#She deserves so much more than what her fandom reputation is

[aelincreativ]

Show Time - D.Va

They were kind enough to show up the day after her birthday.

She'd known they were coming. Having seen the articles and posts written about the others who had been drafted and disappeared from the internet for months before showing up mid battle.

So she didn't fight it. Instead greeting the officers in uniform at her door with perfect manners and hospitality. Showing them to the table where she had the tea set prepared and waiting.

They wasted no time. Telling her that she had been drafted and would submit to her training squadron in three days time. They relayed the consequences for if she failed to comply. Then the consequences for if she tried to run. Then the consequences for if she attempted to publicly resist.

She had already researched those thoroughly.

When she didn't fight them or try to argue they seemed caught off guard. Like they didn't know what to do when they didn't have to use force to get what they wanted.

And maybe that was her first mistake. Not putting up more of a fight upfront.

She didn't fight it. Half because she knew they wouldn't let her. Half because she had believed at the time that she might actually be able to do something good.

Her mother didn't cry when she showed up an hour later. She'd asked her not to when she told her mom what would happen all those months ago when the first drafts were called. Her mother stayed strong while she was there. Taking the box of important documents and keepsakes from her hands.

She knew that after she left, her mom would put on her shoes and go walk the same path they'd taken together many times before. The walk, just fifteen minutes, would end the same place it always did. At her father's gravestone.

She'd already made her visit the night before. Promising him that she would make him proud and make sure no one ever suffered like he did again.

She would report to her training squadron early and in-process and begin her assessments. She would pass the tests with flying colors. Setting herself up as a fast track star. Set to complete her training in a record time.

It was less than a month before she made her first live flight test with a training mech. As compared to the three months most other drafted pilots took. She passed the training modules faster than anyone before her in half the time and earned the praise of all her instructors for her dedication and drive.

It seemed fitting that with her expedited training, that her live fire career would start with a bang. Her graduation ceremony from the program was a small but grand affair. With her being congratulated by the chain of MEKA command and welcomed by her new unit.

It was only fitting that as soon as her hand was clasped in the Colonel's that the alarms would ring and she'd be pulled with the rest of the unit to do what they had trained for.

Her success in her first battle was her second mistake.

Returning victorious with two Gwishin defeated and only superficial damage to her mech, she instantly cemented herself as the heavy hitter star of the unit. She let that victory settle in her spine and make her strive to be the best.

Training and learning all she could in the windows of down time between Gwishin attacks.

She worked hard to earn the respect and trust of her teammates and do her duty to her country and people with pride.

Then they approached her, and she made her third mistake.

They offered her a position back in the public eye. To become the face of MEKA by having access to her streaming platform restored. They told her that the budget was limited and low. With costs of constant repairs and upgrades, they needed public support funding.

She'd accepted without hesitation. And maybe she should have. Because once again they were stunned to not face opposition. Her first stream back was a carefully scripted fanfare of a staged tour of the MEKA facility. The one after that a test flight after an upgrade. Then a training skirmish. Then a scripted QnA with the pilots.

Then came the second test flight.

But the carefully scripted routine of maneuvers to show off the unstoppable power of MEKA was interrupted by the warning sirens. She snapped to attention immediately, switching her coms to connect to her unit and took command to organize an offensive.

She got lost in the fight, forgetting the camera feed attached to her mech. She forgot to be the person they wanted her to be and instead let herself slip. Letting lose just enough to make risky but calculated calls that ended in a sweeping victory with only one mech on the team too damaged to make it back under its own power.

It was only after the victory had been celebrated among teammates that her com was overridden and switched back to the channel she had been on. The channel that had her handler on it to feed her lines and remind her of the prompts for the scripted stream.

She was summoned back to base and given a choice. Though calling it a choice was generous, it was an ultimatum. The live battle had been received very well at first. Donations poured in like a flood as they watched the reality unfold before them. But the shift in her personality during combat had garnered negative attention.

The people didn't like seeing their bubbly streamer turn so serious and harsh as she barked out battle commands to her team. The handler had cut the stream once realizing the growing negative opinion, feigning that the camera broadcast equipment attached to the outside of the mech had taken a hit.

The ultimatum was this, stay strict to the script and maintain the personality at all times even under fire, or stop flight broadcasts and instead supplement the lost revenue with alternate means.

She'd promised to stick to the script and was given one more chance. She was permitted to do casual video game streams again but closely monitored and on a delay incase of need to censor her if the persona slipped.

She'd held out for two months until one of her team went down. Seeing her friend and ally potentially die made it impossible to keep the facade and persona.

Her return to base was met with the stern faces of her handler and an officer. They debriefed her and then laid out that since she couldn't be trusted with live fire situations on stream, they would be moving towards a new revenue system.

Sponsorships.

Something seemingly innocent at first. When it was just companies that wanted their logos plastered all over her mech. But then the logos on her started.

At first they stayed professional. On her arms and back. But as more “sponsors” became personal “investors” there was a need for more space for more logos and names.

The sides of her thighs were next and that didn't bother her too much. But those were soon filled. There wasn't any more room. She looked ridiculous at that point. And they realized it was starting to negatively affect her image.

So instead they switched the system. Reducing the number of logos and areas they were displayed to just her top sponsors. Instead they started to offer meet and greet events. Where sponsors would buy in at different levels for different amounts of her time and attention.It worked for a month. But then the novelty of it wore off. The masses were no longer satisfied with the casual group interactions. They wanted, no demanded, more.

Her handlers were at a loss for a while on what to do, and as the numbers coming in steady started to decrease, they panicked. Trying to throw her at anything to see what would stick.

Talk show interviews were one of the first they tried. It got a few whispers but not enough for them. Sending her to a celebrity hotshot party got murmurs. Doing television ads for her sponsors. Playing a game show contestant. Being a patient in a medical show. A few episodes of a reality show as a minor character. Then as the female lead in a B-grade movie.

Those worked for a while. She managed to fit it all in between her other duties. Nevermind that Dae-hyun kept looking at her with concern and making comments about pushing herself too much.

Everyone else thought she chose to do all those things. None of them knew how much of their funding relied on her. No one but her and her handler team knew that she had no choice in what she did.

She hadn't had control of anything but her own thoughts in almost a year at that point.And then the money clips tightened again.

And her handler came with a new “request”.

And this time she tried to fight it.

But you can't fight back when you're already in chains.

So began the meetings with sponsors one on one. Getting rented out like a lady of the night for hours at a time. To the tune of tens of thousands of dollars per hour.

At first they were respectful. Basking in the novel concept of having her undivided attention. But it only took a few meetings for them to grow more bold. To encroach on her personal space. To push and break her boundaries and the terms established for these meetings.

They had deluded themselves that she cared about them. Felt something for them besides their checkbook. That she thought they were special.

The first one who tried to put his hands on her suffered for it. She broke the offending hand and kneed him in the balls to make her escape.

She was sanctioned for “use of excessive force against a civilian”.

The second only had a finger broken.

She was sanctioned again, taking a pay cut and put on suspended privilege status.

The third was slapped.

She was dragged into her handlers office where she was scolded like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

She was then told, plain and simple, that the money they'd lost from those three “sponsors” would be near impossible to replace. That she was to blame now for the lack of parts and supplies in the coming months.

Told that if she lost any more sponsors, they'd have to cut her off and find a replacement for her. And then, once she was out of MEKA and their protection, the three men she'd “attacked” would go after her legally and summarily destroy her reputation and any hope of a career she could have outside of MEKA.

“Am I understood?” Her handler sneered. The look on his face was one she had seen many times before whenever she dared to go against his commands by even a single step.

“Yes, sir.” She spoke. Clearly and without a mumble as she had been scolded for before.

The man looked smug at her compliance. Like he always did.

“Then you are dismissed. Return to your quarters and prepare for the 1800 stream of game three on the roster.”

She nodded and left the office swiftly, but not too quickly as to seem she was running away.

She was not allowed to run away.

She made it to her room and knew she had an hour to get ready. But instead of moving to her makeup table, to change the look placed on her for her earlier meeting with the sponsor, she sat on her bed.

She looked at the spread of things she had once enjoyed. Soft blankets and pillows, stuffed animals of game characters and creatures, posters for shows and movies.

All things that were similar to what she once plastered her childhood bedroom in.

But nothing here had been chosen by her. It was all a carefully staged backdrop. A set that she had to make up with precision every morning. There was a reason she often slept in her workshop.

Despite what Dae-hyun and the others thought, she did not just randomly fall asleep while working too late. She chose the discomfort and lingering aches of sleeping in a chair at a desk or in a pile on the floor.

It was more comfortable to her than to try and relax inside the stage she was forced to puppet around in.

She set the pillow she had grabbed down, exactly in its designated position, and stood up. Smoothing the sheets she had wrinkled before walking to the vanity that held the hundreds of products she was to make use of.

She opened the pack of makeup wipes, a sponsored brand that she didn't like, and slowly and carefully removed the makeup from her face. Taking her time to not rub excessively and cause any redness or irritation. She wiped away the layers painted onto her. The ones that had been specifically catered to enhance the features the sponsor had preferred.

She made her way to her bathroom and wet a cloth and added a pump of a sponsored face wash she had filmed a commercial for the day before. This one at least actually worked for her skin, even if it didn't actually do all it promised to do. Not that it mattered, she had five other products that filled in the gaps.

She rinsed off the foam and braced her hands on the sink before looking up.

She stared at the girl in the mirror. Soft brown eyes that looked so tired without the layers of concealer and color corrector applied. No specifically picked and color matched eyeshadow either to give the allusion of a brighter attitude either.

She stared at the scar on the tip of her nose from her first crash landing where one of the display screens inside Tokki shattered and a piece of the glass sliced into her.

She visually traced the hairline jagged crack across her forehead from when she was ejected and slammed into King as a last resort as Tokki was shredded in the grasp of three Gwishin.

She licked the scar on her lip from the street fight she got into a few months ago that had earned her a sanction and two months of restricted and monitored communications.

Worth it though. The omnic she'd saved had escaped and she'd made it out with only bruises besides her lip. She'd snuck out of the base to try and visit her mom and instead found an omnic being beaten in the street.

She looked at the girl in the mirror.

This was her. Not the makeup and cameras and scripts.

This.

With her scars and dark circles and eyes that looked so tired.

She wondered where it all went wrong. How she had lost track of herself. How she had allowed herself to be so thoroughly beaten down until she didn't even know who she was anymore.

Was she even herself anymore? Or had all of her parts been stripped away and replaced until all that remained was the depressed spark in the back of her mind that could barely raise its head anymore to tap on the cell walls she'd been chained in.

Was she Hana? Or was she D.Va?

Hana looked back at her in the mirror. But that was the only place Hana was allowed to exist. As soon as she walked out of this bathroom she'd be forced to put on the mask of D.Va once more.

To parade around like the well trained dog she was. Following every command of her master with not so much as a single thought in her head that was not put there for her.

And what did she have to complain about when she lived a life of luxury. Surrounded by high value items and things. Having all the love and adoration from the public she could want. The people sang her praises and cheered her name. They trusted her to protect them and she honored that trust.

Casualties to Gwishin attacks had been cut to a quarter of what they were before she was drafted and joined the battlefield. Half those remaining casualties happened on the rare times she was off duty and not in the fight. She had done it. Had made the difference she had so desperately wanted to make when she first decided not to fight the orders to serve.

What was a complete lack of autonomy over her body and soul for that?How could she protest the sacrifice of herself to save everyone else?

She couldn't. At least not outloud.

So instead, she waved Hana goodbye in the bathroom mirror, and went to go greet D.Va in the vanity mirror.

Carefully applying the layers of her war paint.

Dark circles vanishing beneath a bottle that cost more than a house. Bright colors teased on her eyelids to make a sparkle appear where there had been none before.

Red blush dusted on the tip of her nose and then stamped over with a custom white bunny.

Hair curled and pinned to further shadow the filler on her forehead.

Lips carefully traced and colored to erase any sign of vagrant behavior in the defense of those who her handler would have her spit on.

She contorted her face and D.Va smiled back at her. She waved. A cute coquette thing that was just a flutter of her fingers.

She looked at the clock. Ten minutes to go.

Show time.

To her knowledge, no one saw her leave Hana Song behind in that bathroom. No saw the final shudder that shot through her frame as the spark in the back of her mind was gagged and bound into submission as lights flickered on. No one saw as the spark in her eye became artificial and painful as her cheeks stretched into a bright smile as she shouted out a greeting even though there was no one in the room with her.

No one should have seen. But someone did.

The only other being in the world who knew exactly how that scar on her lip was created.

Someone who couldn't get the figure of a tiny human rushing to his defense out of his mind. Not until he had identified her and tried to figure out why?

And now he had more questions than before.

[oh23]

60% thru book 3 of captive prince and now i am looking for crumbs of its fandom, and i keep seeing comments/posts saying "HOw can anyone read that book???"

AND I AM SO SHOCKED. AND STUNNED.

BECAUSE CAPRI IS LIKE THE MOST WELL WRITTEN TRILOGY IVE READ IN YEARS?????

like yes thee's slavery and it's very bdsm-y but OHMYGOD. the POLITICS. the war ?? the strategy?? the manipulation? the LACK OF LOOPHOLES. the whol book series is SO well thought out, so so perfectly done. its so smart. there's chess being played; moves after moves, each more lethal than the last.

You gain an ally? you've lost your reputation. you gained a fort? your ally gets killed. its an almost checkmate after almost checkmate. and when u start understanding that shi?? it gets s so so delicious. the author doesnt even have to Say anything to get so much of the story across. she writes 4 lines, and you get this dawning realisation of what is happening. It always hits you like a brick. the sheer genius of her writing, i am in so much awe.

And for a book about pet-play, fetish, slavery, the sex scenes are actually? not in that much detail? it actually gets so much more tame.

I think Captive Prince is a book that deserves to be read. Give it a chance. if u think it is a fetish book, you're wrong.

It's like 80% politics and war strategy. and the 20% of bdsm happens mostly in the start of book 1.

ALSO. Laurent's and Damen's chemistry is so fucking perfect. Laurent's constant expectation of being hurt and Damen only being in love with him.

The growth of both characters.

The way they show affection for each other. The seamless way they take over situations from each other, the trust between them, the conflict. oh my god it is literally one of the most tastiest things i have ever ever ever read.

[breadbrobin]

our little affair

james potter x reader — harry potter; marauders era

[gn!reader]

summary: before three months ago, you hated james potter, and everyone knew it. then everything changed. now, you’re meeting him in dark hallways and he’s leaving hickeys on your neck, and someone is going full private detective to find out just who you’re seeing.

warnings: swearing, kissing, reader and james are in love but they won’t admit it, allusions to sexual content—non-explicit.

word count: 1.2k

(it’s been a WHILE but i’m back and writing for a completely different fandom lollll anyway james has always been the loml and i think he deserves to get made out with in a hallway thank you for coming to my ted talk)

———————————

three months. that’s how long it had taken for someone to figure out you were in love.

to be fair to lily, it had taken you around the same amount of time, and you were inside your own head, with full access to all those innocent and not-so-innocent thoughts 24/7.

it was a little stifling, how she watched you like a hawk to see who you were smiling at, glancing towards, blushing because of. and it was a little more than a little embarrassing that she’d figured you out so easily.

it was stupid, really. a hickey left slightly too high and a shirt collar dipping slightly too low while you studied. that was all it took.

“what is that?” she’d asked accusingly.

“what?” you frowned, looking up at her across the table.

“that.” she jerked her head at you, her eyes locked on your collar. “that’s a hickey.”

“no, it’s not,” you’d hissed sharply, but you’d tugged your collar up far too quickly to play it off anymore. she shot you a look, and you had to sigh. “fine. yes, it is. don’t ask who, when, where or how, please.”

“so you’re embarrassed.” she’d nodded understandingly.

your cheeks had flared red as you caught sight of james—god, james potter and his magic lips and warm hands and—stop it—over her shoulder, looking back at her before she could realise your attention had strayed. “i’m not embarrassed. it’s just… private.”

“for now or for good?”

“for now,” you’d answered like you knew for sure. in truth, you didn’t. you’d avoided talking about the whole public relationship thing with james because, well, was it even really a relationship now? could you call sneaking around and leaving secret notes and making out in secluded hallways a relationship? you really didn’t know, and you also really didn’t want to deal with it very much.

regardless, lily was obsessed. when she’d inevitably asked, claiming it was her right as your best friend to know and threaten the poor person, you’d shut her down, and she’d become a woman on a mission.

it was like she’d turned from your best friend to your bodyguard. you felt like the president of the united states, with the secret service watching your every move. it was, honestly, tiring.

it also didn’t help that james was as subtle as a gun in an echo chamber. every chance he got he was smiling over at you, slipping you notes half as sneakily as he should, winking at you across rooms and teasing you every chance he got. it wouldn’t take long, you knew that. you also knew that the moment lily found out the truth, every shred of your reputation that you’d built up over the years would crumble away.

years of hating james potter’s guts had slipped away in the blink of an eye, leaving you floundering in the deep end, and him as your dashing lifeguard, saving you easily. it was infuriating, and what was worse, was that you liked it.

you liked his lips on yours. you liked his body pinning you against a wall. you liked his touch, his smile, his voice… you liked him.

maybe you were a little embarrassed after all.

but you couldn’t even think of embarrassment when james slipped you a note with a tiny doodle of professor flitwick falling off his stack of books, and looked at you with that goofy smile that made you want to melt and then kiss him stupid. ugh, it was ridiculous.

but he was addictive, and after class when you met in the same secluded side hallway as always, and his lips found yours like they needed to be there for him to survive, and his hands were on your hips, your waist, your back, your hair… it didn’t feel so ridiculous. and suddenly you didn’t care.

he always melted into you like he’d been waiting all day for your touch. his shoulders dropped, the tension slipping away from them. a soft sigh of relaxation left him as he touched you.

and it was only you and him in the world, and it was perfect and—

“oh my god!”

james jumped away from you like he’d been burned. you covered your mouth with your hand and shook your head frantically, meeting lily’s wide eyes.

“lily, i—“

“ew, guys, really?” you thought she’d be mad that you were kissing a marauder, but she looked positively gleeful. “i knew i’d be the one to find you two!”

you and james both frowned.

“what?” he asked.

“god, marlene owes me ten galleons.” she laughed, shaking her head. “thank you, guys, really. fucking hell.”

you just stared at her with wide eyes. “you’re not upset?”

“upset?” she snorted. “babes, why would i be upset?”

“because…” you floundered for a moment, gesturing at james. “he’s a marauder.”

he snorted. “wow, thanks.”

“you know what i mean,” you scoffed.

lily laughed. “i don’t care who you make out with. i just care that you’re happy. and you’ve been happy these last few weeks since you two got together.”

“months,” you corrected absently.

“months?”

“three months and four days, to be exact,” james cut in helpfully.

lily stared at you two for a moment before shaking her head in wonder and stepping away. “wow… first of all, i’m offended you didn’t tell me. second of all… you guys have got to find a better hiding spot. everyone knows. marlene and i placed bets on who would find you guys making out first.”

you stared at her. “wait, what?”

she turned and walked down the hall. “toodles! i have to go cash in. use protection!”

and just like that, she was gone, leaving you and james standing in the hallway, confused.

“did that…?” you started, trailing off.

“yeah, i think so.” he frowned, leaning against the wall beside him. “huh. so… if everyone knows already…?”

you looked at him curiously. “what are you suggesting, potter?”

“what do you say to me asking you out? officially.” he stepped closer, fingers brushing a piece of hair out of your face.

you couldn’t stop the stupid smile from breaking onto your face. “i say yes.”

“great. that’s awesome. really.” he grinned, lips mere inches from yours. “because i’ve actually been wanting to ask you out for ages, and—“

“would you kiss me again, potter? and stop talking for once?”

“oh, yeah, right.”

and his lips were on yours again, and his hands were holding you close, and unlike every other time you’d kissed, you didn’t feel the need to hide and pull him down an abandoned hallway. actually, you felt completely fine kissing him in the middle of one of the main hallways of the school, even when footsteps entered the hall, and even when sirius black’s voice started loudly complaining at the two of you. even then, all you did was smile against james’ lips, and revel in the moment. you’d be late for your study session with your friends, but you had more important things to do.

[pearlofthesirens]

You're Mine- Valeria x Fem!Reader(wlw)

my first ever wlw fic!! i feel like valeria doesn't get much love in the fandom either but i'm ready to be gay for her.

summary: Valeria is not afraid to show you that she loves you, even if it means to drop her tough girl attitude outside your lovely household

pairing: Valeria Garza x Fem!Reader

warnings: she/her pronouns used, internalized homophobia, slight cursing

now playing: Sofia by Clairo

word count: 1208 words(one thousand two hundred and eight words)

"I-I cannot explain why I feel this way."

"It's supposed to be wrong but I cannot stop it."

"I think I'm in love with you, Val."

Love. It was such a strange word to her, yet she never got tired of hearing it. What did it mean anyway? Caring for someone? She cared for her men, her money, the drugs she smuggles into the country, and she definitely did care for the reputation she had in Las Almas. But did she love them? Did she love all this?

A simple answer would be no. Because in a singular word, El Sin Nombre could easily say that her love was that one person who would place gentle kisses on her face and help her relax after a long day of dealing with shit at her job. Her love was that one person who kept an extra rubber band around her wrist just in case she needed to tie her hair, which usually rested in a overgrown bob around her face. Her love was the one she came home to, the one scurrying around in the kitchen to cook her childhood favorite. It was you.

"Need you, mi amor."

"Come here, Val."

Valeria couldn't help but instantly melt in your arms, her tactical vest and gloves discarded messily on the living room floor. She knew she might have to hear her girlfriend nag at her for it, but your sweet voice was worth it.

"Your stuff."

"Later, cariño. Just give me some love right now, won't you?"

You let out a small huff, the look of disbelief on your face when Valeria laid her head on your lap, expectant of some physical affection. Nevertheless, your lips turned upwards and your fingers immediately hooked onto her hair, gently swiping through her black strands as she let out a sigh.

Valeria did not regret a single moment she was with you, ever since you two met in middle school. Best friends was what everyone would call you two, till she started to get pissed about guys hitting on you. Why should they? You're so innocent, they're probably trying to take advantage of it. Her protectiveness was so evident, everywhere you'd go she would be there to hold your hand and lead you.

You didn't understand the blooming feeling inside your chest until it started to hurt more than you could take. It couldn't be, right? The kind of feelings girls felt for boys, not girls. It was wrong, everyone said it was wrong. Then why did it happen to you? Were you supposed to feel guilty about it?

Valeria was more upfront about how she felt, declaring that she was a single and proud. Yet every time she saw your face smiling back at her, she could feel all the air kicked out of her lungs. Her heartstrings felt violently tugged at whenever you found a wild flower to tuck behind her ear. Or the times you would sit with your face close to hers, focusing on drawing her eyeliner perfectly as her eyes were fixed on your glossy lips. Feeling for your best friend was so cliche, how did she find herself in the same damn situation as those lame telenovelas?

Confessing to her was tougher than when you had to count money at the market for groceries, you were never good at math. Valeria would laugh and return you the change, coins clinging against each other after she sorted out the price of whatever trinket you wanted to buy, not without bargaining a little. Saw a little ring? Cannot be too much, a pretty girl like you deserves it. A small cat carved out of wood? You shouldn't pay, consider it as a gift from your best friend.

It wasn't until you were crying in her arms, tired of the world beating you down, that you realized how you much you had actually fallen for her. Yes, it was love indeed. Pure romantic love. Her arms around you, her gentle voice consoling you, everything she did just increased the urge you had to kiss her on that spot.

"It's okay, life gets shitty sometimes."

"Val, I-"

"No, it's okay. I'm happy to be there for you, you're my best friend after all-"

"No Valeria listen!"

She was surprised to see you raise your voice for the first time since you two met, you were never like this. There certainly must be something that had been bothering you for a long time.

"This will come off very weird to you and I don't even know why I'm feeling this. But it is happening and I don't know how to stop or handle this. It's just so hard."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm in love with you, Val. And not in the way I say that I love you when you're being friendly. I'm in love with you like I want to kiss you and pull you closer and tell you about my day"

"Hold on, wait what-?"

It was as if her heart had erupted like a volcano at your words. You loved her? Is that what you were feeling all this time? Those shy glances and making paper rings for her, did all of it mean this?

"I cannot explain why I feel this way but I do..and it hurts so bad to ignore it.."

Standing alone at the balcony of your house, you let the cool breeze mess up your freshly dried hair from the shower. Your smile grew wider when you felt a pair of arms wrap around your waist, gently pulling you back to their owner. Valeria rested her chin on your shoulder, your cheek pressed against her head as you two stood with your back against her chest.

"Do you know how much I love you with your hair down like this, mi amor?"

"I don't think you've ever failed to let me know how much you love me, baby."

"Hmm good. You're mine."

"All yours, love."

"Munequita, you don't know how much I love you."

"I love you too, Val."

Her hands immediately spun you around to face her, one hand on your waist and the other behind your head. You let out a giggle, keeping your arms around her neck. Her brown eyes always softened for you, never once she had thought about treating you with anything but love. The strong hands made to hold a gun could also touch you like you were made of glass.

"Val?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for always being there for me."

It was Valeria's turn to giggle, smiling ear to ear as she lowered herself closer to you. Her thumb gently kneaded your waist, your warm breath hitting her lips.

"You know I'm here to stay, right? Wouldn't have done otherwise, cariño."

The last thing you saw was how her cheeks flushed a little before a pair of lips smashed against yours, earning a little yelp from you. She could feel you smiling in the kiss, not letting her tongue take control yet. Only Valeria knew that she couldn't stop even if she wanted to. She wanted to feel you, all of you, and your love. A single kiss wasn't enough, it was never going to be enough.

proofread ✓

pearly venus, 18:20 240330

[saintsenara]

❤️

So many options here! Therapised Sirius, endlessly kind Lupin, suave Draco, incel Snape, emotionally intuitive Hermione, villainous Dumbledore, boorish Ron, the list goes on.

thank you very much for the ask, anon! and you're so right that we have lots of potential options to use as answers to this question...

which character do you think is the most egregiously mischaracterized by the fandom?

but i'm going to go for my best girl, merope gaunt.

merope’s son is, in my opinion, the most interesting character in the series, and his relationship with his dead mother’s memory is one of the most fascinating things about him [and also an aspect of his characterisation which canon dwells on only lightly - dumbledore’s view that voldemort "despises" merope is never interrogated, despite the fact that harry clearly clocks the ways in which his grief about his motherlessness drives his decisions].

but i also think that merope is a fascinating character in her own right, not least for what she reveals to us about the complex threads which bind being a victim and being a perpetrator together, what she shows about how there are no perfect victims, and what she shows about how there are no irredeemable perpetrators. and i really dislike the fact that - even in fics which attempt to deeply get into voldemort's character from perspectives not found in the canon series - authors typically write her as an unambiguous villain, and take dumbledore's view - that merope chose to die [something which directly justifies voldemort's view of death as shameful, which isn't what the series thinks it's saying...] because she wasn't brave enough to live.

i hate this - because i hate anything which suggests that wizards and muggles are, essentially, different species. throughout the course of human history hundreds of thousands of women - who would have loved to have stayed alive for their babies - have bled to death in childbirth, because childbirth is dangerous. a lack of courage doesn't come into it.

but i also think that merope deserves to be treated as something other than a one-note villain outside of this.

she's a rapist. there's no need to handwave that away - even though canon does [love potions are treated as somewhat benign in the text, the canonical tom riddle sr. gets no sympathy whatsoever within the narrative, and he is blamed by both harry and dumbledore, even if this happens in ways which make sense for their characters, for "abandoning" his son].

but she's also someone who must meaningfully lack the capacity to understand what she does as rape. the implication of canon is that she's subjected to incestuous sexual violence at her father and/or brother’s hands [morfin’s jealousy over tom sr., and the fact that he tells tom jr. that merope "dishonoured" him by having a sexual relationship with another man, heavily suggests this], which the narrative once again considers vaguely amusing - and she's certainly subjected to physical violence by them. she's treated as little more than an object to display her father’s locket. this is a girl [she’s nineteen when she dies] who cannot have any idea what things like consent and bodily autonomy are, and who shows through this how this lack of safety and education in one person’s life can go on to beget horror in another’s.

and, alongside this, she also provides a particularly good insight into something which is often absent from the canon narrative - the failure of the wizarding state. it is extraordinary that, when morfin and marvolo are arrested, she's just left on her own. or that the state has made no prior effort to remove her from the home of two men with reputations for violence, or to make sure that she has an education, or to notice that she lives in grinding poverty. or that she's forced to sell her father’s locket for a pittance because the wizarding state makes no effort to help heavily pregnant women who have nowhere else to go.

this - the fact that evil is often banal proceduralism, and that the greatest harm is caused by state apparatus - is something which is largely absent from the canon narrative, which tends to locate good or evil within the individual. so too is the reality of gendered violence, or how poverty affects women specifically, or how the institutions praised in the series - hogwarts chief among them - maintain a social structure which is hugely oppressive. these things go on to affect voldemort too, but they originate with merope.

[angelasscribbles]

All That She Wants Chapter 3: Let's Talk

Series: All That She Wants

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings for this chapter: Riley x Drake

Word Count: 1,264

Rating: M

Warnings for this chapter: tiny flakes of lemon

My other stuff: Master List.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, matting his hair and dripping onto the glistening skin of the woman writhing underneath him.

It had been a month since Drake had taken Riley back to his room and done all the things he’d fantasized about for so long. She’d come back the next day and the day after that.

And then she’d gone back to being friendly and polite, but nothing more.

Until tonight.

Though he had been determined to demand a conversation, all his resolve had crumbled the moment he’d opened his door to find her standing on the other side.

He had given in to her so easily, and now her legs were wrapped around his waist, her nails sunk into the tanned flesh of his shoulder blades, and his cock was buried deep inside her.

His name fell from her lips as she shuddered beneath him, and he slammed into her one last time, sending streams of milky hot liquid erupting into her.

He nuzzled into the side of her neck as he caught his breath, unwilling to move off her just yet.

He wasn’t ready for this to be over.

He breathed in the scent of lilac and lavender mingled with sweat and sex. His tongue and lips trailed down her supple skin, the taste salty and sweet.

She made approving noises at first, but then she pushed at him to get him to roll off her. “It’s hot and you’re sweaty.”

“So are you.” He countered, but he complied by dropping his body onto the mattress next to her.

“Yes, I know. I need to borrow your shower.”

The unspoken part hung in the air between them. She couldn’t go back to her husband reeking of sex.

They lay side by side for several long minutes; him searching her face for something he couldn’t quite find.

Part of him was afraid of scaring her away, but a bigger part needed to know what was going on. He couldn’t face the prospect of her leaving and him not knowing if or when he’d see her again. “Listen, Riley. We need to talk.”

“About?”

“What we’re doing here.”

“I thought that was obvious.”

“Haha. Seriously. Listen. I know I have a reputation, Riley, but—”

She cut him off with an incredulous laugh. “You say that like it’s not a well-deserved reputation. You’ve been with a lot of women!”

He blew out a breath of frustration. “I have been with a lot of women, but—”

“It’s okay, Drake. You’re safe.” She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “I know you don’t do relationships, and I’m not asking you for one. I get it.”

“No, you don’t!” He shot upright, grabbed her arm, and pulled her back. “I want a relationship, Riley!”

She gave him a puzzled look as she shifted her body into the same cross-legged sitting position he had settled into. “No, you don’t. In the entire time I’ve known you, you’ve never dated the same woman for more than a few weeks. And it’s not for lack of opportunity. They throw themselves at you. I’ve seen it.”

His eyes searched her face for any trace of jealousy. “Does that bother you?”

Her brows furrowed momentarily. “What?”

“The women, Riley!” He exploded. “Do you care, even a little, when you see me with someone else?”

He read nothing but confusion in her eyes as she shook her head, “Why would you think—”

“Because it fucking kills me every time I see you with Liam, that’s why! I thought it was just me, all one-sided, but then you… this happened…” he gestured between them.

“What are you saying, Drake?”

“I’m saying that I want a fucking relationship, Riley, but the woman I want it with married my best friend!”

“I…I didn’t know…” she looked stricken.

His voice went quiet as he asked, “Is that why you didn’t give me the courtesy of a heads-up before you got engaged?”

Her eyes filled with tears. “Oh my god, Drake! I had no idea that you ever had feelings like that for anyone, much less for me!”

“Yeah, well, I am in ample possession of plenty of feelings… I just don’t see the point of sharing them with most people.”

“I don’t know what to say. I never knew you felt that way.”

“Why did you think that night happened?”

“Um…. Because you’re Drake Walker and you sleep with anyone and everyone?”

“I do not!”

She arched her eyebrows.

“Okay, I have been around the block a time or two, but do you really think I would have slept with someone Liam was interested in if I didn’t have genuine feelings for them?”

She twirled a loose strand of hair around a fingertip as she considered that. “I mean…we had been drinking, so I chalked it up to that.”

“Would it have made a difference if I’d told you how I felt?”

“Back then? No.” She had been too in love with Liam to give serious consideration to anyone else.

“And now?”

“Drake…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lead you on or anything. I assumed this was just fun and games for you. You know I love Liam. I married him!”

His eyes squeezed shut, pain swirling through him. His voice was clipped as he bit out, “Then why are you here?”

Her gaze drank him in as she considered whether or not to confide in him. One look into his misery-filled eyes convinced her that he was never going to use anything she told him against her.

She could trust him.

Her eyes were trained on her fingers as they twisted the edge of the sheet. Drawing a shaky breath, she admitted, “I can’t remember the last time Liam touched me.”

Drake went still as a soft, “Ah.” slipped from his lips.

She looked up, stunned at the tone she detected in his voice. “You’re not surprised.”

He sighed, unwilling to divulge Liam’s secrets no matter how in love he was with Riley. He hadn’t known they weren’t sleeping together, but in light of the information, he did know exactly why.

Seeing a possible way out without lying, he opted for a truth that wasn’t the whole truth. “I didn’t realize that you two weren’t…. I mean…” a crimson flush crawled up his neck and spread across his face as he stumbled over his words.

For the first time since they started this serious conversation, Riley laughed. It was a short, ironic laugh. She reached for his hand. “Geeze, Drake, after what we just did, are you really afraid to use words like sleeping together? Having sex?” She leaned closer with a hint of provocation lacing her voice. “Fucking?”

The flush went a shade deeper. “Riley!”

Her eyes traced across his face in pleased astonishment. Drake Walker, a known lothario, had somehow regressed into a skittish schoolboy because of her.

She couldn’t repress the smile or the soft laugh that burst out of her at the realization. Her fingers flew to her lips to try to cover it, but he noticed.

“Fuck!” He dropped his face into his hands to hide it from her. “I’m sorry for acting like an idiot.”

“No,” she reached out and gently pried his hands away from his face. “I like this new side of you.”

“Really?” He lifted his head and gazed at her with such tender hope and tortured longing that her heart stuttered in her chest, and butterflies exploded through her.

Well, shit.

That hadn’t been part of the plan.

[genderfluid-strawberry-of-doom]

i reread hammer of thor and i decided to list out some stuff i feel has been overlooked by the fandom

and stuff that hasn't been overlooked (at all) but i HAVE to mention it anyway. because reasons

also it's not THAT long of a post but it's pretty long so i put a cut there

nobody ever mentions the 'thinking cup' like whyyy

alex fierro the cheetah and weasel :)

"the gender thing wasn't what surprised me. what surprised me was the way my impression of alex had slingshot and the emotions that had stirred up"

magnus mentioning that he had been stuck in one gender his whole life and that it didn't bother him except the way it was worded made it seem like he was unsure about it jsfjfisfidgkgd

i don't think it's overlooked but the scene in which magnus is watching alex eat and halfborn goes "there's no shame in being attracted magnus" and he CHOKES

(not overlooked at all but) HEARTH'S POSESSIVENESS OVER BLITZ <333

(DEFINITELY not overlooked but) "buddy" *proceeds to take hearth's hands in his own*, "what is wrong with my elf" 😭😭

inge being fucking abused by alderman?? she was beaten??? and the iron on the door locks is harmful and extremely painful to hulder??? THAT ASSHOLE ALDERMAN

(in context to inge explaining that alderman kept a patch of wilderness in his backyard bc hulder need wilderness to live and so that he can 'hire' more help) "she said hire. i heard catch" BITCH-

the fucking wergild. i have a lot of thoughts about that and all of them involve alderman dying

also hearth's mom doesn't really seem like much of a good person either? she didn't stop alderman from being abusive towards hearth or the house staff AND she literally just cared about her reputation. maybe she wasn't as bad as her husband but she was still pretty bad (parallels there between hearth and alex)

also parallels between hearth trying to stop alderman from taking andvari's ring and trying to "pull his dad out from a hole deeper than andvari's" and magnus trying to save randolph from falling into the hole in the ground that led to helheim-

hearth and samirah's dynamic?? they've already had a fight and patched up AND were stuck together during the utgard lanes chapters. soooo a lot

also hearth and alex's brief interactions lol

"just, you know, a little respect" "for the girl with the sharp wire? no problem" "there was nothing confusing abt the smile she gave me. it warmed up the office by about five degrees" I LOVE THEM A TOTALLY NORMAL AMOUNT

amir fadlan. AMIR FADLAN EVERYBODY <333

samirah being a girlboss. samirah handling all the stress. samirah trying to show her true self to amir. samirah braving everything put in her way with courage. just samirah <3 <3 (everybody in the whole universe should be in awe of her btw)

the scene in which they're sitting on stanley (the eight-legged horse) and magnus is nervous to hold on to alex but she just takes his hands and puts them around her waist <3

for some reason i had assumed alex had cut magnus's hair for the first time in the woods but no. it was blitz? hm

magnus's casual mention about utgard loki being attractive ajsfjfsi

taylor swift being dwarf music and prince being giant music?? (and that giant named tiny being obsessed with elvis)

an alex speech pattern which isn't much of a pattern but it repeated twice in the book: once she said (in response to hearth signing something she didn't understand. this was around the time when she and samirah revealed that alex would be taking samirah's place) "yes alex. thank you alex for being so brave and heroic." and then the other time (in the end when magnus is visiting her in her room and picks up one of her pottery projects) "no you can't touch it magnus. thanks for asking magnus" idk i just think it's cool

the trophy wife thing. sif deserves better tbh

"a girl who was rocking that wedding dress"

alex straightening magnus's tie or smth and magnus's inner monologue going "she still smells like wood smoke. why does she still smell like a campfire?"

samirah's wedding outfit?? (sounds gorgeous tbh. except for the hood which) also i have a related question. is the hood in place of hijab thing disrespectful? /gen

sif and alex dynamic <3

sif's gifts to hearth (pouch of rowan runes) and alex (golden garrote)

alex and most other shapeshifters make random animal noises and shapeshift to random animals when they're nervous

halfborn's "death and glory," mallory's "kill everyone," and tj's "charge" aksfkfiovdm. and the way magnus just becomes so much stronger when he sees his friends-

the scene at the end of the marriage battle thing when alex is all concerned because she thinks magnus doesn't believe that she was just pretending to be under loki's control and sHE'S TRYING TO CONVINCE HIM AND HE SQUEEZES HER HAND JDFJSFKFK THIS SCENE IS NOT TALKED ABOUT ENOUGH

alex canonically calling magnus "sunshiny" and RESPECTING AND ADMIRING HIM AND HIS HEALING POWERS. they make me weak

samirah and magnus's dynamic is not given enough love. they are figuratively SIBLINGS and that level of closeness is not recognized by the fandom enough

(also not really about the book but. the UK cover of 'hammer of thor' depicts samirah with half of her hair falling out of her hijab. which. who tf designed these covers?? like somebody needs to give them a good throttling)

there's probably more that i don't remember but okay here have this for now :)

[inamindfarfaraway]

It's both funny and increasingly annoying to me when Hatchetfield fans associate Bill with Blinky, the way Paul is associated with Pokey and Ted with Tinky, but leave out Alice. She was there in Watcher World too! Her eyes were also purple! She was also controlled to try to kill her family! There is no way you can think of “Watcher World” without remembering Alice's equal involvement in Blinky's scheme.

I'd argue that she's a much better fit for Blinky's special human. He forms a grudge against her for insulting and disobeying him ("Fuck you, Blinky", "You'll be sorry"), just like Pokey's fixation on Paul because he defied him. She has a theme of watching going on herself, in contrast to Bill's naivety and obliviousness: being perceptive enough to notice the creepy, suspicious elements of Watcher World; trying to use observation as a tool to control Deb's behaviour, Blinky's modus operandi (though I personally like to believe that Deb didn't actually cheat and Blinky was tricking her); and having a connection with social media in general, which Blinky is thematically similar to and embodies the worst, most harmful elements of. She's deeply self-conscious, concerned with her reputation to her peers and has an anxiety disorder. She’s always worrying about how people see her and feels pressured to act in certain ways by that, which is exactly what Blinky wants in his prey, just like how Linda is Nibby's ideal hungry Honey Queen. She's interested in theatre and wants to be a playwright, to write shows where people will passively watch characters struggle and suffer for their own entertainment. Blinky creates live plays too - he even proudly says “Welcome to the show!" when the father and daughter's duel begins. She knows how to manipulate people by showing them what they want to see, giving her script draft a tragic ending for the queer main characters that's more likely to get it accepted in the discriminatory industry, when in fact she wants to change the ending once she has more power.

And she alone defeats her Lord in Black. Pokey assimilates Paul. Tinky breaks and owns Ted. Nibbly consumes Linda. Wiggly completely enslaves Linda and leads her to her death, and Wiley is unshakeable from his allegiance to him. But Alice? She overcomes the mind control, pushes through her panic attack, shoots Bliklotep in his all-seeing eye and goes home with her dad. And lets go of her independent issues with perception and image by putting down her phone.

She is so much like Blinky, and so much his perfect victim. Except that she wants happy endings. For the characters in her stories, for herself and for the people she loves. And she has the strength to make them come true. She's Blinky's equal and opposite. The hero to his villain. She can do everything he can, on a human scale, but she believes in happy endings.

I know the fandom likes the 'CCRP eldritch horrors’ favourites gang', and that is fun. But give Alice the respect she deserves! I see her as Blinky's Ted while Bill is his Pete; also a valued toy, but more by proxy than in his own right.

[hashtagboykisser]

Hii can you write the hosts with an idol reader? like a popular one

HOST CLUB X READER !!

IDOL READER !!

prompt: hosts with idol reader

requested by: anonymous

warnings: you didn’t specify whether it was poly or monogamous and if you wanted a oneshot or headcanons so I’m just gonna do headcanons :) i’m also taking this request as like one of those japanese singers so hope that’s chill!!

TAMAKI SUOH:

tamaki thinks it’s literally the coolest thing ever

he wants to go the whole nine yards to support you!

he’ll be sure everyone goes to your concerts/events, buys your merch, etc!

he tries to be like your own personal mori senpai but he’s just too sweet XD

HARUHI FUJIOKA:

haruhi is probably the most laidback about it

she’ll go to your stuff and support ya

but her opinion of you doesn’t change because your an idol yk?

she might feel a slight pressure becuz of crazy fans but other than that she’s chill!

KYOYA OOTORI:

i think kyoya personally actually is really chill about it on the outside but in the inside he is kinda scattered

like he’s worried about how both of your reputations could or will get ruined by the two of you being together

ultimately he wants the best for the both of you, no matter what it is, but he wants u to know he cares

he also is really big on you getting the respect that you deserve

by that i mean he will D E S T R O Y any haters who wanna fuck with you lmfao

TAKASHI MORINOZUKA:

definitely the most nervous about it, no doubt in my mind

similar to kyoya, but i think he’s a lot more nervous about it

he goes to all your concerts/events as a security guard fs

gets really worked up at times because he doesn’t always know how to help you with this because it’s very new to him

HIKARU HITACHIIN:

this might be a bit surprising but he is definitely the least worried of out the boys about how people see you two

he like, has a idgaf attitude

the best believe this bitch will be jumping and screaming at your concerts

he also loves wearing your merch like everywhere

he also probably designed and modeled it with kaoru but yk

KAORU HITACHIIN:

kaoru wants to help you in every sense of the word

he’ll advertise, design and model your merch, go to your concerts (either as a security guard or a fan), etc!

he doesn’t worry about the public eyes idea of you too much, but it’s definitely a thought in the back of his mind

i can see him begging for any kind of sneaks peeks for your upcoming works xD

MITSKUNI HONINOZUKA:

honey (as we all probably know) isn’t as immature as he may show, he’s pretty darn smart

so i think he takes a lot of things into account when it comes to your idol career

although yes, he does love and support you and your dreams no matter what

he is also one of the boys who gets nervous a little

i think he worries a little bit about your mental state because being as popular as you are can get a bit exhausting

so he always makes sure you sleep well and have some cake :)

hey hey

it’s hermy

sorry i haven’t posted in a bit

i’m about to update my page!

after i get my next two requests done!

so be ready becuz i’m adding more fandoms and things i’ll write!!!

-hermy<3

[dollypopup]

y'all can all cancel me (again) for this, but if there's even a SHRED of 'who should I pick?' from Penelope in season 3, I am tuning out SO fast because like. . .sorry not sorry, there IS no choice. Debling is some crusty OC suitor she barely even knows and Colin is a man who she has been so supposedly in love with to the point where she'd ruin her entire family's reputation to have a potential love story with him. Penelope and Colin have background, years of knowing each other, intimacy that few people in the Ton can boast of having (letters, conversations about purpose, fights and arguments and makeups) and her and Debling have. . .a dance or two at a ball because he's a rebound for Penelope's broken heart. he means nothing. he has no nuance, he has no weight to the story, he is such an afterthought to me. either I wanna see Penelope going 'you know what? I don't even LIKE this dude. he's. . .fine, but I don't care about him even a shred as much as I care about Colin' or the INSTANT Colin's like 'you know what? we should get married' if it's not an immediate 'say less, you're already my husband, try returning me without the receipt, Debling whomst?' then I don't want it!

like. . .it's just so frustrating to see all the 'I hope Debling sweeps her off her feet and she rejects Colin's proposal and she makes him work for it and and and-' nonsense from the fandom and it's always tagged and no matter how many times I block it, it just keeps popping up. I go into the Polin tag for POLIN. I don't give a SHIT about a male love interest other than Colin. Not one. Not a shred. Not an iota.

and also. . .Debling has the 'benefit' of not having depth, or character traits, or HISTORY, so peeps can project onto him however they want, but I'm calling it now, there is NOTHING he could do or be that would make me like him more than Colin. Colin will always hit different, and I will always love him more. and if Pen's not on that same page? lol bye

you want me to believe Penelope and Colin are soulmates and it's romance for her to hem and haw about how difficult a decision it is for her to marry a stranger who knows barely anything about her. . .

when Marina was out here dropping banger lines like 'You were the only man with which I could see myself being happy' and 'I do not care about any of these men, where is Colin?'? like hello??? and she wasn't even fully in love with him!!!! but we'll demonize her until the cows come home in our fandom and make her the villain in Polin's love story for DARING to get in between Polin, yet Debling, a white man, is a darling dear perfect prince for getting in between Polin? existing in our fandom solely so Penelope can be like 'lol, Colin ain't shit, let me entertain any and everyone else'?

if that's the direction it goes then, ten toes down and on my mama, she doesn't deserve Colin and she can move because I'm on my way to court him my damn self

and that's that on that

[sgiandubh]

Why is it that it *urks* me S so easily plays the narrative with these porn loving young girls?! All he works for and accomplishes, he disrespects himself allowing his reputation to be linked to those kind of very young women. How can it be okay for him to let people believe he is a *man whore* (as the group of so called haters say)? It's not like they could still play the narrative with a beautiful woman that does not post her body parts all over social media!! I just feel like everytime they link him with one of those women, I lose a little more respect for him. For me, it also takes away from the love I've always seen between him and C. Ugh! I feel crazy for it bothering me! Am I the only one?!

Dear Bothered Anon,

I am sorry for the substantial delay. Flu happened still, and I wanted to have a clearer and rested mind in order to properly answer your question.

I shall again be brutally honest and say I really don't care at this point what brought you here: sincerity or elicitation of shippers' reactions on this very meh week-end. It doesn't really matter, either: but since Mordor is regularly accusing us of spoliation of evidence, I thought your submission deserved a careful answer. I know that annoys the shit out of them, too - not gonna lie, I am always pleased to oblige.

For our readers that have a normal life and were not here for Marple's midnight stalking session, here goes a summing-up of the facts (I hope you don't mind):

A video snippet of what is probably a more extended FaceTime conversation between S and Amanda Tutschek ( https://paintedpeachla.com/), a topless artist and painting tutor (100 USD/hour/class) from Vancouver, BC (but currently active in Venice Beach, Ca.) surfaced on Marple's account, supposedly dropped in her DMs by a good Samaritan. It is a nine second snippet ("... yeah...I was gonna put this one up here... but so funny... I was literally doing this yesterday and I was thinking about you...") with the comment: "Pimping out @samheughan's walls in Ireland (IE flag emoji)". It stayed on Tutschek's Instagram account for about four hours and then was promptly erased.

You start by telling me "S is playing the narrative with" the #silly calendar girls crowd. Is he, in this instance and if so, how can you (or anybody) be so sure?

Two scenarios are at play here:

First scenario: S/his people leaked this on purpose. Therefore, S is a troll.

Second scenario: Tutschek posted it as an Instastory on purpose. Therefore, S is a victim.

If S is trolling the fandom and I believe he is (only not now and not like this), why would he leak this on purpose? To emphatically let us know they're 'obviously not together'? To stir the pot between Queen *urv and Marple? To consolidate his man whore image, just when he was taking part in a critically important event in New York? I can understand the Lord of the Rings rigmarole (grinned for days), but assuming he is behind this strange snippet would be stretching the fabric of facts a bit too much, to my taste.

Also, despite *urv's delirious opinion ("he had a bedroom voice"), I think he just sounded tired and vaguely friendly: yes, I do think it's his voice. Not earlier than Friday evening, I received a video call on Fb from M, a (Taurus, hehe) former high school mate and one of my best friends. She always makes a point of telling me stuff like "I was buying grapes at the farmer's market and thought about you, how you absolutely hate them, so I called"/"I am at the Opera with Professor So-and-So, I told him about my brilliant friend in Athens, wanna say hi ?" That doesn't mean M wants me, the woman is happily married with two teenage boys. But she is a kind soul, with a superb understanding about what a friend really means (including being candidly obnoxious and immediately forgiven for it).

If Tutschek posted it out of her own accord on Insta, the reason would be simple: coat-tailing for clicks, shits and giggles. The insistent Ireland reference would point to that: I mean, the woman scrolled all the way down to the flag emojis to make sure we got the point (and in the process, more innuendo, mayhap). That would also explain why she promptly took it down: either because she realized somehow she pushed things a smidge too far or because she was strongly encouraged to cut the crap.

Seriously, whatever. This is just another episode of low-cost fuckery, irrespective of the two possibilities I just discussed. Her art is not as memorable as the bosom she generously shares with the world. It is borderline depressing and nothing to write home about, if you ask me. And the fact that the fandom quickly placed her in the same social circle with Quarantein Gia and Paparazzi Clarke, well... another major eyeroll, just here. The expected effect was exactly the one you described: to quietly gnaw at people's respect of S and also to chip a bit more of the fairytale.

This will happen only if you let them. These people, whoever they are, cannot challenge your reason, because there is nothing interesting or even logical about idiotic tidbits like this one. But they can and they are challenging and playing with your emotions, in order to instill doubt, insecurity, fear or disgust. I will not discuss Marple's editorial policy here (like her legally disingenuous use of someone else's material), simply because I do not want to give that derailed jukebox further space on my page. It is my sensible choice not to let these people in my world more than they deserve to be (very little). Maybe you should try it too, Anon. It could work for you as it did for me, once I came to terms with it.

I am not even sorry about the length of this answer. Haters gonna hate. I could not care less. Thanks for dropping by.

[snowflakeanimelover]

A Misunderstanding That Leads To a Gift

Relationship: Doctor Stephen Strange x Female reader

Fandom: Marvel Universe, Doctor Strange, (Pre-movie)Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Warnings: Spoilers of beginning of the movie Doctor Strange: MoM, other than that nothing else of the movie is mentioned, a little angst, lots of backstory, cute, fluff, major fluff, kisses, Wong deserves a hug, fight, argument, jokes, hot doctor strange because yes, hugs, friends to lovers, kinda shy reader, nice reader, A LITTLE SPICY AT THE END

Summary: Reader has known Doctor Stephen Strange since medical school. She doesn’t know how she grew to be friends with him, despite his horrible personality, and even grew to like him. But as time passes, and the doctor comes back better than ever, especially as a hero, their relationship becomes more. But all hope and happiness can be changed quickly, all because of a misunderstanding. Reader starts to get tired of his many excuses of canceling their plans to hang out, but what happens when a little misunderstanding somehow brings them closer?

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Author note: Helllooo it has certainly been a long time since I’ve written a one-shot on here….very sorry! Will probably be writing more Doctor Strange stuff cause I am currently obsessed with him. Also write this one-shot in one go and my fingers burnnnn. Anyways, hope someone enjoys this just as much as I enjoyed writing it!

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It was just for one night. (Y/n) had to remind herself that not only was this the fiftieth time he had canceled on her, but that he was also a hero and could be very busy. She couldn’t be mad at him. She understood his reasons, even though his reasons were quite stupid before he became a sorcerer.

(Y/N) knew Doctor Stephen Strange back in medical school. He was a cocky bastard who only cared about fame and money. He would turn down so many suffering patients, only because their problems weren’t interesting enough and didn’t improve his reputation as the best doctor around.

Why was she friends with a guy like him? You may ask. Well, only she knew the soft side that he kept hidden. She wasn’t sure how it happened, or doesn’t really remember how they met in medical school, but she knows him to be a soft character on the inside.

Back before he became a sorcerer and learned magic, he was a man who loved his job only because of the money and being the most popular doctor out there. (Y/N) found herself having peaceful and meaningful conversations with him quite often…that was his soft side. He joked, had witty comments, and was kind enough to give small gifts for her birthday or for major holidays. She even noticed the soft smiles he’d give her at the end of their conversations before they had to depart and take care of a patient.

But because he was so busy as a famous doctor, (Y/N) and Stephen never went out on friendly hangouts, like normal friends, as much as they’d liked. There were times where they celebrated, and Stephen asked (Y/N) out to a nice dinner. (Y/N) did her best to bring him out at times, too.

And he had said he enjoyed their time together outside of work.

Yet, deep down, (Y/N) knew he’d rather be with someone else than her. She knew Christine Palmer, a fellow and nice doctor, to be in his eyes at all times. (Y/N) always caught him staring at her from time to time, even while in the middle of a conversation, and as she stood at the end of the hallways.

It was hard on (Y/N). And being her usual caring self, she left it be and gave them space. She figured that she’d find someone else. As time passed, she didn’t find anyone to keep her company for the rest of her life, but she did become close once again with the famous Doctor. Although, now….he’s a hero.

“Magic…?” (Y/N) was appalled. Thrilled, even, by hearing what he could do now. He was gone for months and he comes back with some magical abilities and a new look. She had to admit the new look…looked rather good on him.

She also noticed the way he smiled more. The deep fame-craving demon inside of him so long ago has now disappeared and is replaced with adventure, curiosity, and maturity.

He had changed. And in a good way.

Stephen smiled briefly, one corner of his mouth tipping upwards, almost covered by his fancy mustache. “Yeah. Weird, isn’t it? Never thought I’d come back with…this,” he gestures to his new outfit. Ancient-like styled blue robes covered his body, as well as a vibrant red cloak hanging off of his shoulders. A gold oval case-like medallion was positioned on his chest, attached to his clothes.

(Y/N) had to admit that the outfit had her staring longingly at him more.

“That is…weird,” she says slowly, trying to gather her thoughts, “in a good way! Of course…I mean, it’s super cool.”

“You think so?” He starts, but puts a finger up as if to stop her from saying anything yet, “Wait, the outfit, or the magic?”

(Y/N) lets out a giggle, “Both, actually. Both are really cool. The outfit…I think it suits you.”

Stephen keeps his smile, “Well, at least I have that going for me. Your opinion means a lot.”

And since that encounter, they have gotten even closer. He tries to hang out with her as much as he can, when he isn’t trying to save innocent lives and the entire world or universe. At some point, it became a bit difficult for him to arrange any meetings, so he came to a conclusion.

“Visit the Sanctum?” (Y/N) could feel her jaw drop at the thought of being in such a sacred place. Well, she knew it wasn’t really sacred, but it was an important place for the sorcerers. She had never been there, and had only heard so much by the doctor himself and his companion, Wong. “I did…say it right, right?” The many vocabulary words spoken by the sorcerers is a bit much for her brain to handle.

Stephen chuckles at her last question, softly patting her hand. The soft wind in the park fought against the few black strands of his hair that had escaped his specific hairstyle. They sit on the bench, talking about their lives and what they missed.

“Yes, you said it right. And yes, you should visit. In fact, you can visit anytime. I’ll be there most of the time, anyway.”

The excitement (Y/N) felt of seeing him more often than not was almost overwhelming. She could tell he could see right through her, about ready to bounce off the walls with questions and happiness.

Since then, she had come by the Sanctum practically everyday, when she wasn’t busy. She felt as if she had no place but by Stephen’s side. Usually, on his most busy days, she sat and read a book, or asked Wong a few questions while Stephen worked and studied.

It came to a point where they set up a guest room just for her. In case she ended up staying far later than usual and she had a room to sleep in.

But not all things were to go as smoothly as she’d like.

The past few times of trying to go out to a meal, go for a walk, or anything else, Stephen had canceled on her. (Y/N), at first, didn’t mind at all. He was a busy man and had good reasons to cancel. Such as saving lives. (Y/N) even noticed how much he cared about her feelings when he canceled. She hadn’t ever heard him apologize so much in her life.

Then one night, he canceled on her once again. But this time, (Y/N) was very upset about it. She couldn’t do anything about it, though, as his reason was going to save the world once again.

In fact, she was so upset, she tried to avoid seeing the doctor as much as she could. She figured that stopping by the Sanctum one early morning to return a book she borrowed from Wong could help her not run into Stephen…but it was too difficult to say no to Wong when he offered her to stay for breakfast.

The tension in the room was heavy, (Y/N) noticed, as she quietly ate her breakfast. It was quite good, actually, and she always enjoyed the rare moments Wong made meals. She tried to keep her eyes trained anywhere but on Stephen, who sat at one end of the table, also eating his breakfast. His usual blue robes were on. His ‘work clothes’ he called them.

The silence was almost too much to stay in the presence of. (Y/N) tried to eat her breakfast quickly, without it being obvious, so she could leave. But Wong cleared his throat before she could shove the last few mouthfuls of her food, grabbing their attention.

“So…am I missing something, or did you two get in a fight?” The man finally asks, breaking the awkward silence.

They sure did get in a fight the night he canceled on her. She snapped at him over the phone on accident, but the deed was done and she actually felt good about saying something to him. It felt good to let out her frustrations once in a while, instead of holding them in. Since that phone call, they hadn’t really been talking to each other.

When the two didn’t respond to Wong, he decided to shrug his shoulders and leave it be. “I see. It’s none of my business,” he says, backing off, “Anyways, I heard Christine is having a wedding. Are you two going to go?”

(Y/N) remembers the invitation Christine sent her, and how happy she felt at seeing such exciting news. But her mood sours once again when Stephen nods. “Yes. Well…maybe. I don’t know yet,” he stumbles over his thoughts.

“Ah, well, I would assume so since you went to help her the other night. How did that go, by the way?” Wong asks innocently.

The loud clang of (Y/N)’s fork hitting the glass plate echoes throughout the room, causing the two men to freeze and look at her. She had never held such a mighty glare towards the man she loved. And she can tell it’s affecting him, by the way he flinched as soon as their eyes met.

Stephen helping Christine with her wedding wasn’t a big deal. Of course, it wasn’t, since they are close friends. But (Y/N) remembers Stephen being so busy lately, he hasn’t had a chance to hang out with her. So when in the hell did he have the time to help Christine?

“When was this?” She grits out past her teeth.

Wong leans back in his chair, slightly concerned by his friend's reaction. “Two nights ago, I believe?”

“You canceled our plans to go help Christine with her wedding?!” (Y/N) snaps, abruptly standing up from her chair.

Stephen jumped at her words and stood up, as well. “No, no!” He blurts out, his hands flinging up in some kind of surrender. “It’s not what it looks like-“

“Not what it looks like!” She scoffs, “Stephen! Those plans were important to me! I got a promotion for my dream job, something I have wanted for a long time, and we planned it! Way before your little date with Christine!”

He looked taken aback by her words, a little confused on why she called it a date when it wasn’t anything close to it. Hell, she’s getting married to another man. “Date? (Y/N), you need to calm down and let me explain-“

“Yeah, when pigs fly!” She huffs, but points a finger at him after she realizes what she said, “don’t even think about it.” Stephen nodded, fighting a smile at her random and aweful comeback. “What I mean is that you can think about what you did and apologize to me. That night was important to me, Stephen, and you lied to me about it! You said you were saving the world! …I thought we were friends…”

(Y/N) doesn’t give him time to respond as she walks out of the room, as fast as she possibly could without tripping and making a fool out of herself. She ignored the call of her name by the doctor as he ran after her.

“(Y/N), stop!” His raised voice almost startled her, if she weren’t so upset.

She didn’t stop, though. But suddenly, in a blink of an eye, she finds herself walking right through a sparkly portal and right behind Stephen. She was still in the same hallway, just transported farther back then she just was. “Don’t you dare use your magic on me!”

Stephen turns around and places a firm grip on (Y/N)’s upper arms before she could walk off past him. He looked annoyed more than anything as a heavy sigh leaves his lips, struggling just a little against her nudges of getting out of his grip.

“Would you just…listen?”

Realizing he wouldn’t let her go anytime soon, (Y/N) holds her breath and stays still, allowing him to continue. “Look, yes I canceled our plans to go help Christine with her wedding plans, but,” he pauses, his light blue-gray eyes looking right into (Y/N)’s, “Christine told me there was going to be a fireworks show at this restaurant in a couple of days. I wanted to ask you to move our dinner to that day, so we can properly celebrate your promotion…”

His voice was so soft, it was starting to get difficult for (Y/N) to be mad at him anymore. In fact, all she felt was guilty at hearing his words. He didn’t cancel their plans just to hang out with his past crush, he canceled because he wanted to make better plans.

“But you yelled at me over the phone before I could explain that… so, I’m sorry for not saying it earlier.”

“Oh, Stephen…” she gasps lightly, feeling her eyes burn as tears well up, “Oh my god…no, I’m sorry for not listening to you. I’m such a horrible friend…” she stresses. Her hands ring through her hair as she looks away, too embarrassed to look at him.

Stephen doesn’t say a word while he brings her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her back and softly rubbing it to comfort her. “It was just a misunderstanding. Nothing to worry about…I was trying to figure out how to tell you.”

A few tears slip down (Y/N)’s cheeks, her head resting against his chest. He rocked their bodies back and forth gently, soothing her to an extent. She could feel his chin resting on the top of her head. She felt so at home in his arms. “God…I’m so sorry, Stephen. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

A light chuckle escaped his lips, his chest rumbling at the action, “Yeah. Go to dinner with me. As a date.”

She couldn’t help but to gawk at him as soon as they separated, her eyes so wide the man smiled in triumph. “A…a date? As in, like…”

“A couple, yeah,” he concludes. His hands rub her shoulders from time to time, as if he didn’t want to let her go, “If you’ll have me…that is.”

It took (Y/N) a few moments to realize she was still holding her surprised expression, making the sweet moment a bit awkward. She quickly snaps her mouth shut, her head nodding as she tries to find the words. “U-uh, yes! I mean, yeah…of course, Stephen…”

The doctor smiled so wide, it was quite heartwarming for her to see. She smiled, too, at their new relationship. She didn’t know what to do next. Her body practically rocked on its own as she stood there, her eyes having a hard time looking into his. (Y/N) could feel her cheeks grow warm by how embarrassing this was.

Stephen took the liberty of moving his hands from her shoulders to cupping her cheeks, bringing her to look into his eyes. He slowly moved in, lips softly connecting with hers in a slow, heated kiss.

It felt as if it lasted for an hour, but it was only a few seconds. It was slow, passionate, sweet, and so warm, she didn’t want him to stop. Their eyes briefly open when their lips separate and their breaths fan over each other's faces as they try to regain what little air they lost.

Love is what (Y/N) saw in his eyes as they stared at each other. And she felt all the more connected with him. No words were spoken, too busy studying the face of the other. Studying what feelings they had for each other. And, soon, their lips lock once more.

This time was more heated than the last.

“I’ve always wanted to do that with you…” Stephen mumbles between kisses, unrelenting of letting her go.

(Y/N) giggles at his words, realizing how cheesy they were, “Me, too.”

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Bonus(Kinda spicy):

“So, uh…why did you lie to me? You know…why didn’t you say you were helping Christine?” (Y/N) decides to bring up later that night. Her body was snugged up under Stephens arm as they read some books together. A quiet, perfect moment, to cuddle and for Stephen to work.

She could feel the man go tense under her body, and he smoothly rubbed her arm with the arm that was hanging on her shoulders. “I…uh…panicked,” he says slowly, turning a page in his book.

“Panicked?” she repeats, scooting herself back a little to look at his face. He met her eyes before he raises his eyebrows in question, “Doctor Stephen Strange…panicked? Never thought I’d see the day…” she mumbles, turning back to her book.

He scoffs, wrapping his arm over her shoulder once more, “Really? It was difficult to say the truth when you were yelling at me for canceling again. Figured it’d make things worse…”

(Y/N) hums, her head finally leaning back against his chest as she read, “You deserved that, by the way.”

“Are you trying to stir something up?” he sighs, faking to sound annoyed. She could feel his breath against her neck as he closes in, his warm and soft lips touching her skin as he softly kisses the spot, “‘cause it’s best not to start something if you think you can’t finish it.”

A giggle escapes her lips when he carefully takes the book from her hands, his body leaning more and more onto her and against the couch, trapping her under him. “You think I can’t finish something I started?” her lips touch his in a quick, passionate kiss, “because I’m ready to prove you wrong.”

[dragonologist-writings]

Title: Two Sides of a Coin Fandom: Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Rating: G Status: One-Shot Main Characters: Knight-Commander Piper Chanterelle, Daeran Arendae Additional Notes: Companion Quests, Frenemies Word Count: 870 Summary: The Other is gone, but questions still linger. Piper does her best to provide some answers.

read below or here on ao3

Piper and Daeran don’t actually talk much in the immediate aftermath of their battle with the Other. Piper, for her part, is exhausted, and Daeran- well, Daeran seems to be going through approximately four different types of existential crises all at once.

So they both take some time to breathe, and it’s not until they’re back in Drezen that Piper initiates the conversation. She finds Daeran on the balcony of the war room, overlooking the city with an uncharacteristically contemplative expression.

“Angel Boy,” she says by way of greeting, hoping to lighten the mood with their usual jibes.

Despite her efforts, Daeran’s posture straightens quickly- he’s still wary, still on edge, and Piper can’t blame him. But of course he tries not to let his nerves show, and greets her in his usual glib manner.

“Demon Girl.” He leans against the balcony railing, face turned away from Piper, and with no small amount of annoyance she realizes that he won’t speak of any of what just happened unless she brings it up herself.

“So…how are you feeling?”

Daeran considers the question, and for the first time the tension leaves his shoulders, just a bit. “Different.” He closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath. “Free.”

“That sounds…good?”

“It is.” Daeran opens his eyes once more, appears to steel himself, and for the first time since they’ve returned to the city turns to look Piper in the face. “You know, for a while there I truly did believe you intended to kill me.”

“Yes, that was the idea.”

“You were very convincing.”

“I’m an actress,” Piper replies loftily, tossing her hair back with a smirk. Daeran raises an eyebrow at her, and she sighs. “And maybe that particular role wasn’t very challenging, because you are an entitled, insufferable ass. Still…sorry. It did get a bit more intense than I intended.”

Daeran’s expression flickers for just a moment to something vulnerable- and then just as quickly shifts to a satisfied smirk. “Don’t you dare apologize. I have a reputation to uphold, after all. Entitled, insufferable ass is my signature. I was afraid that all this do-gooding in the Crusades may have ruined it.”

“See, that? That’s why it’s so easy to believe people want to kill you.”

Piper expects Daeran to return her barb with one of his own, or to claim that his manner is somehow charming. But instead, he asks, “So why didn’t you?”

Piper’s surprise must show on her face, because Daeran huffs and pushes the question. “Come now, we both know we each have plenty of complaints about the other. Why go through the trouble of all this? If your concern was the potential evil that could be done by the Other, why did you never try to vanquish it by simply disposing of me? Why protect me, even after it was gone? I have done nothing to deserve this. I wasn’t even sure you counted me as a friend. And seeing as it's my life, I feel I deserve to know the truth of it. So...why?”

Daeran stares at Piper, waiting for an answer...and she’s not certain she has one. True, they have grown closer over the course of the Crusade, and she knows there is more to him than the rich, spoiled fool she saw when they first met. But for all their understanding of each other, there are still things about the man that Piper cannot stand.

Because everything he said is true. He has made countless mistakes, some of them on purpose. He has hurt people. He is flippant and shallow and prone to breaking things through his own carelessness. He is petty, and sometimes cruel. He hides away the parts of himself that might actually be called sincere, he flaunts his flaws with pride, he lies as easily as breathing.

In so many ways, he is just like Piper. That is the worst thing about him.

But for all of her talent with words, Piper can’t convey any of that in any way that makes sense. So she takes a long moment, attempting to sort out her thoughts as her eyes drift across the shapes of the city below them.

“Don’t get me wrong," she says at last. "You’re still an entitled ass. But you’re my entitled ass. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, and I’m not going to let anyone lock you up. It’s as simple as that.”

Daeran smiles, and it’s the most honest Piper has ever seen him look. “Thank you.”

And then just like that, it’s gone, replaced by a smug grin as he adds, “I knew that even you couldn’t resist my charms, Demon Girl. Seems you’ll be wanting to have me around for a while.”

Piper scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Don’t get too comfortable, Angel Boy. I trust you more than I trust any Inquisitor, but that is not a very high bar. Besides, there’s still a war to win, and despite everything I’ve said I’m really only keeping you around for your endless supply of money and your supernatural powers.”

Her retort is answered with a chuckle as Daeran nods in acknowledgement. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

[pinkblahaj]

rick riordan's female characters pt 2: aphrodite's children

during my reread of pjo, rick riordan's portrayals of aphrodite's children was what made me first realize that his writing of teen girls might be problematic. it does make sense considering the demonization of femininity that used to be so popular, but it is valid to still be bothered by it. i have thoughts on how cabin 10 is described overall, as well as the specific characters.

cabin 10

in the earlier books, rick made the aphrodite cabin way too one-dimensional. yes, the goddess aphrodite is known for her vain and shallow personality, and yes, the other campers tend to possess well-known traits of their godly parents (ares' children are aggressive, hermes' children are tricksters, nike's children are competitive, etc.). but the way that aphrodite's children were portrayed as especially weak, preferring to look at their reflections and gossip rather than play capture the flag, did feel blatantly sexist to me. like of course because their mom is the most stereotypically feminine of the gods, they have the least battle skills.

at the beginning of HoO i thought rick might be atoning for some of these flaws. it was interesting that piper, a character who explicitly rejects traditional standards for femininity and beauty, turned out to be a child of aphrodite. but then her siblings were still very stereotypical and their cabin literally made her "gag". i found it unnecessary that rick specified in the lost hero that most of the cabin were girls. sure, it makes sense that aphrodite would want to have more daughters than sons, but that combined with the fact that they lack the skills of other demigods just doesn't look good. i liked that rick mentioned that despite her reputation, aphrodite was a war goddess and the oldest of the olympians, but i was disappointed that he continued to stereotype her children so harshly.

silena

i don't have many criticisms of this character, other than her being described as one of the few nice campers from cabin 10. i really liked that she valued love and kindness, which more of the aphrodite campers should have been like imo. although aphrodite and her children have a generally shallow reputation in the original pjo series, i appreciate the impact that silena had on the series and the way that she showed that aphrodite's children can still have bravery and strength.

i do wish that more attention is paid to how luke manipulated/groomed her and others (which i've been seeing the pjo fandom do more now, fortunately), as this is a big reason why i can't see him as a redeemable character.

drew

call me delusional but i am a proud drew tanaka defender. yes, silena was manipulated by luke and she sacrificed herself heroically. but she still betrayed camp half-blood and is part of the reason why several of them, including charles, died. drew likely looked up to silena and felt this betrayal extremely severely, and her bitterness is justified. i just don't believe that she became mean for no reason.

because rick is clearly capable of writing his characters with more depth, it's so disappointing that he put so little thought into drew. clarisse was a bully, but she is revealed to be under severe pressure from her dad and later becomes friends with percy. luke is a main antagonist but evokes sympathy from many readers. even octavian, who was unlikable from beginning to end, was suffering mentally and enabled by apollo, and thus didn't deserve all the blame. yes, some people are truly horrible for no good reason, but with all the trauma that the pjo characters go through, there was likely a much better explanation for why drew is the way she is. i hate that he just made her the most archetypal mean girl who immediately hates the female lead because they are interested in the same guy. (side note: it's funny that the only other living female asian character in pjo/hoo i can think of is annabeth's stepmom, who i do NOT claim)

piper

this character seems to be quite controversial, but i honestly was not as bothered by piper as i thought i would be upon rereading. her "not like other girls" phase lasts pretty much only one book... and it's realistic for teenagers to have cringey phase. since i do have a problem with the larger context of how rick wrote aphrodite's children, i do see why some are more bothered by it, bc rick portrays piper as better than her more feminine siblings. in this aspect, i do think piper had some lost potential. i think it's great that we have characters like piper and frank who aren't pure stereotypes based on their godly parents and who have to learn to embrace that side of them. but i wish we would have seen piper realize that being feminine does not mean you are stuck up and that she possibly had internalized misogyny. i really like the interpretation that her identities of being indigenous and queer affected her relationship with femininity and gender expression, but i doubt rick himself actually thought that deep into it. however, i've only read the first two books of toa, so there may be parts of her character i am missing.

i remember finding piper and jason to be boring characters during my first read of hoo, but after rereading, i think they are good characters who were placed in an extremely bland relationship. i personally am a subscriber to the lesbian piper + gay jason headcanon, as hera manipulating them into a relationship feels a lot like comphet. but i don't find their relationship unrealistic either. i feel like our standards were raised pretty high by percabeth, a relationship based on an actual friendship between two people who knew and loved each other deeply. but it's also normal for teenagers to get together quickly without knowing whether they are compatible. also, considering how short the expected lifespan of demigods are, it makes sense that we see couples like jiper and frazel who start dating less than a year after meeting. i also was never that bothered by piper being "obsessed" with jason... the other hoo couples tended to do that too, and her mother is the goddess of love.

piper's charmspeak was an interesting power, but i don't think it was super well thought out. obviously, there are some ethical questions about her using it on people, including her own friends, that are never answered-- especially because sometimes piper doesn't even realize she's using it. also, i found it hard to believe that in the lost hero she was already able to use it on gaea. i enjoyed the moments where we saw her other skills and would have liked to see more of them. her emotional intelligence (as seen in the way she helps annabeth defeat mimas) was underutilized and could have been a great staple for all of aphrodite's children.

[datcrazyanniegurl]

Tell us about you know what please.

YES. Be prepared, it’s a long oneeeee!

I’ve known of LiS since the game came out due to the advertisements, but I didn’t think I would be interested in it at the time. Fast forward just over a year later, and I was watching all the big gamer guys and I kept getting recommended to watch their play throughs, so eventually I did. I watched MessYourself’s run of the game on my tv on two school nights lol. A whole cinematic experience. It also helped a lot that he also did a lot of choices that I would’ve clicked on too ahah.

As for, the you know who? I definitely did not like them immediately, and rather shipped Max with Warren and Chloe. It was mainly because I thought there was no way whatever fandom there was (oh boy, I somehow assumed there was next to no fandom for LiS at one point lol), would support the ship. Which even though I was rooting for Nathan since the moment he appeared on screen to be a scapegoat or a red herring the whole time, I thought was 100% fair because of all the crap he did to her and her friends.

I skipped over half of chapter three because I was watching all of it in one sitting, so I didn’t get to see their interaction in the diner. Big mistake. Because I wasn’t ready at all for the confession on the phone in the final episode - andddd as dorky as it sounds I was pretty much on the verge of tears because, while it obviously doesn’t justify the crimes he committed, I felt so bad for him and it felt pretty obvious to me that he never stood a chance to become a better person with his family, mental health struggles and family reputation pinning him down. In certain ways, I was able to relate to that. From that exact point on, I was more opened to the possibility of Caulscott actually being a thing.

I started reading fanfics out of curiosity on how their relationship would be justified in a post Save the Bay world, and it made me realise that shipping them together wasn’t as fair off as shipping her with Chloe in certain ways. Both relationships are about extending out second chances, and giving the lonely person an example of someone else (Max) showing them she cares, and giving the person room to eventually better themselves because they want to.

To me the whole game was about the different stages of mental health affecting different people and redemption, and who deserved to have it. That people are a lot more complex and complicated than what they may seem on the outside, and no one is truly just a ‘stereotype’; and that includes Nathan. It’s especially prevalent to me when Before the Storm came out that was the intended message with his character, at least. A ‘doomed character’ that might have a chance to finally live for the first time after doing something unforgivable? Yes please, I loveeee those cliches done right!

Didn’t help that in BtS Chloe literally made a comment about Samantha being a more shy version of Max and looks and behaves pretty similar. Also, the comments Nik Shriner has made over the years just further conforms my perfect delusion that they belong together lol.

So in conclusion, I’ve basically been shipping Caulscott pretty much right away for eight years straight now. No one has been able to stop me a boarding on this ship lol.

[soulfullives]

no need to respond to this, since you're not really in the fandom anymore but i was really wondering how your personality analysis for lily would be. from some of your (probably old) stuff i've seen your lily is soft(ish? she seemed soft to me) just like canon lily but she's not as plain and boring as canon lily. and i kinda just really like how you portrayed her and wanted to hear more about what you thought of her! ((again,, no need to respond!!! just curious.))

the first word that would come to one’s mind when thinking about lily is curious. she always sought to learn more, to be so very great, to be the best she could be.

the person she turned out to be (and implicitly, one of her biggest fears) was shaped by her childhood. the rejection she faced from petunia after finding out she was a witch made her look not to cross anyone, in order not to be left alone. however, her encounters with severus and finding out she was a muggleborn witch was considered a disadvantage for her, and therefore she started learning more about the wizarding world as soon as she had access to the information. her first source was severus snape, which is why she got so easily attached to her; not only was he one of the only friends she had (i consider cokeworth to have been a very small village, where everyone was always connected) and he understood her “strangeness”, but he was also the only person who could help her not be completely oblivious to the world she was about to be a part of.

when she first got to hogwarts, she was more focused on the academic, rather than the social aspect the school offered. she got along fairly well with her dormmates, but marlene and mary were always closer to each other than to her (due to the fact they were childhood friends, but also because lily was not particularly interested in making friends when she first came to hogwarts). she was considered a bit stuck-up by them, but the reality was that lily was truly driven and ambitious; if she wanted to do something in the wizarding world, she had to focus on being the greatest.

with time, her thirst for being the very best dimmed ever so slightly, due to the fact that she had already made a reputation among her professors. horace slughorn had taken a particular liking to her, and being invited to the slug club, despite the fact that she was a muggleborn and a gryffindor, which was not the general criteria one had to tick off to be a part of the exclusive club, was the last bit of validation that lily needed in order to believe of herself as successful.

during and after her fifth year, when she was announced prefect, she began to make a name of herself aside her academical achievements. she was pleasant to be around, communicative and one would consider her “one of the upperclassmen that got off their high horse to be around the lowerclassmen”, hypothetically speaking. a lot of people knew her name and liked her, but just about as many had the opposite opinion and, despite the fact that lily was slightly sensitive to criticism, she decided not to listen to them, because she knew what she was capable of and how much she worked to be the person she was.

lily was compassionate, warm-hearted, caring, kind and welcoming to everyone, as well as open-minded. she believes people deserve a second chance, a chance to redeem themselves and prove their real worth, rather than the apparent. despite the fact that she appears to be soft-cored (which she is, to an extent) she is fierce and not afraid to speak out her mind, even when other people think she is wrong. when people cross her, she can be quite ruthless, but she would never resort to physical aggression, opting for sword-like words.

her fatal flaw could be exactly the trust she puts in people, bordering on naivety and a tendency to end up hurt. not only that, but she tends to be judgy sometimes and to say what she believes on that topic, happening to upset people sometimes. she always apologises, though, whether or not it takes her a while or not (she can be quite prideful). she has a slight inferiority complex that, over the course of the years, she starts getting over.

however, she is very likeable, and people often come to her for advice, which she offers generously and, most of the time, she tries, objectively. people like being around her, and she likes being around people; her likeableness and sociability brought her far.