab you by the ankle, the one on the injured side, right when you moved.

You inhaled and closed your eyes as a sharp pain shot through your leg. “Are you out of your mind? That hurt!”

He kept your ankle pinned to the ground. “Don’t move,” he ordered. He used his free hand to carefully move the ripped fabric of your clothes out of the way, and get a better look of your wound. You started to feel lightheaded as you saw him tear the fabric further.

You felt some sort of damp cloth on your skin,figuring it was being used to clean the blood off your injury. Tartaglia was being so careful that you could barely feel it, it seemed like he had done this a million times before. You closed your eyes, placing a hand over them, and tilted your head forward, suddenly feeling overcome with dizziness.

“You’re losing a lot of blood. If you hadn’t moved, it would not be this bad right n-” he interrupted himself and he called your name. “You still with me?”

“Mh- huh-uh” you started feeling uneasy. You opened your eyes slightly and caught a glimpse of the wound and immediately looked away. So much blood.

“Stay awake, don’t close your eyes again.” You heard a ruffling of fabric, the damp cloth wasn’t on your skin anymore. “Tell me about the Archons.”

“What?”

“Tell me all of the Archons’ names and their elements,” he repeated. You couldn’t figure out why he wanted you to tell him, but you followed his order, keeping your eyes away from your wound, and instead fixating on the grass beneath you. You were feeling too dizzy to protest, your only choice was to trust him, despite all of your instincts yelling at you to get away from him.

“Okay, there’s... Barbatos, god of Anemo.” You heard more fabric rustling coming from him, but you refused to look at what he was doing.

“Yes, then?”

The dizziness was still overwhelming, but you managed to keep talking, “Morax, god of Geo.” Clinking of glass, probably bottles. “Tsaritsa, goddess of Cryo.”

“Mh-mh.” He sounded… focused. What was he doing?

“Baal, goddess of- Fuck!” The skin around the wound started burning, and so did the wound itself. You bit your lip hard and groaned as the burning kept going on and on, your skin was itching and for a split second it was almost unbearable. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Antiseptic potion,” he replied plainly. “I had to find a way to distract you or you wouldn’t have let me use it.”

“Bastard.” Your skin kept burning, but you slowly got used to the pain as you watched the clear potion sizzling over your still open wound.

He barked a laugh, “I’m trying to help you over here, you’re very welcome.”

You looked at his hands as he skillfully kept cleaning your wound, now there was way less blood coming out and you were starting to feel slightly more at easy. He lifted his head and looked right into your eyes.

“It’s not too deep, but it would probably be better if I stitched it.”

“You sound like you’ve done this before.”

“Of course I have, you think these healed themselves?” he asked, pointing at the seemingly long scar that started from the base of his neck and went down under his shirt. “At some point you have to learn how to stitch them up yourself.”

You exhaled deeply, still keeping your eyes on his. You realized that his irises resembled the starconches you had seen laid in the sand of Yaoguang Shoal’s beaches.

“Do you have an anaesthetic something to make the stitching hurt less, at least?”

He looked into the bag, moving things around, as if he had no idea what was actually inside the backpack. So it definitely wasn’t his.

He shook his head, pursing his lips slightly. “No, sorry.”

“It’s…” you pondered over it. You would probably have to go all the way to Bubu pharmacy to get an anaesthetic, and on the way there you might lose even more blood. “It’s okay.”

From his backpack, that you hadn’t realized was laid on the ground by your feet, he pulled out a small tin box, and from the box he took out an interestingly shaped needle, recurved like a crescent moon, then a pair of tweezers and a thread so thin you could barely see it.

Just by looking at the needle, you felt uneasy again. “Are you sure we can’t go to the Harbour and get help there?”

“We can do that, if that’s what you prefer, but I would have to carry you - I doubt you could walk at all right now.”

Somehow, the embarrassment of other people seeing you being carried, bridal style, by Tartaglia was stronger than any pain you might have to go through to get these stitches done.

“Fuck it, do it. But be quick.”

“I will try my best,” he said, and his tone sounded genuine to you. You still couldn’t believe you were trusting him like this, after everything he had done to you. “Try to think about something else, focus on anything but the stitches, it’ll hurt less.” He passed the thread through the needle’s hole with surprising skill.

“Okay, uh-” you watched him hover the needle over your skin, probably thinking about the fastest and least painful way to do the job. You moved your gaze from the open would to look at his face, and his expression seemed calm enough to put you somewhat at ease.

His lips were slightly parted and you noticed that he was biting his own tongue, the amount of focus he was putting into helping you was so intriguing to you, you could have never had imagined that he would be so… caring. At least not to you.

You suddenly felt the needle prick through your skin and you whimpered slightly. “Sorry,” he quickly said, before using the tweezers to make the needle pass through your skin and grab it again on the other end.

He repeated the process a few times, slowly pulling the thread every now and then to make the stitch tighter. You observed him the entire time, his eyes quickly darting from one spot to the other, his nose and mouth breathing at a steady pace. You saw him scrunch up his nose a few times, probably to release tension.

Each stitch hurt, you could feel the entire needle pass through your skin and come out again every single time, but you didn’t protest at all, and instead focused on counting the freckles on Tartaglia’s nose bridge, watching the muscles under his skin move every time he swallowed, and carding your fingers through the grass, accidentally ripping some every now and then.

“Done,” you heard him say in an unexpectedly cheerful tone. “I have some bandages, but I don’t think they’re enough for this large of a cut. Though, now that it’s stitched up, it’s probably safe for you to move, and I can help you get to the Harbor where you can buy some numbing potion and bandages.”

You looked down at the wound, and to your relief the stitches looked like they would hold together pretty well. “Sure, I think I can hop for a while, if you hold me.”

He picked up both his and your bag, putting them over his shoulder, then reached out a hand towards you and you realized just how bloody his hands were, as well as his clothes. You grabbed it with your own bloody hand and slowly stood up, placing your weight on the healthy leg. He placed your arm around his shoulders and put his own behind your back, holding you up.

“Ready to go?”

“Mh-mh.” You started walking in the direction of the Harbor, hopping on one leg while Tartaglia held you up.

“Whose backpack is that?” you tried asking.

“Honestly? No idea.”

“What were you doing here in Lisha, anyway?”

“Just some Fatui business, don’t worry about it,” he quickly dismissed your question.

“Always so secretive.”

[beyondspaceandstars]

Hey!

Feel free to ignore this if this isn’t appealing to you, but honestly I’m simping over Carol Denvers and could really go for some steamy fluff with her x reader.

Maybe just a dinner date gone dirty talk? Do whatever you want with this! :) Have a great day.

Completely Yours

Relationship: Carol Danvers x Reader

Warnings: Steamy, but not smutty

Word Count: 1.8k

A/N: amazingly, I actually already had a piece I wrote last year that kind of falls into these suggestions! i tweaked the ending a bit from my original writing to hopefully make it more on the steamy side. and there's an element of jealousy/protective Carol. So, I hope this works okay! I immediately thought of it after reading your request :) Also I absolutely love Carol, one of my favorite MCU characters <3 I have a few pieces already written for her but only published on ao3 (and a previous writing blog)

Masterlist

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

You stared at your lipstick collection, completely baffled by the choices. Was the red lip too bold for your lacy black dress? But was the pink lip too simple? Maybe the dress was the problem…

"Stop it," you mumbled to yourself and grabbed the wine red lipstick. You were nearly humored with your brain’s antics. There shouldn’t be anything to overthink given the fact you’ve been on countless dates with Carol. Heck, you don’t even remember being this nervous for your very first date, but, perhaps, the fact this was an anniversary date was maybe getting to you a bit.

You two were two years into the relationship but you still wanted to give it your all especially on such an occasion. You both had been so busy with one thing or another for your first anniversary so there was a lingering duty to make it up — and that’s exactly why the glam had to be perfect, no matter how many times Carol insisted you were gorgeous without it.

A knock came from the bathroom door as you were finishing with the lipstick.

"Babe," Carol called out. "Almost ready?"

You gave your hair a quick glance over and exited the bathroom. You were greeted by your stunning girlfriend all dolled up and looking as lovely as ever.

"All good," you smiled, shamelessly eyeing her.

She gave a knowing smirk, "You look so beautiful."

"Maybe we both clean up well," you teased, shrugging.

Your girlfriend just rolled her eyes at your antics and motioned towards the front door. You grabbed your purse and started heading ahead of Carol. But being the cheeky girlfriend she is, she couldn’t let you get far without giving a teasing tap on your behind. Now it was your turn to shoot her the eye roll which she just laughed away, following you out the door.

***

The restaurant was a busy scene tonight and upon noticing the patrons and their seemingly wandering eyes, Carol was on you in full protective mode. This could’ve been expected no matter where you two had gone and you’ve had to come to terms with that. Carol was quite the protective type and typically you adored it but honestly, it wasn’t necessary in your eyes. There wasn’t a thing — or person — in the world that could whisk you away from your love.

Choosing to ignore her change in demeanor, you pushed through the crowd to the hostess table.

"Thank gosh we made reservations," you said as the hostess left to check on the table.

But your girlfriend didn’t quite hear you. She gave a hum in response while fixated on something at the bar in the corner of the restaurant. You tried figuring out what held her attention but couldn’t pick anything out. Maybe she thought she saw someone she knew? But you dismissed it as you saw the hostess motioning you to follow her to your reserved table.

The two of you settled in and started flipping through the menu. Carol seemed to be occupied by the food selection, which gave you some sense of relief. Fingers crossed whatever had her captivated before had vanished. At one point she even grabbed your hand for a bit, running her thumb on the back of it lovingly as you two browsed.

It wasn’t until the waiter came by for the drink order that you realized she had her guards up the entire time.

"What can I get you two to drink?" The waiter asked.

"Glass of Pinot Grigio for me," you said, turning back to the food items.

When you didn’t hear Carol’s lovely voice responding with her drink order, you glanced up to find her still staring behind you.

"Um, could you give us a second?" You asked the waiter. They just gave a polite smile and headed towards the kitchen.

You sighed, slamming your menu on the table. That got your girlfriend’s attention.

"Carol, what is going on? Is there a galactic threat behind me or something?"

"Honey, no," Carol sighed. "It’s just… This guy at the bar keeps looking at you."

Your jaw dropped. "That’s what this is about? You’re gonna be distracted our entire anniversary dinner because you think some guy is looking at me?"

Carol’s once rigid expression quickly turned soft at your tone. She grabbed your hand across the table, trying to soothe your rising anger. Shaking her head, she said, "No, babe, that’s ridiculous of me."

You put your other hand on hers, nodding. "It is ridiculous. There is nothing worth ruining this night over, okay? You’ve got me, baby, I’m not going anywhere."

"Forever?" She smirked.

"Forever," you mumbled as you leaned across the table to give her a kiss which she happily leaned into.

***

The dinner went very well after Carol calmed down. Drinks helping to ease any worry. You two flirted and giggled as if it was the first all over again and, boy, did it feel magical. Pasta was eaten, wine was sipped… and even kisses were stolen like lovestruck school girls. The man at the bar had been completely forgotten by both of you.

After you two finished your dessert (with a side of Carol’s cheeky comments about dessert after the dessert), you had to run to the restroom. Carol nodded and said she’d wait for you at the front of the restaurant.

With a quick kiss, you departed from the table. In the restroom, you did some make-up retouch up. The night was just heating up in your eyes and you still wanted to look like an absolute dream for your woman — not to mention you were quite antsy from the constant teasing.

After a quick powder and recollecting your items, you reemerged from the restroom. You were fumbling for your phone in your purse, making your way to the restaurant exit, when you slammed into something hard.

A bit dazed, you look up expecting a sudden wall or pole, but instead you were met by some handsome, well-dressed man uncomfortably close. He was smirking down at you, making your cheeks burn in embarrassment.

"Sorry, sir. I wasn’t looking where I was going." You said, giving your fakest, most polite smile.

Apparently, it worked too well because the man’s smirk turned into a smile with his eyes curiously watching you.

"Trust me, sweetheart, it’s all good."

The pet name made your stomach turn, red flags waving. You let out a breathy laugh and tried stepping around him, but he blocked your attempt.

"Sir, I have someone waiting-,"

"Oh, the girl you were with?" He asked. You gulped realizing this wasn’t any man, this was the man Carol had been nervous about. You really didn’t think there was any man staring at you and that it was just Carol's paranoia kicking in. But no, your girlfriend had been rightfully cautious and you were kicking yourself for being doubtful.

"Sir, really-,"

"I think your friend wouldn’t mind waiting," he said, not only cutting you off but blocking you again with his broad body, his hand coming near your side as if trapping you.

"She’s my girlfriend," you snapped back, blood boiling at his game. "So, I’m not interested."

"Oh, a girlfriend! That could make this a lot more interesting-"

"Hey!" A voice boomed from the dining room entrance. All heads turned towards your clearly pissed-off girlfriend, heels hot marching towards you. She was steaming — well, maybe nearly glowing — with anger. "Get away from her."

"Ah, it’s the girlfriend-,"

"You’re damn right it’s the girlfriend," Carol snapped, eyeing him quite intensely. You knew there wasn’t much stopping her from taking him down this second. "And now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to take my girl home."

She didn’t even let him get in another syllable before grabbing your hand and leading you to the exit. Patrons eyes were still focused on the rampage occurring but you were way too focused on your girlfriend. You weren’t sure you had ever personally witnessed this side of her. Sure, you two had arguments before, but this was… A lot. She was scared, angry, frustrated… A bottle waiting to explode.

When you two made it back to the car, you went to console Carol but she never gave you a chance. Within seconds you were pressed against the passenger side door, her lips hot and ferocious against yours. She moved with such anger, such passion, you almost let yourself get lost in it but you knew it wouldn’t solve anything like talking would.

"Honey," you gasped for air, pushing Carol gently off of you. You cupped her face with shaking hands. "Hey, I’m sorry."

"No, it’s just…" She pulled away, arms flailing in defeat. "I knew it! I knew that asshole would… God! Why do you have to be so beautiful?"

You sighed, your gaze drifting to your hands, picking at your nude nail polish. "I really didn’t think there was anyone looking at me."

"You innocent, gorgeous woman," Carol chuckled in disbelief. "I feel like I’m always shooing men away from you."

"It shouldn’t matter," you said, grabbing your girlfriend’s nervous hands. "I’m yours, honey. I am yours."

Carol hummed in appreciation and moved closer to you. "Mine?"

You nodded, watching her go from frazzled to lusting. She closed the gap, nearly towering over you as you leaned against the car. Her sweet, strong face was barely illuminated by the streetlights but you saw the love come back to her eyes.

"Really mine?" She asked again as she effortlessly dipped her head and started kissing up your neck. Her hand began making its way down your side, past your hips, where it began caressing the inside of your thigh.

"Yes, Carol, yes!" You giggled, squirming under her actions.

Her kisses made their way up to your face. She whispered so lovingly in your ear, "Maybe, we should get home, then, and you could show me." She paused. "Because I'm definitely itching to show you just how much you mean to me, baby. You wouldn't believe the ideas running through my head."

Briefly, her fingers lingered over your clothed core. You sighed.

"Maybe we should just find somewhere private around here?" you whispered back, motioning towards the backseat door. "I don’t know if I can wait."

And that was very much true. You could already feel yourself soaking through the material of your panties.

"You little minx," your girlfriend laughed, placing a needy kiss on your lips, her thigh subtly grinding into you. "You’re going to kill me one day."

You moaned, pressing yourself against her, your body burning with need. "Not if you kill me first."

[hakasims]

The Most Important Review of Every Single Marwan Kenzari Film

If you’ve seen this one about Luca, you know the drill.

Now, Marwan’s brand is a little less defined than Luca’s but I managed to find similar tropes in a lot of his films. Also, rather than copy myself and give you a redundant Marwanmeter, I decided instead to recommend which Luca character best pairs with each Marwan character for your crossover pleasure. Let’s see if we ship the same things! Some of them are crack. You’re welcome.

(all gifs again by the awesomely amazing @weardes​ who did not ask to be my gif factory but life’s a bitch)

Het zusje van Katia (2008)

Will you miss him if you blink? Kinda. They talk about him a lot but his actual screen time is like 43.7 seconds. Also can I just say... he’s supposed to be from Italy?? The boy says literally one (1) Italian word, and you’ll never guess what it is. (Obviously, it’s “bella” like there’s a chance he could’ve said anything else.)

Is he hot? Painfully hot.

Is he naked? There’s this one scene where he’s wearing the sluttiest pair of speedos I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

Does his hair look great? Actually, yes. Perfect hair, perfect beard, he looks amazing.

Does he fuck? Yes, a lot - off screen, including an M/M/F threesome he presumably, probably, most definitely initiated.

Best paired with? From what I’ve gathered, this hoe ain’t loyal, so the best course of action is to find him a Luca that would benefit from a one night stand with no strings attached and wouldn’t fall in love with him. The obvious choice here is Valerio from Slam - Tutto per una ragazza. They meet, they fuck, then Giac makes his 4-hour drive back to Pisa, and they don’t see each other again until the next time he’s in Rome. Everybody’s happy, especially the two sluts in question.

De laatste dagen van Emma Blank (2009)

Will you miss him if you blink? Yes, absolutely.

Is he hot? Very.

Is he naked? Almost constantly.

Does his hair look great? He’s got those cute short curls, he looks so good.

Does he fuck? That’s literally why he’s there: to fuck and to die.

Best paired with? Man, I wish I had something to work with here. The only thing we know about him besides his sexual prowess is his affinity for white suits and toy helicopters. And as far as I know, those might be the exact things Fabrizio from Nina finds hot in guys. So like, why not?

Loft (2010)

Will you miss him if you blink? He’s the fifth most important character.

Is he hot? Yeah, sure.

Is he naked? There’s a scene where he’s wearing underwear and a tank top but it somehow makes him look like a kindergartener.

Does his hair look great? It looks quite nice.

Does he fuck? Yes, though I wish he didn’t.

Best paired with? Tom is a very violent person and a drug addict. He does messed up stuff to his sexual partners I’d rather he didn’t do to any of Luca’s characters. Feel free to use him for your sadistic fantasies or as a villain or whatever.

Rabat (2011)

Will you miss him if you blink? No, he’s one of the three leads.

Is he hot? Oh yes! And cute!

Is he naked? He’s at the beach wearing nothing but boxer shorts.

Does his hair look great? He’s got this extreme undercut thing that would look ridiculous on anyone less pretty, so like no, he doesn’t have great hair, but also like it’s Marwan, you know what I mean?

Does he fuck? Before he embarks on a road trip with his friends, he has an offscreen threesome with two girls he picked up at a wedding. Slut.

Best paired with? Gabriele from Waves. They’re both sweet guys who could meet in some Tunisian port and decide to sail the Mediterranean Sea together.

Black Out (2012)

Will you miss him if you blink? Not unless your blinking is very deliberate.

Is he hot? Not really. He’s a dirty cop with a shitty moustache and oral fixation.

Is he naked? No, but I wish he was: his clothes are awful. Marwan is 29 in this movie and he looks 50!

Does his hair look great? Nope. They took Marwan’s usual short hair and made it not work somehow.

Does he fuck? No.

Best paired with? The one thing Luca’s characters all have in common is that none of them come off as bootlickers. All of them are either too soft for such a relationship or wouldn’t waste their spit on a cop.

Wolf (2013)

Will you miss him if you blink? No, he’s the protagonist.

Is he hot? *gestures wildly at the gif*

Is he naked? He’s got quite a few shirtless scenes.

Does his hair look great? It’s nothing special but suits his character well.

Does he fuck? Oh yes.

Best paired with? Hear me out. I know that some people ship him with Fabio, but in my opinion that pair, while hot, doesn’t work. Here’s my pitch: Cesare from Non essere cattivo. The drug connection is still there, but in this case Majid’s problem-solving skills won’t fall on deaf ears. Cesare needs a daddy, ok? Majid can be a daddy when he needs to, especially when he has a soft boyfriend to care for. And Majid needs soft, not psycho.

Hartenstraat (2014)

Will you miss him if you blink? No, he’s the protagonist once again.

Is he hot? Painfully.

Is he naked? There’s that iconic scene where he’s wearing nothing but black boxer briefs and boots while carrying a tray...

Does his hair look great? He’s got Joe-like curls and looks like what every male romantic lead should aspire to look like and then cry because they all fail.

Does he fuck? There’s one very unfortunate sex scene played for laughs. I’m pretty sure he’ll need therapy afterwards. I certainly do.

Best paired with? Paolo from Il padre d’Italia. Paolo deserves the best boyfriend, and who’s better than Daan, an extremely hot man who cooks? They both have daughters, so they can talk about that, I guess, and Paolo can finally have a family. Honestly, this is so wholesome I just made myself cry.

Lucia de B. (2014)

Will you miss him if you blink? For sure.

Is he hot? He’s a cop. Again. But he looks good.

Is he naked? Fully dressed, but man are his clothes ugly. Is that a cop thing?

Does his hair look great? He has slightly longer curls, which is fine and the best thing about this character.

Does he fuck? ACAB. (I know this doesn’t answer the question, I just wanted to make it clear.)

Best paired with? See my bootlicker comment from earlier. While Detective *checks notes* Ron Leeflang isn’t explicitly corrupt, he’s obviously a dick, so the best I can do here is recommend any Luca character that has ever been in trouble with the law for any fics about power imbalance you want to write but aren’t comfortable with a nice Marwan playing the villain.

Bloedlink (2014)

Will you miss him if you blink? Oh no, he’s there the entire time.

Is he hot? In a weird way, yes.

Is he naked? So, so, so naked. Like, leave nothing to the imagination naked.

Does his hair look great? I’d say that little rat tail is the exact opposite of great.

Does he fuck? Probably more than is good for him. I should also add that he’s canonically queer in this.

Best paired with? Rico is a pathetic loser in need of someone who’s got his life together and has a lot of experience dealing with fuckups. Enter Loris from Il mondo fino in fondo. He has a stable job and a savior complex, and with his little bro gaying it up in Chile and not needing him anymore, all he wants right now is someone to fix. I should be a fucking matchmaker in real life, for real.

Pak van mijn hart (2014)

Will you miss him if you blink? Undoubtedly.

Is he hot? No. The whole point of his character is to be the lesser choice compared to a guy who looks like a completely ordinary bland white dude...

Is he naked? ...so of course he isn’t naked! What, are they gonna take this poor woman, show her Marwan Kenzari’s post-Wolf body and expect her to choose her deeply mediocre ex? Please! They’re gonna dress him in the dorkiest clothes possible...

Does his hair look great? ...and make him wear the most awful wig that was clearly run over by a truck.

Does he fuck? No. As you can observe, they tried really hard to make him unfuckable, but honestly, he seems like a perfectly nice guy.

Best paired with? You know what? Mattia from La solitudine dei numeri primi is in desperate need of some sweetness and normalcy. I’m sure Richard will treat him with kindness and respect.

Collide (2016)

Will you miss him if you blink? He’s the fifth most important character. Out of five.

Is he hot? Very hot.

Is he naked? Not for a second! What’s up with American movies where people aren’t just casually walking around naked without any plot necessity???

Does his hair look great? His curls are so cute you guys! Look at them!

Does he fuck? Not explicitly.

Best paired with? Fabio from Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot. Again, the drug connection is there, but Matthias is soft enough not to butt heads with Fabio and, by the end of the movie, rich enough to satisfy his cravings for good living and fame. Also look at how good their color coordination is with those dark wine red clothes! Sometimes planets just align, okay?

Ben-Hur (2016)

Will you miss him if you blink? Yes, especially if you aren’t watching the background.

Is he hot? Your usual Marwan hot.

Is he naked? No.

Does his hair look great? His typical short curls with a twist. I think the forehead area is supposed to invoke the Caesar cut? I don’t know. It looks fine when not hidden under that dumb helmet.

Does he fuck? No.

Best paired with? A better script and a much better director. (Seriously, what is this blocking?)

The Promise (2016)

Will you miss him if you blink? He’s there a decent amount in the first half of the movie and then almost completely disappears in the second half.

Is he hot? Very much, yes.

Is he naked? Unfortunately, no.

Does his hair look great? He’s got short curls again, but this time they’re fashionably styled, it’s magnificent.

Does he fuck? Oh yeah! And there’s no way he isn’t bi or pan in this. No way.

Best paired with? Roberta from L’ultimo terrestre. Listen, Emre Ogan may be a slut but he’s a gentleman, okay? He’d treat Roberta right and he’s got daddy’s cash to spare on hundreds of gorgeous white dresses for her.

The Mummy (2017)

Will you miss him if you blink? He’s there, but barely.

Is he hot? Dangerously hot.

Is he naked? Not once! Instead we get a naked Tom Cruise literally no one asked for.

Does his hair look great? It’s your basic professional short hairdo.

Does he fuck? No.

Best paired with? Malik is a member of an organization tracking and destroying various monsters and historical artefacts related to them. Guido from Tutti i santi giorni speaks four languages, including Latin, and is a literature and ancient history nerd which makes him a valuable asset. Malik can fight and protect; Guido is bumbling and in need of saving. Guys, this writes itself.

What Happened to Monday (2017)

Will you miss him if you blink? No, especially not in the third act.

Is he hot? He’s okay.

Is he naked? Very naked.

Does his hair look great? They shouldn’t have greased his curls back. He looks like another victim of Fabio Cannizzaro’s stylist. Also I wish he’d either shaved or finished growing out that beard.

Does he fuck? He fucks and he fucks good. He’ll go down on you, he’ll deflower you slowly and gently, he’ll choke you if you want him to, he’ll spoon you all night, he’ll give you emotional support, he’ll murder people for you - he’s down for whatever.

Best paired with? There’s one Luca character who needs a lot of sex and even more emotional support. Alright, most of them do, but I’m thinking of Ettore from Lasciate andare. He needs it, okay? Good dicking, good spooning, a good ear, a fine piece of ass to cry into - you get the gist. Most importantly: someone who’d love him for who he is and with whom he could relax and be himself. (Also, I see you, people comparing him to Fabio. Shame on you for sleeping on this soft boy and judging him based on his appearance.)

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Will you miss him if you blink? He’s kinda always present, being very French.

Is he hot? Very hot.

Is he naked? No, but I’m willing to forgive that because he looks so good in his conductor uniform.

Does his hair look great? He never takes off his hat.

Does he fuck? No.

Best paired with? Mickey Miranda. They’re both murderers morally dubious characters who would look hot together. What else do you need? (Again, I see you, people who want Pierre for Roberta because he’s a “nice guy”, and I know for a fact you didn’t watch the movie. Spoilers, I guess.)

The Angel (2018)

Will you miss him if you blink? No, he’s the protagonist.

Is he hot? Oh yes.

Is he naked? Not once, but you won’t regret it because he’s wearing excellently stylish 1970s clothes.

Does his hair look great? It looks fantastic. The sideburns (not yet seen here) are a good touch.

Does he fuck? He can definitely get it, but he’s loyal to his wife.

Best paired with? As the most aesthetically coherent and fashionably hot pair in this post, Ashraf and Primo are a no-brainer. Can you imagine Primo calling him “Angel” in different contexts? When he’s being intimidating, not realizing how palpable the sexual tension between them is, and later not even hiding his arousal? Sometimes things just work because they’re hot. That’s all, folks.

Aladdin (2019)

Will you miss him if you blink? No, he’s the main villain.

Is he hot? It’s not like he went viral for being the “hot Jafar” or anything.

Is he naked? No! Fucking thanks a lot, Disney.

Does his hair look great? He has a buzz cut under that turban but he looks good in the turban, so that’s something.

Does he fuck? It’s a Disney movie, so he doesn’t fuck - explicitly or otherwise - but he still comes off as a thirsty bitch.

Best paired with? Jafar ends the movie as a genie who’s obligated to grant his master three wishes but is enough of a petty bitch to exploit the hell out of the “gray area” and screw them over Wishmaster style. My unconventional pair for him is Lui from Ricordi? So many scenarios with distorted memories and magic-induced mindfuck. So many possibilities for awesome and messed up crossover gifsets! Don’t say I never give you guys anything.

Instinct (2019)

Will you miss him if you blink? No, he’s very prominent.

Is he hot? I hate myself for finding him hot but I do.

Is he naked? He’s playing basketball shirtless in one scene, shaking his sweaty boobs everywhere.

Does his hair look great? His weird mohawk-like thing is honestly terrible, but if anything can make it work, it’s Marwan’s bone structure.

Does he fuck? Um, I’m pleading the Fifth on this one for the sake of good taste.

Best paired with? Prison. A very lonely, Luca-less prison.

The Old Guard (2020)

Will you miss him if you blink? No, unless blinking in your case means sleeping through the gloriousness that is the first ever canonically gay couple in an American action film.

Is he hot? Painfully.

Is he naked? Shirtless in one scene.

Does his hair look great? Soft curls courtesy of Luca Marinelli’s tireless lobbying.

Does he fuck? Not on screen, but you can just tell by the way he looks at his husband and reads impromptu poetry right to his face. And everybody knows nothing kindles the fires of passion quite like murdering homophobes together.

Best paired with? If you have to ask, you’re clearly reading this by mistake. In which case, kudos for finishing such a long and confusing post, now go watch The Old Guard and cry at the beauty that is The Immortal Marriage.