#I think more than anything this book is ruined by being badly written

[kingedmundsroyalmurder]

Okay, lunch time on Monday, time to bang out some more Kilmeny. This chapter has the usual ableism content warning and an extra strong racism one.

First off, I want to address a point brought up by @gogandmagog, about how this book may have been a satire or a sort of deconstruction of traditional fairy tale romances. I've been thinking it over, and I can see it. It would explain the abrupt tone shift in how Eric treats Kilmeny, if Maud is making a point about how men see women they're not interested in vs. how they see women they want to marry. It's a really bleak point, but honestly I've already noticed that Maud is really unimpressed with marriage in this book and specifically how marriage reduces women. I don't know that the satire angle explains the racism and the abelism -- I think that may just be artifacts of her and the time she lived in -- but it may help a bit with Eric himself.

It's still very unpleasant to read, but it's an interesting perspective to keep in mind.

Anyway. Eric goes back to the orchard to meet Kilmeny, with the understanding that she will introduce him to her aunt and uncle. Only, plot twist, Kilmeny isn't there and it's Neil who meets him instead! Neil, who is fully out of his mind with anger.

“So you’ve come to meet her again. But she isn’t here—you’ll never see her again! I hate you—I hate you—I hate you!”

Scintillating dialog, to be sure.

Eric is, of course, cool and collected in the face of Neil's fury, because why would Eric ever be anything other than detached and superior?

“So you have been making trouble for Kilmeny, Neil, have you?” said Eric contemptuously. “I suppose you have been playing the spy. And I suppose that you have told her uncle and aunt that she has been meeting me here. Well, you have saved me the trouble of doing it, that is all. I was going to tell them myself, tonight. I don’t know what your motive in doing this has been. Was it jealousy of me? Or have you done it out of malice to Kilmeny?”

His contempt cowed Neil more effectually than any display of anger could have done.

The problem with this book... okay, a problem with this book is that, as I think @no-where-new-hero said, LMM doesn't seem to know what to do with her protagonist. He doesn't really have any character traits, he doesn't have any interests, he doesn't really have a personality beyond, like, bored and detached and superior. So when he takes this turn into the monstrous, we have nothing to balance it out. Eric doesn't play music or enjoy gardening or even show an interest in arguing theology. Everything he does -- except visit Kilmeny -- he does out of social obligation. He didn't even go to school because he wanted to, he did it to please his dad. His one thing he actually does because he actually wants to is his relationship with Kilmeny, and now that he is being dreadful to her, there's nothing left. You just go from 'this man is a bit insufferable, isn't he?' to 'wow, I want you dead in a ditch!' with no in between.

Which is a very long-winded way of saying, I hate Eric now and I want him dead in a ditch! And his being smugly superior to Neil -- who is also behaving dreadfully, just to be clear -- is doing nothing to endear him to me.

“She will meet me in her own home then,” said Eric sternly. “Neil, in behaving as you have done you have shown yourself to be a very foolish, undisciplined boy. I am going straightway to Kilmeny’s uncle and aunt to explain everything.”

Neil sprang forward in his path.

“No—no—go away,” he implored wildly. “Oh, sir—oh, Mr. Marshall, please go away. I’ll do anything for you if you will. I love Kilmeny. I’ve loved her all my life. I’d give my life for her. I can’t have you coming here to steal her from me. If you do—I’ll kill you! I wanted to kill you last night when I saw you kiss her. Oh, yes, I saw you. I was watching—spying, if you like. I don’t care what you call it. I had followed her—I suspected something. She was so different—so changed. She never would wear the flowers I picked for her any more. She seemed to forget I was there. I knew something had come between us. And it was you, curse you! Oh, I’ll make you sorry for it.”

We have fully lost control of the craft of storytelling here. This wild shifting in moods might work, if this wasn't the first time we'd ever spoken to Neil on page. There's 'oh, he has an explosive temper', but going from 'oh, I implore you!' to 'I'll fucking kill you!' in a single paragraph needs more setup than just that. 

"He was working himself up into a fury again—the untamed fury of the Italian peasant thwarted in his heart’s desire. It overrode all the restraint of his training and environment. Eric, amid all his anger and annoyance, felt a thrill of pity for him. Neil Gordon was only a boy still; and he was miserable and beside himself."

1- Neil Gordon is 22. Eric himself is only 24. Cool it with your whole, 'oh, he's only a kid!' headpatting.

2- Blood. Will. Out. This is the most strongly established theme in the book at this point.

"Eric, not a little ruffled under all his external composure by this most unexpected and unpleasant encounter, pursued his way along the lane which wound on by the belt of woodland in twist and curve to the Gordon homestead. His heart beat as he thought of Kilmeny. What might she not be suffering? Doubtless Neil had given a very exaggerated and distorted account of what he had seen, and probably her dour relations were very angry with her, poor child. Anxious to avert their wrath as soon as might be, he hurried on, almost forgetting his meeting with Neil. The threats of the latter did not trouble him at all. He thought the angry outburst of a jealous boy mattered but little. What did matter was that Kilmeny was in trouble which his heedlessness had brought upon her."

I am going to very begrudgingly give him a point for actually considering and prioritizing Kilmeny's feelings. He is assuming that he knows what they are, but we've been given enough details thus far that he's probably correct -- Kilmeny clearly did want to keep seeing him, and she probably is quite unhappy about what is happening.

"Presently he found himself before the Gordon house. It was an old building with sharp eaves and dormer windows, its shingles stained a dark gray by long exposure to wind and weather. Faded green shutters hung on the windows of the lower story. Behind it grew a thick wood of spruces. The little yard in front of it was grassy and prim and flowerless; but over the low front door a luxuriant early-flowering rose vine clambered, in a riot of blood-red blossom which contrasted strangely with the general bareness of its surroundings. It seemed to fling itself over the grim old house as if intent on bombarding it with an alien life and joyousness."

There hasn't been a lot of house symbolism in this book, but shall we assume that Kilmeny is the rosebush, the only point of light and beauty in her family?

"The pictured face was a very handsome one, suggestive of velvety dark eyes and vivid colouring; but it was its expression rather than its beauty which fascinated Eric. Never had he seen a countenance indicative of more intense and stubborn will power. Margaret Gordon was dead and buried; the picture was a cheap and inartistic production in an impossible frame of gilt and plush; yet the vitality in that face dominated its surroundings still. What then must have been the power of such a personality in life?"

Margaret Gordon: definitely a witch.

So Eric lays out his case to the Gordons, which is that he met Kilmeny on accident and befriended her, but belated realized that he should tell her grownups about it and so has come to formally ask their permission to continue seeing Kilmeny. Thomas Gordon then says this, and I roll my eyes out of their sockets and into space:

“I don’t need to do that,” said Thomas Gordon, quietly. “I know more of you than you think, Master. I know your father well by reputation and I have seen him. I know you are a rich man’s son, whatever your whim in teaching a country school may be. Since you have kept your own counsel about your affairs I supposed you didn’t want your true position generally known, and so I have held my tongue about you. I know no ill of you, Master, and I think none, now that I believe you were not beguiling Kilmeny to meet you unknown to her friends of set purpose. But all this doesn’t make you a suitable friend for her, sir—it makes you all the more unsuitable. The less she sees of you the better.”

Of course they like him instantly. Of course they do.

And, of course, the reason they think he shouldn't see Kilmeny is the same reason Mrs. Williamson thought he shouldn't. She is young and sheltered and might fall in love with him and be heartbroken, because of course he couldn't mary Kilmeny, she's mute!

Honestly this story would have almost been more interesting if Kilmeny had been ugly. Not that 'oh, you can't marry her, she's ugly!' is any better, but it would require some actual character growth from Eric. Because -- and again, I hate to give this man any credit -- he isn't saying, 'oh, I trust she can be cured so it's fine.' He would like her to be able to speak, but he is fully prepared to marry her even if she remains mute her entire life. As of currently, he seems to see Kilmeny's disability in the same way she sees it: a little inconvenient and mildly unfortunate, but not, like, an insurmountable problem.

"Janet Gordon had hitherto spoken no word. She had sat rigidly upright on one of the old chairs under Margaret Gordon’s insistent picture, with her knotted, toil-worn hands grasping the carved arms tightly, and her eyes fastened on Eric’s face. At first their expression had been guarded and hostile, but as the conversation proceeded they lost this gradually and became almost kindly. Now, when her brother appealed to her, she leaned forward and said eagerly,

“Do you know that there is a stain on Kilmeny’s birth, Master?”

Janet Gordon: also a witch? Definitely a woman who would enjoy a true crime podcast in this the year 2023.

So the Gordons give Eric permission to court Kilmeny, because of course they do. The problem with having a protagonist that everyone loves is that you can't then set up, 'but someone will be mad at them!' as a conflict and have it land. The Gordons were set up as mini-bosses, as it were, but Eric didn't do anything to get on their good side. He just showed up and they went, 'welp, we like you now, if you're sure you want to marry Kilmeny despite her disability and her parantage, then you have our blessing.' It's just a really unsatisfying narrative.

Luckily for me, any good feeling I might have had towards Eric for his being almost decent about Kilmeny's disability vanishes when he gets to see her again and is immediately condescending!

"She did not tell him how glad she was, and how unhappy she had been over the thought that she was never to see him again. Yesterday she would have told him all frankly and fully; but for her yesterday was a lifetime away—a lifetime in which she had come into her heritage of womanly dignity and reserve. The kiss which Eric had left on her lips, the words her uncle and aunt had said to her, the tears she had shed for the first time on a sleepless pillow—all had conspired to reveal her to herself. She did not yet dream that she loved Eric Marshall, or that he loved her. But she was no longer the child to be made a dear comrade of. She was, though quite unconsciously, the woman to be wooed and won, exacting, with sweet, innate pride, her dues of allegiance."

Thesis: Wives and Friends are two different species of women. Friends may be spoken to as equals and confided in and allowed their own way. Wives are meek and demure and do not make eye contact and submit sweetly to your every whim.

I think perhaps Lucy Maud Montgomery was not very excited to get married.

[priceforrottenjudgement]

Ive seen a lot of bitching about hotd in the tag, which surprised me bc there was none of this two weeks ago and now all these ppl are acting like season 2 sucks and its badly written and its rewriting the books and bla bla. This surprised me, so i did a little snooping

Like. First off, isnt grrm consulting them this time? I know he was doing it for s1 and im sure i read he was doing s2 too. I cant say anything about bad writing, tbh i havent examined it that closely bc nothing about pacing or dialogue has bothered me enough to spend time thinking about it.

The "its not like the book!!!" Thing really bothers me though bc have you read the book? Lmao im not so sure bc some of the stuff you complain about is so weird, also how did you miss that fire & blood has deeply unreliable narrators? It literally says gyldayn is an unreliable narrator on the Wikipedia, hes taking a bunch of biased sources and kind of patches the history of house targaryen together. If you had read the book, youd KNOW that it isnt a definitive chronicle and stuff was likely altered, embellished and left out. Some of the alterations make sense, because why would some maester know about these ppls private lives. Fire and blood is full of propaganda, rumours and bias. Also the stuff that WAS changed isnt really that deep? I really like the change to the rhaenicent dynamic (ill come back to this, theres a reason ppl seem to hate this change lmao), i dont care about maelor and the nettes changes dont bother me that much? (Some ppl are convinced rhaena will get the ENTIRE nettles storyline. Which would indeed suck cough cough, but i dont think thats where theyre going at all lmao)

So i took a look at some of the other opinions of ppl who really really HATE s2 and, WOOOOOOWWWWW,there sure is a lot of homophobia on the yuri Website huh? All of a sudden it makes sense why these ppl popped up 2 weeks ago huh? (And why theyre so bitchy about the changes to alicents character not being a wicked stepmother but more of an... almost lover) Wow, what a fucking pathetic reason to be a hater. Awww nooooooooo this female character is kissing women noooo, theyre ruined!! Even though the relationship was kind of maybe sort of a little implied in the book. (Granted the book talks about a close relationship between rhaenyra, mysaria and DAMON, but see above for rumours and inaccuracies) Also there are a lot of ppl who were genuinely Team green (i did not realise those ppl existed unironically, gonna be honest) who are mad that Team green is portrayed more negatively than Team black and apparently thats unfair. Yeah, idk what to say about that, do you always expect to opposing sides of a fictional conflict to be treated the same and to be equally good and justified? Granted, the "pick a side" Marketing was dumb and encouraged this sort of thinking, but those two teams are not equal lol you can still like the characters even though theyre cheaters, usurpers and Bad ppl.

If you had genuinely read and UNDERSTOOD the books and that theyre full of propaganda you would understand why SOME PPL are either portrayed more positively or more negatively in the show than they were in the book. Just consider WHO was writing the history for one sec.

Yeah, rant over, this was just too ridiculous not to get off my chest.

Like yeah, you can criticise some of the changes and the simple fact that 8 ep seasons are SHIT for building a plot, but considering some ppl call an ep "filler" just because nobody got roasted by a dragon, maybe we dont deserve 20 ep seasons with a slow building of plot and tension anymore....

[docholligay]

I know GoT only by reputation, and what little I've seen of it on tumblr, but... sometimes, I feel like fantasy, as a genre, has been absolutely ruined by the success of GoT. Everything these days seems to be about making settings and characters as nasty, brutish, and dirty as possible. It's incredibly tiring, and really frustrating, to the point of feeling like these sorts of tropes are being repeated for their own sake rather than because they actually do anything for the story or characters.

(Also, being the sort of person who easily becomes queasy at the sight or thought of blood, and has issues with everything being so darned loud, this tends to be a particular pet peeve in television, but even books aren't completely immune to this effect either, which makes it doubly frustrating.)

I mean this in the nicest possible way, please imagine me saying this with a big smile on my face and laughing as I take a swig from my beer, but you and I are SO diametrically opposed on this!

I mean, anything can be written BADLY, of course, but I fell out of reading fantasy as i got older not because it all became A Song of Ice and Fire but because it all seemed to be "a brave young woman!! IS the chosen one!! And she will prevail over SUPER DARKNESS. And only the parental figure will die, to motivate her, and everyone's intentions and clear and good, and also there are dragons I guess." There's so much narrative safety. There's so many last-minute asspulls to save someone. I would LOVE some well written political machination but there are dragons though. That's why I liked Locke Lamora!

I think we have a tendency to notice the things we hate. So for me, Fantasty now is fucking lousy with ~queer retellings~ that are all very life affirming and nice and all that but all the eating each other out in the world isn't going to get me over the hump of wishing there were actual, painful consequences for being an idiot, or even just unlucky.

Part of why people named Doc, who are me, really like Song of ice and Fire (please note I actually DON'T like Game of Thrones) is that anyone COULD die. The books would not CHEAT TO HELP THE GOOD GUY WIN. And for me, that was everything. As a young teen who had read so so so much fantasy but was starting to feel really resentful of the way it never seemed to mirror the moments of difficulty and pain in life, it meant so much (I think the show edged too hard toward Cheating To Help The bad Guy Win, but that's another matter)

But obviously you and I are totally different people. You admit to being squeamish, so of course you don't care for things that involve violence. I, on the other hand, am an excellent person to have in any given bloody crisis, as I have Done Time in Ag. I am, to give a real life example, the person you calmly call into the kitchen to help when you've nearly taken your finger off with a meat slicer. I have a smile and a "We can handle this!" to give. I, on the third hand, have had life experiences that make, "the magical salvation of being nice and believing really hard" feel like an actual-ass insult. I never met a war that didn't take its chunk, and you don't get to pick where they come from.

These are just differences of personality. Fucking magical princess witches in the forest running from the bad guys but overcoming it all with sass and gay love because we're twelve I guess exists for you, and grimdark machinations toward a lead crown of thorns where evil brings profit and virtue none at all because fuck happiness everyone should be a German concrete salesman is for me. I think there's probably more of what both of us like than either of us are actually admitting.

However, everything is too loud for me all the time also, I really recommend eargasm earplugs, which come with a very small container and are nearly invisible and discreet when in. They block some of the sound but not all of it. Many people in my life casually don't even know I have them or sometimes put them in for louder places.

[save-the-villainous-cat]

Hi Cat!! Hope you're well. I've been wondering, and I don't have anyone to talk book to, so here I am.

What do you think of reading books that might not be written very well? Like don't get me wrong I love a good book where I'm none stop thinking about it and examining it because my mind is blown on how someone could possibly write this, but sometimes, especially when I come back from a reading slump, I just like to read something that makes me feel good.

For example, Iron Wing. I skim a bunch of the parts that are boring, but for the most part, I can enjoy it. But I'll doom scroll on tiktok for a bit feeling bad because I'm apparently reading a book that sucks and everyone hates.

I'm not talking about Collen Hoover type books screw her for ruining booktok.

Hm. Hm.

First of all, thank you for the question! I’ve had this discussion quite a few times and lots of people don’t really like my opinion about it, arguing that literature is entirely subjective and as long as you like it, it’s good literature.

Literary criticism is a fundamental part of literary theory and in my opinion it’s quite important to be able to analyse and criticise texts. Simply, because with literature you cannot only communicate but also manipulate your audience.

Literature has always been more than simple communication and I don’t think that anyone should consume media without thinking about it and criticising it. Because the subtext truly delivers the message.

What is this text about? What is its meaning? Why does it exist in the first place?

Personally, I wouldn’t want to read/watch a story that doesn’t have anything to say — something that is just scene after scene with no actual meaning. That’s a waste of my time.

However, when it comes to “badly written” as in “I dislike the writing style,” that’s different to me.

I read the Spy x Family novel a week ago and personally, I don’t think the writing style was that good. It definitely felt more like a screenplay for an episode.

That could be a translation problem though since I have the English copy. However, the themes and subtext of the little stories, the character dynamics and characters themselves are so dear to me and well-written, I cannot help but enjoy the story.

All together, I think there’s a difference between a good story and an entertaining one. To say a story is good because it is entertaining doesn’t make much sense to me whereas a story obviously can be entertaining because it’s good. Story structure and character dynamics do have certain “rules” you have to obey while writing to make your story work.

I can acknowledge that particular stories aren’t good but entertaining, but arguing that a story is good because it’s entertaining isn’t a valid argument. (In my opinion)

That being said, other people’s opinions on a book you like shouldn’t matter to you. Once you have that book in your hands, the words are yours to read. The text is yours to consume and no matter how you decide to consume media (with criticism in mind or not), do what you think is right for you.

Personally, I believe it’s important to listen to other people when they have valid arguments and make a good point. And even then, you don’t necessarily have to agree with them. I just cannot consume media without turning my brain on. (Unless it’s a show that’s playing in the background because I need someone to talk or I’ll go insane)

But as always, don’t let a random writing blog on tumblr tell you what to think. You have to decide for yourself.

[ryuichirou]

Complicated relationships with Leona?? Do you guys feel comfortable elaborating?

It’s kind of hard to talk about it, the thing is, this man stole my car, burnt my house down and also owes me money….   

In all seriousness, we just find him kind of boring and overrated, and think that his chapter was the weakest when it comes to writing. I’m especially bitter about it because I really wanted to like Leona; Scar’s always been my favourite Disney villain (I’m basic), so I was already pretty biased and ready to forgive a lot of things, but it didn’t happen lol Leona just… doesn’t really have the same charisma, I guess?

His motivation is also all over the place. What does Leona want?

It’s not like he wasn’t loved – he is loved; it’s not like he wasn’t appreciated for his good qualities – Falena recognized that he’s smart and told him that they could really use his wisdom (it was Leona who refused him); it’s not like he doesn’t have any power and can’t do anything – he has an entire dorm to lead and tons of money to use. If Leona truly wanted to do something meaningful, he could’ve done it, he just doesn’t want to. But he’ll still complain about it. Because he wants ~the crown~

To be completely fair, I don’t mind his motivation being so focused on the crown itself and the fact of him wanting to be a king, but I wish the story would commit to it more? I’m still not sure if it recognizes how ridiculous Leona’s laments are. Some characters seem to be aware, like Lilia and Ruggie, for example. But it doesn’t go further than that.

Moreover, when Leona has a second “chance to shine” in the 6th chapter, he just ends up telling Jamil how to live his life during their entire quest. And of course, the things he’d said to Jamil were pretty valid and justified I guess, and I’m glad Jamil heard some of these things. Very perceptive of you, Leona, but pretty much everything you’ve said also applies to you. Why didn’t we get a “wait a minute, you whiny hypocrite, why are you telling Jamil this when you have the same problem that you don’t really want to fix?”? Of course, Jamil is too cautious to say something like this to Leona, but…

But we never talk about Leona’s bad qualities in general, do we? We can talk about him being lazy all we want, but not him being a petty spoiled child who has pretty much anything he wants but still complains all the time about life being unfair to him.

The fact that he pretty much told Ruggie, a guy from the slums, than both of them were born unlucky, is still bonkers to me. Not because of the fact that he’s said it (doesn’t necessarily make him a badly written character, in fact, it could’ve been fun), but because of all the layers of irony that never really get acknowledged properly. Like… It’s funny, because Ruggie challenges the unfairness of his life: he studies in a great college, he makes connections, he steals some expensive stuff from Leona, he brings home food, for fuck’s sake. He changes his own situation little by little, by fair means or not.

And with everything that was happening in the 2nd chapter, I would assume that Leona shares this sentiment: if you can’t change your life by fair means, do something shady and get what you want this way. This is what Scar did, and what Leona tried to do, but the moment his plan was ruined, he just went “well I don’t care anymore” and never cared or did anything ever since. Just whined.

I also want to stress that our main issue isn’t the fact that he’s an asshole and a hypocrite: we love assholes and hypocrites, all of our favourite characters in any piece of media are assholes and hypocrites. But they’re fun to watch and fun to listen to, and Leona is neither of these things.

The fact that he doesn’t learn from his mistakes also isn’t a problem. Azul didn’t learn that scamming naïve people is bad after his book, the only thing he’s learnt is that he should probably get over the fact that he was a chubby kid and that he’s a hardworking guy and a very nice person overall. If anything, Azul only became worse after his book lol but it makes everything better! It works for Azul’s character, it makes him interesting. We’ve learnt about how horribly he’s been treated, we pitied him, we felt bad for him and we found out why he is the way he is. But he’s still hilariously insufferable, as he should be.

So yeah. I guess I am confused about what we’re supposed to feel towards Leona. Are we meant to feel sorry for him? Because to us it was pretty much impossible: can’t really feel bad for a guy who has everything within his reach, yet does nothing and complains about life being unfair. Are we meant to be annoyed with him? But it’s not the “fun” annoyance, it’s just… “yeah yeah keep whining”; listening to Idia feels much different, for example. Idia’s funny.

At least make Leona funny, goddamnit. Everyone should make fun of Leona more, that would make his character better. Because right now he’s pretty “eh” to us. Do something, lion man.

Maybe if twst didn’t have such a big and amazing cast of fun characters, Leona wouldn’t look as bad, but when pretty much every single other character has something interesting to offer, being mediocre is a serious crime. And because of how underwhelming his chapter was, we don’t really want to dive into more content with him (i.e. vignettes and such): they would give us some additional “meat” to his character, but it wouldn’t really fix the problem of his “core” being boring, I guess.

[infiniteaugends]

Does anyone else find most romantic subplots in movies formulaic, pointless, and annoying. I hate that it’s so hard to find movies and Tv shows with well written romances. What I hate more is that almost every movie and show has a romantic subplot even though it would be unchanged if the romance was removed.

I can understand it more with Tv shows as romantic relationships serve to eat up time and make for easy drama, but I still find myself being annoyed by the many badly written and pointless romances in Tv shows.

For movies I don’t understand it at all. So many movies would be unchanged or even better without romance. Sometimes it makes sense that romance is involved and that’s fine I’m not against it. However, when a romance doesn’t add anything or takes away from the movie’s plot I just don’t understand why it was included.

I think one of the most egregious examples in film was the Boys in the Boat adaptation. The focus on romance messed up the pacing and took substantial time away from developing the rowing team as characters with back stories and motivation. The only real development in that movie was the main character and his romance. I really enjoyed the book because it explored who the team were as people and that made me all the more invested in their victories and struggles. The romantic subplot of Boys in the Boat literally ruined the movie for me.

The most egregious example for Tv shows is Rizzoli and Isles. None of the relationships last longer than a few episodes. The constant introduction of a new love interest is tedious and often interrupts the story of the week. It feels pointless to even like any of the love interest because you know their not gonna make it to the next season. I found my self becoming annoyed every time either Rizzoli or Isles met a new handsome guy they were gonna go on maybe three dates with. The relationship between Frankie and Nina was alright because it was well developed and felt like a decent resolution to Frankie’s worry about becoming his father.

Overall, I prefer most stories to focus on plot and character development and friendship over romantic interest and sex. I find my self shipping very few romantic couples and most of the time they are not the canon romantic relationship. I wish that there were more stories with well written male/ female friendships and more canon queer relationships. Ultimately though I wish there was less media and social expectation of romance as the only happy ending. Romantic relationships are not the only way to find fulfillment and media should mirror that.

For these reasons, I hope that Top Gun 3 follows in the footsteps of Top Gun Maverick with limited focus on romantic relationships. I hope that Elsa does not get a love interest in Frozen 3. I hope that friendship becomes more valued outside of children’s media and that more movies take the route of Barbie and focus on self discovery and self love outside of romantic relationships.

Please can we get some more unique stories and characters relationships in movies and Tv Shows (if you have any recommendations pls I am desperate).

[dude1818]

I finished The Secret Commonwealth during the week. Overall, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the main His Dark Materials trilogy or even La Belle Sauvage, but it was still fine. In large part that’s because it’s trying to tell a fairly different story than the others: HDM is written like a fairly standard kids’ fantasy adventure, even if it gets pretty dark in places, and LBS is a mix of that with more emphasis on the spy-versus-spy stuff the adults are involved in. But in TSC, Lyra is an adult, and while the stakes are just as high as before, the conflict all seems more grounded and realistic without the filter of a child’s POV

The main beats of the novel are pretty familiar if you’ve read the previous four books. Research into Dust is booming again thanks to the discovery of a plant that can be used to see it, amber spyglass-style, so the Magesterium is trying to suppress that by disappearing people again. Meanwhile Mrs Coulter’s brother is trying to hunt down Lyra to get revenge for her disappearance at the end of HDM, and he’s teamed up with the son of the guy Malcolm killed in LBS who also wants revenge. Lyra’s motivation is that she and Pan had a falling out, he’s gone to fight the philosopher that he blames for ruining Lyra’s imagination, and she’s heartbroken and trying to find him again

Lyra’s world is even more fantastical this time around. There were witches and talking bears in the first trilogy, of course, but this book focuses a lot more on things that even the average person in-universe thinks is fantasy. LBS introduced fairies and the Neverland-like fairy realm near the end, which at the time felt out of left field. TSC starts to do something with that finally, pulling back from the “church bad” messaging that was the focus of HDM to explore that maybe pure logic and reason swings the pendulum too much the other way, and maybe folk spiritualism good?

I mentioned in a previous post that I also got big queer allegory vibes from Lyra’s adventure while separated from Pan. Not everyone treats her badly, but people on the street generally avoid her, shopkeepers often won’t engage, and some people outright harass or assault her. As she moves further east, it keeps getting worse, until she arrives in a city where it’s straight up illegal to be outside during the day without a daemon. However, she does find a community of other daemon-less people, and they support each other and have a network across Europe of people and places that it’s safe to go to. I feel like there’s something there, but I don’t know nearly enough to say anything else about it

What made this book a little hard to read was how grounded all the violence felt. This is not a happy book: Lyra is on a downward spiral the entire time and it never gets any better. Pullman really had it out for her this time. The new Master of Jordan College kicked her out and her room got trashed. Pan broke up with her. She keeps getting harassed for not having a daemon. She meets up with one of Malcolm’s contacts, and their apartment is firebombed. It culminates with her being on a train with a group of soldiers who beat the shit out of her and nearly rape her. She never gets a chance to recuperate from any of this, and it just sucks

[supercupcakecollector-love]

Witcher hot take 1. Why the wolf Witchers don't work in the show, and the hot take of why I  don't care about these changes  as much as other fans

this does have some criticism of the Netflix show but I won't be tagging it as that because I do not want to attract those 100% negative people   

I don’t like anything about how the other wolf Witchers were portrayed in the show, not just Eskel’s death but the overall toxic masculinity vibe ( the scene with the sex workers, really?)  and lack of soft moments with Ciri, unlike in the books,  Lambert and Coen were just boring and not fleshed out beyond teasing Ciri and Vesemir seemed miscast and not only written weird I did not get the fatherly vibe with him at all, not between Geralt or Ciri, It  feels really ooc that he would want more Witchers, even with the explanation they give  ( and I am someone who will defend Yennefer's actions in season two; we are getting to her next), they try but you never get the sense of comradery you get from them in the games/ books 

having a bunch of conflict in  Kaer Morhen is like having a scene in Fellowship of the Ring where there are murders in the shire in the beginning, this place  is supposed to be a contrast to all the horrors the characters will encounter in the future 

That being said, it doesn’t “ruin things”  going forward for me for a few reasons, Contrary to what you may think from the sheer amount of fanfic of them, the other wolf Witchers don’t have that big a role in the story, in fact, other than Coen showing up briefly in the final battle in LotL I don't think they show up past Blood of Elves in any big, important way 

Secondly , a good part of their characterization and backstory come from the games, (Eskel's scar and child surprise, Lambert's expanded backstory with his father and with Aiden, Vesemir`s encounter with the vampires and “reputation” in his younger years), and just the fact that they were portrayed so perfectly in the games already, I already have an amazing Interactive audio-visual representation of these characters, and hundreds of incredible fanfictions of them I feel like I already got  the best version of these characters and with the remake of the first Witcher game, I'm going to get even more of them 

in contrast, I will be mad and might drop the show if they screw up the hanza as badly as the wolf witchers because they ( minus Regis and Dandelion, who are fairly different from their book counterparts ) were not in the games,  and their isn't much fanfiction the hanza and they play a huge part in the story going forward  

[pyroclastic727]

Is Amity autistic?

In the Owl House fandom, we hear a lot about how Luz is written to be ADHD. Now I would like to present the flipside: Amity is coded as autistic.

Here’s the breakdown.

Amity is touch-averse. “BuT aMiTy ToUcHeS LuZ aLL tHe TiMe” nice try. The key to autistic touch-aversion is only being okay with touch when she initiates it. And that totally matches up with Amity. See, Amity is really happy when she initiates touch with Luz. She’s also cool with it when Luz holds her hand after standing near her for enough time that Amity can predict an incoming touch. That’s because Amity consents to that touch and expects it.

But when other people touch her? She doesn’t take kindly to that. When Luz initially bumped into her at Covention, she snapped at her and degraded her. Even when she bumped into Luz in Enchanting Grom Fright, her initial instinct was to snap at Luz, since she didn’t expect to be touched. When Hooty touched Amity’s face without consent, she flipped out and beat him up. Not even Lilith beat Hooty up when he wrapped her up in his mucus-filled tube, but Amity gave Hooty the injuries we all wanted to see him with, because he breached her boundaries without her consent. Even as late as the last episode, Amity fell over when her face got close to Luz’s on the bleachers, because she didn’t expect it.

Amity stims. Okay, this one took me a while to catch, since most of the time, Amity is very controlled with her actions. This symptom isn’t very intense; her senses aren’t understimulated too often, and she really only does it when she’s really excited.

Mainly, when Luz offered to carry her. While she adorably scrambled for words, she also flapped her hands against her legs. At first I thought it was just a cute thing she did, but there’s more to it. She was so excited to be held by Luz that it showed up in her hands flapping...a common stim. With Amity feeling more comfortable around her new friends than the old ones, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more stimming in the future.

Amity always has The Mask as her expression. You know, the one with her eyes half-lidded, eyebrows raised, mouth slightly downturned. I also call it the Resting Blight Face, for...reasons.

At first I thought it was just a way to hide her true emotions, since her parents are assholes. But even though Luz makes her feel accepted, she keeps doing it. It’s more like...you know that feeling when you’re thinking really hard, or uncomfortable, or ashamed, or even just relaxed, and you can’t think of which expression to wear quickly enough, so you put on an unreadable one to tide people over? Apparently most people don’t do that, since allistic people tend to have expressions for those feelings, ones that arise naturally.

Another symptom of autism is having hard-to-read expressions, or being less expressive. In Amity’s case, it’s the fact that she doesn’t see a need to have an expression in calmer moments, so she just uses her usual expression.   

Amity hyperfixates. This has several facets, so I’ll break this down.

She initially hyperfixated on school. And that’s how she became top student. Amity Blight is who you would mistake for a “gifted student.” But make no mistake...she is not gifted, and gifted is a bullshit label used to overexert people and force them to keep school as their special interest for their entire lives (and I may have a bit of a vendetta against it). Anyways, we already know she’s a perfectionist. My theory is that Amity originally was hyperfocused on school--the Abominations track, to be exact--and that’s part of how she got so good. Then, her focus shifted, but the school expected her to keep being top student. Cue the perfectionism; she was no longer able to focus on school like she wanted to, but everyone expected her to, so she got insecure about it.

She hyperfixates on Azura, just like Luz did. Yeah, she keeps it secret from the world, for most of the time. But she definitely likes Azura a lot. I mean, she started to reconsider her opinion on Luz when Luz offered her an Azura book. She destroyed her jock career because she tried to use an Azura move in real-life Grudgby. Her interest in Azura is long-lived, starting about the time that her interest in school would have expired (which would explain why she stayed closeted). And we can’t ignore the fact that she sees Azura in Luz and is definitely enjoying the parallels between herself and her fictional counterpart. (Which might not be a coincidence, but that’s an entirely different theory).

She hyperfixates on Luz. Yes, part of this is a crush. But a lot of us have watched Amity’s personality go from alpha bitch to cutest little bean in the Boiling Isles, all thanks to Luz’s influence. Lumity is not a rivals-to-lovers speedrun due to bad writing, it’s due to Amity hyperfixating. She’s already extremely introspective, going so far as to keep a diary where she analyzes and makes sense of herself. It’s not a stretch to say that she identified the faults that kept her from Luz and worked hard to change those off-screen. 

Amity keeps a journal. To me, this seems like masking. You see, Amity is what people would consider to be high-functioning, since she can pass for allistic. But in order to do this, she has to put in significant effort on her part. See, when she does something that makes it so she doesn’t pass, she just sees it as a problem (since she probably doesn’t know about autism, and she passes well enough that she would totally be undiagnosed). Then she tries to fix the problem, in order to keep being perfect. 

Amity has awkward body language. Thanks to the journal and other ways of masking, you don’t see this early on. But once she feels comfortable enough around Luz to let her guard down...she completely forgets boundaries. To review: in episodes 15-17, she throws herself at Luz, holds her formal rival’s hand for 24.71 seconds, blushes every time she sees Luz, and loudly declares her thirsty thoughts about Luz in uniform before literally running away. While some of this can be seen as normal gal pal things or crush things...you’d think a repressed wlw like Amity would try very hard not to touch Luz, so as to avoid being outed. Or at least she would do less of that stuff, so as to respect Luz’s boundaries the way she wants her boundaries to be respected. But that’s not the case, since she straight-up misses a lot of social cues. And since she feels comfortable around Luz, she doesn’t feel the pressure to be so paranoid about the cues, and can be her awkward self. From her point of view, she probably sees it as being freed from her parents’ judgment.

Amity takes things literally, sometimes. Now, this doesn’t happen all the time, since she isn’t heavily affected by this autistic trait. But when Luz says “I’m picking up what you’re putting down” and Amity says “I’m not putting down anything” and looks down...she not only missed the conclusion Luz drew from her words, but also assumed a literal meaning from her words. I can’t come up with many other instances of this, mostly because this doesn’t happen often. I would assume that Amity missed these a lot early on, and learned how to mask/identify them.

Amity is easily upset when things don’t go as planned. Let’s review these. In the library, she gets really mad at Luz when they end up stitched to a book, and it takes Luz’s sweet personality to get Amity to loosen up and laugh over it. When she goes to practice magic, and Luz steals her wand and uses it to get her siblings kidnapped, Amity locks Luz in a cage and assumes that she will get badly injured if she tries to fix the problems she caused. When Luz comes to her school, she panics and focus on how that doesn’t change anything. When she burns Willow’s mind, she appears absolutely terrified of being punished, flinching and bracing for impact when Luz finds her near the memories, constantly trying to distract Luz as they work together to save Willow, and hiding behind Luz when she confronts the Inner Willow. When Luz asks her to join her in Grudgby, Amity doesn’t initially agree, instead taking much more of the episode to come to terms with her involvement in it.

Amity likes predictability. She’s not attached to routines, but she does like being able to expect things. If she makes a plan for the day, she expects that day to adhere to that plan, and she doesn’t respond well when it changes. When Luz comes to her school, she focus on how that doesn’t change anything...not how that would ruin things or complicate things. Whenever she gets involved in Luz’s shenanigans, she either gets angry, scared, or takes a while to accept it. In a broader sense, she takes a while to accept that Luz and her shenanigans are a permanent fixture in her life--sixteen episodes, to be exact.

Finally, it would make for some excellent representation. An ADHD Dominican-American bisexual protagonist is pretty groundbreaking. But an ADHD Dominican-American bisexual protagonist girl who dates an autistic wlw witch girl from another dimension is exactly the kind of intersectional representation you’d expect to see from an unrestricted Owl House crew.

...Now, this might just be me hardcore projecting. I’m a little scared to post this because I don’t know how much of this is me reading into imaginary things, or trying to convince myself that Amity is like me. Feel free to debate/disprove me or support me in the comments. 

[slytherweasley]

Busy (Hermione Granger x reader)

Warnings: smut and swearing

Summary- Hermione hasn’t stopped studying for her O.W.Ls which annoys Y/n when she gets ignored.

Fifth year is possibly the worst of all years, to make it worse Umbridge decided to ruin it by putting so many rules into place. Hermione has been so distracted with studying this year and now there is less than a month until the O.W.L.s.

“She’s added more rules, it’s ridiculous” Ron complains “It’s like she has spies everywhere” you add. “Dean was sitting beside this girl in the common room and the next day they both got detention just because they were sitting close to each other.” Hermione doesn’t say anything just focuses on her book.

“Well I’m getting tired, I’ll see you in the morning.” Ron says and Harry gets up after him “Goodnight boys” Hermione looks up from her book and then back down again. “You wanna go to bed Mione?” “No, you go” “I’ll wait here with you.”

After an hour Hermione hasn’t said a word to you just reads her book. Hermione starts to yawn “Lets go to bed.” You go up to your dorm, Parvati is already asleep. You change into your pyjamas and try to get into Hermione’s bed “Mione, could you please move your stuff so we can cuddle?” “Not tonight I’m busy.” “It’s 10:30 we should go to bed, we have school tomorrow” “I don’t want to sleep with you tonight” she snaps.

You walk back to your bed and get cuddled up in the sheets. Hermione is usually quite loving with you which hurts. “Y/n” she whispers putting a hand on your back “What?” “I’m sorry, I want to cuddle with you.” “Why are you so indecisive?” “I’m stressed. I want to do well in the O.W.L.s and I need your cuddles.”

You let her into your bed “You two stress me out, some days I think you will get married and others I’m not so sure” Parvati says. “I thought you were asleep” Hermione says “I was.” Hermione cuddles into you kissing your cheek “Can you be quiet?” You whisper into her ear “Not now Y/n. I’m tired” she whispers back “Hermione! It has been like a month” “I know but I’m still tired.” She falls asleep on your shoulder and you kiss her forehead.

You love Hermione to death but when she is in work mode you get annoyed. This is the worst it’s ever been because she thinks her whole life depends on her O.W.Ls.

The next morning you wake up soaked. In the night Hermione moved her leg inbetween your thighs putting pressure on your clit. You wanted so badly to grind on her thy but you knew you wouldn’t be able to keep quiet and Parvati is waking up any minute now. “Mione” you whisper waking her up “Morning sweetheart.” “Please help” you bring her hand to your pussy “Oh shit. We can’t be late, if it was any other time except now I would help you.” “You want me to walk around soaking wet and throbbing?” Hermione looks conflicted “I’m sorry, I promise you I’ll find a time to help you out.”

You decide not to wear underwear today, for two reasons. One so the throbbing might go away when the air hits it, and two so Hermione can easily help without complaining about the underwear being in the way.

Hermione holds your hand and you walk to breakfast together. You so badly wanted to put hermiones hand under your skirt so she could feel your bare cunt but you had a plan.

Hermione made you choose all the same subjects as her so you were lucky enough to be with her all day. At lunch is when you decided you couldn’t handle being horny. While Hermione revises some notes she has written you put your hand on her upper thigh and continue eating. She doesn’t question it until you swiftly move your hand into her underwear. She looks up from her notes and looks at you with wide eyes, you slip a finger into her core, she puts a hand on her mouth.

“Is that a girl thing or a girlfriend thing?” Harry asks “Huh?” Hermione looks at Harry “You two look like you’re having a conversation without saying anything.” “Oh, yeah it’s a girl thing but also a girlfriend thing” Hermione says putting a sandwich in her mouth. She moves closer to you putting her leg over yours to spread her legs. She buries her face in your neck. “This is so wrong” she whispers “Then why are you so needy for me?” “I can’t help it. I actually need to study.” She picks up the parchment and tries to read it occasionally slipping a moan.

“I’m going to cum” she whispers burying her head in your neck again. You take your fingers out of her and she slaps you “Woah” Ron says. “You bitch” she slaps your arm and you laugh. “It’s not nice is it?” “I told you later” “Now I am telling you later.”

Hermione gets focused on her studying and she eventually forgets about being horny. You however could not say the same. You walk into Transfiguration with Hermione “No, let’s sit at the back” “What, why?” “Trust me.”

You and Hermione sit in the back corner you couldn’t concentrate on the lesson when the throbbing got worse. “I can’t concentrate back here, why did you want to sit here?” You take Hermiones hand and put it under your skirt. “Where is your underwear?” “I didn’t put any on this morning. I can’t wait any longer.” she starts to rub your clit slowly still listening to Professor McGonagal talk. “Faster Mione” she rubs faster making you whine and beg for more in her ear. She pushes your legs apart as far as you can and rubs faster. Luckily Professor McGonagal couldn’t see what Hermione was doing.

“Oh please Mione” you moan in her ear groping one of her tits. “No, she will see” you let go and Hermione slipped in a couple fingers. “You’re soaked” she whispers “For you Mione.” You feel yourself about to cum you bite Hermione’s shoulder hoping it will stop you from moaning. “Oh Merlin” Hermione puts her fingers in her mouth. “That was so much fun” Hermione whispers “You’re so naughty” “I like being naughty for you, Y/n.”

Hermione couldn’t stop smiling at you up until the end of the day. “Let’s go up to our dorm” you go to your dorm and lay down while Hermione studies and Parvati gathers some books to return to the library. “Where are you going?” Hermione asks Parvati “I’m going to the library to do some studying, wanna come with me?” “I prefer studying in here but maybe after dinner.” “I’ll see you at dinner then” Parvati shuts the door.

“Muffliato” Hermione says and gets up from her bed “What are you doing?” You ask “What do you think?” Hermione gets on your bed and starts to strip. You watch her as she unbuttons her shirt revealing her bra “Keep going, I want to see you strip naked.” She unzips her skirt and lets it fall to the ground. “Shit look at you” you moan and reaches behind her back and unclips her bra, her boobs are so beautiful and perky.

Last to come off is her underwear, she stands in front of you completely naked. “Your turn” she says “You want me to strip too?” “Not exactly.” Hermione straddles you and unbuttons your shirt, her eyes widen “You’re not wearing a bra” “I wanted to be ready.” She takes off your skirt. “Lay down, it’s your turn.”

You spread her legs apart “I’m sensitive” she says “That’s good I’ll make you cum hard.” You kiss her inner thy’s making her squirm until you kiss her clit “Please I need more.” You suck on her clit fingering her with a finger. “Ahh fuck Y/n” she yells, it always turns you on when Hermione swears. She rarely ever swears outside of the bedroom but she’s so vocal when we have sex that it just comes out. “Y/n I’m about to cum” you feel her walls tighten and throb around your fingers.

“I want to suck on your nipples” Hermione says “You do?” “Yes, it always feels amazing when you do it to me, I want to try it.” Little does Hermione know how sensitive your nipples are. They get hard when Hermione accidentally touches or brushes past you. You bite your lip when she takes it into her mouth. “Hermione please” she pinches your other nipple and you start to grind on her thigh. She bites the nipple in her mouth before letting go “Youre so needy, what do you need?” “Your thigh” Hermione sits on the edge of the bed letting you straddle her thigh and start rubbing yourself on her thigh.

“Wow you’re wet” she kisses your neck “Feels amazing Mione” her leg is so smooth and easy to grind on. “Can I grind on your pussy?” You ask Hermione “Yes love.” You position yourself between her legs. Just the connection of our cunts made us wet. “Move or I’m going to cum” Hermione says and you start to grind. “Oh shit, oh fuck. You’re so good at this” Hermione yells and starts moaning.

“Good girl, you’re doing so well Mione. Making me so wet” “I’m s-so close!” Hermione holds onto your tits and you feel her finish under you bucking and grinding her hips into you. “Keep doing that I am going to cum.” You cum and cuddle with Hermione “Did I make it up to you?” Hermione asks “Yes mione, you certainly did.” “You seemed to enjoy yourself” “So did you Mione, you make me so horny when you swear and moan like that.

“Hmm maybe we could go for round two and I’ll be fucking you this time” she rubs your clit while whispering in your ear “Fuck I’m already throbbing” “Good girl.”

[snow-in-the-desert]

Dramione Recommendations

Ok so, 2020 has been A LOT but on a personal note one of the most surprising things to happen was me discovering Dramione fanfiction and becoming unashamedly obsessed with it. I really didn’t see that coming but I’m here now and I’m here to stay. 

I think I started reading in the Dramione fandom around mid July last year?? (In all honesty I’ve lost any true sense of time’s progression at this point so I could be well off the mark with that) And I’ve decided to compile a list of all my favourite fics I’ve read so far. Why? I really just want to gush over all the amazing writers I have found through this fandom because y’all deserve it. 

Side note: If any of the authors actually sees this post just dm so I can buy you coffee or post you writing supplies or something idk I feel like that’s the least I can do for all your amazing work x

Remain Nameless by @heyjude19-writing

Ok I have to start with RN because this fic is pretty much the sole reason I decided to create an account with A03 or a tumblr or just decided to get involved with this fandom at all. 

I headcannon this story hard. But I think even if you aren’t a fan of Dramione you should just read this because it is so unbelievably good and well written and poignant and Draco’s sarcastic personality in this is truly a thing of beauty in this - I relate to his inner monologue’s on a deep personal level. 

I could rave about this story any time, any day of the week, just ask me. In fact, maybe I’ll just start a HeyJude19 fan club to fulfill that urge.

There are so many elements that I love but for the sake of brevity, RN is a beautifully told story of Draco and Hermione finding love and healing in a post-war HP setting. Heyjude19 had the very special ability of making me want to simulatenously laugh, cry and swoon with the power of her words. Just stop what you are doing and go read it now if you havent already, ok?  

I also really enjoyed reading Bells on a Hill, Beers, Potions and Unwise Notions and A Shift in Focus, if you are looking for smaller fics, definitely give these a go. They are all funny and heartfelt stoires that will make your tippy toes wriggle with glee. 

The Rights and Wrongs Series by @lovesbitca8

The Right Thing To Do, All The Wrong Things and The Auction are the holy trinity of Dramione writing. I have christened it thus, so mote it be. And frankly I’m not interested in any other opinion than that one, thank you very much!

After reading this series I don’t think I’ll be able to look back on the orginal HP books without thinking of Hermione’s and Draco’s memories of their time at Hogwarts in these fics as anything other than strictly cannon. 

So many things to love about this series but I think one of the major highlights was Hermione and Draco’s use of occlumency. LoveBitca8 created such beautiful visuals with how occlumency works as a magical practice and seeing Draco and Hermione so devoted to eachother to the point of safeguarding their inner most feelings to protect eachother was unbelievably romantic and poetic. 

Also the smut is divine ;)

Manacled by @senlinyu​

My heart will never be the same after reading this story. Like I actually can’t think about this fic without getting a lump at the back of my throat. I have never felt so emotionally ruined after reading anything, compared to the likes of this fic. Just please, please read it. To badly quote HP, reading Manacled will make you suffer but you’re going to be happy about it.

The flashbacks are a rollercoaster in of themselves but the way Hermione inadvertently refers to them when she is still in a state of memory loss was so heartbreaking to read. My heart still aches for them both. Also its a truly satisfying to see Draco and Hermione written in a way were they are both so fiercly protective of one another. They make my insides go soft. 

I also really enjoyed Snow Fall, Now Is A Gift and All You Want by the author but to be honest anything written by Senlinyu is always thoroughly enjoyable and worth a look. 

The Erised Effect by @adaprix​

Ada is QUEEN of dramione smut but ‘The Erised Effect’ is top tier. Its equal parts funny, romantic, sentimental and oh so sexy. Ada really knows how to build and build on sexual tension and doesn’t disappoint on the final delivery. I’m a big admirer of her writing style and just veraciously read whatever she posts but ‘The Erised Effect’ is just golden. A must read. (Also Pansy’s sexual fantasy in this story is a visual I don’t think I’ll ever be able to remove from my brain so thanks for that Ada)

Also quick side note: Adaprix’ stories were the first I read when I was looking into this fandom and it was enough to get me hooked on the pairing from the get go so I have that to thank Ada for too. I remember devouring all the stories she had posted to A03 and when I was done I was like... now what am I supposed to do with my life?? And that’s basically when I began to look deeper into the fandom and thus the course of my life in 2020 changed for the better. 

Some other stories I love by her are Break for Me, All My Sins, The Big 4-0, The Fucklust Series and The Flat in Bath. 

Clean by @olivieblake​

This 6th Year AU where Draco and Hermione work together on a class assignment and end up falling in love had me feeling all kinds of ways when I read it. I almost don’t know where to start but I think one of the stand out things for me was how immersed I felt in reading it. 

Hogwarts is captured really well, you get a good sense of class atmospheres, character nuances and behind the scenes of events that happen in HBP but from a Draco and Hermione’s perspectives. It’s well executed and intricate tapestry of a fic. With an excellent plot twist ending! 

Also Hermione and Draco’s relationship in this is equal parts fluffy and smutty and it just ticks all the right boxes that you want to see for those characters ;)

Breath Mints / Battle Scars by @onyx-and-elm​

The angst in this one is just *chef’s kiss*

God I love this fic. The way Draco is portrayed is very true to his defensive and tetchy character in the original books but he is also given so much more depth. The way his diary entries are written are just so well executed. It’s a true testament to the author’s creative writing skill. And I LOVE how even though Draco is clearly in such a messed up place, he still has a basic level of self respect and dignity that he won’t tolerate being used or undervalued in his relationship with Hermione. 

Yep, I really love Draco’s characterisation in this one if you can’t tell.  But Hermione is also well written too. Her stuggles and trauma of returning to Hogwarts after war is described in a believable and grounded way. And my heart definitely ached for them both. I just wanted to wrap the pair of them in a big fuzzy blanket and tell them that everything will be alright. 

WANDS OUT! by @persephonestone​

This murder mystery / Dramione / Theo x Harry / AU crossover is everything I didn’t know I wanted until I read it. I felt like I was picked up and plonked right into an alternative dimension where all the characters of HP are just living it up in an Agatha Christie novel. 

It’s a funny and clever story that I found refreshing to read amongst all the other fanfics that are usually cemented in the HP timeline or universe. Theodore Nott in this fic is perfection he should be written like this in every fic from now on in my opinion. I couldn’t stop giggling any time he had a scene in the story.

And the ‘only one bed’ trope in this fic is 10/10. I don’t want to give spoilers but ohmygod. It hits all the right notes. 

The One With Technical Difficulties by cassielassie 

Cassielassie has an excellent three part series of Dramone called ‘The One with...” but I have to give special credit to this story in particular for one main reason. ELEVATOR TROPES. I can’t get enough of em. I think I have my early childhood viewings of NCIS to thank for my obsession with elevator tropes they just do something to me that simply cannot be explained with mere words. The palpable sexual tension of being in a broken down elevator with an ‘enemies to lovers’ pairing, a heated arguement breaks out followed by a discovery of mutual feelings and a romantic embrace...

Eugh. It gets me everytime. And this fic is no exception. I loved it for all the reasons I’ve already stated above but also for the attention to detail in Draco and Hermione’s careers makes this one particularly immersive. The dynamics between them established in this one-shot are convincingly portrayed and the chemistry between them is so undeniably hot. 

The Light is No Mystery by @masterofinfinities​

Yooo if you want to read a dramione fic that is a deep dive into Pureblood culture and Post-War recovery but is also a perfect allegory for discrimination and today’s political landscape of moral grandstanding for votes then look no further than this one. 

This story has a bit of everything. Intrigue, mystery, ptsd and recovery, enemies to lovers / secret relationship, government conspiracy and humour, to name a few. I eargerly await every update to this story and am anxious to know how it ends!

The Eagle’s Nest by HeartOfAspen 

Finally! A fic that gives me the Ravenclaw representation I crave. I think I could recommend this fic on the lore depicted of Ravenclaw house alone. ‘The Stacks’ and Rowena Ravenclaw’s own ‘come and go room’ are just such cool details that I could see being real in the HP universe. 

This fic is so cosy and makes me feel like I’m just popping back into Hogwarts for another year. You get to see all the usuals like prof. Mcgongall, Nearly headless Nick, PEEVES, Hagrid, as well as learn more about minor characters from the other school houses. The story follows Hermione going to her day to day classes and there are interesting concepts about magic and alchemy that are explored. 

Draco and Hermione’s relationship in this one is of course very fluffy and heartfelt. But it’s the attention to detail that really makes this fic outstanding and the experience of reading it feels fleshed out and true to HP universe.

A shorter fic by HeartofAspen that I recommend is one called Set in Stone, it has an adventurous, Indianna Jones vibe to it, that I am so down for. 

Teachable Moments by @purplesugarquills

In this fic Hermione is an innocent little virgin determined to learn everything about sex. And Draco Malfoy is her tutor. If that isn’t enough to get you on board then I don’t know what is. Both Heartfelt and Steamy. PurpleSugarQuills writes smut so well but it’s the progression of their growing attachment and the nervous treading of new uncharted waters of romantic relationships for both of them that just adds a whole other level of feels to the story. Also chapter 9 is like reading poetry - its so good. Eugh just give it a read if you haven’t already.

Les Pèlerins by @pacific-rimbaud

This story is high art. It’s transcendent. Reading this story feels like the emotional equivalent of standing around a hundred glowing fairy lights, sipping hot cocoa and being wrapped in the loving embrace of a s/o. I can’t speak my praises highly enough or even become passably coherent in my words when I try to articulate a review. 

From the very first paragraph I felt like I was just whisked away on a Parisian holiday and I’ve never even bloody been to Paris but damn it if this story didn’t make me feel like I was there. The writing style is just so tactile and intense it’s like I could feel the cold winter air brush against me as I read it. Eugh I just completely fell in love with the story and the writer. 

New Year’s resolution. Read everything PacificRimbaud has ever posted online. 

[qslovebot]

Midnight Escapade: Spencer Reid

Summary: Spencer Reid and the reader have been crushing on each other since they met, but neither of them cared to admit it. When doubled up in a hotel room for the night, reader tries to convince Spencer to go with her at 12:30am to get frozen yogurt to cheer him up and it turns into much more than a snack run.

Pairing: Spencer x Fem!Reader

Warnings/Includes: Swearing, mutual pining (a long time of pining leads up to this fic), food, mention of Sept 11, 2001, self-doubt, fluff, kissing

Word Count: 4533

The case was solved, closed, and finally, your eyes could rest. The case you had just finished was particularly stressful to not only you, but your fellow BAU members as well. You all hadn't slept for nearly twenty-nine hours and Hotch decided it was best you all got the rest you deserved at a nearby hotel.

The ride there, you struggled to keep your eyes open, but Spencer Reid was on another greatly interesting rant about a show he liked, so you figured you would try to stay awake to hear it. You always listened to him because a lot of the time, the rest of the team dismissed him and his oddly accurate monologues. They grew tired of Spencer talking so much about things they didn't understand but you were rather the opposite- and that's probably because you liked Spencer so much.

The two of you met when he was introduced to the BAU. Praised for his mind, he introduced himself to you with a shaky voice and a meek handshake. You instantly admired him from his geeky personality outwards to his tall, thin self with a face sculpted by artists. Little did you know he did the same, but immediately thought of you as out of his league, so he stayed quiet.

You had been friends since then, pairing up on cases as your minds seemed to work like a perfectly oiled machine when together. Like Penelope and Derek, you two were known for the science jokes no one understood and shared looks of adoration that the both of you somehow didn't recognize as romantic. But everyone else saw it.

Derek Morgan teased a lot. He talked to Reid about working with the 'pretty girl' every day, poking him in the side and messing with his hair. The geek and the girl who was smart as hell, but didn't make it her dominant trait.

A doctor and the outgoing agent who matched the loudness of Penelope Garcia at times at karaoke night. You brought more liveliness to the BAU- more music, more spinning, more levity in dark cases. Spencer was always trying to hide a smile when you walked in, trying to pretend he hadn't been waiting for you to bring him coffee each morning. You didn't need an eidetic memory to remember his order and that, for some reason, always sent him over the moon.

But you were here now, listening to him wrap up his story as you fought the sleep that was looming over you as the car came to a stop outside the hotel.

"-And that was the end of it all. I think it's so fascinating how they wrapped everything up into this intricate timeline of interactions and moments and backtracks. We should, uh, watch it sometime." He said as he hopped out of the back, holding his small bag and yours.

You sleepily hopped out after him, hoping you didn't look like you felt, because you truly felt like hell. "Yeah, I'd like that," was all you could really mumble out. He passed you your bag and you smiled your thank you.

Emily held you up by the shoulders as Hotch sent through the check-in information. "Some case, huh?" She laughed as you rubbed your left eye. "I suppose we can't make this a girl's night of post-case celebration if you're dead asleep."

You groaned, "You wanted to do that? Damn it, Em, I'm sorry-"

"You need beauty sleep, (Y/N). I'm not mad or anything, I'll just take a bath and pull out an adult romance novel." A smirk played on her lips as she raised her eyebrows. You chuckled tiredly. "Seriously, no worries."

"Did I hear talk of a romance novel?" Derek shuffled over. "Which one are we reading? 50 Shades of Grey?"

Spencer stepped in, "Did you know that 50 Shades of Grey is actually fanfiction written about Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga? If you go further back, Stephanie started Twilight as written alternate universe fanfiction where the emo-slash-hardcore band My Chemical Romance were all vampires. But My Chemical Romance was started by musician and comic book creator- who published a series of comics called The Umbrella Academy in 2008, unrelated, his name was - Gerard Way, who created the band to make music that expressed the trauma he was given from witnessing the twin towers falling on September 11th, 2001."

Emily looked at him, jaw open. "So Nine-Eleven essentially created a badly-written and toxic sex novel, years later?"

Spencer nodded, eyes flickering to you for a brief moment. Derek grinned at Emily, "So you have read 50 Shades of Grey, huh?" He teased. She swat at his wiggly fingers away as Hotch walked over, brow furrowed.

"Rooms need to be doubled up tonight. Morgan, you can come with me. As much as you may hate it, I feel like (Y/L/N) here might collapse on the spot, so we can't go anywhere else." He handed Spencer and Emily a key, expecting them to make their own choices. Of course, Emily knew exactly what she needed to do when Hotch walked off. You were about to turn and go with her, but she bolted off, reaching for JJ.

You looked up at Spencer Reid who had his mouth in a shy, straight-lipped smile. You both knew what this meant, but you were glad you'd get to crash somewhere, floor or not. The room was on the fifth floor, so you took the elevator with Spencer in silence that you were sure he was granting you until you reached the door of your room.

"I will... take the floor tonight," he said, sticking the key in the lock. "You're tired and I'm just going to get dinner and um... read."

His watch read 4:34 pm- it was so much earlier than you had thought, but you were almost collapsing. "I'm sorry," were the last words you could reply with before you walked into the room, got into the bed, and you were out, cold.

You had never had such a fulfilling sleep. You woke up feeling clean, fresh, renewed and restored. There was no groggy feeling that you had accidentally travelled to another dimension while asleep. The room was dim, except for the lamp that was on in the right corner.

When you peered over the edge of the bed, there was Spencer, laying on his stomach with few pillows under his chest and elbows, a book in his hands. He looked peaceful, quiet, calm. "Spence," you whispered. He practically jumped out of his skin and you couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my god, I'm sorry." You grinned.

He smiled sheepishly, setting down his book. "You're awake."

You nodded back, "How long was I out?"

"Since 4:34, so... 8 hours and 20 minutes. It's only 12:22am." Spencer sat up and against the wall while you adjusted yourself to sit cross-legged. You were still in your clothes from earlier and it surprised you to see Spencer in less preppy clothing.

Well, less preppy for him. No cardigan, no dress shirt, just a t-shirt that read 'math is as easy as pi' with the pi symbol made of cherry pie and his regular khaki pants. "Aren't you tired?" you asked, smiling from his shirt, back to him.

"No, uh, I actually got about four hours in the middle of your eight. I usually don't dream anymore but I actually dreamt I was falling, which is a sign of..." he stopped himself, but he was with another profiler, what was the use, you could already fill in the blanks. He continued, "Which is a sign of insecurity and inferiority, but I don't believe in dream analysis..."

You furrowed your brow, watching his eyes look down at his hands. "Are you feeling insecure and inferior, Dr.Reid, because need I remind you that 99% of the time, it's your brain that leads us to solve the cases."

He shook his head, "Thinking myself over, I'd-I'd say it doesn't revolve around work." The stutter was back. He hadn't talked to you with a stutter in months, you'd assumed it was just because he wasn't as comfortable around you then, but now it was back. Spencer Reid needed to be cheered up, something was wrong.

"Well you know you can tell me anything, right? I've kept secrets about my friends since grade one, I can keep yours." You slipped off of the bed and walked to your bag on the table in the far corner. You could feel Spencer's eyes on you as you went, so you shot him a smile over your shoulder. He reverted back to looking at his hands.

Through situations and being friends, you knew Spencer was insecure. He was bullied constantly as a child, some going as far as to strip him down and beat him. Disgusting, self-esteem-ruining acts you wished you could remove from his eidetic memory.

You took off your button-up blouse to stay in your white t-shirt that lay underneath. You hadn't the time to remove it before falling asleep. Thinking about that- you probably had bedhead too. Your balled-up shirt was shoved into your bag and you pulled out a brush in exchange, to get the knots out of your hair.

"I could really go for frozen yogurt right now," you said, running the wooden brush through your hair. Spencer narrowed his eyes at you, a little confused. "I haven't eaten dinner."

"It's nearly 12:30 am..." Spencer said. It looked like he was running through his vast mind to find a scientific explanation as to why you might have wanted frozen yogurt at half-past midnight. You let him, a teasing smile on your lips as you pulled the top bit of your hair up. "Are you pregnant?" He asked, out of the blue, entirely serious. Seemed like the only logical explanation he could find. You nearly choked on the air.

"No, Spencer, I am not pregnant!" You laughed. His face tightened as he went back to searching his mind. "I just want frozen yogurt. Regular cravings, not... pregnancy cravings. Are you coming?"

He looked at you, oddly surprised he was invited. "Why?"

"Why not?" You picked up his jacket from the hook and tossed it to him. "Nobody has to see your cheesy math shirt."

He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, but went right back to being analytical, a mumbling rant with hand gestures.

"The average half-cup serving of frozen yogurt alone has about 17.3 grams of sugar and plus various toppings, the sugar is upped to at least 25 grams. But, versus a half-cup serving of vanilla ice cream, the sugar is only about 14 grams and with toppings can be upped to about 22. Fat-wise-"

You interrupted him because this was seemingly the only way to lift his mood and he was making excuses to stay here and wallow. "Come on, for once, let's be able to act like the youngest members of the team. Once, Spence. I don't need a play-by-play on how much sugar is in it- though I did find that interesting-I just want frozen yogurt and I would like you to come with me. I'll pay for yours if you want any, just... please?"

He met your eyes with a curl falling down his forehead and quickly looked back at his hands. You'd been friends for nearly a year and four months and he still couldn't look you in the eyes for long. He really wasn't good at refusing you at all, either.

Spencer nodded and you practically beamed. Maybe this would help to take his mind off of what was bothering him, even if the distraction was brief. You jumped on the spot and slipped on your own jacket and grabbed your wallet, ready to go and by the door.

He had a small smile when the two of you stepped out, his hands behind his back. You locked the door behind you and the two of you walked silently to the elevator, careful not to accidentally wake anyone else in case they decided to peer out into the hall.

In the elevator, you turned and looked up at Spencer who was fiddling with his hands. "You look nervous, Spence. It's frozen yogurt, not a pretty girl."

"Well I'm with-" he stopped himself again and actually started laughing his breathy laugh, squeezing his own hand so hard his knuckles turned white while his cheeks and nose went a little pink. "You..." He finished, rocking on his heels.

You scrunched your nose, shaking your head. Though you mentally disagreed with him sometimes on your appearance, you smiled and looked back up at him. "Thank you. You're pretty too."

He shrugged himself further into his jacket, hands still wildly fidgeting. "Thank you..."

You both stepped out of the elevator the moment it got to the ground floor, looking for air that wasn't filled with odd tension neither of you could explain. You two walked through the lobby and into the cool midnight air outside, where things were open, dark, and still.

You shut your eyes for a moment and opened your arms to face the gentle, cool wind that blew your hair and hit your face gently. Inhaling deeply, you opened your eyes again to Spencer in a similar state, but much less relaxed looking. Instead, it looked like he was trying to calm himself down.

"Spence, you look out of it," you said, folding your arms over your chest. You had gotten him outside, now maybe instead of distracting him from whatever it was, you could help him through it. It was part of being a friend- profiling wasn't needed to see he was thinking long and hard over something that bothered him. "You can tell me what's wrong."

He started walking down the street toward the neon lights that shone bright with the word 'fro-yo', you stepped quickly to follow. "If I like a girl.. h-how am I supposed to go about telling her?" He asked, not even looking at you. His forehead was creased and his hands in his jacket pockets.

So this was about a girl he liked. Spencer Reid had a crush. Of course, you were oblivious it was you, but Spencer Reid was romantically interested in someone!

Yay?

An odd feeling of happiness came with finding this out and there was an uprising feeling within you like the first drop on a rollercoaster, but it lingered... and it was much less happy. You ignored it, of course, letting your outer emotions display themselves.

"Dr. Spencer Reid, the human encyclopedia- have you finally found a girl that puts you at a loss for words?" You teased, pressing the back of your hand to your head for dramatic effect, struggling to keep up with him.

His mouth twitched, "Maybe."

"Well, to be honest, Spence, just... tell her. Just go at it- ask to kiss her, maybe, then confess after. Or... or, you could confess, see how she takes it, then you can see if you should or shouldn't kiss her based off of if you get rejected or not." You told him, catching him by the shoulder to get him to slow down at the entrance of the frozen yogurt place.

He was much taller than you, so that came with him being that much faster, but that didn't matter now, he had stopped. Spencer looked at you, concern in his eyes, panic. You smiled kindly, "She won't reject you. I don't know any girl who would even think of it." Reassurance, because he needed it.

His eyes trailed to the ground and he ran a hand through his hair, opening the door for you. "And w-what do I say?" Spencer asked when you both went inside. You were the only two there and the cashier must have been in the back room.

You hopped over to the flavours, "I mean, whatever feels right, Spence. If you feel like going on a long, romantic, poet-written rant about how much you like her, do that. If you're afraid to bore her, you can wait for her to speak, but the truth is if she can't listen to you rant, she probably isn't worth going for."

He evaluated your words while you casually got yourself vanilla frozen yogurt. He also scanned the flavours, probably mentally shaming the company for marketing this as somewhat healthier. You giggled watching him try to figure out how to get the yogurt out of the machine as you put raspberries in yours.

"(Y/N), uh..." he said quietly, gesturing you over. The genius's mind was scrambled enough to miss the lever in front of him. You took his cup from him and pulled the lever, to which he made an 'o' shape with his mouth and nodded comprehensively.

"Chocolate mocha," you smiled, handing it to him as he stood there sheepishly again. "Good choice."

You spun back to your yogurt, adding a bit of honey over the top of it all. He followed, choosing raspberries as well, silently adding them. He still didn't seem at rest with the girl thing, you noticed by the way he was failing to open the scoop-box of cookie crumbs. He had long fingers, usually nimble ones, but not so much right now. Spencer was too stressed to work properly. Error in the system, you may have joked if things weren't so bad with him.

When you were both finished, Spencer tapped the little service bell on the desk and a little woman, maybe mid-30s came out wearing the merchandise of the shop. You both placed your cups on the scale and she weighed them for the price, but both you and Spencer pulled out your wallets.

He put his card out faster, so you swat his hand with your card and paid while he mumbled "Ow..." Of course, you checked to see if he was really hurt, but he had his small, crooked smile back on his face. He was okay, maybe he was feeling better?

Saying good morning/night to the lady, you both stepped back into the midnight air, starting to walk, but not back toward the hotel. You'd think with what cases you two had worked on you'd be a little warier, but with each other, you both felt safe. You walked a few steps, eating your yogurt, before Spencer spoke up again. "Is it a bad thing I'm so clueless as to what women like? Everything I know about women is scientific. Chocolate releases endorphins, flowers are associated with beauty and love, but... other than that... I don't know anything."

You swallowed your bite as Reid took his, waiting on your answer. Just as you always listened to him, he always listened to you. He probably valued your opinion over Derek's at times. You waved your spoon in the air when you spoke, "I wouldn't say bad. Everyone starts somewhere for everything. If anything, a man who is willing to learn is more attractive than one who wings it and doesn't ask comprehensive questions to up the relationship quality."

"Asking questions, got it. Should my confession include a gesture, though?" He spoke with his mouth full. Spencer really wanted to get this right- it was admirable. But there came that uneasy feeling again. It was more like an ache this time. Perhaps it was the awkward hours of sleep throwing you off?

You sucked it up, shoved the feeling down. "Really, Spence, it depends on the woman. Do I know her? Maybe I can help- that is unless you want to profile her to get her interests? I can help with that too-"

"No, I-I don't want to profile her, I want to stay away from that, we do that on a near-daily basis."

"We?" You questioned. Reid froze, but kept walking, looking a little petrified. He put more frozen yogurt in his mouth, maybe to shut himself up. You grinned, "We as in you and her are both profilers or we as in you and I profile others together, so you don't want to profile her with me?"

"I don't want us... to profile her," he cleared his throat. "Yeah..."

You sighed with a breathy laugh, "Good, because I was starting to think you were after Emily."

He chuckled, "Oh, no, not Emily. She's too scary for me anyway. Uh..." He swallowed hard, the way he always did was he was anxious or nervous. I saw in his face he'd come to some sort of conclusion. "Don't... don't yell at me for this, alright?"

"Yell at you? Spence, I wouldn't..." You were confused. He set his frozen yogurt down on the bench he had stopped in front of and stood back in front of you, pushing his hair behind his ears. He looked at you with his doe eyes and the wind blew his curls back in front of his face, he looked to the ground. His forehead still creased between his brows, but his eyes were soft and sweet, his nose was slightly scrunched and his mouth was twisted to the side as if he was once again mentally calculating something. You granted him back the silence from earlier, wondering what was going on in that mind of his. That was... until his eyes met yours and he looked so desperately lost and longing and like he ached inside... and you no longer wondered.

You let out another long sigh. She was you.

This girl that he was trying to understand how to win over, she was you. He asked you because he needed to know what you wanted. He was nervous because he was practically confessing to you and you, a profiler, were too blind to see that.

He watched your face for your reaction, waiting for something good, but you were too shocked to react right. He unfroze, hands flying to the roots of his hair and he spun away from you. He started rambling, obviously thinking everything had gone wrong. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, (Y/N). That- that wasn't how I had things planned and I was so certain that maybe you-hm- liked me too."

His words made it true. This was, in fact, happening at 12:56am in the middle of a foreign city. Your words spilled out, stern, focused, serious. "Kiss me then."

He spun around again, "What?"

"Confess, then kiss, remember?" You recounted carefully, looking directly at him, stepping closer.

"But I didn't get to do my whole monologue thing-" He was grinning pretty hard now, all signs of stress removed from his face. He looked brighter than the neon froyo sign, in happiness and disbelief right down at you. You were pretty sure you looked similar as all the pieces fell in place in your mind. It all fit.

"I don't care." You beamed back. "Do it after."

So without wasting another second, he grabbed your face and kissed you. He kissed you with a year and four months' worth of frustration, lust, confusion and past jealousies. His hands holding your jaw, his fingertips in your hair and your hands on his chest, holding fast to jacket. The kiss was a little messy the first two seconds, but every second after it was enjoyable and sweet and oddly powerful. He also tasted rich, like chocolate mocha, but you knew where that came from.

He pulled away first, which surprised you, but he didn't move very far, in fact, he mumbled against your lips as he tucked your hair out of your face. "I think I've liked you since you and I first met. You didn't hate my science jokes and instead of being annoyed with my informational rants, you listened to me. I wasn't expecting you to be so involved with me since you're, well... you're you and you're loud and fun and sweet and beautiful, but we worked so well together how could I ignore what I felt?"

His hand was a little shaky still, but his fingertips on your cheek were gentle. He continued to quietly ramble, "I decided maybe I'd do something with myself that wasn't devoted to the BAU so I thought maybe I'd- I'd tell you this. That I think you're beautiful and smart and talented and maybe you'd understand and feel the same way and now that I know maybe you do, I feel oddly put back to how I'm supposed to be. And... I think I'm supposed to be with you. If this is too soon or... ruins our friendship, I'm sorry and I'll slow it down, but I won't stop liking you."

You couldn't believe that in a three-minute span you had gone from painfully oblivious to so extremely wide awake. But it was in the best way possible after a year and four months of you also being painfully crushed by your secret feelings for Dr.Reid.

"It's fine, Spence," you said quietly, smiling at him with the most happiness you had found in months. "More than fine, I can't believe this is real."

He tucked the other side of your hair behind your ear, "You might have DRC, then. It stands for dream-reality confusion and is a difficulty or inability to determine whether an event or experience occurred during the waking state or whether it was part of a dream. I can assure you that you aren't dreami-"

You reached up and pulled him onto your lips by the back of the neck, smiling into it. This would be the first time you've ever shut him up. He welcomed it by kissing you back again, softer this time. Now that he was sure you wouldn't hate him for it, it felt a lot more natural, a lot more at ease. His passion was still there, as was yours, but this was how things were supposed to be. There was no longer a rush.

The two of you started laughing after it all. Both of you laughed at how painfully oblivious you both were and he went on a small explanation as to why we don't see our own tells and how feelings of romantic relation cloud the judgement. You went over every time the rest of the team had made a comment you both secretly loved or some you dismissed because it was an ache to hear.

Spencer opened up about his fear of rejection and you did the same and that too resulted in more laughing because here you were, so afraid, but you had both been in it for so long. You deserved to have each other after all this time not only because you fit, but because everyone saw it too, far before either of you did.

An innocent, fun, midnight escapade to cheer Spencer up turned into him finding a truly happy state of mind. You took that as a win and success as you tossed frozen yogurt containers in the garbage and found your way back to your room where you told Spencer it was okay to sleep in the bed as long as he was nice.

So he let you turn out the lights and lay next to him, your head on his chest in the way you had done before when it was only an achingly platonic move. He played with your hair, stared at the green walls, ranted about the history of the colour green and soon after, the both of you went right back to sleep, entirely happy.

Tagged: @ellyhotchner @softhairedhotch

[echos-newlegs]

Hello There! I was wondering if you'd write 11 an 13 for Tech, please? I may request some other stuff for my favourite bad batcher and maybe even Rex later, but if you did that one i would be so happy!!! Have fun writing!! “I think I may be falling in love with you, and it scares me.." + “I just wanted an excuse to hold your hand.”

What's with you?

Bro he has been on my mind non stop since I read this request. He is literally so cute and I love him. He needs more love 😔 so thank you for sharing this and yes, yes I will be writing a story about this because these ideas you have are ADORABLE-

Tech x Reader: "I think I may be falling in love with you and it scares me.." + "I just wanted an excuse to hold your hand."

Warnings: nothing but fluff

You and Tech out of the bad batch were two of the closest. You were a no body before you met the bad batch. You studied things, a scientist of sorts. Though nothing official. You did do a lot of things when it came to researching and trying to come up with theories for why things happened. Plus you were good with your hands when it came to building things. So, instinctively. Hunter took you in, along with everyone else.

You didn’t really have a family. Where you grew up you were lucky you were still even alive. Though, Tech was obviously thankful. He cared for you so much. Even just the after the first time you spoke with him. You were shy at first, but after some warming up you were rather obnoxious. Plus. You knew your stuff, and the two of you could have a conversation on everything and anything for hours on end.

Useless information was your game, and you loved that you finally had someone to share it with.

It didn’t take long for you both to develop feelings. You were both fairly good at hiding it though. You were never one that was good with expressing feelings. The fear of abandonment and ruining the friendship you had always lurked in your conscious.

Tech was just scared. He had never felt this way before. Sure he’s had a couple hookups from 79’s, but never anything that mad him feel like you do. How you make him smile anytime even just a thought of you crosses his mind. How he gets butterflies in his stomach from just your laugh.

Or how his mind lurks and picks up the things you like. From how you enjoy your caf, to your favorite candies or flowers.

Or the thoughts that lurk within his mind when he’s alone and no one else is around.

He was so scared of all of it though. He was a clone. A defective one for Makers sake! He couldn’t like someone when his sole purpose in life was to fight and then be killed off like every other clone on existence. No thought to it, no remorse. No remembrance.

Though, one day when Hunter caught him staring at you while you were target practicing with Crosshair. Hunter told him something that made him a little less scared of the whole ordeal.

“You know it’s okay to like y/n, right?” Tech was shocked by his words. Blush creeping up the back of his neck. “Ah-what? I don’t- don’t be ridiculous.” He would stammer. A nervous chuckle escaping his lips. “Vod, don’t lie to me, I see the way you look at them.” He spoke, “I can sense the way you both feel for each other. Why don’t you do something about it? Live your life, enjoy what you can.” And before he could protest or ask anything Hunter was walking off. Leaving him to ponder.

Both.

It was simple. But it had the gears in his brain turning. Fast enough he nearly felt nauseous. ‘Both? As in y/n has feelings, too?’ He had to be kidding, right? Right. Who would like someone like.. Well like him.

Weeks had passed since that incident and he still thought about it. Hunter shooting him looks when it was just you and Tech talking to one another. Or when you two would sit next to one another. You hadn’t noticed, but Tech did.

So one day out on the field, Hunter had set up the plans where you went with Tech. Tech knew what he was trying to do. He was for sure it wouldn’t work. He was horrible with words when it came to flirting. Plus he knew for a fact that he would get nervous and stammer. Or jumble his words.

The two of you were in a lab like area. Bottles and beakers scattered around. Though your guy’s main interest was the large computer system towards the back. The data base that had all the information you guys needed.

Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair were out being your distraction while the two of you got to work on hacking into the system. You taking over for a bit while tech worked on something else. You could tell he was nervous, but you weren’t sure why. It wasn’t like him. He was normally always comfortable around him. It made you wonder if you did something wrong?

Once the files were transferred Tech grabbed what you two needed, and then your hand. Pulling you out of the room and back to the exit.

You were internally screaming. His fingers laced around your hand. His was a bit larger than yours, and you had never realized it. Not until now. Your heart racing a marathon. Techs was, too.

You let go when he did. Which was when the two of you made it back to the group. “You get it?” Hunter asked, and you nodded. Tech speaking a quick, ‘affirmative.’ You and the rest of the boys heading out of the facility and booking it for the ship.

No use sticking around and waiting for more droids to be deployed.

Hours had passed since the mission, and you were sitting on your bunk after a short shower. You normally were able to relax in the shower, but now? No, you couldn’t. You were still in shock by Techs actions. He was in the cockpit. Flying the ship, and you wanted to ask about it so badly, but you were anxious. It had to be a mistake. You were overthinking it. You had to be.

Though, you were walking to the cockpit without thinking. When you realized it you were already at the door. No use turning back now. You entered, and saw him dozing off in the seat. Ship in hyperdrive. “Oh sorry,” you blurted when he looked up with a tired gaze. “Oh, no, you’re fine.” Tech spoke a bit quickly. “Did you need something?” He asked, moving his goggles to rub his eyes. Then pulled them back down.

You were tempted to back out. Say you were just looking for him and head back for your bunk, but your curiosity got the best of you. “Can I sit with you?” He nodded. Shifting in his seat as you sat in the copilot seat. The door shutting behind you.

He was watching you now. His own curiosity striking him. Thoughts running through his own mind as to why you were there and what you wanted. “I just uhm.. you licked your lips and sighed. Looking down to your hands. Which were fidgeting in your lap. Then back to him. “Why’d you grab my hand earlier?”

You saw him freeze up, and you grew more nervous. “I mean, I don’t mind but you just- you’ve never grabbed my hand before.” You spoke, fidgeting more. “You always just tell me to follow you, I was just wondering, is all.” You rambled. Looking to his eyes, you could practically see his brain turning.

“Well..” he spoke, clearing his throat. Then turning to look back out the front of the ship. “In all honesty, y/n, I just wanted an excuse to hold your hand.” The bluntness of his own statement shocked the both of you.

You were surprised, and you caught yourself staring off into space, figuratively. Eyes looking back up to Techs face when he looked back to you. Catching his eyes with your own. “Really?” You asked, and watched as his tanned skin turned nearly pink. Your own skin it’s own rosy shad as well. “Yes, I’m sorry.”

You frowned a bit at the apology. Reaching over to place your hand on his shoulder. “Don’t apologize, Tech.” You added, watching as he looked down to your hand then back to your face. “I told you, I didn’t mind.” You grew a bit sheepish. Retracting your hand a bit at your next words. “I liked it, actually.”

He reached up to grab your hand before you could pull it away fully. Turning in his seat to face you completely now. Squeezing at your hand a bit and you looked back with a curious gaze. “Really?” You smiled at the look of hope and shock written in his eyes. “Yeah, really.”

You both stared at each other like love sick teens. Until tech looked down to your hands. Breaking the gaze. “Can I tell you something now?” You nodded, watching as he played with your fingers anxiously. “Of course, what is it, Tech?”

“I think I may be falling in love with you,” his voice was softer and more timid than before. “And it scares me.” He looked up to you, with worried eyes. You were at a loss for words, to say the least. Mouth slightly agape, and his eyes lowered again.

“I went too far, didn’t I? I didn’t mean to upset you,” he let go of your hand and you reached up to place it on his cheek. Shaking your head with a small smile. A smile that screamed, ‘I love you, too.’ “No, Tech, you didn’t go too far. Tech, I think I’m, no— I know I’ve fallen in love with you. I’m just,” you trailed off. “I’m not the best with stating feelings, I have had issues with past relationships and I didn’t want to scare you.” You admitted, and he leaned into your touch. Watching you carefully.

“I’ve just never met anyone else who makes me feel the way you do.” The words made you melt. Leaning forward to hug the other, kissing his cheek. “Well, I’m glad you told me,” he chuckled. Pulling you out of your seat and over to sit on his lap. Nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck. “If I waited any longer Hunter would have went insane.” That made you chuckle a bit. Smiling softly as he placed a chaste kiss to your shoulder.

“What does this make us then?” You pulled back to look at him, grinning softly as you rested your head against his forehead. “I guess.. an item? Is that what they call it? Partners, lovers..” your trailed on, and he giggled a bit at that. “I like lovers,” you were internally squealing at that. Smiling as he leant in and pressed a short and soft kiss to your lips. Humming contently. “Lovers it is.”

[hamliet]

Have not seen you mention CFC lately, what are your thoughts like since the last ask you replied about the novel?

I remember you were not quite happy with how things where going. What about now? Have they turned for the better, the worse, or remained the same?

I need to catch up! I'm reading like every couple days, at least once a week. So, what I'm saying is a bit behind, but...

The story has unfortunately completely lost me. It's not entirely surprising because imo both of Meatbun's prior novels have had the third act be their weakest: they tend to get overly complicated and the twists become so many that it loses some of the emotional resonance, because there's not space to breathe and let it sink in. She's upfront that it's melodrama from the get-go, so I didn't expect anything else, but imo this tendency weakens her stories' literary value because it becomes hard to invest in repeat sacrifices; then again, she seems to just be going for enjoyment more than anything, so good for her! I can just also state from my perspective what I think.

I'm gonna finish CFC, obviously, but unlike 2ha or Yuwu, I'll just say bluntly that it's a badly written book, which I find a huge shame because I really, really love the ideas, the alchemical symbolism, the concepts, and for the first 180+ chapters, the character developments. He Yu's sacrifices, Xie Qingcheng's suffering... they just don't mean anything anymore because the previous ones didn't build anywhere meaningful.

The plot and the character arcs rely on baiting--"but wait, it's not what it seems!"--which actually could be a fascinating meta commentary, thematically speaking, on the worldbuilding and questions of reality. However, these ideas (which I do think are brilliant) are weakened because of the retconning of previous developments.

These developments are unfortunately about things that do have real world resonance, and it becomes hard for me to detach when it feels like they're being handled poorly and with a distinct lack of sensitivity (sexual assault, mental illness, pregnancy). I know people will say, as I've seen on Twitter, but she said it's a work of fiction and isn't real! Yes, I know that, and I'm by no means saying she shouldn't write it or people shouldn't enjoy it or seeing that as an attack. Not at all. I'm just saying that no story occurs in a vacuum, and for me and me alone, I'm finding some of the implications really uncomfortable. (For the record, I've said this about many of my favorite stories when they handle issues... badly. I can handle this and still enjoy a story and think it's otherwise well-done literarily speaking, but imo chapter 203 truly did ruin the entire story's writing because it was an issue within the book itself for over 180 chapters because Meatbun made it one.)

And again, people will be like but she said from the start it's about an evil gong! Yes, she did. But she wrote something that was, as is similar in her previous works, an evil dude who starts grappling for redemption and reconciling with his wrongs. I've not stated this before, but I actually started the novel not expecting this kind of soul-searching character development. I thought it was gonna be full-out "brush it aside," and was more reading out of curiosity than out of investment/analysis. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it wasn't. And I got attached to that idea, because it was 180+ chapters of asking the difficult moral questions, of making this a serious concept in the text itself. He Yu was (and still is) my fave character (he's the most interesting imo).

This is a risk that comes with serial fiction: authors can change things (aka retcon), or mislead, but misleading for half a year is a long time (plus the fact that the downhill spiral coincides perfectly with her leaving JJWXC, like BNHA's own issues starting with the new editor, kind of speaks for itself). The degree to which a medium (such as serialization) affects a story's literary value is very debatable. I'm repeating myself ad nauseum now.

Anyways, it's badly written, and it's just a shame. No hate to Meatbun though; I wish her all the best, and think she has tremendous talent.

[cinaja]

do you have any opinions on nesta, emerie and gwyn? i thought the valkyrie storyline was one of the only good ones in ac0sf

I think it was one of the better parts of the book, and the scenes that featured all three of them came closest to being enjoyable, but I wouldn't actually call it good. Maybe good in comparison to the thrashfire of a book it was part of, but taken on its own, I feel like it had many flaws.

For one, I feel like especially Emerie was just far too little fleshed out as a character. One could have done so many cool things and explorations with her, but nothing was ever done beyond some surface recounting of her trauma. Gwyn was better, but also could have used more development, although I feel like her relationship with Nesta was the only one out of the three of them that actually worked well for me. For the others, it would have just taken A LOT more development and just. More depth. (Although I think part of that is just everything being pretty badly written in general so that stuff like them discussing their trauma failed to carry any meaning and their party in the house of wind felt more cheesy and over-the-top than anything else.)

Apart from that, the entire thing just suffered a lot from being part of a Very Bad Book. One thing that really soured the relationship for me in the very beginning was Nesta calling Emerie a coward in the beginning and pressuring her to train with her. I have a post about that somewhere, but I really hated that. Another even bigger issue I have was that bit in the end during the Rite. I was not generally against Nesta sending the others away for them to win, but doing so with the justification that she owed them something for being her friends just. Ruined a lot. When one person feels indebted to her friends for putting up with her or something, that's not good.

My biggest issue might just be that I really, truly dislike the entire valkyries (as in the ancient warrior group) storyline. Gwyn, Emerie and Nesta, who have NO connection to the valkyries, just deciding to replicate their fightingstyle from books and then calling themselves valkyries seems disrespectful af to me. The valkyries let their order die out on purpose; Nesta, Emerie and Gwyn simply have no right to do what they are doing and style themselves valkyries. Especially since they hardly seem to know anything about valkyrie culture, traditions or even fighting practices because, as the book says, there is very little known on the valkyries of "old" (although it makes no sense bc they died out only 500 years ago but whatever).

As a somewhat more minor concern, I also misliked the way the whole training thing was handled in general. As ususal with sjm mcs, they became too good too fast. Realistically, there's no way they should have been able to compete against soldiers who had, oh, roughly 20x the amount of training they did (actually more than that. They had been training with actual swords for what, a week? They had been taught 7 moves ffs), much less actually win the rite. Also, cutting a ribbon is a stupid af way to become a valkyrie. It shows mastery of ONE move with the sword. Nothing of your other fighting skills, or how ready for battle you are. To think that this was the initiation tast of a legendary warrior group and people sometimes trained decades for it is ridiculous.

[trumpkinhotboy]

Hanging upside down

Pairing: Edmund Pevensie x Reader

Genre: A tiny bit angsty, a bit of comedy, and a bit fluffy

Warnings: A little mention of blood here and there, but nothing too intense!

Rating: g

Request: Open

A/n: First Edmund fic !! At first, this was supposed to be about mister Peter Pevensie, but then I got the divine inspiration to make it all about our dear Edmund. I had fun with this! I hope you'll like it. I recommend reading it while listening to a Narnia ambiance playlist with forest sounds or something like that! Also, THERE YOU GO @imjustdreamingig I POSTED IT

** gif is not mine !!

*** ALSO CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT FACE??? SO HANDSOME OMGGGG

Sometimes, being part of the royal entourage, things just get so intense that you need some time apart, away from all the agitation and emotional banter. Being so included in it, you get deeply hurt and worried when nerve-racking and atrocious situations occur. Then comes in the terrible realization that there is not a thing you can do, that you are completely and utterly helpless. Even if you would like to listen to your sheer instinct, you cannot. There are protocols, political relations, and a whole country that depends on your every action. In those situations, you are stuck with these dark feelings undermining you slowly.

This time it was Edmund; involved again in a bloody affair with the Calormene. For a moment, you all got worried it would end up badly, but he had just gotten back, victorious. You were deeply attached to every member of the Pevensie family, especially the freckled adventurous young man, although that could never be revealed. Alas, with secrets to keep and worry eating your brains out you needed to be alone, take a breath or two and forget a little about the world you lived in.

Hanging upside down, hands and arms swinging down. Hair forming a curtain of various shades around your head. You went into the woods to clear your mind, soak in the freshness of the air. There is this little spot you found with an imposing willow oak and a little river right next to it; maybe you could absorb a bit of the serenity of the woods. Everything is calm and soothing, there is not a sound to be heard.

- “Hey!”

You scream, fall quite hard to the ground, and scene.

- “Aouch.”

Trapped in your hair, you sit down, a little dizzy from falling directly on the head. Rubbing your aching elbow that is going to be badly bruised without a doubt, you hear a bright laugh and see Edmund rolling in the grass.

- “Nobody taught you that it was not ideal to creep on someone while they are hanging upside down on a tree?” you grumble.

He is still trying to catch his breath when he answers you.

- “The… question… would be… why were you hanging upside down a tree without being mindful of your surroundings? Someone with bad intention could have crept up on you!” he tries to defend himself, but you can tell he thinks this is hilarious.

- “Come on, Ed.”

- “Alright, alright, I am sorry, but you must admit it was funny.” He answers while getting up.

- “Yeah, yeah, alright.”

You check your body to see any possible injury; your knees are a little scratched, but nothing too bad, your elbow still hurts, but other than that, you are all in one piece. You try to get up while Edmund is still brushing twigs and clumps of grass off his tunic. You slowly get on your feet, but the world is spinning incredibly fast; you grab the tree beside you for balance, hoping it will calm down the revolving of the world.

- “I cannot wait to tell the oth… Y/n?” he looks up, only to see you looking at the ground, eyes wide open.

- “I don’t feel so well...” You lift your gaze to meet his, seeing triples of him dancing around.

- “You are bleeding!”

- “Mh?”

He takes a step towards you, worries written on his traits. He touches the side of your face, and you cannot help but wince at the sharp pain it triggers in you. He lifts your head, turns it on the side, and examines you quickly before declaring you should get back to the castle and maybe get a stitch or two.

- “Will you be able to walk?”

- “It is just a scratch Ed, I am not deathly injured.” You scoff, taking a shaky step before the world starts spinning again. You reach your arms out, searching for anything that could balance you out, which ends up being his hand. “I just need a little support.”

- “Why, of course.” He smiles affectionately at you.

Together you walk slowly but surely to the grand castle. Luckily, you were not that far out in the woods, so the walk is not that long. From time to time, you feel a spin of dizziness. Especially when you try to look up too fast, but otherwise than that, you are fine.

- “Why were you there alone anyway?”

- “I needed some time to myself.”

You have grown up with him, he has learned to observe you and depict your physical language. Just by the tone of your voice, he knows something is wrong.

- “Something happened?” he asks you after a second of silence.

- “No, yes, I mean no! Nothing actually happened it is just….”

His eyes are piercing right through you; his stare attentively focused on your every move. You look back at him, and all at once, the stress and anxiety you felt while he was away are rushing back into your blood. You can feel your heart tighten in your chest; what if something had happened to him? The thought of losing him, you could not bear it, it physically caused you pain. What if he had been in danger and nobody could have saved him?

- “Y/n?” He interrupts your train of thought, bringing you back to reality.

- “Sorry.”

- “If you do not want to tell me it is okay, you don't have to.”

- “No, it is just that… I was so worried Ed. I hate when you go on your own, I hate when there is no way for us to reach or help you. I hate when you are gone off like that.”

You both stopped walking; you have taken two steps away from him. You cannot hold his gaze as all the terrible scenarios start playing again and again before your own.

- “I cannot help but think about all the things that could go wrong. About the actual panic and unbearable pain, I would feel if something were ever to happen to you. It drives me crazy.” You take a deep breath, trying to block the images assaulting your brain. "I needed to take a step back. This place is where I go when it all gets too much for me.”

A deep silence sets in; you are mad at yourself for telling him about it. Each word that leaves your mouth exposes your feelings a fraction more, and you cannot allow that. You do not want to annoy him with your worries. He is a king; he has many more things to worry about than you and your feelings. It is not like it would ever stop him from doing his royal duties, and you understood that. Your behavior is childish and immature. The more you think about it, shame invades each of your cells; you should have never told him about it.

- “Edmund I…” you spin on your heels to face an Edmund that is much closer than you thought. You do feel pretty dizzy from the sudden movement, but you almost forget about it as you are taken away by the emotion in his brown eyes. Almost. You trip a little, but he is quick to catch you and stabilize you.

- “I am sorry Y/n. I did not know you felt like that.” He looks down on your linked hands. “I must admit I would go crazy too if I knew you were in danger and there was nothing I could do to reach you.” He finally looks up at your surprised face. “Stop looking so surprised. I have feelings too, I am not always the rational and practical person everyone thinks I am.” He adds with a shy smirk. You are even more astonished but dare not to say a word.

He slowly lifts his hand towards your face, his whole attention centralized on your being. Holding your breath; you do not dare to move a millimeter. His hand stops in his track as his gaze slides to the long strike of blood going down your face.

- “We, we should get back to our quarters so that we can take care of you.”

You are frozen in place, not able to grasp what was just about to happen. What would have happened? What was that? You had never noticed such depth of emotions in his eyes, but at that moment, you could have sworn it was infinite.

- “Are you ready?” he slides one hand on your back while the other grasp your hand. You nod, feeling more confused than you have ever been.

Once you get inside and head for the royal quarters you suddenly think about the blood still dripping from your left eyebrow, feeling the warm liquid sliding down your throat. You already hear Susan's reprimands when she will see your ruined dress. You cannot help a smile as you think about the weird face she always makes when she is annoyed with something. Her brows furrows and she twists her mouth in an ungraceful rictus which never fails to make you and the other Pevensies laugh.

- “What are you smiling for?”

- “Susan’s face when she’ll see my ruined dress.” You smirk.

- “What do you mean?”

You lift your head to show him the multiples streaks of blood going down your neck and onto the collar and fabric of your dress.

- “Oh no, I did not think about wiping it up.”

- “No worries, as I said, it will be fun to see Su’s face.”

He lets out a chuckle before opening the door of the room. Inside Lucy is painting by the window while Susan is reading a book near her. The two sisters instantly get on their feet when they see the scenery of Edmund supporting you, blood dripping down your face.

- “What happened?”

- “Lucy, please get some towels and the healer’s pouch. Edmund bring her on the couch.”

- “It’s not that bad Su, it’s barely a scratch, I’m fine.” You try to explain.

- “I will be determining that.” She interrupts sternly.

You sigh, knowing you will not escape this as Lucy returns with the aid kit. She starts looking at you too with concern.

- “I think it will need a stitch or two.”

- “Oh, really, guys I do not…”

The older sister glances at you with an expression that did not need any explanations; you needed to shut it. She starts preparing the supply and is still turning your head from side to side when she finally notices the bloodstains on your dress and sighs.

- “Really Ed? You could not have wiped it off? Now her new dress is totally ruined.” That is when the weird rictus and furrowed brows made their apparition.

You take a look at Edmund who is also trying his best to hold in his laughter but fails miserably when she stands there staring at him, hands on her hips.

- “And you think that is funny? You too Y/n? Lu?” she turns around to look at you and her little sister barely containing your amusement. “Maybe I should not do your stitches and ask Mr.Tumnus to do them.”

You and the two other Pevensies grimace knowing damn well that he hates to do that kind of stuff. It makes him nervous and shaky, hence making the process even more painful for the already injured.

- “Oh, please, Susan.” You shake your head while rolling your eyes which was possibly the worst idea you have ever had. The whole room took a spin and brought back the dizziness.

They all come back to you, concerned that there might be more to this injury than what they initially thought.

- “I think she might have a concussion.” Says Edmund while reaching out to you again to offer you some support.

- “How exactly did you say this happened again?” asked Susan.

- “Well, actually, it is a pretty funny story.”

He is about to tell them about your slightly embarrassing fall when the arrival of his brother in the room interrupts him.

- “What happened ?!”

He walks to you with a confused expression. Edmund is still crouching before you, examining your face. You are not even able to answer Peter’s question as you are staring into his brother’s hypnotizing eyes. All this movement makes you even dizzier but let's be honest, even if you were about to puke, you would not miss the occasion to have Edmund’s warm hands on your face. You savor this moment as best as you can, but even though this feels incredibly good, you cannot ignore the feeling of your mind looping a little and your eyes rolling to the back of your head.

- “Guys, what happened?” asks Peter again.

- “She might have a concussion; I think she fell on her head, and Edmund if you, please, stop holding onto her face, I could finally stitch her up and stop this tragedy.”

- “This tragedy?”

- “The dress Pete..” murmurs Lucy.

The older Pevensie looks at your dress, at his sister, then again at you with a look of disbelief. You lightly shrug your shoulder; he's about to say something but gives up understanding that when it comes to Susan, it is a true tragedy.

All the while, Edmund finally let go of you, his cheek a subtle shade of pink. You keep looking at him with confusion in your eyes. What is going on with this boy?

It takes a minute or two for Susan to stitch you up since the wound is small. The eyebrow arch being a place where there is a lot of blood circulation, it is typical you bled a lot. As for the concussion, there is nothing to do but wait and rest, which you absolutely despise, since everyone looks at you like a minotaur had impaled you.

You now lay on the pillowy sofa in a brand-new outfit; Susan forced you out of the dress to try to wash the blood off. Lucy went back to painting, Peter watching over her, and Edmund is sitting on the end of your couch with a book in hand. As for Susan, she is about to leave the room when she suddenly turns back.

- “You never told us what happened.”

You grin and look at Edmund who's already looking at you with a beaming smile on his face.

- “Come on, tell em.”

He does with much excitement, emphasizing the comedy of your fall, but he looks so proud, and everyone is laughing, even Susan, so you do not mind and let him have his moment.

- “Alright, alright funny guy. You told your story, now leave me alone.”

You nudge him with your foot, acting falsely angry. He swiftly grabs it, adjusting it so that both of your feet lay on his lap. He keeps a smile while going back to reading his book drawing small circles on your ankles. A swarm of butterflies is assaulting your stomach, and once again, the world starts spinning; although this time it is for a totally different reason.

...

A/n: I truly hope you liked this!!💛 Once again, just a word to tell you my requests are open. Feel free to send me anything Narnia related, I would love to make your idea come to life:))