#NO CODEPENDENT S SUPPORT ROMANCE

[robinyourcreator]

PERFECTLY NORMAL AND HETEROSEXUAL THINGS TO SAY TO THIS WOMAN YOU KNEW FOR A W E E K, MAX

[stromuprisahat]

there's no wrong answer about this I'm just curious: if you had to choose between all the characters of the grishaverse show Vs books, which would you go with? And yes, I mean with all their flaws and writing narrative (for instance show Ivan > book Ivan etc)

Alina Starkova- book

She's a nutcase, herd of psychiatrists could make a living out of treating her. Codependency, self-gaslighting, confidence issues... it would be interesting, if we could blame it on her life-long wasting sickness. What makes her better for me is her honesty. She doesn't want to be part of this story.

The Darkling- both

I can't pick one, I love them too much. I like to think book!Darkling is less cold than we're lead to believe, because we mostly see him through the eyes of his enemies and when we get his POV, he immediately adopts the biggest bunch of losers around. He's more of a wet cat, show!Darkling hopeful idiot. They are both much better than I would ever be in their situation.

Zoya Nazyalensky- book-TGT

I never liked her, but she was tolerable as a mean bitch.

Malyen Oretsev- show

They retconned the hell out of him to make him less of a dick, what's left looks like a nice boy, supportive brother with a name and preternatural skills from the book.

Baghra Morozova- neither

She's a horrible hag and one of the true villains of Grishaverse. I hate her immensely.

Genya Safin- book1 or show

The wasted potential! One of those characters that should've been MC... minus her post-S&B lobotomy.

David Kostyk- book

... because Luke will always be d'Artagnan to me.

Nadia Zhabin- neither

She's only there to prop up the current MCs and gain some diversity points.

Marie- neither

One-dimensional punching bag.

Ivan- both

Book!Ivan is realistic joy, Simon Sears' scowl and delivery of that one speech in the carriage would make him proud.

Fedyor- show, for now

TBH I don't remember him much from the books. He was only briefly in the first one, and I didn't get to him again in the next. I love his loyalty and dynamics with Ivan in the show.

The Apparat- neither

Another true villain. This time in creepy, manipulative, cultish way. He should have burned.

Kaz Brekker- book

The whole "human trafficking's okay, where there's enough money involved" plot...

Inej Ghafa- book

They made her into another religious fanatic. Plus Inej "I'm gonna become captain of the ship to disassemble slavery" Ghafa doesn't care about other girls being sold?!

Jesper Fahey- probably book

I've read the books two years ago, and Jesper's the one I cared about least, so...

Nina Zenik- book

They made hormonal teenager into adult deserter. When you age her up, her whole romance with Matthias is like a Jewish resistance member abandoning her work to save Gestapo officer's life, because he surely changed.

Matthias Helvar- neither or both

Look, I'm all for the story of a murderous bigot changing into a better person, but a.) Book made it too quick for me to believe it. b.) Show sort of forgot what he was doing in the first place and made Helnik only into two soldiers from enemy countries.

Dubrov and Mikhael- couldn't care less

They're just a canon fodder to make Malyen sad. And horny dicks to Alina in the book.

[j2zara]

lj3's blessed "youre my port in a storm" emotional support and finding love despite the torment nexus vs. jaceporter's barbarous booktok boyfriend toxic codependency breathing into each others' mouths

Jaceporter’s blessed devotion and resurrection as a form of romance and loving to the point of invention and soulmates aren’t born they’re made vs. LJ3’s barbarous insipid YA love triangle drama bullshit toxic miscommunication like they’re the worst will they won’t they on a dated sitcom

LJ3’s blessed fighting for the thing they have even tho it is imperfect and broken and fucked and full of compromises and honestly? The cause for a lot of collateral on the lives of everyone around them but it’s theirs vs. jaceporter’s barbarous fighting for the thing they have even tho it is imperfect and broken and fucked and full of compromises and honestly? The cause for a lot of collateral on the lives of everyone around them but it’s theirs NO WAIT

[peijizerojournal]

thank you so much OP for bringing this up! i was thinking about this too upon further inspection of the bi-han and sektor situation. more thoughts/insight below:

i think because of the scene in which they embrace , people are getting caught up in the romance narrative (which is fair, considering how abruptly it was shoe-horned into the story). but, if one looks at sektor’s intro dialogue with other kombatants, all interactions are almost entirely focused on her adulation of bi-han. yet…

in her interactions with noob saibot/sub-zero, there is little evidence on his end that he reciprocates this same level of adoration that she has for him. on one end, it comes off as a desperate, one-sided crush, but on the other, i definitely see the koba/caesar dynamic playing out, too.

other kombatants notice sektor’s blind admiration and idolization of bi-han, but i don’t buy that they have a true, heartfelt connection going on. i have a few theories as to why i think this, and i won’t talk about all of them, but there are a couple of things that got my attention:

there is an intro dialogue between scorpion and sektor where he implies that sektor is a poor influence on bi-han. there is a chance (if we ignore the terrible inconsistencies in the writing, lol) that bi-han’s real ambitions for the lin kuei have become intertwined with sektor’s desire for technological innovation.

because she is his extremely loyal first lieutenant, he naturally must trust her to do as she pleases, as long as it is for the betterment of the lin kuei. so, though they share this primary goal, it is possible that her own interests have gradually been eclipsing bi-han’s, potentially skewing his focus.

(edit - side note: i say this because bi-han has a rather twisted view of what it means to be ‘loyal.’ in mk1’s base campaign, it was clear that he anticipated kuai liang to remain at his side and proceed with his vision for the lin kuei as its grandmaster. he thought he could convince kuai liang to embrace the future by reiterating over and over again that their father has inhibited the clan’s growth, and i think it’s fair to assume that he has been perturbed by his brother’s departure ever since [see intro lines: ‘you could have ruled at my side’ and ‘your rebellion stings.’]

so, i say all of this to say: bi-han expects that those closest to him must feel/think exactly as he does, and do all he says with no questions asked. if they somehow step out of his set expectations and do not support/obey him, or they question his motives and actions, then they are dishonorable and disloyal and therefore must be punished.

in this context with sektor, then, i suspect this idealization of loyalty has transcended into a belief that their shared goals are somehow akin to kindredness. perhaps on some level this is true, but cyrax and kuai liang’s irritable distrust for her, and liu kang’s seemingly protective stance over bi-han’s restoration [aka he will inform her or his progress ‘when he sees fit’], paints a bit of a different story.)

let’s not forget that bi-han originally wished to “help lead earthrealm,” using his father’s teachings to “guide” and not “shackle” them. when you combine his frustrations with liu kang, the loss of support of his brothers and then finally, cyrax… by the time his transformation into noob came around, it made sense for his vulnerability and emotional irrationality to become amplified, thus reinforcing his codependency with sektor: the one person he has trusted, relied on, and believes in/agrees with whatever he says (at least, that might be what he is thinking) has continued to remain at his side.

in sektor’s tower ending, i was hoping to see her usurp the lin kuei from bi-han, perhaps while he’s away being healed. i feel like that would have made an excellent mk2, to be honest. imagine: sektor going mad with power, taking the cyber initiative online full-force, denouncing bi-han as ‘foolish’ (as she kind of/not really did in her tower ending? lol) and fully stepping into that fanatical, lin kuei-obsessed sektor we know from the previous timeline. and bi-han: healed and restored as sub-zero and having recognized his faults and beginning his path to redemption, has to take back the lin kuei from her, as she has destroyed its legacy and everything it stood for, including his own influence. even though bi-han had greater ambitions for the clan, and was open to innovation, he was still — in many ways — a staunch traditionalist.

i believe this is where their idolized visions of each other would collapse and make a really fascinating plot point, as a result. it would be more plausible to believe that perhaps — upon seeing all of his warriors cyberized — that bi-han would realize that he and sektor, in fact, do not share the same vision for the lin kuei. and for her to confront him with this, expecting him to be on board with it, would have added some great tension or even heartache to their mutual sense of betrayal by the other.

as a result of this revelation, it could have paved the path for a redeemed sub-zero to try to reclaim/rebuild his clan from her, maybe even with the help of kuai liang and tomas and the shirai ryu. having to dispatch of who was once his most honoured, dependable partner would have been a real full circle moment for him as well, as through witnessing what sektor had become in his absence, he would have had to likely confront some of his own flaws and hubris in the process.

but alas… the writing team absolutely dropped the ball with both bi-han and sektor’s characters here. her ambitions for the lin kuei and her pining for bi-han are strangely disjointed. neither trait reinforces the other, and the pendulum between her interests swings so drastically that it’s challenging to take her seriously.

this lack of nuance in the characters is why ‘khaos reigns’ was such a storytelling failure, in my eyes. it is not only bi-han and sektor that suffer from this, but also kuai liang, cyrax, havik AND ABOVE ALL…. liu kang himself. (might make a separate post later on about liu kang’s character assassination because that one bothers me the most :s)

if they wanted to make bi-han and sektor a believable coupling, then the writers should have simply committed to that by having their encounters be a bit more noticeable and reciprocal à la mileena/tanya, kuai/harumi, hell even syzoth/ashrah. like, bi-han could have been more… “into her”? they could have alluded to a longtime intimate partnership (and not in a cringy, flirty way either) in their intro dialogue.

in fact: why was sub-zero not one of sektor’s kameos during her chapter ? instead, she spent all her time bantering with/fighting with khameleon as her back up. if nrs were going to try for that angle with those two, then why not have sub-zero and sektor fight alongside one another in the throne room ? give them a bit of banter (instead of khameleon…) or give them a small moment where we can actually see the bond between them: the grandmaster and his most trusted partner/warrior… it would have helped make them more believable, and give more impact to the scene where she sees him for the first time in the khaosrealm/the mind-healing scene, thus making their bond more meaningful and tangible. “show-don’t-tell.��� sektor’s chapter would have been a good place to insert just a teeny bit of something to give their connection more weight. even having bi-han leap through the portal not because of geras but because sektor perhaps got hurt or overwhelmed in the battle… that also would have been an impactful way to show the depths of their connection and characterization.

but, we didn’t get that at all. why have the other characters joke around with sektor about it when the man himself is there, on the roster? it feels silly and deliberate vague, as if they didn’t want to commit to it fully, or as if it was hastily added in at the last minute.

another angle would be: if they wanted to lean into the caesar/koba dynamic, then why didn’t they balance sektor out a bit more as a character? again, nuance is important. it’s why bi-han’s downfall as a character in mk1 is so devestating, and why despite us being baited with a redemption arc, as lore lovers we’re left sorely disappointed, once again.

it would have been infinitely more intriguing to see sektor grappling with her affection, deference and glorification of bi-han in combination with her desires to steer the lin kuei. for her to have to go back and forth with herself about that, almost like having to choose between bi-han and all he might represent, versus the idealized, mechanized version of the clan she has in her mind.

again, the writing team’s lack of commitment in wanting to represent any of the ‘khaos reigns’ characters’ motivations as clear and meaningful and — if at all — absolutely tanks the quality of the story as a whole. especially since the multiverse/timetravelling is a failproof way to eliminate not only the lore of the past, but any canon they establish going forward.

if none of it means anything, and there is no consistency or purpose or acknowledgement of that which has already been stated, then how is any of what happens next suppose to matter?

I don’t know if any of you watched dawn of the planet of the apes but I think further writing for bi-han and sektor should take some inspiration from Koba and Ceasar.

If you’re unfamiliar with the film, Ceasar is the leader of the apes and Koba is his second in command- extremely LOYAL.

But it’s through the decisions Ceasar makes throughout the film that causes Koba’s loyalty to dwindle and eventually die. He eventually believes he needs to kill Ceasar and take command of the apes due to finding Ceasar to be an insufficient leader.

I think at some point, Bi-Han will do what Bi-Han always does and make some questionable decisions. Sektor is loyal to Bi-Han yes but I’d imagine her top priority is to the Lin Kuei (if it’s not then damn they really destroyed her character). In an attempt to communicate with him, I’m sure she’d bring her concerns up to him only causing him to get defensive which only furthers her belief that he’s becoming a faulty leader (we have slight hints that Sektor is not okay with all his choices- ex: when he tried to fight liu kang and when she asked him if he still planned to stay as noob saibot).

I guess in summary, I think sektor should eventually find him to be a terrible leader and take the Lin Kuei herself. Her infatuation with him in this dlc is highly unrealistic to a character like herself but maybe it can be used to make her betrayal of bi-han all that more impactful.

[the-lady-writes-what]

How did you find out that you're a lesbian? /gen you don't have to answer this if it makes you uncomfortable

TLDR at the bottom if this essay is too much

It's not an uncomfortable question at all. Thank you for asking. So me coming out as lesbian is a really long story about 30 years in the making. I guess I was socially programmed into thinking I was straight for most of my life by the outside world. I didn't grow up in a religious household or anything but at the same time I didn't have any understanding of gay, straight, bi, pan, etc. I did, however, grow up in the 90's and early 2000's where LGBTQ+ presentation wasn't, you know, great. I was conditioned by the media around me, which was cis het (and mostly white) 99.9% of the time, to think that straight and me being straight was what everyone was doing and normal with no deviations whatsoever.

Flash forward to my high school years, more specifically sophomore and junior year. I tended to have a lot of boy crushes and looking back on it now, I'd say it had more to do with seeking male attention and validation because of Daddy Issues. This was now the early 2010's where there was this trend with everyone and their weird aunt coming out as bisexual. I had this friend who I used to be close with and I thought I had feelings for her on a romantic level. Having no real established knowledge or understanding of what bisexual meant or being queer or gay, I just went with it. Add into the mix a heady mixture of teenage hormones, emotionally unfulfilled home life, and religion, and you have a disaster. By the time I was a sophomore, I had converted to Catholicism of my own free will and ironically because of a lesbian. Trying to be "good" Catholic and having a girlfriend conflicted, so I broke it off. In retrospect, that might have been a good thing because this friend developed a codependency on me and stalked me on Facebook a couple times after I ended the friendship when one too many lies and inconsistencies became too much for me to handle (and also because she was not the emotional support I needed).

Between high school graduation and college, I dated a number of people. I had three romantic partners, one boyfriend and two partners who later came out as transwomen. Between all that time, I kinda hated myself. I would date someone for a few months and then break up because of something I couldn't define. I was there in the present, but couldn't see a future with that partner. I felt like something was wrong with me and my sexuality was broken. In my early 20's, I discovered asexuality and thought "oh. maybe this is why the way I am." Asexuality became my identity. Dating and sleeping with men no longer was a priority for me. Aside from this one partner who I dated off and on for about...10 years, I didn't feel the need to date men. I eventually stopped being Catholic around 2019 and then COVID happened.

I spent 2020-2021 doing a lot of introspection. I noticed things that I hadn't before about my behavior and reactions when socializing with the same or opposite gender. I realized that it has always been easier for me to talk to women than men, and not just because of my issues with my dad. Oh. Okay, then. Maybe I'm asexual but have romantic feelings for women and men? I can date women if I wanted to, I don't have to sleep with them. And over the next couple years more and more pieces of the puzzle fell into place. I started reading wlw fantasy books. I've always been excited to see two people or two characters of every persuasion find love. I love love. But when I read "The Tiger's Daughter" by K. Arsenault Rivera and "The Jasmine Throne" by Tasha Suri, I felt a deeper connection to those romances on an emotional level. It was something deeper than being excited about love, it was something more akin to longing, as in "wow. i wish i could have that." This was not the same response I have to cis het couples.

Then, I had to look back on my interests. I realized that most of the men I lusted after were all fictional. Shouta Aizawa, Sesshomaru, Hawks, Loki, etc, none of them were real. I never thought about a male celebrity in that light. High school crushes are very different from having adult feelings, so I can say that I've never had the same feelings for men in the same way I have for Aizawa. There's only been one or two exceptions to the rule, but I've never imagined actually sleeping or falling in love with Tom Hiddleston. He's just very good looking and I like Loki. How I talk about male celebrities I like for their looks and female celebrities is very different.

Example

Tom Hiddleston: Wow. He's super handsome.

Markliplier (youtuber): Wow. He's super handsome, funny, AND he has a great personality. His girlfriend is so lucky.

Florence Welch, existing:

Me: Beautiful. Amazing. Talented. Stunning. Goddess, I worship at your feet. I want to drink from the same cup of wine that graced your lips and dance with you at midnight under the full moon....

You get the picture.

There are other examples that I looked at. Interest in Greek mythology especially anything to do with goddesses or female characters (of course, Artemis was my favorite, because GAY, though i have moved on to Athena and Aphrodite). I was always more interested in female characters in books. Lack of interest in sex with cis men. My favorite poem is "The Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti, which has some very queer/lesbian undertones for a Victorian poem. I have a strong aversion to resembling as a male stereotypes, though I'm still trying to work on being less aggressive. The list is probably longer than this. Oh, and I have a Pinterest board made up of 581 and counting pictures of Florence Welch, and there is no heterosexual explanation for that.

All this came to a head in November and December last year. I had been discussing this with my friend (who I had also dated before she came out as trans) and my sister, who is a decent ally. In December 2022, I had no other choice but to admit to myself that after 30 years that I was not at all straight. The problem was that I had to wait to come out until a little later because at the time my uncle was very sick and died a week before Christmas. Coming out of the closest last year as soon as I realized it was not a good idea. I came out to my sister and my friend in January and I've been getting used to the identity ever since. Sorry this is a fucking biography but I tend to be very verbose and take a long time to explain anything.

TLDR: American society conditioned me into thinking I was straight for most of my 30 yrs of life, but that was incorrect because women are pretty and I'm in love with Florence Welch.

[armeniuslaurant]

Thinking about the intended ending of “Patty is romantically alone, but fine, and shouldn’t be in a romantic relationship as long as she keeps diving into codependency” and how much more believable that would be if Tammy didn’t suck so much. Tammy was supposed to be complicated, Tammy was supposed to be a bad match for Patty. There is no world where they would have stayed together happily even if none of the Allison stuff happened. Tammy was, by Valerie’s words on the character and the framing of Tammy’s last scenes, not supposed to be the raging borderline abusive jackass I and many others thought she was. Tammy dismissing Allison as “meek” and “a victim” was supposed to be her being completely wrong about Allison or worse, we’re supposed to agree that Allison’s “victim complex” is a fault of hers. It wasn’t supposed to show what a colossal piece of shit cop Tammy is, for completely failing to spot a domestic abuse victim and instead being disdainful of her acting like one. If I imagine a version of Tammy where she is just awkward and ill-fitting and would work as a friend to Patty but not a girlfriend then yeah, I can imagine an ending where Patty needs to learn how to be romantically alone but fine. But with canon!Tammy all I thought was “Patty should really have a less shitty girlfiend” That conclusion to Patty’s arc is also hurt by the fact that like... Patty has been in exactly one “real” relationship ever that lasted 9 months. Her only previously established relationship was with Kurt and that lasted 3 years. I don’t really count that one because he was basically a friend she had sex with at least once, and for all of Kurt’s other faults his gender wasn’t helping him. I don’t get the impression Patty has even had a long-term boyfriend before Kurt, so she basically spent her early 30′s in quasi-romantic relationships? One of the many reasons I don’t buy “Let’s die alone together” as good final words. I get Allison’s ending separate from how it impacts Patty’s. I do. Allison spent 15 years in a shitty marriage and she only realized how unsalvageable it was in the last year of it. She had Sam before and during to show how unnecessary romance was to her (Sam was NEVER a way out. She only ever even considered Sam as her salvation when she was despairing at her actual plan failing.). Allison wanting to wake up in her own bed alone and never even think about going on another date or kissing someone and dying alone (but happy, and loved) makes sense and I can believe it is a happy ending for her. Just don’t drag Patty into her version of a happy ending. Even a platonic ending where they never directly address Patty’s feelings should have had Allison supporting Patty’s own want for romantic love, not Patty supporting Allison’s want to “die alone together”

[coolseabird]

Gale is my favorite guy for her, and Karlach is my favorite girl so I'm happy each is winning out of their respective gender. :] Minthara’s dialogue with both is just so much fun, and I think she has the strongest chemistry with them by far. But ultimately, Galethara is my top choice, especially for an evil run. He’s more easily corruptible and can believably fall into villainy for her, which is perfect for a darker playthrough. Mintharlach, on the other hand, is my favorite for a more good-aligned, knockout recruitment/romance run. It's super sweet. 🥺 @alicelufenia ‘s writeup explains the appeal of them perfectly imo (check the reblogs for that) so I’ll focus on Galethara here.

In the game, Gale as a companion feels conflicted about the grove, but with the right words, you can talk him down, make him see things your way. Meanwhile, Karlach and Wyll hold fast to their principles, and they’ll leave rather than stay with someone who commited such an atrocity, which makes sense for their characters. If you’re playing doing an evil origin and want to stay in character while having a believable moral decline, Galethara just hits different. As an enjoyer of destroying the grove that's why I have to put Galethara as my #1.

It’s like, Yes, this is wrong, but this pretty drow lady might be the only chance we have to survive. I also don't want to die. What’s one grove compared to destroying many more with the orb? Just that initial moral compromise leading to more and more. And later on after learning about the crown, Oh! I’d use the crown differently, for the greater good… we could shape the world in our image, take down the gods themselves. It’s that heady corruption arc that makes them so compelling together. (And it's not like he needed that much of a push to begin with based on how companion Gale acts in Act 3 haha) He is the definition of the road to hell is paved with good intentions and Minthara is more than happy to drive down that road. It’s great stuff!

Gale and Minthara together are like the Macbeths; they're both ambitious nightmares who can make each other worse. But Minthara also grounds Gale emotionally, she's always encouraging him to pursue greatness and to defy the gods and not to kill himself.

You know those memes about creating a character just to give Shadowheart an aneurysm? Like a githyanki cleric of Selune? Gale is that character to Minthy, lol. He’s a non-drow, a wizard, and a man, and yet, to her horror, she develops feelings for him. Then, when he saves her and proves he’s just as ambitious as she is, she falls hard. I think romances between foils are so fun. They’re so different in so many ways, but both were cast aside by the gods and have similar desires: to prove themselves and rise to the top. They’re also the most codependent companions in the game, and putting them together is fascinating. They’d make absolutely terrible villains together, and I love it. Gale's evil Absolute ending with a romanced Minthara is especially fun. You get to crusade with her to destroy the gods. It meshes very well. He's definitely going after Lolth first. And even if you don't do that, becoming God of Ambition Gale and supporting her war in the Underdark is very fun too. She says this out of pocket line in the epilogue:

God Gale: I may no longer be your lover, but I am the god of ambition. If you desire my aid, you've only to ask. Minthara: An intriguing proposition. To harness the powers of the heavens as I once harnessed you...

I adore her. 😭 Having a god wrapped around her finger for once is what she deserves.

Minthara without fail encourages every dark impulse a Gale Origin player might have. When he consumes the Shadow Weave within the Thorm kids (is it cannibalism to eat the Weave in a body?), she’s totally gung ho about it in this is the dialogue you get with her:

"Ah, the wizard. I could not help but notice that you have been exploring new avenues of knowledge recently—I approve. … The pursuit of knowledge and power should always be our goal. … Do not let the laws or scruples of inferior minds stand in your way."

She’s all in for seizing the crown too, and it’s amazing. Also, Gale Origins are the only ones who can hug Minthara in the epilogue romanced or not

Also even if they aren't romanced she admits she has affection for him.

She also thinks his beard is dashing. I rest my case:

[soren-bleu-kun]

Fic Wrap Up.

*feel free to ignore this if I tagged you 

This is going to be my own fic wrap up, my first one ever because this was the birth of my Ao3 account, so all of my fics are from this year. I’ll try to keep things concise, but it’ll still be pretty long. I will do this in the form of a Read More after the first few fics. There are over 90, I’ll try to go alphabetically. 

All of them are from the same fandom, BnHA, so that’s nice. More gen fics, less romance. Most of them are for series, events, other people’s aus - and I’ll make sure to share all of that when I share each fic, especially because some of the events are probably repeats and this is a little bit like free marketing [only tagging them once because that would get obnoxious, especially for the weekly event things I did]. Other than that, I hope you all enjoy and may 2021 suck slightly less. 

Heads up for angst, whump, some ships, and manga spoilers 

A Breathing Silence - Gen, 3K. Shirakumo survives his internship, but at the price of his hearing. His friends do their best to help him through it [for @badthingshappenbingo] 

A Common Room Conversation - Gen, 2K. Midoriya realizes that he has some questions for his mentor during winter break. [for @tunafishprincess’ Dads For Deku Week that I still need to finish, whoops] 

A Confession and A Dance - TodoDeku, 4K. Midoriya and Todoroki just going to the school dance as friends doesn’t last very long 

After Hours - ShinDeku, 1K. Model Shinsou goes on his first date with a photographer he works with sometimes, and worries that he’s going to be horrifically awkward about it [for OTPtober run by DigitalPopsicle, AU by. @amandasmurfee] 

Amend - EraserMight, 1.5K. Yagi and Aizawa have been arguing for the last few days. Aizawa finds himself forgiving his partner in order to help him. [for @erasermight-week] 

Bedside Manner - EraserMight, 2K. Yagi ends up in the hospital and hopes for better days [for @/erasermight-week] 

Bravery Test - DustBunny, 2K. Though the two aren’t together in this one, this fic features hero student Tenko Shimura having a crush on his much cooler classmate, Rumi Usagiyama. [for DustBunny Week on Twitter] 

Broken Glass - [FAN FAVORITE] Gen, 1K. A young Keigo Takami finds himself wandering the streets of Musutafu in this fic where he seems to have glitched through time [for @/hawksweek2020] 

Can’t Say No - CloudMic, 2K. Despite the fact that Yamada hates the beach, he can’t help but agree to go when his crush asks him [for CloudMic Week on Twitter] 

Caramel Coffee & Phone Numbers - [FAN FAVORITE] ShinDeku, 1K. This fic features an AU where instead of going to UA at all, Shinsou ends up as a barista [for @shindekumonth] 

Codependence - EraserMic, 1K. Yamada realizes that he feels unfulfilled in his relationship but doesn’t know how to leave. [for @whumptober2020] 

Concerns and Collapse - Gen, 1K. Yagi is ignoring his health because of his hubris and it doesn’t end well [for @/badthingshappenbingo] 

Chronic - [FAN FAVORITE] ShinDeku, 1.5K. Midoriya is ignoring his pain because he has homework to do. Shinsou is having none of it [for @/whumptober2020] 

Date Night - ShinDeku, 1K. As pro heroes, they don’t get a lot of time to spend together. Might as well do what they can [for @/shindekumonth] 

Disguises - Gen, 1K. In an AU where Tokoyami does end up being taken alongside Bakugou, Todoroki feels responsible for getting him back 

Foggy Recollection - Gen, 2K. In a world where Shirakumo lives but Aizawa ends up dying at USJ, he and Yamada are just trying to pick up the pieces [for CloudMic Week on Twitter] 

Forgotten Birthday - Gen, 1K. When Sero breaks his record of perfect attendance with no explanation, Aizawa goes to figure out if something is wrong [for @dadzawa-week-2020] 

For the Morning - [FAN FAVORITE] ShinDeku, 1K. Shinsou knows that he shouldn’t have snuck into his boyfriend’s dorm room for morning cuddles, but he couldn’t help himself [for OTPtober on Twitter] 

Good Morning, Koda - Gen, 1K. Aizawa recognizes the anxiety in one of his students, and goes about trying to help quietly [for @/dadzawa-week-2020] 

Go Fish - Gen, 1K. Aoyama doesn’t spend a lot of time with people, but for Midoriya he’ll make an exception [for @dekusquadweek] 

Gravel and Back Alleys - Gen, 2K. Shigaraki doesn’t understand why a hero keeps letting him go. Guess he’ll just have to find out for himself [personally not too proud of this one, heh] [for DustBunny Week on Twitter] 

Harmonizing Colors - [FAN FAVORITE] EraserMight, 1K. When Yagi finds his emotions not acting the way he wants them to, he knows that he has to find another outlet - and to keep it a secret [for @/erasermight-week] 

Indecision - TodoChako, 2K. Todoroki knows that he shouldn’t be fornicating with the enemy in this future au, but he can’t help himself. He misses her [for TodoChako Week on Twitter] 

In the Grey - [FAN FAVORITE] Gen, 1K. Midoriya finds himself going home to an empty house, feeling rather cold [for @/dekusquadweek] 

In the Rain - CloudMic, 2K. After the national hero rankings let out, Shirakumo and Yamada find their way home has been kind of ruined and have to walk together to the train station [for CloudMic Week on Twitter] 

In the Teacher’s Lounge - EraserMight, 1K. Aizawa and Yagi spend some time together after classes [for OTPtober and based off of this art by @theoutspokenrodent] 

Last Word - [FAN FAVORITE] ShinDeku, 1K. Midoriya has hanahaki and never had the chance to tell Shinsou [for @/shindekumonth] 

Late Night Chamomile - Gen, 1K. Yaoyorozu is having a hard night and her teacher doesn’t want to leave her alone with the nightmares [for @/dadzawa-week-2020] 

Lessons in English and Subtlety - CloudMic, 2K. Shirakumo is having a hard time focusing on his work with Yamada right there [for CloudMic Week on Twitter] 

Light the Candles, Not the Cake - EraserCloud, 1K. Aizawa forgot that it was Shirakumo’s birthday in this AU where he lives, and he’s hurrying to make up for it [for OTPtober] 

Little Blue Teacups - Gen, 1K. Todoroki needs some help getting rid of something and he asks Uraraka for help [for @/dekusquadweek] 

Locked Up - Gen, 1K. Shinsou likes hiding himself away, which is great until he finds a place he can’t get out of [for @/shindekumonth] 

Looking Out - Gen, 6K. Aizawa starts looking out for Yagi when he finds out that the man is being stalked and it brings out some of his darker side [written because an event rejected me! Thanks guys, this has the most comments out of every fic I’ve ever written! Also for @/badthingshappenbingo] 

Lying Together - EraserMight, 1.5K. Yagi and Aizawa learning how to operate together in all things, but especially sleep [for @/erasermight-week] 

Middle of the Night - Gen, 1K. Just something about Iida checking in on Midoriya [for @/dekusquadweek] 

Missing Gears - EraserMight, 10K. In an AU where Yagi never gets OFA, he becomes a support course student, who later in life works with Aizawa - an old high school friend [for @erasermight-bigbang] 

Nana’s Cape - Gen, 2K. In a role swap au, Tenko Shimura is trying to find his grandmother’s cape, taken by villains just to mess with him [for DustBunny Week on Twitter] 

New Directions - Gen, 1K. Giran finds a young Touya Todoroki on the street and decides to help the kid out 

Not the First to Say - Gen, 1K. Todoroki finds Yaoyorozu the night before her birthday, feeling down. They have a talk. [for @todomomoweek2020] 

Ocean Air - Gen, 3K. Todoroki has never stepped foot into the ocean to and he’s got some thoughts abut it [for TodoChako Week on Twitter] 

Old Memories, New Rivals - Gen, 1.5K. In which Shinsou remembers a young Midoriya [for @/shindekumonth]

One Night Off - ShinDeku, 1K. For once these two pro heroes have time for each other without forcing it to happen [for OTPtober] 

On Repeat - Gen, 1K. Shirakumo has been reliving the same day over for forever, and is finally just waking up [for @/whumptober2020] 

On the Battlefield - Gen, 1K. Dabi stops someone from bleeding out, just in case he needs them later 

Over the Phone - EraserMight, 1.5K. Aizawa has a hard time falling asleep without Yagi there with him [for @/erasermight-week] 

Painful Decisions - TodoMomo, 1K. On their anniversary, Yaoyorozu realizes she doesn’t actually love him [for @/todomomoweek2020] 

Prom Night - CloudMic, 2K. Shirakumo and Yamada skip out on their special night at school to have a special night for the two of them [for CloudMic Week on Twitter] 

Promise - EraserCloud, 1K. Aizawa gets hurt and doesn’t tell Shirakumo 

Proposal - EraserCloud, 1.5K. Wedding night for Aizawa and Shirakumo, just some softness 

Rough Patrol - EraserCloud, 1.5K. Aizawa gets hurt during patrol and doesn’t warn Shirakumo until later 

Rubble - Gen, 1K. Yagi watches his successor bury himself in rubble, and despite the fact that the boy is a pro hero now, he can’t help but go off and try to find him [for @/badthingshappenbingo] 

Ruining Movie Night - EraserMic, 1K. Sometimes Aizawa just needs to let his emotions out, and sometimes he doesn’t know when that’s going to happen [for @/whumptober2020] 

Running on Empty - Gen, 2K. Uraraka forgot to get food before Todoroki showed up for a study session and she’s hungry 

Sapporo Snow Festival - Gen, 1K. Todoroki runs into Yaoyorozu when he wasn’t expecting it but it ends surprisingly well [for @t/odomomoweek2020] 

Scientifically Proven to be Pointless - Gen, 1K. AFO as a young lad, trying to help his younger brother with his illness [for AFOtober, run by AFOzine on Twitter] 

Scrambled Eggs - CloudMic, 2K. When Aizawa dies, Shirakumo and Yamada go through with making an agency [for CloudMic Week on Twitter] 

Sitting in the Rain - Gen, 1K. Sometimes Tsu likes to sit in the rain. Today she doesn’t have to sit alone [from @aconstantstateofbladerunner’s list of prompts found here] 

Small Grievances - Gen, 1K. When Aizawa dies, the rest of the rooftop gang mourns [for @/whumptober2020] 

Snow and the Kitchen Drawer - Gen, 1K. Sometimes Yamada hates himself for choices he didn’t make [for CloudMic Week on Twitter] 

Something Like Eisoptrophobia - Gen, 1K. There’s this little fear that the Voice Hero has never gotten over before [for @/whumptober2020] 

Studying Together - TodoMomo, 1K. In this College AU, Todoroki hates biology. At least right now he isn’t going through it alone [for @/todomomoweek2020] 

Stumbling - Gen, 1K. Midoriya runs into Shinsou at a hero con [for @shindekumonth] 

Sunday Morning - [FIST FIC] EraserMic, 1K. Just something soft for two pro heroes on a rainy day 

Surprise Call - A young Shigaraki is glad to hear from AFO, as rare as it might be [for AFOtober] 

Tensei’s Meal - Gen, 1K. In the aftermath of his older brother getting hospitalized by the hero killer, Iida has to be reminded to eat [for @dadzawa-week-2020] 

The Aftermath - EraserMight, 1K. After Nighteye dies, Yagi has some feelings he has to process [for @/erasermight-week] 

The Business Card - ShinMono, 1K. In this College AU, Shinsou is just trying to ignore the noises of other people in the dorms and runs into someone quite eccentric [for @shinmonoweek] 

The Car Ride - Gen, 1K. Shinsou getting out of therapy and being absolutely exhausted [for @/dekusquadweek] 

The Last Halloween - Gen, 3K. A surprisingly soft DFO story from when Midoriya was little [for @/tunafishprincess’ Dad For One Halloween event] 

The Little Matryoshka Doll - Gen, 1K. From a time when they were younger, a small Yaoyorozu looks for her little friend at an adult party, not knowing that something’s happened to him [for @/todomomoweek2020] 

The Nightly Watch - Gen, 1K. Eri has had some nightmares so Aizawa is staying with her for a bit [for @/dadzawa-week-2020] 

The Pause Button - EraserMic, 1K. Yamada gets injured while working and can’t talk for a few days 

The Waiting Room - [FAN FAVORITE] Gen, 2K. When Yagi ends up in the hospital and Midoriya goes to see him, he runs into Tsukauchi in the hospital [for @/tunafishprincess’ Dads for Deku event] 

They Were Roommates - ShinCahko, 9K, ongoing. Shinsou and Uraraka ended up becoming roommates because of the cheap rent and it has some unforeseen consequences [for @shinchakoweek] 

Things Will Get Better - ShinDeku, 1K. Midoriya loses something vital to him and Shinsou is there to help him [for @/shindekumonth] 

Three Little Rings - EraserCloudMic, 5.5K. Shirakumo wants to propose to his partners but he doesn’t know how it would work for them [for CloudEraserMic Week on Twitter] 

Through the Haze - EraserMight/EraserCloud, 1K. Aizawa starts seeing things when he gets too sick and Yagi doesn’t have the heart to correct him [for @/whumptober2020] 

Under the Maples - Gen, 1K. Shinsou was just planning on going for a bike ride, not running into weird hero course kids [for @/shinmonoweek] 

Under the Same Roof - Gen, 1K. Once upon a time, the original OFA user and his brother lived in the same house and things were very tense [for AFOtober on Twitter] 

Waiting to Say Hello - Gen, 1K. In an alternative universe where Hawks has anxiety, his meeting with the number one hero goes a little differently [for @/hawksweek2020] 

Winning the Bet - [FAN FAVORITE] Gen, 2K. When Yamada is forced to make a bet about who he thinks will break first during finals week, he doesn’t admit that he’s actually won [for @/tunafishprincess’ Dads for Deku Week event] 

Visiting Hours - Gen, 1K. Villain Todoroki finds himself going to see an old friend of his during a snowstorm [for @/todomomoweek2020] 

Walking Back - EraserMight, 1.5K. When Yagi thinks that Aizawa looks too tired to get back to the dorms on his own, he does his best to help him. It ends with a bit of a shock [for OTPtober] 

Warranted Interruptions - Gen, 1K. Monoma and Aizawa don’t interact often, which is fine with the both of them - but that doesn’t mean that Aizawa can ignore when someone is hurting [for @/dadzawa-week-2020] 

Winter Home - TodoMomo, 1K. Todoroki ends up going with Yaoyorozu on a family vacation and feels welcomed [for @/todomomoweek2020] 

I hope you guys like them, and thanks for taking the time to read all the way down here, if you did. This took most of the night, ha. If you read any of them, I’d love like... a kudos. Statistics bring me down, you, so keeping the 1 : 10 ratio for more of these fics would be awesome 

New Year’s Resolution  : Write more Quality, not Quantity. More DadMight, maybe post some of my other longer stories. Don’t make every request something to post. 

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi Steph!! I was wondering if you knew of any really long fics (like 25k or more) that are only one chapter, I travel a lot sometimes and some places don't really have good enough internet for multi chapter fics. So yeah, any really long one chapter fics about John and Sherlock would be appreciated. Thank you!

Hey Nonny!!

LOL OKAY FUNNY STORY. I almost replied to this with “oof I’ll have to read EVERYTHING so I’m sorry.... and then... I remembered.......

I put chapter counts on everything 🙃😐 

I’m not the brightest crayon in the box. 🖍 

Anyway, so yes, I can definitely rec you some fics! BUT I should also offer you two suggestions you can totally do to read ANY fic!

On Ao3, you can click on the “Entire Work” button to load ALL chapters of a fic (it’s the very first button along the top) and in turn you can then just read it all there! 

And the very last button along the top, you can Download copies of the fic to your phone or computer with eBook file types (AZw3 for Kindle, ePub for iPhone’s Books app, and MOBI is for other mobile devices and e-readers), the HTML if you want to read it as-is in a web-browser, or the PDF format which is a universal file format that is supported by everything, even web browsers, so it’s a good one to download if you don’t know what format you need :) If you read on an eReader, though, I can’t recommend enough just downloading the format for your device. You get to keep a copy of the fic AND the eReader keeps it nicely formatted. It’s a BRILLIANT, BEAUTIFUL feature that Ao3 gave us, because I like downloading all my fics and read them later in iBooks. Once you start that, Nonny, you can’t do it any other way. AND at the VERY END of the fics, it links BACK to the original post so you can bookmark, kudos, and comment on it!! <3

So yeah, two options you can do to solve your poopy internet and still read long fics hee hee! <3

ANYWAY EXCUSE FOR A NEW LIST LOL. 

ALSO, side note, check out @silentauroriamthereal; a large chunk of her fics are both long AND one chapter, so it’s a good place to go and she’s a brilliant author so I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! <3 Plus a lot of her fics are on this list, so I am sorry hahah.

AND I wanted to make the list a bit longer than I had, so I picked fics over 20K, if that’s alright :) As always, if you wrote a 20k+ single chapter fic, let us know!

SINGLE CHAPTER FICS OVER 20K WORDS

A Life Well-Lived by Kate_Lear (E, 20,121 w., 1 Ch. || Original Male Character, Sherlock Woos John, Jealous Sherlock, Reluctant Bi-John, Past Abuse, Insecure John, Reassuring / Caring Sherlock, Protective Sherlock, Understanding Sherlock) – John got scared off men by an abusive past relationship. Sherlock has to try and woo him while not scaring him off with protective possessive rage.

The White Lotuses by SilentAuror (E, 20,340 w., 1 Ch. || Slow Burn, Domestic, Romance) – One day John realises that he just isn't where he belongs, which is back at Baker Street with Sherlock. So he goes back and Sherlock, in his own way, courts him. Romance.

Out of the Woods by SilentAuror (E, 20,471 w., 1 Ch. || Post S4, Romance, Slow Burn, Flirting, Drunk Sex, Practical Jokes, POV Sherlock, Bottomlock, Possessive John, Pining Sherlock, Frustrated Wanking, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, First Kiss/Time, Virgin Sherlock, Love Confessions, Soft Sherlock, Dancing, Bum Appreciation, Hanging out with the Yard) – Sherlock is fairly certain that John has taken to flirting with him of late, but can't be entirely certain of it. At least, not until a case takes them into a forest, along with Lestrade's team and something happens that will change everything about their lives...

You're On the Air by prettysailorsoldier (M, 20,616 w., 1 Ch. || Unilock, Matchmaking, Radio, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Sherlock POV, Pining Sherlock, Flirting, Bisexual John) – The Consulting Detective and The Woman dominate the airwaves of their university radio station, doling out advice on everything from meeting the parents to sexual positions. When their ratings start to dip before the holidays, however, manager Mike thinks it's time for some fresh blood, and who better to fill in the gaps than rugby captain--and notorious flirt--John Watson? Part 1 of 25 Days of Johnlock

whiskies neat by Ellipsical (E, 20,660 w., 15 Ch. || Alternate First Meeting, POV Second Person Sherlock, Slow Burn, One Night Stand, Rimming, Blow Jobs, Anal, Soldier John, Crying, Emotional Lovemaking, Switchlock) – Home and hearth and whiskies neat, or, alternatively, Sherlock Holmes falls in love.

Achieving the Together-Coloured Instant by teahigh (E, 20,776 w., 1 Ch. || Est. Rel, PTSD, Codependency, Fluff & Angst, H/C, Smut, Demisexual Sherlock, Experiments) – John wonders if this is how it’s going to be: A life speaking in code, because they’re both too stupid to figure out how to say, “I love you.”

Winter's Delights by Kate_Lear (E, 21,173 w., 1 Ch. || Holmes Family, Christmas, Fake Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Bed Sharing, Domestics) – Sherlock takes John home for Christmas to meet the extended Holmes family. Part 1 of Winter's Delights

Love Is by SilentAuror (E, 21,508 w., 1 Ch. || Angst, UST / URT, Post HLV, Romance) – At Mrs Hudson’s urging, Sherlock finally decides to tell John how he feels about him. Part 1 of Love Is

echoes through time by chellefic (E, 21,619 w., 1 Ch. || First Time, Romance, ACD & BBC, Epistolary) – Mummy sends a trunk from the Holmes cottage in Sussex to 221B. Its contents alter the way John and Sherlock see themselves and one another.

Ghost Stories by SwissMiss (M, 22,256 w., 1 Ch. || Pining, Holmes Family, Christmas, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Bed Sharing, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, First Time) – Sherlock's parents think he and John are a couple. They might be onto something.

Sonatina in G Minor by SilentAuror (E, 22,574 w., 1 Ch. || Case Fic, POV Sherlock, Angst, UST, Sherlock’s Violin, Post-S3, Romance) – John has come back to Baker Street, but Sherlock doesn't understand the strange tension between them, even after he begins teaching John to play the violin at John's request.

The Kepler Problem by kinklock (E, 24,270 w., 1 Ch. || Sci-Fi AU, Alien Sherlock, Space Repairman John, Alien Biology, Horny John) – Working in uncharted space exploration was not as exciting as John had hoped, especially when it turned out to be mostly bot maintenance on uninhabited planets. However, the mystery of the repeated, unexplained malfunctions on planet BAK 2212 might turn out to be exactly the kind of adventure he'd been craving.

26 Pieces by Lanning (E, 28,236 w., 1 Ch. || H/C, Torture, First Time, Happy Ending, Schmoop, Past Abuse) – Mycroft gives Sherlock the apparently simple task of solving a puzzle box containing a stolen microchip. It isn't simple.

The Wisteria Tree by SilentAuror (E, 29,773 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S3, Emotional Love Making, Amnesia/Memory Loss, Sherlock Loves John So Much, Sherlock POV, Romance, Angst with Happy Ending, First Times, Hurt/Comfort, Est. Rel., Retirement) – Sherlock wakes up from a month-long coma only to discover that he has no memory of the previous six years to his own shock as well as John's...

Shallow Grave by SilentAuror (E, 31,672 w., 1 Ch. || Romance, Angst, HLV Fix It, Infidelity, Pining Sherlock, First Person POV Sherlock) – Starts as Sherlock's plane is taking off at the end of His Last Vow. When he finds out that Moriarty is alive and that he's being recalled from his mission, Sherlock decides that he should have told John how he felt before he left. So he walks off the plane and kisses him.

The Midas Touch by flawedamythyst (E, 32,231 w., 1 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Magical Realism || John has a Magical Cock, Dub Con, Healer John) – John Watson has a medical condition that means everyone he sleeps with is instantly healed of all illness and injury. This causes complications when Sherlock breaks his arm, and even more complications when Sherlock falls in love with him. Yes, this is a story where John has a literal magic healing cock. It's a lot less cracky than you're probably imagining. Warning: Contains complex issues of sexual consent, although not between Sherlock and John.

The Whore of Babylon Was a Perfectly Nice Girl by out_there (E, 32,897 w., 1 Ch. || Past Drug Use, Blowjobs, Toplock, Mentions of Switching, Rough Sex, Background Cases, Sherlock’s Past, Sherlock’s Sexual History, Experienced Sherlock, Past One Night Stands, Fingering, Cuddling, Possessive Sherlock, Paris Holiday, Bed Sharing, Naked Lie-Ins, Bathing Together, Confessions, Worried Sherlock, Laying in Bed All Day, Meddling Mycroft, Naked Lazy Day) – Sherlock walks into a room and takes all the space right out of it. He does the same inside John's head.

Our Enthusiasms Which Cannot Always Be Explained by withoutawish (M, 32,961 w., 1 Ch. || Christmas, Fluff and Angst, H/C, Post-TRF, Case Fic, Mild Gore, Sherlock Whump) – The list that is tacked haphazardly on the refrigerator of 221B reads, ‘Kidney(s), and/or a full cadaver (preferably male, late 30s, under six feet tall), bag of fresh toes, sixteen cow’s eyes (corneas retained), dual exhaust hand –held flame thrower, an unopened first edition copy of Joseph Conrad’s 'Heart of Darkness', and no less than ten abhorrently gruesome murders in the upcoming month.” The one neatly hanging next to it simply reads, “Sex.” One of these lists is not John Watson’s. If John Watson were to put what he really wanted in list form, to live in a land somewhere beyond ‘almosts' now that Sherlock Holmes has indeed returned to him, he would never be able to look his flatmate in the eye ever again.

Bedtime Stories by Liketheriver (M, 34,388 w., 1 Ch. || Emotional H/C, Romance, Angst & Humour, Bed Sharing, John First Person, TRF, John Whump) – John's POV during Season 2 and beyond when Sherlock takes up semi-permanent residence in his bed. A collection of codas and missing scenes wrapped up into one long fic and topped with a bow that takes the story beyond Reichenbach and into happy territory once more. Part 1 of Bedtime Universe

The Yellow Poppies by SilentAuror (E, 34,952 w., 1 Ch. || H/C, Nightmares, HLV Fix-It, PTSD, Trauma, POV Sherlock, Doctor John) – Sherlock is threatened and assaulted in the hospital immediately after having been shot in the heart, first by Mary, then by Magnussen. As he recovers at Baker Street with John and plans the attack on Appledore with Mycroft, he fights to work through the trauma caused by these two visits. Set during His Last Vow.

The Unfinished Letters by SilentAuror (E, 37,391 w., 1 Ch. || Post S3 / S3 / HLV Fix it, Angst with Happy Ending, Romance, Infidelity, Depression, Case Fic, POV Third Person Sherlock, Love Confessions, Pining Sherlock, Letters) – A fire at Baker Street leads John to read something he was never intended to see: a notebook of half-written, unfinished letters Sherlock wrote during his time away...

Set in Stone by SilentAuror (E, 39,309 w., 1 Ch. || Romance, Wedding, Therapy, Fluff and Angst) – Sherlock and John are back from Ravine Valley and planning their wedding. However, as they move past the trial of the human traffickers, Sherlock can't help but wonder if he's imagining that John is becoming a little distant. Surely he isn't getting cold feet about the wedding... Part 2 of The Ravine Valley series

Act IV by SilentAuror (E, 39,707 w., 1 Ch. || First Person POV Sherlock, HLV Fix-It, Infidelity, Angst, Drama) – After Sherlock is shot, John moves back into Baker Street. They spend the autumn together as John tries to make sense of his life and make some important decisions about both Mary and Sherlock. Canon-compliant, excerpts from His Last Vow.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by SilentAuror (E, 50,635 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S4/S4 Divergence, Case Fic, For a Case / Reverse Fake-Relationship, Conferences, Marriage Equality, Travelling / New York, Pride, Homophobia, Bottomlock, Marriage Proposal, John POV, Sexuality, Love Confessions, Emotional Love Making, Public Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Passionate Kissing, Needy/Clingy Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Touching / Hand Holding, Bed Sharing, Little Spoon Sherlock, Intense Orgasms) – John and Sherlock go to New York to attend a conference run by the National Defence of Traditional Marriage Coalition in order to investigate the potential bombing of the annual Manhattan Pride parade. As the conference unfolds, John finds himself repulsed by the toxic ideology being presented, which becomes relevent to his own unacknowledged issues and his friendship with Sherlock...

[fiore-rosewood9]

♫FrUk :D

Thank you for the ask, I will send a few songs that remind me of fruk, a whole playlist if you may, not only one song. I also touch a few of triggering topics as I explain the nations's personalities and relationships with one another so I apologize in advance if I upset/trigger someone and will put my trigger here - Warning - mentions of abuse, alcoholism, s*exual trauma. Under the explanation there is a playlist of songs that make me think of Ukfr/Fruk, so if anyone gets upset you can feel free to skip my general headcanons about fruk/ukfr relationship dynamics. There are too many songs that make me think of different characters or ships but I collected the ones that make me think the most of them.

I know the original song is by Lady gaga but this version is too sweet and cheesy for me so I chose the rock cover by the group Halestorm since I prefer it, it sounds more genuine and rough and kinda makes me think of the dynamic that ukfr/fruk has, that some people present is as just the enemies to lovers trope or them just fighting which is.....simply unhealthy????? Fruk is much more than that and I wish people would stop seeing it as a two dimensional thing, yeah they do argue on a lot of things and it is not the healthiest dynamic however it does work in my mind because they stick through thin and thick and that requires effort and true love since a lot of people nowdays do not take time to know the other person, they just jump into marriage and have a few divorces and just argue over everything and then separate, fruk is an off and on thing where they break and make. This kind of dedication is hard to find in today's couples. I know they're fictional characters and no one really cares but I practice my psychology skills and my knowledge of people around me, and I sometimes see people with similar or almost the same characters as fictional characters, they may not have all of their hobbies but they do act the same way. And certain pairs, no offence, just make me want to gag my self due to history with bad and toxic fans but if I look at it subjectivly and never encountered mean fans from a certain ship, I would say that they ship simply doesn't work. No ship bashing but as far as I know, people with this kind of personality from this ship that I dislike, and get upset when seeing fan art of, simply just do not get along and had a hard time divorcing, it is not only unhealthy and unbalanced, it is downright abusive because both partners seek control and to have the upper hand and this is not...what romance is about???? It is about two people taking care of each other, understanding personal space and boundaries, lifting each other up and yeah, they will argue a lot, sometimes for small things, sometimes for bigger things, but generally the point of romantic relationships is not someone using you, or abusing you financially and generally being better or bigger than you. This breeds insecurity and jealousy in the other partner and makes them feel inadequate. Usually such problems are not talked over and one of the partners acts passive agressive which is what ultimaltly leads to said divorce. So yeah, people can go away with their (BUT IT IS CUTE, IT IS SO FUCKING CUTE) pairing because real life pairings and how humans communicate and develop friendships and relationships isn't based on what your mind conciders and doesn't concider cute and there are lots of factors on whether relationship will ever happen like common interests, type personality, etc and just block me so I will never hear from them and their childish mindset ever again, which is why I blocked certain tumbrl fan art hetalia accounts who produce art of a pairing I (dislike) lowkey hate, for historical reasons, for manga reasons, for toxic fans who bullied me and made me go on 3 hiatuses reason and ultimatly in real life experience and psychology and how humans and the human mind works and what is healthy and unhealthy reason. Why should I support something where certain people have been hateful towards me and these same people that act like these characters and I know in my life are on bad terms in real life? Why shouldn't I just move on to something more realistic and more healthy, that I have seen that works with humans I know first hand? I am not a clinical psychologist and I have no power or saying in this but I had to write thesis and read books by psycholgists and analyze them in high school and my first year of Uni, in order to pass the year and I have also read reccomended books by a psychologist I went to because I wanted an advice on how to deal with my anxiety and talking to people, because my condition is extremely severe but I honestly feel stuck and try to improve but also feel confused, I sometimes feel like I am not doing enough to

self improve as a human. I sometimes come off as too cold or overly bitter and angry without intending to, and it sucks.

Francis is a really manipulative person and Matthew picked up that from him while part of Alfred's agression doesn't only come from confidence in his own abilities but the fact that England him self is an overly agressive person and is very dominant or at least used to be for a very long time, now he is more mild to keep his gentleman persona but he does suffer from severe anger issues which he hides while Alfred is prone to breaking things and screaming, Arthur is more prone to being rude, sarcastic and generally mean before he loses it. Matthew and Francis do not engage in fight if they can avoid it which is why sometimes people call them cowardly I think? And Matthew is a bit prone to being a codependent people pleaser as far as I see and he seems to have severe anxiety issues. Francis albeit charismatic and beautiful, is deep down in his core lonely.

I think that part of his pervertedness, shocking people with his s*xual humour and all of this sex obsession comes from trauma in his childhood and dressing like a girl. I wouldn't explain what the trauma in question was since it is not canon but I do headcanon that he had s*xual trauma and it is partly why Hungary dressed like a guy. I don't know if this is legit, it is bias from reading too much japanese fan comics relating to hetalia or just general history of humans and how they treated consent and what is moral today, wasn't amoral or against the law a few centuries ago, but I have seen artists touch on it. I think both Arthur and Francis suffer from neglect and they weren't particularly good fathers, in fact no country is, the whole FACE family is dysfunctional and while I love all of them, I kinda pity them. I think Rome was a bit discriminatory mostly towards France and never towards his other children while Arthur had to constantly prove him self and was bullied by his brothers. While other nations have suffered from trauma too (I headcanon that Prussia was burnt on stake and people threw rocks at him due to his albinism and being left handed) something similar happened to Arthur, who I headcanon that he was burnt for being a witch and Francis went a few times through the guillotine, or Arthur still having a bullet scar on his arm from the American revolution or Francis having nightmares from that day where Jeanne was burnt and waking up in his own sweat. Arthur also must suffer from workholism and alcoholism, judging by how much he works and goes to pubs to drink. Everyone chooses their own poison and how to cope with life and many use unhealthy coping mechanisms, hell, even I used unhealthy coping mechanisms a lot in the past and I am not proud of them, in fact, I try to improve.

I can talk about their history and how it relates to their mental health and what scars they have for hours but I would bore you. You came for a song and I am probably boring you so I apologize for writting a lot of words, in advance. I basically think that fruk/ukfr is the ultimate ship for many reasons because they click, I do ship spuk/engita/asakiku and many other things but fruk/ukfr is kinda like butter and bread, it is a great combination. I never said it is 100 percent healthy, however their relationship makes psychological sense and their personalities click. I know people like to present arthur as this dumb tsundere man that blushes and says baka, or he is this garbage rat dad that no one likes or francis is presented or at least used to be this perverted sex machine that touched other countries inappropriatly or at least the 2012-2015 fans saw him this way and while he still has the reputation of a pervert, what many young people in the fandom see as disgusting, I just see as an overly lonely man that just happens to have high libido and copes with it by having casual sex and just has a sex humour, the same way some people have fart jokes humour or darker, more cursed humour, I am really glad that fans mostly left off this whole - Francis is a r**ist and will grope you, in the past, because honestly r**e is not joke and as a character he clearly understands consent and boundaries and I don't think someone like him would do such a thing. Also Greece and Turkey have even higher libido than him and sleep around more, yet he is the ''pervert'', I don't get it??????????? but fruk is just so much more than opposites attract, they have a lot in common so I can't say they're full opposites, no one is truly. I have heard people ask why does anyone ship fruk when it is just opposites attract/enemies to lovers trope and I am honestly confused, because that is extremely rough generalization to say the least, it is like saying - All men/women are the same, it is simply wrong/uncorrect. I think they ''married'' five times - The Treaty of Paris (1657) formed an alliance against Spain. The Anglo-French Alliance (1716–31) formed another alliance against Spain. The Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata (1845-1850). The Anglo-French joint invasion of Qing Dynasty (1856–1860). And the last one which is their official marriage The Entente Cordiale (1904) fought together in both World Wars. As far as I remember Francis tried to marry Arthur but he refused and why he refused is up for subjective opinion but I must write a whole thesis on why Fruk/ukfr works so well and people are not here for that, they're here for the music and I will provide. I also always saw Francis as the more gentle and more submissive partner, I just love to see him drawn in frilly beautiful dresses with bows and stuff and Arthur as the more dominant, I mean as a country he was a powerhouse during the 1600s-1800s and used to be a punkrocker, usually rockers are mentally tough and that man is extremely cunning and witty so...people drawing him as this useless baka uwu overly feminine anorexic boy that looks more like a tween rather than a 23 year old guy just assasinated his character in my opinion and it disturbs me but I am just some awkward human on the internet and no one values my opinion anyway because this is the internet and many people nowdays love to have hot takes and try to gain followers through clickbait stuff which sometimes goes out of control and everything just seems more fake and shallow to me, the more old I get.Okay that was my silly rant no one asked about but I feel really passionate about hetalia and Fruk/Ukfr. Anyway, I apologize again for my long rant and going all over the place, please enjoy this playlist

PLAYLIST WITH SONGS THAT REMIND ME OF FRUK/UKFR

1 - Halestorm - Bad romance - rock cover https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll4NJs3NBIU

2 - Queen - Somebody to love - lyrics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj69iA_goIk

3 - ABBA - Voulez vous - (I know everyone chooses Waterloo and while waterloo is a fruk theme, I think Voulez vous works too) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwcgMVXuBJc

4 - London beat - I've been thinking about you - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixBryyQSrD8

5 - Santana - Smooth - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Whgn_iE5uc

6 - George Michael - Careless whisper - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izGwDsrQ1eQ

7 - Robbie Williams - Feel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy4mXZN1Zzk

8 - Michael Buble - Feeling good - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edwsf-8F3sI

9 - Edith Piaf - La vie en rose - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFzViYkZAz4

10 - Chopin - Marriage d'amour (Spring waltz) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFJ7kDva7JE

11 - Vanessa Carlton - A thousand miles - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERw2LuU6Jj8

[narcissusbrokenmirror]

Oswald and Gertrude's relationship is so incredible to think about bc on surface it is loving and sweet, but once you watch the whole show you realize how fucked up Oswald is on his personal relationships, especially when it came to Ed. Like, the parallels we get from Ed saying the same things Gertrude used to say to Oswald, he recognizing Ed was the only one who saw him like his mother did, and their relationship was fucked up too. All of that began on Oswald's relationship with his mother, she was manipulative and controlling, making Oswald believe she was the only one he could trust, the only one who loved and cared for him. And when she dies, Oswald just takes a long while to recover from her constant unhealthy love bomb. Oswald, just like her, is manipulative, controlling and selfish, if he loves something he wants to keep it around.

We cannot criminalize Gertrude though. Elijah mentioned how young they were when they had a romance, for a young foreigner single mother, not only she had to fight to raise her son, but she had to make sure he felt loved. She always seemed sick and delusional (to me.) probably for the many decades of hard labor to support Oswald, to know he was being bullied in school, she had to make sure he knew how special he was, how great he could become. All the time, it probably has rotten in her head, they were always together, to watch her only company get out, her fear of losing him turned her into a codependent mother.

in conclusion, Gertrude is mentally ill, Oswald is mentally ill. Together they are perfect /s

Gertrud Kapelput (from the Gotham tv show) is very manipulative and porobably one of the main causes of Oswald's attachment issues. A lot of the Gotham fandom doesn't see this and sees her behavior as caring and sweet. This isn't the case because:

1. She shows controlling behavior multiple times throughout the show, especially in the first conversation we see her have with Oswald. She almost seems jealous of the idea of Oswald having a girlfriend and is very persistent on this idea. She also says that Oswald can't trust anyone besides her.

2. She infantilizes Oswald a lot, calling him "a poor boy" and calling people who tried to murder him "bullies" as if they were in some playground.

3. She guilt trips her son when not having contacted for a while, which plays into the first part of my essay and.

This behaviour would already be bad to go through as a child or teenager, and is straight up weird when done to a 31 year old man who is also a violent criminal. Gertrud clearly sees Oswald as an extention of herself based on the scenes we do have, and states she's the only one who would treat him with respect. This behavior is loving, sure, but it's to a smothering amount and i don't see people talk about this enough.

[rookisaknight]

Raf Tanager, meet Hope County

⤘⤘⤘There’s a new Deputy in Town⬽⬽⬽

So as a side benefit of getting into this fandom again with a brand new gender and a brand new vibe: a brand new deputy. Excited to introduce you all to my boy, they were developed for a joint Deputy au with @ophiebot​ (who will do this for their Deputy Elijah Rook if so inclined). Not exactly reinventing any wheels here, but this time its about the indulgence.

FYI, Molly is still extant, but her story I think has been explored in my brainspace as much as it needs to be. 

➷The Basics

1. Give their full name, and describe them or post a picture! (Height, build, hair, eye, and skin color, etc.)

Rafael "Raf" Tanager (birth name REDACTED). 5'4", prone to chub but hardening up with the frequent exercise, solid build. Freckles on cheeks that darken as time goes on. Short hair kept red by some truly obsessive hairdye upkeep, which is harder than you might think. Hazel eyes. Burns and shrapnel scars around the eyes and mouth.

2. How old are they?

24

3. Sexuality and gender?

Bisexual, transmasc genderqueer. She/they/he but a preference for they/he when he doesnt trust the person using them.

➵Pre-Game

1. How did they end up at the Hope County Sheriff’s Department? How long have they worked there?

Raf grew up closer to Missoula, but he’s still a Montana native. They’ve been at this for around 8 months, pretty much right out of graduating college. Even they honestly aren’t sure how they ended up here, just the latest in a series of adrift jobs after graduating, taken primarily to avoid any potential financial dependence on their  family. Probably would have resigned soon were it not for. Everything.

2. Relationship with Pratt, Hudson, and Whitehorse?

Pratt: Used to hate his guts. The teasing felt too much like flirting for their comfort and he was honestly kind of a bully. Now its trickier. He's pathetic in a way that’s hard for them to be around, as awful as that is, because it hits too close to home.

Hudson: Had a massive crush on her for most of their early days that pretty much went out the window post Eden’s Gate. They still try a little too hard to impress her though.

Whitehorse: Intellectually, they resent his passivity since it means a lot of Eden’s Gate ended up falling in their lap and he’s STILL insistent that maybe they should have left it alone when they’ve all had months to realize why that was a bad idea in the first place. Emotionally, well, they’re maybe a little in need of a father figure or two.

Elijah Rook: The former Rookie. They were quietly a little intimidated by him prior to all this and that’s never fully gone away, but they’ve now been able to witness more of his dorky side that makes it a little harder to take him seriously. You try chaperoning this guy from one end of Hope County and considering him at all frightening.

3. Do they have an education?

They have a MASTERS and its never relevant to anything because its a humanities degree, specifically the classics. Part of the reason they’re a little adrift currently, there was no easy dismount out of college. Just a hell of a lot of debt.

4. Where are they from? Did they speak a different language there?

Missoula, or close enough to it. They picked up some Latin and Greek from their degree. The Latin comes in handy more often than you’d think, what with the cult stuff, but the reading material is a real bummer.

5. Is there anyone outside the valley that might have come looking for them?

They’ve never had many friends in college and high school that could outlast physical proximity and they basically ghosted their family since that was easier than coming out to them at a certain point. So no, no one they want to find them is looking.

6. Did they have a religious background of any kind?

His father is a preacher, and while there’s some baggage there they would still describe themselves as broadly religious. Or at the very least superstitious.

➷Inside Hope County

1. What was going through their head when the helicopter went down and during the subsequent chase?

The crash was honestly the easiest part. That was just panic. The chase was the hard part. The helicopter exploding ended up catching them in the face, leaving them with burns and scarring that would remain for the rest of their life. She's lucky she wasn’t blinded. Still, he was forced to stumble out of the woods in intense pain and bleeding out. Had it not been for Elijah they definitely would have been taken then and there.

2. Were they afraid of Joseph and Eden’s Gate? Angry?

Terrified. Not just because of what they’ve done but because Raf knows intuitively that he's susceptible to it. As early as their first encounter they have a hard time breaking the hold Joseph gets on their mind. Even though they’re conscious of HOW they’re being manipulated, its hard to resist it.

3. Did they trust Dutch?

At that point Raf would’ve happily taken literally anyone who seemed to know what they’re doing and wasn’t holding a gun to his head.

4. How did they feel about their team being taken by the cult, did they count them as lost, did they want them back, did they not care?

Absolutely the nightmare scenario: people’s lives depending on them and their ability to be decisive. Had it not been for Elijah they probably would’ve high tailed it out of there and tried to find someone higher up the authority chain to deal with this mess. Still, just abandoning them all didn’t sit right with him either, and by the time they’d liberated Fall’s End even he had to admit he was there by his own choice.

5. How did they take to the idea of being part of, if not leading, the resistance?

Again, Raf doesn’t really do well with people depending on them. Alone. they probably would have found it a lot more miserable, but Elijah significantly helped lighten that load for them in terms of having a direction. They’ve found out they’re accidentally pretty good at working with a variety of people and can even be inspiring without meaning to. Still, in their ideal world they would’ve been left alone, or at least remained a foot soldier.

6. Which companions did they recruit, and who did they travel with the most?

All guns for hire were recruited, but Sharky and Nick were their go-to’s, Sharky for personal reasons and Nick for air support. Grace was usually the adult supervision when Nick couldn’t make it but. To be frank Raf's aim isn’t great and it drives Grace a little nuts on prolonged missions. She’s tried teaching them but it never really seems to stick.

7. Did they have time to find romance amidst the chaos? How did they do it?

Sharky. That relationship was a bit of a cold opener  (and don’t bother, Sharky already beat you to that joke). After getting their face fucked up during the escape they’ve had a pretty healthy aversion to fire and explosives, making his recruitment a little harrowing. Still, Sharky's sweet in his way, makes them laugh and breathe a little easier when the pressure gets to them, and operates on a pretty similar brainwave. They’ve been joined at the hip since their first few months in Holland Valley. They’re both a little on the codependent side, but really, who are they to complain.

8. Feelings about Joseph?

Joseph taps into a lot of vulnerabilities inside of Raf intuitively. The absence of a strong support system, the loneliness, the fear, the directionlessness, the relationship with their own spirituality, it all provides him a unique entryway into their psyche that he is exactly the kind of person to exploit. As a result, he tends to fixate on them over Elijah, usually to their detriment. Still, that connection can sometimes go both ways, and there are things about Joseph that Raf understands which even his brothers never fully do.

9. Feelings about the other Seeds?

John: They have a unique capacity for antagonizing him. Probably because as an oldest child themselves they know exactly how to jab at the youngest child insecurities. Still, that relationship didn’t stem any deeper and he focused his energies a little more on Elijah. Still, they have him to thank for the Sloth scars on their arm, thanks for that. They’re starting to run out of unmarked skin.

Faith: Faith, meanwhile, was a little more directly focused on Raf, partly because her region was the first time they had to operate a little more on their own. For personal reasons, Elijah wasn’t particularly able to engage with the Bliss. Meaning if Burke was ever going to get saved Raf had to be the one to go in there, again and again. Faith, like Joseph, can tap a lot of that loneliness that Raf has, as well as some gender and sexuality stuff Joseph can’t touch. Suffice to say Sharky had a pretty good reason for being as overbearing as he was during those months, even though he was eventually able to do the job. As a side note, they haven’t had access to their ADHD meds for MONTHS and it doesn’t help when the cult drug is the first thing to make your head feel clear in a while.

Jacob: Jacob was utterly uninterested in Raf and the feeling was mostly mutual. He doesn’t really get him or what he’s about, just knows that the county would be better off when he was put down. Transition goals, though (don’t tell Staci they said that).

10. How did they handle having to kill animals and other humans? Had they done it before?

Animals yeah, you don’t live in Montana as long as they did without hunting occasionally. People....well. You can get used to it.

11. Which canon ending did they choose in-game, and would you have changed the ending at all?

Resist. I wouldn’t. Raf might.

➷Personal

1. Favorite weapon(s)?

They usually prefer to show up to spots early and lay traps, try to minimize the direct combat involvement. When it can’t be avoided though, their pistol isn’t ever far and neither is a hunting knife.

2. Stealth or firepower?

Stealth, one hundred percent. Sharky and Eli are here to do the firepower.

3. How did they spend their time, when not fighting peggies?

A lot of bad movies with the boyfriend and a LOT of poker, one of their more unknown talents. Resistance isn’t gonna fund itself.

4. Where did they live during the events of the game?

Wherever there was a bed they could fall into. Their little trailer they’d been living in prior to all this got absolutely decimated while they were healing up on Dutch’s island.

5. Any other facts you want to share about your Deputy!

He’s got almost supernatural luck to the point that a couple of their guns for hire have gotten superstitious about bringing him to certain events. Including fishing. The catch just always seems somehow a little better. Also he’s privately obsessed with the 1998 recording of Cats and is terrified of anyone finding out.

[glassrain83]

Dear Yuletide Writer

I am GlassRain on AO3, and thank you for writing for my tiny fandom(s)!

I love all these characters and any fic about them will make me happy. If you already have an idea feel free to run with it. If you want extra prompts or ideas, that’s what this is for.

Yes please: gay stuff, outer space, magic. Non-con, dub-con, and mind control. Relationships where there’s a power imbalance but they also truly love each other and do the work to make it good. Relationships with size differences (not as in short human/tall human, as in human/building-sized dragon). Identity porn/any kind of reveal where the audience knows something and gets to enjoy watching the characters figure it out.

No thanks: Gore/body horror/graphic depictions of violence, embarrassment, extreme underage (teen characters having sex is fine), bodily fluids (except the usual ones for sex scenes), non-canon character death, mundane AUs.

Fandoms:

Doctrine of Labyrinths - Sarah Monette

Characters: Felix, Mildmay

The Doctrine of Labyrinths is a series of fantasy novels by Sarah Monette. It is set in the secondary world of Meduse and tells the story of the adventures of the wizard Felix Harrowgate and his half-brother, former assassin Mildmay the Fox.

Lush fantasy melodrama full of codependence and great hurt/comfort. I have gotten Felix/Mildmay fic before and will keep prompting more of it until the end of time (or until a TV adaptation turns this into a megafandom, whichever comes first). Gen about them is also welcome.

Prompts:

Sci-fi/cyberpunk AU. Make the hocuses into hackers, the magical curses into corrupted cybernetics, the petty thieves into data pirates. Could be the alternate version of a canon event, or a whole new SF-themed plot twist.

Missing scene from Felix and Mildmay’s journey across the continent in book 1, something where Felix has a bad turn and Mildmay successfully calms him down. Just lean all the way into the h/c in their weird-but-deep sibling bond.

Guilty frantic brothercest. (During a time in canon when they’re both mentally capable of consenting.) Especially if it’s already an ongoing situation when the story starts, so it’s not a story about how they fell into it but about how they can’t seem to get out.

If you are up for writing crossovers: it’s a crime that there are no Labyrinth crossovers yet. How would Felix and Mildmay face off against the Goblin King?

The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells

Characters: Murderbot

Science fiction series about an artificial construct designed as a Security Unit, which manages to override its governor module, thus enabling it to develop independence, which it primarily uses to watch media. As it spends more time with some caring humans, it starts developing human feelings, which it finds inconvenient.

Ongoing sci-fi adventure in an interstellar corporate dystopia. Grumpy sarcastic Murderbot (it picked the name itself) just wants to be left alone to watch TV, but is smart and competent and keeps deciding it likes humans who need inconvenient rescues. No romance for Murderbot please, but go as hard as you want on the intense friendships it doesn’t want to admit it has.

Prompts:

Murderbot finds itself in charge of an impromptu So You Just Achieved Self-Determination, Now What? support group. Possible members: SecUnit Three, the unnamed ComfortUnit, original characters who hacked themselves independently and figured they were the only ones until they saw it on the news...

ART figures out that Murderbot enjoys very specific kinds of touch (low-key, platonic, comfort-seeking, non-threatening), and starts gleefully engineering situations where it can get some.

Murderbot’s love of Sanctuary Moon becomes public knowledge. Let’s see the reactions from SM fan forums, or in-universe cons, or the media company and its marketing department.

Leif & Thorn (Webcomic)

Characters: Any

Leif is a gardener in thrall to a mysterious debt, serving his native Sønheim at a foreign embassy. Thorn is a Knight of Ceannis who got severely burned while dragonslaying, and was rewarded with a cushy job guarding the embassy gates. Thorn doesn’t speak Leif’s language too well at first — but as they get to know each other, he finds a lot of reasons to learn.

Ongoing fantasy dramedy, with a cross-cultural romance and a great ensemble cast. (Read it here.) Leif/Thorn is canon. I’d love fic about them, and/or any romance (canon or not) that doesn’t break them up, and/or gen about anyone else.

Prompts:

Canon divergence AU where Thorn joined the Secret Order of Monster Hunters instead of the knights...and meets Leif while in the middle of a vampire-assassinating mission.

Holiday fic where Leif and Thorn share their traditions with each other. Warmth and fluffiness a plus.

Violet’s participation in fandom on the magic-crystal-internet. And maybe off of it, if a convention comes to town. What is magical-crystal-Yuletide like? Which series have split fandoms over badly-translated Ceannic-language dubs? Who else in the cast loves Violet’s fic without realizing she’s the one behind the pseudonym?

Tender, loving, slow-and-thorough Thorn/Kale. With Leif’s encouragement...or participation...or, depending on how you want to play it, direction.

Jeeves & Wooster

Characters: Jeeves, Wooster

Bertram Wooster, a well-intentioned, wealthy layabout, has a habit of getting himself into trouble and it’s up to his brilliant valet, Jeeves, to get him out.  

Completed TV adaptation of the books by P.G. Wodehouse, starring Hugh Laurie as Wooster and Stephen Fry as Jeeves. Funny, charming, impressively complicated for how low-stakes the outcomes are. Gen or Jeeves/Wooster romance (with or without any of these prompts) all welcome.

Prompts:

Magical AU where they’re supernatural creatures – fae, elves, angels, demons, nature spirits, things in that category – and still manage to have the same dynamic, over much more ethereal problems.

Role-swap where Jeeves is a smart-but-disaffected member of the idle rich, and Bertie is a fanciful valet. Problems are solved by a mix of Bertie’s own talents and his ability to inspire Jeeves' brilliance.

Bertie discovers the fandom for his published writing (and probably needs Jeeves’ advice on how to keep professional boundaries). This can be a modern AU if you want to get the internet into it.

[gascon-en-exil]

I’ve now got no fewer than three headcanons for Dimitri ending up in Duscur with Dedue sometime during the timeframe of the game, one for each route except Verdant Wind where he’s definitely dead and Dedue has to return to Duscur alone unless the ginger warlock finds his way there (presumably in a scenario where Byleth S ranks the gatekeeper, in solidarity with the romantic inclinations of unnamed NPCs everywhere). Anyway -

Crimson Flower

What I wrote about here, in essence a heavily FE4-inspired take on a Gen 2 for this route based on the fairly obvious conclusion that Edelgard’s continental Empire will last about as long as Arvis’s. During the timeskip Dimitri takes the throne and grows even closer to Dedue, who develops a reputation even among the Imperial troops for never leaving the king’s side and for being a total bear. They take in war orphans from all over the embattled Faerghus, but when Edelgard begins her march toward Fhirdiad they send their new family off to a secluded Duscur settlement. Dimitri and Dedue are killed at Tailtean, but their children grow up in relative safety on an isolated peninsula the Empire can’t be bothered with - Fódlan’s Tirnanog. This new generation plays a key role not only in helping Claude’s ambitious child liberate the continent from Imperial control but also restore the true history of Faerghus and their heroic fathers that Edelgard had done her best to erase. With Fhirdiad reduced to a smoking ruin decades ago perhaps they even decide to make Duscur the new seat of government for the province they come to control in the new united kingdom of Almyra and Fódlan.

Silver Snow

Ok, per Occam’s Razor Dimitri and Dedue’s fate in this route is identical to Verdant Wind, except that the player doesn’t get to see Dimitri die at Gronder because their army spent that whole month having a drug-fueled orgy or something. But then Dimitri appears to Byleth alone at the monastery, floating the possibility that he survived but that both he and Dedue think the other is dead somehow. Dedue stealths into Enbarr and Byleth steals his kill, but when he returns to Duscur this time he finds a still living but even more broken Dimitri, who’d wandered there in a daze after yet another near death experience and period of psychologically damaging isolation. This ending isn’t happy per se; after everything they’ve endured it’s all the two of them can do to keep each other alive and stable enough to function on a basic level. Dimitri knows he’s in no state to rule anything anymore, and he trusts Byleth - and, a few years later when he sweeps in with an Almyran army at his back, Claude - to take care of Faerghus better than he could. The people of Duscur are wary of them at first, but over time they’re accepted into the community and Dimitri benefits from a larger support system. Whether Dimitri and Dedue ever reach out to their surviving friends, and how they’d react to finding out that the ex-prince of Faerghus has been off playing house with his former vassal in Duscur, are other questions entirely. 

Azure Moon

I’ve noted before that the emotional tenor of this route would be vastly different if Dedue were not awkwardly shuffled out of the plot after the timeskip. My previous headcanons for this alternative scenario entail Dedue going with Dimitri on the run alone for five years, leading Dimitri to be marginally more functionally (and possibly still with both eyes) but even more codependent on the man who’s by now been physically taking care of him for half a decade on top of everything else. But consider instead the Duscur soldiers who rescue Dedue in canon coming to the aid of both of them, and Dimitri spending the duration of the timeskip relatively settled and safe among Dedue’s people. He’d still have his unquenchable thirst for vengeance driving him to strike against the Empire where he can, but with Dedue and an entire community who consider themselves somewhat indebted to him for his aid in the failed rebellion (and, thanks to Dedue extolling his virtues at every opportunity, gradually convinced that Dimitri will restore Duscur to its people if only he can somehow take his rightful place as king of Faerghus) he grudgingly agrees to lay low until they have a better idea of where they might find potential allies. The promised five year class reunion offers them a slim chance to get in touch with the scattered Lions again, so the murder husbands murder their way back to Garreg Mach just in time to find Gilbert and their former classmates all gathered for more or less the same purpose. Byleth, freshly awakened from their five-year nap, also encounters them, considerably better put together than in canon and quickly dashing any hopes for any contrived self-insert romances. This is probably the best scenario for Dimidue period, as Dimitri goes into Part 2 more stable, more patient, less plagued by ghosts since he’s had constant companionship, and on a more equal footing with Dedue now that he’s also spent time as an outsider in a land not entirely welcoming to him and Dedue has been engaging with him on a more intimate level. Ahem.

It’s amazing that what’s more or less just one story point can simultaneously render Crimson Flower’s ending easier to take without eye rolling, give at least one of the house leaders a satisfying ending in Silver Snow, and fix the clumsy writing choices of Azure Moon. Alas, if Three Houses weren’t burdened by all the problems inherent in writing around an Avatar we might have gotten exactly these.

[psychic-master-will-archive]

Basics

Full name: William [Last Name Redacated] Nickname(s): Will, Willy Title(s): Master of Psychic Pokemon, Elite Four Will Sex: Male Gender: Male Height: 5′3″/5′4″ Age: 29 (Current blog canon); 22 (HGSS); 16 (GSC, Manga only) Zodiac: Gemini Spoken languages: Johtonese (Japanese), Unovianese (English, just enough to get basic conversations across); bits and pieces of other languages due to his travels.

Physical characteristics

Hair color: Violet Eye color: Violet (Lilac on Bulbapedia) Skin tone: Tan? Body type: Lean, slim/slender build Voice: (Don’t know his English voice from Masters yet);  Suzumura Kenichi  (Japanese Seiyuu) Dominant hand: Right Posture: Upright, but also relaxed Scars: One along his left eye; various smaller scars from training under the Mask of Ice. Tattoos: None Birthmarks: none Most noticeable feature(s): His violet coloured hair; his mask covering his eyes; his hips

Childhood

Place of birth: Johto Hometown: A small town on the outskirts of Johto Birth weight/height: On the small side First words: something referring to his mother, and birdie to refer to Natu Siblings: Lucian (Half/step brother, headcanon only and exclusive to certain rp’ers) Parents: Calista (Mother); Unnamed father Parental involvement: Calista was very much involved in her son’s life, and did everything she could to make it less of a living hell for him, despite being a struggling, single mother. His father ditched both of them when Will was around two. Children: None

Adult life

Occupation: Elite Four Member Current residence: Indigo Plateau Close friends: Lorelei ( @crystallomance ); Karen ( @pkmnsdarkqueen @achrcmxtic), Mewtwo ( @itsraiyninmuses ), Blue ( @blueshadesofvictory ), Syph ( @fairgifted ) Relationship status: Single as default; Lance ( @dragoncaper ), main verse/ It’s getting there; Morty ( @heartbxnd ) AU / It’s a work in progress! Financial status: Well to do Criminal record: Was wiped clean prior to becoming an Elite; was with Team Rocket as an executive (Manga only) Vices: Prone to codependency, can be rather jealous, prone to acting out on his insecurities, more tba later

Sex & romance

Sexual orientation: Gay Preferred emotional role: submissive | dominant | switch Preferred sexual role: submissive | dominant | switch | Doesn’t care Libido: Quite high Turn ons: Cuddling, nuzzling, attention Turn offs: Abusive, guilt tripping, etc behaviours; also if you’re bigoted against psychics; trying to force anything on him. Love language: Physical acts of affection (hugs, kisses, etc.), teasing Relationship tendencies: Very loyal, diligent, supportive, 

Miscellaneous

Character’s theme song(s): Applause by Lady Gaga Hobbies to pass time: Acting, meditation, taking care of his pokemon, playing pranks, performing magic tricks Mental illnesses: Depression, anxiety, possible PTSD Physical illnesses: None Left or right brained: Left brained Fears: Being abandoned, being left alone, succumbing to his powers/letting them go out of control, having everyone turn against him Self-confidence level: Low for everything else; Battling/as a trainer: High. Vulnerabilities: His powers, his eye, his childhood

tagged by: @blueshadesofvictory

tagging: You.

[leepace71]

The Political Avenger: Chris Evans Takes on Trump, Tom Brady, Anxiety and Those Retirement Rumors

Ahead of 'Avengers: Endgame,' the progressive Captain America actor and Twitter firebrand says he's ready to retire his Marvel hero for directing gigs, a new Apple show and the fight against the "dumb s—" president: “I’d be disappointed in myself if I didn’t speak up.”

It's a Friday afternoon in February, and the view from Chris Evans' house in the Hollywood Hills consists mostly of fog. He bought this place for $3.2 million in 2013, back when he was two hit movies into his seven-film stint as Marvel Studios' Captain America; there's a Zen-ish garden inside the front gate, and a stone Buddha sits by the door. Evans banishes his dog, Dodger, to the guest room, shuts off the TV in the family room (CNN on mute), cracks a can of Modelo, and takes a seat on the couch. His arms are insane, as thick as thighs.

Evans has a movie coming out in a few months — an intimate little passion project called Avengers: Endgame (April 26). It's the sequel to last year's Avengers: Infinity War, which raked in $2 billion worldwide and ended with Thanos (Josh Brolin) disintegrating half of Earth's population, including the still-bankable likes of Black Panther and Spider-Man. The moody trailers for Endgame are designed to reveal even less than usual, but it's safe to assume that Captain America rallies Earth's mightiest surviving heroes for a rematch with the mad god who finger-snapped their friends and loved ones into oblivion, which means this will be the first of the four Avengers movies to depict actual avenging.

Evans — who made $15 million for the past two Avengers films, up from $300,000 for his first stint as Captain America — has said he's done playing the character after this. It's been reported that he intends to retire from acting entirely. And yet the announcements of new work keep coming. He's in Rian Johnson's crowded-house murder mystery Knives Out, due in November. He's playing the father of a teenager accused of murder in Apple's forthcoming limited series Defending Jacob. He's in talks to star in Antoine Fuqua's Infinite as a presumably Chris Evans-ish guy who can recall his past lives. It's a crowded dance card for a newly retired 37-year-old actor, and when I bring this up, Evans gets as annoyed as he'll get all afternoon.

"I never said the word 'retire,'" he says. "It's a really obnoxious notion for an actor to say they're going to retire — it's not something you retire from."

All he said — back in 2014, as the end of his obligation to Marvel loomed on the horizon — was that he was hoping to get behind the camera more, and that he'd told one of his CAA agents, "We are turning a corner." Cut to 5,080,000 Google hits for "Chris Evans retiring."

So, for the record: He's not retiring. He'd love to direct more, but the way he talks about it makes it sound more like a five-year plan. He's been looking for a good script, except the problem with good scripts is that they tend to go to great directors, which is not a weight class Evans would put himself in, not yet. He's directed one film, the slight-but-not-embarrassing indie romance Before We Go, which grossed $37,151 in theaters in 2014, or roughly 0.01 percent of what Infinity War made on its opening weekend. When that project is faintly praised in his presence — he also starred in it, opposite Alice Eve — he waves this off, saying it mainly taught him how much he didn't know. "I'm OK with making mistakes," he says, "and I learned a lot from that one."

Once he's done helping Marvel hype Endgame, he's going to take advantage of the security provided by nearly 10 years of huge superhero movies by letting the next phase of his career unfold at a more leisurely pace. "Momentum is a real fallacy, in my opinion," he says. "But it has a really strong hold on a lot of actors' mentalities. You really believe that while the ball's rolling, you gotta keep it rolling. I could be wrong, but to me — I just don't believe in that. I don't think that's real."

I guess we'll find out.

Evans laughs. "My last cover interview."

Here are some things we learned about Chris Evans, from what may or may not be his last cover interview:

He uses the word "pretentious" a lot, usually because he's worried something he's just said sounds pretentious, which it rarely does.

He will talk at length and in detail about himself, and his neuroses, and the conversations he has with himself about his neuroses.

He keeps it closer to the vest about other people. He mentions in passing that Justin Timberlake lives around here — "I think" — without mentioning that Timberlake lives around here with his wife, Jessica Biel, who was once Evans' girlfriend. Nor does he mention his former girlfriend Jenny Slate by name, although he occasionally says things about what it's like to hang out with a bunch of comedians, something he clearly knows because he dated Slate, on and off, for a while. They are off again, per the gossip pages; on Valentine's Day, a few weeks after we meet, Evans will tweet a picture of himself nuzzling Dodger and wish the best to his 10.6 million followers "from this pair of dysfunctional codependents."

When asked how he functions in relationships, he says: "I'm the one who fears being enveloped. I was always a really autonomous guy my whole life. Camping by myself is one of my favorite things. I really like to be with someone who also has their own thing to do as well, you know? If I'm with someone who just kind of adopts my life, that can feel a bit suffocating."

Evans and actress-comedian Jenny Slate, in 2016. At her urging, he read a collection of feminist essays, The Mother of All Questions. "You have to understand that you don’t understand," he says.

When he's not working or camping by himself, you can find Evans camped out on Twitter. He is extremely online in a way that actors who headline ultra-mainstream movie franchises tend not to be; on any given day, you can find @ChrisEvans quoting Idiocracy to mock President Trump's McDonald's buffet for the Clemson Tigers, signal-boosting tweets about gay purges in Chechnya, or addressing Sen. Lindsey Graham as "Smithers."

He worries about doing too much of this sort of thing, about it seeming performative or becoming white noise — Chris Evans, back on his bullshit. He does not worry about saying something online that might inspire MAGA-minded fans to microwave their Captain America action figures. And for what it's worth, he says, "Marvel has never said anything. On the contrary — when I bump into Kevin Feige the first thing out of his mouth is 'Man, I love what you're doing [on Twitter].'"

"I don't see it as trash-talking," says Feige, Marvel's president. "I see it as very astute, very honorable, very noble, very Cap-like. Commentary and questioning. I've said to him, 'You're merging! You and the character are merging!'"

"I’d be disappointed in myself if I didn’t speak up. Especially for fear of some monetary repercussion or career damage — that just feels really gross to me."

Evans campaigned for Hillary Clinton in 2016; and while he has not decided on his 2020 candidate, his crusading use of his platform has made him a real-life superhero to a certain segment of the online #Resistance. Days after we talk, he pops up on Capitol Hill to do some bipartisan grip-and-grins with Senate Democrats Brian Schatz, Chris Coons and Jeff Merkley and Republican Lisa Murkowski. In March, he does the same at the House of Representatives. It turns out he's conducting interviews for A Starting Point, a politics website whose mission is "to create informed, responsible and empathetic citizens." He's a co-founder, along with the actor Mark Kassen and entrepreneur Joe Kiani; the launch date has yet to be announced.

While he's only visiting Congress for now, everyone jokes about him getting a job there someday. There's familial precedent; his uncle is former Massachusetts Representative Mike Capuano (who lost a hard-fought race to Ayanna Pressley, a progressive city councilwoman, in September). For now, Evans feels obligated to do what he can, even if it turns his social media mentions into a garbage fire.

"You don't want to alienate half your audience," says Evans. "But I'd be disappointed in myself if I didn't speak up. Especially for fear of some monetary repercussion or career damage — that just feels really gross to me."

His willingness to call bullshit on anyone abetting the disintegration of our republic extends to his home state's favorite sons. When we talk, Tom Brady is two days away from leading the New England Patriots to a sixth Super Bowl win; when I ask if the chance to play Brady in a biopic would bring him out of non-retirement retirement, he looks grim.

"I don't know," he says. "I really hope he's not a Trump supporter. I'm just hoping he's one of those guys that maybe supported him and now regrets it. Maybe he thought it was going to be different — and even that bothers me — but maybe there's a chance now he just thinks Trump's an absolute dumb shit, which he is. If he doesn't, if he's still on that Trump train, I might have to cut ties. It's really tough."

"I think maybe a couple of years ago," he continues, "I might have tried to pull some, like, mental gymnastics to compartmentalize, but I don't know if I can anymore. So I'm just hoping he's woken up."

Evans has a platform and he's using it. But like a lot of straight white men seeking to consciously and conscientiously navigate a tumultuous moment in the history of straight white male-dom, he's learned that shutting up is important, too. At Slate's urging, he read Rebecca Solnit's The Mother of All Questions, a collection of essays about the insidious side effects of patriarchy, and took away a great deal. "You have to understand that you don't understand," he says. It's not the most action-heroish way to look at things — but that may be the secret of his appeal as a movie star.

"At the root of it, he has true humility," says Robert Downey Jr., who's played Tony Stark against Evans five times. "I think it's the reason he was able to kind of come to the front and be our team leader in the Avengers. I think a lot of his theater experience helped, too. Because it was like, 'OK, I'm going to dress up, I'm going to go out, and I'm going to tell the truth.' It's very kind of old-school Spencer Tracy. Although I guarantee you Spencer Tracy never would've put on that getup."

Unsurprisingly, Evans blows off discussion of his own goodness. "The characters I play do a lot of that heavy lifting. If people knew me — I'm just an asshole."

He seems a little uncomfortable. I change the subject by asking him to tell me what happens at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Evans laughs. "Yeah," he says. "I wish I could. Uh, it's — I mean — it's a good one. It's a real good one. I saw, like, the first hour of it."

So you watched it up to the point where Cap dies?

"Right, exactly," Evans says. "After I die by Tony's hand, I just said, You know what? I can't watch this."

I should make it clear that this is a joke, even if it feels like the kind of joke that could turn out to be true. "I can't believe they even cut together a trailer," he says, "because so much of it is a visual spoiler. You'll see. A lot of the characters have"—

He stops, covering his mouth.

"Probably shouldn't have even said that," he says.

READ REST HERE...