#and like i said before. these are the Hands Gifsets of my heart

[sollucets]

love for love's sake || episode five

[bianca-mii]

One of the most iconic kisses between our guitarists from the 2022 tour. I can't write as beautifully as @woodswallow, but I made this gifset as I thought there is a very interesting thing to point out.

The Auslaender outro started almost as usual, with Richard feeling the music probably somewhat more.

But this moment shows one massive difference from arguably every other Auslaender's kiss: Richard is not smiling. He's not focused on seducing Paul with that evil grin. There's no tension, no predatory stare. He is... sad? He looks Paul in the eye, and while Paul is in that playful-teasing-I'm-not-that-easy-to-get mode of his, in which he rather avoids eye contact with Richard, he must realize something is off with the lead guitarist...

But they both go for the kiss. In the beginning, I thought maybe Richard was sad, at least partially, because during some of the 2022 shows Paul seemingly didn't feel like having that little smooch. From what I've read, Paul is very uncomfortable with PDA and, in general, tries to keep his private life as far from the public eye as possible. 2019 kisses were fun and outrageous, which Paul loves, and also had a political impact. But by the half of the 2022 tour, it was obvious nobody cared about any political impact anymore and the guitarists kissed just because they like it. Richard doesn't care if people are watching, he may even like it better that way, so perhaps he couldn't entirely understand Paul's hesitation. Also, on the previous show, still in Europe, their kiss was very quick, too quick for Richard's liking:

He made that gesture with his mouth as if he wanted to say: "Ahh, it ended before I could even taste it!" On which Paul said something, maybe like: "I've told you already: quick pecks - for the audience, the actual kisses - only you and me, no witnesses..." And Richard was like: "Oh, okay, but a boy can dream, can't he?"

Going back to Chicago's kiss: so it's not the case that Richard is sad because he thinks Paul wants no public kisses: they go for it as usual. I also don't think he's sad because he'd prefer the kiss to be longer - that doesn't sound like an actual reason to feel sad. It has to be something else.

Whatever it is, Richard tries to pull away first as he probably thinks the kiss will be over by that time anyway. Indeed, it's usually been (if not any other time) Paul who pulls away first; I also think Richard's hand on the back of Paul's neck used to be there for that extra control, to keep him in place just a little bit longer, but it wasn't hugely sufficient. This time though, again, Richard thinks the kiss will be over just after a moment. But what happens next? Especially from this angle, it seems very clear: Paul doesn't let go. And his reaction is really intense: he keeps his lips locked with Richard's, his right hand, put on Richard's shoulder, grabs it more firmly; you can see all his body leaning on his partner; if you look at his butt, it slightly goes up as he maybe even gets on tiptoe.

I remember reading suggestions Richard was that surprised because maybe Paul slipped him some tongue. I'd love to think that, but what I believe really happened was that Paul sucked hard on Richard's lip to keep their mouths together as Richard tried to pull away.

This is not the best quality, but it sort of confirms that theory: you can briefly see Richard's mouth, and then how it literally gets sucked:)

Paul pulls away when it's over but also slightly pushes Richard: "now, that should do!", but Richard, despite experiencing a massive WTF?! moment, remains sober enough to put some pressure on Paul's nape, doesn't let him go, and pulls him back close again, for a hug. He also starts to laugh so heartily that it makes my heart melt. Perhaps he's realized what face he's just made and laughs, just a little bit, at himself too. Paul, on the other hand, briefly returns the hug, but then is all like: "there, there, don't overdo it, babe." He gives Richard a few pats on the back, like the male friends with no benefits would do - he is back into his no PDA mode, and puts his right hand back on Richard's shoulder, this time trying to push him away.

But now Richard does not have it: "nah love, not so fast, you should have expected now I need to thank you for what you've just done... *mwah*". Another kiss on the lips, brief one this time, and finally Paul can go, obviously showing to everybody: "look! Just look at this little naughty thing right there!", Richard is doing something similar for a moment, too (what a complete pair of dorks:D).

So, I imagine Richard was so surprised because Paul not only didn't want to end the kiss quickly but literally forced it to be longer. I love this moment so much for two reasons: it totally makes sense Paul is uncomfortable with PDA, but as soon as Richard feels worse, or Paul gets sentimental himself (like by the end of tours), Paul stops thinking about any discomfort and goes for it with no hesitation, which pretty much says that comforting Richard is simply much more important for him. I think we saw it here, we saw it during Puppe 2023 or this tour after the German football team lost.

What I also more than love, is how Paul's little mouth-to-mouth treatment really brings Richard back to life and turns the night into the day for him (no wonder, who wouldn't be more than alive if they just got a kiss from Landers himself?). Richard is over the moon here, and seeing him undergo such a 180-degree mood switch is an almost otherwordly experience...

Here's the whole video cropped by me, original credit to till_lindemann_pics on ig. One of the other gifs by @davecumstaine, the other one - I can't tell, I downloaded it a long time ago and can't find it here anymore, many apologies;(

[thequeenofmyownscreen]

My thoughts about episode 6, season 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina :

Château Shorthalt !! Oh my god, I'm so happy they managed to incorporate it in a way that feels natural. The song is amazing, I was just dancing, you guys.

There was just too many moments to do screenshots of, and I already saw amazing gifsets I shall reblog, but let me be clear. My favorite 2 seconds are this :

KEYFISH !

Oh my gods. As soon as I saw Vax trying to talk to Percy in the bath, I knew what was happening. I was watching mith my friends and sister, so I couldn't say anything. But they guessed what was going to happen anyway !! And they loved it. Oh, the Queen that is Laura Bailey strikes again. I rewatched the original scene from the Campaign, and guess what, it's still so good, she's just SO QUICK !! And Liam being outraged only ads to the hilarity.

the statue of Scanlan with the cube. I shan't say more.

Awww, Vax and Keyleth angst !!

My sister loved the little purple ghosts, btw, and she's right. They're so fun.

The Scanlan/Pike scene broke my heart. Sam is so good at doing crying voices that are both funny, a little pathetic, and just so full of heart.

Ok, so the attack on Whitestone by the little dragon babies of Thordak is a big change, compared to the Campaign where Whitestone doesn't get attacked, and Vox Machina has more time to do things before the eggs hatch. On the one hand, it's a bold move (and bold moves are a CR specialty), and it's clever in how it moves the timetable rather urgently, putting pressure on the group ; on Percy because this was Rippley and it gives him a reason to act impulsively and lead him to... Glintshore... ; and also on Scanlan, who was one again forced to chose between VM and his daughter. On the other hand, like my friend said : Why would ANYONE in Whitestone want to stay there after the Briarwoods AND that dragon attack ??

This made me laugh so much. That woman is escaping from death and she is affronted by Pike's language :

Oh, interesting. The small change also is : they broke their fragile trust with Raishan. I wonder how this will translate to the final battle, because we know VM can't face two dragons at the same time, and I think the order of the events in that battle (Thordak, then Raishan, with the result we know) is important. So, what will be the other change there...

Guess we're going to Glintshore, then.

[stardustloki]

Get hugged, Echo!

No one had ever really hugged him before. The vode were affectionate, and he’d been on the receiving end of many an arm round his shoulder, slap on the back, or a playful punch to his arm. Roughhousing was pretty much routine. This… wasn’t…

Or: Echo gets used to Omega hugging him.

Tags: Echo & Omega, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, written for @summer-of-bad-batch

Inspired by @ffdemon's awesome gifsets of all the Echo and Omega hugs here. It has been living rent-free in my brain since I saw it! It makes my heart melt!

Read it under the cut, or on ao3 here.

It caught him by surprise, the first time she did it, and it took him a couple of seconds to realise that she’d launched herself at him, wrapping her arms tight around his neck, because she was trying to hug him, not attempting to inexpertly execute a grapple that she didn’t have the strength for.

Huh.

He crouched, frozen, as Omega tightened her grip, sniffling slightly into his neck, before abruptly realising that he should probably be hugging her too. He did so, hesitantly, unsure of how he was meant to be doing this, how tightly he should be holding her.

No one had ever really hugged him before. The vode were affectionate, and he’d been on the receiving end of many an arm round his shoulder, slap on the back, or a playful punch to his arm. Roughhousing was pretty much routine. This… wasn’t…

He wasn’t sure how he felt about it yet.

When she let him go, leaving him reeling for reasons that weren’t solely his decision to leave the Batch behind, he noticed tears gathering in her eyes and his heart clenched.

“Yes, sir,” she said, voice wobbling as she responded to his earlier order that she should keep up with her training. The order he'd given before suddenly finding Omega launching herself around his neck. She rubbed a hand across her eye.

But no, this wasn’t the time for doubts, there were a lot of his brothers out there who needed saving, just as the Batch and Rex had saved him, and he knew it. He also knew getting emotional about goodbyes never helped anyone. So, he made himself keep calm for Omega, shooting her a slight smile.

“Keep an eye on them,” he told her, satisfied when Omega gave a slight nod. Good, she’d handle this better if she felt useful.

It didn’t stop him feeling regret when he watched the ship take off, wondering if - despite what he’d reassured his sister - this might be the last time he saw this family - his family - ever again. Still, this wasn’t enough to make him rethink his decision. They had each other, who did the other clones have apart from Rex and the small team that Echo was going to be part of? No one. He couldn’t turn his back on the others. 

This was something he had to do.

—

It took him less time to adjust when Omega leapt onto him under the bright sunlight of Pabu. He still felt himself freeze, but less than a second passed before he’d wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and preventing her from falling to the ground.

“We’ve missed you!”

He could hear the warmth and emotion in her voice and it was like being hugged all over again. It felt good. No, more than that it felt incredible, and he found himself smiling like he hadn’t done in months as relief flowed through him.

It turned out he hadn’t lied when he’d told her they’d see each other again. And he hadn’t realised how uncertain of this he’d been until now.

“It hasn’t been that long,” he grinned, setting her down safely on the ground. With everything that had happened to him and his new team since he’d left, it felt as if he’d only been gone a day, though, staring down at Omega now, he wondered if there wasn’t a part of him to which it had felt like years.

He’d missed them, a lot more than he’d realised.

—

Echo didn’t want to say that he’d given up hope on finding Omega, because he hadn’t. He’d figured she’d still been alive, out there somewhere, but they’d searched and searched and searched and searched, and the Empire’s security had just been too good.

At some point, you had to get pragmatic about things.

So, that was what Echo had done, he’d fallen back on his training. Brothers died, all the time, that or they were captured, or suffered grievous injuries that made them unsuited for life on the front. Sometimes, they just got transferred somewhere different to you. The point was, never at any point in any of their lives had it been guaranteed that whoever mattered to you would be with you the next day. And you could grieve, you could rage about how unfair it was, but at the end of the day, you had to pick yourself up and keep going.

It had felt like a betrayal to Tech, a betrayal to Hunter and Wrecker, a betrayal to Omega, but as the weeks passed, it had been obvious that it would take a miracle to find her.

Echo couldn’t work miracles, but the more time he spent lamenting that, the less of his brothers he’d have been able to save with Rex. So, finally, he’d left, in order to do something that would actually help people.

And now, with the knowledge that Omega had been found, he was feeling like more than a bit of an idiot. Though, he supposed that, from what Hunter and Wrecker had told him, she and Crosshair had rescued themselves, so perhaps it didn’t matter that he’d all but given up on his and his brothers’ ability to locate her.

When Omega raced towards him, he was ready for her this time, holding out his arms so she could rush into them, and then hugging her tight.

She was here.

And she was alive.

[thegeminisage]

STAR TREK UPDATE TIME, holy shit! tuesday we watched ds9's "a time to stand" and "rocks and shoals."

a time to stand:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUGH

i feel like ds9 is so fucking good every episode i rate "watch" on ym spreadsheet would easily be "must see" in any other trek show. where do i even fucking start

i love that theyre just casually mentioning bashirs darkest secret in playful banter now. theres something in there that makes me very emotional but also it's extremely funny. also, he really DOES quote percentages like a vulcan. whatever he and garak were doing, i don't know what that was but i loved it. literally his boyish smile

oh speaking of couples. KIRA AND ODO. they've got the station all to themselves...um, e quark. i did get deluded for a hot second, when they were all at the bar together, into believing in kira e odo e quark. i don't think that's going to be a permanent feature in my psyche but it was fascinating to experience just once

ODO. MAKES HANDS. TO TOUCH PEOPLE WITH!!!!!!!!!!!

no one made this gifset so i have to make do with a screencap

HE MAKES HANDS TO TOUCH PEOPLE WITH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i may have had to pause the episode to start screaming

also. hi. "im glad you can still smile" "only when im with you" what if i threw myself into the sun

dukat and kira, holy shit. i've never been so scared in my life. i think about it all the time that he essentially called leeta into his office to fuck him. he BLOCKED KIRA'S EXIT. jesus christ we've come so far from his gay little fireworks show and the thron in his ass

odo manipulating weyoun who's obsessed with him <3 king. but he only did it because <3 kira asked him to. he literally said i've walked this horrible horrible line before i can do it again...their relationship is somehow moving forward because they are going back in time

and like GOD she knows he loves her and she hasn't decided how she feels back but somehow it's still comfortable because he doesn't ask for anything...IMPECCABLE fucking vibes. WHO is doing it like them

on the spaceship side, all of that was very fun, especially sisko and his <3 headaches. but even funnier was them getting stuck 17 years away from help. JUST like. star trek voyager

rocks and shoals:

AND IT GETS BETTER!

kira in this episode. mwah. she quite literally can't live with herself and it's SO clever because at first you the viewer are also like aaaa no dont let the bajorans protest aaaaaa theyll get in trouble and then kira has the change on heart and youre like oh shit. oh fuck. whose side am EYE on?

also, the fact that this was also odo's kneejerk reaction, and she said "don't make me fight you too" and he immediately fell in line. that's love.

garak's "oh, NO" as they were falling. please let the man say "oh shit"

o'brien ripping his pants <3 incredibly funny i felt like i was getting loopy right along with them. the wide shot of the flaming ship sinking into the sea as they laughed their asses off.......cinema

poor dax!!! she tries so hard to be brave but man she really did get fucked up

the little vorta freak in this episode...i want him dead. what an evil thing to do to your own guys AND one of sisko's people died too because of it. ik they won't kil him but they should kill him

i wasn't expecting the thing between garak and nog to have like consequences but it was funt hat they brought it back up. good for them and good for nog, even though i still wish it had been bashir on the post

julian being so chirpy and cheerful w the vorta after fixing him up as though he is a normal patient...sir please control yourself

my only complaint is i wish jake had more to do...right now he just seems to be getting underfoot, when staying behind was supposed to be a sign of maturity. hopefully all his reporting isn't for nothing!!!!

TONIGHT: voy's "day of honor" and "nemesis"

[cinematicnomad]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

tagged by @zainclaw and @andavs 🥰🥰🥰

How many works do you have on ao3? 39 apparently

What's your total ao3 word count? 288,797 words

What fandoms do you write for? actively right now? nothing really lol. haven't published a fic since 2022. but i guess you could say 911 and teen wolf given some random WIPs in my drafts. also i randomly started jotting down some notes for a stranger things steve/eddie fic that will probably never be written.

Top five fics by kudos 01. take my hand (take my everything) (buddie) 02. taste your beating heart (sterek) 03. so show me (family) (buddie) 04. you never said a word (sterek) 05. be careful (my darling) (buddie)

Do you respond to comments? yes, always! i usually try to wait until i have a dozen or so, which can sometimes take a bit of time, but eventually i respond to it all.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? i have a sterek drabble called and i fell heavy into your arms (688 words) that is basically derek seeing stiles die and then immediately letting himself be killed

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? most of them?? not sure i can think of one specifically that was happier than the others.

Do you get hate on fics? ah, i almost said no, but then i remembered that for my fic taste your beating heart every now and then i'll get scott fans who think the fic should be tagged as "bad friend scott mccall" even though he's NOT a bad friend in the fic, it's just a nuanced view of their changing relationship. like, that fic is about 3 main things that include: stiles and derek getting together, solving the main mystery, and stiles and scott's friendship maturing to a place where they can love each other and still be brothers without thinking they need to be in the same pack!! like it's FUNDAMENTAL.

anyway, i had one reader who i think quit the fic halfway through bc i gently pushed back on their rage comment insulting derek and stiles for a fight that takes place with scott. the reader left an angry reply to my response, which they then deleted before i could even look at it, and then never commented on the fic again even though they'd been commenting on the fic since chapter 1.

Do you write smut? no not really. i don't know why i'm so bad at writing sex, but i am very bad at writing sex.

Craziest crossover i have no crossovers

Have you ever had a fic stolen? not that i know of??

Have you ever had a fic translated? yes, someone translated my mike/harvey suits fic trembling hands into russian all the way back in 2013.

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? i have not!

All time favourite ship? to write? to read? no idea, so i refuse to answer.

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? i've got a sterek idea that's an AU of the netflix show virgin river. i had a pretty brief outline that i sketched out some, and even started writing a little, but it never went anywhere. i did create an AU gifset for it and every now and then when people start reblogging it i think about going back to try and write it.

What are your writing strengths? i think i'm good at realistic dialogue? but i don't know. i haven't written in a while so i'm not feeling super great about my writing at this very moment.

What are your writing weaknesses? i suck at setting a scene. and conveying a complex emotion. also i feel like i get v bogged down in what characters are physically doing or whatever and i try to describe it and it just detracts from the story over all. yikes ok i'm feeling worse about my writing than i thought lol

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? if the context is there to understand what's being said, great. otherwise, just adding context to the dialogue tag (he said in french, in german, etc) works. personally i'd prefer not to scroll back and forth between the fic and the notes to figure out what's being said.

First fandom you wrote in? harry potter. on the site quizilla back in the year of our lord 2005 lol. i started off writing like. a harry/oc fic lol where the protagonist was the classic american exchange student who had her own prophecy. truly mortifying!!

Favorite fic you've written? i have a soft spot for taste your beating heart bc it was the first long fic i ever completed and it took me 7 fucking years to write it. but i think my favorite is actually finding our way (back home) which i really think captured everything i was aiming to do. will i ever be able to do that again??? who fucking knows. probably not. on the more self-indulgent side, i really really love the margaret buckley character study i wrote called so far from who i was.

tagging!! @woodchoc-magnum, @crazyassmurdererwall, @tattooedsiren, @machtaholic, @catdadeddie, @tripleaxeldiaz, @valleydean, @thisapplepielife, and anyone else who wants to do this.

[coloursflyaway]

That's so sweet of you to even reply! Um now that you've put me on the spot 😂..honestly I'm a bit clueless 😅. I'm not very imaginative. I just really enjoy reading zowens and so far the few I've read from a couple of you guys have been reallyy good reads!

All I know is that may be something where it's mutual pining and Sami's lost all hope but it's actually not unrequited?? May be a bit of possessive Kevin thrown in? Idk 😭 is what I just said even classified as a prompt??

PS. I know you said you haven't watched wrestling in a while but did you happen to catch the zowens moments at wrestlemania at all! ? 😍😁

Hi!!

So, first of all, great prompt, fits them fantastic, loved it. I just ended up overdoing it by a little, I think, so now it's not really a prompt fill anymore, but a whole fic 😂 really didn't expect that because writing has been Hard lately, so thank you for that!!

Here's the AO3 link, but I'll include the text here too.

PS. I have mainly seen the gifsets of them, but they are!!! so!!!! I love them ♥

There is a brand-new, shining belt in his hands and Sami is aware that this should be the happiest moment in his life. It isn’t. He looks down at the silver plates, the leather strap, heavy and solid and everything he worked for, and he’s happy, of course, but in the back of his mind, he knows that it doesn’t compare to - Well. No matter. Some things you cannot have; Sami has learnt that years and years ago.

Kevin’s face is shining with joy about the match he won and the beers he has had to celebrate it, and Sami’s heart aches at the sight, fierce and wild and beautiful. “The next time”, Kevin mutters into the too-short distance between them, and when Kevin takes another deep swig of his drink, Sami knows that he will have forgotten the words the next morning, “the next time, we’ll tag and we will take all of them out. Jus’ you and me, we’ll fuck them up and send them back crying to their mothers. An’ then we’ll do it again, and again, and again, until we’ll get a shot a’ the titles and then we’ll take ‘em too. An’ we’ll be unstoppable.”

He’s beaming and leaning in and Sami feels himself swaying closer, cannot stop himself. Kevin is magnetic, always has been, and Sami sometimes wonders how long he’ll be able to stop himself from giving in to his pull.

There is a knock on the door of his dressing room, which finally pulls him out of his reverie. Sami takes a moment to compose himself before he answers, wiping silly fantasies from his mind that he has known to be useless for most of his life now like he would wipe tears from his eyes. He’s used to both, after all. “Come in!”

The door swings open, and he shouldn’t, but Sami knows who is behind it before he sees Kevin standing there. “Shouldn’t you be celebrating?”, Kevin asks instead of a greeting, stepping into the room like he owns it. In some way, Sami guesses, he does. “What makes you think that’s not what I am doing?”, he asks back, getting up, because knowing Kevin, he’ll be pulled into a hug within the next thirty seconds. Knowing himself, he won’t ever be able to turn down a chance to be close to Kevin.

His words draw a laugh from Kevin’s lips that Sami treasures, and just like Sami knew he would, Kevin wraps his arms around him the second Sami has stood up. The edges of his belt presses into his stomach painfully, but that is a small price to pay for the comfort of Kevin’s thick, warm arms around him, the faint tickle of Kevin’s beard against Sami’s neck.

“To start with”, Kevin begins to answer while still pressed against Sami, only slowly pulling back, “because you are in here and not out there, where you should be. Also, because I have known you for more than half my life and this isn’t your celebratory face.”

“Sounds good”, he replies easily, then adds, “only that we’ll have to wait a bit longer with doing that, I’m booked to tag with Quicksilver the next show. But after that…” He doesn’t expect more than a scoff – Kevin isn’t that fond of Quicksilver, but then again, he isn’t fond of a lot of people – but instead, Kevin’s face darkens, his brows furrowing and his eyes suddenly glistening in the dim light of the bar. It’s a look Sami half-recognises from the ring, because the intensity is almost the same, but there is something else mixed into it. Something dark, something dangerous, something alluring.

He’s right, of course he is, but Sami still tries for a few moments to come up with an excuse, before he finally nods. It wouldn’t make a difference, saying anything else, when Kevin knows him so well. “It’s nothing”, he adds, because he can see Kevin starting to worry within half a second. “Just a bit of nostalgia. Reminiscing about the old days, you know the drill.” “How old?”, Kevin asks and, thank God, the smile is back in his voice and his eyes and Sami wants to luxuriate in it, wants to stay here forever. In any moment with Kevin, really.

“Ring of Honor old”, he replies with a wry smile, because it almost feels like a confession; to be here, at the pinnacle of his career, and thinking about being young and dumb and so, so hopeful. Again, it makes Kevin laugh, makes him clasp a hand on the side of Sami’s shoulder; a point of contact that is so warm it would be enough to sustain him through a winter. “That is old.” “I know.” “Anything special? Or just the general beauty of horrible hotels, being sixty percent bruises and having to put me in bed after I drank my weight in shitty lager?”

There is something about old wounds, the way their pain becomes familiar, almost an old friend. Sami’s lips tingle, remembering, his heart aches, dull and yet fierce, but he smiles nonetheless, too used to the pain for it to feel disruptive.

“All of the above, I’d say.”

“Quicksilver?”, Kevin repeats, and even his voice is different, rough and full of something that Sami doesn’t understand, yet desperately wants to. “Yes. You know, silver and blue mask, used to hang around with Scorpio Sky?” “I know who he is”, Kevin replies, but his voice hasn’t changed. Maybe Sami missed a fight between them in the past? “Why are you tagging with him?”

Sami self-consciously pushes a hand through his hair; it’s becoming too long again. “Well, he asked and I didn’t see anything wrong with giving it a shot. He seems like a-” “You shouldn’t tag with anyone but me”, Kevin interrupts him, and suddenly Sami does recognise what is dripping from every word he speaks: hunger. “Fuck Quicksilver. Fuck all of them. They don’t have what we have. They never will.”

“Doesn’t sound very celebratory”, Kevin states, but there is humour in his voice. “How about tomorrow, after I win the United States Championship, we’ll do it properly? I don’t think I’ll be able to give you the customary three dozen bruises until then, but if you really miss it so much, I am sure we can find some terrible highway motel we can crash in. And as long as it’s better beer, I don’t mind drinking too much of it.”

It’s a joke, of course it is, and a sweet half-serious offer to relive a bit of a time Sami misses dearly on occasion, and yet it’s suddenly too much. Because he has a title in his hands, because out there, there are thousands who cheered for him, and yet, it isn’t the happiest moment in his life, not by far.

The familiar ache in his chest breaks open like the earth cracking in half to spew fire, and Sami knows that he cannot keep the pain from his face even before Kevin reacts. But react he does, worry suddenly clouding his gaze, the hand he still has on Sami’s shoulder gripping harder.

“Sami?”, he asks, and his voice is too much, his gaze, his concern, his friendship that has never been all Sami wanted. “Are you alright? Should I get a doctor?”

“I’m okay”, Sami manages to force out, but he doesn’t sound it, not even to himself. “Just. Don’t say that, Kevin. Not with the… the shitty hotels and the drinking.” It takes a moment to get a reaction, which Sami understands; he isn’t making sense, after all. But then, all of a sudden, Kevin’s expression crumples, his shoulders drop like a burden, half-forgotten, has been forced upon them once more.

“I’m sorry”, he mutters, fingers tightening reflexively around Sami’s shoulder before they fall away. “I never… the last time, when I got so drunk you had to take me to my room, you never told me what happened, even if I have an inkling… I don’t think I ever had the guts to say it, but I’m sorry. For whatever it is I did.”

“Kevin”, he breathes out, unsure, because surely this cannot be happening. Sami has been aware of his own feelings for years, but there is no way they could be requited. And yet, there is a glint in Kevin’s eyes that looks like yearning; and yet, Sami’s heart picks up its pace, spelling out in morse code: pleasepleasepleaseplease.

A moment of silence stretches between them, thick and viscous, then Kevin knocks back the rest of his beer, before crushing the can and dropping it on the floor. “Fuck it”, he mutters, and Sami wants to ask what he means, but before he can get the words out, Kevin reaches out, one hand on Sami’s hip, one on the side of his neck, and pulls him in. He tastes of gas station beer and stale chips and almost ten years of quiet, desperate, hopeless longing, and even before he manages to kiss back, Sami knows that this is the happiest he ever will be.

“What?”

Kevin isn’t looking at him anymore, but there is so much pain written in clear, horrible letters across his face that it washes away the ache in Sami’s chest; how could it matter, when Kevin is hurting right in front of him?

A wry laugh escapes Kevin’s lips, which might be the worst sound Sami has ever heard, but then he speaks, still not looking at Sami, and makes it worse. “I’m sure you remember it as well as I do, that one night when we were still in ROH. Before you started tagging with Quicksilver. When Chuck, I think, got all that horrible beer from the gas station around the corner and I just didn’t know when to stop. I never had the guts to ask what happened either, but you were so different afterwards, didn’t want to be touched, to be alone with me… and the scribbling on my arm… tell me if I’m wrong, but after some time I figured that I probably, you know. Kissed you. Which I shouldn’t have, of course. Against your will. So, don’t worry, I won’t do that again. Ever.”

“Did you sleep well?”, Sami asks the next morning when Kevin opens the door of his hotel room, looking dishevelled and hungover and utterly beautiful. For once, they had splurged on two hotel rooms instead of sharing one, and while Sami wishes he could have woken up next to Kevin, maybe even wrapped up in his arms, this, too, is wonderful.

He hands Kevin one of the coffees he picked up at a nearby café, idly wondering if this could become his thing now, treating his… his Kevin to coffee in the morning. After all, he usually is up far earlier than the other.

“Ugh”, Kevin replies, taking a gulp of coffee before even trying to form words, and it might be the most enchanting sound Sami has ever heard. “Think so. Can’t remember much. About sleeping or last night. Did you get into a fight, by the way?”

“What? No, no fights”, Sami replies distractedly, wondering if that means Kevin doesn’t remember their kiss, wondering if that means they will get to have two first kisses. Almost smiles at how much he will get to tease Kevin about it if he really has forgotten. All but plans to start the story of how they got together with this from now on: you know, I was in love with Kevin for almost a decade and he kisses me and then immediately forgets about it! Can you believe that?

“You sure?”, Kevin asks again between sips of coffee. “I know my handwriting is awful and drunk it’s even worse, and the letters are really smudged, but I wrote Don’t fuck with Sami on my arm last night.”

It takes a moment to sink in through the layers of happiness and imagined mornings and afternoons and evenings together, but eventually, Sami learns what it feels like to have the world end while not making a sound.

Sami recognises the pain on Kevin’s face; it’s the twin of his own, the one that has been with him for so long that it has found its permanent home at the bottom of his heart, with him in every moment he spends with Kevin, every one they are apart. It’s old and it’s weary and it’s familiar, and Sami should hate it, but.

But if his heart houses the other half of it, then that has to mean something.

And then Kevin says kissed, and for a moment, Sami thinks that he remembers, before realising that, no, he doesn’t, and somehow that is worse.

“You did”, he answers, and finally, Kevin looks at him again. His eyes are wide and terrified and still beautiful, and Sami hasn’t allowed himself to think it for a decade at least, but he loves him so much it is tearing him apart. “You kissed me that night. And then you didn’t remember it the next day, only had that writing on your arm and I thought you were trying to warn yourself not to do it again. But. Kevin. I kissed back.”

Kevin stumbles into his room, his lips still tingling with the last kiss Sami pressed onto them before closing the door behind him. Smiling so brightly Kevin thought he would burn up just looking at him, so happily that Kevin wanted to burn. Sami. The name alone is enough to make something within Kevin break open and pour out six or seven or eight years of pure love into the space between his ribs. He can’t explain why he had the courage to kiss Sami tonight, when he had sworn to himself he never would again and again and again, but now, knowing how Sami’s lips feel against his, how his hair feels between his fingers, his body pressed against Kevin’s, he thanks every divine entity he might believe in or not that he did.

Sami.

The alcohol is making his movements sluggish and sloppy, but Kevin manages to find a pen at the bottom of his backpack anyway, stored away for – maybe, hopefully – signing autographs after the show. He didn’t, but not even that matters anymore, because he needs it now for something much more important.

Don’t forget kiss with Sami, he writes on his arm, letters sloping and curling into each other, a smudge across half of it.

Not that he thinks there is much risk of doing so. After all, hadn’t Sami kissing him back been the happiest moment of his life?

There is no answer for several seconds, Kevin just staring at him like he has changed his life and hung the stars and the moon and the sun itself, and Sami is stuck in place until he isn’t anymore. Because the first time, years and years ago, Kevin had been brave enough to take the first step, and afterwards, Sami hadn’t dared to do the same. But maybe now is the time to return the favour.

Trembling, he picks up Kevin’s hands, which are warm and familiar, have caused as much hurt as they have healed, and puts them on his own body: one on his hip, the other on the side of his neck. And he steps closer, until he’s so close he can read the hopeful disbelief in Kevin’s eyes, can feel that the other’s breath has stopped.

“It was just like this”, Sami explains, and Kevin’s gaze drops to his lips, shoots up again as if he has to make sure that Sami wants this. “You didn’t want me to tag with Quicksilver. Or anyone else. You said that they could never have what we have, and you were right, and then you pulled me in and-”

Kevin kisses him.

He tastes like chewing gum and Red Bull and love, and Sami drinks him in until it feels like he is drowning, and even before he manages to kiss back, Sami knows that this, now truly, is the happiest he ever will be

[shrinkthisviolet]

Director's Cut for the little things (give you away)?

How I love this fic 🥰 it was my first attempt at writing Saviris within the bounds of canon—the tragedy of them, and how that's so tied up with the brightness of Westallen, is so intriguing to me, and so underexplored (which ties into Savitar's true identity as Barry being underexplored, but I digress).

As I said jokingly to one of my mutuals when first posting this, this fic came about because I got pushed "one gifset too far". The scene itself has been written with a Saviris slant before (and I highly recommend it), but really, it's the many gifsets that finally pushed me to try my hand at Saviris myself. From Iris's perspective, of course.

On that note, if you haven’t read this fic, I highly recommend doing so before reading this ask response, since it does answer something that I intentionally left unanswered in the fic.

So without further ado:

It starts a little earlier that I originally meant it to, with Savitar's appearance on E2 to kidnap Iris. I was originally going to omit this in the final version (this was just to get me in the zone), but I ultimately decided to keep it. I think in this scene, Iris's perspective on Savitar is so interesting:

She’d seen that expression before, on Barry: he had the upper hand, and he knew it. Though Iris had only ever seen it on Barry when he was teasing her, not…

...

The words were out of Iris’s mouth before she could really process what she was saying—really, she couldn’t look away from Bar—Savitar, from Barry’s kind features twisted in a sneer, a gruesome scar covering the right side of his face.

How did he get it? What happened to you, Barry?

Terror and pity swirled in her in equal measure, but all she could do was fall back into her instinctual nature: protect, defuse, shield. All else could come later.

She keeps seeing him as Barry, instinctively. No matter how much she tries, she cannot see him as anything else. The similarities to Barry hurt, they're painful...but they also let her see this:

Savitar smirked before affecting an expression of mock sorrow—still not quite meeting her eyes, she noticed.

It's something no one else takes note of...but she does. Of course she does. She knows Barry like the back of her hand, but this is Barry. It's also how, in the following scene, she can stand up to him and call him out:

“You can hardly meet my eyes, and you’re sarcastic more than you speak from the heart…and I know why. You and Barry are one and the same…and you can’t hide how you feel from me. I know what you’re like when you’re hiding something, remember?”

...

“So,” she said, “don’t play me for a fool. You’ve found a way around this, I know you have, so why don’t you save us both some trouble and tell me? With sincerity this time,” she added sternly. “Cut the sarcasm.”

...

“I pose that to you now.” She crossed her arms. “You want me to trust you, but you won’t even be honest with me. How does that work?”

And she even cracks his shield a few times:

Savitar’s lips twitched, but he scowled instead of the smile Iris was certain he’d suppressed just now.

...

“Frustrated is a strong word,” he muttered, seeming oddly abashed suddenly.

...

“Come closer,” she added, emboldened once more.

“Why?”

“Eyes are the windows to the soul, right? I want to fact-check your sincerity.”

He laughed then—a laugh closer to sincere than she thought he intended. “Only you would say such a thing. Fine.” He walked steadily closer to her…stopping when their noses were almost touching. “Close enough for you, Iris?” He murmured.

Her breath caught in her throat, but she nodded. Though she took comfort in the faint blush she saw spreading across his cheeks—she wasn’t alone in her feelings, then.

Saviris’s proximity to Westallen is what makes it so interesting, isn’t it 👀

...

He hesitated, something flickering in his expression.

...

“I’m not…good with that,” he said finally, still not looking at her. “With trust.”

...

He chuckled bitterly. “Not everything. I didn’t tell you about…about being the Flash, or…or about my feelings for you when it mattered…”

Hmm he inadvertently admits something here 👀 quite a contrast to his scathing words earlier:

“Well, how convenient for you, then, that I have it,” he sneered. “Wouldn’t want you kissing the aberration by accident, now would we?”

Fun fact, this is the first line I wrote in this entire fic, and it’s my favorite 💞 it’s so him

(Also notice who makes Savitar look up in the first place when he's so occupied with his plans 👀 very telling. It’s not his partner in crime…but his heart)

In the end, Savitar rejects her. Reasserts his identity as Savitar, not Barry. It's too late, though. He's already admitted he's Barry��even though the rest of canon proceeds the same, Iris has seen beneath the mask. He can put on his gleaming metal armor, can put up all his walls...she's won this battle, the same way Barry will win it in 3x23 with the Masonville story.

And, also, there's a fix-it aspect to this too. What version of Barry could ever kill Iris, even if his life depended on it? No version, that's what. So...

“So yes, I found a loophole.”

“And that is…?”

“That is…for me to know, and you to find out.”

It's not too difficult to guess the loophole, I'm sure 😂 it's an idea I got from this fic, actually (an amazing fic, I definitely recommend it. It’s labeled OT3, but it’s really more of a poly-V)—they came up with a clever loophole for Savitar that’s been my headcanon ever since. His “loophole” is to revive Iris with his new godly power, and keep her as his Iris forever, away from Barry. After all, it’s Barry’s life he really wants, Iris included, the finale proves that. The rest of the season just does a really bad job showing it…so I wanted to imply that his ultimate goal wasn’t to kill Iris…but to steal her away in such a way that Barry would never know (without jeopardizing his existence, in other words)

Also, as a bonus:

“I forgot how much tact you lacked, Caitlin,” Savitar sneered, without looking up. Out of the corner of her eye, Iris saw Killer Frost flinch.

She was trying to kill her. Logically, Iris knew this.

But the more emotional part of her remembered her friend, who had sat with her and encouraged her to pursue Barry. Who had defended her place on Team Flash. Who had gone out for drinks with her, played darts and laughed with her.

Caitlin Snow, with a warmer heart than most people realized. Killer Frost was assisting in Iris’s murder, but…Iris would believe in her friend—in Caitlin—up to the bitter end. And in that vein…

“You got what you wanted,” Iris spoke up sharply, “there’s no point in bothering her about it.”

Savitar couldn't care less about Killer Frost, that's canon. Iris, though? She looks at KF and sees her friend, Caitlin (because the show ought to have emphasized their friendship more). She speaks in KF's defense when Savitar won’t. It's sweet but also so sad 🥺

(Also helps explain why she forgives KF so quickly in s4. I reject that “work friend” nonsense)

Now ofc this is not the last time I'm gonna write Savitar, and it's not even the last time I'll write Saviris. But this was a fun way of inserting a moment of them into canon, to give Iris a win with him like Barry gets one...to further emphasize Savitar's feelings for Iris and establish that they always existed 🥰

director’s cut ask game!

[gamerism]

😎

Top. 5. yakuza/rgg quotes? I know there are probably Many, but I am Curious. And you know what, who said honorable mentions can't be included too lol.

This one goes out to the translation team ig. Wouldn't be here without them ect ect. There probably are a lot of honourable mentions because this series has a lot of great moments but I'll contain myself to the 5.

5. "No point? You're just makin' things harder on yourself. Deprivin' yourself for no damn reason. You think the world gives two shits if there's a point or not? Keep that up and it'll break you." -Majima YK/1

(And doesn't it just? Doesn't this exact thing break Kiryu down piece by piece? That's something I love about a moment that's so early, that was written so long ago. And how it's come to reflect the series as a whole.)

4. "Hamazaki left a message for you before he went. 'Keep the Tojo Clan safe from the cops. It's the only proof left that guys like us ever existed.' [...] It took me forty years to realise this. But for guys like us... our lives aren't really our own. There's always someone new to help. Someone we need to protect. These past few years, I fought that fate with all I had. But I'm done fighting. It's time I accept the hand I was dealt." -Kiryu Y4

(I can't help but think about the Implications whenever I hear this quote and Kiryu's headspace from 4 on, & especially in 6 as well.)

3. "Once you step into the shadows you're stained black for life. No gettin' that mark off ya. But... You can still choose who you bring down with ya." -Majima Y0

(🥲🥲 always so ouchie)

2. "Every girl dreams of becoming a star one day. I wasn't any different. But the reality is I had already found what makes me whole. I thought that if I could make it as an idol...I'd be able to keep the orphanage running. But it came at a cost. I would have to leave behind the very man who raised me. [...] Even though he was unconventional, I could always rely on him. I...I think of him like a father. And I love him. I love him very much. [...]" -Haruka Y5

(I cut this short but this whole speech makes my heart ache so bad. The definition of illogical action done for deep emotional motivation. & Kiryu doesn't get to hear it. 😭)

1. "I'll let you in on a little something, The yakuza game, it's not like boxing. The man who gets beat down isn't the loser. The guy who can't tough it out till the end, he's the one who loses." -Kuze Y0

(Yes I know that's probably obvious considering I used this for a gifset recently, but it's really just stuck in my mind since I first saw it.)

Though speaking of honourable mentions while coming up with this list I did think of a) a late game ishin scene i like a lot but its long, from multiple characters, and i don't actually want to spoil it for people so :)

And b) ishin's final scene probably says something profound at some point but its genuinely 20 minutes of uninterrupted dialogue and my brain fucking groans and turns off whenever i watch it. so.

[andthebubbles]

just a short fic feat. anthony and violet that i had in my drafts, which i am in danger of losing, because i put a lot of things in my drafts... so that's why i'm just gonna post it now. it's not good enough to go on ao3 imo. and it's inspired by something that i've now forgotten. but maybe it had to do with this gifset.

missing scene during 1x04

a/n: i just wanted someone to tell anthony during the course of s1 that they recognised that he was trying, and learning, and slowly handling things better, and that it wasn't for naught, and that they APPRECIATED HIM

"Anthony." Violet's voice comes from behind him in the hallway, stopping him in his tracks.

He turns, spine stiffening, chest tightening, mind rapidly, uncontrollably flitting back through the past few minutes, days, weeks. He had just told Daphne that she could choose if she wanted to marry the Prince; did he say something wrong there? Or was it that he arrived late to tea? Or that he took his sister to that boxing match? Or was it something to do with after dinner last night, when he did not stay as long as he should've, as he had work to do in his study? Did his mother notice his disappearance? Was he boorish as usual with his siblings? Did he ignore something she had said, or dismiss her too easily?

It's always the same, he thinks as resignation floods his body; it always boils down to him. Whatever it is this time, he should've tried harder. He should've done more. He should've been better, or perhaps just not been himself at all. Now his mother will tell him what has slipped his mind, like she always does, and she will insinuate that he was not good enough, as if he doesn't already know a thousand times over that he will never be good enough. He is not his father. He never will be. He has done so much wrong.

He has yet to speak. "Yes?"

She approaches him as his heart pounds and he hovers somewhere outside his body, drifting further and further away.

"It was very kind of you, allowing Daphne to choose."

He shakes his head after a moment. "What?"

"What you just did." Violet smiles, coquettish, surprised, and almost pleased. Pleased about what? Him? "She has always known her own mind; I am glad you have come to realise that."

He stares at her, automatically hearing the censure in her words. Or maybe there isn't any? Maybe he is going mad?

"Well." Her smile fades to a more muted colour; in fact she seems almost flustered. "I will not keep you; I am sure you have other places to be."

"Yes," he says, and turns from her, because this is what he knows how to do. "I will not keep you either. Good day, Mother."

He makes it down to the street before he can breathe again, climbing into the waiting carriage, once again alone. But then what his mother said comes back to him in bits and pieces, fragmented recollections that faintly hurt his head, formed under duress.

It was very kind of you. I am glad you have realised that--

It was kind of you--

He rubs his temples, the pressure aching, increasing--

It was kind.

He slides down in his seat and glances out the window; slowly his hands stop shaking. His reflection in the glass, barely visible as it is--he thinks after a while that perhaps it is smiling back at him.

[sweetestlamb]

The Best Revenge

Author's note: I saw a beautiful gifset from @seawherethesunsets and it's been a beautiful trip down the rabbit hole ever since. This drama really swayed my heart and I just needed more happy moments of my stray cat couple together.

Summary: Camping can be in tents. 🏕

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

The rain cascades down in soft patter hitting the tarp that Dongjin had so effortlessly and diligently put only moments before the rain storm began. He had purposely came camping knowing it would rain, said he enjoyed listening to the sounds of drops on the tent.

She hates the rain.

When she was young and lightning would clash in the sky like two kids battling with pots she would run into her father's room and straight into his arms. And he would be waiting, arms open to catch her and soothe her with a large hand on her head and melodic hums in her ears.

She hates that the rain brings back happy memories, hazy recollections that seemed like another life that she couldn't get back no matter how she wished.

It hurt in a crevice of her heart that she refused to acknowledge. The same heart that she tried to turn stone cold since she was seventeen and it shattered for the first and last time.

She'd been successful until him.

She lifts her eyes from her sausage sizzling away in a metal pan to watch his long body as he stands still with his head tilted towards the onpour. He's beautiful. There is a lightness to him now that she never thought could be possible a year as she watched that dejected back walk away time after time.

The humidity leaves his bangs wet and partially plastered to his forehead, her gaze lingers there before traversing down the slope of his nose and convening on his chapped lips. Further transfixed as a pink swipe leaves them glistening and moist. She recognizes that bubbling in her stomach now.

Hunger.

"What are you staring at?"

She blinks slowly as his low voice cuts through the loud silence of the rain and not much else.

"You. I don't want to forget a thing. I want to look at you until I get my fill."

But that's a lie. There's no filling the void in her chest that remained when she walked away from him that dreadful day.

Her ears perk at his low chuckle, more tightening in her belly.

"Your sausage is burning." He teases nodding at the meat hissing in front of her.

And with a curse she shifts her gaze poking at it with a chopstick and thankful that it didn't burn too much, it was still edible. She bits a large piece and hums at the succulent array of flavors that burst on her tongue.

"Mmmm."

She takes another hardy bite and chews until his prolonged quiet catches her attention.

When their eyes meet the contact is electric, a live matter that surges from her heart and fills her body with anticipation.

"Is it good?"

He watches her swallow and his Adam's apple bobs in reply. His expression is too bright and she feels caught under his gaze.

"Delicious. Do you want?" She holds the meat out towards him and gulps as he accepts bending those infinitely long legs and sinking his teeth into her offering with a low grunt of satisfaction.

They haven't kissed since they decided to do.....this. Again. Seeing him again was enough for her, being here with him is more than enough but watching him this close, only a breath away from her has her feeling greedy for things she's never yearned for before.

"You're staring again."

That's new. Him teasing her and smiling so brightly it's as if he's trying to make up for lost time. He has the perfect lips, made for smiling. But perhaps that's not all. She can think of other activities they would be great at.

"What's on your mind?" He's level with her now, finally taking a seat beside her.

She feels her face flush in embarrassment but knows that if she utters the words on her mind then at least that feeling can be shared between them.

"Your lips and activities they would be great at."

Her assumption is correct and his cheeks redden at her insinuation but he never looks away, bold as ever. Not backing down.

"Independent activities or paired ones?"

She doesn't miss his eyes lingering on her own lips but the moment is broken as a thunder grumbles in the sky, they both jolt back as if pulled back by invisible strings.

They awkwardly go back to eating in silence and she pretends not to notice as he rocks his chair a bit closer to hers until their knees are brushing against each other and she can feel his warmth all over her like a blanket.

"Is that my shirt?"

She glances over her shoulder, long strands of her hair following as she turns her head.

She feels naked under his intense gaze sweeping up and down her figure, she's wearing his shirt and not much less. She had her own shirts of course but she was allowed to do this much, he was hers after all.

"Mmhmm" she responds airily turning back to arrange her bedding, fluffing her pillow and smoothing the sheets.

"If you continue this I might have to go out and stand in the rain."

She doesn't turn but she can feel the heat of his words caressing her ears. He was closer than he was before.

"Don't. You'll get sick." She responds with steel in her words.

"I feel sick right now. I can't think straight."

Bliss blossoms in her stomach, aching at the longing in his voice.

She doesn't know how to reply. This game is not one she's accustomed to.

"Turn around." She twitches at the light command in his voice but almost bursts into laughter at the hesitation on his face, it's so easy to read him now. That's new too.

"Come here." He reaches for her, cupping her cheeks in this warm steady hands and she lets out a dizzy breath as he draws her closer still.

"What do you think?"

She's dazed at his sudden questioning and all she wants to do is close this damn gap remaining between them. Pry his mouth open and stick her ton--

"About camping in the rain? It's not too bad right."

He smiles down at her and she stops second guessing herself with an equally bright grin she nods, "It's amazing. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else with anyone else."

And as his eyes are widening from her confession she makes her move, dragging him down to meet her and stealing his breath. Kissing him is sparks and comfort all in one, like coming home after a long journey. She presses even closer eager to taste all he has to offer, thirsty for him. Starved even.

Her hands dig into his hair, her hips lock into his own, her tongue takes control of his mouth thrusting and swirling.

As the rain continues to fall around then, she decides this will be her memory of rain. A happy memory that won't hurt.

His love has already given her the strength to forgive and although she can't forget her past she can choose how to live in her present.

She's choosing happiness and never looking back.

[myevilmouse]

i’m so glad i found your post on luke getting electrocuted. I’ve ALWAYS been insanely turned on by that for pretty much the same reasons you said, and I’ve never seen anyone anywhere openly talk about this ever (considering how massive SW is you’d think there’d be at least one out there somewhere). is there anything else you wanted to say about it and how/why you love it? any other weird unorthodox movie moments that turn you on?

not asking to be weird or perverted, i just love to finally have an outlet to express similar but very niche interests

Hey friend! Thanks for this ask! I love asks and yours is a fun one. First of all, if you haven't explored it already, you may enjoy my tag #he suffers so beautifully, which is pretty much all the Luke Skywalker pain in one place. I have another one #bruised battered bleeding where you may also find some yummy Luke...

I actually took a long time to start reblogging Luke in pain images and gifsets (and some I still don't) because they really sort of hurt my heart, no matter how fabulous Mark looks all contorted and wounded. I'm not a huge fan of whump actually, despite those tags ahahah. Don't really read it and you still won't find a lot of "off with his hand" scenes in my archive, for example. But you make an excellent point--some actors are just sexy when they suffer and there ain't nothing wrong with that.

I think one reason some people (yourself included) may find the electrocution scene so much of a turn on is how those muscle spasms, "o" faces, scrunched-up eyes, tousled hair and jerking hips give us a dark/warped mirror to the erotic throes of orgasm. Someone flailing around so elegantly, those long fingers, those tightly-clad legs....yeah.... Sigh.  There’s a reason it’s called la petite mort, you know? 😈

Anyway, definitely don't feel weird or perverted about being into it. I get it. There are whole dissertations about how horror movies, for example, are these psychosexual outlets--examining the penetration of knives as phallic metaphor, etc etc and so forth... Lots of logical connections between agony and ecstasy, in other words.

Also, and I have discussed it here before, the "I am a Jedi" Death Star scenes are really the crowning hotness of all the Luke scenes in the trilogy. Like I don't know how everyone on set kept from creaming their pants that day/those days. Mark looks SO ridiculously sexy both before and after he's zapped, it honestly doesn't surprise me at all that the zapping also is melting everyone's butter.

LOOK AT HIM was grief ever so sexy?!

gif courtesy of @jadedjo

As for other weird movie moments that turn me on, I am a sucker for the blood-spattered hero. I mean, Kevin Costner in Dances With Wolves? Mel Gibson in Braveheart?  I’m dating myself but cut me some slack hahaha

These are dudes who take a lickin' and keep on lookin' lickable muwahahah. So Mark in that bacta tank, absolutely. I even commissioned art for that to have him super 美少年.

I think part of the attraction to these moments is they humanize our larger-than-life heroes, and they look so good doing it...It's like the old anime cliche of that single line of blood on the cheek. Our gods bleed, and that makes them attainable. Or something like that. I'm on a tangent now.  But cinema is full of heroes that only get sexier the more they suffer and angst, so it’s a logical and very understandable kink, imo.  Thank you for this ask anon, and I’m so happy I have content that will feed that thirst for suffering Luke.... I hope you enjoy exploring that tag on my feed and thank you for being a tumblr buddy!

[divinetheatre]

I posted 1,025 times in 2022

377 posts created (37%)

648 posts reblogged (63%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@willgrahambf

@peoplesoup

@willgrahamscock

@bloodstainedlamb

@dogmotif

I tagged 969 of my posts in 2022

Only 5% of my posts had no tags

#ask - 188 posts

#txt :my thoughts are not often tasty: - 112 posts

#hannibal - 104 posts

#nbc hannibal - 81 posts

#hannibal funnies - 71 posts

#hannigram - 51 posts

#hannibal meta - 47 posts

#hannibal comparative - 40 posts

#hugh dancy - 38 posts

#hannibal art - 36 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#if i did a review for every movie i watched it would take way too long bc i think too hard and can’t be concise and i don’t have enough time

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

hannibal crossing his legs when he sits is hot bc it works on a number of levels. it’s the elegance of the way that he carries himself, it’s the sensual lines that the body inherently makes in that position, it’s the refined repose that masks the predator underneath, it’s the departure from hyper-masculine posture, but most of all it’s bc he is bisexual

1,788 notes - Posted January 25, 2022

#4

i know that the shot of will laying his head against hannibal’s chest in twotl is one of the most iconic images of the show but like…. sometimes i think of it and it takes my breath away bc it’s one of the only times that will seeks physical touch from someone beyond touching a hand and bc i think laying your head on someone’s chest is one of the most tender and romantic things that you can do. it’s pure intimacy, and they really gave of us that between two men on cable television in 2015. it flies in the face of generally socially accepted ways for men to touch each other in american culture, and i know we rage against there being no kiss, but that’s bc to us as lgbtq people it’s obvious what’s between them, but i think it was radical in a way. a kiss would have been a distraction to the general public viewers bc all they’d be able to think about is the fact that it’s two men kissing. but will laying his head on hannibal’s chest, peaceful at last….. that is everything bc hannibal is his everything now, all else has been stripped away, and for the first time, in the entire show will rests without guilt in the only place that can offer it to him. not to go all “their relationship is something deeper than romance and sex” but like it really is. obv i’m of the belief that romance and sex is part of their relationship, but that would be nothing without the simple yet heart wrenching core of it — that they are the only ones who understand and see each other truly for what they are and they are the only ones who can change each other until they fit together perfectly. they made a place for each other there in each other, and the embrace is the physical representation of it. nothing fits like a head against a shoulder or an arm around the waist

2,032 notes - Posted January 26, 2022

#3

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2,084 notes - Posted June 28, 2022

#2

people who still get scared by hannibal trending on tumblr of all places are so funny like babes the show has been over for 7 yrs there’s not gonna be a s4 there was never gonna be a s4 we are all just mentally ill having ball up in this bitch with our funny little cannibal men and our silly little gifsets don’t even worry about it

2,213 notes - Posted April 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

no no no bc will asking hannibal, “how do you see me?” in episode one is so insane bc he wouldn’t have asked just anybody that. he was not inviting the scrutiny of anyone and i mean anyone. he didn’t want people to perceive him. the way he dresses, his glasses, his biting wit, his teacher persona… they’re all methods of self-protection to keep people from looking too closely. but he asks hannibal what he sees bc he really wants to know, and hannibal, who he has just met, doesn’t even hesitate to tell will something that no one else ever has before. something dangerous, something powerful said with admiration. with a smile.

2,608 notes - Posted September 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all]

I posted 655 times in 2022

That's 655 more posts than 2021!

262 posts created (40%)

393 posts reblogged (60%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@a-reader-and-a-writer

@a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all

@sugarcoated-lame

@blue-aconite

@zebralover

I tagged 619 of my posts in 2022

Only 5% of my posts had no tags

#thanks! - 286 posts

#top gun - 193 posts

#top gun maverick - 183 posts

#top gun: maverick - 181 posts

#sfw repost - 119 posts

#rooster - 101 posts

#gifs - 96 posts

#gifset - 96 posts

#lewis pullman - 93 posts

#fic - 90 posts

Longest Tag: 99 characters

#but i do still really appreciate each and every one of you who follows me or reads anything i write

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I'll Come Back

Fandom: Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, f!reader

Word Count: 1796

TW: Angst, Fluff, Kissing, Presumed Dead (but not really), Grief, Reunion

Spoilers for Top Gun: Maverick

Top Gun Masterlist

You lingered outside the briefing room, waiting for the news you were certain was about to come but yet you prayed didn’t. As much as you knew Rooster wanted on this mission, the thought of him going made your stomach roll and your heart clench. Though you only worked the coms in the control room for the mission and had no clearance for the details of the current assignment, you had managed to sneak a look at the mission plan. It was a near-suicide mission, and everyone knew it. And yet, you knew better than to ask Rooster to step down. It was missions like this that he trained for his entire career, and he wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to fly it. Even for you.

Suddenly, the door to the briefing room flew open and Hangman stormed out. The second you saw his face, all of your fears were confirmed. The only reason he would look that pissed off is if he hadn’t been selected for the team, which meant…..

Rooster walked out of the room, and he stumbled to a stop when he saw you standing there. Without saying a word, he opened his arms and you were instantly in them, wrapped in his tight embrace for what might be the last time. Burying your face into his chest, you said in a muffled voice, “I told you he would pick you. Maverick knows talent when he sees it.”

Rooster sighed as he rested his chin on the top of your head. “Yeah, well, you’re not exactly objective when it comes to my skills.”

You chuckled softly but the sound quickly shifted into a sob. You tried to bite your lip to keep your tears from falling, but it was useless. Rooster placed his hands on your arms and pushed you away from him, getting a good look at your face. “Aw, baby, please don’t. If you cry, I’ll cry and that won’t be good.”

“I’m sorry, I just- I need you to come back. Okay? I can’t…. I can’t sit there and watch you go down.” The tears were flowing more steadily down your face and Rooster reached up and wiped them away with his thumb.

“I’ll come back. I promise.”

You shook your head. “You can’t promise that. There are so many things that could go wrong, so many chances to fail. You know I believe in you, baby, but this….. this isn’t something that just relies on skill. If even the slightest bit of information is incorrect, if they miscalculated anything, this could all go wrong, and I can’t-”

“It’s not going to. I will come back. I promise you. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” He trailed his hand down your cheek before lifting your chin with his thumb. His lips brushed against yours, gentle and soft, and as much as his words were saying differently, you knew this was him telling you goodbye.

You rested your head on his chest once more and the two of you held each other in silence for as long as time permitted.

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1,387 notes - Posted June 7, 2022

#4

Old Friends

Fandom: Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, Maverick's Daughter!Reader, f!reader

Word Count: 2309

TW: Fluff, Kissing, Angst, Explicit Language

Note: This story takes place BEFORE Top Gun: Maverick but DOES contain spoilers for the movie

Top Gun Masterlist

As you stand outside the front doors of the main building, you struggle to remain professional and contain a squeal of excitement. Your whole life has been leading to this moment and once you walk through these doors, your dreams will finally become reality. Despite the double-edged sword that came with being Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s daughter, you had made a name for yourself independent of your father’s reputation and earned your spot here same as everyone else. One of the elite few admitted to Top Gun.

Taking one more deep breath, you throw open the doors and hurry down the hall which is currently crowded with cadets, instructors, and other Navy personnel. While you recognize many of the instructors as friends or colleagues of your dad’s, you don’t seem to know any of the students outside of passing acquaintances. You roll your eyes when you notice Jake “Hangman” Seresin in the corner with a few other cadets who look vaguely familiar. Hangman only stood out because he had relentlessly hit on you at one of the awards ceremonies you had gone to with your dad. The night ended with your drink in his face and if he didn’t watch himself now, you’d resort to a much harsher deterrent.

You are so focused on your thoughts of Hangman that you don’t even notice the man walking directly towards you until the two of you almost collide. Apparently, he hadn’t noticed you either because as you both made eye contact, the same look of surprise is mirrored on each other’s faces. Standing before you is a man you haven’t seen for years but had once been as close as family. Your best friend, your first (unrequited) love, Bradley Bradshaw.

But before you can say anything, he mutters, “Ah hell no.” before whirling around and storming down the hall in the opposite direction.

You hurry after him. “Wait! Please! I didn’t know you’d be here. Bradley, wait! I swear, I didn’t know!”

He comes to an abrupt stop and whirls around to face you, anger and betrayal burning in his eyes. “If you did, would it have made a difference? Would you not have come?”

You looked at the floor as you softly shook your head. “No, of course not. You know this is my dream just as much as it is yours.”

“Yeah, but no one stole your dream right from under your nose and left you to fight tooth and nail just to get back to the same position you were four years before!” he spits the words at you, and you can’t help but flinch.

Softly, you whisper, “I told you back then, I didn’t know what my dad was going to do. If I had, I would’ve tried everything I could to stop him from pulling your application to the Naval Academy. You were my best friend in the whole world. Do you really think I would have just stood by and let him do that if I had known?”

“He was the closest thing I had to a father after my dad died and he betrayed me. Why shouldn’t I think you would do the same? You’re just like him.” He starts off down the hall once more, but you quickly follow.

“Just because I refused to cut him out of my life like you did doesn’t mean I agreed with him. But, come on… He’s my dad. What was I supposed to do?”

“You were supposed to have my back. If you couldn’t back then, how am I supposed to trust you to have it now in the air?”

You stop as he keeps walking, your jaw falling open at his accusation. Up until now, you had been feeling regret, sorrow, and a little shame. But all of those emotions quickly turn to rage as you scream, “Fuck you!”

The busy hall instantly goes silent as every person turns to face you but you don’t care. Marching up to a surprised Bradley Bradshaw, you jam your finger in his face. “I know what my dad did was horrible. I know you have every right to be furious with him. And fine, you can even be mad at me for not siding with you over it. But don’t you dare insult my skills or abilities as a pilot or as a wingman. You aren’t the only one who had to fight with everything they had to be here. Do you think it’s easy being the daughter of Maverick? One of the most accomplished, yet most written up pilots in the last thirty years? Everyone always expects me to be him, the recklessness, the arrogance, the total disregard for the rules. And I have worked so fucking hard to show people that I am my own person, my own pilot, and that I deserve to be here. So don’t you dare try to tarnish my reputation just because we have a troubled history.”

You storm past him, ramming your shoulder into his as you do. You feel his hand reaching for yours, but you yank it from his grasp and continue down the hall and out the door.

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1,417 notes - Posted June 1, 2022

#3

Waiting for Someone

Fandom: Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick, Robert "Bob" Floyd, f!reader

Word Count: 1211

TW: Fluff, Kissing, Bar, Drinking, Unwanted Flirting

Note: NO plot-related spoilers for Top Gun: Maverick

Top Gun Masterlist

You knew the second you entered The Hard Deck that this had been a mistake. Being this close to the airbase, it wasn’t surprising that for every three people in the room, two of them were in uniform. And you had had enough experience with these kinds of places to know nothing good came of hanging around one by yourself. However, you were here for a reason, so after quickly smoothing out your sundress, you hurried over to the bar.

Taking a seat on one of the stools, you ordered a beer from the kind bartender who gave you a sweet smile as she handed it to you. But just as you raised the bottle to your lips, someone leaned heavily against the bar top next to you. Glancing out of the corner of your eye, you saw a handsome blond man with an arrogant smile staring back at you and you internally groaned. While you had expected this, it would have been nice if you had been able to at least take a single sip of your drink first.

The man slid a little closer as he asked, “So, what’s a pretty little thing like you doing all alone in a place like this?”

You softly sighed as you said, “I’m sorry, I’m not alone. I’m waiting for someone.”

“Well, you’re in luck! You don’t have to wait anymore because I’m here now.” As he leaned in even closer, you could see a small crowd of pilots over his shoulder watching his every move.

You rolled your eyes and took a small sip from your beer. You knew this had been a bad idea, but you had wanted your visit to be a surprise. You should have just called ahead and let him know you were coming. Or asked him to meet you somewhere else. But it was too late now.

Trying to keep your tone as polite as possible, you said, “I see that. And in case you didn’t understand by my tone the first time, I wish you wouldn’t be.”

You heard the pilots behind the man snickering at your response and there was one jeer of “Hangman’s left hangin’!”. The man’s eyes narrowed slightly, and his jaw clenched before he pushed himself off the bar and walked back over to the pool table.

Relieved he was gone, you finally thought you were going to get some peace and quiet when another man with a loud Hawaiian shirt and a mustache sat down next to you. “Sorry about him. He’s a jackass. But I liked how you handled yourself. That was quite the brushoff.” The man stuck out his hand. “The name’s Rooster.”

Politely, you gave his hand a quick shake before turning back to your drink. But you could still feel his eyes on you. With a sigh, you turned back to face him. “Rooster, is it? I’m sorry, but I really am waiting for someone.”

“Oh… I just thought….” The man shook his head before smiling. “Well, no problem! What’s his name? Maybe I know him and can help you find him.”

“Sweetheart?”

The voice instantly perked you up as you turned to see your boyfriend standing just behind you with another woman at his side. Hopping off the stool you rushed over and threw yourself into his arms with a squeal of delight. He stumbled back a step, but his arms wrapped tightly around your waist and his head rested against yours.

After a moment, you pulled away to take a good look at him. You were relieved to see that even after all of his dangerous training he still looked just like he did when he had to leave you a few weeks ago. Same hair combed perfectly to the side, same blue eyes slightly magnified by the same wireframes, same adorable little smile that sent your heart fluttering. He was still your same Bob.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you’re here!” Bob said joyously, but then his tone turned more confused as he asked, “Actually, what are you doing here?”

Before you could answer, the woman next to him politely cleared her voice and gave the two of you a questioning look. Bob started as he realized the situation, “Oh, sorry! Phoenix, this is my girlfriend. Sweetheart, this is Phoenix. She’s my pilot.”

“Of course! Bobby’s told me all about you!” You quickly pulled the other woman into a hug which she returned after a moment of shock.

“Oh! Um, hi! Bobby actually never mentioned you.”

You pulled away and turned to your man. “That’s not surprising. He told me he doesn’t like to talk about his personal life with you guys, and I usually respect that. But I had a few days off of work while they redo the office and I jumped at the chance to come and see him.” You held out your hand and he instantly took it. “I hope that’s alright?”

Bob smiled at you. “Of course, sweetheart. I was just surprised, that's all. But I’ve missed you so much!” He pulled you in close and you wrapped your arms around his neck before placing a big kiss on his lips.

“Wait…. So, Bob is who you were waiting for?” Rooster asked slowly, clearly not believing what he was seeing.

You nodded, as your head still rested on his shoulder and a wide grin spread across your face. “Yep! So, I guess you two do know each other!”

Bob looked down at you in confusion. “Yeah, we do. But how do you two know each other?”

“Oh, Rooster here was just offering to help me find you. Don’t worry, he was being sweet about it.” You offered Rooster a small wink and he gave you a smile in return.

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1,561 notes - Posted May 31, 2022

#2

Top Gun: Maverick Masterlist

Top Gun Gang

The Bet

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1,732 notes - Posted June 3, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Fight Through the Pain (Part 1)

Fandom: Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, f!reader

Word Count: 1335

TW: Angst, Whump, Plane Crash, Burns, Injuries, Pain, Love Confession

Spoilers for Top Gun: Maverick

Part 1, Part 2

Top Gun Masterlist

Everything hurt. Your world was currently nothing more than pain on top of more pain as every bone, every muscle, every molecule in your body screamed out. Large sections of your skin felt as if it was on fire while other parts felt like it was frozen solid. As you tried shifting slightly, a low moan reverberated in your chest as the pain intensified. But the attempt did provide you with some information. It made you realize that the coldness seeping into you was from the snow you were laying on. But why were you laying in the snow?

And then it came rushing back to you. The team had been sent on their mission to blow up the uranium enrichment plant. At the last minute, it was decided one additional single-person plane should accompany the group, and much to Hangman’s chagrin, you had been selected. As everyone was saying their goodbyes and good lucks, Rooster had pulled you into a hug that was tighter and lasted longer than you expected. And when you finally pulled away, he had stared at you with such an intense look on his face that it sent shivers down your spine in the best way. It finally gave you the courage you had been needing to tell him how you felt about him, yet just as you opened your mouth, Maverick had interrupted you. So instead of telling him, you had hurried off to your plane.

The mission had gone perfectly…. Up until your planes escaped Coffin Corner and activated the SAMs. The Surface-to-Air Missiles had quickly filled the sky and as much as you all tried to react, there were just too many of them. As you had done your own evasive maneuvers to avoid disaster, you watched Rooster fire countermeasure after countermeasure from his position above you, narrowly escaping the missiles. But then his panicked voice cried out through your coms that he was out of flares, and you watched in horror as two more missiles trailed behind him.

You hadn’t thought, you had just acted. Instantly pulling up into a steep climb, you positioned your plane directly between Rooster’s and the missiles. Across the expanse between you, you had managed to catch Rooster’s eye for just a moment. His face drained of all color, and you saw him shouting at you to get out of the way. But you had just given him a sad smile as the missile slammed into the tail of your aircraft, sending a fireball roaring through the cockpit.

You screamed in pain as your hand had yanked the ejection lever, but it was too late. Even as your seat jettisoned into the sky, you could feel the burns scorching your skin in a dozen different places. Then as you drifted to the ground, your parachute had gotten snagged on a tree, slamming you into the trunk and causing you to plummet the other 50 ft to the ground. As you crashed into the snow below, you had mercifully slipped into unconsciousness.

But now, something stirred you from your sleep, something other than just the pain. Voices. Slowly, you realized that your helmet was still on, and you could still make out your teammates' voices as they tried to reach you on the coms.

“Bumblebee! Do you copy?” Phoenix’s frantic voice came into focus. “Bob, do you see anything?”

“That’s a negative,” her WSO replied, equally as panicked. “I can see the smoke from her plane where it crashed, but I lost sight of the parachute.”

“I saw it for a minute, but it was smoking pretty heavily.” Fanboy chimed in anxiously. “I don’t know…. I don’t know if it would have been able to remain intact until she reached the ground.”

“Bee! Answer me! Please!” Rooster. You struggled to open your eyes at the sound of his voice. Maybe it was the distortion from the coms or your pain-addled brain, but it almost sounded like he was crying. But that couldn’t be….

“Bumblebee!” he screamed again. “Damn it! Why did you do that! Why did you- I’m not worth it. You shouldn’t have done that. Not for me. Please, Bee. You have to be okay.”

“Rooster,” Phoenix said softly. “It’s not your fault. She was just protecting her wingman.”

“Well, she shouldn’t have! It should have been me down there instead of her. We need to find her!”

Maverick’s voice suddenly broke through the chatter. “There’s nothing we can do right now. Without her location beacon turned on, we have no way of finding her. We need to get back to the ship and we can try to figure out something after that. But for now…. I’m sorry.”

“No!” Rooster screamed again. “I’m not leaving her! Bee! Listen, you need to turn on your beacon. Please! I promise I’ll find you, but you have to give me something.”

“Rooster-” Maverick started but the younger pilot cut him off.

“No! She’s still out there, I know it! And she would never leave any of us behind! So, please, Bee. Come on, you can do this. Just turn on the beacon.”

Both of your hands were currently laying by your sides and the locator beacon was on your shoulder. The amount of pain that was shooting through your body just with every breath was almost unbearable, so the thought of trying to move, to cross that impossible distance to reach the beacon, was almost inconceivable! But you knew you had to try. If not for you, for Rooster. You might have saved his life, but if you died, you knew he would blame himself and it would haunt him for the rest of his days.

So, ever so slowly, inch by agonizing inch, your hand began its vast journey up towards your shoulder. Even the smallest of movements was torture, and you were fairly certain that your arm was broken in at least one place. But Rooster’s pleas and cries still sounding through the coms urged you on.

When your fingers miraculously brushed against the dial of your beacon, you realized you were in for a new level of pain. In order to turn the beacon on, you had to twist the dial. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem but because of the fire, your fingers were pretty badly burnt, and your joints were swollen. It was going to take everything in you to turn that dial and you just didn’t think you had the strength left to withstand that level of pain.

But then, Rooster’s voice called out to you one more time, calmer yet more tender than before, “Bumblebee…. Please. I know you’re there, I know you can hear me. Please, come back to me. I-I love you.”

He loves me? You had been in love with your wingman for years, starting back when you had first been at Top Gun together, but you never thought he could return your feelings. It was why you had chickened out on the tarmac from confessing how you felt. But if Rooster loved you back….

It was just the motivation you needed. Taking a few deep breaths (and ignoring the spikes of pain that were sent through your chest with each one), you screwed your eyes closed and twisted the dial.

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2,244 notes - Posted June 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[rmd-writes]

it was a toss up whether I would share this gif set for today's 12 days of fandom post or this one (please go check it out, it's so very Tarlos) because they're both favourites of mine, but in the end the heart hands won out, mostly because of Rafa being adorable and checking if he remembers how to do it later!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, but people falling from one of my fandoms into another is one of my favourite things and @reasonandfaithinharmony is no exception!!

Rules: Every day for 12 days in December, choose a fandom work from any fandom from 2023 that you loved. It can be anything you like - a gifset, a drabble, fanart, a fic, or just a post that made you laugh.

Reblog the post and add a comment or tags about why you love it.

Tag your post with #12 days of fandom

Heart tutorial with Danielle Savre, Stefania Spampinato, and Rafael Silva

First Responders Reunion (June 4, 2023)

[nrnyx]

Part of a Sterek/Merman AU I’m working on writing. I’m about 20k words in so we’ll see how long it gets! Making these giftsets/Mood boards keep me motivated. Enjoy!

Gifset 1 - Gifset 2 - Gifset 3 - AO3 Account

Derek laughed under his breath as Scott grumbled and took off after the frisbee Jackson launched way too far just to be an ass. The sun was starting to set and they would need to pack up soon. They’d needed this though. A day in the sun on the beach. Graduation was done and college acceptance letters were pouring in. It would be their final summer as carefree teenagers and Derek wanted to make the best of it for them.

“Oh shit!” 

Derek was on his feet instantly, running to where Scott had disappeared behind a few large boulders. He wasn’t the only one as the rest of the pack followed. “Scott, what is it?” he asked as Scott came running back out pale and heart racing with adrenaline. 

“I don’t know man but I think it’s dead!” 

Derek slowed, seeing that Scott was okay but shaken up by whatever he’d seen. He held his hand up for the rest of the pack to stay behind him and cautiously walked around the rocks to see what had spooked his beta. 

At first, all Derek could make out was a long dark gray fin, speckled with silver that sparkled as it caught the light from the setting sun. It was partially covered in sand and seaweed, and Derek didn’t recognize the fin as anything he’d ever seen before. It wasn’t a whale or shark fin. It seemed too large to just be a fish, but it had scales like one.

Then Derek’s eyes moved up to the top half of the creature and widened in surprise as he was met with pale skin dotted by beauty marks, an ethereal-looking face that was very much human in appearance, and soft brown hair. 

“Oh my god!” Lydia gasped from beside him, and before Derek could come out of his shock and grab her, she ran forward and fell to her knees beside the creature. “Derek, do you know what this is? It’s a merman!” Her hands were shaking as they hoovered over the merman.

“He’s bleeding,” Cora said, pushing past him now, too because Derek was still trying to wrap his brain around what he was seeing. Merfolk were the most elusive creatures in the world. “We should call mom. She’ll know what to do.” 

Lydia moved to touch the tail, but Derek growled to stop her - finally coming out of his shock. “Don’t touch him. We don’t know if he’s dangerous.”

“We can’t just leave him here!” Lydia protested, and Derek knew that look in her eyes. He wouldn’t win this argument.

Derek ran a hand over his face. He needed to call his mom. He needed to contact Deaton. Why did his pack attract impossible situations like this? 

Derek looked down at the merman again and knew they couldn’t leave him like this either. If it were someone from his pack in this situation, Derek hoped the strangers that found them would give them the benefit of the doubt. Derek could see now that there was blood staining the sand around him. It looked to be coming from a deep wound on the merman’s right side and a broken spear tip sticking out of his left shoulder. 

“Can he even breathe on land? Should we like… put him back in the water?” Scott asked, and Derek rolled his eyes. He sometimes forgot that Scott wasn’t born a wolf. Derek reminded himself again that he needed to do a better job educating those members of the pack. 

“They can breathe on land.” Derek at least knew that much. He walked forward and knelt beside Cora. 

Derek reached out and pressed a hand to the merman’s neck. His skin was cold and clammy, but he was part fish, so maybe that was normal for them. He had a pulse, but Derek already knew that from the faint sound of his heartbeat. Some part of Derek just wanted to feel it beneath his fingers too.

“Isaac, go grab the jeep and pull it up as close as possible. Erica, grab towels or blankets - whatever you can find to cover him up. Allison, call Deaton and let him know we are coming. Maybe your father, just in case. Cora, call mom and let her know what’s happening.” 

Everyone nodded and took off to perform their duties. 

“He’s a warrior,” Lydia stated, moving a few pieces of seaweed off the merman’s tail.

“How can you tell?” Derek studied the tail closer, and it answered his question. 

It looked powerful. Derek had seen popular illustrations of colorful, delicate, decorative tails, but this was not one of those. The tail itself was a slate gray color with silver flecks throughout and heavier reflective silver on the fins. The fins weren’t flowy or delicate but sharp and pointy like a steel blade. It looked like they would have no problem slicing through delicate human skin. 

“I’ve seen his tail in the bestiary. Well, maybe not his tail, but ones like it. They’re warriors. He must have been hurt in a battle.” Lydia explained, waving a hand at the young man's wounds. He was that Derek realized - a young man. Younger than Derek, but not by much. Had he been human, he probably would have graduated with the others this year.

“Deaton said to bring him quick if we want to save his life. He said there could be poison in the spear tip. So don’t try to touch it,” Allison said, jogging back over just as the headlights from the jeep provided them with more light. Erica also rejoined them with a bundle of towels. 

“Lay some of the towels down. Jackson, Boyd, help me pick him up.” Derek ordered.

“Oh, that’s gross!” Jackson complained, grabbing one side of the tail as Boyd grabbed the other. Derek put his arms under the merman’s back and shoulders while Lydia steadied his head.  

“On three… 1... 2… 3.” As they lifted, eyes opened, and Derek felt his breath catch. Beautiful whiskey-colored irises stared back at him, and Derek didn’t know if the merman could understand a word he was saying, but he felt compelled to say something. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.” After a few seconds more of eye contact, the eyes closed, releasing Derek from whatever hold they held on him. 

Derek would have been lying to himself if he said he wasn’t shaken to his core.